Berlusconi and Clarkson: the old guard of sexism

Five men of whom feminists despair as sexism seems entrenched in modern society. The Conservative MP for Mid Sussex, and the grandson of Winston Churchill, Soames has the unlikely accolade of Britain’s most sexist MP. His female colleagues accused him of making vulgar comments and cupping gestures while they tried to speak to Parliament. Soames said that the claims were offensive and untrue. Female MPs did however find a way to retaliate — shouting “click”, in reference to the claim by his ex-wife that having sex with him was like “having a wardrobe fall on you with the key still in”. Baron Sugar of Clapton The Amstrad boss may have hired women to be his Apprentice, but he did the dirty with his comments on working women. Questioning a law that formed the foundation of anti-discrimination legislation, Lord Sugar thinks that employers should be able to ask female interviewees if they are planning to have children. “If a woman comes to an interview and there’s a possibility she might have a child and take time off, it is a bit of a negative,” he said. “If they are applying for a position which is important then some employers might think: ‘This is a bit risky’.” John McCririck Not many men name their dog Double D and their wife The Booby, after “a South American bird which is stupid and pathetically easy to catch”. But this is TV’s most famous misogynist, the racing pundit John McCririck, who refuses to drive, cook or clean, and orders his wife to bring him his meals in bed. Continue ... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article6739298.ece