The Broadcasting Standards Authority has refused to uphold a complaint about the use of the word "poofter" during More FM's breakfast programme. On the 21st of May, the hosts discussed how they would be participating in a winter pool jump. A female host said, “So you've got to grin and bear it, suck it up. Don't be a wuss.” A male host said he had been talking to his dad about it, because he had done a winter swim before. He said: "And he was going, 'oh yeah no what you do is you draw your legs up there and you wrap your arms around you'. I'm going, 'Dad, I'm not a poofter mate, come on'." Another man was on the phone and the male host said, "Come to my defence". The man replied, "How can I come to your defence when you're talking about pulling your knees up and acting like a poofter?" The host replied, "well you're a blimmin' great help, aren't you." Jonny Williams from Tauranga made a formal complaint to broadcaster RadioWorks, alleging that it breached standards relating to discrimination and denigration because the presenter and a caller referred to gay men using a derogatory term. Williams said it was 'appalling' that such terms would be used during a conversation that was meant to be humorous, saying it showed "a lack of respect for those that some may consider being not the norm and that ignorance is accepted when presenting radio shows". Williams was unhappy with the response and referred his complaint to the BSA, maintaining that "poofter" was a derogatory label for gay men. He argued that using the term to describe a "wuss" or "wimp" demonstrated that it was discriminatory. Williams said he was appalled that RadioWorks considered "poofter" to be an acceptable term. Under its discrimination and denigration section, the Code of Broadcasting Practice sets out that "broadcasters should not encourage discrimination against, or denigration of, any section of the community on account of sex, sexual orientation, race, age, disability, occupational status, or as a consequence of legitimate expression of religion, culture or political belief." The BSA members listened to a recording of the broadcast. They say it is well-established that in light of the requirements of the Bill of Rights Act 1990, a high level of invective is necessary to conclude that a broadcast encourages denigration or discrimination in contravention of the standard. "We accept the complainant's assertion that "poofter" is generally considered to be a derogatory term for homosexual men," their decision reads. "We also accept, given the context in which the term was used, that it was intended in this instance to mean "wuss" or "wimp" rather than a term of abuse directed at homosexuals." "While we are of the view that broadcasters need to be aware of the negative connotations of terms such as this, and take appropriate care in their usage, we consider that it was part of a brief, light-hearted exchange, and was clearly not uttered in an abusive or vitriolic manner. Accordingly, we do not consider that its use on this occasion reached the high threshold for a breach of this standard." What do you think about the use of the term "poofter"? Is this a case of discrimination/denigration? Discuss this story in theGayNZ.com forum
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 11th August 2010 - 10:22am