Last night was my best friend’s hen’s night and her groom’s buck’s night. They decided to combine the two. It was held on a weeknight for people flying in from another country and, as most of us had time off for the wedding or work or study, we were okay with it being held on…
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The other day, I was on a forum I’m a part of and reading a thread asking people what they can’t ‘rock’. The amount of responses was surprising and a little saddening. On the weekend, I was at brunch with my sister and, despite knowing my stance, she brought up that she thought certain people…
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I attended the Brisbane Slutwalk on the 28th of May. I attended in support and solidarity of my peers, male and female. The turn out at the Brisbane event was very large. Over 2000 people rsvped on Facebook, and although I don’t believe that many people came, the crowd was huge. We walked the streets,…
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Slut. Just the word, written on the page like that, with no ‘connotations’ still makes me cringe. A word, used to keep women down, put them in their place, denigrate, shame. Slut. Well, no more shame. The Slutwalk is here. The Walk started in Toronto, Canada in January of 2011, because of a shocking statement…
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Meet Victor Frankenstein. He’s an egotistical, loner-scientist who seeks godly esteem by creating his own masterpiece, his own “child.” Victor gives “birth” to this creation by trawling through graveyards (as you do) and assembling parts and limbs of the dead together like a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle. Volia! Frankenstein’s DIY child: just add limbs and…
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When I tell people I’m a feminist, I actually don’t usually get a very averse response. This is probably because I wear a bra, readily engage in body hair removal and can often be seen fawning over my boyfriend rather than asserting my status as an independent woman who doesn’t need the love of one…
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I recently realised I am still hyper aware of my body and how it can be perceived. I don’t know if this will ever change. If I am going out anywhere, I make sure I ‘dress to impress’, because I want to create some sort of impression on people. I still care about what strangers…
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I’ve spoken before about my influences, both positive and negative in regards to personal body image. I think I’ve mainly focused on my family for the positive and negative sides, but I haven’t talked much about friends and their influences on me. I was discussing this with someone on Twitter and it made me realise…
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The brand of feminism has suffered considerably over the years. I’m not sure when exactly it happened, but somewhere along the line, being a feminist became a really ugly label, one that apparently means you’re an angry, humourless, hairy-legged man-hater. No one wants to be associated with that image. Girls and women are always careful…
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In the 1970s, Robin Morgan said that ‘pornography is the theory, rape is the practice’. She was an integral part of the Women Against Pornography association, which had set-up an office in New York City, setting up tours to show interested people, even high school students, the places around the city which exploited the bodies…
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I’ve been thinking a lot recently about having a heterosexual, feminist relationship. My boyfriend identifies himself as a feminist and I’m quite proud of that. It made me wonder how that might affect the practicalities of our relationship. I do believe that we have a ‘feminist relationship’ despite that we do navigate issues like ‘who…
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A new UN agency dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women became operational on January 1st, 2011. This is a historical step forward that will consolidate and escalate UN efforts to achieve gender equality and promote women’s rights worldwide, guiding Member States towards an agreement on international standards for gender equality, and helping…
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It’s that time of year where end of the year lists start coming out. People start talking about what they’ve achieved. People start planning their resolutions, in the hopes that this time will be different and they won’t break them. For years previous, my resolutions would be the usual kind: lose weight, get fit, buy…
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It’s Christmas (for those who celebrate) at the end of the week. Parties have been attended, food has been consumed and alcohol has been imbibed. Lots of food. And lots of alcohol. I swear I’ve eaten and drunk more in the past few weeks than I have in a very long time. I’ve had to…
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