Some of the allegations were about straight-out sexism in the workplace and while some of her given reasons for this were flimsy – such as, having doors opened for her — others were more convincing, such as the way she was spoken to. Regardless, she was reporting on her actual experience of being treated differently in the workplace because she was a young woman.
What messages are we sending children when our public figures, politicians and journalists cross the line to make judgments about a woman’s sexuality and her choice of whether to marry?
What seemed to create ire in some media was that she should raise the question of sexism in the workplace at all. She was subsequently lambasted, in part because she had not sought an official response from the newspaper, and told she could kiss goodbye her journalistic aspirations.
Another woman, Julia Gillard, has made similar allegations of covert sexism rampant in her workplace. She has been similarly criticised and accused of ‘playing the gender card’ to inveigle female voters.
This week, a menu surfaced from a Liberal National Party fundraiser with sexist and lewd references to the Prime Minister’s body and it was dismissed with an airy hand wave and an assurance that is was just a joke shared between the event’s two organisers.
The Coalition accuse Gillard of fabricating allegations that she faces sexism in her workplace and yet here is an example of blatantly sexist and discriminatory material either central to — or on the periphery of — a party event that Coalition members appear reluctant to condemn outright.
Further, in a radio interview in Perth the Prime Minister was interrogated about the sexuality of her partner, Tim Mathieson, and the authenticity of her personal relationship. The interviewer (since sacked) asked repeatedly if she was in a heterosexual relationship with her long-term partner.
Children growing up in Australia in 2013 are watching the news and observing how Julia Gillard is being treated. They are learning about what is respectful, acceptable behaviour and what can reasonably be considered a joke. As adults, we are modeling for them values about gender and sexuality.
I recently went along to my three-year-old niece’s ballet class. I was enjoying myself immensely, getting the occasional wave and thumbs up, when the teacher called the tiny tots into a line and summonsed them forward with a sense of ceremony. Then she affixed a waist-length lace veil to their heads and gave them each a bouquet.
Suddenly, they were 10 tiny brides swirling in a line all admiring themselves in the mirror. Not explorers, nor fairies, nor astronauts but brides — as in, ‘getting married and walking down the aisle with a big train’ brides.
And here, once more, was the subtle message that to be taken seriously a woman needs to be married and heterosexual and, ultimately, to be above reproach in her ability to do the job. In Australia, it isn’t enough to have reached the heights of Prime Minister – you must also be married to avoid derision and speculation about your private life.
According to statistics, at least one among those 10 young ballet students will grow up to be lesbian, bisexual or transgender. For those choosing to marry, one-in-two will divorce and likely face child custody court battles.
What messages are we sending children when our public figures, politicians and journalists cross the line to make judgments about a woman’s sexuality and her choice of whether to marry or not? What kind of a country is Australia where such offensiveness is considered a joke?
The student’s reflection on her internship revived briefly the term hetero-normative, the notion that society’s lens is fixed only to acknowledge traditional and heterosexual relationships.
She was shouted down for her temerity, and yet we have seen the evidence played out publicly on a Perth radio station. Not only are we hetero-normative, we are also deeply conservative and dismissive of anything that does not fall into traditional gender roles. Iceland’s former PM was openly lesbian and New Zealand had a transgender MP. Why is Australia so anachronistic in our treatment of women and their sexuality?
Australian women have had enough of the scrutiny about their gender, their fertility and their marital status. The Australian band The Herd summed it up best when they sang: ‘Wake up — this country needs a fu*king shake up.’
