Liz Jackson: A Lady of Worth

Tonight I watched the Four Corners documentary on journalist Liz Jackson’s diagnosis of Parkinsons on ABC’s Iview. It was heart-breakingly honest, raw and humbling and if you’re reading this, I implore anyone to watch it. I decided to write this lady of great worth a letter. Dear Ms Jackson, As a member of a family…

When Are You Having a Baby?

I’ve been asked this question several times every year over the last few years –  “When are you having a baby?”, the last time in front of an audience, including an already visibly pregnant woman. The women in the  room who already have children don’t appear to be bothered by this question. The men are…

Stinky Misogyny

Recently I was sent a forwarded email entitled “Sixteen Logical Reasons Why Some Men Have Dogs and Not Wives“, so I read and laughed because I think dogs are ace. And excluding the reference to women, there are a lot of funny things that dogs do to make them so appealing as our little companions.…

A Call to Arms for Immaturity

In the noble profession of teaching your role is to, well teach, right? Yes. But beyond this simplistic explanation are several  more appropriate answers. As a teacher, your purpose every day is to lead and also to model. You constantly nurture and support. You constantly monitor and build up confidence. Everything you say must be…

And They All Lived Happily Ever After… At Ice Designs

It’s taken two weeks, several phone calls and a sarcastic email but finally Ice Designs responded to my taking issue with lyrics about “pussies” playing over their sound system. A fortnight ago, I walked into a young women’s clothing store and listened to a guy rapping about a girl whose “pussy” smell he remembers,  though…

Ice Designs and Why We Still Need Feminism

 For the third day in a row in Melbourne, it’s been above 40 degrees. So, a little sheepishly, I joined the throngs to find that particular kind of respite in a nearby massive shopping mall. And glory be to the god of cold air, those giant air-conditioners (almost certainly responsible for the 40 degrees I…

Australian Women Behaving Badly

The Melbourne Museum recently held a talk ‘Badly Behaved Women Seldom Make History’ with local historians each presenting an oral biography of Australian women who, in different ways, smashed glass ceilings, dismissed the accepted status quo of gender at the time, and to a large extent went unrecognised in subsequent history books (which were fat…