I'm a feminist. I'll never be a true, 100% feminist because y'know, I'm not a woman. So I'll never 100% appreciate what it's like to be a woman in today's world - however much I try all the time - because I'm a man. Anything else would be patronising and arrogant.
What does my feminism look like in practice? It involves treating men and women equally. When it comes to elected representatives or journalists - people with power - it involves holding them equally to account. Criticising them when their views or approach merits criticism.
Twitter is such a madhouse, when a woman is criticised, sometimes the person doing the criticising is accused of 'hating women'. Which actually infantilises women; it makes out that they shouldn't be treated equally. What a nonsense.
But on the other hand, plenty of times, the person doing the criticising DOES hate women. It all depends on their tone, the context, what the criticism involves. Is it based on what they said, or their appearance? Is it based on policy disagreement, or a personal attack?
Because we should be in no doubt at all: the level of abuse which any woman in public life faces now is DISGUSTING. Shameful. Look on here or on YouTube or in many right wing publication comment sections; it's absolutely horrendous.
And further, without question, it is rather less than ideal that here we are in 2020 and Labour STILL hasn't had a woman leader. Something the Tories - with their two female leaders who did precisely nothing for women - make plenty of hay out of.
But having said all of that: while I understand the need for woman only shortlists, I don't agree with them. Maybe I would say that because I'm a man... but it's much more because across Parliament, the talent on show, male and female alike, is pathetic. Embarrassing.
It's already hard enough for most people to become an MP now. You have to live in the right area; you need tens of thousands of pounds to win the candidacy and fight the campaign. You're probably stuck in a safe seat so will have to fight all over again 5 years later.
Meaning you need tens of thousands more pounds; and massive amounts of time off work. How many people have employers willing to give them that or are in a position to afford that?
And hence, our out of touch, middle class, privileged Parliament.
And hence, our out of touch, middle class, privileged Parliament.
Jess herself famously spoke about just how talentless many of the people she's encountered in Westminster truly are.
Given all that, why on Earth would we want to halve the talent pool available to us by ruling out men? Where is the logic?
Given all that, why on Earth would we want to halve the talent pool available to us by ruling out men? Where is the logic?
The same goes for the leadership. We must find the right person for the job, period. If that person's a woman, great! If that person's a man, also great!
But we delude ourselves if we don't acknowledge just how rare the kind of leader we now need is. And how high the stakes are.
But we delude ourselves if we don't acknowledge just how rare the kind of leader we now need is. And how high the stakes are.
We live in a world in which only Tony Blair has won a proper majority of all Labour leaders since 1966 (that's 1 leader out of 8; and where both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama needed superstar-like qualities to win and dominate US politics. So we need to appreciate how tough it is
Most other options in that time failed. And as they failed, the punishment of the poor and working class - and more latterly, middle class too - intensified.
I'd like nothing more than a brilliant woman to emerge. That's happening in the US right now with AOC.
I'd like nothing more than a brilliant woman to emerge. That's happening in the US right now with AOC.
It may happen, in time, with Laura Pidcock in the UK, if she can get back into Parliament first!
But to take the approach of it must be a woman *just because* is so arrogant, it's unbelievable. And it alienates half the bloody country overnight.
But to take the approach of it must be a woman *just because* is so arrogant, it's unbelievable. And it alienates half the bloody country overnight.
It's tokenistic, it's gesture politics... and affirmative action is, for understandable reasons, as unpopular as it gets among many of those voters we've lost and need to win back.
All candidates for public office, male or female, stand or fall on their merits. Period.
All candidates for public office, male or female, stand or fall on their merits. Period.
And to be fair to her, even Jess herself kinda acknowledges this in admitting what a hard argument it is to make.
None of this is to deny for a single moment the discrimination, prejudice and unfair treatment which women everywhere continue to experience.
None of this is to deny for a single moment the discrimination, prejudice and unfair treatment which women everywhere continue to experience.
- The gender pay gap is a disgrace, an outrage.
- Our society is not geared up towards childcare: another outrage.
- The proportion of women who've experienced sexual assault or harassment is mindblowing, and most men have no idea what an epidemic it truly is.
- Our society is not geared up towards childcare: another outrage.
- The proportion of women who've experienced sexual assault or harassment is mindblowing, and most men have no idea what an epidemic it truly is.
And few of us men know the fear which so many women live with when walking home by themselves at night; even sitting alone in a tube carriage at night.
All I've given here are the most obvious examples. There's very many more: which I learn about only by talking to women
All I've given here are the most obvious examples. There's very many more: which I learn about only by talking to women
Uruguay, indeed, is a quite disgracefully machista society... yet far less of one than most of the rest of Latin America. Attitudes here, overt and covert, make me really angry. I'll give you one example.
I moved here in 2012. On only my third night here, a friend of mine took me out. That weekend, a mate of his was staying with him... and his mate's mother joined us.
So his mate's Mum took us all for a chivito (Uruguay's national dish - a heart attack on a plate).
So his mate's Mum took us all for a chivito (Uruguay's national dish - a heart attack on a plate).
Then she took us on to a nightclub. We got out of the car, and I quickly grew extremely uncomfortable. And why? Because her idea, very plainly, was for us to stand around and gawp at the young women dancing.
That was how conditioned she herself was. That was how she was bringing her son up. I was caught for a moment in thinking "I can't impose my values here; this is a different culture and society Shaun. Respect it". But I couldn't hide my discomfort either. She realised. We left.
Women everywhere are sexualised and objectified. Judged not on their talents or what they have to offer, but on how they look. The pressure which so many teenagers, twenty-somethings, even pre-adolescents feel as a result is monstrous. Outrageous.
Some men feel similar pressure too - and that shouldn't be overlooked or ignored. Any society which causes these pressures - which result in eating disorders, mental health problems and sheer misery - has something profoundly wrong with it.
We all need more awareness of these sorts of issues. Phillips is at her best when advocating on behalf of women whose refuges have vanished under the Tories; who suffer disproportionately because of universal credit and benefit cuts; and many other issues besides.
But she is absolutely not at her best when seeking - even demanding - tokenism. We must find the best candidate for the job. Whether they're male or female doesn't come into it. What does is how they're going to make EVERYONE's lives better... because that's what good politics is
