About fifteen years ago, Ness and I were best friends, and she recently shared some news on social media that had me weeping, even ugly crying, on and off for days. Throughout the course of our close friendship, Ness and I shared a penchant for drinking lots (oh, those Midori shakers!). We danced, twerked and…
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Thinking about it all, every last drop of it. She kind of died in a way, without actually ceasing to exist. Without a funeral. Without a kiss goodbye. Not a black dress in sight. Instead, a slow, heart-breaking realisation she wasn’t who she once was and never would be again. Dead, at least to…
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I recently spent one whole glorious night and one cruisy Saturday morning in bed with a guy I had met on that universal fuck den, the dance floor. We left the club at 4:00am with the crusty remains of my purple lipstick smeared across the both of our faces and made our way back…
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Friendships are as complex and varied as the people in them. It’s one thing for a film to pass the Bechdel test, but it’s sometimes hard to find in depth explorations of female friendship. These films are some of my favourites, and they all contain very different yet interesting portrayals of girlfriends. Thelma &…
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I have been thinking about my former attachments – for want of a better word – and relationships, generally, in the past few weeks, which is the logical outcome of writing on the stuff. Every fortnight, as the black mist of the writer’s deadline approaches, I ponder the relevance, the meaning, the point – whatevs…
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I have always been painfully shy. Well, actually, that is not the entire truth. When I was a very little thing I used to love talking to strangers. I had been taught by my parents to believe that I was special and interesting, and as a result I thought that everyone would be delighted by…
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A colleague of mine once described the beginning stages of a relationship as the ‘best feeling ever’. She explained, ‘getting to know someone and the excitement of discovering what you have in common is just the most electrifying thing.’ Her comment was directed at her new boyfriend but I happen to think you can feel…
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It was that strange transition time you go through as a seven year old when you are one of the last few people still calling erasers “rubbers” and defiantly fighting off the pointed giggles coming from the girls who don’t actually realise why that is funny. Puberty was a little way away, bra shopping was…
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Before there was 50 Shades of Grey, there was Lace. Not that I’ve read 50 Shades (an admission which ironically undermines my status as a reviewer), but you think BDSM is shocking? Shirley Conran, author of Lace, describes it as ‘baby porn’. She shocked everyone with Lace, it’s frank discussions and depictions of sex (from…
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It’s a warm January in the early 90s. Every radio station in Sydney is playing ‘Ice Ice Baby’ while every child between the ages of four and 12 is watching Agro’s Cartoon Connection. Standing in front of the television I change out of my pyjamas and into my school uniform for the first time. I…
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My ex and I were together three years and we broke up eighteen months go. While the strength of a relationship fades gradually (at least I don’t know anybody who was madly in love one day and not the next) long term or serious relationships end bluntly, “Now I’m here, now I ain’t” type thing….
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When Jack White and Karen Elson announced their separation a few weeks ago, they likewise announced that they would hold a party to celebrate the relationship (which I guess isn’t that dissimilar to people celebrating a life rather than mourning the end of one at a funeral, but anyway). Having a party under these circumstances…
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As I write this column, I am sitting in my living room with my current flame, Julio, and my ex, Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan and I are both on our laptops; I’m silently cursing the connection on my Virgin Mobile USB modem for constantly dropping in and out, and Bob Dylan is trying to scam…
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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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