Another Bad Week for Women

 & WowOnWednesday

Dear friends. Regular readers will know that I oppose gendered discrimination, particularly against older women. This week has seen several bad examples.  I am, as we say in the UK, "spitting feathers."

Let's start with Sanna Marin, the prime minister of Finland. She isn't an older woman; however she has dared to be not just a head of state but, shock horror,  a woman in her 30s who likes to go out dancing with friends.  

Marin is a talented leader who won praise for her swift, decisive leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. More recently she secured Finland’s entrance to Nato, to the relief of many within the country who feared Russia’s territorial ambitions might extend to its border.

But all this counted for nothing when pictures surfaced of her dancing at a private party, and then at a nightclub. She faced a lot of misogynistic attacks, although sexism has dogged Marin’s government from the off.

At Davos in 2020, shortly after she was installed as leader, a panel moderator asked Marin how her government worked, leading to her polite, but bewildered response: “[It works] like any government. We don’t meet in a female locker room and have locker-room talk.”

Here in the UK, with Boris Johnson having been ousted as PM (his failings were far worse than Sanna dancing in a nightclub with influencers!) we're now likely to have our 3rd female prime minister. I can't help thinking Liz Truss is walking into a hopeless situation, what with inflation, spiraling fuel costs and the NHS crumbling. I don't like the woman or her politics but I suspect she will soon be even more of a scapegoat than the useless Johnson, simply because she's a woman, and an older one at that.

Sacked for Going Grey

Let's whizz over to Canada now where an award winning news anchor was dropped by her network for going grey.  Lisa LaFlamme,  host of CTV National News ‘is shocked and saddened’, while the company denies accusations of sexism and ageism. 

Ask me to name older grey haired presenters in the UK and I can only think of men: Huw Edwards, Jon Snow, Gary Lineker, Eamon Holmes, Philip Schofield, David Dimbleby come to mind. There's a handful of female presenters in their 40s, 50s and 60s, but they all dye their hair, and the reason is very obvious, as the case of LaFlamme shows.

Nicole Kidman Under Attack For Having Abs 

Meanwhile Nicole Kidman has been blasted, mainly by female writers, for honing her body and developing, gasp, defined muscles. Yvonne Roberts in The Guardian says acidly "This frantic effort to look half your age is frankly demeaning." 

Why Kidman should want to look "half her age" defeats me, because she's still getting good parts and who said that it's actually better to be a younger woman? 

Journalistic balance came from an unlikely source, the Daily Mail Online, where Antonia Hoyle wrote: "Having a body that toned is not only emblematic of physical prowess, but mental fortitude. It's a two fingers up to societal expectations that still, even in 2022, state that women should be devoid of any body definition that might ruffle the patriarchy."

Exactly the same criticism is always leveled against Madonna, presumably because she isn't wearing elasticated waists and sitting back on the sofa eating Milk Tray chocolates. 

Sexism in Medicine Costing Women's Lives

The icing on the cake is new research from Imperial College, London, which found that thousands of women in the UK (and every country in Europe) have been denied the best treatment for heart attacks.

The study looked at data from 420,000 heart patients across Europe between 2005 and 2017. Five per cent of women having a heart attack were wrongly classified at not at risk of death. Why? The scoring system for heart attack risk was developed using only data from men. Women are more likely to be dismissed as having indigestion, "a funny turn," the menopause or muscle pain.

The repercussions are that 11,651 women in the UK were incorrectly told they were not at high risk and some will have missed out on emergency life saving treatment such as surgery to restore blood flow to the heart, or clot dissolving drugs.

It beggars belief doesn't it!

Do you think women are making progress in all walks of life or are we still perceived and treated as second class citizens?  Do you also get livid at the way mid life women are pilloried whenever they do something that is no-one else's business, like gaining muscle, or letting their hair go grey?  Do share in the comments. 

Today's Outfits

It's a return to "what I've been wearing" posts. Three different outfits!  The days of wearing shorts may be numbered: it's noticeably cooler, although still sunny. Top: wearing blues and finding a neat way to arrange an infinity scarf when you don't want it to overpower an outfit.  Scarf, top by Kettlewell Colours;  shorts from Roman, sandals from Amazon.

2nd picture:  a cream skirt and top, both by Kettlewell as above, are lifted with a stunning green scarf from Colour Me Beautiful. Wedges by Vionic (old).

3rd picture:  I bought these flamingo pink shorts from Roman very late in the season. They'll get more wear next summer.  Worn with peach blouse from Oliver Bonas and light sand wrap from Kettlewell. Bag from Cath Kidston.

Disclosure: Nothing was gifted for this post and no affiliate links were used.

Sharing this post with: On Mondays We Link Up at Glass of Glam, Top of the World Style at High Latitude Style, Chic & Stylish at Mummabstylish, #SpreadTheKindness  and #Linkup on the Edge at Shelbee on the Edge, #AnythingGoes at My Random Musings, Turning Heads Tuesday at Elegantly Dressed and Stylish,  Style with a Smile  at Stylesplash, TFF at Doused in Pink,Confident Twosday at IDoDeclaire, Rena at Fine Whatever,, #Neverendingstyle at The Grey Brunette, Fancy Friday at Nancy's Fashion Style, Talent Sharing Tuesdays at Scribbling Boomer, Link Up Pot Pourri at My Bijou Life, Traffic Jam Weekend at Marsha in the Middle,  Fabulous Fridays at Lucy Bertoldi, Friendship Friday at Create with Joy

Now it's time for the #WowOnWednesday link-up. Bloggers/Instagrammers can find new readers, plus readers can find new blogs to read.  Last week's link-up was huge, with more than 60 posts. Thanks bloggers for your support, and readers, please make it worth their while by clicking through. 

Last Week's Favourites (Most Clicked)

"Pink Tulle Skirt" from Anna at Looking Fabulous @ Fifty. When she opened her husband's wedding anniversary present she found a pink tulle skirt - but it wasn't the real present. 

"The Accidental Monsoon Haul" by Mary at The Pouting Pensioner (these things happen!)

"Fashion On A Budget with Ageless Style" from Amy at Amy's Creative Pursuits

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bad week for women, Fashion. lifestyle, gendered discrimination against women, Lisa LaFlamme, Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Sanna Marin, sexism in medicine, women dismissed when having heart attacks