You gotta love it when the testerical trollumnists start throwing around the word “feral” in reference to feminists.
You can probably guess who, at least down to a handful or two. This time, it’s Howard Sattler, and he’d like us to know he’s as “Mad As Hell!1!”:
Abbott’s ironing stokes the feral feminist fire*
The federal opposition leader has been savaged by a feral pack of behaviour modifiers, who’ve described his comments as “appalling and patronising”.
“Feral“, at Wikipedia:
A feral organism is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to a wild state.
Bad lucky, Sattler & Abbott. Many of Australia’s women are no longer living in captivity, and the fact that this terrifies you is none of our concern.
* It will surprise you not at all that he closes with a hairy-armpit gag. How much are they paying these blokes to phone it in week after week?
Categories: gender & feminism, Politics
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What a complete and utter load of bull puckey.
I have never met anyone who irons as well as men taught to iron in the navy. Those guys are scarily good. Have you ever seen a navy man in a crumpled uniform? ETA: apologies to any naval ladies who I’m sure iron equally well. I think it’s a navy training thing rather than a gender thing.
Childrearing? House decorating? Oh please. As if these talents are inbuilt. Some people are talented, others like me make it up as we go along. What bits you have makes absolutely no difference.
I see Howard Sattler is as reasoned and moderate as ever. I know he used to be one of the stalwarts of talk radio over here in Western Australia, and even ten years ago he clearly needed an update on his rabies shots.
As for “there are some jobs that women do better than their male other halves”, I’d suggest (given the constant masculinist sniping over the matter) that talk radio hosting should clearly be one of those jobs. After all, we women never shut up, do we? But maybe we’re not suited for the job because it involves using technological gadgets, which would hurt our poor ladybranes. Oh my.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to head off to the uni orientation for my degree in Computer Science.
“Like rearing babies and decorating houses, there are some jobs that women do better than their male other halves.”
Mah vagina helps me decorate. That is all.
As I said, some people are just talented! 😉
I always think it’s funny when men use the ‘we’re just more visual, it’s hardwired, everyone knows men are visual and women are emotional” thing to excuse ogling and claim spatial superiority, but as soon as it comes to housekeeping it’s ‘oh it’s not their fault, they just literally can’t see the dirt/understand what clothes go with what/choose curtain material’.
Sure.
Nice rainne! I hadn’t picked that particular inconsistency before!
I’m getting an unwanted visual variation on the expression “And if you shoved a broom up my a**, I could sweep the floor as well!”
It’s obviously never occurred to this guy that it is possible to be a feminist AND a housewife (HINT: the role of feminist being defined by what you BELIEVE and the role of housewife being defined by what you DO means they’re not mutually exclusive concepts)
Oh, Howard Sattler. I hated you when I was a kid and I had to listen to you froth about things. I used to love it when my Mum phoned in and skewered you verbally. I can see that you’re still frothing away, raging on impotently.
Feral! Hah! You bet I’m feral, buddy. No cute little collar round my neck.
Really? You say there are lots of women with metal implements, heavy yet easily wielded, sharp edged, and heated? And your plan is to make wisecracks about these people? Good luck with that.
No, no, thankyou for the disturbing concept of lolporn.
Many of Australia’s women are no longer living in captivity, and the fact that this terrifies you is none of our concern.
Text cannot convey how much I love that. And the whole comment thread, but especially that. I want it in big letters somewhere, on a wall that lots of people walk past.
SunlessNick: thank you for the domestic violence joke. It’s hilarious.
Unless SN is living in a relationship with Howard Sattler, which is pretty low on the probability scale, that comparison doesn’t really fly, Makomk. “Army of angry ironers” is what is being conjured here.
Helen: given that SN is talking about all the women out there who iron – presumably including his wife, who’s going to be the only one within striking range with said iron – I think the comparison holds nicely. Plus there’s the underlying attitude that violence is the appropriate response when a man’s verbally disrespectful to a woman, something we wouldn’t even be debating if the gender roles were reversed*, and an idea that’s quite common enough in society, the media and fiction already thankyouverymuch (especially in domestic situations).
* In fact, hopefully for all other possible combinations of genders.
“The fact is that feminists might hate it, but the majority of Australia’s ironers remain women”
Kinda our point isn’t it? That women perform the bulk of unpaid domestic labour. What a noob.
I suspect Abbott is playing a clever game here – making overtly sexist statements in order to create a smoke screen for his more sinister underlying misogyny.
Regarding what SN said. Just once I’d like to see a woman call out a bloke on his privilege here and him be left to respond to it himself without this immediate fuss to shelter him. This is supposed to be a feminist friendly space after all.
@Linda Radfem: “I suspect Abbott is playing a clever game here – making overtly sexist statements in order to create a smoke screen for his more sinister underlying misogyny. ”
I actually hadn’t considered that and I feel a bit silly now. You’re probably right – he is intentionally being outrageous – it keeps him in the news and I suspect he gets traction among people who don’t how statements like the ironing is harmful or offensive.
SunlessNick: thank you for the domestic violence joke.
That wasn’t what I was intending; but nevertheless, sorry.
And in the spirit of genuine consciouness-raising, Nick, it also minimises the oppressive sentiment behind his statement when you refer to it as a “wisecrack” cos it’s just so much more than that – and it also promoted an anti-feminist stereotype of women as scary dangerous power-holders.
Understood.
Nick, for the record, I like the image of Tony Abbott being chased by a bunch of angry women weilding irons, and unless it was Margaret Abbott weilding the iron, I can’t see how that could possibly construed as domestic violence (although clearly is still a violent image, and I can see how some people might be offended by the violence alone).