Brazilian Carnivale Addresses Political Issues The Brazilian festival ‘Carnivale’ has taken a turn for the political this year, with the raucous celebration usually turning a blind eye to current and international events. Organisers of the festival and revelers alike tackled big topics of sexism, homophobia, Donald Trump and the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff. Some…
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Women can avoid rape by staying at home, says Indian politician This just in: your vagina is like a car and to avoid “accidents”, it’s best you keep it parked at home. At least that’s what Indian politician Kodela Shiva Prasad said while speaking at a press conference before the National Women’s Parliament in Amravati. ‘When…
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Sitting from where we are now, looking back over the year that was maybe more a study in crippling remorse than anything else, and the news doesn’t appear to be getting brighter for women or other sexual, racial or social minorities. 2016 has seen a rise of female-identifying young people taking to the streets to…
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From its inception as a (widely panned) movie, through to the iconic TV show and comic book series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BTVS) has proven to be an ‘undying’ piece of pop culture. Celebrated for its punning protagonist Buffy Summers and her ‘Faith’-ful Scooby Gang, BTVS is canonical in its portrayal of female strength. In…
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LGBT community gets behind suspended La Trobe academic Roz Ward In the wake of private Facebook comments criticising the Australian flag as ‘racist’, academic at La Trobe University in Melbourne and founder of the Safe Schools Coalition Roz Ward was suspended from her position at the university. The hashtag #IStandWithRozWard was created by LGBT people…
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This is a review of a session held at the 2016 Sydney Writers’ Festival. * What is it that we find so fascinating about a reclusive novelist? There are plenty of writers who have attempted anonymity, with varying degrees of success: Harper Lee and Thomas Pynchon both spring to mind. These authors have chosen…
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First ever Indigenous woman to contest Miss World Australia For the first time ever, an Indigenous woman will be contesting the Miss World Australia competition. Maminydjama ‘Magnolia’Maymuruis a 19-year-old Yolgnu woman and will be representing the Northern Territory. She says she’s come out of her shell to compete in the competition ‘for all the young…
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Mia Freedman criticised for auctioning off an internship for Mamamia Founder of Mamamia, Mia Freedman, has come under fire online for auctioning off a ‘priceless’ internship at the organisation – for $10,000. While the money raised will go to Caritas Australia, Freedman has already faced criticism in the past for underpaying writers. The criticism comes…
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First female Muslim magistrate in Victoria Urfa Masood will become the first Muslim woman magistrate in Victoria, with the appointment announced by the Attorney-General on Tuesday morning. Ms Masood has previously worked in criminal and family law, as well as experience with the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. Triggs: Australia must respect Papua New Guinea’s decision…
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Jessica Jones and Master of None honoured by Peabody Awards Critically acclaimed TV shows Jessica Jones and Master of None have been recognised by the judges of the prestigious Peabody Awards. In particular, the judges applauded Jessica Jones for asking ‘unpopular questions about power and consent’. Yay for recognition! Prince dies aged 57 In the…
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Maley: the hypocritical reaction to child welfare cases Jacqueline Maley writes for the Sydney Morning Herald on Australia’s response to two different cases this week – the 60 Minutes botched “child rescue” in Lebanon that has left the crew in jail and a mother charged with the death of her 14-month-old daughter in Melbourne. Why…
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NSW police officers found trolling Greens MP online Lovely. It has been discovered that serving members of the NSW Police Force trolled Greens MP Jenny Leong on Facebook with racist and sexist comments. The member for Newtown was attacked with racist and lewd messages after she introduced a bill to the NSW lower house to…
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U.S. women’s soccer team files wage discrimination complaint Five women from the U.S. national women’s soccer team, acting on behalf of the team, have filed a federal complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, asking them to investigate U.S. Soccer over wage discrimination. No excuses can be made by U.S. Soccer regarding skill and revenue…
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Significant gender wage disparities in staff of presidential campaigns Yikes. Jezebel have analysed the campaign finance data for the current six biggest presidential campaigns to look at gender disparity, and it doesn’t look good.Some will be surprised to find that Bernie Sanders’ 10 highest paid staffers are all men, although on average, women in his…
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