The Subtlety of Sexism
Jas Sansi ??
Jas Sansi P H O T O G R A P H Y. Photographer | Videographer | Social Media | Pics, Flix & Clicks Let's work together | [email protected] 07930 837 505
LoveBrum trustee, Jas Sansi looks at the subtle challenges faced by 50% of the world.
When James Brown sang ‘It’s a man’s man’s world‘, he was commenting on the world around him in 1966. Fifty years on, can we, hands on heart, argue the song is no longer a reflection of the world we live in?
As a photographer, I often shoot networking events. Delegates usually wear name badges in a plastic sleeve. I ask delegates to remove these badges if they are photographed. There’s an aesthetic as well as technical reason for doing so. Aesthetically, the picture looks better without the badges. Technically, the camera flash hits the plastic and dissipates light in all directions.
I’ve noticed men find it much easier to remove these plastic sleeves than women. The sleeves usually have two attachment options; a mechanism that clips onto the jacket breast pocket or a pin which is threaded into the fabric of the jacket if no pocket exists. Men use the clip, women, who’s jackets do not usually have a breast pocket, use the pin.
Business cards are also a challenge, men have plenty of pockets to extract cards from and deposit cards into. Women have fewer if any pockets.
It’s important all aspects of our surroundings are considered in the journey to a equal world. We may never reach the destination where the infrastructure of our lives supports the aspiration for equality. A destination where we no longer see queues for the Ladies bathroom, a tax on sanitary products, and name badges and corporate suits that favour business men rather than business women.
One of my roles as a LoveBrum trustee is to ensure our vision is being communicated to all. In a city region as diverse as Greater Birmingham, LoveBrum understands the communication option is simple; speak to everyone or speak to no one.
The James Brown song was co-written by his partner at the time, Betty Jean Newsome. One of the great ironies of the song is, she rarely gets a mention.
Jas Sansi is a freelance photographer based in Greater Birmingham and a trustee of LoveBrum @LoveBrumUK
@jassansi 07930 837 505 [email protected]
Jas Sansi P H O T O G R A P H Y. Photographer | Videographer | Social Media | Pics, Flix & Clicks Let's work together | [email protected] 07930 837 505
8 年Thank you Pauline
Amplifier, Producer, Community Lead/Digital NNS, Librarian, Freelance journo - *Digital Inclusion/Open data portfolio*; @paulineroche Producer/Co-presenter #DrTechShow, Co-organiser Open Data Camp, Hon Dr
8 年A thoughtful post Jas - thanks
Jas Sansi P H O T O G R A P H Y. Photographer | Videographer | Social Media | Pics, Flix & Clicks Let's work together | [email protected] 07930 837 505
8 年Thank you for all the comments everyone. If anyone feels LoveBrum need to communicate differently or we are falling short in any areas, please reach out and let me know. Best wishes for Easter. Jas Sansi
Owner of JTwentyOne Coaching, Training & Consultancy
8 年Interesting read Jas. Not forgetting also that it was Paula Yates who pushed her then Husband Bob Geldof, to get involved and do something significant for the Ethiopian Famine at the time. He went on to receive a knighthood for his humanitarian work, which propelled him from a lame Boomtown Rat into a well respected leader that politicians started to listen to! During all of the time that Geldof was involved in Live Aid, Paula Yates's income kept the family going and it was initially her idea to get her Husband involved! Sadly there's rarely been a mention of her name; the media found more interest in her association with Michael Hutchence and all the scandals that went with it. Good luck with your Love Brum work.
Jane Brown
8 年I notice this kind of thing often, so often I don't bother to comment on it, so thank you for speaking about it Jas. I was talking yesterday about networking with Phoebe Bolton, a cutting edge osteopath, the only one doing what she does in the UK, who is often assumed to be an aromatherapist by the men (nothing wrong with being an aromatherapist, just a very different level of training and preparation for the role).