THANKYOU!

You know, I think that it’s great you’re commenting publically when so few women working in the industries of academia, education, feminisms, and the media aren’t. Or maybe it’s just that I can’t find their commentaries (heaven forbid: where else do I need to look? If I was anymore ‘connected’ to the Internet, it’d be frightening!). I know that people are busy, or their priorities lie in other places, or perhaps, the few ‘public figure’ identified feminists in Australia, for example, are just sick of being lone voices, or asked to comment on everything. Fair enough perhaps. And with regard to many second-wave feminists, these women have been writing, campaigning, and doing their fair share and more for a long time. It’s time for the third-wave of feminists in Australia to stand up a bit more than we have. There are a few though, and many excellent examples of commentary in the blog/net world (for example: Audrey Apple aka Clementine Ford). **Just on the Third Wave in Oz, authors such as Emily Maguire (Princesses and Pornstars) and Monica Dux and Zora Simic (The Great Feminist Denial) have done wonderful work so I’d totally recommend these which are accessible as well as rigorous**

The Four Corners story, and the spiral afterwards was never JUST about Matthew Johns. The fallout afterwards – which is not the ‘Matthew Johns’ affair (though some parts of the general public took it to be in the most hostile ways; and it was an important, and very significant part of the story) or even about the football/sporting culture – signified something far, far deeper about the way women are still viewed, treated, disregarded by themselves, other women, and by the culture of misogyny and uber-masculinity (which is, of course, a construct). What this whole episode – or series of episodes – indicates is that there is a big need, huge, major, ‘can’t be avoided’ need, for women’s rights/issues/feminisms to get onto the mainstream agenda, and until we have equality, there is no such thing as ‘post-feminism’. This can’t be done by women alone (especially as it’s quite ‘untrendy’ to do so. just have to look at the comments on the “Support Matty Johns” sites to know this), and men need to be just as much a part of a campaign, I think.

And I think a big, bold, commercial set of campaigns is what is needed. Women are not all on equal playing fields with each other, or with men (and vice versa) which is why women – and men – with privilege must help others, and never quieten their voices. Though we have come quite far in the last 40 years, we haven’t nearly come far enough. It’s not enough for us to compliantly pretend women and girls are in a ‘good enough’ position here in Australia. We’re not. We’re not economically, socially, systemically, or when it comes to our basic human rights to be SAFE. Why is all of this so far down the agenda? *And Australia is one of the luckiest, most privileged countries on earth*.

The big question is this: if there is a lack of unity amongst women (totally unavoidable given the diversity and array of positions/circumstances in life in general), and feminism is not “one” movement (never was, never will be), how do we work around this to create an overarching campaign for change on the deepest, most symbolic levels in society? For me, it’s a human rights issue. One of the biggest. And one where I’d love other women, men and companies to step up, and say, ‘enough is enough. Slightly more than half of the world’s population is women, which means that more than half of world’s population – at the VERY least – is marginalised, and not equal to each other or men’. Anyone got ideas regarding mass-consciousness changing?!

Danni, I think you’re doing a great job with education. Keep those opinions rolling, too!

Thanks again,

Sarah.

I also found it funny on Rove how the guys were making fun if they were to watch each other have sex. In other words – as if you would!!!

Respectful men should stand up and it was great to see Rove stand up at the beginning of his show and shout out that Matt Johns behaviour is NOT NORMAL – here here! It would be great to see other men in influential positions stand up and do the same.