Society Dealing With The Disadvantaged
Prior to his successful election campaign, Tony Abbott had already
been branded a misogynist by leading members of the opposition causing society
to question 'Does Tony Abbott hate women?'. This was brought to the attention
of the world when former Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, vehemently
criticized the former opposition leader for his crude actions towards the
female gender. It is obvious to see that the repeated allusions to Tony
Abbott's poor representation towards women are one of his opposition's foundations
in tainting his reputation. The constant volleys of criticism had suffocated the
doubt of his misogyny and the question now moves towards 'How much does Tony
Abbott hate women?'.
Although it is easy to condemn Tony's Abbott's cabinet as proof of
a glass ceiling (Buttrose, 2013), there are flaws to these discourses. I believe that this
judgement is a direct result of the opposition's constant rendering of Tony's
sexist persona to the public. Furthermore, due to the value of equality and
liberalism movements in this era, these claims of chauvinism have been seen as
goldmine to be exploited by the media especially following the famous speech
delivered by Julia Gillard which has cemented her position as an inspiration to
all women suffering gender discrimination. It does not come as a surprise
that his cabinet should be attacked in that regard.
If we were to take a step back from the manipulations of the
media, we would see that Tony Abbott's appointment of only one woman in his
cabinet is far from an attack on woman's ability in politics. The problem is
not the cabinet; it brings with it a deeper social issue that is how
disadvantaged groups are being represented. Liberalism has allowed the women in
our society to breach the oppression of gender roles (Coole, 1993), allowing
for equality but this argument over whether there are enough women in our
cabinet is an issue that cannot be helped by this movement. It is affirmative
action that people want in this situation and it is a step in the wrong
direction. Choosing the roles of leaders to a country should not be influenced
by affirmative action, it should be a process where members are subsequently
chosen based on their merits and hard work. Success should be in the hands of
the individuals and not a power game.
The perks living in such a liberal society means that we benefit
from having the right to choices (Kymlicka, 1989) . By removing these
choices as some of the public would want to do for Tony Abbott, we are not doing
gender equality any favours. We are in fact just exacerbating the issues of
social justice on the back of coercive action which will act to shatter the
glass ceiling but not necessarily fix the real issues of sex discrimination as
it does not tackle the issue at the course. It is in fact structural
disadvantages that result in not only women but minority social groups
altogether being left at a disadvantage. When there is so much choice in the a
liberal society, the outcome will favour with those in powerful positions and
as a result, no change will be initiated to the status quo.
Coole, D. 1993. Women in
political theory: From ancient misogyny to contemporary feminism. New York:
Harvester, Wheatsheaf.
Buttrose, I. (2013, September 17). Sydney Morning
Herald. Retrieved from Lack of women in cabinet proves glass ceiling
exists:
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/lack-of-women-in-cabinet-proves-glass-ceiling-exists-ita-buttrose-20130917-2tvmp.html
Kymlicka, W. (1989). Liberalism. In W. Kymlicka, Liberalism,
Community and Culture (pp. 9-21). New York: Oxford University Press.
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