Feminism in Australia
Feminism refers to a state where women’s rights are protected and both the male and female sexes are regarded as equals. Feminism can also be defined as “the struggle to end sexist oppression” (Hook 2015, p.28) In a feminist society woman have the same voice as men, they have a chance to compete economically and socially. In a feminist society the rights and opinions of women and girls are respected and protected by the law. In Australia “women and girls make up just over half of the Australian population” (Australian Bureau of Statistics, June 2017). Such statistical data indicate that women play a very vital role in the society of Australia where they influence the economy of the country. There are factors put in place in Australia that foster the protection of women and there are other factors that hinder the spirit of feminism, those factors are discussed below.
Gains Made in Gender Equality
In our contemporary world the levels of gender equality are far better than it was back in the days (Lamour C. Jan 2018). Women today have equal opportunity to exercise their constitutional rights through voting thanks to the efforts of Suffragist campaigners who appealed to the newly established commonwealth of Australia to grant women their right to vote in Federal Parliamentary elections (Smart 2000, p. 53-54). Such reforms made in the electoral board allow women to have equal voice in the ballot as men. Women in Australia can now enjoy the privilege of being elected in top government positions. This reform has helped to ensure that the interests of women are protected and respected.
Women's Paid Parental Leave
The Australian government has also fostered the equality of the sexes by introducing women’s paid parental leave. (B. Elizabeth, July 2009). This parental leave stands at$719.35 per week before tax deductions are made (Australian government: department of human services, July 2018). Such subsidies which are provided for women help them to sustain themselves during their paternal leave and stay competent. With such reforms in the employment sector women are able to support themselves financially without depending on the male figure. This helps to reduce the spirit of male chauvinism where the society views the female figure to be dependent on the male figure. The Australian female paternal leave has helped to earn them respect in this contemporary society unlike in the earlier days where paternal leave was not respected.
Measures Against Violence
In the early day’s women were regarded as male’s material possession. This social view exposed women to many forms violence. It is important to note that “violence against women is not only or always physical. It includes psychological, economic, emotional and sexual violence, and a wide range of controlling, coercive and intimidating behaviours” (Our watch: facts and figures). With that in mind women in the early ages were very vulnerable since most cases of violence, rape and abuse were not handled correctly by law enforcers or the society at large. But in recent years’ legal measures have been put in place to ensure that women are protected against any form of violence. In our contemporary Australia “violence against women is a fundamental violation of human rights, and one that Australia has an obligation to prevent under international law (U.N, sustainable development goals 2017). With such laws in place sex offenders against women have been put behind bars in Australia, women and girls have become more respected in the society, women’s interests are now constitutionally protected. Therefore, feminism is well catered for in Australia.
Sex Discrimination Act of 1984
There is also a sex discrimination Act of 1984 that makes it illegal for people to discriminate against any gender, focus being on females (Sex Discrimination Act 1984). One of the great implication of this sex act is that it gives women same opportunity as men to fight for the same opportunities in the work force. This has helped women in our contemporary world to increase their academic qualifications so that they can secure top jobs in various organizations. Equal opportunities are available to all in the work force where in recent years we have witnessed women doing jobs that had been earlier regarded to be for males like engineering, masonry and building and medicine. This has helped to improve the personal, social and economic competence of women in Australia. With such reforms gender parity has been realized in modern Australia.
Challenges and Criticisms
Feminism has also been criticized in modern Australia. Statistics show that although there has been great improvement in the work force area there has also been a few setbacks that have been realized. In Australia there is income inequality between males and females where there is a 17% gap, this amounts to $93 billion lost in every financial year (Australian Govt. WGEA). Such income inequalities place the male figure at the top of the economic chain at the expense of females. This gap acts as an indicator to a male chauvinism society where there are no way males can earn the same salary as females (Pinney, H 1940) The male figure is regarded as superior and more competent than the female gender. (Hook 2015, p.18)
There has been considerable improvement in deferent sectors to ensure gender equality the issue has not been dealt with appropriately. The saying the more things change is the more they remain the same has proved to be true in the case of Australia on matters relating to feminism. For instance, in “heterosexual couples where both men and women work, women still do 70% of the housework” (Australian Bureau of Statistics). This is a feminist problem since many people associate house chores with women and baby-sitting is a woman’s duty. The male character only does 30% of the house-work which is below the expectations. Although women do a lot of chores they are usually undervalued and unappreciated. For instance, taking care of children is underrated, the work is both challenging and tiresome and requires total commitment (Pinney, H 1940). But unfortunately this work is usually left for women and goes un-noticed and unappreciated.
According to White ribbon statistics 1 out of 5 women is sexually assaulted in her life time (whiter Ribbon). Sexual harassment can be in the form of verbal or physical harassment. Although various precautions have been taken to remedy this problem, every year the number of sex assault cases keep on rising in Australia. This is a great setback towards feminism since feminism requires that the rights of females be protected and respected.
Criticisms Against Feminism
Critics against feminism claim that “feminists treat men badly and its bad for feminism” (financial Review, (Cathy young, July 2016). Critics against feminists agree that women need to be protected but when they are overly protected what began as fighting for gender equality can quickly turn to “man-hating label” (Cathy young, July 2016). Man hating is where a group of feminists agree and advocate for the mistreatment of all males. Here feminists take male faults and generalize them where phrases like “all men are dog’s” will be highly spread. In doing such feminists don’t usually try to fight for gender equality but they tend to fight for a chance for women to be superior to men.
Critics against feminism also claim that although women should be given more rights and privileges, they cannot be compared to men and that men are superior beings than them. Critics to feminism claim that feminism is not always about “women’s liberation, instead opting for a celebration of (choice)”. This has further crippled the feminism agenda in Australia where instead of tackling the pressing issues that affect women feminists are busy associating feminism with one’s choice. Feminists therefore have been unable to liberate women from the social oppressions they face. When feminists associate feminism with choice critics argue that the “idea that choices automatically equate to more freedom is falsehood” (L. Floriane, April 2015: NO, Feminism is about choice
Critics against feminism in Australia have also shed a light on how feminists design their slogans. The slogans are a “narcissistic reflective thought process” where you’ll hear slogan like “the future is female…fight now to allow women to participate equally in the oppression of the powerless and the poor “among many other phrases (Ritzer, G 2008). These phrases which are usually used by harsh feminists in an attempt to seek attention are usually unfruitful. Feminism critics claim that many beauty companies and media houses tend advocate for female rights through such slogans. Their efforts have always been unfruitful since they are always after public opinion, ratings and money.
Feminism critics are always against the view held by many feminists that “the male controlled hierarchy is the is the root cause of women’s oppression and thus advocates for total uprooting and reconstruction of society” (Lamour C. Jan 2018) such views against the male gender has made many females to bitter toward men where they view them as the only setback to them. It tends to propagate the view that men and women cannot coexist in the society as total equals. In contemporary Australia critics claim that such views need to be uprooted and women should only strive to ensure that there is gender equality and not gender elimination where the male figure is eliminated.
Achievements in Contemporary Australia
Although there are critics against feminism in Australia, women have been able to achieve a lot in this contemporary society. Gender equality in the working and wages sector has been realized where women have secured top job positions with good incomes. Although gender parity has not been totally realized women are seen and regarded as equals to their male counterparts.
References
Australian Human Rights Commission 2014, Face the facts: Gender equality, viewed 10 January 2018, .
Delanty, G 2009, ‘The foundations of social theory’, in BS Turner (ed.) The new Blackwell companion to social theory. Blackwell Publishing, West Sussex. pp. 19–37
Hooks, B 2015, Feminist theory: From margin to centre, Routledge, New York, NY.
Lamour, C 1990, Parliamentary Research Service: Background paper: Sex discrimination legislation in Australia, viewed 5 January 2018, .
Pinney, H 1940, ‘The structure of social action’, Ethics, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 164–192, viewed 19 January 2018, .
Ritzer, G 2008, Modern sociological theory, 7th edn, McGraw Hill, New York, NY.
Sex Discrimination Act 1984), viewed 5 January 2018, .
United Nations Human Rights Office of the Commissioner 2014, Women’s rights are human rights, viewed 10 January 2018, .
Workplace Gender Equity Agency 2017b, Australia’s gender pay gap statistics, viewed 11 January 2018, .
