What Gillards postures proves is that all Tokenism is offensive. She has set back consideration of female outrage by making is not acceptable but rather, essential to ignore the latest time wasting, confected outrage. So much of it is the rankest bovine patties, by example the latest "Blue tie whine" invoked initial wide eyed startlement, laughter, head shaking and then doing something (else) useful.
Too much of what passes for "Progressive" thought seems to be "magical thinking".

Sonia
This is one of the best articles on this topic so far.

This sums up the way many people feel about the way this debate has polarised men and women. Sexism and misogyny are diminished by this debate which I am sure is the opposite effect to that intended.

The way this issue has been handled reduces misogyny to the 'every day' which it is not and can be likened to the little boy who called wolf to be almost meaningless. Nobody, other than a few stalwarts, are still listening. If Kevin Rudd, the master of contrived events, began a campaign titled 'Men for Rudd' it would be labelled as sexist. Women have to be careful of not fostering a double standard on this and in other aspects of society.

Jane Caro on the Drum the other night spoke about the feeling from many men that the PM is a PM for women only. Nothing good comes generally from these sorts of transparently manufactured rallies. Tony Abbott came a cropper in the similarly contrived 'ditch the witch' fiasco as did Alan Jones in the failed trucking protest.

Not everything nasty is about sexism. It is important to distinguish between the two in a democracy that represents both men and women. Australian people seem very despondent about the nature of politics and would rather there be debates about policy and ideology.

The media are not innocent in the downfall of Australian political behaviour. The media appear more interested and positively salivating at the hint of any scandal, leadership challenges or behind-the-scenes malarky than in critical examination of policies and comparisons between the parties.

If Gillard is a feminist, & feminists are the modern woman, I'll join the priesthood.

If it is not only a coincidence that the most incompetent, nasty & vindictive PM Oz has had in living memory is a feminists, the human race is bound for extinction, if the movement grows.

Sonia you say she is using it to her advantage, just what would the polls look like if she weren't?

I don't believe Gillard is anything but a "Gillard-istys". I can't see why someone who is simply a mean spirited, nasty, horrible person has to be called anything special. Lets face it, she is a lot of things, mostly unpleasant, but special is something she most definitely is not.

What ever the extreme comments or insults directed at Gillard may be, she has earned every one of them, in spades. Every one of them is no more than a mirror reflecting her own personality back in her face.

True feminists, as distinct from merely bitter & twisted people, who happen to be female, should dissociate themselves from her, for fear of the backlash this fool has generated include them in the bile.

You have voiced my feelings completely Sonia. I am a feminist but I am sick and tired of Gillard's constant playing of the gender card. To my mind she had brought the whole women's movement into disrepute. She seems to forget that most women, most feminists, have men in their lives, husbands/partners, sons, grandsons and she should be governing for them as well. But then as you said - desperation makes people do desperate things.

a well written piece Sonia.

You've restored my faith in feminists. I read too much Daily Life and I am glad there are some feminists of sound mind.

Actually as much as I go on about feminists I agree with the simple goals of equality, it's the rubbish you describe that gets me down. The general Feminist Social Commentator is addicted to Hyperbole, and cant resist tying in every little event into some grand conspiracy against women.

It's a constantly flowing narrative about how the world is this sea of misogyny (Formally what was called sexist, see what I mean about the Hyperbole), and every time a woman faces any hardship it's a direct consequence of misogyny and the Patriarchy.

There's all this pseudo psycho analysis of men and maleness and male sexuality that completely ignores men as individuals or even so much as contemplates that perhaps not everything is about gender relations or even about women at all heaven forbid.