In the days, weeks and months after Julia Gillard gave her rousing speech to parliament in 2012, where she defiantly – now famously – told our then Opposition Leader she would “not be lectured on sexism and misogyny by this man”, a curious thing happened.
Few argued with her general point. Tony Abbott’s own quotes did much of the talking: Women are at home “doing the ironing”, some of his candidates have “sex appeal”, and the “aptitudes and abilities” of men and women are “physiologically” different and therefore why should women expect to secure leadership positions?
In the ensuing analysis of her speech, some took issue with her conscious use of the word misogynist in a context as public as parliament. Debate re-focused as a discussion about the definition of misogyny, rather than the behaviour of the accused misogynist at hand.
Does a misogynist have to exclusively hate women, or does having an overarching prejudice for women fit the definition neatly enough?
It depends, it would seem, who you ask.
This week, if you’re a reality TV fan, conversations about The Bachelorette have centred, almost entirely, on Sam. He was unceremoniously dumped from the show, his character on television appearing to be one with no filter, no humility and a lack of respect for women.
He showed us, in sprinklings of conversations littered throughout the series, that brief glimpses of sexism can come together to paint a picture of misogyny.
Consider the scene where he deliberately and publicly declared he was staring at Sophie’s “cans”, and steadfastly peered down her shirt.
His justification for his intent to stare was a charming one: “I’ve been in a mansion with men for a week, and you’ve got boobs.”
Top Comments
I don't think being sexist is analogous to being misogynist. Whilst Gillard's use of the term was arguably absolutely on point (she was contextually citing downright hateful abuse towards her, based on gender lines), a man acting like a sexist drongo doesn't have the same connotations. We should be careful about re-defining words; they have power which is lost if we use them indiscriminately or inaccurately.
hmmm...Sophies 'ca n't it was o.k for Sophie to comment on Apollos "B'Cup" pecks and ask for a feel.....?
She asked, and Apollo didn't tell her to stop. Sam made a comment, Sophie asked him to stop and he didn't.
Oh please, let's just admit that's it's socially acceptable for a woman to ogle / objectify a man, but it's not ok for a man to do so to a woman.
There's good reason for that, its because typically the man won't feel threatened in the way a woman might and also because it's not as prevalent... but regardless, if u can't admit these double standards (whether they're skewed towards male or female) then all ur doing is putting a wall up between the genders and embittering the other side.
I simply don't get why people can't just be objective...
That is pretty much the difference. Asking for consent. That’s not the first time she’s done that too. She asked James for a kiss. Luke asked her for a kiss. Asking is the best way to proceed if you’re not sure (and if they refuse, back off).
Really not true. Asking and getting permission is the difference between acting without someone's consent, or mutually engaging in flirting.
Sophie asked.
Imagine if a man asked you if what he wants to do is permissible instead of just helping himself to your body. The world would be a much better place!