Skagboys is the latest offering from Irvine Welsh, who burst onto the literary scene with the notorious Trainspotting (1993). Skagboys revisits the characters of Trainspotting, trailing them on a manic journey into the Edinburgh’s drug scene. Welsh describes it as a “why” book, investigating the characters, relationships and the broader society that the characters inhabit….
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Fox2 News reported late last week that a school employee in the USA allegedly told the mother of a 13 year-old girl to have her daughter undergo breast reduction to stop her peers from bullying her. The employee of Riverview Gardens School District, Missouri allegedly told the mother, who phoned the school with concerns about…
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Whether it is what we remember from the unquenchable enthusiasm of a high school Ancient Greek teacher or through a sleep-induced haze from the back row of a lecture theatre in third-year compulsory Classics at university, most of us have some grasp, no matter how tenuous, of Greek mythology. We might even remember the names…
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I like to think of my mind as a fortress; that if I came across some Jedi or The Doctor I’d hang on to my scrap metal and see through any psychic notepaper that got thrust my way. But recently I’ve begun to doubt this, and the reason is infomercials. If you don’t know what…
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Threads is a new series profiling emerging designers in Australia. Whether your work is classic, avant-garde or just plain cool, we want to hear about it. Get yourself out there! Send an e-mail to fashion@lipmag.com. We’d love to get to know you and your work. First in the Threads series is Zoe Brown, a young designer who’s…
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Another potential blow for women’s rights was announced last week with Family First MP Robert Brokenshire set to introduce a bill on foetal homicide to the South Australia Parliament, with hopes of making the legislation national. Brokenshire wishes to see those who cause the death of a foetus through assault or negligent driving charged with…
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I have an admission which will place me firmly in the category of Bad Feminist: I don’t particularly enjoy seeing women in the midst of breastfeeding. It’s unusual to see the naked female form with a baby attached out and about in public. I’m not used to seeing breasts in the shopping centre food court,…
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There are some prize-winning books, which, to be honest, after reading, I haven’t felt any wiser as to why they received the accolades emblazoned on their covers. But it’s hard to miss what’s extraordinary about Tracy K. Smith’s Life on Mars. It blew me away with Big Bang impact. It’s clear why this book won…
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My mother, who for the sake of privacy I’ll refer to as “Mama B”, is, and always has been, an amazing mother. She’s hilarious, smart, and strong, and like most mothers, rather protective of her youngens. However, there were certain things Mama B felt were necessary (or unnecessary) while I was growing up. Having come…
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The bodies of three Kurdish women were laid to rest on 17 January in Diyarbakir, Turkey, six days after their brutal murders in Paris. The women were shot multiple times inside PKK (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, or the Kurdistan Workers Party) headquarters, reports the Independent. Sakine Cansiz, 52, Fidan Dogan, 32, and Leyla Soylemez, 25 were…
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Does any women have complete power over her choices? The agency and reproductive rights of women come into question in Maureen McCarthy’s YA novel The Convent. McCarthy writes in her “Author’s Note”: ‘History is so often told from the male point of view, with the female experience either ignored or trivialised.’ In The Convent, she…
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Anti-Discrimination laws support churches The Federal Government’s draft Human Rights and Anti Discrimination Bill sees Australian religious institutions retain the right to discriminate against those they deem out of line with their values. This may include the right to refuse employment to gay and lesbians, single mothers, and those living out of wedlock. The bill…
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Every year summer hits, my appetite flies out the window. There’s something about prickly, constant heat that steals a great deal of joy out of the hearty, filling fare that I revel in during the less oppressive months. This year’s been particularly overwhelming, and given that the high temperatures don’t look to be letting up…
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‘I found her a woman of few words, not very friendly, a bit pouty, almost defiant.’ These are the initial impressions Diana had of the student-photographer who approached her at a gig at the Melbourne University’s student union. The photographer was Carol Jerrems and the year was 1968. Little did either young woman know…
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