I was responding to a poster who said she 'loved' Mary Beard.
But you're right - we're dealing in perceived images, usually highly manipulated by the media. MN often has threads in which pps discuss which celebrities they like or (nauseatingly) 'would like to be best friends with', and I guess this irritates me because I'm very aware of how false and deliberately constructed these images are. I'm always depressed that so many people think what they see on telly is the real thing.
With MB, who I've heard a lot on discussions and panel programmes on the radio, and watched on her various TV documentaries, I know she does position herself as a strong feminist and left-leaning academic. From what she says on these platforms, I was surprised to hear that her personal attitudes didn't tally with what she says she stands for.
Similarly - Germaine Greer (who I've a lot of respect for and would agree with you that she shouldn't have to be perfect either) is/was notoriously difficult with other women. It's an interesting point: does feminism mean you should always be nice to other women? Perhaps it doesn't - I can see that. Why should you be any nicer to people because they're women than, say, men? But it's something you hear trotted out on MN and elsewhere - the idea that feminism means supporting women just because they're women. It's a simplistic interpretation of feminism, so, yes, fair play to these people.