James Kirkup on online abuse of women

[BiologyIsReal]

blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/09/laura-kuenssberg-did-her-job-leave-her-alone

Don't know if anyone saw this but when I was looking at the Douglas Murray blog (subject of another thread) I saw the headline for another James Kirkup article, this time defending women.

Here he takes on the topic of how women are abused online for just doing their job.

Sorry, clicky link being awkward.

Great article - although he missed the detail that a male journalist tweeted the same thing at the same time and what a surprise, no abuse. The whole thing is so moronic - the guy had labour activist in his twitter bio, he tweeted about the incident and he has now done an interview saying well duh I am a labour activist so what's wrong in saying reporting it. If it had been a Tory activist having a go at Corbyn in the same circumstances are these people seriously arguing it shouldn't be mentioned? Like hell they are..

Also from James' article

Not long ago, I was discussing this stuff with a prominent female politician, who I hope will forgive me for reporting some of our conversation here. She got in touch to take issue with something I wrote here last week about Ruth Hunt, the former chief executive of Stonewall and soon a cross-bench peer. (The conversation, incidentally, made me worry about that article, and wonder if I owe Hunt an apology.)

Had I considered, the politician asked me, that by writing about Hunt in the way that I did, I was adding to the chance that she would face abuse and harassment online from people who disliked her and the things that she had done?

Don't be suckered into 'being nice', James. No apology necessary. In fact you spoke for me and many others here, and I'm grateful for that.

Being female isn't a 'get out of jail free' card in such situations; Hunt was well aware of the damage she was doing to women and girls, especially lesbians, and she clearly didn't give a toss.

She has been handsomely rewarded for taking the flak, both during and after her tenure at Stonewall. And we were simply criticising the way she was doing her job, not her as a person, so I consider that fair game.