Moral Maze

The Objectification of Women


Listen Later

That rich men attract beautiful women - and vice versa - has for centuries been obvious and unquestioned. Suddenly a few noisy scandals have started a social avalanche that some call the new puritanism. In the past week Formula 1 racing has abolished the 'grid girls' whose role had been to look glamorous in the company of racing drivers; the Professional Darts Corporation, in consultation with BBC TV, has done away with the 'walk-on girls' who had provided a similar service for the masters of the triple-twenty; and the UK's gambling regulator has threatened to boycott the world's largest gambling industry conference, accusing exhibitors of using 'scantily clad' women to attract people to their product displays. Reaching back into Victorian times for things to tut about, Manchester Art Gallery last week removed from display Waterhouse's painting 'Hylas and the Nymphs' - then, after a public outcry, put it back. Feminists such as Janet Street-Porter have welcomed all this. 'At last,' she says, 'we're moving out of the stone age.' Others think what women choose to do with their bodies is their own business, be they prostitutes, lap-dancers, fashion models or pretty waitresses flirting for tips. Do we want a world in which it's as bad to employ women for their looks as it would be to discriminate on the basis of race or religion? The objectification of women - our Moral Maze this week. Chaired by Michael Buerk, with Matthew Taylor, Claire Fox, Melanie Phillips and Giles Fraser.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Moral MazeBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

49 ratings


More shows like Moral Maze

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,408 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,833 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,715 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

307 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,824 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,072 Listeners

The Week in Westminster by BBC Radio 4

The Week in Westminster

29 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

893 Listeners

A Point of View by BBC Radio 4

A Point of View

74 Listeners

The Reith Lectures by BBC Radio 4

The Reith Lectures

154 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,927 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,069 Listeners

Any Questions? and Any Answers? by BBC Radio 4

Any Questions? and Any Answers?

44 Listeners

The New Statesman | UK politics and culture by The New Statesman

The New Statesman | UK politics and culture

127 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

821 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

75 Listeners

Political Thinking with Nick Robinson by BBC Radio 4

Political Thinking with Nick Robinson

106 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

741 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,968 Listeners

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government by Institute for Government

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

26 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,091 Listeners

The News Agents by Global

The News Agents

974 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics: Leading by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics: Leading

964 Listeners

Radical with Amol Rajan by BBC Radio 4

Radical with Amol Rajan

32 Listeners