‘This is going to be the huskiest interview there ever was,’ Amy laughs. ‘Just a couple of frogs talking to each other.’ We bond over how croaky our voices both are. Admittedly, listening back to the audio of our interview, I just wanted to suck on a Soother. She orders a soy mocha in a…
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There are currently 5.1 million Pakistani children of primary school age who are out of school, according to the organisation CARE Pakistan. Of the poorest 20% of the population, two out of three young women do not go to school – it is one of the more severe situations for women’s education in the world….
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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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Ira Trivedi is the bestselling author of What Would You Do to Save the World?, The Great Indian Love Story and There Is No Love on Wall Street. Her latest book and first work of non-fiction is India in Love: Marriage and Sexuality in the 21st century, a landmark book on India’s new social revolution…
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We are beyond thrilled to officially announce, in no particular order, the shortlist for the 2016 Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction. Dive – Sophie Overett The Enigma of Desire – Victoria McGlynn Muscle Town – Cheryl Billman Premium Brand – Susi Fox The Tallest Girl in the World – Laura McPhee-Browne The Other Girl –…
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MELBOURNE—A cluster of straight white men dragged themselves away from their computer screens on Wednesday night to attend the inaugural ‘Straight White Men Who Are Fed Up With Being Discriminated Against’ rally. It was an event eagerly awaited by tens of thousands of vexed straight white men throughout the Internet. A hot-tempered yet enthusiastic…
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Despite societal pressure to break down traditional gender roles, there’s a large chunk of the population that still disapproves of women drinking anything more than a moderate amount of alcohol. Of course, this is a ridiculous double standard, as men are free to drink to their hearts’ content – without fear of judgement. Regardless of…
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I was seated in a small, sunny room that smelled of dusty carpet. Across the table from me, looking at my upturned palms, was a man with a long beard and thinning hair around his temples. He traced a line along the meaty part of my palm, just below my fingers. ‘You’re not money-minded,’ he…
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With a gender superannuation gap of 46.6%, women often receive advice on how to improve our super balances. However, the fact that the average 60-year-old Australian woman would have to work an extra 25 years to retire with the same superannuation balance as her male equivalent suggests that women will have difficulty achieving financial security…
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During the recent 2016 Melbourne International Comedy festival, I picked a few acts I’d like to see and sent the list to my mates, in case they wanted to catch the same shows with me. Their reactions towards my choices ranged from dubious to dismissive: ‘So…your list has mostly female acts. Is that intentional?’ ‘Count…
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When Title IX was signed into law by President Richard Nixon forty years ago, gender equality in sports wasn’t on the forefront of legislator’s minds. Rather, the landmark legislation, which bans sex discrimination in any educational program receiving federal funding, was a response to social realities that were holding women back at the time. The…
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Slut. * “After Kim Kardashian posted her nude photo in early March, I read several pieces on the double standards in the uproar that it prompted. These articles addressed, in particular, the ease with which we accept women’s bare bodies in our advertising, film, television and music videos when they are affirming the male gaze…
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This week’s column is dedicated to things that have been helpful during the first two months off the pill. No need to go chasing the end of the rainbow – a pot of gold can be found right here. 1. Sweetening the Pill: How We Got Hooked on Hormonal Birth Control by Holly Grigg-Spall You’ll…
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What are you working on in 2016? Trying to answer emails within five months of receiving them. Also, a novel. What does “other” mean to you? In the context of this prize, “other” means writers, characters, perspectives and voices we aren’t used to reading in fiction – points of view that have been historically, societally,…
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