Germaine Greer

Germaine Greer (born January 29, 1939) is an Australian academic, writer, and broadcaster, who is widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the 20th century.

Recent events in her life

On April 23, 2000, Greer was taken hostage by Karen Burke, a nineteen-year-old student from the University of Bath who had been writing to Greer, and who eventually broke into her home in Essex, tied Greer up in the kitchen, and proceeded to smash up the contents of the house with a poker and rip the telephone from the wall. Dinner guests eventually found Greer lying in a distressed state on the floor, with Burke hanging onto her legs, shouting "Mummy, mummy". Burke was arrested and charged with assault and unlawful imprisonment, and was later sentenced to two years' probation. Greer was not hurt and held a press conference in which she told reporters: "I am not angry, I am not upset, I am not hurt. I am fine. I haven't lost my sense of humour. I am not the victim here. Ever since I published The Female Eunuch there's been an off-chance that some nutter is going to pick me off, judging by the hostility in the letters." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=AZJQDTIMISDADQFIQMGSM54AVCBQWJVC?xml=/news/2000/07/05/ngre05.xml

Related Topics:
April 23 - 2000 - University of Bath - Essex

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In 2001, she attracted publicity again for a proposed treaty with Aboriginal Australia. In 2004, Australian Prime Minister John Howard called her "elitist" and "condescending" after she criticized Australians as "too relaxed to give a damn".

Related Topics:
2001 - 2004 - John Howard - Elitist

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In January 2005, Greer was revealed as one of eight contestants in Celebrity Big Brother, a British variant of the reality television show Big Brother. She had previously said that the show was "as civilized as looking through the keyhole in your teenager's bedroom door". She walked out of the show after five days inside the "Big Brother house", citing the psychological cruelty and bullying of the show's producers, the dirt of the house, and the publicity-seeking behavior of her fellow contestants. http://women.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,2120-16149-1441708,00.html

Related Topics:
2005 - Celebrity Big Brother - Bullying

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