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Johannesburg - Angela Larkan from Hibberdene says people are overreacting to popular DJ Gareth Cliff’s comment that "girls of 22 usually do nothing but lie on their backs with their legs open".
The young humanitarian was responding to the controversy surrounding Cliff following his recent interview on 5FM with the 27-year-old Aids activist. "I didn't take offence to what Gareth Cliff said. I don't think he meant to offend anyone. His intentions were completely misunderstood."
Larkan said that she thinks that people have blown the issue out of proportion. "I ignored his comment and continued with the interview because the bigger issue for me is the poverty and Aids that is affecting our community."
Larkan said that it is sad that people chose to see Cliff's comment as being more worthy than the actual interview which focused on the issues of Aids and poverty in South Africa.
Cliff has dismissed complaints labeling him as a sexist calling them "preposterous". "This whole story is preposterous. It is spurious and seems a deliberate attempt by a minor politician and newspapers to make a mountain out of a molehill," Cliff wrote on his blog.
Appalled
The Witness reported on Tuesday that KZN DA councilor Tex Collins reported Cliff to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA (BCCSA) because he (Collins) was appalled at remarks made by Cliff during the interview. On his blog Cliff said he refuted the allegation and considered it insulting to be called a sexist.
Durban student and gender activist Sarah Dawson created a petition ‘5FM’s Gareth Cliff is Sexist’. The petition also called for the station to dismiss Cliff as it would be acting in an "immensely socially irresponsible" way to allow the DJ to continue at the station and thereby condone his comments.
"In Gareth Cliff's defence I don't think he realised the impact his negative comment would make. He was paying a compliment to Angela Larkan but everybody else is not Angela Larkan," Dawson said.
According to her she was more appalled by Cliff’s responses to the issue following his comment than the actual comment itself. Cliff is reported to have said, “I accept that some sensitive people may have felt the comment offensive, but who (unless they were described by it) would consider themselves so described if there were no truth to the insult?
"According his silly logic it is true that he is a sexist because he was insulted by being labeled as one. His comments are completely immature," Dawson added. She said very little is being done to highlight gender issues and the moment someone speaks out against it then they are overacting.
"Whenever it is a racial issue people are up in arms yet when women are patronised everyone tends to be submissive about it."
Dawson said the primary intent of the petition is for public figures to be more responsible with what they say. "Yes you have freedom of expression but there are also responsibilities not to transgress those rights especially on a national broadcaster. People like Gareth Cliff do need to fight for gender equality, but they shouldn’t work against it either," she added.
The young humanitarian was responding to the controversy surrounding Cliff following his recent interview on 5FM with the 27-year-old Aids activist. "I didn't take offence to what Gareth Cliff said. I don't think he meant to offend anyone. His intentions were completely misunderstood."
Larkan said that she thinks that people have blown the issue out of proportion. "I ignored his comment and continued with the interview because the bigger issue for me is the poverty and Aids that is affecting our community."
Larkan said that it is sad that people chose to see Cliff's comment as being more worthy than the actual interview which focused on the issues of Aids and poverty in South Africa.
Cliff has dismissed complaints labeling him as a sexist calling them "preposterous". "This whole story is preposterous. It is spurious and seems a deliberate attempt by a minor politician and newspapers to make a mountain out of a molehill," Cliff wrote on his blog.
Appalled
The Witness reported on Tuesday that KZN DA councilor Tex Collins reported Cliff to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA (BCCSA) because he (Collins) was appalled at remarks made by Cliff during the interview. On his blog Cliff said he refuted the allegation and considered it insulting to be called a sexist.
Durban student and gender activist Sarah Dawson created a petition ‘5FM’s Gareth Cliff is Sexist’. The petition also called for the station to dismiss Cliff as it would be acting in an "immensely socially irresponsible" way to allow the DJ to continue at the station and thereby condone his comments.
"In Gareth Cliff's defence I don't think he realised the impact his negative comment would make. He was paying a compliment to Angela Larkan but everybody else is not Angela Larkan," Dawson said.
According to her she was more appalled by Cliff’s responses to the issue following his comment than the actual comment itself. Cliff is reported to have said, “I accept that some sensitive people may have felt the comment offensive, but who (unless they were described by it) would consider themselves so described if there were no truth to the insult?
"According his silly logic it is true that he is a sexist because he was insulted by being labeled as one. His comments are completely immature," Dawson added. She said very little is being done to highlight gender issues and the moment someone speaks out against it then they are overacting.
"Whenever it is a racial issue people are up in arms yet when women are patronised everyone tends to be submissive about it."
Dawson said the primary intent of the petition is for public figures to be more responsible with what they say. "Yes you have freedom of expression but there are also responsibilities not to transgress those rights especially on a national broadcaster. People like Gareth Cliff do need to fight for gender equality, but they shouldn’t work against it either," she added.
