How Not To Be a Progressive

(Image warning: the linked article includes an image of a "naked" inflatable sex doll, shaped vaguely like a woman, may not be work-safe - it's not reproduced here, but be careful going over there if you're at work)

It's funny how this goes, sometimes. You get a week where not much leaps out at you, and then there's a day like today, where you can't swing a hologram of a kitty without bumping into some egregious example of ableism, racism, misogyny or some other form of othering.

So you get a link to this page, and looking at the URL, you think, "Hey, good, 538's taking on the idea that world socialism as practiced is a monolithic bloc of political belief and practice!"

And happily you go click on it.

Go on, I'll wait.

Okay, back now? So...what's up with the misogyny, 538?

Let's take it on bit-by-bit. A little ways down the column, we find a picture of an iPhone, and a hockey puck, and an inflatable sex doll. A doll of a woman, of course, not of a man, because who'd wanna see that, guys, amirite, huh, amirite?

We also get the helpful caption: "Things."

Well, maybe I'm overreacting, huh? I mean, they wouldn't really mean to imply that women are things, right?

Oh, wait. Apparently they did. Because two paragraphs later, we get a line about how Britain not only buys things, they make things! With a helpful illustration again: this one includes Geri Halliwell in a union-jack dress - look! The UK government makes things! Like this woman! Who is quite a thing, amirite guyz? Amirite? Isn't that awesome? See how they made her for you to look at?

Signing off from Canada,

Just A Thing Made In The UK

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