Clarkson (Debate)

Wed 21 Dec 2022, 14:24

I think Glena is being unfair to the medieval period. On the surface Clarkson's disgusting analogy recalls the 13th century legend of Lady Godiva who paraded naked on a horse through the streets of Coventry, her modesty covered by her long flowing hair. Except that Clarkson would like the veil of hair removed, and excrement thrown in a demonstration of slut shaming ...

However, Coventry's Lady Godiva opted to ride through the streets of Coventry as a way of (successfully) demonstrating the need for Coventry citizens to stop paying excessive taxes. She is celebrated in Coventry as a heroine, not a slut -- so, the phrase "to be sent to Coventry", meaning "to be shamed", has nothing at all to do with Lady Godiva or slut shaming, but rather with the English Civil War.

Lady G. was "peeped" at only by "Tom" -- so-called "Peeping Tom" -- but this was, apparently, a much later, 17thC or 18thC, addition to the 13C legend. Misogyny worsened in the 16th century, and Clarkson's misogyny and racism is more like that of the 17thC which was when the caricaturing of women as sluts and as witches, and the witch drowning and burning craze reached its height in Britain and North America.

In reporting his disgust, Clarkson quite explicitly says that he does not respond in the same revolted (and revolting) way to Prince Harry as to his wife Meghan. The fact that Clarkson records reacting at a "cellular level" to Meghan's role in the Netflix documentary, rather than to that of Harry, signals that misogyny and racism is largely responsible for his reaction. 

As for Clarkson's claim that "everyone who's my age thinks the same" [he means every white British male of his age thinks the same], that's certainly not true, as numerous elderly men as well as women have been at pains to point out.

I am pretty appalled, by the way, that ITV has said that he will remain Clarkson's host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? But I already don't watch this programme because of Clarkson's role in it, probably my response does not count for much.