Thursday 30 August 2018

Women and Power: a Manifesto by Mary Beard

"Telemachus' outburst was just the first case in a long line of largely successfully attempts stretching throughout Greek and Roman antiquity, not only to exclude women from public speech, but also to parade that exclusion."

Just the other day I made a suggestion in a meeting, which got no response until a man parroted it in his own voice and claimed it as his own. My blood boiled, as per usual. I'm a firm believer in the equality of the sexes and at its heart is an equal voice.
Mary Beard eloquently underscores this current dilemma and traces it back through time to illustrate that this is not something new and to query why that is the case and how to resolve the issue.

This is a rather slim volume that you can knock over in next to no time. That is not to detract from its power. Size is no determinant there. An important read that so beautifully demonstrates the issues we still unfortunately face today and their genesis back in classical times.

I will be heard and we all deserve to be. A recent illustration was the appalling treatment of Lucy Zelic during the SBS coverage of the World Cup - the beautiful game - the treatment was inhuman and undeserved. The lens that women are viewed through as compared to men is a worry. We need to re frame the discussion to merit and move away from keeping the girls down at heel. Mary is clearly on the ball here.

5 out of 5 women's voices, men's voices, they all deserve a listen.



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