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Letter: Olson cartoon ‘as sexist as it gets’

Re: Cartoon, April 14. I will start by saying that I think the Courier is a great weekly paper and I think you all work hard to provide good content, accurate reporting and a broad range of topics.

Re: Cartoon, April 14.

I will start by saying that I think the Courier is a great weekly paper and I think you all work hard to provide good content, accurate reporting and a broad range of topics.

I have never written a complaint to you before, but the Geoff Olson cartoon in the April 14 issue is as sexist as it gets. I truly can’t believe that you printed this — Christy Clark scantily clad entertaining a table full of old white men. It is disgraceful.

I am no fan of Christy Clark and her government, but that is not what this cartoon is about. It really speaks to how some things never change and women are always looked at in a different way than men when it comes to equality and ability. Your editorial board may also not support the government of Christy Clark, but the fact is that she is a woman whose party is in power and the Courier is indicating that men think less of her as a leader because she is a woman.

Did Olson ever put Gordon Campbell, either of the Bennetts or others into a sexy outfit where men are commenting on how seeing a scantily clad woman — and the elected premier of B.C. — makes the price tag on the dinner acceptable? I don’t think so, and I think it is a shame that the Courier has stooped to this kind of sexist, denigrating excuse for humour.

I think the Courier might like to take a step back and look at its policies for equality in the workplace and then decide if it would be appropriate to cast any of your female staff in a light that shows her to be the target of sexist commentary simply because she is a woman. Remember, this is 2016 and perhaps you could remind Olson of this as well.

Kate Gibson, Vancouver