Should We All Now Cease To Use The 'g' Word, Because It Is Deemed Sexist And Could Cause Offence, According To The Bbc?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/10854915/BBC-in-censorship-row-after-the-word-girl-is-cut-from-documentary.html

/// A BBC spokeswoman said the unedited version of the documentary was broadcast soon after being filmed because the baton's tour was treated as a news event. ///

/// She added: “They had more time to edit it the second time. Mark didn't mean to cause offence. But the word 'girl' was taken out just in case it did.” ///

[pastafreak]

Oh good grief...what next? I've always thought of 'girl' as denoting not just gender,but also age. It may have been offensive if his opponent was much older,but a young woman under...let's say 21... is often referred to as a girl. And if it didn't bother her,than why create controversy where there is none?

[ChillDoubt]

In that case, I trust that in future whenever any footballer, manager, rugby player or cricketer makes reference to 'the boys back in the dressing room' etc that they will be automatically censured.

Utterly pathetic.

[muddlebrain]

This country is going mad,or is it offensive to say that?.To be honest I dont care

[anotheoldgit]

pastafreak

Disagree with your "It may have been offensive if his opponent was much older,but a young woman under...let's say 21... is often referred to as a girl". comment.

Most women of any age still refer to themselves as 'girls', and surely it can only be classed as a compliment and not the least patronising for a man to call an older woman, a girl?

Except of course if one does not place the word 'old' in front of the word
'girl'. :0)

[aelmpvw]

i'm sure if he had used the term woman, lady, miss, mrs, ms or lassie someone somewhere would have been upset

[lady-janine]

i'd love to be called a girl.

[pastafreak]

Actually,when a man calls someone of my age a girl,I see it as sounding a bit condescending. Also...women calling themselves girls is not the same....to me anyway.

[lady-janine]

granddad called every woman a girl and did not mean offence. just his dialect.

[2sp_]

I'd rather be called a girl than a lady. I feel a lady is a woman who doesn't work, have an opinion, support herself or contribute to society in any way other than being a bit of fluff.

Girl is fine by me. Locally we use lassie instead, and men are usually called boys no matter how old.

[royfromaus]

Well I'm off out right now with the lads. (eldest 'lad' is 66)

[lady-janine]

avisitor to one of my neighbours is always called











































2the boy































a visitor to one of my neighbours is always called the boy. he must be in his 70s.



2'

[baza]

My fil has a "girl" friend, he is 79 and she is 65, anyway if we do away with "girls" what will that french bloke sing if he cannot sing about thanking heaven for them?

[New Judge]

"why create controversy where there is none?"

Because the BBC has a special department just for that purpose.

The Department of Creating Controversy Where There Is None (DCCWTIS) is headed by a Managing Director (salary £285k) three deputy managing directors (£255k each) eight heads of section (£200k) sixteen deputy heads of section (£185k) forty-eight assistant heads of section (£150k) and Mrs Sheila Coggins who makes the tea and does a bit of typing (£7.50 an hour).

These 77 people are housed in a suite of offices in "Media City" Salford. The twelve most senior people in the department actually live in London (having been allowed to remain there for "operational reasons" when the BBC decamped from the capital. They each have a housing and travel allowance of £58k per annum). Between them they scour the Corporation's output for instances just like this. Input from the assistant heads of section is funnelled up through the management chain to the Managing Director who makes the final decision on whether to issue inane notices of apology or order editing or censorship of "sensitive" material to take place. Her decision (the Managing Director post is only open to women to avoid offending female applicants if they are rejected) is then fed back down the chain and Mrs Coggins types up the necessary e-mails, directives and press releases.

When asked to comment on their latest decision a BBS spokesperson (£158k p.a.) said "we do not comment on security issues".

The BBC announced last week that, in an attempt to remain within their £3bn annual budget, BBC3 and BBC4 are being closed down from 1st July. BBC2 will broadcast from 7pm to 11pm Monday to Friday and will show "Gardeners' World (May to August) and repeats only.

[lady-janine]

don't know what happened there. sorry.

[sp1814]

No.

[EcclesCake]

LoL @ New Judge. Are you a script writer for W1A in your spare time?

[Everhelpful]

New Judge says it all really,brilliant piece of writing and I wouldn't put past it being true.!!

[sandyRoe]

But if we stopped using the 'G' word what would happen to phrases such as( and I hope you'll pardon my language here) 'Big Girls blouse'?

[anotheoldgit]

Or the Sun's 'page three girls'?

[sandyRoe]

Their days are numbered once Labour get back into office.