On social media, an image circulating reveals the faces of three Los Angeles fire officials, accompanied by a description that reads: « And this is what the management of the Los Angeles emergency services, responsible for extinguishing the fire in the city, looks like. They’re all lesbians named Christine.”.
Full of sexist and lesbophobic clichés but above all false information, this story has been circulating in conservative American circles for several days. Several publications of the same type are illustrated by a photo of the three women. They accuse the so-called directors of the LAFD of having reduced the male numbers of their troops to hire more women and transgender people, and of being responsible for the mismanagement of the fires which have ravaged the city since January 7. « On the indirect causes of the gigantic fire in Los Angeles »announcement one of them in title.
This narrative is factually false… and what’s more, these three women are not all named Kristen!
The photo of the three firefighters went viral, after being relayed by the American account X (formerly Twitter). Libs of TikTok and the conservative Fox News channel. Aside from the sexist implication, the factual problem is that she does not represent the entire management team, as the publication implies.
The only three women on the management team
Originally posted on Flickr account — a free photo and video sharing site — from the Fire Department, this photo was taken in February 2016, during an LAFD promotion ceremony at the Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center in Los Angeles.
It shows, on the right, the current fire chief, Kristin Crowleyand on the left the deputy director of the Office of Equity and Human Resources, Kristine Larson. Between the two officials is the Commander of the Office of Training and Support, Jaime Brown. Who is therefore not called Kristin, nor Christine, as certain publications claim.
But the women in the image are only three members of the management team, among the twelve listed on the LAFD website. Among them, Crowley, Brown and Larson are the only women.
It is therefore incorrect to say that these three women are at the head of the department. The photo shared on social media does not represent the management team, but simply three colleagues photographed together during a ceremony.
-A department that is still very masculine
According to Internet users, the Los Angeles fire department is also seeking to oust men from their ranks. « By their orders, they reduced the male composition of the firefighters, replacing many men with women and trans people.assure a publication. But the LAFD has never claimed to pursue such a policy.
The management team is predominantly male, with three women and nine men. Regarding the total number of firefighters in the city, the fire department wrote a little over two years ago: « In 2022, […] almost 8% of candidates [à la LAFD] were women, double the current percentage of female firefighters in the department.” According to these figures, there were therefore around 4% women in the relief forces at the time. « Their numbers and influence are growing”also indicated the department. However, it seems that male firefighters are still far from being « replaced ».
This is not the first time that the Los Angeles firefighters have been at the heart of criticism from conservatives over diversity issues. In March 2022, when Kristin Crowley was sworn in as fire chief, becoming the first female and LGBTI fire chief in the history of the departmentshe had been accused to have been chosen solely for reasons of diversity.
In November 2022, the creation of Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)of which Kristine Larson is now deputy chief, while Crowley was already fire chief, had also caused controversy. THE conservative critics claimed that the development of these internal diversity policies distracted the LAFD from its goal of fighting fires.
Accusations that resurface as the department finds itself once again in the spotlight, overwhelmed by the scale of the fires who have been destroying Los Angeles since January 7.
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