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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

Love the title and what a great venture. Thank you for the introduction to this. I read a book a mother wrote over a decade about about her daughter's abuse by the dad and the crazy journey she had to take to "rescue" her. It was a real story. The length this woman had to go to in order to save her now adult child was insane. But the main point of that book was sort of hidden inside the story and it said why the abuse takes places in the first place is that all the institutions are run by rules that the courts created and they are mainly male dominated as is church and medical and judicial professions. This was her experience and what she was met with when she tried to get support and evidence. All these men backing each other. I didn't know all the details of the Lively vs Baldoni situation so your discussion gave me more insight to the story. As for difficult women.... I think they're assertive and strong, where no else has the guts to do be. All the best with FFS!

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Anna Wharton's avatar

Thanks so much, and so true about the courts that were created by and serve men. But we have to keep bringing these issues out into the light.

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

Absolutely. Many stories get spinned in certain ways to tell the perspective someone wants and needs. Doesn't mean you should be silent and doesn't mean you stand and watch. Once again, you started a wonderful initiative here.

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Anna Wharton's avatar

Thank you, I’m pleased you think so!

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Betsy Warrior's avatar

Yes, it is so discouraging to come up against male firewalls of self-protection and brotherhood. They're often impenetrable because they seem to function for men with the belief that if they don't protect their brotherhood they won't be able to protect themselves.

Having a strong interest in science, especially the biological sciences, I was reading about Matt Krisiloff, Sam Altman's ex, who is urgently preparing - in his words, "..in case one of the sexes becomes extinct" by creating human-like eggs. So guess which one of the sexes he expects to be exterminated? His billion dollar company, Conception, wants to get in on the enormous profits early because he expects so many men would like to combine each others genes within one egg rather than use a woman's egg because her genes would be in it. Krisiloff feels he's getting closer to his goal and has already used some manufactured ovary cells to nurture his prototype eggs. Sickeningly dystopic, but we have already seen so many examples of the erasure of women in language and social/political roles that it should come as no surprise to those of us who haven't surrendered our integrity for opportunism or male approval.

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Dr Lily Dunn's avatar

Looking forward to watching this develop Anna!

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Mary Beth Rew Hicks's avatar

So great. "Officially cursing in this podcast" had me laughing. I was especially interested in the discussion of men who claim to be feminist but act in ways that belie their real values. It's a type I am overly familiar with. Thanks for solving it all.

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Anna Wharton's avatar

So pleased you enjoyed it!

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Betsy Warrior's avatar

Anna, Will you be critiquing and reviewing each other's writings?

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Anna Wharton's avatar

Not on Monday, Betsy. But I would like to build these types of workshops in.

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Betsy Warrior's avatar

Thanks for your reply Anna.

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Bronwen Leigh's avatar

A fascinating listen - so much intelligence in your conversation. I wish I could afford to become a paid subscriber to all the amazing strong women on here - one day!

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Anna Wharton's avatar

Thanks Bronwen! So pleased you enjoyed it!

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Claire Videau's avatar

This was an awesome conversation. Enjoyed the diversity of topics and how you each put across your opinions. Love love love it and can't wait for the next one. I can't remember but is it gonna be the same guests ? I'd hope so.

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Anna Wharton's avatar

Oh I’m so pleased, Claire! Yes, the four of us again.

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Claire Videau's avatar

awesome !!

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CatherineAmes's avatar

What a great discussion by interesting and clever women. Really thought provoking. As a feminist I haven't really dug into why it is so easy to slide into letting things go - or not disagreeing with a comment that is wrong. Literally FFS!! Thank you. A great panel.

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Anna Wharton's avatar

So pleased to hear you enjoyed it!

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Claire Videau's avatar

Haven't watched/listened to it yet but I know I'll enjoy it.

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Anna Wharton's avatar

Can’t wait to hear what you think, Claire!

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Sam Rhodes's avatar

Anna,

I loved this meeting of feisty feminist women and really resonate with you all and the entire discussion.

These tropes of male behaviour are insidious, I’ve experienced them all during my life and career. Women treated as ‘difficult’ or ‘scary’ for being strong or assertive or just standing up to the aggressive, creepy and coercive behaviour from men.

I’ve seen and experienced women punished for challenging these behaviours at work or the patriarchal work structures themselves.

I was actually called in to a managers office alone and threatened with a removal of future promotion if I continued to be ‘confrontational’ following my winning my own gender equalities case…

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Anna Wharton's avatar

Oh Sam, we have all seen it haven’t we? We have all experienced it, haven’t we? We’re tired of it all and then to add insult to injury we’re told that what we see and hear and have been witness to isn’t even happening. I remember being told in an office to ‘smile more’. Why? I was doing my job, I wasn’t even front-facing. I also remember being in an office and hearing a male editor on the phone with another male discussing my body and when I went back to my female editor and told her (utterly flabbergasted) she said I had heard wrong and not to tell anyone as I would get a name for myself. I mean, it just goes on and on and on and on and on, and so, we need to keep articulating our experiences with conversations like these just to feel like we’re not actually going mad!!! I am so pleased you enjoyed it. And thank you for sharing your thoughts too.

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Claire Venus ✨'s avatar

RAGE against the machine! YES Anna!!

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Anna Wharton's avatar

😘😘

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Kara Westerman (she/her)'s avatar

Excited about this!

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Anna Wharton's avatar

Let me know what you think once you’ve had a listen, Kara!

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Sara Siegler's avatar

I learned a lot… thank you.

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Anna Wharton's avatar

So pleased, Sara!

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Jaimie Pattison's avatar

I’m watching the recording and totally engrossed but the question in my mind at the moment about the Baldoni case is that the legal system is now under the control of a President with convictions of sexual assault, he has senior members of his party with convictions…it’s even more compounded and endorsed by the system now.

At the other end of the scale I’ve just had to ask a scaffolding company working on my neighbours house to turn their music down because it was rattling my windows and he wasn’t happy, did a very slow unsmiling appraisal of me, the back of my house which he had full view of, then back at me which has left me feeling really uncomfortable. They’ve gone now but this is the more subtle, potentially coercive kind of behaviour we also have to navigate daily.

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Anna Wharton's avatar

Urgh, horrible Jaimie. That’s why we need to create these spaces to talk about our grievances with the world, or rather their grievances with us.

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Jaimie Pattison's avatar

It’s so important we’re all having these conversations now. The news is increasingly full of more cases which is hopefully a good sign of things beginning to at least be more openly discussed

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Anna Wharton's avatar

And these discussions keep us sane in an insane world, Jaimie! X

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Sarah. Just Add Hyperfocus's avatar

Our news today:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-31/floreat-murders-internal-police-inquiry/104875596?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

Ariel Bombara, the daughter of the murderer, speaks so well, and has actually been listened to by the Police.

We have a problem with murdered women here in Australia. 😭

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Anna Wharton's avatar

I’ll check it out, thanks Sarah 😏

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Lindsay Johnstone's avatar

Yas! Cannot wait to tune into this chat!

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Sam J Pay's avatar

FFS, this is awesome!🙌

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Anna Wharton's avatar

I’m so pleased you think so, Sam!

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