Political Correctness News

Australia's Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) has banned an ad by Fantastic Framing for supposedly perpetuating sexism and violence. The picture framing shop had put a witty sign outside of the shop saying:

We can shoot your wife and frame your mother-in-law. If you want we can hang them too.

A complainant who saw the advertisement outside of the store window whinged it is sexist and violent .

The ASB says while the spot makes reference to female family members it is not sexist, explaining that advertisers are free to depict or make reference to whomever they wish in their advertisements . The board adds that stereotyping mothers-in-law is a common part of cultural narrative in Australia and therefore acceptable.

However the board determines the advertisement does portray violence that is unjustifiable in the context advertised. The board said:

The intended humour has now worn off and the double meaning of the advertisement is not relevant in contemporary society given the high level of community concern with regards to violence towards women.

The majority of the board acknowledged that the advertiser's intent was to inject humour in to the ad but considered that making a joke about using a gun or hanging a person would not be found funny by most members of the community, the board says.

The ad must be modified or discontinued.

New Zealand police have asked New Zealand censors to consider the unpolitically correct advertising slogans painted on rental vans from the company Wicked Campervans.

Chief Censor Andrew Jack said:

I can confirm that we have received a submission in respect of some of the Wicked campervans from the police, and we'll be working through the classification process and testing those publications against the criteria in the Films, Videos, and Publications Act to determine whether or not they need to be age restricted or might be objectionable.

This is the first time a publication, in respect of Wicked Campers, has been submitted to us.

We have to make sure that if something is going to be restricted or banned, you have to try to take into account the fact that people do have a right to freedom of expression, and it is a big deal to ban or restrict something.

Jack said the censorship process would take about a month.

Associate Minister of Tourism Paula Bennett told Morning Report she would not rule out legislating against the company, but would rather the Chief Censor dealt with the problem. She whinged:

I'm pretty determined to find an avenue to close these slogans down.

Hundreds of people have called on Ashfield District Council in Nottinghamshire to lift its ban on the comedian Roy Chubby Brown appearing at one of its venues.

The council cancelled the show claiming that the comedian's material was not appropriate . It said in a statement it did not feel the booking was:

Appropriate for a council venue and not one that it wished to be associated with.

Ricky-Lee Cooke, who started a petition to overturn the decision, said people had the right to make their own choice. Roy Chubby Brown was due to appear at Festival Hall, in Kirkby, in October. Cooke, whose petition has 465 signatures, said:

I'm a big believer in freedom of speech... I do believe it's censorship. It's for the people to decide, no one is forcing [them] to go. They know what the show is like.

I do think [the material] is appropriate and I don't think the council should be making decisions like this.

Steven Lloyd, the comedian's manager, said:

We do shows for the fans, not for the council. This is purely a vendetta against Roy as they have not banned other comics from the venue.

They booked the show last November and it took them [until] now to cancel it because they didn't want 'his type'.

Update: Censored in Egremont, Cumbria

17th March 2016. See  article from newsandstar.co.uk

Comedian Roy Chubby Brown has been banned from bringing his show to Egremont in Cumbria by censors from the local council. Egremont Town Council decided the comic's October gig was somehow too inappropriate for the Market Hall.

Angry members of the public are already signing an online petition . Over 250 tickets had already been sold for the event - which was for over-18s only - leading Chubby's agent Steven Lloyd to vow never to bring an act to the town. He said:

I'm annoyed. We could have organised other shows for that night. I'll make sure we never play Egremont again. It was 3/4 sold out, we've sold over 250 tickets. I'll be trying to overturn it.

Concerns were raised by the easily offended councillor Sam Pollen. He spouted:

There is an act coming in October and people have asked me if it is appropriate in a family centre... It is adult humour, and it is offensive to many adults too.

The decision to ban Chubby's gig went to a vote. With councillors split 4-4, chairman Michael McVeigh got the final say.

A Labour mayoral candidate has promised to try to ban strip clubs from Bristol. Marvin Rees pledged to rid the city of sexual entertainment venues if he is elected, claiming they could feed into wider inequality.

But strippers took to social media to criticise him for trying to destroy the livelihood of hundreds of women , bandwagon jumping and criminalising women in the industry.

But stripper Esme Worrell branded his ideas as short-sighted and patronising . She said Rees should investigate the clubs himself to see how they are run:

I think a man storming in and telling us that he's going to ban our work ... it is patronising because why should somebody be telling me what I should be doing with my body?

In a consensual adult environment...you shouldn't be able to police other people's work choices, if they are legal.

Rees said his pledge was backed by the mayor's women's commission:

In the last election, all mayoral candidates supported a 'nil cap' on sexual entertainment venues. We've just listened to what women have said.

He blathered:

A real concern was whether the venues feed into wider inequalities that are faced by women. Is the price paid by wider Bristol very very high for this?

Offsite Comment: Marvin the Paranoid Politician

17th March 2016. See  article from strippingtheillusion.blogspot.com

Birmingham's education commissioner says he has banned the use of the term Trojan Horse to describe alleged attempts by groups to take over schools and covertly impose a Muslim ethos.

Mike Tomlinson, appointed in the wake of the controversy, says the phrase was not helpful to attempts to improve Birmingham's schools. He claimed that it could have an adverse impact on teacher recruitment. Tomlinson said no-one in his department was now allowed to use the phrase.

Political correctness enforcers in Ontario are calling for an end to sexy uniforms used to allure customers to the likes of Hooters or the Tilted Kilt restaurants.

Ontario's bizarrely named 'Human Rights' Commission claims that sexualized dress codes they believe discriminates against female and transgender workers.

Chief PC Enforcer Renu Mandhane says employers must make sure their dress codes don't reinforce sexist stereotypes. Mandhane claims policies requiring women to wear low-cut tops, short skirts or high heels could violate the 'Human Rights' code, and they send a message than an employees' worth is tied to how they look.

The PC extremists spouted about sexualised dress requirements in a policy position paper:

This treatment is often visible in bars, restaurants and other services that require women to dress in high heels, tight dresses, low-cut tops and short skirts. These dress codes persist across the restaurant industry, despite human rights decisions that have found them to be discriminatory. They may make employees more vulnerable to sexual harassment, contribute to discriminatory work environments and exclude people based on sex, gender identity...or creed.

A few easily offended tweeters have been 'outraged' by the Italian designer label Dolce & Gabbana after a pair of shoes were listed as slave sandals on their website.

The colourful pom-pom flats are part of the brand's new Spring-Summer 2016 collection.

But a few easily offended tweeters were 'outraged' and claimed the company were racist and accused them of glorifying slavery .

One commentator whinged:

Did slaves even wear shoes let alone sandals for D&G to be selling a 'slave sandal for $2,300?

fAnother commented:

Dolce & Gabbana. I love you, but why are you glorifying slavery? RELATED ARTICLES

However Tim Blanks, an editor at large at The Business of Fashion, explained to the New York Times:

That term was quite common in the industry at one time, especially at the height of the Hollywood biblical epics, the likes of Ben Hur and Spartacus, and people do still use it today.

I think they just were carrying over a lot from that era into the collection and got swept away, he added. Although I'm surprised it wasn't picked up sooner as something that might be inflammatory in this day and age. Although it's not as if the term 'gladiator sanda' as an alternative is really that much better.'

The sandals were later renamed on the retailer's website to decorative flat sandal in Napa leather with pompoms .

A display model with blonde hair and a capacious bust that strains against her top, sits astride a missile in the Breitling shop window in Bluewater and has 'outraged' a few of the easily offended.

Kirsty Russell who started the petition on Change.org, whinged:

Breitling must have lost confidence in the quality of their watches to sell themselves and have stooped to this.

Their shop display has a woman sitting on either side of a missile with exaggerated breasts, nipples highlighted by a spotlight and her gusset on show.

Russell said she contacted both Bluewater and Breitling but her complaints were rebuffed so started the petition. The petition has attracted just 400 signatures.

A Bluewater spokesman said:

We are aware of some customer comments regarding Breitling's store display and the matter is now being dealt with directly by the retailer.

A German video promoting first aid has 'outraged' a few of the easily offended. The video shows women in sexy nurses' outfits dancing provocatively to pop hits with new lyrics on how to perform CPR.

They're seen recreating scenes from music videos , including Robin Thicke's hit, Blurred Lines , and Taylor Swift's Shake It Off.

Produced by Germany's Workers' Samaritan Federation (ASB), the lyrics focus on CPR and other life-saving techniques.

The video has gone viral , with more than a million views on Facebook so far, but there have been a few miserable whingers. One wrote:

In 2016, you should know the difference between empowering, sexy, and sexist.

Alexandra Valentino, of ASB, said that just 17% of Germans know how to perform chest compressions for people suffering heart issues. She said the video was a great way of spreading the message.

Dutch menswear label, Suit Supply, received a bit of a PC backlash on social media this week after releasing its Spring 2016 campaign featuring suited men posing against a backdrop of bikini clad women.

The campaign, dubbed Toy Boys , launched last Tuesday featuring a look book of images that all vary on the same theme: a suited man posing with a large-scale bikini-clad woman as the backdrop.

Although some have praised the campaign's innovative approach, but some have accused it of having misogynistic undertones\.

The accompanying Suit Supply press release states:

Sometimes it seems like it's a woman's world these days, and we just live in it.

So what's a guy to do? You're a modern gentleman, but the tables have turned. You have a certain way with the ladies...that is, until they have their way with you. You're a playboy, but what happens when the playboy becomes the plaything?

A few people whinged Twitter to voice their 'outrage'. One man tweeted yo @suitsupply are you selling suits or misogyny this season? whilst another tweeted wow @suitsupplies, your latest campaign is terrible in so many ways #everydaysexism .

Meanwhile an Amsterdam billboard was defaced by covering it with 'outraged' messages and sanitary towels.