Smashing misogyny, patriarchy and sexism

As White Ribbon Day approaches, it seems the day where women are treated as equals, subjects and people is still a distant dream. Indeed, for someone who is a feminist, it feels wrong that I should long for the time before I was alive in the 1970s because it seems like feminism was gaining traction and the female fist was raised in resistance and defiance back then. The world has changed, but it hasn’t necessarily progressed. Bleak is the world where:

• One in four see violence at home
• A third of boys say it’s ok to hit girls
• A third of Year 10 girls had unwanted sex

The above are results of an Australian survey only. These stories are repeated in millions, if not billions of lives around the world.

Bleak is the world where I just watched the news and saw 21 nations at the APEC summit with only 2 represented by women. Bleak is the world where I today heard a 15 year old boy claim triumphantly that he would rape and kill a woman. Bleak is the world where in every conflict that is happening around the world at the moment, rape is used as a prominent weapon to degrade, dehumanise, humiliate and destroy women. Bleak is the world where men don’t speak up about this fucking bullshit – and shame on every man who doesn’t. We are brothers and sisters and we are both subjective human beings who are at one when our minds interact to make this world a better place. We are nothing and no-one if we let it happen and don’t confront it ACTIVELY. Smashing misogyny, patriarchy, sexism and any other form of oppression is a 24 hour a day attitude and activity, not merely an intellectual plaything.

Raise your fist and resist. We have work to do. We have a world to improve.

Shame on you, Channel Ten, You Misogynistic Fucks

Tonight, I just finished watching The Importance of Being Earnest and my TV automatically switched over to Channel Ten. It happened to be in the middle of an ad break. An advertisement for the show “America’s Next Top Model” came on saying that it was some sort of Christmas special edition of the show. As the viewer was bombarded with three separate women walking along a catwalk in very revealing clothing, the voice over said “ho, ho, ho”…

It’s bad enough that women and girls are being objectified in subtle ways, but now we as a society are outright not only condoing this fucking bullshit, but promoting it. Bratz dolls, America’s Next Top Model – what the fuck is going on here? I call on anyone who is reading this and seen this ad to call Channel Ten and complain – I have.

I’m not even going to bother explaining why this has outraged me to the point where I am white with anger. If you need to ask, you’re a fucking idiot. I’m a school teacher and I can tell you that this type of shit is having an extremely negative effect on young girls. I over heard some girls in one of my classes talking one day and they were saying how boys weren’t even given an accurate picture of how girls looked because they just see porn or shows like “America’s Next Top Model” portraying an extreme form of un-reality.

When un-realistic and mysogynistic portrayals of women are thrust into young men and women’s faces everyday, it is undoubtedly going to negatively affect the respect that they have for each other as subjective human beings as well as the way they interact. Women, as a man I cannot speak for you and nor should I, but I will say that your battle for equality and independence is far from over… Fuck, I’m angry!