Grok Issue #1 2017

QUEERCODING DISNEY VILLAINS

FREE Issue#1 2017 GROKONLINE.com.au

contributors EDITORS

HEAD OF DESIGN

Kira Carlin

Chris Leopardi

Mitch Bennett LAYOUT SUBEDITORS

Chris Leopardi

Elise Van Aken

Ellysia Burton

Herlyn Kaur

Georgia Cradock

Jay Anderson

Lucy Hill

Joe Wilson Jon Daley

CONTRIBUTING

Keely Liron

ARTISTS Chris Leopardi

CONTRIBUTING

Ellysia Burton

WRITERS

Georgia Cradock

Briana Walker

Isaac Jay Curran

Elise Van Aken

Ophelia Roberts

Eliza Wynn Jay Anderson

COVER ARTIST

Joanna Delalande

Isaac Jay Curran

Jon Daly Kathleen McAdam

LOGO

Megan Lack

Chris Leopardi

Mitch Bennett Tarquin Bateman

PRINTED BY

Tej Patel

Graphic Source

SPECIAL THANKS

CONTACT

Briana Walker

grokonline.com.au

Ika Jumali

grok@guild.curtin.edu.au

Jordan Piggott

facebook.com/grokmagazine

Natasha Curran

instagram.com/grokmagazine

Nicole Lau

@grokmagazine

contents 5

FROM THE PREZ BLANK STARES AND UNI POLITICS

6 10

WHAT THE FLUX

14

CENSUS DOMESTIC INEQUALITY

18

REAL WAYS TO SUCCESSFULLY BUDGET AS A STUDENT

26

FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS STUDENTS

30

QUEERCODING DISNEY VILLAINS

33 42

STUDENT PRICED HOUSING

SGT. PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CLUB

THE MAGIC DICK

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AFLW

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TINDER TRANSFORMED

To understand profoundly, intuitively, or by empathy.

Grok Magazine is Curtin University’s student-run media outlet. We bring you the good, the bad and the ugly of what’s happening for students at Curtin, covering a variety of content to help keep you connected—like the latest flicks and gigs, community events, the Guild elections, Sexpo, and student housing.

Students have been the driving force behind some of the most powerful social movements the world has ever seen. We are here to make sure

that you stay motivated, informed and involved.

We publish regularly through our website and produce these glossy print editions each semester.

To make sure you don’t miss a thing, like us on Facebook.

If you’re interested in contributing to Grok as a writer, editor or designer—or if you have a scoop you want us to cover—hit up the editors at grok@guild.curtin.edu.au

Pics// Emmi Kerkham

from the prez Friends, Welcome to the new and improved Grok Magazine!

We’ve been working hard to make sure your student magazine is bigger, better and more relevant than before, including Grok’s brand new website and Facebook page.

It has certainly been a busy year so far in the Guild.

With a federal government planning to jack up our fees, a University trying to abolish tuition free weeks and a release of major changes to our academic policies at this University.

This semester the results of the national university student survey on sexual assault and sexual harassment were released. The Guild will continue advocating for improved counselling services, clear and transparent reporting processes and a safe and welcoming environment. No matter the result, one case of sexual assault on our campus is too many.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual harassment or sexual assault there are many support services available to them including here at the Guild, within the University and externally.

You can find more information on our website and on the Curtin website.

The Guild is also going through some major changes, the most noticeable for all of you of course is the changes in our retail area. Due to extensive underperformance we have consolidated all our retail shops into the new G-Mart, providing the same great service but remaining sustainable for the Guild.

After listening to your feedback, we’ve reworked our Tavern menu by focusing on going back to basics. This is supported with the recruitment of the Guild’s new Executive Chef Scott Biswell, who was running the kitchens for Chevron at Barrow Island, continuing our focus on great food at an affordable price.

This year at our Annual General Meeting I unveiled our new Master Plan Uniquely University which sets out our ambitious vision to create a worldclass student experience here at Curtin. With a new lease on the horizon, I’m looking forward to seeing the Guild deliver this plan.

Finally, this semester is of course election semester for the next Guild Council. So, make sure you take the opportunity to vote for who you want to represent you and lead our Guild next year.

Enjoy the semester (and I’ll see you at Grasslands.)

Liam O’Neill Guild President

POLITICS

B L A N K S TA R E S A N D U N I P O L I T I C S Words// Joanna Delalande

Head shakes. The unanimous response to whether students care about university politics. Curtin Student Guild President Liam O’Neill said the number of voters was “dismally low”, roughly three per cent in the last guild election. Surely university students are far more in tune with our country’s politics? Think again.

In May last year, in light of the looming federal election, young Western Australians were shamed by the same Perth Now, News.com, and ABC headline “150,000 West Aussies not enrolled to vote”.

Of those, nearly one third were aged 18 to 24.

Almost 60 per cent of 18-year-olds had not enrolled that year.

According to Socialist Alternative Perth Club President Clare Francis, that indifference is understandable.

“There are a lot of things that push people away from politics, and university students are definitely less political now than they have been in the past,” Francis said.

Francis explained politics in Australia was mainly about parliament and that there was nothing appealing about parliament.

At least to most people. But not to Curtin Greens Club President Isabella Robinson, who said she had always had an interest in politics.

She said she became a member of the Greens club on orientation day.

“Inaction around climate change was always something that really infuriated me,” Robinson said. “But also the widening gap we’re seeing in our society at the moment, which is getting more and more profound.”

Robinson said when it came to elections—whether federal, state, or guild—the problem was people underestimated the power of their vote.

“During the 2014 by-election Scott Ludlam was voted in on fourteen votes,” Robinson said.

“So while people may feel powerless their vote will have an impact.

“I take serious issue with people who donkey vote or throw their vote away.”

Having recently counted votes for the state election, Robinson saw people’s attempts to send a message— by, say, defacing Pauline Hanson’s name with a snarky comment—go straight in the bin.

“Their voice was actually completely not heard,” she said. “The best way they could have manifested they didn’t like Pauline Hanson was by voting Green, because we took a strong stand against her.”

As for the Guild elections, Robinson said students seriously underestimated their importance.

“The Guild is a union,” Robinson said. “It’s where students get together and stop injustices that the university might decide upon or the government might take action on, and they’re actually really powerful voices. I think their importance is undervalued quite badly.”

O’Neill said he was of the same opinion. “First of all, the process [of voting] can be a bit confronting and difficult,” he said, referring to the overly passionate students who invade personal space and generally piss people off when they try to complete their ballots.

“I think people don’t really understand how important it is,” he said.

“I think if people understood the importance of the job I do and how it affects them as students they would be more interested in taking part in university politics.”

There are two sets of Guild elections each year.

The first—which finished at the end of March—is for the University’s board of directors. The second, in September, is to elect the guild council for the coming year.

The latter is the one most relevant to students, and the one for which participation rarely makes up more than three per cent of the campus population.

The council includes four different branches. The representation subdivision deals with issues such as parking, group assignments, or an academic who is treating students unfairly.

Members of the advocacy branch will, for example, provide one-on-one support for students, help them appeal a mark, and assist them is they are accused of misconduct or thrown out of home.

Representatives for activities and events will organise fundraising and support for events such as the end of semester bashes, outdoor movie nights, silent discos, and most other events that take place around campus.

Then there is the commercial branch, which deal with issues surrounding the price of food and drink, merchandise, books and the like. Head nods.

GROKONLINE.com.au Stock Photos: Pixabay, Unsplash

7

The unanimous response to whether students around Curtin University would consider voting in the Guild elections if it might change the price of food, the price of Guild, the availability of parking, or the process of appealing a mark.

“You had me at parking,” one student said.

“It’s not so much that students don’t care about the Guild elections,” O’Neill said. “It’s about being educated on what they’re about and how they can impact their lives as students.”

But Francis said it was about more than that.

Unlike Robinson, she said she believed mainstream politics was passive and excluded a lot of voices.

As an Australian citizen you will vote every once in a while, and sure, your vote might help get a certain member of parliament.

But Francis pointed out that politics did not give you a lot of power beyond maybe allowing you to “have someone who’s a bit less of a dickhead in charge.”

Francis said her ideal political system was the one the Socialist Alternative Club endorsed, where everyone was included and ordinary people had a say in absolutely every decision.

“We are looking to get to a system where ordinary people are running society themselves and everyone can have an impact,” Francis said.

The approach? Activism.

Francis mentioned the 1970s, when students made a huge impact on politics by voicing their opinions on political injustices like the Vietnam War. In May 1970, more than 450 universities, colleges, and high school campuses across the US were shut down by student strikes and protests involving more than four million students.

Students at Kent State University burned down their Reserve Officer’s Training Corps building.

Four protesters were killed. Nine were injured.

Marriage equality and refugee rights are the issues that, according to Francis, matter right now and

Stock Photos: Pixabay, Unsplash

could be changed through political action in the form of protests and strikes rather than a once off vote.

Perhaps it is a lack of education about the issues and how important they are and the impact they can have.

O’Neill said the Guild had organised rallies and petitions. Lately, he said, those had mostly been about the removal of council representatives and a lack of funding for the Student Guild.

Perhaps it is the frustration of having to pick the lesser of two evils even though, really, you think everyone running is a dickhead.

In the recent state election we saw a change in government for the first time in eight and a half years. This change will reverberate through infrastructure, healthcare, and education.

Votes did that. Votes matter.

Votes could make things change around Curtin, things that affect hundreds of the university’s students every day.

Robinson said she thought young people tended to take their right to vote for granted. “I think also people don’t appreciate how small a vote margin can make a difference in an election result,” Robinson said.

Likely, it is a mixture of those things. But maybe a redefinition of “politics” altogether is what is needed to bring young people back into the fold.

Define politics as something more than a passive vote for someone with policies you more or less understand so you can go about your life, barely giving it another thought.

Define politics as taking an active stand for or against those issues that matter to you and the people you care about.

“Issues for which you’d be willing to burn down a building and, just maybe, risk your life.

GROKONLINE.com.au

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POLITICS

Words// Tarquin Bateman Pics// Georgia Cradock

Bitcoin technology, crowdsourced voting and liquid democracy

Imagine a politician with no autonomy, simply a puppet for the everyday Australian. Representatives would cast their votes based on poll results from an app, even if they didn’t agree.

For the Flux Party, a political party with no policies beyond a commitment to parliamentary reform, this is the future of governance.

Ordinary citizens, through their mobile phones, would decide on issues, with results displayed in real time on the public record. These new politicians won’t seek to gain control of the country, instead they would transform representative democracy—you know, the one where the member for your region goes into parliament to speak on your behalf—into a liquid democracy.

Sounds too good to be true, right?

In the recent WA state election, the Flux Party was slammed for forgoing micro-party preference deals and running 24 of their candidates as Upper House independents. These disguised independents had little to no party identification. Though it’s not a violation of the WA Electoral Act, this strategy seems to clash with the Flux model of transparency.

Despite this hiccup, many people seem to agree that representative politics is an outdated model.

The “unrepresentative swill”, according to Paul Keating, otherwise known as micro-parties, could be the future of politics if they can engage and reflect the diversity of political opinions. Flux WA State Secretary Pieter Lottering said his party aimed to inspire an improved political system where everyday people are directly involved in politics.

If a hacker can access Jennifer Lawrence’s nudes, surely no one is safe.

“[In politics today] you have to find a representative for a political party that you think most aligns to your complex set of political ideas,” Lottering said.

“You just have to accept that sometimes your representative won’t always vote for or drive the political agenda in the direction you want it to go.

allows you to give away your vote in exchange for political capital. Lottering said you could also decide the issue wasn’t important to you at all.

“By abstaining, you make your vote available on a vote-trading platform to someone who really cares deeply about that issue,” Lottering said.

“With direct democracy, you don’t have to use a representative at all, so you have the power to assess every issue on its own.”

Flux even envisions the involvement of expert organisations and individuals in the political conversation, so that voters can elect these bodies as automatic representatives for selected topics.

Apparently this is perfectly legal so long as participants are checked against the electoral roll and no votes are lost or gained in the process.

Direct democracy sounds like hard work.

Winston Churchill once said: “the best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.” While direct democracy offers an efficient decision making process, it also has the potential to be really bad for society.

Political scientists warn of implementing traditional direct democracy in modern society because it could suppress minority voices and create shortsighted policy.

Where Flux’s brand of liquid democracy distances itself from direct democracy is in its app and voteswapping features. Much like Tinder, issues will come up on your screen as they are put up for debate in parliament. Swipe right for hot and left for not. The third option, akin to a super like,

But what about security? If a hacker can access Jennifer Lawrence’s nudes, surely no one is safe.

Electronic voting was already rejected by the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters in 2014, because of cyber-security fears. While Flux agrees the biggest issue with online political platforms is security, it believes it has found a solution.

“Our app uses blockchain technology to completely anonymise the actions people complete when voting on issues,” Lottering said. “This is the first time there is a super secure way of sending votes without people’s information being at risk.”

GROKONLINE.com.au

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POLITICS

It’s kind of like the Cloud’s smarter, cooler brother.

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Blockchain technology was developed in 2008 to facilitate the use of bitcoins, a decentralised, digital cryptocurrency. The system works like a web—information within the blockchain exists as a shared database, not stored in any central location.

Blockchain technology self-audits every ten minutes, anonymises users, and is transparent to the public.

By storing information in identical blocks across multiple locations, blockchain technology has no single point of failure. It cannot be controlled by an individual or single entity, and cannot be corrupted.

It’s kind of like the Cloud’s smarter, cooler brother.

But anonymity could potentially be catastrophic if the system is infiltrated. In 2014 hackers stole $US460 million in bitcoins from Japanese company, Mt. Gox, without leaving a trace. An online political platform would cause chaos across the country if it were to fall into the wrong hands.

When asked about the dangers of corruption Lottering noted that Flux, like any democratic system, had the potential to be good or evil. However, Lottering believed corruption wasn’t going to be an issue.

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“For one group to dominate it would need to be an issue that the constituency didn’t care about at all, where everyone abstains on the issue and it’s very easy for the minority to pick up additional votes,” Lottering said, “Because there is not a political party that they can buy, they would have to convince everyone else.”

While the thought of fair representation in a capitalist society is comforting, it’s not all rainbows and fluffy bunnies—Flux has been met with praise and criticism.

Flux currently hold no seats in the senate, but moving forward Lottering said the party hoped to reinvigorate and engage disillusioned voters and eventually have members elected to showcase the potential of this bold new form of governance. In the words of former President John F. Kennedy: “Democracy is never a final achievement, it is a call to an untiring effort.”

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POLITICS

Words// Eliza Wynn

We all remember the census. The flop. The punch line of every joke for weeks to come. Just like Kim Kardashian it broke the Internet. Well some of the stats are in and we now know who the “average” Australian is.

In fact the census reveals major gender inequality when it comes to household domestic work. The typical Australian woman is said to do five to 14 hours of housework a week compared to the typical male who does less than five hours.

According to the results she’s a 38-year-old female.

Let’s call her Jane. Jane was born in Australia with both parents also born in Australia. She has two children and is married. Jane owns a four-bedroom house with a mortgage and two cars. Jane, the average Australian, does between five to 14 hours of domestic work a week.

The division opens up the ongoing discussion of gender roles and economic inequality. The way in which our society now sees gender roles is changing. It is not unusual for fathers to cook and clean while their wife is out working. The archaic image of a husband with his briefcase strolling through the door to a ready-cooked meal on the table is not as common as it once was. The strict confines of gender roles are slowly fading away but these statistics show that there is still a serious divide in household labour.

Average is the key word here. We can’t just look at Jane and pat ourselves on the back for all the housework we do. Jane is the result of all work schedules, lifestyles and upbringings. She’s supposed to represent all Australians; when considering those who work full time, stay at home parents, retirees and students, Jane is the mean. Simply being Australian doesn’t mean we can call ourselves Jane.

Being uni students, it’s rather unlikely we are all like Jane; 38 years old, owning our own home while living with our partner and children. For most of us we either live at home or in share houses. So, how’s the domestic work divided in our more common housing situations? How are these findings relevant to us?

I know in my household these statistics couldn’t be any further from the truth. I live at home with both my parents and a younger brother. My parents work full time. My dad cooks and washes the clothes, my mum tidies and does the dishes. My brother and I pull our own weight but do nowhere near as much as my parents. Sorry Mum, but I’d argue that Dad does more domestic chores around the house. My mum is the main breadwinner on a significantly higher salary than my dad; she works longer hours and as a result has less time and energy for household chores.

Bek Staer is 19 and lives with her older brother, 22 and his wife, 21 after moving to Perth to study. Her brother and sister-in-law own their own business, working from home and travelling most weekends.

They have your usual household chores like cooking, washing dishes and general house cleaning. Contrary to the census results she says her brother does about 12 hours a week of housework compared to her and her sister-in-law doing 10 hours each. Bek puts the division of work down to the personalities of everyone in the house, not their gender.

“Ebony won’t wash the dishes, and as we don’t have a dish washer a lot of the time is spent washing dishes which he and I share,” she said.

“Ben also maintains the veggie garden which he likes doing. I guess it because he’s more of a ‘acts of service’ kind of guy”.

But what happens in a house of all males? Dean Turner lives with four other guys between the ages of 21 and 25. It is fair to say housework is not at the top of their list of priorities. The bulk of housework is done every few months before rent inspections.

Between the five males living in their share house, Dean estimates about three hours of domestic work are done a week. This is significantly different from our average Australian Jane who does five to 14 hours a week, by herself.

“Nick does no housework. He hasn’t cleaned his room in a few years,” he said. “Lochie also does no housework. He has long hair and always blocks our drains.”

GROKONLINE.com.au Stock Photos: Pixabay, Unsplash

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The typical Australian woman is said to do 5 to 14 hours of housework a week compared to the typical male who does less than 5 hours.

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The housemates spend about 15 minutes a week clearing away dishes and bottles lying around the house but 25-year-old Dan does the most housework at 2 hours a week by washing the dishes and filling and emptying the dishwasher.

“Dan probably does the most before he likes things clean and he’s pretty hyperactive”, Dean said.

It’s an unspoken rule in the house that you wash up your dishes after you cook, but Dean is of the mindset that strenuous hours of housework are unnecessary.

“If you have to do two hours of housework a day you’re probably a mess to begin with, for letting your house get that messy to warrant that many hours, or you have kids,” he said.

Every household is different. The roles that we undertake vary completely. Some of us enjoy living in cleanliness while others are simply not fazed.

While the census suggests women still take on the majority of domestic housework this isn’t really an accurate reflection of household arrangements in young people. The census findings are no doubt relevant to so many living situations. Gender inequality continues to be an ongoing and ingrained issue in our society, so to suggest it may not be as relevant to a younger age group is not to undermine it. Our living situations don’t fit with the typical nuclear family of a mum, dad and two kids. We live with roommates, we live with our partners and we live at home. For young adults and those still at uni this generally isn’t our reality. So, let us be the generation that defies these statistics and breaks the stereotype.

Stock Photos: Pixabay, Unsplash

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We’re here to help.

Student Assist is an independent support service to help youyou withwith academic, personal or to help academic, personal or ƄPCPEKCN KUUWGU financial issues.

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WWW.GUILD.CURTIN.EDU.AU

Words & Pics// Jon Daly

A collapsing state economy has been tough on Baby Boomers and Gen X, but Millennials are finally coming up Millhouse as housing prices deflate. Even university students dream of owning their own place and escaping the rent trap. Now they have a chance to swoop in on reasonably priced pads in Perth’s metro area.

Grok has compiled a list of Perth’s best pieces of student-priced real estate that would have The Australian columnist and demographer Bernard Salt choking on a poached egg.

If you find any other bargain properties please let us know on Grok’s Facebook page.

GROKONLINE.com.au

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Village life awaits Imagine owning your own stylish studio apartment in one of Kwinana’s premium new estates, Wellard Village.

You will truly appreciate the value of village life in this leafy getaway. Sitting on a 50sqm block beneath the Mandurah train line, this property makes public transport a breeze.

The front of the home has an established garden, with a diverse array of native and foreign plants.

An arched concrete entrance leads into the openplan, fully furnished interior. With ample floor space for entertaining.

Bromsgrove Street, WELLARD Derelicte Real Estate

This home boasts dual feature walls painted by local artists. The home is also less than two kilometres from the prestigious Peter Carnley Anglican Community School, making it a great choice for a young family.

The owner, only known as Sick Dawg, said he would miss the garden and entertainment area. “It’s just been great having my mates over for a few fucking billies, you know,” he said.

Things you’ll love: 1. Village lifestyle 2. Native garden 3. Fully furnished

$50,000 neg

1 bed 1 bath 1 car

Anketell Road, MANDOGALUP Bowgane Properties

$39,000

1 bed 1 bath 0 car

Things you’ll love:

Colonial hideaway

1. Historic character 2. Leafy neighbourhood 3. Open-plan living

This beautiful character home challenges the idea that you have to sacrifice beautiful bushland views for the convenience of urban living.

For those that commute, this home is just a stone’s throw from the Kwinana Freeway.

The property boasts classic colonial-style architecture, characterised by four equally sized limestone walls.

The open-plan living, dining, sleeping, bathroom and entertainment area boasts a fireplace, which is ideal for gatherings in the cooler months.

The current owners said they were leaving their home of four years with regret. “It really is a great spot and the history of the place is incredible,” they said. “We even left a tartan sleeping bag to sweeten the deal.”

The owner’s carefully renovated the property and included a north-facing, fully-ventilated skylight, to capitalise on those bushland views.

This home is ideal for a young, single professional or even an older buyer looking to downsize and avoid stairs.

GROKONLINE.com.au

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www.guild.curtin.edu.au

Coleville Crescent, SPEARWOOD Dereau Homes

Bauhaus our house This creation by renowned German architect, Ekhof Von Strauss, personifies his iconic approach to Bauhaus-inspired design.

Magnificently minimalist and recognisably modernist, this home was built in collaboration with the City of Cockburn.

Mr Von Strauss said his art was inspired by the “elitist conformers” that dominate the Perth architecture scene. “I envisioned it as kitsch critique on my own profession and the pre-conceptions that success is defined by multi-million-dollar design projects,” he said.

Auction

1 bed 0 bath 0 car

Things you’ll love: 1. Minimalist architecture 2. Outdoor connection 3. Central location

One of the most striking features is the connection with nature. A big outdoor area offers the ideal spot for a summer soiree.

The property also boasts a central location, with a library and shopping centre within walking distance and public transport at your doorstep.

GROKONLINE.com.au

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The McMansion of student homes For the lovers of all things artistic and open plan, the Abandoned South Fremantle Power Station is the ideal abode. Boasting a seaside location, this property offers a private view of an amber sunset at days end.

The classic milieu is best described in a review by the popular tourism site weekendnotes.com: “Chains dangle slowly and rustic girders strain as the distant sound of crashing waves haunts the night air,” “The building is loud yet unnervingly devoid of sound and life.”

Doubling as recreation and the only functioning bathroom nearby, the Indian Ocean is a beautiful neighbour.

Despite the expansive floor space, the building is well ventilated by thousands of glassless windows.

It is hard not to be dazzled by the industrial aesthetic and endless array of local artwork proudly displayed on every wall.

Davo’s Estates agent Davo McNeil said the home was ideal for anyone looking for a coastal getaway—or perhaps a young couple that love to entertain.

Built in 1951 and closed in 1985, this classic 50s era home is as much a part of the fabric of local history as the adjacent C.Y. O’Connor Beach.

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Rob Road, NORTH COOGEE Davo’s Estates

$1.2 million

4 bed 1 bath 2 car

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Things you’ll love: 1. Seaside location 2. Local artwork 3. Great for entertaining

Every Monday / pick your playlist all day!

5-8pm / Tuesdays (teaching weeks only) free team nachos win bar cards & jugs

free event / 5-9pm 16 Aug / 20 Sep / 18 Oct

free event / 7-9pm 25 Aug / 13 Oct

happy hour

mon - thurs during semester / fri all year 4pm-5pm / $2.5 middys / house beer or cider GROKONLINE.com.au

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E COONNEO M YM I C S

rdi n Leopa n Ake Chris se Va l & Eli Pics// j Pate s// Te Word

Being a university student is one of the best experiences you can have (no it is, really), however best doesn’t always mean fun all the time. Collegiate life presents us with many cross-roads, and real-life sacrifices have to be made, maybe for the first time. Many of us find after we’ve paid for everything “essential” that week, we only have quite literally a few disposable dollars left to fund all the extras. As prices rise every year for everyday items, we all need to get savvy and find strategies that will stretch the typical student’s pocket-money pay packet further. It is possible to earn minimum wage, save money and experience life. There are so many articles on how to save money as a student which usually spout the banal advice of eating out less and getting the bus more, but these tips will help shift your mindset and structure your budget, hopefully getting you through until you hit the tax return jackpot.

Being a university student is one of the best experiences you can have (no it is, really), but best doesn’t always mean fun all the time. Collegiate life presents us with many cross-roads, and reallife sacrifices have to be made, maybe for the first time. Many of us find after we’ve paid for everything “essential” that week, we only have quite literally a few disposable dollars left to fund all the extras. As prices rise every year for everyday items, we all need to get savvy and find strategies that will stretch the typical student’s pocket-money pay packet further. It is possible to earn minimum wage, save money and experience life. There are so many articles on how to save money as a student which usually spout the banal advice of eating out less and getting the bus more, but these tips will help shift your mindset and structure your budget, hopefully getting you through until you hit the tax return jackpot.

It’s the trendy lifestyle tip that actually involves practicality. Buying less is one way to trick yourself into feeling like you have more. Minimalism, or the closest you can get to it, can help “the best years of your life” be just that. Human nature lends us to want more than we need—have you ever had eyes bigger than your stomach? However, focusing on quality over quantity and experiences (like holidays and festivals) can reduce FOMO, household clutter, and the length of your debit-card statement.

It’s not about getting rid of everything that makes you happy and wearing the same three t-shirts on rotation (unless that’s your quirk), but if you resist the urge to be instantly gratified by purchasing from the sale rack, you will be doing less wardrobe clear outs. You will see that money stack up and find that somehow you actually do have the funds to say yes to that last minute Groovin’ the Moo trip.

“Impossible,” I hear you cry. But it is possible not to spend everything you have three days after pay day. Write down exactly what you need to pay for to fulfil your obligations (ike your phone bill, gym membership and car insurance), and decide how much you need to set aside each time you get paid.

This stops you from covering the whole cost with one week’s pay check and having to wait until the next week to do anything fun.

Have you ever looked at your tax-time payment summary and thought “where the bloody hell did that all go?” The answer is most likely Maccas, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Do an experiment where you log every transaction for a week to a month in a spread sheet or app, and you’ll get a visual representation of how much money you flushed down the toilet. It will probably equate to whatever item is at the top of your wish list but you can never find the money for. You probably won’t keep this up every month, but the next time you go to turn into the drivethrough on the way home, that guilt that is usually just “I shouldn’t be spending this because it’s not responsible”, will turn into the vision of the tangible wish-list item. It will probably be enough to help you on your way home to make yourself a sandwich.

Estimate how much you earn on average each week (and be stingy, because we all know how casual hours can fluctuate), and decide what you really enjoy spending your money on and what areas you could reduce your expenditure. I’m not telling you to stop buying take away, that may be really important to you if you’re a foodie or your socialising revolves around it, but do you really need more chokers Courtney? I don’t care if this one has a moon on it . . .

Specify set categories for non-essential spending (like entertainment, food and drink, personal care, clothing, and pop figurines), and what percentage of any left-over cash you have you would be willing to set aside for it. Once your average of $10 a week for clothing builds up to a decent amount, you can buy Adidas Originals without the guilt. It may be hard not spending at first and having to say no to that burger with your bestie, but once you get into the swing of things you won’t have to think twice about

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Long-term saving can often be vague, with your money going towards the distant and unplanned Europe Trip or . . . well not a house supposedly because it is the millennium after all, and that’s fine, but aside from that, this shorter term “wish list” will stop you from impulse purchasing. Whenever you go to impulse purchase you can refer to this list and remind yourself you’re only one more big pay away from a new watch, and it will feel and actually be an attainable reality.

saying yes, because you’ll know you have the money without even checking your account balance. It will also help you not overspend in certain categories as you will have a visual representation of how your spending is balanced. And it will all be waiting there for you to dip into when you accidentally get into a bingle and you won’t have to ask mum for the “I’ll definitely pay you back” short-term loan.

Turn the wish-list idea from “holding yourself accountable” into a reality. Sometimes when you have a well-payed week, it’s easy to get excited and buy the first big-ticket purchase you can think of.

But you may be buying it for the wrong reasons, like its trending on Instagram. However that instantgratification bubble will probably pop when the money is gone, and you realise you actually wanted something else for a much longer time, but because you can never afford it you subconsciously felt it was unattainable and didn’t even consider it as an option. So sit at your big kid desk and start saving like an adult, with a kid at Christmas mentality.

You are your own Santa Claus now, but you need to actually let the elves know what to build…towards.

It’s all well and good to manifest money that you already had into smarter purchases, but at the end of the day it’s not a pay-rise. And the hard truth of the matter is you just have to learn to be happy with what you have. Sometimes having a budget means saying no to going out, or not buying the designer or premium option. Levelling your purchases rather than having a fluctuation of splashing out and having nothing may not always be the most fun option, but will eventually leave you more content and less stressed. And at the risk of sounding like a baby-boomer, it will help you build character.

You could even glamorise the situation by creating funny memories out of your money-saving exploits (remember the time we didn’t want to buy pizza so we made our own but it was so sloppy we rolled it up into burritos?).

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Words// Megan Lack Pics// Ophelia Roberts Australian university students have been hit hard by the release of the 2017 Federal Budget, with the government carrying out heavy cuts to university funding.

The budget is set to increase higher education fee contributions by 7.5 per cent and will require University graduates to pay back student loans from a starting salary of $42,000 a year, down from $55,000. These changes will be phased in over four years.

Federal Education minister Simon Birmingham said in the budget report the reforms are “fair, drive quality and excellence.”

West Australian Minister for Education, Sue Ellery, said she was concerned about what an increase to fees and changes to the salary threshold will mean for disadvantaged students.

While her colleague, the Minister for Youth, Peter Tinley, said the Federal Government had made a complete mess of university funding and reform.

“We should be encouraging students into higher education, not creating additional barriers.

“What’s more, in the long term, lowering the threshold is going to make it harder for young people with a HECS debt to pay rent and save for a deposit for their own home.”

Curtin student guild president Liam O’Neill said the Federal Government was selling a raw deal to Australian university students.

“Reducing corporate tax rates while at the same time placing an increased burden on the generation responsible for providing for Australia’s economic future does not make sense,” he said. “Students are already facing diminished job prospects when they complete their degrees and a difficult labour market for part-time work.”

Curtin University saw internal cuts in 2016 when a significant number of staff teaching contracts were not renewed at the end of the year.

lowering the threshold is going to make it harder for young people to pay rent and save for a deposit for their own home

Mr O’Neill said Curtin University students and staff couldn’t bear further cuts.

“Curtin has already announced further cuts in a note to staff due to lower enrolments,” he said.

“With this utterly unrealistic ‘efficiency dividend’ all the federal government is going to do is drive further cuts, reducing the quality of our education.”

National Union of Students WA Branch President and Curtin student, Lewis Whittaker, said it was hard to tell how the universities would react to funding cuts but staff cuts were one possibility.

“However, the university may choose to instead cut support programs, which are essential to making sure students stay at university,” he said.

On May 17 a national student protest was held against the budget with WA students taking a stand in Murray Street Mall.

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Words// Jay Anderson

Pics// Isaac Jay Curran & Ophelia Roberts

Disney films have taught us to listen with our hearts, that beauty is found within, and that we’re all a part of the circle of life. For many, the formative years of our lives are fundamentally shaped by Disney films.

We watched our heroes and heroines and found ourselves in them: we related to Rolly’s endless hunger, wished for adventure like Ariel, shared Belle’s affection for literature, and admired Tiana’s hard work and determination.

But, we are also defined through the adversity we inevitably encounter in the form of villains. Ursula became a warning about lusting for power, Gaston of stupendous arrogance, and Ratcliffe of insatiable greed.

But that’s not all they taught us, because when we examine Disney villains it becomes apparent that they’re also queer coded.

Queer coding is when writers, whether consciously or unconsciously, attribute stereotypical traits and behaviours affiliated with queer people, such as vocal inflection, body language, and dress, to certain characters. In this case, villains.

Queer coding is rooted in “The Sissy Villain” trope, which assigns feminine traits to antagonists, including delicate voices, flamboyant mannerisms, and a remarkable sense of fashion—to name a few. This trope is predicated in the vilification of femininity, especially in men, and overt homophobia.

It is associated with the Motion Picture Production Code, adopted in 1930, which set moral parameters for the majority of the film industry in America. It essentially prohibited positive representations of queer people on screen in Hollywood.

This code was abolished by 1968, and while there are positive representations of queer people on screen today, queer coding still occurs.

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It isn’t necessarily that a character is queer either, it’s about using stereotypes that conflate queerness with villainy. Whether its Hades femininity, or Ursula’s brashness, children see these characteristics attributed to villains, and those characteristics become villainous.

Essentially, writers play into this insidious cycle: we associate queer people with wickedness in real life; then we take queer characteristics and behaviours from stereotypes and attach them to fictional villains; finally we associate queer people with those fictional villains and with wickedness.

Let’s have a look at some examples.

With bows in his hair, an unsettling infatuation with gold glitter, a hatred for physical labour, and his prim dog: Ratcliffe is almost too gay to function.

He’s the show queen gay: a diva obsessed with Liza Minelli whose entrance is always extravagant.

Cruella is attributed cypto-lesbian tendencies: she’s man-hating, angry, rude, and insensitive. She’s the hasbian: a lesbian who’s opted to live in the closet; she takes out her pent up sexual rage on others and, in this case, innocent animals.

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FILM

Willowy and elegantly dressed, Jafar wears makeup, has a flair for the dramatic, and is scathingly sarcastic.

He’s the gay-lister: the uppity gay who thinks he’s better than you. He has a perfect apartment and a wardrobe to match, seen drinking mimosas at brunch with other gay-listers.

With his cocktails, flamboyant hand movements, and general sassiness, Hades is literally flaming. He’s the circuit gay, or scene gay: he always knows where the party is, and although brushed off as trashy, drugs have made him deeply philosophical. He will have figured you out within seconds of meeting you.

Rocking a cropped, purple vest, and a pink feather in his top hat, he moves and gestures with cascading theatrics.

He’s the art fag, or alterna-gay. His fashion style is indie-goth: donning big glasses, tattered jeans, and a flanny, black features commonly in his wardrobe. He’s cooler than you, cooler than all your friends, and he knows it.

With perfect eyebrows and a stereotypically hot-bod, anyone so in love with their own heterosexuality must be gay. Gaston is the hyper masculinised, too-straight-to-be-gay gay, prudently avoided on a night out. He advocates for gay rights, but his Grindr profile lists “no rice, no spice, no chocolate”.

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Scar avoids physical conflict, and is almost delicate next to his brother, but his wit is sharp and his theatrical extravagance is admirable. He’s the snarky, self-hating, drama queen gay.

He claims to hate drama, but always starts it. Beware: sitting next to him in the club will result in a conversation about how awful his life is, for which everyone else is to blame.

He’s ridiculously flamboyant, has a pronounced lisp, and bright pink décor in his castle. He’s a grandpa daddy: his hair may have more salt than pepper, and he may not stay out as late as he used to, but he’s still got it, and he’s got money. Seen prowling the clubs in the early hours of the night for a twentysomething-year-old while huffing a fag he pulled from his cigarette case.

Based on the famous drag queen Divine, she is brash, has a husky voice, and an affinity for theatrics. She’s the big dyke with a butch haircut: found chainsmoking at the club, all in her wake are left trembling in awe.

These films span decades, but children today are far more immersed in media than their counterparts watching Ariel sing “Part of Your World” at the turn of the nineties.

With television shows and movies at their fingertips and a few swipes away, it is imperative to consider the representations received on screen.

Of course this criticism has been duly expressed by the queer community, and Disney has responded.

Enter Lefou, Gaston’s obsessive sidekick, and Disney’s first openly gay character.

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FILM

Working a pink, ruffled tie, Lefou is either prancing after Gaston or shrieking for one reason or another.

He’s the gay-best-friend, always spotted with his fag-hag or, in this case, his fag-stag.

While undoubtedly queer coded, Lefou’s sexuality is portrayed rather confusingly; he wants to be with Gaston as much as he wants to be Gaston. What about the grand gay scene the flick promised? If you blinked you probably missed it.

Admittedly, by the end of the film, Lefou becomes a do-gooder, but prior to this he’s used as comic relief, adoring lackey and relegated sidekick, but also becomes an accessory to attempted murder, and an inciter of hate crimes.

Disney is often one of the first entries into the world of identity shaping through fiction. Children’s media, stories, and fairy tales are how children learn about themselves and the world around them, about morality, about what is good and bad to do, or to be.

From an early age we’re conflating queerness, and gender expression outside the norm, with villainy.

It isn’t that these villains aren’t fabulous, we all know Ursula’s the baddest bitch under the sea— and it’s not that we shouldn’t have queer villains or queer coded villains at all—but it’s problematic that there is an absence of queer heroes and heroines.

He probably isn’t the role model that the queer community have been asking for.

We have to consider this, because we need more nuanced representations of queer people on screen— because queer kids searching for themselves on screen will find little more than evil staring back.

While queer coding isn’t limited to Disney films, appearing across genres, studios, and time periods,

It’s time for the big dyke with a butch haircut to save the day.

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SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND— A track-by-track review 50 years on Words// Mitch Bennett Pics// Ophelia Roberts

Released June 1, 1967—50 years ago now—Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the number one contender for the greatest album ever made in the hearts of millions worldwide.

To provide a brief backdrop to the album; after more than 14,000 live performances, The Beatles had just announced their retirement from touring. The band had also begun to experiment with sounds impossible to reproduce outside the recording studio with their previous albums Rubber Soul and Revolver. These two decisions paved a road—a road destined to lead somewhere exciting and unique.

In documentary series Soundbreaking, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters recalls hearing the title track while in a car with his bandmates—they were so blown away, they had to pull over.

One wonders though, is the album actually that good, or is it propped up by impassioned nostalgia?

I don’t have the credentials (nor does anyone, I would argue) to definitively answer that question, but in an effort to answer the question for myself, I’m doing a track-by-track review of the album.

Track one — Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band The opening title track starts with lightning guitar licks from Harrison and McCartney’s vocals rip through the poppy, funky music like sharp scissors through paper. The playful use of a crowd track adds a levity to the song, and provides an enjoyable contrast to the slow, groovy chorus section—which I think maybe carries on a lick too long, but at the same time, drawing it out provides a platform from which an eventual increase in tempo sets up the next track perfectly.

Track two — With A Little Help From My Friends A beautifully theatrical transition transforms into the plodding poppiness of our second track; a song which is more well known for being covered by the late Joe Cocker, who’s too-soulful-to-comefrom-a-white-man’s vocals cemented this track as a timeless anthem. I feel the original track deserves credit where credit it is definitely due though. The song is upbeat and playful, and Ringo Starr, who only provides lead vocals on a handful of tracks throughout The Beatles extensive catalogue, provides a cracking vocal track which is incredibly gratifying to listen to.

Regardless of which version of the tune you listen to, be it the original or the more recognisable cover, this song is just beautifully uplifting.

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Track three — Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds From the opening note a delightfully pondering tone is set with this tune. It stumbles along like a drunk man—or possibly a man under the influence of LSD, as some theories about the song suggest.

The whimsically whacky lyrics are thrust to the forefront of the song, with Lennon’s voice captured in brilliant clarity by the late and great George Martin (who many would argue underpins the success of the band itself ). McCartney’s backing vocals harmonise gorgeously with Lennon’s lead.

I can’t help but think of a sunny day on a stream listening to this song.

It stumbles along like a drunk man—or possibly a man under the influence of LSD.

Track four — Getting Better

Track six — She’s Leaving Home

Sharp guitar strums highlighted with piano punctuate through the phantasmic drawl of the previous track.

The poppy but rocky energy at first is uplifting but quickly becomes a little dull. I find it hard to pin down exactly why, but I’ll attribute it to musically lacking variety—which in turn allows over-repetition, which only leads to my ears feeling tired.

She’s Leaving Home opens with an oddly medievalstyled harp that quickly melds into a sort of percussiveness. McCartney chimes in with his evergorgeous vocals that present so elegantly in this track—if you listen closely you can actually hear him breathe. The lyrics alone weave a delightful narrative, and the delicately sung chorus is just dazzling. I particularly enjoy the string section in this track, being played in both classically melodic and percussive styles—the interplay of which provide the charming personality of this song. It’s just a stunning track.

Track five — Fixing a Hole Opening up and retaining a gothic, regal presence, Fixing a Hole mellows out to an almost bluesy-feeling track, that never quite hits the mark. The song has an odd rhythm to it generated by the percussive use of the harpsichord, which doesn’t quite sit with me—I find it a bit irritating. Despite that, McCartney’s vocals are notably charming.

Track seven — Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite This song is the fruit of Lennon and McCartney musically interpreting an antique carnival poster John had purchased. The lyrics are derived from the words plastered over the poster, and the music itself presents a classical carnival styling accentuated by chaotic, kaleidoscopic instrumental sections. The playful nonsense of the track was amusing.

Track eight— Within You Without You George Harrison is the only Beatle to feature on this number, which is a curious one at that. Written after returning from an extended stay in India, the song blends classic Indian with orchestral sounds— the interplay between these Western and Eastern sounds is very pleasant. It’s much like a game of ping pong between styles at times. The use of instruments like the sitar and tabla give the track it’s personality, but the strings work brilliantly alongside Harrison’s vocals, and serve to tie the song to the rest of the album—without them, the song would feel too out of place.

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Track nine — When I’m Sixty Four

Track ten — Lovely Rita

My least favourite track on the album. It’s entirely too pleasant. If I were to describe it with a shape, I’d say it’s a perfect and unblemished sphere—it lacks texture and the existence of an edge.

The second overtly McCartney piece of filler in a row. It doesn’t inspire much more joy than the previous track.

The orchestra then grows in power, demanding your respect.

Track thirteen — A Day In the Life What a fucking beautiful song to finish on. The song starts with Lennon’s delicate vocals maneuvering through beautifully written lyrics. A chaotic orchestral section allows for a brief interjection of a poppy McCartney-led verse. The orchestra then grows in power, demanding your respect, before opening to Lennon’s gentle vocals once more. The song ends with an orchestral cacophony—I ignore the odd hidden track at the end.

Track eleven — Good Morning Good Morning The third filler track in a row. The song’s pop-funk bassline and electric guitar licks provide some edge and energy, but the track is overall a little underwhelming. I attribute this to the double-tracking of Lennon’s vocals—the way it was recorded makes it sound robotic and emotionless. I would have preferred a single-track vocal with a bit more bite. The album feels like it’s fallen in a bit of a hole at this point.

Track twelve —

Did I answer my question? Yes and no. It’s mostly as good as it’s claimed to be, but it’s also propped up by impassioned nostalgia.

Is it the greatest album ever made? I’m not even sure it’s the greatest album The Beatles alone made, but it possesses a truly unique personality that almost transcends the music contained within. This odd little diamond in the sky isn’t perfect. It contains both absolute pearlers and some tracks that fell flat—but it remains ever memorable. The album has garnered some strong competition for being the greatest over the years, but it still remains a strong contender for the question I’m sure I’ll never answer.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – Reprise

This blistering track comes crashing through the album with the energy of a red Cadillac speeding through a desert; more than re-establishing the energy lost over the previous three tracks. The short song hits hard and fast, and could restart the hearts of the dead. Love it.

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LIFESTYLE

Words// Kathleen McAdam Pics// Ellysia Burton

Tinder. You either love it or you hate it. Or, maybe more appropriately, you admit to using it or you don’t. I, for one, thank it for leading me to my current boyfriend, but things have changed since I was last on there, swiping away. Tinder has really upped its game.

While on holidays with my boyfriend and a friend of his, I was reintroduced to the one stop dating shop after two years of not using it. The friend, having just got out of a four-year relationship, downloaded Tinder just for a bit of fun. I soon realised how much the app has developed in such a small amount of time.

After talking to many of my friends, the vibe I get from young women on Tinder is that of embarrassment.

Potentially stumbling across someone they know in their everyday life is what holds many people back—you can’t unsee them as that guy that uses the dating app and all future encounters inevitably become mortifying.

New add-ons include “super liking” and the option to add photos to your profile from your camera roll rather than limited photos uploaded on your Facebook. It now allows you to connect your Instagram to your profile for an extra plug and the ability to upgrade to ‘Tinder plus’ for monthly payments of $14.99, $9.16 or $7.08. All of these features have developed in the time since I was on Tinder, when the app was still in its rudimentary stages, and you were there to purely talk to people rather to try and score extra Insta followers.

In my experience, the stigma surrounding online dating has subsided in the past couple of years, but the personal shame is still there for some young users. One friend of mine explained that although she had experienced this embarrassment in the beginning, she had recently changed her thinking on seeing familiar faces, which allowed her to simply not care and keep swiping. “I never swipe yes on someone I know in real life. I don’t ever want to be faced with that awkward encounter.

So I just say no, and they’re gone.

I also try and remember that everyone is on Tinder for different reasons, so who cares if people I know are on there, the slight embarrassment will be on them too.

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“I never have to think about them again or us awkwardly matching. I also try and remember that everyone is on Tinder for different reasons, so who cares if people I know are on there, the slight embarrassment will be on them too.”

Now, for people in their early 20s, Tinder is a normal way for people to meet and connect. When I was 17 or 18, first using the app, the attitude towards it was very different. Although it can be used as a way to hook up with someone and an easy way to fuck, many people still use the app to simply meet someone. Whether that be for a coffee date, a drink in a club or an eventual relationship. My friends to this day still can’t believe I met my boyfriend on Tinder. They call us “a true success story”. I myself can’t believe I met my boyfriend of almost two years, someone I can see myself having a future with, on a dating app.

Social media has always been an incredible way to meet new people, for many different reasons, and a dating app you download onto your phone is just an extension of this. What do you guys think about Tinder? Do you feel embarrassed to use it? Or do you simply categorise it as another tool to meet people? •

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Breakfast being served at Bookmark Caféé Caf being served at Bookmark in the in theLibrary.

Library.

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Words// Briana Walker Pics// Georgia Cradock

A history of virginity and male entitlement

For thousands of years men have thought their penises to have life altering powers. So much so, they could ultimately determine a women’s virtue, as well as her cultural, political and economic worth.

While perhaps not to the extent we have seen in the past, the unfounded myth of virginity remains institutionalised in today’s culture as outdated ideas about this indefinable state of being strangely persist.

The obsession with virginity and purity is historically rooted in establishing paternity and, essentially, male ownership of women. “But we’ve come such a long way!” I hear you say. Enter religious doctrines, such as the worship of the Virgin Mary and pledges of abstinence, familial honour and reputation, high paying virgin brides, economic and physical disempowerment, and pervasive pop culture and you can see how this obsession silently dispersed through time like some poisonous gas slowly suffocating its victims. Ah, the patriarchy.

...the pressures and connotations surrounding one’s first sexual activity, and all thereafter, are as rife as ever.

In a modern, Western, secular society such as ours you may think much less value is placed on virginity.

Maybe no longer idolised in religious terms, the pressures and connotations surrounding one’s first sexual activity, and all thereafter, are as rife as ever.

Even the discourse surrounding virginity, that it is something you lose, have taken or give up, proves it to be an ongoing social construct. This goes without even mentioning virginity’s very limited definition of what constitutes sex.

I had my first sexual experience when I was 17, and while my age and any other details are irrelevant, in retrospect I can see how this insidious virginity narrative had been ingrained in me from a young age. I distinctly remember laying there afterwards asking myself if I was meant to feel different. Had I lost something I would never get back? Did my partner feel any different? Had he gained something at my expense?

Nothing had changed about me, so why had I expected a magical transformation, whereby I would become a different person?

It would be easy to point out individuals and blame them for perpetuating a society fixated on binaries and labels, but it’s gotten to the point where we don’t even know why we think like this—or often

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Had I lost something I would never get back?

question it. To many, the practices of virginity testing or increasingly popular hymen reconstruction surgeries seem ridiculous at best, being based on false biological assumptions, and disturbing and detrimental at their worst. But we seem to forget the world we live in has created these pressures, and the infuriating and harmful double standard they maintain.

More films than I could list have developed whole plots and characters around virginity—namely losing it. A common storyline within this is of the former virgin (almost always a female) that falls in love after having sex and becomes a stage-five clinger.

Uni student Keely described to me the implications of the above culture and modern day virginity shaming in her personal experience: “So flash back a fair while, I was chunky and unhappy with my body. I didn't want a physical relationship and I didn't want to open myself up to be ridiculed by someone I liked for the way my body looked. Since then I’ve lost a lot of weight and I’m finally feeling at home in my own body. I finally feel ready to be physical on my own terms.

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LIFESTYLE

I feel like from a young age girls are told we have to value our ‘virginity’ and save it for someone special

“I recently had an experience where I was getting to know a guy and I thought things were going well. We had been talking a bit, sexting, kissing in car parks—standard stuff you do when you’re getting to know someone on a more intimate level. I feel like full disclosure is important in any relationship and so I made him aware that I wasn't very experienced with guys. This seemed fine at the time but the next day it was like he had completely changed. He was really freaked out and didn't want to take anything further given that I was a virgin.

“Obviously it stung a bit. I’m not used to being open with people like that and to have it thrown in my face wasn't super fun. I feel like from a young age girls are told we have to value our ‘virginity’ and save it for someone special. Now as an adult I feel men want the complete opposite—we need to be experienced, but not too experienced because that’s perceived as slutty. We need to know what we want, but not to such an extent that we come across as bossy or dominating.

“Being nearly 21, virginity is something men are seeing as an issue instead of my size. I wasn't saving it for marriage; I wasn't being abstinent for

any reason other than the fact that I was unhappy with how I looked. I find the assumption that I will have an intense emotional reaction to losing my virginity quite irritating and patronising. I’m an adult and as any adolescent does I’ve spent a lot of time ‘self discovering’. I’m very in tune with my own sexuality, more so than some of my friends who have been sexually active for years. I know what I want and I’m not willing to compromise for an easy lay. Although I place no value in my virginity per se, I still value the act of sex as something very intimate and personal. Yet, because of this, men assume that I will lose my mind over them the second they penetrate me.”

Virginity doesn’t exist. Of course we all have our own thoughts and feelings about sex and it remains as personal as you wish it to be, but no one’s genitalia is important enough to fundamentally change a woman, or anyone for that matter. As a damaging and progressively archaic idea, it’s time we question how we perceive our own “virginity” and stop worrying about others’.

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Wor ds// Eliza Pics Wyn // O n phe lia R obe rts

LIFESTYLE

The best of us struggle balancing uni, work, our relationships and downtime— along with all the other pressures of life—but this is something Fremantle Dockers Women’s recruits Brianna Green and Belinda Smith have had to overcome.

While studying at Curtin the pair also play AFLW and WAWFL. All of these acronyms are going to get confusing so let’s break it down a little. WAWFL is the Western Australian Womens Football League, and is made up of nine clubs in the state. It’s pretty much the women’s version of the WAFL (another acronym, I’m sorry). Brianna, aged 20 and Belinda, 21, are teammates in the East Fremantle Sharks in that league.

AFLW is the women’s league of the AFL that kicked off it’s first season this year. The major difference is the highly competitive, elite athletes these girls are up against. Kicking off in early February and wrapping up with the Grand Final on March 25, the process was a fairly fast one. With only seven rounds it’s understandable if you feel like you missed it.

“Everything’s different,” Belinda said.

“It’s different being in that environment where you’re paid to be there, people are paid to train you and you’ve got coaching experts.”

For women like Brianna and Belinda the AFLW was a long time coming. It just so happens the process happened a lot faster than everyone expected.

“I’m pretty sure Gillon McLachlan (the AFL CEO) announced at the end of 2015 or the start of 2016 that there was going to be an AFL Womens in 2017,” Belinda said.

“We’d been planning for 2020 since I was about 15, since I first started playing female football—and all of a sudden it’s 2017.

“It was definitely a quick process and although it felt rushed it was needed and we were ready for it in the end.”

To be honest footy is all I’m focusing on

It might be surprising to some that uni for these girls takes a back seat, with their eyes set on playing football. For so many, after years of schooling, university becomes a place where you can finally focus on the area you’re passionate about and want to pursue in the years to come. While Brianna and Belinda both really enjoy the fields they’re in, their passion lies in AFL. Brianna is currently in her second semester of her health science degree and Belinda is in her third year studying physiotherapy, both at Curtin.

“It wasn’t until Freo’s bid, where we were exposed to their partnership with Curtin, that I thought it would be a good idea that if I was to get drafted, I would be at Curtin,” Brianna said.

“I’m just part time because I didn’t want to put a massive workload on myself, but yeah I’ve had a lot of support.”

“If I study part time and gradually chip away at a degree by the time I retire I have a degree under my belt. That’s how I’m thinking.”

The Dockers result in the AFLW season was something I was hesitant to ask about. Going into the season as Premiership favourites there was more attention than expected on these women.

Ending the season with only one win under their belt, it’s fair to say the club is aiming to improve for next year’s season.

“I think we went in very naïve to what it was going to be like,” Belinda said.

“I’ve never been a premiership favourite in my life so I was a bit weirded out by that mentality.

“I don’t think we adjusted to the style of game as fast as we should have.”

Brianna echoes those thoughts.

The challenge moving forward for AFLW is further establishment so these women can achieve their goal of making football their career. It’s something both Brianna and Belinda aspire to achieve, even more so than the career path they’re studying at Curtin.

“To be honest footy is all I’m focusing on,” Brianna said.

“It wasn’t the result we’d set out to achieve at the beginning of the journey,” she said.

“We were hit pretty hard with major injuries so I think that definitely affected the result a little bit.”

“I think moving forward just learning from our mistakes and I have full faith in [Fremantle coach] Michelle Cowan being able to pull us all together in 2018 to come out with a better result moving forward.”

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LIFESTYLE

You can see it down at club level now because there’s so many new girls down there

Brianna and Belinda find working with the Dockers provides opportunities to spread the word about female football—bringing football workshops to young girls at schools is one particularly rewarding example. The pair both noticed a lack of those role models in their childhoods growing up, with no exposure to female footy players.

Belinda strongly believes that AFLW will lead the way for future generations of girls and is always seeing a difference in their attitude coming into the sport.

“I didn’t see any girls playing football so I thought there was something wrong with me because I was so passionate about football and the only girl in my entire school at the time that really enjoyed it,” Briana said.

“It’s not just ‘I wanna come down and have a joke on the weekend’, it’s more like a career path and an opportunity to play an elite level sport and get paid, when there isn’t a lot of opportunities for that in female sport.”

Belinda grew up with similar experiences.

Both Brianna and Belinda plan to continue playing for East Fremantle in the WAWFL for the 2017 season before preparations kick off for the 2018 AFLW season.

“My first year of football, when I was about eight or nine, the boys wouldn’t kick to me because I was a girl but then they realised that I’d go get the ball myself,” she said.

“You can see it down at club level now because there’s so many new girls down there,” she said.

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