Teh One Who Knocks
03-07-2017, 01:27 PM
By Nahema Marchal - Heat Street
http://i.imgur.com/xohhM4fh.jpg
A push to include female symbols on traffic signals in an Australian city to fight discrimination against women has left public opinion divided.
In an effort to fight “unconscious bias” and “stereotypes” in Melbourne, ten skirt-clad traffic icons were being installed on Tuesday, the day before International Women’s Day.
The campaign was funded by the Committee for Melbourne, a lobby group of more than 120 business and community groups.
http://i.imgur.com/QXr9Dpo.jpg
Committee chief executive Martine Letts said that the 12-month trial is meant to invite reflection on gender inequalities and fight stereotypes that “influence daily decisions and attitudes.”
“These symbols are a practical and meaningful way to demonstrate that in fact 50 per cent of our population is female and should therefore also be represented at traffic lights” she told the ABC.
She said the ultimate goal of the campaign was to have a “one-to-one” representation of male and female pedestrians icons across the state of Victoria.
http://i.imgur.com/5Nw3FLy.jpg
Fiona Richardson, the Women’s Minister, praised the initiative as an important step towards making public space more inclusive for women.
But many Australian politicians have expressed skepticism towards the scheme arguing that the symbolic (and costly) gesture was unlikely to create substantial change for road users, who were more concerned about traffic flow than “gender-equal” traffic icons.
It reportedly costs around an average of $1,400AUS to change a traffic light.
Evan Mulholland of the Institute of Public Affairs think tank labelled the scheme “politically correct gesturing by policy makers that want to feel good about themselves”.
“Ordinary Victorians are concerned about job security, rising crime and transport infrastructure,” he said
Robert Doyle, the lord Mayor of Melbourne, also criticized the campaign saying this kind of costly exercise was likely to bring “derision.”
And indeed mockeries did not take long to pour in on social media.
One woman called the push “feminism at its worst”.
“What a waste of money. It’s purely a political stunt. If people are so concerned why not just have WALK and DONT WALK?” commented @MrSchneebly70.
More than one user remarked that assuming the gender of the little green person crossing the street based on his attire was, in fact, very heteronormative.
Tudor Nolton said: “Better equality PR would be if Melbourne left pedestrian light signals the same and said “See, it doesn’t matter what women choose to wear!”
“How dare people assume the person on the traffic light was a man! You can just assume gender like that people! #MelbTraffic#Melbourne” said MattyMcP25.
This is not the first time that an Australian city trials this idea.
Last year, the city of Yarra paid tribute to Victoria’s first female councillor, Mary Rogers, by replacing the little green man with her silhouette at pedestrian crossings.
http://i.imgur.com/xohhM4fh.jpg
A push to include female symbols on traffic signals in an Australian city to fight discrimination against women has left public opinion divided.
In an effort to fight “unconscious bias” and “stereotypes” in Melbourne, ten skirt-clad traffic icons were being installed on Tuesday, the day before International Women’s Day.
The campaign was funded by the Committee for Melbourne, a lobby group of more than 120 business and community groups.
http://i.imgur.com/QXr9Dpo.jpg
Committee chief executive Martine Letts said that the 12-month trial is meant to invite reflection on gender inequalities and fight stereotypes that “influence daily decisions and attitudes.”
“These symbols are a practical and meaningful way to demonstrate that in fact 50 per cent of our population is female and should therefore also be represented at traffic lights” she told the ABC.
She said the ultimate goal of the campaign was to have a “one-to-one” representation of male and female pedestrians icons across the state of Victoria.
http://i.imgur.com/5Nw3FLy.jpg
Fiona Richardson, the Women’s Minister, praised the initiative as an important step towards making public space more inclusive for women.
But many Australian politicians have expressed skepticism towards the scheme arguing that the symbolic (and costly) gesture was unlikely to create substantial change for road users, who were more concerned about traffic flow than “gender-equal” traffic icons.
It reportedly costs around an average of $1,400AUS to change a traffic light.
Evan Mulholland of the Institute of Public Affairs think tank labelled the scheme “politically correct gesturing by policy makers that want to feel good about themselves”.
“Ordinary Victorians are concerned about job security, rising crime and transport infrastructure,” he said
Robert Doyle, the lord Mayor of Melbourne, also criticized the campaign saying this kind of costly exercise was likely to bring “derision.”
And indeed mockeries did not take long to pour in on social media.
One woman called the push “feminism at its worst”.
“What a waste of money. It’s purely a political stunt. If people are so concerned why not just have WALK and DONT WALK?” commented @MrSchneebly70.
More than one user remarked that assuming the gender of the little green person crossing the street based on his attire was, in fact, very heteronormative.
Tudor Nolton said: “Better equality PR would be if Melbourne left pedestrian light signals the same and said “See, it doesn’t matter what women choose to wear!”
“How dare people assume the person on the traffic light was a man! You can just assume gender like that people! #MelbTraffic#Melbourne” said MattyMcP25.
This is not the first time that an Australian city trials this idea.
Last year, the city of Yarra paid tribute to Victoria’s first female councillor, Mary Rogers, by replacing the little green man with her silhouette at pedestrian crossings.