Dawn Fraser and Pauline Hanson prove old white women can be as silly as old white men
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Version 0 of 1. Some days are so rich in idiocy, it’s a surprise we’re not subsidising billionaires to mine quotes instead of ore. National treasure Dawn Fraser used the great “I’m not racist, but…” rhetoric when she declared tennis players Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic should “go back to where ... their parents came from”, which seems to be a new low in defining what it means to be Australian. Then, that klaxon in search of catastrophe, Pauline Hanson, told Derryn Hinch that discrimination should exist in employment, in defence of Lorna Jane specifying the measurements of a fit model who would double as a receptionist. In lieu of an argument she said “I want someone with boobs”. And railed against jobs for Indigenous Australians which she claims discriminate against the real victims, white people. Related: Dawn Fraser sorry for 'racist' outburst on Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic And hereby the two women entered a domain previously dominated by old white men. Fraser and Hanson are shining beacons of gender equality shattering the glass ceiling of stupid commentary. Just in recent times, we’ve had Eric Abetz’s attack on marriage equality, which was so stratospherically rock-headed scientists are currently trying to land Philae on it. Marina Abramović’s introduction to Australia was watching a 75 hour-long movie of Abbott dressed as a fireman and eating a raw onion, and Glenn Lazarus’s new negotiation tactic is threatening the PM with digital anal rape. So while many have raised concerns about women making such embarrassing comments publicly, if you think about it, the mere appearance of two women in public is actually a win for feminism. In a land where idiotic comments have never stopped men from climbing the ladder, it’s a revelation that women can make statements just as moronic. This could be a cause for concern because, as we all know, women speak with one voice, quite possibly because most media only allows one female voice per program. Any more and it counts as a “women’s special” on Q&A. The goal of feminism isn’t for all women to behave a certain way, it’s for women to have a say. Feminism rests on the radical concept that women can be just as complex and individual as men. We take men as they are – some are nice, or working hard to do good, some are breathtakingly silly, some are pure evil and some just get so confused they become Joe Hockey. Yet when it comes to women, we tell them they must appear “likeable” and view them as a hive of drone-brained automatons who all think and respond as one. Abbott will chase the “women” vote with “women-friendly” policies. We’re told equality can be achieved by putting a few more women on boards in the mistaken belief that all women are ready to usher in a new age of equality for the sisterhood. Despite its simple premise, the pursuit of equality is rarely the same. If you’re a white male, there’s an expectation that the world will treat you on your merits because being a white male in the western world is the default setting. And within that default setting we allow for all manner of variance because it’s accepted as normal that white men can be different and have different points of view. Related: Lorna Jane has the right to a fit model, just not a fit receptionist | Mel Campbell If you’re not a white male, however, you can usually be only one other character. Different races, genders, ages and abilities are all viewed as singular groups with single voices. We don’t allow them variance because we don’t listen to them enough to notice differences. And so, yes, women can be as inspiring and as good as men, and women can be as hateful and idiotic as men. You’d know that if you listened to them and saw their presence as more than tokenism. The goal of feminism isn’t for all women to behave a certain way, it’s for women to have a say. Sometimes what gets said will blow the room away and sometimes it’s just gonna blow. That’s equality. The ability to be as stupid as men and still climb the ladder. |