Below I have outlined two criteria of Janet Street Porter's piece where she is in the wrong. Sections where she is inaccurate/misleading and places where she has caused offence/stigmatised depression. Please feel free to discuss.
Factually Inaccurate/Misleading:
- "This relatively new ailment first appeared on my radar a couple of years ago.." A fully references article on the history of depression can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_depression. It shows evidence of writings on depression as early as 4th century BC, and major writings from 17th century onwards. Major Depressive Order, the most prototypical form of depression, was defined in 1980 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder)
- "Like the shopaholics who purchase expensive accessories most of this new band of sufferers are middle class, highly successful and - most important of all - comfortably off." Statistics for depression findd that on average 1 in 4 people will suffer from depression in any given year. This statistic is true of middle classes and also remains constant for the unemployed. Furthermore "mental health problems are thought to be higher in minority ethnic groups than in the white population, but they are less likely to have their mental health problems detected by a GP." (http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/information/mental-health-overview/statistics/)
- "My mum's generation didn't suffer from stress or depression. Instead they just on with the washing up, the ironing, their long hours in low-paid jobs." Yet again, stress and depression existed in previous generations.
- "[S]tress has become in our work orientated society, almost a badge of honour." and "There's virtually no stigma at all attached to saying you're suffering from stress." Is this is true then why did "A Scottish Public Attitudes Survey on Mental Health in 2002 [find] that half of all those who took part said that they would not want anyone to know if they developed a mental health problem." and "3 out of 4 men in Britain say they would not go to the GP if they were under stress as they would be afraid that the GP would think that they are 'unbalanced' or 'neurotic'." (http://glasgowsteps.com/information/stress/stigma.php)
- "[M]araculously 90% of us don't get depressed about it, don't take special medication and don't whinge about 'black holes'." - 1 in 6 people will suffer from a metal illness at any given time. Not 1 in 10.(http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/information/mental-health-overview/statistics/)
Offensive/Like To Create Stigma About Mental Health:
- "The misery movement has rapidly gathered momentum and in recent months it's become apparent that, along with the Sam Cam handbag, the latest must have accessory is a big dose of depression."
- "I find something very repellent about this recent epidemic of middle-class breast-beating. This tidal wave of analysis about why'having it all' isn't what it used to be. [...] Get a grip, girls."
- "[M]y life goes on, I haven't retreated under the duvet with a bottle of pills, I refuse to accept this notion that a whole generation of women are being laid low by an unexplained epidemic of depression."
- "[T]he other so-called illness (stress) [...] is another matter. [...] I truly believe illnesses go in and out of fashion - at the moment, trendy women are allegedly suffering from 'depression'."
- "From agony aunt Sally Brampton to former literary editor Lorna Martin, they've been quick to cash in on their personal demons."
- "Now, men are jumping on the depression bandwagon [...] 45 per cent of women earn the same or more than their husbands, then the male ego is under attack [...] at this point, I'm afraid to say, I laugh out loud. The idea of feeling sorry for a bloke with low self-esteem is frankly, risible. Let's just call it karmic revenge for all those years men have been in charge of everything."
- "But miraculously 90 per cent of us don;t get depressed about it, don't take special medication and don't whinge about 'black holes'. That's life in the real world."
A misleading and dangerous article...
On May 15th Janet Street-Porter used her column in the Daily Mail to write a factually inaccurate and deeply offensive piece on depression, titled "Depression, It's just the new trendy illness."
This group is to raise awareness of what was wrong with this article, and to share a collective horror at what Janet Street Porter has written.
The full article can be read below
here.
Below are a few selected quotes from the article:
"I find something very repellent about this recent epidemic of middle-class breast-beating. This tidal wave of analysis about why'having it all' isn't what it used to be. [...] Get a grip, girls."
"Nowadays women who've never been in a war zone or experienced an act of terrorism are claiming that are suffering from stress when all they do is run a home and get the bus to work."
[After discussing the issue of depresion in men.] "At this point, I'm afraid to say, I laugh out loud. The idea of feeling sorry for a bloke with low self-esteem is frankly, risible. Let's just call it karmic revenge for all those years men have been in charge of everything."
I encourage anyone as offended by the above comments, and the rest of the article as we are to spread the word and write a letter of complaint to the PCC. I am as of yet unsure what the aim of this group is to achieve, what we want from Janet Street Porter, so please do send suggestions.
This group is to raise awareness of what was wrong with this article, and to share a collective horror at what Janet Street Porter has written.
The full article can be read below
here.
Below are a few selected quotes from the article:
"I find something very repellent about this recent epidemic of middle-class breast-beating. This tidal wave of analysis about why'having it all' isn't what it used to be. [...] Get a grip, girls."
"Nowadays women who've never been in a war zone or experienced an act of terrorism are claiming that are suffering from stress when all they do is run a home and get the bus to work."
[After discussing the issue of depresion in men.] "At this point, I'm afraid to say, I laugh out loud. The idea of feeling sorry for a bloke with low self-esteem is frankly, risible. Let's just call it karmic revenge for all those years men have been in charge of everything."
I encourage anyone as offended by the above comments, and the rest of the article as we are to spread the word and write a letter of complaint to the PCC. I am as of yet unsure what the aim of this group is to achieve, what we want from Janet Street Porter, so please do send suggestions.
Sunday 16 May 2010
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