Tony going on about Australia's debt trivialises the debt of the US and Europe. That’s were real problems are.
Tony going on about a few thousand boat people coming to Australia trivialises the millions in camps overseas.
Do I need to go on? I really don't understand why some people find it hard. People no matter what their sex should be treated on their merits not on any preconceived attributes based on sex, race and sexual orientation.
And to paraphrase Julia I will not be lectured about morals by a ultra conservative.

what a breath of fresh air you are Babette. Finally someone who thinks unbiasly.

Here is a list of misandrists (haters of men)
http://www.emilyslist.org.au/our-mps

Guess what? They are mostly ALP women, including Julia Gillard and the female ministers.

The underlying objectives for the campaign run by Gillard and the 'handbag hit squad' is much clearer having seen this web site.

Babette
I agree with most of the sentiments in your article however disagree on a couple of points:

- Tony Abbott may not have known about the placards before he got to the podium but he would have been well aware of them once standing right next to the sign bearers and could have chosen to have them moved to make his speech so as not to be associated with them. It is naive to think this might have been a planned strategy. I guess we will never know absolutely.

- Choosing an abortion would be a difficult choice whether or not you factor in the work involved in raising a child. The choice to have an abortion, I would imagine, would not be taken lightly by most women and I have personally seen some of the grief still felt by some women later in their lives over that decision. I am not saying this applies to all women but women are not a homogenous group and like men, different experiences affect people differently.

Peter Lang
The members of Emily's List are no more man-hating that Tony Abbott is a women-hater. You are guilty of making same assertions and strong language as the PM just in reverse. They are unfounded accusations.

Babette,

True. But I am suspect you didn't really miss the point of my comment, did you?

Gillard and the Labor 'handbag hit squad' are hypocritical.

It is not conservatives or men who are continually making a fuss about sexism. It is the 'sisterhood' who keep raising the issue and using it for one reason or another. In the case of Gillard's latest vitriolic attack crying 'Tony Abbott is misogynist' was intended to divert attention from the real issues: the Speaker's emails and her government's incompetence.

I find myself completely and with all due respect, entirely disagreeing with Peter Lang this time.
As a parent of two daughters, I was glad to see the emergence of our first female and extremely capable PM.
I simply do not see modern misogyny as the text book definition hatred of all females; but rather, as entirely necessary in your face and or space aggression, of the over assertive, budgie smuggling, wall punching alpha male; or his butch, venomous mouthed, gay equivalent!?
I was very pleased for half the population on the planet, when the real Julia stood up and told the, I believe, extreme right wing, power hungry opposition leader, that she would not be lectured by this man, on sexism or misogyny.
I didn't hear any words that seemed to support Slipper, [and yes I did actually listen to all of the Gillard speech,] which seems to be the charge of the liberal, opps sorry, conservative posters?
Apologies Peter, but listen mate, somewhere it is written, if you and your employer/friend/compatriot agree on almost anything, then clearly one of you is redundant!
Cheers, Rhrosty.

Babette, you are too kind!

You could have been more forthright by describing Labor's propaganda that Tony Abbott is a misogynist, as a giant beatup.

It is not surprising that the Weekend Australian's Peter van Onselen put in his threepence worth, as he is a pro-Labor, anti-Abbott academic. With such Left-leaning professors of journalism, it is perhaps not surprising that so many journos turn out to be socialism-oriented.

Instead of describing Labor's arch Abbott-hating female front-benchers as the handbag brigade, you could have used "attack dogs".

You could have highlighted Labor's hypocrisy in attacking Abbott while defending the apparent sexist, misogynist Peter Slipper.

"I was glad to see the emergence of our first female and extremely capable PM."

"extremely capable"?

She can't even fill out an Application for Association properly!

Seriously, Peter is precisely correct; Gillard and her "Handbag Mafia" wheel out this misogyny and sexism garbage whenever their policies and complete incomptence blows up in their face; which is pretty much every day.

This country is in crisis entirely because of this government, led first by the worst male PM and subsequently by the worst PM of any gender.

Tony Abbott is a staunch Catholic. Scratch any fundamentalist religious believer and sooner or later you will find the chauvinistic attitude to women that all religions have. Of course Western Religions deny this, but their rules and actions speak louder than their words.

Tony is typical of the way most males think under their pretend belief in female equality. They are biologically
programmed like the big males of most species. At heart they really would like to herd and control the females. That’s why so many of them find themselves divorced and wondering what they did wrong.

Australian women are the most privileged and pampered people on the planet but the feminists are hoping if they keep complaining loud enough no-one will notice.

This country is in crisis entirely because of this government, led first by the worst male PM and subsequently by the worst PM of any gender.

And what crisis are we in.
No one should pick on Toni, everyone knows he can't help it.
He just can not stand women in power, he proved that in his school days.
So what has changed, besides nothing. The man is a political illiterate.
That was known years ago, yet he is supposed to be the leader of the opposition. Well he fixed that he opposes everything, and gets out of applying any alternate ideas.
What he says here, does not apply elsewhere. I heard someone say he was a gut less wonder, That is too kind.

Yes, cohenite,

Crisis?

What crisis?

Tony Abbott being less popular with female voters means he is misogynist. Julia Gillard being less popular with male voters means the male voters are misogynist.

Our PM is the first PM to really bring out the sexism problems in our parliament. This is because she IS the first female PM, much to the disgust of many male politicians and voters.
Change is hard for some people, especially when a woman has beaten all other males in the land to get the top job.

Interestingly, I heard on the radio just now that the word 'misogynist' is to be given a new modern-day meaning by one of the main dictionary producers.

These days it doesn't really mean woman-hater as such, but more someone who dislikes strong women or having a severe dislike of capable women in high positions or bright women with minds of their own...

'These days it doesn't really mean woman-hater as such'

Yeah it does.

As I said in another thread, it is significant that it's a word used to label people, and it has been changed in order to label people who actually don't fit the definition, but retains the original definition so as to retain the very same connotations.

Why don't we change the definition of Rapist, so we can use it with more safety against non-rapists, while still retaining it's effect?

What about pedophile?

I ask, why was it so important to use this word as a label for people who didn't fit the original definition.

'These days it doesn't really mean woman-hater as such, but more someone who dislikes strong women or having a severe dislike of capable women in high positions or bright women with minds of their own...'

Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.

Lord Bullock wrote: "the true object of propaganda is neither to convince nor even to persuade, but to produce a uniform pattern of public utterance in which the first trace of unorthodox thought immediately reveals itself as a jarring dissonance."

I would imagine the dictionary producers wouldn't seek to change or modernize the word misogyny without good reason.
After seeing some of the intense looks Abbott has directed at various women in and out of Parliament when he hasn't got his own way though, I don't think they should change the meaning of the word in his case...

"After seeing some of the intense looks Abbott has directed at various women in and out of Parliament..."

Couldn't we just call it myopia?

No many politicians are farsighted - and it's gender neutral.

"After seeing some of the intense looks Abbott has directed at various women in and out of Parliament..."

What like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wT9XS_TvzQ&feature=related

I suppose if Abbott had done that to a woman reporter, he would be a misogynist.

And what of Julie Bishop's death stare...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBgqHJSyovk

Maybe she is a misogynist.

Misogynist: Someone who stares in an unsettling way.

Ok, I'm happy with that definition :)
I just don't like how he interacts with women in front of the media.
I have no idea how he handles women privately.

I am not a labour supporter at all, but Abbott has totally put me off the Liberal Party.
I really don't care whether they call him a misogynist or not, I just know how how badly he comes across on Radio and TV, to any woman I ever talked to.

Peter I am not sure if your comment was directed at myself or Babette, but nevertheless my point was I think it a mistake to attack a position or argument using the same tactics of which you criticise in your opponent.

Misogyny is a strong accusation, but now that the Macquarie Dictionary has re-defined it to suit 'the times' it can be used with abandon. LOL. What is the new word for woman-hater I wonder. Hatred against women and sexism are quite different. What is wrong with the term 'sexist' or 'chauvinist' or even antiquated, old-fashioned, out-dated etc. There are numerous adjectives in the English language.

Have we moved into a parallel universe.

This whole exercise will have the effect of putting offside most men.

The whole episode from parliament onwards has been an attack on men.
Ladies, beware of what you have done !