Lindsey Blumell, City, University of London
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.
