As talkback caller Gloria from Warburton declared that she supplemented her pension with sex line work, video footage of Abbott in the studio appeared to show a Prime Ministerial wink, giving way to a smirk (or grin depending on your definition), before turning into a broader smile and then a more sombre face. The condemnation has been quick and sharp. Tweeters have described Abbott's facial expressions as "creepy" and "disgusting". Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young even called the PM a "grub". Handily enough, after the footage was circulated, a prime ministerial press secretary was up in the Press Gallery in Canberra quick smart to explain that Abbott was certainly *not* winking at the sex worker thing. He simply did it to reassure interviewer Jon Faine that he was happy to proceed with the call.

The wink: Abbott's moment in a gif But this has not assuaged the cynics - and wink memes and jibes continue to fill up Twitter feeds. Perhaps because Wednesday's incident is not the first time Abbott's judgment around women and their issues has been called into question. Most famously, there was Julia Gillard's "I will not be lectured about sexism ... by this man" speech in 2012.

There is also Abbott's comment during the 2013 election campaign when he asked to compare former MP Jackie Kelly with then-candidate Fiona Scott and came up with "sex appeal". As well as the "bit of body contact never hurt anyone" line when he posed with the Sydney Swifts netball team and his appeal to voters (via a video to the Big Brother house) on the basis of his "not bad looking" daughters. Indeed, there is a whole canon of Abbott gaffes in the area, which provide a handy lens to view any new ones. Despite the PM's best efforts to promote his paid parental leave scheme, his female family members and his female chief-of-staff, his "women problem" remains a liability for him. Notice that people seem to be more outraged at Abbott winking than at the idea of a pensioner having to work on a sex line. Or the concept of someone, like Gloria, with serious medical conditions suffering as a result of the budget. Abbott's woman problem is not a made up media idea either. As the Australian Financial Review reported earlier this week, women (and voters over 55) are leading the exodus away from the Coalition.

A breakdown of the last four Nielsen polls shows that the Coalition's primary vote among women has dropped from 45 per cent in February to 33 per cent this week. Support among men is currently at 38 per cent. The wink video is also not the first time the Coalition has been caught up in a "footage issue" in recent days. Last week, there was much controversy about whether Christopher Pyne said "grub" or something else in the House of Representatives chamber. And then again, when footage emerged of him apparently signalling Speaker Bronwyn Bishop to shut down applause for Bill Shorten's budget reply speech. In this ultra mediated age, politicians are not just scrutinised by what they say or how they look when they are on duty, but by everything they do on the sidelines. The fact that voters can now play and replay footage or audio at their will means this scrutiny can happen en masse and in minute detail. Loading

And when the government is as unpopular as it currently is, people will be less willing to give MPs the benefit of the doubt. Follow us on Twitter