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.

[icyfroth]

"The Female Eunuch". That book came out when I was in my teens. I never bothered reading it, even though I've always been an avid reader.

Why would I? I didn't particularly feel I needed liberating. I didn't feel the need to burn my bra. I'd left school, ready to enter the work force. I had the world open to me. I could take up an apprenticeship, go for further education, or get married and have kids.

Men were at my feet, how could I resist? I got married and had kids.

This was back in the 1960s.

Here it is the next century and young women still are'nt burning their bras. On the contrary. They're showing them off.

Plus they cost a small fortune lol. The bras, I mean.

And if a man is at your feet these days, it's most likely he's blind drunk.

[freakiness]

The Female Eunuch was published in 1970

[i-need-a-martini]

---

@icyfroth wrote:

I never bothered reading it, even though I've always been an avid reader.

Why would I? I didn't particularly feel I needed liberating. I didn't feel the need to burn my bra. 

Here it is the next century and young women still are'nt burning their bras. On the contrary. They're showing them off.

Plus they cost a small fortune lol. The bras, I mean.

---

Actually the book isn't about any of those things you mentioned. And if I recall correctly the whole bra burning thing had nothing to do with liberation or Greer but all to do with a 1960's protest that also saw women setting fire to corsets and high heels.

Greers comments about the bra in her book was that it was a necessary evil. But it was taken out of context and it is forever being repeated to her derisively.

As to girls and their bras today - how ridiculous. We've become so ashamed of our natural bodies that the idea of having a bra without padding is scandalous these days. "OMG - I can see the outline of a nipple!!" Young girls need a good feminist kick up their behinds and they probably should start with a good clean out of the bra drawer.

[amber-eyed-girl]

My issue with the words "feminist" and "feminism" is that they are often misused.

They should mean equality, not superiority.

Young girls can be shy enough of the changes in their bodies without wanting to have them more noticeable.

A bra is just a piece of clothing these days. A fashion statement, or a garment which can actually make one feel more comfortable, depending on one's shape and size.

It is up to the individual whether to wear one or not. It is not a symbol of repression.

Plenty of women are not ashamed of their bodies. It has nothing to do with bras.

[i-need-a-martini]

You think a padded bra is not asking for attention to be drawn to their breasts?

Ask any girl/woman under the age of 30 if she would wear a non-padded bra and see what the reaction is. How many women keep their bras on even at home these days when they are doing the housework?

Last year I sat in on a fellow tutors class on the history of undergarments for fashion design undergrads. The girls in this class could not believe that a mere 15 years ago bras were not padded. Or that underwire was only in bras for women that needed major support. It was only after the launch of the (modern) wonderbra that padding became de rigueur.

They could not understand that our boobs wobbled and our nipples showed and that until the mid/late 90's, women were OK with that. Most thought it disgusting. Some were outraged that women would walk out of the house 'naked'.

It reminded me of the furore caused when Julia Roberts decided to flash some underarm hair some time back.

Have women regressed so much that the natural sight of a nipple or underarm hair is deemed repulsive?

[freshwater-2]

Newstart said:

My reason for starting this thread was primarily to make a point and I was using the comments made by GG in the part of the interview I heard to say that anyone whether it is GG or Joe Bloggs does not have the right to make such derogatory comments about anyone elses dress sense.To say to someone they look like a "bit of a dag" is one thing but to make these hideous comments about someone on national television is unacceptable and as I said she should not talk but should have a good look in the mirror before commenting.

____________________________________

And you made this comment in your OP

“Here was this wrinkled stick with a head of hair that looked like she had put her hand in the power socket critisizing (sic) how another person looked. I personally have never admired this loud, overbearing feminist.”

[freshwater-2]

apologies for the shouting (large text)

[amber-eyed-girl]

Martini, no I do not. Not every woman who wears a padded bra does so to be noticed, or to look like Pamela Anderson.

It is not that simple.

A padded bra, or indeed any, can be worn for many reasons. It can be worn in a way that is not even noticeable by other people.

It can be worn to:

Alleviate uneveness in shape or size, between the two breasts

Worn for comfort, as soft tissue can be tender, and require a little soft support

Be worn after an operation for breast tissue removal, for cosmetic or medical reasons

Be worn to improve how a woman feels about her body, as women can be unhappy with their bust size, for themselves, not for men

It can of course be worn to amplify the bust size or cleavage...this can be for men, or other women, but if it is the woman's choice, there is no harm in that either.

I know that the purpose of underwire is to support, and was not introduced to "enhance".

Young girls who see bras will also form their own impression about what they like, not just padded or not, but colour etc.

I do not think that all bras should be padded, or not padded, or wired, or not wired.

There should be choice available for everyone.

If I understand what you mean, I agree with you that young girls should not be wearing padded bras to get sexual attention, or because they feel pressured to do so.

But they may need to wear one to feel comfortable within their own body as it changes, so it should be an option (I am talking about purely for themselves, to feel comfortable with how they look and feel, or if it is needed for physical comfort).

And personally, I believe the wonderbra was created by Satan, as it was the most incredibly uncomfortable garment ever invented.

But that was a comfort factor.

If other women wanted to wear one, good on them, that was their choice.


The current trend is for celebrities to wear no underwear, noone blinks an eye anymore. I am surprised when I see a red carpet event dress that is not see through down both sides these days...nobody cares about what is on show or not.

It really is not an issue for most women now.

[freakiness]

Why is it that a grand total of 6 negativish words from a liberated woman cause more outrage from some than 60000 majorly negative words from the now PM, the sock jocks, the hack bloggers, and Gillarhaters in general?

[the_great_she_elephant]

None of the women in my family have ever needed to wear a padded bra - we have been blessed with bountiful genes

Our problem has always been in the opposite direction - how to walk around braless without doing an impression of a Jersey cow!.