Gender Bias

On RN's "Australia Talks" yesterday, the discussion was on domestic violence but what seemed to bubble to the surface was gender bias. The same is true for raising children and things like maternity leave - i.e. this is an issue for females.

Bollocks. If anything's clear from the discussion, its that there we shouldn't stereotype these issues and every case is different. Let me give an example. Say a mother wants to actively pursue her career and has a supporting husband who would be happy to play caregiver. Why aren't we arguing equally for his right to be paid to stay at home? Similarly, women are just as good at domestic violence - not so much physically, but mental abuse.

The point is, there are problems and they need to be addressed. By giving them a gender bias, you tend to alienate the other side (particularly those with a conservative bias - poor bastards) which then turns the issue into a hot potato. The resultant affect of that - nothing gets done.

So please, take out the emotive gender language and focus on the problem. Violence against partners be they male, female, same sex, etc. Providing care for our children be it home care from a parent or family member, a home care "mum", child care, etc. We should value the decision of others and ensure their interests are looked after.