There are several issues to unpack here.

Biology dictates that men are on average taller, stronger, and faster than women. These differences are most marked at the extremes – strong men are significantly stronger than strong women. And it is at these extremes that sporting excellence is determined. So it’s unlikely a women will ever be the world’s fastest runner or strongest weightlifter. But to be the world’s fastest woman is no less an achievement than to be the world’s fastest man, even if you are bit slower.

Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann are celebrated not because they were as good as Felix or Robert, but because that gained respect and recognition as composers at a time when the profession was overwhelmingly male dominated. That is also a good reason to celebrate women who broke through in other formerly all-male occupations including architects, politicians, bishops, pilots and judges.

As a regular classical concert goer, I have some sympathy with the view that diversity is too influential in programming, but it is mostly not displacing the classical masterpieces, just tacked on. It reflects not just political correctness, but also the desire to promote and nurture home-growth talent, much of which is just not that talented (whatever gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity). And it is still male-dominated. I have seen far more “beaming” male than female composers “delighting in having their undistinguished and indistinguishable pieces performed by a full orchestra.” There were probably lots of these in the 19th and 20th centuries too, but they have been forgotten, as our talentless modern Australian composers no doubt will be.

Arndt’s seemingly approving (or at least, amused) repetition of Johnson’s infamous misogynist bigotry reveals her true agenda; that it’s ok to belittle and insult women who dare to intrude on space men regard as their own, and that differences between the sexes mean men are “better” than women.

Incidentally, I have heard many sermons by male and female preachers over the years; some of the best were by women; all of the worst were by men.

What Rhain says.
Alan B.

One should note that carefully thought out and well worded responses are better than the mud slinging variety we often see.
It is uplifting to become aware of such lines of thought.
Thank you.

Ipso

You may be right that our peace and safety is ultimately grounded in force, but it no longer needs to be enforced by brutes. A young policewoman with a taser is more than a match for a six-foot Bandido bikie:

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/qld/rookie-policewoman-tells-court-how-she-tasered-bandidos-bikie-ng-6ca880a76a06ab7e7266bf95f389fa6c

And modern warfare is no longer about hand-to-hand combat or mastery of primitive weapons. Exceptional physical strength and stamina may still be important for some roles, but they are diminishing in number and importance. We now have female RAAF fighter pilots, naval commanders and army gunners.

Haw haw. I smile at this poor sad fool, Rhian reminds me of the cartoon character that walks around with a human body and a portable television set with rabbits ears antenna for a head.

I can’t work out yet if it’s a he draped in a rainbow flag, or a testosterone fuelled new age biological excuse for womanhood we have in the modern era of our dystopian new world order.

He/shes hero is one of the latter above, this time draped in a police uniform shooting bikies for entertainment, totally free of any repercussions : Right there is actually a clear demonstration of a coward not a hero.

And then: the lover of equality chamber music. How ignorant is this shim?
I read an article recently, and for the life of me I can’t find it again to quote, but it’s context was entirely devoted to the demise of classical music in the US, where the same has been overlaid with talentless black composers. People, contrary to shims view, are abandoning classical concerts in droves exactly because of rainbow flag equality.

Any, fire back if your game!

If you want to check if ladies do it better, I suggest a quick look at Queensland. The state is a complete cot case. Law & order, police, health, hospitals, ambulance, schools, there is not a damn thing that is not falling apart.

Then look a little at government, & you find a lady premier, piles of lady ministers, then lady commissioners, chief officers, heads of departments, if it's run by government, it has a bird at the top, & a total mess below.

Granted there are some pretty incompetent male bureaucrats & ministers, but we have the only state where everything is a disaster, other than Victoria of course.