2. Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves – Eurythmics featuring Aretha Franklin 1985

The ‘inferior sex’ got a new exterior
We got doctors, lawyers, politicians too.
Everybody - take a look around.
Can you see - can you see - can you see
There's a woman right next to you

 

Julia Gillard had just overthrown Kevin Rudd to become Australia’s first female Prime Minister. During the weeks that followed the media made much hype over this matter, as was to be expected whenever a new PM comes into power. However, unlike with other new PMs, this time round the media hype was fixated on Prime Minister Gillard’s wardrobe, hair style, gender and lack of children, with just one redheaded comedian avoiding the overused rhetoric by cracking jokes about Australia having a ‘rangger’ for PM.

The media showed a distinct lack of interest in her policies and general ability to do the job.

Many Baby Boomer males were heard lamenting that ‘She’ll get the female vote’. I really took offence at these comments. Were women that easily swayed? Were our votes less valid than the male votes? Should we start discrediting all of the previous male PMs as they ‘got the male vote’? Oh no, that’s right no woman had ever even stood for PM! My train of thought then landed on at least those who insisted on voting for a male had been presented with a choice. Why wasn’t the media fixation on the differences between the male and female vote an issue before when there was not ‘Oh my God! A woman!’ to vote for?

Mind you, all of this Australian commentary was happening at the same time that the international media was fixated on the African-American vote during the race to the White House, which Barack Obama eventually won.

In the year 2010, I was left to wander why all of these trivial matters were such an issue. However, unfortunately the media’s attention was not distracted from wardrobe, hair style, gender and marital status (or lack of it) until Gillard was unceremoniously replaced by, none-other than, Kevin Rudd in 2013.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drGx7JkFSp4

 

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