As argued in earlier chapters, the existence of 'progressive himpathy' means that female victims being denied care ad attention is not just a problem when women and girls are dealing with the conservative right. The latter might be prone to trivialise and mock 'victim culture', dismissing complaints about sexism, racism and homophobia as the whingeing of elites who do not have any 'real' problems.
Nonentheless, at the other end of the political spectrum, victimhood has a value which makes its allocation to women and girls - the givers, not the takers - taboo in a different way. By this, I mean not the experience of discrimination or abuse, but that of being perceived to have suffered at the hands of the morally inferior others.
While masochism - enjoying one's victimhood - might be feminine-coded, claiming moral authority and status is male-coded. This creates a push-pull situation whereby women and girls are on the one hand the 'natural' victims, but on the other, illegitimate claimants to victim status.
Victoria Smith (2025): Unkind. How 'be kind' entrenches sexism. Fleet, p. 245


















