Chris Evans on 'Girls' Olympic Football

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I listen to his show briefly on my drive to work. This morning he was interviewing a member of the GB Women's football team who are progressing in the Olympics.

He started to talk about 'girls' football.
"Women's football" the player corrected him.
To paraphrase his reply to his clumsy error 'ladies, girls, women's, female whatever, it doesn't really matter'
"It's women's football" she reiterated.

I cheered the player and was thankfully spared from listening to the rest of it (oh cringe) by arriving at work.

FFS Chris get with it - when have you EVER spoken of 'boys' football!!!!

He's a major broadcaster on the BBC and he should know better. I hope he learnt something this morning.

To be pulled up on it and still argue he's right shows his real attitude. Howvere I think we are about to be told we're humourless harpies. I have an argument with a colleague regularly (good humoured) as to whether 15-17 females should be referred to as girls or young women.

Good grief what an enormous tosser! I have heard a lot of arsey 'women's football! Never heard of any of them!' comments on the radio over the last week. Standing ovation for the player for pulling him up on it. Twice

Ha! Good on her for correcting him, sorry, but what a ridiculous fool.

Nice to know he really thinks we're all 'female whatevers', eh?

I've always quite liked him, but perhaps this does show his true character.
Or perhaps (like me) he's just had a really full on weekend and is a little worse for wear. I thought he would have been embarrassed after the first gaffe, so my jaw totally dropped at his pitiful attempt to recover wee rant.

The player stayed steady though and I just imagined him shrinking slightly (and feeling foolish) under her steady, calm and purposeful poise.

Yes, that's what I mean. Slip of the tongue is one thing, and if he'd just said "of course, women's" it would be a non-issue

Yep, when you say something offensive/insensitive/inaccurate, etc. and that's pointed out but you refuse to take it on board, that's not acceptable. That's exercising privilege. Bad form Chris Evans.

I know there are adult women who don't mind being called "girls." There are some who don't like it, but can't be arsed to point it out all the time. There are those who are not happy with the use and wouldn't use it to refer to other women. The point is that when referring to females as "girls" while referring to males of the same age as "men," you are automatically signalling that you view females to have less status and worth than males.

As for age, I tend to say "girls" up to about 11 (primary school age) and "young women" after that. If a younger female wanted to refer to herself as a young woman as well, I'd respect that. I also accept that those 11 plus are often called girls and may see themselves as girls, and that's okay as well, but unless they felt offended by "young women," I'd still tend to call them that. In my experience, they quite like the term because it shows that you respect and value them as people.

Guessing he thinks it's pc gorn mad

Yes kritiq, and in our line of work we're often talking about them in terms of getting pregnant - so imo we should be doing everytthing possible to empower them, even if it's just through the terminology we use. In my colleague's defence, males of that age would be boys.

Oh & he currently broadcasts from Olympic Park. You would have thought how to address the sport of one of the two genders would be pretty basic knowledge for such a broadcaster covering the Olympics.

As to whether women of a certain age can be called women or girls or whatever I think that is irrelevant, certainly WRT sport/Olympics. They don't talk of "boys" diving, gymnastics, swimming or whatever - always mens. So what is the issue with using 'womens?

There's a difference between being ok with someone calling you a 'girl' in private communications - my dad still calls my mum 'girl' and she is turning 60 this year - and someone doing it in a professional context. IMO.

What a wanker, but he does have form on this.

"The point is that when referring to females as "girls" while referring to males of the same age as "men," you are automatically signalling that you view females to have less status and worth than males."
I have no issue with 'girls' at all in general - but KRITIQ hit the nail on the head (again) as to why this is not on. It was patronising and dismissive.

DS calls it 'Monkey Tennis', so Chris Evans polite in comparison.

I catch myself using "girl" very often in reference to women and I don't know why I actually correct myself whenever I do it. I'm on a training course and it's usually when I'm speaking about one of my fellow trainees. Hmm, possibly says something about my sense of a lack of power. Have felt very infantilised on at times on the training.

Can't believe Chris Evans didn't just correct himself.

In my experience, they quite like the term because it shows that you respect and value them as people

Why wouldn't it be respecting a 12 year old to call her a girl? That impies there is something wrong with being a girl.

I often call anyone younger than me under 20 a girl or boy

as for the op though, yeah that is a wank stain thing to do.

I'm 33. I still refer to myself as a 'girl'. What's the problem?

Nothing, bagel, but Chris Evans didn't refer to himself.

Surely if he'd accidentally called them, say, the French team and they were British red team, and she'd corrected him, it'd still have come across as daft and rude to ignore her correction. That's aside from any other connotations of 'girl'.

bagel - that's fine if you choose to call yourself a girl but when someone describes women as girls without permission, it's demeaning and belittling. Girl can be a put down, just as 'boy' was in Apartheid South Africa addressed to a grown man who happened to be black.

I don't see the difference. Girl/woman/lady. I'm sure he doesn't either.

But it's not about what he sees.

She corrected him, he should have accepted it, she knows their team name, and he doesn't. Simple.

GIRLS football
MEN'S football

Don't you see the difference bagel?

And regardless of that the footballer corrected him with WOMENS football and his response was 'whatever'.

I wonder if he calls his wife a girl golfer?

Girls/women/ladies men/boys whatever. Who cares?

One of the female TV presenters talked about 'boys swimming' today as it made me prick up my ears. I was like "HA"! So rarely do you hear it the other way around.

grown ups tend to bagels