Immature comments ridiculing women in the public eye say far more about the commenters than about the women mocked.
I know politics has mimicked children on the playground before, but there’s a particularly nasty strain of name-calling and misogyny lately. And often coming from women.
The new British prime minister, Andy Burnham, may well be replaced soon, if current trends continue. But Burnham is not my concern here. (The suggestions that he is a particularly helpful witness of Catholics in the public square, by the way, have the feel of a cultural Catholicism on its last legs.)
It’s his wife who has my attention. On X early this morning, everything seemed to be about “Mrs. Burnham.” One gets the impression people can’t even be bothered finding out her name: Marie-France van Heel. She’s a marketing executive, is on the board of a number of mostly health-related organizations, and reportedly speaks three languages. She met her husband at Cambridge.
Commentators are disappointed that she doesn’t realize she is not a Spice Girl, however.
Apparently this dress is by Victoria Beckham. Bit nasty of her to let Mrs Burnham pay 900 quid for something in Crimpelene that doesn't fit her. Sisterhood eh?in pic.twitter.com/fMgwd1kVSb
— Liz Kershaw (@LizKershawDJ) July 20, 2026
“Mrs. Burnham” has had more than a few cameras on her in recent days, as she went to meet the king and while meeting the press outside 10 Downing Street. Some of the shots are flattering and some are less so. (A woman does not have to be especially vain to dislike certain photos of herself.)
Van Heel lost a sister to breast cancer and has had a preventative double mastectomy. She has given birth to three children. She, and her body, has been through some things. No doubt she has more important concerns in life — and this week — than immature comments about her fashion.
Comments like “Do they have Spanx in Manchester?” and others saying she was wearing a “badly fitting Primark dress,” that she has “atrocious dress sense,” that she looks like the prime minister’s “mom.” It became clear soon enough that these notes are like a lot of political commentary these days: It’s a mere outlet for general unhappiness.
People will forever make fun of women in the spotlight, whether on the red carpet or in politics. Lazy attacks — for different reasons, though I’ve seen all three (beautiful) women criticized for their looks — have been launched against Amy Coney Barrett, Erika Kirk, and Marie-France van Heel. These juvenile comments have much more to do with a private misery than with any attributes of their targets.