Given Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s body parts have become a legitimate source of national conversation, it was only a matter of time before a ‘Convoy of Cleaveage’ was launched in a bid to strike back.
That convoy is calling on women to post images of their cleavage on Twitter, or to consider sharing photos of their own version of the bits of Gillard’s physical characteristics that have been open for debate – fingernails, ear lobes, hair, glasses, jackets, bottom etc.
The tipping point , according to blogger No Place For Sheep today who appears to have instigated the campaign, came when AFR columnist and IR consultant Grace Collier told the ABC’s Radio National on Sunday that our Prime Minister had revealed an inappropriate amount of cleavage in Parliament.
Collier claimed on the panel program with host Jonathan Green that although she can imagine herself being “burnt at the stake” for making such comments, she hasn’t actually heard anyone attack the PM for being a woman.
After fellow panelist Eva Cox suggested she read some of the commentaries out there in the media and consider the fact that no male PM has ever been asked about his partner’s sexuality, Collier said she agreed but offered an additional comment: “I don’t think it is appropriate for a Prime Minister to be showing her cleavage in parliament.” Collier added it’s “inappropriate and unprofessional”, and that she doesn’t want to see any politician’s flesh in parliament (a comment followed up an astonished Cox, who noted men don’t actually have breasts that could be shown in parliament).
Collier’s further opined:
“In my opinion, as an industrial relations consultant, it is inappropriate to be in parliament, it is disrespectful to yourself and to the Australian community and to the parliament, to present yourself in a manner that is unprofessional. In every Australian workplaces we have certain standards of presentation and conduct. It is not just about personal presentation, it is about conduct.”
Women can join the convoy by using the twitter hashtag #ConvoyOfCleavage.
See more of the transcript from yesterday’s discussion on Crikey blog, The Northern Myth.