SEXISM is the hot topic of the moment with ardent feminists getting the last laugh on Dapper Laughs whose ITV2 show was axed following revelations that he'd told a female audience member that she was "gagging to be raped."
Then comet scientist Matt Taylor is forced to apologise for his shirt depicting busty super-heroines during European Space Agency's coverage of the comet landing. He actually cried as he made his public apology and I, for one, felt sympathy for him. Sorry sisters!
Now, more recently, I've read the 'traumatic' tale of a food blogger who called up a butcher and was told by one of the male employees that she had a sexy voice. She was outraged and caused a mini Twitter storm - more of an autumn bluster in reality.
Now Dapper Laugh's brand of misogynistic comedy is not my cup of tea, although I appreciate he has many fans. What he said to that female member of the audience was beyond wrong and ITV2 did well to axe his show.
The comet scientist's shirt, however, did not offend me because I was too busy concentrating on the historical feat at hand and I don't find pictures of sexy female comic characters threatening in any way. But maybe that's just me.
The food blogger's whinge is plain ridiculous and quite rightly was greeted by a flurry of female keyboard warriors complaining that they didn't get the same treatment from their butcher.
Many women who grew up and worked in the 70s and 80s encountered sexism at its very worst. In my role as a junior reporter I was ogled, flirted with and even groped until I toughened up and learned how to stand up for myself. And I wasn't alone, most of my female colleagues of the time can recount similar stories.
Now, that was a symptom of a mixed-up era and things have improved, but I've also learned a little tolerance in the process. You see, I'm pretty sure the scientist didn't put on his cheeky shirt that morning and say to 'himself' "this'll make the chicks mad", so was it really necessary to overshadow a momentous occasion with hysterical rants about his shirt design?
I'm sticking my neck out here, but I think we girls need to pick our fights before screaming 'sexist'. There are bigger waves to be created for greater effect. We should save our energy for fighting discrimination, abuse, smashing through that elusive glass ceiling and getting pay parity with men.
Shouting "sexist" at every perceived misdemeanour is a little like crying "wolf", in the end nobody listens.
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