《小猪佩奇》性别歧视？伦敦消防局批其用词不当

颇受欢迎的英国儿童电视节目《小猪佩奇》近日被伦敦消防局公开批评，称该节目在提到“消防员”时使用的是fireman，而不是已经更加普及的firefighter，是性别歧视行为。同时，伦敦消防局还对芭比娃娃提出表扬。这到底是怎么一回事呢？

Peppa Pig, the perky little porcine beloved of preschoolers across the world, is at the center of a sexism row after London's fire service accused makers of the hit show of using "out of date stereotypical gender specific wording."

活泼可爱的小猪佩奇深受全球学龄前儿童的喜爱，然而最近佩奇身陷性别歧视的风波。英国伦敦消防局批评这部热门儿童剧的制作人使用了“过时的刻板性别特定用语”。

perky['pɜːkɪ]：adj.神气的；得意洋洋的；自信的；活泼的

The blockbuster cartoon, which airs in more than 180 countries, has faced criticism after an episode called "The Fire Engine" referred to a firefighter as a fireman.

这部热门的儿童剧在180多个国家播放。在《消防车》一集中提到消防员时，台词中使用了fireman（有明确性别指向）而不是firefighter（无性别指向）。

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) tweeted: "Come on @peppapig, we've not been firemen for 30 years. You have a huge influence on kids & using out of date stereotypical gender specific wording prevents young girls from becoming firefighters. Join our #Firefightingsexism campaign."

伦敦消防局发推特说：“可别这么说了，佩奇，我们不当firemen已经有30年了。你们在小朋友当中有很大影响力，使用过时的刻板性别特定词汇会让女孩不愿意当消防员。快加入我们的#消防员反性别歧视运动吧。”

stereotypical [,steriə'tipikl]：adj.老一套的；陈规的

The fire service also criticized Fireman Sam, another character popular with British preschoolers, while praising the makers of Barbie for producing a fire-fighting doll. The model was issued in a series of career dolls to celebrate Barbie's 60th birthday, though the first Barbie firefighter went on sale in 1995.

伦敦消防局还批评了另一档在英国学龄前儿童中人气很高的节目《消防员山姆》，同时还表扬了芭比娃娃制造商推出消防员玩偶。这个玩偶是为纪念芭比娃娃诞生60周年而推出的职业玩偶系列中的一个，首个芭比娃娃消防员玩偶在1995年问世。

伦敦消防局发推文说：“欢迎芭比娃娃加入消防队，她将投身于消防事业，帮助女孩和男孩拓展思路，尽情设想今后自己能从事什么样的工作。”

不过，伦敦消防局在性别平等问题上抓住具体词汇“较真儿”，也遭到了挖苦。著名电视主持人皮尔斯·摩根就此跟伦敦消防局杠上了。

TV presenter Piers Morgan tweeted: "If women are being 'put off' joining the fire service because Fireman Sam supposedly 'perpetuates male stereotypes' then can I politely suggest these women probably don't have what it takes to fight fires."

他在推特上说：“如果女性不愿当消防员是因为《消防员山姆》使用了不恰当的性别用语，那我或许可以臆测，这些女性根本不适合当消防员”。

LFB hit back, saying that girls "think they can't be firefighters because children's TV continues to use outdated language".

伦敦消防局马上怼回去说，“女孩是因为儿童电视节目总用过时的语言才认为自己不能当消防员的。”

"If you respect our work, then get our name right," the brigade tweeted.

伦敦消防局发推特说：“如果你们尊重我们的工作，就应该把我们的名称叫准确”。

但是，主持人摩根依然对伦敦消防局不依不饶，又跑到英国独立电视台的《早上好，英国》节目中展开辩论。这次他举的例子是Postman，也就是“邮差”，这个词在英文中只有男性指向的写法，不存在中性的写法。

Morgan continued the debate on ITV's Good Morning Britain, telling viewers: "Postman Pat - he can't be a postman any more. What is he, a postperson? Postperson Patricia?

摩根在英国独立电视台的《早上好，英国》节目中继续辩论，告诉观众说：“邮差派特（《邮递员派特叔叔》是一档儿童动画）》不能再当邮差了。他是谁？邮政人员？帕特里克邮政人员？”

摩根还引申开来说，难道还不允许有黑白两色的猫咪了？

"And you can't have a black and white cat because that's racist."

“说猫咪是黑白两色的，就是种族歧视吗？”

The fire brigade's tweets sparked a row, with one Twitter user posting a picture of a Peppa Pig story book that clearly features several female firefighters, including Mummy Pig.

伦敦消防局的推文引发了争议，一名推特用户上传了一张《小猪佩奇》故事书中的图片，上面清楚地画着几名女性消防员，还包括佩奇的妈妈。

Another Twitter user pointed out that Fireman Sam features a woman called Firefighter Penny Morris, to which the LFB responded by saying her involvement is "completely devalued" by the show's name.

另一名推特用户指出，《消防员山姆》中有一名女性被称为消防员彭妮-莫里斯。而伦敦消防局回应说，由于节目的名称，莫里斯在书中“存在感被大大降低了”。

The LFB says it currently employs 354 female firefighters -- 7.39% of its operational workforce.

伦敦消防局称，目前有354名女性消防员，占到职员总数的7.39%。

According to government statistics, women represent around 5% of firefighters in England and Scotland and just 3% in Northern Ireland.

据政府数据，英格兰和苏格兰的女消防员占大约5%，在北爱尔兰这一比例仅为3%。