...and then someone sent a not-so-pleasant letter to the national paper:
______________________________________________________________
After the accident involving a 61-year-old woman
who was frightened by the sight of a cockroach,
I have seen a few comics in The Straits Times
and Lianhe Zaobao about the incident.
I found the comics hilarious initially,
but on closer look, I discovered that the people
shown to be scared by the cockroach were always women.
I was appalled by that because, by showing a woman,
the comics send the warped message that women
are socialised to show fear, while it is
not socially acceptable for men to have fears.
I believe that comics should be funny,
but cartoonists must be careful of the impression
the comics might leave on people,
such as gender stereotypes.
For example, these comics on the cockroach incident
may strengthen the notion that women are afraid
of insects and cannot handle such minor adversities.
We need to allow the younger generation to realise
that both genders can have fears.
Wee Ai Lee Ginnie, 14
Secondary 3 student
______________________________________________________________
My comics "send the warped message that women are socialised to show fear,
while it is not socially acceptable for men to have fears" ??
But it can't be, 'cos I also did this:
Let me check...
Hmm, 2015.
So, nope.
