What's male, white and politically incorrect?

The Globe and Mail ^ | December 22, 2000 | ALAN FREEMAN

[aculeus]

LONDON -- There's not much snow in England at Christmas but that hasn't stopped a British academic from discovering the true meaning behind that most familiar of winter symbols, the snowman. And needless to say, it's causing waves.

Tricia Cusack, an art historian at the University of Birmingham, has been studying the cultural meaning of snowmen for five years and has concluded that they are simply another symbol of male dominance in society.

[ClearCase_guy]

I've always considered the snow people to be rather Rubenesque. I admire their smooth, round buttocks.

[1Old Pro]

If the snowman is a male, then what the hell is he doing with a broom? Everyone knows that sweeping is a woman's job. She does that after cooking dinner and washing the dishes.

[dighton]

A classic. Something in Birmingham's water, I guess, just like Berkeley's and Madison's.

November 9 1998 BRITAIN

Christmas is coming but not as we know it

BY PETER FOSTER

BIRMINGHAM will celebrate the festive season as usual this year with carol singing, fairy lights and street entertainment - but don’t call it Christmas.

Council officials have renamed it “Winterval” in the hope of creating a more multi-cultural atmosphere in keeping with the city’s mix of ethnic groups. The new word, coined by the city council’s entertainments section, will apply to 42 days of festivities around Christmas and new year.

The Bishop of Birmingham, the Right Rev Mark Santer, has used his annual Christmas message to express his astonishment. “I wonder what madness is in store for us this Christmas?” he wrote. “I confess I laughed out loud when our city council came out with ‘Winterval’ as a way of not talking about Christmas!

“Once it was religious people who were seen as killjoys; think of the 17th-century Puritans trying to ban Christmas festivities. Now, it seems, the secular world, which professes respect for all, is actually deeply embarrassed by faith.”

Yesterday the council was playing down the suggestion that it had renamed Christmas as the bishop’s remarks looked likely to provoke a row. A council spokesman said: “As the events run before and after Christmas we have not called it a Christmas Festival. But Christmas is included in the programme of events which will have traditional images, including angels and carol singers.”

John Alden, a Tory councillor, said: “The sad socialists are caught in a time warp because, while they may be worried about calling Christmas ‘Christmas’, ethnic minorities don’t worry about it at all. They have their own festivities and they are quite happy that Christians have theirs.”

As the birthplace of the Balti curry Birmingham is justly famous for its Indian restaurants and the vibrant multi-culturalism of the Sikh, Muslim and Hindu communities. The city has recently witnessed major celebrations of the Hindu and Sikh festival of Diwali and the Muslim festival of Eid is also publicly celebrated.

Yesterday non-Christians in Birmingham appeared baffled by the council’s apparent sensitivity on their behalf. Abdul Hamid, 45, said: “If I want to be a true Muslim I have to love Jesus Christ as much any Christian does.

“It’s a bit silly for the council to try to rename Christmas. People will ignore the new name anyway. We have Christian neighbours who join in with our Eid celebrations and we take part in all the Christmas festivities too.”

Ashish Dave, 20, a Hindu, said: “People of any religion should be free to call their festivities whatever they like without interference from busybodies in councils.”

Copyright 1998 Times Newspapers Ltd.

[Braak]

More proof that the PC people well and truely have lost their collective minds and have gone as mad as a march hare.

[fone]

Tell 'em it's FESTIVUS!

[Kenton]

"Let's just be a bit more imaginative -- why not have a snowwoman?"

Because in order to build a snow woman that anybody could realize, it would have to have snow breasts, and some stupid-a** extreme leftwing gender feminazi would take offense at it. Bitter lesbian prudes like Tricia Cusack are so sad, aren't they?

Where's Ivan, I bet he knows what this biddy needs.

[Guillermo]

This is, no doubt, from The Onion.

[basil]

I always wonder about people who would spend 5 years of their lives studying something this mundane. It seems to me that a person stupid enough to do this would not be someone who is going to come up with anything other than nonsense.

[G L Tirebiter]

I'll keep looking but can't find the link to "The Onion". It's gotta be there somewhere...

[TomGuy]

For your edification and enlightment:

The White Trash Christmas.

[CFC__VRWC]

I tried the Globe & Mail link at the top of the article and was directed to WSJ.com (the subscriber side). I can't access the article.

[Pagey]

"...Tricia Cusack, an art historian at the University of Birmingham, has been studying the cultural meaning of snowmen for five years..."

Five Years??? Oh lord, imagine all the other possibilities over a time period of 5 years.Still LOL. Can you just imagine if kids started putting breasts and drawing the private areas to make it a snow-woman, what their parents would do if they saw it? Is this woman completely whacked? I believe so. Just another example of male dominance in society'? This lady needs to go and shake herself and wake up.

[Faith]

Can you imagine standing in front of your Creator and having to justify this as your life's work?

[tracer]

Me...........

[CFC__VRWC]

I have to admit that I get a sense of relief when I see stories like this in the European media. It tells me that our master plan to bring down the rest of the world by exporting liberalism is working. </decoder ring>

[wjcsux]

What do you want to bet that this tripe was funded by the U.K. taxpayers?

[E Rocc]

Who put the [clinton] on the snowman?!

-Eric

[Dimensio]

Tricia Cusack, an art historian at the University of Birmingham, has been studying the cultural meaning of snowmen for five years and has concluded that they are simply another symbol of male dominance in society.

Riiiiiiiight. After all, if we weren't a racist society we'd have lots of black snowmen too.

[Liberal Classic]

To say nothing of the negative portrayal of yellow snowmen.

[Coto]

"...What's male, white and politically incorrect? "

ME !

[Imal]

Well, here's a useful bit of "science"! The parade of the absurd continues...

[The Duke]

"The snowman is, of course, white, invariably male and generally adult,"

I guess that all depends on whether you've got a one-carrot snowman or a two-carrot snowman!

[Dimensio]

No comment.

[Oberon]

I actually checked to see if this was from The Onion. I was horrified to see that it was not.

[Junior]

[ijcr]

It is obvious to every one that the difference between a snow man and a snow woman are snow balls.

[GOP_Raider]

Great Calvin and Hobbes strips! I wish Bill Watterson hadn't have stopped the strip, it was the only reason why I got the newspaper every day.

[RaceBannon]

She's right, we always built OUR snowwomen INSIDE the house...

[kitkat]

***What do you want to bet that this tripe was funded by the U.K. taxpayers.***

Exactly!!!!!! These people have too much money and too much time on their hands. Why aren't they out doing some nursing care in their rotten health care hospitals?

[nightdriver]

"Because in order to build a snow woman that anybody could realize, it would have to have snow breasts, and some stupid-a** extreme leftwing gender feminazi would take offense at it."

That's exactly what we did one year at our college dorm and wow! Was she ever voluptuous!

And the feminazis did exactly what you said they would do. They hacked our "snowbroad" to bits one night.

[ErnBatavia]

[mikeb704]

What's male, white and politically incorrect?

I thought for sure it would be this gent:

Santa thinks about a career change

[Charles Martel]

Thanks for posting the "Calvin" snowmen - I'd been meaning to hunt those down. I really miss that comic strip.

[judgeandjury]

The very fact that snow is white is proof that white people are racist. /sarcasm

It shouldn't be too long before MALDEF or La Raza starts demanding that some brown snow be allowed to fall over us all.

[Joseph_CutlerUSA]

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA
*GASP*
AHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA

Truth is sometimes better then satire.

[It's me]

Do these people realize just how ridiculous they actually sound? Will this stupidity ever end?

[NYDave]

My dog makes yellow snow.

[MadIvan]

I have to wonder if my tax money is going towards this woman to do her research.

No, no, banish that...think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts... ;)

Regards, Ivan

[NYDave]

The only thing I can say about this girl, chick, babe, broad, is what a twit.

[Kenton]

Porgie Tirebiter, is that REALLY YOU after all these years?

[Interesting Times]

Here are a few more...

[smpc]

lmao

[TotusTuus]

"bulbous body, phallic carrot-nose and blank, unindividualized eyes have obvious elements of the grotesque."

Oh Geez,....

Well, if one really wanted to impose a carrot as a phallic symbol, I suppose with a little creativity and imagination there are other areas in the "bulbous body" that one could stick it!

[fightu4it]

Tricia Cusack, an art historian at the University of Birmingham, has been studying the cultural meaning of snowmen for five years and has concluded that they are simply another symbol of male dominance in society.

If it took her five years to figure it out, how bright can she be?

[oyez]

bfl

[jiggyboy]

This sounds like another one of those joke "studies" that has hoodwinked the press.