By Melanie Linn Gutowski

Julia Gillard, Australia's first female Prime Minister, made it to the country's top post in a relatively short 12 years.

However, those years were not without their hard knocks. In addition to an election that remained undecided nearly two and a half weeks after the event, Gillard has been subjected to intense criticism of her personal life.

Slate Magazine recently reported on the sexist media coverage of Gillard's political rise.

"As in the United States, there is a special level of censure reserved for ambitious and high-achieving women, who are perceived as having stepped outside the bounds, however subconsciously we might define them, of acceptable behavior for their gender," author Chloe Angyal wrote.

As we at Savvy Auntie have seen before, women in politics are often held to a different standard of scrutiny as their male counterparts, and that includes critiques of their childbearing choices.

Gillard is unmarried and childless, though she is in a long-term, committed relationship with her partner, Tim Mathieson (dubbed "the first bloke" in the local press). Gillard has publicly announced plans for the couple to reside in The Lodge, the Aussie PM's home, following the election's conclusion.

Bettina Arndt of Australia's National Times wrote that Gillard would be leading her country's women astray by setting a bad example with her own unmarried relationship. "Women's tiny reproductive window means they pay a high price for wasting precious breeding time in such uncertain relationships," Arndt wrote.

But while Gillard is a public figure, she also values her private life, telling reporters who inquired about her life choices, "...decisions in my personal life I'll make for personal reasons. That's my life, and I'll make my personal choices about it."

Regardless of whether we agree with Gillard's politics or those of any other political PANK (Professional Aunt, No Kids), we at Savvy Auntie respect the right of all women to make their own choices about relationships, children and any other major decision in their lives without being subjected to judgemental attitudes.

Melanie Linn Gutowski, Savvy Auntie's Associate Editor, is a proud Godmother and ABC.

Photo: Newsfuze.info
Published: September 8, 2010