The media is so full of the #metoo stories, of brave people who have been abused or affronted by perverse people who don’t grasp the word, ‘no’ and the concept that someone else’s body is not theirs to touch, grope, or even ogle.
The case of the Presidents’ Ball saw me conflicted - yes these women were treated unfairly, but they were told how to dress before they even turned up to Work. Yes it was wrong, and against every fibre of my being, but as someone who has been independent since the age of 18, there’s no way in hell I could stand for that treatment, but then complain afterwards.
Perhaps because I speak as an abuse survivor, that taints my view and fuels my feminism towards activism and not tolerating even the everyday sexism that infects our society - I may not have been the coolest kid at the Xmas doo when I loudly accused the DJ of being sexist for asking men to get a bra off women.
In the case of ‘Grid Girls’ and Darts Ladies losing their jobs because of some new-found political correctness drive - it’s so redundant. These women are losing their jobs because someone at some level feels guilty. Women (and men) who do jobs because they are a bit of eye candy, make that choice. Whether that be as a grid ‘girl’ or a page 3 model.
The choice to do these jobs is their choice. As a feminist and a woman, I find these jobs demeaning to all women. But the fault lays with the society that created these jobs, decades ago. Women losing their jobs in the name of reducing sexism and objectification really bothers me. It shouldn’t be these women losing their jobs, it should be the idiots who thought it was acceptable in the first place who are held accountable.
I salute anyone who has experience, who speaks out for what they believe in and who wants a better world.
Women, do what you want to do. Not because a man forces you to.