There’s a long way to go
Football has a long way to go to rid itself of the image of sexism - an image which is probably deserved in a lot of ways. Sky has a long way to go before we can think of it as an enlightened employer, too, though the treatment of Gray and Keys might be something of a nudge in the right direction. But there is a long way to go. From the Soccerettes webpage at Soccer AM:
That kind of thing just strikes me as being a bit creepy - photos of someone's legs in the Soccerettes gallery. The lipstick kiss and the silhouette. Oh, I don't know. I don't know whether this is all postfeminist irony or not - I suspect it isn't - but probably someone somewhere will dismiss any handwringing on my part as the usual oversensitivity to wimmin's issues; and whataboutthemen, eh?; and it's all just a bit of fun, and no-one puts a gun to anyone's head and makes them be a Soccerette, or anything. I know, I know. All of that, and more. And yet, I still find it a bit outdated, a bit cheesy, a bit unnecessary.
Football has managed to pretty much make racism completely unacceptable - look back at the treatment of Paul Canoville, called a nigger and a golliwog by fans of his own team less than 20 years ago, and it's still pretty shocking - but it took a long time, and there are still dinosaurs about. Perhaps the events of this week signal a shift in attitudes within the sport as well as outside; perhaps it's more than just the spectral PC Brigade who are deciding that some attitudes aren't acceptable any more.
But there's a long way to go.
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January 26th, 2011 - 15:20
“What about the seals”, mate, the phrase is “What about the seals”.
January 26th, 2011 - 22:03
its not funny though, taking the piss every time someone points out how gender isnt just about women’s oppression. so ‘what about the seals’ falls flat.
January 26th, 2011 - 15:49
Sex sells – it was ever thus, the profile of people who like football tend to be male and younger males at that. Paying a woman less than a man for the same job is sexism but is me sat around with my mates in the pub (having a private conversation) commenting on the attractiveness of a female in the vicinity sexism or being generally vulgar about the fairer sex, is that sexism??
January 26th, 2011 - 16:49
I’m sure there’s a point here, struggling to find it though
January 26th, 2011 - 16:53
Keep struggling then.
January 26th, 2011 - 17:29
*confused* I’m replying to Tony’s comment and not your post
January 26th, 2011 - 17:49
Ah I think you hadn’t clicked reply, it was just posted as a comment on the original blogpost. Makes things easier if you do a reply then they’re all threaded under the story.
January 26th, 2011 - 17:40
Thing is Andy Gray lost his job for his inappropriate behaviour in the Workplace not for a private conversation in a pub. Plus it seems as though he has a long history of this sort of thing.
January 26th, 2011 - 17:55
Automatic rifles sell too, but it doesn’t mean that they ought to be advertised on websites.
Also, sexism isn’t an on/off thing. Paying one gender less than another for the same job is more sexist than builders shouting “Get ‘em out!”, which is more sexist than making mother-in-law jokes, which is more sexist than a woman going “Urgh! Bloody men!” after a builder just shouted “Get ‘em out!” at her on the way home. Different levels are appropriate for different audiences and a private conversation with mates in the pub has different criteria for what’s okay than a celebrity who’s being watched by millions speaking in his official capacity as a sports commentator.
January 27th, 2011 - 00:30
“is me sat around with my mates in the pub (having a private conversation) commenting on the attractiveness of a female in the vicinity sexism or being generally vulgar about the fairer sex, is that sexism??”
yes, it is.
this isn’t like the tree falling in an empty wood, if you say sexist things in private, they’re still sexist.
January 27th, 2011 - 10:40
Is it just me, or does anyone else hear alarm bells ringing when they hear terms like ‘the fairer sex’?
January 26th, 2011 - 19:32
Soccer AM is a huge pile of steaming turd. It gave Tim fucking Lovejoy a career and for that it should never be forgiven. Ever.
January 26th, 2011 - 22:04
my question is what about homophobia? sexism and homophobia are often inextricably linked and can’t be tackled in isolation. Football has no out gay footballers probably with good reason.
January 27th, 2011 - 09:10
I don’t really understand why men are feminists or allied with feminism.
I understand why they oppose sexist shit from the likes of Andy Gray but men get such a hard time in many many ways, that it seems odd for men to focus on women’s ‘oppression’ all the time. I bet the Mail has some anti-men articles in it too. A lot of the ways footballers are presented, as lying, cheating, sex mad dogs can be negative.
January 27th, 2011 - 09:57
“I don’t really understand why men are feminists or allied with feminism.”
How about because we believe in the underlying principle of all people being treated equally?
If there was a word for ‘someone-who-believed-that-we-shouldn’t-discriminate-on-the-grounds-of-race’ or ‘…-sexuality’, even if it identified with those who were currently bearing the greater discrimination (i.e. not the white straight man that I am), I’d probably describe myself as that as well.
I’m not a big fan of the radical all men are rapists end of feminism, but fortunately I’m a grown up and so understand that there may differing views within a labelled ideology…
January 27th, 2011 - 10:29
Because men have mothers, sisters, wives and daughters. Because feminism isn’t about crushing men and creating superiority. Because some men believe in equality and the current unfairness of the gender situation. Because you don’t have to be the thing you are campaigning for (witness a lot of white support for the civil rights movement). And finally, because to be a feminist is not to focus on women’s oppression all the time – it means to live your life believing in the equality of genders, specifically in equal rights.
February 1st, 2011 - 12:20
“I don’t really understand why men are feminists or allied with feminism.”
In addition to the previous reasons given, patriarchy hurts men too. I don’t want to have to live up to some stupid gender stereotype of “manliness”, which mostly involves pretending to care about stupid sports, drinking way too much, and being a lout in public. None of us are free until all of us are free, so we need to start by freeing the least free.
“A lot of the ways footballers are presented, as lying, cheating, sex mad dogs can be negative.”
Yes, but the thing is, those things are generally true for the individuals concerned, and they’re not normally used to generalise about all men.
February 3rd, 2011 - 12:12
how do you know they are true? Because you read them in the daily mail?
I dont believe patriarchy exists. People pretend it does but it doesn’t.
Who are the ‘least free’ in our society?
That is a question with no right/wrong answers.
January 27th, 2011 - 21:54
We arn’t comparing black footballers getting racist insults hurled at them to the Soccerettes are we?
January 28th, 2011 - 09:57
No.