Jameela Jamil, a British actress, radio presenter, model, writer and activist, tweeted a few months ago, "Discredit is the new death. When a woman steps up and speaks out, she’s taken out of context, compulsively overexposed, her tone is exaggerated by the media to look hysterical and violent, her integrity is questioned and society tries to slander her into silence. Every single time."
Along with the tweet, she attached a photo collage of Oprah Winfrey, Greta Thunberg, Princess Diana, Taylor Swift, Meghan Markle and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as prime examples to support her claim.
"Coincidence that the entire handful of women who dare to call out injustice are ALL controlling, chaotic, manipulative, mentally unstable, liars. Some are even 'sex traffickers...' now? Weird and amazing correlation. Female silence and complicity is rewarded with protection," she tweeted in a follow-up.
In a world full of inequalities of all kinds, sexism is still ingrained in every aspect. Even the so-called ‘cosmopolitan’, ‘modern’ and ‘progressive’ platforms have had vivid examples of explicit sexism. Why is it that every time a woman stands up for something, everything about her femininity is slandered and questioned? Every time a woman tries to point out obvious concerns in the world, she is bombarded with allegations about all parts of her life.
Greta Thunberg was criticised for her aggressive tone when she exposed the worldwide ignorance towards climate change. A myriad of memes and trolls were made about her. Princess Diana was targeted by british tabloids when she showed her allegiance to the LGBTQ community and did tireless work to end the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. When Jayalalithaa rose as a prominent figure in Indian politics, claims about her affairs with actors were made. When Taylor Swift spoke up about American politics and expressed her aversion to Trump's presidency, she was criticised for having ‘too many songs about her exes’ and being an emotional songwriter with no view of politics, while she raised genuine concerns about the blatant sexism and homophobia of Marsha Blackburn. Everything about Socialist politician Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez’s love life, fashion choices, and anger issues is discussed more than her political ideals.
“Gender in this race?” Senator Elizabeth Warren said. “You know that is the trap question for every woman. If you say, ‘Yeah! There was sexism in this race,’ everyone says, ‘Whiner!’ And if you say, ‘No, there was no sexism, about a bazillion women think, ‘What planet do you live on?’”
Achieving gender equality in political representation is essential to the functioning of democracy. While we have virtually achieved gender equality in some aspects, Women are constantly put on the spotlight and slandered.
In short, women are making strides, but also have a long way to go before reaching equality with men in the world of politics.
As Taylor Swift rightly said in her song, The Man,
I'd be a fearless leader
I'd be an alpha type
When everyone believes ya
What's that like?
I'm so sick of running
As fast as I can
Wondering if I'd get there quicker
If I was a man
And I'm so sick of them
Coming at me again
'Cause if I was a man
Then I'd be the man.
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