Even I find myself judging stay at home dads, says PC host of BBC Woman’s Hour
‘I have an inner voice’
SHE is the epitome of political correctness but even Woman’s Hour host Jane Garvey can’t stop herself being critical of stay-at-home dads.
The broadcaster, who describes herself as a ‘strident feminist’, made the comments while hosting a Woman’s Hour debate about masculinity yesterday.
The mother of two, who was married to presenter Adrian Chiles, said: ‘A previous speaker said that he felt judged, not just by men for being a stay at home dad, but by women as well. Because even someone like me, I’m the epitome of political correctness sitting here sipping my flat white on Radio Four presenting Woman’s Hour, but I have an inner voice that sometimes makes judgments and I don’t like those judgments that I find myself making, sometimes about men who stay at home with kids.’
Miss Garvey, 53, said women are making ‘big asks’ of men by wanting them to be masculine and in-touch with their emotions. She added: ‘I do feel that there is for some men, some hard questions to face at the moment and some big asks made of men by women – what is it that we actually want? Do we want a big, strong capable geezer? Sometimes we do.
‘Other times we want someone to sit down and share our love of romcom boxsets and talk about feelings. Can we have it both ways?’ Miss Garvey added while she is a ‘strident feminist’, people can carry on holding doors open for her ‘as long as they want’.
The discussion was sparked by comments from a head who said the best way for women to have a career and children is to find a man content to be a stay-at-home dad. Gwen Byrom, 47, of the Girls’ Schools Association, said men should be able to ‘play a bigger role at home’.
Mrs Byrom, who has five children with her stay-at-home husband, said she tells girls at her school they can ‘have it all’ by challenging the idea of a breadwinner automatically having to be a man.
Her husband Andy, also a teacher, has looked after the family while she has worked full-time for 12 years.
She said: ‘You can’t have five children and both work full-time. My husband loves being at home with the kids. It is not a stereotypical male role but one he very much enjoys.’ In a wide-ranging discussion about men, Miss Garvey defended a caller who said he had been branded sexist for holding a door open for a women.
She said that while she is a ‘strident feminist’, people can hold doors open for her ‘as long as they want’. Miss Garvey is one of dozens of presenters who have called for equal pay for women after not being included in the BBC’s list of top paid talent.