Covert Sexism
FYI, below is my email to National Radio this morning regarding articles on Sunday morning news broadcasts covering the huge coolstore explosion and fire in Hamilton. I note that the Herald’s article on the web made it clear that all the injured were men and even repeatedly used the term “firemen”, but the Waikato Times failed at any point to indicate that either the injured or dead were men.
In my opinion, men deserve to be recognized and honoured for their martyrdom in many of the roles they provide in our society. Instead, National Radio’s printed web article mentioned only that the Fire Service was ensuring support for the families of the dead and injured “firefighters” (In itself this is excellent, but in the absence of any respect for the firemen‘s dangerous work, this comment merely increased the disrespect shown to those firemen.)
“…My concern is that the news article about injured firefighters did not refer to their male gender. This is part of a general tendency to refer only to “workers” when men are killed or injured, but when a woman is killed, injured or subjected to crime in almost any context her gender will be emphasized.
Men comprise around 100% of all workplace deaths and a large majority of serious workplace accidents, but such facts are rarely acknowledged. Yet National Radio seems keen to publicize every public comment bemoaning the gap between average earnings of men and women (with little analysis of the various reasons behind that gap, and rarely any mention of the high personal price men pay for their slightly higher average earnings). By using gender-nonspecific terms such as “firefighters” when it is men who are injured, National Radio is devaluing men and their contribution to society. This covertly promotes feminist anti-male mythology that has become established in our society.
Hans Laven
Tauranga
For a society to succeed the male is expendable. It is as much something we have to bear as women do having children. It is when we stop recognising this and displace the value of the male that society starts to fall apart. There is an inherent value in a job for a man and a child for a woman and when you mess with that you pay the price.
That doesn’t mean all women should stay at home and have kids and all men should go to work, it does mean as Hans says we should recognise the covert mischief of feminism in the government and the media.
Comment by Bevan Berg — Sun 6th April 2008 @ 12:40 pm
Hey I understand your concern Hans. However I disagree with your comments on men being named as men in situations like this or any situation that we are merely noted as workers.
We are MEN. That is what makes us so amazingly wonderful and strong. We are designed to do heavy and dangerous work. We are strong by biology and mind. (There are many women out there doing dangerous jobs like police officers and Firefighters) We need to STAND UP and be strong and not be afriad to be MEN. We do not need to be lauded in society to know that. Women would not be what they are without us (Nor us without them).
It is about time that MEN of New Zealand (and the world) stood up and said NO that is enough. We need to stand up for ourselves. We need to stop crying that we are not being heard. Women seem to be able to do this well but it just looks silly when men try it. Who do you think has let some of the mad ones do this? WE have.
Admitably The Family Caughts in many countries are stacked against us. The crazy thing is that a lot of the judges are men.
6 Years ago when men were being marginalized I asked my FATHER what to do. I started to believe the hype that the media and the short hairy females were saying. He told me “Be a man! Stand up for your right to be heard and to be who you are”.
There is only one way to do that. Be strong, talk like a man, act like a real man. Don’t let these feminist skin heads tell us we are the bad ones. Show our children how a real man acts. He shows his sons how to be a man by being a man. He shows his daughters how to be a man by Being a man.
So what if men are not mentioned in the media as a man. I remember when the press used to mention if you were Maori if you did something wrong. (I am pretty sure they still do).
If you are a man STAND UP and be one!!!!
Respect Brother
Comment by Andy — Mon 7th April 2008 @ 9:14 pm