BOX SET: 6 Minute English - 'Women' English mega-class! 30 minutes of new vocabulary!

Hello.

This is 6 Minute English

from BBC Learning English.

I’m Sam.

And I’m Georgina.

In this programme we’ll take a look

at the sensitive issue of sexual

violence.

At the start of the decade

no one knew that the two-word phrase

‘MeToo’ would go viral

– or spread quickly and widely on the internet

through social media.

But when explosive allegations against

Hollywood movie producer Harry

Weinstein made headlines in 2017,

the MeToo hashtag became the focus for a global movement

of women determined to expose the truth about abusive sexual behaviour

Weinstein was found guilty and given

a 23-year prison sentence.

But the deeper reasons behind the problem,

in America and worldwide, have not disappeared.

I have a question now about

the origin of the MeToo expression.

Although the MeToo message went viral

due to public support

from famous Hollywood actresses,

the phrase itself was thought up years earlier by civil rights activist, Tarana Burke.

What year did she first use it?

Was it: a) 1996,

b) 2006 or c) 2016?

I’ll guess b) 2006.

OK, Georgina.

We’ll come back to that later.

Now more about Tarana Burke.

Yes, Tarana worked with marginalised women in neglected American communities,

shocking numbers of whom were victims of sexual violence and abuse.

Here she is talking with the BBC World Service’s programme HARDtalk

about how the MeToo movement continues to

speak up for voiceless women and girls.

The beauty, I think and the magic of MeToo is

that it’s a unifier in that way, and it’s where survivors

find community and so …definitely the mainstream media

kept the focus on the actresses and Hollywood and that…

but at its core the women who came forward were

really no different than those girls who I served in

the communities ten years before.

Tarana doesn’t call the girls and women who

were abused ‘victims’.

Instead she prefers the term survivors - people who are able to carry on

with their life successfully, despite very unpleasant

experiences which still affect them.

The MeToo movement went viral when several famous movie actresses

came forward – offered to give information, about sexual harassment.

While these Hollywood actresses were famous celebrities, most survivors of sexual

violence are ordinary women, living ordinary lives.

That’s why Tarana calls the MeToo movement 'a unifier'

- something that unites and brings people together,

in this case women of different race and social background.

But while the media focused on particular people

- Weinstein and several actresses in the movie industry

- Tarana is clear that the problem is bigger than just individual cases.

Here she is explaining about the wider reasons behind the MeToo movement.

We can talk about Harvey Weinstein ad nauseam but we also have to talk about

what are the structures that were in place that allowed a Harvey Weinstein

to thrive.

If you’re going to talk about Harvey Weinstein’s being

successful, then we have to also talk about capitalism, right?

Because it’s the love of money and the desire for people to have money and

what he represented.

The bottom line is people value those things more than they value

the humanity of the women that he was destroying their lives.

It’s about power and it’s about privilege.

At the end of the day, these are the two things we have to talk about dismantling.

According to Tarana, the behaviour of abusers

like Weinstein was not challenged or questioned because

of their privilege - power and advantage held by

a small group of people, usually because of their high social position

or because they are rich.

So rather than focusing on individual cases, it’s

male-dominated social structures like privilege that need dismantling

– breaking up or being stopped from working by gradually reducing its power

over a period of time.

Tarana knows the problem won’t disappear overnight.

But she believes the MeToo movement has opened up a space to talk about

sexual violence in a new way and set out a pathway forward.

Let’s go back to the quiz question.

I asked you what year the two-word expression ‘Me Too’

was used.

Was it a) 1996, b) 2006 or c) 2016

and you said…?

Yes. I said it was b) 2006.

Well done, Georgina!

You are absolutely right!

Today, we’ve been talking about the hashtag MeToo movement which

went viral in 2017 – meaning it spread quickly on the internet.

The name ‘MeToo’ was created by Tarana Burke,

an activist who works with sexual abuse survivors

- people who experience abuse but are able to carry on with their lives successfully.

In 2017 many of these survivors came forward – offered to give information

– about sexual harassment in Hollywood.

And these actresses were supported by millions of women and men

across the world, making the MeToo movement an important cultural unifier

– something that unites and brings people together.

Now the movement wants to shift the focus away

from individual cases and onto social structures of privilege

- power and advantage held by a small group of people, usually because of their

wealth or high social class.

And according to Tarana, it is these social structures

and attitudes which need to be dismantled

- stopped from working by gradually reducing their power over time.

And that’s all we have time for today.

Join us again soon, here at 6 Minute English for more topical discussion

and vocabulary.

Bye for now.

Bye.

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English.

I'm Neil.

And I'm Sam.

And if I say to you, Sam, motorbike, what do you think of?

Oh, I think of the film Easy Rider with Jack Nicholson

and Peter Fonda cruising the wide open spaces on powerful machines.

How about you, Neil?

Oh, well, I think of the young man on a moped who delivers my pizzas.

Not quite the same image, is it, really?

No, but in both cases we were associating motorbikes with male figures.

Today, we are looking at women and bikes, but before that, a quiz.

In which decade was the first mass-produced

motorcycle released?

Was it: a) the 1880s,

b) the 1890s or c) the 1900s?

What do you think, Sam?

Tricky question!

The 1880s may be too early - so I think I'll play it

safe and go for the middle option, the 1890s.

Well, we'll see if you're right later in the programme.

Esperanza Miyake is the author of a new study of the 'gendered motorcycle'

in film, advertising and TV. She was interviewed on BBC radio's Thinking Allowed

programme about the topic. First she was asked about the experience of travelling at

over 110 kph on a motorbike.

What world does she say you are part of?

I think it dissolves gender, race, all these things stop mattering.

It's all about experience so car drivers, there's a lot about enjoying the internal

space of the car. On the bike, obviously, there's no interiority,

you're completely part of the exterior world.


 So, what world are you in when travelling at

speed on a motorbike?

The external world.

Because you are not inside a car, your experience is completely different.

On a bike you have no interiority.

That's the experience of being inside - but I do have to say although that

is a real word, it's not one I've ever heard or used before!

No. Me neither.

What she also says is that travelling at speed dissolves gender and race.

It makes them less important.

When you dissolve something you make it less strong.

In fact, she says that at speed these things stop mattering.

They stop having any importance.

If something doesn't matter, it's not important at all.

Before that we said we usually connect motorbikes with men.

Think bike, think bloke.

But what about women and bikes?

Esperanza Miyake goes on to talk about the way women bikers are usually

shown in the media.

How many different types does she mention?

Generally, there's three types.

So, the first type would be your typical

empowered female who's on the motorbike.

You do have that image but, having said that, I would also

add that those images appear typically very sexualised,

very stylised.

So, yes, she's empowered, but she's in a skintight catsuit.

You also get another type which is the female rider but who's been masculinised.

She's kind of embodying a very

masculine kind of style.

And I think the third type is kind of silly, giggly

female on a scooter.

So, she talked about three types of representations, particularly in movies.

Sam, tell us more.

Yes, she first talked about the empowered woman.

This is a character who has authority, who has the

power to drive the plot and action and is not

dependent on a man to make decisions for her.

It seems like a positive image but she does say

that these characters are often sexualised, that is,

presented in a way that might be sexually appealing

for a male audience.

The next character type she mentions is a woman

who is very masculine.

They embody male characteristics, which means they have and

demonstrate many typically male personality features.

And the final type she talked about was showing women on bikes

as silly and giggly riding scooters.

So, there don't seem to be many really completely positive images of

women and motorcycles, at least not in the popular media.

Time to look again at today’s vocabulary, but first, let’s have the answer to the

quiz question.

In which decade was the first mass-produced motorcycle released?

Was it: a) the 1880s,

b) the1890s or c) the 1900s?

What did you think, Sam?

I took a guess at the 1890s.

Well done, it was a good guess.

It was indeed the 1890s and a

bonus point if you knew that it was 1894.

OK, let's have a quick reminder of today's words.

We started with the verb 'dissolves'.

If something dissolves it gets less strong, less immediate.

Then we had another verb, 'to matter',

something that matters is important to someone.

What's the next word?

It was a rather uncommon word to describe

the experience of being inside - interiority.

Let's rush by that one and move on to the next word, 'empowered'.

Someone who is 'empowered' is in control of their own life.

When we talk about empowered women we are talking about women who are not

dependent on men or anyone else for the direction of their lives.

They make their own choices.

Our next word was 'sexualised'. This is when something is given

a clearly sexual styling. In the programme, we heard that women

on motorcycles are often shown in a sexualised way, dressed in clothing, for example,

that makes them sexually attractive.

And finally there was 'to embody'.

This means to be a clear and obvious example of something.

So, in movies female bikers often embody male characteristics, which means

they might dress or behave in a way we would usually associate with men.

Well, it's time for us to say goodbye.

See you next time and, until then, you can find us online

and on our app.

Just search for bbclearningenglish.

Bye for now!

Bye!

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English.

I'm Neil.

And hello. I'm Rob.

So, Rob, you are a man who enjoys travel.

What’s the furthest journey you’ve ever made?

Well, I have been to the other side of the world.

I've been to Australia, New Zealand – so from

London that's a very long way.

And how was it?

It was pretty boring really and quite cramped

on the aeroplane – but I loved it when I got there.

So, how would you feel about a journey of 56 million

kilometres that took around nine months?

Right.

I'd have to travel Business Class, I think - lots

of movies and a very comfortable seat!

Well, that’s how long it would take to get to the planet

Mars and this programme is all about the women who

want to be the first to set foot on the Red Planet.

First, though, today’s question, which is about the

size of Mars.

Is it a) bigger than Earth,

b) about the same size as Earth, or c) smaller than Earth?

I’m pretty sure I know this.

It’s bigger than Earth, much bigger, I think.

OK well, we’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the programme.

It’s been 40 years since NASA first recruited women to be astronauts.

Today, a third of the people who work at NASA are women.

Yes, and 2016 was the first year that there were an equal number of

women and men joining as astronaut trainees.

Equality is slowly coming but only men have had the opportunity to walk on the Moon,

although that was over 45 years ago.

Karen Nyberg is one of NASA’s current astronauts.

In a recent BBC News feature, she talked about her hopes.

When did she join the astronaut programme?

When I was selected as an astronaut in the

year 2000 I thought that that might be a realistic possibility, that

we would be the ones, the next to go to the Moon.

So it's unfortunate that we weren't.

When did she become an astronaut?

Well, she said that she was selected in 2000.

'Selected' means chosen.

At that time, when she was selected, she thought going to the Moon

would be a realistic possibility. So, she thought that it wasn’t just a dream,

but something that could happen.

There was a good chance it would happen.

However, she was disappointed because that opportunity didn’t arrive at that time.

She describes that as being unfortunate.

In this sense 'unfortunate' means unlucky.

If you use this adjective it means you are disappointed

about something, but you do perhaps understand the reason for it.

So far, a woman hasn’t had the opportunity to step on the Moon.

These days Mars is the big target for space travel.

There are many problems to overcome, but could it, should it

be a woman who is the first person to take that step?

Absolutely, why not?

On a mission to Mars there would be need for many different kinds of specialists.

We tend to think of astronauts as spaceship pilots, but

really, I think, they are much more like scientists, carrying out different experiments.

If we are going to set up a base on Mars, one thing that

would be very important is to try to find a way of growing food.

For that you need people with skills in those areas.

One person with those skills is Gioia Massa,

a Life Science project manager for NASA. Now, you would think that

being a top scientist she would be brilliant at all areas or aspects of the job,

but she told BBC News that it wasn’t always the case.

What two aspects does she mention she wasn’t good at?

There certainly were aspects where I was challenged, you know...

I wasn't as great in math as some of my colleagues, my handwriting is terrible, you know...

So, there are things that are not my strength.

But then I fell in love with plants and plants were my strength,

and I really learned and focused on that.

So Rob, what did she have problems with?

Well, she said that she wasn’t good at math.

'Math' is a North American English word for what

in British English, we call maths.

Both words mean mathematics, so 'math' in American English,

'maths' in British English.

She also said that her handwriting is terrible!

Mind you, if her handwriting was really terrible,

maybe nobody would be able to read her bad maths!

Good point!

So, handwriting and maths aren’t or weren’t her strengths.

They are not what she is good at.

What are her strengths?

Well, the thing she is good at, her real strengths are

working with plants, so that’s what she concentrated on.

Right. Well, let’s see if one of your strengths is the

knowledge of the planets.

Today’s quiz question was:

Is Mars…

a) bigger than Earth,

b) about the same size as Earth, or

c) smaller than Earth?

What did you say, Rob?

I said that it was bigger, much bigger.

And the answer, I'm afraid to say, is that Mars is smaller than Earth,

much smaller, in fact.

Oh, well, I guess I won’t be selected to be an astronaut any time soon!

Before we blast off out of here, let’s review the vocabulary we covered today.

The first word was the one you just mentioned, 'selected', meaning chosen.

Then we had the phrase, 'a realistic possibility'

to describe something that has a good chance of happening,

unlike my astronaut application!

Well, if you did become an astronaut, that would be unfortunate,

our next word, for me at least.

'Unfortunate', you mean disappointing for you?

Well, if you were up in space I wouldn’t have the pleasure of your company.

Hashtag blushing.

Our next word was 'aspects' meaning parts of something

and then the Americanisation, 'math'.

Which we call maths, or mathematics in British English.

And finally, we had 'strengths'. And maths certainly isn’t one of my strengths

– it’s not something I’m good at.

But one of your strengths is saying nice things about people.

Hashtag double blush.

Well, time for us to go – not to Mars, but to lunch!

Just time to say you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube,

and, of course, on our website bbclearningenglish.com!

Thank you for joining us and goodbye!

Bye bye!

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

I’m Sam.

And I’m Georgina.

Something that affects almost every woman at some

point in her life is the menopause.

The menopause is a natural part of ageing that happens as

a woman‘s hormones decline and she stops having monthly periods

and being able to get pregnant naturally.

With the menopause comes physical signs.

These vary from person to person and often include hot

flushes, mood swings and night sweats.

But besides these there may be other changes too and living

through it can be isolating, both personally and professionally.

In many societies, the menopause is still taboo –

not talked about in public for social or religious reasons,

or because people are uncomfortable discussing it.

But recently high-profile women like former First Lady, Michelle Obama,

have started speaking up.

In this programme, we’ll be hearing from two other

women trying to make the menopause more visible in society…

…and, of course, we’ll be learning some

related vocabulary as well.

But first let me ask you my quiz question, Georgina.

As we mentioned, the menopause is part of the

natural ageing process and usually occurs between

the ages of 45 and 55.

But what is the average age for a woman to reach the menopause in Britain?

Is it a) 49,

b) 51,

or c) 53?

I’ll jump in the middle and say 51 years old.

OK, Georgina, we’ll find out the answer

later in the programme.

Since the menopause is a normal and natural part of life

it’s surprising how little it’s talked about.

Dr Nighat Arif is a British Pakistani family doctor specialising

in women’s health.

According to her, the silence around the subject is because menopause is

about getting old, something no one wants to be reminded of.

Here is Dr Arif explaining more to BBC World Service programme, The Conversation:

Historically, particularly when it comes to women, the older you are you’re surplus

to excess now, that’s it, you’ve done your dues, you’ve had your children, your

use isn’t needed anymore in society… but actually women are not like that

at all, women are far more becoming productive in the

career and workspace and they are the caregivers,

sometimes they are actually the financial providers in their home setting as well.

In many cultures, the traditional role of women is to have children.

Dr Arif says that after doing this, women may be considered to have done -

or paid - their dues – an expression meaning to do everything you

are expected to do, or to have done your duty.

After raising children, women are sometimes thought to

be surplus to excess, something which is more than

needed, or in other words, surplus to requirements – a phrase meaning

‘no longer required’. Of course, this isn’t true for all women everywhere, but it

is surprising how unequal men and women’s experience

of getting older can be.

Barbara Hannah Grufferman, is an American writer who publishes a regular

newsletter, ‘The Menopause Cheat Sheet’, which

focuses on healthy ageing.

Here she is speaking with BBC World Service

programme, The Conversation:

One of the biggest complications, I think, is ageism.

So, if women are entering that age range, 45 and over,

they’re already possibly feeling the effects of ageism,

you know, pointing in their direction.

And then when they add on this layer of having these physical

symptoms that can impact how they’re functioning

at work and even at home - it’s a double whammy.

For Barbara Hannah Grufferman, one of the biggest

barriers women face is ageism - the unfair treatment

of older people because of their age.

Just as racism and sexism discriminate against people because of their race

or gender, ageism values older people less than the young.

As we mentioned before, the menopause brings physical

signs such as hot flushes or night sweats.

These signs are known as symptoms - things wrong with your body or

mind that are signs of some illness or bodily process.

So, menopausal women suffer physical symptoms, as well as

possibly dealing with discrimination based on their age.

Barbara Hannah Grufferman calls this a double whammy – an informal way to

describe a situation where two unpleasant things

happen at the same time.

The menopause can be a difficult time in a woman’s life.

But with age comes wisdom and experience

and in more and more societies around the world

the menopause is being talked about more openly.

Speaking of which, what was the answer to your question, Sam?

In my quiz question I asked about the average age

for British women to reach menopause.

I said it was c) 51.

Which was… the correct answer!

Although for some women menopause can start as early as in their 40s.

OK, let’s recap the vocabulary from this programme

starting with taboo – something which is forbidden

for social or religious reasons.

'To pay your dues' means 'to do your duty'.

'Surplus to requirements' means 'to be no longer needed'.

'Ageism' is the unfair treatment of older people because of their age.

'Symptom' is a sign of illness.

And finally, a 'double whammy' is a situation where

two unpleasant things happen at once.

That’s all from us, but we hope to see you again soon. Bye for now!

Goodbye!

Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

I’m Neil.

And I’m Sam.

Sam, have you ever heard the expression ‘a problem shared

is a problem halved’?

Yes, Neil, I have.

Doesn’t it mean that people often feel better after talking

about their problems with someone?

Right - in this programme we’ll be hearing the extraordinary story of how these ideas

were taken up by a team of community grandmothers in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe has over 14 million people but fewer than 20 psychiatrists.

After years of economic turmoil, unemployment and HIV, mental health is a huge

challenge, and doctors estimate that one in four Zimbabweans

suffers from depression or anxiety.

When it proved impossible to find free space to use in hospitals, psychiatrist Dr Dixon

Chibanda, came up with the idea of turning

public park benches into spaces for therapy.

He recruited grandmothers, who have both free time and plenty of life experience,

to talk with individuals struggling with mental health issues

like depression, anxiety, and trauma.

The grandmothers are drawn from the local community

and trained over several weeks in a talking therapy

called CBT – but what does that abbreviation, CBT, stand for?

That’s my quiz question.

Is it a) Chatting Based Therapy,

b) Conversation Brain Therapy

or c) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?

Well, I think I’ll say c) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

OK, Sam, we’ll find out later.

Now, although the recent history of Zimbabwe has left millions struggling

with mental health issues, at the start of his

project, Dr Dixon Chibanda was the only psychiatrist

working in public health in the whole country.

And as well as a lack of provision, many villagers were suspicious of

talking therapy, preferring to rely on traditional faith healers instead.

Which is why when Kim Chakanetsa, of BBC World Service’s

The Documentary Podcast, spoke to Dr Dixon Chibanda,

she started by asking him whether people were supportive of his idea:

Initially there was a lot of scepticism, a lot of resistance, particularly from colleagues

who thought this was not evidence-based, and it wasn’t going to work.

The whole idea of training grandmothers – I mean,

this has not been done anywhere else in the world

so naturally there was resistance.

Were you at all apprehensive?

I was, to be quite honest.

At first, Dr Dixon Chibanda’s ideas were met with

scepticism – an attitude of doubting whether something is useful or true.

‘Grandma benches’ were a totally new idea, never seen

before anywhere in the world and so his colleagues naturally

felt some resistance - refusal to accept a change or new idea.

Which left Dr Dixon Chibanda feeling a little apprehensive –

worried that something bad was going to happen to his project.

Fortunately, as it turned out, Dr Dixon Chibanda’s apprehensions were wrong.

Grandmothers are highly respected in Zimbabwean society

and as they started listening, people began opening up and telling their stories.

The ‘grandma benches’ have empowered over 50,000 people

to deal with their life problems and Dr Dixon Chibanda even has plans

to move his idea online, giving the world access to a virtual Friendship Bench.

Here he is again, explaining on the BBC World Service’s

The Documentary Podcast why he believes his ideas have been so successful:

It works because it’s simple, it’s cheap and it’s run by communities, particularly

grandmothers who are, in essence, a resource in African communities

– you know, they are the custodians of local culture and

wisdom – that’s why is works, and I guess, it does

away with western concepts which remove the stigma

that is normally associated with mental illness.

Clients are willing to share their problems with the grandmother-therapists

because they are respected as cultural custodians – people with responsibility for

taking care of something or trying to protect ideas or principles,

in this case local customs and wisdom.

This helps do away with – or remove – the stigma attached to mental health

strong feelings of shame or disapproval which most members of a community

have towards something, such as psychological illness.

For Zimbabweans suffering domestic violence, unemployment

and dealing with HIV, having a grandmother to talk to really can change their

perceptions about how problems can be managed.

So it seems true that ‘a problem shared is a problem

halved’, which reminds me of our quiz question, Sam.

Yes.

You asked me what the talking therapy abbreviated to CBT stands for.

And I said c) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Which is absolutely right!

CBT – a way of managing problems by changing ways

of thinking and behaving.

So, this week we’ve been hearing the inspiring story of Zimbabwean

Dr Dixon Chibanda’s ‘grandma bench’ therapy -

an idea which was initially met with scepticism – a doubtful attitude, and resistance –

refusal to change and accept new ideas.

Dr Dixon Chibanda’s feelings of apprehension – worries that the project would fail,

proved false when his team of grandmother therapists were treated as custodians –

or protectors - of wisdom and life experience who really could help people

suffering depression, poverty and trauma.

The success of the project helped do away with – or remove –

strong feelings of shame or disapproval felt by many people regarding mental health,

known as stigma.

To hear more inspiring, topical stories, join us again soon here at

6 Minute English. Bye for now!

Goodbye!