CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Australia's first woman prime minister, who was dumped by her party ahead of September's election loss, revealed on Monday she was surprised by the level of aggressive sexism directed at her during three years in power.
Julia Gillard made the comments in her first interview sinceshe was deposed in a ballot of her center-left Labor Party colleagues in June by a vote of 57 to 45 as public opinion polls pointed to the administration heading for a catastrophic election defeat.
She was replaced by Kevin Rudd, a prime minister she had deposed in a similar leadership showdown three years earlier in the face of poor opinion polling. Rudd led his party to a crushing election defeat on Sept. 7, causing some observers to ask whether the leadership change had served any purpose.
Gillard, who turned 52 Sunday, told a sold-out audience of 2,600 people in the Sydney Opera House in an interview televised nationally that she reacted with "murderous rage" to the sexist attacks on her in social media and elsewhere.
She was called "witch" and "bitch" on protesters' banners, while a popular Sydney radio broadcaster said she should be dumped at sea in a sack.
"I was surprised by it. I had issues related to my gender before I became prime minister," she said, mentioning an opposition senator condemning her as unfit to lead because of her decision not to have children.
"There was this underside of ... really violent, ugly sexism that came forward, and I think it finds easier expression because of the social media, but I think it would have been there anyway," she said.
