RIGHT TO BARE ARMS: Batra sounds off on Kim Campbell's 'sleeveless' slam
Nelson Branco
More from Nelson Branco
Published:
February 13, 2018
Updated:
February 13, 2018 5:51 PM EST
Batra to Braun: Really, Kim? 3:14
Do women have a right to ‘bare’ arms … while they deliver the news?
That’s the debate former prime minister Kim Campbell raised when she tweeted the following:
“I am struck by how many women on television news wear sleeveless dresses — often when sitting with suited men. I have always felt it was demeaning to the women and (Morgan’s blog post) suggests that I am right. Bare arms undermine credibility and gravitas!”
Sun Editor-In-Chief Adrienne Batra and reporter/columnist Liz Braun are left scratching their heads as to why a former female politician would criticize what women wear on air — especially considering that the female empowerment movement continues to solidify itself in the zeitgeist and society.
And don’t forget how former first lady Michelle Obama embraced her famous sleeveless style, which inspired many professional women.
Batra and Braun aren’t the only ones confused: several anchors and reporters were outraged by Campbell’s odd tweet — which she eventually took down.
Watch above for a fiery conversation! (No sleeves were harmed in this conversation.)
Tweet us or Facebook us your take!
RIGHT TO BARE ARMS: Batra sounds off on Kim Campbell’s ‘sleeveless’ slam | Toronto Sun
Ex-PM Kim Campbell says sleeveless dresses ’demeaning’ for female TV broadcasters
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
February 13, 2018
Updated:
February 13, 2018 5:58 PM EST
Batra to Braun: Really, Kim? 3:14
TORONTO — Kim Campbell is admonishing female news anchors who wear sleeveless dresses on the air, calling the bare-armed attire “demeaning.”
The former prime minister tweeted her displeasure with the fashion choice on Tuesday morning by saying “bare arms undermine credibility and gravitas.”
She faced quick criticism and one tweeter pointed out that former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama frequently wore sleeveless dresses.
Campbell replied that she was specifically referring to female broadcasters.
She pointed to an essay by U.S. speaking coach Nick Morgan for back-up, who asserts in a blog post that “if you show up in front of us with skin exposed, we’re going to think about your body.”
He also takes issue with men who wear an “expensive, cool-looking casual T-shirt” for an important speech.
On her verified Twitter account, Campbell said: “I am struck by how many women on television news wear sleeveless dresses — often when sitting with suited men.”
“I have always felt it was demeaning to the women and (Morgan’s blog post) suggests that I am right. Bare arms undermine credibility and gravitas!”
Her position elicited dozens of replies, most of them in protest.
“Please be joking, Kim,” tweeted one user.
Another pointed out that Canada’s first and only female prime minister — who was in office from June 25, 1993 to Oct. 24, 1993 — once bared her shoulders for a provocative black and white photo in 1993 in which she held up a suit of lawyer’s robes in front of her body, as if naked.
Kim Campbell poses nude behind robes in this Barbara Woodley photograph from 1990. (Barbara Woodley/Courtesy Museum of Civilization)
Again, Campbell replied she wasn’t presenting the news at the time.
“Photo was art — juxtaposition of bare shoulders (femininity) and legal robes — (male dominated power structure),” she tweeted.
The controversy harkens back to a similar uproar over female attire on the now-defunct Sun News Network.
That flap erupted soon after the right-wing all-news network debuted in April 2011, with National Post columnist Tasha Kheiriddin deriding the network’s female journalists for dressing like cocktail hostesses in “low cut, sleeveless” attire.
At the time, Luiza Ch. Savage of Maclean’s magazine also called the all-news network “Skank TV” in a tweet that was eventually retracted.
Ex-PM Kim Campbell says bare arms
Nelson Branco
More from Nelson Branco
Published:
February 13, 2018
Updated:
February 13, 2018 5:51 PM EST
Batra to Braun: Really, Kim? 3:14
Do women have a right to ‘bare’ arms … while they deliver the news?
That’s the debate former prime minister Kim Campbell raised when she tweeted the following:
“I am struck by how many women on television news wear sleeveless dresses — often when sitting with suited men. I have always felt it was demeaning to the women and (Morgan’s blog post) suggests that I am right. Bare arms undermine credibility and gravitas!”
Sun Editor-In-Chief Adrienne Batra and reporter/columnist Liz Braun are left scratching their heads as to why a former female politician would criticize what women wear on air — especially considering that the female empowerment movement continues to solidify itself in the zeitgeist and society.
And don’t forget how former first lady Michelle Obama embraced her famous sleeveless style, which inspired many professional women.
Batra and Braun aren’t the only ones confused: several anchors and reporters were outraged by Campbell’s odd tweet — which she eventually took down.
Watch above for a fiery conversation! (No sleeves were harmed in this conversation.)
Tweet us or Facebook us your take!
RIGHT TO BARE ARMS: Batra sounds off on Kim Campbell’s ‘sleeveless’ slam | Toronto Sun
Ex-PM Kim Campbell says sleeveless dresses ’demeaning’ for female TV broadcasters
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
February 13, 2018
Updated:
February 13, 2018 5:58 PM EST
Batra to Braun: Really, Kim? 3:14
TORONTO — Kim Campbell is admonishing female news anchors who wear sleeveless dresses on the air, calling the bare-armed attire “demeaning.”
The former prime minister tweeted her displeasure with the fashion choice on Tuesday morning by saying “bare arms undermine credibility and gravitas.”
She faced quick criticism and one tweeter pointed out that former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama frequently wore sleeveless dresses.
Campbell replied that she was specifically referring to female broadcasters.
She pointed to an essay by U.S. speaking coach Nick Morgan for back-up, who asserts in a blog post that “if you show up in front of us with skin exposed, we’re going to think about your body.”
He also takes issue with men who wear an “expensive, cool-looking casual T-shirt” for an important speech.
On her verified Twitter account, Campbell said: “I am struck by how many women on television news wear sleeveless dresses — often when sitting with suited men.”
“I have always felt it was demeaning to the women and (Morgan’s blog post) suggests that I am right. Bare arms undermine credibility and gravitas!”
Her position elicited dozens of replies, most of them in protest.
“Please be joking, Kim,” tweeted one user.
Another pointed out that Canada’s first and only female prime minister — who was in office from June 25, 1993 to Oct. 24, 1993 — once bared her shoulders for a provocative black and white photo in 1993 in which she held up a suit of lawyer’s robes in front of her body, as if naked.
Kim Campbell poses nude behind robes in this Barbara Woodley photograph from 1990. (Barbara Woodley/Courtesy Museum of Civilization)
Again, Campbell replied she wasn’t presenting the news at the time.
“Photo was art — juxtaposition of bare shoulders (femininity) and legal robes — (male dominated power structure),” she tweeted.
The controversy harkens back to a similar uproar over female attire on the now-defunct Sun News Network.
That flap erupted soon after the right-wing all-news network debuted in April 2011, with National Post columnist Tasha Kheiriddin deriding the network’s female journalists for dressing like cocktail hostesses in “low cut, sleeveless” attire.
At the time, Luiza Ch. Savage of Maclean’s magazine also called the all-news network “Skank TV” in a tweet that was eventually retracted.
Ex-PM Kim Campbell says bare arms
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