Repping me and Repping them

 Them, me, you, us.

By Moyin Ekundayo

This article/ rant is very late, and in reading, you find it very clear when bits of it are written. I was trying to navigate certain subjects regarding representation in politics and policies. I hope I made myself clear and you do not get bored. 

Alright, I would like to start by saying I am usually a man of my word; this is because, following recent political upheaval, I adamantly proclaimed that "I will no longer be talking about politics, only things that are funny and matter", but here I am again talking about politics. -  This statement was made in a bar in a slightly drunken state. 

Many of you who know me know how sincere this following section is; I would like to congratulate Rishi Sunak on being the current Prime Minster and the first Prime Minister of Colour in this country. It is an achievement that should be celebrated as a landmark achievement.

Now yes, congratulation is late, but in my defence, I did say I was not going to talk about politics, and I have had the "funs" of adulting and life to deal with. 

Theresa May looked incredibly smug at PMQs (7th September 2022) when congratulating and welcoming Lizz Truss on being Prime Minster, asking the opposition leader, "Can I ask her why does she think it is that all three female prime ministers have been Conservative?". This was to larger uproar and joyful screams from her party members.                                                                                                                             So let's go through the history of these past female leaders quickly.  

I am no way going to be talking about policies because, trust me, the list of terrible policies from male leader of these countries are way to many to count, and this is section is not about women not being good leaders or some misogynistic hit piece, just purely looking at what these diverse leaders have done to represent and help other from their position.  

The 'Iron Lady' Margaret Thatcher, has what many will call a complex and controversial history; she was the first woman to lead a major western democracy. With this as a landmark, one might assume she was considered a favourable character in women's rights or progression. However, this was very much not the case. Many believe she did nothing for women, and some will argue she actively pulled the ladder from underneath her after climbing. 

To paraphrase from a paraphrased article: Many feminists didn't like Margaret Thatcher and still don't. They had first cheered her entrance at 10 Downing Street, according to a 2009 Daily Telegraph retrospective on Thatcher's Leadership. 

She famously said, "I owe nothing to women's lib," but added, "The feminists hate me, don't they? And I don't blame them. For I hate feminism. It is poison."

She never elevated a woman from the Commons into her Cabinet during her time as premier, and that adulation eventually gave way to disillusionment and resentment. (Back to the whole pulling the ladder from underneath her.) 

She is the classic example of the conservative mindset that believes in pulling yourself up by your boot strings like she had; however, conveniently overlooking that not all women are blessed with the privilege available to her, she as a wealthy and supportive husband.  

Feminist writer Bea Campbell on Thatcher " She was elitist rather than egalitarian. What she did was hold a feminine endorsement to a thoroughly patriarchal project. She wanted to disengage the welfare state and reduce its impact on people's lives, but women always do better in countries with strong welfare ethos, health services and help."

Inspite the fact that Margaret Thatcher's policies weren't very "woman-friendly," some of them helped improve women's lives. Wage equity, employment equity, and educational equity are some examples. Yet it's important to remember that many of Thatcher's initiatives, including privatising public services and cutting back on government expenditure, had a disproportionately negative impact on women since they tended to rely more largely on welfare payments and public services.

In conclusion, a wolf in sheep's clothing is still a sheep. 

In researching and reading, something kept coming up over and over again that although Thatcher, Sunak and others I have written about might not have been the help or the people that helped, they inspired others from their race/gender to want to be more, we just have to be careful that these inspirations have our best in mind. 


https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/09/margaret-thatcher-no-feminist

https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/04/margaret-thatchers-tart-words-about-women-in-power/274785/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/5271677/Margaret-Thatchers-tumultuous-premiership.html


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