Killarney, it seems you're running out of arguments, even poor ones, in response to my assertions. You've now turned to nasty ad hominem remarks.

Roscop

If you had any arguments to address, then I'd address them. However, you choose to smother any arguments you might have under your hatred of feminism. This guarantees that you will not receive a respectful reply. And, of course, this will simply validate your all-consuming hatred of feminism.

Hate away! Don't let me stop you.

Killarney, you're just feeling a bit miffed because you don't like having your controlling nature pointed out.

Hasbeen
The research is not garbage.
Paramedics have manual handling procedures that are the same for men and women.

Roscop
You give an interesting anecdote about a pilot, though I don’t see the relevance to the discussion about Male champions of change.

RObert
I agree that Male champions of change focus only on the upper end of town. You raise an important point about some jobs, and the fact that mostly men are employed in these types of jobs.

Jay of Melbourne
Social constructs need to be challenged when they discriminate against people. For example, the social construct that only women can be nurses has been challenged. We now have many male nurses.

Wolly B
It is important that all forms of bullying, including between women, are discussed openly and honestly. The type of bullying you refer to within nursing is known as horizontal violence. The presence of male nurses has helped to decrease horizontal violence.

I also dislike people who try to shut down debate by labelling those who disagree with them using pejorative labels. Name calling is puerile and it inevitably silences debate.

Roscop
Like Killarney,I'm at a total loss as to what could possibly motivate a woman to bring a false charge of rape/assault against a stranger.
You refer to the Mayor’s comments as common sense. I disagree. Surely we need to focus on the perpetrators’ behaviour. To use drink driving as an example – we don’t say to people “Stay off the roads after midnight in case a drunk driver crashes into you”. Instead we say to those who drink: “don’t drink then drive”.

Wolly B
People (both men and women) are entitled to disagree. Feminism is a broad church – I often disagree with feminists.
Simply disagreeing with a woman does not make you a misogynist. A misogynist is a person who is strongly prejudiced against women. Some women are misogynists.

It is disappointing that the hostility evident in recent posts has taken the focus away from the discussion.

Craig Minns

I also have some reservations about how sexual harassment policies are implemented, and sometimes exploited (by both men and women). However I agree with the premise that men and women should be able to work without being subject to unwanted sexual behaviour.

Also, as an afterthought:

I am not sure why some people use the word Feminism and Feminist pejoratively. Feminism is one of many frameworks for understanding social structures that contribute to human behaviour.

It is not possible to have a reasoned discussion unless people engage with the ideas. Dismissing an idea as simply "feminist" or "marxist" is not helpful.

Sarah, a couple of points from your response to Roscop I'd like to pick up.

"Like Killarney,I'm at a total loss as to what could possibly motivate a woman to bring a false charge of rape/assault against a stranger." - I'd be suggesting the need for some mental health assessment as is the case for a lot of the really out there behaviors that get quoted. As for motivations it's impossible for those not close to have any real idea but my first thought on it is attention seeking.

"To use drink driving as an example – we don’t say to people “Stay off the roads after midnight in case a drunk driver crashes into you”. Instead we say to those who drink: “don’t drink then drive”.
" I assume the comments by Roscp were in relation to this story http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/albury-sex-assault-investigation-finalised/story-fnq2o7dd-1227329546549 (or a variant of it). The use of the word "invitation" was a poor one but the rest of the mayors comments in my view reflect choices we all make.

As an adult I make choices about risk and if possible avoid situations where I think the risk is elevated beyond what I'm willing to accept. I lock my car when I'm not in it (and sometimes when driving in an area where the risks are elevated). The law in Qld and some other states requires my car be locked in some situations http://www.allianz.com.au/car-insurance/news/fine-for-an-unlocked-car . We may not tell people to stay off the roads at particular times but we do mandate other risk reduction strategies.

I lock my home when I'm out or not in a position to monitor who has access. We don't just say don't steal, people are encouraged to take proactive steps to protect themselves because no matter how thorough the message against criminal activity I suspect we will have criminals in our midst for a long time. I would be an idiot if I relied for my own security on public messages encouraging criminals to behave no matter how I feel about what I should be able to do.

R0bert