There has been a public outcry after a Sunday Times profile of Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon became the focus of the oft-bandied about ‘childless woman in power’ stereotype when she revealed she had suffered a miscarriage five years ago.
The controversy arose not from the piece itself, but from a sidebar accompanying it, which featured six ‘childless politicians’ – none of which were men – despite there being more male leaders without families.
Chris Elmore MP Tweeted: “I’m a childless politician too. Guessing because I’m a man it doesn’t matter.” While Natalie Bennett, the former leader of the Green Party who was also included in the list, said, “Sunday Times living in 1950s: 20% British women aged 45 no children, expected to rise to 25%”.
Sturgeon’s brave decision to break down the taboo of talking about miscarriage was undermined by the paper’s decision to print the sidebar, which immediately reinforced gender stereotypes and in particular the so-called ‘childless woman’ figure – one that has always garnered controversy for painting those who don’t want to be mothers as somehow ‘unfeminine’. What it ignores is the fact that – like Sturgeon – so many women have private struggles with fertility, and that they are so often made to feel that they cannot talk about it.
At a time when women are more visible than ever in politics, from our PM Theresa May to US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton (the latter of which has children) it was a mistimed and ill-advised comparison to make. While there’s no denying that women face more difficulties in their careers if they have children (you only have to look at the latest stats about maternity discrimination to see that), it seems reductive to simplify the argument to say that you can’t have one without the other and belittles the often heart-breaking choices women have to make. It also ignores the women, like Bennett, who don't have children out of choice - a choice they are entitled to make without judgement.
Also ignored are the scores of male politicians who choose not to have families - Women 50:50, a group which campaigns for equal representation amongst the sexes in parliament, Tweeted their own sidebar of ‘childless men' to reinforce this.
Following the overwhelmingly bad reaction to the piece, the Sunday Times did apologise for the sidebar, saying: “We felt our piece highlighted sympathetically the treatment of women politicians and the subject of miscarriage but on reflection we could have presented the sidebar more sensitively.”
If anything, we’re just glad it’s sparked a debate and shown that so many people don’t agree with this old-fashioned way of thinking...
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