This morning, the Daily Mail published an article with the headline ‘So much for the sisterhood: Gleeful Nicola Sturgeon celebrates wildly after Jo Swinson loses her seat’. On a morning of shock and upsets, this sexist headline is potentially the least surprising thing about the whole election.
Sturgeon was filmed cheering and shaking her fists when the Dunbartonshire East seat was announced. But contrary to all of the reports, she was not celebrating Swinson losing her seat. In fact, she was cheering for Amy Callaghan, fellow SNP MP, winning. Because quite clearly, that means her party has a larger majority and even more power when it comes to declaring a second referendum for Scottish independence.
In fact, straight after she was filmed celebrating, she clarified that very point on air when the interviewer accused her of not acting magnanimously.
‘I’m delighted for Amy Callaghan,’ she said on Sky News. ‘She is one of the bright young stars of this election and I predict great things ahead for her. But can I say, notwithstanding that understandably excited reaction, commiserations to Jo Swinson.
‘I understand more than most the pressures and challenges of leadership,’ she continued. ‘To lose her seat tonight when she’s led her party through this campaign will be a bitter blow for her, so on a personal level I’m disappointed for her. But of course I can’t help but be excited for my party.’
And despite that obvious conclusion and Sturgeon’s clarification, a number of publications chose to report on the moment as if Sturgeon had been caught off guard celebrating another woman’s downfall.
While the Daily Mail’s headline was the only outright sexist one with references to ‘so much for the sisterhood’, The Independent, Sky News, the Express and Metro all reported the moment as Sturgeon cheering for Swinson’s defeat with no mention of the fact the SNP had won. In fact, Sky News even cut the video and uploaded it on YouTube with the headline 'Nicola Sturgeon celebrates as Jo Swinson loses seat' and cut her comments clarifying why she was celebrating.
The Telegraph too headlined their article ‘Nicola Sturgeon accused of 'ungracious and nasty' reaction to Jo Swinson's defeat’, although their piece was about the reaction of other politicians. Unsurprisingly, Nigel Farage was the politician behind the ‘graceless and nasty’ comment – because he was always been so graceful and kind in his politics.
But a number of other MPs have too accused of Sturgeon of being ‘ungracious’. Boris Johnson, however, has seen no comments about his own decision to cheer as he re-entered the House of Commons. Because naturally, men aren’t held to the same standard as women when it comes to being gracious.
Why, we must ask, is Sturgeon expected to remain stoic and humble when her party has just achieved a landslide victory yet Johnson can do the same to no backlash? Why are women not allowed to celebrate their successes and that of their female colleagues?
In fact, it’s not just ridiculous to suggest Sturgeon does not support other women because she cheered when one woman lost, it’s downright malicious given she was cheering for another woman winning.
Sturgeon has just achieved a historic victory for the SNP, to expect her to be anything but excited says a lot about the deeply engrained gender norms in this country. To then accuse her of being ungracious and force her to answer for that celebration? That’s exactly how those norms stay engrained.
Read More:
Boris Johnson Will Remain Prime Minister As Conservatives Win Biggest Majority Since 1987
Stella Creasy Wins Her Seat With Her New-Born Baby Sleeping In A Sling