“I know,” she says, laughing. “I know. I do feel like I have achieved so much, in radio especially. But I’ve never considered myself a feminist. I’m just, you know, I’m doing what I love. I’m really proud of how far I’ve come. But … you know.”
Here’s Mia and Lisa Wilkinson talking to Karl Stefanovic about Jackie O’s feminist quote on The Today Show:
The thing is Jackie -I’ve known you a long time and I like you a lot. You are a force in radio, a role model for many women and your success is no accident. You’ve worked hard and you’re talented.
In many ways, the power you have in your field has paved the way for many other women like you to be given a chance in a hugely competitive industry that’s mostly dominated by men.
So I’m confused by your insistence that you’re not a feminist.
“We need to reclaim the word ‘feminism’. We need the word ‘feminism’ back real bad.
When statistics come in saying that only 29% of American women would describe themselves as feminist – and only 42% of British women – I used to think, What do you think feminism IS, ladies? What part of ‘liberation for women’ is not for you? Is it freedom to vote? The right not to be owned by the man you marry? The campaign for equal pay? ‘Vogue’ by Madonna? Jeans? Did all that good shit GET ON YOUR NERVES? Or were you just DRUNK AT THE TIME OF THE SURVEY?”
HUH? Who said anything about NOT loving men? Where does that even come from? Since when did feminism have anything to do with rejecting men or femininity?
Equally frustrating is the “I’m not a feminist, but…” brigade.
“These days, well-intentioned suggestions of equality often follow in the footsteps of the phrase “I’m not a feminist, but…”, as if feminism is a disease we want to ensure everyone we don’t have before proceeding. As if feminism and being a feminist is something to be embarrassed about.”
“Most of us like being women but the strife between wanting to embrace both femininity and feminism seems difficult at times. Questions like “I like wearing make-up, so am I really a feminist?”, “I’m really into fashion, so am I really a feminist?”, “I like to cook for my husband, so am I really a feminist?” or “I want to stay home with my children instead of work, so am I really a feminist?” pop up, and the answer is always yes.
Feminism is anything but the rejection of femininity. It is about embracing that femininity and demanding that the world embrace it the way they have embraced masculinity for most of our history. It is about ensuring that women always have both a choice and a voice. It is about not being devalued because we happen to be women.”
Yep, and spare me the ‘humanist’ label because it’s naive and misses the point. In a recent interview about her role in the movie I Don’t Know How She Does It, a movie that would have been impossible without feminism, Sarah Jessica Parker was at pains to point out: ”I took a page from [the playwright] Wendy Wasserstein’s book. She said, ‘I’m not a feminist, I’m a humanist.”’
That would be ace if humans all had the same rights but we don’t. Women are STILL not paid the same amount as men for doing the same job. And any half-decent bloke would be as appalled by that as women should be.
Australian Bureau of Statistics studies of Australia’s almost nine million employees have found only 151,000 were women earning $2000 a week or more, compared with 570,400 men.
The ABS reports looked at employee earnings and also analysed information by gender. In every wage category, on average, women earn less than men from the time they start work through to retirement.
Keelia Fitzpatrick, Youth Officer with the Victorian Trades Hall Council, said for young women who finished university, the gender pay gap was present from day one of their careers. “Figures show that across industries female graduates will earn on average $2000 less per year than their male counterparts,” Ms Fitzpatrick said. “This debunks the myth that the gender pay gap can be explained by family commitments.”
Girlfriends, come on. Feminism is simply about believing women should have equality and the right to make decisions about our own lives. Whether to work, who to marry, what jobs to do, whether to have children, when to have them, how many, who to vote for, what to wear…….the list goes on.
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You want to give those choices back? You want men to make the decisions about your lives? About your body? Well, sure. Then perhaps you’re not a feminist.
But I don’t know ANY woman who believes she’s not worthy of the same rights as men, that she should earn the same money for doing the same job.
You want to know what it’s not like to have those rights? Maybe talk to a woman who lives in Saudi Arabia who is not legally allowed to drive a car let alone have a job or vote.
So are you a feminist?
Caitlin Moran suggests taking this simple test:
”Put your hands in your pants. (a) Do you have a vagina? And (b) Do you want to be in charge of it? If you said yes to both, then congratulations, you’re a (c) feminist.”
I’m a feminist. I’m the daughter of a feminist and the mother of one and I’m proud.
Jackie, you should be proud too. Proud of your success, proud of your family, grateful for the choices you have.
Because feminism played a crucial part in all of it.
Here’s a gallery of women who inspire us.
Mother Teresa - Founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta and helped the poor and sick for 45 years.Germaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature and is widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th centuryJulia Gillard - Australia's first female Prime Minister and current leader.Anna Bligh is the former Premier of Queensland.Elizabeth the First - The last Queen of the Tudor dynasty, Elizabeth reigned from 1558 until her death in 1603.Rosa Parks - In December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks, age 42, refused to give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. She was later known as the first lady of civil rights and the mother of the freedom movement.Somaly Mam - a Cambodian author and human rights advocate, focusing primarily on needs of victims of human sex trafficking.Coco Chanel - A leading French designer who founded fashion brand Chanel. Millions have worn her fragrances and designs.Princess Diana - She was the People's Princess, charity role model and loved and adored by millions worldwide.Helen Gurley Brown - Author and businesswoman, Helen was the internaitonal editor of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years.Agatha Christie - British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 80 detective novelsAung San Suu Kyi - A force for democracy in Burma, she is an opposition politician who spent 15 of the past 22 years in jail for her activism.Madonna - She made pop her own brand and has continually reinvented herself and her music, reaching millions.Estee Lauder - Co-founder with husband Joseph of the cosmetics giant Estee Lauder.Stella Young - disability activist and ABC's Ramp Up editor.Florence Broadhurst - Australian designer and businesswoman who joined the Australian Women's Voluntary Services during World War 2. Her 1977 murder remains a mystery.Oprah WInfrey, televsion personality and former host of The Oprah Winfrey Show.Jackie Onassis Kennedy was the wife of John F. Kennedy later Aristotle Onassis. She is remembered for her contributions to the arts and preservation of historic architecture, her style, elegance and graceMarilyn Monroe was an American model, singer and actress often cited as a pop and cultural icon as well as an eminent American sex symbolCaitlin Moran, feminist, The Times columnist and author of How to be a Woman.Professor Fiona Stanley - An Australian epidemiologist noted for her public health work, and her research into child and maternal health, and birth disorders such as cerebral palsyAmelia Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author and the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross awarded for flying solo across the Atlantic OceanCathy Freeman - gold medallist Olympic sprinter and Indigenous role model. She carried both the Aussie flag and the Aboriginal flag at the Sydney Games.Penny Wong, Federal Finance Minister.Anne Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books.The Governor General Ms Quentin Bryce - The 25th and current Governor-General of Australia (the first woman to hold the position) and former Governor of QueenslandCleopatra was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt and was immortalised in literature as a great beauty. Her successive conquests of the world's most powerful men are taken to be proof of her aesthetic and sexual appeal.Margaret Thatcher is a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who served from 1979 to 1990.Dr Fiona Wood is WA's only female plastic surgeon. She is world renowned for her patented invention of spray on skin for burns victims.Nancy Wake was born in Sydney and served as a British agent during WW2. She became a leading figure in the maquis groups of the French Resistance and became one of the Allies' most decorated servicewomen of the war.Julia Child - American chef Julia Child revolutionized American cuisine through her cookbooks and television programs by presenting an approachable version of sophisticated French cooking to her eager audience for four decades.Martha Stewart is an American business magnate, media personality, author, and magazine publisher. She is the publisher of Martha Stewart Living magazine, has written several books and has her own talk show, Martha.Emily Bronte was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her novel Wuthering Heights.Dr Rachael Dunlop, researcher and vaccine advocate.Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter, best known for her self portraits.Florence Nightingale was an English nurse, writer and statistician. She laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in London, the first secular nursing school in the world.Hillary Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009 and the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton.Lady Gaga is an American pop singer-songwriter. She has won five Grammy Awards and achieved two Guinness World Records. She has sold approximately twenty-one million albums and fifty-one million singles worldwide.Jane Austen was an English novelist and continues to be one of the most widely read writers in English literature. Her novels are well-known and include Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Sense and Sensibility.Joan of Arc is a Catholic saint and one of the patron saints of France after leading the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years War.Margaret Fulton - Is a chef, writer, journalist, author, and commentator. She was one of the first food writers in Australia and has sold over 1.5 million copies of her cookbook, The Margaret Fulton Cookbook, which encouraged Australians to be creative with food.Marie Antoinette was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre.Helen Clark - is the second female Prime Minister of New Zealand and the first to have won office at an election.Indira Gandhi - India's only female prime minister to date.Michelle Obama - is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. She a notable advocate for poverty awareness and healthy eating.Melinda Gates - is an American philanthropist and wife of Bill Gates. She is the co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a former unit manager for several Microsoft products such as Publisher, Microsoft Bob, Encarta, and Expedia.Naomi Wolf - is a US author and political consultant. With the publication of The Beauty Myth, she became a leading spokesperson of what was later described as the third wave of the feminist movement.Nancy-Bird Walton -was a pioneering Australian aviator, and was the founder and patron of the Australian Women Pilots' AssociationEllen DeGeneres - American stand-up comedian, television host and actress. Her character in the Ellen show in 1997 also came out to a therapist played by Oprah Winfrey, and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues including the coming out process. She has won twelve Emmys and numerous other awards for her work and charitable efforts.Jana Wendt - is an Australian Journalist, one of the first reporters on the Australian version of 60 Minutes, as well as filing stories for the American CBS 60 Minutes. She has been host of A Current Affair, also on Nine, a host of Australian Dateline on SBS and Witness on Seven.Ita Buttrose - is the founding editor of Cleo which was ground-breaking frank about sexuality (and, in its infancy, featured nude male centrefolds), and later as the editor of the more sedate Australian Women's Weekly. She was, and still is, the youngest person to ever be appointed editor of the Weekly, which was then per capita of population, the largest-selling magazine in the world.Meryl Streep - is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. Streep has received 16 Academy Award nominations, winning two, and 25 Golden Globe nominations, winning seven, more nominations than any other actor in the history of either award. Her work has also earned her two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Cannes Film Festival award, four New York Film Critics Circle Awards, five Grammy Award nominations, a BAFTA award, an Australian Film Institute Award and a Tony Award nomination.Tracey Grimshaw - is an Australian journalist and television presenter. She is currently the host of A Current Affair, and was a co-host of Today for nine years.J. K. Rowling - is a British author best known as the creator of the Harry Potter fantasy series, won multiple awards, sold more than 400 million copies and been the basis for a popular series of films. In October 2010, J. K. Rowling was named 'Most Influential Woman in Britain' by leading magazine editors. She has become a notable philanthropist, supporting such charities as Comic Relief, One Parent Families, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain, and Lumos.Lisa Simpson - is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. She has been a vegetarian since season 7, converted to Buddhism in season 13 and advocates for a variety of political causes, including the Tibetan independence movement. Her environmentalism has won her Genesis and Environmental Media Awards, including a specialOprah Winfrey -is an American television host, actress, producer, and philanthropist, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history.[1] She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, the greatest black philanthropist in American history.
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I just watched that interview... Karl is a jerk. Why ask someone their view if you don't want to listen?
I found some of his comments very sexist, I'm surprised Lisa and Mia weren't more offended..