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“We’re all adults,” Freeland countered the next day, after the Liberals concluded they could capitalize on the latest crie du sexism.

The Tories questioning Freeland’s performance is fair game, and to suggest they should use kid gloves is infantilizing to all women

That may be, but Freeland could have fooled me the way she stormed out of the trade talks and barely composed herself before addressing to the cameras. Her behaviour, regardless of gender, was hardly becoming of any politician on the world stage. The hastily cobbled together press release her office issued shortly thereafter was equally embarrassing. Bob Rae’s tweeted defence — “Crying is not a sign of weakness, it is a natural emotional response to a lot of different situations” — could strike many as just plain patronizing.

So the Tories questioning Freeland’s performance is fair game, and to suggest they should use kid gloves is infantilizing to all women. It suggests they can’t handle the heat of the powerful positions they now take up in half of Trudeau’s cabinet.

It’s a dangerous argument and one we keep seeing in Canadian politics. I’ve written before about the preciousness that has crept into contemporary feminism, a sense that enabling women’s full economic equality requires special treatment to protect their delicate sensibilities. That’s contrary to the pursuit of gender equality and, frankly, insulting.

There’s also a double standard at play. The left is always quick to defend Liberal and NDP members, but where are they when female Conservatives are trumpeting important women’s issues? Too few have been paying attention to Michelle Rempel’s important effort to support Yazidi women and girls fleeing sex slavery under ISIL.