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September 17, 2007
Just for the hell of it, I've been trying to find an explanation for the irrational hatred and apoplectic rage some white Anglo males of a certain age feel for Julia Gillard, other than the obvious feminist ones.
The weekend edition of the local Gold Coast Bulletin looked like a promising source of ideas. The front page was covered in women. Three sisters whose genetic inheritance gives them a much worse than average chance of developing breast cancer, the "Gold Coast's greatest modelling export, Kristy Hinze" and Maddison Gabriel who, at the criminal age of 13, is "the face of Gold Coast Fashion Week". Her mum and the Bulletin are on her side, but commenters are divided. As far as I can tell nobody of any political news value said anything about the breast cancer story.
Anna Bligh is the big topic beyond the cover, but columnist Sue Lappeman thinks the worst thing about Bligh is that she says 'arks' when she means 'ask'. Our Anna has doled out responsibilities in unusual and impractical clusters, but she's sort that out eventually. There's a shot of Bligh surrounded by five other female members of the Queensland Parliament. It's part of a three page feature written by Robyn Wuth on women in politics who, globally, appear to be popping up in plague proportions. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe Gillard is just another one of too many women?
Our local old school columnist Peter Cameron is upset there are no Gold Coast MPs in the Bligh cabinet, but he's furious to the point of spontaneous combustion that the tourism portfolio has gone to a woman. An "old duck". From Cairns. This decision clearly demonstrates that Bligh couldn't give a toss about the Gold Coast or Queensland tourism, even though she's a Queenslander from the Gold Coast. Though he doesn't mention that bit.
Cameron makes his living out of being a white Anglo male of a certain age, so his attitude comes as no surprise. He's one of the eastiest targets you could hope to find from a feminist perspective. A 13 year old fashion model could make mincemeat of him. Surely there's something more challenging to all of this?
But wait. As well as a handbag full of steak knives we can now offer a new angle from neuroscience. Social neuroscientist David Amodio spends his days looking for biological explanations for social attitudes. A recent study has found that the conservative brain isn't terribly good at dealing with change. Those with liberal political leanings are quicker to adapt their behaviour when something new and unexpected comes along. Does Julia Gillard count as something new and unexpected?
It's an interesting proposition. For one thing it suggests that some white Anglo males of a certain age can't be held entirely responsible for their attitudes. Maybe they can't help it. Instead of condemning their attitudes maybe the liberal minded should be offering sympathy and organising 12 step programmes. Surely a reluctant anterior cingulate cortex counts as a handicap.
But there's something else going on here. These stereotypical white Anglo males of a certain age are happy to accommodate all the change on offer when it comes to free trade, liberating the market and the apparently necessary change in industrial relations. Change of that kind is not startling in the least but, on the contrary, a logical necessity in our new global environment. There's a whole new world out there and we need to change to keep up with it.
Back in May when Bill Heffernan made his "barren" comment and Joe Hockey thought Julia Gillard had better approval ratings than him because she was prettier, Jocelynne Scutt argued that sexism in politics is a red herring. Comments like these are strategic devices for drawing attention away from more weighty concerns like unpopular IR laws. We're so accustomed to thinking politics is sexist we don't even stop to consider possible alternative explanations, so it works every time.
The problem with Julia Gillard is not that she's a woman or redhead or pretty or barren, but that she's the opposition spokesperson on one of the government's weak spots. And white Anglo males of a certain age are the logical pawns in this game, since they're just conforming to stereotype. It sounds like a viable explanation to me.
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Bligh in my book is an improvement from Beattie.
As for Gillard;
I don't feel that shes a real contender for P.M and that has to be looked at. Say Rudd wins and is hit by a bus or gets cancer or something. Gillard as P.M.??? Never! And if she not genuinely the next best candidate she is little more than an opportunistic accessory for Rudd.
Yes I noticed the woman thing with the paper too. It made look at the back pages but I counted 12 pages in before there was a pic of a woman. Funny I thought!