The letter criticised the minister's "masculine haircut", calling it an absolute "no go." The anonymous writer went on to claim that with that haircut, Tanson is "embarrassing herself, her family, and [our] country to the entire world."
Not stopping at that, the anonymous writer went on to say the minister must do something with the "ghastly grey hair colour", also telling the minister she needs new outfits and a new haircut. This, the anonymous writer advised, would allow the minister to be able to look herself in the mirror, alongside "Lydia" (Lydie) Polfer and fellow minister "Tania" (Taina) Bofferding.
The anonymous writer specified that their criticism was good-natured.
In publishing the anonymous letter, Tanson showed her sense of humour with the dry caption of what female politicians can expect and emphasised that she stood by her appearance. On Facebook, she wrote "Sorry for the embarrassment, Luxembourg, but my haircut's not going anywhere (nor are my "ghastly outfits")." She then recommended for people to not look at her appearance, but instead to listen to what she has to say and to follow what she does, as ultimately she prefers to be judged on her actions. As she concluded the post, she quipped that she would have gone into the fashion industry if she wanted to be judged on her appearance.
That she both published the letter and managed to find the humour in it is certainly an impressive feat. Tanson's post reveals what politicians, mainly female politicians, are subject to when they take up a political mandate. This type of harassment is not always as evident as one would expect.
