As a survivor of many sorts, I appreciate the newly popular use of “trigger warnings” – warnings appearing before an article/forum/email to let the reader/listener know the context may cause strong emotions or fear. These are often used surrounding discussions of rape, violence against women, fat-phobia, and many forms of violence systematically engrained into personal…
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Hugo Schwyzer has epic twitter meltdown, admits to being attention-hungry fraud Notorious male feminist Hugo Schwyzer called himself a hypocrite and a fraud in a twitter tirade this week. He admitted to being unqualified to teach feminism, and revealed he had an affair with a 23-year-old woman at the same time as condemning age disparate…
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So, once again, Tony Abbott said something inappropriate in the media. This time, it was referring to Liberal candidate for the seat of Lindsay, Fiona Scott’s ‘sex appeal’, while singing her praises to the media. Naturally, the media had a field day with the comment, which didn’t do Tony any favours considering his already low…
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Teenage girls aren’t dealt a great hand in life. They’re mocked for their insecurities, despised on every social media platform, and their taste is seen as the benchmark for awful. More seriously, they are part of a demographic with a high incidence rate of sexual abuse and rape and are particularly susceptible to abusive relationships….
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When I think of ’90s feminism, the things that come to mind are angry girls, Xena: Warrior Princess and Ellen Degeneres’ coming out. Third-wave feminism has a bit of a reputation for punk music, opinionated zines and a major divide between men and women. Smack-bang in the middle of all this activism was an underground,…
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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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**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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Don’t let the subtle references to rape and slut-shaming, and the less subtle, all-out objectification of women in Robin Thicke’s viral floor filler, Blurred Lines, cloud your judgment. Throw feminist Ryan Gosling under the bed like Woody in Toy Story 1, because Robin Thicke is our new feminist ally! He said so himself. In…
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In a blue polka-dot dress Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton stood on the steps of Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital holding baby George. Seems like a straight-forward scene. But this entirely simple act of introducing the newest royal to the world via the media has sparked wild debate about Kate’s post-delivery baby bump. OK…
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Name: Ayanda Masilela Age: 25 Occupation: Graduate Student Location: Blacksburg, Virginia, United States Describe yourself in one word: Patient What is your feminist philosophy? Feminism is a means of criticising past and present power structures as vehicles of domination. It is an investigation into the origins of inequality, whether through sexism, racism, classism, or theism….
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On 13 July 2013, Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai delivered a speech to the United Nations (UN) on behalf of ‘every woman.’ Standing up against the Taliban and Islamic Extremists, Malala asserted that all women and children should have equal rights and access to free education. But not only did her speech reach the heart of…
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Swinburne Uni offers paid leave to victims of domestic violence The Government has congratulated Swinburne University and the National Tertiary Education Union for their recent agreement which gives staff suffering from domestic violence five extra days of leave a year. As reported in The Australian newspaper, the five days’ paid leave could be used to…
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I was nine and in my fifth year in elementary school when one day, out of curiosity, I pulled out my mother’s Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and looked up the word ‘sex’. I wish I had spared myself that knowledge for suddenly, my little world took on a harsher hue. The second meaning of the…
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