Since when did Santa's "ho, ho, ho" become degrading to women?

Courtesy of the New York Times:

A Santa Claus starting his fourth year at a store in Cairns said he had been fired for saying "Ho! Ho! Ho!" which, according to local reports, the recruitment agency Westaff, the country's biggest Santa supplier, feels might frighten children and be seen as demeaning to women. The agency wants its Santas to say "Ha! Ha! Ha!" instead, the reports said. "They're trying to kill the spirit of Christmas," the dismissed Santa, John Oakes, who is 70, told The Cairns Post. He said he had been told that the old catch-cry was "not appropriate." A Westaff spokesman said Mr. Oakes had been dismissed for his attitude, not his ho-ho-ing.

Here is my favorite response to this article: "omg!!!! i dont want santa to laugh at me when i walk by?!?!?!?"