Tigress Magazine for Girls Volume One by Blonde Magazine

TIGRESS MAGAZINE FOR GIRLS VOLUME ONE, 2015

Collaboration. Empowerment. Creativity. Inspiration. Feminism.

Love & Sex

Come Again Jodie Matthews

I remember the first time I ever saw my vagina, sat on the bathroom floor, head down, legs up with a mirror planted firmly between them. It wasn’t exactly a thrilling experience. The tiled floor was freezing, my neck was aching from craning it to look in the tiny mirror, and I felt acutely aware that I was doing something “shameful.” 74

Life

Love & Sex

I have my theories on what romantic love is, but I don’t know

there are an infinite number of ways a body might connect

for sure and I don’t think I ever will know a sure definition. For

with another and just...love.

me, love would be liking a person enough to put up with their insecurities and oddities. It would be liking someone enough

I am 15 and waiting for something better. I am waiting for

to watch the same Youtube clip of that cartoon cow talking

something better than a pop star on a silver screen or an

about drugs over and over and laughing just because they

actor with professionally done skin and lips and hair. I am

are laughing and that makes it good enough for you. It would

waiting for someone who isn’t perfect, but who will let me

be not being afraid to tell them anything because you know

believe they are. I am waiting for someone who will try to

they’ll understand, or being afraid because you don’t know

believe I am.

Down With the Good Little Silent Girl Stefanie Markidis

what you want, you just know you want them to stay. I wonder if my love will wear a school uniform, or if they’ll I’ve read about love. In books it’s sometimes fast and just in

come up to me in a cafe and tell me I’m pretty. I wonder if

the moment and then they look back and wonder if it was

my love has short or long hair. I wonder if my love is dark

really love at all. Sometimes the love is halting and awkward,

haired or blond or a redhead or anything inbetween. I wonder

filled with “I’m sorry” and “may I?” Sometimes it’s smooth

if my love likes sunlight and if I’ll learn to like being outside

and lasting like falling down a slip-and-slide when there is

because they like it. I wonder if they’ll like coffee or tea. I

actually enough water on it for the hot rubber not to burn

wonder if they’ll like to draw or write or sing.

your legs. Sometimes it’s a hot mess of yelling and passion. I wonder if we’ll ever meet at all.

“ I’ve heard that sometimes love is hard. I’ve seen that sometimes love fights and love sometimes makes up again and sometimes can’t because love doesn’t understand the other side of the argument.”

I’ve heard stories about people who thought they were in love only to find that their love didn’t love them back. I’ve heard people say that no one ever seems to love them as hard as they love others, and that sometimes love screws you over and you are left behind, despite once thinking you found someone you were perfect with. I’ve heard that sometimes love is hard. I’ve seen that sometimes love fights and love sometimes makes up again

I’ve seen love in movies. All the characters have a love

and sometimes can’t because love doesn’t understand the

interests. They all want it, even the ones chasing after the

other side of the argument. I’ve heard that sometimes you

villain; weapons drawn, they think about that someone that

can walk through life and fall in love a thousand times but

they miss or that someone that doesn’t know the other’s

can never make love stay.

feelings yet. Even when the characters are so preoccupied with life that they forget to eat, they think about love. They

I’ve heard that everyone has a chance, and statistically

wonder if they are needed, too.

speaking, I think everyone does. For every person you find attractive as they get on the bus or check out a book,

I don’t think love is always as physical as in the movies and

someone probably thinks the same thing about you...and

Here’s how I wrote this article: I reached for a pen, wrote a

A highly talented friend gets a book deal, another writes and

the books and the music. I think sometimes love is just

isn’t that crazy? I wonder if anyone has ever fallen in love

few words, decided they were awful, decided I was awful, put

produces a short film, one records an album and another

talking, sitting back in bed and watching the newest Marvel

with me; I wonder why they didn’t stop to tell me. I wonder if

down the pen and walked away. I needed to think about it

directs a play. I congratulate them. They hurry to explain

Cinematic Universe movie because you like it and they like

they were scared.

a little more, to ensure the idea was perfect before I began

their inadequacy. “It’s a total fluke,” they chime “I’m really

writing. A few days later I opened my laptop, typed a few

no good”. A friend tells me she enjoyed one of my poems.

you, or listening to the country radio station because they like it, even though you would never be caught dead playing

I am 15 and I have never been in love, but I know sometime

sentences in an exhilarating rush, stopped, felt nervous and a

“Oh no, that thing?” I reply. “It’s embarrassing, really, I

it on your own. I think sometimes love is just finding time

I will be. I wonder if I know my first love already or if they’ll

little guilty, pushed my chair back from my desk and walked

only wrote it in a minute.” We’re all female and we all talk

to sit together or talk on the phone or remembering to send

appear out of the blue. I wonder if I’ll have to look or if love

away. Self-expression is uncomfortable. Silence is much safer.

ourselves down, as if acknowledging our success would make

a text saying good morning and that you’re doing all right

will come to me. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. 15 isn’t

before the day has even begun. I think these are all types of

very old. I think there is time for everything to come.

love, even if they all look different from the outside. I think

us rude or conceited. I self-censor because I assume I am not good enough. I can’t reach my own impossible standards of perfection. I censor

Why are we so under-confident? Why do we shrink? Why

myself because I am female and have learned to exist as a

do we stay silent? Why can’t we own our success? Can girls

good little silent girl. I’m not the only one.

afford to be so self-effacing in a world that is still dominated by men?

Music

Love & Sex

He Loves Me, I Love Him Not Brittany Shepard

Good Day — Nappy Roots

Circles — Machineheart

Love Today — Mika

Satellite — Guster

Junk Of The Heart — The Kooks

Jackie and wilson — Hozier

12 Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing — Stevie Wonder

Paris — Magic Man

Geek In The Pink — Jason Mraz

Pretty Thing — Broods

14 Walking On A Dream — Empire Of The Sun

Stare Into The Sun — Graffiti6

Seeing Stars — Borns

Colors — Verite

Pumpin’ Blood (Jane Doze Remix) — NONONO

Track

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It’s never easy preparing yourself to break someone’s heart. It’s something no one wants to do, but sometimes it’s best for both of you for things to come to an end. Sometimes we have a hard time remembering that a break-up is just as difficult for the heartbreaker as it is for the person on the receiving end. Sometimes, it’s even more difficult to be the one who has to end things.

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Music

Interview of

Charm of Finches Mabel & Ivy

Music Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself!

Q: What do you love about playing music?

M: Well, I like acting as well as, obviously, music. I’m a bit of

M: Music is such a great way to express yourself with words,

a Shakespeare nerd. One of my dreams is to play Beatrice

sounds, and emotions, and a great way of connecting with

in “Much Ado About Nothing” because she’s such a feisty

humans! I actually really enjoy the songwriting process--

character. I’m also in my seventh year of learning to play the

starting with an idea, an emotion, a picture, and then it

cello. I’m 15 years old. We have lived our whole lives in an old

magically creates itself. I know when a song is finished and

house in the northern suburb of Northcote, Melbourne.

ready to be heard-- it feels right, and when Ivy brings her harmonies, it all fits.

I: I am 13 years old and go to Collingwood College in inner I: I think making music videos is really fun. Also Mabel and I

Melbourne and I play the violin. I’m a bit of a fan of horses.

have fun recording at home and layering lots of tracks. Q: Now tell us a bit about Charm of Finches. Q: What are your current goals? M: We started performing at 8 and 11 with our friend Bel, as an a capella trio called “The Highway Sisters.” We sang

M: To keep writing and sharing our music. We are going to

hillbilly music like songs from O Brother Where Art Thou. We

record an album in the next year, which is very exciting. I’m

had a sign which said “Busking to go to Ireland”. Then I picked

interested in the production side of things, and would love to

up a guitar and started writing my own songs and we formed

get to a stage where I could engineer our music myself.

a sister duo. At the beginning of Year 8 (2014) I had to do a major project for school, so naturally I decided to record my

I: I’m enjoying collaborating with Mabel with the songwriting

original songs and make a CD. At first it was going to be a

more and more.

very small scale thing, but things grew and we ended up in Q: Who are your musical heroes?

a studio, ran a Pozible Campaign which reached its target in 12 days, and used our busking savings for post production. Ireland had to wait! We released our debut EP “Home” in

M: First Aid Kit is our all time favourite. The Swedish sisters,

August 2014.

Klara and Johanna Soderberg, made their first album when they were about our age. We just love their songs and their

Since then we have played quite a lot of festivals, definitely

voices so much. When I heard Klara had written the songs

our favourite kind of gig. One of our highlights was playing

from their first album “Drunken Trees” when she was 13, I

with Clare Bowditch at The Corner Hotel after winning her

decided to take my own songwriting more seriously. I’m so

Winter Secrets competition, and then supporting her at

glad I did! I’m still pinching myself that I won the Darebin

The Flying Saucer Club. She’s so inspiring to watch, and so

Songwriters Award this year. It was pretty unbelievable but

encouraging to young artists. We also opened for Kasey

also extremely encouraging and exciting!

Chambers at the inaugural Murwillumbah Country Roots Fest in October. That was amazing and possibly the first time we

Find more of Charm of Finches on Bandcamp, Soundcloud,

have played on a stage with a smoke machine! People get

YouTube, and at www.charmoffinchesband.com

surprised that we play gigs at such a young age, though it feels completely normal to us. At Murwillumbah the security guy wouldn’t believe we were the musicians because we looked so young. Q: What’s it like being in a band with your sister? M: Generally it’s great. Especially because it’s quite easy to rehearse because we live in the same house! The thing about being sisters is that we can be very blunt with each other. We aren’t scared to say when we think a song isn’t very good. Generally we get on well but we have our moments. When we’re performing it’s really easy to connect artistically. I: It’s good because I can give her feedback without feeling bad if I say something a bit mean. 110

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Tigress Girls

Amazing Babe: Katie

Tigress Girls

Q: Can you tell us a bit about when you first found out you

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself!

were pregnant with Beth? I’m 32, a Leo, and I’m a bit of an all-rounder...I studied environmental science at uni and have been working as an

I was on a working holiday visa in Ireland and I was actually

environmental educator, but I like dabbling in all sorts of

working three jobs trying to save to keep travelling and then

different things, so at the same time I’ve studied acting,

I discovered I was pregnant and strangely I wasn’t shocked or

taught kickboxing classes, worked as a cook, in retail

upset. It just felt right somehow. Having been given the gift of

fashion…

Beth now and all that I have learnt, it’s no wonder I felt that way really. Pre-destined.

Q: What are you currently pursuing? Q: What was it like to have the doctors tell you something was wrong?

I’m working on my website, The Contagious Joy Effect, It’s basically like an experiment to inject more joy into my life because I have had a rough time over the past few years, and

Devastating. Heartbreaking. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But

although I am naturally a positive person, I know that my joy

I moved on from it pretty quickly. I had to. I’m the mum.

levels have dropped somewhat. So I’m going to write pieces Q: Tell us a little bit about Beth’s condition.

about how I go about finding more joy in my life and also collecting people’s stories about their joys and sorrows...the

Beth breaks bones really easily. Sometimes we have no idea

untold stories.

how. Her condition limits her mobility so she can’t walk, although she can stand and climb and swim and bottom

Q: Where do you call home?

shuffle. She gets around well in her wheelchair although she Nowhere! We are gypsies now...just a bag of clothes each and

needs regular breaks out of it or her back and hips start to

our instruments…

ache and her shoulders and arms can hurt if she wheels too hard or for too long. She rarely complains; I know she has

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Tigress Magazine For Girls ISSUE ONE

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