Ten years ago, Michelle Payne shattered the glass ceiling of Australian horse racing by becoming the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. This year, Jamie Melham followed in her footsteps, riding Half Yours to a stunning victory and becoming only the second woman in history to win the coveted race.
Not only that, Jamie became the first woman to complete the Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double. This is a historic achievement worth celebrating. But alas, welcome to 2025, where misogyny still gallops faster than progress.
Jamie’s win was nothing short of extraordinary. She threaded the needle (a new racing concept l learnt) through tight gaps, overtook her own husband Ben Melham (yes, the first time a married couple competed against each other in the Cup), and stormed to victory. Her emotional reaction was a moment of pure sporting joy.
But while most of us were cheering, a dark corner of the internet was already disgusting.
Enter ‘Blokes Advice’, a Facebook group that claims to be ‘keeping bloke culture alive since 2016’. If by bloke culture they mean sexist, misogynistic, 1950s locker-room banter, then mission accomplished. The group shared a post after Jamie’s win: ‘At least Ben Melham gets to ride a Melbourne Cup winner tonight…’ followed by a cesspool of comments that sexualised Jamie, mocked her achievement, and reduced her to a punchline. ‘Could be a wet track’, ‘reverse cowgirl for sure’, and those are the tame ones. Some were so vile they defy repetition.
Worse still, women were among the commenters, and over 700 comments were mostly congratulating each other for their ‘clever jokes’. Most reveled in it. When news.com.au reached out for comment, the group dismissed it as ‘entertaining content’ and suggested the journalist write about ‘real issues like domestic violence’. The irony is so thick you could ride it in the Cup.
Let’s be clear, violence against women, whether physical, sexual, or psychological, is overwhelmingly gendered. And it doesn’t start with fists. It starts with words. With jokes. With the normalisation of degrading women. When a woman’s historic sporting achievement is met with sexual innuendo and ridicule, it sends a message that you are not here to win, you are here to be objectified.
Does a woman winning the Melbourne Cup emasculate men that much? Apparently so. The backlash reeks of the insecurity of middle-aged men clinging to relevance by tearing down a successful woman. Jamie Melham didn’t just win a race; she exposed the fragile egos of those who cannot handle female excellence.
And let’s not forget the broader context. Jamie’s win came after years of hard work, overcoming injuries, and even controversies. She was suspended, criticised, and still came back stronger. Her ride was a masterclass in skill and strategy. She didn’t just beat the field; she beat the odds.
So what does this mean for gender equality? It means we are not there yet. Not even close. As long as groups like ‘Blokes Advice’ exist and thrive, as long as sexist ‘banter’ is brushed off as harmless fun, we will continue to undermine women’s achievements. We will continue to create environments where women are ridiculed instead of revered. Few men on the Facebook post called out the sexism. Male allyship is not about rescuing women; it is about standing beside them, calling out sexism when it rears its ugly head, and refusing to laugh along with the ‘boys will be boys’ brigade. True allies don’t just clap from the sidelines; they challenge the locker-room culture, they speak up in the comment threads, and they help build a world where women’s victories are celebrated, not sexualised.
Jamie Melham deserves more than a trophy. She deserves respect. She deserves to be celebrated without caveats, without innuendo, without being reduced to a sexual object. And we, as a society, need to do better. Because if we can’t cheer for a woman who just made history without making a sexist joke, then maybe the joke is on us and all those middle-aged boomer men are the jokes.