I was rather excited when barely any mention was made about gender as Theresa May took the Prime Ministerial crown. To me, it signalled an era where being a female and in power just wasn’t that noteworthy – she had far more important things to address than having a vagina.
Naturally enough, my excitement was premature. Before too long May’s most important decisions apparently involved her wardrobe and nothing has epitomised that so well as today’s front page from the Daily Misogyny.
Article 50, the bill that will change our nation, our country and our allies, will be triggered tomorrow. Instead of focusing on this future-changing fact, The Daily Mail has decided to pit May against SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon in the biggest battle of Britain yet: their legs.
Fuck. Off.
I won’t apologise for such language as it’s actually appropriate. I can only assume Daily Mail meetings involve a Wheel of Misfortune that they spin and base tomorrow’s headlines on. Sadly, the story goes beyond the front page, with an in-depth article detailing the position of their legs, the colour of their suits and how Sturgeon’s pins are decidedly more “flirtatious”. I’m guessing we’re about three weeks away from zooming up their skirts and trying desperately to compare labia.
This isn’t anything new, of course. May’s been in power less than a year and we’ve heard stories ranging from the symbolism of Westwood suits to the suitability of leather trousers. Blair, Cameron and Brown never had to deal with this shit. They were too busy running a country to look coquettish.
The Daily Male isn’t alone sadly. A quick image search for Theresa May shows these related searches: fashion, weight loss, shoes. She’s the leader of one of the most influential countries on earth and our main interest is her appearance. Similar searches for Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage came up with events in their lives or family members. The closest to their looks was a search for Farage “smiling”, which seems justified to me. Sometimes you need evidence that he’s human.
Seriously, UK, how is this still a thing? How can the same newspapers that campaign about Brexit apathy, single market fall out and governmental decisions also treat our leader like a prize poodle with a new perm? She’s not arm candy, she’s not a runway model, she’s a bloody prime minister. How she looks should only be of import if it affects our international standing.
If she turns up to a World Summit in a KKK gown, then sure, we have issues. Report it, spread it, I won’t object. But we do her an utter disservice when we treat her like a one-woman fashion show.
Obviously she’s not the only female cabinet member to experience this misogyny. Sturgeon has been dragged in by the Daily Malice, hopefully kicking and swearing in true Scot style. The SNP leader also had the honour of being mentioned in a speech last week by Timothy Bell, Margaret Thatcher’s former advertising adviser. Lord Bell reportedly recounted to a political gathering at Mark’s Club in London that Cabinet Secretary Liam Fox had once told him that Sturgeon was called “Seaweed” at uni – because “not even the tide would take her out”. In case you need a reminder, those two lookers can be seen on the left: I’d take Seaweed over Flotsam and Jetsam any day.
Amber Rudd (pictured below), the Home Secretary, visited Paris for immigration talks earlier this year and it was reported on more like a gossip mag then a serious political event. This isn’t just tabloids taking women down: publications like The Times have joined in the witch-hunt. She may have been over there doing something important but she had scuffed shoes. Almost like she’d worn them before… One really has to question her qualifications for high office in light of her lack of boot polish.
Donald Trump sneered at Carly Fiorina, his only female rival for the Republican presidential nomination last year, by saying “Look at that face!” The fact that Trump looks like a bundle of loft insulation in a wig did not affect his standing but there’s no way a female would be able to say the same. According to some in the press, the most important part of a woman’s day is between waking up and leaving the house. It’s important to get that lippy just right and who cares about an impressive CV when that skirt seems a little short?
So if someone asks you why we’re still fighting for equality, show them the Daily Mail. You’ll see Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon, the most powerful women in our country, whose patent shoes and sexy pins get more headlines than their policies. Our future might be at stake but it’s in female hands: time to undermine, sexualise and shame. Brexit can wait.
The post Sexism, Politics and Reporting: How do you solve a problem like Theresa? appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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