Learning Gender Roles Via The BBC

The BBC have recently been accused of sexism with their remake of children’s classic Topsy and Tim.

It was claimed by parents that the BBC misinterpreted the original children stories, and chose instead to reinforce traditional gender stereotypes, which were being aimed at very young children. The charecter Tospy is a little girl who is seen baking princess cakes with her Mum, while her Brother Tim is informed baking is not for him. As a boy he can play outside on his bike or help his Dad with “mans work”.

I wondered, as I have on many occasions before, how do we learn our ‘gender roles’? Is it nature or nurture, and how can we be sure?

Thinking of my own childhood, I recall never being compelled by my parents to be particularly ‘girlie’, and naturally I wasn’t this way either. I was always encouraged to just be me, and perhaps by being a headstrong child who knew what I liked, pressures to be ‘girlie’ (if they existed), never affected me. I therefore feel surprised that in the 21st century children are still being encouraged to mimic, and reflect, what their own parents deem to be acceptable gender specific stereotypes. It just seems almost self defeating and rather odd.

Why would any parent force their child to be anything, and ruin their own child’s ability to blossom and develop naturally, free of preconceived ideals laid down throughout the eons?!

What is so terrible about girls playing with cars and bikes, and boys playing with kitchens and dolls? Surely having diverse skills and interests make for more rounded and capable future adults?

I know if I had children, I would indeed encourage them to be them; who else can they be after all!

Don’t get me wrong, their is nothing wrong with traditional gender roles, if those people performing those roles are happy enough to do so. Yet, there is nothing wrong with mixing it up either!

Living in Madrid I see many more examples of the conventional family unit than I do in the UK. The wife cooks, cleans, takes care of the house and kids, while the man works, is head of the household, applies the discipline and often the education of the kids. This is almost expected and seen as the social norm.

Now my household has never been quite like this, to the surprise of the people I meet in Spain. People are shocked that I am interested in politics, and also that my degree, career and writing all have a political grounding. I have actually been told how unusual it is for a girl! Obviously they haven’t heard of Emily Pankhurst, Simone de Beauvoir, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher, Naomi Wolf and Hilary Clinton; what about Eva Perón?

For me, applying any expectations upon a person, especially at a young and impressionable age, just becomes a simple case of the self fulfilling prophecy. You get what you expect. Women and men then become merely caricatures of their gender, nothing more than that! How can we then argue they are naturally as they should be?

Have women actually been able or allowed to genuinely break through that “glass ceiling”? Not if the 21st centuries depiction of gender is the reference point; a woman’s place is still at home, while the man still belongs to the world. This has to be true, the BBC even think so!

To be serious, in recent years it has been a giant step backwards for men and women alike. Adverts, marketing, media and society in general have peddled the over sexualisation of the younger generation. This has drip fed a generation with gender specific notions of beauty, relationships, sex and availability, youth, frivolousness, self obsession, celebrity culture, diets, gossip, fashion and materialism.

So, maybe reverting to the stereotypical gender roles is only the natural step forward from this re-education?

For me I feel it is difficult to distinguish, and therefore state concretely, how much of nature actually plays a part in a child’s socialisation, self perception and development. Especially with all the dross floating around their environment.

Think about how difficult it is for us as adults to really separate ourselves, and our choices from all the expectations applied upon us, what we have seen, learnt, experienced and absorbed into our psyche?

If it is so difficult for us as adults, the question then remains; how can a child?

Nature v’s nurture, for me there is no real contest to contest!

Get It Right, It Is NHS Bribery.

REALLY?! What a contradiction the constitution peddles.

Another NHS scandal hit the news recently, this time at a Mid Staffordshire hospital; it was reported that 1,200 patients died as a cause of neglect in care.

For me this report of the negligence the NHS are responsible for is a tip of an iceberg.

This recent confirmation of patient deaths is shocking and deplorable, but what makes the whole sordid business worse by miles, is the fact that the families of these unlawfully killed, were silenced by the NHS for so long.

These families claims were ignored, although they were known to be true by the hospital in question. These families have been battling for too long a time to bring all of this disgusting mess out into the light for everyone to know about. These families have had no recompense, no apology and no explanation – that is the most disgusting thing about all of this.

This lack of responsibility, lack of consequence that the NHS has, an immunity almost, IS SINISTER. They do as they see fit, and patients and their families have to to just put up and accept this nonsense which the NHS insist in calling ‘care’.

In fact it has been discovered that 105 NHS Foundation Trusts in 2010/11 actually spent a total £2.5 million on gagging clauses. Prohibiting the staff from speaking out, ‘whistle blowing’,  upon the villainous conduct going unpunished in the hospitals. This is not to mention the actual number of gagging clauses in place in the above Mid Staffordshire hospital which total a staggering £14.7 million!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember this is tax payers money!!!!!

Imagine the staff and resources being scrimped upon to keep all these staff members quiet????!!!!

In reality then, these aren’t gagging clauses, THEY ARE BRIBERY !!! Lets call it as we see it please, bribery, plain and simple! Stop beating around the bush and admit it – you are a bunch of cheating, lying , murdering thieves – criminals! All being hidden nicely behind the curtain of immunity that the NHS provides you!!

DISGUSTING!

Read below link for more info:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9887260/NHS-spent-15m-gagging-whistleblowers.html

One Smack Won’t Hurt

Image from The Guardian newspaper

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9846270/So-smacking-kids-is-wrong-and-doping-them-is-right.html

This post is a quick response to the above article featured in The Telegraph newspaper.

 

It led me to wondering what people’s actual opinions are about smacking children when they are naughty.

Isn’t there a difference in beating a child senseless and a light tap on the hand or bottom???

Does smacking a child always mean they will be physiologically disturbed when they grow up???

Or do they become violent adults????

Is it possible to fully reason with a 5 year old?? Explaining to them that their behaviour is wrong, and asking them why they engaged in such behaviour????

Is it the states responsibility to intervene, and create laws forbidding parents to discipline their children as they see fit????

Has this all gone too far – admit you smack your child and face the wrath of Hell????

After all – extreme cases of abuse and diabolical stories of children suffering go unnoticed by the powers that be. They don’t intervene , they don’t arrest anyone, they don’t remove the child, they don’t work to change the child’s environment. So, why are they so concerned with one tiny tap on the hand???

Are the powers that be only interested in the ‘easy’ targets???? Accusing parents who genuinely care for and love their children of abuse, when really it isn’t?????????

Another thought; has a decline in smacking correlated with the decline in society????????????????

OPINIONS PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!