about equality. Race, gender and class inequality are passé and seen as not really affecting the mainstream. Young women hate feminism, black people are visible in the media and sport, and the otherwise known as the feckless and work shy.
There is a reluctance to question and examine the world we live. This is nothing new, but manifestations of this are varied and shifting. A closer examination the context of the attendant highindifference to examine patterns of behaviour according to class, race and gender, and the disturbing, underlying social and economic causes. The Freshen Up song is a joke. As someone who often employs humour in my work, humour can often be used to negate and belittle a critical awareness and understanding. My very simple point is that casualness creates anti-critical environment, where to question behaviours and their impact on wider cultural spheres becomes a no-no – the suggestion being you can’t take a joke. The real joke is the continuing complacency in the face of ongoing prejudice.