What men want: a tall woman with dementia
I don’t even know where to begin with this piece from the Metro, purportedly in the ‘Science and Discovery’ section. It’s reporting on new research indicating that tall women are less likely to develop dementia, with every extra inch of leg above the average cutting the chances of developing the condition by 16%. And how do the Metro begin this important little snippet?
“The male ideal of finding a leggy lovely with no brain just became even more of a dream.”
Seriously.
I am so offended on so many levels - for men in general, for women in general, and for the flippant treatment of dementia (“no brain” indeed). I suspect that whoever wrote the article has never had to watch someone they love die in horrifically long stages from dementia. I have. And incidentally I’m running the Bupa London 10k at the end of the month to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society (click here to find out more and to donate). Presumably someone at the Metro has a GoogleAlert set up to see what the interweb is saying about them. I look forward to the Alzheimer’s Society getting a hefty donation from Associated Newspapers, but somehow fear I’ll be disappointed.
Posted by Carrie Dunn on 6 May 2008, at 8:34 AM | Comments (3)
Have your say
In order to keep this blog as a feminist and friendly space, comments will be subject to some rules. We do not seek to censor debate: the beauty of the internet is that anyone can set up their own blog or website to express their views.
- This blog is a safe and friendly space for feminists and feminist allies. Debate and critique are welcome where it is constructive and deepens analysis or understanding. Anti-feminist comments will not be approved. We get to decide what's anti-feminist.
- All comments must be approved by one of the bloggers. For this reason, there may be a delay before your comment appears.
- No sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, classist, ablist comments, comments which make personal attacks on any blogger or commenter, or comments that are otherwise deemed offensive by us will be posted.
- Trolls will be banned from commenting. We get to decide who is a troll.
- No anonymous comments - please feel free to use your real name or make one up, though.
- Be nice.
Feeds
VR said:
Why do papers say things like that? It's lazy journalism and, as a man, I find it incredibly depressing - men like me find the brains just as attractive as legs. Call me selfish but I look for both....
Posted on 06 May 2008 at 10:36 AM
Samara said:
That is in such horrendously poor taste. Normally I appreciate a good offensive joke as much as the next person, but equating Alzheimers sufferers with the terminally stupid? It's not even funny.
Posted on 06 May 2008 at 11:51 AM
shatterboxx said:
I used to find the Metro nothing more than a largely-empty freebie newspaper but after reading several issues I now discover the unbelievably sexist overtones. Did you see the issue with the massive article about 'Women Drinkers'. Obviously we're a big problem... what with all the violence, intimidating others, smashing up bus stops, getting chucked out of pubs etc.
As for this article, I'm lost for words.
Posted on 08 May 2008 at 10:01 AM