ANOTHER VOICE
If women are going to dominate the world they had better shape up
PETRONELLA WYATT
Last Saturday was International Wo- men's Day. I was not aware of this occasion until I was sent a copy of a report that had been specially commissioned to mark it. The report is published by Demos, the modish London think-tank, and is called `Tomorrow's Women'. Its authors are Helen Wilkinson, a former BBC producer, and Melanie Howard, a former board director of Ogilvy & Mather, the advertis- ing agency.
Between them Miss Wilkinson and Miss Howard have created a series of female `types' who, by 2010, will allegedly domi- nate the world as part of a new generation of women cybermillionaires and lemo- crats'. There is 'Masculine Mel', the 'new ladette' who exploits other women and speaks and behaves like a man, enjoying football and 'good quality sex'. 'Masculine Mel' is accompanied by 'Networking Naomi', an 'infoholie (not, alas, an alco- holic — she is teetotal), and 'New Age Angela', who feels part of a 'world spirit' and has exchanged 'fabric conditioner for life's rich fabric'. 'Frustrated Fran', on the other hand, is so angered by her low-paid work and no child care that she is thinking of performing castrations.
There are more of these 'types' in the report but the ones mentioned are repre- sentative of the whole. It is not so much that the report is thin — and it is, too thin even for throwing purposes — or that it is humourless, but that it is extremely silly.
I suppose that one of the greatest effects of fashion dominating opinion is that it makes thought unnecessary and puts apparent wisdom and insight within the reach of almost everyone. It is not difficult to learn the use of various banal neolo- gisms and nothing more is needed to appear intelligent. In recent years this gen- eral substitution of fashion for sense has worked to the extraordinary benefit of women, especially those who pursue pro- fessions involving communication, of which politics and the media are two.
Misses Howard and Wilkinson demon- strate that to do well in such jobs women are hardly required to think at all but to learn and repeat a series of clichés with reasonable efficiency.
In fine, the Demos report tells us nothing of tomorrow's women but a great deal about today's. Today's women in the com- munication professions are the British equivalent of black Harvard law students in the 1960s. They are the beneficiaries of quotas and positive discrimination. They are made directors of spurious foundations and invited to discuss non-existent 'issues' on Newsnight. The paper-thin currency of their language is thought to be convertible into gold, or at least into reports commis- sioned by think-tanks.
Post-feminism, women have been given an extraordinarily easy ride. In most non- manual professions employers feel obliged to hire them over men and then are con- strained from firing them for fear they will be taken to a tribunal. It is not that women are less capable than men; on the contrary, some of my most inspiring employers have been women. But consider Nicola Horlick, the 'superwoman' sacked from her job at Morgan Grenfell who went on to hold press conferences in every airport lounge in Europe. If she had been a man would the middle classes have taken her to their hearts?
Understandably most members of my sex think all of this is a good thing for the sim- ple reason that they can see no cessation in the upward curve of their careers. As the Demos report suggests, it is now received opinion that women will continue to rise professionally and socially until men are entirely emasculated, reminding one of the story of Noel Coward's meeting with the novelist Edna Ferber. He said to her, 'You almost look like a man,' to which she replied, 'So do you.' Tomorrow's men? There won't be any. Thus the male 'types' in the report begin with 'Testosterone Ted', who has a low sperm count and lower self- esteem and whose only consolation is found in Watney's.
Unlike Demos, however, I do not believe in 'Testosterone Ted', particularly as a rep- resentative of a majority of future British men. There is no logical reason why women should not at some point suffer a reverse. When the rise of members of a certain group is based as much upon fashionable opinion as merit, it cannot be counted on to continue indefinitely. At present, many women are still getting away with every- thing short of murder — and sometimes that too, judging by recent evidence of police discrimination against men. But there are indications that this may be changing. Consider Westminster. In recent years both the main political parties — Labour in particular — have been frantically appoint- ing women to senior posts. While there have been many excellent female politi- cians, others such as Harriet Harman, Ana Clwyd, Janet Anderson, the shadow minis- ter for women, and Virginia Bottomley are indifferent advertisements for competence. Miss Harman is apparently to be demoted if Labour wins the election, while it Was recently reported that Miss Anderson would not be minister for women after all and indeed that the position may be scrapped. These post-feminist women compare lamentably with the female politicians of the past such as Jenny Lee and Barbara Castle. One supposes this is because women in those days had little choice but to try harder in order to compete for a man's job. This was not sexual equality and In many cases was quite disgraceful but in a way it was good for women. It kept them °II their toes and meant those who did rise were of an outstanding quality. As Ben- jamin Constant said of Madame de Stae.1, nearly 200 years before feminism, 'She is not only the greatest female of her age, she is the greatest person.' These were real superwomen. Miss Horlick and company are bargain basement. Now that feminisms' battles have been more or less won, women, unfortunately, have been permitted to become lazy. While the great feminists of the 1970s may have had bad legs and ugly frocks many of then' had considerable brains. Their successors are likely to have a better undercarriage but inferior attainments. From Madame cle Stael and Germaine Greer we have come to Melanie Howard and Helen Wilkinson. It Is still true that members of my sex have never had it so good, but Demos demonstrates the risk of being complacent. If women are going to dominate the world they had better shape up.
Previous page
