Handley_Page
Draco interdum Vincit
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2007
- Posts
- 78,287
OK, gang, This is a serious question.
I would be genuinely interested to find out whether I really am a dynosaur or whether this writer is a twit.
I mean, is there anything wrong with a calendar of pretty girls on the garage wall (or the shed, for that matter).
This is what started it:
Ryanair's sexist, tacky calendar is a new low
Semi-naked cabin crew stripping for the cameras isn't just seedy, it's out of date and out of touch, says Cathy Winston
Given that it's an airline that has mooted doing away with toilets and making overweight people pay a special tax, I probably shouldn’t be surprised by Ryanair's tacky new calendar featuring female cabin crew in bikinis, underwear and high heels.
RyanairI mean, seriously? With 2013 just days away, have we not moved on even slightly from the days when every mechanic’s workshop had pictures of scantily clad women on the wall? Apparently not.
More than a decade has passed since members of the WI stripped with strategically arranged buns to raise money for charity, yet after endless tongue-in-cheek, ironic nude calendars, Ryanair is still stuck in the dark ages churning out its seedy shots of employees in (what I imagine to be) highly flammable bits of nylon.
Yes, a not-to-be-missed opportunity for highly trained staff - responsible for your safety in a worst case scenario - to gyrate in poses even lads’ mags would feel a bit queasy about - as well as getting to flog scratchcards to unwilling passengers.
"If it isn't sexist, why are there no men in the calendar?"
Pirelli might be able to get away with it (just) with some of the world’s most sought-after photographers and glamorous models in its famous calendar, but even Ryanair can’t argue they’re in the same league.
And I can’t help but notice that it’s only the female cabin crew who are pouting and posing with shower hoses – the men seem to have escaped being oiled up and paraded in front of the cameras. And the message that sends is this: we're happy to be sexist as well as living in the past.
Ah, but it’s for charity, someone is bound to say – TVN Foundation, one of Poland’s largest charities. Well, I’m all for raising money for good causes but how about doing it in a way which doesn’t objectify women?
Why not substitute gorgeous shots of some of the airline’s destinations? I mean the destinations people think they’re flying to, not the actual place an hour away where the planes touch down of course.
"If they want to give to charity, why not donate from the profits?"
Would the £10 calendar sell as many? Maybe not – but if CEO Michael O’Leary is committed to helping Ryanair’s chosen charity, perhaps he could top it up from the budget carrier’s profits.
It would certainly make me admire them more – even if it’s probably not what you’d expect from the man who has debated standing ‘seats’ to cram more people on, all to squeeze a few extra pounds out of each passenger.
I sometimes wonder what Mrs O'Leary thinks of all this. Because for once, this isn’t just one of Ryanair’s headline-grabbing stunts, it feels a bit grubby for everyone involved. Rather like how I feel after flying on the airline itself...
Cathy Winston has visited 55 countries (so far) and is already plotting journeys to the other 141. In between ignoring her unpacking, she's written for publications including National Geographic Traveller and the Independent, as well as starting her own blog, www.mummytravels.com.
Follow Cathy Winston on Twitter @cathywinston.
She's wrong, IMO, in mixing her dislike of O'Leary's airline with her attitude to a simple calendar.
Go buy the calendar of your choice, madam, from any of the outlets doing them at this time of year. If you want one with handsome young men, see your local Fire Brigade who may have done one for charity. Then you can have the best of both worlds; men and some charitable endeavour. And I am sure that your local Travel Agency will supply you with one full of pretty pictures of some distant destinations.
I am old enough to say that I'd rather see a young lady in a nice bikini than a picture of some sun-drenched flower bed.
Lady, if you don't like that airline, don't fly on it.
If you don't like the calendar don't pin it up.
But in God's good name, don't tell me what I can and cannot look at on a garage wall or tool shed. Keep your one-sided views to the Twitterati.
Practical comments would be welcome
I would be genuinely interested to find out whether I really am a dynosaur or whether this writer is a twit.
I mean, is there anything wrong with a calendar of pretty girls on the garage wall (or the shed, for that matter).
This is what started it:
Ryanair's sexist, tacky calendar is a new low
Semi-naked cabin crew stripping for the cameras isn't just seedy, it's out of date and out of touch, says Cathy Winston
Given that it's an airline that has mooted doing away with toilets and making overweight people pay a special tax, I probably shouldn’t be surprised by Ryanair's tacky new calendar featuring female cabin crew in bikinis, underwear and high heels.
RyanairI mean, seriously? With 2013 just days away, have we not moved on even slightly from the days when every mechanic’s workshop had pictures of scantily clad women on the wall? Apparently not.
More than a decade has passed since members of the WI stripped with strategically arranged buns to raise money for charity, yet after endless tongue-in-cheek, ironic nude calendars, Ryanair is still stuck in the dark ages churning out its seedy shots of employees in (what I imagine to be) highly flammable bits of nylon.
Yes, a not-to-be-missed opportunity for highly trained staff - responsible for your safety in a worst case scenario - to gyrate in poses even lads’ mags would feel a bit queasy about - as well as getting to flog scratchcards to unwilling passengers.
"If it isn't sexist, why are there no men in the calendar?"
Pirelli might be able to get away with it (just) with some of the world’s most sought-after photographers and glamorous models in its famous calendar, but even Ryanair can’t argue they’re in the same league.
And I can’t help but notice that it’s only the female cabin crew who are pouting and posing with shower hoses – the men seem to have escaped being oiled up and paraded in front of the cameras. And the message that sends is this: we're happy to be sexist as well as living in the past.
Ah, but it’s for charity, someone is bound to say – TVN Foundation, one of Poland’s largest charities. Well, I’m all for raising money for good causes but how about doing it in a way which doesn’t objectify women?
Why not substitute gorgeous shots of some of the airline’s destinations? I mean the destinations people think they’re flying to, not the actual place an hour away where the planes touch down of course.
"If they want to give to charity, why not donate from the profits?"
Would the £10 calendar sell as many? Maybe not – but if CEO Michael O’Leary is committed to helping Ryanair’s chosen charity, perhaps he could top it up from the budget carrier’s profits.
It would certainly make me admire them more – even if it’s probably not what you’d expect from the man who has debated standing ‘seats’ to cram more people on, all to squeeze a few extra pounds out of each passenger.
I sometimes wonder what Mrs O'Leary thinks of all this. Because for once, this isn’t just one of Ryanair’s headline-grabbing stunts, it feels a bit grubby for everyone involved. Rather like how I feel after flying on the airline itself...
Cathy Winston has visited 55 countries (so far) and is already plotting journeys to the other 141. In between ignoring her unpacking, she's written for publications including National Geographic Traveller and the Independent, as well as starting her own blog, www.mummytravels.com.
Follow Cathy Winston on Twitter @cathywinston.
She's wrong, IMO, in mixing her dislike of O'Leary's airline with her attitude to a simple calendar.
Go buy the calendar of your choice, madam, from any of the outlets doing them at this time of year. If you want one with handsome young men, see your local Fire Brigade who may have done one for charity. Then you can have the best of both worlds; men and some charitable endeavour. And I am sure that your local Travel Agency will supply you with one full of pretty pictures of some distant destinations.
I am old enough to say that I'd rather see a young lady in a nice bikini than a picture of some sun-drenched flower bed.
Lady, if you don't like that airline, don't fly on it.
If you don't like the calendar don't pin it up.
But in God's good name, don't tell me what I can and cannot look at on a garage wall or tool shed. Keep your one-sided views to the Twitterati.
Practical comments would be welcome
Instead of less sex appeal for men, more sex appeal for EVERYONE!!!
