For the first time ever, the race for the Mayor of Paris was all female. And (gasp) a woman won! The two largest political parties in Paris’ candidates were Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, of the centre-right Union pour un Mouuvement Populaire (UMP), and Anne Hidalgo of the Parti Socialiste (PS). Hidalgo triumphed, claiming 54.5 per cent of…
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With the fourth season of Girls on the horizon for airing in 2015, I’m sure many of you out there are super psyched to see just want Lena Dunham has concocted next for her band of ladies. I am, however, not looking forward to the next season – I find the show barely relatable and…
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Do you remember a few years back when the vaccination, Gardasil, was released? You probably do remember because (hopefully) you got the three free injections from your doctor as part of the Medicare scheme. I was slightly unlucky. I had my first two shots in America, and upon arriving in Australia, I did not yet…
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The University of Michigan is displaying an exhibition of posters by artist Heather Ault dedicated to the history of women and abortions. The agency of reproductive and contraceptive choice extends back 4000 years, so the exhibition is named ‘4000 Years for Choice.’ Ault, an activist for reproductive rights, said that the exhibition ‘presents abortion and…
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After six months of planning, the first major plus-size fashion event will be held at the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival. A highlight of the program, the Curvy Couture Roadshow will be held on March 30, showcasing some of the best plus-size designers on a size 14 plus runway. Model and major sponsor Robyn Lawley…
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A liberal arts college in Saratoga, New York will offer a course analysing Miley Cyrus this year. Skidmore College will offer ‘The Sociology of Miley Cyrus: Race, Class, Gender and Media’ as part of its Summer courses, alongside a range of other creative arts and humanities subjects. The classes, headed by Associate Professor Carolyn Chernoff,…
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US clothing brand, American Apparel is no stranger to controversy, but the retailer’s latest campaign featuring a Bangladesh-born model with the words ‘Made in Bangladesh‘ sprawled across her bare chest has raised a few eyebrows, and sparked a lot of misguided criticism. The marketing scandal portrays a culturally-conflicting image of an exotic, Bangladeshi-American woman in…
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A state senator in Alaska is advocating that women have pregnancy tests before drinking in bars. State senator Pete Kelly believes that if this happened women would no longer drink when pregnant, thus not giving birth to babies with foetal alcohol syndrome. Senator Kelly also claims that birth control such as the pill is not…
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Attorney-General George Brandis has caused quite a stir in Australian politics this week with his proposal to amend section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. Clause 18C was added in 1995 and states that it is ‘unlawful for someone to publicly offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate a person or group of people’. The proposal Brandis…
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It seems that this sort of thing happens once every few years and, lo and behold, here we are again. A 27-year old medical student from the United States has decided to auction off her virginity. The woman, known as Elizabeth Raine (her true identity is being concealed, excepting to that of the highest bidder)…
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Russia’s newly appointed prosecutor-general of Crimea, Natalia Poklonskaya, has set the internet’s heart a-flutter after a video of her first press conference went viral on YouTube. Online users have bizarrely disregarded the fact that she holds a controversial position under President Vladimir Putin’s controlling government, instead labelling her ‘cute and hot’ and quickly creating memes…
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Nearly thirty years at after the Hawke government abolished the title of Knights and Dames in Australia, Tony Abbott has reintroduced the honour in order to celebrate ‘pre-eminent’ Australians. The first to receive these honours under Abbott’s administration will be the outgoing Governor-General Quentin Bryce, along with incoming Governor-General Peter Cosgrove, who will be knighted this Friday. It was…
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A Muslim woman claims that gym chain, Planet Fitness asked her to leave for wearing a headscarf in the gym, which apparently did not fit their dress code policy. The incident involves New Mexico resident Tarainia McDaniel, originally occurring in 2011, and detailed in a new lawsuit, according to the Albuquerque Journal. ‘McDaniel alleges in a lawsuit filed…
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Middle-school girls at Haven Middle School, Evanston, Illinois, are picketing this week for their right to wear leggings to school. The school informed the young teens this month that leggings are ‘too distracting to boys’ to be fit for the classroom. Thirteen year old, Sophie Hasty, told the Evanston Review that her and 500…
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