Photo: Astley Baker Davies Ltd / Entertainment One UK Limited
Over the weekend, the London fire departmentcriticized the British cartoon, which centers around Peppa and her many adventures, for using language that promotes gender stereotypes.
“Come on @peppapig, we’ve not been fireman for 30 years. You have a huge influence on kids & using out of date stereotypical gender specific wording [that] prevents young girls from becoming firefighters.”
The message from London Fire Brigade was in response to clip of an episode ofPeppa Pigtitled “The Fire Engine.”
In the scene, Peppa’s mother can be seen dressed as a firefighter, however, she is referred to as a “fireman.”
London Fire also called outFireman Sam— which follows Sam as he protects his town against fires — after a social media user pointed out that it does feature a female character named Penny.
David Jones, theFireman Sam‘s creator,told BBCthat the show “wasn’t meant to be advertised as a recruiting post.”
“Someone doesn’t join the fire service when they watchFireman Sam,” Jones told the outlet. “They wouldn’t be the right people for the job if that was their mentality.”
London Fire’s criticism of the children’s cartoons comes amid their #FirefightingSexism campaign.
On March 16, the rescue service shared a photo of a Barbie doll wearing a firefighter uniform.
Earlier this month, London Fire revealed it currently employs 354 female firefighters,CNN reported.
Peppa Pighas not addressed London Fire’s criticism and a rep for the show did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The cartoon made headlines last month after parents on social media spoke out on theirnon-British children developing an accentafter watchingPeppa Pig, dubbing it #PeppaEffect.
“I just read an article about American parents saying that their children are developing a British accent because they’re watching Peppa Pig. I just have to say that it’s true. J still has her accent sometimes with certain words & I honestly love it. Lol,” one parent wrote on Twitter.
“It’s so true this #PeppaEffect,”another admitted. “I have [been] trying to teach my daughter hindi. She is 4yrs old. But she still is not able to make sentences in hindi but can speak English very well in British accent.”
source: people.com
