Letter from the Times:
No silly women in sitcoms!
And what on earth is the opposite of this hilarious period joke?
Sir, While enjoying the irony of a sexist campaign against sexism (“It’s time to challenge casual sexism”, times2, Sept 28), it does raise a serious point. Contempt for women because they are women is rightly deprecated and we call it misogyny. The male equivalent, misandry, is a word never heard, presumably because society has no need of it. Is that because misandry is acceptable and unremarkable and in no need of being either highlighted or condemned?
Sexism, the application of double standards and disparaging stereotyping, applies to men, too. It can be found everywhere, from the attitude of the courts in relation to divorce and the role of fathers in the welfare of their children, to the depiction of men as hapless buffoons, such as Frank Spencer and Mr Bean, for whom there are no female equivalents. A widely available cartoon of a woman saying to her husband “I’m having my period, so I can legally kill you” is simply seen as funny, but if one could reverse the sexes many women would find it offensive.
The sexism described is deplorable but how best to deal with it should be part of a wider debate that includes society’s attitude towards men.
Julian Field
London EC4
Sexism, the application of double standards and disparaging stereotyping, applies to men, too. It can be found everywhere, from the attitude of the courts in relation to divorce and the role of fathers in the welfare of their children, to the depiction of men as hapless buffoons, such as Frank Spencer and Mr Bean, for whom there are no female equivalents. A widely available cartoon of a woman saying to her husband “I’m having my period, so I can legally kill you” is simply seen as funny, but if one could reverse the sexes many women would find it offensive.
The sexism described is deplorable but how best to deal with it should be part of a wider debate that includes society’s attitude towards men.
Julian Field
London EC4
And what on earth is the opposite of this hilarious period joke?
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