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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1976-03-31, Page 4Page 4 - Citizens News, March 31176 Farm Safety Association 9 '27' Admininsamo 11114pi. J C 4 Be careful when making turns near ditches or banks. Commenting in short Sexism. . a who us ! Since so many journalists have been fall- ing all over themselves recently trumpeting what a bust International Women's Year was --it's time media people did something positive about sexism in their own backyard. For starters editors could copy an exciting new code developed by British journalists to give women full equality in the news. The code forthrightly brands the use of nude photos and cheesecake to sell news- papers as "Exploitative...perpetuating the myth that women's chief purpose in life is to gratify men." The code also agrees that women have the same right as men to marital anonymity in the news suggesting the use of "Ms" instead of "Miss" or "Mrs." Age too would be eliminated from stories unless relevant. Emotive descriptions of female measure - Golden Glimpses ments, physical and mental assets, and sex -typing of jobs would go. Descriptions like "railwaymen" or "businessmen" would change to "rail workers" and busin- ess executives." Cliches such as "dumb blondes" would disappear and "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith" would be replaced by "John and Jane Smith." The code cautions journalists not to ridicule men rearing child- ren or doing home chores...nor commiserate more with them than they would with women in the same roles. These changes may seem trifling. But to women confronted constantly by demeaning sexual put-downs in the media...it's not trifling. Women by their increasingly resp- onsible roles both at home and at work command respect. — BLUE WATER REST HOME The frogs have been out sing- ing up a storm, and of course we did get what amounted to almost a winter blizzard for a short time on the weekend. However, ac- cording to an old adage, the frogs will be frozen in seven times before spring is really here to stay. On Monday evening films were shown followed by refreshments. Please circle May 15th on you calendar. This will be the annual Daffodil Tea and Bake Sale sponsored by the Ladies Auxil- iary of the Home. It will be held at the Home as usual from 2 to 4 p.m. I am sure donations of home baking will be gratefully accepted. We hope all the ladies of the area will plan to attend the tea. Proceeds will go for resid-, ent comforts. Bingo was played on Thursday afternoon instead of the usual Friday evening. We welcome Mrs. Nellie Cleave, formerly of Bayfield, to the Home. On Tuesday evening, April 6, at 7 p.m. the Ladies Auxiliary of the Home will hold their monthly program in the dining room for the residents. Following the program and re- freshments, the members of the Auxiliary will meet for the bus- iness part of their meeting. The Sunday evening chapel service was under the leadership of the Zurich Mennonite Church, The Woodburn Family of London, singing guests of the Zurich church took charge of the service. An Open Letter to the Electrical Trade I would like to, on behalf of Hydro in Western Ontario, express the appreciation of Ont- ario Hydro and the Municipal Utilities' staff, for the co-operat- ion received from manufact- urers, distributors, and cont- ractors during the recent ice storm. While Hydro people were busy repairing damage to their syst- ems, contractors were simult- aneously repairing customers' damaged equipment. As a result of everybody's efforts, the duration of customer outrages, while extreme in many cases, were kept to a minimum. We are all sincerely appreciat- ive of the customers' under- standing of our respective probl- ems during this emergency sit- uation. Contractors worked long hours in difficult conditions, suppliers kept their operations open at all hours, and manufacturers ran special production runs, all aimed at getting the customer back on the line. It was a tremendous effort. Thank you. Yours truly, E.G. Bainbridge Regional Manager Western Region - Ontario Hydro The Last Word by by Ted Rowcliffe i� _ 4;7,4, Sexism in newspapers, as everywhere else, is coming under the gun from those more liberated among us. Sexism is a sneaky vice. Unlike tobacco or drink, it can take hold of a "fella'almost without his knowledge. Many times in the past few years I've caught myself in the middle of a sentence, knowing darn well what I was about to say would be an affront to the ladies listening. It's not that I don't like women, in fact there's no other sex I enjoy as much, but I guess my chauvenistic upbringing keeps coming through despite my efforts to purge myself of such un - pleasantries. One area which came to the fore in the past week was the newspaper and in many cases, I think rightly so. The flap was caused by the British journalists drawing up a code of ethics which among other things suggested that front page nudes in respectable British daily newspapers was a no -no. It may sound funny to those of us accustomed to reading the stuffy old Globe and Mail or the somewhat rural and provincial London Free Press, but daily newspapers in Britain go in for that type of thing. And for some reason it's not considered lecherous for a church going father of three who wouldn't say soap if his hand was full of it, to sit down in front of the fireplace after supper and read all about the sex scandals of the nation. I have an aunt, must be almost a hundred years old by now, who every Sunday parcels up the week's issues of the News of The World if memory serves me well, and forwards them to my father. During my more tender years, mother wold quickly slip them under the sofa, so as not to let any innocent eyes feast on the busty damsels or read the head- lines. Stories in these dailies, read literally by millions of up- standing (???) Britons, are indeed bizarre. "Postie Tells Of Torrid Love Affair With Sorter" could be one, or "Barmaid Scotched After Closing" could read another. By today's reading standards they were quite tame accounts of some misdoing but it has never ceased to be a source of wonderment, not that such things went on or where printed, but the number of readers, both male and female, that they attracted. * Funny, isn't it, how things happen; I had no intention of writing about sex or newspapers when I sat down - so now on to another subject. Winter is officially gone at least but continues to let us know she is (sexist?) still around the corner, waiting to get in her final licks, as Saturday's storm testified. Soon we'll be basking in sunshine and running off to Grand Bend to enjoy Lake Huron. And we'll forget all about this winter! Before I forget, there's a long list of people I'd like to thank for their efforts in making my winter more bearable. There's the fellow who blew out that long lane every time the snowbanks got too high. Then there's the family who stopped and pushed me out of the ditch and the neighbour famer who pulled me out of my driveway with his tractor. Musn't forget the telephone repairman (or is it person) and the line repair crew whohooked up hydro and phone after the ice storm. Still more; there's the highway patrol crews with their plows and the fellow that shovelled the sidewalk at work. There's more but even after going this far, it's obvious to me that I really don't do much on my own to keep winter from getting me down. Next year, I vow beforehand, I'll do more to keep ahead of winter, I'll go south, for sure. * * Somebody told me, we count our blessings only after we have resigned ourselves to the fact that we cannot hope for any additional ones. Easter Seals help crippled children. SUPPORT THE ZURICH LIONS CLUB MunnI©h R1.1Gwz Published Each Wednesday By Huron -Middlesex Publishers Ltd. HERB TURKHEIM, EDITOR Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 Member: ►CNA Canadians Weekly Newspapers Association Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association Subscription Rates: $6.00 per year in advance in Canada; $8.00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 200