quackademicThe Australian cartoonist #MichaelLeunig, who died this week, was loved by many. His work gave voice to an outsider’s sensibility in an era of cultural change (1970s onward) that shaped many of our lives.
But remember, for all the joy & exploration of those years, for many of us the culture of the time was not a safe place to be a woman (esp if queer, black, or in any way chosing to exist in ways that did not suit the comfort of privileged white men). For many men, we were visible & permitted to exist only as reflected through their gaze & constructed as a commodity serving their pleasure. Women who thrived did so within this framing, & dissent could be spoken only in separatist (marginalised, belittled) spaces. Many of us carry trauma from those years.
The creative work of so many women - like Michael’s sister #MaryLeunig (whose work is 🤯) - has been written out of the cultural canon while that of often less incisive & talented men has become iconic to the point of cliche.
So with thanks for the joys provided by Michael Leunig’s work & respect for the sensibilities of those grieving his his loss, please remember, not everyone remembers those years, or the cultural moment his work embodies, fondly.
