Ok, I need to say from the outset that I’m a man so when it comes to explaining things that gives me unique insights into the recent controversy about women’s issues.
Like a lot of people, I had made the mistake of thinking that women were the people to listen to on this issue, but apparently they don’t have the answers. As Peter van Onselen told us: “In the sexual assault debate, the focus has been on outrage rather than solutions.” Of course, when PvOS says that women have had “surprisingly few ideas”, it’s not actually clear what he means. Is he saying that the ideas put forward are not acceptable ideas to him, or is he surprised that women have ideas at all? With Peter, it’s hard to tell because he has a tendency to say one something silly one day, but he balances this by completely disagreeing with himself the next.
Now, I guess some of you are wondering why Pete refers to it as a “sexual assault debate” because that suggests that there are two sides to the argument and things like rape and sexual assault are illegal and therefore you’re thinking that there’s no debate to be had. However, that’s probably because you’re missing the subtlety of what’s happening. The debate is not about the rightness or wrongness of these crimes, it’s who’s in the best position to stop it. And the answer to that, of course, is that men are, so women expressing anger aren’t helping and they should leave it to the guys.
Let’s put van Onselen to one side and get back to the point of this whole thing. I’m here to help women by telling them what to do because it seems that they’re in need of a little guidance. Now, before you get on your high horse, let me say that this isn’t my idea. I’ve been reading a lot about this issue and there’s one clear thing that comes across from reading “The Australian” and that’s that women are angry and emotional and that’s uncool unless you’re the male PM, in which case it just demonstrates your depth of feeling on the issue.
Apparently, some women haven’t done enough and made their issues clear so it’s their fault that males like Scott Morrison were so unaware of the barriers facing women. However, now that some of these women are marching and making their concerns public, it seems that they’re a noisy group of left wingers trying to bring down the government simply because it took money out of programs to help prevent domestic violence and presided over a workplace where sexist behaviour is rampant.
These agitators marched on Parliament and wanted Morrison to go out and listen to them, but if they’d really wanted to get his attention why didn’t they march to the Rugby and into the winning change rooms. where he’s clearly happy to meet anyone who’s wearing the right top.
No, these women just don’t understand the way it works. Take that Grace Tame as an example. She seems to think that being given Australian of the Year gives her a licence to criticise the Prime Minister. The Courier Mail had an opinion piece saying exactly that which some people misunderstood and kept asking where one could apply for such a licence if one is needed. You don’t need a licence to criticise the PM, but when you’re a woman who‘s given an award or a job, you’re meant to be grateful and just accept things and not complain about anything. So Tame shouldn’t have expressed her view that Stoker was an inappropriate choice as Assistant Minister For Women just because she stated that Bettina Arndt thoroughly deserved her award and it’s far too easy for women to make complaints when they’re sexually harassed.
Or take Samantha Maiden. Apparently when Scotty switched from showing how much he was moved by the plight of women to suggest that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones and issued his “Be careful!” threat, he was specifically referring to a complaint that had been made against Maiden in the workplace. Just in case, she missed it, Aaron Patrick did a follow up piece in the AFR where he explained this, and pointed out that not only had some people found her difficult, but Patrick also disclosed that she’d suffered from anxiety and depression because we all needed to understand that this might be the reason that she was on the left wing side of the debate and therefore not thinking clearly.
On a side note, is there an irony to the fact that two of those driving the “debate” are named Tame and Maiden?
So, what are the solutions? Well, it seems to me after everything I’ve read from men on this issue, that women need to keep their heads down, do what they’re told and be grateful that there’s an extra woman in the Cabinet.
If women have better ideas than this, I suspect we’ll hear them. Unlike Peter van Onselen, I won’t be surprised.
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Oh dear Rossleigh ….. are you tempting fate … or only giving Kaye Lee and RosemaryJ36 a free hit??
Interesting, also how Australian (right wing) media (oligopoly) spaces are filled strategically with ‘noise’ to preclude voices of contrarian ideology and beliefs i.e. centre and left (when has there been a positive story about refugees/immigrants, as opposed to the normal -ve, in MSM in past two decades?).
Peter vanO is presented in The Australian as a more youthful, moderate and educated voice of the left (in their eyes), yet he had worked for Julie Bishop, went to private Sydney boys school, has access to several media outlets and is good mates with everyone, hence, a good ‘influencer’ for the LNP, but is prone to quirky inspirations e.g. from several years making comparison, Nazis are national socialists therefore socialists are Nazis……
He unwittingly pushes out or precludes more moderate and/or female voices to maintain patriarchal culture, nativist narratives and imagery for the LNP nutters. However, the LNP has issues in addressing anything moderate let alone offering equitable policy solutions when they are increasingly reliant upon conservative and/or evangelical Christians as members, with the commensurate ‘values’ on gender, equality etc..
Yes, NEC. It’s about t8me they got a free hit.
In 1969, I had a free surgical abortion (contraceptive failure) provided in the UK by the NHS, where abortion had already been available for 2 years. I came to Australia less than 2 years later.
So when it comes to women’s affairs, I see Australia as being incredibly slow in moving into the real world.
My older sister studied medicine in London, costs covered by the government, and was one of several women in her year group. She went on to specialise in surgery – and experienced the same overworked conditions as do junior medicos today, before marriage, children and becoming a GP.
I put the overworked aspect down to the specialists and government capping the numbers entering the medical professions to ensure that senior staff have little competition and better incomes!
I completed an Honours Maths degree and started teaching secondary school maths in 1957, and that was then 3 or 4 years into a 7 year process of raising female salaries to equal those paid to men with equivalent qualifications
Neither my sister nor I ever experienced discrimination as females from fellow students while at University, and the secondary schools I taught in were all single sex – as were the schools my siblings and I had attended.
My older brother did experience some discrimination, because he won a State Scholarship to Cambridge and was mixing there with a peer group which was predominantly British Public School – Eton and Harrow, you know.
He went on to spend his career designing aero engines for Rolls Royce.
We all had won scholarships to study at government funded Grammar (selective) schools, so we were not from elite backgrounds.
The whole system is no doubt very different now, but change came much sooner there than here.
I put much of the difference down to the fact that so much of Australia was a convict colony, and the worst aspects of the British class system were brought here in the process of settlement.
I would never return to England, but am very critical of Australia’s conservative governments, particularly in the most recent years.
Gough Whitlam tried to do too much, too quickly, and was a poor judge of talent – but we still benefit from his vision, despite the worst efforts of the Coalition nitwits.
Morrison is a bullying nincompoop who has few if any skills as a leader IMHO.
OR-
Stand up and dont stand down when you encounter sexism in your life/workplace. Don’t stop until you’ve educated the men and if necessary the women in your world. Go after them by any and all legal means if you end up sacked. If you are given or achieve a position of power, don’t cow tow to men. Remember there are a few good ones- if you have to have allies, choose them.
It is a bit of onselling pete’s opinions that will start thinking about blaming a few victims??
How many of those female and male staffers have anything else to do but drink and socialise? How many of their bosses have a complete understand of their pay being work free and that any work gets paid extra? Leaving some without anything to do but drink and socialise? It is obvious that if someone make a speech they are alone with neither friends or foes in the chamber but all pollies claim they work long hours and the socialising counts in their workload.
We should require the commonwealth drivers to notate their jobs with P (issed) or F(u…)Paralytic? There are at least 2 women on each morning show. Any on the march or angry??? Nothing will be done till there is proof that pollies actually do nothing. ps albo should require paired labor pollies to attend parliament for question time to prevent ‘I move this member not be heard’
Of course it is up to women to come up with ideas to stop men assaulting them. It’s our fault after all.
If they genuinely want some ideas, I could write volumes but here’s a couple to kick off with.
Refund the anti-domestic violence school education program “Respect Matters”.
“The 2020-21 budget papers reveal the government has more than halved its funding commitment to the Respect Matters program in schools, by $1,437,000 over three years.”
Make all schools co-educational so people of the opposite sex can be viewed as friends and colleagues as opposed to being labelled fuckable or not.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/dec/05/milo-yiannopoulos-speaks-australia-respectable-racists-howl-approval
If Enid Blyton can be banned because she was a “racist, sexist homophobe and not very good writer”, then religious texts should suffer the same fate – or at least an extensive rewrite.
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/enid-blyton-royal-mint-racist-books-famous-five-noddy-roald-dahl-a9080846.html
Media diversity laws should be toughened up so people aren’t forced to read or listen to anything Murdoch.
Thanks for the encouragement PvO. Passing ball to you for your ideas on how to make men change their behaviour.
And there is always the easiest solution….
Message to men
STOP IT
That should be easy enough for even PvO to understand
Isn’t it predictable that a privileged white male with a platform to say whatever he wants finds outrage so hard to understand. Solidarity with my Indigenous sisters.
PS If I sound like an angry activist woman, it’s because I am. But, without tearing up, I will add that the wonderful men in my life (present company included) have been more integral in making me the woman I am than the dickwits that have floated on by.
Van Onselen?
Preppie dork.
Re men’s attitudes, interesting that Morrison’s approval is at 70% for males. Sounds like a big F you from the grumpies.
I suspect it comes from the heavy drinking…open season.
What more would you expect from Van Onselen ? He is a good mate of Christian Porter ,going back to their university days together . It was Porter who first introduced Van Onselen to his current wife and Porter has appointed his wife to various boards over the years . Under Smirko’s government not only has the separation of church and state has been blurred ,but also the separation of the press and state . These old school tie types could show the unions a thing or two about showing a united front .
Just watching the Drum.
Little hope of improvement there as to police violence against indigenes also, thirty years after the
deaths in custody inquiry.
Nauseating.
beauty kaye you could add ‘too many of you have gone blind already’
ps
I cannot wait till the church gets quotas or must explain why they are exempt???
Human nature and personality facts do not change, so.., murder, rape, violence, lying, cheating, coverups, deals, matey mischief, maggoting and parasitical info through media, corporate criminality, double crosses, betrayals, all will continue and thrive, With figureheads like the defectives in conservative government, we are doomed to utter disappointment. A morrison, or merde pile, or muckheap, is merely a fascist fraudy fantasy fakery f-wit without merit, morals, sense, duty, honesty, achievement.., so, a perfect P M for idiotic conservative attitudes which have already ruined the environment and society. Onselen, Insolence, insularity, instability, inanity, insanity, it all belongs…Australia’s media is bowel blocked blathering bullshitty boredom.
@Kaye Lee: The question is, ”What part of ”NO” do you NOT understand?
Enid Blyton Banned?????? By which philistine?????
Blyton was one of my favourite childhood authors who penned over 400 children’s books. For my generation, the perfect entry into English literature via children’s ideas in easy language, well illustrated and manageable length …..
Nothing like irony to expose morons. The PM and his cronies are nonentities so why do morons and male rednecks vote for him.
The women’s march was a turning point for me. We believe you Brittany, we chanted.
Why doesn’t the nurse Jen return to work part time? Why doesn’t the fatuous populist imposter persuade her to volunteer? snags and football before listening to women.
Thank you Rosemary, your trajectory is similar to mine.