Another Moralistic Right’s Deception

Chicken Little modern cousin, the extremist Moralistic Right, is telling us the sky is falling in because of left wing social engineers.  The latest version of this tripe comes from the unchristlike Australian Christians and those who are really against marriage, Stand 4 Marriage.  All the fuss is because the European Parliament had a lengthy motion that is simply full of good intentions.  According to the European Women’s Lobby the motion was tabled on the 5 July 2012.  It was schedule for debate on 10 July 2012.

However, the Australian Christians posted it in their Facebook page on the 13 December 2012.   So why the five months gap?  I suspect that the British Daily Mail published a sensationalist article at the end of November.  It was Daily Mail that published the lie that our children will be banned from reading English language classics such as Peter Pan, Paddington Bear, and Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five series.  From there the US based antiabortion Life News pick up the story adding a lot of antiabortion dribbleand and repeating the Daily News exaggeration.  It was picked up by who glorify their Liberal university students days, Menzies House.  They wisely edited out the antiabortion dribble and the newspaper exaggerations.  The unchristlike Australian Christians picked it up for the Stand 4 Marriage Facebook page.

So what was in the motion?  The draft report is on the net.  The motion was is just over four pages long and comes with explanatory notes.  It starts by listing the international obligations that the European Union has agreed to preventing gender equality.  It points to the current situation. Point D complains children and young adults are having gender stereotypes being reinforced by, among other things, educational programs (p.4).  One of the many sources is the for characters portryed in chidren's fiction.  In response the European Union is called to provide support for any action that reduces gender stereotypes among children (p.5).  “Special career guidance” was specifically mentioned.  The explanatory notes tell us tells us that within the European Union, one point concludes with,

Special educational programmes and study materials should therefore be introduced in which men and women are no longer used in examples in their ‘traditional roles’, with the male as the breadwinner of the family and the female as the one who takes care of the children (p.9).

As the Australian far right groups seem to agree, it is impossible to stretch that to banning Enid Blyton.  However, the motion is just telling it as it is.   Schools do reinforce gender stereotypes.  Part of the problem is that children classic literature reflects the era in which they are written.  That era was when men were breadwinners and women did take control of their children.  The problem is that young girls do need positive female role models.  We might have a women prime minister but leadership in politics, commerce and other community organisations is still mainly male.   The economic and community damage must be immense.  But A D Hope pointed to the real cost when he asked can we trust “the servile womb to bred free men?" No!