Fingernail Friday!

We Have To Call Them On It!

Today I read an article in the Globe and Mail about women and politics. "Re-Paving the Way for Women on the Hill....Again". The article opens with a comment from a rookie MP who said that at her first political panel, the moderator made a comment that the whole panel was 'hot'. The rookie MP said that she suddenly realized that that is how it is on the Hill.

Well, it might be the way it is on the hill NOW, however, if she wants to change that, she should be calling them on it. The host may not have realized how offensive that comment was. He probably thought he was giving them a compliment.

It is akin to a male saying "I'd hit that". I once pointed out to a male who had said that that it was violent and offensive and smacked of rape. He was flabbergasted and said he'd never thought of it that way, thought it was complimentary?!

I understand that if the female MPs spend their time calling out the men on the Hill their stay may be less pleasant. However, they are currently the the ones in the public eye and there are a larger number of them than there has been for quite a while. Therefore they should be making as much noise as possible about simple language that can easily be changed. Language can change behaviour.

The men on the HIll need to learn that the female MPs are not 'hot', they are colleagues. They are not 'girls' they are women. Their appearance is not up for discussion.

It is up to the women to point out the ingrained habits of thought.