The BBC has no respect for women

You can tell, from this headline they put out earlier today

Today or over the weekend, I was planning to write something about gratitude, mindset and what I think might be behind all those people calling me brave and courageous for how I’m approaching this cancer and chemo malarky, and why I’m mostly reasonably cheerful in spite of it all.

Sadly it is going to have to wait.

Dropping my first ever sexist WTF of the week here on Substack, a piece of writing I became known for and regularly went viral for on LinkedIn. Misogyny is absolutely the biggest thing I am sick and tired of, far more than having a few temporary health challenges.

The BBC has just put up a highly sexist and appalling subheader in its coverage of Andrea Jenkyns, who has today become the Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire:

Apparently the most important thing it wants everyone to know is that she used to be a ‘Greggs worker’ - for non UK people Greggs is high street bakery chain known and loved for its sausage rolls, and not exactly down market but certainly not upmarket either - and, wait for it, a former Miss UK finalist.

Not that she was an MP for just shy of a decade, and a government minister. Its far more important and relevant that we all know that she worked somewhere not very classy, and also did quite well in a beauty contest…this second bit smacks to me of that insulting Monopoly Community Chest card, where you get a few quid for winning second prize in a beauty contest. Not first, second.

Reducing women to their looks, and being disparaging about them, are classic and misogynistic tactics, chosen deliberately instead of referencing our expertise, career success or something with genuine gravitas.

The BBC could have focused on her previous political success or simply given more details on her victory in yesterday’s local elections in becoming Reform UK’s first ever Mayor, quite a feat for the fairly new party, no matter what you think of her politics, or Reform for that matter.

This headline also serves as a warning to other women in politics or thinking about entering public life. Expect to be disrespected. Expect to be put down. Expect us to focus on anything but your success as we go all out to undermine you. We will focus on your irrelevant and distant past, and your inadequate looks, when we want to take you down a peg or two.

Women make up an all time high of 40% of our MPs here in the UK as of the general election last July, up from 35% in 2019. However, facing regular online abuse comes as part of the job. According to research by the Fawcett Society, 93% of female MPs report that online harassment and abuse affects them, and negatively. Some female MPs have reported regular death, rape and racist hate messages online.

Undermining and demeaning women is one of the bottom rungs on the ladder of online abuse. It seems bizarre that the BBC, our national broadcaster, would want to throw its hat in the ring to be an endorser of misogynistic comments about women, and female politicians. I doubt this is in line with its own inclusion rhetoric which no doubt says something along the lines of valuing women and promoting a culture of respect and dignity for all…on an actions speak louder than words basis it would seem to be total bullsh*t.

I want to live in a world where women are respected for their talents and achievements, for their actions and their character. Not where we are sexualised, demeaned and belittled, and not where the national broadcaster tries to publicly humiliate us in our moments of success…

Harriet x