The Sunday Times Called Olympic Gold Medalist Laura Kenny ‘Jason’s Pregnant Wife’ And People Are Fuming

‘You spelt "four-time Olympic champion" wrong.’
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Being referred to as “the missus”, whether you’re in a longterm relationship or actually married, is annoying as hell.

Among friends, it ignores that fact that you have an identity separate from your partner, but in a professional context, it completely undermines your achievements, suggesting that becoming “a wife” is the be-all and end-all for women.

So when The Sunday Times referred to four-time Olympic gold medalist Laura Kenny as Jason Kenny’s “pregnant wife”, broadcast journalist Libby Dawes called the paper out on it.

Hey, @thetimes you spelt "four-time Olympic champion" wrong... pic.twitter.com/q3aLv3rHGC

— Libby Dawes (@Libbydawes89) July 9, 2017

The Sunday Times captioned an image of the two cyclists at Wimbledon, saying: “Cyclist Jason Kenny was with his pregnant wife Laura.”

In response, Dawes tweeted the photo saying: “Hey, @thetimes you spelt ‘four-time Olympic champion’ wrong.”

Her tweet soon went viral and has been liked more than 8,000 times, with many calling the caption “insulting” and “sexist”.

This really has to stop#everydaysexism

— Tony Jackson (@JacksonT0ny) July 10, 2017

The Times transports us back through history when women were only chattels to provide a man with heirs. Good grief.

— Art Rust AussieRobot (@ERN_Malleyscrub) July 10, 2017

It's the fact they mention his achievements and not hers, its insinuating the only achievement she has made is marrying him.

— Sarah Fiddaman (@SarahFiddaman) July 10, 2017

Wow that is so bloody wrong. What an insult

— James Fowler (@jamesfowler82) July 10, 2017

In the full story later in the paper, Laura was referred to as an Olympic cyclist with full acknowledgement of her achievements. But many have still questioned the paper’s choice of photo caption.

On Twitter, some have pointed out that the The Telegraph referred to Jason as Laura’s “husband”, sparking debate about whether the reverse is just as bad.

telegraph did it the other way round. pic.twitter.com/pM0a7BZHP0

— GrumpyByName (@LessGrumpy) July 9, 2017

But as The Telegraph’s caption begins “Olympic cycling gold medalists”, others have argued it paints the pair as equals.

Laura, who is the most successful British female Olympian, has long proved she isn’t one to conform to gender expectations.

As an ambassador for Always #LikeAGirl, the 25-year-old has used her platform to end period taboos and encourage more girls to take up sport.

In a recent interview with HuffPost UK, she also showed that her becoming a wife and mother has had no impact on her career ambition.

“Although I’m the most successful female Olympian, I want to go higher up than that, I want to be on the all-time list, not just the female list,” she said.

In response to Dawes’ tweet, people on Twitter have been suggesting alternative captions for The Sunday Times photo.

'Olympic cyclists Jason and Laura kenny, who are expecting their first child' would have seemed more appropriate. #equalachievements

— *Anj* (@BoogieAnj) July 10, 2017

Cyclists and parents to be Laura and Jason Kenny

— Sarah Pickford (@PickyCricket) July 10, 2017

If space was an issue for the paper, “Cyclists and parents-to-be Jason and Laura Kenny”, has fewer characters than their original caption. Just saying.

HuffPost UK contacted The Sunday Times, who chose not to comment.

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