It's a common trope that women squabble. We're painted as competitive gossips who inevitably fall out, because apparently it's in our nature. It doesn't appear to matter that religious and political movements historically dominated by men have split into numerous in-fighting factions wreaking havoc across the planet.

No, it's women that can't be trusted to get a job done - they let emotions get in the way, they're too unpredictable.

It's a frustrating stereotype, and it's harmful to women. It leads people to expect failure from us - it erases the victories and successes of female-led movements by elevating disputes above all else as a feature of gender. And yet, when male violence is embedded in the very fabric of society, we stop short of characterising male leaders who want bigger bombs and more power as gender-flawed. Only when it involves women does in-fighting become an issue of gender.

It's with that in mind, that leading feminists in our midst must be mindful about how they represent feminist issues, and how they behave towards one another. That's why it was so disappointing to see a spat break out between Labour MSP Monica Lennon and SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth after the SNP conference last week.

At the conference, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave more details about a roll out of free sanitary products in schools in a bid to tackle period poverty, an issue that has been growing on the political agenda in Scotland. Many politicians and campaigners have taken up the cause of creating a country in which women, particularly those in poverty, have access to free sanitary products.

Lennon is one of those politicians, and her work on the issue has been admirable. And so, as she should, she welcomed the First Minister's announcement on Twitter.

"Delighted @NicolaSturgeon backs my plan to end period poverty," she tweeted, adding: "Hope to win her over on universal access too."

It was a bit cheeky: she couldn't resist the "it was my campaign first" political point scoring - a debate on social media that has become so overbearing that it often dwarfs discussion about period poverty itself and becomes an argument between SNP and Labour politicians and supporters.

Indeed, it was in that spirit that Gilruth quipped back: "Monica’s previous publications include @theSNP’s Programme for Government, War & Peace & Moby Dick."

Gilruth's implication that Lennon takes credit for everyone else's work was unnecessary. That's just politics, of course, but it rather undermines other feminist politicians who believe they can lead the way in behaving differently towards one another and rejecting the status quo of confrontational politics.

But if we thought Lennon would offer a smart and dignified response, we were shot down in flames.

She retorted at Gilruth: "I suppose a toady MSP looking for promotion needs to get attention wherever she can."

It was not an impressive display. Period poverty is an incredibly sensitive issue for women. It’s already taboo for us to talk about our periods, and women who are struggling financially often have to sacrifice sanitary wear in order to pay for other necessities. There are many stories of women using old rags or ripped up newspaper in place of a towel or tampon, which is humiliating for women who feel they have nowhere to turn. If there’s a sense of shame and embarrassment about bringing up something like period pain, imagine how much more impossible it is to tell someone you are using old newspapers for feminine hygiene.

That’s why it helps when women truly have a united front on an issue like this. It’s only within a safe public and political environment that women feel supported enough to speak out about it. What doesn’t help is seeing it become a political football between two female politicians when the leader of the country announces a progressive move on it.

It’s Lennon’s job to pressure the government, which goes at least some way towards explaining her need to remind everyone, regularly, that she’s been at the forefront of this campaign. But others have fought equally hard, and it is beneath Lennon to resort to name calling when her political tactics are mocked, even if it was a bit of a low blow.

It does us no favours, and all of those on social media bickering about whose idea ending period poverty was first should rediscover some of their feminist values. Let’s show that we can get things done.