This morning, Angela Rayner was trending on Google. Why? Because she read Boris Johnson to filth in yesterday’s Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) and of course, everyone wants to see that.
Not only did the deputy Labour leader call out Johnson for saying that inflation fears were ‘unfounded’ in October - while they now sit at a startlingly high 6% - she reminded him that the last time inflation was this high there was a ‘Tory party mired in sleaze with a divided party and a Prime Minister losing support and governing shambolically’ before asking him, ‘sound familiar?’
It was a takedown of beastly proportions, and one many have commended Rayner for on social media.
Yet, when it comes to tabloid media, the narrative surrounding this debate has been twisted in the most vile, sexist way. ‘Look out, Carrie!’ the Daily Mail’s headline begins. ‘Boris Johnson flirts with Angela Rayner over her leadership ambitions as she admits she has 'aspirations' for No10 during a VERY jovial PMQs (while her boss languishes in Covid isolation... again).’
Referring to Rayner as a ‘glamourous granny’ that was ‘clad in pearls’, the paper told a story of Johnson ‘blushing’ under her Rayner’s ‘giddy glare’ while putting on a ‘tempestuous display’. Where they watching the same PMQ’s as us? Because all we saw was a powerful woman holding the prime minister accountable for continuous displays of ‘incompetence’ (her words) as is her job as deputy leader of the Labour party.
On social media, the misogyny escalated further. ‘Now I’m not a betting woman, but I’d wager this isn’t the first time Angela Rayner’s been bent over a table with her mouth wide open while sporting a pearl necklace,’ one woman tweeted (and now deleted – but it has been posted again by others since).
Another shared an image of Madonna stuck under a bed wearing fishnet tights with her legs apart – a photoshoot that caused its own sexist spiral online last month - with the caption ‘Angela Rayner drops her phone at PMQs’. Others commented on her outfit, accusing her of having of not following a ‘dress code’ or having ‘decorum’ merely for wearing a dress with a slit in the front.
Ultimately, the narrative is centered on sex. By tabloids, Rayner is placed as a woman attempting to steal Boris Johnson from his wife. Online, she’s sexualised and degraded with vile language or ‘jokes’, picked apart for wearing clothing that on any other woman in the office wouldn’t be remotely glanced at. She’s just doing her job, and yet she faces a mountain of abuse by virtue of her gender – and of course, class too.
We know that misogynistic reactions to female politicians are universal, but it’s interesting to note the way they differ based on class. For former prime minister Theresa May, who was Oxford-educated and from Sussex, much of the sexism she faced was based around her clothing, her relationship with her husband and for a brief moment, whether she had better legs than Nicola Sturgeon (remember the Daily Mail headline ‘Never mind Brexit, who won Legs-it!’?).
Working class women are fetishized and demeaned to the point that no matter where we end up in life, we're not afforded basic respect.
For working-class Rayner however, who was born in Stockport and left school aged 16 without any qualifications (before eventually gaining an NVQ Level 2 in social care), as well as comments on her clothes and body, she’s sexualised in a much more aggressive, exploitative way.
It’s something working class women are all too familiar with, particularly those from northern backgrounds whose accents mean they’re often dubbed ‘a bit of rough’ seconds after opening their mouth (yes, I am speaking from personal experience here). So often we’re fetishized and demeaned, to the point that that no matter where we end up in life – leading a company or the country – people find a way to imply we are not as valuable, or deserving of basic respect afforded to others.
This is something Rayner is going to face her entire career, whether she ascends to leading the Labour Party or not. It’s a mountainous obstacle to success, because ultimately these misogynistic and classist biases do impact the way people vote. Hopefully, the more we push back against it, the less that women like Rayner will have to fight against when attempting to lead this country out of ‘incompetence’.
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