Happy International Women’s Day everyone! And what better way to celebrate this special day by quoting some beta male remarks from everyone’s favourite gender warrior, the Prime Minister of Australia!
Scott Morrison has decided that now is the appropriate time to defend men’s position in society, saying “we don’t want to see women rise” if it means pushing “some people down”.
Just in case it’s unclear, by “people”, it seems he means men – and if you haven’t heard of men, they’re these default beings who happen to dominate pretty much every powerful position, make more money and have miles more social capital than anyone else but still manage to feel like victims about it.
So now we’ve cleared that one up, here’s what he said, quoted in the Guardian:
“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 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.”
Oh, Scotty. Perhaps he’s biased towards mediocre white men remaining the gatekeepers of the establishment (funny, that), but he seems to have missed that until some of the male dross at the top begin to get found out, those positions will not be available for women to fill.
For women to have a shot at reaching the top, the centuries-long tenure of rubbish men in high places has to end, while dismantling the patriarchy will help everyone oppressed by societal expectations – including men.
Also, why oh WHY would you decide that International Women’s Day is the time to announce your deep-held desire to protect men’s positions? They’re not exactly precarious, are they? They literally decide who gets to have those positions. And guess who they usually choose? Yep, you guessed it. Men!
It just goes to show that old saying is alive and kicking: “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression”.
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