Confidence is widely considered an excellent quality. It’s associated with communication skills, social suavity, and success. Studies even show that people possessing strong self-confidence earn more money than their less confident counterparts. Is it any surprise, therefore, that capitalist Western culture in particular places such emphasis on self-esteem? Self-help culture has grown from the notion…
Read more
With today’s power and abundance of social media, it’s very rare to discover an artist’s music without already having some sort of preconceived idea about what you’ll think of them. Lana Del Rey’s music has always been clouded for me with the pervasive opinion that she’s a fake. Little criticism about Lana Del Rey’s career…
Read more
I want to dedicate this to the people who lost their lives in the Orlando massacre. This morning I woke up with my wife’s alarm at six. I remembered that we’d polished off the last of the salad over the weekend, so I threw on my robe and made Emma something fresh for lunch while…
Read more
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….
Read more
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…
Read more
I identify as a sex-neutral feminist. This doesn’t mean I don’t have an opinion on sex. In fact, it very much means the opposite. My first run in with feminism was a fairly negative one, I do admit, and has actually greatly helped me in becoming the feminist I am today. Coming from a fairly…
Read more
*Trigger Warning: This post contains writing which may upset those with mental health issues* Imagine waking up in a cold, grey room all by yourself. You have a few of your clothes shoved into a shelf next to your bed and a plastic cup of water sits on the floor. There is no…
Read more
The Australian Human Rights Commission (HRC) report, entitled The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention (2014), was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday 11 February. The report investigates the mental, emotional, and physical ramifications of mandatory detention, particularly on children. Reading this report, I was nothing short of horrified. The HRC’s investigation provides…
Read more
Yesterday I awoke to the unexpected news that activist, writer and comedian Stella Young had passed away. I then, almost as unexpectedly, spent the morning in tears. I had never realised how much I would mourn were Stella no longer around. I never had to think about it because Stella had more love for life…
Read more
Why does referring to someone as ‘love’, ‘sweetheart’ or ‘darling’ cause offence? There is no set of conditions that outlines when terms of endearment are appropriate. We have all used them, or been called them, at some point in our lives. In a recent article by the all-around awesome Annabel Crabb, she ponders this issue…
Read more
DISCLAIMER: This article is written only from my own experiences and is not meant to represent other people’s experiences of ableism, transmisogyny, sexual assault, or other experiences. Trigger Warnings: Rape, sexual assault. A lot of people look up to people who appear to be struggling with life, as if they are inspirational in some…
Read more
Trigger warning: slurs, abuse, suicide A few mornings ago, I hopped on Twitter to find a big screenshot of Brisbane’s The Courier-Mail, its front page salaciously covered with a woman in a bikini and the headline: “Monster Chef and the She Male”. I know I joke with friends that Queensland’s a little behind in…
Read more
Author’s Note: Please remember while reading this that these are my own personal thoughts and experiences and they do not represent everyone with a diagnosis of BPD. Please follow the links provided for more information. Writing a concise piece on a very misunderstood and stigmatised mental illness is no easy feat. When you speak…
Read more
I’m incredibly proud that addressing mental health issues with programs such as this week’s Mental Health Week in support of World Mental Health Day, and ABC’S Mental As, a week of TV, radio, and online programming dedicated to dismantling the stigmas surrounding mental health, has now become an everyday norm. It’s very difficult now to…
Read more
