Australian women have been most effective, politically, when they have harnessed their collective rage and turned it into action. They need to do it again now. Like many Australians, I was delighted when activist Grace Tame was named the 2021 Australian of the Year. Tame is a powerful advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse,…
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Feminism is defined as “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities”. The broad spectrum of feminist ideologies (from radical, Marxist to liberal) have different expressions of this core belief, but they are all fighting to create an egalitarian society. Many branches of feminism also place emphasis on intersectionality, which considers…
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Tangos, valiant phrases and spirited performances – Women on the Verge is a political act that recreates different phases of female subjugation. In a misogynistic society, women are shamed into keeping male dominated acts of abuse to themselves. The play sums up a lifetime of abuse women undergo wordlessly. The play comprises of four…
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I think my first encounter with the word “feminist” was around sixth grade, when a friend of my older brother told me that if I ever wanted a boy to like me, I best not join Feminist Club when I reached high school. At the time, I took his advice seriously. He, a cool high…
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The play Women on The Verge produced by the Bridge (Teatro Latino) Theatre company demonstrates both subtle and explicit gender inequalities in society. Directed by Jamie Wilson Ramirez, the production is based on four monologues written by Dario Fo and Franca Rame during the 1970s – 1980s. The adaption brings slight changes to the performance,…
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As a little white girl, naively comforted by the romances of Madame Butterfly and Disney’s Mulan, I had developed a pretty enduring schema by which to evaluate Asian women: they must either be supplicants donning opulently embellished kimonos, or they must be men. By the time that movies like Godzilla and Aloha came around,…
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When you first see Rebecca Shaw’s neon-coloured book, ‘No to Feminism: 70 Reasons Why Femism is Bad for You’ on the shelf, do yourself a favour and don’t judge too soon. Take a copy down, hold it in your hands, and flip through a couple of pages. Better yet, peruse Shaw’s witty, tongue-in-cheek introduction and…
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Until I began writing for Lip, I’d made a conscious effort to keep my feminist thoughts separate from my social media channels. Now, you could argue that this makes me a bad feminist. After all, it’s arguably one of the tenants of modern feminism that people are aware of the cause and what it stands…
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Name: Kait Fenwick Age: 21 Occupation: Full-time student, part-time console operator Location/Hometown: Newcastle, NSW Describe yourself in one word. Curious What is your feminist philosophy? Inclusivity is at the forefront of my feminist philosophy. I’m conscious of my whiteness and the privileges that are associated with that. What inspires you? The writings of the late…
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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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Like any other little girl, I would spend hours at a time imagining my perfect wedding. The ring, the bridesmaids, the cake and of course, the fairytale white dress. But it wasn’t until I recently attended a friend’s wedding ceremony that I started thinking – what does all of this really mean? Of course, like…
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According to Weight Watchers, recent findings have revealed that 63 per cent of Australian women believe a good sex life is important to an individual’s overall wellbeing – not unlike the content we see in some popular women’s magazines. However, about a quarter of these Australian women report having avoided sexual activity on at least…
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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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