I'm either becoming a raging, permanently angry feminist in my middle age, or I'm justifiably miffed. I need to be told whether I need to get a grip or send the email I'm thinking of writing.
I love musicals and on Monday night I went to see a performance of the Sound of Music at my partners kids school. The school is known as a predominantly middle-class, well off families, very disciplined, very Christian sort of school. So I wasnt surprised when the performance was very swish, polished, and the kids were confident and sparkling. I was impressed.
In the first half two of the von trapps servants are engaging in a bit of banter about being in the navy. The pretty female housekeeper says something like 'i wouldn't know, I've never been in the navy', the male butler replies 'thats a shame, youd have made a fortune" with a sly wink at the audience. I cant think of what this could refer to apart from prostitution?! It just seemed so wrong to be said by a young boy, to a girl, in front of an audience of children and parents. They couldve left it out. I'm not a prude but I don't see whats funny about a joke referring to the objectification and exploitation of women.
When I mentioned it to my partner he brushed it off with 'it was a joke only the adults would get, its harmless'.
The older I get the more bothered I am about the normalisation of shit like this.