what the hell kind of stupid place do i live in anyway?
besides the impending closure of fairbridge, the most awesomely successful youth project i have ever seen, what the goddam bum ass kind of rubbish is this?
pink lights being used to embarrass teenagers out of places that they hang around that they shouldn't hang around in. what the ey? here's the linketh: BEEB NOOZ
apparently these pink lights highlight imperfections in the skin, and give kids a pinkish tint, which they are hoping boys will find effeminate and therefore bad.
1. er, no.
2. just no
3. 'pink = girly = maybe homosexual = bad' and to be avoided does not equal 'helpful message' trying to keep lads away from things that are pink is just stupid and does nothing to challenge the idea that looking at all gay or feminine (or indeed, refusing to conform to a set of rules for acceptable masculinity) is something that is somehow less than.
4. why would local councils want to highlight medical/physical problems that so many people have and are probably already ashamed enough of in order to get them to conform? i dont even know where to start but i think most people at some point in their day are presented with a barrage of images of perfect skin, constantly reminding them that 'this is the goal, you are far from it' -- and then to have your local council install lights in order to highlight spots? srsly. i'd be all for going down to the local council and bodysnarking their decision makers, if i didn't think it was goddam rude and inappropriate, dehumanising and ultimately crap for everyone who has to put up with the huge negative self image problems perpetuated in this country. rraagh!!!
5. what happened to other approaches, such as defining reasonable spaces for young people to meet up, which are accessible, available and safe? or perhaps *talking* to the groups of young uns meeting up with their friends?
here's a couple of just as ranty posts: here and here
Girls With Slingshots - GWS Hair of the Dog #369
18 hours ago
1 comment:
it's not exactly pc, but i think the point is that pink is seen as 'uncool' and deters teenagers from hanging out in that area (this is the gist i got from reading an article in the londonpaper/metro about it) - plus no one mentions boys in that bbc article specifically! and no one mentioned boys in the one i read either
from what i understand, these teenagers aren't particularly innocent, which is why the council is 'scaring' them off this way; the council don't care what message they're giving, the point is to make the streets feel safer for other residents:
Tony Gelsthorpe, chairman of the Layton Burroughs Residents' Association, said the lights were important for the residents.
"We've had problems with underage drinking, drug dealing, anti-social behaviour and general intimidation.
"I was a little bit dubious about the pink lights at first but it's done the trick. We've got to think of our residents and we've got to live here at the end of the day."
i think it's more important to tackle these problems than to make sure teenagers don't worry about their skin and whether pink makes them gay or effeminate. besides, even when teens are told they're beautiful, they usually still have hang-ups about some part of their body
Post a Comment