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Original poster

Octonauts and the sea sponge

59 replies

Octopop · 13/05/2019 20:24

Would I be nuts to complain to the BBC about this episode?

It has a (female voiced) sea sponge that has a whale louse inside it that is making it feel ill.

Even though the Octonauts know the whale louse is making the sea sponge ill, they don’t remove it until they can find a whale to put it on.

Apparently the whale louse does not harm the whale.

I am really not happy with perpetuating the ‘self-sacrificing’ nature of women. The whale louse should have been removed as soon as they knew it was harming the sea sponge.

On a scale of 1-10, how mad am I?

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BambooB · 14/05/2019 23:48
Hmm
Manderleyagain · 14/05/2019 21:36

The vegimals are the strangest thing about octonauts. Especially as the other sea creature info is so accurate. My little boy was horrified when we watched a bit of an Attenborough and he recognised the marine iguanas from octonauts because they were eating their favorite red seaweed but then the baby iguanas were attacked and eaten by snakes which defo didn't happen in octonauts!
We have a book where you find out the back story of the vegimals, and at the end they seem to be breeding!
There is some stuff that's sexist about octonauts but I don't think the sea sponge and louse is it. Barnacles is a know it all dick head who likes the sound of his own voice though. But generally the knowledge the kids can get about sea creatures is excellent. We really like it in our family (or did when they were the right age. it's better than pop by a long way) .

RiddleyW · 14/05/2019 21:23

There's an awful lot of assuming a gender going in in this thread

You’ve lost me!

NeurotrashWarrior · 14/05/2019 21:12

Ahhhh now I get the bandages thing.

strawberrypenguin · 14/05/2019 19:40

You are being completely bonkers. I know that episode and they do say the louse can't survive otherwise and the sponge agrees to help.
It has nothing to do with the sponge being female.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 14/05/2019 19:37

There's an awful lot of assuming a gender going in in this thread.... Hmm

RiddleyW · 14/05/2019 19:32

Aaah that makes sense! Poor shadows

Stylemebabyonemoretime · 14/05/2019 19:27

RiddleyW because people have stepped on them.

NeurotrashWarrior · 14/05/2019 16:32

Deffo. We have that one.

Yes still sexist.

RiddleyW · 14/05/2019 16:32

We read sea of shade loads! Yes it’s really odd. Why are the shades all bandaged?

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 14/05/2019 16:28

I still get nightmares about Sea of Shade. Freakiest kids book I've ever read.

RiddleyW · 14/05/2019 16:18

I love the books. Still sexist though

NeurotrashWarrior · 14/05/2019 14:56

It's originally by authors in Canada, the books are better imo.

I must say ds is obsessed with David Attenborough etc as a result of octonauts, so not all bad.

Sunkisses · 14/05/2019 12:51

This episode?

TeaAddict235 · 14/05/2019 12:51

I agree @terfsandwich . The professor would be perfect as a recluse female.

Paw patrol is not on a par with the 'Nauts. Seriously, the marine biology accuracy of the octonauts is incredible .

Paw patrol is know as poop patrol in our house for its crappyology.

butteryellow · 14/05/2019 12:13

I wonder if boys would watch a show where two or three of the four leads were female? But I don’t think we should pander to this prejudice. Let them watch Biggleton.

Mine would - we've been through them all, and the youngest is currently watching back to back power puff girls in his spare time.

butteryellow · 14/05/2019 12:10

Octonauts bothers me because of the feudal nature of the relationship of the 'nauts with their slave-carrots.

The relief I felt when it was explained that the fish biscuits that the vegimals cook are made from kelp was huge. Because I was having all sorts of dark thoughts there.

And given Wikipedia describes it as a parasite, albeit reasonably benign, I am not at all sure the whale (who wasn’t told about it) would be too happy either.

Wait - they didn't remove it from the sponge, and then they put it on a whale without consent?! What are we teaching these kids (apart from how to say humuhumu nukunuku apua'a)

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 14/05/2019 07:55

I know lots of young children who insist Peso is a girl... Probably because he is a caring nurse character. My vote would be Kwazii to be female. (Kwazii being described as a kitten annoys me... He is obviously fully grown so should be a cat)

windysowindy · 14/05/2019 07:49

@MindTheMinotaur 😂

MindTheMinotaur · 14/05/2019 07:44

Did he have eyes? That's the decider on what enters the food chain in Octonauts. If he had eyes YABVU.

windysowindy · 14/05/2019 07:38

But sponges are not exclusively male or female so you are saying it has a female voice. Maybe that is perception and that is how a gender neutral sponge sounds GrinGrinGrinGrin

Original poster
Octopop · 14/05/2019 07:16

Yes I have made my peace with Peso being male, because as a timid, caring person he is a good caring male role model.

As I explained, I picked on Peso because to start with I wasn’t sure, and it annoyed me when I found out he was male because then the balance is so wrong.

Maybe I will complain, and make the balance the focus, and the sea sponge the side show!

OP posts:
WellErrr · 14/05/2019 06:32

You have completely out done your point by suggesting peso be female.

Yes, this!

Why? Because he’s a softly spoken nurse who’s gentle, caring and not hyper masculine?

I think it’s great that they have a male character that isn’t a pirate or captain type.

terfsandwich · 14/05/2019 00:13

The Octopus should be female. A reclusive butch academic.

Cattenberg · 13/05/2019 23:25

And don’t get me started on Andy’s Prehistoric sex stereotypes— sorry, Adventures

Maybe Jen and Mrs Pickles have more sense than to risk their lives dodging T-rexes to pick up a conch shell for a museum display? Whereas Andy seems cheerfully oblivious to the danger.

I wonder if boys would watch a show where two or three of the four leads were female? But I don’t think we should pander to this prejudice. Let them watch Biggleton.