Cosas de Spain/Galiza/Portugal

Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas comments that; When we[Brits?] think of racism, we think of foreigners. In Spain, it’s a little more complicated. From ECD here: A gypsy couple, a girl wearing a veil and a young African star in the government’s TV campaign against racism.

Talking about things Spaniards disfavour . . . Let’s hear it for Gib . . .

Not quite yesterday’s dawn . . .

For lovers of bacalhau.

Ukraine

Is the ground under Zelensky’s feet shifting, as alleged here?

Ground beneath Zelensky’s feet is shifting

The Way of the World

Some folk in the UK are considering not having their heating on this coming winter. I wonder how they feel about Rory McIlroy banking more than £15m[sic] after winning a golf match.

Is this the woke mob’s maddest idea yet – fighting sexism by going topless. See the article below.

A pretty sound prediction . . .

Finally  

To amuse . . .

Well, it made me laugh.

For new readers: If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there.

THE ARTICLE  

The woke mob’s maddest idea yet: fighting sexism… by going topless. Campaigners really do seem to believe that they can end the ‘sexualisation’ of women… by getting their kit off in public: Michael Deacon, The Telegraph.

Like so many current progressive trends, I would never have seen it coming 20 years ago. Yet here it is. A growing number of feminists are telling women to fight back against sexist discrimination – by taking their tops off.

It sounds improbable. But it’s true. As reported in the Telegraph, campaigners in the Catalonia region of Spain are demanding that women be given the right to go topless in public swimming pools. After all, they explain, men are allowed to swim topless. So it’s sexist double standards to prevent women from doing it.

“Women should have the right to freedom of expression with their bodies,” declares Neus Pociello, the executive director of the Catalan Women’s Institute. She adds that the “discrimination” against topless women “stems from the sexualisation of women’s bodies”.

Presumably, therefore, she believes that allowing women to swim topless would reduce this sexualisation. Although an alternative possibility, I suspect, is that it would increase it, because the swimming pools of Catalonia would be full of horrible men leering and wolf-whistling and making lewd remarks.

At any rate, feminist support for female toplessness is not confined to Catalonia. It’s growing in Britain, too. Earlier this month, a campaign called “Free the Nipple” held a rally on Brighton Beach, consisting of topless women waving angry placards. According to its organisers, “Free the Nipple is a worldwide movement of people protesting the double standard of nipple censorship, body shame and unwanted sexualisation.” One topless young woman brandished a placard that read, “SMASH SEXISM”. Another used body paint to spray her chest with the message, “Mine sustain life. Why do they offend?”

I’ve no doubt that this campaign is well-intentioned. On the other hand, I fear it will backfire. The next time a revolting drunken yob shouts, “Get your —- out” at some poor young woman, he may try to defend himself by insisting that he was simply protesting the double standard of nipple censorship, body shame and unwanted sexualisation.

Personally, I think there’s a far preferable way to achieve gender equality. Instead of permitting female toplessness, we should ban male toplessness. After all, no one wants to see our breasts.

To this end, I intend to launch a vital new campaign. It’s called “Put Them Away, Lads”. If you wish to lend your support, you’ll find me marching up and down Brighton Beach this afternoon, handing out free jumpers to men with hideous moobs.