Gillard labels Abbott a 'misogynist'

Federal Parliament heats up as Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott exchange bitter words over sexism and misogyny.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard's fiery speech about sexism and misogyny has even forced the word watchers to take note.
The Macquarie Dictionary has announced it is broadening the definition of the word "misogyny".
As it stands, the reference book says misogyny is a hatred of women, the kind that's pathological.
No holding back ... Prime Minister Julia Gillard replies to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's motion to dismiss the Speaker Peter Slipper.
No holding back ... Prime Minister Julia Gillard replies to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's motion to dismiss the Speaker Peter Slipper. Photo: Andrew Meares
But editor Sue Butler says it's time that changed to reflect what Ms Gillard really meant last week when she accused Opposition Leader Tony Abbott of sexism and misogyny during a speech to parliament.
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Not that he needs a session on the psychiatrist's couch, but that he merely has an "entrenched prejudice against women".
That will be the official second definition in the next updated edition of the dictionary.
"We decided that we had the basic definition, hatred of women, but that's not how misogyny has been used for about the last 20, 30 years, particularly in feminist language," Ms Butler told ABC radio on Wednesday.
"Sexist does seem to be moving towards this description of surface features and misogynist applies to the underlying attitude."
It was the underlying prejudice that gave rise to these instances of sexism, Ms Butler said.
Misogyny was like sexism, with a "stronger edge to it".
Ms Gillard's scathing attack on Mr Abbott was a speech heard around the world and applauded for its gender equality agenda.
The prime minister, now on a visit to India, was asked a direct question by one local: "Do you like the man?"
Although at one time they had admitted to flirting across the dispatch boxes, Ms Gillard laughed and said she bore Mr Abbott no personal ill-will.
However, she was keen to see him remain opposition leader for the rest of his life.
Feminist, author and speaker Jane Caro told Fairfax today that words changed all the time and said it was certainly not a problem for feminism that "misogyny" had lost a bit of its fire power.

 Ms Caro suggested the definition change may also be a reflection of the rise in the status of women.

 "It was acceptable 100 years ago, 50 years ago to hate women," Ms Caro said.

 "As the attitude towards women has softened ... it's entirely understandable that the meaning of the word describing that emotional state may also have softened."

 Ms Caro added that she did not like to call someone "a sexist" or "a misogynist" because that insulted an entire person.

 "Tony Abbott is not a misogynist or a sexist," she said. "He is guilty of misogynist or sexist statements."

The Australian National Dictionary Centre in Canberra  - which advises the Oxford University Press for their Australian dictionaries  - said today it would also have a look at its definition of misogyny.

"Certainly the current media debate is the kind of thing that will prompt us to have anther look at how we define a word," director Amanda Laugesen said.

 Dr Laugesen said the broader definition has a long history, with the original Oxford English Dictionary defining misogyny as "hatred or dislike or prejudice against women" and examples dating back to the 19th century.