People who are representing women need to actually represent them

[Owllady]

I have never posted here before but it seemed the most appropriate section
I'm not sure if any of you watched Sunday morning live this morning on BBC1
There was someone on there called the conservative woman, who represented conservative women
Who appeared to blame all the problems in the benefit system on women
And women getting themselves pregnant and becoming single mothers in particular
Why should these people be on tv representing women? And why are they not pulled up on the use of being representative and cavorting as a massive hypocrite?
Please be kind I've never posted here before but it's infuriated me
Or have I misunderstood and she's just a conservative woman;singular rather a conservative woman and I've mis understood?
Who was it?

[YonicProbe]

Not sure, but Angela Leadsom is, for example, dreadful.

Was it her?

[LiviaDrusillaAugusta]

I don't think anyone can represent women though - we aren't a hive mind. I find it patronising that any woman would presume to speak for me!

[HermioneWeasley]

I thought this was was going to be a thread about men appropriating womanhood, like "Anna" Lee standing for women's officer, or Bruce/Caitlin Jenner winning woman of the year.

Some women hate other women. They are anti abortion, pro inequality etc.

[Xenophile]

I didn't see it Owl, but she sounds awful.

Women aren't a homogeneous mass, some women actively hate other women, say that they lie about rape, that the pendulum has swung too far the other way and other such utter cock. Sometimes they do it because it's much easier as a woman if you just eat up the patriarchy pie and sometimes because they are just awful humans.

Welcome to FWR, we're lovely here, honest. Well, most of us are anyway.

[ChocChocPorridge]

And women getting themselves pregnant and becoming single mothers in particular

Apart from anything else, this is obviously ridiculous - single mothers can't get themselves pregnant, and they're the ones looking after a child and trying to work at the same time - if she wants to stop money being claimed by single mothers, do a better job of enforcing that fathers pay for their children!

There. Fixed that. Next tricky problem please.

[Owllady]

I thought you might all know who it was it wasn't Leadsom
Too many getting 'themselves' pregnant and on benefits living in single parent households etc etc
There was no level of depth to the argument at all, such as say the cost of housing for those in single parent (predominantly female) households
No argument as to why women are often left in the care role and more dependant on a welfare type system
It was awful. It's made me really quite angry and I'm not a single parent or reliant on benefits I do however have an imagination and I wouldn't put myself on a pedestal to represent women if I was such a narrow minded misogynist

[0phelia]

This is surely about the "Conservative" (Tory) mentality.

This woman represents the Conservative woman because Tories blame benefit scroungers, single mums, immigrants and trade unions for all of life's ills. Why is this a surprise?

Single

[0phelia]

Single mums are the "conservative" right wing press scapegoat for everything.

[M0stlyHet]

Hiya Owl, and welcome. Those of us who post here regularly are nice really and not nearly as scary as people make out. Yes she sounds gruesome. Xenophile is right - it can be a very effective personal survival strategy for some women to sell out other women, thus currying favour with men. (Andrea Dworkin wrote a book on this - Right Wing Women.)

[Xenophile]

Owl, I was a single parent, reliant on benefits when this rhetoric first started being mainstream. I can tell you that it made me feel like shit. One week, I was seen as someone with a worthwhile life, then we went into a refuge and I came out the person at the root of all the country's ills.

Oddly, neither of my DSs have turned out to be drug dealing ne'erdowells, but I suppose there's always time!

[DaisyFranceLynch]

Hi Owllady, I think it was Kathy Gyngell who co-edits a website called Conservative Woman.

The website is socially conservative and I'd guess most of the writers are on the right of the party (assuming they vote Tory - I think "Conservative" refers to their social conservatism rather than the party specifically). They're not representative of women or even the average Conservative voter!

[Prawnofthepatriarchy]

Women like that have contempt for other "failed" women. They lack the imagination to recognize that it's only luck that stands between their current prosperity and becoming a single mum on benefits. I imagine that sudden fall might prove very educational.

There are far too many women who treat other women, and girls, badly. Look at the mums who refuse to believe their partner is molesting their kids. Worse of all, consider the women who perform FGM on little girls.

[RufusTheSpartacusReindeer]

I agree with daisy


She is not affiliated with the conservative party

Just uses the word

[Owllady]

Yes, it was Kathy Gyngell, thank you!
I will avoid. I agree prawn, it's just ignorance.
Anyway, thanks for all being kind. I might venture over here more often :)

[Prawnofthepatriarchy]

Please do. The more the merrier.

[Dervel]

Practically speaking there HAS to be a social safety net of some kind. That's a line in the sand. It's non-negotiable. However how that is implemented is very much up for debate.

Why is it politically conservative women seem to be the target of so much hate? Historically a lot of the progress for women rights have come from that group, but now they seem to be fair game.

I wouldn't mind so much but male conservatives seem to get a lot less flak. For the record I have admired both Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom, but I was also impressed with Harriet Harmon when she was interim Labour leader and it was a shame she didn't put her name in the hat to lead now. Ruth Davidson is my current favourite UK female politician, a conservative working bloody hard to preserve the Union, and has a lot going for her IMO.

My question is should women be represented across the political spectrum or only on the left?

[RufusTheSpartacusReindeer]

She was ona politics show a few weeks ago and the female Conservative MP couldnt stand her either

[Owllady]

Tbh I was not bothered that she was 'conservative' more that someone who has put herself to represent women was so vitriolic about other women and laid the blame for societies problems solely at their door.

Of course female Tories have worked for women rights, I wasn't suggesting otherwise though it's an interesting discussion anyway.

Rufus. I'm not really surprised :o

[Prawnofthepatriarchy]

I was at a pharmaceutical conference many years ago at which the after dinner speaker was Edwina Curry. God, she was vile. The whole of her speech focused on the profits her party were making sure that the pharmaceutical industry made out of the NHS, and this was when she was Health Minister, ffs. It was all "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." Support the Tories and keep your snouts in the trough. Ruthless, money grabbing cow. She also seemed to think she was seriously hot stuff, with what seemed to me very little evidence (though she did have that fling with John Major, so maybe I'm not the best judge.)

And then again there was Maggie, who I'm old enough to remember, and who, like many of my generation, loathed with a deadly loathing.