Livni, Gabbay and the feminist filter
Opinion: Although the Labor leader's treatment of his former political partner was inappropriate, anyone claiming that his behaviour is down to her being a 'helpless woman' is damaging the campaign for gender equality.
Gabbay also did not dwell on the fact that in 2019, our every action is synthesized through the politically correct prism that’s burned onto our collective “social” consciousness. But claims that Gabbay allowed himself to throw the opposition leader under the bus purely because Livni is a woman do nothing but shoot the feminist agenda in the foot.
This is something you have to remember, my wise sisters, who launched an outrage campaign on social media and claimed that a self-indulgent man humiliated and trampled on a helpless woman just because she’s a helpless woman who can be trampled on.
First of all, Livni is not a helpless woman. In fact, based on the annoying, social stereotypes, she can be considered more of man than an actual man. If, of course, being a man means knowing how to be completely emotionless, changing political allegiances like socks and zigzagging between your targets as you pull the trigger without flinching. Don’t get me wrong, there are women who do all of these things very well, and it does not make any of them less of a woman. It's not even an issue of men versus women, but rather an issue of values and conduct.
Therefore, despite the temptation, not everything has to go through the ever expanding feminist filter. Not only because it wouldn't be right, but also because sometimes it does more harm than good, and can come back like a boomerang.
The more we try to dress up every casual injustice in righteous feminist disguise, the faster the message will wear itself thin. And in this case we should follow the advice of Coco Chanel, who said that less is more. Also, if the feminist struggle is so important to you then don’t wave the feminist flag over every insignificant event. This is not how the desired gender equality will be achieved, it will only lead to cracks in the foundations.
Similarly to the way the campaign to stop violence against women is not a gender-based struggle (but rather a fight to save the moral and cultural fabric of our society in which both men and women are involved), when a seasoned politician aims a sharp sword at a much more skilled female politician with a collection of pelts under her belt, the balance of power between them can not be estimated based on chromosomal differences.
In general, when you look at Livni's behavior—her tailored suits, her tight-lipped smiles and the deliberate emotional distance she’s trying to project—the claims of her being a poor, helpless woman make no sense and don’t correspond with her image. I also don’t believe her when she echoes these sentiments in a populistic manner only because she feels this issue could be exploited for political gains. It’s not going to happen.
