In the 10 years since Julia Gillard gave her iconic misogyny speech in Australian parliament, the discourse around women in Australia has changed.
Much of the discussions around sexual autonomy, women in power, female rights, and discrimination based on gender have sought context from Julia’s speech. Whether through subliminal attribution or direct reference, its impact has grown stronger in the years since it first shot the nation out of one era and into another.
Across the room, she boldly declared to the then Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, “I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. I will not… not now, not ever.”
WATCH: Julia Gillard give her Misogyny Speech in 2012.
Now Now, Not Ever: Ten Years on from the misogyny speech will be released on October 5 this year and a snippet has already been shared on the former PM’s website.
“Then it was done. After staying silent, I’d had my say. At no time did I feel worked up or hotly angry. I felt strong, measured, controlled. Yet emotion did play its role in the energy of the speech. The frustration that sexism and misogyny could still be so bad in the twenty-first century. The toll of not pointing it out,” it read.
The book will also include a variety of contributors who, along with Julia, will explore “the history and culture of misogyny, tools in the patriarchy’s toolbox, intersectionality, and gender and misogyny in media and politics.”
The book will hit book stores in October.
(Image: Booktopia)Some of the former Prime Minister’s contributors include Jess Hill, Jennifer Palmieri, Mary Beard, Katherine Murphy, as well as members of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.
Over the past 18 months, Julia’s speech gained a rebirth of sorts on TikTok when creators began to lip-sync to the speech and in the book, author Kathy Lette will share how the social media platform and other mediums responded to the political moment that occurred so many years ago.
WATCH: A TikToker perform Julia Gillard’s Misogyny Speech.
Notable Australians including actors Deborah Mailman and Cate Blanchett, former treasurer Wayne Swan and feminist and writer Anne Summers will also share their recollections of the speech.
Julia also includes excerpts from the next generations of feminists including Brittany Higgins, Sally Scales, Caitlin Figueiredo, and Chanel Contos.
The book’s proceeds will go to the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.
Proceeds from the former PM’s book will go to the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.
(Image: Getty)Can’t wait to get your hands on the book?
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