Sarah ManavisVerified account

Nick Robinson: "you are often accused of nannying" Chief medical officer Sally Davies: "I thought you were going to be sexist - would you say that to a male chief officer?" NR: "I said 'accused of'" SD (sarcastically): "Ah, clever"

Fwiw I think it's true we've come to understand 'nanny state' simply as describing interventions in personal life but the understanding of nannying as negative is gendered. @lottelydia undoubtedly knows more about the history of this political idea than I do

Definitely -- and I think the 'nanny state' is a gendered concept, bound up with imaginations of rugged individualism vs. feminine control and over-protection. And I think it's v classed, too!