Tracy Brabin sexism row dress surpasses £13,000 in charity auction
8 February 2020, 14:08
An off-the-shoulder dress worn by Labour MP Tracy Brabin which prompted a sexism row has surpassed £13,000 in a charity auction.
She was forced to defend her clothing choices after she received sexist abuse online for dressing "inappropriately".
One Twitter user shared an image of Ms Brabin wearing an off-the-shoulder dress, and the post received hundreds of replies.
In the comments, Ms Brabin was labelled a "slapper", "slut" and "tart" for her choice of attire.
The ASOS dress, which has been selling out fast online, is now being auctioned on eBay to help raise funds for GirlGuiding UK.
The auction ends on Thursday February 13 and had hit £13,000 by Saturday.
Ms Brabin's outfit had been criticised on social media earlier in the week.
It was a topic of discussion on the BBC's Question Time on Thursday - where one audience member described it as "a disco outfit".
In response to condemnations on Twitter, Ms Brabin had posted: "Sorry I don't have time to reply to all of you commenting on this but I can confirm I'm not... A slag, Hungover, A tart, About to breastfeed, A slapper, Drunk, Just been banged over a wheelie bin.
"Who knew people could get so emotional over a shoulder..."
On Friday Labour leadership contender Rebecca Long-Bailey defended Ms Brabin and criticised the levels of scrutiny faced by women politicians over their appearance.
"Women tend to get that scrutiny far more than men. It is routine for women in politics and in public life, unfortunately," she told BBC Breakfast.
The dress listing on eBay reads: "Black dress worn by Tracy Brabin MP in 'shouldergate' as widely covered across the media.
"This is an ASOS dress which has been flying off the shelves as a result of the coverage - and is now sold out!
"All money raised will go to Girlguiding UK to support their work helping girls build confidence and self-esteem, in the hope that they grow up to be leaders."
