This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/world/europe/26iht-letter26.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Calm Down, Dear; You’re Being ‘Butch’ | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| LONDON — Two phrases, uttered carelessly in the febrile atmosphere of Britain’s weekly political sparring contest — prime minister’s question time — have come to haunt David Cameron, revealing thought-provoking attitudes on women and gender. | LONDON — Two phrases, uttered carelessly in the febrile atmosphere of Britain’s weekly political sparring contest — prime minister’s question time — have come to haunt David Cameron, revealing thought-provoking attitudes on women and gender. |
| The word “butch” has recently entered the political vocabulary here, after the prime minister accused Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labour Party, of being insufficiently macho, noting that he brings his junior colleague, the shadow chancellor, coffee every morning. | The word “butch” has recently entered the political vocabulary here, after the prime minister accused Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labour Party, of being insufficiently macho, noting that he brings his junior colleague, the shadow chancellor, coffee every morning. |
| “That is how assertive and butch the leader of the opposition really is,” the prime minister told Mr. Miliband, in withering tones. | “That is how assertive and butch the leader of the opposition really is,” the prime minister told Mr. Miliband, in withering tones. |
| The taunt triggered bemusement among British political sketch writers, who noted that the adjective, at least in British slang, was a dusty, forgotten word from the 1980s, mainly indicative of rather dated cultural reference points. But, on a more serious note, there was also irritation from female lawmakers at the subtext: that to be a good political leader, it is important to have plenty of testosterone, and probably to be male. | The taunt triggered bemusement among British political sketch writers, who noted that the adjective, at least in British slang, was a dusty, forgotten word from the 1980s, mainly indicative of rather dated cultural reference points. But, on a more serious note, there was also irritation from female lawmakers at the subtext: that to be a good political leader, it is important to have plenty of testosterone, and probably to be male. |
| The remark might have been swiftly forgotten, if it had not reminded people of a throwaway comment made by Mr. Cameron at prime minister’s question time last year, when he urged a senior female Labour member to “calm down, dear” — the ultimate British chauvinistic snub. | The remark might have been swiftly forgotten, if it had not reminded people of a throwaway comment made by Mr. Cameron at prime minister’s question time last year, when he urged a senior female Labour member to “calm down, dear” — the ultimate British chauvinistic snub. |
| Eighteen months have passed since the “calm down, dear” moment, but Mr. Cameron has failed to live it down. At the time, Labour asked for an apology and described his words as “sexist, insulting and patronizing.” Subsequently, the put-down has encapsulated for many the party’s nagging problem with retaining female voters. | Eighteen months have passed since the “calm down, dear” moment, but Mr. Cameron has failed to live it down. At the time, Labour asked for an apology and described his words as “sexist, insulting and patronizing.” Subsequently, the put-down has encapsulated for many the party’s nagging problem with retaining female voters. |
| A poll showing declining support for the government’s policies on women, published by The Evening Standard last week, revealed that the proportion of voters who consider the Conservatives the best party to look after women’s interests has dropped to 12 percent from 20 percent since 2010, and the analysis pointed to the “calm down, dear” comment as persistently damaging. | A poll showing declining support for the government’s policies on women, published by The Evening Standard last week, revealed that the proportion of voters who consider the Conservatives the best party to look after women’s interests has dropped to 12 percent from 20 percent since 2010, and the analysis pointed to the “calm down, dear” comment as persistently damaging. |
| It was unfortunate that the butch remark this month was followed by a cabinet reshuffle of senior Conservative politicians under which the total number of senior female ministers fell, despite a commitment from Mr. Cameron to make sure that women made up a third of the cabinet by 2015. | It was unfortunate that the butch remark this month was followed by a cabinet reshuffle of senior Conservative politicians under which the total number of senior female ministers fell, despite a commitment from Mr. Cameron to make sure that women made up a third of the cabinet by 2015. |
| Before the reshuffle, there were five women in the cabinet, but now there are just four — a drop to 17.4 percent from 21.7 percent that puts Britain behind most European countries, including Bulgaria and Romania, in terms of the number of women at the highest level of government. France and Switzerland, by contrast, have cabinets that are more than 50 percent women (albeit often in junior roles), according to the Center for Women and Democracy, an independent research organization based in Leeds that studies the underrepresentation of women in politics. | Before the reshuffle, there were five women in the cabinet, but now there are just four — a drop to 17.4 percent from 21.7 percent that puts Britain behind most European countries, including Bulgaria and Romania, in terms of the number of women at the highest level of government. France and Switzerland, by contrast, have cabinets that are more than 50 percent women (albeit often in junior roles), according to the Center for Women and Democracy, an independent research organization based in Leeds that studies the underrepresentation of women in politics. |
| A decision to offer knighthoods to several demoted male ministers, but not the equivalent honor to women who were dropped, was also noted. | A decision to offer knighthoods to several demoted male ministers, but not the equivalent honor to women who were dropped, was also noted. |
| Over the past fortnight, Labour has continued to have fun with Mr. Cameron’s jibe — as well as use it to remind everyone of somber statistics regarding the impact of austerity on women. | Over the past fortnight, Labour has continued to have fun with Mr. Cameron’s jibe — as well as use it to remind everyone of somber statistics regarding the impact of austerity on women. |
| “The number of women who have lost their jobs under the government’s cuts has been twice that of men, and the statistics out today show that the number of female redundancies has been rising over the last few months,” the Labour politician Chris Bryant told the prime minister at the next question time session. “In addition, we now have nine departments with not a single woman minister. Now, I know the prime minister likes to think of himself as butch ... but what has he got against women?” | “The number of women who have lost their jobs under the government’s cuts has been twice that of men, and the statistics out today show that the number of female redundancies has been rising over the last few months,” the Labour politician Chris Bryant told the prime minister at the next question time session. “In addition, we now have nine departments with not a single woman minister. Now, I know the prime minister likes to think of himself as butch ... but what has he got against women?” |
| In exchanges with the prime minister, Mr. Miliband has tried to insert the “b” word wherever possible (“Let me compliment the prime minister on such a butch answer,” and “That was very butch!”) and has taken to referring to Mr. Cameron as “Mr. Butch.” | In exchanges with the prime minister, Mr. Miliband has tried to insert the “b” word wherever possible (“Let me compliment the prime minister on such a butch answer,” and “That was very butch!”) and has taken to referring to Mr. Cameron as “Mr. Butch.” |
| As these remarks indicated, the British Houses of Parliament remain a very male environment across the political spectrum, with just 144 female members to 505 male. Experienced female politicians say that, generally, the atmosphere has improved considerably since the 1980s and 1990s, when older Conservative members were seen making melon-juggling gestures at female Labour politicians when they stood up to address the house, and when the new Conservative member Gillian Shephard confronted a colleague who had a habit of calling all female politicians Betty and was told: “You’re all the same, so I call you all Betty, it’s easier.” | As these remarks indicated, the British Houses of Parliament remain a very male environment across the political spectrum, with just 144 female members to 505 male. Experienced female politicians say that, generally, the atmosphere has improved considerably since the 1980s and 1990s, when older Conservative members were seen making melon-juggling gestures at female Labour politicians when they stood up to address the house, and when the new Conservative member Gillian Shephard confronted a colleague who had a habit of calling all female politicians Betty and was told: “You’re all the same, so I call you all Betty, it’s easier.” |
| Still, some older politicians have had difficulties adjusting to the arrival of new female members. The young Labour politician Stella Creasy was asked to get out of an elevator reserved for members by an older (Conservative) politician who assumed she was an office assistant. In this context, the suggestion — however fleeting — by the prime minister that leadership is about being alpha-male has gone down badly. | Still, some older politicians have had difficulties adjusting to the arrival of new female members. The young Labour politician Stella Creasy was asked to get out of an elevator reserved for members by an older (Conservative) politician who assumed she was an office assistant. In this context, the suggestion — however fleeting — by the prime minister that leadership is about being alpha-male has gone down badly. |
| “David Cameron’s problem with women just won’t go away,” the senior Labour lawmakers Yvette Cooper and Liam Byrne wrote in The Sunday Times. “Whether it is the few women in cabinet posts — even fewer since the reshuffle — or his ‘calm down, dear’ moment, the prime minister really doesn’t get it when it comes to women.” | “David Cameron’s problem with women just won’t go away,” the senior Labour lawmakers Yvette Cooper and Liam Byrne wrote in The Sunday Times. “Whether it is the few women in cabinet posts — even fewer since the reshuffle — or his ‘calm down, dear’ moment, the prime minister really doesn’t get it when it comes to women.” |
| “One minute he is handing out gongs to dismissed male ministers while departing women are ignored, the next he is ... calling for politicians to be ‘butch.”’ | “One minute he is handing out gongs to dismissed male ministers while departing women are ignored, the next he is ... calling for politicians to be ‘butch.”’ |
| Nan Sloane, director of the Center for Women and Democracy, said she believed Mr. Cameron’s reference to butchness to be revealing. | Nan Sloane, director of the Center for Women and Democracy, said she believed Mr. Cameron’s reference to butchness to be revealing. |
| “The Conservative strategy is to depict Ed Miliband as ineffectual and weak, and therefore to suggest that he lacks masculine characteristics feeds into that,” she said. “It is ruthless, and it is sexist. If you suggest that someone lacks masculine characteristics and therefore is not a good leader, the implication is that women are not fit for leadership because they lack masculine characteristics. | “The Conservative strategy is to depict Ed Miliband as ineffectual and weak, and therefore to suggest that he lacks masculine characteristics feeds into that,” she said. “It is ruthless, and it is sexist. If you suggest that someone lacks masculine characteristics and therefore is not a good leader, the implication is that women are not fit for leadership because they lack masculine characteristics. |
| “If you see the cabinet reshuffle in that light, it all hangs together as a pattern of thought. Cameron would absolutely rebut that as a theory, and I don’t for a minute think that it is a conscious process. It is much more subtle than that. He doesn’t realize that he is doing this.” | “If you see the cabinet reshuffle in that light, it all hangs together as a pattern of thought. Cameron would absolutely rebut that as a theory, and I don’t for a minute think that it is a conscious process. It is much more subtle than that. He doesn’t realize that he is doing this.” |
| Amelia Gentleman is a journalist with The Guardian. Katrin Bennhold is on sabbatical leave. | Amelia Gentleman is a journalist with The Guardian. Katrin Bennhold is on sabbatical leave. |