GRAPESHOT VOL 15, ISSUE 2: POCKETS

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EDITORIAL PRODUCTION

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - Lauren Grzina

DEPUTY EDITOR - Jackson Robb

NEWS EDITOR - Zoe van der Merwe

FEATURES EDITOR - Bruna Gomes

CREATIVES EDITOR - Jasmine Oke

VARIEGATED EDITOR - Nilab Siddiqi

REPEAT OFFENDERS EDITOR - Clara Kristanda

CREATIVE PRODUCTION

CREATIVE DIRECTOR - Karina Wong

DESIGN ASSISTANTS - Farnoosh Rafiei, Muskaan Miglani, Catherine Anthony, John Stokes, Weiyang Sun, Thiyashi Koththigoda

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

Eva Anido, Dougal Tsakalos, Timothee Luong, Holly Mitchell, Sarah Solyali, Kayleigh Greig, S. J. Fraser, Freya Petterson, Liana Naidu, Sophie Poredos, Priyanka Sangar and Nicholas Chang

MARKETING

Anjali Premkumar, Ateka Rajabi, Serene Palleygedera, Ayesha Maitland & Megan La

CONTRIBUTORS

Bradley Cagauan, Emily Duff, Tanisha Shah, Maggie Ellis & the MQ Swifties

PUBLISHER

Mariella Herberstein COORDINATOR

Melroy Rodrigues

GRAPESHOT acknowledges the Wallumattagal clan of the Darug nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and meet. We would like to pay our respects to the elders, both past and present, for their contribution and commitment to the land.

We would like to extend those respects to all First Nations people. Always was, always will be.

Team photo

EDITORS’ LETTERS

Hello Grapey Readers,

My whole life, just like every other woman, I have experienced the plight of no pockets on most of my clothes. This may seem like a small problem, but it’s one we deal with daily. With women’s clothes being on average more expensive than men’s yet less functional, it can be quite irritating. An issue that seems so easy to fix—men have pockets, why can’t we?—it feels like women all around the world are being ignored. Although let’s be real, being ignored is a common problem.

Thus, I have dedicated this issue to everyone who has ever experienced the pocket shortage on women’s clothing. To have their voices heard. Inside this magazine, you’ll find humourous recounts of how not having pockets can create a butterfly effect that can have devastating consequences, as well as what we’d use our pockets for if we had pockets-a-plenty.

Grapeshot’s women’s issues have always been my favourite and as editor this issue is one I was most excited to do. I love hearing and sharing stories about women and their experiences and I’m so glad Grapeshot can grant that much needed space for Macquarie students. Pockets is packed with unique history, empowering heroines and inspiring stories.

I hope that within these pages you’ll find solace and affirmation that you are not alone in the fight against pockets.

So, without further ado, I’d like to present issue 2 for 2023; Pockets

With

Love,

Lauren Grzina, Editor in Chief

Warmest Welcome Grapeshot Readers.

Every year, Grapeshot crafts select themes to highlight specific issues affecting students and young people. Pockets was designed to amplify the inequalities between genders that continuously impact so many women and those outside the gender binary. This became an important issue for multiple reasons: from the number of women students and teachers at Macquarie to the women staff at Grapeshot to the countless women who are not recognised for the hard work they do, Pockets goes out to you.

As someone who is fortunate to have known many successful women. From my mother, sisters and friends, all the way to our team at Grapeshot and our Editor Lauren, I understand why this issue is so important in uplifting women and gender non-conforming people. It’s needed to show that Grapeshot can be a resource for women to have their voices heard. It’s important that the views of women are heard in equality to those of men and it’s necessary for change to be inflicted because, the fact of the matter is, women are paid less for doing the same work as their male counterparts.

I dedicate the rest of my editor’s letter to the women who continuously work to change the narrative around equality.

“To the young women, our future leaders, know that you’re about to make the world turn. I see you. You are everything the world needs. Make those power moves, be excellent.” - Beyonce Knowles Carter

“We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.” - Margaret Atwood

“No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a third power stronger than both, that of women.” - Malala Yousafzai

Yours Truthfully, Jackson Robb, Deputy Editor

4 NEWS

Newsflashes

The New Legislative Changes Concerning the Gender Pay Gap

Laneway Festival 2023: A Quick Recap

Campus News

Orientation Week Recap with Grapeshot

National News

Dating Apps: The Safety Reform

International News

The Pink Tax: How Women Are Being Charged More For Products in a World Where They Are Paid Less

The Rise of Womens Sports and Some New Issues

19 FEATURES

Bimbofication: Hyperfeminity and Its War with Feminism

Deinfluencing: The End of the Girl Boss?

Eve Was Not The First Women: The Story of Lilith

Gamergate: How Oppressed Gamers ‘Rose Up’ to Shut Down Outspoken Feminists

The Pressure To Be a Pocketful of Sunshine: A discussion on womanhood and Easy A (2010)

Taylor Swift: A Bad Feminist?

36 CREATIVES

Packing Purse

Harry Styles’ Love on Tour

Lorde’s Solar Power Tour

Financial Advice

Irrational Fashion

-- Does it look weird or stupid??

A Living Obituary

What Fits In Little Pockets

46 VARIEGATED

The Unhinged History of Valentine’s Day

Bags, Pockets and a Broken Heart

Generation of Girls: FIve Rising Girl Groups Changing the Kpop Scene

A Pocket Guide to the Contents of My Pockets

The Muse: Exploring Femininity as a Young, Female Artist

59 REPEAT OFFENDERS

GO TO: Mary’s Underground

Love, Loss, and What I Wore: An Ephron Review

Grapey Book Club: In Intimate Detail by Cora Harrington

POP CULTURE REWIND: The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

Guinea Pigs, Sex Addictions and Familial Trauma

Grapey Playlist

Aftersun: Recontextualising the Memories That Haunt Us

Horoscope

THE NEW LEGISLATIVE CHANGES CONCERNING THE GENDER PAY GAP

Another legislation change? Zoe van der Merwe, takes you through the new Bill that hopes to address the ever present issue in Australia of the gender pay gap.

On February 8 of 2023, the Labour Government introduced The Workplace Gender Equality Amendment Bill into Parliament, in an effort to deliver on their election commitment to help close the gender pay gap. [1] The bill will publish the gender pay gaps of employers with a 100 or more workers, to “drive transparency and action” by organisations in their workplaces. [2]

Senator Katy Gallagher, Minister for Women, stated that, “on average, women working fulltime can expect to earn 14.1% less than men per week in their pay packets.” She noted the, “$51.8 billion a year lost when it [came] to women’s pay,” calling for immediate action on the issue. [3]

However, with the introduction of these new legislative reforms comes some concern over the generalised nature of the data that will be published. Mark Humphery-Jenner, an Associate Professor of Finance at UNSW Sydney, stated that the aggregate information required by the amendment, would not help in understanding the extent of the gender pay gap. He stated that while a good starting point, allowing companies to report on other relevant factors such as qualifications, skills and pro-

ductivity, could provide more opportunity for sophisticated analysis, revealing how the gap arises and ways it may be solved. [4]

Reporting by workplaces on the gender pay gap will start in 2024, using data already provided by employers. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency website is where all data will be published. [5]

The bill comes in direct response to the Review in 2021 of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, and time will tell if the policy reforms indeed make a difference. [6]

by Zoe van der Merwe

[1] “Albanese Government Delivers Legislation to Help Close The Gender Pay Gap.” Ministers’ Media Centre 8 Feb. 2023, https://ministers. pmc.gov.au/gallagher/2023/albanese-government-delivers-legislation-help-close-gender-pay-gap. Media Release.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Humphery-Jenner, Mark. “Australia’s New Pay Equality Law Risks Failing Women – Unless We Make This Simple Fix.” The Conversation, 10 Feb. 2023, https://theconversation.com/australias-new-pay-equality-law-risks-failing-women-unless-we-make-this-simple-fix-199587.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2023: A QUICK RECAP

Love indie music or interested to know more? Dougal Tsakalos-Stewart has got you covered, recapping the latest from the Laneway indie music festival.

The highly anticipated indie music festival, Laneway, returned to Australia in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic. There were a plethora of artists at the festival both new and established to the musical scene. [1] The festival was hosted in five cities, including Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth, all within a frantic eight day span.

The festival was stocked with local homegrown gems whose talent had not yet been unearthed. These diamonds in the rough included Mallrat, a soft pop/indie artist from Brisbane who had been delivering heartfelt and wholesome tunes for the better part of five years. [2] Sycco and Abby Bella May were exciting newcomers onto the indie music festival scene, both making their names from winning the Triple J Unearthed artist of the year, with the latter winning this year.

[3] While there were many other Australian artists, the marquee one was most certainly Jungle Giants, an indie rock band well known both domestically and globally. [4]

On the international side of the artist list there was a stack of talent ranging from fairly undiscovered to well known performers. Stages were packed like sardines to have a peek at the famed Phoebe Bridgers, HAIM and Fred again.

[5] Turnstile was also among the hits but had to miss the Brisbane and Sydney show due to their Grammy nominations. [6] The big performance however was Joji, otherwise known as Filthy

Frank. The Japanese artist had audiences chanting, carrying their voices and feelings up to him with the emotional “Glimpse of Us” and melancholic “Slow Dancing In the Dark”.

This festival acted as a giant spotlight focusing on the power of music. Its ability to bring mass quantities of people with different values, ideas and experiences together is truly spectacular. [7] The shared experience of emotions and feelings that the artists can produce live makes this a worthwhile experience for anyone.

by Dougal Tsakalos-Stewart

[1] Gallagher, Alex. “Laneway Festival Reveal Set Times for 2023 Edition and Line-up Changes.” NME, 17th Jan. 2023, https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/ music/laneway-festival-2023-set-times-lineup-changes-turnstile-hockey-dad-julia-jacklin-3381651.

[2] Staff Writers. “Laneway Festival 2023 Line-Up.” Scenestr, 22 Jan. 2023, https://scenestr.com.au/music/laneway-festival-2023-line-up-20220921.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Varvaris, Mary. “Laneway Festival Reveals Set Times.” The Music 17 Jan. 2023, https://themusic.com.au/news/laneway-festival-reveals-set-times/ bLF0fmFgY2I/17-01-23.

[7] Heshmat, Sharam. “How Music Brings People Together.” Psychology Today, 30 Nov. 2021, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/202111/how-music-brings-people-together.

ORIENTATION

Deputy Editor Jackson Robb runs through the orientation week of Macquarie University, highlighting a variety of clubs and societies as well as the hard work put in by the Grapeshot team.

Orientation Week (previously O-Week) is a crucial time for so many new students. It allows them to see the very best of what Macquarie has to offer in the way of support services, societies and campus life. Orientation Week is also an important time for many societies and student groups on campus as it is a space where they can promote the values and beliefs of their group to new students, encouraging them to become part of a community within the university that fosters similar values to them. This is not only applicable to domestic students but international students as well, who, for many, Orientation Week can help them become accustomed to living in Sydney and meeting new people. Whilst many Uni’s interpret Orientation differently, we’ve provided a breakdown of some key events, the best freebies and how the team at Grapeshot can help you make the most of your time at Macquarie.

Monday: Day 1

Unfortunately, this team member was not present on Day 1 but was told it was spectacular, magnificent and everything you thought it would be.

Tuesday: Day 2

The absolutely sweltering heat did not stop the crowds (or the MQ societies) from gathering in the Central Courtyard (CC). The team at Grapeshot worked diligently to provide new and existing students copies of the magazine and info about our upcoming events. Societies were able to survive the blistering sun with the help of V energy drinks which were passed around to students and societies to ensure minimal hydration but high levels of caffeine. The Ubar was a fan favourite, promoting their events and upcoming socials. So too did the QuadBall society (formally Quidditch), which shone bright amidst their changing political landscape. Overall, a busy, solid day in CC with plenty of engagement from students.

Wednesday: Day 3

The weather can really make or break the vibe of Orientation Week as hats were replaced with umbrellas and the cloudy overcast cooled things down, both literally and metaphorically. Turn out on Wednesday was not as great as the start of the week but this did not deter the team at Grapeshot. Not only was the team on top of their advertising skills, but select students got access to archived copies of the magazines from three to four years ago. Labelled as “vintage” these copies were a fan favourite and were scooped up by many. Some of our favourite stalls on Wednesday were the campus radio station 2ser who probably had the best stickers out of all the societies. Additionally, Wednesday was the day for freebies with Grapeshot team scoring cases of Sprite and free razors from Gillette. Special consideration to the many cultural societies we have on campus. From the Indigenous Students Society and Walanga Muru to the Indian, Vietnamese and Greek societies, everyone was bringing their A-game.

Thursday: Day 4

Day 4 started slow but it did pick up. Thursday was a chance for the Grapeshot team to make some new friends, and we most certainly did. The team decided to create a reel featuring various societies doing fun activities in the hopes of getting featured on the Macquarie Uni Instagram page. We were unsuccessful but it’s their loss really. Together, the team went around and explored the societies, from the niche to the mainstream. We started with the MQ Dance Association who choreographed a dance with the team. Then it was on to MacAlpine who were hosting a non-alcoholic beer pong. The

team stayed uncoordinated but did manage to sink one. Next it was onto the UBar who let us spin to win a drink voucher, the odds were not in our favour but they helped us out anyway, until finally we arrived at the main course, the MQ Swifties. The Swifties were nice enough to bring out Taylor Swift (Cardboard Version) to pose with copies of the mag, so expect to see lots of her songs featured in future Grapey Playlists. If you’re a visual learner, the team made a reel featuring all of our adventures on our Instagram that you should definitely check out. Special thank you to all the societies who participated!

Friday: Day 5

Fatigued, sunburnt and in need of a rest, Day 5 felt like a Friday. Most of the stalls had already called it quits but not Grapeshot! For our final day, we met some more lovely faces and educated them on the Grapeshot ethos before realising a troubling fact. Why do so many students think you have to pay for Grapeshot?! Grapeshot is a magazine by students, for students and is always free for students and other members of the public to pick up, read and contribute to. Our team of volunteers are dedicated to writing some of the best, controversial and abstract pieces about media that affect young Australians, and we want everyone to have access to it in case you need a laugh or a new perspective. Day 5 was spent sharing the Grapeshot love.

We are very grateful to everyone who came to stop by and learn about Macquarie’s ONLY official publication! If you expressed your interest in a position, we will be in contact with you when positions are available. If you want to learn more about the magazine and how to get involved, visit www.grapeshotmq.com.au or email us at grapeshot@mq.edu.au. The team at Grapeshot are appreciative of everyone who helped make Orientation Week so special and we can’t wait to share all the new and exciting things we have planned for you this year!

by Jackson Robb

DATING APPS : THE SAFETY REFORM

A swipe in the right direction. Zoe van der Merwe, sheds light on new safety measures to help provide support and protection to dating app users.

In late January 2023, the NSW Government proposed the implementation of a reformed disclosure scheme, allowing users on dating apps to see if their partner has any history of violent behaviour. [1]

This call for reform comes in the light of the recent death of a NSW woman by a man she met online, who unknowingly to her, had an extensive history of domestic violence. [2] The case sparked discussions around the registration process for dating services, advocating that people with known violent backgrounds should not be allowed to use these apps. [3]

A spokesperson for Michelle Rowland, the federal communications min ister, said that online safety, specifically on dating apps, was a “growing community concern.” [4] The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), re vealed in a survey released November last year, that three out of four users have experienced some form of harassment and or violence on these plat forms. [5] Dr Rachel Burgin, a lecturer of Criminology and Swinburne Law school stated, “we shouldn’t be waiting until there’s an absolute tragedy before we start reflecting on the way technology is used or can be used by perpetrators. We need to design for it.” [6]

So, what reforms did the government discuss?

In January, the federal government met with dating app operators, police, domestic violence survivors and experts, in an effort to find a tangible solu tion to these alarming rates of violence experienced by dating app users.

The government advocated that dating services needed to be held ac countable, introducing measures of prevention. [7] In line with AIC recom mendations, the government wanted apps to change the ways complaints by users are dealt with, making sure people were not just another “data point.” [8] They pushed for dating apps to have easier processes of re porting incidents as well as transparent support services for victims and policies that hold perpetrators responsible for their actions. [9]

From the dating app summit three goals were set to work towards:

1. Preventing exploitation by perpetrators.

2. Supporting users.

3. Safer online practices.

Some dating apps already making changes

Many dating apps, among the most popular, have already begun to implement additional safety measures. From safety guides that users must agree to utilise the app, to using AI to detect the use of harmful language. Work has also begun to make background checks available on the platforms themselves. [11]

NSW own proposal for reform

In NSW following the federal summit, there has been a proposal of a state-wide implementation of The Right to Know scheme first trialled in 2016. The reformed scheme would allow people to access both a hotline and an online portal and request a background check on their partner. Under the Domestic Violence Act 2007, information of this nature is allowed to be given without consent if it is believed to prevent a threat to someone’s life or health. [12]

The NSW government reiterated that the service would be designed in collaboration with domestic violence organisations and privacy controls would be a top priority. [13] However, Tara Hunter, director of Full Stop Australia, raised concerns of the scheme’s safety. She stated, “we need to think really clearly about safety considerations for people receiving that information ... if they’re using an online portal or a phone, making sure they’re not being tracked by the person who is potentially harming them.” [14]

The next steps

Within the next few months, dating apps will be pushed to do even more. While potential legislative changes begin, dating services will be asked to start implementing measures to identify perpetrators, keep users safe, as well as introduce more extensive education to all.

by Zoe van der Merwe

For readers in Australia, help and support can be found by contacting: 1800RESPECT National Helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT.org.au.

Mensline Australia: 1300 789 978

Lifeline (24 crisis helpline): 131 114 MQ Student Wellbeing: 9850 7497 or wellbeing@mq.edu.au

[1] Hildebrandt, Carla. “NSW Women and Men Will Be Able to Check Partner’s Violence History Online with Disclosure Scheme.” ABC News, 23 Jan. 2023, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-23/nsw-domestic-violence-disclosure-scheme/101880998.

[2] “Dating App Safety on the Agenda When Operators Meet with Federal Government.” SBS News, 26 Dec. 2022, https://www.sbs.com.au/news/ article/dating-app-safety-on-the-agenda-when-operators-meet-with-federal-government/9ycm5ikxc.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Gillespie, Eden, and Tamsin Rose. “Call For Dating Apps to Require Criminal Checks a Australian Government Plans Summit on Safety.” The Guardian 24 Dec 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/24/call-for-dating-apps-to-require-criminal-checks-as-australiangovernment-plans-summit-on-safety.

[5] Meacham, Savannah, “Three in Four People Experience Violence on Dating Apps, Research Shows.” 9News 2 Feb 2023, https://www.9news. com.au/national/national-roundtable-dating-app-safety-domestic-violence-explainer/4c130de6-aa8c-482c-a0ba-034e1f102295.

[6] Ibid. [7]

THE PINK TAX: HOW WOMEN ARE BEING CHARGED MORE FOR PRODUCTS IN A WORLD WHERE THEY ARE PAID LESS

Eva Anido gives her take on the pink tax, detailing what it means and ways you can take a stand.

Two Razors sit side by side in a store, however one costs 29% more than the other. Is it sharper? No. Will it last longer? No. Is there anything that differentiates them from one another? Yes! The razor that costs 29% more is pink… [1]

The pink tax is an extra amount of money added to a product that appears pink or is otherwise marketed towards women. It is important to note that the pink tax affects people of other genders who also use these products. Although it can hinder anyone purchasing these feminine marketed products, women are the main consumers and therefore become the main demographic affected by the pink tax.

With the gender pay gap still alive and well in every country (that’s right, every country), it’s more important than ever to equalise how much we are spending on the same products as men. In Australia, on average, women earn 80.5 cents to every dollar a man makes. So, right now in Australia, on average, women pay more for products and get paid less for our work. [2]

It is not only women’s toiletries that are having their prices inflated, these companies start normalising inflation to women from a young age. One study showed that young girls’ toys cost more than young boys’ toys 55% of the time and 26% of the time for children’s clothing. [3]

Companies have also discovered that women are more likely to buy a product that is more ‘feminine’. This is why we see so many brands adopt the “pink and shrink” model of marketing. This is as simple as it sounds. Companies take a product that they have marketed towards men, they make it smaller, box it up in pink packaging and mark up the price. Why does this happen? As disheartening as it is to inform, companies understand that women are willing to spend more money on these items and, in turn, take advantage of this. [4]

But what can we do about it? Well, there are a couple of options;

1. Call out injustices! If you see two products go up on a shelf that are the same in content but are priced unjustly, say something! Follow the footsteps of many consumers posting to Tik Tok about their findings. We’ve seen this prove effective in cases like that of Big W. One consumer documented the store attempting to sell ‘soap packs’ containing the same contents. One was marketed towards women and one marketed towards men, however the women’s one cost an extra $4. The store quickly corrected the pricing of the product shortly after this came to light. hold companies accountable for their missteps may be a step in the right direction towards eradicating the pink tax.

2. Legislation is an effective step towards change. Australia does not have any government policy regulating a gender-based tax, however some states in other countries do. The US has three states which have regulations that prevent retailers and services charging women more for the same thing as men. [6] We know it’s possible so let’s make it happen! One way you can help this process of law reform is by writing to your local MP and informing them on your personal experience and findings.

3. This, like most strides for equality, will take time to come into full effect. So, in the meantime, don’t conform to gender spe cific products. If men’s and gender neutral products have the same ingredients and get the job done, then why not save some money and buy those products instead? Who says girls have to wear pink anyways!

Feminine Hygiene products are available in the Queerspace and Women’s room free of cost.

by Eva Anido

[1] Richie, Alex. “The Pink Tax Explained: The Real Cost of Being a Female Consumer”. Ratecity, 8 Mar. 2022, https://www.ratecity.com.au/bank-accounts/articles/ pink-tax-explained-real-cost female-consumer.

[2] Global Gender Gap Report World Economic Forum, 2022, https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2022/in-full.

[3] Wells, Taylor. “Price Discrimination Strategy: Why Women Pay More Than Men For Similar Products?”. Taylor Wells, 3 Sep. 2020, https://taylorwells.com.au/ price-discrimination strategy/.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Clear, Belinda. “Big W is Slammed as ‘Sexist’ For Charging $4 More For ‘Female’ Versions of the Same Soap: ‘The Pink Tax Strikes Again’.” Daily Mail, 7 Dec. 2022, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/real-life/article-11510059/Big-W-slammed-sexist-pricing charging-4-Christmas-soap-Tradie-pack-women.html.

[6] Fontinelle, Amy. “What is the Pink Tax? Impact on Women, Regulation and Laws.” Investopedia, 11 Aug. 2022, https://www.investopedia.com/pink-tax-5095458.

THE RISE OF WOMEN’S SPORTS AND SOME NEW ISSUES

Dougal Tsakalos-Stewart reports on the increase in popularity surrounding women’s sports, detailing that even with these positives, prevalent injustices still dominate the representation of women in sport.

The female side of the professional sporting world has been dealt an unkind reputation for many years, being labeled as uncompetitive and boring by a large percentage of global sports fans. The main problem seems to be that in comparison to male dominant sports they do not receive as much funding from sponsorships or clubs, or attention in the media, leading to a rift between the two gendered sports. A study in 2021 reported that 61% of women’s sports idols were men, and 98% of men’s sports idols were men as well. [1] However, recent record breaking attendances for multiple female sports as well as an increase of broadcasting services, suggest that there is an increase in its popularity.

The first record to have been smashed was in March of last year at Camp Nou, in Barcelona. The crowd of 91,553 fans for a champions league game between the home team Barcelona and fierce domestic rivals, Real MaThis was then followed by a record attendance in the women’s Emirates Fa Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City with 49,094 fans attending. [3] In addition to this, other sports attendance records were also broken, with the Women’s AFL league record being broken in 2020 as well as the WNBA, which broke a 14 year record of highest average viewers with 379,000 viewers. [4] TV viewership was also at a significant increase for all female based sports throughout 2020-2023.

The increase in average viewership of women’s sports in recent times can be attributed to a variety of factors. One reason, which has seen a lot of increase in male viewership especially, is the national pride embedded in the national team tournaments such as the World Cup and

Euros. 53% of viewers in the UK of the EURO 2022 tournament were first time watchers cementing the influence of national tournaments on female sports viewership. [5] A further reason is the fact that there is more media coverage, including a female based sports news media outlet named the Women’s Network, which is available on multiple digital platforms including Amazon.

Sponsorships and advertisements have also aided in growing popularity. During “March Madness” which is a college basketball based tournament, there was a campaign launched which included a multitude of advertisements. These advertisements aimed to raise awareness of the lack of attention female sports get in comparison to men. [6] The football association poured 30 million pounds into women and girls football in the UK in early 2021 to “increase the support and development of the grassroots game”. [7]

These sponsorships, advertisements and increase in attention can all raise the standards for how women are treated by associations they work for, as well as gain respect by those watching at home or live. With an increase in overall attention to the sport it gives certain players a platform to not only show their skills as an athlete but also their issues they have experienced as women. The most prominent example is Serena William who is known as both a tennis and feminist icon, openly critiquing sexism and being able to due to her elite status. Her actions have made it easier for female sports stars to go on their athletic journey’s. Another feminist and sports icon, Megan Rapinoe, is best known for her campaign for equal pay between mens and womens football teams, which resulted in a 30% pay increase.

While it is definitely positive that more female athletes are getting recognition, attention and a chance to voice concerns about certain injustices can also be a problem. The issue is not their fault in any way but more due to an unfortunate increase in negative media related trends. With an increase in attention, there is also going to be a noticeably unfortunate increase in the sexulisation of these athletes. This is prominently seen in magazines as well as television advertisements. Examples that come to mind are “This Girl Can” advertisements which all feature women in activewear doing athletic activities. While this advertisement has a positive message behind it, the complaints come from a concern that the advertisement is “choosing to portray women in a seemingly objectified manner”. [8]

A further example of this rare but still problematic media representation of female athletes was the problematic and controversial ESPN yearly issued magazine labeled “The Body”. This annual issue of the sports magazine discusses the trials and hardships that athletes’ bodies face when undergoing their chosen sport. While the magazine illustrates scientific based facts around the body and exercise, and also does a fair job with female representation, there is still a problem concerning readers. The problem is the way that athletes are posed on the cover with a lack of clothes obviously intending to present the body as the main focus. This has raised some

issues for both ESPN for choosing this type of cover and the female athletes for supposedly participating in a “women first, athlete second” campaign.

The progress made to have not only female sports but also female athletes at the level where they are ambassadors for multiple different companies, like Sam Kerr is with Nike and Commonwealth Bank, or fight for gen der inequalities in the sports they compete in, like Megan Rapinoe has done, is positive. The positives however, don’t make the negatives of sexualisation and objectification from certain media companies invisible, as they could add an expectation to viewers if they decide to watch female based sports. The women’s game has come a long way and will keep evolving but definitely needs to iron out some rough patches.

by Dougal Tsakalos-Stewart

[1] Curcic, Dimitrije. “Female Athletes Are Invisible to Fans (2,117 People Survey).” Athletic Shoe Reviews, 31 Aug. 1970, https://runrepeat.com/female-athletes-are-invisible-to-fans.

[2] Burhan, Asif. “World-Record Crowd of 91,553 Treated to Women’s Champions League Spectacle at Camp Nou.” Forbes 4 Apr. 2022, https://www. forbes.com/sites/asifburhan/2022/03/30/world-record-crowd-of-91553-treated-to-spectacle-at-camp-nou/?sh=29900b1dddf2.

[3] Sports Business Journal. “Women’s FA Cup Final Sets New Attendance Record.” Sports Business Journal, 16 May 2022, https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Global/2022/05/16/Womens-FA-Cup.aspx#:~:text=The%20’22%20Women’s%20FA%20Cup,Arsenal%20at%20Wembley%20 in%20’18.

[4] Gough, Christina. “WNBA Viewers 2022.” Statista 22 Sep. 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1236723/wnba-regular-season-viewers/#:~:text=The%202022%20Women’s%20National%20Basketball,regular%20season%20in%2014%20years.

[5] Grey, Becky. “Women’s Sport: Research Shows Increase in Viewers in 2022.” BBC, 7 Feb. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/64557964.

[6] Adgate, Brad. “Popularity of Women’s Sports Surges Approaching 50th Anniversary of Title IX.” Forbes 12 Oct. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/ bradadgate/2022/04/07/popularity-of-womens-sports-has-been-surging/?sh=605cc7703613.

[7] Wrack, Suzanne. “Fa Agrees New £30m Three-Year Deal for Women’s Football.” The Guardian, 15 Dec. 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/dec/15/football-association-agrees-new-30m-three-year-deal-for-female-football.

[8] McVey, Laura, and Paul Harrison. “This Girl Can Campaign Simply Reworks ‘Sex Sells’ Approach.” The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 Aug. 2017, https:// www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/this-girl-can-campaign-simply-reworks-sex-sells-approach-20170808-gxrd6i.html.

BIMBOFICATION: HYPERFEMININITY AND ITS WAR WITH FEMINISM

Sophie Poredos unpacks the social and cultural implications of hyperfemininity, investigating recent social media trends and her own experiences with femininity to illuminate the powerful agency of “bimboism,” as well as its offensive connotations.

Hyperfemininity has a track record of being demonized by Hollywood media. With its dangerous connotations of female expression and reclamation of sexual autonomy, this goes against the patriarchal grain. Indulging in femininity is synonymous with weakness: the societal rejection of all things pink reflects the battle of internalised misogyny faced by women.

Growing up as a young teen, my once favourite Barbie movies and Taylor Swift albums became too “embarrassing” for me to consume. When investigating the media rhetoric in which the “cool girl” was in (Gone Girl has a fantastic monologue of this) and the “girly girl” was out, I began to delve into a masculine world to differentiate myself as “not like other girls.”

It’s only within the last few years I’ve begun to rejoice in aspects of femininity that bring me joy. While gender is a social construct and the idea of femininity itself

is misleading, I now participate vigorously in “womanhood” through bonding over rom-coms, fashion trends and drunk-girl bathroom talk™. Some may argue that this is performing for the male gaze. By participating in traditionally gendered roles, I am therefore contributing to the stereotypes of a woman being associated with a feminine sphere.

However, I present the idea of a “new age bimbo” who is more than just the idea of acting feminine for male attention. Via bimbofication one becomes simultaneously “stupid and hot” [1] as well as woke on all things social justice related, according to self-proclaimed Tiktok Bimbo Chrissy Chalpecka. This identity has everything to do with embracing a hyper-feminine persona of yourself. Think bold outfit pieces: pink and sequins, Juicy Couture sweatpants with matching sunglasses and a sparkly lippy to top it off. It’s important to recognize that this style’s influence of

90s and Y2K origins all take significant appropriation from the Black and Latino communities in America.

Through hyper-femininity, the expression of the feminine, playful side that women and non-binary people have been trying to hide can be explored in a multitude of fashion and lifestyle choices. A massive “fuck you” to the ridiculous and often contradictory beauty advice we may have all grown up with.

This hyperfeminine sphere presents an emerging discourse with feminism – does sexualising yourself perpetuate sexual stereotypes for other women? Is this purposeful blondie act resulting in an assumed promiscuity of all women who enjoy the bimbo lifestyle? Certain traits within this trend to act naïve and ditzy certainly feeds into the toxic idea of a “submissive” woman and fuel the expectation of men assuming dominant roles.

When I first began this article, I had a great bias against the effect of bimbofication and its emerging discourse with feminism. Through hyper-femininity, this exaggeration of the self can be communicated as a sexual image that may perpetuate sexual stereotypes about other women. What begins as a harmless movement of sexual liberation and empowerment may assert a stereotype of promiscuity for those who engage in a level of hyper-femininity. Chrissy herself has come under fire for her “baby voice” as this does contribute to the gross infantilization of women and the perception of women as sexual objects. [2]

So where do we draw the line between sexual liberation and unconsciously exploiting impressionable teens? Hyperfemininity and bimbofication undoubtedly have an

important role in modern feminism; it positions people in an uncomfortable sphere of acknowledging their own biases for women who dress freely and embrace their sexual autonomy. However this movement appears to lack inclusivity for traditionally over-sexualised groups such as Black women, as commented by Tiktok user @oumousolo “We’re already hypersexualized, we’re already demonized, we’re already masculinized. We don’t have the same infantilization that white women have.” [2]

In 2023, it’s time to embrace the ethos of being a bimbo: “less thoughts, more vibes.” [2]

But only when bimbofication reaches a level of inclusivity and expression for all women and non-binary individuals that doesn’t undermine the image of others. Also preferably, without the baby voice.

by Sophie Poredos

[1] The age of Tiktok feminism.”, Mashable, 20th February 2023, https://mashable.com/article/tiktok-feminism-malegaze.

[2] This year I’m becoming a full-on bimbo – it’s better to be stupid and hot.” The Guardian, 20th February 2023, https:// www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/20/thisyear-im-becoming-a-full-on-bimbo-its-better-to-be-stupidand-hot.

DEINFLUENCING: THE END OF THE GIRL BOSS?

Holly Mitchell critically assesses the authenticity of the “girl boss” lifestyle by treating it as capitalist propaganda rather than inspiring, energising content, and turns to the new trend of “deinfluencing” as an alternative. But is deinfluencing just a rebranded girlboss?

An ideal morning for me features an uninterrupted sleep-in, a non-rushed breakfast out on the balcony, and a simple skincare and makeup routine. It’s a pretty generic start to the day, but it seems to be one that social media emphasises as something to feel embarrassed by.

she finds the time, if she has a job, or if she just has fantastic mental health. A smaller part of me wonders why it seems to be only the girl bosses who worry about maintaining this kind of lifestyle, and why the guy bosses (who, by the way, are never referred to as a guy boss) don’t need to. Regardless, it always leaves me feeling disappointed in myself, which leads me to making a mental note to be a little more productive.

Though it seems unlikely, the once untouchable figurehead that is the “girl boss” has kind of gone out of fashion. Less girls are aspiring to fulfil their unnecessary expenses and luxurious demands and are content with living the life of a regular girl. A regular, boring girl that might not always wake up at the crack of dawn, who might not always opt for the gym, and who might even miss out on spending a little bit of time taking care of herself.

Who takes charge of these regular girls now if they are no longer listening to the girl boss? Enter “deinfluencing”: a fairly recent trend that has started to circulate on TikTok. Deinfluencing is exactly what it sounds like, where influencers (girl bosses and otherwise) share their opinions on various random self-care items that are unnecessary or too expensive. For example, if you head to the Mecca website, you will see that their trendiest, best-selling moisturisers are in the $60-$150 price range; the deinfluencers explain that a moisturiser with the same ingredients and benefits can be found at Chemist Warehouse for $20 maximum. Or if you’re worried about your pyjamas that look like

I recently moved into a new apartment, and the number of random trinkets that I have hoarded over the years has made me really resonate with the concept of deinfluencing. The encouragement to critically think about certain purchases and to constantly ask myself, “Do I need this?” reminds me of Marie Kondo’s method of decluttering, where you should only keep items that “spark joy.” Frankly, I did not feel any sparks of joy when moving the number of boxes to my new place that I had to, and it has made me conscious of every item I now buy. It’s not ideal to keep excessive self-care items in the drawers collecting dust, especially if they were only ever purchased to keep up with a TikTok microtrend.

TikTok microtrends are the influencer’s gold mine; unfortunately, these influencers often end up on the feeds of young teenage girls who feel they need to spend excessive amounts of money to get the glowy, just-woke-up “natural” look. As someone who struggled with acne for a miserable 10 years, I was one of those teenage girls. I would use pay cheques from my after-school job to fund product after product found in Vogue’s “Beauty Secret” videos in hopes of looking like Bella Hadid. Unfortunately, the acne remained. It felt like just another twisted way for skincare companies to profit from the insecurities of regular people like my 15-year-old self.

Of course, not all these influencers-turned-overnightdeinfluencers have fairy godmother-like intentions of looking out for us regular folks. It is likely that some “deinfluencers” with a large following are being paid to advertise alternative or affordable products under the guise of steering us away from big corporations and useless microtrend products. These alternative products are sometimes called a “dupe” of a more expensive product. It is especially true in this current economic state that influencers are able to exploit the vulnerability of regular people by borrowing a trend that praises affordability, while still making a buck for themselves. Essentially, their message is “spend your money on this instead of this, because I think it’s better. But make sure you are still spending your money!”

Less than five scrolls into my For You Page, and I’m seeing a “spend a day studying with me” vlog where a female student my age with my capability wakes up at six in the morning, goes to the gym, has a healthy mealprepped breakfast, does a luxury skincare and makeup routine, and then proceeds to study for the remainder of the day. She’s the typical “it girl,” or the “girl boss” that we all wish we were a little more like. I’m left wondering how

Despite that feeling, I have to believe I’m good at acknowledging when elements of self-care are a bit too much, to the point where it gets redundant and unnecessary. It even starts to become goofy when you really consider some of the logistics. Anytime you watch a morning routine video that begins with a person “waking up,” are they really only just waking up? Or did they wake up, polish their appearance a little bit, set up their phone and camera self-timer, hop back into their sheets, and only then show the glamour and serenity of their morning routine. Do we as an audience soullessly staring back at our phones see the burnt attempt of toast, coated in Vegemite to try cover up the obvious charcoal, or do we see the well-crafted avocado and feta on sourdough with a saturated filter slapped on? Do we see how truly weird it is to fabricate an ideal morning routine just to give people another thing to feel bad about themselves for?

they were plucked from Adam Sandler’s wardrobe, deinfluencers would see this as a great alternative to the girl boss’s expensive set from Peter Alexander. After all, you’re going to be far more comfortable in your boxy boyfriend tee.

From recommending us stuff to not recommending us stuff, the deinfluencers (despite their intentions) remind us of a good lesson to be thinking twice about what we’re consuming. After all, as university students it is never a bad thing to be thinking about saving money. As far as basing your worth upon productivity goes, just don’t. Being the regular non-girl boss that I am, I am willing to believe that if you’re being healthy to yourself and to others, you’re doing just beautifully.

by Holly Mitchell

EVE WAS NOT THE FIRST WOMAN: THE STORY OF LILITH

Sarah Sol dives into biblical history to examine the portrayal of Lilith, the first woman created by God and a modern feminist icon, weaving contemporary politics with mythical tales in a plight to understand the significance of a woman as a symbol.

Disclaimer: This piece is an unbiased factual piece of writing. There will be brief mentions of rape, miscarriages, stillborn deaths, murder, kidnapping, masturbation, sex, eating children, demons, and biblical references throughout.

Many individuals are familiar with the legend that Adam was made of dust and Eve from his rib. But what if this was wrong? Various texts across cultures paint Lilith, Adam’s first wife, in different ways. Within this article, I attempt to explore all versions of her in an attempt to find out: who was Lilith really?

Story 1: This story has two endings, but the beginning starts like this:

Lilith and Adam lived in the garden of Eden together. This was portrayed in a medieval Jewish text called the Alphabet of Ben Sira. [1] Both Adam and Lilith were made by God, from dust and earth as equals.

Lilith’s values led her to refuse to lay beneath Adam during sex, as they were equals but Adam disagreed. Lilith fled the garden of Eden despite knowing the consequences, choosing independence and equality instead.

First ending: Lilith the good

When God heard of Lilith’s disappearance, he sent three angels, Senoi, Sansenoi, and Sammangel, to retrieve her. When the angels located her, they found her bearing children in a cave. [2] The angels threatened to drown Lilith and she refused to come back to the garden and sacrifice her independence. The angels told her they would kill 100 of her children every day for her disobedience. In revenge, she is said to steal the lives of children and is responsible for stillborn infants and crib deaths. [3] Though to prevent the three angels from drowning her, she swears she will not harm children who bear amulets of the three angels. [3]

After this, Lilith attempted to return to the garden of Eden but discovered she had already been replaced by Eve. Out of revenge Lilith had sex with Adam and stole his seed (some texts suggest she raped him while he slept.) With this she bears “Lilum,” which are earthbound demons and act as a replacement of her slaughtered children. Lilith continues the creation of her demon-children by taking advantage of male erotic dreams and masturbation. [2]

Second ending: Lilith the bad

The story continues that Lilith was equal to Adam and refused to lay beneath him. Though in rage, Lilith spoke God’s true name and fled the garden in anger. Adam told God this and God sent the three angels after her.

Similarly, the angels found her in a cave bearing children, and they tried to convince her to return to the garden and be with Adam. She refuses, claiming she cannot return to her first husband because she had already slept with the “Great Demon.” Lilith also tells the angels she was

created to devour children and steal their lives. [3] The angels bargain with her to stay away from children, bearing their amulet, and she agrees. [1]

Feminism

It is a common view among feminists that Lilith is an icon, not only because she was the first woman, but the first independent woman created equal to man. Many Jewish feminists reclaimed Lilith as a symbol of independence and sexual liberation. This belief was soon followed by the rest of the world. Lilith first became a feminist icon through the 1960s movement – until then she was mostly viewed as a monster. A Jewish feminist magazine named their magazine after Lilith. They are an independent Jewish women’s magazine and viewed Lilith as a symbol of independence. [2]

Story 3: Man hater

Others claim she is a villain and a man-hater, taking advantage of males and stealing the lives of children just as a monster would. Lilith, in this context, represents a wild woman whom society cannot control, a shrew if you will. A woman who determines her own sexual partners, who is wild and unkempt. Someone who preys on men’s private masturbation and erotic dreams for her own advantage and for the purpose of creating her spawn. A woman who is more animal than human.

Story 4: Demoness

Many scholars believe Lilith stemmed from Lilu demons. [4] It is claimed the Lilu (male) and Lititu (female) demons were once human spirits of young men and women who had died too young. Transformed into demons, they are hungry for human victims. These creatures are said to slip through windows and into people’s houses while they sleep, seeking victims to play their husbands and wives as they never had. Individuals are warned to not sleep alone in a house at night or leave your windows open as Lilu demons may possess or take advantage of you in your sleep.

Another demon associated with Lilith is Lamashtu. Lamashtu is a female demon who threatened newborns and had a particular taste for human flesh and blood. Lamashtu would steal babies the second they were born or while they were breastfeeding. It is said she would then suck their blood and gnawn on their bones.

[5] Lamashtu is described as the worst possible monster, haunting mothers long after she had feasted on their children.

These monsters are a combination of stories about Lilith and her demon children as these tales eventually converged to become a seducer of men and an attacker of children.

So was Lilith the first feminist? The first monster? A man hater or man eater? Or was she simply misunderstood? The answer is up to your interpretation.

by Sarah Solyali

[1] Lesses, Rebecca. “Lilith.” Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women., 1999, https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/lilith.

[2] ”Blood, Gender and Power in Christianity and Judaism.” https://www2. kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Projects/Reln91/Power/lilith.htm.

[3] Gaines, Janet Howe. “Lilith Seductress, Heroine or Murderer?” BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY, 2023, https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/lilith/.

[4] Pelaia, Ariela. “The Legend of Lilith: Adam’s First Wife.” 2021 2019. https://www.learnreligions.com/legend-of-lilith-origins-2076660.

[5]Joe, Jimmy. “Lamashtu: The Evil Egyptian Goddess That Killed Babies “ 1999. https://www.timelessmyths.com/copyright/.

GAMERGATE: HOW OPPRESSED GAMERS ‘ROSE UP’ TO SHUT DOWN OUTSPOKEN FEMINISTS

Content Warning: Sexism and Misogyny

By the early 2010s the stereotypical “gamer identity” – that is, the young, straight, caucasian man with nerdy pursuits – was changing. For example, in 2014, the Internet Advertising Bureau found the UK’s gaming audience comprised 52% women. [1] Gamers were becoming a more inclusive identity as the wonderful hobby became more accessible to all. But not everyone was on board. In 2014, a small underbelly of the larger gaming community sought to preserve the old gamer stereotype. What followed was one of the most infamous online harassment campaigns and a case study in internet radicalisation: a war between the gamers and the “crazy feminists.”

What is Gamergate?

Gamergate was a decentralised online movement that meant many things to many people but its adherents were loosely connected under the banner of a few tenets:

preserving ethics in games journalism, protecting games from “political correctness” and safeguarding the old gamer stereotype. Gamergate was filled with trolls, misogynists and bigots, grifters, political extremists and — most concerningly — gamers who were legitimately concerned with journalistic integrity. Importantly, Gamergate was born in, and mostly operated on, anonymous online imageboards like 4chan and 8kun. Van Badham describes these as “platforms to say the unsayable”; places run by “mob democracy.” [2]

Whatever Gamergate meant to its adherents, its history and legacy are undeniable. Gamergate started as a reaction against feminism, diversity and progressivism in the gaming industry, specifically against individuals such as feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian and the non-binary game developer Zoe Quinn. The seeds of Gamergate were planted in 2012 when Sarkeesian asked

for $6,000 to crowdfund a web series. The response? “She needs a good dicking, good finding it though,” among thousands of death and rape threats. [3] The harassment reached mainstream news and the increased attention meant Sarkeesian received $158,922. However, the harassment escalated as she became subjected to bomb threats at public appearances, doxxing and a flash game where players could bloody an image of Sarkeesian. Her only crime? Creating a series scrutinising games under an academic feminist lens.

Gamergate as we know it can be pinpointed to a 9,000 word-blog post by Zoe Quinn’s exboyfriend alleging that Quinn, a developer for the indie game Depression Quest, cheated on him with Kotaku reviewer Nathan Grayson to advance their career. This is despite the fact that Quinn makes no money from the game (it’s free) and Grayson never reviewed the game. [4] Despite the claim being debunked, the imageboard trolls, many of whom partook in the campaign against Sarkeesian, settled on a narrative: Quinn was an “evil witch” corrupting games journalism.

Over the next few years, Quinn was routinely subjected to defamatory statements, death and rape threats and doxxing attempts. Their boyfriend lost his job for being associated with Quinn and the couple fled their home after their address was leaked. [5] But it wasn’t just Quinn; for Gamergators, Quinn was ‘indicative of a broader political scandal or conspiracy, a la Watergate.” [6] As such, Sarkeesian reentered the crosshairs of Gamergate. When game developer Brianna Wu described Gamergate as a place where “estranged” individuals indulged in “online wars” against “fantasy creatures of SJWs”, the death threats got so bad she needed to live

under an assumed name. [7] While Gamergate was purported to be about defending games journalism, the three biggest targets of Gamergate — Quinn, Sarkeesian and Wu — were not games journalists.

Why Was Gamergate so Hard to Fight?

Because Gamergate was waged by anonymous online users, it was extremely difficult to hold anyone accountable. What would a prosecutor charge someone with and how could they prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt? There was no way the state was going to dedicate resources to cases they had little chance of winning.

Social media platforms were anxious that tightening harassment policies would curtail free speech. Indeed this was a common Gamergate talking point and another veil of legitimacy they relied on: “we’re not attacking women, we’re protecting free speech.”

It also didn’t help that mainstream outlets failed to address that Gamergate’s adherents interpreted the movement differently. For some, Gamergate was always about attacking women and fighting against diversity. But there were many who subscribed to Gamergate out of genuine concern for games journalism. There are legitimate grievances that game reviewers and game news are glorified advertisements without any substance. Totalbiscuit, a Youtuber, aligned himself with the movement, criticising games journalism in measured tones but he downplayed the harassment as the actions of “lone wolves” who weren’t “real Gamergators.”

[8] The complex nature of Gamergate made it very difficult to discuss and as the movement expanded, distinguishing between the socalled “real Gamergator” from actual bigots

A brief history and analysis of Gamergate as an outlet for bigotry and internet radicalisation

became almost impossible. The bigots now had plausible deniability.

Gamergate shows how lies can be used to demonise women, LGBTQ people and other minority groups and quickly, individuals questioned how to politically weaponise Gamergate. As the chairman of Breitbart News (and later President Trump’s advisor), Steve Bannon was acutely aware of the effectiveness of gamers in orchestrating social movements. [9] As such, he approached Milo Yiannopolous, a commentator infamous for belittling women and picking fights, to write about Gamergate. Yiannopolous wrote articles like “Feminist Bullies Tearing the Video Game Industry Apart,” which labelled Quinn as a “professional victim” and pushed the narrative that gamers needed to rise up against the oppression created by feminists like Quinn, Sarkeesian and Wu. [10]

Yiannopolous’ outrageous behaviour — such as saying Islamophobia is “rational”, calling women “dickless wonders,” and opposing the Australian marriage survey a month after marrying his husband — meant he wasn’t taken seriously. Many overlooked Breitbart News’ real goal which was to galvanise the bigots and anti-feminists in the gaming community and push them towards their extreme political beliefs. [11] After all, if gamers were this passionate about defending “gaming”, what’s stopping them from defending, for example, racial inequality? In an article in the Montreal Gazette, it was claimed that many who identify with extreme ideologies often begin with the “gateway drug” of “misogyny.” [12] If this is the case, then Gamergate was not just a hysteric mob of bigoted gamers but a recruitment tool for what would become the modern alt-right. [13]

Gamergate’s Impact

Gamergate was a reaction against the expanding pocket of the gaming community but because no reasonable person would openly agree to an anti-women crusade, the banner of “ethics in journalism” was heralded to give the swarm plausible deniability. While Gamergate meant different things for each individual, it undeniably marginalised women, non-binary people, trans people and other outgroups that didn’t fit the traditional gamer mould.

Most unsettlingly, Gamergate shows how misogyny can be a gateway to radicalisation. From the start, the claim that Quinn was sleeping with game journalists was easily debunked. But for bigots, the creation of a conspiracy run by feminist villains was more compelling. When Gamergate fizzled in 2016, imageboards created another narrative involving children locked up in the basement of a Washington DC pizzeria. When an armed shooter broke into the store and found no evidence of sex trafficking, online users redeveloped the story and gave rise to QAnon: the same movement that pushed the stolen election narrative and waved their flags in the 2021 Capitol Insurrection.

In 2019, a terrorist murdered 51 people in Christchurch, New Zealand. In preparing for the attacks, he posted regularly on the website 8kun, whose users watched as the terrorist streamed the murder of men, women and children praying. 8kun is notorious for hosting child pornography, QAnon boards and for being mentioned in the manifestos of two white nationalist and antisemitic terrorists in the US in 2019. Five years prior, 4chan, the birthplace of Gamergate, deleted

all Gamergate content; Gamergators fled to 8kun. [14] It is highly likely that at least some of those same Gamergators have been radicalised further.

The online world is spilling into real consequences and real violence against vulnerable groups. And remember, Gamergate started because some individuals didn’t like what others — mostly women — had to say about video games.

by Bradley Cagauan

[1] Keith Stuart, ‘UK gamers: more women play games than men, report finds’, The Guardian (17 September 2014) <https://www. theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/17/women-video-gamesiab>.

[2] Van Badham, QAnon and On (Hardie Grant Books, 2022) 48.

[3] Ibid 63.

[4] Stephen Totilo, ‘In recent days I’ve been asked several times about a possible breach of ethics’, Kotaku (20 August 2014) <https://kotaku.com/in-recent-days-ive-been-asked-several-timesabout-a-pos-1624707346>.

[5] Keith Stuart, ‘Zoe Quinn: “All Gamergate has done is ruin people’s lives”’, The Guardian (3 December 2014) <https:// www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/03/zoe-quinngamergate-interview>.

[6] Michael Salter, ‘Gamergate and the subpolitics of abuse in online publics’ in Crime, Justice and Social Media (Routledge, 2016).

[7] Leigh Alexander, ‘“Gamers” don’t have to be your audience. “Gamers” are over’, Game Developer (28 August 2014) <https:// www.gamedeveloper.com/business/-gamers-don-t-have-to-beyour-audience-gamers-are-over->.

[8] Van Badham, QAnon and On (Hardie Grant Books, 2022) 76.

[9] Shawn Boburg and Emily Rauhala, ‘Stephen K. Bannon once guided a global firm that made millions helping gamers cheat’, Washington Post (4 August 2017) <https://www.washingtonpost. com/investigations/steve-bannon-once-guided-a-global-firmthat-made-millions-helping-gamers-cheat/2017/08/04/ ef7ae442-76c8-11e7-803f-a6c989606ac7_story.html>.

[10] Milo Yiannopolous, ‘Feminist bullies tearing the video game industry apart’, Breitbart (1 September 2014) <https://www. breitbart.com/europe/2014/09/01/lying-greedy-promiscuousfeminist-bullies-are-tearing-the-video-game-industry-apart/>.

[11] Noah Friedman, Josh Barro and Michael Salter, ‘Here’s how Steve Bannon used Angry White Gamers to build himself up to Trump’s chief strategist’, Business Insider (22 July 2017) <https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/stevebannon-once-guided-a-global-firm-that-made-millions-helpinggamers-cheat/2017/08/04/ef7ae442-76c8-11e7-803fa6c989606ac7_story.html>

[12] Editorial, ‘Alt-right in Montreal: Shining a light on local neonazi network’, Montreal Gazette (20 May 2018) <https:// montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/alt-right-in-montrealshining-a-light-on-local-neo-nazi-network/>.

[13] Kristin MS Bezio, ‘Ctrl-Alt-Del: Gamergate as a precursor to the rise of the alt-right’, (2018) 14(5) Leadership 556.

[14] Van Badham, QAnon and On (Hardie Grant Books, 2022) 76.

THE PRESSURE TO BE A POCKETFUL OF SUNSHINE: A DISCUSSION ON WOMANHOOD AND EASY A (2010)

Jasmine Oke sieves through the connections between morality, virginity and joy explored in the popular rom-com Easy A, writing about how femininity and personhood are often unbearably inextricable, while also fabulously fun.

I got a– I got a– I got a– I got a pocket got a pocket– I got a–

As women, we are much more tolerable when we express the values of kindness, altruism, and honesty; yet we are berated when showing signs of outspokenness or standing up for ourselves. You could say there is this overwhelming pressure to be a “Pocketful of Sunshine,” much like the Natasha Bedingfield song featured in that iconic scene in Easy A (2010), starring everyone’s 21st Century comfort film princess – Emma Stone. Stone’s character, Olive Penderghast, experiences this dilemma throughout the film as an unfortunate series of events unfolds, thus highlighting the struggles and the joys of womanhood.

Olive begins the film as a quiet and understated teenage girl moving through high school at her own pace and going relatively unrecognised. This soon changes after a lie about losing her virginity, a very private and personal experience, becomes public knowledge. This lie is initially told to her best friend, Rhi, who in turn exclaims “now you’re a super slut like me!” Though Olive isn’t entirely sure why she lied, she has a sneaking suspicion it was an unconscious attempt to finally feel superior. It is then Rhi who begins the rumour mill, disseminating the knowledge throughout the entire school. This hierarchical view of friendship, and the lack of moral parameters around the gossiping that all teenage girls engage in, is an example of the harsh realities of growing up and transitioning into womanhood.

As was previously mentioned, women’s values and their self-expression are more often than not held to a higher standard than men. However, even more worth is placed on a woman’s sexuality than her actual demeanour or character. Olive is a sweet and quiet young woman, yet once her peers hear the latest gossip and she is given the limelight in her cohort as a result, she is treated as though she is barely human. This treatment in turn provokes her to behave in uncharacteristic ways – though still the same person deep down, Olive finds herself verbally lashing out on occasion in retaliation (even finding herself in the principal’s office for the first time ever as a result). She recognises that her peers are only considering her worthy of their time and glances as a result of her perceived “loss of virginity.” and she even exaggerates this later in the film by wearing provocative clothing which makes allusions to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter – in which a woman is forced to wear the letter “A” (for adulterer) on her clothing and subjected to public shaming as punishment for her sexual sins.

With a reputation akin to that of Taylor Swift in 2016-17 (and, of course, the years preceding), Olive takes on the role of the ‘fallen woman’. She finds herself in the position of being exploited by the men in her school year who learn of her dishonesty and thus pay her for fabricated stories of sexual encounters. Whilst such encounters act to elevate the social status of these men, they contrastingly diminish Olive’s moral value and character in the view of her peers. This ultimately gets out of hand when miscommunication and a man’s sense of entitlement causes him to mistake these fabricated stories as truth, and in turn forces himself on Olive in a parking lot after what she had perceived to be a genuine date.

However, Olive is also exploited by other women – most namely one in a position of power, her school guidance counsellor. After an affair with a student is brought to light through his contraction of an STD, the guidance counsellor encourages Olive to take the blame for her own immorality. What’s

more, when Olive asks her to come clean in order for her to clean up her image, the older woman refuses to do so and instead assures her student that no one will believe her anyway. There is also internalised misogyny exhibited by various female students throughout the film, but predominantly by the highly religious Marianne. Marianne continuously slut shames women throughout the film, and when caught glaring exclaims, “Just [looking at] a couple of admitted whores.”

Despite all these horrors of womanhood, there are many joys which accompany them. Whether it’s putting on a catchy song (even if it’s the “worst song ever”) and dancing around your room, singing at the top of your lungs in the shower, or painting your nails –embracing your femininity and standing up for yourself is in.

by Jasmine Oke

TAYLOR SWIFT: A BAD FEMINIST?

Join the MQ Swifties as they retrace the progression of Taylor Swift’s career, mapping out her cultural and political presence as a feminist and privileged American in her music, interviews, and the media around her.

Taylor Swift is a singer, songwriter, director and actor. But is she a feminist icon? While usually acclaimed for her contributions to the music industry with hits such as “Shake It Off,” “22,” and “You Belong With Me,” she has also been heralded as a feminist inspiration for young women by some and vilified for her tokenism by others. It’s clear the artist isn’t out of the woods just yet when it comes to her contribution to women’s rights.

Swift began her country music career in the early 2000s, starting in Tennessee with nothing but a guitar and a dream. At the time, the genre was dominated by older, white men, and saturated with conservative values. She fit in as an innocent, “all-American” girl and this image consolidated her success. Her contemporaries who dared to challenge the status quo faced intense backlash, such as The Chicks, whose 2003 criticism of the invasion of the Iraq war made them national pariahs. The Chicks faced everything from radio station blacklisting to death threats, so Swift was encouraged to keep quiet to get ahead. Her career grew, and as the inoffensive “girl-next-door” archetype became ill-fitting, the media tried to cut her down to fit the image that had grown so dear. Her dating life was thrust into the spotlight, and she was cast as a cold and calculated “heartbreaker.” On reflection, it’s clear that a young woman who was confident in sharing her emotions, enjoying her youth and doing an average amount of dating grated on the public.

Swift didn’t just sit back and take the criticism, however. Over the years she has grown increasingly vocal in calling out double standards. As Swift so strongly elaborated in a 2019 interview: “A man does something, it’s strategic. A woman does the same, it’s

calculated. A man is allowed to react, a woman can only overreact…” Unlike their male counterparts, women in the public eye receive an overwhelming amount of pressure to maintain a youthful and beautiful appearance, lest they become “discarded in an elephant graveyard by the time they’re 35” (in the words of Swift). For Swift, this extends itself to her dramatic aesthetic transformations with every album cycle or ‘era’. However, this begs the question of why a woman at the top of her field has to put in so much effort compared to her male peers. This is without mentioning that male artists accused of racist acts, violence or assault often continue to thrive and age in the spotlight without similar pressures or proportionate levels of backlash. Swift has commented on and explored these ideas both explicitly in the press, and throughout her music.

Swift’s first pure-pop album, 1989 (2014), not only contained absolute bangers but two songs that explicitly commented on her portrayals in the media. The lead single, “Shake It Off,” included a playful remark about the media portrayal of her romantic life: “I go on too many dates, but I can’t make ‘em stay, at least that’s what people say”. The following single, “Blank Space,” was a parody of the villain she had been made out to be by the media. The lyrics are filled with references to her supposed plethora of short-term, volatile relationships, filled with lies, games and manipulation: “Got a long list of ex-lovers, they’ll tell you I’m insane, ‘cause you know I love the players, and you love the game”. The music video, too, emphasised glamorous beginnings that quickly fade in favour of accusations, screaming matches and the destruction

of property, featuring Swift smashing her romantic interest’s car with a golf club.

Swift’s following album, reputation (2017), further explored the villainization she endured as a successful woman in the music industry. In the year prior to the album, hate for the singer ramped up significantly, with “#TaylorSwiftIsOverParty” trending on Twitter. Snake emojis flooded her social media comments, leading Swift to disappear from the spotlight. As stated in her Netflix documentary Miss Americana (2020), “Nobody physically saw [Swift] for a year.” The album marked the symbolic death and resurrection of Swift’s career as she returned to the public eye. Swift reclaimed the snake symbol as imagery for the album, and the album cover itself featured her name written dozens of times in newsprint, an unambiguous reference to her relationship with the media. Tracks such as “I Did Something Bad,” “Look What You Made Me Do” and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” provided a new, darker commentary on Swift’s treatment as a female musician and the reputation the media created for her. In a particularly powerful lyric, she sang “They’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one,” drawing comparisons between the modern media and the Salem witch trials.

Perhaps the most powerful message to come out of Swift’s reputation album, however, was her commentary on sexual assault and her support of survivors of sexual abuse. Preceding the album, Swift herself countersued then-radio employee David Mueller for battery and sexual assault. She sued for a symbolic amount of one dollar, highlighting that the case had far more than just a monetary value. The artist used her position as a prominent public figure to encourage other women to share their stories and speak out. In a moving speech during the Reputation Stadium Tour, she empathised with fans: “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry to anyone who wasn’t believed because I don’t know what turn my life would have taken if people didn’t believe me”.

Swift’s experiences in her personal life not only inform her stance on women’s empowerment but her songwriting. Though Swift was open in her early career about the inspirations behind her ballads of heartbreak and pain, she has remained tight-lipped in recent years about the subjects of her storytelling, to avoid creating a feeding frenzy in the media. An example of this is the parallel between “Dear John,” a popular track from her 2010 album Speak Now, and the recent song “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” from the 2022 Midnights album. The title of “Dear John” referred to the historic practice of writing letters to end relationships with partners stationed overseas, but in reality was Swift’s clever reference to ex-partner John Mayer, whom she dated when she was nineteen and he was thirty-two. In a 2009 interview when asked about her habit of naming and shaming her partners, she addressed the topic: “If guys don’t want me to write bad songs about them, they shouldn’t do bad things.” The young, fresh pain of this past relationship, however, has followed Swift and transformed over time into a more sombre reflection and regret. “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” revisits Swift’s relationship with a more mature assessment twelve years later: “Memories feel like weapons, I regret you all the time…give me back my girlhood, it was mine first.” Swift’s tone is raw as she uses religious imagery to explore the “corruption” of her youth by a man much older and more powerful than her teenage self – one whose career still thrives despite these allegations.

Despite continuing to use her experiences of life to inform her storytelling, it appears Swift’s days of directly referring to relationships of the past are behind her. As she sang in “invisible string” from her 2020 album folklore, “Cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart, now I send their babies presents.” Recently, her target seems to have moved from the individual men in her life to a wider threat: the patriarchy. Reflecting on the gender roles and expectations that have followed her since her debut album in 2006, the latest album drop of Midnights

showed the artist has no intention to give in to the milestones women are pushed to meet. This is made clear in the lyrics, “No deal, the 1950s shit they want from me,” from “Lavender Haze” as well as “He wanted a bride, I was making my own name, chasing that fame,” from “Midnight Rain.” Despite her clear career ambitions, and her efforts to keep her long-term relationship with partner actor Joe Alwyn away from the public eye, Swift still finds herself at the centre of theories and conspiracies about marriage and children. All this begs the question, can she ever do enough to satisfy the media and the public at large? Will Taylor Swift continue to be dragged down by the past and the patriarchy, or break free from the chains of the media’s misogyny?

Despite the treatment Swift has endured, she is far from the perfect role model, and far from the ideal “feminist.” It can often appear that she speaks on issues when it is most convenient to her, finding it easy to take on and cast off queer associates and friends of colour when it suits her album cycle. This was particularly prominent during the 2019 Lover era and exemplified in her song “You Need To Calm Down.” The music video featured notable LGBTQIA+ celebrities, including Laverne Cox and members of Queer Eye, with the lyrics poking fun at homophobes: “Shade never made anybody less gay.” All too quickly, however, Swift’s squad disappeared, and she remained silent about the increasingly threatened rights for queer and trans people in the US. This continues even after her latest music video love interest was played by trans actor Laith Ashely in “Lavender Haze.”

Many have labelled the artist a “white feminist”: someone whose definition and practice of feminism revolves around the default of white, cisgender, straight, able-bodied women. They argue that her often oversimplified and tokenistic defence of women’s rights is only transformative for privileged women like herself; a glittery, cookie-cutter version of real, gritty change and progression. For example, her song “The Man” has been called

into question for being too simplistic and framing ideal empowerment as patriarchal behaviours, such as “raking in dollars, and getting bitches and models”. The song seems to partially envy the power of the patriarchy that only exists through the marginalisation of others. Swift is fed up with “running as fast as she can”, but the execution of these arguments leaves much to be desired. Hence, many have been rubbed the wrong way by her portrayal as a champion of change, when many Black and transgender feminists are overlooked for their contributions to gender equality.

While Swift may not always take the right approach in her attempts to stand up for issues of gender equality, she’s certainly wellintentioned. As she herself has explained in Miss Americana, “I’m trying… to reprogram the misogyny in my own brain. There is no such thing as a slut, as a bitch, as someone who’s bossy, there’s just a boss.” However, many have criticised her for not yet being informed enough, vocal enough, or progressive enough, particularly with her level of privilege and all that she’s endured. It’s clear Swift has felt pulled in disparate directions, as she continued in the documentary: “[Women] don’t wanna be condemned for being multifaceted… I wanna love glitter and also stand up for the double standards that exist in our society. I wanna wear pink, and tell you how I feel about politics.” Swift seems torn between the image of her youth, where she was solely a singer-songwriter and performer, not weighing in on current events and taking criticism with a beatific smile and a laugh, and the complicated, whole woman that she has become – with ever-growing privilege that she is learning to wield, with thoughts and opinions people may not like and which feel like a risk to her popular persona that has facilitated so much of her success.

As a woman who has grown up in the public eye and has made her forays into speaking about feminism, there comes the question: does Taylor Swift owe us anything? The artist has received much criticism for her ongoing silence about current events. While

Swift is in a position of significant power and privilege with her voice being heard by millions worldwide, she is also a woman who has endured probing and prodding from the media and public for almost two decades. Does she have a right to simply live her life privately and share her art when she so chooses, without weighing into controversy? Or should she be expected to do more, because she has such wide-reaching influence?

To use Taylor Swift’s own words, she’s damned if she does give a damn what people say… but we sure wouldn’t mind if she spoke up a little more.

by Tash, Emma and Fiona of MQ Swifties

CREATIVES

PACKING PURSE

Lipstick

Mascara

Winged eyeliner

Nails polished

To detect a spiked drink

A modest shirt

A fun jacket

Earrings

Hair scrunchie on the wrist That transforms into a drink cover

Minty-fresh-breath gum

Tampons and pads

Panadol and Nurofen

Generosity between all who have the same

Unwanted monthly subscription

Wallet

Keys

Phone

GPS on Location shared

CREATIVES

A Percy Jackson-esque pen

A hairpin that’s more pin than hair Pepper spray

Rings that double as knuckle dusters

An attitude of Kevlar

A waterfall spirit Their calls will bounce off Wash over me I cross the street anyway

So many things to pack Of course I have to take a bag There’s no way it will all fit In the sewed-up pockets

Of my pants

by Emily Duff

HARRY STYLES’ LOVE ON TOUR LORDE’S SOLAR POWER TOUR

Creatives Section Editor Jasmine Oke captures Harry Styles in all his glory during the Australian leg of “Love on Tour”.

Images taken by Jasmine Oke on Friday March 3rd 2023.

Deputy Editor Jackson Robb photographs Lorde as the Solar Power tour arrives in Sydney.

Images taken by Rebecca Robb and Jackson Robb on Monday March 13th, 2023.

FINANCIAL ADVICE IRRATIONAL FASHION

10th C

Early 19thC

it is a good thing the boys have pockets and we don’t: we can run around the city shoving our fists into their denim cavities and stealing everything shiny, everything sharp. and we walk away free, our petticoats dragging through mud, cheeks flushed and chests warm, corsets stuffed with cash.

by Bruna Gomes

They must be petite And make not a sound, My satin-slippered feet, Both broken and bound. My face must be fair, Though I’m naturally gold. And I must grow my hair, But I may not grow old.

15th C

Chopines so tall, I totter and stomp, Just to keep the world small, While I look down with pomp. For I cannot get dirt

On the edge of my dress, When the state of my skirt Is what shows that I’m best.

17th C

My hair, not my own, Is only a wig. It is so overblown, For it has to be big. To show off my riches, I’ll keep it on, please. Though it’s so thick it itches, Infested with fleas.

Clad in a corset, I struggle to breathe. Like a switched off faucet, My lungs let naught leave. Though weighed down by petticoats That are held up by straps, My feet must still float, And my posture can’t lapse.

Late 19thC

I knock down a candle, With a hoop skirt so wide, That no-one can handle The immediate tide Of fires that sweep, Up the fabric in flames, While the steel rungs keep Me trapped in door frames.

20th & 21st C My clothes must be fitted To make me look thin. So pockets are limited, And fit nothing in. Instead I buy purses

To carry my things, And hold back my curses At zippers and strings.

I hope that more clothing Will soon be designed, With more than the one thing Of beauty in mind. We will not choose whether To feel good or look nice, But they’ll both come together, And not at a price.

by Kayleigh Greig

--DOES IT LOOK IT WEIRD OR STUPID??

2:27PM

• i don’t think its stupid I actually love that miniskirt.

its like a sarong but you swim in it too? nah not stupid people wont look at you 0 besides its on sale so just get it i might too 0

— sent the skirt to Rob and he says its sexxxyyy so im gonna buy

— i was thinking we all have a shopping date soon actually we cn go have lunch and yeh its 2 for $50 so we can split it instead and save the $5 for lunch

whattt he never likes ur style though 0 ok good because lowkey i actually cant afford groceries lol not with this rent 0 broke and hungry gal 0

> yea I need a new dress for summer and also a bikini. but that skirts fine not stupid

> i would get it but it wont look good on my skin colour

> you guys will look so sluttttyyy sexxxyyy slay in yours people will be staring at your arse if any thing

• when r we shopping because ive been working overtime so have $$$ MULA;

• also need to get a new crop bc i lost my old one i wear like every day

— tues?

> ok

A LIVING OBITUARY

The moon twinkles bright in the dark, lonely night sky

An air of sadness surrounds me

I feel betrayed; Betrayed like baby birds when their mom pushes them out the nest so they can learn how to fly, Betrayed like a confused kitten when his mom hisses at him, Betrayed like being told I’m worthless–

I’m useless

I’m worthless

I’m useless

I’m worthless

They don’t need me anymore; after giving my whole life to them, I was shown the door, Oh! The despair, the desolation, the dejection, the dishonour, Once a common name, now forgotten; the times have really changed, haven’t they? The horror!

To face the defamation of being kicked out of the company and then finding out I am being replaced by a younger, shinier me! Why was the guise suddenly more important than the realism?

And the detriment felt like a knife to the gut

So solemn, so sombre, so subdued, I walk home scattering sadness all along the path, Oh! How ill-mannered of me to not introduce myself–My last name is Pockets, Women’s Pockets.

by Tanisha Shah

— YAY so happy we needed to get together soon

0 sounds good

by Clara Kristanda

0 LOVE BEING WOMAN

WHAT FITS IN LITTLE POCKETS

Some days, I wake up feeling gross and no amount of showering or make-up will fix it. It’s a deep kind of gross, deeper than my skin and my bones, held in my thighs and stomach and chin. I’ll look twice at that donut, hesitate reaching for the sugar, and spend the whole day fretting about my reflection. The only thing that fixes it are my favourite pair of jeans.

They’re old and starting to fray, but they’re still dark, still slim, still flattering. As good as new, really. The only problem with them is the pockets. They’re there, but barely. It’s generous calling them pockets really. Nothing fits in them – my wallet, my phone, even my smallest lipstick are practically giants when facing these pockets. Wearing them can be an absolute pain, but I look damn good when I do, and they can fit some things. Useless things really; that dollar coin that won’t stay put in my purse, the wristband from last night’s concert, or your little post-it note telling me not to wait up because you’ll be late. Or the one about having to dash off early. Or that we’re out of milk and could I grab some when I get up?

I’ll pick up that note and read it – maybe while I’m rushing off, or waiting up, or before grabbing my handbag and my phone and my wallet and my keys and ducking down to the shops because you drank the last of the milk and my tea’s going cold. I’ll fold it up and tuck it in the little pocket of my favourite jeans – your favourite jeans too. Then, because why not while I’m at it, I’ll fold up my disappointment or annoyance and tuck that away too, in that little, dark pocket.

Because my tea’s going cold and I’m feeling gross and the jeans are starting to feel a little tight around the band but that’s okay. I’m working out while you’re out somewhere and I won’t check that pocket again. Why would I? It won’t hold anything worthwhile.

At some point the jeans come off, go through the wash, and I’ll wake up feeling gross all over again. Stomach and thigh-deep gross. I’ll put my favourite jeans back on, a little less

dark and a little more worn, but still as good as new. Your little post-it note will fall out of my pocket, mangled beyond saving, the ink washed off and the paper moulded shut. Sometimes I’ll try to remember what it said, sometimes I won’t even look before I toss it out, too busy rushing off somewhere, too busy trying not to feel gross.

Until you leave another note. Another disappointment. Happy birthday. Don’t forget dinner. Need bread. And I’ll sit in the kitchen, milk in my tea but my plate empty, feeling gross but looking good. I’ll watch the clock and try to remember if you said you were going somewhere, if you were getting coffee down the road or out with Courtney again. Or Keri. Or Molly. I’ll trace your awful handwriting and wonder if it was getting worse at work too or if the quick scrawls were just for me. My little birthday present.

And I’ll sit there, picking off the frayed ends of my jeans, cleaning up the cut-up denim. I’ll grab my bag and my wallet and my keys and my phone so I can go get bread. And I’ll take my disappointment and anger and the tears that want to ruin my make-up and I’ll fold them up in that little note and pocket them into those worn, scuffed jeans.

Ready to be forgotten all over again.

by S. J. Fraser

Whether it conjures up images of roses and a candlelit dinner with a skip on dessert, or a picnic with the girls, Valentine’s Day has always been one of my favourite celebrations.

In honour of the 20th anniversary of THE yellow dress worn by Kate Hudson in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, I wanted to look back into history on how this day of love came to be.

The origin of the holiday is far from cute, with the fantastical romantic notions replaced with sacrifices, sadistic rituals, and public displays of sex. Valentine’s Day is based on the pagan festival known as ‘Lupercalia’, which may have initiated the assassination of Julius Caesar (talk about being stabbed in the back). Beginning at springtime, tribute was given to Lupercus (God of fertility), where two naked young priests would run across the sacred grounds of Palatine Hill in Ancient Rome to bless the Earth. This location was thought to be the same cave where the first King of Rome, Romulus and his twin Remus, were raised by a she-wolf. [1]

During this ritual, Roman men would essentially partner up and fornicate with women to promote fertility. This Dionysian way of freely thinking about sex is not exactly negative in this sex-positive shift modern media seems to be adopting. However, the sadistic nature of the festival reveals itself when men would whip women with sacrificed goat hide for the blessing of fertility. [2]

VARIEGATED

for women to ‘submit with patience to the blows dealt by a fruitful hand’. [3]

Fast forward to 44 BC when political drama went down. During this year’s festival, high priest Mark Antony offered a laurel wreath to Caesar as a political manoeuvre for Julius to be King and, thus, control the masses once more as slaves. Whilst Caesar refused this offer, the seed of doubt was already planted. Exactly a month later, Brutus and his men assassinated Caesar because he had begun to become a ‘tyrant’ and Antony promised them amnesty for their crime.

Eventually, Pope Gelasius banned the celebrations of Lupercalia and transformed it into St. Valentine’s Day in 496 AD. Who was St. Valentine? Nobody really knows who this martyr was. He may have been Bishop Valentinus who converted a judge from criminalising Christians by healing his daughter. Perhaps even Priest Valentine, who married many lovers in secret after Emperor Claudius II banned engagements in his city during the 260s AD. Either way, the Roman Catholic register of Saints celebrates ten Saint Valentine’s though some scholars believe that some of these may have been the same man.

The next time you wish Valentine’s Day wasn’t as much of a capitalist exploitation of the idea of love, be thankful we still don’t have to get whipped by bloody goat hide.

by Sophie Poredos

[1] “The Lupercalia.” Uchicago, 18th February 2022, https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/calendar/ lupercalia.html

[2] “Julius Ceasar refused to be crowned king”, The Conversation, 18th February 2022, https://theconversation. com/julius-caesar-refused-to-be-crowned-king-132239

[3] “Did Valentine’s Day really originate in Italy?” The Local, 18th February 2022, https://www.thelocal. it/20220214/where-does-valentines-day-come-from/

DBrace yourself as Sophie Poredos cracks open the reality of Valentine’s Day’s origins.

BAGS, POCKETS AND A BROKEN HEART

Section Editor Nilab Siddiqi recalls how a lack of pockets led to disappointment at a concert.

It is the 5th of February, the night before my long-awaited Phoebe Bridgers concert, and I am pacing around my room, stressing out about what to wear. I plan to line up one or two hours before the doors to the venue open and it’s set to be a scorching day, so I have to wear something breathable, otherwise I run the risk of suffocating before I even make it to the mosh pit. Dress it is. There strolls in the issue of the pockets. Stupid fucking pockets. Wait. Let me not get ahead of myself.

Where was I? Ah, yes. I pick the outfit, sleep sweet and sound, lounge around the next day, pack my bag, and head out. I immediately encountered a few issues.

Issue 1: The line is fucking astronomical.

Issue 2: I have no pockets, so I was forced to bring a bag, so now I have a son-of-a-bitch tote bag sliding off my shoulder every minute, while I line up for hours in 30ºC temperature.

Issue 3 is where I really start to get peeved. After waiting for hours in an infernal line: alone, sweating and standing in uncomfortable platform Doc Martens (as was absolutely everyone else), I came across a bottleneck in the entrance, split into two different sections: express and non-express. I very quickly found out that, as I did not have an itty-bitty petite little clutch, and had taken a tote bag instead, I was being thrown into the non-express lane (after being yelled at by an attendant for bringing a bag so big).

Why is this annoying? Well, after hauling my ass over to the city and standing around for hours on end, I was now being punished by God and thrown into the back of the mosh all because my dress had no fucking pockets and I had to take a bag. Pockets. Pockets were the reason I was stuck in the back of the mosh, pushing one foot on top of the other to give me some more height and barely seeing Phoebe Bridgers. The lack of pockets on my stupid dress was the reason all my lining up had gone to waste.

What made it worse was that there was a guy in front of me in the non-express line who pointed and giggled at the woman in front of him for wearing a backpack to the concert. A man with plenty of pockets might I add (which he obviously did not use, as he was thrown into the non-express line as well), because apparently identifying as a man awards you with the rights to ample pockets on all your clothing.

While bags are a staple accessory for the masses now, regardless of gender, it’s important for us to remember that for women they’re usually the only option you have if you plan to carry anything other than your phone. Oftentimes the very rare pocket included on an item of women’s clothing won’t even have room for a phone, let alone anything else.

Although the issue of pockets may not seem very important in the grand scheme of things, and, well, it isn’t, it is still very important to consider. The lack of pockets on women’s clothing is no coincidence; it all stems down from the heinous gender conventions which have been restricting and burdening women for centuries now.

It all boils down to the idea that women dress for beauty, while men dress for utility, as posited by chelseagsummers[1]. This also explains why the pockets that are included on women’s clothing are borderline useless, or in many cases, simply an aesthetic façade, as men’s pockets are made to aid them, while women’s pockets are made for decoration. I can’t even begin to count the amount of clothing items I have with fake pockets, or pockets so small that nothing fits into them except my hand.

Logically, I know that there were multiple reasons that contributed to being stuck in the back of the mosh pit, but never in my life did I suspect that the lack of pockets on my dresses would be one of those reasons!

Frankly, after being snubbed at a Phoebe Bridgers concert, of all places, I’m tempted to pile together all the clothing I have with no pockets or shit pockets and light them up, but sadly I would then only be left with one pair of denim overalls. Maybe I should’ve worn those to the Phoebe Bridger’s concert?

So…pockets. Hate ‘em, or love ‘em, they serve a purpose. They also serve as a reminder of how far our society has to come in liberating women from the silly centuries-old gender norms holding us down till this day.

by Nilab Siddiqi

[1] chelseagsummers. “The Politics of Pockets.” Vox, 19 September 2016, https://www.vox.com/2016/9/19/12865560/politics-of-pockets-suffragettes-women

GENERATION OF GIRLS: FIVE RISING GIRL GROUPS CHANGING THE KPOP SCENE

Timothee Luong breaks down the rising stardom and talent of Kpop bands, sharing song recommendations and descriptions and spreading a wider appreciation for kpop artists and fans worldwide.

Until recently, Kpop (short for Korean pop music) was once thought of as three things: eccentric and bubblegum, a knock-off of Japanese pop music, and a hobby exclusive to teenage Asians. But since the rise of household names like BTS and Blackpink, the Hallyu wave has garnered millions of listeners worldwide from outside its traditional demographic, including in Australia.

However, while most people are aware of the top two powerhouses, there are other fresh names in the past two to three years who are making waves in the scene, with unique sounds that differentiate them from both Kpop colleagues and Western counterparts. From bubblegum

to RnB, from HipHop to EDM, these girl groups serve a diversity of flavours and emotions to audiences, changing the face of Kpop one song at a time.

Note that this is not a ranking of any kind, and that the groups and their songs included on this list were chosen by the author as a personal recommendation.

NewJeans

The five-member girl group that came fresh out of the oven this August 2022 are slowly becoming the next icon for their generation. Their surprise debut EP New Jeans produced two hit songs “Attention” and “Hype Boy,” which are still keeping Korean music charts under a chokehold. If you’re a fan of RnB and HipHop with a minimal and nostalgic taste and cinematic music videos, NewJeans is the group for you!

• Company: ADOR Labels (under HYBE Corporations)

• Members: Hanni, Minji, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein

• A must-listen song from them: “Ditto” (2023)

STAYC

Having debuted at the same time as several girl groups from bigger companies, StayC has been able to maintain their popularity thanks to their bright and bubblegum sound that embraces an authentic girly and youthful image. Their music is just the perfect soup whenever you’re feeling down and need an extra cheerful song to lift up your mood. They also have some of the catchiest choreographies that you can easily move along!

• Company: High Up Entertainment

• Members: Sumin, Sieun, Isa, Seeun,

• Yoon, J

• A must-listen song from them: “ASAP” (2021)

LE SSERAFIM

These five ladies are on their way to become the femme fatale icons of their generation. While being under the same HYBE family as NewJeans, their discography is completely different and has a more mature and sensual tone. If I had to compare them to a Western artist, the closest person would probably be Olivia Rodrigo in her SOUR era, but with extra sexy and badass energy.

• Company: Source Music (under HYBE Corporations)

• Members: Sakura, Chaewon, Yunjin, Kazuha, Eunchae

• A must-listen song from them: “Blue Flames” (2022)

aespa

aespa’s debut was the experience that made the year 2020 a whole lot more tolerable. They have a unique futuristic artificial intelligence concept, with a highlydeveloped and invested storyworld. Their music is heavily influenced by EDM, trap and HipHop with plenty of singing raps. Also, they’ve inherited from predecessors of the same company an interesting style of mixing different genres into one piece of music, essentially creating “songs within a song.”

Company: SM Entertainment

Members: Karina, Winter, Giselle, Ningning

A must-listen song from them: “Illusion” (2022)

VARIEGATED VARIEGATED

NMIXX

A controversial choice to put on this list, as NMIXX’s music is definitely not public-friendly. It’s loud and chaotic, but also bright and fun. Their songs are also well-known for super high notes and backbreaking dances. I’d recommend checking out their B-sides Tank or COOL (Your rainbow) if you’re not a fan of noise music - these are more toned down than their main tracks, but still kill it with some crazy vocals!

• Company: JYP Entertainment

• Members: Lily, Haewon, Bae, Sullyoon, Jiwoo, Kyujin

• A must listen song from them: “Tank” (2021)

Honourable mention: Kwon Eunbi (soloist)

Okay, technically I’m breaking the rules here because one, this is an article about groups, and two, I promised to write about five only.

However, I can not stress enough how terribly lacking this article would be if it didn’t mention THE upcoming queen bee. Eunbi’s discography is an underrated gem filled with godly and seductive music that’ll make you want to break into dance (probably because it’s so influenced by House and UK Garage). She serves the anti drop the justice it deserves.

• Company: Woollim Entertainment (under SM Entertainment)

• A must-listen song from her: “Glitch” (2022)

by Timothee Luong

All images sourced are courtesy of each group’s respective companies. Ent. is short for Entertainment.

Logo credits:

• NewJeans: ADOR - HYBE Ent.

• LE SSERAFIM: Source Music Ent.HYBE Ent.

• StayC: High Up Ent.

• NMIXX: JYP Ent.

• aespa: SM Ent.

Image credits:

• NewJeans: ADOR - HYBE Ent.

• LE SSERAFIM: Source Music Ent. - HYBE Ent.

• StayC: High Up Ent.

• NMIXX: JYP Ent.

• aespa: SM Ent.

• Kwon Eunbi: Woollim Ent. - SM Ent.

A POCKET GUIDE TO THE CONTENTS OF MY POCKETS

Sit back and relax as Liana Naidu tells you exactly what pockets are good for!

Like many women, I am frequently frustrated by the lack of pockets in my clothing. But have you ever found yourself at a loss on how to utilise your pocket space on the rare occasions that it does exist?

At my high school, students were required to wear a blazer as part of the uniform, and while some complained about it, I was incredibly grateful for the blazer’s five pockets, and took full advantage of them. I filled those pockets with every item I could possibly need, inadvertently building the reputation of the friend with all the supplies. For instance, one day a friend asked me for a screwdriver completely out of the blue. While I didn’t have one with me, it wouldn’t have been that out of character for me if I had.

Looking back, everything I chose to keep with me was, in some way, a reflection of the needs, ambitions and priorities of the girl I was in high school. So, I figured I would take you on a guided tour of the contents of those blazer pockets and provide my rankings and recommendations for how you might want to stock your own limited pocket space.

An incomplete inventory of my high school blazer pockets:

• Pens and other stationary – 9/10: It’s always good to have a pen in your pocket or several. I also tended to carry different colours as well as a pencil and highlighter.

• Lolly stash – 4/10: This wasn’t a packet of lollies, but rather a collection of assorted individual lollies I had collected over months and stashed in a Ziploc bag in case of an emergency. This was perfect for when I, or a friend, was having a bad day and in need of something sweet. Would I recommend lollies? Yes. Would I recommend storing them like that? Definitely not.

• Scrap paper – 9/10: You never know when you’ll need to urgently write something important down.

• Handwritten notes and reminders – 8/10: So, I think I may have had a minor hoarding issue because I virtually never threw any scraps of paper away. I would use the backs of handouts and old assignments to write down schedules and to-do lists, densely packing every available space with ink.

• Pads – 9/10: Definitely important. Even if you don’t need one, a friend probably will.

• Receipts – 2/10: Although none of these receipts were important, I kept them. This inevitably ended with me discovering a stack of faded records of my life whenever I emptied my blazer pockets at the end of the term.

• Spare blazer fabric – 3/10: This came with the blazer, and so I left it there in case I ever needed to mend the blazer. Unsurprisingly, this never happened.

• Sheet music/lyrics – 7/10: As a result of doing some extra-curricular music over the years, I was constantly shoving sheet music haphazardly into my pockets or bringing annotated lyrics to rehearsal with me. Although it took up considerable space, I highly recommend making room in your pockets for your hobbies and interests.

• Calculator – 7/10: While I didn’t carry this constantly, as it was quite bulky, I highly recommend carrying the tools needed to quickly solve problems with you at all times.

• Student ID Card – 6/10: My student ID permanently resided in the breast pocket of my blazer, and while I rarely needed it, good-natured mockery of our school photos provided me and my friends with endless entertainment.

• A few coins worth of change – 7/10: Whenever I received change from the canteen, I would store it in my pockets until I had enough to treat myself to a Maccas run.

• UN Charter – 8/10: This is probably the most unusual item in this inventory. On a school excursion, I was handed a copy of The Charter of the UN, which then stayed in my blazer for several years. While I was mostly keeping it so I could tell people I had the UN Charter in my pocket, I also think it serves as a good symbol for constantly having a reminder of your rights, and everyone else’s, with you.

• Keepsakes from friends – 10/10: As cliché as it is, holding tightly to solid friendships, particularly when things feel unstable, is crucial. I was lucky enough to have incredible friends in high school, so it’s no surprise that the notes, drawings, and souvenirs we gave each other had a way of staying with me for a long time.

And there you have it, some humble suggestions for how you might take advantage of your pocket space directly from my teenage self. Whether or not you found anything useful, thank you for indulging me in a journey through my high school memories.

by Liana Naidu

EXPLORING FEMININITY AS A YOUNG, FEMALE ARTIST

Contributing artist Maggie Ellis invites us all to witness the staggering emotion involved in bringing her art to life.

The image of the muse: a woman, sitting silently, as the male artist is inspired by her. This image is deeply ingrained in contemporary art culture, although the implications of said image are often dismissed. Man creates, woman inspires; man is the maker, woman the vehicle of male fantasy, an object created by the male imagination, incapable of any kind of agency herself. The image of the muse denies women’s active participation in artistic creation and completely silences female creativity. I created my artwork, The Muse, in an effort to reclaim this damaging, contemporary image and to act as a representation of female capability and strength.

For me, being an artist is about so much more than just putting pen to paper. Over time, my diary has taken the form of a canvas, and my art has become an expressive and raw reflection of my thoughts, experiences, and emotions. Within each piece I create, I feel an innate calling to explore and represent the female experience. As I create, I often find myself reflecting on my own ideas of the feminine experience. What does it really mean to be a woman? Throughout my creative process, I look for ways to embody my interpretation of the feminine experience and express a unique representation of the world, shown through the eyes of a woman. Many of my artworks are inspired by my own lived experiences as a woman, although I often also find myself intuitively being inspired by the stories of women around me. Through my art, I aim to dismantle the societal expectations which aim to limit and restrict the conception of what a woman is and instead try to represent women as the complex, layered, and powerful individuals they are, and have always been. The purpose of my art is to challenge the representations and expectations set by society for women to follow,

whilst simultaneously exploring elements of the feminine experience.

interactions, and energy, instead of actions and sexuality. The concept of the female gaze inspired my artwork, I see you, seeing me, which represents a woman’s pursuit to be perceived through the female gaze, to take agency over her own identity and to feel seen, appreciated and loved as her most authentic self.

that they are asked to complete tasks which offer no reward or recognition, nor do they have an influence on the progression of their career. Learning this caused me to feel angered, frustrated, and disappointed. However, some of my best artworks came to fruition as a result of me feeling these emotions. I created my artwork The Fruits of Her Labor after I came to an important conclusion about the research I had conducted. The expectation of women to disproportionately complete non-promotional and ‘thankless’ tasks was representative of one thing…that we have a right to our labour, but not to the fruits of our labour.

i see you, seeing me. 2022. Acrylic paint,

An ongoing concept in many of my artworks is the idea of the female gaze. Our inherent need as humans is to be felt and seen as our most natural selves. The female gaze is a nuanced concept; it is an ever-changing quest of discovery for a deeper feminine experience, one that doesn’t focus on what the eyes can see, but what the heart can feel. The female gaze looks to evoke emotions and feelings, focusing on touch,

I want my art to encourage people to embark on a journey of emotive feminine reflection, to consider what femininity and womanhood means to them, and to encourage them to delve deeper into their inner conscious, with the hopes that they walk away from my art feeling empowered and inspired to continue down a path of self-exploration.

Within my attempt to explore the feminine experience through art, I often find my artworks being inspired by the oppression, discrimination, and poor treatment of women. I am yet to meet a woman who has not in some way been affected by the expectations and norms set out for her by society. As a Gender Studies major, my degree, and the research associated with it, often inform, and inspire my artworks. Whilst researching gender bias within the workplace, I was inspired to create an artwork which was based on gender differences in accepting and receiving requests for non-promotional tasks. My research suggested that women are disproportionately asked to complete non-promotional or ‘thankless’ tasks in the workplace, meaning

As I continued on my journey to create artworks that explore the feminine experience, I felt inspired to create an artwork that represented a transition. This transition being a woman’s journey from girlhood to womanhood. The goal was to symbolise the closing of one chapter and opening of another in one’s life. And so, The Last Supper was created…a symbolic depic-

acrylic paint pens.

The Fruits of Her Labor. 2023. Acrylic Paint on Canvas.

The Last Supper. 2023. Acrylic paint, watercolour markers, coloured graphite pencils, acrylic paint pens.

tion of a ‘final meal’ between one’s inner child and their present self, a meeting which represents healing, transformation, and growth as girl becomes woman.

The idea of womanhood is one I have often struggled to grasp. In this new age of feminism, women no longer accept being defined by a set of physical characteristics or personality traits, nor through fixed societal roles. But if womanhood is no longer defined by these dimensions, is there some other element shared by women which defines womanhood? Again, I found myself asking, what does it mean to be a woman? What unites us? After exploring these questions further, and symbolising this exploration through my art, I came to a conclusion…perhaps trying to find a singular explanation and definition for womanhood is the wrong approach. Perhaps, instead, womanhood cannot be defined.

Perhaps, our lived experiences as women, is in the end, what defines womanhood.

Perhaps experiencing life as a woman is what it means to be a woman.

by Maggie Ellis

The Muse. 2022. Acrylic paint, acrylic paint pens, colored graphite pencils.

About the Artist: Maggie Ellis

Instagram: @bymaggieellis

Website: https://bymaggieellis.wixsite.com/maggieellis

Contact the artist via Instagram DM.

REPEAT OFFENDERS

Go To: Mary’s Burgers/Underground

On 11 December 2022, Frankie’s Pizza was made to close (real live tears are rolling down my face into my nose and lungs and I drown) for the new Sydney Metro. The underground bar and pizzeria was a cult fave rave cave, target demographic being eyelinergoth-dad-rock-platform-Doc individuals looking to “get fucked at Frankie’s” till 3:30 in the morning. If you happen to enjoy any of the aforementioned, you too would have enjoyed the venue, or it’s likely you’ve already grieved over its passing. So, why am I mentioning this dead business then? Because it’s time to move on. A new place of refuge is needed for the people who still pretend outcast edgy culture is cool.

So go to Mary’s Burgers.

Mary’s Burgers is a small chain restaurant that currently has sites in Circular Quay, Newtown, Castle Hill, CBD Castlereagh, and the Entertainment Quarter, the biggest of which is in Circular Quay with the at tached Mary’s Underground. Here, you can find the restaurant located a couple blocks away from the water featuring a giant glowering sign that reads “RATPISS”, with the live music ven ue downstairs. I’m not going to say it’s a re placement for Frankie’s, but it definitely has the same energy (hanging dried flowers, weird melted candle pile), and it’s good to support small businesses that hav en’t yet been run over by the Sydney Metro. You will spend $25 on one burger meal, but who doesn’t in the city, and the good news is that every thing (everything) on the menu is avail

Love, Loss and What I Wore: An Ephron Review

able as vegan, so you’ll never again have to pick away at plain chips or a sad bowl of lettuce for dinner when you go out for girls’ night. Also, their meat is halal, which is winner winner winner winner winner x50.

As for the Underground section, it’s cosy but organised, with a big fuck off bar to the side and a sunken-in dancefloor in front of a small main stage, where they do both live music and repeat nights. It is a tad bit too loud even for a club, because the speaker’s fucking shoulder height in a closed-in space, but it’s a good atmosphere, it doesn’t feel like you’re going to be assaulted. So, bring earplugs if you care about your health. Or don’t. Also, for an underground ven ue, it’s not too crowded, though that might change as the business grows. Not sorry for this article.

They also do Doordash and Uber Eats if staying at home is more your scene. Go support them right now now now now or on the weekend when you have a girlies’ night next.

https://www.marys69.com/

Grapeshot’s new Repeat Offender, “Go To”, supports local venues and businesses. If you’re a local venue/business looking for a boost, you can contact us at grapeshot@mq.edu.au

by Clara Kristanda

Bras, prom dresses, and mother/daughter relationships – oh my!

Love, Loss and What I Wore, a play written by beloved Ephron sisters Nora and Delia, encompasses the turbulent experience of transitioning from girlhood to womanhood. The bildungsroman of femininity is told through a series of monologue-esque vignettes from our leading lady, Gingy. However, the stories of other women are also interwoven in ‘Clothesline’ scenes in which various women air out their dirty laundry for readers and viewers to nod along with familiarity and understanding.

A reflection of life through articles of clothing imbued with memory-specific events, the play identifies the significance of clothing in one’s self-expression and identity. It takes fashion seriously, identifying how it relates to and affects various relationships – whether platonic, romantic, or maternal. As Gingy finds herself and refinds herself through clothing, we gain insight into the feminine experience. One of the ways this is achieved is through mothers – let’s face it, they’re always either our greatest supporters or our harshest critics. Sometimes they’re even both, and often the change from one to the other comes without warning. Nora and Delia Ephron describe this shift so viscerally, whether it’s when buying your first bra, choosing a dress for the school formal, or buying that risqué top on that unsupervised teen shopping trip. However, they also identify mothers as our greatest teachers; the ones who have all the answers to the irrational fear of “pendulum breasts”, the desire for “plastic balloon inserts”, and whether you do in fact look silly wearing that on your head.

Based on a selection of short stories by Ilene Beckerman, the adapted play introduces a playfully comedic twist that the Ephrons are known for. Despite the comedic aspect brought to Gingy’s story, a sense of vulnerability is maintained throughout, inviting readers and viewers alike to empathise with her experience. Each monologue is sincere and well-crafted, in a way that I can describe as nothing but delicious. Though first written in 1995 and then adapted in 2008, the play still holds great resonance in our contemporary context and speaks to wide audiences and tastes. The enduring nature of Love, Loss and What I Wore is a testament to the sisters’ undeniable talent and the raw depiction of femininity presented within each scene. This one’s a hard text to get your hands on, so I’ll let you in on a little secret: print copies are currently available from the Dramatists Play Service (dramatists.com).

Grapey Rating: 4.5/5

by Jasmine Oke

Finding a Frankie’s refuge?

Grapey Book Club: In Intimate Detail by Cora Harrington

Do you know how to find the best bra for your body type? Or the things to look for when buying vintage lingerie? Or what the best loungewear for your needs are?

Lingerie is such a big part of a woman’s life, and yet it is kept under wraps. It’s something we engage with daily, from the functional to the ornamental. From wearing bras during the day, to wearing pyjamas at night. To the hosiery we wear to keep the chill off our legs, shapewear we use to define our figure or that babydoll usually tucked away in a drawer and only taken out on certain nights.

In Intimate Detail was written by Cora Harrington, the founder of The Lingerie Addict which is the world’s largest lingerie blog and is a recognised authority on all things lingerie. I hadn’t heard about Harrington

The Lingerie Addict before reading this book; I stumbled upon it from a review on Youtube, and I was intrigued enough to give it a read – although I have to admit a large part of my curiosity was based on the impressive illustrations I got a sneak peak of online and its punny name.

In Intimate Detail was a unique experience and one that I wasn’t expecting. The illustrations are gorgeous, each section and each of the descriptions are accompanied by delicate but detailed watercolour renditions of ev erything from bras, to hosiery, to corsets, to various loungewear. The writing style is simple and easily digestible.

I’m always hesitant to read a non-fiction book—even one as beautiful as this. I thought I was going to be bored or I was going to read encyclopaedic information on bras, undies and camisoles. But I was wonderfully surprised by the mixture of history, fact and advice Harrington has put into this book. She doesn’t focus on either part long enough for it to become tedious. She moved through each section at a fast pace, giving the necessary information while keeping it entertaining. I quickly fell in love with Harrington’s writing style. She writes accessibly, so that anyone can understand, but the plainness never bores. Harrington mostly avoids using jargon, but when she does, she explains it simply enough that even a man could understand it.

The depth of the information Harrington provided also surprised me. For a book of less than 150 pages, there is a wealth of information packed into it. Each section explains a type of lingerie or experience, and is rich with nuanced information of each body type and situation. Another detail I like about this book is its inclusivity. Harrington has provided specific advice for a plethora of women and their concerns, including plus size-, maternity-, mastectomy-, skin sensitive-, augmented breast-, physical disability-, bridal-, and trans-concerns.

After reading In Intimate Detail, hadn’t the faintest clue of lingerie before, past the basic function of a bra. But since I’ve been enlightened, my experience with lin gerie has been less daunting, and more fun.

women. It’s an incredible resource; I have it tabbed and will definitely return to it in years to come. It’s a rarity that issues relating to differences in women’s bodies are talked about as if they’re normal. Overall, Harrington handles lingerie and related topics with directness yet grace, making In Intimate Detail an addictive read.

Grapey Rating: 5/5

by Lauren Grzina

POP

CULTURE REWIND:

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

As a teen movie, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants achieves what so many others don’t – it praises the centrality and multiplicity of girlhood. Directed by Ken Kwapis and based on the novel by Ann Brashares, the film is divided into four plot lines, following four completely different girls over their first summer apart. Throughout the summer, to commemorate their strong bond, they send around a pair of denim jeans which magically fits each of them perfectly. They ship the jeans from country to country along with a written letter about their best moments experienced while wearing the pants.

The mysteriously versatile jeans, found in a cute thrift store, are part of the genre of magical realism – realistically, such jeans are almost impossible to exist. But it is this magic of the jeans that acknowledges the different body types of every single girl and woman, grounding the four girls as utterly real and relatable, yet bonded by the magic of their friendship.

While the film is divided into four stories, the plot of each girl is not denied complexity or growth. Bridget (Blake Lively) is sent to soccer camp in Mexico for the summer. She’s also grieving the loss of her mother and grappling with her distant relationship with her father. She seeks attention and refuses to be mediocre on the soccer field. The romance between her and her soccer coach is so forced as to almost be cringeworthy – Kwapis portrays beautiful Bridget not simply as the “hot girl,” even though she does look slim and sporty throughout the movie, but as a girl who is struggling to feel comfortable with herself, struggling to fill the loss of her mother with the love of others.

Carmen’s (America Ferreira) summer takes her to her es tranged father’s house, where she discovers he has built a new family without her. He is due to get married; there are two blond, all-American teens lined up to be her step-siblings. Car men is Latina, and is very proud of her identity, but throughout the summer, she feels herself and her mother become more and more erased from her father’s life. The new family treats her poorly, she is body-shamed, and she ultimately feels more comfortable talking to the house maid than her soon-tobe step-mother. All summer, Carmen is faced with having to consider her culture and body a problem – but she never turns herself into her own villain. Her father remains the villain, she is constantly happy with herself and unhappy with her new family. Carmen retains the power for her and her mother.

Lena (Alexis Bledel), meanwhile, visits her grandparents in Greece. She’s an artist. During one of her sketching sessions, she meets Kostas (Michael Rady), who she later develops a crush on, and they fall in love. But Kostas is the grandson of a man who Lena’s grandfather has been feuding with for decades. She is forbidden to see Kostas again. The retrograde tradition of feuding families baffles Lena: she feels robbed of her own experiences and agency. The familial tensions become difficult to navigate. She has done something wrong against her family’s standards, but measured against her own moral compass she has only been a normal teen girl, and an honest one, too. Lena has to unite her love for her family with her new love for Kostas by confronting her grandfather and asking him to put aside his patriarchal rules, a difficult thing for a young girl. Lena is successful, her agency is retained.

Lastly, Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) begrudgingly has to stay in their hometown by herself for the summer. She fills her days by working at the grocery store and filming a documentary about ordinary people. She soon meets a young girl, Bailey (Jenna Boyd) who proposes to be Tibby’s camera assistant. Tibby is reluctant at first; she is annoyed she isn’t on vacation like the rest of her friends, and Bailey is clingy. But Tibby finds out that Bailey has cancer. This completely changes Tibby’s mood and perspective, and mundanity becomes very beautiful. Kwapis emphasises that to be a female main character, you don’t need to be in love or suffering or unreserved. Tibby treasures simple moments with Bailey, her summer becomes very meaningful to her. When her friends finally return from their vacations with their own set of problems, Tibby unloads a harsh criticism on them all, creating a fantastic dynamic

that is not usually portrayed in girl-ensemble movies. The awkwardness and honesty of this confrontation is mature and deeply realistic.

As the magical pants travel from girl to girl, the audience slowly receives the layers of these girls’ lives. The movie is a tapestry in this way, wo ven by the girls, their experiences becoming inextricable from one another yet entirely individualistic. Kwapis portrays four entire ly different girls in The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. Their girlhood is desperate, and greedy, and romantic, and bor ing. Above all, the movie makes its audience pray for such a good pair of jeans: that is a desire we can all unite for.

by Bruna Gomes

Guinea Pigs, Sex Addictions and Familial Trauma

At some point in 2022, I gave into the significant hype surrounding Phoebe Waller-Bridge and this weird show she had created, Fleabag. Those who have not watched the show have most likely come across at least one of the wildly popular moments from the show, such as the hot priest asking Fleabag to ‘kneel’, Fleabag’s sister sobbing over her ‘chic’ asymmetrical haircut, or maybe even one of the hundred clips of Olivia Coleman’s character or that dude from Stranger Things gently bullying our protagonist (antagonist? Both? Who knows). Suffice to say, the show is a wild hit.

It’s important to take a look at the origins of the show to understand why Fleabag is so renowned. The two-season series found its roots in a 10-minute monologue, written and performed by Waller-Bridge at a local fringe festival, which was so well-loved that, with the help of a Kickstarter, was developed into an hour-long one-person play, performed by Waller-Bridge at the Edinburgh Fringe’s Underbelly in 2013. [1] Three years later it was picked up by BBC Three and from then onwards, it was a critically acclaimed hit.

Although there are only 6 episodes per season, with each being less than 30 minutes each, Waller-Bridge has managed to pack every minute with entertaining, and heartbreaking, mania. Within the first episode, the audience is immediately introduced to some of Waller-Bridge’s stylistic choices, which emphasise the natural brilliance of the show’s focus on everyday, mundane life, such as: a consistent breaking of the fourth wall by Fleabag herself, lack of non-diegetic music and a lack of laugh tracks (thank you God). While these aren’t outlandish choices to make, they work together to really tie together the authenticness of the show, and the deep intimacy the audience experiences with Fleabag.

What we quickly learn about Fleabag is that she often uses sex as a coping mechanism, something continued in every single episode. Frequently jarring and often comedic, sex scenes are displayed throughout the episodes, and when we aren’t seeing the sex, we’re hearing about it through Fleabag, who makes it evident that she values sex so much

Why Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge is so well loved.

because she likes to feel wanted. Oftentimes, during these sex scenes, Fleabag breaks the fourth wall and speaks lengthily to the audience, creating this awkward, borderline cringe-worthy ambiance, which works so insanely well considering how awkward (and borderline cringe-worthy) the most intimate moments of our lives can be. This brings me on to my next point.

Over the 6 episodes, Waller-Bridge brilliantly manages to capture the natural awkwardness of day-to-day life. Whether she’s chatting to her sister, Claire, or flirting with her romantic partners, or even just reaching out to her father, Fleabag’s natural inability to have a normal, relaxed conversation is highly relatable and bloody entertaining to watch. This is a show which by no means is attempting to hide away the beautiful and disgustingly painful emotions so present in our everyday life. I think it’s one of the main reasons I love the show as much as I do.

Extending from this idea, the show also does an amazing job of exploring how fucked up relationships with friends and family can be. Every single one of Fleabag’s relationships are multifaceted, complicated. She doesn’t get along with her godmother-turned-stepmother, nor her emotionally stunted father, and to be honest she barely gets along with her sister or any of her romantic partners. The only person who understood her was her best friend, Boo, who we learn commits suicide prior to the onset of what we see on the show. Slowly we learn that it is this grief of not only losing Boo, but also the lack of a single stable relationship in her life, which causes Fleabag to act in the often transgressive way that she does.

I particularly enjoyed that we, as the audience, don’t really understand why Fleabag is the way that she is until the end of the season. From the beginning of the show Fleabag con sistently breaks the fourth wall, sharing the most vulnerable and awkward parts of life, giving us the false pretence of intimacy. But it isn’t until the very end that we see her breakdown and openly grieve the loss of every good thing she had in her life.

Even though she wasn’t doing too hot at the beginning of the season either, in the end she truly hits rock bot tom. She’s about to lose her failing guinea-pig themed café (dedicated to her depressed guinea pig, Hilary), she’s been betrayed by her sister, her father has snubbed her yet again, she’s been broken up with for about the hundredth time, and she still reels over the guilt she feels about her best friend’s suicide. And yet, we don’t have a neat little resolution, we don’t get a reconciliation, we don’t really get much at all. What we get is Fleabag, sitting broken at the table of her strange café, sitting across from some bank manager she had a fight with early on in the season.

Still, somehow, there is a deeply hopeful, comforting tone to that ending. Such is the brilliance of Waller-Bridge.

Fleabag is by no means a good person, but she also isn’t a bad person. WallerBridge’s genius in creating a character who is so deeply fucked up but also so deeply relatable will never cease to astound me.

I will leave you with one of Fleabag’s best lines: “Either everyone feels like this a little bit and they’re just not talking about it, or I am completely fucking alone.”

I give Fleabag a 10/10.

by Nilab Siddiqi

[1] Borge, Jonathan. “How ‘Fleabag’ Got Made.” Backstage, 25 June 2020, https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/howfleabag-got-made-70994/

REPEAT OFFENDERS REPEAT OFFENDERS

GRAPEY PLAYLIST

PORCKETS EDITION

The Man - Taylor swift

Sorry - Beyoncé

BIZOCOCHITO - Rosalía

Nobody - Mitski

Mr Valentine - YAZ

I’ve Got a Friend - Maggie Rogers

Head Alone - Julia Jacklin

Hold The Girl - Rina Sawayama

Seek & Destroy - SZA

Boy’s a liar Pt.2 - Pink Pantheress, Ice Spice

Mother’s Daughter - Miley Cyrus

King - Florence + The Machine

Mother Earth - BANKS

This Is What Makes Us Girls - Lana Del Rey

Go Hard - TWICE

Fearless - LE SSERAFIM

You Got Me -- Erykah Badu

Run the World (Girls) - Beyoncé

Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson

You Don’t Own Me - Kyla Jade

Nightmare - Halsey

Gypsy - Fleetwood Mac

Invitation - Ashnikko

Good Thing - Zedd & Kehlani

Girls Girls Girls- Fletcher

Material Girl - Madonna

About Damn Time - Lizzo

Lush Life - Zara Larsson

Yuck - Charli XCX

Just a Girl - No Doubt

Emily I’m Sorry - boygenius

A House in Nebraska - Ethel Cain

Ceilings - Lizzy McAlpine

Yoru ni kakeru - yoasobi

Wolves- Selena Gomez

Easy on me - Adele

Flowers- Miley Cyrus

Special - Lizzo

Pink Venom - BLACKPINK

Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen It All) - Lorde

For Her - Fiona Apple

Maneater- Nelly Furtado

Mastermind - Taylor Swift

For Good - from “Wicked”

Happier than Ever - Billie Eilish

Army of Me - Björk

STFU - Rina Sawayama

Fuck You - Lily Allen

mad woman - Taylor Swift

Woman - Doja Cat

Nothing New - Taylor Swift ft. Phoebe Bridgers

Fall In Love With A Girl - Cavetown ft. Orla Gartland

Strawberry Blonde - Mitski

Butch - Saint Motel

Aftersun: Recontextualising the Memories That Haunt Us

In the past, 11-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) went on a summer holiday to Turkey with her 30-year-old father Calum (Paul Mescal), determined to give her the best vacation possible. With MiniDV footage interspersed throughout, we observe, through Sophie’s eyes, the activities in her hotel, her loving interactions with her father, and her encounters with British teenagers and a boy expressing interest in her. Outside of Sophie’s perspective, there’s something off with Calum. Detached, depressed and lost in his struggles, Calum tries his best to hide his state through a façade of contentment. Because of Aftersun’s primary use of its child perspective, it’s hard to figure out what is happening with Calum and why he is this way. In its brief cuts back to the present, we see an adult Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) in a rave, disconnected and detached from the people around her. She sees a familiar figure in the distance: her father as she remembered him in Turkey – but it’s not clear. She tries to get closer to him, but she can’t. Once Aftersun returns to the past, we’re back in those memories, which have become a mystery for the audience to investigate.

Aftersun’s intentions are not clear until the finale. When they finally click, it’s a soul-crushing realisation. Throughout the first viewing, you only watch it through the perspective of young Sophie, recognising something’s off and waiting for that big moment to happen. Except, there isn’t one. The tragedy has already happened. Aftersun plays out as a series of memories unfolding through dream logic and never overdramatises its emotions or emphasises a sense of plot, instead presenting the small character moments and interactions as they are. Through its stunning, subtle, visual style and aesthetic storytelling, Aftersun develops a raw emotional complexity. On the surface, it seems tranquil, uneventful and peaceful, yet underneath these memories, there’s a gradual build of a melancholic undercurrent that gets underneath the viewer’s skin without suspicion.

Warning: This review contains spoilers for Aftersun.

To look back on old memories – to reflect on the beautiful moments, the carefree nostalgia, and how things have changed, for better or worse – can be a wonderful thing. There’s always a darkness to revisiting the past once you discover a new layer of context that you couldn’t have seen when you were younger. It can reframe that happiness into unresolved melancholy that now looms over those moments. You finally get the big picture, but there isn’t any full closure, and the true punishment is there can never be one. Things are just as they are.

This is a universal concept that hits hard at home, and it’s one that rising writer-director Charlotte Wells takes on in her feature debut, Aftersun. What makes it unexpectedly striking is how she utilises subtle, sensorial storytelling to portray a father-daughter relationship and not only captures its tenderness but transforms its ordinariness into such a unique connection to create an emotionally devastating experience.

It asks you to embrace these moments for what they are, and when Producer Director Gregory Oke’s masterful 360-degree final shot beautifully and crushingly shows you what Aftersun is about, it prompts a second viewing. One where you can no longer see it through young Sophie’s perspective but only through her adult self; maybe her father’s. Only through later viewings do you become more active in investigating clues, details, and visual symbolism that can explain Calum’s circumstances and what young Sophie missed out on, yet no matter how you look, Aftersun’s numerous loose ends prevent possible

“Still from Aftersun (2023) dir. Charlotte Wells”

“Still from Aftersun (2023) dir. Charlotte Wells”

answers from being concrete. Its many ambiguities are what make it crushing to watch. You’re left to empathise with adult Sophie’s unspoken despair that, despite trying to understand her father, she never can. The minimal number of scenes revolving around Sophie’s present speaks to how she clings to the past, trying to find closure for something that can never be gained. Much like how the minds of those around us are mysteries, we can never know our friends and family for what they are, all we can do is love them for who they are.

Aftersun’s ambiguities render its presentation of memories intentionally unreliable, cleverly realised by the emotional subjectivity of Wells’ filmmaking. In flashbacks of Calum alone, the misé-en-scene and blocking of his internalised, self-destructive behaviour and emotional distress, feel like Sophie’s interpretations of his emotional state. Through Wells’ use of space and dim colours, she highlights Calum’s isolation with his personal demons and his growing inability to fight them as Aftersun progresses through the journey and towards the inevitable doom of its finale. Whenever Wells returns to Sophie’s memories through her perspective, the colours flourish like revisiting the happiness of certain memories. The cinematography grows intimate to reflect her observational nature and previous innocence – even if she had a subconscious sense of her father’s issues. Wells’ contrast of Sophie’s youthful innocence against Calum’s emotional desolation highlights how her visual storytelling crafts the complex dynamics of her characters with such aching empathy and brutal honesty, that it’s painful to watch, but hard to look away from.

Between its subjective filmmaking, it finds a function for its MiniDV footage. Whereas human memory distorts and loses details over time, the camera acts as a tool of objectivity and captures a specific place and time. It is not only based in reality, but it preserves the people and the objects in them so that they are never forgotten. It is impossible to question the truth of Aftersun’s MiniDV footage, only that they bring us a step closer towards recontextualising those special memories and the unknowable. Its emotional function prevents the device from feeling gimmicky or distracting and instead builds upon its thematic layers of how we revisit memories through other means of evidence and recollection.

In the pursuit of emotional truth and closure, Wells finds the complexity in the performances and chemistry between Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal. Corio’s performance as Sophie brims with innocence yet maturity, and through her incomparable expressions and body language, she’s able to capture such raw and diverse emotions. Her face can say so much without uttering a single word. It is astonishingly nuanced for a child performance. But it’s Mescal’s performance that captures the understated tragedy of his role and provides a haunting depiction of the depths of depression. How he captures the pain of a father trying to keep up his crumbling veneer of happiness and charm, trying not to ruin things for his daughter, is hard to watch. His emotional intensity is repressed until

he lets it out at one point, alone in his hotel room. The audience is never able to fully understand his character, and Mescal uses that knowledge to deliver an empathetic performance. It makes the dynamic between him and Corio soul-crushing.

The authenticity and chemistry of their performance together lie in the emotional contrasts of both performers. Corio’s performance is full of curiosity, yet limited insight, and Mescal’s is full of helplessness, yet care. Every moment of theirs becomes significant in getting emotionally invested in their loving father-daughter bond, and even their rare dramatic moments don’t rely on over-cranked emotions. Instead, it’s the tender humanity of both leads that lets Aftersun explore its characters and discover the emotional depth of their lives.

This emotional depth is what makes Aftersun so overwhelming to watch. It will remind viewers of memories of their relationships; some that are great, others that are harrowing, but which altogether provoke an intensely cathartic reaction. Memories haunt us by bringing us back to the past, reminding us of times that have slipped away. Details fade and some answers can never be gained, but in the end, memory is where we preserve images of the people we love. It’s hard to reconcile these memories with who our loved ones truly were, and those feelings may always remain complicated, but to remember and miss them is to hold a place in our hearts.

That’s what Charlotte Wells perfectly captures. An intensely personal and unforgettable experience that leaves you a different person after the credits roll.

Score: 10/10.

by Nicholas Chang

“Still from Aftersun (2023) dir. Charlotte Wells”

ARIES

Take a step back, you’re confident in your own ways, but listening to what others have to say and witnessing your life from a third-person perspective is more beneficial than you might think.

HOROSCOPES

TAURUS

Take the new opportunities coming to light but be cautious of the danger they entail. Take a risk, give it a shot, it will be worth it.

GEMINI

It’s time for some self-care! Treat yourself, get to know yourself, your values and your mind. But caution: do not neglect your friendships or workload by prioritising yourself. Find the balance.

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CANCER

Your happiness has arrived. You deserve this, do not feel guilty for taking it but also do not smother yourself in your own success that you forget the people who brought it to you.

LEO

You’re balancing a lot on your plate right now and you have been doing so well. Do not overcommit yourself to impossible tasks. Do not forget your worth and let others spoil you from time to time, you deserve it.

LIBRA

It’s time to catch up with that old friend, they’ve been thinking about you. Give that person a second chance, remember who you once were, the past has a lesson for you to re-learn.

VIRGO

You’re glowing! Success is at your feet and other people can see. Be wary of the toxic people in your life and do not let them past your front door.

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SCORPIO

Love is in the air Scorpio! Either new romance will blossom or current romance will thrive. It’s a time to be sensitive and vulnerable in the romance world. Buy them flowers and remind them that you love them. “Them” can mean yourself.

CAPRICORN

Your New Year’s resolution is going to be paid off early. That love life you wanted, the attention you wished for, those HDs and that new job is coming to you. That doesn’t mean you should give up trying, listen to other ways you can better yourself further.

SAGITTARIUS

It’s time to put on your business cap. Opportunity in the workforce is growing and it’s important to stay focused, this means the ability to avoid the unnecessary. Stay out of drama and conflict targeting you, there are better things awaiting that require your attention.

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AQUARIUS

Good health and attitude is coming your way. Take this opportunity to get an early start with upcoming challenges.

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PISCES

You have come so far on your journey, but the journey never stops. The pathway your on has come to an end, it’s time to reset your mind and take on new attitudes and perspectives. Reflect on your actions and thoughts, adapt and set forth on the next step in your journey.

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