Fireman Sam banned for being “too male”!
A UK fire brigade has decided to drop the beloved TV character, Fireman Sam, as its mascot over concerns he isn’t inclusive enough.
Fireman Sam banned for being “too male”!
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service has scrapped the 30-year-old favourite from their promo material saying he is too male and puts women off joining the fire department.
He will be replaced by in-house creations, the fire extinguisher-shaped Freddy, Filbert and Penelope.
Fireman Sam will no longer feature in their ads and staff will be stopped from wearing Fireman Sam costumes. An email to stations read: “It does not reflect the inclusive nature of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue.”
The county’s fire chief Les Britzman said firefighters and residents raised concerns Fireman Sam did not properly represent the service.
He said: “It’s important to us that our open days and community events don’t make anyone feel excluded and therefore we took this decision.”
“There’s been a lot of research that says that images that young people have about what careers they want to do are formed when they are about four or five.
“If you are promoting that image we might be stopping people wanting to apply for the fire service 20 years down the line.”
The use of the outdated term Fireman ingrains especially in the young that it is a male only role. We’ve been called firefighters for 30 years & just ask everyone to call us our job title. And that will stop excluding our women firefighters & encourage more to join. https://t.co/GTzdko1KOG
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) September 11, 2019
Piers Morgan blasted Lincolnshire fire chief Britzman on Good Morning Britain. He also argues that Dora the Explorer is sexist & discourages men from becoming explorers.
Morgan added: “Why can’t fire services use the Fireman Sam brand? Why can’t you celebrate men and women? Why does everything have to be gender fluid? No woman has ever refused to join the fire service because of Fireman Sam.”
“Yes, Fireman Sam is modern, it has firefighter Penny, it has helicopters and a boat team,” said Mr Britzman.
“But why can’t the producers or the owners update the brand and call it Firefighter Sam?
“The program overall reflects the diversity but the character Fireman Sam doesn’t reflect diversity, we don’t call our firefighters firemen anymore. It’s outdated.”
Dora the Explorer is sexist & discourages men from becoming explorers. pic.twitter.com/5mieLPnia5
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 11, 2019
Brilliant @piersmorgan shows Fire Chief how silly he is being over #firemanSam pic.twitter.com/WhbgrRison
— Keith Prince (@KeithPrinceAM) September 11, 2019
Parents are really not impressed and think the idea is crazy. What do you think?
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