Germaine Greer can go and get f*cked.

[brisneyland]

She said that amongst her friends the Greer was only stating the bleedingly obvious whem most women hear the a stingray kill Steve Irwin, their first reaction was "what the f$#k did Steve Irwin do to the Stingray first?".

Sorry but how is that a feminist issue? I've heard plenty of people voicing similar thoughts and they weren't exclusively female.

 

[FR Drew]

Perhaps it says something about the maleness of this forum. But a female work colleague and I were talking about Germaine Greer and women it seem have a different slant on the story.

She said that amongst her friends the Greer was only stating the bleedingly obvious whem most women hear the a stingray kill Steve Irwin, their first reaction was "what the f$#k did Steve Irwin do to the Stingray first?".

So all you feminist bashers out there, unless you have an XX chromosomal makeup, I suggest you might speak to a woman or two. (Miranda Divine, not sure she counts.)

I don't particularly despise Greer per se. I do have issues with a few of the things she says and some pretty blatant double standards. That said, I appreciate the fact that at times, coming to the half way point isn't enough and you need to overstep the midline in order to prove your point and get the message across. Some times you have to play hard ball and tread on toes. I also totally accept that in the 60's and 70's things were ludicrous for women and someone needed to step up and say things pretty bluntly. Germaine did, and more power to her for doing so.

Although I'm not female, my first reaction when hearing of the incident was precisely the same as your friend. What was Steve doing to the stingray? We've all seen him leap in and grab other things so I guess it was a natural assumption that he was touching/tickling/grabbing rather than merely being close. As it turns out, the police have VERY clearly stated that he was not, in any way antagonising the animal at the time of the incident. My point is, your reaction and the supposedly "female" reaction, have nothing whatsoever to do with gender.

Frankly, I think that from time to time Steve was a bit of an over the top tool and I found the whole thing a bit hard to take, to the point that I opted not to view or listen. I'm also aware of a lot of good things as far as wildlife sanctuaries, habitat purchasing etc that Steve did (which makes up for a heck of a lot of on screen toolishness as far as I'm concerned). He may have had a big mouth that said crikey a lot, but he sure as hell put his money where his mouth was. Actions speak louder than words, even words like "Crikey!"

My analogy stands re the cake competition judge talking about F1 racing. If I was going to be bothered asking anyone for their opinion on Irwin, I'd be no more likely to put Greer on the list of people who's opinions were relevant than I would to ask one of the researchers from the National Drug Research Centre, an Architect, an Accountant, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, or pretty much anyone else utterly unrelated to what he was or what he did.
Someone involved in tourism? Sure.
Someone involved in wildlife care? Sure.
A has-been reactionary feminist? No, sorry, not on the short list, or even the long list.
I simply do not see how she has a relevant or newsworthy viewpoint on the issue.

If a notable person involved in the womens movement had died, would anyone expect Les Hiddins (the bush tucker man) to have some relevant and printworthy comment about it? I think not. And if negative comment was made against the tide of public sentiment and very early on in the grieving process would people tolerate it if he did make comment? Similarly, no.

Short of a grab for publicity since the whole "how great is sex with boys" and the Denton interview thing had drifted off into forgotten land, I fail to see Germaine's motives.

As far as this issue is concerned, her views on Irwin, as far as I can see, are simply not relevant.

Wisdom is not knowing what you should say, so much as sometimes knowing if you should say anything at all. Silence from Germaine (in this case at least) is golden.

 

[robmundall]

Video
What a bitch.
Millions of Australians my ass, I'm sure more people are ashamed of her rather than steve! I for one are.

 

[mtbmamma]

Perhaps it says something about the maleness of this forum. But a female work colleague and I were talking about Germaine Greer and women it seem have a different slant on the story.

She said that amongst her friends the Greer was only stating the bleedingly obvious whem most women hear the a stingray kill Steve Irwin, their first reaction was "what the f$#k did Steve Irwin do to the Stingray first?".

So all you feminist bashers out there, unless you have an XX chromosomal makeup, I suggest you might speak to a woman or two. (Miranda Divine, not sure she counts.)

I'm a woman and I do not agree in the least with anything this woman has said in the past 40+ years. Especially with regards to Steve Irwin.

 

[johnny]

I'm a woman and I do not agree in the least with anything this woman has said in the past 40+ years.

With all due respect (I think you know me well enough to understand that I really do mean that) I think you are probably in the minority there mamma. As you said before, you've never had to worry about the issues that she's raised int he last 40+ years.

Once again, her timing is tacky and TBH, she says many things I think are ludicrous and she is far too headstong and militant for her own good. But I'd rather her in the world than not.

 

[S.]

Perhaps it says something about the maleness of this forum. But a female work colleague and I were talking about Germaine Greer and women it seem have a different slant on the story.

She said that amongst her friends the Greer was only stating the bleedingly obvious whem most women hear the a stingray kill Steve Irwin, their first reaction was "what the f$#k did Steve Irwin do to the Stingray first?".

So all you feminist bashers out there, unless you have an XX chromosomal makeup, I suggest you might speak to a woman or two. (Miranda Divine, not sure she counts.)

10 points for relevance there.

 

[mtbmamma]

With all due respect (I think you know me well enough to understand that I really do mean that) I think you are probably in the minority there mamma. As you said before, you've never had to worry about the issues that she's raised int he last 40+ years.

Once again, her timing is tacky and TBH, she says many things I think are ludicrous and she is far too headstong and militant for her own good. But I'd rather her in the world than not.

Actually, you are right, without people like Greer this would be a very sorry world. There have to be people out there to fight for the rights of those who are unable to speak for themselves and she is one of those and whilst I don't agree with much of what she says, as you have said before, I do believe in her right to say it. Just very poorly timed. Thanks for being gracious, nice to hear in a discussion.

 

[Binaural]

Actually, you are right, without people like Greer this would be a very sorry world. There have to be people out there to fight for the rights of those who are unable to speak for themselves and she is one of those and whilst I don't agree with much of what she says, as you have said before, I do believe in her right to say it. Just very poorly timed. Thanks for being gracious, nice to hear in a discussion.

That's true enough. The sort of person who demands their rights in every situation can be very abrasive and probably not much fun to be around, but sometimes that kind of bloody-mindedness can be what's needed for solving really intractable problems. Most people don't have the stomach for sustained conflict, let alone the sort of bloodbath Gree involved herself in when she published "The female eunuch", which is still one of the seminal texts of feminism. It's just a shame she's turned into a pundit rather than a public intellectual and a cranky one at that.

 

[farkus]

I think you'll find she's married in a heterosexual relationship. I don't agree with everything she says, but I give her more credit than many others. Plus, you have to respect the courage of her convictions.

its not called courage when you bad mouth someone when they are dead its called being a sly little bi&*^ch.

 

[johnny]

1) You don't seem to understand what "courage of convictions" means.

2) What do you think Irwin would have done, punched her out or something?

 

[Hamsta]

Watch the evening news closely, take note of TV advertising and spend some time looking at the sports section of your daily papers. Browse beyong the magazines you usually buy (you may not have too) and you will realise that our media is still predominantly patriarchal. Women still have to battle against the media driven dominant ideology. My girlfriend ( English Education graduate) has persuaded me over time that indeed the media driven dominant ideology that women are second to men still exists, just in a far more subtle and sophisticated medium than media 30 years ago.

 

[mtbmamma]

Watch the evening news closely, take note of TV advertising and spend some time looking at the sports section of your daily papers. Browse beyong the magazines you usually buy (you may not have too) and you will realise that our media is still predominantly patriarchal. Women still have to battle against the media driven dominant ideology. My girlfriend ( English Education graduate) has persuaded me over time that indeed the media driven dominant ideology that women are second to men still exists, just in a far more subtle and sophisticated medium than media 30 years ago.

This is true and even where sexuality is concerned, and we have spoken on this forum before about this, women think that they are now equals with men. But really when you consider the subtle ways in which men still have it over women society is still struggling with women and their place in this world. Looking at cars is a very easy way to see the bias from both companies and sellers. I rang a dealership regarding a fairly amazing performance saloon and when the guy spoke to me the first thing he started to talk about was how good it looked and all of the nice comfortable accessories it had in it. Sounds lame to you guys probably but it really does annoy the shit out of me. To stop him rabbitting on I told him I was not interested in what was inside only what was under the bonnet and how well she, yes its a she, would handle around my local test track!! With which he was genuinely shocked and finally said that if I wanted he could probably arrange a test drive.

If it had been my husband that would have been one of the first things offered and the last thing would have been about the accessories!!! Bugger me, I'm the driver in the family, not him. But still it exists and you will only realise it when you are female and that is what I am, maybe not a girl or a lady but I am female and really don't want to be equal but at least given the chance.

 

[BrumbyJack]

I used to race cars in a past life... also worked as pit crew as well.

Another female friend wanted to buy a second hand car, so she took me along with her.... The salesman told her so much crap and tried to sell her such a lemon, I just took notes then absolutely let him have it when we got back to his office.

Just because she was a pretty girl with a figure to make Elle jealous, doesn't mean she had to be treated like an idiot.

The poor bugger almost fell off his chair when I started questioning him about some of the obvious bullshit he had spruiked about the mechanical aspects of the 4WD.

It made me VERY, VERY angry

Dont ask me for specifics, it was 20 years ago, but these were basic, fundamental, mechanical faults. Is that tautology??

 

[Bodin]

Excuse me if I'm repeating anything anyone else has posted here - I've only really scanned this thread...

Like others, I also value those in society who use their intellect to refuse the status quo when they see a need for it. Greer's positive impact on the world will never be diminished by her statements about Irwin, as Irwin was not universally loved, like some want us to believe. Let's face it - it was really the American TV networks that made him (and his American wife) a star. Many Australians are the type of people that cringe a little from the personality shockwaves thrown forth by "characters" of that ilk.

Having said that, though, Irwin's contribution to the environment (and the society as a whole) will be just as important to the future of this planet and its people as Greer's work has been - just in a different way. Greer has scared and annoyed plenty of people to achieve her life's work and if Irwin had to scare a few animals to achieve what he did in his short life, then that doesn't bother me at all. I'm pretty sure he's never run over a snake on a mountainbike, so he's one up on me when it comes to animal care.

Greer may know what it's like to be a woman, but she has no idea what it's like to be a reptile (despite what some people might liken her to ) and she erred badly when leaving her field of expertise to criticise a popular man who died. I just wonder what she might have thought if Steve had been a woman?