Great outrage has been caused in the United Kingdom by the publication of an article described as misogynistic and sexist against Labor MP Angela Rayner.
Rayner, 41, is number two in the Labor Party, the main opposition force. The woman regularly replaces her leader Keir Starmer during government-checking parliamentary sessions, leading to heated verbal exchanges with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
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The article was published by the ‘Mail on Sunday’ media. The text, which quotes conservative deputies, compared the parliamentarian with the actress Sharon Stone in the movie ‘Basic Instinct’, who uses the “trick” of crossing and uncrossing his legs in the film to distract his opponents.
According to the publication, several Conservative MPs claim that Rayner enjoys distracting the British Prime Minister in the midst of their discussions in the House.
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“Conservative MPs have maliciously suggested that Mrs Rayner likes to distract the Prime Minister when he is in the office box deploying a fully clothed parliamentary equivalent of Sharon Stone’s infamous scene in the 1992 film ‘Basic Instinct,’” reads the journal note.
In addition, they quote an anonymous deputy according to whom Rayner “cannot compete with Johnson’s oratorical skills”, so she uses “other abilities that he lacks.”
‘She uses other skills that he lacks’
The article also makes comments about the deputy’s profile and life, which have been heavily criticized. She describes her, for example, as “a socialist grandmother who left school at 16 when she was pregnant and had no qualifications before becoming a social worker”.
The comments published in the newspaper have caused great controversy in the British political world.
The first to react were members of the Labor Party, who told the ‘Mail’ that Conservatives have a problem with female figures in politics and public life.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for his part, used his Twitter account to reject the comments made against the parliamentarian.
“As much as I disagree with Angela Rayner on almost every political issue, I respect her as a parliamentarian and deplore the misogyny directed against her anonymously today.Johnson wrote.
As much as I disagree with @AngelaRayner on almost every political issue I respect her as a parliamentarian and deplore the misogyny directed at her anonymously today.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 24, 2022
Rayner also reacted to the publication by recalling that not only she, but hundreds of women around the world face misogynistic comments in the midst of politics.
“They accuse me of a ‘plot’ to ‘distract’ the defenseless prime minister, being a woman, having legs and wearing clothes. (…) Boris Johnson’s ‘cheerleaders’ have resorted to spreading perverted and desperate smears in their failed attempts to save their skin“, wrote.
The labor party added that she will not fall for the “harassment attempts” against her.
Women in politics face sexism and misogyny every day – and I’m no different.
This morning’s is the latest dose of gutter journalism courtesy of @MoS_Politics
🧵👇🏻9/1
— Angela Rayner 🌹 (@AngelaRayner) April 24, 2022
Other political figures such as the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, have condemned the comments.
Hoyle said: “I reject degrading and offensive comments about women in parliament, considering that they can only deter women who might consider standing for election.”
Hoyle invited the editor of the ‘Mail’ to meet and discuss the published article. For his part, the Prime Minister indicated that there will be reprisals if the authors of the sexist comments are identified.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING*
*With information from AFP
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