To find it deeply annoying that a tribute to a female politician calls her coquettish?

[bamboostalks]

Watching BBC news and news item on Margo MacDonald, who died today, describes her as coquettish. This is the opening comment on the whole of her life. I mean seriously? No one would have described Tony Benn in such a demeaning manner. Ok as an adjective buried in a researched biography but such casual sexism just gets my goat.

Tony Benn wasn't particularly flirty though was he?

Was she coquettish?

I agree. I can't imagine a male politician being described as a bit of a flirt, or a ladies' man or whatever the male equivalent of coquettish might be, even if he was.

Lazy journalism - at best. Vague, meaningless description of anyone and actually very disrespectful in an obituary piece.

YANBU - not at all.

Maybe she wanted that.

I remember Margo MacDonald in her Heyday.

She was a straight talking woman.

Nothing coquettish IMHO.

In fact, I think she might have eaten for breakfast anyone who described her as coquettish.

I disagree she would have been annoyed. She was flirty, she was very pretty and she did project a bit of a blonde bombshell image.

She was a remarkable woman. I don't agree with most of her politics but I'd have voted for her if she'd been my constituency candidate.

How do you think Alan Clark was described?! If it's who she was I think it would be too euphemistic not to mention it tbh.

I doubt she'd mind, and if she did, she'd have her own way to put the comment down. Very upset today about her death - not that I agreed with all her politics, but I thought she really cared about her constituents and dealt with her Parkinsons with great courage.

She had a twinkle in her eye, even at the end.

I actually thought that the reporting I heardwas respectful and affectionate.

A coquette is Scarlett O'Hara. Why on earth would that be the opening adjective to describe a politician's life when there's no evidence that she was one. As for the comparison to Alan Clark, well his life was entirely different with plenty of evidence to support whatever label you wish to attribute. But of course, his legacy is primarily one of witty diarist etc not someone who had an inappropriate predication for very young girls.

I heard someone describe her on Radio 4 as coquettish as she would be discussing political things one minute then the next looking at the jewellery on the shopping channel. That isn't coquettish is it?

I have found the coverage around this bizarre as well, and certainly surprised by the BBC take.

'Coquettish' implies silly and empty-headed. It's a pretty poor compliment to a trail-blazing female politician, in my view.

YANBU