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‘No Man is an Island’ poem is sexist, says Labour MP
Sir Chris Bryant makes quip about Donne’s 17th century work in debate on internet safety
A Labour MP referred to the 17th century poem “No Man is an Island” as an example of “casual sexism”.
Sir Chris Bryant made the remark about John Donne’s Meditation XVII – taken from his 1624 work Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions – while addressing MPs about internet safety.
The shadow digital minister took it upon himself to “apologise for the casual sexism of the early 17th century” as he quoted the best-known lines from Donne’s work.
Speaking on behalf of Labour at a Westminster Hall debate about children and smartphones, Sir Chris said: “Physical and personal interaction with others is vital to humanity.
“I apologise for the casual sexism of the early 17th century, but John Donne said ‘no man is an island, entire of itself … Man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.
“‘And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee’.”
Sir Chris went on to insist his remark had “of course” been made in jest, telling The Telegraph: “It’s from the early 17th century – and Donne was both a priest and an MP. But in a different order from me.”
The MP for Rhondda trained to be an Anglican priest aged 24 at Ripon College Cuddesdon in Oxfordshire, before spending five years working as an ordained minister.
In 2016, he declared he had given up on the Church of England and said its stance on homosexuality at the time “one day will seem as wrong as supporting slavery”.
During the debate, which was secured by Miriam Cates, a Conservative backbench MP, Sir Chris said the proliferation of violent and sexual content online had meant “lots of kids have lost the ability to relate directly to other people”.
“Social media has turbo-charged some of the worst aspects of humanity. Some people put on social media things that they would never ever write down on a piece of paper – that they would never think to put their own name to.”
He added: “Age guidelines must be truly effective, and it is worrying that Ofcom’s early research on stopping children using social media finds that it is almost impossible to do so even for children as young as five.”