British Gov. Withdraws COVID-19 Poster after Sexism Complaints

On Thursday, British Government withdrew a “stay home, save lives” poster following backlash over its apparently sexist depiction of women.

The poster showed four households, three of which had women looking after children and doing housework while the final one pictured a woman reclining in a man's arms on the sofa.

Labour MPs said it was "ridiculous" and accused ministers of having a "women problem."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman affirmed that "It does not reflect the government's view on women."

“I will make clear that it does not reflect the Government’s view on women which is why we have withdrawn it,” the spokesman stressed again. “It has been withdrawn and removed from the campaign.”

Asked whether the infographic was checked before being produced, he answered: “We have provided and have produced information throughout the pandemic to try and ensure that we can communicate our key messages, specifically around the importance of staying at home to protect the NHS and to save lives.”

The poster sparked fury on social media, with Kate Jarman, an NHS manager, saying: “What the actual WOMEN DO MORE THAN CHILDCARE AND HOUSEWORK is this?”

[embed]https://twitter.com/KateBurkeNHS/status/1354757592044744706?s=08[/embed]

Pragya Agarwal, a data scientist, wrote on Twitter: “Who made this? And who approved it?

[embed]https://twitter.com/DrPragyaAgarwal/status/1354723780669669376?s=08[/embed]

“Heteronormative. Reinforcing the view that it is a woman’s job to homeschool, clean, do the childcare,” Agarwal added. “Are the men out there fighting a war or something?”