Feminism. Harry Potter. Two concepts that may tickle the fancy of a Lip reader. How are these two connected, if at all? In the spirit of making feminism fun, is Hermione the answer? We spend a fair chunk of time on Lip discussing the F word, and it isn’t always a case of warm and…
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When I first heard about the ‘I did not report’ hashtag. I was blown away with the ingeniousness of the idea. How many of us have been groped against our will? How many of us have been harassed or threatened in the street simply because we happen to have a vagina? How many of us…
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Often the issue that arises from flying the feminist flag is that people expect you to align all of your beliefs within a perceived system of norms that align with what they view as ‘feminism’. For a movement as multi-faceted, widely dispersed and fragmented as feminism is, this is nigh on impossible. Every feminist (much…
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Name: Wendy McCarthy Age: 70 Occupation: Company Director and Mentor How would you describe yourself and your life? A life well lived and still a work in progress. In many ways my original skills and passions are being reenergized in the work I do at the moment. I grew up in rural NSW and was…
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The other day I was browsing Tumblr when I noticed a gif from a movie that had been re-blogged by a friend of mine. The gif was from The Sitter and included the star, Jonah Hill, and the woman playing his girlfriend (or, really, the woman he wants to be his girlfriend), Ari Gaynor. The…
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So far on my journey to become a better feminist through reading I have encountered some real gems. Living dolls, the Vagina Monologues and the Beauty Myth have all opened my eyes to aspects of life that have always been there, but have also always escaped my understanding. However, after happily and hungrily digesting the…
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As a movement, and speaking in very general terms, feminism has been guilty of marginalising the voices of other people. While it has been rejected on ignorant grounds which rely on stereotypes (feminists are hairy, scary people who hate men and burn undergarments), it has also been quite fairly rejected on the grounds that it…
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Name: David Nowell Age: 64 Occupation: Business Engineering Consultant How would you describe yourself and your life? My life is very full and with many aspects of happiness and enjoyment in all areas. I have a great mix of work, social and relaxation in essentially a carefree arrangement. I can pick and choose what I…
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If you’re anything like me, you would love to have a feminist role model that you can actually talk to and seek advice from. This person would not be commandeering and prescriptive, but would be an approachable person who could comfortably answer your questions with both knowledge and respect. This person would acknowledge that society…
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The potentiality for feminism to be a global movement sometimes can be a bit of an elephant in the room for Western feminists. It is clear that the rights of women are fundamentally and consistently in question throughout the world. In many nations, women lack the right to a public life on their own terms….
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After reading Jamie Freestone’s article I turned to my husband, who, while I may be biased, is one of the most decent, caring guys around. “Are you a feminist?” I asked (or to be honest, challenged). “Um, ahh, well I believe in equality for everyone.” “But would you call yourself a feminist?” “I told you,…
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Trigger Warning: Talk of rape. Yesterday, my father went out to a doctor’s appointment and I was home alone. Like most people when they’re home alone, I locked the door. Just the screen door, I left the back door open. When he arrived home after his appointment, he tried to open the door and found…
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Name: Sonja Bajic Age: 40 Occupation: Student How would you describe yourself and your life? Wordly! Interesting post divorcee raising teenage daughter who loves 80s music. What does Feminism mean to you? Eliminating all forms of violence….stomping out patriarch/misogyny….allowing women and men to have the same choices…women’s oppression, and empowering women to become better…
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Why does feminism have to be about who’s in and who’s out? Several weeks ago, Twitter and the bloggersphere were engaged in a fierce debate about whether Melinda Tankard Reist can be considered a feminist, given that she is ‘pro-life’. The discussion was spurred by an article in which Tankard Reist featured alongside other self-proclaimed…
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