Why I'm Having an Abortion- by the Friendly Athiest

I've noticed something strange that a lot of women say and write. It begins:

'I wouldn't call myself a feminist...'

...and ends with an arguement that inevitably pushes for women's rights and is upset by their oppression.

So why are so many women scared of associating with a word that simply means to believe in gender equality and its protection under law?

It's time the misguided amongst us reclaimed the word and wore it again as a badge of pride and progression.

People may or may not recall the article I wrote in which I expressed my angst toward the backward conservative men who are in line to run this country.

To further reiterate and underline my point, I quote a recent television segment in which Tony Abbott who appears in an ironing house, states:

"What housewives need to understand while they're doing the ironing is that if they get it done commercially it's going to go up in price, and their own power bills are going to go up every year when they switch the iron off."

His offsider quickly whispered in his ear which I imagine would have been something like "Tony, you idiot you can't say that... it's not the 1930s anymore"
And he quickly said, "and house-husbands too".

Though for me this was too little too late. Are these the sorts of conservative views we want hindering the progression of our nation?

Tony Abbott is also on record saying in a recent interview that women should regard their virginity as ‘a gift' that should not be given away lightly.

As we enter this new decade with fresh ideas and forward thinking leaders at the helm, we should really think seriously about cutting the weak individuals that are holding us back.

With two State Premiers, the Deputy Prime-Minister and the Deputy Federal-Opposition Leader all being women, you'd think that Australian women would be rejoicing as the glass ceiling of government seems set to splinter.

Yet, few progressive women would be celebrating Kristina Keneally's recent rise to the NSW Premiership.

Few women would be happy reading through a political career that has reeked of backroom cynacism and transparent grabs for their votes.

Looking back to the beginning, it's been well reported that Keneally's husband had his eye on Labor preselection for the seat of Heffron- only missing out due to affirmative action rules which secured Kristina as the candidate.

Her acceptance of the poison chalice of the Premiership was equally Machiavellian on the part of the backroom boys. Apart from her loyalty to the Labor Right, coming from the fairer sex must also have been seen as a way to attract dispirited voters.

Now not to simplify the issue but Keneally's sudden and dramatic rise does seem suspect, begging someone to ask the question:

Does having internal genitalia dictate a good candidate?

At a State and Federal level the kingpins may not think so, but they know it's a good way to secure votes.

So why aren't women more annoyed?

Yes, all the above mentioned women seem very capable, and they should probably be in the positions they are in, but, with the exception of Anna Bligh in Queensland the real positions of power are still held by men.

And the worst of it is that men in dark rooms believe that women will vote for women- purely on the fact the candidate is female.

So are we going to prove them right?

In this year's Triple J countdown for the 100 Hottest Songs of all Time, it was incredibly disappointing to see that not one female artist or woman-fronted band made the list.

Now there could be a number explanations for this:

It could be that the nerdy-head-banging-slightly-scared-of women over-grown boys make up a clear voting majority of Triple J's audience, it could also simply be that the music world was once male dominated and for whatever reason it has never caught up with the advances of wider society, or maybe it has been the sexy stereotypes that women have to fall into to succeed- stereotypes that just don't fit with stinging social critcism or a pioneering spirit. Or maybe it was just blatant sexism.

The response to this embarresment (as MusicMax viewers would be aware) was from Hummingbird, a women's beer company who organised a countdown of the 100 Hottest Female Songs of all Time.

Now I know what you're thinking, no this wasn't a marketing exercise; this was purely about enfranchising the disenfranchised and putting the lost voices of amazing women into the Pantheon of great artists where they've always belonged.

So if I was picking the under-listened, well off the top of my head you'd probably expect PJ Harvey with the stunning Good Fortune to be near the top.

I mean she was Nick Cave's muse and she ended up making Stories by the City, Stories by Sea- a break-up album that well outshined his depressing effort- The Boatman's Call.

You'd also probably expect to see Billie Holiday. A woman that was unbelievably beautiful, haunting and inspiring- especially when she sang the spine tingling Strange Fruit.

Now the purists out there might be angry because she didn't write it, but who cares?

Her cool, down-played voice and her bubbling bitterness turned a poem you'd be touched by, into a song that painted you an unforgettable picture of Southern lynchings.

Then for me you'd put up It's, Oh, So Quiet by Björk, the Icelandic Queen of Quirky. An amazing woman who has constantly experimented, constantly pushed the bounds of weird and wonderful and constantly given us a sound that is as rich as the Icelandic fishing industry used to be.

Then before I burst a blood vessel in anger with the news I have to tell you; I would also throw Joni Mitchell in, with California. I challenge anyone to find a voice more angellic than Joni's; she's absolutely stunning, has had a lot to say and always looks like she's enjoying herself when she 's playing.

So would you like me, be very disappointed to find out that not one of these amazing artists made it into Top 10 or even the Top 100 Hottest Female Songs of all Time?

Instead we got:

Just Dance and Poker Face both by Lady Gaga and both in the top 20, Katy Perry with I Kissed a Girl came in at 12th, ABBA with Dancing Queen at 4th.

I could continue but I wont.

So two quick questions to be controversial:

Should we be as worried by the absolute ignorance of these great pioneering women and their amazing art as we were at Triple J's 'gender bias'?

And when do we begin the re-education of the voters of this strange and bitter crop?

Sorry. If you were wondering, I'm not going to give you the link to the web-site. It is ridiculous and should be viewed by no-one