It really doesn’t take much to make some people outraged these days.
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Take yesterday, when a Melbourne committee released its plan to switch around six inner-city traffic signals and turn the little green and red men into little green and red women.
Immediately there were cries of “political correctness gone mad” (I swear that’s what people say these days when they feel a bit threatened by change), and accusations that the $8400 spent on the project could be better used to support women.
Honestly, when I first heard the proposal, I shrugged. Of course there are more important feminist issues to be focusing on as International Women’s Day approaches.
But it caused so much debate, I decided to look again. And, while you’re far more likely to catch me in pants than a dress, I quite like the idea of putting skirts on a few traffic signs.
In isolation, sure, the little green and red women would be tokenism. If that was the single thing this country was doing to address the systemic inequality which advantages men and disadvantages women, I’d definitely have a problem.
But if shaking up these tiny everyday symbols makes more people stop (or go!) and think about how invisible women still are in many aspects of Australian life, then I’m all for it and think it’s a good use of (non-government) money.
In parliament, in the boardroom, in higher paid professions, on nightly news bulletins, breakfast radio and across most realms of public life, women’s voices and faces are still the minority.
Also, many women walk around public spaces feeling unsafe, because – unfortunately – sexual and physical harassment and abuse are still things they have to deal with far too regularly. Hopefully, these little green and red figures are a clear sign that women have just as much right to be seen and safe on our streets.
'Female' traffic lights in Melbourne receive mixed response
A Victorian lobby group has won in its push to have several traffic lights around Melbourne changed into 'female' figures as part of a push for gender equality and to reduce "unconscious bias."
As part of an initiative by The Committee for Melbourne, 10 traffic lights around Melbourne's CBD will now have lights depicting females for a 12-month trial. According to the ABC, the cost of changing more than six traffic lights comes in at $8400 (the Committee for Melbourne and Camlex Electrical are footing the bill). The group eventually want all traffic lights to have an even split between male and female traffic lights.
The move has sparked debate on social media, with people questioning whether the move was overly PC, if the money could have been spent on more worthy initiatives, whether we knew that traffic lights were male in the first place and why the female figure had to be wearing a dress. Could she not be a female traffic light in trousers?
And on the questions went.
- Annie Brown