There was a time when Fun Machine was Canberra’s best kept secret. Not anymore, it seems, with the four-piece carting their sex-pop (plus glitter, lycra, facepaint) up and down the country for a series of shows promoting their new single, Naked Body. Naked Body sends a pretty clear message: celebrate yourself, because you’re beautiful. It’s…
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A new law has been introduced into Western Australia’s state parliament that would require Muslim women to remove their burqas or niqabs to prove their identity, if required. It would also apply to hats, scarves and other headwear or clothing that obstructs the ability to identify an individual. The law was drafted in response to…
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As I write this article I am lying next to a window overlooking the river Spree in Berlin. It is late evening, and the reflections of the city lights are dancing across the surface of the rippling black water, creating a rather magical atmosphere. It’s Wednesday night now, and we left Stockholm early on Monday morning, taking…
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Dear Old Man at the train station, Thank you for sharing your Anti-feminist Manifesto with me, I have summarised your points as follows so we can keep track: That it is Feminist Marxists like Julia Gillard who have ruined families. That Tony Abbott has been unfairly maligned because he is a Catholic and male. (Feminist…
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Did you know that Friday 9 August was the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People? Pronounced by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1994, the day aims to promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population, so this fortnight, I’m going to have a look out some of our own…
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I told myself a while ago that I wouldn’t waste my precious time and energy bothering to refute things that people* like Rush Limbaugh say in a public forum, in what are increasingly desperate attempts to remain relevant. Now that they’ve realised simply referring to women as ‘sluts’ or accusing them of causing America’s ‘cultural…
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**Editor’s Note: Since quitting the internet, Schwyzer underwent a very public manic episode on Twitter, explaining his mental illness and outlining his various transgressions. You can read it in his own words here.** Last week, reviled feminist Hugo Schwyzer announced on his personal website that he was quitting the Internet. In the 30 July post…
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Name: Beckie-Ann Galentine Age: 22 Occupation: Bruised Black Vintage Owner and Model, Photographer Hometown: Indiana, Pennsylvania, United States Describe yourself in one word: Adventurous What is your feminist philosophy? I believe that double standards must be erased; there should be no pre-determined standards that suggest an appropriate way to look, dress or act for any…
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This is probably History 101 for most people but it doesn’t hurt to look at where we’ve come from next to where we are now. Women in Australia have been able to vote since about the turn of the 20th century, and to stand for election to parliament since the end of the first…
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According to new health studies from Canada, women living in urban areas are more like than those living in rural areas to suffer postpartum depression after giving birth. According to a study by A. Harding, ‘just over nine percent of women living in cities of 500,000 people or more had postpartum depression, versus six percent…
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Last week in London, Australian entertainer Rolf Harris was re-arrested on suspicion of further sexual offenses. He has been released on bail again until a date later this month. Despite the ongoing police inquiries into historic sex abuse claims, Harris has still yet to be formally charged. These claims are related to the case by…
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Gloria Steinem to receive Medal of Freedom The well-known US feminist is headed to the White House to hang with the Obamas and receive presidential seal of approval. The Medal of Freedom is a pretty big deal–pretty much the highest award a citizen can receive, delivered at the liking of the President. The win is…
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The following is an excerpt from new book, Mother and the Tiger. My story began as a jumbled collection of early memories. Events and images floated in and out of my mind as faces and places were recalled: some vivid and sharp, others dim and almost forgotten. I have tried to sort through these glimpses…
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The 1960s is associated with many things; flower power, great music, Woodstock and free love. There was also a darker side which is equally well documented, the Vietnam War, political movements and the racial and social tensions of this period. Many of these elements were explored in the Australian movie The Sapphires, based on…
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