Sexism on CBBC

[sunshineandbooks]

I supervise my DC's TV viewing quite carefully because I worry about media portrayal of women and the way in which society is presented in general. I hate advertising so we tend to stick to CBeebies/CBBC/laptop. I turned on CBBC this morning, thinking state-subsidised broadcaster, high ethical standards, etc. So imagine my horror when their Young Dracula programme was introduced with the presenter promising "not to scream like a girl"

Have just emailed a complaint.

I was shocked to shit the other day when my2.8 yr old DD turned over a page in a toy catalogue which had 'boys toys' on it saying " no for girls" and flicking pages until the 'pink stuff' came up.Where did she get this crap from? Certainly not me.

There will always be customers wanting pink versions of different toys.I overheard a woman complaining that a drum she wanted only came in blue.She thought it was sexist that there wasn't a pink version.

I was this close to amending the signs in the toy aisle at Tesco earlier today that were clearly marked "Boys Toys" and "Girls Toys." There was a small section that wasn't designated. I'm surprised they didn't put up a sign saying, "Gender Confused Toys" or similar. Grrrrrrrrr.

do girls have higher pitched voices than boys before puberty hits???

i actually wasn't too bothered by the original remark although i supported you in writing to complain as i think on a taxpayer-funded channel aimed at kids they should be more careful about casual sexism but this comment "made in a self-deprecating fashion by the announcer" makes me think WTF??? so a man is making himself seem like less of a person if he comes across like a girl??? wow - what an altogether fab apology...

sunshine, I agree. When I was little, I didn't have anything pink, my favourite colour was blue and my prettiest party dress was green. So if it's all natural because our ancestors were picking pink berries, how come it is only manifesting itself in this generation?

Hazel - that study was bollocks before they'd even started. If they'd bothered to do the tiniest bit of desk research first they would have seen 'pink is for girls' is not actually true across time. Pink used to be for boys, and blue for girls - certainly as late as the Edwardians. (Pink was seen as a pale red and red as 'active' while blue was 'passive'.) Or they could have gone and looked at some berries and noticed that there aren't actually many edible berries that are pink.

And I imagine there are societies that don't do pink/blue division at all, anyway. It's culturally determined and very recent.

Blue was traditionally a girl's colour as the Madonna was generally depicted wearing blue, and it was seen to denote modesty and chastity. Have just looked back in my Mum's photo album and my 70's party dresses were blue, yellow and purple.

DD, 2 yrs, doesn't wear dresses as they are so impractical for climbing, swinging, sliding and all the other things she loves (I don't wear them either..).

We don't watch much TV other than nightgarden on Ceebies, but if you want to talk about sexism you should try sitting through the ads on 5! During a particularly fraught early morning the other weekend I turned onto 5 and was . I hadn't realised they did ad's directed at children - I'm a bit out of touch I guess - the hideous Lelli Kelli (? spelling) advert for girls shoes complete with free 'make-up' came on and I turned off . The programmes might be great but there is no way we're going to sit through that s**t to watch them!

Good on you for writing the original complaint. Like others, I am much more offended by the non-apology than by the blatant sexism of the commentator.

Agree that: "this comment "made in a self-deprecating fashion by the announcer" makes me think WTF??? so a man is making himself seem like less of a person if he comes across like a girl??? "

I don't think that pre-pubescent girls have naturally higher voices than pre-pubescent boys. Imagine him promising not to squeal like a boy! Or not to squeal like an American (I think they tend to have less husky voices).

That response from the BBC is contemptible. Does anyone know how the complaint can be escalated effectively?

Thank you for the Miss Representation link, great stuff have bookmarked to show dd later. (hope the nay-sayers took time out to watch it too)

Total Overreaction.

Many times men and boys are reffered to on Childrens TV in a negative light.

Look at all the villains on childrens TV All men!

Alison, are you just making the rounds trying to stir the poo on the FWR boards tonight?

I don't think all the villains on children's TV are all men. I'm seeing alot of witches (female) at the moment. Disney does a nice line in female villains from wicked step mothers to Cruella deVille.

Interesting tangent about typecast villains. In most American films and TV programmes, they cast a British actor as a villain!

Um Rod - if you are being serious and not taking the P - then CITV is not anything to do with the BBC it is a commercial channel part of ITV obviously and therefore not funded by the BBC or anything to do with CBBC..

You're complaining because a woman has boobs? That aren't disguised? Because that would be inappropriate for children to see?

What?

whats wrong with breasts?

But she wouldn't have her breasts out reading the news, would she? I'm not offended by breasts, I'm offended by the sexualisation of them, if the news reader has to feed her baby on demand thats fine with me. Thats what they are for. Breasts are just another body part, no more than the arm or the foot.

The BBC wouldn't apologise for a normal woman showing normal body shape in normal clothes.
On another channel.

Shocker.

Are you for real, Rodwina?

Actually I think Rodwina does have a point, she wears skimpier clothing than her male co-presenter. There are 'down-blouse' videos of her on the programme on youtube posted by someone called WhiteAngloSaxonPerv (apt name).
But it is ITV and nothing to do with cbbc.
You could argue that she has been needlessly sexualised by the guy who uploaded the vids, but I'm sure there was some 'something for the dads' thinking going on behind the scenes. (cynic that I am)
I think it happens quite a lot, the male presenters get to wear t-shirt and hoodies while the female presenters have far more skin on display and are far more glammed up. Fine if that's their choice but I don't think they get to decide what they wear, or do they?

What do you expect to achieve? You'll be deleted in the morning. Why waste your time?