Germaine Greer

[Coolstorysis]

I recently saw clip of her on reddit from the 70s I think, where the presenter was so condescending and sexist. She handled it magnificently and I was reminded how great she is .

Anyone have any good discussions/videos to share?

GG on Newsnight. Classic. Lots of swearing.

And at 6:15 - SHE DOESNT CARE

I like that she doesn't care.

Shows how far we have fallen that Kirsty Walk talking herself sounds shocking because she's rightfully referring to men as he and not, as she would do today, as she

I love her, in all her contradictions and complexities. She has such a magnificent mind.

I like the cut of her jib

Been watching some of her and I actually agree with her stance on rape. I have been raped myself but I agree that it's not an elevated crime akin to murder. I know that it has consequences above and beyond the Immediate act, but I'd rather be raped non violently than be beaten within an inch of my life.

I'm sorry you experienced rape.

My dad use to rape me from when I was 4yo to about 9yo but I never knew he was doing it because it gave me trauma amnesia every time.
The memories resurfaced in my twenties. I've suffered mental health issues my entire life. I'm actually hoping to send him to prison, I've already taken the first steps.

I think some women (and children) suffer extreme trauma from rape. It's not just "bad sex" as GG says. I think she has a massive empathy blind spot when it comes to rape.

Oh golly circumferances, I'm so sorry, I did not mean that it wasn't traumatic. I meant that for adult women, the offense is given an elevated status just below murder, like it is somehow worse than beating someone almost to death. Its really difficult to explain but I grom her.

I'm so sorry if I caused offence.

Yeah she got absolutely pulverised for that and I think she was somewhat misinterpreted.
I've also suffered some abuse that some people might call rape (coercive sex, sleep sex) and it took me ages to even admit it (still not 100% comfortable tbh).
I'd certainly rather not be dead. I do think there is a certain misogyny in making out rape is equivalent to murder, it almost gives men more power. That's not to say it isn't traumatic but we can survive it

Anyway I love her. Here's a recent quote:

What everybody has accepted is the idea of equality feminism,” Greer told an audience of about 500 people at the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre for the International Women’s Day 'Event “It will change nothing. War is made against civilian populations where women and children are the principal casualties in places like Syria, whether in collapsing buildings or bombed schools. War is now completely made by the rich with their extraordinary killing machines, killing the poor who have no comeback. Women are drawing level with men in this profoundly destructive world that we live in and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s the wrong way. We’re getting nowhere."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/09/equality-is-a-profoundly-conservative-goal-for-women-germaine-greer-says

She's also done some amazing things on ecology and rewilding that I really admire

More seventies Germaine, from 1971:From a debate she did with Norman Mailer and others, filmed as ‘Town Bloody Hall’. It’s on YouTube.

I mean she's a goddess. We will miss her when she's gone. Where are the Germaines of 2023?

She'd have been banned on MN, I reckon.

Female Eunuch is a great book.

Julie Bindel is a contender I reckon

But also I think she is One Of A Kind. Can't think of many like her full stop.

Currently rereading the Female Eunuch after a gap of 35 years. What I'd forgotten is how erudite she is, on top of that brilliant mind. It has a very literary quality.

I think she’s brilliant. The older I get the more I realise how right she was on so many issues.

Rape has an elevated status just below murder because that's just what it is, a form of murder, a violation of the person. Germaine Greer (right on many things) is wrong on this one, despite being a rape victim herself. And rape comes in many forms, child abuse, gang rape, sex slavery, forced marriage, rape during war (which involves all the rest). It's traumatic and an ever-present fear in the back of every woman's mind.

She's brilliant

Does anyone have any idea how to get a thank you card to Germaine? Last I read, she moved back to Australia. She checked into a care home during Covid but afterwards moved in with her brother and his family in Melbourne.

If you sent a card to "Germaine Greer, Melbourne" do you think it would get to her? Any Aussies got advice - could your postal service handle such a vague address?

At 84, who knows how long she has to go. I'd like to write and say thank you to her for being a trailblazer and leading the way.

Send to her publisher, ask them to pass it on. That usually works.

Thank you for sharing your story. I had a similar experience, including amnesia and memories resurfacing in my twenties, but a different male relative who died before I knew what he had done.
I'm in awe at your courage and I hope you succeed in making him face the consequences of what he did and get some peace or closure from it.

I was lucky enough to see her in a public debate some years ago. She absolutely pulverised the opposition with her logic and eloquence. I was actually embarrassed for the other side.

I love that interview. She just comes straight out with it: you can’t be a woman if you’re a man, I don’t care, fuck this.

No apologies, no waffling, no compromise. Bloody marvellous woman.

It seems to be universal that crimes are not dealt with proportionately to the distress of the victim (maybe because people with low social and political capital are more likely to become victims). I've always thought for instance that DV with coercive control, where the victim knows they'll be pursued if they try to escape, should be treated as essentially a kidnapping.