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.

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 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.

The One Show
BBC1, 4 November 2015, 19:00

The One Show is a daily magazine programme broadcast every weekday in the early evening on BBC1.

A total of 11 complainants alerted Ofcom to a joke made by the comedian Jimmy Carr, when he appeared on this programme. In summary, complainants objected to Jimmy Carr making a disgusting and offensive joke about a particular disabled group i.e. those who have dwarfism. Three of the complainants either themselves, or had family members who, have dwarfism.

We noted the following exchange at approximately 19:26, between one of the programme's presenters, Matt Baker ( MB ), and Jimmy Carr ( JC ):

MB: Which joke were you most surprised by that you thought was funny that you didn't realise at the time?

JC: I don't know, I'm just trying to think of my favourite all-time joke which might work on this show: 'I've got a Welsh friend of mine. I asked him how many partners he had in his life. And he started to count and he fell asleep' . [Laughter in the studio]

JC: [Looking into the camera and smiling] That's just about alright, isn't it... [Looking at presenter] I tried to write the shortest joke possible, so I wrote a two word joke, which was: Dwarf shortage . Just so I could pack more jokes into the show. [Looking into the camera] If you're a dwarf and you're offended by that: Grow up!

We considered that Jimmy Carr's joke ( Dwarf shortage ) and his follow-up statement ( If you're a dwarf and you're offended by that: Grow up! ) raised potential issues under the following rule of the Code: Rule 2.3:

In applying generally accepted standards broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context... Such material may include, but is not limited to, offensive language, violence, sex, sexual violence, humiliation, distress, violation of human dignity, discriminatory treatment or language (for example on the grounds of age, disability, gender, race, religion, beliefs and sexual orientation). Appropriate information should also be broadcast where it would assist in avoiding or minimising offence.

Ofcom Decision: Breach of Rule 2.3

In coming to a Decision in this case, we therefore assessed first whether the material in this programme had the potential to cause offence. During this programme, Jimmy Carr referred to his attempt to write the shortest joke possible . The joke in question was Dwarf shortage . He then made the statement: If you're a dwarf and you're offended by that: Grow up! We considered that, as both the joke and the follow up statement attempted to derive humour from dwarfism (a medical condition causing restricted growth which often causes a person with the condition to be regarded as disabled), these statements clearly had the potential to cause offence.

In reaching our Decision, we noted the BBC statements that The One Show's Editor takes the view that [Jimmy Carr's] joke was not appropriate for The One Show and The One Show production team takes a particular view on the tone they would like to adhere to, and feels this joke was inappropriate in light of that . We also noted that the BBC would be amending the letter that guests are asked to sign prior to appearing on the One Show to make clear they should refrain from making jokes at the expense of minorities . Nonetheless, the BBC argued that Jimmy Carr's comments did not amount to a breach of Rule 2.3 of the Code.

However, on the facts of this particular case, we considered that Jimmy Carr's jokes intended to derive humour from people with dwarfism were likely to cause offence, and for all the reasons set out above were not justified by the context. Therefore, our view was that there was a breach of Rule 2.3 of the Code.

Offsite Comment: Should anything be 'beyond a joke ?'

27th January 2016. See article from spiked-online.com by Mick Hume

The new comedy code of intolerant conformism is no laughing matter.

See article from spiked-online.com

Free speech campaigners in America have protested about a book being pulled after politically correct pressure from those who claim the right to dictate how books about slavery should be written. The campaigners note that the ban will lead authors to shy away from taking on racially sensitive ... topics for fear of public outcry and reprisals .

A Birthday Cake for George Washington , by author Ramin Ganeshram and illustrator Vanessa Brantley-Newton, is narrated by the daughter of George Washington's slave, Hercules, who is preparing a cake for the president's birthday.

In a review, School Library Journal accused the book of providing a dangerously rosy impression of the relationship between slaves and slave owners that it could give to young readers. It said that the light tone of the text and the colourful, cartoon-style illustrations convey a feeling of joyfulness that contrasts starkly with the reality of slave life .

The PC censorship campaign then grew under the hashtag #slaverywithasmile. Then last week publisher Scholastic bowed to the pressure and withdrew the book from sale.

Campaigners hailed the decision as a victory, but the National Coalition Against Censorship and the PEN American Center have now released a statement criticising Scholastic's move. NCAC executive director Joan Bertin said:

While reasonable people can disagree about the book's historical or literary merit, Scholastic's decision to pull it in response to controversy is a shocking and nearly unprecedented case of self-censorship.

Those who value free speech as an essential human right and a necessary precondition for social change should be alarmed whenever books are removed from circulation because they are controversial.

While it is perfectly valid for critics to dispute a book's historical accuracy and literary merit, the appropriate response is not to withdraw the volume and deprive readers of a chance to evaluate the book and the controversy for themselves. In the case of A Birthday Cake for George Washington, a book is gone that generated important discussions about how our nation creates, perceives and perpetuates narratives about slavery and slave ownership.

[Pulling the book] is likely to have a chilling effect, leading authors and illustrators to hesitate in taking on racially sensitive or politically controversial topics for fear of public outcry and reprisals .

Costumes for children to dress up as wartime refugees have been taken off the German edition of Amazon' s website over supposed fears they offend refugees.

Pictured holding a suitcase, the child models are pictured wearing old fashioned clothing, intimidating wartime civilian wear which some people have claimed mocks the plight of migrants.

When Amazon's offering of refugee costumes was posted online it quickly attracted the attention of PC bullies who claimed the costumes were 'inhuman and distasteful.

Those that defended the children's costume on offer pointed out that it was nothing to do with the current wave of refugees, and is intended to represent a refugee during World War II. The costumes were being offered for carnival celebrations take place in Germany and Switzerland.

A mobile game that set up Indigenous Australians as shoot 'em up targets has been removed from both Apple and Google app stores following campaigns by cyber bulllies.

Survival Island 3 -- Australia Story 3D tasked players with surviving in the outback. Threats included angry animals and aboriginals noted as angry as you invaded their home!

A screenshot used to promote the game in the Apple iTunes store showed an in-game alert of Beware of Aborigines!

The game was listed as appropriate for players of 12 years old and up, for infrequent/mild realistic violence, cartoon or fantasy violence, and horror/fear themes .

Gaming news website Player Attack said :

The video shows a first-person view of beating an Aboriginal man to death with a blunt weapon while the voiceover cackles gleefully. The gamer is rewarded with a boomerang and what looks like a stone arrowhead.

A Change.org petition calling for the removal of the game was started on Friday night, and now has more than 48,300 signatures.

Survival Island 3 is not currently available to download from either the Australian or United States iTunes stores, nor the Google Play store.

Offsite Update: Beware of Liars

25th January 2016. See article from blogjob.com

The Beware of Aborigines! line is from the app store page, along with the New Weapon line, both of which are used on the promotional screenshots but don't actually appear in the game.

The Aboriginal NPCs are standard NPCs and can either be friendly or hostile depending on the player's actions but it doesn't say Beware of Aborigines when they're on screen. This is also evidenced in a video from Andrei Plugaru , where no warning messages pop up when the Aborigines appear.

Even still, the media picked up on the petition -- no different than what they did with the GTA V petition that resulted in the game getting removed from Target and Kmart in Australia -- and they've been reporting that the game is about killing indigenous tribes in Australia.

At the time of the writing of this article, Survival Island 3: Australia Story 3D has been pulled from the iTunes app store and Google Play.

...Read the full article from blogjob.com

A lingerie shop has offended the easily offended of Brighton. The shop display featured a sexily attired mannequin visiting a laundrette.

Prudish Brighton student, Sarah Derby, complained that the display was demeaning women with outdated ideology. She said:

I understand sex sells but this window displays a picture of women as sexualised domestic beings. They seem to be saying that to be sexy you also need to be able to do the laundry.

I live in Kemp Town and walk past all the sex shops every day. This isn't about being prudish ...BUT... sexuality shouldn't be linked with domesticity.

In her full complaint to the company, Derby questioned why the firm had not chosen to display attractive women in the House of Commons, laboratories or succeeding at sport.

A spokeswoman for Boux Avenue said:

We were very concerned to hear of the complaint with regards to one of our window displays in the Brighton store. At Boux Avenue we pride ourselves on being a customer centric brand and we attempt to create fun and engaging window displays that we are confident our customers will enjoy. The window as designed by our creative team, was not intended to cause offence but we can see how the concept could be interpreted and have taken the feedback on board.

The campaign is due to come to an end this week and this is not a creative that we will be repeating. We apologise for any offence caused, as this was by no means the effect intended.

Perfectly OK	Totally 'outrageous'

Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK), a leading burger chain in the UK, has launched a new tongue in cheek campaign to tempt vegetarians to eat meat, inevitably outraging a few easily offended vegans.

The adverts, seen mostly at London Underground stations and trains, include taglines such as Vegetarians, resistance is futile, and You'll always remember when you gave up being a vegetarian .

People have taken to social media to whinge about GBK's ads, coining the hashtag #gourmetmurderkitchen to highlight what has been perceived to be a flippant attitude towards the consumption of meat.

GBK quickly responded to the flood of complaints, confirming they will be taking down some of the adverts.

We've been reading the reactions to our latest advertising campaign and needless to say, we're quite taken aback. Our intentions were light-hearted and not meant to cause any offence, but clearly we have, and for that we apologise.

Having read all your comments and messages, we've made the decision to take down some of the adverts.