The Continued Emasculation of Daddy Pig

June 27, 2016 Jayne17 Comments

Having two kids with a 5 and and half year age gap means that I’m suffering enjoying a lot of the same programmes a second time around, and BB is at that age where EVERYTHING must be Peppa Pig (save for a couple of times a week when she takes a brief foray into Topsy and Tim, her previous programme du jour). This means that, during the week, Peppa is usually on in the backgroud for much of the late morning/early afternoon period while I work and do housework and BB mills around doing what it is that toddlers do (picking her nose and sticking stickers on my furniture, mostly).

Watching the same episodes of Peppa over and over again means that you notice certain things and one of those things is what I like to call “The Emasculation of Daddy Pig”. See, there seems to be a running theme in Peppa; Daddy is a bit useless and is fair game for mockery. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a bit of banter (HASHTAG BANTZ), but he seems to really get the rough end of the deal, and it’s got to a point where it’s verging on misandry. Jokes are made about Daddy Pig that no-one would DARE make about Mummy Pig because it would have people getting into an Everyday Sexism frenzy…so, let’s take a look at what those episodes might look like…

Mummy’s Fat Tummy

Everyone decides (after years of mockery) that Mummy Pig needs to get off of her fat arse and lose some weight, so Daddy Pig forces her to do exercise videos and go on bike rides (on a bike which is dangerously small for her). Everyone is waiting at home to take the piss out of how unfit she is.

Mummy Fucks Up The DIY

Daddy Pig has an important meeting to go to, so he asks Mummy Pig to hang a painting. Of course, Mummy is a hapless fuckwit and manages to knock a whole load of plaster off of the wall. She’s terrified that Daddy Pig will have a shit-fit at her when he gets home so she quickly re-renders the wall before he gets there. Once he gets home, he takes over because he’s obviously so much more capable than her and puts the painting up with a single flick of a hammer.

Mummy’s a Greedy Bitch

The whole family visits the supermarket to buy lots of healthy things off of their list. When they get to the checkout, they realise that Mummy Pig has put a chocolate cake on the conveyor belt and although they all agree that Mummy is a greedy, ‘naughty’ bastard, they all let her have it anyway (despite the fact that she’s clearly the main breadwinner and as such can buy whatever the fuck she wants).

Mummy Pig Doesn’t Speak French

Peppa gets a phone call from her French pen-pal and despite claiming she can speak French, Mummy Pig isn’t able to communicate with Delphine and, in fact, doesn’t even recognise that she’s speaking a foreign language in the first place, declaring it all to be “nonsense” and revealing herself to be a braggart who lacks any form of common sense or intelligence.

Now, I’m just going to put this out there; if ANY of these episodes were real and this kind of mockery, fat-shaming and stereotypical sexist bullshit was aimed at Mummy Pig, there would be OUTRAGE. But, because Daddy Pig is only a man, it’s okay to disregard his feelings and bully him on a daily basis, because don’t be silly, men don’t have feelings!

The worst part is, Peppa Pig was created and is written by TWO MEN! That leads me to one of two conclusions – either Mark Baker and Neville Astley are weird, self-hating males who think it’s okay to deride their own gender OR they think that they’re somehow appealing to the common housewife who obviously hates men. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with either conclusion, if I’m honest. I want my girls to grow up knowing A) everyone has different strengths, regardless of their gender and B) bullying people based on archaic, clichéd notions is just wrong.

I’d love to know what you think about this. Am I reading far too much into Peppa bloody Pig and need to seriously get a life? Or is this something which gets on your teats as much as it does mine? Leave me a comment below.

Review

Peppa Pig Minis – A Review

May 2, 2012December 6, 2013 Jayne1 Comment

We’re big fans of Peppa Pig in this house – I think I get more exicted than Sausage when new episodes come out! A little while ago, we were asked to review some Peppa Pig mini games and we’ve been sent three different items to play with.

Mini Stick on Felts (RRP £9.99)

These were a big hit with Sausage, she loves being able to make a million different scenes and then start all over again by simply peeling the felts off of the board. I don’t know if I’d recommend them for travel as I reckon you’d be finding Peppa shaped felts down the back of your car seats for years to come, but they were still very popular with Sausage.

Mini Sketchy Fun (RRP £5.99)

This was the biggest hit of all with Sausage as she’s MAD about drawing and writing. It’s a product with so many uses too, she uses it for drawing by herself but Husband and I have also been using it to test her on her words and letters in as many inventive ways as we can think of. I’d recommend this for any kid, but especially if they’re learning to read and write as the novelty value makes learning even more fun.

Mini Dough Set (RRP £6.99)

If you’ve read this, you’ll know how I feel about play dough.

ACK.

In terms of the moulds and tools that came with this set, they were lovely, very cute little toys. Again, I’m not sure of these as travel toys, play dough and cars is just asking for a royal mess. I’m not a fan of dough and, as predicted, one pot dried out within about 48 hours from being left open and the other one is currently in the process of being scraped out of my carpet, but if you have a slightly older kid (or one who is unusually tidy) this is still a nice set.

Opinion · Parenting

Things you never think about…until you become a parent.

October 26, 2010 Jayne3 Comments

Note to self; I must remember that Sausage has been eating lumps of red Play Doh, before I change her nappy and panic about all the red bits in her poo.
Hmm, I wonder if there’s a more practical way to deal with an attached child than to have them actually sitting on your lap while you pee?
Oh, wow, she moved over a bit, that means I now have FOUR WHOLE INCHES of my kingsize bed, all to myself!
I wonder if I can cut her hair/fingernails/toenails while she’s asleep, so I can avoid being kicked in the teeth/stabbed?
I wonder if Aunty Mabel actually took flying lessons so that they could get those shots where she’s flying the plane, or if it’s a man dressed in a wig and headscarf? Also, what happens if Pippin needs a pee or a poo while she’s in the air?
OHMYFUCKINGGOD, stepping on a Peppa Pig toy hurts more than stepping on a plug. A plug which has been sharpened for use as a weapon.
I wonder if I have time to wash my hair today? No? Okay, it’s only been a week anyway.
No, Mylene Klass, I will not be buying your range of kids clothing from Mothercare, on account of the fact that I don’t want to dress my kid as a miniature hooker.
Wow, I actually empathise with the woman at the next checkout over who is trying to wrangle a screaming child whilst loading a weeks worth of shopping onto the conveyor belt. Because sometimes, kids scream, just because they feel like it.
Oh. My. Goodness. I had absolutely NO IDEA that is was possible to feel this much love for a person, and be so obsessed with their every move, like it’s an addiction and you just can’t get a big enough fix. In fact I think I might just go right ahead and explode and cover everyone with my insides which look like a big rainbow, covered in hearts and bunnies and sugary treats, all because I love my baby SO FUCKING MUCH.

Dedicated to Sausage, who makes my heart grow bigger, every day.