I Am Woman - Hear Me Roar On Occasion.

Here is something that is irking me recently, and I'll start with a conversation I had with "friend" (I use the term "friend" loosely) recently:

Setting: In the car, driving down the highway at 2am. A cover of "Bitches Ain't Shit" by Ben Folds is playing (my choice).
At this point I will give you an example of some of the lyrics to "Bitches Ain't Shit" (originally Dr Dre):

"Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks
Lick on these nuts and suck the dick
Get the fuck out after you're done
And I hope in my ride to make a quick run...

I used to know a bitch named Eric Wright
We used to roll around and fuck the hoes at night
Tight than a motherfucker with the gangsta beats
And we was ballin' on the motherfucking Compton streets
Peep, the shit got deep and it was on
Number one song after number one song
Long as my motherfucking pockets was fat
I didn't give a fuck where the bitch was at
But she was hangin' with a white bitch doin' the shit she do
Suckin' on his dick just to get a buck or two
And the few ends she got didn't mean nothin'
Now she's suing 'cause the shit she be doin' ain't shit"

You get the idea....Anyway. The following conversation ensued (for the sake of the story, "friend" is male):

"Friend": How can you like that music, Anna?
Anna: What do you mean?
"Friend": It's so sexist against your own sex, and you listen to that shit.
Anna: Mm, but... I mean... there's a certain point with sexism in music when it gets so ridiculously over-the-top that it's amusing. It's why I love Kanye. He's an arsehole, and he's totally conceited and sexist, but it's funny. You can't take it so seriously.
"Friend": So you're not even offended a little bit? Like, that they say that shit about women? You wouldn't even stand up for yourself if someone said stuff like that to you?
Anna: Well, we're not talking about someone saying that stuff to me, we're talking about a song. If someone says something that's deliberately offensive and personal, I'll stand up for myself. But I'm not a feminist. This is music. It's different.
"Friend": So you weren't even excited when Julia Gillard was made Prime Minister?
Anna: I don't really care about Julia Gillard. It didn't phase me whether a woman was in power or not.
"Friend": God, I was happier for your sex than you were...

I would like to know why I have to suddenly become a fan of someone I don't consider an influential or powerful leader, purely based on the fact that they share a gender with me.
I have no preference between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister of Australia. Now, I'm not a highly political person. I cannot back up political arguments with facts and figures and ethical opinions like many of my better informed friends can. And, yes, there are aspects of Julia Gillard I can appreciate based on herself as a person, rather than based on her as a woman in a role of power.
I appreciate the fact that she lives in a lower-class working area, and has not had her way through life paid for. I appreciate that she is in a defacto relationship with her partner, without kids, and does not obviously wear her religion, if she has one, like a badge of honour and use it and her family as a means of rising through the ranks and winning the votes of Australia's religious citizens. I appreciate the fact that she has stayed in her home in Altona rather than move into a highly-protected mansion.
But the fact that she is a woman really doesn't sway me one way or another. I believe that the way Kevin Rudd was shafted out of power was inappropriate, I feel that the purpose of Julia Gillard's role as Prime Minister is merely a way of making the Labour party appear as if they're making more progress, and her being a woman shouldn't really be an issue.
Don't get me wrong: I approve of equality in society amongst genders/races/religions etc. But I think that at some point we've decided that feminism is about female power and domination. I don't think this is necessary. The gender of the Prime Minister doesn't make me like them any more or less. Their opinions and policies and actions are far more likely to sway me.
I am sick of people suggesting that because I do not believe a book is a feminist text, or because I do not agree with the ideas of Germaine Greer, something about me is inherently wrong.
I mean - there are many situations in which I would agree with the views of a woman, and the views of a woman in power. I can appreciate feminist texts and ideas and I believe women and men should be treated equally - I do not believe that a sex should determine someone's worth as a leader.
And as such, no, I will not vote for Julia because I want girl power. I will vote for her if I like her policies.
On the flipside, there is no way in hell I would ever vote for the smarmy scumbag also known as Tony Abbott, who makes my skin crawl and my brain want to jump out of my skull. That man's old-world views actually make me feel like Australian society has leapt 200 years into the past. Which is a further elaboration on the fact that I am not a supporter only of males.

I guess that's all irrelevant, because I fully intend to vote for the Greens.

BUT ANYWAY. My point is, if I want to vote for a woman, I will vote for a woman. If I want to vote for a man, I will vote for a man.
And if I want to vote for a queer, ageing hippie, as I most certainly will, I will definitely do that, and their gender will have nothing to do with it.

SO, FUCK OFF, so-called "friend". Because I'm pretty sure, in the first world, women have been liberated, and I don't think you need to tell me how to feel.
Thanks.
Enjoy the pretty pictures, everyone.

xx

P.S. Sorry, I didn't really address the music, but I stick by my opinion that I listen to such sexist music with a grain of salt and an ironic tilt. That shit is funny. Have a cry about it, prude.