Angry Viewers Slam BBC For Use Of 'Snowperson' Over 'Snowman'

Angry parents are complaining online after a BBC children's programme opted for politically-correct terminology over the more traditional term - referring to 'snowpeople' instead of 'snowmen'.

The gender-neutral word was used in CBeebies show Catie's Amazing Machines, where host Catie Munnings told viewers: "Snow is amazing. You get to build snowpeople and go sledging."

BBC

The word prompted social media users to hop online to critcise the BBC for succumbing to the desires of 'snowflakes'.

One person wrote on Twitter: "Watched Catie's Amazing Machines with my 4 year old this morning as she loves it. However... Snowpeople?! Really?! WTF are Snowpeople? Do they really require a gender? Even my 4 yo said it was a silly word cos they're snowmen. Fact."

Another said: "It's time for the snowflakes of this world to man up. Snowmen are snowmen not snowpeople."

Someone else commented: "CBeebies are now referring to Snowmen as 'Snowpeople'. So 'Frosty the Snowman' now has to be rewritten as 'Frosty the Snowperson' does it? Why stop there? Why not 'Frosty the Gender Fluid Snow-Based Effegy of a Human'? Stop the world I wanna get off. PC madness."

The remark caused a stir among many social media users, who criticised the BBC for giving in to 'snowflake' viewers by seemingly banning the word snowman.

The issue has been causing such an uproar that it was brought into discussion on Good Morning Britain, with presenter Piers Morgan saying: "You don't build snowpeople, you build some men. We, mankind, hu-mans, have built snow-men for 10,000 years."

But, regardless of whether or not that in itself was a valid point, Morgan ruined it by adding: "Catie you seem a lovely lady, whoever you are, but they are not snowpeople, they are snowmen."

I'm sure the 'lovely lady' was chuffed you cleared that up for her, Piers.

via GIPHY

But not everyone is against the use of the term 'snowpeople'. Editor of ChannelMum.com Cathy Ranson told the Huffington Post she reckon's Catie wasn't trying to be controversial using it.

She said: "Snowpeople is simply catch-all term for every type of snow creation - be it a snowman, snowwoman, snow dog or anything else icy and imaginative which your child wants to build," she said.

Ranson added parents shouldn't waste their time on arguing about the terminology, and that they should instead channel their energy into having fun with their kids.

She added: "Then let your child name it - it's their creation after all - and you'll end up with some much more exciting suggestions even than snowpeople!"

If you ask me, we all just need to all go and have a brew and calm the hell down.

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman