Magda Szubanski criticised over Jenny Morrison ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ post
Female politicians who have been the target of online abuse have lashed Magda Szubanski’s attacks on Jenny Morrison as another example of the hypocrisy rife in the ‘sisterhood’.
NSW
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Liberal MP Nicolle Flint says Magda Szubanski’s “appalling” attack on Jenny Morrison is another example of the double standards shown to women on the centre-right.
The South Australian Liberal MP who announced earlier this year that she was stepping down from politics because of abuse she copped during the last election, was scathing of Ms Szubanski’s tweet about the wife of the Prime Minister.
“I cannot believe the appalling personal attacks on Mrs Morrison, especially by Ms Szubanski, a woman who has received one of our nation’s highest honours,” Ms Flint said.
“I will be writing to the responsible Minister to once again request a review of the standards to which Australian Honours recipients should be held.”
“More broadly, Ms Szubanski’s completely disrespectful comments are yet another example of the double standards demonstrated towards women on the centre-right of politics.
“The sisterhood need to stop picking and choosing which sisters to protect; all women deserve to be treated with respect,” Ms Flint said.
On Sunday, Ms Szubanski retweeted a photo of a conservatively-dressed Jenny Morrison standing to the side as her husband signed a condolence book for Prince Philip.
“I genuinely thought this was a photoshopped Handmaid’s Tale meme. But no. It’s 21st century Aussie life,” Szubanski wrote.
She retweeted the photo with a message from a left-wing Twitter account called MFWitches, which wrote, “Good morning to everyone else to whom this feels creepy, chilling, terrifying, ominous, enraging, despairing and utterly, completely f*cking depressing.”
Meanwhile a number of prominent female politicians who have been the target of online abuse were quick to hit out at Ms Szubanski for her attacks on Jenny Morrison.
“Ms Szubanski has herself been the target of obscene trolls, yet the hypocritical nature of the Left is here on display,” NSW Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes told The Daily Telegraph.
“This current cry on behalf of women, of supporting women, is of course only applicable if your politics is left of centre.”
Ms Szubanski was recently criticised for not standing up for women when she attacked conservative Queensland Senator Amanda Stoker’s appointment as assistant minister for women, calling her a member of “the small but noisy ‘Christian Soldiers’ faction hijacking the national agenda.”
She also retweeted a photo of the Morrison family posing with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, zooming in on Mrs Morrison’s hand, which showed her thumb and forefinger joined over one of her daughters’ wrists.
In some segments of the internet, the joined thumb and forefinger, as part of the traditional “OK” sign, is seen as an indication of support for white supremacy.
“What’s this little hand signal thingy??”, Ms Szubanski asked in her tweet, which prompted a number of replies from other Twitter users suggesting that Mrs Morrison was somehow signalling support for racist ideology.
Many others tweeted responses showing prominent left-wing politicians like US Democrat congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez making the “OK” sign.
In the past, Ms Szubanski has claimed that she herself was the victim of online trolling, most recently after she did a public service announcement supporting Victorian Premier Dan Andrews’ draconian COVID lockdown restrictions.
At the time, Israel Folau defended Ms Szubanski, saying, “Please stop the anonymous online attacks on Magda Szubanski, who has entered this debate very respectfully.”
“She is entitled to express her views – let’s all have this important discussion with love in our hearts.”
Originally published as Magda Szubanski criticised over Jenny Morrison ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ post
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