After Scottish Labour compiled a dossier of online abuse by cybernats, Scottish nationalists were quick to respond that supporters of other parties are just as bad.
Step forward Jill Stephenson, Professor Emeritus of Modern German History at the University of Edinburgh. The retired academic is in the firing line over tweets she sent ahead of the election calling SNP MP Mhairi Black a ‘foul-mouthed slut’. After the Scottish Herald dug up the tweets over the weekend, the SNP responded with a strongly worded statement against her:
‘As we have repeatedly stated, the online debate in Scottish politics should be respectful at all times – that clearly includes people who oppose the SNP and independence, as this person demonstrates, and we trust that the other parties will do all they can to root the abuse out.’
The cybernats have been quick to turn on Stephenson online, with some calling on the university to strip her of her title. On Twitter, various people have also criticised Stephenson’s ‘sexist’ comment:
https://twitter.com/sarahfishlock/status/617739633020026880
https://twitter.com/armsofrain/status/617738960643690496
Absolutely ridiculous for Jill Stephenson to call Mhairi Black a "slut". Completely lowers the tone of politics with blatant sexism.
— Catherine Wilson Garry (@CWilsonPoet) July 5, 2015
With allegations of slut-shaming flying around, Mr S wonders if they ought to rethink the criticism in part. When Steerpike contacted Stephenson to put her own side across, the academic said she was using ‘slut’ not in the promiscuous sense, but instead as a term to describe a slovenly lifestyle in response to tweets Black had sent:
‘If you looked at them, you’d understand that I was referring to Ms Black’s foul language and boasts about what was clearly a slovenly lifestyle. It seemed, well, odd that voters might support someone like that.’
Black has now deleted many of her old tweets, but some remain online:
Stephenson – who says she tweets as a private individual and not on behalf of her former employer – states that her comments were made in response to the SNP’s ‘dishonest’ referendum campaign:
‘I would not have become involved in tweeting had it not been for the utterly dishonest campaign run by the SNP for the Scottish referendum. Nationalists continue with their dishonesty about a separate Scotland’s prospects, the realities of FFA, the progress of the Scotland Bill, and anything else that suits them.’
While Mr S will leave readers to make up their own minds over the row, the explanation may not be enough to appease the nationalists. After all, the use of the word was enough to end Godfrey Bloom’s career, with the former Ukip MEP stepping down after he joshed that a number of Ukip women were ‘sluts’ for failing to clean behind their fridges.
Comments