Last week I was unlucky enough to come across an article in the Daily Telegraph entitled ‘More women are getting drunk on Sydney streets than ever before’. It was the usual article about women and sexual assault, i.e. how women can avoid getting assaulted if they simply stop being so darn silly and reckless…
Read more
The theme for International Women’s Day earlier this month was ‘The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum’ and it could not be more apt given the recent horrific attacks on women in India and South Africa – attacks that are not unprecedented and are prevalent in too many countries around the world. These acts of violence against…
Read more
Growing up, I was addicted to the television show Charmed. From the age of seven, the concept of three young beautiful women with supernatural powers and a feminist ‘we can conquer all’ attitude greatly appealed to me. I idolised the charmed sisters, with a ludicrous ideal that maybe one day I’d grow up to be…
Read more
Have you ever woken up at 1pm only to curse at your misfortune for having just missed Ellen? Looked up from page 229 of your Tumblr dashboard to marvel at Judge Judy’s limitless sass? Zoned out in front of Ready Steady Cook to think wistfully of the routine and order semester will bring when it…
Read more
Recently, I discovered a job posting on Gumtree for a Content Copy Writer Internship that ‘…will be full-time and inflexible (10am – 5:30pm, 5 days per week, 6 months), however, it is designed for those who already have some sort of qualification…’. Yep, that’s 900 hours of copy writing. I had to do a serious…
Read more
Disney shaped billions of childhoods around the world. Remember when you were little, and all you wanted to do was dress up in a big pink puff pastry dress and pretend a fairy godmother was coming by to whisk you away in a pumpkin? This, along with sitting around waiting for Prince Charming and “true…
Read more
The Sex Pistols meet William Shakespeare. It isn’t often that these two British cultural icons are grouped together. Yet Bell Shakespeare’s new production of Henry 4 does just this, and much more, to present a punk-inspired interpretation of the classic play. The production debuted a few weeks ago in Canberra, and will soon open…
Read more
It’s a truth universally known by all women that we aren’t trying to “have it all” when we have children and work. We’re trying to have children and live with the dignity and respect we get from being able to pay all our bills. Another universal truth known to all us women is the feeling…
Read more
Certainty kills one’s curiosity and blinds one’s mind’s eye to the wondrous questions we need to ask ourselves as we write. Uncertainty should be our guide. Likewise self-doubt is something all serious writers worth their salt wrestle with. Without some self-doubt and uncertainty one would descend into a self-satisfied mediocrity. Yet for someone who endures…
Read more
A colleague of mine once described the beginning stages of a relationship as the ‘best feeling ever’. She explained, ‘getting to know someone and the excitement of discovering what you have in common is just the most electrifying thing.’ Her comment was directed at her new boyfriend but I happen to think you can feel…
Read more
It’s been almost three years since I last wrote about Jenna Adams, a former high school peer of mine who had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) at just 18 years old. Since her treatment and recovery, Jenna’s new outlook on life has given her the inspiration to live to the fullest, and in…
Read more
A recent photography competition casts a spotlight on the role of women in revolutionary Egypt — but women’s rights are under threat under Egypt’s new leaders, writes Farz Edraki. A woman in red hijab. She stands in a crowd of helmet-clad police officers, protesters, and cameramen. Her gaze is steadfast; resolute. The caption on the…
Read more
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” This is so well-known to us it has become a cliché. How about “gotta be in it to win it” or “life is short”! We know that leaps of faith are part of a well-lived life and that in order to succeed we must “grab the bull by the horns”. And…
Read more
Like most young women, Gemma Beale has had her fair share of harassment and unwanted attention, and at midnight one night she decided she’d had enough. Rape culture is an undeniable aspect of our society, and now through the use of social media and tumblr, Gemma is shining a light on the all too common…
Read more
