6 days Ago By Rita Nasr
Imagine being away with your partner, sharing photos of your fun time in Vegas on your private, locked Facebook page, only to have those photos shared by a “friend” and leaked to the Murdoch-owned Geelong Advertiser, splashed on the front pages. This is what Cr Sarah Hayden, the Mayor of Golden Shire Plains Council, endured over the weekend. The leaked private images of her time away, during which she was approved to work from home, are only the tip of the iceberg.
Since being elected as a first-time councillor and mayor in November 2024, Cr Hayden has faced some of the most vile, sexist, and misogynistic rhetoric. Her social media photos, from a time before she was elected to council, have often been used as examples of what some considered ‘inappropriate behaviour’. For instance, attending a masquerade ball for charity years before becoming mayor, with glitter on her face and chest, has been unfairly criticised.
One social media post on the local council community pages even stated, “worse still was to hand over the role to a nobody with not only zero experience on council but looks like she belongs more on an OnlyFans page than representing our community as a respectable elected public official”.Somehow, just by her pictures, it is assumed Cr Hayden is unqualified and untrained to be a councillor or mayor. Also, who deems what is or isn’t respectable? Is supporting a charity in fancy dress not respectable? Why do we never seem to apply the same lens to men in the political arena? Yes, Scott Morrison was criticised for sunbaking in Hawaii while the country burned, but he was the prime minister of the country.
I have never seen my local mayor, who is a man, undertaking any work – yet I have not read once anyone questioning his abilities. I know men who decided one day that they wanted to be councillors and potentially move into a parliamentary seat, thinking, “let’s give it a go.” Their credentials have never been questioned.
Murdoch papers, council members, and the community have not scrutinised their social media pages or commented on their bodies and attire.Why do we still do this to women? Why do people still think it’s okay to comment on Cr Hayden’s clothes, body, looks, and question how competent she is, alluding that she might not be because of how she looks? Haven’t we had enough yet? Because let me tell you, Cr Hayden has.What the Geelong Advertiser forgot to add to their disgraceful article, which was written by a woman (whom I won’t name because women should be standing up for other women, not making them unwarranted front-page fodder), is that Sarah is a social worker, psychotherapist, mum to five including two adopted kids from Taiwan, foster mum to 55 kids, volunteer for asylum seekers and refugees, and first responder for mental health support for emergency services.
Sarah is also a published author, yet despite all these exemplary credentials of someone worthy to represent a community, the article implies that she is an ‘incompetent, drug-using, loose woman’. What is even more infuriating is that, further down in the article, the author admits that the council approved Cr Hayden working from home during her time away. This was deemed the best course of action since the council doesn’t have a deputy mayor, and all her duties were fulfilled while she was away.
So, if the article wasn’t meant to assess her ability to perform her role while she was away, what was its purpose other than to humiliate her?We are in the middle of a federal election campaign, and there are many conversations accusing some political parties of having a ‘woman problem’. Sadly, at a time when fewer and fewer women are entering politics, politics doesn’t have a woman problem; society has a woman problem. We keep telling women to change, but women are not the problem.
We need societal and patriarchal structures to change. I tell my daughter she can be and do whatever she wants. However, the reality is, if she wants to enter politics or public life, she has to be less.
Why would any woman consider it if there’s a chance her private life, which has no bearing on her ability to do her job, could be splashed all over the front pages? Some may argue that holding a public position requires caution, avoiding controversy, and not giving opponents any ammunition. Politics is undoubtedly a dirty game, focused on winning and numbers. However, it is also about making a difference in people’s lives and creating impactful, lasting policies.
Women make up 50 per cent of society and must have a voice at the table to influence these policies. But how can they, when they are constantly judged on everything but their abilities, even when all they want is to contribute to bettering their communities?The post The media’s treatment of Mayor Sarah Hayden shows misogyny still front and centre for women in politics appeared first on Women's Agenda..
