ABC News reports on the controversy surrounding the BBC’s one-armed children’s television host:
When a handful of parents complained that the host of a British children’s television show was scaring young viewers, comments exploded on Internet message boards—some so vicious they had to be removed. Cerrie Burnell, 29, who was born with one arm, sparked heated message board debate after she was hired a month ago to appear on CBeebies, the BBC’s digital children’s channel.
One woman who called herself “Chiara’s mum,” wrote, “My daughter won’t watch with the new presenters. She is only 2 and notices the lady’s arm has gone. She thinks she is hurt every day.” One father said the show would give his daughter nightmares, and others said their children were too young to cope or even that the BBC was too aggressive in its policy to hire “minorities” to meet quotas.
Since the initial comments appeared, advocacy groups and parents of those born with “limb deficiencies” have seized on the story as a teachable moment. “I find comments from complaining parents very hurtful,” said Julie Detheridge of Coventry, whose 9-year-old son who was born without a right hand. “Should my son be kept locked away in case he frightens someone?” she asked. “He is no less of a person just because he was born with part of his hand missing.”
And today, commenters on the CBeebies Web site were overwhelmingly dismissive of what they called a “handful” of parents who were uncomfortable with Burnell’s disability, likening their reaction to racial prejudice.
Read the whole story here, and confidential to “Chiara’s mum”: It is your job to explain to your daughter that the one-armed lady is not hurt, not the one-armed lady’s job to hide. Thank you.
I would f**k her.
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/…
The New York Times’ parenting blog has a discussion going on this topic. One commenter: “What would this monster suggest we do to the children OF people with disabilities? Seize the children until they are old enough to be exposed to their own parents?”
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/…
The New York Times’ parenting blog has a discussion going on this topic. One commenter: “What would this monster suggest we do to the children OF people with disabilities? Seize the children until they are old enough to be exposed to their own parents?”
Yeah…I’m using this as a “teachable moment” tomorrow in my C.E. class.
Wow–wait until all the English kids start asking what’s wrong with people’s teeth…
“handful of parents” – come on editors!!
She’s very cute. Just because she can’t give a hand job doesn’t mean she should lose her job*. The BBC can do without the bigoted minority.
*Yes I was being crass but I’m feeling like an asshole today.
“It is your job to explain to your daughter that the one-armed lady is not hurt, not the one-armed lady’s job to hide. Thank you.” — David Schmader
Can I get an AMEN! I AM a man born with one arm. Should I hide just so parents don’t have to deal with teaching their children about difference?
She’s cute. I bet dads (and a few mums) start watching the show.
Parents with their heads stuck that far in the sand should be loaded on a rocket and sent to some other planet where everyone is perfect and straight and christian and white.
Jeebuz, I can only imagine these parents heads would totally ‘splode if they ever walked their kids past a VA hospital…
My kindergarten teacher had only one hand. We all thought it was awesome.
@1:
Plus she could totally peg you – without a strap-on!
I found this story touching. It’s nice to see that the vast majority of viewers came to Burnell’s defense.
This story doesn’t help my pre-existing prejudice against parents who give their kids “creative” names like “Chiara.”
@14, Chiara is a pretty common Italian first name for girls. As somebody with an ethnic name, it gets annoying when people assume my parents were “creative” because they didn’t name me Jennifer or Elizabeth. Not everybody is descended from the Brits.
2 year olds DO get freaked out and cry when they see something like this. My 2yrold certainly does. They think she is badly hurt and why isnt everyone running to help her. Whether or not the parents do a good job of explaining it to their children is beside the point. Many toddlers _instinctively_ get scared when they see this. Does that means they should take her off? no, but it should be considered.
@ 14,
Those would be the unfortunate people who were born with a piece of their brain missing.
I was just browsing her bio on the BBC website…
“What’s your favourite game?”
“Twister.”
When will the TV producers start thinking of the children instead of their own politically correct agenda? It’s not bad enough that children have gone through the agony of wondering why the person on TV has skin that’s all brown, as if it had been BURNT in a fire? Or has no fold in their upper eyelid, as if from some horrible birth defect? Now, to top it off just one ARM, as if they’ve had some ghastly accident? Children should not be exposed to this sort of truma.
Or, maybe yes. Teaching moment, indeed.
On the other hand…
gawd, I’m a dick.
@16. Yes, sometimes 2 yo get freaked out. No, taking her off should not be considered.
hand job? What about WRISTING??!! i’ve been desperately seeking stumpy for years. HOT
Maybe she could just cover up her stump with some kinda cute puppet.
@16 – What, exactly, needs to be considered?
@24
Taking her, off, the air.
@16 No explaining it to their kids and doing a good job of it is exactly the point. There is no reason at all why taking her off the air should be given any thought. You had em, you’re responsible for raising them and part of that responsibility is teaching them that sometimes life isnt what it seems. Stop foisting your responsibility on to others or put em up for adoption now before you do MORE damage.
@23, YES!!
She could put the puppet on every day, take it off before bed, and it would move and act just like you’d expect of a hand puppet with a hand inside. It would even start speaking to the kids in a voice only they could hear! Then one morning, she’d find it sprawled across her dresser with a trail of blood… and then she notices the blood all over her nightgown…
Erm. Sorry. It would be awesome though.
Those parents giving her shit are total douchebags. But there is no denying, some things do cross into an uncanny valley (different for all of us), and require bravery before we can get on like normal. We’re so lucky to have parts of culture that embrace this bravery!
@24, This is what’s to be considered: We’ve got to figure out how to help these children and more ironically their parents, be BRAVE. Sesame Street did this with all sorts of topics (valdalism, racism, death), and I don’t doubt the BBC is doing a similarly splendid job. Sesame Street used to take flack too.
Still, the scene above would make for an awesome sketch comedy, bloodsploitation movie, or Schoolyard Heroes song. I’d like to think Ms. Burnell would think so too, as I’d totally buy her a beer.
It is pleasing to hear so many people come to the defense of the presenter. A few of my English friends have commented on the “controversy” and all of said that it doesn’t bother their small children. And it is a good teaching tool to explain and normalize a situation like that. And in many ways explaining things like visible disabilities is best for the toddler set. Yes it can be very confusing initially for some children to understand that someone might be missing a limb, but most kids can sort it out once you explain that the person is fine and it is just a slight difference and nothing to be scared of.
Mr. Rogers touched on this stuff eons ago.
I sympathize with parents who have to manage sensitive toddlers freaking out when anything remotely unexpected happens, but…that’s a toddler for you. Comes with the territory, along with teaching them respect for all people with and without two arms, legs, etc.
Sounds pretty hard. That’s why I don’t have kids. But if you made the choice to have them, that’s the deal.
Why doesn’t she have an arm? she was born without one, but look, she does just fine without, it doesn’t hurt or anything. You shouldn’t stick your arms out of car windows, also. There.
reminds me of the ninnies who whined “what do i tell my 8 yr old?” when the lewinsky scandal broke. whatever you need to tell, them, whiner! you explained death to them, right? and what could be harder for them to accept than THAT?
It is part of being a toddler to lose your shit when confronted with stuff you don’t grok. This includes but is not limited to: people with different skin colours, animals that are larger than you, animated talking vegetables, Santa Claus, and rubber masks. All of these are things that I have personally witnessed making otherwise sober toddlers shriek and run to their parents for comfort. When all of those things are taken off TV, you can talk to me about the lady with one arm. (And then I and my child will be moving to another country where they don’t insist on treating children like crystal vases.)
I’d rather have my kids see this on TV and have a chance to answer their questions then. Usually I have my “teaching moment” in the supermarket after they’ve shouted out “Why is that man so short? Why is she in a wheelchair? What’s wrong with that ladies face?”
I once worked as an assistant at a Santa Clause gig. Few hundred kids a day on Santa’s lap for photos. About half the toddlers under age 2 completely freaked out when mommy sat junior on Santa’s lap. I mean, c’mon! He’s a huge stranger, has a hairy face, and he’s dressed in fire-engine red from head to toe. And parents subject their innocent toddlers to this trauma INTENTIONALLY!
If toddlers can survive the trauma of Santa’s lap, surely they can survive seeing a sweetly smiling one-armed lady on teevee.
The one armed girl at Babeland is totally adorable and should have been in the seattle sexy thing.
This is what I have to add.
That is really sad that is happening. Prejudice like that can make it really difficult for people to cope with loss or absence of limbs. How would you explain to a kid born without a limb or who lost a limb that he/she may scare people?
This really reminds me of that woman who demanded the Vagina Monologues have its title taken off a theatre marquee because she had to explain to her six year-old niece what a vagina was. Lady. Your niece is going to find out she has a vagina.
What is the woman supposed to do? Hang wallpaper?
I wonder what Chiara’s mom would do if Chiara were in a car accident and lost a hand. Would she hide her in a closet forever to avoid upsetting the other children?
Dear Sirs,
Although I don’t currently own any, it is not entirely outside the realm of possibility that one day I may rent/own a child. As such, I would highly appreciate it if you would refrain from having any unsavoury characters on the TV. This would include (but not be limited to)
politicians,
priests,
judges,
news anchors,
TV celebrities,
Sporty people,
ants,
tigers,
aliens,
superheroes (they wear tights, I mean really),
heroes (they set unrealistic examples),
But I really found that woman with one arm missing quite charming.
Sincerely,
In Bellingham we had a weatherman at KVOS: Greg Otterholt, with a prosthetic arm with a “claw” like gripping feature. (Whilst they still had a news broadcast that is) He did as good a job as any of those Al Rokerites do.
I was always hoping he would rip through the green screen with his arm at some point and declare meterology a science discipline as relevant as astrology. With villagers running away of course. Alas, they cancelled the show and he did little more than fake chuckle like the rest of his jolly bretheren.
#16 is wrong. I know a woman born with the same condition (missing arm from elbow down). Yes, my young son will have to have that explained someday (and maybe he’ll be creeped out by her). No, we’re not considering DROPPING HER FRIENDSHIP because she’s one-armed. DUH.