HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-03-10, Page 5
International Scene
By Raymond Canon
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1993. PAGE 5.
Alr
Could corsets
be making
a comeback?
It is one of the enduring ironies of the late
20th century that while perhaps you and
certainly I and definitely Roseanne Barr-
Arnold strive desperately to lose a few
pounds, most of the people in the world are
scrambling just as desperately to gain a
couple.
The grim spectre of starvation stalks the
Third World, but here in Fat Cat Central we
swirl our wine spritzers and nibble on carrot
sticks while we moan about how tough it is
to take off weight.
There are more ways to reduce than there
are calories in a banana split. Diets —
Pritikin, Atkins, Beverley Hills, Loma
Linda, Grapefruit and Drinking Mans, to
name a handful.
And then there's exercise — anything from
bare-knuckle mountaineering to low-impact
aerobics. The more crazed among the
Gravitationally Challenged resort to surgery
— lyposuction to hoover away those rolls of
fat; not to mention "tummy tucks" which
short-circuit the alimentary canal. Some
have their jawbones wired shut to prevent
the intake of solids.
Simple, medically supervised fasting
Education
in a bind
Having spent a good percentage of my life
either being taught or doing the teaching, it
is not difficult to have some rather strong
feelings on education and the necessity of
having a good one. I went to school in no
less than six different countries which,
among other things, gave me a relatively
good insight into the system and what makes
it tick. It goes without saying that I see a
great deal of confusion, not only in Canada
but elsewhere, as how best to educate our
children to prepare them for the world
during the last years of this century and the
beginning of the next one. This confusion is
to be found not only on the part of parents
and students but in educators, both in the
classroom and at the administration level.
What makes it so hard to come up with the
right answer is that all the industrialized
countries are going through what I call the
second industrial revolution where many
jobs arc disappearing, helped along by the
current trough in the business cycle. In
addition, many new ones are being created
but at such a fast pace that we do not have
the time to prepare ourselves for them. The
question, then, becomes one of asking how
we develop a system which will see our
younger generations in good shape to find a
niche in the industrial world.
In the midst of all this uncertainty there
arc a few constants. One is that Canada, like
all the other developed countries, is moving
away from a situation whereby there arc jobs
at both the unskilled and the skilled levels
and a great many in between. These jobs at
the lower third of the spectrum arc moving
out, as indeed they have for quite a few
years, to countries where the hourly cost of
doing something relatively simple is far less
than it is in Canada or the United States or
would do the trick for most of us, except
that's a little too much like ... well, the sort
of thing that goes on in places like Somalia,
Ethiopia and Bangla Desh.
At the risk of being dismissed as just
another Phoney Baloney Svelteness Guru I'd
like to tell you about a way to look thinner
that works faster than any diet plan or
exercise regime you ever heard of.
What's more, it's a method with a proven
track record. Our overweight ancestors were
using this trick to look slim centuries ago.
It's called the corset.
The corset actually dates back to at least
the early 16th century — and the first ones
were probably worn for therapeutic reasons,
rather than vanity. It didn't take long
however, for people to realize that the
average human body looked a lot trimmer
when it was lashed into a Straightjacket of
whalebones and cloth than it did when it was
allowed to droop and bulge naturally. By the
late 17th and early 18th century just about
everybody in England who could afford a
corset was sitting or standing unusually erect
and breathing in shallow little gasps. The
corset was the chosen instrument of torture
for all who would be chic.
The word "torture" is no exaggeration.
Girls as young as thirteen were trussed up in
corsets in order that their figures could be
"improved". And the corsets got tighter and
tighter. During the 1700's fashionable
corsets literally drove the female waistline
even in Europe. Thus our school system has
to get us ready for labour skills requiring a
high level of competence. We are moving
away from manufacturing and more into the
service industries with the current buzz-word
being "value added."
To cite one example, there are a number of
Canadian firms that have become quite
competent in the field of computer software.
In short, they are letting somebody else
produce the computers; they prefer to shine
in the servicing of this field. We also have a
competitive edge in health care; as the
United States attempts to catch up with us,
that is another place where the action is
going to be. In some areas we are behind
other countries; in others we are ahead of
them. We are, most assuredly, not the basket
case that critics frequently make us out to be.
While we are listening to all the criticisms
of the Canadian school system, we should
not forget that the problems that beset us are
to be found elsewhere and many of them
have a similar ring. The Americans are, and
rightfully so, in a panic about their system.
They lack a hardcore curriculum, their
children go to school some 60 days a year
fewer than in some other industrialized
countries; their drop-out rate is among the
highest while the schools in most of the
large cities are nothing short of a disaster. As
you have probably heard, some of these even
have metal detectors to keep guns and knives
from entering the school. One of the most
glaring faults is the lack of. any idea what to
do with students who arc not destined to go
to community colleges or universities. If
they were wise, they would look at what
Germany has done in this area -but changes
in the teaching system frequently move with
all the speed of a glacier.
Having done some of my education in
Germany, I have a fair acquaintance with
that country's education system; by and large
I like what I sec. One of its strongest points
is its ability to stream its students in an
effective way and to give them a
down. Not to mention "in". Some girls had
their waistlines reduced by a mind-boggling
eight inches.
As time went on, common sense seemed
to retreat. The 1800's saw the dawn of the
'hourglass' figure. The 18-inch waist
became the ideal. Ladies of fashion even
went as far as having their lower ribs
surgically removed to accommodate a
snugger corset and a waspier waist.
The ultimate corset absurdity arrived with
the not-so Gay Nineties and a revolutionary
corset engineered with a complexity worthy
of Michelangelo.
Or perhaps the Marquis de Sade. This
construction featured a minuscule waist and
a rigid front, so that the woman's breasts
were pushed forward while her hips were
forced to the rear.
If x-rays had been available they would
have revealed an anatomical obscenity —
women's spines torqued and twisted until
they looked like large capital "S's" — all in
the name of fashion.
The popularity of corsets died out, thank
heaven, about 1910 and they haven't been a
serious fashion threat since.
Could they make a comeback? Hey, in a
society that endorses silicone breast
implants, face lifts and stiletto high heels,
anything is possible, I suppose ... but a
garment as stupid and health-threatening as
the corset?
Personally, I wouldn't hold my breath.
comprehensive education before letting them
loose on the economy. There are, however,
problems when it comes to the more
advanced levels. I found, for example, that I
could take my time in getting a degree. Time
was one thing I did not have a lot of at that
moment and so I plugged away. However,
many students do not and this has caused the
German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to claim
that Germany has the oldest graduates
(average age 28) in the industrialized world.
The system is good for providing graduates
for large companies; it falls short in doing
the same thing for smaller firms.
While I admire the end product of many
Japanese schools, I frankly would not want
to subject Canadian children to the same
high level of pressure which is thrust upon
pupils at even the public school level. In
addition Japan spends far less money on its
system than we do here; if money were any
criteria, we should be among the top since
our spending is, yet dollar for dollar we do
not have as much to show as do the Japanese
or the Germans. Would you believe that the
Germans, who have one of the most
successful systems, have the lowest level of
spending of any industrialized country? That
alone should tell us something.
To a certain degree it is impossible to keep
out subjective evaluations of any school
system in any evaluation and for this reason
I can say that compared to what I had
elsewhere, the Canadian system drove me
just as hard as the German or Swiss version.
We were given a first-rate basic education;
the teachers were dedicated to say the least.
To a degree all systems have found it hard to
keep up with contemporary changes, but
then this is an age where these changes arc
many and rapid. Unfortunately from where I
stand, things have gone down hill. We arc
turning out far too many alleged graduates
whose English is in any thing but good
shape, who have a minuscule knowledge of
their own country let alone the rest of the
Continued on page 6
The
Short
of it
By Bonnie GroPP
Real winners
walk away
For several years now I have bitten my
tongue. I have been appalled, disgusted and
amazed at the behaviour I have witnessed,
but thought perhaps I was being overly
judgmental and kept my mouth shut.
No longer.
What is it about hockey that turns
perfectly nice, otherwise normal individuals
into crude-mouthed neanderthals?
I used to like hockey. I remember
watching it every Saturday night with my
uncle back when the Leafs were winners. In
my teens I travelled to arenas each weekend
to watch my boyfriend's team and cheer
them on.
There was yelling, some good-natured
competitiveness, but I never felt like I had to
take out an insurance policy before I went.
Since I began covering the Brussels Bulls
games five years ago my eyes have been
opened. The behaviour of some of these
supposedly civilized people and in one case
the visiting team has left me many times
dumfounded.
Let me tell those of you who do not attend
these jousting matches some specific
incidents which have occurred when the
Bulls meet up with their forever nemesis the
Hanover Barons. Let's begin by considering
the definition of baron, which is a member of
the lowest order of nobility. Then let me tell
you I have yet to witness noble behaviour
from any player or coach on that team. A
few years back, a colleague of mine had
water thrown on her by the Barons coach',
and learned a whole new vocabulary,
because she was, in his estimation, too close
to their team and might relay their secret
strategy. I think he had her confused with
someone who cared!
Last year, after defeating the Bulls in the
final game, the Barons captain, displaying
exemplary graciousness skated around the
rink with the trophy and a one-finger salute
to the Brussels fans.
And do the Brussels fans let these idiotic
displays get under their skin? You bet. These
games have become a forum for rowdiness,
vulgar language and mutual detraction.
Certainly sports wouldn't be sports without
some verbal combativeness, but this is
getting out of hand. My 10-year-old son
wanted to go to the game and I almost let
him, but thought better of it, even though I
knew his older sister and his aunt would
both be there. I have been accused of being
overly protective, but after getting the police
report this week I guess not letting him go
was maybe a good decision. Chances are he
wouldn't have been inadvertently involved in
the fight which broke out, but I will not be
surprised if someday it happens. It's pretty
bad when a child can't go to a hockey game
because some of the older generation have
forgotten how to behave in public.
It seems to me that no one really cares
anymore what kind of game is being played;
it all comes down to seeing if you can tick
someone off. At my son's own game, we had
several opposing fans come down to stand
with us'and hurl accusations and insults
about our team. It didn't seem to matter that
both teams played extremely well.
We are often as guilty by association and
the fight at Friday night's game reflects
poorly on not only the people involved but
on any who egged them on or at the least
saw it as just another aspect of the game.
That is not the way it used to be and it's
certainly not the way it should be. It is
perhaps time for the fans to learn some
sportsmanlike behaviour. There is no glory
in letting someone get your goat; real
winners walk away.
Arthur Black