CBC.ca

As we were going to press with this newsletter, an issue was brought to our attention that may be of interest to our readers: sexist and demeaning content on CBC's website, and their policies (or lack, thereof) with respect to "user generated content."

On Nov. 25, CBC.ca reported on the recent layoffs of ballet dancers at Ballet BC. The CBC invites reader responses on their online articles, and, as of this writing, some 86 have been posted about the Ballet BC piece. Among them, these two were posted:

"Raw Dawg wrote: Posted 2008/11/25 at 11:59 PM ET: If they all got implants, they'd make mighty FINE pole dancers!!!! I'd buy that for a dollar!"

"Babalone wrote: Posted 2008/11/26 at 12:37 AM ET: I think I saw a couple of the ballerinas working just down the street at the local strip club. Their flexibility and training will come in handy. Plus, they will definitely make a lot more money then what they making with the company. See....our taxpayers money is not going to waste afterall!"

Inapproriate user coments unchecked

A colleague of ours used the "report abuse" function on the CBC website to protest these comments, but CBC did not take any action. The next day, he wrote to CBC, requesting that these two comments be removed from CBC's website because he felt that CBC's corporate website should not give voice to such sexist and demeaning comments.

CBC removed the first of the comments, but not the second. Of the first, they said that it was an "error on [its] part to have published this comment with a disparaging remark on the physical appearance of ballerinas, and this comment was removed from the site." CBC refused to remove the second comment and justified its position by saying that, "after review and much consideration at the senior management level," their view was that the post did not offend CBC's terms of use because it was "framed as speculation ('I think I saw...') rather than a statement of fact", and because there were two other comments critical of Babalone's post. CBC News Executive Editor, Esther Enkin, said: " the importance of allowing its expression outweighs its potential to offend."

Hmmmm ... that old chestnut about free expression, so often trotted out and used to trump derogatory remarks about women, is no doubt being roasted in the fire in this case, too.

And Babalone's post remains posted on CBC.ca.

Sexism rules not followed

CBC does have written guidelines for such submissions. Its Guidelines for Submission clearly state that individuals making any sort of online submission to CBC's website, including reader comments, must "always avoid ... racist, sexist and offensive language". According to the Guidelines, comments violating this rule will not be posted. See the CBC.ca Guidelines for Submission page. One would think that this rule, properly applied, would require the removal of Babalone's offending comment. However, CBC is refusing to abide by its own guideline, on our analysis.

The terms of use for CBC's website is even more interesting. The terms of use governing submissions to the site prohibit postings that, inter alia, promote "racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual". There is no prohibition on postings promoting sexism and degradation of women! While it may be possible to argue that sexism falls under "bigotry or hatred", this appears to be a most peculiar gap in CBC's prohibition against harmful and offensive speech on its website.

More vigilance required

There are only a few women ballet dancers with Ballet BC who may well feel personally demeaned by these comments and who may have personal legal claims for harm caused to them. But we are concerned here about the broader issue of where the CBC draws the line when it comes to user comments that perpetuate anti-women sentiments and the notion that women's bodies have value only as sexualized objects of male desire.

The CBC has to be a leader, surely, in this challenging area of what is racist, sexist and homophobic. The most important issue is the proper implementation of its own policies. The CBC should be vigilant about women's rights and dignity. The forum in which these comments were made is for discussion of the news items, not for airing offensive, misogynistic and irrelevant opinions which are harmful to women's place in Canadian society.

Click here to see the original article and reader comments.

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