Leaning on the railings outside my door, I was taking the piss out of the landing cleaner and his efforts. He said he didn't mind manual work, so long as it wasn't on a production line.
A passing wit said, "you wouldn't complain if it was a tit factory!"
The three of us stood in silence, trying to imagine just what that would look like, before wandering off into our day.
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Ha bloody ha, and I thought there was a blog editor that worked around these parts, how did such sexism get through on today's blog?
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. This is shite. And sexist. I know you have been in a mainly all male environment most of your life Ben, and with other men who have committed terrible crimes against women and I do feel sorry for you, but you really don't have to take it out on women you know. You should use your faculties wisely especially if you want to convince others that you are of sound mind and that you wouldn't be the cause of injury in a different environment.
ReplyDeleteWell I laughed out loud.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the previous two posters are being a little over sensitive?
I thought it was funny - you've got to have something to smile about!
ReplyDeletei thought the point of this blog was to give us insights into the reality of prison? I cant recall ben ever promising that we would like it! And sophiej, to intimate that this relates to bens state of mind or future risk is outrageous. Lighten up!
ReplyDeleteOh come on girls. A gang of blokes in almost entirely male surroundings getting together and finding the conversation turns to an aspect of sex they've all been denied for a long time isn't sexist, it's biology. Lighten up.
ReplyDeleteOoh, anonymous. Touch wood!
ReplyDeleteOr is that sexist too...? ;)
I agree, the first two posts shouldnt take themselves so seriously, well done Ben, despite all you can still laugh....so much for political correctness gone mad!!
ReplyDeleteAll male prison in sexist joke shocker!!! Lighten up people. How on earth some passing cons comments could possibly reflect on Ben's chances of release is completely beyond me. If you don't want to read what goes on behind closed doors in Britain's prisons then don't read the blog, simples.
ReplyDeleteI just have to roll my eyes at the first two posters. Even at face value being "sexist" is stretching it. The mental imagery of an entire factory line of breasts wobbling like jelly would be amusing. It would be exactly the same to a similar conversation I witnessed a few years back where my sister came up with the same wit, where it was referring to a forest of synthetic phalli waving majestically before disappearing into another roomn, which has a double meaning in itself if one thinks on a Freudian level. (train into tunnel)
ReplyDeleteYes, Ben would have to reacquaint himself with the modern world. Yes, Ben is going to have to learn how to interact with women. One of the first lessons he's going to learn is ignoring the ultra-sensitives who think they should dictate what anecdotes he should and should not convey.
That anecdote would convince anyone of sound mind that he's a man, and that he's human. What a travesty that is!
Yeah give him a break. I am female and grew up in a world of Benny Hill and Carry On films, which I still love as a 40 (something!)year old. Just because Ben is in prison, he doesn't think any differently to any red blooded male. Sophie J you really cannot compare this to "terrible crimes committed against women", and I would argue that for him to joke about such a thing convinces me that Ben really is of "sound mind".
ReplyDeleteI'm not comparing the 'just another conversation' to the men that Ben lives with who have committed terrible crimes against women. I was just saying what the environment Ben is in and where he has spent most of his life. Ben is clever and could rise above idiot meanderings if he chose to, although I know it must be hard being in the environment he is in to do so, especially given his history as the porn king or whatever it was he called himself and what he used to do in jail.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you are right Sophie that Ben has a perfectly sound mind even after all he has done and been through, and that he will make a smooth transition to the community, I hope so too. He is clever and I wish him well.
Benny Hill was a very mis - understood comedian and his life story and the way he was treated towards the end of his life is very sad and unfair indeed.
Glad for you all that imagining a production line of tits gave you all a laugh, for me it is demeaning women's bodies, and I am sensitive to it believe it or not.
To be honest, I work in an all women GP practice apart from one or two men and we do share jokes about body parts. In no where do I find what ben said sexist at all. It is a joke. All women have tits just as all men have got balls. I examine women for breast lumps and on very odd occassions I do examine men's testicles for testicular lumps. Even then I joke with who ever am dealing with to lighten them up, i.e. you have tits because you are a woman and vise versa. I certainly would have fun if I worked in a factory that men's balls - gives me something to talk about with my friends!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI love this blog!!
ReplyDeleteIf only Ben could satisfy all the people all the time!! Maybe stop hanging around to have a few light hearted words?. You go Ben!
Prison reform should be key here, not what kind of joke is told in prison.
To the first "Anon" on the comments, from blog Ed. Yes, there is an editor (me) and I would just like to point out that in order to give a snapshot of life inside, this has to include prison humour. That little joke was quite tame for prisons, actually! I am glad that others enjoyed it for what it was and glad too that Ben can still have a laugh after 30 years behind bars. Ed.
ReplyDeleteWell said Ed.
ReplyDeletei wouldn't mind sticking nipples all day
ReplyDeleteHey!!! Guys n Girls remember Men have tits too. Sophie J why are you assuming this prejudice is towards women? He said nothing about Women. That's what really winds me up - when the birds starting blagging all the opportunity.. I drink far too much, eat rubbish most days and try to avoid going upstairs whenever possible...and the result is I have two lovely big tits of my own.
ReplyDeleteSo let me have my share of ridicule willya - they are both paid for and I want em included..
Sophie J,
ReplyDeleteWhy is expressing a healthy level of sexuality "idiot meanderings"? For that matter, why is being "porn king" necessarily a bad thing? There is some shockingly appalling porn out there, for certain, and most of it is exceedingly misogynistic, but that doesn't make all porn (or a five minute fantasy about tits) unhealthy or wrong. It's probably too much to hope, but if Ben were exercising some consideration in his selection of materials and only importing good quality non-exploitative stuff he could actually do a lot of good!
As for Benny Hill being "misunderstood", personally I think he was a comedian of his times and the times were sexist ones. Not a great deal to misunderstand and certainly not good for women's lib, but nor was he some sort of evil tyrant trying to keep us all down.
If you really want to address equality for women just have a look at how few films, even now, manage to scrape past the Bechdel Test. The numbers are small and the bar is very VERY low*.
Women do not yet have equality in our society, but the way to get it is not to take issue when men who do believe in equal rights express healthy and not at all misogynistic sexual urges. In fact, that just paints feminism as puritan and repressed and doesn't do the rest of us any favours at all.
*A film must contain at least two female characters and those women must have a conversation that does not include a man about something other than a man. A very low bar indeed that somehow we still manage to miss almost all of the time.
Well said Ed.....Is'nt it interesting that the subject of tits has received 20 comments, and the blog yesterday, and its mind boggling contents has had only 6!
ReplyDeleteBenny Hill was not sexist, he just made comedy sketches about sex and was misunderstood as being sexist about half way through the 1980's, and the establishment and his employers turned against him very badly regardless of the content his sketches, shows how fickle they are, rather than defend Benny Hill who had done nothing wrong they hounded him because of public opinion (which was wrong) and he left us to an early and lonely grave.
ReplyDeleteAs for yesterdays post, it was vacuous and a bit sexist, but mildly so I agree, everything else ( i.e my criticisms ) were about my concern for the things Ben does and has a history of doing regarding relationships, really trying to get him to look at the appropriateness of it especially in the context of the possibility of his moving on.
Good lord, let's home Sophie J doesn't ever end up in a womens prison. She wouldn't last 5 mins. There are some really crude girls.
ReplyDeleteSophie J No doubt feels that no women should be in prison, in fact there shouldn't be any women’s prisons at all. As for Ben having to convince others he's of sound mind, you'd have to convince me you're in a position to offer such judgements. So far your ultra sensitivities lead me to believe you're a neurotic feminist.
ReplyDeleteahahahah that's funny 'cos you know if I had my way there would be no jails at all except ones for parasites and war mongers ... and everyone would have a gun.
ReplyDeleteNeurotic? sometimes. Psychotic? definitely. Feminist? nah.