Your say: Is Colleen McCullough’s obituary sexist?

Celebrated Australian author Colleen McCullough passed away on the 29th of January on Norfolk Island, sending shockwaves through the book industry and her beloved readers.

One would think that her obituary in The Australian would be a touching tribute to her life, but instead social media has gone in a flurry about the “sexist” and “revolting” message.

The Thornbirds was Colleen McCullough’s best known work and it went on to sell 30 million copies worldwide, but that accolade seemed lost on The Australian, who wrote this about her:

“Plain of feature, and certainly overweight, she was, nevertheless a woman of wit and warmth. In one interview, she said: ‘I’ve never been into clothes or figure and the interesting thing is I never had any trouble attracting men.’”

It makes you wonder if the same thing would be written about a male author. Other world newspapers, such as The New York Times, talked about her neuroscientist beginnings, but it was our own country’s rag that delivered a hurtful remark.

Take a look at some of the tweets that have been circulating and tell us, is it really sexist? Or is it tongue-in-cheek? Should more respect be paid to those who have contributed so much? 

Why feminism? Because you can sell 30 MILLION copies of a single book and when you die, The Australian prints this: pic.twitter.com/DAqkvphV35

— Comrade Badham (@vanbadham) January 30, 2015

Bitter and angry on McCullough’s behalf. Australia’s best selling author EVER. And the media put the focus on her body, not her body of work

— Asher Wolf (@Asher_Wolf) January 30, 2015

 

Oh, good job to the @Australian for leading Colleen Mccullough’s obituary with some commentary about how plain and fat she was.

— Clementine Ford (@clementine_ford) January 30, 2015