To be a misogynist (or mysgonist) in today’s topsy-turvy Orwellian world means you must (a) actually like (real) women, (b) respect (real) women and (c) talk in complimentary tones about (real) women.
To really value and advocate for women in today’s Orwellian world, you must (a) passionately advocate for people to be placed into positions of authority not on the basis of ability, but on the equipment between their legs, (b) passionately advocate for the *right* of women to murder their unborn, (c) make no comment AND HAVE NO JUDGMENTAL THOUGHT about whether a woman dresses for the boardroom or the boardwalk, and (d) make no assumption about whether a woman is for sale or rent, just because she happens to dress and act like it.
See how it works in backwards-land?
For those who want the context: Gillard calls Abbott (ie the PM of Australia the leader of the opposition. But he hired Peta Credlin.
Six foot tall, with a long face, and a mane of brown hair, Credlin’s an imposing figure with an imposing personality. Her authority within Abbott’s office is absolute – and extends far beyond it. She’s worked closely with Scott Morrison on asylum seekers and George Brandis on the pursuit of Craig Thomson.
An unabashed populist, Credlin’s from the Graham Richardson “whatever it takes” school of politics. Getting Abbott into the Lodge is her all-consuming passion.
“She’s not a policy-driven person,” says an adviser who worked closely with her in Brendan Nelson’s office. “She was too interested in playing silly buggers.”
Many Liberals, especially the more ideologically inclined, are fed up with her focus on short-term politics and authoritarian style. Some have even stooped as low as spreading vicious – and untrue – tales about her personal life and travel expenses.
Such tactics are, of course, inexcusable. But it’s a fact that there’s little scope for Liberals to complain internally about Credlin’s performance. Abbott trusts her implicitly – and you’ve got to be brave to go to Brian Loughnane, the Liberal Party’s federal director, to criticise her. He’s her husband.
So working with a stroppy driven women who is not afraid to call someone an idiot is misogynist. Because she is tall, married and conservative. To not be a misogynist you have to be a liberal — either of the fascist (Democrat) or socialist (Labour, social democrat, Green) variety. Which is why Schwyzer and Menendez are not misogynist, and Abbott is.
The term has jumped an orca. It is now meaningless, and to use it is to invoke Gresham’s law: you have lost the argument and are relying on calling names.