Feminism
There’s a movement that sees males - generally straight, middle-aged, white males - as the new oppressed. No, seriously. Men’s activists have been around for decades, but thanks to the internet they’re getting slicker, more organised, and more visible.
Men’s outcomes in some areas really are poor. Male suicide rates are three to four times higher, their life expectancy is lower. Girls often out-perform boys at school. Males are more likely to be incarcerated, more likely to be addicted.
But these genuine issues are not the ones that concern the new breed of men’s activists. These aggrieved men see misandry - the hatred of males - everywhere in society, from government down. They aggressively lobby for better rights for men - usually at the expense of women.
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, a regular column where we look at shysters and shenanigans, bad science and mad conspiracies.
This week is going to kick off a series on men’s rights extremists (MRE). Like all extremists, these guys ruin it for those who have genuine concerns for men in today’s society with their pseudoscience and shonky stats, strawmen and very thinly veiled agendas. In the same way that extremist feminists make it harder for women to voice their own concerns.
Over the coming weeks we’ll look at some of the main issues, including intelligence and gender, false rape allegations, family court issues, sexism, domestic violence, relative advantage, misandry and so on. If you’ve got a topic you want covered, dive in below.
Continue reading "ICB: The Great Feminist Conspiracy and MRE" »
Latest 2 of 264 comments
View all comments-
Greg Allan says:
@ByStealth… “Similarly there is little funding for men who are victims of domestic violence and seek advice or shelter. There’s a consistent push for more funding from the government towards women orientated programs.” Adoption of the “Action Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children” by federal Labor will… Read more »
-
Philip Lewis says:
Nice line in strawmen arguments but where is PAGE 2 with some CONTENT in it?? Even as hatchet jobs go this is of an atrocious standard - so disapointing. Read more »
In Europe, a Ukrainian feminist movement protests against prostitution and for women’s rights by getting their tits out, donning long blonde wigs, putting flowers in their hair and getting in lots of trouble.
Femen’s latest protest ended with the KGB arresting an Australian filmmaker, and three other women were reportedly forced to strip, doused in petrol, and abandoned in a forest.
While it has ended badly for the individuals, the movement itself has worldwide coverage of its uncovered members and its causes.
Continue reading "Naked protesting: Is it world’s breast practice?" »
Latest 2 of 139 comments
View all comments-
Mark says:
Pity they would not protest for population control. Groups such as PETA who promote things such as turn over a new leaf go vegetarian, the amount of natural enviroment that has to destroyed to make a bowl of salad, this does not include dams and weirs which destroy wetlands, all… Read more »
-
Rhys Needham says:
The KGB are actually Belarusian intelligence, not Russian or Ukrainian (and, yes, I’ve seen the footage, it’s wonderful). Read more »
The tired old chestnut of equal pay gets trotted out every time there are new job figures or the latest batch of income statistics are released.
“It’s a deplorable situation,’’ comes the plaintive cry. “Women still only earn X per cent of men’s wages.”
Don’t get me wrong, that would be deplorable - if it were true. But sadly it’s much more a case of creative mathematics than a widespread mysogynistic conspiracy.
Continue reading "Don’t give me that tired old equal pay chestnut" »
Latest 2 of 304 comments
View all comments-
blogster says:
Ann I’d love to see the actual paramaters and specific inputs and assumptions used for that study (never mind the fact its only 4,000 people and all conducted by feminist academics). In addition, your assertion that ” the entire economy rests on the unpaid labour of mothers, carers and volunteers,… Read more »
-
blogster says:
That’s terrific Kate except for the fact that you are ascribing gender bias to a difference which is more accurately summarised by capitalist market forces. Industries like mining, construction and engineering (ohh and professional sports) are market oriented - they are in essentially free markets, operating on the forces of… Read more »
Listen up, all you fun-fem po-mo abuse-loving heteronormative PIVster types. The radical feminists are here to set you straight on just how bent you really are.
If you don’t even know what the above sentence means, well, gather around.
In the good old days feminism was easy. Eiffel Tower? Phallic symbol. HB pencil? Phallic symbol. Statue of Mary? Phallic symbol.
Continue reading "A Pivster’s Guide to Radical Feminism and Man Hate" »
Latest 2 of 306 comments
View all comments-
Elizfromtheburbs says:
I totally agree - this blog, along with many other ‘extremist’ blogs on various topics, are the opinions of a few, available to those who chose to read them. You give it the attention, it builds meaning. They’re a group of people with strong feelings which they’re entitled to express,… Read more »
-
Tom says:
Slothy, “it’s been shown that false rape accusations run no higher than the false reporting of other crimes”. Could you give us a reference please? Read more »
As the controversial episode of At Home with Julia aired last night, it became more and more clear that if the Prime Ministership of Julia Gillard is recalled for anything besides perceived incompetence, it should be for her role as a lightning rod for Australia’s unashamed public misogyny.
Hear the shrieks. “What do you mean, ‘misogyny’? We’ve got a woman prime minister,’’ screams the defence, quietly adding, “not that she’s any bloody good.”
Fair comment. What isn’t fair comment, even in the dirt of politics, is public ranting against the witch, the bitch, and Juliar. And then there is ABCTV’s screen insult to both comedy and an intelligent woman who leads the country.
Continue reading "Gillard attracts misogyny like kitchens attract ladies" »
Latest 2 of 263 comments
View all comments-
TeeBee says:
Thank God there is someone left in this country who is speaking sense. It is misogynistic. The country reacts to our Prime Minister in a very different way than they have to other Prime Ministers, and the attack of her personal life is not only unprecedented, but unacceptable. The Prime… Read more »
-
QuestionTime says:
It’s vitriolic. Why is that necessary. Why be a smart arse Ryan? If you’ve got a point to make why all this childish aggro. It’s sick. Read more »
Imagine you are a woman in your mid-twenties with the world at your feet. You believe that as a grown woman in Australia, you have the right to express yourself emotionally and sexually.
Now imagine that you are hounded and berated for your honesty. You’re constantly insulted for being yourself and standing on your own two feet. Your chosen career is the catalyst for threats and bullying; you are subjected to abuse and scathing remarks.
Whether you want to believe it or not, this is the reality many women - including those in the sex industry - face today. And sadly enough the attacks are not solely from men. A lot of the time they are from women - with most of it derived from outdated feminist views.
Continue reading "Old-school feminists need to respect women’s choices" »
Latest 2 of 279 comments
View all comments-
Mel says:
It’s interesting that pro-pornography feminists are so against anti-porn feminists apparently making into women ‘victims’, yet that’s exactly how most pornographers present women in their material. Victims of sexual violence, victims of rape, victims of bondage, victims of S/M, victims of torture, victims of crime, victims of pedophiles etc. etc.… Read more »
-
Tis A Pity says:
So many negative comments by people who very little about what they are commenting on.Thanks to those with positive comments who have given the issue some thought. And nearly all of you think that all sex workers are female. What about us guys who are sex workers, and how do… Read more »
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.
Continue reading "Is the pick-up movement men’s answer to feminism?" »
Latest 2 of 126 comments
View all comments-
ByStealth says:
Yes, PUAs were a response by men to gender relations in modern society just as MGTOW was. Rather than disengage, PUAs shrugged and said ‘what I need to do now to get what I want’. Mens Rights is more about fixing society to iron out some of the imbalances that… Read more »
-
ByStealth says:
Many people here commenting on PUA’s and their values are picking the worst and lumping everyone in with them. The guys you see peacocking and fluttering from woman to woman are not representative of the whole community. They’re only the most visible. A PUA starts with lines and routines because… Read more »
There’s a sort of mad, vindictive glee around the unraveling case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. A bit of ‘gotcha’ giddiness that this woman who made such devastating claims of rape against such an incredibly powerful figure is being shredded.
Each day has seen a frenzied media rip new chinks in her credibility with new claims; she changed her story; she lied about a gang rape; she associates with criminals; she’s a prostitute.
Bringing down this anonymous ‘maid’ has become a global blood sport. It may turn out that she had some insidious reason for toppling DSK. He may be innocent. At this murky point in the sordid tale almost anything seems possible.
Continue reading "The Strauss-Kahn moment: Has Bob Ellis gone too far?" »
Latest 2 of 420 comments
View all comments-
Madam I'm Adam says:
@ marley Go straight to the bottom of the class with that comment. This article has nothing at all to do with Bob Ellis - that’s just a vehicle for Tory to spin the DSK case her way. In doing so she mocks a presumptively innocent man. Why do feminists… Read more »
-
Greg says:
Lots of statistics here: http://www.mediaradar.org/research_on_false_rape_allegations.php Read more »
A quarter of a century ago, American academic Neil Postman released a book called Amusing Ourselves to Death, which argued that television was dumbing down society in dangerous ways.
Decades before Kevin Rudd used his folksy appearances on Sunrise as a launching pad to the prime ministership, Postman was warning that in a culture based on visual images, a politician’s policies were becoming far less important than whether they came across well on TV.
Two books released in recent months suggest that Postman’s direst predictions may have come to pass. The first is Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World by American lawyer and television commentator Lisa Bloom.
Continue reading "Slaves to the dumbocracy, and getting dumber" »
Latest 2 of 79 comments
View all comments-
polly p says:
now i know why ‘sad, sad’ - because no sane women would go near him…! Read more »
-
Hmmmm says:
This is a joke surely? This person is doing this for a laugh. Surely no-one can be that stupid. Surely? Definitely sad, sad….But quite funny to think that he hasn’t been weeded out of the gene pool….... Read more »
In her recent contribution to the Punch, Tanja Kovac illuminates her readers with a startling observation. That the Institute of Public Affairs is talking about the risks of paternalist policies, colloquially labelled the “nanny state,” for our economic and social freedoms.
Kovac singles out two of my colleagues – Chris Berg and Tim Wilson – for “whipping off articles condemning the nanny state quicker than you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
However she curiously omits the contributions to the public debate made by the IPA’s female staff, including Louise Staley and me, who object to state encroachments on our liberties as a matter of principle. So why were two IPA blokes singled out for special attention?
Continue reading "Government bully girls are just as bad as bully boys" »
Latest 2 of 125 comments
View all comments-
Liliana says:
grumpy pcelianOctober 7, 2011 @ 2:22 pmI would assume that the majority of this group also holds membership in the equally large club of those who pay no income taxes. Now as the discussion begins on how to shake more money out of those who pay significant taxes, I can… Read more »
-
joe public says:
Heres a slogan. Think tanks-keeping Australians stupid (despite their good intentions.) wink wink;) Read more »
“If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats’ or the uncovered meat?”
When Sheik Al-Hilali made these comments characterising the uncovered female body as meat to be consumed, he was brutally condemned. The public outcry was exceptional: the Sheik was imposing a set of archaic beliefs that had no place in a progressive Australia.
Well, just how progressive are we? Such rhetoric is not confined to the auspices of Sharia law - it can be found in media reports, in political speeches, even judicial decisions. The implication is always the same: women must manage their sexuality appropriately, or face the risk of violence.
Continue reading "Slutwalk: Time to end the blame and shame game" »
Latest 2 of 176 comments
View all comments-
over it says:
Dude, stop being a Pussy. to say your passive and shy is a cop out. have you ever challenged yourself to going out for the sole purpose of chatting to women, not picking up. i used to be a ‘shy ‘nice’ guy’ and i did always finish last. but i… Read more »
-
Marissa says:
right well, should i ever be raped - god forbid, i will be torn to shreds on the stand! there was a time when i was happy with one night stands, but you know what, in the past 12 months i have slept with 2 people so… have i broke… Read more »
For those of certain age (that is, old enough to have spent any time on a university campus between the early 80s and mid 90s), the controversies of the last few months - the Penny Wong meow-slur, Slutwalk, the Brocial Network, the Pippa Middleton Ass Appreciation Society Facebook page, ADF sex Skyping, Julian Assange’s alleged sexual misconduct - are like déjà vu all over again.
Sure we didn’t have Skype, Facebook groups or chick-magnet online-whistleblower superstars back in those antediluvian days, but Gen X women sure knew how to put on a feminist protest.
To take just one example, in 1992, when the tits-and-arse tabloid mag People dared put a woman on its cover on all fours wearing what appeared to be a dog collar, a host of women’s groups, such as Student Women Against Rampant Media Sexism (SWARMS) and People Initiating Education Campaigns Eliminating Sexism (PIECES), mobilised. A newsagency selling People was smashed up, the Park Street headquarters of Kerry Packer’s ACP, which published the mag, were occupied and huge political pressure was brought to bear on Australia’s censorship body, the Office of Film and Literature Classification, to crack down hard on porn mags (something it did, hastening the demise of several).
Continue reading "It’s the Return of the Battle of the Sexes" »
Latest 2 of 189 comments
View all comments-
Ben says:
Does your article have any point? Any valid argument? Or are you just saying “oh here the women go again!” That cartoon is disgusting. Just like telling a poor person “you have medicare here, imagine what the Vietnamese have! Stop complaining!” This article and the comments following make me sick. Read more »
-
Aaron says:
Lostie says:10:53am | 03/06/11 Please provide one example “at law” that the presumption of innocence has been waived in gender related crimes. Well, Child pornography, for one. If you’re so much as found with an image of it on your computer, you’re guilty. Doesn’t matter how it got there, you’re… Read more »
It’s been a long time since I felt the urge to attend a street protest.
During my youth, I waved so many “real men don’t rape” signs in so many Reclaim the Night marches, I was at risk of suffering placard elbow. These days, I enjoy the fact that it’s possible to engage in social activism from the comfort of one’s swivel chair.
Internet petitions, cyber sloganeering, those web sites that send rice overseas when you check out their ads… Such slacktivist approaches are extremely attractive to the modern revolutionary whose time is short and whose desk-bound dorsal region is lethargic.
Latest 2 of 136 comments
View all comments-
Dean says:
http://www.news.com.au/national/libyan-jailed-for-melbourne-sex-assaults/story-e6frfkvr-1226066393248 Read more »
-
jg says:
I once lived in Marrakesh for a while. In the souk pretty much, Jema El Fnaa to be precise. During the day and into the evening it is a wonderful place. Vibrant, happy, and quite safe. But, as my Morrocan friends pointed out, don’t go walking the deserted alleyways of… Read more »
Using slut as the flagship word for this new movement puts women in danger through giving men even more license to think about women in a way that suits them, and not as targets of violence and terrible social discrimination.
The global phenomenon that is SlutWalk makes its Australian debut today in Melbourne, with other walks planned for Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.
While I support all efforts to challenge violence against women in all its manifestations – my blog is a witness to the global level of that violence – I hesitate to join the marching ranks. I welcome any confrontation with those who would blame the victim in rape. No woman deserves rape or invites sexual assault. I support the basic intention of the march. But I fear it has become more about the right to be ‘a slut’ than about the right to be free from violence.
Continue reading "Should women walk away from the word ‘slut’?" »
Latest 2 of 265 comments
View all comments-
blallegrelf says:
SHSLVCZNJNACP http://www.scenicoutlookstudios.com QMUKJQEUVFOTE ugg boots clearance Read more »
-
Dave says:
Female chauvinism is a less commonly used term used to describe the symmetrical attitude that women are superior to men. The term female chauvinism has been adopted by critics of some types or aspects of feminism; leading second-wave feminist Betty Friedan being a notable example.[4] Ariel Levy used the term… Read more »
Embrace your inner (or outer) slut, reclaim the word, reclaim the night, take to the streets. But watch out for the unintended consequences of the planned SlutWalk rallies.
Passionate protestors too often get caught up in their own hype and do themselves and their chosen issue an enormous disservice.
Last week a father who just wanted access to his children instead earned the wrath of a city after his one-man protest closed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and left irate drivers stuck in traffic for hours.
Latest 2 of 324 comments
View all comments-
Val says:
HaHaHa ... some of the comments on here have me laughing ... It all comes down to our traditions and beliefs and years of conditioning ... A man can walk around shirtless and in skimpy shorts and that is ok but a woman doing the same thing would be arrested… Read more »
-
andy says:
@superd you seem to think all feminists are sexless! my experience is quite the opposite. lots of those feminists you deride are more sexually open than the men who stereotype them. Read more »
From the very second those stolen/borrowed nudie rompin’ footballer photos were released, the “St Kilda schoolgirl story” has had me biting my tongue.
I bit down through the girl’s distribution of those handwritten “Women’s Rights” and “Fight the Power” flyers at the training session. Bit down a little more watching her YouTube testimonials. And while reading her Tweets. And her blog. And I bit down a whole lot more through her drip-drip video releases.
I bit down because biting down is exactly what’s expected of me. Women just aren’t supposed to criticise other women. Least of all not 17-year-old girls.
Continue reading "Women can critique each other without a catfight" »
Latest 2 of 106 comments
View all comments-
MK says:
There is a huge difference btween ebign Catty/Bitchy and a catfight they are practially completely different things, it has nothing to do with wrestling in Jello, Low blow there Lauren in a feeble strawman attempt I dont know anyone but Lauren the only one pushing the catfight angle, Read more »
-
Erin says:
@Direct I comprehended the argument fine. In fact I didn’t disagree with it at all. All I said was the comparison was quite insensitive. Comparing sexual assault to property theft instead of sexual assault offends people. It is equating the damage done to the victims of property theft to the… Read more »
What was it that we women set out to achieve so long ago I can hardly remember the detail? Did we want to take over the world? Did we want to make men subservient to our will? Were we angry enough to march in the streets for our right for equality? No to the first two and yes, to the last.
I remember the US author Deidre Bair telling us at a Writers’ Week that what we wanted was equality, we all had men as friends, lovers, husbands, sons, brothers, we just wanted to have the same opportunities as they had and that bitterness had no place in a brave new world.
Well, for some it had, those most mistreated in some cultures, but for most of us women living in affluent Australia, it didn’t seem too hard to expect that we could easily settle for equality of opportunity. So, why now, in another century ,is it still so hard to achieve that equality?
Continue reading "SA Parliament: Where have all the women gone?" »
Latest 2 of 63 comments
View all comments-
Anggelo says:
Hmm, smehoow you've managed to condense the rantings of the many anti-censorship feminists (self included) into one little space. Congrats. It seems like in an effort to reclaim the Sacred Mother and Warrior Woman models, they forgot about the sacred slut, the crone (oh, just remembering that one), the lover… Read more »
-
Markus says:
@Fi, Currently, it is entirely possible for women to account for 100% of seats on merit if there was such a number of qualified, experienced candidates. There is no similar mandate requiring men to account for a single seat. That the affirmative action rule exists at all is proof that… Read more »
Is there one clear possible area of policy reform that would provide a good basis for making society more civil? A core issue that affects a range of social well being indicators and our life choices? Could too much to do and longer working hours be at the heart of the discontents and social inadequacies of contemporary life?
Reducing standard working hours would challenge some basic political and social assumptions such as the ways our time is allocated between paid work and the rest of our lives. In most developed nations, we have moved in the opposite direction, from long-term commitments to reduce standard working hours (48 hours to 35) in the last century to implicit support for ever longer working hours.
I remember debates in the 60s and 70s about how we might use the increased leisure that we expected to come from technological change and automation.
Continue reading "Hands up who wants a 30-hour working week" »
Latest 2 of 151 comments
View all comments-
Peter John says:
Hate to break it to you Jenna, but the Women’s Liberation Movement was encouraged and funded by the Rockefeller family and other banking dynasties to make more money by increasing the active workforce by….. 100 percent! And the fairer sex thought it was all their idea! Read more »
-
Tom Walker says:
Hi Sarah, Your “lump of labour” fallacy is bogus. Yeah, I know, it’s been in textbooks and wikipedia but that’s only because the authors repeated what they were taught without checking the sources. When I first heard the fallacy claim I thought something was fishy so I checked the sources.… Read more »
His muscles are permanently flexed, his fashions impeccably zhooshed and his fringe swing puts Justin Bieber’s to shame.
He is Ken doll and he has just celebrated 50 years of hyper – yet exquisitely ambiguous – masculinity.
To mark such a momentous jubilee, this column will now tackle the big questions about Barbie’s tackle-less escort. Big questions such as:
Continue reading "Happy 50th, Ken: May you freak us out for years to come" »
Latest 2 of 24 comments
View all comments-
Erick says:
Boys can also exclude each other in order to inflict pain and suffering. This is what’s known as bullying. But, in my admittedly limited experience, younger boys exclude girls because they’re simply interested in different things. However, after puberty, boys are very much interested in girls - but they might… Read more »
-
undertow says:
If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck… It’s probably a militant feminist plot to overthrow the supposed archetypal male dominated patriarchal system and not paranoia on Erick’s part. Read more »
It has always baffled me why feminists desperately cling to the notion that keeping your maiden name after marriage is somehow an indication of how empowered you are as a woman.
How does choosing your father’s name over that of your husband make you any more independent? Either way you end up with a man’s name. At least you get to choose your husband.
Footy WAG and mum-to-be, Rebecca Judd (nee Twigley) is the latest high profile woman to be criticized for her decision to adopt her husband’s name. Feminists cannot understand why so many young, professional women prefer to legally change their name & give up their identity. I don’t pretend to speak for Mrs Judd but I can completely understand her decision and applaud her for embracing traditional values over the flawed feminist obsession with symbolism and semantics.
Continue reading "Changing your name doesn’t make you a feminist traitor" »
Latest 2 of 141 comments
View all comments-
Marissa says:
for the most part i believe in equality but there are limits. we were created differently for a reason! i cannot wait to take my future husbands name, it unites us as one single family unit. and yes, he will be the head of the family, yes i work in… Read more »
-
Maria says:
Are you kidding? What mother would want a different name to her children? Me - that’s who - someone you’ve just disparaged with your ignorance - who changed hers back to her maiden name after 17 years in very difficult marriage ... or maybe you think I didn’t have enough… Read more »
Are you offended by the C-word?
Had I asked that question a decade ago, the answer would probably have been “yes”.
But the C-bomb has been blowing up in the strangest of places – like the Facebook page of archconservative Lisa Oldfield, wife of right-wing radio broadcaster David Oldfield.
Continue reading "Dropping the C-bomb is no longer a cunning stunt" »
Latest 2 of 289 comments
View all comments-
marissa says:
Seano - loved your comment. I’m only in my early 20’s and i hear the swearing A LOT considering my job and sports however i am a firm believer that no ONE (man or woman) should ever speak to me in a way that they would be imbarresed to say… Read more »
-
John says:
I find the aforementioned word to be perfectly fine in what can be deemed ‘appropriate’ usage. Words are used to communicate ideas, and if your idea of the person your are arguing with is that she is being a bit c**tish, then you should be able to tell her (Basically… Read more »
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.
Continue reading "Woah, man! Sweeping gender generalisations" »
Latest 2 of 319 comments
View all comments-
micool says:
SHAFTED BY CUPID’S ARROW Sometimes the yawning chasim between the two sexes compels desperate measures. Like employing an agency to find your perfect match. It’s Saint Valentine’s Day Monday 14 Feb and I just wanted to urge others not to make the same financial mistake that I did in looking… Read more »
-
blah says:
There is this little taken into consideration but very obvious fact that women have boobs and are female. I think women should stay home and look after their kids. There are less and less men who want to look after women while they do this so that might be why… Read more »
Does Australia need a Quota Law? Most would say ‘no’ – just as they did in Norway when it was introduced. Now that at least 40 percent of board seats on Norwegian Public Listed Companies are held by women, the Quota Law is widely accepted across Norway as a reform ‘they had to have’.
But has it produced a result down the food chain? A recent study has said ‘not at this stage’, questioning if quotas are required at management and executive levels or if the marketplace and gender conscious Norwegian society will address this imbalance.
The Quota Law requiring companies to appoint 40 percent of the under-represented gender to their boards was announced by the Norwegian Minister for Trade and Industry in a conservative government, in 2002 and approved by Parliament in 2003.
Continue reading "Is a quota for boards reform we “have to have”?" »
Latest 2 of 124 comments
View all comments-
Paulina says:
Ironically, a very very small minority of women enjoy this lifestyle in Australia. And DEERRR they would be the wives of all the men with the high paying positions that women are routinely excluded from! Read more »
-
Paulina says:
Yes. Great idea. let’s have gender quotas for the best paid positons in the teaching Profession. Most of which are currently filled by men! I hope you aren’t also suggesting that men ren’t at the top in the field of Health? I think you’ll find we don’t need quotas for… Read more »
Masculinity is in crisis again, apparently. In a polemic against the contemporary women’s movement, Josephine Asher cries out for men trapped under the weight of feminism and sympathises with our “instinctive hunger for power and purpose”.
Embracing the biological determinism that scientific inquiry dismissed long ago, Asher returns to the false assumption that clearly defined roles for men and women exist independently of culture.
Why fight our physiology? What good is equality if men are miserable? It must be the case, Asher suggests, that we are going against nature.
Continue reading "We’re not that different: A feminist man strikes back" »
Latest 2 of 268 comments
View all comments-
michigan auto insurance quotes says:
I do not even understand how I finished up here, but I assumed this post used to be good. I do not realize who you are but definitely you are going to a well-known blogger for those who aren’t already Cheers! Michigan No Fault Insurance Read more »
-
euromsenrolve says:
I’m linking this webpage from my personal blog . this has all the usefull info necessary. ____________________________________ buying soma online buy somas online cheap soma overnight buy online soma buy soma cheap buy soma cheap buy soma online no prescription soma online prescription soma online overnight buy soma without prescription… Read more »
Is the pursuit for gender equality sucking life out of relationships?
Instead of harnessing the different qualities of men and women to energise us, we are striving to make men and women equal.
More women are joining the battle for the CEO’s chair and pursuing dominance in their homes and communities. But in the process they’re becoming more like men. And men are becoming… well, less like men.
Latest 2 of 471 comments
View all comments-
Me says:
Lol what? THis is hilarious. You don’t actually believe this, right? sometimes it’s hard to tell Read more »
-
Nepenthe says:
“But in the process they’re becoming more like men. And men are becoming… well, less like men. “ And what does that mean…exactly? What makes a “man?” What makes a “woman?” Because from my perspective, it’s a bunch of societal engineering that tells us one must do A and the… Read more »
If dedicating yourself to a job and having a complete lack of elegance is manly, well then - call me Bruce.
Josephine Asher has plenty of support for her argument that men are becoming less manly and women less womanly. Gender is getting bendier. But is that a bad thing?
Once upon a time men and women had much more well-defined roles. Man works. Woman does housey-type stuff. Now such simplicity is only seen in detergent commercials.
Continue reading "We’re not turning into each other, we’re just chilling out" »
Latest 2 of 59 comments
View all comments-
Servaas says:
Before deciding whether men are less manly and what women are becoming shouldn’t we first define what manly is? In this article it seems that for some the definition of a man is someone who gets really drunk and do silly things and that if a woman does something similar… Read more »
-
marley says:
RayG - I see very little point in continuing this discussion. Your anger and bitterness is not something I care to deal with. I have done nothing to you, or to anyone, to warrant the opprobrium. If you choose to see people in terms of rigid stereotypes, and not as… Read more »
It costs nearly $1 million dollars more to be born a woman in this country. While the average 25 year old male will earn $2.4 million over the next 40 years, the average 25 year old woman will earn only $1.5 million.
Of course there are a number of reasons for this gender pay gap. Women are more likely to work part time, take more time out of the workforce to undertake unpaid caring responsibilities and continue to bear a disproportionate share of the responsibility for unpaid household work.
Traditionally feminised jobs in the caring and community sectors have been historically undervalued and consequently, underpaid.
Continue reading "Claims we’ve gone soft on equal pay are rubbish" »
Latest 2 of 159 comments
View all comments-
whatever says:
I don’t accept that it’s industry or because women work part time when woman graduates in the Financial Sector working full time get soooo much less wage than men with the same qualifications for the same work and there is no reason for it. It is almost enough to make… Read more »
-
MK says:
“It’s as simple as this: if you had invented Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook” another way of putting it If you were doing work of Equal Value, you would be getting Equal Pay.* but this would only be true it the invilsible hand, that magically solves all problems in market… Read more »
Last week, for the first time in my eight years on Sunrise, I was specifically excluded by a guest from interviewing them because of my gender. Not that Hollywood star Portia De Rossi didn’t like me personally (which I could probably understand) but simply because I was a male.
It made me wonder just how far we’ve really progressed in terms of sexual equality and true inclusiveness. It also made me wonder what would have happened if a male had taken a similar stance and whether the response would have been just as muted.
I didn’t talk about it on Sunrise and we accepted the condition. But I tweeted my thoughts and received a huge response.
Continue reading "Portia was way off course with women only interviews" »
Latest 2 of 302 comments
View all comments-
JVB says:
Waaaahhhh! It’s reverse sexism! The world is full of men-only spaces. LITERAL boys’ clubs exist everywhere. If my partner wants to discuss his male-specific medical problems with his male doctor, of COURSE this is okay, and not sexism. *YAWN*. Read more »
-
Edward James says:
@ Cynic you are right about marketing tool, its like influence peddling. There is no need for money to change hands. Davis Koch is on record parroting a print media attack handed to him in the Telegraph. No checking just parroted garbage promulgated in the News Limited Telegraph, lies and… Read more »
The Social Network opens in Australia later this week and whether you couldn’t care less about Facebook or you’re guilty of updating your status every time your toddler passes wind, there’s a lot to think about in this film about the world’s youngest billionaire.
The first question viewers will discuss after seeing the story of the man who was just 19 when he created the world-wide internet phenomenon of Facebook will be: is Mark Zuckerberg an asshole?
And judging by the flurry of examination of the issue overseas - the second question will be: is this movie misogynistic/about misogyny?
Latest 2 of 31 comments
View all comments-
Chris L says:
Who cares if they do watch porn. I have yet to hear (read) someone explain how they came about the opinion that watching porn leads to thinking of women as objects. Not many guys get sexually aroused by objects. Read more »
-
marley says:
Cate P. The mid 50s were in fact a whole lot different to the 60s. By about ‘62 or ‘63, the men and women who had gotten a successful foothold on life after the Depression and the war, and were just starting to enjoy a measure of prosperity, were being… Read more »
That apt French phrase about the more things change, the more they stay the same could have been minted to describe this election campaign, maybe even all election campaigns in two-party democracies.
It’s the same dispiriting stuff every time, is it not? Each side disparaging the other, every candidate in every electorate seemingly basing his or her re-election strategy on avoiding controversy, on staying “on message” (read, repeating their party mantra ad nauseum), on probing for any opportunity to diminish an opponent’s credibility, on getting their smiling face on as many bill-boards, as many newspaper pictures, TV grabs as possible.
And well, why not? With every aspiring and/or sitting MP under the absolutely microscopic scrutiny which an increasingly pervasive and diverse news media is now able to bear, any blunder by any candidate has the potential to be an election-winning tipping point. So the tactic of being the “small target ” has become more or less universal.
Continue reading "Ideology aside, let’s hear it for the sisterhood" »
Latest 2 of 18 comments
View all comments-
Joe Blow says:
GWB reining in the banks!!!?? What? So the 8 years he had in govt wasn’t long enough to achieve this??? Read more »
-
Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:
Probably won’t dancethis time because if there is any justice she won’t get back in, I can’t imagine the people of Benalong being that stupid twice. Read more »
In the dying days of the 2007 election campaign, when the Liberals were thrashing around helplessly awaiting inevitable defeat, Tony Abbott gave an interview which he quickly came to regret.
The then Health Minister sat down with News Limited press gallery journalist Steve Lewis and offered his account of what a Rudd Labor Government would look like. It included an unflattering appraisal of the personal attributes the would-be Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard would bring to the nation’s political leadership.
Abbott made the loaded, nudge-nudge-wink-wink observation that Ms Gillard was a “one-dimensional political animal” who would struggle to relate to ordinary mums and dads.
Latest 2 of 58 comments
View all comments-
Robert S McCormick says:
PS. As for being fruitless given St Julia’s attitude to same-sex marriage it would seem that she, despite her cliams to “having nothing against” homosexuals, is, like most politicians, every bit as bigoted, discriminatory and homophobic as he who is so frightened of them Tony Abbott. Of course at the… Read more »
-
Wayne Fehlhaber says:
Iansand : ” Appeal to my mind , not my viscera. ” Heh heh heh ‘ Ian , there seems to be no one home at the top , so maybe better to seek another convert because there’s a lack of guts as well. Read more »
There would be greater reason to celebrate our first female Prime Minister, were it not for Labor factional warlords using a woman as a last resort.
With the streamers still settling in Labor ranks and Emilys List members around the country popping champagne corks at the anointment (not election) of our first female PM, it’s worth reflecting on a few other “historic firsts”.
What about the “first” female State Premiers? Think Carmen Lawrence in WA, Joan Kirner in Victoria, Kristina Keneally in NSW and Anna Bligh in Qld. All were installed, not elected, all were handed a poisoned chalice, all were used as a last resort, all were part of and inherited dysfunctional, rotten-at-the-core Labor Governments.
Continue reading "Historic first, or just a re-run of history" »
Latest 2 of 177 comments
View all comments-
Annie says:
There is much talk of Parties changing Leaders however after what happened Thursday: 1/ Were Beazley-Crean-Latham-Nelson-Turnbull all different Leaders of their respective Parties sworn in by the Governor General to represent the people of Australia?? 2/ Were any of the above afforded the Privileges of the Office including living at… Read more »
-
Hona says:
History shows us that the colonisation of Australia was anything less than a moral event related to the Christian idea. History also shows us that the type of inception into Australia by the colonialists produced civil war eventually because of the lack of a Christian base. We can pretend to… Read more »
Elisabeth Badinter is variously described as a philosopher, an elite professor, “a doyenne of French intellectual thought”, and an archaeo-feminist (whatever that means). She’s sure to be called a lot worse as her new book, Conflit, is translated and sold around the world.
Badinter is a French woman who argues the following points:
- That women are losing the freedom they have gained in recent decades because of the pressure to be a perfect mother – because they are now enslaved to their “tyrant” children.
- That home births and breastfeeding and other natural processes are mistakenly portrayed as a wiser and more authentic way of mothering.
- That the ecological movement is part of the problem, because its disdain for disposable nappies, pre-packaged food, and other modern marvels are forcing women to again be chained to the house once they have children.
She says, in short, that babies have become “the best ally of masculine domination.”
Continue reading "There’s worse types of mothers than a “bad” mother" »
Latest 2 of 104 comments
View all comments-
Kate says:
DJ, wishful thinking, I had pethadine injection, then had to use gas - and it still really hurt! Read more »
-
James1 says:
Counter-factual analysis Anne71. Completely invalid. Read more »
I’ve indulged in it; I’ve taken the piss out of it; I’ve patronised the people on it; I’ve got angry about it. No, I’m not talking about the front bench of the Liberal Party; it’s pornography.
Let me say from the outset I consider myself a feminist and it’s through the prism of this theoretical perspective that I’m likely to view stuff that concerns women. But which feminism?
It’s been a long time since the dominant feminist view of porn toed the party line of radical pro-censorship campaigners like Andrea Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon and their dictum that if you consume pornography you don’t have a right to your sexuality.
Continue reading "The theory and the reality of porn don’t always match" »
Latest 2 of 139 comments
View all comments-
Jackie says:
Hey Carrie, I worked for 2 years as a receptionist in a Melbourne brothel and have watched many hours of porn. The main problem I had with the porn that I was subjected to is the lack of condoms used. Clients would sit in the intro room and ask for… Read more »
-
Kris says:
Personally I feel the pornography industry has many faults and bonus, as a woman I can see the appeal of porn but it was never really something I personally enjoyed. Nor do I have a problem having my partner watching it, we are not going to find one person attractive… Read more »
If a woman walks down the street in a mini skirt and someone calls her a slut, feminists will be quick to object. However if a Muslim woman walks down in a burqa then many feminists are happy to concede that she is oppressed, submissive and brainwashed.
Unfortunately many feminists still believe that no Muslim woman could ever choose to wear the veil of her own free will.
As a Muslim feminist I find this infuriating, condescending and patronising.
Continue reading "Feminists should back off the burqa bashing" »
Latest 2 of 791 comments
View all comments-
kim jones says:
If ONLY feminists WOULD stand up and condemn the thinking and beliefs about woment that are expressed in their HAVING to cover up (it is outright deceit to call it choice - think of the pressure brought to bear), be forced in marriage etc etc as a cultural/religious system. This… Read more »
-
FK says:
@Utopia Boy. My religion is a joke and I must be wiped out? I hadn’t realised I was born and raised in 1930’s Germany. Oh no… wait, it’s just moral panic due to the horrible decisions of mostly politically driven men from just over a decade ago (or from the… Read more »
It’s time to put our “I Heart Germaine” t-shirts away for another year now International Women’s Day has passed. For some women it’s a day that fills their hearts with pride as they fondly reminisce about the marches and the combustibility of their C-cups, for other women it’s a day they cower nervously lest anyone slings the ‘F’ word their way- feminist.
Nearly 40 years after Germaine published The Female Eunuch and the second-wave rolled into town, how has feminism’s image slipped from that of a relevant, mainstream social justice movement to a of a blurry cultural reference point?
Gloria Steinem commented recently that feminism “is a revolution, not a public relations movement”.
Continue reading "How feminism became the dirty new f-word" »
Latest 2 of 333 comments
View all comments-
Catherine Rose says:
This male, Steven, blames feminism for the ultra masculine culture in workplaces - not male thought processes masquerading as rationality. He bemoans that he is not offered paternity leave, and would be derided for requesting it. The majority of managers and decision makers in Australian workplaces are men - and… Read more »
-
Catherine Rose says:
Frustratendwithfeminism says his son-in-law is a gem. The thing is, so many men (and women) are ready to hero-worship men for the smallest things. Like working hard at his job, for e.g. and showing concern to his pregnant partner. Women might work full-time, then come home and do all those… Read more »
Maybe it’s because free-to-air TV programming in this country is ludicrous, but I have only just gotten around to watching the first two seasons of a critically acclaimed US TV series I had been longing to scratch off my ‘To Watch’ list.
Ironically, Mad Men - the show set in the un-pc world of Madison Avenue circa 1960 - did more for my own personal consciousness raising than Gloria Steinem ever did.
Falling into this fictional world really rocked mine.
Latest 2 of 44 comments
View all comments-
cats says:
Bahaahaha a collapse similar to the Soviet Union, because Eric is feeling sad and angry about not having a girlfriend and (probably) being a virgin. So, what do you suppose us modern women do about it then, Eric? (considering none of us were involved in the feminism movement). Stop putting… Read more »
-
Bec says:
What are these men going to do, Eric? Send in the dogs? Or the bees? Or the dogs with the bees in their mouths so when they bark they chew bees at you?? If a hunch of pissed off, mediocre old sods who can’t play nice with others want to… Read more »
What a great moment in history - NSW now has a woman premier and a woman deputy. How inspiring for the young women of NSW, who last night were told by Kristina Keneally “you can do anything.”
Eight year old girls can now listen to Ms Keneally’s story about how when she was their age she rang a radio station to put the local bishop on the spot about altar servers and think to themselves “wow, girls really can make a difference.”
“I’m a 40-year-old working mum,” Ms Keneally said last night. Oh blah ... I can’t even pretend to be excited about this.
Continue reading "NSW’s first woman premier - a defeat for feminism" »
Latest 2 of 107 comments
View all comments-
Connie says:
Ya learn somheting new everyday. It’s true I guess! Read more »
-
newcastleboy says:
To Newcastle Lady, who says she doesn’t want to vote Liberal: you don’t have to, choose someone who is preferencing someone other than Labor. I’m really envious of Maitland, all the infrastructure they’ve got, because they’ll threaten to change their vote once in a while (the last time we did… Read more »
Not since Carrie Bradshaw tapped away at her laptop has a column started with a dafter question, but here goes: Could Germaine Greer be single-handedly responsible for the complete destruction of a society and its culture?
And not just any old society, the one that has exported its language, manners and mores to the rest of the world more than any other. The British.
As ridiculous as it sounds, our expat Sheila-in-chief has been accused of bringing Britain to its knees by one of the country’s most widely-read commentators.
Continue reading "Postcard from London: Greer blamed for British ladettes" »
Latest 2 of 42 comments
View all comments-
John Dark says:
“No fault” divorce and the diminution of the idea of individuals responsibility for their actions and the resulting consequences has destroyed western culture. Germaine Greer is just a daft old bat who may have had something interesting and relevant to say, once upon a time ... Read more »
-
stephen says:
Yes dear. Yes dear. Yes dear…etc. Read more »
In the September 2009 issue of US Harper’s BAZAAR, an interview appeared with Karl Lagerfeld, creative director of the Chanel fashion house, answering interview questions in the persona of legendary designer Coco Chanel.
When asked the question “Your clothing liberated women in the 1920s. Are you still a feminist?” Lagerfield ‘channeling’ Coco said “I was never a feminist because I was never ugly enough for that.”
But why is it that feminism and fashion seem to be mutually exclusive?
Continue reading "You can still be a feminist in four-inch heels" »
Latest 2 of 100 comments
View all comments-
Sadhbh says:
I love this piece, I’m a feminist who loves my heels and makeup - when I choose to wear them. It’s all about choice. It also keeps reminding me of that wonderful quote on Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire - “Sure he was great, but don’t forget that Ginger Rogers… Read more »
-
Heather Smith says:
Your article has provoked an interesting discussion - you go girl! Read more »
I know this goes against everything else I’ve written about women having the same opportunities as men but I just can’t cop women’s boxing.
News overnight it’s been put on the list for the 2012 Olympics has been hailed as a triumph for feminism, as it means there will no longer be any men-only Olympic sports.
But the right to get in a ring and beat each other about the head is not exactly what I had in mind as a great leap forward for equality of the sexes.
Continue reading "One Olympic sport I won’t be watching - women’s boxing" »
Latest 2 of 78 comments
View all comments-
Laura says:
I am also a female boxer… It’s a personal choice, like everything we do. It doesn’t mean we have no other talents or that we are bogan street brawlers. If you’re not interested, don’t watch it. It’s simple as that. I’m sure no one else is putting you down for… Read more »
-
franziska says:
This is your best writing yet! http://www.cineman.ch/fr/seances/Lausanne/ Read more »
It is 2009 and even Hillary Clinton has to remind people she thinks for herself.
Admittedly it was an African student who yesterday showed such stunning disrespect for the US Secretary of State, by asking her what her husband’s views were on Chinese contracts in the Congo.
I doubt very much anyone in the United States, or here, would dare be so brazen - to her face. But the rest of us put up with it all the time.
Continue reading "What a stupid question to ask the Secretary of State" »
Latest 2 of 18 comments
View all comments-
G says:
This is a complete non issue and the question is not invalid. Bill Clinton was a very successful former president and is her husband, so of course she would discuss these types of issues with him. If it was a male secretary of state and his wife was the former… Read more »
-
Razor says:
At least he didn’t ask her for dry-cleaning advice or whether she smokes cigars. Funny how Billary stayed with her man when he was unfaithful, yet in the article above about Sport Stars being louts the females who stay by their man are criticised. Read more »
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
ICB: If I could offer you only one tip for the future…
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, an irregular regular column on calumny and codswallop.…
Six prominent Aussies with a case of the dreaded “yips”
The yips. It’s an old golf term which refers to golfers who lose the ability to putt. They stand…
The humourless hysteria of the holier-than-thou
In I Spit On Your Grave, a young woman is gang raped in a remote woodland. She is beaten and tortured…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: Punch on: Open thread 09/02/2012
marley says:
I'm one of the older ones, so I've certainly seen a few changes in my time. When I started school I learned to write with a nib pen, dipped in an inkwell (no, I'm not kidding). My mother became a dab hand at getting inkstains out of my clothes. Flicking ink at one another in the classroom was an essential… [read more]From: I’d rather have a piece of toast than listen to crap lyrics
Erick says:
Led Zeppelin are responsible for my all-time favourite mixed metaphor: "There you sit, sit and stare, like a book on a shelf rusting." (Misty Mountain Hop) I laugh every time I hear it. Hmmm, I believe I've decided what to play on the way to work today. [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
No wuckin forries. These nuckin futs are tuckin fops
Well, puck me with a fitchfork. The F-word is apparently an acceptable part of Australian speech. That’s… Read more
Latest 2 of 808 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment