Thread:User talk:WaitingforGodot/Thoughts/reply (13)

Like everything in the universe, I don't think there is one single answer to actually put on the table, as it were. Legislative measures like quotas, well, they're a bit like those woo products offering you a quick and easy fix aren't they!

But however it's formalised, I think the main thrust of what I believe is that we need to expand our thinking a bit. What are these isms, anyway? Racism, sexism, religious intolerance-ism, etc. Take the original article above that mentioned complaints about "lads mags" being sexist. True, they are. But how many people are willing to admit that magazines aimed at women are just as bad? Read Cosmo and Glamour, they're definitely far worse because they're more pervasive and they pretend that they aren't sexist. FHM and Maxim are pretty upfront and honest about what they are, at least; whereas your women's magazines tell you what to wear, what to weigh, what to think, what to eat, who to like, and then constantly flood it with aspirational crap that's more likely to tell you "you're inferior" than "yeah, you're great!!". I find that to be a lot more damaging to the self-confidence of readers than any number of FHM shoots. That's but one particular example (I could say the same thing about men's magazines and how they reinforce negative messages too, mainly on the subject of why football is more important than anything else conceivable in the world). The point is from where I'm coming from is to recognise it. Racism isn't just white people picking on black people. Sexism isn't just beastly men against poor defenceless women.

As corny as it sounds, we need to forget about differences and look at what unites people and start focusing on that. Literally, stop being negative, stop excluding. Start being positive, start including. That would be my plan, because I really believe the more we keep sending the message "hey, it's difficult out there for women" the less we'll inspire people to do it. I suppose that's my personal manifesto and take on the subject, not sure if it's the most practically orientated answer, though. It's an ingrained attitude problem, really, and I don't think even enforcing it will get rid of it, hence the need to frame things positively and inclusively.