to rather intensely dislike Harriet Harman?

[grovel]

Naggy and bossy at the same time. And so tribal.

should have been "since"

What I love most about her is the way she enrages pathetic, anti-feminist men.

Witness some of the comments above. It is hilarious. She is worth her weight in gold purely for the way she winds them up.

Rant on, lads. Rant on. Vent your spleen here. Whinge about how tough men have and what about women who lie about rape and oh small businesses and wah wah wah. Keep talking. Don't go and DO anything about it. That's the sort of useful, society-changing thing Harriet Harman would do, the bitch!

What's sexist about saying HH is a douchebag? No worse than saying Cameron is a cunt. Interesting that you compare Cameron to a female body part... Can't we call him a knob instead? Cunts are beautiful things. What do you think you passed through when you were born?

HoldMeCloser...My earlier post sort-of said exactly what you have. Those who have a serious, genuine problem with the existence of HH = probably not worth bothering with. Even on the internet, a single instance of 'Harperson' means that you can simply ignore the rest of their writing with a clear conscience. It's a handy social shortcut for busy individuals, and for that alone I am grateful to Harriet Harman.

Of course, I also quite like her for her insistence on making rape, DV, maternity leave and all those other 'women's' issues prominent in our parliament.

I like Harriet - she did a stonkingly good job at dealing with Millionaires' Row on the govt benches before Ed M was appointed. I recall a particularly splendid attack during one PMQs about liberal's now prioritising the fact that their arses were on ministerial leather rather than sticking to their principles.

She has put up with immense shit simply for being female and has handled it brilliantly. Unlike many politicos she couldn't give a rat's arse about popularity and does not court the media. She is an easy target because she puts her head on the line - unlike the slimy slippery little fuckers currently squirming in Nos 10 & 11 at the moment.

I don't dislike her because she's a woman - I dislike her because she's crap. I could reel off a 1000 females I love and admire, ( a few Labour politicians included!! ) but just because I can't stand one woman I'm ignorant and sexist >

FFP - Your use of 'females' is telling. I think you mean 'women'.

This thread is a joke. It has been taken over by radical feminists who are just hiding behind the 'oh it's cos she's a woman' line. Is this how it is in your world? Any criticism for a female politican and it's, oh well you would say that it is because she is female. Grow up ffs.

Objecting to people slagging off a politician largely not for her policies or beliefs but for her 'nagging' and 'shrillness' and all the other descriptors on the handy list upthread, does not a radical feminist make. Read a book ffs.

I think we can agree then that Harriet is a divisive topic.

I dont think radical feminist is a major insult Swallow but I do think radical anythings have a tendancy to be quite strident and one-dimensional in their views.

anyway, forget that, wtf did amelia say in her pm to you?

It's worth noting that 'radical', in this context, means 'root'. Not 'extreme'. Also worth noting is that 'strident' is another term frequently applied to women who focus on women's issues.

Always a sign of the paucity of one's argument when one starts getting bogged down in semantics.

Paucity? I rather like to call it accuracy.

Without accuracy, there is no argument.

Oh come on, spill the beans. You can't put a teaser like that up and then not tell.

Always a sign of the paucity of one's intellect, when one makes quite basic errors and then resents being pulled up on them, before retreating into gossip of the 'wtf' variety.

Here's the thing. When people are passionate about something, they do sometimes come across as somewhat "shrill". I'd rather have the "shrill" HH in parliament than any dead pan tory, who keeps pushing the needs of women further and further down the line.

As for the "rape isn't a big issue" or "rape only affects women" lines. I call bull. It affects women predominantly. But I know of at least one man who's been raped. By improving "wimmin's issuez", we're improving things for "menz, too". I mean, can you honestly say that if your partner got raped, and you knew about it, it wouldn't affect you too? Or your mother? Sister?

And, btw, I think HH was right when she said that fathers aren't "essential"... DS is managing pretty fine without his father around... What's "essential" is a loving, caring, parent (of either gender) who puts the child first. And yes, two loving, caring parents is a bonus, but the sooner we stop belittling single parents, the better...

Oh dear. Is she guilty of being an uppity woman? Tsk!

Ah, lighten up Malcontentinthemiddle.