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Post by doe on Sept 5, 2009 23:06:15 GMT -5
Just to put the first post in this thread in context, yesterday, our State health minister resigned over a sex scandal. He's a 53 year old married guy allegedly having an affair with a 26 year old - how sweet (not). This morning I hear that the premier of another State, Queensland, is going to be one of the celebrities lining up for our version of the TV show Celebrity Masterchef. Yep, she's gonna whip up a feast or two in between all that legislating . Is this a joke or what? So springing over from the the Spring thread (did you like that segway?), I thought I would expand on the above. Firstly, the sex scandal. These things are nothing new and this is just another one. However, what is slightly different about this one is that late last year this guy's politician wife was also in a political scandal. It was not a sex scandal. I won't go into the detail, but this lady was portrayed in the press as being an aggressive, angry woman who lauded it over the little people by saying something like "Do you know who I am?" to a waiter at a local restaurant. There was a lot of sympathy for her health minister husband at the time and our prime minister allegedly made her take anger management classes. She is still a federal politician today. So there is speculation in the press now that this health minister for all that he has done will come back, simply because of who he is married to and what everybody perceives he has had to put up with from his wife. Just watch this slightly skewed value system space . Having thought a bit more about why the whole Anna Bligh www.thepremier.qld.gov.au/about/bio.aspx appearing on Celebrity Masterchef bothers me, I have to sheepishly say it's because she's a woman. Now, before you all jump on me, I am one and my main purpose here is to generate debate, not controversy. The thing that troubles me is that in Australia's history we have only ever had 3 or 4 female premiers. Whilst we do have lots of female politicians and our deputy prime minister is one, there is really not an abundance of strong female role models around. So, the fact that when we finally have one who appears to be someone to which most females can relate, she decides to go back in the kitchen is disappointing. She says she is doing it to showcase QLD produce. Well fine, but just because she will probably cook with sugar, bananas, pineapple and some macadamias, I would be very surprised if this will do anything for the QLD economy - it has more to do with her celebrity than anything else (there must be an election coming up). I work in a male dominated industry and that's fine by me - I relish it. On my way up, several women were trotted out as examples of successful women. I remember one of a woman who worked as a top executive for a major ASX listed company, was divorced, had three children. She gave us a talk about her life and during it, she revealed that in fact she had an army of helpers - nannies, cooks, cleaners etc and slept 3 hours a night! Not a realistic role model - at least not for me. Not many people can afford the army of helpers and I certainly need more sleep than that. So I am disappointed in Anna Bligh. She has potential to be a great role model, but I think this is a bad move. I really wonder how young women will find their way with examples like this. So if you are a parent or hope to be one one day, have a think about what you would like your daughters to become and how they are going to get there. By way of contrast, some years ago we had a female premiere in Victoria called Joan Kirner. She was a fairly serious lady who didn't smile much and she was slightly on the portly side. After she left politics, she appeared on one of our comedy shows and did a take off of Joan Jett in leathers singing "I Love Rock & Roll". It was hilarious ;D and I think a good example that sometimes we can and should have a laugh at ourselves ;D. There are times to laugh, but there are also times when we need to be just a bit more serious and for me, the time for Anna Bligh to be a bit more serious is now. There's a lot she could achieve. You may not agree with me and that's OK. If we all thought the same, life would be very dull indeed .
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Post by doe on Sept 5, 2009 23:28:10 GMT -5
BTW, it is fathers day in Australia today. So happy fathers day to any dads out there .
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Post by Inigo Montoya on Sept 6, 2009 9:30:08 GMT -5
Happy Belated Father's Day!
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Post by Dee Dee on Sept 6, 2009 14:31:56 GMT -5
Happy Father´s day (a bit belated). Father´s day here is the 5th of June. How about an official day to celebrate for us here - the DD (Devotees´ Day)? On which day did the message board go live? We could choose that day . The DD would be a day to really pamper ourselves - celebrate who we are - indulge in wheeler fiction - wear the T-shirts from CaféPress and such ... (even more so than we do already) ... ahhh .
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Post by Inigo Montoya on Sept 6, 2009 14:37:10 GMT -5
I promise, doe, that I'm going to reply to the role model part... but it's taking me a bit to gather my thoughts and sound all coherent and stuff.
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Post by beanzo22 on Sept 6, 2009 15:27:20 GMT -5
hmmmmmmmmm that may take quite a while Clover
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Post by doe on Sept 6, 2009 17:01:50 GMT -5
I promise, doe, that I'm going to reply to the role model part... but it's taking me a bit to gather my thoughts and sound all coherent and stuff. No problem Clover it always takes me a while to sound coherent as well and that's after 3 cups of coffee in the morning - Bananas, where are you when I need you ;D? The whole issue of role models is of course not confined to women. It would apply equally to others, including wheelers.
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Post by doe on Sept 6, 2009 17:06:26 GMT -5
Happy Father´s day (a bit belated). Father´s day here is the 5th of June. How about an official day to celebrate for us here - the DD (Devotees´ Day)? On which day did the message board go live? We could choose that day . The DD would be a day to really pamper ourselves - celebrate who we are - indulge in wheeler fiction - wear the T-shirts from CaféPress and such ... (even more so than we do already) ... ahhh . Oh devodiva, what a great idea! I think I prefer WOW day as a name though . This idea has soooooo much potential LOL.
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Post by Dee Dee on Sept 6, 2009 18:04:16 GMT -5
A strong role model for me is one of the female Danish top-politicians called Helle Thorning-Schmidt. She is the leader of the Danish Social Democratic Party and will be the very first female Prime Minister if the political power shifts by the next election. Danish women got their right to vote as far back as in 1915, and we have had and still have many very talented female politicians. The reason why I consider Mrs. Thorning-Schmidt to be a role model is that she´s very talented at what she does. She is married to a British man, who is an executive and they have two daughters. She has practical help; without that she couldn´t do it and she "admits" that openly. An argument - and it may be politically incorrect - should a really talented and intelligent woman, who is aiming to work hard for the common good, run around in her home with a vacuum cleaner and a washing-up brush? Another reason she´s one of my role models is that she is always very well prepared when she´s in contact with the media; she´s always presentable and very well-spoken (almost needless to say, I agree with most of her political points of view as well). www.ft.dk/baggrund/biografier/pdf/english/SHETS.pdf
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Post by Ouch on Sept 6, 2009 19:24:14 GMT -5
clover, I suffer the same problem often (as you all can tell by my rambling, meaningless posts) - damn that Maker's Mark.
WOW Day...I like the sounds of that...though Blizzard Entertainment might already own that has a trademark for their World of Warcraft game...
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Post by Inigo Montoya on Sept 6, 2009 22:19:37 GMT -5
A strong role model is someone who does what they want, what they need and what they think needs done regardless of circumstance or censure. IMO...
There's a shitload of stuff about feminism, etc in my head... but this is what it boils down to.
Windy, Maker's Mark was the coolest distillery tour I've ever been on. (Which may not be saying much as the only other one I've been to is Jack Daniel's... BUT it also had the best distillery tour award from a friend's Grandma, who I reckon had been to nearly every one in the south... it's what she and her hubby did for fun. And mine was an abbreviated tour, done right after they closed... that lady was awesome!)
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Post by mike on Sept 6, 2009 23:18:43 GMT -5
My 2 cents worth;
I read with interest the remarks about the female politician having a bunch of help, and wonder why she should be held to a different standard than a male. You don't see anyone criticizing male politicians if they don't spend time in the kitchen, cleaning or whatever. If a male hires a nanny to watch the kids, why is that different than if a female does it?
Kids need parenting, but I don't think it matters all that much whether it is the mother or the father that is the primary parent, so why the disparity in expectations?
I do have opinions about female politicians however; here in California we have two female senators, one is smart, the other is dumb as a box of rocks. I don't think it is a good idea to have a female politician who is such a poor example; some people are already prejudiced about females in politics, why give them ammunition?
The good examples abound, such as Margaret Thatcher - you may or may not have liked her political leanings, but few would dispute that she was effective. How about Golda Maier (is that spelling correct?), again whether or not you agree with her politics, few would suggest being female was an impediment to her office.
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Post by Ciao Bella on Sept 8, 2009 20:03:55 GMT -5
A strong role model is very subjective, really depending on what morals and ethics one perceives to be important to them. Personally, I admire women role models who are first and foremost - that, a WOMAN. A woman has different and unique qualities that help her through tough times, daunting challenges, and still manage to brighten up someone's day. It is because she is woman that she draws strength from the constant discrimination and plays along to get what she wants. I have to say, the CEO of Westpac, a lady named Gale Kelly is on top of my role model list. She used to be the CEO of the bank I used to work for a couple of years back. Let me say that in between wheeling and dealing and steering the company to stupidly high profit margins, she always took the time to update everyone in the company (via intranet messages of course) about her recent holiday to some snow resort or how one of her children was on their L plates and how that scared her more than the boardroom. And that's my point - sure she's one of the most sought-after company leaders, but she ensures that people know that she's a regular jane like any of us. Sure she may have a battery of helpers, etc...but that's a very big need (in her case anyway). And of course, one could sense that she was genuine when she was talking to you ... you just know it. Working in a male-dominated industry, as well, although I know my capabilities and how much potential I decide to show, I've also learned to "swim with the sharks" and "play the game". Because face it, no matter how fantastic you are at what you do, if you don't get noticed one way or the other, you won't get anywhere quick. No, I haven't slept with any of the bosses LOL but I still maintain that a few of them are bosom-inclined. And yes, I may have inadvertently worn bosom-flattering work shirts, but I also work my arse off ... and I think that's a deadly combination LOL Which brings me to something a bit off-topic...have any of you heard the saying, the man may be the head of the house but the woman is the neck that tells him where to look
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Post by doe on Sept 8, 2009 22:57:25 GMT -5
Well torch my butt and call me charred ;D, I had a feeling I was going out on a limb on this one LOL. For the record, I have no problem with anybody having help, even a whole army full. That wasn't the point of the post, it was how I identify with role models that have been presented to me. As for Anna Bligh, to me this is a stunt which she she doesn't need and hasn't thought through or she has been ill-advised. I think there are plenty of other ways she can relate to her constituency. I only hope people will remember Anna Bligh through what she has achieved for Queensland and not as a contestant on some reality show. Isabelle, I also think Gayle Kelly is great and genuine. She pulled St George up by the hair and may she do it again for Westpac. BTW, in a couple of weeks, I have an opportunity to hear Anna Meares, the Olympic cyclist, speak - should be interesting. So, as always, each to their own .
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Post by doe on Sept 8, 2009 23:10:00 GMT -5
Which brings me to something a bit off-topic...have any of you heard the saying, the man may be the head of the house but the woman is the neck that tells him where to look I have heard that expression before and it so true with so many households I know. But Isabelle, did you have to disclose our secret ;D?
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