Man Says Something Sexist, Gets Put In Time Out
This is an epic video of Australia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard bringin' the smackdown of the century.
You're going to need some context via feminist blog Jezebel, though. The short version: A male Australian member of parliament steps down after evidence of sexually harrassing a openly gay male staffer with some sexually gratuitous texts that refer to the female anatomy. Another awful male parliamentarian, Tony Abbott, who has a history of saying awful things about women, said, "And every day the prime minister stands in this parliament to defend this Speaker will be another day of shame for this parliament, another day of shame for a government which should already have died of shame."
Then THIS happened. My three favorite moments: (1) at :43, when she says, “If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia … he needs a mirror”; (2) at 9:00, where she busts out an amazing burn; and (3) at 13:52, when she punches his time clock.
Complete highlights are listed below the video.
- 00:13 “I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. I will not.”
- 02:03 [Quoting the leader of the opposition] "What if men are by physiology or by temperament more adapted to exercise authority or to issue commands?” [laughter]
- 02:43 “I was very offended personally when the leader of the opposition … said, and I quote, 'Abortion is the easy way out.' ”
- 03:20 “Thank you for that painting of women’s roles in modern Australia.” [/sarcasm]
- 03:32 Calls him out for “catcalling.”
- 04:00 Mentions sign that described her as a “man’s bitch.”
- 04:30 Mocks him for suddenly “waking up,” realizing “there’s this thing called sexism!”
- 06:25 “Big on lectures on responsibility, very light on accepting responsibility himself ... .”
- 09:00 “I remind the leader of the opposition that he attended Mr. Slipper’s wedding. Did he walk up to Mr. Slipper in the middle of the service and tell him he was disgusted to be there?”
- 10:23 “What the leader of the opposition should be ashamed of is his performance in this parliament and the sexism he brings with it.”
- 10:38 “That’s a direct quote from the leader of the opposition, so I suggest those groaning have a word with him.”
- 10:55 [On the text messages in question] “I am offended by their content. I am offended by their content because I am always offended by sexism. I am offended by their content because I am always offended by statements that are anti-women. I am offended by those things in the same way that I have been offended by things that the leader of the opposition has said, and no doubt will continue to say in the future, because if this today was an exhibition of his new feminine side, well I don’t think we’ve got much to look forward to.”
- 12:15 “What I won’t stand for, what I will never stand for, is the leader of the opposition coming into this place and peddling a double standard, peddling a standard for Mr. Slipper he would not set for himself, peddling a standard for Mr. Slipper he has not set for other members of his front bench, peddling a standard for Mr. Slipper that has not been acquitted by the people who have been sent out to say the vilest and most revolting things.”
- 12:50 “I will not ever see the leader of the opposition seek to impose his double standard on this parliament. Sexism should always be unacceptable. … The leader of the opposition says do something well he could do something himself … he could change his behavior, he could apologize for all his past statements, he could apologize for standing next to signs describing me as a witch and a bitch. … [H]e could change a standard himself if he sought to do so.”
- 13:52 “Proper process is what should rule this parliament, that’s what I believe is the path forward … not the kind of double standards and political game playing imposed by the leader of the opposition—now looking at his watch because apparently a woman’s spoken too long, I’ve had him yell at me to shut up in the past … .”
- 14:20 “I think the best course for him is to reflect on the standards he’s exhibited in public life, on the responsibility he should take for his public statements … .”