There are more women in the UK parliament and government than ever before – making up about one third of the total 650 members. Yet, there are still cases like The Mail on Sunday running the headline “Stone the crows! Tories accuse Rayner of Basic Instinct ploy to distract Boris”. An unnamed source had told the outlet that Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, crosses and uncrosses her legs to “distract” the prime minister during parliamentary sessions. In case anyone was in doubt about the reference, the article was accompanied by the famous image of Sharon Stone from the film.
Sexualising a female politician may seem like low hanging fruit but it’s common in political discourse. Female politicians in many countries are put in a double bind: appear stereotypically feminine and you’ll be reduced to your looks, appear stereotypically masculine and you’ll be labelled a shrew. It’s typical for women in traditionally male dominated spaces to be sexualised as a way to undermine their legitimacy.
In fact, research shows that men will objectify women in authority as a way to reassert their dominance. It’s therefore not simply a sexist act to perpetuate the harmful stereotype of women using their sexuality to distract men, it’s an act to challenge a woman’s authority. It reduces her to being a Jezebel woman, rather than a politician fulfilling her duties.
Highlighting how stark the double standard is, some tweeted a famous picture of Conservative minister Jacob Rees-Mogg draped across the front bench of the House of Commons with his eyes closed in 2019. Of course no one accused him of mimicking Sharon Stone at the time. Meanwhile, an unnamed Conservative MP is under investigation after it was alleged that he has repeatedly been seen watching porn in the House of Commons chamber.
