The end of the world has now been officially confirmed — at least, according to some Twitter users after the latest gender equality debate.
It’s a surprisingly early exit for Planet Earth — which many thought had at least another 12 years to go until climate change doomed us forever — as social media commented that the world was finally broken; while some observed that the 4.5 billion year-old rock had somehow “gone mad” when faced with its own mortality.
Sources traced the apocalypse back to UK television show Good Morning Britain — fronted by serial provocateur Piers Morgan and award-winning presenter Susanna Reid — who over several days debated a statement made by the London Fire Brigade criticising outdated gender stereotypes in children’s cartoon Fireman Sam.
Take Action: Stand With Every Woman, Every Child: Ask World Leaders to End Preventable Deaths
Fireman Sam is an animated series created in 1987, set in the fictional Welsh town of Pontypanty, that follows the alarmingly frequent emergencies that writer Dean Burnett points out occur among a population of just 23 – over a quarter of whom are firefighters.
It’s clearly a place where they've failed to educate the public about basic fire safety. But the argument that has emerged online focuses on the title of the show itself: whether it should be called Firefighter Sam to encourage more young girls to dream of applying to the fire service.
If women are being 'put off' joining the fire service because Fireman Sam - A CARTOON CHARACTER - supposedly 'perpetuates male stereotypes' then can I politely suggest these women probably don't have what it takes to fight fires. pic.twitter.com/YEZXZtDQ0J
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 18, 2019
Just 300 out of 5,000 of the LFB’s operational firefighters are women — a meagre 6%. And if you look to Wales, Fireman Sam’s Grand Slam-winning home, the problem is way worse: Just 4% of firefighters are female, compared to a third of the police force.
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“I want all young people, girls and boys, to be able to be the very best they can be and not be influenced by gender stereotypes,” London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton told Good Morning Britain. “There’s still the very basic concept that women … don’t understand that women are firefighters.”
But the suggestion of more inclusive characters has provoked, according to Twitter, the world suddenly catching fire. At time of writing, there has been no mention that what we probably need, therefore, is more firefighters.
This programme is not sexist... it’s Fireman Sam next we will be talking about postman pat and bob the builder😂😂 these people are ridiculous @GMB@piersmorganpic.twitter.com/QP4Dn29ePR
— Charlie Austin (@chazaustin10) March 19, 2019
The London Fire Brigade is mad at Peppa Pig and Fireman Sam and are accusing them of sexism.
— Damo (@MCFCDamo) March 20, 2019
I'm this close to giving up guys, the world is lost. https://t.co/smMvqA57Ek
“When we’ve done the research, what we see is that gender roles go into children at the age of seven,” journalist Harriet Minter told the television show on Monday. “So by seven, children, if you say to them, ‘draw a firefighter’, will draw a man.”
In October 2017, the LFB launched a campaign called #FirefightingSexism to improve diversity and representation in the fire service. The following year, a YouGov poll conducted by the mayor of London found that a quarter of people thought men made superior firefighters, while only 7% thought the same about police officers.
Across the whole of Britain, just 5.2% of firefighters are female.
“I hope that we at some point see a revised version of Fireman Sam,” Victoria Atkins MP, minister for women, told the House of Commons on Feb. 7.
“I think we know from social media campaigns that children grow up expecting firefighters to be male, which then cuts off perhaps their career opportunities or expectations as they go through school and into training.”
The LFB also highlighted the use of the word “fireman” on children’s show Peppa Pig, commenting that gender stereotypes in language have a “huge influence on kids”.
Come on @peppapig, we’ve not been firemen for 30 years. You have a huge influence on kids & using out of date stereotypical gender specific wording prevents young girls from becoming firefighters. Join our #Firefightingsexism campaign https://t.co/IRjLtqolEl
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) March 17, 2019