Is Australia man enough to have a woman as PM?

This article was published in The Age 1 August 2010

The talk about Gillard’s hair and clothes could be masking a deeper unease.

We seem to have spent a disturbing chunk of the past week discussing Julia Gillard's ear lobes, hair, fashion sense and marital status.

Perhaps this is merely a bizarre symptom of a campaign during which - let's face it - not much has happened.

But perhaps it is also a proxy for a bigger question: are parts of Australia uncomfortable with the idea of a woman as prime minister?

Britain, Pakistan, India, Israel and New Zealand have all been run at various times by women. Given some of the debate in recent days, it's not hard to understand why Australia until now hasn't even come close.