In 2015, the Census Bureau reported that for the first time, women in the United States were more likely to have a bachelor’s degree than men. According to the reports, 37.5% of women in the 25 to 34 age group have attained advanced degrees, compared to 29.5% of men, making female millennials the most educated…
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Dear Mr. Trump, I’d like to start by saying this letter does not come from a strongly political place. These days, I find myself heavily disillusioned with politics in my own country, let alone yours. I have no interest in taking sides and my decision to write this letter was not politically motivated. I felt…
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When Natasha Stott-Despoja was appointed Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls in December 2013, she said: ‘I continue to be proud of Australia’s efforts to work with and for the world’s women, and I’m honoured to have been given a chance to contribute to this work.’ In October 2016, when the United Nations appointed Wonder…
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Today I am meant to be continuing my series of essays centred on the contemporary female experience. I have sat down at my computer to engage in the daily battle: woman versus blank page. I can’t tell you how often the blank page wins or how sweet victory tastes when I do. Today seems a…
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When the noted Australian female sports journalist Rebecca Wilson died earlier this month, public outpourings of condolence were swiftly forthcoming. Recognising Wilson’s groundbreaking work during her career of more than 35 years and paving the way for other female journalists in what remains traditionally a man’s domain, The Australian newspaper credited Wilson with ‘smashing down…
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In September, banned Essendon player Jobe Watson made his long-awaited announcement that he would play on in 2017. At his press conference, he wore a cap emblazoned with the word ‘FEMINIST’. Watson spoke of his New York housemate Jackie Funder, girlfriend of former Essendon Bombers player Scott Gumbleton, who had educated him on gender equality…
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Name: Sidney (Sid) Shaw Age: 23 Occupation: Student/bartender Location/Hometown: Melbourne Describe yourself in one word. Oddity. What inspires you? I’m inspired most by the women in my life, particularly my mother. She had the most influence on me growing up because for a while, it was just the two of us. I’ve always looked at…
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Name: Eliza Graves-Browne Age: 22 Occupation: I currently work as a Digital Copywriter, Freelance Journalist at VICE and Features Writer at Lip Location/Hometown: Melbourne, VIC. Describe yourself in one word. Me! What inspires you? I think I have a love-hate relationship with humanity. I am horrified by the destruction we are causing to the earth,…
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Content Warning: this contains a brief mention of eating disorders People from different places envision something different when they think of the word “beauty”. For someone living in America, the word “beauty” could mean a young woman that looks like classic Barbie, with blonde hair, blue eyes, tanned skin, and a skinny figure. For…
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Popular culture is full of images pressuring us to conform to so-called acceptable ways of being. These ideas are so all-pervading they become the norm and we forget that the stories we hear through our favourite characters are a deliberate social construction. Such as when we assert the stereotype that all fat people are lazy….
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‘He asked me out again, so I just told him I had boyfriend.’ As I said the words it just sounded like another futile story of mine. I was re-telling the story of an older guy, who was probably in his mid-40s, asking me out. I was always a loud presence in a room, but…
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For some time now, women have been statistically underrepresented in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This trend is particularly troubling, as STEM fields are aching for qualified workers. The cyber security industry, as an example, is a field that has grown to be particularly important in today’s technological age, yet a mere…
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This is a love letter to domestic violence victims. To the sisters, the mothers, the aunts, the grandmothers. The sophisticated ladies, the spitfire working class woman, the timid girl. The women who are victims of violence within their own homes. You, who have traversed the hallowed roads of hell. This is for you. This is…
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‘What is Her Name?’ is a series of short essays that explore the reality of what it means to be a woman living in a patriarchal world. Each essay takes the name of a woman whose place in history or in culture serves as a platform for examining different female experiences. The accumulative aim of…
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