Aw jeez. What can you say?

I didn't know Canada was all that far backwards. Reading the article, I felt like I was in a time warp looking back into my old Windows 98 computer. This subject matter and point of view has long been put to rest as a silly fashionable non event promoting women out of the kitchen and into the current state of corporate and consumer slavery. It's like some antique piece from Adele Horin, or my old favourite, may her soul rest in peace, Pamela Bone. It's hard to believe this article was written in 2013. It should have been written in the late 90s and published in The Age.

So Canada, with all these genius female politicians, it's no wonder that it's the great world dominant power that it isn't. Despite having over 50% more population than Australia, it can only manage to rank just one place (11th) in front of Australia in world GDP by a slim margin of 14%. But according to Mr Wyeth, it would seem that Canada is leading the world due to embracing 90s era grrrl power.

But hey, you've got to see the humour of it - absolutely fabulous.

Anyway, enough said, but here's an aside to Mr Wyeth - please do bother to get someone reasonably literate to proof read your stuff before submitting it for publication. The article presented reads like it was some first-off draft. Do try to do better sir.

Let's cut to the chase. Let's put aside all the feelgood slogans and look at what are the tangible, practice outcomes that have been produced from having more women in power.

This paragraph sums it up:
"Its relationship with its First Nations is the model for other colonial societies, gay marriage has been legal since 2005, the country has had a number of Sikh MPs (including a Premier of British Columbia, later Federal Health Minister), and reflecting the two main cultural groups of the country, all federal party leaders, and most premiers, are bilingual in English and French."

Basically, there's not much there for the average person on the street. It seems to be more about feelgoodism for minorities. Are hospital waiting lists shorter? Is crime down? Is unemployment down? Can people afford their rent and bills? Is public transport adequate and affordable?

If just having some inner 'buzz' is what it's all about because a minority is now in power, then I'd say that's a good reason to avoid having them in power. However, this isn't about women at all. This is about leftism, not women in power. It's about a political agenda that feels white people (male and heterosexual) must be punished for having too much power in the past. This is the sub-text of the article. Argumentative articles always ague in contradistinction to something. In this case, it is white males and their supposed past sins.

What do these new people in power actually bring to the table that helps the common man? From this article, nothing.

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

You pay nothing, and you pretty much end up with something akin to the quality of Hasbeen's comments.

.........

I was once acquainted with a woman who briefly led one of Canada's major parties.

She resigned because of the "men's club" mentality.

Maybe things are changing.

'While countries like Canada and Australia are generally free of overt corruption, women in power are generally seen to be less corruptible and more honest than men. '

Our current Government totally blows this myth unless naivity is an excuse.

Hi Grant,

The name Wyeth sounds a bit Welsh?

Perhaps the British/Canadian public is a little more malleable than the Ozzies and don’t require cognitive skills to interpret the “Emily’s List” politics you have presented. Ozzies are well tuned to the vagaries of tokenistic representation in politics.

Ice hockey, maple syrup and fishing in BC are great, but the Canadian “center left” of the “left of centre” politics has little appeal here, Melbourne accepted of course, until September 14 that is.

It is to be hoped that your “Enron post bankruptcy glow-in-the-dark yo yo” can provide you with some enlightenment, at least without the spin.

You must think that the poor “illiterates” in the colonies will swallow the intellectual prognostications of the elite from the northern hemisphere. Well I for one have got news for you, this sort of drivel should get you a funded return ticket back to Lesser Britain in the traditional mode of UK immigration transport, a shipping container.

I have always been of the view that Edward I was far too kind to the marauding hordes West of the “Marches”. After all, our own PM is from a few miles up the Neath Valley where there is the small village of Cwmgwrach, which in English translates to "Valley of the Witches".

This is such patronizing incompetence, so sorry Yackydah, but this is infantile socialist nonsense.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch,

Please call again on September 15.

Announcing a major reform in Singapore:

Convicted criminals who receive corporal punishment will now be able to choose the colour of the stick!

"... women in power are generally seen to be less corruptible and more honest than men. Women are perceived to be more flexible, accommodating and less selfish with greater ability to compromise. One could definitely make the argument that the current dysfunction in the US Congress can partly be attributed to its masculinity. Women don’t seem to require the egotistical posturing that is de rigueur amongst prominent males. Women are definitely less violent..."

Oh yes indeed, I found this author to be very insightful and truthful in his understanding of this subject.

I do believe that the world would benefit from more female leaders in every aspect of society.
Certainly, they could only improve on that which has gone before us...

Interesting.

"Women are perceived to be more flexible, accommodating and less selfish with greater ability to compromise."

There's a General Section thread full of comments on how Margaret Thatcher was exceptional...

Suse, our female leaders have based their entire careers on egotistical posturing. Entire libraries of books have been devoted to egotistical posturing in the name of feminism.

You need to think more and wave the pompoms less.

On the contrary Antiseptic, I think I need to 'wave the pompoms' even more often when discussing the premier sex : )

If you think such barracking is actually equivalent to presenting an argument, then you go grrrl...

' women in power are generally seen to be less corruptible and more honest than men.'

No doubt they are seen to be, but are they in fact?

'Women are perceived to be more flexible, accommodating and less selfish with greater ability to compromise.'

Well, I suppose perception is reality, isn't it?

'One could definitely make the argument that the current dysfunction in the US Congress can partly be attributed to its masculinity.'

One could make that argument. One could also make the argument that many of the great achievements of the world can be attributed to masculinity too.

'Women don’t seem to require the egotistical posturing that is de rigueur amongst prominent males. '

Oh, you had me at 'de rigueur'. That phrase is the only reason I read Fairfax papers letters section. It gives me a chuckle every time, and evokes images of an environmentally friendly lass, riding her bicycle through Surry Hills to buy some organic shampoo, her mind awash with a mix of smugness and a little sadness that other people just don't understand why Clover Moore is so great.

'Women are definitely less violent...'

I didn't think violence was such a problem in parliament. Except in the Ukraine of course.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AQQAKAROls

'Although these feminine traits are generalisations, the combination of general masculinity and power has produced some highly destructive outcomes. A greater feminine influence could hopefully temper these power abuses.'

Well, I would argue that power itself produces destructive outcomes. You cant make omelettes without cracking eggs, and you definitely cant please everyone.

In the end your thesis boils down to an assertion that women are inherently superior, which brings it inline with most feminist commentary. I await with eagerness more women getting their hands dirty in the power game, and the inevitable soiling of the reputation of women as the virtuous gender. It's no coincidence that as womens rights and status and power has increased in this world, we get to see stuff like this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnKifxUZZJU&feature=player_embedded&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKnKifxUZZJU%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded&has_verified=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KoeEv-VQuY&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2KoeEv-VQuY&has_verified=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLZV9JDekIo&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DkLZV9JDekIo&has_verified=1

Girls will be girls...
http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/women-sought-over-vicious-railway-attack-20130320-2ge7e.html

Houellie,

I imagine that women committing vicious attacks would be in the minority compared to men.

Having said that, a friend of mine was working recently over the road from a bunch of people having a drinkie on their front porch ex-lounge couches. He was treated to a real floor-show. After the guitars had been strummed, the voices grew louder, a female came out of an adjoining unit to tell them to pipe down.

Thereafter ensued a world-championship round of bare-knuckle, hose-whipping, stick-brandishing combat between two females. Apparently the blokes just sat by continuing their drinks and their conversation while the ladies roared away in the foreground. It was only when one of the ladies wielded a bigger stick that a bloke jumped up and sat on her...allowing the other woman to beat her up more fulsomely.

Who says the burbs are boring?

: )

That's not my Point Poirot. My point is that with more power, you see more abuse of power; Hard for women to be corrupt with no power for so long.

Can you imagine 'Ladies' in the 50s behaving like those chicks?

It's a bit rich for feminists to bemoan all these constricting 'societal expectations' when it suits, yet ignore them altogether when they want to put women up as the superior more virtuous gender.

Apparently these expectations only stop women doing good things, it's the innate superiority of women that stops them doing bad things.

Women haven't been given the opportunity to lead like men, sure, but that's why they haven't been given the opportunity to be as corrupt as men. It's pretty simple.

Houellie,

I did get your point.

(Those women were in their 30's/40's btw from my friend's description)

I tend agree with you, I think "corruption and greed" are "human" failings - stemming from "power" which often serves to dilute ethical considerations.

I'm of the view that if the author thinks that women are somehow more virtuous etc than men that he has never dealt with the women of the child support agency as a male client.

I really don't think that there is evidence to suggest that all other things being equal that gender has anything to do with ethics.

Its great that barriers are being removed for both genders in diffeent roles but the belief that more women in power will lead to better outcomes than those achieved by men in power because women are somehow better is just misandrist wishfull thinking. Misandrist being used in the revised toned down version rather than necessarily hatred of men.

R0bert

The difference between woman & man is in womens lack of imagination.

Women write romance & fantasy novels, men write adventure stories. Women are good at crime & detective stories, proving they are more conniving & nefarious than men.

When a woman walks through as forrest they see pretty leaves, & perhaps a few flowers. When a man walks through a forrest he sees furniture & house building materials, & a source of fuel to make iron & copper.

When a woman brings home a bit of flat pack furniture she unpacks it, looks at the drawing, & throws her hands in the air in horror, & possibly cries. She then goes look for a man, who like the man from snowy river's stock horse, snuffs the battle, [with the packs designer] with delight, & puts the thing together.

So if you want to be still living in a cave, sitting on the ground, eating mammoth, put a woman in charge. Greenies & hippies will love it. However if you want to live in an air conditioned solid house, sitting on furniture, with a car to drive to a shop to buy flat pack furniture, chuck the woman out, & hire a man.

Have you ever noticed the fool womans habit of at a moment of victory, like winning the miss world pageant, women cover their face with their hands. How the hell are you going to make the final victory, if you can't see what you are doing. You're gone for sure, so if you ever want to win a battle or a war, for gods sake get the birds out of the military, unless you have a Maggy Thatcher, & not many countries are that lucky.

I know just what you mean, Hasbeen....bloody women

Take this, for instance:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-11/woman-guilty-over-quiche-assault/4623106

She got 'ers though.

Let's meet a Canadian feminist and her klatch of freaks and Manginas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nvYyGTmcP80
Please note, they thought that Warren Farrell was going to give a lecture on campus, this wasn't true, when informed of this they simply got louder and nastier and started making all sorts of crazy claims about MRA's and the world in general.

I think you may be brought up in a different world to me Hasbeen. Or perhaps I'm a woman. Let me see.

'The difference between woman & man is in womens lack of imagination.'

Ever seen a woman with a fetish for renovation?

'Women write romance & fantasy novels, men write adventure stories.'

Women read those stories more than write them. Women write soft BDSM porn. Male authors write romance for women because men are infinitely more romantic than women. It's counter-intuitive, as women enjoy romance, but that's because it's all focused on them. Like how men like BJs.

'Women are good at crime & detective stories..'

I always spot the killer quicker than my other half.

'...man walks through a forrest he sees furniture & house building materials, & a source of fuel to make iron & copper.'

So manly! I don't see fuel for iron or copper that's for bloody sure. I must be a real girl, as I feel, hear and smell more than see in such a situation. Then I use my Jedi skills.I must admit I used to opine when women look at a fire they like the flames and men like the embers, and was proved right once when testing my theory.

'..like the man from snowy river's stock horse, snuffs the battle, [with the packs designer] with delight, & puts the thing together.'

I want some of that snuff your snorting. We do it together at our house and fight like hell about the whole thing until it stands as a constant reminder of the massive fight we had while putting it together.

'So if you want to be still living in a cave, sitting on the ground, eating mammoth, put a woman in charge.'

You seem like someone who would know a lot about caves to me.

'Have you ever noticed the fool womans habit of at a moment of...'

Like guys who skylarking over the try-line risking dropping the ball and bike riders going up on one wheel over the finish line you mean?

You can guarantee that all those feminist caves would be replete with the very latest in scatter cushions...(you wouldn't get that in a bloke's cave:)

The four most recent of the 'premier sex' to become either State premier or Australian prime minister have one thing in common -- they came from the Labor side.

Two of those, Kristina Keneally and Anna Bligh, eventually were voted out of office by vast majorities. The same fate appears to be awaiting the third, Julia Gillard, while joint government with the anti-population, anti-development Greens would appear to be lining up a similar fate for Lara Giddings.

Such records do not augur well for supporting the author's case.

Raycom.
Women can't lead a nation they can only govern a society, that said I don't believe Australians want a nation much less national leadership anyway, as a collective they lack the self esteem or social cohesion to carry out the necessary changes. A nation is the society of men, matriarchal "family values" are incompatible with nationhood because a nation is patriarchy, a system where the men are stewards of the land and it's inhabitants . You'll notice that politicians these days are very careful to avoid the use of the word nation, we're "the Australian people", "the community" or "the Australian society", when the word nation is used it's in reference to one or all of those those three concepts.

Houellebecq "You seem like someone who would know a lot about caves to me. "
Lol !
You have hit the right chord about Hasbeen there alright...

I agree with your thoughts in that post too, in that there are good and bad amongst both genders, but we have yet to really test the efficiency of female political leaders because there have been so few so far.

However, I have no doubt that most of the problems and failings of the many male leaders over time would also show prominently in most female leaders too.
Power will certainly go to anyone's head eventually...in many cases.

Yes Houely, I have noticed some like you appearing in the land of men. Obviously a mutation, leading to a world of unisex, & must be searched out & destroyed at all cosy.

A man is not meant to see, or smell flowers, unless they are a source of food that is. That Jedi thing is your more war like full manhood, screaming to escape from the unisex fate it is being forced into, so there may yet be some hope for you. I fear it will require a 4 year stint in the commandos for success. At least you won't have to assemble any flat pack furniture in Afghanistan.

Incidentally that lack of flat pack furniture assembly expertise is a sure sine of advancing unisex diseases. You must resist now, before you start growing your hair long, straightening it, & dying it blond, or god forbid, red.

That lack of interest in iron & copper is a real worry. Without that how are you ever going to get a car. With out a car you can't do burnouts on the street corner to impress the girls, & bend them to your will.

Hell with out blokes showing them their place in life while they're young, they might even get ideas beyond their station, & try to run the world.

So Houely lift your game, the whole world is depending on you doing your bit to save us from a fate worse than death.