My husband is a Professor at a top Australian university and from time to time I can pretend that I could live without him (when he loads the dishwasher wrong... Again!). But we live rural (you can do that in Australia and still be urban-ajacent), and so inevitably a wall of flame will descend on us, or a wallaby will get trapped in a fence, or a bat will appear in the sauna, or the creek will flood or a tree will fall... And none of this is ever my problem. I sit inside warm and cosy with the baby and cuppa and watch him in the rain, hail, and smoke dealing with everything the good Lord could throw at him... And I look over at the dishwasher, and smile.
one thing I didn't mention is that it's now illegal to kill snakes, whereas for my grandfathers' generation it was expected that men would take a shovel to a snake threatening their properties or families. Longhoused!
I grew up in a snakey place (the southeast US) and was taught to kill copperheads with a hoe around age 8 or 9. My husband takes it as a point of pride that since marriage, I’ve not killed a single snake - not because I’m incapable, but because it’s a man’s job if you have a man in the house.
(And right on cue, my mom has warned the family group chat that copperheads haves started hatching and to make sure we have a hoe handy when the kids are outside.)
This reminds me that one of the fantastic cultural shake ups of the last year was Lana Del Rey marrying a redneck from Louisiana. They seem very happy with each other.
She does seem really happy! It’s amusing how confusing some found the marriage too. They couldn’t fathom what might’ve appealed to her about her now husband.
That’s funny, the advert I mean, but a timely reminder that we do need men who are prepared to do unglamorous jobs. Truck drivers here in Australia are incredibly important as most of our goods and food are moved around the country in trucks, rather than by rail. Just one example.
I tend to find British tradesmen somehow very reassuring, as if they are the most trustworthy when it comes to doing a job well.
Of course, we are class conscious in Australia, but like to pretend that we’re not.
I have never thought of ‘unglamorous’ jobs as being a barrier to love, marriage and children for men. Perhaps depends on whether you are working class and looking to marry a working class woman. Men, and indeed some women, choose to work in mining and trucking industries here because the pay is so good. Even if they only do it for a few years they can make enough to set themselves up, buy a home and plan a family. Perhaps it’s just an Australian thing.
One of the reasons we were likelier to move to America than the French in the 18th century was that wealth and quality of life for the average person was worse in Britain. Perhaps it became culturally engrained after a while, but the economic cause seems likelier to begin with.
Great article and love the baby noises in the background. I’ve often wondered how much the character of Australia is shaped by the fact that most of the original settlers were people who, shall we say, had trouble conforming to the law back in England. I assume that urban Australians are more likely to be the descendants of more recent arrivals but I don’t really know.
You have to also remember that there are huge tracks of land where people regularly go and venture into the unknown. When you are in those areas and you think about people trying to get rid of diesel engines, you realise what a stupid delusion it is. Its a great article Lousie but how do we explain Australians voting in again a progressively left Government that has been hopelessly out of touch. Methinks Australians are confused. (I'm one of them) Feminism has a massive control of the culture. The Aussies that you are talking about have marked out their patch but they aren't winning back the culture.
Maybe I've watch too much of the Youtuber Jordan Shanks (Aka friendlyjordies), but aren’t the Liberal coalition kind of the Aussie equivalent of the British Tories?
Well, if the Tories are pathetic, then yes. They are all part of the Uni party. Same schools, same sensibilities as labour. They are a bit less socialist. But full of wokeness. I think in Australia we seem to need to become a bit more like Argentina before we wake up. The dominance of “compassion” politics in Australia still hasn’t run its course and I think the main reason is that we are so rich in resources. It covers a multitude of sins and we can just go on spending and if the iron ore price is up; it’s all good. And the dominance of compassion politics is largely driven by women or women adjacent men. (If you go to university you would never get a root if you didn’t go along with the palaver, at least to some extent)
I was left when the left cared about workers and the poor. When they actually did. What we are all suffering from is the end times of baby boomer delusions about how the world should be. That’s why so many hate Trump. And I am not saying that Trump is the next messiah (although when he declared that there were only 2 genders, I was tempted) Trump is pushing the world back to where it should be. The WW2 consensus is ending. Christianity has fragmented into the great heresy of wokeness.
What to do? The liberal party went small target. Terrified that someone would say that they were emulating Trump. They need a leader who unashamedly calls out all the bullshit (can you believe the leader of the liberal party wouldn’t even say what a woman was) and then cop the result. Even if you loose the people know where you stand. The next time you will win in a landslide.
There’s some good news on the horizon though. As energy prices rise due to dwindling fossil fuel reserves human labour will gradually become more important again. If you ask me this is quite an important factor in the rise of populism around the world- blue collar work is actually becoming quite important again but our culture and economy are geared towards valuing and promoting white collar work. Populism is simply a necessary corrective.
The worm turns and the boot may be on the other foot now. I run a construction company with 40 tradesmen and increasingly their status is rising. AI cannot build bespoke homes. But it can do the work of accountants and lawyers. We are living in the midst of a revolution. Its impossible to know how it will settle.
Very informative piece - I know little about Australia so much of this is eye opening. The downside is that now I'm fixated on the word Bogan and may start using it frequently, albeit inappropriately.
My husband is a Professor at a top Australian university and from time to time I can pretend that I could live without him (when he loads the dishwasher wrong... Again!). But we live rural (you can do that in Australia and still be urban-ajacent), and so inevitably a wall of flame will descend on us, or a wallaby will get trapped in a fence, or a bat will appear in the sauna, or the creek will flood or a tree will fall... And none of this is ever my problem. I sit inside warm and cosy with the baby and cuppa and watch him in the rain, hail, and smoke dealing with everything the good Lord could throw at him... And I look over at the dishwasher, and smile.
one thing I didn't mention is that it's now illegal to kill snakes, whereas for my grandfathers' generation it was expected that men would take a shovel to a snake threatening their properties or families. Longhoused!
I grew up in a snakey place (the southeast US) and was taught to kill copperheads with a hoe around age 8 or 9. My husband takes it as a point of pride that since marriage, I’ve not killed a single snake - not because I’m incapable, but because it’s a man’s job if you have a man in the house.
(And right on cue, my mom has warned the family group chat that copperheads haves started hatching and to make sure we have a hoe handy when the kids are outside.)
Hmmm, making it illegal to defend yourself against that which is trying to harm you... Seems bout right I reckon in the current times.
Personally, I prefer the kookaburra method, since when they go you, you're unlikely to be in possession of a shovel.
What kill it with your beak???
Ha! No. Grab the danger noodles by the tail, flick em in the air & whack their heads down hard.
Still happens Lousie. When I was 10 on my grandfathers farm, we would see a snake on the other bank of a creek and he would send me to kill it.
Gosh
Your baby agrees with you that is why it was commenting. Great article. No notes.
Bless you for defending Bogans.
Fantastic piece - thank you so much for all the Australia-isms and rich and sensory depiction of what's going on.
This reminds me that one of the fantastic cultural shake ups of the last year was Lana Del Rey marrying a redneck from Louisiana. They seem very happy with each other.
She does seem really happy! It’s amusing how confusing some found the marriage too. They couldn’t fathom what might’ve appealed to her about her now husband.
That’s funny, the advert I mean, but a timely reminder that we do need men who are prepared to do unglamorous jobs. Truck drivers here in Australia are incredibly important as most of our goods and food are moved around the country in trucks, rather than by rail. Just one example.
I tend to find British tradesmen somehow very reassuring, as if they are the most trustworthy when it comes to doing a job well.
Of course, we are class conscious in Australia, but like to pretend that we’re not.
Next up, Australian trucking companies will run and ad using clips from Convoy and Smokey and the Bandit.
If you’ve never watched the Tradies episode of Bluey, I commend it to your attention. It’s deeply charming.
I, for one, is not going to make myself unmarriable by taking an unglamerous job for unglamerous pay.
I have never thought of ‘unglamorous’ jobs as being a barrier to love, marriage and children for men. Perhaps depends on whether you are working class and looking to marry a working class woman. Men, and indeed some women, choose to work in mining and trucking industries here because the pay is so good. Even if they only do it for a few years they can make enough to set themselves up, buy a home and plan a family. Perhaps it’s just an Australian thing.
But I think you were,probably just teasing😀
British police: here's a video of us twerking at Notting Hill Carnival
Aussie police: here's a video we made with a song from Hyperborea edits on TikTok
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/i7FcYOTcqT4
Love a good post on Australia 🇦🇺🦘🐨 thank you LP!
Haha. Fighting fire demands compassion. And brick masonry can't be accomplished without all empathy and nurturing.
One of the reasons we were likelier to move to America than the French in the 18th century was that wealth and quality of life for the average person was worse in Britain. Perhaps it became culturally engrained after a while, but the economic cause seems likelier to begin with.
Great article and love the baby noises in the background. I’ve often wondered how much the character of Australia is shaped by the fact that most of the original settlers were people who, shall we say, had trouble conforming to the law back in England. I assume that urban Australians are more likely to be the descendants of more recent arrivals but I don’t really know.
You have to also remember that there are huge tracks of land where people regularly go and venture into the unknown. When you are in those areas and you think about people trying to get rid of diesel engines, you realise what a stupid delusion it is. Its a great article Lousie but how do we explain Australians voting in again a progressively left Government that has been hopelessly out of touch. Methinks Australians are confused. (I'm one of them) Feminism has a massive control of the culture. The Aussies that you are talking about have marked out their patch but they aren't winning back the culture.
Maybe I've watch too much of the Youtuber Jordan Shanks (Aka friendlyjordies), but aren’t the Liberal coalition kind of the Aussie equivalent of the British Tories?
Well, if the Tories are pathetic, then yes. They are all part of the Uni party. Same schools, same sensibilities as labour. They are a bit less socialist. But full of wokeness. I think in Australia we seem to need to become a bit more like Argentina before we wake up. The dominance of “compassion” politics in Australia still hasn’t run its course and I think the main reason is that we are so rich in resources. It covers a multitude of sins and we can just go on spending and if the iron ore price is up; it’s all good. And the dominance of compassion politics is largely driven by women or women adjacent men. (If you go to university you would never get a root if you didn’t go along with the palaver, at least to some extent)
I was left when the left cared about workers and the poor. When they actually did. What we are all suffering from is the end times of baby boomer delusions about how the world should be. That’s why so many hate Trump. And I am not saying that Trump is the next messiah (although when he declared that there were only 2 genders, I was tempted) Trump is pushing the world back to where it should be. The WW2 consensus is ending. Christianity has fragmented into the great heresy of wokeness.
What to do? The liberal party went small target. Terrified that someone would say that they were emulating Trump. They need a leader who unashamedly calls out all the bullshit (can you believe the leader of the liberal party wouldn’t even say what a woman was) and then cop the result. Even if you loose the people know where you stand. The next time you will win in a landslide.
There’s some good news on the horizon though. As energy prices rise due to dwindling fossil fuel reserves human labour will gradually become more important again. If you ask me this is quite an important factor in the rise of populism around the world- blue collar work is actually becoming quite important again but our culture and economy are geared towards valuing and promoting white collar work. Populism is simply a necessary corrective.
The worm turns and the boot may be on the other foot now. I run a construction company with 40 tradesmen and increasingly their status is rising. AI cannot build bespoke homes. But it can do the work of accountants and lawyers. We are living in the midst of a revolution. Its impossible to know how it will settle.
Very informative piece - I know little about Australia so much of this is eye opening. The downside is that now I'm fixated on the word Bogan and may start using it frequently, albeit inappropriately.