sexism Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

This weekend, I finally say Zootropolis! The girls had seen it with their dad when it first came out but I wasn’t too fussed (it was an animal movie after all) so I figured I’d just wait. I wasn’t at all excited by its upcoming announcement and I didn’t actually even watch a trailer until the week the girls went to see it. I have to admit it looked pretty funny and I would have taken them, had their dad not done so first. From what I read online, Zootopia/Zootropolis seemed like it was a big hit (especially Judy) and so I figured I would see it whenever I could. Then at the weekend, Vue showed it on their kids special (£2 each) and so I booked for all 4 of us to go.

Luckily, I wasn’t disappointed. Generally I’m not a fan of animal movies – it doesn’t matter if it’s Lion King, Finding Nemo, Bambi, Dumbo or whatever – I just don’t find them that interesting. However Zootropolis was a lovely surprise.

The thing I love about Disney movies, its their multiple appeal levels. For kids, there is the basic storyline and kids story humor. For older kids there are even world topics like sexism, racism etc. And then for adults there is a whole level of humour and pop culture that goes over most kids’ heads but that we love and appreciate. Zootropolis was just like this and I loved it from start to finish.

Yes, I cried. Several times actually. I loved Judy and of course Nick. I spotted the bad guy quite a way off though, even before it was obvious. The characters were great though and I laughed out loud at several of the sloth scenes.

As always, a highly recommended Disney movie to watch for all the family. Despite having a lead female character, having a male co-star makes this definitely a unisex movie. Disney tackles taboo topics in subtle ways and lets you believe that if a Bunny can be a Cop, you can be anything!

There was something on TV this week that got me thinking about sexism and how there is a thin line between sexism and being chivalrous for example. The topic in question was something on I’m a celebrity get me out of here, whereby a female was given the job of carrying logs and some members thought this unfair as she was a female and as such not as strong as the guys, where others argued women were just as happy to do those jobs and prove their strength. I personally felt it was a sexist thing to suggest, knowing that had I been in that position I too would have wanted to prove I could carry logs just as well as the next guy. HOWEVER, that’s not to say I wouldn’t be more than happy to accept if a guy offered to carry logs for me.

Growing up I think I’ve always been a fairly traditional thinker when it comes to getting married, having kids, being a stay-at-home-mum etc. but that’s not to say I believe it should be the same for everyone. I do think life is incredibly unequal and as per Jennifer Lawrence’s rant about actors being paid more than actresses, it may never really level off. Some women want the high power jobs and same rates of pay, some wish to run for parliament or to be head of the church etc. In this day and age I think it’s sad that we aren’t more equal, but at the same time is it really that backwards thinking to want to stay home, do the cooking and cleaning, sew/knit etc and have the guy earn the money and then come home to do the DIY.

A recent article I read on Craft-O-Maniac featured a survey done by Baytree Interiors that showed many people still want to learn home making skills and this is backed up by how many DIY, baking and home interior shows are on TV these days. Admittedly there is no gender specification as to who can watch these programs and it’s just as likely there are men out there who can knit, compared to women who do DIY. The survey showed that 31% of participants chose baking as their favourite hobby and 21% expressed the desire to learn sewing and altering clothes. As a stay-at-home mum myself, I love to cook (especially bake) and I recently started working on many sewing projects.

Am I a girlie girl? Sure. I do a lot of “typically” female jobs around the house, I paint my nails and wear makeup. Do I consider those jobs “women’s work”? Absolutely not. Chris does a lot of the DIY in our house but when I was single for four years I was more than capable of doing those jobs. And while I mend a hole in Chris’ trousers when he gets them, he’s also more than capable of doing so himself.

I don’t think that learning homemaking skills, or wanting a traditional lifestyle, makes you a sexist person. Just because we’re living in a modern society where things like jobs should be equal, it doesn’t mean we can’t have more old fashion values that still go hand-in-hand.