CATALYST: 'THE PASSION ISSUE', Issue 2, Volume 72

72

• Meet the women of Melbourne’s hardcore music scene • T he sex ed you should have had • Reviews, fiction and more!

facebook.com/rmitcatalyst

/ CONT E NT S /

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 1

6

13

13

12

17

18

ÂŁ23

NUMBER 1 FAN(DOM) 28c

$

$39

ONLINE FANDOM S

37 32

35 34

41 Catalyst acknowledges that this magazine was produced on the stolen land of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. We pay our

respects to their elders, both past and present. We also acknowledge the traditional owners of all the lands from the stories and artworks were sourced.

43 Catalyst is the student magazine of the RMIT University Student Union (RUSU). The viewed expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the

43 editors, printers or RUSU. All material remains the property of the individual writers and artists.

Catalyst reserves the right to

republish in any format. Copyright RMIT University Student Union 2016.

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

1 /

/ E D I TO R S ’ L E T T E R /

EDITORS’ LETTER We’re sitting in our office, booming Taylor Swift. We’re not proud of

ourselves, but we’re not entirely

and bloody brilliant people, places

be complete without our version of a

On page 25 you’ll meet gamers

emoji*. Skip to page 37 for all the fun

and things!

ashamed either. It’s a guilty pleasure

playing at the new frontier of

Tay during a time of need. I don’t

the face of modern gaming.

and we’ve all been there with Tay

know about you, but I’m loving

competitive sports, trying to redefine

more about asexuality and what it

contributions of our writers, designers

been at it all day, we still turn up to

might be liketo not feel much sexual

Because nothing inspires Passion

attraction at all.

Flip to page 41 to go behind

more than a printing deadline and

the scenes of Melbourne’s hardcore

of Catalyst.

introduce to some of the women

determination to bring you Issue 2 Welcome to our pick ‘n’ mix of

RMIT’s most interesting, obscure

taught in high school anyway.

This edition would not have come

Stainkamph on page 23 and learn

put this bad boy together. Why?

stuff you probably should have been

If that’s not your jam, join Max

finishing Issue 2.

When we’re low on Maltesers and

sealed section *winky face* *peach

together

without

the

fantastic

and visual artists. Please take a moment

to have a gander over theirpretty names on the next page.

music scene, and let Monique Myintoo

So stop listening to us! Flip the page

making waves on stages across the city.

contained in these pages and we’ll

Of course, a passion issue wouldn’t

and discover all the great stories catch you for Issue 3!

Claudia, Katie and Nathan

EDITORS

Monique Myintoo

VISUAL

Alisa Kah

Sammi Taylor

COVER ART

Claudia Long

Helena Ruse

CONTRIBUTORS

Claudia Long

Max Stainkamph

Nathan Brown with

Katie Coulthard

Michael Crane

Monique

Antonietta

assistance from

Nathan Brown

Christopher

Myintoo

DESIGN

Melideo

Simon Ashburner

Lesson

Lisa Vu

DIRECTOR

OTHERS

WRITERS

Ben Madden

Josh Hattam

Hope Lumsden-

Evan Young

BACK COVER ART

Maggie Coggan-

Ollie Barnes

Bella Upward

Barry

Hugo Hodge

Hope Lumsden-

Gartlan

Jen Park

Justyne Allen

Devon Nichol

Claudia Long

Chloe Caday

DESIGNERS

ADVERTISERS

Max Stainkamph

Katie Coulthard

Hollie Johnson

Tristan Danino

Sydney Road

Belinda Atalay

Louise Angrillii

Chloe Caday

Elisa Rose Nuich

Brunswick

Anastasia

Hilarie Wei

Zoe Jackson

Michael Firus

Association

McInerney

Qian Foo

Nathan Brown

Michael McInnes

Officeworks

Vince Spotswood-

Asa Kremmer

Bridget Fejes

Jackson Holloway

Deanca Rensyta

Mia Christie

Rushton

Barry

Rochelle Kirkham

ART DIRECTOR

Mihardja

George Coltman

Farah Khalek

Alisa Kah

Elsie EL-Asmar

SUB-EDITORS

Bronek Kozka

Nicole Pereira

Abby Alexander

/ ST UDE NT L I F E /

RUSU President Says G’day words by Ariel Zohar RUSU President

How is semester one nearly over?

We’ve been alongside you every step

We aim to ensure your university

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 2

support and advocacy to students.

experience is the best it can be. Thanks

If you need help our advocacy team

to your feedback and our partnership

can provide clarity regarding RMIT’s

with SSCC course representatives, we

policies and procedures. Send an email to

have produced a list of Top 20 priorities

student.rights@rmit.edu.au or drop in and

in 2016 for the university. These include:

visit our offices to make an appointment.

• Improved timetabling • Improved Blackboard (learning management system)

While all our essential services are available free to students, we still

• Recorded lectures

encourage becoming a member for

• Timely assessment feedback

priority access to our events, fortnightly

100+ available clubs, looked out for your

We’re also excited to announce

newsletter, giveaways, exclusive member

student rights, handed you free food and

SNOOZE LOUNGES ARE COMING

only discounts and more. If you haven’t

partied alongside you as our activities and

TO CAMPUS! You can look forward to

already got your membership for 2016,

events continue to get bigger and better.

a quality nap in some quiet spots at the

get to it! It’s just $10 a year to reap all the

City, Brunswick and Bundoora campuses

benefits of membership and support the

sometime soon.

organisation that supports you.

of the way, as you’ve joined one of our

Here at RUSU, we’re here to support and assist you. We keep an eye on what the university is up to, consult proposed

It’s not all fun and games though.

changes and ensure the student body is

Students facing academic problems at

Get involved – We’ve been here since

getting a fair go. You can find out more,

RMIT can use our most important service

1944 and don’t plan on slowing down any

become a member and get in contact with

here at RUSU – our advocacy service.

time soon!

us at su.rmit.edu.au.

Student Rights Officers provide free, confidential and independent advice,

RUSU Media Officer Update words by Alan Padgham RUSU Media Officer

impactful change in themselves and

years, RUSU has worked hard to establish

their postgraduate community around

better representation for.

them. He has supported the personal and professional growth of over 100

HDR and coursework students by

postgraduate students through developing

lobbying hard for a research dedicated

innovative education programs for a vast

student rights officer and funding for an

array of graduate disciplines.

O-Book tailored towards postgraduate

On this front, he has also designed

students’ needs on campus. Equally,

and led unconventional ways to engage

study spaces are important and that’s

the postgraduate community.

why this department has ensured that the university has provided a dedicated

Re-elected in 2015, Paul Hoac has

postgraduate study space in Building 13.

worked as the Postgraduate Officer at

The unusual has become a tradition

RUSU to drive innovation and social

for most postgraduate attendees, familiar

change focused on special events and

with social events like ‘Speed-Friending’

While it is a young department, it is a

projects, alongside a range of programs

that leaves students only wanting more

growing and vibrant one with more than

and initiatives in the postgraduate

postgraduate events. It doesn’t seem to

200 subscribed members in the last year

context of 10,000 students across RMIT

stop here, last year offering the biggest

alone. The legacy and continued success

University.

social gala events on the postgraduate

of this department is a testament to the

calendar – The Postgrad Ball – alongside

significant leadership and innovation led

other universities in Melbourne.

by the passionate and hardworking team

Over the years, Paul has designed and led new ways of thinking to create

here at RUSU.

a unique and vibrant postgraduate campus life. Paul leads his department

At the same time, this department

and is passionate about people realising

also recognises that student experience

and acting on their potential to enable

must be taken seriously. Over the last few

3D-Print Your Next Project at Officeworks You’ve probably heard a lot

What you may not know is

The 3D Experience Centre, located

and benefit from 3D printing

store opened in June 2015. It’s the

about 3D printing. Scientists

that students can asily access

printer technology for many

technology here in the city. In

and building structures to

RMIT’s City campus is Officeworks’

have been using this specialist things from prosthetics

clothing and accessories.

at the Officeworks Russell Street

first of its kind for any major retailer

fact, just down the road from

in Australia, offering members of the

3D Experience Centre.

print 3D objects in one location.

So, how does it all work and how can you benefit from it?

public the opportunity to scan and

If you have the

software capability and

have produced a design yourself,

you can share your 3D file in-store and

create a three dimensional object or model

using a variety of materials. If you don’t have the software, but still want to get something

made into a 3D model, you can scan an existing product using the equipment at the Centre.

3D models and objects are printed layer

by layer using materials like plastic, resin,

SPONSORED ADVERTORIAL

powder and paper. The software ‘slices’ your digital file into super thin layers and then it’s ready to print – simple!

You can get anything printed, be it an

accessory for your fashion design course, a model for your architecture assignment or even a figurine of yourself if you fancy.

With courses requiring students to not

only show innovation but also bring their work to life, 3D printing technology is becoming a staple for many subjects.

It’s fine if you’re not very tech-savvy as the team at the 3D Experience Centre can

guide you through the whole process,

offer advice on which materials are best suited for your model and also talk you through different budget options.

Student Review

Catalyst’s own Charlotte Whittle - accessory designer and student at RMIT Brunswick I wanted to explore what the 3D

It is incredible how detailed some

When I arrived at the store I was

Scanning the object was pretty easy and

how I could utilise it as a student.

met by 3D Printing Specialist, Xiao

Ooi, who eased me in and talked me through the 3D printing process – I

informed her I was keen to create a 3D model of one of my bracelet designs.

As I didn’t have a pre-made 3D file I

would be best for the printing itself.

I’m really excited to see the

to produce. Having a 3D digital scan of

placing the object on the scanning

switch up my design in the future, too.

computer – she made it look so easy!

a visit to the 3D Experience Centre,

While my bracelet was getting scanned and started to virtually form on the

computer screen, I had a quick look

take between 1-2 weeks

my bracelet also gives e the option to I would definitely recommend paying

especially if you study a subject where this type of technology is forming the curriculum, like design, engineering, architecture and fashion. With

into the 3D mini-me scanner. This is a

affordable printing options and

that capture your whole body to create

really student-friendly.

small room covered in 154 cameras

a model figurine – I will definitely be

specialist help, the Centre is

coming back soon to try that out.

less than a kilometre

I also checked out the rest of the

city campus in the

of models on display

heart of the CBD.

Xiao showed me how it looked on the

screen and we discussed what materials

the machines look super technical,

mat and jumping onto the 3D printing

away from RMIT’s

didn’t take long at all. When complete,

end product, which should only

but Xiao worked her way through

The Officeworks 3D

of the objects actually are.

needed to scan my bracelet in store to get the digital scan. At first sight

Experience Centre is

the machines that created them.

Experience Centre had to offer and

Centre, which has hundreds alongside

Drop in any day of the week at 271 Russell Street to check it out, or jump on the website to find out more www.officeworks.com.au/print/ print-and-copy/3d

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

5 /

Words by ABBY ALEXANDER

/ ST U D E NT L I F E /

What are your rights at work?

Internships are important: they give you a taste of what a 9-5 work day feels like in

your chosen field and also help you make vital decisions as to whether you’ll actually enjoy and be interested in the reality of your future career. Between gaining ‘on

the job’ experience and networking opportunities, having a bit of work experience is invaluable for when you finish your studies and have to look for a job in the real world. In some courses at RMIT, internships are actually compulsory and for good

reason! But in the murky underworld of unpaid internships, it can be hard to know your rights—what you can and can’t be asked to do, especially when you’re not

receiving remuneration. So, from one student to another, here’s some guidance...

Unpaid Internships:

Why should you do an internship?

These can be tricky– generally most unpaid internships

Internships are priceless: good ones will not only set you up

are legal, but occasionally an organisation will

with excellent industry contacts, but they will also allow you

overstep the boundaries and therefore you have

to get a feel for the industry you will one day be working in.

the right to request payment for your work.

If any of these sound familiar, you should

Plus, most organisations hate advertising for jobs. Going

probably be getting paid:

through applications is tedious and training new staff

•

The internship goes for a significant amount of time

is time consuming and costly. Instead, people who are

•

You are required to come into the workplace

hiring for new positions tend to look for talent they know

often (more than 1-2 times per week)

already exists. People they have trained themselves!

• •

You are tasked with doing a significant amount of productive work for the company

Getting the most out of an internship

You are no longer studying at a tertiary institution

It’s not just up to the business/organisation to make sure

However, unpaid internships can be done both

you get something out of your internship—it goes both

legally and ethically, with a good outcome

ways. An office environment that sees 50 interns per year

for the organisation and the intern.

is unlikely to remember every single one. Make an effort to distinguish yourself– ask for extra work, introduce yourself to

In these instances, your work can include:

your fellow colleagues and develop relationships with them.

•

The opportunity to network with various people in the organisation

Keep those relationships going, an email every few weeks

•

The opportunity to be mentored by a particular

and a coffee date every few months could be the difference

person or department

between you and someone else getting that dream job.

•

The chance to carry out various tasks in order to increase your employability

•

Fulfilling practical learning outcomes and often receiving university credit for your time on the job.

/ ST UDE NT L I F E /

Words by HILARIE WEI QIAN FOO

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

Living and studying abroad is hard as an international student. Food

is cheaper back home. Not that I would compromise on a shower, but

I do have to be mindful of my usage of electricity and water. On many

occasions, I have been tempted to order take away. It takes mental effort to convince myself to cook. Not to mention I live alone, who is to split grocery costs with me? Hailing from sunny Singapore, I spend hours

online looking to buy cheap and chic winter wear. Sticking to the budget is hard. Spend more on one thing, compromise on the other. Here’s an insight into some of the costs facing international students like myself.

AT THE TIME OF PRINTING $1.00 AUD = $1.05 SGD MELBOURNE TRAM TICKETS

3.50 FLAT (out of free tram zone, even one stop)

SINGAPORE Adult: 1.60 AUD (one stop) Concession: 0.6 AUD (one stop) AT MOST: 3 AUD (the more stops the more expensive) We don’t have trams. Only buses and trains

ACCOMMODATION PRICES

WEEK

MONTH

532 AUD - Single Room Apartment

3000 AUD - 2 bedroom apt: 2

(furnished/own bathroom and kitchen utilities

washrooms+bedrooms/1 Kitchen+sitting room

included) with SECURITY/POOL/GYM 1.6k AUD - living in hall-single room 358 AUD - Cheapest decent single room

(shared kitchen and toilet)

(furnished/own bathroom and kitchen) Utilities not included/NO SECURITY/POOL/GYM

STUDY COSTS

Media course 3 years full time

Business course 3 years full time

undergrad: per year $25,920 AUD

undergrad: 10k AUD per year average

Local students-6.5k aud

/ 6

7 /

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

/ AR C H I T E CT U R E /

Art by

JOSH HATTAM

/ A R C H IT E CT U R E /

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 8

Architecture – Degradation & Deterioration Words by

ASA KREMMER We are all products of an ever

changing environment to some extent, in the way that our daily lives and passions see change

in our built landscape over time.

Because there is such an array of

settings - some formal and some informal - how might the role of degradation and deterioration

in architecture inform the spaces themselves? Thinking carefully

about the role of design, I believe

it offers choices and enriches how we shape our built environment.

The idea of a formal man made

landscape intentionally concealed

to appear more “natural” challenges how we perceive and understand surrounding environments. What spaces do we move through in our day to day routine that are

constructed to look real? What is

“natural” itself? What would it mean for a landscape to be “natural”

or “wild”? This sparks the classic

thematic of “is this real life? Or just fantasy? Caught in a [landslide], no escape from reality…”

9 /

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

/ AR C H I T E CT U R E /

I lived for a number of years in

Hong Kong, a city where space is significantly restricted. The

unparalleled urban development

of land and increasing population has provoked community groups to lobby for an expansion of

public spaces. Leading to the materialisation of reclaiming

land from the Pearl River Delta.

The city’s rapid densification is

the result of a variety of decisions

focussed on increasing economic

activity through trade. Such unique circumstances created a micro city, with underlying informal

spaces that are both vibrant and stimulating on a human scale.

/ A R C H IT E CT U R E /

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 10

As a designer, I am fascinated by these informal spatial qualities.

In particular, I am intrigued by found site conditions of neglect and of voids.

The notion of vacant empty

spaces with decayed peripheries can be provocative.

Why are they empty? What potential do they have? What is the existing

ecology, and how should this relate to a future use of the space? This method of looking can create a

unique sense of memory. Although this is only the surface of what can

be discovered, and as time passes the deterioration of architecture can offer unique change in the

approach and program of these spaces, expanding and utilizing

how they form the built landscape.

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

11 /

/ ST U D E NT L I F E /

NORTH MELBOURNE: VINYL HEAVEN

1. Northside Records 236 Gertrude St. Fitzroy

The soul of Melbourne – Northside Records have been specialising in local and international

Words by EVAN YOUNG and HUGO HODGE

soul, funk and hip hop since 2002.

2. Crybaby 115 Therry St. Queen Victoria Markets

The vinyl revival is here to stay. Last year, sales of vinyl records in the US made almost $30million USD more than the country’s entire music industry made from streaming. The growing passion of collectors for their favourite format mean record shops in Melbourne’s north are also rising, and we at Catalyst have the pick of the bunch:

Sydney Rd

7

A must visit for any electronic music enthusiast, Cry Baby is run by local DJs and they stock a wide range of house and techno that will get any dance floor grooving.

3. Plug Seven 313A Smith St. Fitzzroy A record store for those who dig deep, Plug Seven stocks an extensive range of music from afro to alternative rock, boogie to Brazilian, dub to disco, jazz to Japanese.

4. Dutch Vinyl 269 Johnston St. Abbotsford These guys source mint condition records from places all over the globe (particularly the Netherlands, hence the name) and stock genres including pop, rock, soul and jazz.

Brunswick

5. The Searchers 93 Smith Street, Fitzroy A cosy record and bookstore near the corner of Smith

Melbourne CBD / City Fringe / Inner North

& Gertrude Streets, Fitzroy. Here you’ll find titles from just about any genre, and a host of turntables.

6. Vinyl Space 119A Johnston Street, Collingwood Thousands of eclectic records, CDs, books

88 Fitzroy

Elgin St

rS

t

QVM

CARLTON GARDENS

11

22

St

4

number of new pressings are rising.

556 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

55

Bursting with rare and hard-to-find titles, every Gertrude St

single record at this genre-spanning paradise comes with its own hand-typed description.

8. Polyester Records 387 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy A Melbourne indie icon since 1981, Polyester has

ing St

St

n St

ibitio

Exh

n St

nsto

t

th S

abe

Eliz en S t

t

mS

g St

Kin

s St

der

Flin

Que

St a Willi

ins

Coll

sell Rus

rk

Bou

Swa

e St

Spr

t

le S

sda

Lon

Johnston St

7. Round and Round

Victoria St

FITZROY GARDENS

e rob La T

Collingwood

Smith St

George St Gore St

Brunswick

Rathdowne St

ce

Lygon St

en

Swanston St

Sp

Peel St

Errol St

St

33 MELBOURN MUSEUM E

and cassettes. It’s mostly second-hand, but the

66

the best new and local releases in town.

/ ST UDE NT L I F E /

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 12

T H E Y S E E M E R O L L I N ’, T H E Y E AT I N ’ Words by FARAH KHALEK Food trucks of all cuisines and cultures have forever changed the idea

your truck and getting on with business. Operators face many

of gourmet take-away and revolutionised street food in Melbourne

obstacles when first starting out and as they move from suburb to

creating a new generation of dining.

suburb. Council restrictions is one such barrier.

Kebab stands, kiosks, food carts and ‘bustaurants’ may run

The main thing most operators wish they'd known before starting

globally, but the real star of the mobile meal game is the Food Truck.

a business on wheels is the amount of paperwork and regulations

Food trucks used to be a rare site. Once upon a time eating out

to apply for a permit.. While many councils welcome food trucks

meant munching at ‘brick and mortar’ style restaurants. But when

and the crowds they bring, some make it more difficult in order to

you’ve got just a measly one-hour lunch break, cheap, tasty eats are

keep competition fair. On the whole, most have a good relationship

the better option. In Rhode Island, after the first food truck came to

with their councils and others need not worry about this side of the

be, the world began to follow suit; run by passionate, driven chefs and

business as they operate on an event-to-event basis.

foodies, the trucks took on a cuisine or fusion and the craze eventually made its way to Melbourne.

The future of food trucks is looking bright and the potential for growth remains great. While some of Melbourne has seen and

Food trucks stem from the original concept of the food wagons

experienced food trucks in all their glory, some sides of the food

or ‘chuck wagon’, which littered American and Canadian streets back

capital, particularly out in the suburbs are yet to have the opportunity.

in 1866. Originally vending coffee, beans and biscuits the concept

Besides location, trucks have the potential to grow in terms of

has altered significantly since its humble beginnings. Nowadays, food

their ever-changing menus, offering revolutionary food and bringing

trucks typically host small menus with a variety of food from one or

our community innovative ideas like the Nutella donut that took the

many cuisines and operate from no set location, typically at events,

nation by storm and caused a shortage (yes, really) of the hazelnut

functions and food truck parks.

spread.

Food trucks work in a different way– travelling between

The team at King of Spuds believes catering and private functions

neighbourhoods creating convenient, accessible options when we

represent a new opportunity for food trucks. The team also points

need it most. The chefs behind some successful trucks in Melbourne

out councils will start to develop a more relaxed attitude towards the

including King of Spuds and Jay’s Yogurt claim they are successful

craze and begin to embrace and tolerate the industry. also point out

with those in 20-40 age bracket due to their ‘spending power’ and

councils will potentially have a more relaxed attitude toward this craze.

their desire to try something new.

Greek food from the Greek Street Food truck, Vietnamese from

After speaking to several ‘truckies’, it’s clear convenience does

the Nem n Nem truck, Mexican from the Three Amigos Fine Food

not hinder quality. Each chef works hard to ensure the same amount

Co. truck and Brazilian from Brazilian Bites truck, there is a truck for

of love and passion goes into each meal, exemplified by the team at

each cuisine. Burgers and shakes from Mr. Burger, American style

‘Fancy Hanks’ who pride themselves on the fact that they prep and

barbeque from Fancy Hanks, fries and shakes from Dude Food Man

smoke their beef brisket for over 16 hours.

and ice cream sandwiches from Biskit Bar, there is no doubt, a truck

Passion is a key driver of the chefs behind the truck window. The faces behind the ‘Food Truck Park’ bring the best of food trucks into the one place and bring culture to many events in Melbourne.

‘Operating a truck takes work, on-point cooking skills and a love of street food,’ admits one passionate roadside cuisiner.

for every craving.

Not sure what you feel like? Head down to ‘Welcome to Thornbury’, a permanent food truck park in Northcote with a different schedule of trucks each week or visit the ‘Food Truck Park’, both bringing some of the best mobile street food into the one spot for

Others believe the passion has to be there because operating a

you to go nuts. Keep an eye out for the ongoing and exciting events

food truck is a very ‘personal and hands on experience’ while those at

by the ‘Food Truck Park’ with past events including Uni night, Street

‘Jay’s Yogurt’ suggest a love of hospitality and sharing food with others

Food meets Street Art and the famous Food Truck Festival’.

keeps the fire burning.

Where do you find these trucks? With an app and a website

‘When you find something you love, passion comes naturally’.

hunting down and mapping the location of over 200 food trucks

Sometimes, it’s hard to keep the passion alive. Benign tasks like

for you, ‘Where The Truck’ will help you track down the closest food

marketing and social media promotion might be tedious, but are crucial for success. Without advertising location, no-one knows where your food is.

As you can imagine, setting up shop is not as easy as parking

trucks, wherever you may be.

Jump on board the trend, see what the hype is really about and experience this new way of feasting yourself.

13 /

faith sexuality dichotomy..reality

Words by DEVON WICHOLL, art by CLAUDIA LONG

Sexuality and faith have always been set as an age old

dichotomy. Like the forever opposing forces of Newtonian physics, one cannot have an action without an opposite reaction.

But is it though? Does such dichotomy really exist… or do

we merely think it exists?

to branch, she emphasized the notion of “all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals”, meaning that they generally accept sexualities beyond heterosexuality.

The notion of interpretation within the same groups of

religion also comes into play here.

Surely, the dominant interpretation of sexuality, especially

This idea of opposition between sexuality and faith really only

homosexuality, among the Christian faith is fairly negative, often

First and foremost we need to define the very notion of faith.

I came across an American Christian author by the name

exists in a world of ‘perceived reality’, instead of the real world.

being branded as a sin.

To some, it might be a bit of a redundant question but the more we

of Sandra Turnbull, whose entire book is dedicated to the

a synonym for the Christian Faith, especially that of the Orthodox.

or not, studying the Bible with a slightly different lens.

ask, the more we may come to realize that the word ‘faith’ is merely By no means am I suggesting Orthodox Christianity is not

a true faith, in fact, I would even go so far as to say it is perhaps the most prominent faith out there; but just because it is the most

visible form of faith out there does not mean that it is the only one.

To discover more, I scrolled through my Facebook friend lists,

looking for anyone who belongs to a different religion to mine.

redefinition of what is homosexuality and whether it is acceptable

She repeatedly argued that passage of Jesus Christ in

fact does not condemn the gay and the lesbians and instead advocated their equality.

Lastly, we also have to look into our approach to the

interpretation being made by other people.

I was born, raised and educated within the Christian

Then, I spammed them with passionate messages about how I

community. In fact, when I was still in high school, I was even

stance on sexuality.

participate, and lead, one of the world’s biggest Christian events,

wanted to know more about their religion, especially on their By the end of the day a few of my friends had contacted me,

and with a few coffee dates in the city and a slightly lighter wallet, I had a chat to all of them and to get their insights on faith and

made the Religious captain and represented my school to

World Youth Day in Sydney. And I did it all while I was open and out about my homosexuality.

As a Christian back then, surely, I was exposed to the same

their stance on sexuality.

scriptures and anti-homosexual interpretations, however, instead

question she put to me was “does your action hurt the wellbeing

I focused on other passages that emphasized love and compassion

One friend I interviewed was a Buddhist, and the first

of another person?”. It was made perfectly clear within the first

few minutes of our conversation that as long as one’s sexuality

of focusing on those passages and their ‘standard interpretations’, and I based my religious identity with them instead.

The bible is a massive text written by multiple people throughout

does not harm or negatively impact the wellbeing or autonomy of

decades, and of course as a result it is prone to different and sometime

My second friend took a slightly different approach, as she

find a single, cohesive standpoint on some topics throughout the

another person, it is perfectly acceptable.

was a practicing witch of the Alexandrian branch of Wicca.

Although the general approaches to sexuality differ from branch

even contradictory views and ideologies. It is almost impossible to Bible and the best we can do sometime is to find the passages that are most useful to us and base our identity on them.

Bridget Fejes

Tungsten

74

183.84

Hydrogen

1

H

1.00794

Astatine

85

At

(209.9871) Tellurium

52

T

127.60

S

Hydrogen

1

H

Manganese

Astatine

85

E

(209.9871)

25

Thallium

81

T

204.3833

/ SCIENCE AND INNOVATION /

54.938045

16

32.065

1.00794

Ma

Sulfur

Thallium

81

T

204.3833

Erbium

68

Er 167.259

Science demystified with Oliver Barnes Illustration by Bella Upward

NASA has recently developed some pretty cool photography.

Yes you read that right!

Photography:

it’s totally related to

what NASA are all about.

NASA (The National Aeronautics

and Space Administration) have been using the rather fancily named Schlieren photography

(pronounced

shleer-en;

/ CATALYST 2.72 /

W

German for “streak” photography), to

is an object flying faster than the speed of

faster than the speed of sound can

plane itself moving that fast, with thunder

better understand how jet planes flying minimise their sonic boom.

Everybody has experienced a sonic

boom at some point or another. When you

sound. In the example of a jet plane it’s the it is the air being forced by the extreme charge of the lightning out of the way.

To better understand this, we need to

hear those goddamn bloody jet planes at

lay some groundwork. Sound moves kind

about? Sonic boom. Gunshot? Sonic

pebble in a pond.

the Grand Prix that everyone complains boom. Thunder? And so on and so on.

Although you’ve experienced one, you

might not know that what you’re hearing

of like the waves created by dropping a You have the origin, in this example the

pebble, and the sound moves away from the origin at a certain speed in all directions.

/ 16

Now imagine I’m yelling at you across

that I’m running through would have to

you can hear me, but what you hear me

that would create a really big sound too.

a football field, assuming I’m loud enough,

/ CATALYST 2.72 /

saying wouldn’t quite match up with what you see me mouthing.

This is because sound moves at a certain

speed. I’m sure most of you know this but

move really fast to get around me and

nature of this type of photography it has

The effect it has is so drastic that it even

picture in a wind tunnel back at NASA

makes moisture condense out of the air if it’s humid enough.

It’s a huge problem for the not so

only been possible to take this kind of

HQ but, recently they have developed a way to use the sun or moon as the light source, making it possible to model it in a

bear with me, it’s important for the next part.

stealthy stealth fighters, kind of the

I was running and screaming at the same

So understanding how to minimise this

jets quieter also has an implication in the

the photography comes in. Schlieren

jump in a plane that travels faster than

So now imagine what would happen if

time, but instead of just thinking a maniac, imagine I’m moving faster than the sound that’s coming out of my mouth. What would happen?

Well, the sound waves would bunch

up and you’d be hit with all of them at once essentially, not only that but the air

/ SCIENCE AND INNOVATION /

Normally because of the very tricky

equivalent of a ninja with a bell collar. noise is important. And that’s where photography is a visual process that uses

a very bright light source and a dappled background to show the changes in

density of a fluid. Essentially it allows us to see the sonic boom.

real world scenario.

Understanding how to make these

private sector too, imagine being able to

the speed of sound and travel to Europe in a fraction of the time. Spike aerospace is currently developing a commercial

airliner that could travel from New York City to London in 3 hours.

WHAT’S THE MATTER: D.I.Y EDITION EQUIPMENT

METHOD

WHIP AND/OR TEA TOWEL COWBOY HAT (NOT OPTIONAL) INDIANA JONES LIKE PHYSIQUE (OPTIONAL)

FOLD YOUR TEA TOWEL INTO A TRIANGLE, AND USE YOUR THUMB AND FOREFINGER TO FOLD ON TO THE ENDS USING A CIRCULAR MOTION, WIND UP THE TEA TOWEL AS FAR AS YOU CAN QUICKLY FLICK YOUR WRIST *SONIC BOOM* IF USING A WHIP YOU DON’T REALLY NEED A METHOD FOR THIS ONE, JUST FLICKING A WHIP MAKES THE TIP OF IT MOVE SO FAST THAT IT CREATES AN ALMIGHTY CRACK! THAT MY FRIENDS IS A SONIC BOOM.

17 /

/ CATALYST 2.72 /

Fashion Showcase

Words by Anastasia McInerney | @anatasiamc_

Swedish-born Anna Lindell doesn’t cycle in Melbourne.

It’s probably down to the tram-bus-car-pedestrian situation. But while this 2015 RMIT Bachelor of

Fashion Design (Honours) graduate might not be

reinventing the wheel, she sure is repurposing the tyre.

The success of her graduate collection didn’t come from using traditional textiles. Walking into a bike repair

shop in Richmond one day, Lindell picked up broken rubber tubes and just started experimenting.

“I used to study a bit of sustainability and eco friendly approaches to living when I was younger, so it has always been an attractive aspect to me,” she said.

She ingeniously sliced down bike tyre tubes into smaller strips

and then into yarn balls. And although the baby powder stains RMIT, Lindell is making her own stamp on Australian fashion.

Lindell’s graduate collection landed her a spot on the

National Graduate Showcase runway at this year’s Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (VAMFF). Hand picked as one of the nation’s leading graduates, she was one of 12 to be nominated for the coveted title.

"YOU’RE NOT WORKING FOR A COMPANY TRYING TO MAKE MONEY. IT’S ABSOLUTE FREEDOM."

“It’s a time where you’re not pressed by the industry. You don’t

have to make money out of your collection, you’re not working for a company trying to make money. It’s absolute freedom.

Years and years from now I think I’d like to go back and look at other graduates and look at what they’re doing,” Lindell said.

Though Lindell may say she doesn’t like being the centre of attention, she’s been featured in Fashion Journal and Melbourne Girl. While others are jet setting overseas, Melbourne has the privilege of keeping Lindell close.

“I like Melbourne and their culture in arts and fashion, so I think I’m going to stay here for a little bit longer.”

/ FASHION /

from dusting her knitting needles may have left their mark at

threading f o r

cha

/ FASHION /

by Monique Myintoo (Twitter: @aumonique_)

nge

/ CATALYST 2.72 /

/ 18

with Fabric Social Tapping into existing on-the-ground projects, The Fabric

but to become proud and recognised for their soulful hard

Stepping away from the globalised, mass production

maintaining their own traditional practices, The Fabric Social

Social is creating a slow fashion movement that matters. of garments, their call resides in the prioritisation of sustainability, social responsibility and the eloquence of

modern design. Tucked away from retailers selling their latest trends at incredibly unfair prices, The Fabric Social

are passionate about empowering women in conflict-affected

areas. Birthed from the complex relationships of fashion and ethics; founders Fiona McAlpine, Sharna de Lacy and

Katie Rose set out to create pathways for women to not

only imbricate themselves as economically independent, Photography by Sally Ride, Elsie Al-Asmar

work. From cultivating the silks, hand-looming fabrics and supports not only the livelihoods of entire communities, but the conscious decision to celebrate environmentally sustainable clothing.

Welcomed into The Fabric Social sisterhood in 2013, current

RMIT student Ally Deam has found sanctuary and passion in designing behind the frontline of the brand. Interpreting

and challenging the possibilities of materiality. Ally has been acknowledged as a lead driving force, curating The Fabric Social’s first line of shirts alongside various other collections.

19 /

/ CATALYST 2.72 /

“All of our beautiful silk and cotton fabrics are sourced and woven by hand in rural Assam,” Ally said. “Whilst looms have

little differences to those used before the industrial revolution, the fabrics we create are made with a modern consumer in mind.”

With this in mind, Ally isn’t one to shy away from the hardhitting facts on how fast fashion is damaging the viability

of the industry. “Consumer power is real. The way we buy and what we buy has catastrophic impact on the environment and the countless thousands of workers in fields and factories

i l ity b i s on

.

esp

r

focusing on sustainibility, and social

the consequences of the decisions they make, from both lack

of knowledge on their behalf, and the industry’s unwillingness to be open about manufacturing and production processes.”

As both The Fabric Social and Ally recognise, these discourses encasing the fashion industry need to be addressed — or, quite

literally, undressed — to bring forth discussions and dialogue to an industry that’s tearing at the seams.

“Slow fashion means being aware of the way you consume fashion. The Fabric Social is about buying quality over quantity and developing a personal identity in fashion,” Ally said.

Finding this personality is what Ally does best; concerning her work around the growing amount of textile waste, both pre and

post-consumer form. Although minimising waste is a driving

force in her own practice, the fundamentals remain. How can we as individuals consume sustainably and ethically?

/ FASHION /

worldwide. Unfortunately, consumers are rarely made aware of

/ FASHION /

/ CATALYST 2.72 /

/ 20

minimising waste and emprowering communities.

As Ally articulates warmly, “In order for modern fashion

culture to change, consumers need viable alternatives to the more seductive and addictive forms of fashion which have become the norm. The goal of the Fabric Social, is to be

ethical, and be sustainable – but most of all, be fashion.”

Take a step in the responsible direction and learn

more about The Fabric Social at: www.thefabricsocial.com

21 /

/ 22

23 /

W or

ds

AS

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

/ F E AT U R E /

EX

by

M @M AX AX STA ST I N A I KA NK M AM PH PH

UA

Sex is fucking everywhere.

It is on our TVs, in movies and it’s mass selling

terrible, terrible books. It is on the lips of every boyband

and pop tween, covering every second billboard and advertisement. Plus, the whole porn thing.

You can’t avoid sex.

For most people, why would you want to? Intercourse

is arguably the most passionate a lot of people will be in their lifetime. It’s instinctive, primal and natural.

But what if it wasn’t?

For some, this world without sex, lust or romance,

without annoying and ill-timed boners, isn’t a hypothetical.

Katarina Kohn, or Kat for short, is 19. She identifies as

asexual, which put very plainly means she doesn’t feel sexually attracted to others.

She describes asexuality simply. “Some people like

coffee, some people like tea, some people like soda,

some people like two of the above or all of the above, but I don’t like coffee or tea or soda,” she says.

People who identify as asexual, like Kat, refer to

themselves as aces. They inhabit a broad spectrum ranging from those with no interest in romantic partners or sex to those who want a romantic relationship, but without

L

HE

AL

IN

G

She says it has only recently begun being recognised.

Dr Cass says it isn’t just the public who aren’t aware

of it, but “most professionals would have disregarded asexuality as asexuality” ten or twenty years ago.

There is also a struggle over the recognition

of asexuality. “We can take this back and look at

homosexuality in the 70s, there were some who accepted it, some who were fighting to accept it and some who felt really bad about themselves,” Dr Cass says.

Kat agrees. “Nobody knows what it is,” she says.

“The people who do know the definition often have

these archetypes in mind like Sheldon Cooper or Sherlock.

That’s not what real aces are like. We’re regular people.”

She says she’s had friends who struggle to accept it.

“About half of the friends I came out to already

didn’t believe me or didn’t validate me right away. One

insisted for weeks that I love sex and that if only I would do it, I’d love it just like she does.”

“She insisted that my very humanity was based in

sexual attraction - and desire and action - and to deny

myself of the opportunity to feel those feelings would be to strip me of my humanity.”

Kat says “my sexuality isn’t something people need to

intercourse.

know,” and while she feels comfortable talking to people

break-up. She hadn’t identified as asexual during the

community; her family, most friends, her church group,

Kat’s first experience with asexuality was part of a

relationship, but her partner thought she was an ace.

“He essentially broke up with me because of my latent

asexuality,” she says. “Turns out he’d been telling people he suspected it, though he didn’t ask me about it.”

who are asexual, she fears judgement from those in her but says a lot of her reservation is just who she is.

“I don’t want to walk around being the one with

something to say about myself and my experiences.”

Not all people accept asexuality this easily. Some

She ignored it at the time, but Kat’s curiosity got the

people struggle to come to terms with their asexuality.

“I went online and starting googling it, going on the

forums. They said they stumbled over the concept online

better of her.

asexuality subreddit, AVEN sites, and everything really resonated with me. I felt great knowing it was a real experience, not just me being weird.”

The study of asexuality is still in its infancy, but Dr

Vivienne Cass, currently teaching at Curtin University, has spent nearly four decades studying sexual identity and sexuality. She has also done a study of asexuality.

One such person goes by the name Carbon on reddit ace when they were 19, and after a few weeks simply realised

“holy shit, I’m ace”. “It took me a really long time to come

to terms about it too. I hated being ace so so much for

a few years, and I still do a little. I would frequently just get really drunk and cry about it because I was so afraid

of being broken,” Carbon says. Carbon, now 21, accepts being ace, “but damn, 19 year-old me was terrified of

/ FE AT U R E /

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 24

navigating through college completely alone because

or more categories at the most basic level of asexuality.

say. It was only after talking to a roommate about sex and

believe and what I’ve seen is people who call themselves

something that was normal.

come from any of those areas,” Dr Cass says.

no boy would date me because I wouldn’t put out,” they sexual attraction that they began to accept it could be Finding online places for asexuals, such as subreddits

and the online site Asexuality Visibility and Education Network (or AVEN).

Hence, she thinks the label is too broad. “So, what I

ace or are called asexual by a clinician, could actually She also says due to the lack of study in the area, many

people are mislabelled, or mislabel themselves.

Dr Cass says while labels can be good to provide

They say the ace community is “super amazing” to

a sense of identity – “identity is important to stop us

someone who is into that really obscure thing from the

not identifying themselves properly but also potentially

be a part of, and finding another ace is like “discovering 90’s that literally no one knows about.”

“I’m always psyched as hell when I find a new ace.”

feeling alienated” - she thinks some people not only risk trapping themselves in that label.

“If [labelling yourself] means you never consider any

But what do aces feel? What replaces that drive most

alternatives, you never think outside the box, any label can

For some – nothing. It’s like trying to flex a missing

properly understand sexual identity and what factors

people have?

limb. John Nickel, 22, found his asexuality when he was set adrift, stayed single and his friends entered relationships

He didn’t feel the same drive they did, and considers

himself a romantic.

“I never really wanted to be in a relationship; I don’t

see relations any different with girls as it is with guys,” he says. “I’ve never had any interest in relationships.”

Kat, however, feels a bit differently.

“I feel attraction toward others. I’m a social

person and I love my friends and having connections with people. It’s strongly platonic in most cases for me.”

In cases where she likes someone “a lot,” Kat has “no

issue holding, touching, hugging that person.”

“I’m really not touch averse - on the contrary; I enjoy

physical contact with my more-than-friends. But the most important thing is to be around them, always.”

be stultifying,” she says. She also says many people don’t

impact it. While many people are just born with a low libido, or sex drive, many factors in our lives quell sexual urges.

“The most common everyday thing that can lead to

people to not feeling sexual is just being very busy.”

While she is careful not to discredit anyone who has

thought it through, Dr Cass says she has seen many people come to the conclusion they are asexual without

realising there are factors that influence that. She also says

this problem is very prominent in young people, from Australia to Japan and all over the world, where teenagers

and young adults are “so focused on everything else in the world; jobs, going to work, careers, all the other things in life, they don’t stop and take time to get in touch with themselves or their bodies.”

“There are more young people not expressing

I asked John if he feels alienated by the amount of sex

themselves sexually, because they are simply more

“Not really,” he says. “I do feel kind of bored when

This is not a black and white issue. There is far, far more

permeating society.

people… switch the topic to sexual innuendos or how ‘awesome’ someone’s sex life is. Ugh, I don’t care.”

“I don’t find nudity interesting, I find it boring; I

understand that we’re all naked underneath but I just don’t

occupied elsewhere.”

to it than simply putting people in the category of “asexual” or “everyone else,” and Dr Cass thinks people need to be aware of what Kat calls the “nuance” of asexuality.

Some asexuals “might be on one end of a continuum,”

see what people see in these charades,” he says. John

while on the other end there are “people who have sex

not disgusted just... eh, no interest.”

passion and intimacy, according to Dr Cass.

tried “looking into” nudity once. “I didn’t feel anything; So what aces feel is a difficult question to answer. The

difficulty with answering it stems from the difficulty in

a lot, where sex is just a behaviour.” A behaviour lacking “I like to focus on the shades of grey between things.”

Carbon agrees to a large extent, but doesn’t think it

defining asexuality.

matters. “We aren’t all the same. Despite our size, aces

simple question of ‘do you like sex or not?’

hard to make sure no one gets alienated.”

Dr Cass sees asexuality as far more complex than a She says sexuality comes under three domains; sexual

arousal, sexual desire and sexual attraction, “and even

then we can separate sex from attraction,” which gives six

are still a very diverse community and we’re working really

“At the end of the day, there’s only one thing that all

of us share, and that’s the fact that we don’t feel sexual attraction.”

25 / The video game industry is booming, but here in Australia eSports is playing catch-up with the rest of the world. eSports is professional competitive video gaming and it has taken countries like South Korea and Germany by storm. A high degree of skill and talent is required to battle it out in various games, as part of a team or single player environment.

It is not only participation, but spectatorship of video game competitions that has seen a surge in past years.

Words by ROCHELLE KIRKHAM | @RochelleKirkham

Popular competitive games include names such as League of Legends,

in Australia is unable to provide. But it is their passion and love for the

Dota 2, Counter Strike and Call of Duty. And not only is interest in the

game that drives their commitment, training for hours comparable to that

industry booming, it’s generating big bucks. This year it is estimated

of any other ‘traditional’ professional sporting athlete.

eSports will produce a revenue of about $621 million worldwide,

Aaron ‘Chuzchuz’ Bland is one of Australia’s top League of Legends

according to a report from gaming research company SuperData.

players, competing as a member of the Legacy eSports team. At 19

In spite of this, the Australian eSports industry has fallen behind the

years-old, Aaron is a young player unsure about his future in the

rest of world. Professional players find it difficult to forge a career

gaming world. Studying communications in digital and social media,

in the sector due to a lack of financial support and an inability to

he juggles uni and eSports commitments, an act that may prove to be

compete regularly on an international level.

increasingly challenging coupled with a recent lifestyle change. Aaron

Young gaming pros have backup plans, attending university or

moved into his team’s gaming house in January, a living space he

working other jobs; with employment security being something eSports

shares with four team mates and a coach, and an environment which

/ FE AT U R E /

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 26

allows deep team bonding and intense game training. Juggling the

twelve months has moved in the “right direction” and is becoming

two is not a rarity. He says another of his team mates has just finished

more widely recognised.

uni and one, like him, is also studying.

For Jake, playing video games began as a casual way to have

Aaron has been involved in the professional gaming scene since

fun with friends and fill a competitive need. As he became more

he was 17-years-old, the youngest you can be to play League of

passionate about the game, he began organising events as well as

Legends competitively.

playing competitively as a way to give “back to the community” and

“I have been playing games ever since I was a kid,” he says.

to “try to help the eSports scene grow”.

Introduced to League of Legends by a friend, they used to play

Jake says it is both stressful and rewarding organising gaming

together after school. Aaron says he continued to improve as he

events, both physical and online appearance tournaments. It is his

spent more time playing the game until he was asked if he wanted

passion for the game that drives his commitment to organising events

to join a competitive team.

in both a casual paid capacity with the Australian eSports Association

“I had no idea of the existence of eSports at the time,” he says, “and

and a volunteer capacity on his own initiative.

thought it was quite surreal people were being paid to play video games.”

“If we get good events going and are able to attract sponsors

But he was hooked after winning his first tournament at a small

and get funding then we can have enough money to pay players to

internet cafe in Sydney. After winning a bigger tournament later in his

compete and provide prize pools,” Jake says, “to make sure players

career, he had the opportunity to compete in Germany, New Zealand

are getting back what they are putting in.”

and throughout Australia.

Ben Green, an eSports host and commentator, worked as the

“It’s a dream job for me,” Aaron says. But his hope is to one day be

stage host for the eSports Call of Duty Black Ops 3 event at Crown

able to support himself financially by playing League of Legends in

in Melbourne earlier this month. Two international teams and six

Australia, a reality not achievable in the current environment. “That’s

Australian teams battled fiercely at the tournament. Imagine being in

why a lot of players travel overseas,” he says. There they can earn a

the crowd at the cricket, rugby or even AFL. This, Ben says, is what it

salary from sponsorship and winning tournaments with prize money.

feels like to be at an eSports tournament.

“A lot of people like to say we are at least five years behind the rest of the world in terms of the eSports industry,” Aaron says.

“Australian eSports really didn’t get going until about three years ago, which is when I stepped in.”

Gaming houses like the one he lives in now, are the future of eSports in Australia according to Aaron.

“If professional teams don’t have a gaming house, they will simply be left behind.”

There are currently two teams living in gaming houses in the

“It’s not sport, but to me the term eSports really comes into it’s own because it feels like a sport,” Ben explains. Spectators can be fanatic, rooting for their favourite players and teams. “There are lights and big screens, the guys will be sitting at computers but the crowd will be super loud.”

Chris Smith, involved in the eSports world since 2010, has been a top level competitive player, managed teams and run events in Australia.

“I get a kick out of giving people the ability to come to events,” he says, “by either running them or sponsoring players.”

country, but he says the teams that do experience a high rate

The Electronic Gaming Association Australia (EGAA), started by Chris,

of improvement. Common in other countries around the world,

works as a body to protect players rights. The association, he says, aims

Aaron says gaming houses are a step in the right direction for the

to provide accountability and legitimacy in gaming by helping players

advancement of eSports in Australia.

understand contracts and ensuring tournament promises are kept.

Meet Jake ‘BL00DLocK’ McNamara, tournament organiser,

Chris is excited to be a pioneer for eSports in Australia. But he

competitive Dota 2 player and member of team Invidious. Jake says

believes focus should not be on entering mainstream media to

it is an exciting time for Australian eSports, in particular the gaming

advance the industry.

scene surrounding Dota 2.

“An Australian player made top eight at the international championships,” he says, “which is massive considering Australia is so isolated from the rest of the world.”

“We ourselves are building the next eSports culture, we don’t have to worry about what the culture is currently,” Chris says. He describes the next generation as moving away from mainstream media. He, at 25, has no television connection in his home, but enjoys digital entertainment through YouTube and eSports streaming websites.

Previously, a Dota 2 team hadn’t made it to an international level

Aaron, Jake, Ben and Chris say the future of eSports in Australia is

since 2012. A recent tournament in the country saw two Australian

uncertain, but for now, it is on the rise. And it is individual passion for

and two international teams battle for a $55,000 prize pool. It is these

the gaming scene, they say, which will push the Australian industry to

achievements, Jake says, that shows Australian eSports in the last

run faster to catch- up with the rest of the world.

27 /

NUMBER 1 FAN(DOMS)

/ 28

‘THE FANGIRL VS THE FOOTY FAN’

Words by BELINDA ATLAY It’s Saturday night in Melbourne and cheers can be heard from Rod Laver Arena. Inside, thousands of teenage girls can be seen wearing concert

merchandise, singing along and crying in adoration of their favourite singer.

Nearby, a roaring sound is escaping from the MCG. Two rival football teams face each other in an intense battle and the

crowd is divided into a sea of club colours.

Fans burst into team song after every

goal and cry when the final siren has gone off and they’ve ended up with a win.

What makes these two sets

of fans so different? Or are they really so different at all?

The public has generally viewed

“Female fandom is perceived as a

their club song or waving flags in the

the prominent ‘feminine’ qualities

grown accustomed to fanatic behaviour.

degrading experience, considering that often arise such as hysteria, over-

perception of football fans is the fact that

by long-time Demi Lovato fan, Aimee

Rules Football, or AFL, was established

This social stigma is experienced

Crewdson who will shortly be embarking

on her fifth overseas trip to meet the singer.

Justin Bieber fandom, are stigmatised.

Neta Yodovich from Tel Aviv

University, Israel conducted a study on the stigma of female fans. In her research paper titled “A Little Girl

with a Costume and Ears” she writes,

One Direction or Justin Bieber were

“her music definitely speaks to me. I can

on were football fans, meaning you’ve been

connect to so many songs on a personal

level.” While being criticised for spending thousands on the artist, Crewdson

explains that is a matter of unfamiliarity.

“Unless [people] have someone

in their life that they idolise, they don’t understand it,” she said.

Generally, people tend to be wary of

the social stigma related to females in

as the One Direction fandom or the

in Victoria in 1896; long before

alive. Chances are that your parents,

she is so passionate about Lovato she said

‘crazy’. In particular, fandoms with a

they are regularly called, ‘fangirls’) such

they’ve been around forever. Australian

When asked to describe the reason why

things that are new or different to them

large teenage female population (or as

Another factor in the normal

sentimentalism and a lack of criticism.”

fandoms, or groups of fans passionate

about a shared interest, as ‘obsessed’ or

air and because of this the public have

and this is a factor that helped create

fandoms. Conversely, stereotypical large

grandparents, great grandparents and so

surrounded by football culture from birth.

Interestingly, female sporting fans

are generally not as accepted as their

male counterparts and are interrogated

about their true reasons for being a fan.

Questions such as “Do you even know the rules?” and “Are you only watching

because you think the players are hot?” are not uncommon and stem from

stereotypes that women aren’t interested in sports, and cannot play them either.

Perhaps it is time we become more

male groups such as football supporters,

accepting of different fans and fandoms, no

usually cheered on by the public and are

down to it, they are all just people being

who are very much in a fandom as well, are portrayed as showing “normal” behaviour, as football has become an integral part of

Australian culture. It is not an uncommon sight to see a crowd of football fans

marching down the city streets singing

matter their age or gender. When it comes passionate about something that makes them happy. What’s so bad about that?

29 /

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

/ F E AT U R E /

POWER & THE PASSION But in terms of success during the last term, we’ve halved the

amount of (mobile) black spots in our electorate. Of course, there is still a long way to go.

Cathy McGowan (Federal MP for Indi) As told to Finn Devlin | @f inn_devlin At first I was reluctant to stand, but I was encouraged by friends to run for Indi.

also said they would work with her. The community wants to

Ellen Sandell ( Member for Melbourne,Victorian Legislative Assembly) As told to Katie Coulthard | @coulthard_katie

There is a high level of political engagement in my

I was raised in a country town, in Mildura and I was always

to what it’s like in the rest of Australia. Mostly, Indi used

the Murray River, you learn a lot about the land. Issues like

They said to me “Cathy, you’ve been talking about this all

your life” but I only decided to run those who encouraged me be represented by someone who most represents them.

electorate. I only worry about Indi; I don’t pay much attention

to vote National. Then it changed and voted Liberal. Now it is voting Independent…the demographics (of Indi) have changed. It is coming from all sides of politics.

There’s about ten things I’m passionate about in politics.

Investing in health and higher education, for example, or fixing the public transport system, or helping the failing

manufacturing industries, improving mental health services.

There are huge problems getting the right services to people.

very passionate about the environment. Growing up close to

droughts and salinity were common and you can definitely see the effect it has on the community.

I wanted to be a scientist but I never thought I’d be a

politician. Throughout my studies though, I became aware

science often has a solutions already and it’s the politicians who block it up.

The response I get from the community for the work I do is heartening. On Thursday, when I leave parliament I try and

/ FE AT U R E /

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 30

This year as we wade our way through the federal election campaign, we’re likely to hear a lot about what drives our politicians. So, when they’re not kissing babies, whacking on a hard hat or touring some sort of manufacturing facility what is it that motivates our representatives? The power, or the passion?

We spoke to three politicians* to find out what drives them...

do an event that night because it’s lovely to go and talk to

So really I was going down a medical path. It was only

are a lot of people in politics at the moment who have been in

preferred method of how I wanted to have an impact and

some real people who actually want to get things done. There

the industry ever since university and have not held any other job outside. I think it creates a culture where people are there more for the power, than the passion.

The most important thing for me is getting outcomes. When you go out to the forests and see they’re being logged and

look at the beautiful old trees we could protect– that fires me up. When I see people being brave and running campaigns to take bold steps, that’s what keeps me going.

To those considering getting involved in our political system

somehow, I’d say go for it. We need more people with passion

in politics and those who care about issues, not just power.

Do it for the right reasons, not just because you think it’ll be glamorous.

around year 12 in VCE that I decided politics was my contribute. That was when I decided it was what I wanted to do and what I was good at.

What drives me more often than not these days is - like many

people - I read the newspaper, watch the news and get angry

about the state of things and what happens and what goes on.

I really feel like it’s almost not a choice, it’s something I have to do to make sure things are changed.

It’s not like politics is the only way to change the world, there’s business and community organisations and all kinds

of ways. Obviously the seat I’m running in is a tough one to win, Labor hasn’t won Indi for over 70 years now and the last time they did was because the sitting member forgot to file their paperwork!

It’s a bit of a Labor legend here and it’s almost a bit surreal when you talk to people about it, but that’s the reality that we

face. And going into it as a candidate - in what people will

tell you is an unwinnable seat - you’ve got a lot to reconcile within yourself about how you then take it on and challenge

it. And for me regardless of if I win or lose, I’m still going to be working in the community sphere. Looking at what issues

are out there and working them through to a solution with community involvement.

So whether it’s in the seat of Indi or elsewhere I’m still going to be wanting to find employment and meaningful purpose out of community outcomes. I’m still really committed to the area I’m in and I don’t see myself leaving North East

Victoria any time soon. Certainly ensuring that Labor is well represented here and that we’re giving voice to Labor values and this is something I’m really keen to keep on doing.

Eric Kerr (Labor Candidate for Indi) As told to Claudia Long | @claudialongsays There was really no clear path for me into politics. Prior to me, my family had little involvement in politics so there was no drive from there, in fact most of my family are in medical services.

Chloe Caday

/ 32

Unadulterated (a cento) A poem by VINCE RUSTON

In this

casual

In this

casual intimacy

intimacy

We take up

so much more space than we used to

Beyond “existing�: no longer any desire or need

to connect.

it is invisible: this casual

intimacy Exhaling.

Those

in between moments, wallowing

in empty restaurants, alone and

conspicuous.

euphoric, chaotic, She washed my hair.

Unadulterated message of touch: The greatest luxury.

My fingers

tingled and thawed

to give freely of myself.

33 /

KING OF CATS A poem by Michael Crane

When the lift opened magpie the one eyed cat

would crane his head and speak. So I rubbed him under the chin.

He got thin and lost weight from not eating,

fretting since his companion the white cat died.

I was hoping he would last a little longer as he looked helpless being picked up and cararied away to the flat with the other fifteen cats.

I felt like yelling, Hey that’s Magpie, the King of cats.

Sometimes when people are taken by ambulance

or divvy van to the asylums they kick and scream.

‘Don’t you know who I am?’ The doctors and nurses

don’t care as that is not part of their job description.

But I cared about magpie because he had a quiet dignity about him that some people will never possess, maybe not even you or me.

35 /

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

/ AGO NY AU NT /

AGONY AUNT HELENA Love, Lust and Passion. They are all crushing yet rewarding emotions of life, that usually have a place at uni. You are mid-way through semester and are crushing on that smart girl, the cute guy at the coffee stand, or even your middle aged tutor.

Well here I am, your resident agony aunt, giving you some red hot tips on the L word and all that comes with it.

I’ve never been in love before? I think I’m

look away. Second is the hair, I recommend not

other. How do I tell if we are in love?

high maintenance and you’re a bit of a chiller. Whip

falling for this guy, we both really like each

Well hey there honey, good for you. Its

tough these days even finding a fella that isn’t overly try hard or just a bit boring,

so congrats on making it through the first

few steps. Love is a tough one but maybe I can help you understand your feelings.

First of all, do you check his instagram posts three times a day to see what he’s up to?

Do you pretend you didn’t realise you were both going to the same event even though

you saw he was attending on Facebook? Do

you walk past his work pretending you were unaware he’s employed there? Or hang out

washing it for a few days. This is to show you aren’t your hair very subtly every few minutes, to show

off the length and strength to your hair (unless you have short hair, maybe wear a hat of some kind).

Lastly, the hands. I cannot express enough

how important it is show off your hands. Layer your hands with gold and silver rings, get a

manicure and moisturise them, people love to

know that you take care of yourself but you also have class and good taste. When using your

hands, make sure you keep them around your

face to show off all the bling but also to elongate the neckline and poise yourself elegantly.

more often with your mutual friend that you

I met someone on Tinder, should I meet up with them?

And if you’ve found it then good for you.

Tinder is the box social of the 1900’s. It’s exciting,

hate, just to be around him? That’s L-O-V-E.

it’s fun and you can play your cards with as many

people as possible. For those of you who say that I’m not very good at flirting, what are some things I could do to show someone I’m interested?

The art of flirting is a particular one at that, if

done correctly, you could be buying your first

home together in no time. I like to focus on the three main areas. Eyes, hair and hands. this is

for all genders. Eyes must be wide and bright, try wearing bright contacts (you can purchase

these on eBay for $5.95, express shipping arrives in 12-59 days) and keep your eyes as open and wide for as long as possible. It’s important to

show that you aren’t afraid to look them in the eye, so just focus on their pupils and do not

Tinder is shallow and only judges by looks, then you are wrong. You can be judged on much more than

just your appearance! It could be your lame bio, your try hard 420 reference and the maple leaf emoji,

your lack of solo photos but abundance of groups shots that don’t make it clear who you are, your

crap workplace and wealth of common connections.

However if this special person makes it past all

these extremely difficult barriers and they aren’t

annoying to talk to, then by all means go on a date and test those waters. Just make sure you’ve told a

friend, your mum and maybe even the local police.

/ AG ON Y AU NT /

The Love Doctor Is In - Agony Aunt Returns HELENA RUSE | @leftoverssketch

I like someone, but don’t know them very well. How can I make the first move?

Don’t get too sloshed because you think alcohol will

ease the nerves. A couple of shots of absinth washed

down with a 15% red wine should do the trick just fine.

Be confident, be cool, maybe put on your best shirt and wear the “good” shoes. If you’ve stalked the shit out of them on Facebook (which I know you have) bring up

one of their interests that I’m sure you now know about, maybe it’s a holiday you could pretend you want to

go on because you know they’ve already been there.

You could even do the old fashion ‘bump into them

when they aren’t looking’ trick and follow on with a joke you heard Peter Helliar say on last night’s episode of

The Project. Just remember to finish the conversation with a concrete Snapchat add, because we all know this is how people get into proper relationships.

So there it is, my tips on love and all that comes with it. Remember to stay true to yourself and

don’t change for anybody, and also to delete all your pre 2010 Facebook photos just in case.

Regards,

Your Agony Aunt

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 36

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

37 /

/ ST U D E NT L I F E /

The Sex-Ed You Wish You’d Had

Words by

MAGGIE COGGAN-GARTLAN @MAGGIECOGGAN

On the whole, we can pretty much agree that our school based sex ed just didn’t cut it. In case you’ve

blocked it from your memory, the most popular approach being to scare us into not having sex in the first

place with a combination of graphic descriptions of STI’s and the risk of a teenage pregnancy. You left these sessions feeling dazed and confused (not in a good way) and half the time less informed than before class.

Sex is something that can be enjoyed no matter your gender, sexuality or ability. It

definitely isn’t something to feel ashamed of, no matter how much you do or don’t do it.

However there are a heap of important things that weren’t explained properly, which is where this sexplainer comes in. So take a seat and let’s get down to ~bizness~.

STI’S:

We all remember the gory photos and descriptions.

Not surprisingly, this didn’t stop us from having sex and unfortunately, getting infected. Here are a few tips

• •

Melbourne

Sexual Health Clinic on Swanston Street

Family

Planning clinics in various locations (they do have an annual fee of $10.50)

on making sure you are being safe...

Contraception:

Protection:

widely used form of contraception, it doesn’t work for

You would be surprised by how many think they can get away with not using any. Whether it’s oral or

penetrative, make sure you’ve got something on there, because while it might be uncomfortable or awkward

to hop up and put a condom on, it’s going to be worse when you get chlamydia.

DIY dental dam:

Who said being safe couldn’t be fun? If you are going

Options, options, options! Although the pill is the most everyone. The IUD and hormonal injections are also a thing, so instead, head to your local GP or sexual

health clinic and check out your choices… and get

educated. Make sure you know what you are taking, and what it might do to your body.

If you didn’t happen to use protection, the morning

after pill is available from chemists and sexual health clinics too.

It does take two to tango however. Partners with

down on a partner with a vulva or are going to enjoy

penises, just because your partner has invested in a

these. Here are a few simple steps to making your very

relax. Unless you have both been checked and you

some anal play, you definitely need to use one of own you crafty thing: 1.

2.

3.

Cut both ends off a condom

contraceptive, it doesn’t mean you can sit back and have been exclusive for at least six months, you really do need to wear a condom.

Slice one side of the condom open so you have a

Pleasure:

Place in desired area and you have just saved

intercourse’ bit, but it actually extends much further.

rectangular shape

yourself a trip to the doctor!

Check yourself before you wreck yourself:

Going for a check up is not at the top of a lot of people’s

Some people would only describe sex as the ‘genital

The way people have sex and what they define as the real deal differs greatly from person to person, and sometimes, intercourse can be a little bit limiting.

priority lists. You might be scared the professionals are

Here is a shortlist of ways to get cosy without the

the most painful thing will be a blood test.

•

M asturbation (this can include just yourself, or

Going for regular check-ups is a really important part

•

Breast

or nipple stimulation

Making an appointment is easy and (usually) free if

•

F rottage or Tribbing (grinding against genitals

going to stick things up and into you, but usually,

of both your sexual health and your partners. you go to the right places:

•

M edical One in QV (they bulk bill if you have a student card)

actual penetrating bit:

•

•

mutually with a partner)

Stroking

and sexual massage with clothes on)

M anual-genital sex which include hand jobs, fingering and fisting

/ ST UDE NT L I F E /

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 38

“Sex is something that can be enjoyed no matter your gender, sexuality or ability. It definitely isn’t something to feel ashamed of, no matter how much you do or don’t do it.”

•

Cyber

sex and phone sex

•

Kissing

and cuddling (so underrated it hurts)

• •

Talking

dirty and sharing sexual fantasies Oral

sex

There is no checklist you need to go through (just whatever you’re in the mood for!) but this may help to broaden your horizons a little. Despite what we are

So what are some good guidelines?

1. Silence

doesn’t mean yes. There are ways to check if what you are doing is ok without making it weird and robotic, but don’t just assume that everything is fine and go for it.

2. If the other person clearly is not in a state to be consenting, don’t take advantage of the situation

taught, intercourse is not the be all and end all.

Sex toys:

Sex toys can be an excellent way to take your self-love sesh to another level, and are definitely nothing to be

and make decisions for them when there is a chance they might regret it.

3. I f a person is under the influence of drugs or

alcohol, they cannot consent. If a person is asleep, the same also applies.

ashamed of. They can be a great way of exploring your

4. There

is nothing wrong with changing your mind

Don’t have a partner? No worries! The beauty

a legally binding contract. Even if you said yes at

body and finding out what feels good and what doesn’t.

because this isn’t a home loan, you haven’t signed

of these bad boys is they are designed to be used anytime, anywhere (well, not everywhere) and can be

first, it doesn’t mean you have to go through with it.

a great way of quickly satisfying yourself in your own

5. No means no. So does stop. Always. No ifs, no buts.

They can also be used during partner sex, so they

Asking for consent can be easily worked into your

time and on your own terms.

don’t need to miss out on the fun!

Where are they available?

sexual repertoire, and can even be a great introduction to dirty talk if you’re keen to try a bit of that out!

Online or in sex shops is an obvious choice, but you

A simple ‘good?’ can be all it takes to check in with

DIY: there are many household and unsuspecting

some of the following…

will need to be over 18 to access these.

objects that you can easily transform into a sex toy.

your partner, but if you want to step it up why not try

Vegetables, electric toothbrushes and toilet rolls with

•

“Do

you like it when I (xyz)”

choices. Just make sure they are clean before use and

•

“Let’s

try a bit of (xyz), you cool with that?”

a soft lining as a masturbation sleeve are all great cover them up with some sort of protection so you’re

not exposing yourself to nasty germs. There is nothing sexy about a yeast infection.

Consent:

It’s intrinsic to good sex that both parties are able to

make a decision without feeling forced or manipulated at any time.

• • •

“Do

you want me to keep going?”

“ Dear maiden/sir/other, could I delight you in some coitus right now?”

“ If you were Margaret and/or David, how many stars would you give this move/XYZ? Would you like to see a sequel?”

39 /

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

BUSINESS

/ BU S I NE S S /

TIPS

101 Words by CHRISTOPHER LESSON @PENNYMAG101

Tonnes of people will talk about money, as a motivational tool, a success story, an evil thing, a source of

happiness or an illusive concept they’ll never attain. Money or Dollarydoos (depending where you’re from) is

pretty important though and I get why people obsess over it, but half the time it’s not worth it and the money ‘experts’ only seem to talk to retirees or middle aged folks; not people starting out and winning at life like us.

So the other day I was on the usual commute into the city and I’d just finished reading an article in the

Economist and decided to have a bit of a look around at the people on the train, as you do. The train was

packed like normal but everyone either looked like they were: A) Not sure about what to wear because of Melbourne’s four seasons in a day thing. Or B) Looked like they’d sold their souls to Millhouse for $5.

Later that day, I was in Building 80 and we started discussing the true value of things, it made me think back to

those people on the train who’d sold their souls to Millhouse. I then had to ask myself: if I wanted to have some extra cash at the end of the day how much would I sell my soul for - or - what could I do instead. The result I ended up with was this pretty simple list for making sure I had a bit of extra cash... More than $5 anyway.

- Firstly I had to realize our time is the most valuable thing we have. If a third of our lives are spent sleeping

and another third is spent doing routine things like going to the toilet, eating, waiting or commuting, we have to make the most of all the hours in the day. This made me think, if our time is so valuable then we shouldn’t waste it working. We should make our money work for us instead. By putting it in a high interest account or term deposit you can make your money make you more money (WIN!). Budget a little and reward yourself

for budgeting, it’s all about incentive. So I gave myself this little challenge. If I could get through the working week by making my lunch everyday or by not buying coffee then on the last day I could buy lunch or coffee.

Simple, but affective at saving the dosh. And damn did that lunch taste good at the end of the week.

- The words of Vice President Joe Biden somehow flowed into my ears through week saying “don’t tell me what you

value, show me your budget and I’ll show you what you value”. This made me think, shit. I wonder what my finances say I value and I wonder how I can find out. Download a budgeting app, there’s heaps of them. All you have to do is put in how much you’ve spent and what on. It’s scary how accountable this makes you and how much money

you end up not spending on things because you don’t want to put it into the app and admit you just bought that. I

don’t know about you but I’ve spent heaps of money, on small things I really didn’t actually need at the time or even want in the future, but went yeah why not. This stops you from wasting the money you spent your time earning.

- Once you start tracking what you spend you realise the little things add up. Every dollar here and there adds up very quickly. Anyone who has kept his or her spare change will tell you this. So Put that poo change aside and let it grow.

- In short though I think if you value your time, budget and plan ahead, track what you spend and save on the little amounts you’ll end up with a lot bigger bank balance, probably feel better too. If we all spend 10min a week and think about what we can do this week to put us in a better position for next week then we can make it happen.

I’ve got to say, I’ve learnt a lot from the Simpsons and maybe a bit from my lecturers too… Money and the way

we spend it, is a personal thing. Yet it doesn’t seem to matter where we come from, or who we are, we all appear

to know that a bit of cash has the ability to make life a little easier. With a little bit of time and a few good choices we can easily make a massive difference to our bank balances and make life better for poor uni students like us.

/ B US I NE SS /

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 40

ART AND A STARTUP “I want to create a nice little oasis for artists.”

This is one of the many opportunities Steaphan Paton, artist and

founder of N/A Space, hopes to achieve with his business of two years.

N/A Space was created when Steaphan was looking for a studio for himself, yet was unable to find anything he wanted.

“A lot of the studios around here and Melbourne tended to be really

uber, clean and expensive, or they were really cheap and a squat… there was no in between,” he said.

Steaphan paused for a moment, laughed to himself and said “so I

created it myself.”

Through New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) at RMIT, the program

was able to support Steaphan in providing a studio that supports young, emerging, and early to mid career artists who are dedicated to their practice.

Steaphan’s continuous hard work and support from his many networks

- along with creativity and flexibility - has allowed him to create a space supporting different creative processes.

“Every business has its obstacles with the obvious of capital, and it’s

hard, especially for young people.”

As a descendant of the Gunai and Monero peoples in Gippsland,

Steaphan understands the added difficulties young Indigenous artists face.

“Having access to capital for young Indigenous people is also pretty

hard as well,” he said.

However Steaphan is adamant he “doesn’t see struggles as obstacles

but simply something that is hard, but not stopping you.”

“I ate rice and beans for a year cause I had to, so you do make sacrifices

to make things happen.”

Steaphan’s business is conveniently centrally located in bustling East

Brunswick, so travel for the 21 artists involved is not a hassle.

Providing a base for anyone wanting to take the next step of getting a

studio and becoming more professional is another achievement Steaphan is hoping to provide to young artists.

But at the end of it all, Steaphan says, “being your own boss is definitely

one of the rewards.”

Words by

HOLLIE JOHNSON

41 /

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

WOMEN

/ ART S AND C U LT U R E /

IN

HARDCORE MUSIC Words by

MONIQUE MYINTOO @AUMONIQUE_

Until I was 20-years- old, I had never questioned my experiences in the Melbourne hardcore scene.

It was an unusually frigid summer night, the air itself humming from flickering lights as crowds congregated amongst cigarette smoke and the echoing chatter of the Northcote Social Club. Brisk to tumble into the venue, my night was set through a series of impulsive performances framed through the friendly duress of hurling bodies and an allpowerful, rhythmic pit. Fumbling my way between gaps in the crowd, I found myself resting by the stairwell trying to catch my breath. It was there a woman maybe only five years older than me had collapsed out cold, struggling to remain conscious.

Instinctively passing on water to one of her friends, I stood alongside them as they continued to call her name and ensure everything would be okay.

“Thank you so much,” the woman’s friend turned to me, gripping the cup so hard it splashed against her knuckles, “we all have to help each other out.”

It was the first time I felt such a burning sense of camaraderie.

Pressing up against a gritty passageway with a sigh, I was searching for patterns in my own experiences. Recently, I had been scouring the web for articles expressing my feelings; ‘being a woman in hardcore’, ‘why does hardcore music connect people’ and ‘feminism in hardcore,’ peppering my search results. I crossed my fingers — but not too tightly — hoping I could find a place to project my feelings about this music community.

Sitting together in a small café surrounded by cobblestone and thick glass, Karina Utomo and I began our conversations filled with the impending doom of due dates. Recently returning from tour as part of St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Karina

was neck-deep in new collections and business outside her band, High Tension. “I’ve always been a big hardcore fan,” she begun, speaking into a glass of craft beer, “It’s a pretty unique community because fans are so loyal. There’s that sense of experience, that, in a positive way, is addictive.”

This addiction was something afflicting me by age 13 and I attributed it to my constant hunger for new music, something beyond late night Rage telecasts and Myspace recommended pages.

From Silverstein to The Red Shore, I collated my clichéd, loud and cathartic playlists, burning my strategically planned mixtape CDs and awarding them with felt-tip marker accolades like ‘scre@ mo’, ‘heavy :)’ and ‘HARDCORE’. By the time I hit 14, I was enthralled in experiencing something chaotic, grimy and totally inclusive. More specifically, the gushing house party of Enter Shikari’s music video, Sorry You’re Not A Winner.

Reflecting on her own early band days in Young And Restless’ Karina smiled, “one of the funnest shows we played was a house party, as soon as we got onstage things were destroyed.” She continued, “I think there’s so many aspects about hardcore that is difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it for themselves.” To a younger me these experiences felt infinite and faraway, but I was stuck with nervousness. How could a young woman like me validate herself in a community so seemingly distant?

I was 16 when I attended my first hardcore show.

It was the year I decided to get bangs after discovering Tumblr and began recognising my self-worth completely and lovingly. “Don’t be afraid to get among the crowd,” I told myself, slowly stepping into the small and dusty venue. “I know all the lyrics. I’m dedicated, I’m strong.” It was only then I recognised all my fears were, at their simplest roots, physical.

/ A RT S A N D C U LT U R E /

“When I wanted to start my first hardcore band, my main concern was that I didn’t have the physical ability to sing in that hardcore way.”

Karina paused, trying to find the words to explain her frustrations, “in every other genre, there’s not a (sic) specific voice or type of vocal execution.

I wanted to explore the limits of ‘grindcore’ in terms of being able to erase the gendered aspect in my voice.”

This erasure of gender was an element I too felt moving into the scene, innate from the discourse of punk histories and the fear of wanting to be taken seriously as a woman. “Every approach I had was very masculine in a sense,” Karina said, “It was from that fear of wanting to be taken seriously, to make it easy for myself and achieve that goal of wanting to play with hardcore bands.”

Afflicted by these anxieties on my own terms, my fear had suddenly reached a crescendo that rung incredibly clear at 18.

Only I could validate myself.

Karina chuckled, “there’s been so many situations where my gender has been undermined. I laugh about it. It’s never (sic) a personal attack, it has always been a sustained discourse.” Recognising these discourses, Karina and I had both taken our individual experiences by the horns, choosing to remain positive and feel empowered in an industry projecting itself as inherently masculine. “I think it’s important for women to feel comfortable in being themselves, it’s incredibly important not to put any pressure on yourself to be a certain way to fit in.”

While this underbelly of self-confidence was the driving force in both our experiences, it was the result of finding our voices — collective or otherwise — in the Melbourne hardcore community. “To me, feminism in hardcore is just

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 42

about not being afraid of these hurdles”, Karina admits, swirling her drink, “I think the more perspectives we have - the more experiences, the more honesty - we can communicate and talk about things that are difficult. As artists using [music as a] platform, we have a real privilege to discuss things that are important. Intense. I don’t feel like it’s necessary to force discussions. But having discourse and dialogue is an important way to get resolution.”

Briefly looking up from my empty glass, I began staring at the bustling Melbourne laneway we were nestled in. I felt an undeniable sense of positivity.

Karina paused momentarily, then said, “I feel like as an individual you can project positive or negative experiences. I feel that your outlook has to be positive. You have to believe in what you’re doing and you also have to trust people.

As much as there is a perception of hurdles of being a woman in the hardcore scene, there’s also so many advantages.” It’s through these advantages defining our stories; stories swollen with inept bedroom playlists, private catharsis and hours spent pushing against bloody, sweatfuelled crowds. Until I was 20-years- old, I had never questioned my experiences to be universal or encompassing, but for the longest time I tried to find my mantra.

I am a young woman in the Melbourne hardcore scene, I tell myself again, one who has found a voice through camaraderie, both in myself and through the positivity of others. This will never cease.

/ CATA LY ST 2 .7 2 /

43 /

R

E

Words by BEN MADDEN @BENMADDENTWEETS_

V

/ REVIEWS /

I

E

W

Father John Misty - I love You, Honeybear: Joshua Tillman was never going to be content as just a drummer.

Having played percussion for many bands, including indie staple Fleet Foxes, Tillman adopted the moniker Father John Misty and in 2012 released his first major solo album, Fear Fun. However it is on I Love You, Honeybear (2015), that his visions of grandeur are realised.

Self-described as a concept album about himself and the love of his life, Emma, Tillman bares his soul for all to see. From the opening strains of I Love You, Honeybear, Tillman’s love for his music shines through. Standout songs such as ‘Bored in The USA’ make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, whilst ‘Strange Encounter’ feels like an anthem for the disillusioned.

Tillman’s perfectionist tendencies enable him to know when to push for musical complexity and when to let his vocals stand out, as some of the standout moments of the album occur when the instrumentation becomes secondary to his poignant (and at times self-indulgent) lyricism.

There is a reason this album was one of the most critically acclaimed in 2015. Those who put real, distilled passion into their work often produce the best art. Tillman has built a rabid fanbase, and it is fitting that he has named himself after a pastor, seeing as his fans treat his music like sermons.

4.5/5 stars

Words by LOUISE ANGRILLII

Adeventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine - Krissy Kneen: I confess. I adore Angela Carter. I adore her overblown, pretentious style mixed with her joyous embrace of the lewd and taboo. I adore that even when she failed, you know that she failed with every ounce of inspiration on the page. And yet, I was initially hesitant to read The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine, a book influenced by Carter’s least accessible book, The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman; a book that exhausts me just at the thought of cracking the cover.

The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman (also known as The War of Dreams) is drenched, like Carrie at the prom, in descriptive text. The titular

S

/ REVIEWS /

/ CATALY ST 2 . 7 2 /

/ 44

Hoffman is a mad scientist who, through his nefarious ways, transforms the city of the story into a psychedelia of uncanny flesh and mythology.

We are made to feel unsettled, even nauseated, by the ever changing landscape (chanting pillars turned into lampposts turned into silent flowers), but also must wade through the mud of Carter’s embellished language.

As the reader moves from one description-saturated paragraph to the next, it seems as if time has been suspended and forward progression may never again be possible. Instead you stand still as the landscape changes incessantly and you feel as if you must be going mad.

Fortunately, Krissy Kneen’s The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine sidesteps the dense literary experience of Doctor Hoffman and plays instead with the very 1960s sexual revolutionary concept of energy generation and physical transformation through erotic desire.

Holly White begins the story naive and celibate; obsessed with sex but resistant, even fearful of it, given her body’s strange reaction to attraction.

Is Holly part sea creature? We never find out, but we see her generate luminescent lubrication whenever she’s aroused. Holly’s salvation eventually comes with an erotic literary book club; the words of desire the catalyst for her own awakening as the explorer of carnality in all its variations, powered by the alien phosphorescence from between her legs.

The Adventures of Holly White is as much about the desire for words as it is the desire for physicality. Books take on the smell and texture of fruit; if you bite into them, juice will dribble down your chin. The story is driven by great works of erotic literature, particularly those based in Paris, the city of love and, as it turns out, a great deal of shagging. We see Holly see herself through different eyes, feel different skin, by the stories she reads, and be liberated by the newness of that moment of change.

The two books intertwined, Doctor Hoffman and Holly White, seem to create a vortex of distorted reality around them, affecting each other and even our own world. The character of Doctor Hoffman in Carter’s original work is able to distort his own world until its citizens can no longer determine fact from fiction. The physical book of Doctor Hoffman is able to distort the world of Holly White, transforming into a carnivorous flower (oh, Carter would be pleased) and breeding further copies of itself for picking. And finally, as if to say, “And you thought it was all make-believe”, as I was reading Holly White on the train in the middle of winter I encountered a scene where the character of Holly watches young women walk by in the height of summer, chewing gum as they go, and my own experience bled into the book because, at that moment, I could smell bubblegum as well. A young man on the train was chewing determinedly, and the fragrance scented the air as if emanating from the page.

It’s a rare book that seems to drift like smoke away from the printed page to rewrite the physical world. Or maybe it’s not rare at all? Our thoughts and actions are neuron firings after all, an inherently physical act tied to the core of our biology. Books use us as surrogates; shaping the world we live in by the subtle manipulation of our own hands. Terry Pratchett knew that books could be dangerous things, distorting the world around them. Krissy Kneen knows is too, and wants us to strip naked and be transformed.

CATALYST Issue 2, Volume 72 May 2016 rmitcatalyst@gmail.com rmitcatalyst.com @rmitcatalyst

/ 45