Ten Ovaries, One Brain

GERARD HENDERSON's regular Friday treat has Nancy reviewing a recent screening of The Nation which inserted Kelly O'Dwyer into a re-staging of Macbeth's first scene. Beset by a Gillard cabinet minister, an uncombed harridan, and a blonde, the Member for Higgins capably foils their real intent, which can only have been to revive the debate about the wisdom of female suffrage. In this enterprise the sisters received no small aid from their hostess. As Media Watch Dog reports:

There were many highlights of the debate.  Including:
▪ Dee Madigan said that it took Tony Abbott “four or five days” to fully criticise Alan Jones’ indefensible remarks about Julia Gillard’s late father.  In fact it took, at most, one day. [Is this the same Ms Madigan who said on Paul Murray Live last Monday that “Tony Abbott is only the Opposition leader by one vote” – forgetting that he was re-elected unopposed as Liberal Party leader after the 2010 election? – Ed].
▪ Dr Julia Baird on one occasion referred to Julia Gillard as “she” – despite the fact that Dr Anne Summers has declared that “she” is a sexist word when used with reference to the Prime Minister (See MWD Issue 157).
▪ Ms Collins argued that Tony Abbott is a misogynist but, when challenged by O’Dwyer about what the term means, said that she was “not going to get into a debate about the meaning of words”.
▪ Ms O’Dwyer objected to the use of the word misogynist – meaning woman-hater – with respect to Tony Abbott. She maintained that the 14 year old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai – who was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman for advocating that girls be educated – was a victim of real misogyny.  Whereupon Dee Madigan engaged in a dismissive artificial laugh. Madigan declared that O’Dwyer should know there are degrees of misogyny.
So according to the Thought of Dee Madigan, the attempted murder of a teenage girl by the Taliban is one kind of misogyny.  And referring to Julia Gillard on any occasion as “she” is another kind of misogyny. Really.
▪  At the end of the debate, the issue of the leadership of both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott was raised.  Ms Dalley responded “We’re going back to where we started”. Not so.  The debate never left where it started.

Those with a little time to spare might enjoy the entire show.  And do make a point to catch Julia Baird's remark at the 25:00 mark. "I've wasted many years of a PhD," she says. At least a little bit of truth found its way into the show.