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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-03-07 Daily Xml
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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

The Hon. L.R. BREUER (Giles) (15:38): I do congratulate Port Augusta on its art—whatever is happening there—they deserve it, particularly with that wonderful structure along the highway, their art piece there. Tomorrow is International Women's Day and I rise today to reflect on where we have come in my life time. I am a feminist and I have always been proud to say so. I am one of those ageing feminists—

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Sorry; point of clarification.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Point of clarification.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: What are you talking about, 'that wonderful structure along the highway'?

The Hon. L.R. BREUER: Along the pipeline, piles of gravel.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Giles has the call.

The Hon. L.R. BREUER: I am one of those ageing feminists who have been the butt of much derision and negativity for many years, but in spite of this I am very passionate about the cause. I am not a man-hater, I do not believe women should have preference when merit is involved, and I am certainly not a militant proponent of the cause, but I have always believed in the issues, and have tried in my own way to better the lives of women and their families.

One my proudest achievements is my daughter, who is a 26-year-old young woman who is not afraid to call herself a feminist, despite the complications that can arise, particularly in her peer groups. She was raised in a single-parent household and has had the opportunity in her lifetime to be with and influenced by good, strong, likeminded women, and I believe she has reaped the benefits of this.

My daughter is a sassy, intelligent, caring young woman who has done much already in her life to support women's lives both here and overseas, and wants to spend her life working in fields which will benefit women who do not have the opportunities, and her confidence to do what she believes is best for her and for humanity. She will make, and indeed already has made, her mark on the world, and I am very proud of her. I know she will change the world in some way, big or small, because she has that choice.

Feminism is often defined as giving women a choice in their lives. It is about believing that gender should not determine a person's life and opportunities, and that is what my generation of women fought for and, to a large extent, we succeeded in many ways. In Australia and much of the Western world, young women take for granted that they now have the same opportunities as their brothers in employment, education and lifestyle.

The right to choose is an unarguable right for all women and works for many, but I do wonder about the single mother with young children and limited education, with few opportunities to get out of the poverty rut. Have we really achieved a choice for them, despite the numerous education possibilities now out there for all, despite the availability of child care and of income support? I think there are very brave women who do manage to overcome all the obstacles in place. Some manage, but we need to give them a lot more support, or it is a big, gaping chasm between the hype and the reality of their situations.

The women in domestic violence situations, the young girl who is under the guardianship of the minister, the young Aboriginal girls in remote communities: is there real tangible opportunity for them to overcome the mind frame they are in and the binds that hold them down?

I have spent time overseas with women in many patriarchal societies who have none of the choice of opportunities that we have in Australia: where prostitution may be the only way to support your family, where being the second or third daughter in the family means you have no way to pull yourself out of your circumstances.

I am totally confused by modern young women who are caught up in all this fantasy that female liberation is about total sexual freedom, and that the sexier you are and look, the more successful you are. I was one of those who believed that we should burn our bras and be accepted on our merits, not on our boobs. Thank goodness I did not literally burn my bra, or I would have an even worse gravity problem than I currently have.

I believe young women should look attractive and should be free to dress as they choose, but I fail to see how they will ever be taken seriously by men when their tops and bottoms are hanging out of their clothes. We can change society but we can't change human nature, and if it is there to look at, men will look and not think about much else—certainly not your IQ.

This seems to be connected by this more distressing trend of young women—and, indeed, very young women—to use social media to send around pictures of their bodies and very explicit sex messages. I shudder to think of the regret and problems that will cause them later on.

I think we have done very well with feminism, and I see many women whose lives have been changed by that. But, as I said, there are many women out there who do not have the opportunities that we have in Australia and the Western world. Sadly, when the best-selling and most discussed book of the last year or two is about a silly young woman who allows herself to be totally dominated by a misogynistic, arrogant, sadistic, abusive male (50 Shades of Grey), then I do wonder how far we have gone. I wish all my sisters the best for tomorrow, and I look forward to the world changing.

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