Feminism…not even a traffic light is safe anymore. Leave the Ampelmann alone!

Are their not more important and pressing problems for government and city officials in Germany to deal with than this?

Via the BBC…

The Social Democrat party is asking for an Ampelfrau to be introduced, to represent the self-assurance of the modern-day woman, the German edition of The Local says.

“It’s about equality,” district SPD leader Martina Matischok says. “We don’t want to replace the Ampelmann, we want to complete him.” Matischok also thinks any female equivalent should not be sporting any stereotypically sexist attributes – such as pony tails, skirts or high heels.

Other countries have also experimented with alternatives to the walking man image. But the Ampelmann is considered by some to be a design classic and international cult phenomenon. Designed by Karl Peglau, it is seen as one of the positive symbols of Communist-era East Germany, and has been revived on all kinds of merchandise from coffee mugs to lamps.

For visitors to Germany, street crossings are among the main tourist attractions.

In the formerly communist east, little traffic-light men, some equipped with hats or walking sticks, were installed to help pedestrians cross streets more than 50 years ago. This tradition is more alive today than ever before, and is a distinctly German.

The only problem is that the traffic light is a man and this has neo-liberal feminists up in arms. They are pushing for something more like this:

In the western city of Dortmund, the male figures in the traffic lights is causing a controversy. In one of the city’s districts, the Green and Social Democratic parties have urged the municipality to pursue gender equality among their traffic lights.

“Given the equality of men and women, a partial transformation of ‘traffic light men’ into ‘traffic light women’ would only be consistent,” the two political parties said in a statement quoted in national media outlets.

Proponents say that equality aside, there are other arguments for the introduction of traffic lights with female figures. “One advantage of the ‘traffic light woman’ would be the enlargement of the illuminated area,” the Green and Social Democrats argued in their statement.

Speaking to the German newspaper Die Welt, the city’s Social Democrats acknowledged that the proposal might seem a little ridiculous given the existence of much more pressing problems, including a wave of refugees.

The Green party, however, defended the idea. Party spokesman Sebastian Pastusczyk, in fact, went a step further and demanded a general overhaul of the traffic-light women currently used in other cities. “Not all women can identify themselves with a ‘traffic light woman’ that is wearing a skirt and has a plait,” he said.

Waste of time and resources…stop trying to change the Ampelmann. He is fine just the way he is.

References:

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-27443656