Glossary items: (these are not ads.)
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Australia Votes 2007 - A Men Free Zone
In the Melbourne Herald Sun, Bettina Arndt challenges Kevin Rudd's non-profile on issues effecting men and fathers - Is Kevin Rudd interested in men?
Ms Arndt describes Kevin Rudd's acquiescence to his female colleagues on most social issues, and contrasts this with John Howard's willingness to stick his head up and confront anti-male bias.
Attempts by fathers' groups, such as Fathers 4 Families, to get ALP candidates to detail their policies are met with vague waffle.
In the absence of new information, the recent past is probably the best guide to Labor views. Some past behaviour is detailed in Arndt's article.
Many fathers also recall anti-male, bitch-whistle marketing statements from Labor women in the past few years. For example, Labor's then shadow Attorney General, Nicola Roxon, produced a dissenting report when Family Law reform was supported by other Senators in the Senate's legal committee.
Roxon and others spoke against the proposal for a women to be charged, if an investigation into violence found evidence the claims were fabricated, and perjury was committed.
This is strange behaviour for an alternate Attorney General. Supporting women who lie, increases the risk to other women. Women in genuine danger need their claims to be believed (see the girls who cry wolf).
Did Roxon bring this uni-gender view to her new role as Shadow Health Minister? If you want to improve policies for men's health, you need this question answered in an election campaign.
Julia Gillard is Shadow Minister for Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Inclusion. Does she support the ongoing discrimination against fathers that prevents their access to family-friendly jobs?
Stephen Smith, the new Shadow Minister for Education & Training is yet to open his mouth on boys' education. Will boys continue to be left behind in Rudd's education revolution? Is Smith willing to confront the anti-male practices of female dominated teacher unions? Is Smith going to address anti-male ideology, and denigration-based research into 'masculinities', at Australian Universities?
All reasonable questions in an election campaign. Pity you are not getting any answers.
However, Kevin Rudd and Labor are not alone in ignoring men in this election.
The Greens and Democrats are pretenders to the high moral ground. They want to be seen as concerned, balanced and responsible, wanting justice for everyone. Unfortunately, this clashes with their recent past as men's issue sceptics:
- Is David Hicks still the only Australian father the Greens and Democrats believe should have a fair legal process?
- Do the Greens and Democrats want a harm minimisation strategy for Australian school boys, or is this just for drug users?
- Are the Greens and Democrats still in denial about the clear-felling of men, caused by a denigration-based approach to men's health?
- Do the Greens and Democrats want to reform policy that treats the father and child parental relationship as an abomination, or are they only interested in reform for homosexual relationships?
- Do the Greens and Democrats support truth in advertising, and practice, to end discriminatory government services?
Don't hold your breath for any answers from the Greens or Democrats. But you can expect more vanity posturing than in a Mr Universe contest.
All parties need to address outstanding issues in relationship law. Property settlement is the elephant swept under the carpet. It was excluded from the last Parliamentary Inquiry.
It's also time to end the hidden legal structure of relationships. As the regulator and only provider of marriages, the Commonwealth should give much better legal information, and codified contracts, to young people starting relationships.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Estate has become a dormitory suburb.
As part of a series of debates in its Election Speaker's Program, the National Press Club recently presented a debate on Women's Policy. However, there is no debate to cover issues effecting men - for example family law, boys' education, men's health, and discriminatory social and employment practices.
Most journalists have the same gender cringe as Kevin Rudd, and avoid genuine commentary on men's issues, fearing a backlash from their female colleagues.
Instead, journos dish up derision and prejudice, such as Annabel Crabb's recent article for Fairfax Media - All in the family: superhighway for kids, porn pipe for dad.
Crabb describes the new ALP tax policy as a boon for fathers - "just like a Hi-5 DVD, there is a secret appeal to red-blooded dads; after the kids are in bed, Jack and Briony's educational online superhighway becomes a high-speed porn pipe, subsidised to the tune of 50 per cent by the taxpayer. Hooray!"
Crabb reflects the trained prejudice of many journalists. A father's only interest is downloading porn. Fathers are more interested in perving at the Hi-5 team, than playing with their children. Pity those poor children having to be in contact with the sub-prime parent.
Telling lies about men for commercial benefit is so common that it should have its own ABS Industry Code. It's easy to see why Roxon and her cronies have a problem with the idea that women should be truthful about men. They don't want to create a precedent in the Family Court that may flow into other areas.
With journalism this inept and prejudiced, it's no surprise Election 2007 is a zone of fella nullius.
Fortunately, fathers can put the high-speed, broadband connection to a much better use than that imagined by Crabb. It is now possible to de-fund media prejudice pedlars:
- Fathers can cancel their subscriptions to biassed media publishers. Instead, fathers can scan a range of media sites on the internet. Subscriptions can be cancelled at work, as well as at home.
- Your own advertising can be moved from a media outlet that has a bitch-whistle marketing strategy, to another more objective outlet.
- Where possible you can avoid clicking on advertising, or buying products, from suppliers who support prejudiced media outlets.
Now that is something to say "Hooray!" about.
Note: Annabel Crabb and Fairfax Media are nominees for POPIMM Awards - see POPIMM Awards (Pedlars of Prejudice in Mass Media).
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Copyright © 2007-2008, Max Rollins. All rights reserved.