We want to see women rise. But.
Aw, sweet. Scott Morrison tells women to be careful not to succeed too much:
Scott Morrison has spoken at an International Women’s Day breakfast at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy in Western Australia.
In the speech he does battle with a straw-person by suggesting that a certain strain of feminism is about tearing men down:
“One of the other female members of my cabinet, Kelly O’Dwyer, our minister for women, said at the Press Club last year gender equality isn’t about pitting girls against boys.
“See, we’re not about setting Australians against each other, trying to push some down to lift others up. That’s not in our values. That is an absolutely Liberal value, that you don’t push some people down to lift some people up. And that is true about gender equality too.
“We want to see women rise. But we don’t want to see women rise only on the basis of others doing worse. We want everybody to do better, and we want to see the rise of women in this country be accelerated to ensure that their overall place is maintained.”
And yet, Scott Morrison is Prime Minister. How does he know he didn’t get there at someone else’s expense? In fact he must have, right, if there were other candidates? Is it only women who are not allowed to do anything if everyone else doesn’t get to do it too? Is it only women who get told not to be ambitious?
Yes. Only…women aren’t allowed to do something unless men are allowed to do it more.
Maybe this was poorly worded, but if you’re “maintaining” (i.e. keeping the same, retaining) women’s (current) “overall place,” doesn’t that mean keeping them in a subordinate position?
Removing barriers and eliminating unearned (male) privilege is not pushing anyone down. The system was already “pushing some down to lift others up” when it kept women purposely disadvantaged. That was not a neutral meritocracy or a level playing field. Funny how eliminating the previous, systemic bias against women is seen as being an anti-male move. The degree to which it is seen as a “man-hating” action is a tacit acknowledgement of the advantage men did indeed take of this restriction on competition for jobs, pay, rights, etc. If it was truly misandrist, men would be have to be restricted to the same degree that women had already been subject to. If you think levelling the playing field is “going too far,” then you haven’t been paying attention, and should really not be in any position of power.
Hahahahaha. Typhoid Morrison, he’s such a card.
Who are these mysterious “others” that will suffer if women rise, Scotty?
The Liberal party is in deep shit with the women in the party and its women voters at the moment. The women are finally seeing that the only position for women in the party is as a subordinate. They’ve nodded along loyally for years as Liberal leaders pretend candidates are selected on merit, and waited to be rewarded.
Has worked out terrifically for them all. Now they’re finally getting stroppy.
Well Scotty’s new message “we’re never going to give up our power and position” is not going to help matters.
Go Scotty! Keep up the good work! Bill Shorten is probably starting planning furniture arrangements in the Prime Minister’s Lodge as you speak.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-06/fact-check-liberal-women-in-parliament/9796976
Maybe it’s time to stop letting men speak at the Women’s Day Breakfast, even if they are in positions of power. Invite them, but let them sit and listen. Yeah, right. Won’t happen.
I think your query is more pertinent than you realise. Scott Morrison became PM by an in-party vote to change the party leader (and hence PM, as the PM is simply whoever is the leader of the majority party) three quarters of the way through the election cycle. Thus he was never the party leader (and hence PM candidate) for a federal election.
Suggesting that feminism, advancement of women’s rights, is a zero sum game, is any sort of finite game, is shaped by resentment harboring indifference to women, men (or women) wishing to defeat feminists, unwilling to learn from feminists about themselves.
Shorter Holms – Morrison knifed someone in te back to get the job.
Also, directed at Morrison’s straw man argument, the only way the rise of women can lower the success of men would be if some aspect of the status of men generally, or a man specifically, were unwarranted due to women having been suppressed to provide it – in which case that status blood well should be lowered.
Giving women equal pay does not mean paying men less.
Giving women the vote didn’t mean taking it off men.
Giving women control over their own health and reproductive choice doesn’t mean taking it off men.
Giving women a fair crack at getting a job just means that men are competing against a wider pool of applicants, it doesn’t actually harm them.
Etc etc.
Don’t forget that Morrison is an ex member of Hillsong Church, is currently a member of Horizon Church, both of which are associated with The Assemblies of God movement and its outdated attitudes.
Morrison Is a defender of his mentor, Brian Houston, who covered up child sex abuse in the church. Abuse committed by Brian Houston’s father.
Morrison is also the “marketing genius” who inflicted Lara Bingle on the world.
Rob @ #7, I agree with all except for Giving women control over their own health and reproductive choice doesn’t mean taking it off men.
Too many men, men like Scott Morrison, think that it is they, and they alone, who should make choices for women. so they do think something’s being taken from them.
A clear policy from Labor for the next election is to have all abortions performed in Public Hospitals, saving many women long trips, hundreds of dollars, and they will no longer be forced to walk the gauntlet to an abortion clinic. On this alone, Labor will have my vote.
Sadly, my own state, South Australia, first to give women the vote and allow them to stand for election, the first to permit female enrolment at universities, first to appoint a female judge, the first to decriminalise homosexuality, the first to criminalise rape in marriage, yet abortion is illegal under almost all circumstances.
@Roj – I was really surprised to see this! So they’re going to make Catholic hospitals in Victoria change their “no abortions here” policies? Cant wait.
Sorry learie, Public Hospitals, all of which are state run. Catholic hospitals will be permitted to remain women haters.
Oh, so all those places where the only hospitals are Catholicity still have no abortion access, but Labour looks progressive.
*sigh*
learie, I think the solution is to ban religions from running hospitals, but that isn’t going to happen any time soon.
By the way, Happy International Women’s Day, everyone. To all the awesome women…and all the awesome men…at this site.
learie, Australia is not the US. We have a well funded public health system where around 80% of the population see their doctor without paying a cent (Universal health care aka Medicare). All public hospitals are state run, we do not hand them over to churches as you do in the US. Treatment in a public hospital is mostly at zero cost to the patient.
There is no where in Australia where the nearest or only hospital is Catholic, we leave that to you Seppos.
My most recent hospital visit was for kidney stones – all X-Ray and MRI scans, treatment and drugs dispensed while in hospital was covered by Medicare. My only cost was a taxi home after discharge.
Isn’t it about time you Americans stopped deluding yourselves about being the best country in the world and started walking the talk?
Ouch! Been there, done that, got the laser treatment. All free. I’ll take good ol’ socialized Canadian healthcare any day. We’re right next door to the US, so you’d think news of this would leak across that big, unwalled border. Last time I heard of Canadian healthcare in a US election was when a couple of disgruntled Canadians got paraded on some show to complain about something or other about wait times or something. Sure it’s not perfect, but it’s better than what’s available to millions and millions of Americans, and we’re only a tenth the American population.
YNNB, the only word that leaks across this border is that Canadians hate their health system, that they are constantly sneaking across the border to use ours, etc etc etc.
That’s the only permitted narrative here. Fake news rules the day. The real story rarely gets heard.
Roj, I live in Melbourne.
The situation in America where the only hospitals are Catholic is happening in rural Australia.
Are you a refugee from Pharyngula by any chance?