Really fucked off and almost crying with feminist rage.

[SolidGoldStockingFilla]

Just been listening to Stewart Lee's mostly quite good programme about Morris dancing. He's got lots on the culture and the history and the importance of it, and how it's fun to do, and all that - but all the way through it's about men doing it. And no acknowledgement whatsoever that there is a vibrant and thriving tradition of women doing it too. The one women's team mentioned are the Belles, who are great and I have no problem with their alternative take on Morris, but I do have a problem with the way the programme presents them as the only women's team and their formation as a hugely radical thing.

And yes IABU to expect most of you to give a flying fuck. Except that it is a really blatant example of how women are ignored.

Another programme that had invisible women, and I hate to say it as I really really love David Attenborough, was the episode in Frozen Planet where they focused on what life is like for the people who live there. It turns out that by 'people', they meant 'men' and although the examples of endurance were fascinating, I was also intrigued to see how the women and children lived in such cold conditions. We will never know, from that programme at least.

Squeakytoy, if that was your point then it was a shit one. First of all, I don't think Adlington has become more known for plugging shoes, simply because I'd never heard of her doing this whereas I knew about her titles. Secondly, it still has fuck all to do with anything. She's done better than Andy Murray and Amir Khan, is what matters here.

Why call it sports personality of the year? It has nothing to do with personality, it's all about achievement. Suspect none of those nominated would be fun to spend an evening in the pub with

And why does anyone care? It's just cheap TV

YANBU.

My parents were both Morris dancers, in separate troupes.

I wouldn't have cried about it though...

Totally with you OP - as you said, it's just an example of the wider issue. Depressing.

@ so I had a few drinks, ok ?

sgb...you have your rant, and have it anywhere you like

I am with you.

the only women's team and their formation as a hugely radical thing

I read this as their fornication. Was thinking it must have been vair impressive shagging

FWIW I agree with your sentiment, although YABU because you made me think of Morris Dancers on the job.

There are vastly most important things to worry about. Jingly bells on people that aren't arsed is way fucking down the list.

As an ex (female) morris dancer in a mixed side I can say that imo you are being a bit U, if only because most women's teams that I saw over the years were boring as hell and I would skip over them too....

That's the nub of it....women don't by and large watch sport, so TV stations by and large don't cater to them.

So, I play a lot of sport. I quite like watching it. But all the UK stations seem only to broadcast men playing sport. Why would I want to watch 3rd rate men kicking a ball around a pitch when I can watch world championship netball players? Oh, right, I can't because the TV programmers consider ti unworthy of coverage. So instead I switch off and go out and kick a ball around a field myself. Much more fun.

Is it any wonder there is such a moral panic about young women being unfit and concerend only with appearances when they don't see people like them on TV or in the papers playing sport? And the women's sport that is covered tends to be those where the participants are wearing as little as possible. Pandering, as always, to the mistaken belief that all TV viewers are male