By Ruth Skilbeck
Women voters worldwide it’s time to give media misogynists the "boot" and say no way to their symbolic violence against women- a verbal culture of gendered personal abuse and disrespect that is part of a wider spectrum of violence against women.
Women voters worldwide it’s time to give media misogynists the "boot" and say no way to their symbolic violence against women- a verbal culture of gendered personal abuse and disrespect that is part of a wider spectrum of violence against women.
The personal has entered the political in an ugly form of
personal abuse directed against the PM herself by radio talkback host Alan
Jones, 71, who has built a long career on controversy.
This week in Australia, highly controversial remarks by the 2GB
radio talkback host, Alan Jones, a Liberal supporter, that the Australian Prime
Minister Julia Gillard's father had “died of shame” caused by “his daughter's
lies”, just weeks after the PM’s father's death and as the PM is grieving, has
caused widespread public condemnation in Australia- and also brought to the
fore of public debate the urgent need to counter increasing levels of sexist oppression, and persecution of women in politics, and in the public sphere- through channels such as
talkback radio and political organisations.
The talkback show host, Jones, made the inflammatory statements at a speech he gave to a Young Liberals function at the Sydney University Liberal Club, reportedly not knowing a journalist was present and recording his words. Only in September Jones was condemned for misogyny when he accused "women", not only the PM, of "destroying the joint". He included the Sydney lord mayor, Clover Moore, and Christine Nixon.
Jones has also made repeated suggestions to tie the PM in a "chaff-bag" (sack) and "dump her out to sea". Auctioned at the Young Liberals $100-per-head function, was a jacket made of chaff bags and signed by Alan Jones, supplied by Liberal member and Woolworth's community and government relations manager, Simon Berger.
In a sign that equity is entering the political workplace, women are finally starting to break through a tightly guarded wall of sexist exclusion, in Australia. Gillard is the nation's first female PM and there is currently a female Governor General and Attorney General in Australia. Yet this is just the latest incident in a discursive political environment which many are now acknowledging and condemning as increasingly toxic to women who are working in these roles:
"We can also make the case that the Prime Minister has been subject to sexual harassment in her employment as set out by sections 28A and 28B of the Sex Discrimination Act," stated Anne Summers AO PhD in her 2012 Human Rights and Social Justice Lecture, at Newcastle University (31/8/12).
"It is well accepted under the act that the sending of sexually explicit material via email or text to a person constitutes sexual harassment. The definition also covers accessing sexually explicit internet sites. Therefore, creating sexually explicit internet sites or posting such sexual material to Facebook pages would easily fall within the definition of sexual harassment."
Summers says that In her press conference on Thursday, August 23, the Prime Minister identified cartoonist Larry Pickering as someone who publishes ''a vile and sexist website''. She added that ''for many, many months now I have been the subject of a very sexist smear campaign from people for whom I have no respect''.
Author and commentator Anne Summers, PhD, revealed there is a history in Australia of not talking about "embarrassing" behaviours of bullying and dominance (which is part of the colonial backdrop) and which allows perpetrators to get away with cruelty often with only a few people knowing or publicly recognising what is going on. Last weekend the Australian media and public woke up.
Whereas verbal abuse, and gender-based denigration of women in politics was one of those things that was not talked about (much) in the media, and was an embarrassing phenomenon, media research reports - as well as eye witness reports and incidents such as this speech at the Sydney University Liberal Club to Young Liberals by an influential media figure, shows that gender-based verbal attacks on high profile and political women, aimed to be demeaning and belittling of their authority, have become increasingly prolific, crude, and personally abusive- and commonplace.
The next day, before the backlash, the LIberal Club tweeted "brilliant speech by Alan Jones last night. It's no wonder he's the nation's most influential broadcaster." After the recording became public the tweet was deleted and apology issued.
The social media backlash was swift, with a campaign, and an online petition calling for Jones to be sacked, and for a boycott of 2GB, gathered instant momentum - and 5 days later, over 100,000 signatures and many advertisers and sponsors have withdrawn support from 2GB. Yet the controversy continues.
The talkback show host, Jones, made the inflammatory statements at a speech he gave to a Young Liberals function at the Sydney University Liberal Club, reportedly not knowing a journalist was present and recording his words. Only in September Jones was condemned for misogyny when he accused "women", not only the PM, of "destroying the joint". He included the Sydney lord mayor, Clover Moore, and Christine Nixon.
Jones has also made repeated suggestions to tie the PM in a "chaff-bag" (sack) and "dump her out to sea". Auctioned at the Young Liberals $100-per-head function, was a jacket made of chaff bags and signed by Alan Jones, supplied by Liberal member and Woolworth's community and government relations manager, Simon Berger.
In a sign that equity is entering the political workplace, women are finally starting to break through a tightly guarded wall of sexist exclusion, in Australia. Gillard is the nation's first female PM and there is currently a female Governor General and Attorney General in Australia. Yet this is just the latest incident in a discursive political environment which many are now acknowledging and condemning as increasingly toxic to women who are working in these roles:
"We can also make the case that the Prime Minister has been subject to sexual harassment in her employment as set out by sections 28A and 28B of the Sex Discrimination Act," stated Anne Summers AO PhD in her 2012 Human Rights and Social Justice Lecture, at Newcastle University (31/8/12).
"It is well accepted under the act that the sending of sexually explicit material via email or text to a person constitutes sexual harassment. The definition also covers accessing sexually explicit internet sites. Therefore, creating sexually explicit internet sites or posting such sexual material to Facebook pages would easily fall within the definition of sexual harassment."
Summers says that In her press conference on Thursday, August 23, the Prime Minister identified cartoonist Larry Pickering as someone who publishes ''a vile and sexist website''. She added that ''for many, many months now I have been the subject of a very sexist smear campaign from people for whom I have no respect''.
Author and commentator Anne Summers, PhD, revealed there is a history in Australia of not talking about "embarrassing" behaviours of bullying and dominance (which is part of the colonial backdrop) and which allows perpetrators to get away with cruelty often with only a few people knowing or publicly recognising what is going on. Last weekend the Australian media and public woke up.
Whereas verbal abuse, and gender-based denigration of women in politics was one of those things that was not talked about (much) in the media, and was an embarrassing phenomenon, media research reports - as well as eye witness reports and incidents such as this speech at the Sydney University Liberal Club to Young Liberals by an influential media figure, shows that gender-based verbal attacks on high profile and political women, aimed to be demeaning and belittling of their authority, have become increasingly prolific, crude, and personally abusive- and commonplace.
The next day, before the backlash, the LIberal Club tweeted "brilliant speech by Alan Jones last night. It's no wonder he's the nation's most influential broadcaster." After the recording became public the tweet was deleted and apology issued.
The social media backlash was swift, with a campaign, and an online petition calling for Jones to be sacked, and for a boycott of 2GB, gathered instant momentum - and 5 days later, over 100,000 signatures and many advertisers and sponsors have withdrawn support from 2GB. Yet the controversy continues.
The many political and media figures from across the political
spectrum who have publicly condemned the controversial radio presenter’s
remarks include Malcolm Turnbill (shadow minister for communications and broadband) who tweeted: "Alan Jones' comments about the late John Gillard were offensive and cruel. He should apologise to the PM and her family." (29/9/12).
Kevin Rudd (Labor MP and former Labor party leader) tweeted "Alan Jones comments are lowest of the low. Abbott must dismiss Jones from Liberal Party now and ban him from future Liberal events." (30/9/12).
Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott's informal statement on Sunday was "Alan has apologised and that is good..."
Kevin Rudd (Labor MP and former Labor party leader) tweeted "Alan Jones comments are lowest of the low. Abbott must dismiss Jones from Liberal Party now and ban him from future Liberal events." (30/9/12).
Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott's informal statement on Sunday was "Alan has apologised and that is good..."
Sharpening the impact, the reports of Jones’ attack on the PM
came in a weekend when Australian media and social media reverberated with the
news of a horrific rape and murder of a 29 year old ABC radio employee, Irish born, Jill Meagher, who was abducted into a laneway whilst walking home alone at night in busy well lit streets in inner Melbourne after having
after-work drinks with friends and colleagues. After a week’s search and a
massive social media campaign, last Saturday over 30,000 people
turned out to march in solidarity against her murder, and violence against
women, for safe cities. Suspect Adrian Ernest Bayley, 41 of Coburg, was caught by police and is being held in custody on a rape and murder charge.
Throughout the weekend the two stories ran side by side and it
is impossible not to view, on some level, these two examples of extremes of
symbolic and of physical violence against women as connected in a spectrum of
aggression and oppression of women who work in the political and media sphere.
What is at issue here is the muddying of the personal and political in the workplace in ways that are deeply offensive, aggressive and should be illegal, deliberately targeting and attacking women in politics and the public sphere on gendered ground.
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