Germaine Greer

[newstart2380]

Have just been listening to an interview on ABC 24 and she called Juliar Gillard an organ grinders monkey the way she dressed. Here was this wrinkled stick with a head of hair that looked like she had put her hand in the power socket critisizing how another person looked. I personally have never admired this loud, overbearing feminist.

[polksaladallie]

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@freakiness wrote:

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@polksaladallie wrote:

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@poddster wrote:

My reference was not just looks, that would be shallow.

I refer to attitude and all a person has to do is open their mouth and out it pours,  thats when regardless of phisical appearence Ugly shines through.

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Here you are, Poddster, do you see "ugly shining through"?

and  Newstart   You can't tell until they open their mouth and speak

http://www.abc.net.au/australiaday/address.htm

Any comments?

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You don't expect an honest non-discriminating appraisal, do you?

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No.  Those two posters have long ago scuttled back to their sexist caves after realising that what they had said was hogwash. 

[**meep**]

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@polksaladallie wrote:

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@freddie*rooster wrote:

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Did she think of the consequences of her rude comments about the figure of our former Prime Minister when she scathingly attacked her figure and dress attire.

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As has been stated before, she was making "rude comments" about the Labor machine, not the woman.

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How did you get that from this? -

JULIAN EVANS: My question is to Toby Ralph and the rest of the panel. Our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, seems to have a really major image problem. She just doesn't seem to be able to connect with voters, as evidenced every fortnight by her persistently appalling polling figures. I'm interested to know, particularly from Toby, if you were on her staff what advice would you give the PM?

TOBY RALPH: Experiment with truth. I think she's run out of... Run out of other options at this stage. She's in trouble. She's never quite found herself. She's always been trying to fend off the independents, hang on to the balance of power, keep her saboteurs in her own party on side, fight Tony Abbott, who's defining her, try and keep Andrew Wilkie happy. It's a tough, tough job and she's never really seemed to be herself since she took that job. I think things are desperate and she will have to experiment with truth.

TONY JONES: Let me ask you this - you famously said, 'I'm a taxi, flag me down and I'll take you wherever you want to go.' That seems to be your motto. Let's say Julia Gillard flagged you down. would you pick her up?

TOBY RALPH: Absolutely.

TONY JONES: So you'd take that on?

TOBY RALPH: Absolutely.

TONY JONES: In spite of the fact you disagree with everything she thinks?

TOBY RALPH: I don't disagree with everything she thinks. I don't even know everything she thinks. But, yes, I'd take that gig on, absolutely, Tony.

TONY JONES: What would you actually do? In the first day in the office, what would you say to her, apart from 'Experiment with the truth', which she would regard as a political slogan?

TOBY RALPH: I guess I'd want a conversation about what she really thinks and believes. And I'd like to know what's genuinely there because I don't, I don't know it as an individual at the moment.

TONY JONES: Germaine.

GERMAINE GREER: Look, it's important to realise that Julia Gillard is part of a coalition. What that means is that she has to negotiate every single policy position. What that means is camel trading on the floor. It happens to be what she's good at. You can say, 'We want to know what she really, really believes.' In fact, it's irrelevant because whatever she really, really believes is not what's going to happen. I agree with you that she was very badly directed by Arbib and Albanese. They were worried about her dry, matter of fact, unglamorous style that she showed us when Rudd was away at the Bali conference, which was a complete bust. And she was there 5:00 in the morning on the breakfast television, the voice of common sense. And we thought, 'We really like her.' She's not in love with the sound of her own voice, which clearly Rudd was. She never said 20 words when 5 words would do. There are lots of good things about her. She's an administrator, she gets things done, she understands that she has to constantly get people on side, give people jobs to do, make sure that they do them. It's unglamorous, it's not star material but it's what she's been doing. What I want her to do is get rid of those bloody jackets!

TONY JONES: She should go to him for political advice and you for fashion advice?

GERMAINE GREER: No, it's not even fashion. They don't fit. Every time she turns around, you've got that strange horizontal crease which means they're cut too narrow in the hips. You've got a big **bleep**, Julia, just get on with it.

[boris1gary]

Anyway where does it say that feminists are not allowed to have an opinion on fashion/clothes. So what that she commented on Ms Gillards outfits, everyone else felt free to do so.

I doubt there is anyone here that hasn't made remarks about what other people are wearing, I know I do it (quietly).

Are there really different rules for famous feminists, after all we all have to wear clothes (except nudists).

Ms Greer won't be judged by history on what she looks like or her "fashion comments", just as Ms Gillard won't be judged by her outfit's.

and by the way, when I met Ms Gillard a few years ago, she looked lovely.

[**meep**]

The reactions would be similar regardless of whom it was that said Julia Gillard had a big **bleep**.   Some would find it funny, others offensive. 

[icyfroth]

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@freakiness wrote:

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@icyfroth wrote:

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@boris1gary wrote:

The whole thread is a bit sad really, no offence meant to anyone, but super is right. The whole thing about what we wear or don't wear, you hardly ever hear it about men (hardly ever, not never). I've always worn whatever I want, certainly at certain times in my life I did dress to attract men (in my mind anyway) and i think probably most of us have at some time or another.

I think it gets harder and harder for us (women) to find our own personal style as we get older, there aren't many choices for women close to 50 and beyond, in my opinion.

anway a little off topic i know........

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You're right, nova's right, it's not about what ppl wear.

Yet Ms Greer chose to make it about what Ms Gillard wore. Very bad form for a women's libber in reference to Australia's first female Prime Minister in my opinion.

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But it's OK for the males to say what they want?

Like throw her out to sea in a chaff bag, her big red box, her father died of shame, Bob Brown's **bleep** were OK because she was deserving?

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Where did I say that was alright?

But you'd kind of expect that from those against her. Although to put rather a fine point on it, none of those comments were about what she was wearing.

Ms Greer as a women's libber and someone you'd think was on team Gillard was way out of line with her comments.

[bright.ton42]

You've got a big **bleep**, Julia, just get on with it.

So that insult was levelled at the Labor Party?  How on earth could anyone say that?

And as for context -  GG is the one who took it out of context. 

Yes I  admire and respect her for many of her achievements,  but I'm not blinkered, and that was a pointed and childish  insult imo.  

[freddie*rooster]

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@polksaladallie wrote:

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@freddie*rooster wrote:

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Did she think of the consequences of her rude comments about the figure of our former Prime Minister when she scathingly attacked her figure and dress attire.

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As has been stated before, she was making "rude comments" about the Labor machine, not the woman.

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No she made the comments about JG big A and the jackets she wore.

[freddie*rooster]

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@***super_nova*** wrote:

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@freddie*rooster wrote:

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Did she think of the consequences of her rude comments about the figure of our former Prime Minister when she scathingly attacked her figure and dress attire.

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Please; read what Germain said in the context,  and keep in the mind that she is a professor emeritus, 25 years older than Julia and somebody to whom many woman look up to, somebody who made many woman realise that they can stand on their 2 own feet and aspire to the highest office in the land.  Germain did not attack her, she gave advice, and the tone of her voice was definitely NOT nasty.  Of-course, the media ran with that one line.  But the whole statement was acknowledgement of how difficult Julia's position was.  Please, read it:

GERMAINE GREER: Look, it's important to realise that Julia Gillard is part of a coalition. What that means is that she has to negotiate every single policy position. What that means is camel trading on the floor. It happens to be what she's good at. You can say, 'We want to know what she really, really believes.' In fact, it's irrelevant because whatever she really, really believes is not what's going to happen. I agree with you that she was very badly directed by Arbib and Albanese. They were worried about her dry, matter of fact, unglamorous style that she showed us when Rudd was away at the Bali conference, which was a complete bust. And she was there 5:00 in the morning on the breakfast television, the voice of common sense. And we thought, 'We really like her.' She's not in love with the sound of her own voice, which clearly Rudd was. She never said 20 words when 5 words would do. There are lots of good things about her. She's an administrator, she gets things done, she understands that she has to constantly get people on side, give people jobs to do, make sure that they do them. It's unglamorous, it's not star material but it's what she's been doing. What I want her to do is get rid of those bloody jackets!

TONY JONES: She should go to him for political advice and you for fashion advice?

GERMAINE GREER: No, it's not even fashion. They don't fit. Every time she turns around, you've got that strange horizontal crease which means they're cut too narrow in the hips. You've got a big **bleep**, Julia, just get on with it.

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I don't care who she is, was, or has been. What I do care about is her appalling put down of our first female Prime Minister, he comments were uncalled for rude and scathing.

[***super_nova***]

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@bright.ton42 wrote:

You've got a big **bleep**, Julia, just get on with it.

So that insult was levelled at the Labor Party?  How on earth could anyone say that?

And as for context -  GG is the one who took it out of context. 

Yes I  admire and respect her for many of her achievements,  but I'm not blinkered, and that was a pointed and childish  insult imo.  

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Insult?  It really is sad that we should consider it be an insult.  What Germaine is saying is a fact, not something shameful, you need to be comfortable in whatever shape your body is, and wear clothing that does not try to pretend you are smaller than you are.  Not so long ago it was considered sexy to have big posterior, just look at Marilyn Monroe,  Claudia Cardinale and other superstars of the 50s and 60s.  The criticism of was of who ever has selected those hideous jackets.  And it was not Julia; photos of her before she was a prime minister show her wearing different style of clothing, as do pictures afterwards.  I think they were trying to make her look in a way to appeal to the demographic that was so hateful to her.

[freddie*rooster]

The sad fact is Greer's comments about Julia Gillards big A and her jackets was made at a time when Julia Gillard was copping insult after insult no matter what she done she was being ridiculed and hounded, for Greer to add to the hostile barbs about Julia Gillards imperfections was way out of line, I and many others expected better of Greer.