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The Forum > General Discussion > Do women pull their radical weight?

Do women pull their radical weight?

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seems like hairy armpits and unshaven legs are out.
Posted by runner, Monday, 11 January 2010 11:02:17 AM
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I share your concerns, Squeers, and have voiced similar opinions here on OLO at various times.

As Pelican pointed out though, radical voices - both male and female - are thin on the ground. If they are out there, they're in effect silenced through the dominance of corporate controlled media.

Women in Australia that come to mind are Sharran Burrow, as mentioned by Pelican, Sharon Beder and the Greens' Christine Milne, Rachel Siewart and Sarah Hanson-Young and we've also had Jenny George, Carmen Lawrence and Natasha Stott-Despoya, but I agree they are generally few and far between. We still have Germaine of course, but her influence in Australia is now reasonably limited. I can't think of female journalists or musos I'd describe as radical, but again male radicals in these fields are rare now too, unless you specifically seek them out. I guess there are still female academics who hold radical views, but their voices aren't generally heard in mainstream media. Internationally, we have Arundhati Roy and Naomi Klein and prior to their deaths we had Susan Sontag and Anita Roddick. There are many strong female activists in India and other developing countries. Their fine words though are lost in the wind before reaching Western shores.

Antiseptic

<< The triumph of feminism is that it has managed to pull off both a radical reorganisation of society ... >>

What radical reorganization? I haven't seen any.

The problem I've always had with most modern day feminists is, having broken the glass ceiling, they've discarded any previous radical inclinations and settled down alongside their male counterparts to protect their personal share of the pie. Long gone are formerly held notions of sharing that pie more equally or of the dire ecological consequences of continually 'growing' that pie. The advent of feminism might have broken down the old male hegemony, but it's done nothing to challenge the dominance of androcentric values which still dictate that dog-eat-dog capitalism should rule the earth.
Posted by Bronwyn, Monday, 11 January 2010 1:03:22 PM
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Squeers

<< ... they're the ones I see on the News, patriotically coddled in the flag--effectively censoring criticism of Australia's military roles, or of militarism in general ... >>

I agree, where are the women's voices speaking up against the power of militarism over Western democracy and lamenting the pointless deaths of their sons or the trillions spent on weaponry? Where are the women wailing at Obama's "Just war" sell-out?

Sadly to say, I think they've gone shopping. :)
Posted by Bronwyn, Monday, 11 January 2010 1:03:36 PM
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Gee, Squeers, if you're looking for that kind of feminine activist within Australia at the moment, you're probably going to find they are fairly thin on the ground.
Overseas, however, there are a few that come to mind like Vandana Shiva and Arundhati Roy in India - both of whom have a respected international standing.
In Canada there is Naomi Klein who is a genuine anti-globalization activist.
These women would definitely be classified as the female equivalent of Noam Chomsky.
I have an acquaintance who used to lead the Green Party in her country (an advanced western democracy). She decided that she had a much louder voice by returning to her profession as a publisher and magazine editor, and as such she consistently pipes up and questions her government's motives. She is very good at what she does.
I must admit, though, that I am straining to think of an example of that sort of female activist with Australia
Posted by Poirot, Monday, 11 January 2010 4:21:56 PM
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Bronwyn:"What radical reorganization? I haven't seen any. "

I have a feeling that you don't see much at all, Bronnie. As the old proverb says, there are none so blind as those who will not see.

Just to help you look, here's a small list of aspects of society that have endured massive change thanks to Feminist ideology:

Education: women now dominate every aspect of education, both as providers and consumers. At present, about 2/3 of Asutralian-origin tertiary students are female and that is increasing.

Health: women now dominate at every level in the health sector, with the possible exception of senior doctors. At para-professional and junior professional level women are massively dominant. Funding for women's health services outstrips that for men by several multiples, even though men have always have poorer health outcomes than women, especially premature mortality.

Bureaucracy: women now form the vast bulk of the clerical public-service workforce, including at senior level.

Unions: women dominate the ACTU thanks to their dominance of the white-collar public sector unions, especially health and education. It is unlikely we will see a man elected to the President or secretary roles for the foreseeable future.

Politics: women's issues dominate the political discussion, with huge amounts of discussion about "securing the female vote" being a vital consideration to win office. The ALP has made the running thanks to the influence of the afore-mentioned female dominated unions.

Professions: women are now the majority of practising professionals and their numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in health and the Law.

Corporate governance: women are well-represented on boards and that is set to increase dramatically with the push from the (feminist-dominated)Left to mandate minimum 50% female membership.

Domestic life: childcare is now a massive industry, just as all forms of home services are as women choose to prioritise paid work over domestic responsibilities.

Home ownership: 2 incomes are now required to purchase an average family home.

Violence: young women are now equally as violent as young men, according to a study reported this morning. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/young-women-not-holding-back-on-violence-20100111-m2hn.html
Posted by Antiseptic, Tuesday, 12 January 2010 7:35:18 AM
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Antiseptic

The changes you list are the sort of changes one would expect in any society where women have relatively recently won the right to participate alongside men in the educational, workforce and political life of the nation. They hardly constitute a radical reorganization, and I doubt very much are at all what Squeers was driving at when starting the thread.

Yes, women are participating more equally and are dominating some areas, just as men are still dominating many other areas. Nothing extraordinary about any of that. Despite this greater female presence in public life, however, there has been no corresponding shift in the way society is organized.

It's still business as usual. The same values that have dominated right throughout this period of increasing female participation are still paramount. They are rarely questioned, let alone properly challenged. The only change is that women are now out there competing with men for the same stakes that men have always fought for.

The changes needed to create a fairer and less destructive way of life are as far away from reality as they've ever been. And this in spite of the urgency of the need for these changes becoming increasingly more obvious.

And please, Antiseptic, no more patronizng pats on the head. :)
Posted by Bronwyn, Tuesday, 12 January 2010 11:37:07 AM
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