Hello! Welcome to No Award and the 66th edition of the Down Under Feminists Carnival! I last hosted the 54th edition over at one of my other eleven million blogs, which means it has been exactly twelve months! I guess November is just the time for me (Steph).
We’ve got some categories here for ease of perusal; and just a note that things without categories only mean they were singular in their category this month, not that we don’t love them! And there are some amazing articles here this month, as there are every month – but just because the month is over don’t think you need to hold back! If you have a comment to make or somewhere to go with the conversation, go for it, even if you’re encountering these bloggers for the first time through the carnival! More chat is great. Thank you to everyone who contributed links – and of course all the great antipodeans writing awesome things.
Next month’s edition is planned for 5 December, 2013: MJ at Kiwiana (inked). Submissions to burningthescript [at] gmail [dot] com for those who can’t access the blog carnival submissions form. Previous carnivals can be found on the blog carnival index page. Please do submit if you think something is relevant to interests, you can submit your own work and/or someone else’s.
On Sex and Sexuality
At A Life Unexamined, Fixed and fluid sexual identities (from an ace perspective).
Claire at Sextracurricular Studies brings us two great posts this month: Mythbusting the Hymen by Claire at Sextracurricular Studies, on virginity and education and the dangers of this myth; and on pornography and sexual culture.
Nausea Nissenbaum presents us with Hot & Hotter: interviews with sex workers’ rights activists.
On Misogyny and support for women
Women need resilience to rise to the top, by Zoe Krupka at New Matilda.
Over at Hoyden About Town, Maybe if we all went barefoot by Mindy, on how ladies buy too many shoes which means they can’t buy houses, amirite.
Sikamikanico writes “I don’t need feminism”: The Women of a Voice for Men (a Voice for Men is a group with a MRA agenda).
In Ministerial responsibility, Ben at CXLI writes on Tony Abbott as the Minister for Women and what this might mean.
Rachel Rayner writes Spare us from idiots, on a particularly gross piece of opinion piece published in the NZ Herald re: women.
“A Dirty Game”: One woman’s retrospective on the UQ elections looks at the reinforcement of patriarchy (and also in harassment) in the UQ elections. Also up at Womynews is a 2013 Reclaim the Night recap.
On Anonymous Hatred
Broken at Fat Heffalump. This is also about fat hate and also a nice story about people being nice.
By Amy Gray, the text of a speech: Reading the Trolls
Things to Read and Watch
Molly Eliza at Womynews reviews Destroying the Joint: Why Women Have to Change the World, edited by Jane Caro.
Chally reviews About Time, the latest Richard Curtis movie.
Fi at Reading Kills talks about Every Breath, a Melburnian YA murder mystery by Ellie Marney.
Amy Gray has put up the text of an ACMI speech she gave: Enlightenment and the need for unlikable women.
Here at No Award, Liz read The Deep by Tom Taylor (who she later met!!!), an Australian comic about a multiracial family of aquanauts. (I really want to read it)
Media and Representation
At HaT, Today in Fantasy Film Sexism: Disney tries to pat some feminists’ heads, on Frozen, the new Disney film.
I navel-gaze about Chinese dating show If You Are The One (非诚勿扰) and discuss what it means for dating and stereotypes, and why it’s so popular in Australia; and in love me long time ugh help i’m dying I talk about the ongoing representation of South East Asian women in Australian media as other and hypersexual and ugh.
Also at No Award and by me, I have been reviewing the ABC-TV HBO Asia coproduction Serangoon Road, set in Singapore in 1964 and featuring way too many white people (primarily Australians). In my reviews I discuss the show but also colonialism and imperialism and white attitudes in the SEA region in the period.
Stalking, Sexual Assault and the Gilmore Girls is a look at the character of Jess on the show. Includes discussions of sexual assault and rape (and pop culture as vehicle for rape culture).
Fi writes from eighteen to thirty with nothing in between, about the dearth of crime fiction featuring protagonists under thirty.
Scarlett Harris compares Book VS. TV: Stephen King’s Under the Dome. Scarlett also writes in Defence of Sex and the City and The Problem with Sex and the City 2.
On Health (including Mental Health)
Elizabeth at Spilt Milk writes A Good Mother, on motherhood and society and mental health.
Rachel Rayner writes The Cost of It, a beautiful piece about getting an IUD and the situation around it. (Beautiful as in, it’s a poetical and lovely piece of prose)
The Little Pakeha writes Presents well, on living with depression; and Coley Tangerina writes It’s Mental Health Awareness Week.
On Racism, Race, Ethnicity
Te Ika-a-Māui and Te Waipounamu are not second-class names, by Queen of Thorns.
Australian feminists need to talk about race by Kelly Briggs up at the Guardian.
Jennifer at No Place for Sheep presents Immigration Minister Morrison instructs his staff to lie.
On Specific Women
friday feminaust: Nabila Farhat
A Friday Feminist over at HaT: Soul singer Tina Harrod.
Feminists in Fiction: Mulan at a Life Unexamined. (No Award note from your resident Chinese lady: This is a great look at the Disney Mulan but I’d just like to remind everyone that Hua Mulan is considered by many to be an actual figure in history, not just in fiction)
On Julia Gillard in conversation with Anne Summers: Carly Findlay: Julia Gillard in conversation with Anne Summers: “You have a decision to make: you could have a crap rest of your life”, [or you can move on]; Catherine Fox: The Gillard Effect: A role model we are lucky to have; Scarlett Harris: Anne Summers in conversation with Jullia Gillard.
On Marriage
Thoughts on being married by Gaayathri at A Human Story
O Brother, Where Art Thou On Gay Marriage? by Rebecca Shaw.
The logic behind Julia Gillard’s same-sex marriage opposition by Simon Copland at Ausopinion.
Poverty, Classism, Society, and getting a free pass
Poverty is Political by Anjum at Kiwi Stargazer, on the politics of poverty (and the assumption that poverty can be reduced through individual action).
The Left must own its shit and stop defending abusers by Queen of Thorns.
Dreaming of Home, by El Gibbs, on housing in Australia.
Fat Hate
Kevin Hague jumps aboard the fat-hating bandwagon, by Queen of Thorns.
Rebecca Shaw at The King’s Tribune: What do you see?
Abortion
At Idealogically Impure Queen of Thorns writes Teacher abuses position to slut-shame a teenager, gets a slap on the wrist – how moral! and From a prochoice position, changing our abortion laws DOES MATTER (the laws referred to here are NZ laws). Also by Queen of Thorns, 25 ways to be a smug slacktivist antichoice wanker.
Talk about Assault (warnings for discussion of rape, sexual assault, rape apologism, victim blaming, people being jerkfaces)
Something is happening here, but you don’t know what it is, do you Mr Jones? by Luddite Journo over at The Hand Mirror.
Chally discusses Sexual assault discourse where the listener is the cautionary tale.
The News with Nipples makes two posts on Mia Freedman’s rape apologism: Ah Mia Freedman, it all makes sense now and Today in what Mia Freedman has done now. And further on Mia (though not really), Ben McKenzie writes re: Mia Freedman et al and their “advice”.
At Hersute, Alcohol is a Misdirection When We Talk About Rape; and at Sikamikanico, Sexual Assault and Alcohol: it’s not common sense, it’s not true, and it’s not helping.
On Bob Jones and related: Gaayathri at A Human Story writes Bob Jones: An advocate for violence against women; One girl’s response to Bob Jones at Rape Crisis Dunedin; Fuck off, Bob Jones: and advertisers? Be warned at Idealogically Impure.
Tangerina reports that Wellington Rape Crisis might have to cut its services again.
And the gold goes to… by ShoniaS at Hoyden About Town (includes warning for discussion of child sexual abuse).
The Little Pakeha writes The vast majority of rapes are committed by shrubbery.
Andie writing at Women’s Agenda: To the unconvinced: the perpetrators of crime are responsible for crime.
Tigtog at HaT with Advising women to prevent their own rapes is not brave or edgy or helpful.
Clementine Ford writes Excused for sexually humiliating a woman at Daily Life.
Misc Stuff
Five Questions to Kelly Briggs is about this week’s Indigenous X tweeter – and if you’re not following the Indigenous X twitter, highly recommend.
freedom, by Stargazer, is about burqas and prejudice.
A letter to my non-black friends by Pheeby at Different Strands, talking about black hair (and what not to do).
Veronica Foale writes My disabled body, my choice, on disability and fertility.
Can HECS debt be privatised? at HaT.
Sarah Burnside at Overland on Helen Razer’s beauty myth (this post is actually from today Nov 1 but I went to school with Sarah and you can’t stop me hahaha)
Why the opal card could be a bad thing by Mindy over at HaT, on the introduction of a new PT smart card in Sydney.
feminist fashion? feminaust fashion?! by MsElouise is a look at whether truly feminist fashion can exist.
Kate Davidson looks at Bikes, sexism and Australia over at Overland.
Permission to geek out – granted, by Fat Heffalump, on women geeks and geeky interests.
At the Washington Post, How British colonialism determined whether your country celebrates Halloween, brings up some interesting notes about Victorianism, colonial social mores, and colonialism.
Are women underselling themselves at maths? A post by Sarah Macdonald at Daily Life
On Stigma and Violence by Gaayathri at A Human Story.
A Public Confession by Morgana Lizzio-Wilson at Womynews.
A poem! Refuge, by Anna Caro.
Yay! See you next time!
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