The stereotype of the super-sexy firefighter is actually super-sexist, says London’s Fire Commissioner, and all those photographs of shirtless guys in fireman uniforms are keeping women from applying to help fight fires in the UK’s capital city.
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton, who is a woman, is utterly convinced that the sexy firefighter stereotype is “offensive” because it makes people believe the typical fireman is a musclebound hunk, and that deters women from applying for open positions, Sky News reports.
She’s specifically concerned about reality television contests that force contestants to dress up like firefighters in order to win the hearts of other reality show contestants.
“When popular shows like Love Island roll out every offensive cliche possible with their so-called ‘fireman challenge’, it reinforces the misconception that all firefighters are musclebound men,” Commissioner Cotton told Sky News.
“No wonder so many young women are put off by that. I’m especially concerned about how many young people think firefighting is for men.”
Cotton also criticized “a Suzuki advert featuring Ant and Dec which mentioned ‘fireman training,’ and an advert for Harpic toilet cleaner in which female characters objectified a male firefighter,” because obviously television commercials — and not the dangerous nature of the job and the physical fitness requirements — are what is putting women off from pulling up galoshes and strapping into a hook and ladder truck.
She’s called on advertisers and news directors to lay off the sexy fireman cliche until the number of female applicants for firefighter positions improves.