I’m stumbling through a chain store in the thick of late night shopping. Katy Perry’s voice pours through unseen speakers, stands of accessories jump out at me from thin air. Mirrors are fixed to the walls in a way that makes you slightly nauseous, with multiple copies of yourself staring back at you from behind…
Read more
Christmas can prompt pretty ridiculous purchases (tis the silly season, after all). Even so, the concept of syringes and permanent marker on flabby body parts are not exactly festive imagery. Given that plastic surgery and anti-aging processes are actually pretty gory, what’s with their creeping into the market as a new Christmassy gift possibility? The…
Read more
You want your celebrities to have some brain power, right? Or at least have decent taste. Wear some Ray Bans, for instance, and a floral dress. Hold a Penguin Classic for when the need to read strikes, or carry some vinyl LPs in their second hand bike baskets… Well, the ‘famous tides’ turn all the…
Read more
Without spoiling, the film Crazy, Stupid Love has a scene or three in which guys and girls reach for the bottle in the name of courtship. Lads buy lasses drinks to get to know them, and ladies reach for liquid courage before making a move. Whatever your philosophy on alcohol, there’s an unspoken assumption that…
Read more
An eating disorder can be described as a marathon. And in that image, it isn’t ever just the sufferer that is running. Their community – friends, parents, teachers, siblings – can be asked to step up without training, without warning, or proper footwear. This isn’t the fault of the one who’s fighting. But it is…
Read more
Fur or foxy ladies? Perhaps it’s a quandry you don’t have to face everyday. But global animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is reportedly asking its audience to choose, with plans to launch a ‘xxx’ pornography website in order to push across its vegan diet messages. Media outlets have jumped…
Read more
Can you hatch a feminist? Say your task was to persuade a young woman or man why gender still matters – what three pieces of knowledge would you give them? This is an unfair question in many ways: no one definition of the feminist movement exists, nor can you boil it down to a few…
Read more
‘Get those tweezers away from my eyeballs.’ This is one of the philosophies by which I lead my life, but it’s also a major point of hypocrisy for me. I’m not a really fussy person when it comes to the beauty department, but I do get my eyebrows shaped at a salon. This is partly…
Read more
My favourite subject at school? Photoshop. Okay, that may be a little misleading, but in between maths and basic geography, I got pretty good at enhancing digital photographs. It wasn’t that I took a class in it, per se. It’s just that over two digital graphics subjects and a work experience placement in the pictorial…
Read more
Are you lonely? It sounds like a question that Joey would ask Pacey, right? So much has the idea of ‘loneliness’ been hijacked by mass media, asking if a friend feels alone might seem tacky or eye roll-worthy. But apparently, Gen Y is one of the loneliest groups in society. Over the past few weeks…
Read more
Worshippers of neon clothing had a reason to celebrate in June. In Melbourne, they lined up throughout the icy night (some wearing thermal jeggings, perhaps) and waited for chain store Zara to open its shiny, security heavy doors. It was a good moment for the fuss free shopper – Zara has taken a sweet while…
Read more
Some of us love a good tackle. Not the friendly/flirty/familiar type, either. I love watching a good tackle in AFL football. In fact, I adore all aspects of the game. But not everyone loves that I, and other girls out there, are football fanatics. It might not be overt, but the way some Australians respond…
Read more
