Problems in class

Oh Brother! Jade Goody becomes a household name in India

Is classism the new racism in Britain?

Over the past few weeks the British tabloid press (and the quality press!) has worked itself into a frenzy regarding a series of spats in TV's Celebrity Big Brother house between various British D-list celebrity housemates (notably one Jade Goody) and Indian housemate Shilpa Shetty, a Bollywood film star. Actually, a spat is probably the wrong word, as it normally involves attacks from both sides, not principally victimization of one party alone. The incident was made a little more painful for both victim and viewer when racist insults peppered the row. It was suggested that Shetty "couldn't speak English properly", should "go back home" and "visit the slums". Stronger language was also used, as documented by "family newspaper" the News of the World in one of their post-eviction Jade-baiting interviews.

Goody's mother (a self confessed petty crook and sometime drug abuser) - the curiously spelt Jackiey - also refused to pronounce Shetty's name correctly and insisted on calling her "the Indian" and "Princess".


Slanging matches between contestants in "reality shows" (and between Big Brother contestants in particular) is, of course, nothing new, and some cynics think that they are practically encouraged by TV producers in a bid for better ratings. Anyone who watched the last series of Gran Hermano in Spain will also have noticed a racist, sexist bigot among the contestants, but bar presenter Mercedes Milá and a few regulars on the daytime chat shows, most of Spain was not bothered, and the foul mouth of one Dani Rubio was not debated in parliament. Maybe Zapatero and Rajoy didn't want their own slanging match to be overshadowed.

Some commentators have pointed out that more than (or in addition to) racism, the "Jade vs Shilpa" incident smacked of classism. Whereas Shilpa Shetty was seen to be a polite, discreet, well-brought up young lady (and a good actress in all senses of the word) Jade Goody came across as an ignorant, rude, moody "mouthy bird".

Classy versus brassy.

Smart versus tart.

Whether Shilpa and Jade epitomise India or Britain is debatable, but an amusing reversal of the old colonialist (and racist) cliché was there for all to see - the well-spoken, intelligent and literate Indian triumphing over the primitive ignorance of the English.

Many also felt that Jade and her fellow "tormentors" were typical of 21st century British youth: an embarrassment.

It was also interesting that the three winners - fading Bollywood star Shetty, ex A-Team actor Dirk "Face" Benedict and has-been pop star (and brother of Michael) Jermaine Jackson - were all foreigners. The three contestants who were the least offensive were not British, but were the British audiences' favourites.

While Jade Goody is now Britain's number one social pariah.

Here's what the papers said about the racism/classism debate that was a fallout from the CBB episode:

• BBC News on Britain's class divide


• The Observer on Britain's class divide


• The Daily Telegraph on Jade Goody and "class hatred"


• The Sun attempts to address racism and classism post-BigBrother


• Anorak on the Sun's attempt to address racism and classism post-Big Brother


• The Los Angeles Times on Celebrity BB and its race/class repercussions
  

Size matters

No-one who has ever caught a glimpse of a fashion show since the mid-1990's onwards could deny the ubiquity of the scrawny model. Skinny legs, thin arms, drawn features and even visible ribs (more or less) seemed to be pre-requisites for catwalk models in this day and age. Just look at the state of the lass on the right...

Some called it heroin chic, with models in fashion mags and fashion shows looking more like junkies than objects of lust. Over the years many critics claimed these "modern" standards of beauty were responsible for an increase in eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia and that the lives of many fashion-conscious young women (and the models themselves) were being put at risk.

A lot was said about this but nothing was actually done until 2006, when a few bright sparks at Madrid's Cibeles Fashion Week thought it would be a good idea to ban the thinner models from the catwalk. However, this was only after one model who had been due to appear died after living off a diet of lettuce leaves and Diet Coke for several months. Unbeknown to the Brazilian model, Armani's people had already whispered amongst themselves that the waif-like creature was "too skinny".

However, the Madrid catwalk ban on emaciated models opened up a new can of worms: can a local authority put limits on artistic expression? Fashion designers are essentially artists and see their work - clothes and shows - as artistic creations. Can local councils or governments dictate - or essentially censor - an artist's work? Those behind Milan's fashion week seem to think that creative freedom of expression is more important than any knock-on effects like anorexia, bulimia or death (although a subsequent, more logical view has been adopted by the Italian industry, albeit a vague one). Even London Fashion Week seemed reluctant to follow Madrid's lead, despite the worries of MP Tessa Jowell, probably fearing accusations of kow-towing to the nanny state.

The latest news from Madrid is that the big boys of high street fashion in Spain have agreed to standardise their previously all-over-the-place sizing policy, so a size 38 in Zara will be the same size as a size 38 in Mango or Bershka or Massimo Dutti or wherever. Some reports focus on the proposed standardisation for clothes sizes while others choose to focus on the plans to readjust the unnatural measurements of the original fashion model: the showroom dummy (or mannequin).

Here's how the story ran around the English-speaking world:

• BBC News
• The Guardian
• The Times (spot comical mis-spelling of Spanish MP's name...)
• San Jose Mercury News (US)
• CBS News (US)

I predict a riot

A Madrid suburb best known for a tacky Madonna-imitating transvestite and an Ikea has hit the headlines due to a ruck between Spanish locals and Latinos.

Most reports seem to agree that the conflict took place following an argument over a basketball court "occupied" by a group of Latinos, and that this spiralled into a riot between Spaniards and immigrants, about 1,000 or so young people (1,000 Spaniards, the figures for the Latinos are unclear), and that the whole thing had been planned over the internet. Most reports also detail the various weapons used from knives and knuckledusters to guns and even swords(!)... but other details seem to vary depending on where you read the report.

Some sources refer to the object of the locals' ire as being Dominicans, others say they were Latin Kings, some call it a race riot while others say it was a protest against "delinquents" (fight fire with fire, eh?). Local politicians quoted in Spanish papers say that there have been no Latin Kings in Madrid for six months, while the BBC say that Latin Kings are "active" in Alcorcon.

I'll let you make your own minds up about whether this fracas is just a one-off or the tip of the iceberg... here is how the story was reported around the English-speaking world.

• BBC News
• Reuters UK
• Typically Spanish (Spain)
• ThinkSpain (Spain)
• International Herald Tribune (USA)
• Monsters and Critics
• Expatica (Holland)
• Upside Down World
• Vivir Latino (in English!)

You can also listen to a bizarre computer generated recording of the Herald Tribune story linked to above here, where Alcorcón is pronounced Al Cork'n.

Capital letters

Hello and welcome to the blog that isn't a blog really.

For those of you scratching your heads and wondering why words like January and British are written without capital letters in some of the headings on this blog after teachers like myself have persistently drummed into your heads that those capitals are necessary and that "English isn't Spanish" and so on, let me just explain that this is done for stylistic effect (just ask E.E. Cummings*).

A bit like me signing off at the end of each post in all lower-case letters.

I didn't program the template HTML, that's how it comes! It also looks that bit "cooler" (apparently) even though it's technically wrong. A bit like all those Spanish people with "ñ"s in their names that have to change then to "n"s or "ny" or whatever on their email addresses.

Wrong, but tolerated due to technical limitations.

But don't ever think of doing it on a piece of written work though.

Or in a letter.

Or even in an email.

Because what might look cool to some people in a certain place looks a bit silly to others.

Ever see all those funny text messages written at the bottom of the screen during those afternoon television shows?

Then try and imagine they were written by a retired army general and not a spotty teenager.

*P.S. : I wouldn't seriously recommend asking E.E. Cummings... he's dead, you know. An ex-poet, he has ceased to be... etc. etc.