OTTAWA – The sexualization of children during a radio station’s morning show banter went too far, according to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC).
The Ontario Regional Panel reviewed a segment broadcast during the CKIS-FM (KiSS 92.5, Toronto) morning show Roz & Mocha on August 13, 2010. A complainant expressed concern about an inappropriate conversation with a 10-year caller who had identified himself as “Noah”. The complainant alleged that the hosts belittled his name, questioned his religion, colour and origin. They then had a conversation regarding erections.
Although the Panel found no Code breach regarding the human rights issues, it made the following observations:
“When the hosts put the inappropriate question “Are you a white kid or a brown kid?”, Noah avoided the trap by replying, “Uh, I’m, well, I’m Canadian.” Unable to resist an additional inappropriate observation, they concluded, “Okay, so you’re white.” The Panel finds the hosts’ end of the commentary non-inclusive and insensitive. Canada and its largest city are ethnoculturally diverse. For the hosts to in effect draw the conclusion that the equation “Canadian equals white” is the rule, if ever it was, is no longer appropriate broadcast fare. Moreover, such an observation coming from a powerful microphone risks desensitizing the public.”
Despite the hosts’ jokes regarding the boy’s name, the Panel also found no breach in this regard:
“In the matter at hand, the Panel does not find the humour the least bit pointed, heavy-handed or nasty vis-à-vis Noah. At worst, they asked him whether others make “building an ark” jokes with him. And when, in anticipation of the hypothetical fate-ordained 2012, the hosts asked whether they would be able to board the ark he and the other Noahs would build, he cleverly retorted, “[Yeah,] you guys get to be on the ark.” Far from being critical at the caller’s expense, they observed, “You’re very articulate and well-spoken for a ten-year old.”
With respect to the discussion regarding erections, the hosts made puns on the word “ark / arc”. The Panel did not find that the banter amounted to unduly sexually explicit material, but the Panel said it was troubled by sexual commentary relating to a child of 10. Referring to previous decisions on the sexualization of children, the Panel concluded:
“that the hosts went beyond the mere reference to a private body part. As in [an earlier Atlantic Panel] decision, the discussion was about a state of arousal. In the Atlantic Panel decision, however, the dialogue was between the two hosts and the Panel still concluded that there had been a breach. In the matter at hand, the discussion was not merely between two adult hosts, it was with a 10-year old. The broadcast of this sexualization of the young caller, Noah, is also exploitative and in clear breach of Clauses 8(a) and 8(b) of the CAB Equitable Portrayal Code.”
