To tell you all what Alan Titchmarch thinks of 12-15 year old girls who dress 'inappropriately'

[RiffyWammal]

I'm so angry. On his show today in a discussion about sexual harassment and sexism he said something really vile. I will transcribe what he said exactly;

"A lot of 12, 13, 14, 15 year old girls are now walking down the street barely covered. I see crop tops on girls of 12 and skirts up here, in a way now I hate to say that thing which men say 'they are asking for it' but it strikes me that if a girl of 14 walks past a building site in a crop top and short skirt she's probably going to get whistled at and worse."

I'm disgusted as was Laura Bates from Everyday Sexism who stayed remarkably controlled as she countered this. The victim blaming, the implication that girls should jolly well cover up if they don't want to be harrassed, the attitude of 'how else do we expect men to react if they see a girl's legs and belly'? I could hardly believe my ears. The audience applauded him FFS

I think I am going to make a complaint to ITV. I just wanted to bring it to the attention of anyone else who might wish to do the same.

I'm stunned that anyone would report this thread.

I dont think it was the thread as such that was reported but the libellous allegations made about Alan Titmarsh.

Some brilliant (and sad) posts on this thread.

The other point I'd make is that how women look and what they wear is under constant scrutiny. Almost any woman in the public eye is going to be criticised either for being ugly/unfeminine/unattractive/not sexy enough or for being too attractive, too sexual or, in the words of the DM, "flaunting her curves".

I sometimes wonder whether there is a happy medium - is there a woman out there who is neither too unattractive nor too attractive? Who's reached the perfect Goldilocks point at which men will form their view of her based on what she says and does rather than what she looks like?

I think there are 2 very distinct issues, which are often erroneously confused.

One is sexual harassment of women, which as we all know can occur no matter what the woman is wearing.

The second is the sexualisation of our society.

The second does not cause the first, but it does give apologists for sexual harassment an excuse to rely on.

Having said that, I heard an interesting thing on Radio 4 a couple of months ago where they were discussing rape in conflict areas, and there is evidence that where law & order breaks down, societies which had higher overtly sexualisation of women went on to have higher levels of sexual violence towards women. Which makes sense when you think about it, because it is a society which has objectified women as sex objects.

So whilst I think Alan Titchmarsh has been very clumsy in his articulation of the issue, I think it is a valid point to say that very sexualised dressing is inappropriate for children, and the sexualisation of our society isn't a very positive move.

Mmm, I shouldn't have written libellous allegations as I have no idea of the law. Suffice to say that a few posters made some very serious allegations about Alan Titmarsh

What Titchmouse said was depressing and so were Ferrari's comments about calling people 'love' and 'darling' because he couldn't remember their names.

The fat fuck remembered the names of Rupert Murdoch and Kelvin McKenzie and Neil Wallis when he worked at the The Sun. They still let him go.

It's about power. And because of that I'm not even going to bother naming the person who said that being wolf-whistled made her day. Sometimes you have to learn the hard way about what's deserving of respect.

They are fucking despicable arseholes. But what's worse are the women who cheer-lead for them.

There's been a lot of guff recently about how Muslims in the UK should make a stand against Muslims elsewhere who are beheading people and committing other atrocities. Various meejah people have called for Muslims to declare #notinmyname.

How come men like Alan T are never asked to declare #notinmyname about men who sexually harass or otherwise victimise women or girls because we are women or girls? How come no-one ever asks them if they start harassing women and children because those women or children are wearing inappropriate clothes, and if not, whether they are on the side of the men who harass, or the women and girls who are harassed? How comes they are never asked to withdraw their support and validation for men who harass women , to nail their colours to the mast, and get up and say to the abusers out there "Not in my name"?

If he finds builders sexually harassing children so bloody unsurprising, then what does he think men as a group need to do about those builders?

I worked with a woman who used to call other women 'love'.

When I told her that I'd prefer her to call me Limited she insisted it was just a friendly Northern greeting and implied that I was just an uptight Southerner.

I reminded her that she didn't call our boss 'love'.

It's power.

She was trying it on and got called on it.

It's more difficult to call men on it and I agree with whoever said that the test is to call them out.

At once the 'babe, you're so hot' will turn to 'frigid fat dyke'.

I have often wondered about that, Anonny. I think most men don't associate themselves with the men who harass women...you only have to see how often they screech NAMALT to see that. I asked my DH once if he ever felt guilt by association when he read about the revolting things men do to women on a daily basis, and he said the thought hadn't even occurred to him.

daisychain, you're either taking the piss or you're a real piece of work.

What exactly does it mean to 'dress appropriately in public' and who decides?

'women who are naturally beautiful but let themselves down by not having any sense of boundaries between looking attractive and looking tarty'. Let themselves down? Because they dress in a way that you personally don't like or thin is 'tarty'? How dare you?

I've been to 'the Continent' too and I am pretty confident that not 'everyone' 'there' does dress beautifully and smartly, in fact. What a weird generalisation. But I am interested – do you think there is less rape in Spain, or wherever, than in the UK? And what would you conclude if someone who dressed 'smartly' (by your criteria) got raped?

Anyway, this all distracted me somewhat from the actual point, which is the tittishness of Alan T. I'm going to watch his show and then contact ITV. Why do people still get away with saying this kind of stuff?

Why do people still get away with saying this kind of stuff?

Because it's daytime filler TV.

"Ferrari's comments about calling people 'love' and 'darling' because he couldn't remember their names."

Didn't listen to the show but I find this hard to believe. How often does he really refer to that new bloke in accounts (say) as "darling"?

It's daytime filler TV which is reinforcing victim blaming and normalising street harrassment and sexual assault of female children.

Appalling.

Just realised I can't watch the Chelsea flower show coverage any more, alan does that doesn't he. Fukit

The guy knows his shit about gardening tbf to him

I do get the point about love and darling but I also hear women call men this...

also whoever said below I grew up where everyone called each other 'duck' and it still slips out of my mouth very often.... some people dont like it because they dont like it but it doesnt mean I am being condescending or anything its just part of my upbringing - dont think ppl should be judged too harshly if 'duck' was 'love' or 'darling' or w/e

made my point terribly there MUST PROOF READ

sometimes general pet names like love or darling are just part of a culture rather than intended to 'put a woman in there place' as I have never been accused of doing that when calling a person duck..

primarynoodle I'm a Londoner. I don't use them myself but I understand the use of 'love' and 'darling' when it's intended benignly.

And I also understand when it's used to belittle.

That's what that fat fuck Ferrari is doing and he'd never dare do it in a million years to Murdoch, McKenzie or Wolfman.

I can't stand the man myself and think he worded it wrongly, but I agree with him.
It is disgusting how some parents allow their children to dress and if they are wearing make up how the hell are builders supposed to know how old they are from a distance.
I have caught myself having to look twice at a group of girls and work out if they are school children or over 16 college students.

how the hell are builders supposed to know how old they are from a distance

I larfed until the the tears ran down my legs.

Christ almighty.

So much in that post just now I don't know where to start.

Maybe with "if they are wearing make up how the hell are builders supposed to know how old they are from a distance."

Well maybe builders could refrain from shouting things at women and girls, irrespective of their age, then there's no problem is there.

"I have caught myself having to look twice at a group of girls and work out if they are school children or over 16 college students."
Why on earth does it matter to you what age random groups of passing people are? That is a really peculiar comment.

Plus plus plus loads of other stuff. You know what? RTFT and educate yourself as to why what you have just posted is a load of utter dangerous codswallop.

Having watched Alan Titchmarsh's performance, I have to say that I would not personally consider him to be a remotely appropriate person in the vicinity of my own teenage DD.

I also consider him to have brought that judgement upon himself with his own broadcast words and actions.

That is my opinion and I hope that you will not delete this.

I probably should watch it shouldn't I

Right.