Geelong Trades Hall Council president Jackie Kriz gave the following speech on October 12 at a rally in protest against Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons' sexism. Kriz is also a member of Socialist Alliance.
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We have to ask ourselves 鈥 is what the mayor did really that bad? I mean, he only wore a t-shirt depicting a naked lady with some captions.
We've heard the comments 鈥 it's only a t-shirt, or it's political correctness gone mad. What's the fuss? It's a trivial matter. We hear this rhetoric all the time, but it is not a trivial matter.
Darryn Lyons
A rally was held in Geelong on October 12 to protest mayor Darryn Lyons鈥 sexism.
Lyons was photographed at a local Octoberfest event on October 10 wearing a t-shirt featuring an image of a naked Madonna hitchhiking, taken from her 1992 book Sex, paired with the caption 鈥淕as, grass or ass, no one rides for free鈥.
Fellow Geelong councillor Jan Farrell was the first to speak out about the photos. She posted on her Facebook page: 鈥淭his is what passes for leadership at Geelong. As a woman who lives and works in Geelong I am beyond offended at [Lyons鈥橾 ongoing disrespect for women.鈥