She may have been a strong minded child with an even stronger sense of social justice, but secretly, writer Clementine Ford just wanted to be Melanie Griffith growing up.
While her website bio lists “angry feminist” among her credentials, Ford did not always dream of keeping cavemen in line with her pointed reflections, but rather keeping an office in order.
“When I was very young I wanted to be a secretary,” she laughs.
“That was like the only job I saw women having on TV. They were either a mother of a secretary.
“I kind of idolised Melanie Griffith in Working Girl.”
It eventually dawned on her she was simply seeking a life of independence.
“I was always a very strong minded child, and had a very strong sense of social justice,” she says.
“(I wanted) my own money, where I could set my own hours and be in control of myself.
“Reproduction freedom and financial freedom are the two things that contribute most significantly to women’s autonomy.
“It’s what all little girls should want.”
It’s a case of mission accomplished with Ford in high demand for her combative, sometimes expletive laden style, which has blessed her with a degree of “bargaining power”.
It wasn’t always the case of course, with Ford admitting she was once “deeply self conscious”, too shy to out herself as a feminist.
“The world is not particularly kind towards people who challenge dominant structures of power, I was always a bit nervous and scared to call myself a feminist,” she says.
“Because I attached all the stereotypes of negativity to it… feminists are hairy, feminists are man hating.
“I didn’t really feel like that I fit into any models of what girls are supposed to be like.
“Then I realised at some point, probably at about 19, why am I so afraid of these people with these particular stereotypes?”
“When I became aware I was, out of my own fear, participating in perpetuating those stereotypes of what women should be like, it became a lot easier to find that feminist voice and being really confident in sharing it.”
That began as an editor with a student university newspaper, where she also penned “quasi feminist columns”.
She was eventually plucked “from out of nowhere” to write an opinion piece for the Sunday Mail in Adelaide, her first big break.
“I was incredibly lucky,” she says.
“People that write blogs don’t get asked to write columns.
“I basically fell into what I love doing without kind of really thinking that’s what I was going to end up doing.
“I’m lucky to have been given a platform.”
A regular speaker at literary soirees, the Brunswick-based scribe admits she has her guilty vices though.
“I wanted to be a lawyer (after the Working Girl dream died), then I realised I just wanted to play a lawyer on a TV show,” she laughs.
“I don’t watch The Bachelor, not because I take a particular feminist stance against it, it just doesn’t really excite me that much.
“I really love Survivor and I love UnREAL; it’s about a TV drama about the producers behind a show like The Bachelor.”
So what is your ideal view of feminism?
“The ideal is for women to be able to really express who they are without having to conform to any strict gender binary stereotype and not being judged for it,” she says.
“And feeling like the most important thing about them isn’t whether or not they’re a man or a woman.”
Catch Clementine Ford In Conversation at the Brimbank Writers and Readers Festival on September 9. Bookings essential: 9310 1008.
