In 2012, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said a society needs the political participation of women to reach its full potential. Commentator Alan Jones reacted to this by saying: 'Women are destroying the joint ... Honestly.' People around the country responded with passion, disbelief and hilarity. In Destroying the Joint: Why Women Have to Change the World, Australian women reply to Jones's comment and the broader issues of sexism and misogyny in our culture. Edited by Jane Caro, this entertaining and thought-provoking collection includes essays, analysis, memoir, fiction, satire, polemic and tweets from some of our best and brightest. (Back cover blurb)
The collection includes Carmen Lawrence, Monica Duc, Emily Maquire, Krissy Kneen, Catherine Fox, Michelle Law, Melissa Lucashenko, Jennifer Mills, Susan Johnson, Jenna Price, Nina Funnell, Steph Bowe, Dannielle Miller, Lily Edelsein, Yvette Vicnando, Paula McDonald, Abby Cathcart, Christine Milne, Leslie Cannold, Tara Moss, Jennifer Mills, Catherine Deveny, Wendy Harmer, Clementine Ford, Corinne Grant, Stella Young, Penny Wong, and the eponymous organisation, Destroy the Joint.
Lucashenko discusses the life of her great-grandmother, Christina Copson, who was successful in having a white man tried and jailed for assault.
