I think they're absolute scumbags who should be locked up. I also think that this shouldn't take away from using the term in a non racist way. Why doea it always have to seen to be racist if there was no racial motive? As i said, I would be mortified if someone thought i was being racially abusive to them because i am not racist. So saying i called someone a little monkey meaning a little scamp, why should i be judged as racist when i'm not? That is equally wrong.

You can't be absolutely certain of what she was thinking.

I think the crux of the matter is she wasn't thinking at all. In this day and age though, you have to be careful what you say isn't taken out of context. Unfortunately she's left herself wide open on this one.

I doubt very much she was thinking , maybe she should have

You have quite simply knocked the nail on the head

How often are white people who are muscular in stature associated with apes or monkeys though?

There is a certain word we used as kids which meant a naughty rude child , a messer , a prankster .Its now a derogatory term for a gay man . So I have learned not to use the word in any context as it could be misinterpreted and taken out of the context it was meant as .We have to accept that some words are simply now out of bounds and accept it

Just found a short article that's worth a read about the association of black people with monkeys and apes.

http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.c...nkeys-and.html

Nice one, I can go up to bed now

Interesting...thanks

Some people are always looking to be offended.

... and some are too ready to excuse offensiveness

Does David walk like that though

You can ignore the realities of our society as much as you like but I and many others don't and won't. It is racist to allude to a black person as like a monkey or why else do people do that who are in fact racist.

Why do people keep saying Rosemary didn't mean it in a racist way? How does anyone know what she meant

Whatever, she lives in the same society as each and everyone of us and I cannot believe anyone can say that with no understanding of the connotations.

I don't think Rosemary was consciously racist when she said it, nor do I think she meant any ill intent.
But i do question why she made the association with a monkey and did arm movements.

It doesn't help that she has a voice which sounds like she's something from Britain's colonial past.

but when quite clearly no offence was inteneded

You're welcome.

When I read it I thought of the film Blade Runner where the main character is asked if he ever took the test to find out if we was a replicant.

Likewise, with the tests carried out in the above link how many of us would come out of them unscathed?

So true! Sums up my thoughts.

I've taken all your points on board, I just find it very sad that it was given racial connotations in the first place to the point where any inference made in modern society is also deemed racist.

Too frightening to even consdider...

This, plus her age and background. I shall have to watch the replay and judge for myself, but these things are generally subconscious. The association is there, like the chants and noises at football matches.

yes ... it's discussed on body building forums it seems

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...0712141&page=1

http://testosteronemuscle.co.uk/chit...like-ape-3760/

Thanks for all your replies & reasoned debate, very interesting. I'm off to sleep, work later x

Oh for God's sake!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some of you need to get off your stupid, PC high horses, grow up and learn to appreciate CONTEXT.

There's absolutely no way; no way in the world that Rosemary would have used that term with any sort of racial connotations.

No way in the world. And I think you all know that as well.

But you've all been so indoctrinated and conditioned to ignore common sense and react to certain trigger words that innocent use of simple descriptive terms has you cowering behind the sofa and calling Ofcom!

To use monkey as a descriptive term, or as a simile, is not racist even when directed towards a black person, UNLESS it is deliberately meant as such. UNLESS it is a deliberate comparison based on the person's race.

It is perfectly innocent, unless used in ignorance or to cause offense.

Some may choose to find it, or misconstrue it, as offensive or insensitive, but I would suggest they also learn to appreciate context and base their reaction on the situation and the person who said it, not simply on the word that has been used.

Are we really going to have to outlaw certain words, that have been in our language for centuries as adjectives and descriptive terms, simply because the racists use them to cause offence?

I defy that.

I will not have my use of language dictated to me according to its misuse by ignorant racist fools.

We have to maintain some common sense and not unfairly condemn innocent people for their use of what are perfectly acceptable terms, due to the abuse of such terms by a minority of idiots.

The only reason I'd ever refrain from using the term monkey in reference to a black person, in the exact same circumstances as I would use it towards a white person, is out of fear of it being misconstrued and used to brand me unfairly.

I don't agree with this.

We need to retain our common sense and distinctions between innocent use and insidious, abusive use.

We cannot start crossing out huge swathes of our language from the dictionary just because morons have used them as terms of abuse.

True equality means that I could call a white friend a cheeky monkey and a black friend a cheeky monkey and have them both appreciate the term as it was meant, without even considering the idea of racial connotations.

We must retain control, base our reactions on context, give people the benefit of the doubt and not create a situation where people are constantly treading on eggshells and feel afraid of even expressing themselves.

That is not acceptable in a modern, forward thinking society either. The oppression of people's means of expression just because a minority use those means to spread hatred, is grossly illogical.

It is a minority of idiots who use these terms as abuse.

We, the majority, must not let the twisted meanings of the minority become the predominant ones. Otherwise they win. They will have succeeded in preventing true equality prevailing, through one of its most fundamental mediums. Language.

Don't let them win. Think for yourselves.

Yip I heard it too and (I was at my mates house) knew that someone on here would take it the wrong way

I don't think she meant in the way SOME people will think!

She likes David ffs! so yeah..

Expects people to complain and make a deal out of something *

I understand. You sound like you're infering that her accent might have something to do with her comments though and that could be viewed as quite an unfair stereotypical statement.

No it is not racist in any way or form, no matter how you you look at it it is down to work outs in the gym etc...
As the body mass builds it makes it very hard for a male to cross his legs and lower his arms
Any workout person will tell you this! It has naff all to do with race or colour, the more you exercise the bigger your muscles grow and the less flexible you become.