Pictures of innocence... twisted in PC gender row by SNP
IT was a proud day for Tory MP Paul Masterton when he waved his daughter Daisy off as she started nursery.
But what should have been a happy moment turned sour when an SNP politician accused him of ‘gender stereotyping’ – because Daisy wore a pink jacket.
West Lothian Councillor Moira Shemilt slated Mr Masterton after he shared a touching image of his three-year-old daughter and her little brother Charlie, one, on Twitter.
When he pointed out that Daisy chose to wear pink, she did a U-turn and said sorry – then deleted her account.
Mrs Shemilt, 66, has repeatedly launched attacks on proUnion opponents, branding a Labour Party member a ‘quiswas ling’ and calling Labour MP Ian Davidson a ‘traitor’ for voting No to independence.
Last night, Mr Masterton said: ‘While gender-stereotyping is an important issue, that does not give anyone the right to judge another parent for the clothes their child wears or the toys they play with.
‘Girls can like princesses, glitter, trucks and blue.
‘Boys can like cars, robots, dolls and pink. Children do not need to be one thing or the other, and my job as a dad is to make sure my kids are safe and happy.
‘Raising a family is difficult, and it’s made harder by individuals making ill-informed, nasty comments aimed at shaming parents for decisions they, or in this case their children themselves, have made.
‘I have accepted Mrs Shemilt’s apology and I hope she will think more carefully before making personal attacks like this in future.’
He posted a picture of Daisy heading for her first day at nursery yesterday, along with an image of his son who was wearing a top with pictures of cars and other vehicles. Mrs Shemilt, who represents Livingston South, replied to him: ‘Pink and sheep for girls. Tuff [sic] trucks for boys. #genderstereotyping.’
Mr Masterton – the newly elected Conservative MP for East Renfrewshire – responded furiously. He said: ‘How dare you! You should be ashamed shaming parents in this way. For info, we let Daisy pick her own clothes. So what if she likes pink? She also likes Tho- mas the Tank Engine, dressing up as Elsa [a character from Disney film Frozen], putting on nail polish and playing with cars. A disgraceful and clueless comment.’
He was backed on Twitter by Rick Lewis: ‘I agree about the broad issue of gender stereotyping but what gives you the right to judge someone else’s kids like this?’
Ex-Labour minister Tom Harris tweeted: ‘Having a go at your family because of your political affiliation. Nationalists, eh?’
Mrs Shemilt initially insisted she referring to a recent BBC debate over gender stereotypes for children.
But she then apologised, saying she did not want to offend anyone. She was unavailable for comment but last night an SNP spokesman said she had apologised and removed the tweet.
In April, Nicola Sturgeon was accused of failing to act on vile taunts and offensive behaviour by a series of her party’s election candidates.
A Scottish Daily Mail investigation unearthed controversies involving several of the people selected by the SNP to stand in May’s snap election. They included candidates questioning if No voters had the right to sing Flower of Scotland, and posting offensive messages on the Westminster terror attack.
The disclosures came after the SNP leader told her supporters to debate the issue of independence with ‘courtesy, empathy and respect’.
In march, Angus candidate Bill Duff told Tory MSP Murdo Fraser via Twitter to ‘get on with the day job’ when Mr Fraser called for a Holyrood debate on independence to be stopped in light of the terror attack on Westminster.
‘We let Daisy pick her clothes’