I am a member of SDLP. I rarely use this Blog to criticise colleagues. But as Stormont will be the venue horse some nonsensical pageant….where young women will be judged on looks and personality, I can only condemn Dolores Kelly, Deputy Leader of the party for agreeing to be a judge.
It has already been described as the “Lovely Girls Competition”, the Father Ted episode which effectively means that we can no longer take the annual three night “Rose of Tralee” contest seriously.
Apparently Basil McCrea MLA is a judge but let’s be honest, nobody takes him seriously as a politician, least of all himself.
It is exactly the kind of thing Basil would do.
But Dolores Kelly …act your age. Last year, Dolores made a. Speech to the SDLP Annual Conference. The young woman, who introduced her to the podium, praised her as a role model for her generation of politicians. She was described as a “mentor”. Indeed Dolores in her speech paid tribute to her own mentor, Brid Rodgers.
The SDLP has a decent record in promoting women. Margaret Ritchie has led the Party. Brid and Dolores have been Deputy Leaders. There are some pretty formidable operators like Bernie Kelly, Nichola Mallon, Sharon Haughey, Brenda Stevenson and Claire Hanna. just what they and the SDLP Womens Group make of it all, I cant comprehend.
Does it really fall to a 61 year old dinosaur like myself to say this is a very bad idea? Does it really need spelling out that the Personality aspect of the contest does not stand scrutiny. That having a minimum height requirement of 5ft 7inches to even enter the contest suggests that women under that height cant have a personality. That would rule out Dolores.
To be honest…if height was a requirement for Personality, I would not have one.
Dolores…catch yourself on!!!
Keeping An Eye On the Czar of Russia 
As someone with blue eyes, a curvaceous figure and a 5′ 10″ personality I think I may speak with some authority on this matter although I might add that I am disqualified from competition by virtue of my sex and my age. I may even be obliged to consult my lawyer (whom I haven’t spoken to since the last divorce).
Dolores Kelly in choosing to act as a judicator in this whole dismal, demeaning process brings great discredit upon herself and her party which, whatever of its shortcomings and lack of electoral appeal most certainly strives to be a progressive, slightly left-of-centre social democaratic party except, it seems, in matters of medical protection for women choosing not to carry a pregnancy to full-term or anything really concerning homosexuals. These defects we can attribute to the SDLP’s roots as a Catholic bourgeois institution and might have expected that such an attitude would have worked to render them opposed to the parading of young women in scant attire to be judged like cattle by the likes of the small, but perfectly formed, Basil McCrea.
It would of course have been to much to expect the SDLP to have been sternly opposed to such a demeaning event for its role in objectifying women merely in terms of some agreed stereotype of sexual attraction (agreed between Basil and Dolores in this instance ? Strange. Very strange indeed). We migh however have expected that they would have opposed it on grounds of prudery. But no ! They have shown their true colours as right-wing reactionaries insofar as they refuse to stand up for women in desperate need seeking medical supervision of an abortion they have choosen ( a God-given right, strangely enough which, in Northern Ireland is denied to them in law) but yet are happy to participate in judging young women as sexual objects for the titillation of juvenile wankers and panting old lechers.
As L.A.D. might have it = ” Shackin; ! ” ” Friggin’ disgrase so it ez.”
Youve been too long in England. 😉
While I believe in a woman’s right to choose, I am not a big fan of Abortion as some kinda touchstone for liberal views.
Incidently SDLP is in favour of Equal marriage and a lot of openly gay people around.
yet I really dont understand Dolores here….its a no- brainier. A party with SDLP values dont do Lovely Girls competitions and I cant see a single SDLP Woman worthy of the name doing this. I know a few of them.
lets just say that if ANY SDLP man was judging this! the massed ranks of SDLP women would be outraged. And I suspect if it was (say) Alasdair, Dolores would be the loudest critic.
Totally self-inflicted wound.
Personally, I think it would be a good idea if we could have a male version, Sammy v Gerry Kelly for example, in speedos?
Sammy would be over-dressed in speedos…allegedly.
From votes for women to this.
Tragic.