It is more than likely that the appearance, then disappearance of Germain Greer from the Big Brother set was a staged set-up. The woman has become like a professional sensationalists, willing to do almost anything, or say anything to bring attention to herself.

She doesn’t turn me on.

However I am concerned with the statement by Catharine Lumbly that “The world needs feminists of all persuasions on public display - whether as prime ministers or reality TV contestants.”

Really. What type of feminists are we talking about here. Catharine seems to believe that any feminist will be a good role model for anyone, and we should accept and believe without question, anything that is told to us by a feminist.

Yes Timithy, according to feminist theory any feminist is a good feminist.

Let me refresh you. Women are disadvantaged. Treating women as disadvantaged, disadvantages women. Treating women as equals also disadvantages women. Disadvantaging women is sexual discrimination and emotional violence. Emotional violence is a form of rape. Rape is physical violence... or something like that. It's about cakes - having them and eating them. It is about sharing pictures of prepubescent boys. The doctrine is flexible enough to make up your own rules as it suits.

I that right girls? I was never admitted into the gender studies class.

I wouldn’t like to see just “any” feminist being on TV, or just “any” feminist being in government, or just “any” feminist being in the media, or just “any” feminist acting as a role model for young children. There has to be some type of standards.

Personally I have found the following list of methods or techniques often used by feminists as being relevant.

1. Portray feminism as being altruistic, and something that plays an important part in the democratic process. Then accentuate any injustice or hardships being endured by females, while ignoring any injustice or hardships being endured by males.

2. Highlight any advantages or successes of feminism, while hiding the many disadvantages and failures. State that feminism has given women more choice, while hiding the fact that so many women are now welfare dependant, and have very little choice.

3. Attempt to portray females positively, by portraying males negatively. This enables females to appear superior to males, without having to provide direct proof.

4. Accentuate or publicise any wrongdoing by a male, or attempt to portray this male as being representative of all males. Ignore any wrongdoings by a female, or state that it was caused by a male.

5. Portray women as being perpetually disadvantaged and victimised, as this helps prevent any unwanted criticism of women, and makes it easier for women to get more money. Ignore the fact that many women have now become highly dependant upon these sources of money.

6. Use highly biased studies and statistics to positively portray women. This normally involves “interviewing the cat and not the dog” type studies that result in biased conclusions, or it involves suppressing or ignoring any study that gives negative conclusions regards women.

7. Make continuous and repetitive use of the term “women and children”, but never the term “men and children”. This helps to create a belief that men cannot be proper parents, and men cannot be with children.

8. Blame males for as many problems as possible, as this transfers responsibility for those problems onto males, and hides the fact that females may be partly or fully responsible for those problems occurring. Transferring responsibility also relieves females from having to find workable solutions to those problems.

9. Exaggerate! Begin by saying that certain situations occur sometimes, and then increase this to often, then most of the time, then all the time (EG. “All Men are Liars”, “All Men are Rapists”, “All Men are Wife and Child Bashers” etc). Include boys as well (EG. “Boys are Stupid, Throw Rocks at Boys”, “Boys are Smelly” etc).

10. Proclaim the necessity for equal opportunity at work, while being highly selective on where women should work. This helps ensure that women undertake the more desirable types of work.

11. State that women are highly maternalistic and greatly concerned about children. Then ignore the fact that many women have become very materialistic and highly preoccupied with self. Ignore the fact that children are being increasingly raised by the state, in state funded child minding centres, schools etc.

12. Portray women as being the “family makers” and greatly concerned about family life. Ignore the fact that many families are now being broken up by women in an endeavour to find greater self-fulfilment outside of family life. Ignore the fact that any self-fulfilment outside of family life, is usually much less than what can be found within family life, and the breaking up of families normally affects the lives of many other people, particularly those of children.

13. Attribute social problems to patriarchy, while ignoring the fact that that most societies have developed from patriarchy. Ignore the fact that very little is known about matriarchal societies, as most have disintegrated so rapidly.

14. Teach feminism to the young, as this helps to perpetuate feminism. The young are more gullible and easier to indoctrinate, and by the time they are old enough to realise the deceptions, another generation would have been indoctrinated in the interim.

15. Dismiss or ignore any criticism of feminism, but if a reply to criticism does become necessary, then make liberal use of one-line put downs (EG. “Grow up”, “Get a life”, “You have to be kidding”, “Get real” etc), or include the term “domestic violence legislation” to try and silence any further criticism. Label any correspondence that is critical of feminism as being “hate mail”, so there is minimal obligation to reply.

16. State that women have a right to speak their minds, then oppose any male who speaks his mind regards feminism or the modern woman. Label this male as being sexist, chauvinistic, or belonging to a radical men’s group.

17. Oppose any stereotyping or vilification of the female gender, then attempt to stereotype and vilify the male gender as much as possible. If a male questions this hypocrisy, then state that any stereotyping or vilification was only a joke, and feminism is actually altruistic, and plays an important part in the democratic process.

Whoahh!
And I was worried about breaching PC ... not even Greer herself will be game to resond to this!
(after all, she is a little ol' lady of retirement age, without any family)

End of topic, I guess.

When you watch or read various interviews with Ms Greer over the years you realise what an intelligent, witty and charming person she was. You can see that alot of the things she said were said with an express intent to provoke reaction. She would have been a terrific dinner guest, but impossible to live with.

This is probably her problem now. She has proved impossible to live with. Growing old on your own must be pretty scary, no matter who you are or how much you deny it.

Just quietly I think Germaine may have been more than capable of making some pretty creepy bedroom demands herself over the years!

Cranky :- It is debateable whether or not Greer has made an overall positive difference to women. For example in The Female Eunuch she encouraged women not to marry:-
"If women are to effect a significant amelioration in their condition it seems obvious that they must refuse to marry”

She has also encouraged more divorce, but we now see single parent female families with the highest rates of poverty, welfare, child abuse, depression etc of any family type. She is known as a principle feminist, but these are some quotes from other important feminists in the feminist movement

“The most merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant members is to kill it" Margaret Sanger

"In order to raise children with equality, we must take them away from families and communally raise them" Dr. Mary Jo Bane

Overthrowing capitalism is too small for us. We must overthrow the whole... patriarchy -- Gloria Steinem

"Feminism is built on believing women's accounts of sexual use and abuse by men." -- Catharine MacKinnon

"All men are rapists and that's all they are" -- Marilyn French

"I feel that 'man-hating' is an honorable and viable political act, that the oppressed have a right to class-hatred against the class that is oppressing them." -- Robin Morgan, (editor of MS magazine)

This type of attitude is also current in recent articles by various Australian female journalists:-
“The key to enjoying a woman's twilight years is simple: ditch your bloke.” Louise Crossen
“But why break his spirit now. There’s plenty of time for that after he’s married” Susan Maushart

Declared feminists such as Catharine Lumbly do not seem to make any objection to what these women have said, (in the past or recently), and they make no objection to the techniques various feminists do use, so one can only assume that she agrees with them.