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As a journalist, it's pretty embarrassing when members of your family make front-page news, yet somehow it slips their mind to even mention the story to you.
- By Andy van Smeerdijk, Features Editor
- Published: 15:09 January 6, 2009
As a journalist, it's pretty embarrassing when members of your family make front-page news, yet somehow it slips their mind to even mention the story to you. And it makes me wonder. If I don't know what my siblings are up to, what chance have I got of reporting on the global financial crisis? (Or, more realistically, the latest spa treatments?)
I mention this because quite recently, I was preparing to brunch at the Jumeirah Hilton, when I decided to flick through The Times. To my shock (and The Times isn't a paper known for sensation), my brother and sister-in-law were splattered across page nine because they had tried to challenge the conventions of one of Australia's oldest men's clubs.
What started this affair is the fact that for the first time, Australia's new governor general, Quentin Bryce, is a woman. Now normally, the country's blue-veined men's clubs extend automatic membership to the governor general (the Queen's representative in Australia) but this time they decided not to.
My brother, a member of one of these clubs, resigned from it for its refusal to admit women. And my sister-in-law, who's not entirely a meek individual, took up the issue with the media with gusto.
"These clubs are a refuge for a certain type of man," she told The Times (note, not her brother-in-law). Later she added, "It's time they came out of the 19th century and into the modern world."
My shock quickly morphed into pride. Good show. But no matter how much my sister-in-law rants, change like this ultimately must come from men themselves. The cigar puffing fogeys in their leather chairs. Nonetheless it's an example we can gain inspiration from.
Loathe as I am to preach, so long as -isms exists, the brave few that stand up to this nonsense make a difference. And if they publicise it... even better. Just tell me next time.
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