misandry – Stephanie Rodgers

20 October 201519 October 2015

Women of #nzpol Twitter: on weight, food and pregnancy

The “Women of #nzpol Twitter roundup” is brought to you in the interests of amplifying women’s voices in the political debate and also because:

I got the inside running on this one by catching five minutes of Breakfast on One’s interview with John Key:

https://twitter.com/bootstheory/status/655811669285732352

The rest of the media weren’t far behind.

Awesome. Let's beat up on women, that'll solve childhood obesity … http://t.co/mqNBdpk1NQ

— Andrea Vance (@avancenz) October 18, 2015

I just want to note the first sentence of the article Andrea Vance linked to:

More than 60 per cent of pregnant women gain more weight than is recommended, which has implications for a child’s weight later in life.

Not implications for health; implications for weight. We’re so wedded to the notion that being fat automatically means you’re unhealthy that we don’t even need to establish whether or not weight gain in pregnancy leads to health issues. It just must because ew, fatties.

Take it away, Twitter:

@KittyCatNZ @avancenz that'll work way better than, i dunno, securing access to healthy food options for people who work 60hour minimum wage

— @br3nda@cloudisland.nz (@BR3NDA) October 18, 2015

@avancenz Let's ignore research, the advice of experts, AND beat up on women. Argh.

— Marianne Elliott (she/her) (@zenpeacekeeper) October 18, 2015

So National Party wants to criticise what pregnant & breastfeeding women eat, but won't support them with #8MoreWeeks paid parental leave?

— Sue Moroney (@suemoroney) October 18, 2015

I have a thought or 2 about this whole women-shouldn't-put-on-too-much-weight-during-pregnancy thing. you'll be surprised to hear.

— stories from the city (@mizjwilliams) October 18, 2015

I had *never, ever* felt that the state has as much interest invested in my body as when i was pregnant. Seriously. You become a commodity.

— stories from the city (@mizjwilliams) October 18, 2015

Also – food is a highly political issue. So add that into the already-politicised mesh that's being woven around your pregnant body: COMPLEX

— stories from the city (@mizjwilliams) October 18, 2015

https://twitter.com/GrumpyYetAmusin/status/655883987097784320

Also I'm assuming I'm going to get really really fucking angry in about… two minutes?

— Danielle, Terf-Mocker General (@dimsie) October 18, 2015

I got plaudits for not gaining "too much" weight. You know what I changed about my diet? Nothing. Because my diet was fine. I lied to her.

— Danielle, Terf-Mocker General (@dimsie) October 18, 2015

https://twitter.com/LI_politico/status/655889127242534912

I dunno, I'm just fucked off. I love my kids so so soooooo much and it nearly killed me having them (literally) and I try to make them

— Danielle, Terf-Mocker General (@dimsie) October 18, 2015

@dimsie Hello this is the message I'm getting from all this stuff and I don't even have kids but also <3.

— horrible slug (@ehjc) October 18, 2015

@FrancesCook WHERE DOES IT END?

— Claire Trevett (@CTrevettNZH) October 19, 2015

https://twitter.com/Dovil/status/655982421607755776

And back to me:

https://twitter.com/bootstheory/status/655969998330925056

https://twitter.com/bootstheory/status/655970302103437313

@bootstheory sorry I thought that yelling personal responsibility at the problem would fix it but now I think maybe no???

— ChubbyBlondeSandwich (@MorganHopes) October 19, 2015

https://twitter.com/bootstheory/status/655975429635899392

For many, many informed perspectives on what happens when you force fat people to go to the doctor, check out First Do No Harm.

This is a common tune for me, but I’m just going to repeat it: fatness does not equal poor health. Thinness does not equal good health. Correlating certain diseases with fatness does not mean fatness causes those diseases. Considering the incredibly fatphobic society we live in, it’s ludicrous not to consider the effects of stress, deprivation, and societally-applauded yo-yo dieting on the overall health of fat people, even IF fat people were inherently less healthy than thin people, which they’re not.

And when it comes to policing the every waking thought and action of pregnant people – including how much weight they gain during pregnancy – there really aren’t good grounds to be talking about “evidence-based approaches”.

Stop talking about weight. Stop judging people based on their weight. Stop buying into the weightloss industry’s propaganda. Because if you want to know the #1 reason why we’re not having national conversations about food access, living wages, family time, and health awareness? Maybe it’s something to do with the fact we keep saying it’s all fat people’s fault for not being able to put down the doughnuts.

And for god’s sake stop making pregnant people responsible for the welfare of our entire society.

17 October 201515 October 2015

The myth of hiring on merit: James Shaw at the CTU conference

Green co-leader James Shaw announced at the CTU conference last week that in any future government, when the Greens are at the Cabinet table, at least half of their seats will be filled by women.

Cue the #manban headlines.

But seriously, Shaw showed some good, clear thinking here on an issue which so often gets swamped with #notallmen whining or #butwhataboutmerit or #reversesexism!!!

Take a look at our current Parliament which is seventy percent male. Or Cabinet, which governs the country, also seventy percent male.

No one seriously thinks all those guys are there because they’re the best of the best, or that they’ve all got so much more merit than any female politicians.

The reality is that it’s a traditionally male institution.

There were legal and social barriers preventing women from entering. And those overt barriers are gone but many subtle barriers remain.

And just to really reach the psyche of ~middle New Zealand~ (I’m joking, James, you’re doing good work here) he goes for the king of metaphors:

I’m going to steal a trick from our friend John Key here – this is his only trick – and use an All Blacks analogy.

Imagine if we had a coach who almost always picked players from only the North Island, or only the South Island to join the squad.

And they said ‘We pick whoever is best for the team,’ but the team kept losing all its matches.

How long would the nation put up with that? I think you could measure it in seconds before everyone said, ‘This is stupid. This isn’t working. You need to pick players from the whole country.’

That’s what’s happened with the representation of women in politics for decades.

And it isn’t working.

It’s trite but it’s true. You have two options: either admit you think women as a group aren’t as good as men as a group, or acknowledge that there are barriers – human-made, inorganic barriers – to women’s advancement on a par with men.

Or as Catherine Delahunty put it:

Bill English won't support a quota of 50% women in Cabinet cos its based on "merit", who is "merit" and why is he so sexist?

— Catherine Delahunty (@greencatherine) October 15, 2015

14 October 201512 October 2015

Midweek lunch break: If we had a real #manban

It’s illuminating what happens when you take all the men out of politics and media …

30 September 201530 September 2015

Women of #nzpol Twitter roundup: Chris Brown’s tour

The “Women of #nzpol Twitter roundup” is brought to you in the interests of amplifying women’s voices in the political debate and also because:

Yesterday’s roundup went well, so here’s another. The plan is to not always cover “women’s issues” with these – women are experts on far more than “just” that – but I play the hand I’m dealt …

There was the news:

Dame Tariana Turia will support American singer Chris Brown's visa application. #rnz

— Mihingarangi (@Mihi_Forbes) September 29, 2015

https://twitter.com/newsworthynz/status/648735415415934976

And the response was complex. Some talked about the violence:

I have seen the photos of Rihanna's face. I do wonder if anyone campaigning for Brown's NZ visit has.

— Danielle, Terf-Mocker General (@dimsie) September 29, 2015

https://twitter.com/mokai77/status/648730944635998208

to be killed by an intimate partner than non-Māori.

— Carrie Stoddart-Smith (@Ellipsister) September 29, 2015

Some talked about race:

https://twitter.com/cannibality/status/648743091176796160

https://twitter.com/leahSQN/status/648747675022524416

Some talked about forgiveness and redemption:

I respect Tariana hugely & can u/stand why forgiveness is impt, but who r we 2 4give, that is an act that surely belongs to his victims. 1/2

— Carrie Stoddart-Smith (@Ellipsister) September 29, 2015

https://twitter.com/jaylee113/status/648752095743442944

I love how people are saying Chris brown would be good for teaching the young people. He has never made a stand against domestic violence

— Vincristine (@vincristine) September 29, 2015

https://twitter.com/MandyHager/status/648947464859332608

And some pointed out our own track record as a country:

PS In a similar vein, although he is here already so we can't stop him from visiting, I would like Tony Veitch to be shot into the sun.

— Danielle, Terf-Mocker General (@dimsie) September 29, 2015

https://twitter.com/awhina_hotene/status/648754012519403520

https://twitter.com/moscaddie/status/648767681043279872

And let’s not forget, in amongst the “but that was ages ago” rhetoric of Brown’s supporters:

@bootstheory but actually, he kind of HAS been caught doing it again http://t.co/sEzH7ebmr9

— The Spokesvagina (@johubris) September 29, 2015

29 September 201528 September 2015

Women of #nzpol Twitter: on forced contraception for beneficiaries

A few months ago I suggested that I should do a woman-only Twitter round-up on topical issues, in the interests of amplifying women’s voices in the political debate and also because:

So here’s some top tweets on Anne Tolley’s suggestion of ~~coercing~~ encouraging beneficiaries to get sterilised.

I'm a strong supporter of free access to a comprehensive range of contraceptive methods but forcing people, sanctions if they don't NO WAY

— Julie Fairey (@juliefairey) September 27, 2015

Whoah, is it eugenics day on Twitter? I see one of our MPs is on the same fertility-policing tip too. https://t.co/kpDfLi00BH

— stories from the city (@mizjwilliams) September 27, 2015

https://twitter.com/ColeyTangerina/status/647935551883116544

At least once a decade, for a few hundred years, someone has piped up with this shit. It is exactly as racist, classist and gross as always.

— Ancient Queer Bickerings (@CaitlinSnark) September 27, 2015

https://twitter.com/Roz_P_/status/647957451392729088

https://twitter.com/LizzieMarvelly/status/647948841455452160

Let's have a right-wing government talk about controlling people's reproductive options, because that's never a thing ever.

Fuck that shit.

— Dr Sarah Hendrica Bickerton 🏳️‍🌈 (@sarahhbickerton) September 27, 2015

https://twitter.com/bootstheory/status/648221305758593024

https://twitter.com/bootstheory/status/648222644924346368

Also, this isn't a "distraction" because using hatred against the poor and brown and female is their general modus fucking operandi.

— Danielle, Terf-Mocker General (@dimsie) September 27, 2015

https://twitter.com/Dovil/status/648225594820292608

https://twitter.com/AJFitzwater/status/648231166898601984

https://twitter.com/AJFitzwater/status/648231389305815040

https://twitter.com/AJFitzwater/status/648231859747319809

https://twitter.com/cannibality/status/648232353764999168

https://twitter.com/cannibality/status/648232596405510144

I asked Tolley why SHE thinks women who've had multiple children removed keep having babies. Her response: "I think they like having sex".

— Katie Bradford (@katieabradford) September 28, 2015

@katieabradford I doubt they're having sex all by themselves. Funny how it's always women being blamed, but very little talk of men.

— Deborah Russell MP 🐝 (@BeeFaerie) September 28, 2015

If you see any tweets you think I should include in a women-of-#nzpol roundup, drop me a tweet @bootstheory using the hashtag #blatantmisandry.