Peter sutcliffe doc on netflix

In the 1970s there were probably some misogynists in government. Now we have one as Prime Minister.

I find Richard McCann sets off my dangerous man signals....

I hope I’m wrong but I remember years ago reading reviews of his books and excerpts and feeling like he had a fuck tone of misogyny himself. Complaining about how shameful it was at school if people found out his mother was a prostitute - I hope it’s error of recall but I don’t remember him ever disputing that when he was first selling books. I remember him sounding angry at her. His description of his very violent father beating his step mother,breaking her bones then describing the positive things about him doesn’t sit right. I also find some of his comments to the press very strange- calling one news paper to say he was relieved at paper suctckifs death and another news paper to say he took no happiness in it and had called sutcliffs brother to say that he was so sorry for his loss. He also spoke to news papers after he wrote to sutcliff- he asked to do so and needed it to be ok’d first, then told news papers after that he got peace from it and was happy to see sutcliff had taken responsibility for his crimes (he didn’t at all, ‘best’ he said was that it was bad he did them, I am 100% sure that Richard, as a man who makes his living from inspirational speeches, knows enough about basic emotional literacy to see there’s zero responsibility taken in that teensy omission. I remember thinking at the time I read that one that it felt like he was looking for any excuse to call newspapers and imho i always felt like it came across that he used what a violent man did to his mother for his own gains. I’d love to be wring on that, I’d love that whatever misogyny he might have had years ago has been rectified and that his recent calls for his mother to be recognised as not having been a prostitute and his other call outs of misogyny around the case handling is maturity and insight and a new respect for women, but my gut tells me it’s just trendy now for him to say this when it wasn’t a decade plus ago.

I always wonder why it’s him speaking up so much and not his three sisters. One did take part in one documentary, and sadly took her life, but I always feel it doesn’t sit right that it’s a man up there speaking for women not other women.

Finished this yesterday.
Really interesting to relive the fear that we felt and hear from those interviewed, a much more substantial doc than I've seen previously. Glad I watched.

But now Holbeck is even more troubling if that's possible.
We learnt nothing.

Did anyone notice the one interview of a woman and she said it could be any woman, any "proper woman". That was, shocking. How casual it seemed. No one cared when thr police said it's just prostitutes.

@HearMeSnore
had exactly the same conversation with my DH! It was like seeing a light bulb switch on!

Christa Ackroyd is fantastic.

I watch this. I was born in 1980 and this is the second documenty I have recently seen on peter sutcliffe and I though it brought home the sheer terror. I saw Richard McCann in both and he is an inspiration.

Christa ackroyd I grew up with reading the news and she was so articulate and insightful.

It was a hard watch. But it prompted a worthwhile discussion with DH.

He was puzzled over what's wrong with telling women not to go out alone when there's a psychopath on the loose.

I explained. I said, why should women have to modify their behaviour because of male behaviour? It was a man doing it, so why punish women? Why not lock down all the men? Make them all go home before dark, or only let them out with their wives or mothers?

I saw the light come on. He got it.

This reminded me of what Ludovic Kennedy said about how the police become fixated on one version of a crime or one individual and they decide to stick to it no matter what. Why do they do this? They had testimony from 2 surviving victims that the attacker had a Yorkshire accent but continued blindly blundering down the path of the Geordie suspect who sent tapes and letters.

I watched the show as well. It was harrowing.

The attitudes towards the women were awful but it was of it's time. It wasn't just the police and the press but the public as well. The public didn't care too much when it was just prostitutes who were targeted.

I binged it yesterday, probably not the best idea, I didn't get much sleep. I thought it was really well made in that it focused on the women and their humanity and the impact the violence had on women not just across the North of England but all over the UK. PS was only really discussed in the final episode (he would have hated that).

I read The Five by Hallie Rubenhold earlier this year and there were so many parallels, not just the nickname of the killer and the brutality of the murders but also the way the women were portrayed at the time and how history has written them off as a one dimensional side story to their own demise.

Not much different from the way the Grooming gang victims were treated.

It's just awful the way they spoke about the women. I hated watching them interview prostitutes at the time saying "what the hell are you playing at, aren't you scared?" As if they thought those poor women would be putting themselves in such a vulnerable position if they had any other choice!

Tonight I learned that a lot of disadvantaged women who exchange sex for money because they are desperate define themselves as 'survivalist sex workers' which is sad and very telling and I definitely have a new found understanding and compassion for the women that self id that way.

I imagine 'prostitutes' were probably ok with 'prostitute' until it became a slur used to alienate, dehumanise and excuse violent behaviour against them by men. I have definitely only ever heard "prozzy" used to slander women, never the men who solicit them and its undeniable the term has connotations of wickedness the likes of which men like Sutcliffe, Gary Ridgway, Joel Rifkin have preyed on and used to feel vindicated. It's ironic that those men are actually the wicked ones. Fuck those misogynist weak dysfunctional tiny little bullying turd faced pathetic men.

Christa Ackroyd pulls no punches.

I love her.

As someone in the US who just knew the vague outline of this case, I was riveted. Really appreciate the focus on the misogyny that infused the investigation and the press coverage. And, on a totally unrelated note, damn, some of those neighborhoods were grim.

I am in the middle of the first part of this documentary and just had to back track to see if I heard something correctly! After the first few murders were stated as prostitute killings, the next one was not a prostitute. Her mother is clearly heard saying "unlike the others she was just an innocent victim" - EH!? So the first 3 slaughtered women were not innocent victims because they sold sex? Wow just wow!!!

It's horrifying.

Incidentally, because this is on now it reminded my mum of a story from when she first moved in with dad. He was taken in for questioning because he matched the Yorkshire Ripper's description to a tee. Apparently he was questioned quite thoroughly and it took a long time for him to be allowed to come back home. Alibis checked out at least. Mum said it did make her give him the side eye for a bit, after all, they had just set up home together.

Turns out he just cheated, backhanded and beat his women. Murder was a step too far.

I’m 2 episodes in.
I’m in my 30’s and the way the university women described feelings of fear at the time is similar to how I felt as a teenager.

It is very sad things haven’t changed much

I was a little girl in the '70s, nowhere near Leeds. But I was terrified of the YR and remember a boy telling me he murdered girls to scare me. It worked.

I shall watch the documentary. Those poor women.

I’ve watched it and it was awful how lots of people went on TV basically saying ‘look, we get why you hate prostitutes but you need to stop killing innocent girls’. There was even some guy who said something like ‘you’re risking the public having sympathy for prostitutes now because you’ve killed so many’. Absolutely sickening and such incompetence by the police over the hoax tapes. Bumbling idiots.

That’s said, things have changed massively since the 1970s and I’m sure someone who was around during that time would find the suggestion offensive that things are just the same. They really aren’t. That’s not to say they can’t be improved though.

Finished the series last night. I was shouting at the TV - the male officers, particularly Oldfield and that tape, their attitudes were what I have found typical of men in authority ie “it’s all about me and my brilliant idea and now I’ve stuck my stake in the ground I’m going to go with it despite evidence to the contrary”
I saw no humility or recognition that their relentless pursuit of the tape and dismissal of other lines of enquiry was hugely negligent. The women who died, and women in general, were just concepts to them. Not real people

I am sure his mother Wilma must be so proud of him.

Oh yes very much so. What a credit to her, and the city of Leeds, he is

I may just write to him I meant to say.

Richard McCann is an inspiration - I just write to him. A chance meeting did change my life. He was so gracious and honest.

I just felt a great deal of gratitude for meeting him.

His ted talk is well worth a listen to.

I am sure his mother Wilma must be so proud of him.