Sir, – Once again I am in awe of Una Mullally ("Don't lean in, barge in", Opinion & Analysis, November 3rd). There is a myth that abounds today among some women that gender equality has been achieved. Feminism as an idea, a collective bargaining position or attitude can now be packed away with other embarrassing relics of a bygone age.
The number of female colleagues who have spouted the rhetoric “I’m not a feminist!” to me is simply frightening. The same women who will continue to be referred to as girls long after womanhood has flourished, who will be paid less then their male counterparts, who will continue to be underrepresented in the boardroom and in government and who will be denied reproductive freedoms. While real world and online misogyny flourished, feminism somehow became the dirty word. Now the threat of rape on social media is a much more meaningful way of voicing distaste for what a female commentator has to say. No debate, just a demeaning threat of violence and violation intended to silence.
As Ms Mullally states, women must be socially palatable to be heard and understood. In my short professional career to date, I have been instructed on numerous occasions that to be listened to by any male superiors, I must be demure and always polite. Never direct, aggressive or emotional. In short, women must be palatable. It is an affront to me that certain female politicians in this country are undermined largely by media and ridiculed by the voting public if they are perceived as being abrasive or “screechy”. It is not what they are saying but how they are saying it, the timbre of their voices, if you will, that is actually alienating some people. A complaint I have never heard levelled at a male politician. These things are not palatable. They are actually abhorrent.
To any men having trouble embracing feminism and who are bemused and wondering what is it that women want, let me tell you! We want exactly the same things you already have and we are sick of asking nicely just to be heard. – Yours, etc,
Dr ERICA MULLANEY,
Kilmessan, Co Meath.