I’m not keen on the framing of this story, which veers at least close to blaming Rayner for not reporting the messages about herself in 2022. Let’s not pretend that for women reporting sexist abuse about yourself is some kind of risk free exercise www.theguardian.com/politics/202... - ThreadSky

jessmccabe.bsky.social • 10 days ago

I’m not keen on the framing of this story, which veers at least close to blaming Rayner for not reporting the messages about herself in 2022. Let’s not pretend that for women reporting sexist abuse about yourself is some kind of risk free exercise
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/feb/13/angela-rayner-reportedly-told-about-offensive-whatsapp-joke-in-2022?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Comments

travishawke.bsky.social•9 days ago

Indeed

annaclarke.bsky.social•9 days ago

I think deciding to ignore mysoginistic abuse directed at you, and not giving it an inch of headspace, is an entirely legitimate way of dealing with it, whoever you are.

ambridgeani.bsky.social•9 days ago

On quick reading of the headline it’s easy to miss the word “of” especially as we are so used to reading or hearing the phrase “told a joke”.

timewalkproject.bsky.social•9 days ago

I kind of feel there is an element of victim shaming going on.

timewalkproject.bsky.social•9 days ago

I suspect like most women politicians she gets a lot of inappropriate comments and like Diane Abbot if she jumped on every incident she would have no time to concentrate on her job, which is why these people make such comments in first place.

sianharris.bsky.social•10 days ago

It isn't a surprise to me that this article seems to have been written by a man. The author seems unaware of how common this kind of thing is. It is no surprise to me that Rayner didn't recall those particular messages. She's probably received 1000s of such messages.

adrianlenard.bsky.social•10 days ago

Oh, they’ll find a way of blaming Rayner, but in a subtle “Who, me?” deniable kind of way. You can be sure of that…

ethelcrimble.bsky.social•9 days ago

And sometimes you decide to ignore such material, and not give it oxygen. There can be different ways of exercising your personal power.

greenmirandahere.bsky.social•10 days ago

totally agree - bloody ridiculous - women have to make these risk-benefit calculations all the time. Nothing more irritating than judging them/us afterwards for 'not calling it out' or whatever purist bollocks ignores real life minefield

vertigoem.bsky.social•10 days ago

A new low for the Guardian as it does the bidding of Starmer’s inner circle and tries to undermine Rayner

fionaduerden.bsky.social•8 days ago

Yeah, this story is bollocks. You’re absolutely right about the framing. Clearly written by a man who isn’t very good at thinking outside his own limited experience. (And as if Rayner has enough time in her day to respond to every piece of abuse she gets anyway).

foxy49.bsky.social•10 days ago

Totally agree with you there

falconer59.bsky.social•9 days ago

Not her job someone on that whats app group needed to grow some morals.

cjayanetti.bsky.social•10 days ago

you can imagine the reporting if some of it had leaked out at the time: "Raging Rayner raises hell over jokey message"

stephenkb.bsky.social•10 days ago

Even that the reporting *in this story* doesn’t quote what he actually said in any detail, potentially making her seem prudish or difficult to a passing reader!!

michaeljsc.bsky.social•10 days ago

don’t understand how that article gets published without anyone saying “hold on, how is our reader supposed to form a judgement on a second-order story about an offensive comment without knowing what the comment was?”

jorisbinned.bsky.social•10 days ago

Because it's "let's just publish some shit attempts to take down high ranking Labour women" day, apparently.

cjayanetti.bsky.social•10 days ago

I think there's a widespread editorial policy of not publishing highly offensive comments, either so as not to offend readers (or more explicitly, trigger complaints), or so as not to "amplify" them

fornbirkibeinn.bsky.social•10 days ago

OK, but if you have such a policy then you can't report stories like this in any useful way, so you should either not cover them or admit that whilst the aim might be laudable, in practical terms it doesn't work even a little.

willcooling.bsky.social•10 days ago

At the very least you need to be consistent & not mention d less offensive ones as well (or alternatively make extremely clear the unmentioned comments are significantly worse), because it clearly confuses people into thinking that the unmentioned complaints are of the same kind as the ones covered

cjayanetti.bsky.social•10 days ago

I didn't say I agreed with the policy!

carolinejmolloy.bsky.social•9 days ago

Agree. You’re so right about the need to quote the actual things that were said. A “joke” saying that “anyone with Angela’s background will understand” how wireless AirPods make giving blowjobs easier - this wasn’t just “lewd” but repulsively classist, as were comments about local kids & rubbish.

lottelydia.bsky.social•10 days ago

Right? If she were literally told that a male colleague had made a 'derogatory' joke about her, and nothing else, then it's very hard to see a) why that would stand out as especially awful given everything else she gets and b) how she should actually approach that as a disciplinary matter.

cjayanetti.bsky.social•10 days ago

Woulda been fun to see her file a formal complaint against Matt Forde over whatever the hell was going on with Zombie Spitting Image

lottelydia.bsky.social•9 days ago

well, exactly, like -- where is the bar for the the requirement for women in the public eye to police *things that other people are saying to insult them*, then? or women not in the public eye, for that matter?

lottelydia.bsky.social•9 days ago

a previous university employer of mine, a while ago, 'uncovered' a huge scandal where male students were saying derogratory/harrass-y things about female staff in a semi-public forum. some of the women in question had in fact had this brought to our attention previously. were we complicit, then?

nathanielgraham.bsky.social•10 days ago

You’re added to a WhatsApp group. Some people say things that you don’t agree with or find offensive. Does a refusal to leave or call it out constitute complicity or assent? I’d say not.

cjayanetti.bsky.social•10 days ago

she wasn't added. but I think if someone remains an *active* member and doesn't say anything, I could see that as complicity, although at such a low level that it's much less worth bothering about than the actual protagonists. if they're a wholly passive member they may well have muted it etc

nathanielgraham.bsky.social•10 days ago

Yeah sure I must admit to not reading it. Just seems like a modern day dilemma that literally didn’t exist until about ten years ago. I suppose I think people should be held responsible for what they say.

jessmccabe.bsky.social•10 days ago

You could also question the intent of the councillors who saw it and presumably didn’t make a formal complaint, and instead showed the abusive messages to the woman it was about

jessmccabe.bsky.social•10 days ago

Oh and then three years later when it’s headline news tell a journalist they showed it to rayner at the time 🤷‍♀️

centristmum.bsky.social•9 days ago

This bit is fair

centristmum.bsky.social•9 days ago

TBF the intent might have been to ask what she wanted them to do as she may not have welcomed a complaint.

organisinginspace.bsky.social•9 days ago

Well hopefully there's a full EHRC investigation into this scandal. I can't see how there couldn't be.

dangerouscorner.bsky.social•9 days ago

Attempting to Notice something during its 'no-Noticing' period is a crime against the regime and cannot be tolerated.

flippac.bsky.social•10 days ago

There's not one indication she was given a copy of them either - in which case, what was she supposed to do with no evidence?

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