http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/gender/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Strike-a-woman-and-you-strike-all-of-society/ Picture a woman. She might live anywhere in the world. She could be part of any socio-economic group, of any ethnicity, of any religion. On a typical day this woman starts her day before the sun rises. She works for 8-12 hours in a store or on a farm or at a factory or in someone’s home for a small wage, but her children and elderly relatives depend on her income for survival. When she comes home, she asks her children what they learned that day at school and what they want to be when they grow up. She spends hours bent over a small stove or fireplace preparing meals for an extended family. In many parts of the world, she also grows the food that feeds everyone at her table. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Strike-a-woman-and-you-strike-all-of-society/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Strike-a-woman-and-you-strike-all-of-society/#item7332 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Ever since second-wave feminism kicked off four decades ago, people have been wondering if an equivalent movement for men would emerge. There was a short-lived media frenzy in the 90s when a handful of men took to banging on drums and declaiming bad poetry about their neglected inner warrior, but that turned out to be a false dawn. Nowadays, leaving aside those fathers’ rights groups who like to create a public nuisance while wearing ill-fitting Batman costumes, there’s really no such thing as a masculinist movement. Except maybe there is. Or at least the beginnings of one. The pick-up artist (PUA) subculture has been around in some form for two decades but it crossed over into the mainstream about six years ago. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/is-the-pick-up-movement-mens-feminist-answer/ Ever since second-wave feminism kicked off four decades ago, people have been wondering if an equivalent movement for men would emerge. There was a short-lived media frenzy in the 90s when a handful of men took to banging on drums and declaiming bad poetry about their neglected inner warrior, but that turned out to be a false dawn. Nowadays, leaving aside those fathers’ rights groups who like to create a public nuisance while wearing ill-fitting Batman costumes, there’s really no such thing as a masculinist movement. Except maybe there is. Or at least the beginnings of one. The pick-up artist (PUA) subculture has been around in some form for two decades but it crossed over into the mainstream about six years ago. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/is-the-pick-up-movement-mens-feminist-answer/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/is-the-pick-up-movement-mens-feminist-answer/#item6286 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Ever since second-wave feminism kicked off four decades ago, people have been wondering if an equivalent movement for men would emerge. There was a short-lived media frenzy in the 90s when a handful of men took to banging on drums and declaiming bad poetry about their neglected inner warrior, but that turned out to be a false dawn. Nowadays, leaving aside those fathers’ rights groups who like to create a public nuisance while wearing ill-fitting Batman costumes, there’s really no such thing as a masculinist movement. Except maybe there is. Or at least the beginnings of one. The pick-up artist (PUA) subculture has been around in some form for two decades but it crossed over into the mainstream about six years ago. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-tiger-mothers-take-on-raising-a-genderless-baby/ A Canadian couple is deliberately raising a ‘genderless’ baby, so it can be free of society’s expectations. The first question on everyone’s lips is, of course: “What would Amy Chua say?”. Now the fabulously strict ‘Tiger Mother’ and law professor Amy Chua is a busy woman over the other side of the world. But thankfully she put all her parenting know-how into her tidy little book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. So I decided it would be entirely appropriate to use the book as an Oracle from which one can glean wisdom on the topic at hand by randomly picking quotes. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-tiger-mothers-take-on-raising-a-genderless-baby/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-tiger-mothers-take-on-raising-a-genderless-baby/#item5923 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Ever since second-wave feminism kicked off four decades ago, people have been wondering if an equivalent movement for men would emerge. There was a short-lived media frenzy in the 90s when a handful of men took to banging on drums and declaiming bad poetry about their neglected inner warrior, but that turned out to be a false dawn. Nowadays, leaving aside those fathers’ rights groups who like to create a public nuisance while wearing ill-fitting Batman costumes, there’s really no such thing as a masculinist movement. Except maybe there is. Or at least the beginnings of one. The pick-up artist (PUA) subculture has been around in some form for two decades but it crossed over into the mainstream about six years ago. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/all-men-and-women-were-not-created-equal/ True equality is impossible. We are not born equal, and we cannot be made equal. But equal opportunity for all is a noble and realistic goal. In a fairly short time – say, a century – women’s position in society has altered dramatically. This time one hundred years ago women had few rights. They were second-class citizens. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/all-men-and-women-were-not-created-equal/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/all-men-and-women-were-not-created-equal/#item5415 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Ever since second-wave feminism kicked off four decades ago, people have been wondering if an equivalent movement for men would emerge. There was a short-lived media frenzy in the 90s when a handful of men took to banging on drums and declaiming bad poetry about their neglected inner warrior, but that turned out to be a false dawn. Nowadays, leaving aside those fathers’ rights groups who like to create a public nuisance while wearing ill-fitting Batman costumes, there’s really no such thing as a masculinist movement. Except maybe there is. Or at least the beginnings of one. The pick-up artist (PUA) subculture has been around in some form for two decades but it crossed over into the mainstream about six years ago. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aussie-women-you-think-youve-got-it-bad/ Today marks the hundredth anniversary of International Women’s Day.  It is an occasion to celebrate the achievements of women, to reflect on how far women have progressed on the journey towards equality in the last century, but also to recognise that significant challenges remain, here and abroad.  The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Female Leadership and Political Participation” and, on this score, Australia has much to celebrate.  One hundred years ago, we were one of only three countries in the world that could boast women’s suffrage. The significance of this achievement is evident when one reflects that Kuwait’s Parliament extended suffrage to women in 2005 and only then by a 35-23 vote, and in Saudi Arabia women are still deprived of voting rights.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aussie-women-you-think-youve-got-it-bad/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aussie-women-you-think-youve-got-it-bad/#item5325 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Ever since second-wave feminism kicked off four decades ago, people have been wondering if an equivalent movement for men would emerge. There was a short-lived media frenzy in the 90s when a handful of men took to banging on drums and declaiming bad poetry about their neglected inner warrior, but that turned out to be a false dawn. Nowadays, leaving aside those fathers’ rights groups who like to create a public nuisance while wearing ill-fitting Batman costumes, there’s really no such thing as a masculinist movement. Except maybe there is. Or at least the beginnings of one. The pick-up artist (PUA) subculture has been around in some form for two decades but it crossed over into the mainstream about six years ago. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/counterpunch-women-arent-playthings-slaves-and-bitches/ How convenient to caricature someone whose work you oppose by reducing them to a cartoon parody. Like I haven’t had enough Helen Lovejoy clichés to last a lifetime? Oh, and look, another media studies academic watching The Simpsons. Are we impressed yet? Warning: Contains graphic violent and sexual images Where Stephen Harrington sees “a graphic critique of post-feminist female sexuality”, I see Kanye West holding a woman’s decapitated head. Where those like Harrington see ambiguous, complicated narrative and linear narrative fantasy, I see semi-naked dead women swinging from ropes around their necks. When I see Rick Ross in the ‘Behind the scenes’ You Tube clip tucking into a plate of raw meat before a spreadeagled dead woman on the table, I see the brutalization and degradation of female sexuality. I don’t think ‘check out that satire!’ feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/counterpunch-women-arent-playthings-slaves-and-bitches/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/counterpunch-women-arent-playthings-slaves-and-bitches/#item5140 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Ever since second-wave feminism kicked off four decades ago, people have been wondering if an equivalent movement for men would emerge. There was a short-lived media frenzy in the 90s when a handful of men took to banging on drums and declaiming bad poetry about their neglected inner warrior, but that turned out to be a false dawn. Nowadays, leaving aside those fathers’ rights groups who like to create a public nuisance while wearing ill-fitting Batman costumes, there’s really no such thing as a masculinist movement. Except maybe there is. Or at least the beginnings of one. The pick-up artist (PUA) subculture has been around in some form for two decades but it crossed over into the mainstream about six years ago. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/woah-man-sweeping-gender-generalisations/ Not so many fin-de-siècles ago, it was widely assumed that women’s place was in the home. Gallivanting about polling booths was supposed to render us unladylike and – quelle horreur! – unmarriageable.  Suffragette writer Alice Duer Miller responded to these oppressive stereotypes by turning the tables in a satirical piece entitled Why We Don’t Want Men To Vote. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/woah-man-sweeping-gender-generalisations/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/woah-man-sweeping-gender-generalisations/#item4890 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Ever since second-wave feminism kicked off four decades ago, people have been wondering if an equivalent movement for men would emerge. There was a short-lived media frenzy in the 90s when a handful of men took to banging on drums and declaiming bad poetry about their neglected inner warrior, but that turned out to be a false dawn. Nowadays, leaving aside those fathers’ rights groups who like to create a public nuisance while wearing ill-fitting Batman costumes, there’s really no such thing as a masculinist movement. Except maybe there is. Or at least the beginnings of one. The pick-up artist (PUA) subculture has been around in some form for two decades but it crossed over into the mainstream about six years ago. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/you-dont-need-to-wield-a-hammer-to-make-women-happy/ With respect to Top Gear host James May’s partner of ten years, he really needs to get out of the car and spend some time with a younger woman because his take on our “generation of useless men” is both offensive and alarmingly out-dated. ‘Women are getting a bit bored with blokes being useless,” May told the Radio Times in an interview promoting his new show, “Man Lab”, this week. “The decline of practical skills, some of them very day-to-day, among a generation of British men is very worrying - they can’t put up a shelf, wire a plug, countersink a screw, iron a shirt…they believe it is endearing and cute to be useless whereas I think it’s boring and everyone’s getting sick of it,” he said. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/you-dont-need-to-wield-a-hammer-to-make-women-happy/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/you-dont-need-to-wield-a-hammer-to-make-women-happy/#item4391 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Ever since second-wave feminism kicked off four decades ago, people have been wondering if an equivalent movement for men would emerge. There was a short-lived media frenzy in the 90s when a handful of men took to banging on drums and declaiming bad poetry about their neglected inner warrior, but that turned out to be a false dawn. Nowadays, leaving aside those fathers’ rights groups who like to create a public nuisance while wearing ill-fitting Batman costumes, there’s really no such thing as a masculinist movement. Except maybe there is. Or at least the beginnings of one. The pick-up artist (PUA) subculture has been around in some form for two decades but it crossed over into the mainstream about six years ago. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-perils-of-modern-dating-1-ugly-people/ For those of you – ok, us – who aren’t likely to be asked to pose for the cover of Sports Illustrated or GQ any time soon, here’s a piece of news that might be of interest. A dating agency for unattractive people has been established in Britain which claims to be a website for the “aesthetically challenged”, has already had some success at matching those who have been hit one too many times with the ugly stick. Tom Clifford, who says he has a face “that makes children cry” has found true love with a 31 year old shop assistant who still lives with her parents and they’re planning a wedding in the near future. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-perils-of-modern-dating-1-ugly-people/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-perils-of-modern-dating-1-ugly-people/#item4376 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Ever since second-wave feminism kicked off four decades ago, people have been wondering if an equivalent movement for men would emerge. There was a short-lived media frenzy in the 90s when a handful of men took to banging on drums and declaiming bad poetry about their neglected inner warrior, but that turned out to be a false dawn. Nowadays, leaving aside those fathers’ rights groups who like to create a public nuisance while wearing ill-fitting Batman costumes, there’s really no such thing as a masculinist movement. Except maybe there is. Or at least the beginnings of one. The pick-up artist (PUA) subculture has been around in some form for two decades but it crossed over into the mainstream about six years ago. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-im-not-a-man/ The other day I was reading a popular men’s magazine. I won’t mention the name, all I’ll say is it was for men, and about their style. The style of men really, or more precisely, men’s style. All I’m saying is it wasn’t GQ. After only a few page turns I realised that while I am in possession of a penis and an extra chromosome, this magazine was well and truly not talking to me. Which naturally lead me to but one conclusion - I am not a man. I’m not a man, I’m a guy. A guy at best, a dude at worst, and so white the only way I could even think of being a bro is if I created my own hilarious and not-racist-at-all-god-where’s-your-sense-of-humour Red Faces routine. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-im-not-a-man/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-im-not-a-man/#item4181 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Ever since second-wave feminism kicked off four decades ago, people have been wondering if an equivalent movement for men would emerge. There was a short-lived media frenzy in the 90s when a handful of men took to banging on drums and declaiming bad poetry about their neglected inner warrior, but that turned out to be a false dawn. Nowadays, leaving aside those fathers’ rights groups who like to create a public nuisance while wearing ill-fitting Batman costumes, there’s really no such thing as a masculinist movement. Except maybe there is. Or at least the beginnings of one. The pick-up artist (PUA) subculture has been around in some form for two decades but it crossed over into the mainstream about six years ago.