Catalyst ABC Thursday 17 April

Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty,
after making some disparaging remarks about ‘blokey guys’
said to a male interviewer:

“I kind of like women,
I do like women and in every sense I think they’re wonderful
and they are a lot smarter than we are
as we know.”

Hold on, back up, wasn’t ‘men are smarter than women’ sexist?
Why would ‘women are smarter than men’ be any less sexist?

Run this through the sexual-transposition machine
and imagine a Nobel Laureate woman,
after making some disparaging remarks about ‘girlie girls’ saying,
to a female interviewer:

“I kind of like men,
I do like men and in every sense I think they’re wonderful
and they are a lot smarter than we are
as we know.”

And almost everybody accepting that point-of-view as valid.

Imagine how deeply we would have to go back
into the Patriarchy and the anti-women sexism
to get to a time where such a statement
might emanate from a woman of such achievement?
And with no objections being raised by anyone of significance

The Nobel Prize not only indicates good work
but identifies the winner
as one of the most respected thinkers of their time

that one of the most respected thinkers of our time
thinks in this way
tells you an awful lot about deeply
into Matriarchy and anti-men sexism
we are in our time

Dear Rob,

I'm amazed that you think women are 'sexist?'

Historically it's always been a case of,

"Man gets and forgets, Woman gives and forgives."

"Perhaps it's because women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them." Oscar Wilde.

Or as Socrates told us, "Once made equal to men, woman becomes his superior." (smile).

Actually, when Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize for Literature last year she had much that was unflattering to say about women and much that was flattering to say about men.

Doris Lessing: "It is time we began to ask who are these women who continually rubbish men. The most stupid, ill-educated and nasty woman can rubbish the nicest, kindest and most intelligent man and no one protests." (That's from a pre-Nobel interview here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/aug/14/edinburghfestival2001.edinburghbookfestival2001 but google her and you'll find much of the same.)

I think many feminists welcomed her comments as challenging and thought-provoking. I certainly did. Feminism is a robust and broad church that can take a lot of criticism.

I doubt Peter Doherty meant to make a serious, definitive statement about the relative intelligence of men and women. It sounds to me like he was making a like, self-reflective reference to the fact that he's a bloke who prefers the company of women. Some blokes do. Some women prefer the company of men. Some women find men more intelligent that women. (Camille Paglia comes to mind — she has said so publicly many times.)

If you want to feel victimised because of you gender, whether you're a man or a woman, it isn't hard to find evidence. But why go out of your way to feel offended? There are still real inequities on both side of the gender divide. These should attack bravely, without ideology or rancour, as part of the continual improvement of culture. This kind of "he said, she said" bickering doesn't interest me, nor do I think it helps anyone much.

Dear Rob,

It's always been a tug-of-war in relationships.

That's a human trait.

The best advice that I've read went something like this:

"To keep your relationship brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up."

Posted by Foxy, Saturday, 19 April 2008 2:47:52 PM

"I'm amazed that you think women are 'sexist?'"

Did you actually read the post?

It was not an example of sexism by women that I cited
it was an example of sexism by a man
albeit the 'unusual' anti-male type of sexism
however thank you for providing an example of sexism by a woman in:

"Man gets and forgets, Woman gives and forgives."

There is nothing sexist about that statement is there?

While it is a small and non-randomised sample, the most vindictive, vengeful people I have ever known have all been women.

Dear Rob,

Lighten up... I did not mean my comments to be an attack on your
'manhood' (or any other part of you). I personally hate 'labels' of any distinction.

And as Vanilla so aptly put it - "gender' is not one of my hang-ups either. I was trying to introduce a bit of humour with my quotes - but obviously I failed miserably.

I won't make any more 'sexist' remarks like :
"Men only call themselves 'feminists' in the hope of getting a more intelligent root."

Cheers.