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【特别感谢热心听友Trevino Zhang-张静娴帮忙听写本篇文稿。另外，Trevino同学的文稿是100%的正确率，在此特提出表扬】
Heyang: And on that survey conducted jointly by EZFM, our radio station, and also the British Embassy Beijing. I mean, we looked at other interesting questions, including this one, that is, do you think that there is gender bias in our media reports? Zeroing in on language usage in media, which sometimes can reinforce gender stereotypes without you even noticing it. And guys, do you see that there is a bias, what do those youth respondents tend to say？
Brian: Well, I would say, I was a bit surprised, but not too surprised, half of the respondents think that there is a bias, and the other half don't. That may be surprising to you if you think there is, and I think that there is. But you have to realize that this is just we're so used to it. This kind of, just reflects how things are. For example, a lot of the time when women are described in the news reports, you'll hear descriptions of their age, their appearance, you know, their family roles or whatever, far more often than you hear with men, and people are just used to that, used to thinking of women in these sorts of ways, to where you see that, that is not unusual at all. Whereas if you see the same amount given to men, you would feel a little bit odd, not that that doesn't happen, but it happens not nearly as much there. So I think, this is just one sort of example there, but it's quite common, so common in fact that I think that's part of the reason why some people don't even see it.
Megan: Absolutely. I think you mentioned a very interesting thing there about we don't even notice it and the way women are described in the media, and I was thinking particularly women in politics, so for example, ambassador Barbara Woodward, she is our first female British ambassador to China, and she is doing a great job, supporting this campaign for gender equality. And, you know, she holds a very important role, which is great, but across the world, that's not always the case. And you hear people talk about women in politics, for example, Angela Merkel. There were some comments said about how she looks, and how she dresses, and really, that's not what we should be focusing on. We should be focusing on the great job they do, or you know, how they think, their skills, their talents, rather than how they look.
Heyang: Exactly, and it often appalls me, when these female world leaders, or women in leading positions in big companies, and they've worked that hard to get there, and they are making important decisions, and what the viewer or the audience cares about is where did she do her hair, what kind of suit is she wearing, and is she getting a little bit fat? And it's like, people, can't you just grow up a little bit, and look at what the real problem is here. That is you, looking at these ladies in that very biased eye.
Brian: Right, right. And there are so many more important things going on. Like Angela Merkel for example, she is probably the most important leader in all of Europe, and she has way more stuff on her plate, way more important things to do, than you know, what is she wearing or these trivial sorts of things there, I mean, and it's again, it's not you sometimes see that for men as well, but it's just a distraction from what's important there, and there is just, there is also far more scrutiny on women. For example, in the US, we are seeing this. Obviously the political Campaign for presidents, and Hillary Clinton regardless of whatever else, sees a lot more scrutiny on her, in particular her appearance, but other aspects as well, because she is a woman, and that's the true all of the world, I think.
Heyang: Yes, and that's something that's gotta be changed, and rising people's awareness in this regard is the first thing we can do. Talking about these kind of gender stereotypes, our Wechat listener Giraffe, I think that's your name, it's very interesting on our bullet curtain, is a comment from her. She says that her boyfriend often meets older women in the supermarket when he is doing some grocery shopping, and then, these older people ask her boyfriend, "why are you doing shopping for groceries for the household? Is that because you earn less than your female counterpart in your household?" Oh my gosh, how can we change people's perception on this, why is it that there is this gender stereotype rot that people are just sunken into.
Brian: I think humans have just been like this, or at lease society has been like this for ages and ages, but I think it's very telling what you said there, it's the old ladies that are coming up to him in the supermarket, it's not , you know, the young people right out of college, or little girls that are saying that, it's these old ladies who've been raised in this society where, you know, that was women's work, men didn't do that, you know, men don't enter the kitchens, sort of things there. And I think, as time goes on obviously, this education and talking about this, this messaging is important, but you know, part of it will just happen naturally as the generations go on.
Heyang: Yes, and more importantly I think, when we are hailing for women's right or being a feminist myself, we’ve kind of touched up on this, earlier on, but I'm gotta say it right now, it's not just about elevating women's right, but it's also meaning that guys can get a wider scope of option. It's like guys, you shouldn't be confined into your gender role either, it's fine to be a little bit metrosexual maybe. （Men could love shopping.) Yes, and also, you know, pluck your eyebrows, that's fine too, although that's a little bit too much for my taste. But still, it means more choice, more options for everyone, and that is what we are hailing for. And too bad, we only have this much time, one last thing I would like to direct to Megan is, be yourself, what is that one golden tip you would give to all of us.
Megan: The golden tip is to remember, you can do whatever you want, so remember to be yourself, and remember to strive to achieve what you want to achieve no matter your gender.
Heyang: Well said, and we'll end with that note on very special day and like I've said so many times on the show, women's right is not something we only discuss on International Women's Day, it should be every day.
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