By Joanna Lewis

UNTIL last week I was blissfully unaware of the existence of two unattractive features of contemporary Britain: upskirting and Sir Christopher Chope.

The first is the unpleasant and rather pathetic practice of taking unauthorized photographs up a woman’s skirt to capture her crotch area and underwear. The second is an unpleasant and rather pathetic 71-year-old, MP, who blocked the fast-tracking of a Private Member’s Bill to have this practice made a specific criminal offence. Critics have branded him a “dinosaur pure and simple”. And that from a fellow Tory male backbencher! One woman protested by making flag bunting from her own pants, stringing it across his constituency office door! (Future historians may judge this the Pants Revolution..?!)

Defenders of the Tory MP, claim he was objecting on procedure and principle; that it’s covered by the Sexual Offences Act of 2003; and that he didn’t know what upskirting was… They’ve turned on so called ‘Feminazis’ for making irrational, emotional demands when all that’s needed, they claim, is for the police to have things ‘explained’ to them. On the other side, in the interest of balance, two themes reoccur: cretinous and prat.

What’s so objectionable about the objections, is that the issue was brought to Parliament’s attention largely through the activism of a 26-year-old woman. Attractive, clever and articulate, Gina Martin bravely admitted to having had fairly explicit photos of her crotch put up on the internet. As she predicted, she’s been horribly criticised for being an attention-seeking whinging modern feminist - hyper sensitive, always demanding equal outcomes. Such spite is a real deterrent to other victims coming forward in solidarity.

Yet she’s just the kind of modern feminist that surely even Anne Robinson can approve of. Last week the irrepressible veteran journalist and presenter, told us in her BBC documentary ‘The problem with women’, that today’s sexism, inequality and gender pay gap, were largely the fault of women because they were not like Anne Robinson – ballsy, no-nonsense types. Women, she said, just had to put up with sexual harassment or take measures to stop it, rather than just complaining and hashtagging Me Too.

Unfortunately, Anne also said having your ears pierced was the same as having the skin on your face cut open, peeled back, and then sewed up again. So one has to take some of her combative, over statements for what they are - self-justifying and delusional. Not all women can be expected to have the confidence to immediately say what they think, or not to fear the consequences of an angry man or irritated boss.

That’s why a strong legal position and public support for zero tolerance towards behaviour like upskirting and other forms of sexual harassment are vital. It civilises behaviour when a power balance is unequal. How some men treat women in public is unacceptable. Only last week, one of my female students realised a man was rubbing her thigh on a crowded London bus. She told the police but it’s left her feeling fearful. Those men at Ascot, who when they see an attractive waitress approaching, bellow out “I didn’t know they hired prostitutes…”, should learn empathy as well as manners.

What’s exciting to see, is a new attitude towards feminism among the younger generation. Last week at Wembley Arena, a pop concert attracted thousands of screaming teenage girls. Their idols – the likes of Ann Marie and Jess Glyn - wore strong, body-combat outfits. Female singers like Jax Jones and Raye (I’d not heard of them either) sang assertive lyrics: “Please step back/It’s my vibe you’re crampin/... I am not your homie, not your homie…”

Sir Christopher. Get with the beat. You are the weakest link, goodbye.