What does it mean to be a woman? Currently, a lot of feminist discourse online is concerned with personal choice: if a woman does something, regardless of what it is, it’s okay, because it was her choice. The instagram comments of a TradWife influencer is often filled with lines like ‘feminists claim to support women, but judge this woman for being a homemaker,’ and ‘no one is judging this woman, as long as it’s HER choice.’ It’s a back and forth that is then mirrored in the comment sections of an influencer who creates adult content. It’s a little ironic. But ultimately, today’s feminism is becoming too focused on freedom of choice: personal choice is being confused with collective freedom.
Is choice feminism a case of the lady doth protest too much? Are we overinsisting that we are making our own choices, entirely devoid of societal influences, because otherwise, we would have to admit that we are partaking in patriarchal industries? Is getting cosmetic surgery simply about achieving the look you want, despite the years of patriarchal beauty standards that have been ingrained in us? Is being career-dedicated a fully, freely made choice, when we have to survive in a capitalist hellscape? Is sex work totally empowering, as it is an industry that caters to male fantasy, and profits off female labour? And is it truly a full choice to be a homemaker, when a woman’s worth is still based on her ability to create children?
It’s a tight-rope walk, criticising liberal Feminism. If a woman makes a choice, then she doesn’t need to be infantilised and treated as someone who doesn’t know what she’s doing. A woman knows her own mind, and if she knows what she wants, then we should trust her. But, that doesn’t mean that she is removed from society, that she wasn’t influenced in some way, or that her choice doesn't have some sort of impact. We don’t live in a vacuum, and a feminism that supports a woman’s autonomy, while also dismantling systems that oppress everyone, is ultimately what we need. Not a feminism that puts on a pink blazer and shrugs at patriarchal institutions,, but a feminism that fights for a collective liberation from systemic oppression.
About the Cover Artist:
Mauatua Fa'ara-Reynolds (they/she) is a Mā'ohi-Norf'k poet and tapa maker currently doing their MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. Mauatua's creative practice looks at the oral and visual storytelling of their tupuna vāhine and how objects can be read as text. Descending from master tapa-makers, seamstresses, and orators, Mauatua's work draws on the legends of their tupuna, and how these stories translate into their life. To embody the collision of tradition and modernity, they use tapa, natural pigments, wool, and Indian ink.
Wednesday
Eyegum!! Roo + Re:Ruby
Eyegum is back! The weekly free gig is Welly’s best way to experience up-andcoming artists upclose. This week, Roo and Re:Ruby take the stake fresh off the latter’s new single.
8PM - San Fran - FREE
Their Eyes Were Flowers Daymoon
Their Eyes Were Flowers returns to Valhalla for the release of their new single “Zeichnung”
ft. Debt Club and Bug Michigan
Join Daymoon as they celebrate their new single “Orange Platform Boots”, an “ode to Wellington”. Supported by Debt Club and Bug Michigan.
8PM - Valhalla$15 doors, $10 online 7PM - San Fran - $20
Miss Kannina
Miss Kannina is a standout voice in music - an Aboriginal Australian rapper and singer with a rebellious tinge to her music. Her song “Blak Britney” topped charts in Australia, and now she’s bringing it here.
Cruelly + Half/ Angel
Local grunge gaze act Cruelly will be holding a show at beloved local flat 13 Garrett Street to fundraise for their upcoming tour across Aotearoa.
Dylan Van Heerden (they/them) - Thursdays in Black VUW
Co-president and Communications Officer
CW: Sexual Violence.
Keys in fingers, fear in tow, walking fast, not walking slow.
Eyes checking left and right, on that fateful night.
Yay, fun dinner plans:D Didn’t plan on getting catcalled on my catwalk there.
New Zealand women are five times more likely than men to experience some form of sexual offending in their lifetime.
This summer I didn’t go in the water when we were at the beach, I stayed in my jeans and baggy shirt.
Drinks and thumping music take over, someone thinks my dancing is a ‘yes’, Grabs my waist and then lower
83% of university students experienced sexual harassment during their tertiary studies, with more than half (53%) experiencing some forms of sexual assault.
Lying to my partner about having my period so they would stop pushing it.
I was told ”those are serious allegations, they could really damage someone’s reputation.” -What about the effects it had on me?
Untreated impacts of abuse in childhood can continue to impact on survivors as adults in the form of depression, anxiety, impaired interpersonal relationships, parenting difficulties, eating difficulties, and/or drug and alcohol misuse to cope with strong feelings.
The ‘perfect victim’, a small vulnerable female alone with a tall, strong perpetrator in a dark alleyway is not the most common scenario. It’s most likely someone you know, love, or trust.
Above there was no mention of men, or guys, or boyfriends. Yet that may be what you pictured in those scenarios. Of course it’s unfair to say it’s all men, and it’s not.
But if “boys will be boys” and the bros don’t check their bros misogynistic jokes, then who can we hold accountable, and who will put an end to the realistic fears of women - women of colour, gender diverse people, disabled people, people with intersectional identities - who have increased risks of experiencing violence?
As a community we fight for a world that is free from sexual violence. There is power in numbers, you can support our kaupapa by wearing black on Thursdays and knowing your ‘why.’ When you feel alone, hopeless and worthless one of the greatest leaders of positive change is a supportive community, to help you know that you are not alone, you have innate worth, and power.
*Thursdays in Black defines sexual violence as any unwanted sexual behaviour, comments, images, messages, or harassment (including threats of behaviour) perpetrated by another person, regardless of their relationship to you e.g. stranger, friend, partner, tutor, lecturer or employer.
All references can be found at https://helpauckland.org.nz/resources/sexual-abusestatistics-summary/
Above scenarios are fictionalised from real stories.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Has anyone else out there been gifted a $154 "late payment penalty" by the university this week? I have - but the most infuriating thing is I'm nowhere near the ball that's been dropped!
I've been toiling for weeks in the digital labyrinth, which has mostly involved waiting - waiting for RealMe to resolve a verification issue so I could access StudyLink to apply for a loan which requires us after some days of processing to complete and upload another digital form (and another they naturally sent by snail mail) to an entirely different service called Connect, which will then do its own week or so of processing. After which in my case it seemed the right hand didn't talk to the left (perhaps one was made redundant!) and I had to reupload everything again as StudyLink insisted they had not received my files from Connect, further extending my financial limbo and whooshing past the payment deadline en route.
What really gets me is that instead of recognising that these delays aren’t our fault, the university penalises students first, forcing us to navigate yet another maze to appeal it. At best, this is unneeded stress on us as our assignments roll in and at worst - students will fall through the cracks. Not everyone has the time, energy, or resources to go through yet another drawn-out appeal process just to undo a fee that never should have been charged to us in the first place.
Let me be real, I get that RealMe, StudyLink, and Connect are probably being held together by a skeleton crew after the latest public service purge, but if the government is going to gut its own systems to the point where nothing functions, maybe universities could show a little restraint before penalising students for delays that were never ours to begin with.
This is the kind of behaviour I expect from a budget airline, not an academic institution.
Keep it classy VUW!
- Mildly Miffed
Dear Salient, where did it all go wrong?
Is it just me or is Salient really shit this year? Some of the stories have obviously not been reviewed for punctuation and spelling, and when they have been, the words are not able to be read because the huge block paragraphs on the pages are so hard to make out. Some of the stories are just not engaging, include false information, or nobody gives a fuck about what is written. The news articles and slander pieces lack any actual substance, and leave the reader a bit disappointed. So I ask, Salient, where did it all go wrong? It appears that whilst Salient may aspire to act in its confrontational, radical and empowering style (as it has historically) it falls short on this promise. This is reflected in the piles of salient issues seen lying around both Kelburn and Pipitea. Salient. Do better.
Angry Reader
Editor’s Note: We are a student magazine, and we rely on the contributions of other students, who are often working part- or full-time in addition to their study. If you think you can do better than them, you are welcome to submit an article: my email is editor@salient.org.nz. As for the block text: if you’re unable to read large blocks of text at a time, I would suggest checking out our website, which has more accessibility options.
Kia Ora! I would like to lay a complaint about the crossword in the new salient, I think they're too based in history and politics. Crosswords in salient used to be a fun little distraction from work. Friends and I would sit down and answer them while on lunch, using them as a fun little distraction from University. I feel like recently they have lost their spark, hardly anyone knows the answers and it has become very elitist. I understand the direction the editor is taking salient, and that the crossword fits in with that direction. But please bring back the whimsy, I beg. Thanks heaps :)
Editor’s note: Noted! See if you like this week’s crossword.
Darcy Lawrey
VUWSA’s Ads: “twofaced” or “a necessity”?
Recent paid promotions on VUWSA’s social media pages have sparked backlash from students, but VUWSA maintains that income from advertising is essential to keep their services running.
Last week, many followers of VUWSA’s Instagram would have encountered a story advertising Emergency Consult’s new “student rate”. The 24/7 service offers video chat appointments with doctors, at a cost of $89 per session for students, which is $89 more than Practice Plus, a similar virtual service offered through Mauri Ora.
A couple weeks before this story post, a bright yellow ad for ‘No-Doz’ caffeine pills appeared on VUWSA’s Facebook and Instagram pages. The advert features a figurative pencil sharpener and the promise to keep you “alert and wide awake”.
The post received a slew of negative comments, including references to the backlash VUWSA received for running the same advert last year. Law and Arts student Sacha Thomas said that VUWSA promoting the pills was “two faced and insulting”, since the pills “create the exact problems [that VUWSA] tries to spread awareness about.”
But Thomas told Salient that it was the principle of VUWSA raising funds through advertising when they have “hundreds of thousands in the bank” that concerned him most: “I think it's very te lling of where VUWSA’s priorities actually
lie when they've been sitting on a financial surplus of several hundred thousand for the last several years.” He believes VUWSA should be more transparent about the state of their finances.
However, VUWSA CEO Matt Tucker insists that income from advertising is a necessity, not a luxury, for VUWSA, which is the least funded University Student Association in Aotearoa. “VUWSA wishes it wasn’t forced to be reliant on advertising to make up for the shortfall in funding for the association and its services” he explained in a statement.
In 2023, Otago University’s student association received roughly $4 million from student services fees, while VUWSA received only $1 million, despite VUW’s student services fee budget being $3 million higher than Otago’s.
While VUWSA does not have a publicly available policy on advertising, Tucker says the association does have some limitations, such as a bar on advertising alcohol. He argues that No-Doz is just part of the caffeinated world that is university, pointing out the wide array of energy drinks and coffee available throughout VUW, including “massive” new TV screens advertising Coca-Cola drinks.
With VUWSA relying more on advertising to run its services within budget than ever, ads seem set to stay.
Mauri Ora standing firm in the face of threats to gender-affirming
healthcare
Mauri Ora Student Health was recently threatened with legal action by the anti-trans group Inflection Point New Zealand for their standards of gender-affirming care.
Inflection Point NZ was behind the controversial Tākina conference last year where they discussed how to stop "gender indoctrination and medicalisation."
Now via law firm Franks Ogilvie, Inflection Point has threatened health practices across the country with potential future litigation if their gender-affirming care breaches legal guidelines.
Franks Ogilvie is run by former ACT MP Stephen Franks.
Most of the healthcare profession has however viewed the letter as an attempt to intimidate practitioners rather than an actual legal threat, and Mauri Ora GP Rona Carroll is unbothered by it.
“We know we're operating in line with clinical guidelines and accepted practice,” she said. “We're providing good healthcare. We’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Associate Director of Student Health Kevin Rowlatt told Salient he was angry when he read the letter.
“Many who seek gender-affirming healthcare are quite vulnerable and feel like there isn't a safe place for them in this world.
“This group of people, this Inflection Point, have nothing better to do with their lives than to target some of the most vulnerable people in our community.”
Some healthcare practices have gone to the police, while others are complaining to the NZ Law Society. Rowlatt confirmed Mauri Ora was looking to do the latter, as well as getting support from the university’s legal counsel.
Vic confirmed in a statement that it stood by Mauri Ora’s practices, and Rowlatt told Salient it felt like the university had their back.
By law, neither the police nor the NZ Law Society could tell Salient how many complaints they had received.
OPINION: (S)Thiel From the Poor, Give to the Rich
THE PETER THIEL SAGA.
Peter Thiel is an oligarch worth 16.4 billion dollars who bought New Zealand citizenship in 2010. And like every good New Zealander, he jumped ship. Peter Thiel has been winding down his business ventures for years. He recently deregistered his company Valar Ventures, and Valar NZ, a company that had (before he received citizenship) stated that it was “founded to help grow New Zealand into a hub of technological progress.”
Thiel’s CV includes PayPal mafioso, making billions off Facebook and a strange obsession with New Zealand. The venture capitalist has claimed to have read The Lord of the Rings ten times. So naturally the names of six of his firms originate from Tolkien’s fantasy novels: Palantir Technologies, Valar Ventures, Mithril Capital, Lembas LLC, Rivendell LLC and Arda Capital. So what would any self respecting oligarch who loved The Lord of the Rings do? Buy a New Zealand citizenship of course.
Thiel’s visits to New Zealand between 2008 and 2011 saw him court at least 4 cabinet members including Prime Minister John Key in a flurry of business deals, lobbying and PR. By 2010 Thiel must have felt that his cosying up to our best and most principled politicians meant he had their goodwill. He was right. So that very year, Thiel’s lawyers, Bell Gully, travelled from Auckland to Wellington to hand deliver a letter to the Ministry of Internal Affairs with his ludicrous request for citizenship. He claimed that he had “found no other country that align[ed] more with [his] views of the future than New Zealand.” This application required the Ministry to apply “exceptional circumstances” rules when reviewing the application as the Gollum of Silicon Valley had no intention to live in New Zealand. So it was only logical for the intellectual buffoons in the Beehive to grant citizenship to a man who had spent less time in the country than a backpacker. So what if some greaseballs sold our soul to a tech overlord? What’s the big deal with citizenship any-
way? It takes around 5 to 6 years for a newly moved migrant to gain citizenship— it took my family 6. On top of that, you have to prove good character, spend at least 240 days in each 12 month period in the country, demonstrate sufficient English language skills, and then finally, if your application is accepted, you are granted citizenship. An average migrant will have to spend 99.3% more time in the country than Thiel did. When Peter Thiel collected a New Zealand passport like a Pokemon trading card, everyone else was delegated to second class citizenship.
Consider the recent case of Daman Kumar: an 18 year old New Zealand born teenager who was threatened with deportation to India despite never having left the country. Kumar’s parents overstayed their work visa nearly 20 years ago, and as such he was born and raised in New Zealand. Kumar had to plead his case through the media, and only after several weeks of political pressure did the associate immigration minister intervene by granting him residency. His parents were deported. Contrast the uphill battle for someone who has lived here their entire life has to fight just for residency, and compare that to Peter Thiel— a man who threw some money around and received citizenship.
So in the end, was the money Peter Thiel brought to New Zealand worth it? A $1m earthquake donation to the Christchurch earthquake recovery was made in 2011 before his application had been approved. However, his promises to boost the New Zealand tech sector, establish a high tech incubator in Auckland and set up a landing pad in San Francisco for New Zealand companies entering United States markets were not fulfilled in any meaningful way. One of Thiel’s largest investments in New Zealand was in the taxpayer funded NZVIF scheme which saw him make an estimated 30 million dollars on his $6.75m investment. This was because of a generous buyout clause which meant Thiel and his buddies split the losses with the Government if the fund failed but took all the profit if it did well. And so, in 2016, that is exactly what
he did— making tens of millions of dollars off the backs of taxpayers while the publicly funded partner narrowly broke even.
Ironically, the only thing Thiel could not buy was the Queenstown Lakes District Council. His resource consent under the RMA was declined by the Queenstown Council, and on appeal to the Environmental Court, Thiel and his partner were greeted with the judgment of Judge (and aspiring Romantic poet) P A Steven KC: “While the curved roof elements of the buildings will be consistent with the adjacent roche moutonnée landforms, they will not serve to significantly mitigate the… dual straight lines into a landscape that does not have them at present.” It seems even an American billionaire can’t buy his way out of our labyrinthine Resource Management Act, but he can buy citizenship. Thiel and his partner did not appeal this decision any further. Did the complexity of council resource consent leave him with a sour taste in his mouth? Well, I guess he really is a New Zealander. And like every good New Zealander, he jumped ship— Thiel is trying to bag his fourth citizenship — Malta this time.
Nine years ago, Peter Thiel was Trump’s largest Silicon Valley backer in his first election bid. Although due to an apparent falling out, Thiel did not take an official posting in Trump’s new administration, his influence and power cannot be underestimated. Not only is he one of Musk’s PayPal mafiosos but also the mentor of the other vice president, JD Vance.
The last of Thiel’s legacy in Aotearoa is his 193 hectares of land in Wānaka and a New Zealand passport. I ask you, dear reader: do we have no pride in our citizenship? Or do we grovel to billionaires? Are we so sycophantic that we are willing to give it away to any oligarch that pays us the time of day?
Salient reached out to both Thiel and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Brooke Van Velden, but neither responded to requests for comment.
Is Wellington Finally Taking Safety Seriously?
On a typical Saturday night, Wellington’s nightlife is packed. Students spill onto Courtenay Place, police in stab-proof vests watch from the sidelines, and somewhere, someone is crying on the curb. But there’s an underlying sense of unease. A 2024 Salient survey found over 75% of students felt unsafe in the city’s bars and clubs, citing harassment, groping, and fights as common experiences. Police data backs up their concerns—A 2021 report by Dot Loves Data found the Wellington CBD’s assault rate was ten times higher than the national average, with incidents spiking between midnight and 3 AM.
In response, Wellington City Council has introduced the City Safety and Wellbeing Plan, a multi-million-dollar initiative aimed at addressing crime and social harm. Formally approved on March 6, 2025, at a committee meeting chaired by Councillor Teri O’Neill, the plan builds on lessons from the 2021 Pōneke Promise, which invested $7.2 million in city safety but failed to stop a 33% drop in public confidence. Unlike its predecessor, this plan is structured as a long-term strategy with funding that extends beyond 2025 and includes six-monthly reviews of crime rates and safety perceptions to measure effectiveness. However, a recent Quality of Life Survey revealed that 48% of Wellingtonians report having low trust in their local council and councillors, underscoring the challenge the Council faces in restoring public confidence.
The plan introduces CCTV-monitored “safety spots” in high-risk areas like Courtenay Place, Cuba Street, and Manners Street, featuring intercoms linking directly to a control centre. A dedicated Safety Hub in Te Aro Park will serve as a coordination centre for police, community patrols, and emergency services. Meanwhile, Urban Liaison Officers will be deployed to patrol nightlife areas, acting as an additional deterrent to harassment and violence, and CARE Officers (Coordinated Assistance and Response for Everyone) will assist intoxicated and vulnerable individuals in getting home safely. Beyond policing, the plan also addresses homelessness as a safety issue. A targeted programme will focus on getting 30 chronically homeless individuals into housing and social services, with additional outreach workers deployed to reduce police involvement in mental health crises. Wellington’s Take10 Safe
Zone, which provides water, phone chargers, and support to intoxicated people, will receive additional funding to extend its operating hours. A review of the Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) is also underway, with potential restrictions on bar closing times and alcohol sales. This comes amid concerns that some bars strategically target students, particularly during O-Week, with aggressive promotions and cheap drink deals that contribute to unsafe drinking environments.
The biggest failure of the Pōneke Promise was that it was reactive rather than preventative, mitigating harm instead of addressing its root causes. CCTV cameras and increased police patrols can’t prevent an assault from happening. The new plan implements a more structural approach, integrating education, training, and regulatory reform to ensure bars and clubs take responsibility for patron safety. Stronger licensing conditions may require venues to introduce clear sexual harassment policies and maintain banned lists for predatory patrons, an issue raised in Salient’s 2024 investigation into club security failures.
A fundamental shift in this approach is the recognition that safety isn’t just about law enforcement— it’s about an entire system. Addressing homelessness, funding late-night safe zones, and expanding community patrols rather than relying solely on policing is a significant step forward. Mayor Tory Whanau emphasised that the plan aims to improve perceptions of safety while compassionately addressing homelessness, acknowledging the link between public safety and social wellbeing. Wellington City Area Commander Inspector Dean Silvester supported the initiative, stating, "The New Zealand Police fully support Wellington’s City Safety and Wellbeing Plan. We are committed to working with the Council and the community to make our city even safer."
Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge, a longtime advocate for social services and community welfare, addressed the council at the March 6 committee meeting. Edridge, who has worked extensively on poverty and housing issues in Wellington, praised the council’s efforts, calling the plan a "well-reasoned, rational, sensible plan."
Despite these efforts, the plan still faces challenges. If bar owners and security firms fail to enforce safety measures, harassment and violence will persist. The 2024 Salient sur-
vey highlighted repeated failures in bar security, with students reporting that complaints of harassment were often ignored or dismissed. Many clubs still lack formal policies for handling these incidents, and venues like Mishmosh, Red Square and Dakota have repeatedly been named by students for failing to act. The Council’s plan can only go so far—bars and clubs themselves need to step up.
Also addressing the council on March 6 was Warkina Tujuba, representing the African Communities Council Wellington. He opened his speech with the story of Luke Smith, a 21-year-old who died in hospital on October 7, 2024, after being assaulted on Wellington's Courtenay Place in the early hours of October 6. Smith was punched in the head by a stranger—someone who had been removed from a bar moments earlier due to aggressive behaviour. "It could have been any of us," he told the council. He criticized the plan for failing to address systemic inequalities that put marginalized groups at greater risk. "Would this plan have protected Luke? And would it protect others like him now?" he asked, pressing the council on whether their approach truly tackled the root causes of violence and discrimination in the city.
He concluded by clarifying that he wasn't asking the council to reject the plan, but to amend it—calling for funding to establish paid ethnic patrols, formalising consultation with ethnic communities, and embedding anti-racism measures into nightlife safety initiatives. During the question session following his speech, council representatives stated that amendments were already being considered to target these measures, though no specific changes have been publicly released at the time of writing.
For students who have spent years dodging harassment, Uber surge pricing, and police breath tests instead of meaningful intervention, skepticism is warranted. Public trust in Wellington’s safety has been deteriorating for years, and it will take more than cameras and patrols to fix that. But this plan is promising. It’s structured, long-term, and backed by funding that extends beyond the usual election cycle. If the Council follows through, Wellington might actually become safer.
If not, students will be the first to call them out. Again.
Phoebe Robertson
Company that Caters Govt’s School Lunch Programme Also Catering Vic Halls
‘Melted plastic’, ‘scoldingly hot meals’, ‘not enough to go around’. That’s what we hear in the official complaints from school principals over the Ministry of Education’s Healthy School Lunches Programme. The shambolic effort has left David Seymour, its creator, embattled, but he insists that they do the job (and the food isn’t woke).
Well, what if I told you that the same group that runs the government’s school lunch programme also caters the Victoria University Halls of Residence? Well, they do.
Compass Group is a multinational contract food service company, and they’re the top dog in the catering industry here in New Zealand. The group claims to ‘move at a million miles an hour […] turning ordinary acts of service into extraordinary experiential moments,’ whatever that means. Compass services all of Victoria’s halls here in Wellington.
Salient reached out to some firstyear students who dwell in the halls to see whether Compasses cooking matches that of their school lunch meals. No, there weren’t any molten plastic floaties, but no one was head over heels for the food either.
One student at Joans Stevens, who wished to remain anonymous, explained their culinary journey.
‘The first couple of weeks the food had so much variety and was yum, but now it feels like we’re having the same rice and mystery sauce every night.’
‘The food runs out in my hall quite a lot, it’s pretty hard to get anything after 6pm. Last night they only had two trays of chocolate mousse for dessert…one was finished before 6pm, people were pushing in line to get mousse from the second tray.’ Sounds familiar!
Nate Murray, Salient junior designer and Boulcott Hall resident, says the food at his place is always cold by the time he’s eating, which is only 7pm. “It’s probably financially better to just go shopping weekly and make some quality little meals” says Nate.
Heading back to Joans, Salient had the privilege of receiving comments from @joansyfoodreview2025. They’ve been giving detailed reviews of Joans meals since the get-go this year, and they had some interesting things to say.
‘The first thing you hear when you say you’re coming to Victoria and staying in halls is that the food is notoriously bad [...] I agree to some extent, there are good days and bad days.’
@joansyfoodreview2025 then gave more insight on a meal, “one standout terrible meal we had was the BBQ Beef Brisket. The beef was tough like jerky, and the runny sauce complemented (not) the dry meat”.
@joansyfoodreview2025 says that if you’re not a picky eater and can enjoy having a bad meal, you can sur vive the war zone that is hall food.
Salient asked University Accom modation Wellington whether they were considering switching to a different catering service. ‘Not that we’re aware of’ was their response.
Salient also reached out to Com pass Group to ask them how much they’re charging the University for their services, and whether there would be an uptick in their food quality. They did not provide a com ment.
Maybe it’s time this university and this government stopped hiring mas sive multi-national corporations to save an extra buck, and supported local businesses that feed our kids and our tauira properly.
Whakataukī of the week: “Te piko o te māhuri, tērā te tupu o te
The way in which the sapling is bent is the direction the tree will
Labour vetoes Māori Parliament revival
Huripari atu, huripari mai - ka hoki mai anō te pāremata Māori?
I tērā tau, kua hua anō mai he karanga kia hoki mai te Pāremata Māori, i karanga atu e te Pāti Māori. I tērā wiki, i haere a Willie Jackson ki te Mata Reports kia kōrero mō te Pāremata Māori, whakakāhore ai te karanga o te Pāti Māori. Kua whai tēnei te whakakorenga nā Chris Hipkins mā te whakaaro nā te Pāti Māori kia whakatū te kaikōmihana mō te Tiriti.
Green Party Petition for Pacific Visa Waiver to NZ
By Walter Hamer Zamalis
E ai ki a Jackson, ko te pīrangi o te Pāti Māori he Pāremata Māori, he pūnaha ture Māori, he pūnaha hauora Māori kia wehe atu i ngā pūnaha Pākeha. Kei a rātou te mana ki te tū kōrero mō tēnā, nā Jackson i mea atu ki te New Zealand Herald. Engari, e whai ana te Pāti Reipa i ngā kaupapa “parāoa me te pata”, koia ko ngā take whare, ngā take mahi, me ngā take haumaru, hauora ā-whānau. Nā ngā mahi rae tōtara o te kāwanatanga nei, ka matea e te Pāti Māori ki te haere rite me te toka tūmoana, whakakapi ai tā rātou kaupapa?
Like a cyclone, it disappears and it comes back - but could the idea of a revival of the Māori Parliament come back as well? Despite the staunch support of the Māori Party, the idea is one “of course” Labour cannot support, says party bigwig Willie Jackson. Appearing on Mata Reports, Jackson vetoed the idea, saying that though he knew full well “[Te Pāti Māori] have a big following with the young ones” and engaged them with such rhetoric, a Māori Parliament was, nonetheless, a “waste of time”. The Māori Parliament that Te Pāti Māori wants to revive is Te Kotahitanga, a legislature that convened across the North Island from 1890 until 1902. It was separate from Te Whakakitenga, the parliament of the Kīngitanga, which still exists. Labour’s blanket veto reflects the struggle of minor parties on the left to achieve significant concessions.
Moko Tepania Voted Most Popular Mayor
Kua hua mai a te Kahika o te Hiku o te Ika, a Moko Tepania, te tino Kahika o ngā Kahika, e ai ki tētahi mea pōti nā te Taxpayers’ Union. Ko te mea pōti nei ka uiui atu ki ngā kaiutu tāke kia arotake i tā rātou kahika me ōna mahi mai i te kōwhiringa pōti o 2022 ki ēnei rā tonu. Ko tā Kahika Tepania, ko te mea pōti rā e whakaatu ana i te hononga o tā ētahi ki ngā mahi a Tepania, otirā a te Kaunihera o te Hiku o te Ika. Hoi, he nui kē tonu ngā mahi kia mahia, koia tōna aronga i tēnei wā tonu.
The Far, Far North Mayor Moko Tepania (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa) has been voted most popular mayor by the The Taxpayers' Union - Curia poll.
This poll surveyed respondents on how they assessed their local mayor’s performance since the 2022 election, with the responses categorised as very poor, poor, average, good, or very good.
According to Te Ao Māori News, “For what it’s worth, it’s a poll that shows some people resonate with the work myself, we in our council, are doing.” He also shared that despite the poll results, there is still work to be done. His focus remains on tackling ongoing issues, and efforts will continue with full dedication. Tepania is the youngest and the first Māori mayor ever in the Far North District council. He also leads the council with the most Māori politicians.
The Greens have put out a petition asking the government to allow visitors from the Pacific to have visa-free entry into Aotearoa. According to RNZ, Teanau Tuiono, the Green Party’s Pacific Peoples spokesperson, said that Aotearoa is part of the “family of Pacific nations.” He highlighted the difficulties and barriers that Pacific people have to face when going to Aotearoa. He said that even with Aotearoa's strong ties to the Pacific, people from Pacific nations have to jump through hoops to secure a visitor visa, with many applications being unjustly denied.
Currently, travelers from 60 countries including the U.S, the U.K, and multiple countries across Europe and Asia can have access to Aotearoa without a visa, but none of those countries are in the Pacific region. Tuiono told RNZ’s Pacific Waves podcast that it is unfair that distant countries are granted visa waivers when that is not yet possible for our neighbours in the Pacific.
MPI song of the week: Mareikura - Modern Māori Quartet feat. Awhimai Fraser
In honour of our Women's issue, this waiata is dedicated to wāhine as it celebrates and honours wāhine as the pillars of our community.
Māori and Pasifika News is written by Taipari Taua
Mā te wahine, mā te whenua, ka ngaro te tangata
I noticed something while watching Te Matatini prizegiving this year- the award for manukura wahine was called before the manukura tāne. Makes sense because one has to be called first, but I wondered: why that order? I kept watching, and realised that the format of the prizegiving was that awards were given in increased value, starting with the individual awards then finishing with the big one - saving the best for last. In this ranking, the manukura wahine is ranked below the manukura tāne, and the poi below the haka. This is the literal epitome of ‘not that deep’, but it shows something implicit to te ao Māori. Tāne mā, buckle up and put those pitchforks down - I’m here to talk about mana wāhine.
It’s in our pūrākau and pakiwaitara, in our whakairo and raranga practices and taonga, and even in our iwi and hapū names. Aptitude and whakapapa lines trumped binary ideas of man = stronger, so man = grr leader when determining authority in Ngāti Porou. Dame Whina Cooper, as the first born of Heremia Te Wake, was considered by traditional lines of succession to be the next great rangatira, and Te Rangitopeora alongside her mother Waitohi held rights to leadership in their own right because of their skill and whakapapa. The author’s own hapū, Ngāti Kea Ngāti Tuara, is named after its two wāhine tupuna - Kearoa and Tuara. This complex approach to leadership, sex, and gender was radically simplified during the early period of colonisation, with wāhine Māori either not given the chance to sign Te Tiriti, or having their signatures be ignored in favour of the male heavy hitters. Wāhine Māori were forced into the Victorian notion of women as little more than property, and were not allowed to vote or marry while retaining their land, and this attitude of women as lesser to men stuck around.
In response to this gradual cementing of sexism in te ao Māori, the big guns in kaupapa Māori theory - Naomi Simmonds, Linda Tuhiwai-Smith, Leonie Pihama and Kathie Irwin - peeled off across the 1980s and 90s to create Mana Wāhine methodology. It was these wāhine who first asked why the karanga wasn’t considered as important as the whaikōrero, and who pointed out that kaumātua doesn’t actually mean old man, it means revered elder, without gender. Now, we tend to agree that on the marae, the real power lies with the kuia with her deadly woollen slipper and plaid blanket combo. We routinely see men deferring to women when it comes to the kitchen, the pōwhiri dress code, and even the invitations to the tangihanga. On the surface, it looks as if those Mana Wāhine theorists cracked it, straight up eliminating sexism in te ao Māori within one generation. Certainly, we are coming to value te ao wāhine, often by bringing in some troubling gender essentialism that goes along the lines of women have worth because they are breeding machines. But we haven’t yet seen a meaningful and sustained restoration of the old ways where leadership was based on skill and prowess, rather than the contents of someone’s pants.
Waitangi Tribunal report WAI2700 #B001 sums up the absolutely dire state of wāhine Māori representation in governance well. The first wahine Māori MP in any South Island general electorate only happened in 2020, and the Waiariki electorate has never had a wāhine Māori MP. Wellington City Council didn’t have a single wāhine Māori in any elected position until 2016, with Tory Whanau as the first wahine Māori Mayor in 2022. Across 70 Waitangi Tribunal claims in the period of 1990 - 2020, only 179 of the 498 final signatories were wāhine Māori. In the 2020 review of public sector boards responsible for delivering on the funding the Government allocates, 40% of board chairs were women, and only 12.7% of these women were Māori.
So while it’s not that deep that manukura wahine is called before manukura tāne, it is that deep that te ao Māori act as if misogyny is gone from our ranks. It is very, very, very abyss-level deep that wāhine Māori receive equal recognition on the surface, a sort of nonchalant deference, but have limited structural power or decision making opportunities outside of local or whānau politics. Whatever gains ‘Māori’ make, it seems they are the gains of tāne Māori. Wāhine are expected to filter in around this, bowing to tāne and then moving to the side when the real prize needs to be accepted.
And this ain’t even touching on my actual area of knowledge - the division between male and female as categories are themselves binary constructions written into Māori society as a means to greater align us to Western values and structures. But we’ll save that for the takatāpui issue, nē?
Maia Berryman-Kamp (Te Arawa, Mataatua)
He Kura Huna, He Kura Kaupapa, He Māreikura
By Taipari Taua (Muriwhenua, Ngāpuhi)
For this women’s issue I would like to tell you about some wicked, wicked wāhine! Merata Mita and Kāterina Te Heikōkō Mataira have paved some incredibly extensive paths and their influence impacts us all.
Merata Mita (19th June 1946 - 31st May 2010)
“We need to see our own people up there. We need to be able to identify with our own race”
I was first introduced to Merita Mita in 2019 when my mum made me watch ‘Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen.’ This documentary takes you through Mita’s life, exploring her impact on her whānau, her country, and the wider indigenous community (I cannot recommend it enough). Mita was raised as the eldest daughter and third child of 9 children in Maketū. Her life growing up was centred around her marae within a close-knit supportive community which laid a strong foundation for her identity as a wahine Māori. After finishing school, she became a teacher and taught in Kawerau. She understood that the school system was failing her Māori and Pasifika students and used creative methods to teach them. During her time there she first picked up a camera and began her extensive career in film.
Mita documented some of the most pivotal moments in the history of Aotearoa such as the Takaparawhau Bastion Point occupation and the Springbok Tour protests. She also wrote and directed feature films including Mauri (1988) which is the first ever feature film made by a Māori woman. Her success as a filmmaker led to her travelling internationally and working with indigenous communities all over the world.
“Our land gets taken. Our fisheries and for- ests get taken. And in the same category, are our stories.”
Mita strived to reindiginise the screen. She understood the power of storytelling and its importance for decolonisation as Māori for so long have not been able to tell our own stories and have had our stories butchered and assimilated to better fit a Pākeha narrative. Something I’ve learned from watching her films and the creation of them is how the decolonisation of our stories goes hand in hand with the decolonisation of both our mind and our land. When our people see our stories, we learn to appreciate our culture and start to believe that it is something worth fighting for. She fought for Māori, especially wāhine to be able to tell their own story, to create their own destiny. The path that she has paved has left a long lasting legacy for indigenous filmmakers all around the world.
Kāterina Te Heikōkō Mataira (13th November 1932 - 16th July 2011)
“Kotahi kapua ki te rangi, he ma- rangai ki te whenua.”
This whakataukī literally means, “One single cloud in the sky can bring rainfall to the land.” Metaphorically speaking, this can describe the immense influence and impact of one person or thing to their wider community. Kāterina Te Heikōkō has been described as this lifegiving cloud for the Reo Māori Revitalisation movement.
Raised in Tokomaru Bay, Mataira initially worked as a teacher before developing the groundbreaking Te Ataarangi programme with Ngoi Pēwhairangi. Te Ataarangi was set up in 1979 as an initiative to revitalise Te Reo Māori. This was inspired by the “Silent Method” created by Caleb Gattegno, which includes the use of Cuisenaire rods. Te Ataarangi classes were set up all over the country and have been immensely successful.
Following a report that stated that te Reo Māori was in a critical near-death stage, Mataira was a part of a working group that set out to develop an alternative education model for Māori in 1987. This group went on to develop Kura Kaupapa Māori; Reo Māori full immersion schools that aim to revitalise Reo, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori. This group also developed Te Aho Matua, which is the philosophical foundation for Kura. Mataira’s rainfall - her influence, her impact - has watered generations of kākano from Rangiātea that will never be lost.
“Kia kore kore e nga- ro, taku reo rangatira.”
In a way, I owe her my life. My parents met at an Ataarangi class called “Taipari,” which is how I got my name. I also had the privilege of attending Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa and those experiences have shaped the person I am today.
Pono te kōrero, mei kore ake ko ia, kāhore rawa ko au. I tūtaki ai ōku mātua ki tētahi akomanga Te Ataarangi ki te marae o Awataha. Ko te ingoa o tērā akomanga ko Taipari, nā, koia te orokohanga o tōku nei ingoa. Nāku hoki te maringanui kia kuraina ki te Kohanga Reo, ki te Kura Kaupapa nōki. Ko ēnei kaupapa nāna i arahi, ā, ko ēnei kaupapa kua hangaia au ā-tinana, ā-wairua, ā-hinengaro. Nā, ko tōku ingoa tērā he whakamaharatanga māku mā ōna mahi, otirā mā ngā tūpuna katoa kei muri i a au kua para i te huarahi māku, māu, otirā, mā tātou.
By Maya Field (she/her)
In Memoriam: the Red Scare Podcast
We have gathered here today to mourn the loss of a once decent podcast, now an extremist mess. Sailor socialism, farewell. Vocal fry, adieu.
The Red Scare podcast, hosted by Anna Khachiyan and Dasha Nekrasova, has been active since 2018. Former bohemian layabouts and dirtbag leftists, Nekrasova was once lauded for her drawled-out line to InfoWars, ‘I just want people to have healthcare, honey.’ The two women today bear a closer resemblance to the InfoWars interviewer they once laughed at. Going to a gun range with school shooting denier Alex Jones, having “race realist” Steve Sailer on the pod, making incredibly off-colour (to put it nicely) jokes about hate crimes and sexual assault, are just some of the ways the reputation of these women have descended.
What was the final nail in the coffin? God, I don’t know. Maybe it was Nekrasova going to a gun range and dressing up the target as a Palestinian, keffiyeh and all. Maybe it was their remarks on the Neil Gaiman story, where they relentlessly ridiculed Gaiman’s victim, Scarlett Pavlovich for even speaking out about his abuse. Maybe it was their most recent venture into cryptocurrency, cementing that they are no longer sceptical pseudo-bohemians, but rather money-hungry grifters in Brandy Melville. Perhaps we’re simply tired of contrarian takes that are insensitive and baseless, barely disguised as cynical and ironic.
I’d like to acknowledge those mourning the podcast, specifically those who used to listen to it religiously, and now have realised that the minute you start saying their theories in the real world, no one follows or understands. Largely because their theories are built on layers of irony that do away with empathy or general common sense.
My active listening time was from 2022 – mid-2024. Very deep into their post-socialism, pro-Trump run, basically. For context, I was a teenage girl with a myriad of mental health issues, and I had just watched Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides for the first time. It was a match destined to happen. It led me to purchase clothes from Brandy Melville, TheRealReal, and Praying. I listened to even more Lana Del Rey and Morrissey than I previously thought possible. I watched Nekrasova’s film, The Scary of Sixty First. I cut out seed oils from my diet. I had to stop talking about politics with my parents, because I deemed them as ‘libtards,’ too basic for my own intelligent and nuanced opinions. These opinions? That Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, was just a girl with family values. That caring about politics is ultimately pointless, and the most important thing for a political system is that people aren’t stupid.
Something changed in 2024. I think I started eating properly, and I had finally adjusted to a life without medication, so suddenly, my brain was working. At some point, probably while they were making fun of sexual assault victims, I looked up from my phone and realised what I was listening to. I was listening to vapid and callous women who barely gave enough effort to sit upright; who, despite having read a lot of Nietzsche, aren’t even that well-read or well-informed.
I suppose the question that remains is why these women gained so much traction online? Were they ever even that cool? The two women were closely associated with the Dimes Square scene in New York. Nekrasova dated Adam Friedland, host of the controversial podcast Cumtown (that podcast that Matty Healy went on). She was in Succession; she even inspired a song written by Charli XCX. At least in Nekrasova’s case, her ’coolness’ seems more attached to the clothes she wears, the music and media associated with her, rather than her supposed intellect.
What about Khachiyan, the other host? She’s got a son, so I guess that’s nice for her. She was the moderator for a sexual revolution debate, which Grimes and disgraced New York Times writer, now freespeech advocate Bari Weiss took part in. Somehow, Grimes emerged from that debate as the winner. Khachiyan also had a cameo role in Nekrasova’s film, The Scary of Sixty-First, a horror movie inspired by Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide, as well as drawing heavily from films like Rosemary’s Baby and Eyes Wide Shut, especially the latter.
The hosts need each other to stay alive in their respective fields, but they need other people to stay relevant in any sort of meaningful way. With their rising far-right extremism, and the zeitgeist’s beloved irony slowly fading out of style, however, there aren’t that many people left for them to use as liferafts, aside from other right-wing diehards. As perpetrators of the far-right-ification of feminism, it’s okay for them to venture into conspiracy theories, to support MAGA and MAHA, and to gain money from fearmongering.
I don’t want to disparage women in the women’s issue, and I do believe in a woman’s right to be bitchy, but these women aren’t doing anything to help other women, aside from encouraging them in eating disorders and a crypto scam. It’s beyond justified to point out that blind support of women, simply for being women, isn’t feminism, it’s just enabling.
Aside from their ironic quips, drunken jokes about Ayn Rand, and decent clothes, was the Red Scare Podcast ever really cool? Or were we just in the depths of an ironic internet fad, and now we’re remembering to care again?
An indigenous feminist reading of Tahitian legends and figures
I think I was eight when I first visited my marae in Tahiti. My Dad had built a few, even making one in our backyard so we could always be connected to the gods. But this was our ancestral one, where our tūpuna went. We climbed up a mountain thick with trees, flies and the air of something tapu. And there, at the summit, was the marae. It was shaded by a banyan and felt impossibly green. But after a certain point, Mum said I couldn’t go any further. Without questioning it, we stayed behind, and I played with the twigs and pebbles. Later that night, I asked my Mum why I couldn’t walk around the marae, and she told me, “Women aren’t allowed on the marae because their bellies hold the portal between heaven and earth, life and death; it’s too powerful for the marae”. While this could be interpreted as a gendered restriction, I think a more fitting interpretation is this belief that those of us with wombs occupy a position of great power in our societies and must be protected from any force that could cause harm. But this goes beyond just social positioning; it’s cosmic. We contain the vessel that houses humanity and creation.
My culture brings me so much joy, pride, and inspiration for its limitless capacity for wisdom and its safekeeping of vāhine and femme-folk. Each time I think back to creation stories, myths, legends, historical accounts, and bedtime stories, I’m reminded that misogyny has not existed since time immemorial. It’s hard to envision a reality absent of power-hungry oligarchs who want anyone who’s not a man to be their lap dog or maid. It’s hard to envision a reality devoid of violence against women and femmes because that’s all we’ve ever known. But, I promise you, this has not always been the case. Yes, power struggles have always existed (and will always exist), but not like this. What once was will be again. This is the nature of everything ever; creation, destruction, regeneration. This is the narrative structure of existence, and I think we’re in the last part now.
Taking Pacific Studies at uni taught me that the stories of my ancestors were indeed important. That they were as worthy as Western narratives and history. And now, doing my Masters in Creative Writing, I see that these stories are valuable and vital. We must look back in time and see how things were before the great upheaval of our ways of being and thinking. Not because these times were perfect and romantic, not at all. But because this is our way forward. This is how we can model a new future that delves into a pre-colonial past, free from the matrix of domination and emerges as a post-colonial possibility with space for us all. Ambitious, I know, but so was the circumnavigation of the largest living body on Earth. So, I have faith that my ancestors’ wisdom can illuminate some sort of pathway for us. Ka mua ka muri.
Thus, I present to you some stories of my ancestors. Listed here are legends and historical accounts. I admit that not all of these stories are from our old days, and not all of these stories are free from the patriarchy. However, all of these vāhine prove to be stellar examples of what mana vāhine embodies and what a more Indigenous feminism could look like.
’Oro’s daughters
’Oro, the god of war, was partnered with Te Feufeu Mai i te Ra’i. Together, they had three daughters, To’imata (axe with eyes), Ai Tupuai (eater of skulls), Māhu Fatu Rau (master of the mists), and one son, Hoa Tapu (sworn friend). In times of war, ’Oro’s daughters accompanied him. And when women died in battle or from black magic, their bodies would be offered to To’imata to ensure their safekeeping.
It must be noted that patriarchal power was not the norm in pre-colonial Polynesia. Like men, women were warriors, chiefs, orators, and navigators. As we can see from ’Oro’s daughters, women often fought alongside men, having been trained in archery, spear throwing, and wrestling. And when guns were brought to the islands, Tahitian women learned how to shoot, too.
Strength, combat prowess, and strategy did not always belong to the realm of tāne. Many of our societies used to operate under matrilineal systems, whereby women were equally valued militants and political figures. This brings me to the next powerhouse, Purea.
Purea, the highest-ranking chief in Tahiti
Purea, born around 1720, was the daughter of a high chieftainess and a local chief. As the firstborn, she inherited the power and titles of her parents. When she was young, she became an ’Arioi, a group of men and women who were expert navigators, orators, musicians, warriors and dancers. The ’Arioi were a powerful group because they were the only class of people allowed to criticise those in power, albeit in a joking manner. Because of her chiefly status, Purea became the highest rank of ’Arioi and soon partnered with a man called Amo. One of the restrictions the ’Arioi endured was that having children was prohibited, and if one did give birth, the child would be killed. However, when Purea fell pregnant for the ninth time, she let the child live, and thus Purea and Amo were banished from the ’Arioi.
But, as the highest-ranking chief in Tahiti, Purea still had political power. Motivated by the desire to make her son the future King of Tahiti, Purea set in place an elaborate plan. She built a whole new marae, which would be the political centre of the island and other surrounding chiefs acknowledged her and her son’s mana as the ultimate chiefs of the island.
Terehe, who became Tahiti
Long ago, in Havai’i Nui, a young girl named Terehe violated protocol. During a time of ‘sacred restriction’ where no dog could bark, no person could wander away from home, when the wind did not blow, and the sea was still. Terehe, tired of these restrictions, left her home to swim in a nearby river. Infuriated by her actions, the gods sent an eel her way, swallowing her whole.
Despite being cursed by the Gods and eaten alive, Terehe’s spirit endured. Enraged, the young girl possessed the eel, frantically swimming around and ripping up rocks and whole trees. At the height of her rage, she devoured the middle of the island, splitting it into two (now known as Ra’iatea and Taha’a). Having eaten the island, she grew and became a ginormous fish, which would then morph into Tahiti.
A half-assed reading of this story could interpret it as a cautionary tale for young people to not defy their gods. But, if we dig deeper, it’s a story about the transformative power of women’s rage in the face of being silenced and subjugated. Even after being fully consumed, Terehe’s vārua remains. By possessing the eel with her rage, she commits an act of radical transformation, destroying existing structures to rework the world. She goes from victim to creator.
Mauatua, the elder Mauatua, the daughter of a chief, was in her early twenties when the HMS Bounty came to Tahiti. Upon arrival, the Englishmen on the ship were welcomed by the locals. And many of them fell in love. Fed up with their captain, the men decided to mutiny, stealing the boat and bringing a group of Tahitian women and men along. Some went willingly (like Mauatua), and some were kidnapped.
Upon finding a remote island (what would today be called Pitcairn Island), the mutineers and Tahitians set up camp. The couples had children, and a community was slowly established. However, over the next few years, all of the men would kill each other off except for one. The Tahitian women were now left to raise their children on their own, with the last Englishman as the supposed patriarch of their newfound society. However, as the eldest of the women (and thus the majority), Mauatua quietly led the women and children. As the daughter of a nobleman, Mauatua was taught the art of tapamaking and was a master. By sharing her knowledge of tapa with the other women (and eventually the children, too), she ensured everyone was appropriately dressed for their new environment. Furthermore, as ships passed, she gifted bundles of tapa to the captains. These pieces of tapa would go on to be displayed in museums worldwide, one of which I would be lucky enough to see.
Thinking about Mauatua and her story and the countless other vāhine toa who we descend from, I’m reminded of our incredible and unique mana, our capacity for love, our transformative rage, and our resilience. These stories are a reminder of what has been lost and what can be reclaimed. By honouring these ancestral tales, we can challenge contemporary patriarchal and Euro-centric structures and work towards a future where mana vāhine and Indigenous feminisms flourish.
Mauatua Fa’ara-Reynolds (they/she)
PITtinG Women AGAinst Each OTHer:
Is women's sexual promise whilst living Georgie FIGHT!
If we were to wait until we were no longer living under and experiencing the effects of the patriarchy to express ourselves and embrace our bodies and livelihoods fully, we’d die waiting. I cannot yet see a future where we are free from the patriarchy’s effects which are woven into our laws and daily lives. To be sexually liberated we need to be able to live our lives without shame or judgment from men, other women and ourselves.
It’s frustrating that the conversations we have around sex and sexuality are obligated to acknowledge and make considerations for the patriarchy. Instead of ‘I enjoy casual sex’ we say ‘Do I enjoy casual sex? Or do I only think I enjoy it because it's what men want/ what trends and my surroundings are telling me I do i.e am I being true to myself or am I trying to achieve the essence of the cool girl monologue? This way of speaking about ourselves and our values depletes our agency, why can’t we be trusted to know when we enjoy something, why do we have to make considerations for men when they can act on their sexuality freely and without discourse. The truth is we don’t have to make those considerations, succumbing to the patriarchy enforces it.
It's true that men will try to take your sexual liberation and twist it so that it occurs in their mind only for their own pleasure. But you cannot let the patriarchy control and suppress you. Sexual liberation is more than the freedom to be overtly sexual and braless, it’s the right to take birth control, to not be sexual, to not feel guilty or ashamed for something a man would be applauded for.
Not pursuing this liberation, no matter how you engage with your sexuality or lack thereof, is to reinforce the patriarchy’s power, pushing for liberation and equality even in just how we talk about sex and sexuality is what stimulates progress and change. It goes both ways, refusing to provide sex, dismantling the idea that we ‘owe’ men pleasure or refusing to bend to the desires of the men around you pushes back against the patriarchy, it is the same liberation as sending nude images on your terms and being sexual the same way men are allowed to be sexual.
The essence of patriarchy is rooted in control and fear, we will never be free as long as we bend and believe it is our responsibility to curb our own sexuality. You cannot win in the eyes of patriarchy; you will never be sexual or unsexual enough but we can free ourselves from our own learnt shame and treat ourselves like people with the agency to choose.
I can be aware of the patriarchy, understand how my actions and sexuality can be taken and twisted but not ever let it dictate what I do with my body and my life. Choice is the foundation of liberation, do not let the patriarchy make choices for you and you will find your own freedom.
s reSPONSe:
Obviously, we are all products of our environments, and nothing we do is done with zero external influences. However, when these ‘choices’ benefit patriarchal institutions and do a lot of harm to women, it’s hard to say that we are truly liberated.
Of course, I agree that the patriarchy is probably something we will not ever be fully free from. We can’t wait for the patriarchy to be gone for us to experience our lives fully and freely. We should trust a woman to know what she wants to do with her body, and that she’ll make the choice that is best for her. But in terms of sexual liberation being a promise of freedom from patriarchy, we cannot rely solely on sexual liberation to do so, at least in our present day. If our choices participate in industries that are, at their core, patriarchal (whether because they cater to male fantasies, or because they profit from women's suffering), then we have to ask ourselves why we’re making that choice, and if it truly is liberating. Personal freedom of choice is hugely important in freeing yourself from the patriarchy, but it should not be confused with collective liberation.
You can absolutely feel liberated as someone who is or isn’t sexually active, or as a sex worker or anything related to sex, but personal feelings are not liberation. It can help an individual, but if we still have institutions like the porn industry, or purity-culture churches, that still exist to control women, then an individual's choice to be sexually active, or inactive, can only go so far.
liberation a false living under patriarchy? Maya FIGHT!
As a society that operates under patriarchal values, where men are ultimately at the top of all industries, sexual liberation is something that can only go so far before it caters to a patriarchal society.
The sexual liberation movement of the 1960s, which led to the legalization of the contraceptive pill, normalising premarital sex, and destigmatising queerness, are all examples of the sexual revolution working and being an incredibly necessary movement. Without these strides in women’s liberation, we wouldn’t have the freedoms and resources that we have today.
This is not to say, however, that we are completely liberated, especially in regards to sexual freedom. For one, living under patriarchy means that ultimately, any ‘freedom’ of ‘choice’ presented to us is done so through a male-dominated industry. The sex work industry, for one, is an industry ran by men, and created for men. Women can choose to be sex workers, porn-stars, or on OnlyFans, but their success is built upon male fantasies, and a male economy. The predatory nature of the industry creates an illusion of choice, an illusion of empowerment, when it still buys into male desires.
It goes without saying that the industries that benefit from sexual liberation, namely the porn and sex work industry, are ones that can do the most harm to women. In 2023, PornHub’s parent company, Aylo, admitted to profiting off of videos of trafficking victims, and women who did not consent to be filmed (Aylo was fined $1.8million). Even when a porn actor or actress consents to work in this industry, it is still an industry that is built on commodifying intimacy and the human body, especially the woman’s.
Furthermore, we need to stop equating individual choice to collective liberation. A woman can choose to be a sex worker or a stay-at-home mother, but that choice does not mean that every woman has that freedom, and it doesn’t mean that even she made that choice entirely of her own freewill. Think of the advertisements you see for makeup or beauty products that prey on the current ‘big’ insecurity or current ‘ideal’ body-type. You may ‘choose’ to buy a product to achieve whatever look you like, but you are influenced by wider factors that led you to make that ‘choice.’ Or, on the other end of sexual liberation, if you met a woman who lives in a tight-knit, close-minded religious community, who waits for marriage to have sex, and is a stay-at-home-mother, you wouldn’t say that that was her choice, entirely. You would point out the factors that led her to have that lifestyle. You may have bought that product, or applied for that job, but the wider industry (that thrives under patriarchy) exists for you to buy into it.
GEorGIe's reSPONSe:
It’s true that we cannot equate equal choice to collective liberation and that the choices women make are not entirely free from the influence of the patriarchy, however, we cannot just choose to opt out of society, out of capitalism or the patriarchy. Pessimism or ‘giving up’ because the patriarchy is too powerful does not liberate ourselves or other woman. Instead by engaging with society and ‘voting with our dollar’ (I.e choosing woman run companies, being at peace with our face and bodies, and pushing back against the patriarchy in your everyday life and on wider issues) is what creates friction within these environments and leads to change.
Sex work can support woman working towards financial independence, to leave abusive relationships, to afford down payments, rise out of poverty, and engage with their sexuality on their own terms. Sexual liberation has brought sex work into the light, toward safer working conditions and better treatment. While sex work should not be normalized or promoted as a sole career path for young woman (Large accounts lie about their income) seeing it as nothing but an illusion of empowerment leads to further dehumanization and stigma for the woman in the industry.
The “male loneliness epidemic” is a recent invention which, of course, exclusively affects men. Women are not capable of understanding the complex emotions, the mental strain, the deep trauma involved in being kind of lonely. And don’t mention eating disorders or sexual abuse or periods or pregnancy or anything which takes attention away from this serious, and exclusively male, issue.
The term male loneliness describes the increasing number of men struggling to form both platonic and romantic relationships and, as a result, experience social isolation. The cause of this epidemic is usually put down to the expectation for men to be emotionless, something women totally can’t understand.
Because of the recent attention brought to this issue, it’s common to hear that patriarchy affects men and women equally, that women are as responsible for perpetuating misandrist (anti-male) ideologies as men are for perpetuating misogynist ones. Even feminists are saying “the patriarchy is bad for everyone”.
The problem is, everything classified as “misandrist” is actually…misogynistic. For instance, men being forbidden from expressing emotion – the basis of male loneliness. Men who are sensitive or emotional are categorised as weak, “beta” males, while men who are stoic and feel no emotion are “alpha” males. But where do these ideas come from? What group, often stereotyped as emotional, unreasonable, and hormonal, are these “beta” males being compared to, and criticised for being like? That’s right – women.
Men cannot be emotional because women are emotional, women are weak, women are unreasonable. Women are objects undeserving of respect. No one wants to be a woman.
Women are equally taught they cannot be emotional because, to be humanised, they must be like men. Just because women are expected to be emotional, it does not mean our emotions are taken seriously. This is the fundamental trap –the misconstruing of expectation with allowance. So, if neither men or women are allowed to express emotion, why are we only focusing on male loneliness?
In fact, female feelings are even less validated precisely because we are expected to be emotional and overreact. Our health concerns are rarely listened to, and we’re all sick of being asked if it’s that time of the month. Many women don’t bother seeing their GP anymore because we know they won’t help.
I’ve heard of gynaecologists telling women that debilitating cramps are normal and nothing to worry about (they aren’t). I’ve heard of women being denied important scans because of the risk to their ovaries. I’ve heard that women are dying because doctors cannot perform life saving abortions.
Combining the denial of our health issues with attacking our right to bodily autonomy, and it starts to look intentional. This is not just a few women being told it’s their period, it is an active threat to our health and lives.
I cannot say the same for men.
In fact their concerns are taken far more seriously. Yes, men may struggle to express emotion because of the stigma surrounding it, but the real concern is being seen as feminine, not being emotional. If men were not afraid of being seen as female, they wouldn’t be afraid of expressing “feminine” emotions. Even so, the effect of the patriarchy on women is far more pervasive and life threatening than it ever has been, or will be, for men. Let’s not forget that patriarchy is built to serve men. “Misandry” is an accidental consequence of an intentional attack on women.
Because women are dehumanised, it is assumed we cannot be lonely. In reality, women are struggling more than any lonely man. We are not only keeping our own emotions in check, but also doing the emotional work for the men in our lives. And we are still treated like objects. How could women not be lonely when they are so thoroughly dehumanised by the men who surround them? This is not a male epidemic, it is a human one.
We live in a deeply polarised society, and issues like “male loneliness” only further that. Yes, men’s mental health matters, but should it be our focus when healthcare cannot see a woman’s value past her ability to have children? When women are dying because of abortion bans? When there is a rape crisis, where the majority of perpetrators are not charged?
The system is killing women, and the pointless gendering of universal issues is distracting us from solving actual gender-based harm. Patriarchy thrives off our division, and until we can build community based on our shared struggles, it will continue to do so. Together we stand, divided we fall.
“‘red’: a fuzzy, wiggly ‘femoid’ creature, asking questions of performative femininity, transitional space(s), hypnotic gazing, and/or queer(ing) embodiment(s)(…)”
o(l[i]ve) (bly(th)) is a wiggly, circular primate/ process(ing), primarily based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa... she is parasocially attached to Ella Fitzgerald, plays the piano, writes poetry, paints, and ponders... she just graduated with a BA in Philosophy from Te Herenga Waka and (her) poetry has previously been published by bad apple, Mote Journal, and 5ever…
(her) debut visual art exhibition ‘don’t be afraid (the clown’s afraid too)’ opens at Meanwhile Gallery (99/2 Willis Street) at 5:30pm on Rāmere (Friday) 21st of Māehe (March) and runs until the 30th.
Leo
Give up the ghost. Just, stop. Look at yourself in the mirror and be honest: are you the problem? I’m sorry, but maybe you are, in fact, at fault here.
Libra
You’re doing amazing, sweetie. All those ideas that you’re brewing? Great stuff. Keep it up. People may not understand initially, but all will be well. Just keep shining your light.
Gemini
I know you’re excited to have money to spend on that special someone, but have you considered saving money, for once? Maybe your partner admires frugality, and you should pretend to be financially savvy.
Cancer
Ignore what I told Taurus. Slow down. You’re actually going insane. Do not confuse productivity with mania. Have you skipped your meds this week?
Capricorn
Are you feeling anxious because you don’t know everything that there is to know? Don’t worry, you can’t know everything. Just because you didn’t know the answer in a lecture, doesn’t mean you’re dumb.
Taurus
I know I generally tell people to slow down, but you need to speed up. Life’s going to pass you by if you don’t actually do something. Carpe Diem bitch.
Scorpio
You don’t know everything. Your ideas may, in fact, be illusions. They could be things that you’re simply trying to mirror from a TikTok, or from a lecture slide. Try forming a wellreasoned opinion.
Virgo
Just because that person in class has a similar aesthetic to you, does not mean that you guys are soulmates. Potentially the opposite, in fact.
Aquarius
The world doesn’t revolve around you. Let this be an ego-death, of sorts. Something didn’t go to plan? Boohoo, sometimes shit happens. It’s not the end of the world.
Sagittarius
Changes are happening! Travelling abroad, moving to a new place? Watch out for the new landlord, though. Don’t assume that everyone is nice. Some people are shit.
Aries
Make up your mind. If you’re caught between two options, or two people, don’t lead one of them on with breadcrumbs just because you like attention.
Pisces
Respond to texts faster. Don’t complain about not seeing a friend if you never organise a hang out. Otherwise, you should hang out with your friends more. Be a social butterfly.
AN INTERVIEW WITH
SHIT YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT
Shit You Should Care About is more than just an epic IG handle. A multifaceted media outlet, Lucy Blakiston’s company runs the Gen-Z news distribution like no one's business. But just who is this icon?
QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS
Star Sign
Go to bev at the bar
Fave music outlet
A superpower you’d like
A fashion trend that should make a return
A fashion trend that shouldn't make a return
Early riser or night owl?
Staying in or going out?
Cottage core or frazzled English
Funky nails or luscious lashes?
New tattoo or new piercing?
LUCY’S ANSWER
Libra, which is interesting because the only thing I know about libras is that they’re meant to be indecisive, and I'm the most decisive motherfucker.
Dirty martini, filthy! Only this year, however, as I’m trying to be an adult. :)
On a good day, I play my guitar. Otherwise, a Spotify girlie.
This is annoying, but when I was 18, I went to New York and it was my best friend, Ruby’s, birthday, and we went to Olfactory, where you can make a personalised fragrance. There I made her and myself one each, and now almost annually we buy each other one, so it’s our personalised scents.
I've always wanted to be able to make any surface into a trampoline. I don't know why! But imagine Cuba street and how fun it would be to bounce down. My earnest one, however, would be the ability to speak to dead people, as I lost my little brother. And I don't know if this would be good for my psyche, but how cool would it be to ask him, ‘How do you think I’m doing?’.
Everything is kinda returning, and I love it. Maybe a chic looking mood ring?
Mullet style skirts or dresses. Like the short in the front, long in the back, however, if I saw an It-girl wearing it, I’d be like, that’s cool.
Early riser!
Staying in, but my word for this year is ‘exploration,’ so I wanna become more of a going out girlie.
Cottagecore: I love a bow or a whimsical dress.
Funky nails!
My ears are tiny, so probably a new tattoo.
Q. SYSCA was born out of a VUW lecture, was it not?
Yeah, an International Relations lecture. Honestly I loved what I was learning I just didn’t fucking understand it, and I’d been there for three years. Everyone in my tutorials was like, hands up, blah blah, and I knew it wasn’t working for me and I thought SURELY other people felt the same. So I texted Ruby and Liv, and was like “Hey should we start something called Shit You Should Care About?” and they were keen!
Q. Do you have any core memories from the start of SYSCA?
A favorite was when we printed all these SYSCA posters, went at 11pm, and stuck them all over Kelburn campus. The next day, we came to uni and most were on the floor from the wind, but we thought, "Wow, this is so cool and it's real."
Q. What’s a piece of advice that you’d give to current vic students, specifically the freshers?
Don’t kill the part of you that is cringe, kill the part that cringes. If you are interested in starting something or writing, don’t waste time planning, just start. Throw enough shit at the wall so that something will stick.
Q. Being that your work is predominantly online, how do you determine your work/ life boundaries?
I think I have really good boundaries; my witching hours, when I operate best, are between 5-10am, which is outside other people’s schedules. During that time, I read the news and do work, and by the time my friends are ready to hang out, I’m ready to go. I also won’t do meetings in the afternoon because, though not exactly a boundary, I’m much better to talk to in the morning than when I’m foggy or sleepy in the afternoon.
Q. In the current climate of misinformation, do you feel a particular pressure when it comes to writing the news?
Weirdly, I don't feel pressure because I've been doing it for so long that I trust my gut instinct on a few things: 1. What people will care about, 2. What they should know, and 3. Growing up in a time of misinformation, young people have become pretty good at spotting it.
Q. Was university a transformative time for you?
At the time I didn't think it was. I started SYSCA in my third year, and in my second year I applied for this scholarship that was new, and took 15 students to six countries in Southeast Asia. We went to Myanmar and I had no clue about the ethnic cleansing that was occurring. From this, I wrote most assignments about what was happening in Myanmar, and it was one of the first pieces I wrote for SYSCA, so that trip during uni changed my life as a butterfly effect.
Q. Was university a transformative time for you?
At the time I didn't think it was. I started SYSCA in my third year, and in my second year I applied for this scholarship that was new, and took 15 students to six countries in Southeast Asia. We went to Myanmar and I had no clue about the ethnic cleansing that was occurring. From this, I wrote most assignments about what was happening in Myanmar, and it was one of the first pieces I wrote for SYSCA, so that trip during uni changed my life as a butterfly effect.
Q. Do you have any goal-setting advice?
I don’t set goals, I'm just always ready. I don't believe in just talent getting people where they are, if you're always ready and alert, that is how you get shit done. And that’s how SYSCA has worked, as I'm always ready to say yes to the next thing.
Q. Have you ever been caught out by AI?
OMG, one time I accidentally posted an AIgenerated photo; I'd posted a picture carousel of Harry Styles, because something big and terrible was happening in the world, as usual, and I thought people needed a break, but I think two pics had AI-generated backgrounds. It looked like he was in Italy! People commented, and so the only time I've been called out was for Harry Styles, and should be someone I know intimately!
Q. Do you feel a power dichotomy at times, being that you are a woman running her own business?
Not so much that I'm a woman, I sometimes feel a power imbalance because of my nature. I love being underestimated, so when i walk into a room of media bros and I’m dressed in pink and am short and giggly, I love watching them slowly realise I know what the fuck I'm talking about.
Q. You’ve spoken before about imposter syndrome, could you give your take on it and what your experience has been?
I think imposter syndrome was a term that was made up so that women would then feel like they have it. Particularly as women, we think we should prescribe to it, buying books, going on retreats, and doing courses to get ourselves out of it, only to find not only are we out of pocket—spending money on it that men aren't — but we're also wasting our time. I think the world almost wants women to believe they have it; not to say its implications aren't real, but if no one had created the term, we would feel it less. I definitely don't have imposter syndrome, I know I deserve and have worked for what I have.
Q. As mentioned prior, you recently wrote an incredible book with one of your besties. Do you see friendships as an important element in business and/or success?
Yeah! Everyone says not to go into business with friends, but for me, working with Ruby and Liv, who I started SYSCA with, has been amazing — they're like sisters. We're all from Blenheim, and when you're from a small town, your friends and imagination are everything. We always dreamed of starting businesses together, and in 2018, we did. We complement each other perfectly, making it the best thing ever. Writing the book with Bel, a later friend, was a stroke of luck — she’s an incredible writer and shepherded me through the process. It was a creative friendship, and I wouldn’t have written a book without her. So, I’m a huge advocate for working with friends, and being unafraid of confrontation definitely helps!
Make It Make Sense
From Shit You Should Care About's Lucy Blakiston and Bel Hawkins Available at Unity Books!
Q. In your book, Make It Make Sense, you mention that "I owe it all to One Direction." Do you feel that being a fangirl has shaped your business, and given how misogyny frames fangirls negatively, do you feel empowered by using this part of your life to fuel your success?
Yes, to all of that. I owe everything to 1D because I used to run a fan account with 60,000 followers and it taught me valuable skills like editing, mobilising groups, and using Photoshop. I learned these things because I wanted to, not because I was told to, even though I initially felt embarrassed. When I started SYSCA, it felt easy because I had done it all before as a fan. Women should be able to put these skills on their CVs too; there's no clear path for us like there is for men with sports, for example. Loving something like fan fiction should lead to careers, but it’s often seen as embarrassing. The world takes our money for concerts and merch, but doesn’t take us seriously — it's crazy!
Q. Following on from that, what is on your radar?
My book agent, Abigail Bergstrom, is about to release her second book called Selfish Girls and it looks fucking incredible. Lena Dunham is about to release a new movie, Good Sex, and I also want to watch Anora since it just took home a bunch of Oscars. So on my radar is good sex and selfish girls. :)
Follow @ SHITYOUSHOULDCAREABOUT on Instagram.
Subscribe to SYSCA’s Newsletter! <3 https://shityoushouldcareabout. substack.com/subscribe
Q. And lastly, can we talk about the political and economic state of the world right now?
Shall we? Read my newsletter and we can.
What would a Women’s Rep Group do for students?
There’s demand for a women’s room, for a mother’s room, so that would be really awesome for the women’s group to run. Events and building community, and advocating for women to be in positions at VUWSA, Salient and in the University. In the election last year, I think maybe two other women ran, and everyone else were men. Just advocating for women, and letting women know that they are allowed in those spaces, and people want them in those spaces.
A lot of the people who ask me about how they can help out have been women, so it is changing, but there is still progress to be made at Vic.
We talk about these Rep groups, and I was worried that when I was talking to the other women’s groups about a Women’s Rep group, that someone would say we don’t need it, but no one has said that, and that’s great.
To anyone who does say that we don’t need one, what would you say?
I would reiterate that women are the majority of students, but they are underrepresented, and that a group would help with that representation and advocacy.
By Maya Field (She/Her)
What is the Equity Officer, for people who are new to VUWSA and the exec team?
VUWSA’s job is to make student life on campus better and more enjoyable, my role in that is to help students who are facing problems with equity, whether it’s for who they are, in courses, and around campus.
I also help out with campaigns, such as pushing back on the government for blocking puberty blockers, pushing back on Destiny Church with ManUp, helping run things alongside the welfare advice president and the kitchenware drive. Also running SEDC, which is the Student Equity and Diversity Committee, which is a group of rep groups.
So it’s UniQ, Disabled Students, International Students, Pasifika students, Ngāi Tauira. I chair it, and hopefully the new Women’s Group will sit in on that as well.
Why do you want to bring the Women’s Group back?
It’s interesting because Rep Groups are separate to VUWSA, we don’t manage them, but they are really important. I was looking into all of the rep groups before setting up the first SEDC meeting, and it said that the Women’s Group had been disestablished for a few years because of COVID. Which sucks, because about 60% of students on campus are women, and that’s not reflected in Salient, or VUWSA. We have three women on the Exec, and six men. It’s not reflected in people you see that are being put forward.
Women are underrepresented at our university despite being the larger population in our gender split, so I thought, why not try? We already have amazing clubs like Women In Tech, Feminist Law Society, Gender Minorities in Science, Thursdays in Black, and UniQ doing great mahi, but there’s no group, specifically on SEDC, that are for women. Also, the language I’ve been using for the Women’s group has mostly been women, but I think it’ll be great for trans and non-binary, and other gender minorities.
I want it to be run by whoever gets elected, and the other women’s groups involved at the uni.
Chris Kraus in Conversation w/ Salient’s Editor
Over the summer, I had the rare pleasure of being able to interview Chris Kraus. Most people will know Kraus for her acclaimed autofictional novels, particularly I Love Dick, which has become an icon of women’s literature and counterculture worldwide. Her novels have inspired it-girls from Alexa Chung to Lena Dunham, and the literary and creative DNA of her work is present in pop culture to this day. What most people don’t know is that Kraus is actually an alumni of Victoria University of Wellington. The American author spent her youth in Aotearoa, and returned here as a filmmaker for her final film before embarking on her literary career. Because of this, Aotearoa, particularly Te-Whanganui-A-Tara, have a particular significance in her work, and you can feel echoes of the great loneliness she feels in New Zealand throughout her work.
WI: Do you feel that your novel was before its time or do you think that you tapped into something that maybe people hadn't quite come to terms with about themselves yet?
CK: Well, I feel like every book that works is both of its time and also outside its time. At the same time. Don't you feel that about books that you really like? They may be written in a way that tells you a lot about that time and yet there's something so relatable that transcends time.
WI: In your novels you kind of describe New Zealand and New Zealanders, as kind of having this like wide-eyed provincial naivete about them. Did you still find that when you came back, especially to Auckland, which has changed quite a lot through the years?
CK: Well, I was in Wellington too. There was some kind of thing in Wellington at the city gallery, but I got really sick. I was staying on Upper Cuba Street. They've sort of tried to gentrify it somewhat. And they put me in some kind of Airbnb on Upper Cuba Street with no heat. And it was freezing cold out, and I got a terrible flu. And then there was the reading. It was such a freaky trip.
CK: On a certain level I’ll always be chasing that dragon, the intense blue-and-green natural beauty of New Zealand
While my full interview with Chris was too long to be published in the magazine, you can read it online in full here.
By Will Irvine (He/Him)
Delilah
Cadence Chung (she/her)
SHORT FICTION
Seven minutes into midnight, and it was the first time in months that I didn’t have any open wounds. I was thinking about how cold it was in his house. How he always kept the bathroom window open, and how we’d have to catch the praying mantis that came in every night. I used to pile on every nightgown I had, and only ever took them off when I was sure I could touch his skin.
Not that he was ever particularly beautiful, my Sam. He was a lanky, lame thing swayed posture, straight smile. But I loved the way he smelled when he sat me down and talked about the pop philosophers of our time, all that Zizek and Butler, and the sort of clean boy-smell that came from him in waves. When he lay against the curtains I couldn’t help but sniff them the next day.
Past midnight. I was in my room, the eyes of lights shining through the cracks in the Venetian blinds. Slated like soldiers’ shields. It was something ancient I felt, I was sure of it, but dulled by the salty lithium I’d taken that night like a good little thing. My mother, who’d married a pleasant but un-scholarly man, had just called and told me all about what she’d read in the New York Times, and asked me how I was in that tone of voice that only meant one thing. I didn’t lie, but I didn’t say it all: the Renaissance-yellow kitchen light alone knew what I’d done. I told her about my latest projects.
And Sam hadn’t liked his portrait. I’d painted him exactly as I saw him: ambered and anointed, hair flowing, his sweatshirt a rippling robe against his tight little body. Nothing was left untouched: his oversized teeth, waxy inner eyes, limp pale wrists all snaked with veins. I was honest, as I thought I should have been, about everything in our lovemaking. But he took one look at the portrait and turned an accusing face to mine.
Why did you do that, he had asked.
Do what? I didn’t know the answer. He was biblical to me, and that was the unashamed truth of it all. But he left that day for the barber’s and when he came back it was too short — it’s too short, they always do it too short, he said — and I touched the sharp valley of his head in quiet reverence. I knew then that I’d taken him, that pale-bodied boy, taken his bright eyes and head and lips and smeared them into a painting. And the barber had swept his hair from the floor.
All silent on the horizon. I went through the little mock-French barrier out onto the balcony, threw my dark head back to the stars. They ached like razorsharp cuts. I thought that I must have looked beautiful, looking up with my long long hair down my back, looking back and back in time.
POETRY
Propositions
Maia
Armistead (she/her)
I will recall the aquatic turn of your shoulder where the bone cleaves, thin as a fingernail, the impossible skin. I will break the introversion of my body to show you the extroversion of my mind, that loud chasm where stones fall and clatter like rain. I will skim the wide of your back with my hand, like dancing through water to gauge the temperature. It is warm and rough with wool. I will make an itemised list of the things I hate and send it to you, in beautiful prose. I will kiss the envelope. I will test new names for you in my mouth, twist them like cherry stems. What do you think, what do you think, what do you think?
-----TAIPARI TAUA (she/they)
Mauri ora!
I am the Te Ao Māori editor for this year! He uri tēnei nō ngā iwi o Muriwhenua, no Ngāpuhi nōki. I’m a proud Kura Kid and I hail from the Far, Far North. I’m in my second year, studying Law and Criminology.
Real Women Have Curves (dir. Patricia Cardoso, 2002)
Hey Ladybird, real women have curves! In her feature film debut, America Ferrera paves the way for teen girls who are neither white nor skinny. This underrated coming-of-age film is about 18 year old Ana García who is navigating family expectations, body image, and wanting to go to college. Long live independent cinema!
19 (Adele, 2008)
Adele has been a big part of my life since I was five years old, and it’s only now that I’m the same age as Adele during the creation of this album that I’m starting to really understand it. Only a 19 year old could write it, and only a 19 year old can fully appreciate it.
Everything Everywhere All At Once (dir. the Daniels, 2022)
Fun fact: I travelled an hour and a half to see this movie in cinemas because the Kaitaia cinema selection is always shit! It was worth every second though, and I haven’t been the same since. It’s universal. It’s out the gate. It’s everything, everywhere, all at once. (ALSO, Mitski song in the credits — hello?!)
Ka Whawhai Tonu Mātou | Struggle Without End (Ranginui Walker, 1990; 2004)
NZ history, then there is Aotearoa history. In what should be a fixture in the NZ nonfiction literature canon, this book recounts a real history of Aotearoa; a Māori history of Aotearoa. Walker takes you from our ancient Māori stories right through to 1990. As the book's synopsis says, this book deserves to be read by every Māori and every Pākeha.
First Ladies
By Holly R.
Across
1 Subject of the worlds most famous painting 2 House MD character famous for the line “what’s my necklace made of”
5 Leading lady of Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
6 Dr Louks of internet fame for her PHD in olfactory ethics
7 The satisfyingly sour author of “The Secret History”
9 Curly redhead broadway star
11 Goodall of zoology and primatology fame
12 Mother of the fictional Roses in “Schitts Creek”
15 Popeye character who’s name is synonymous with a cooking staple
16 Fitzgerald, queen of jazz
Quiz
Down
1 The youngest Nobel peace prize winner
2 Golden age Hollywood star, perhaps with a green thumb 3 "It's ____ from Gaza and I'm still alive"; Palestinian Journalist and filmmaker
4 Nickname of leather-clad Brooklyn Nine-nine detective 8 A mysteriously disappeared pilot
10 Tennis champ who shares a last name with major Japanese city
13 Main character of hit HBO series "Euphoria"
14 "It’s no use __. __ we’ve got to have it out... I’ve loved you ever since I’ve known you __. I couldn’t help it, and and I’ve tried to show it but you wouldn’t let me which is fine but I must make you hear now and give me an answer because I cannot go on like this any longer. I gave up billiards, I gave up everything you didn't like, I'm happy I did, its fine and I waited and I never complained because I.... y'know I figured you'd love me __."
1. After the death of Jimmy Carter last year, who is the oldest living former United States President?
2. Which Succession actor won Best Supporting Actor at the 97th Academy Awards?
3. What is the name of the group that disrupted the Wellington Pride Parade with a Haka despite claiming to empower men to become better fathers?
4. The chemical element Holmium is named after which European capital city?
5. New Zealand author Eleanor Catton became the youngest ever Booker Prize winner at age 28 for which 2013 novel?
By Ossian Lynch
Data^ every month UNLIMITED* calls and TEXTS to NZ/Aus FREE Hour of Data everyday
Available to buy 6.03.24 - 30.03.24. Plan expires indefinitely if its not renewed each month. Plan auto renews with enough credit.
Minimum $10 Top Up applies. Plan cannot be repurchased if it has expired. Plan: *Fair Use policy applies. Standard NZ and Aussie mins and person to person text, excl. premium rates numbers (e.g. short codes). Calls rounded up to the next min. NZ data usage only. Excludes pictures, messages and video calls. ^Carryover Data: Carryover all your unused data for up to a year.
Monthly Plan data used first then Carryover Data. We reserve the right to amend or cancel this offer at any time. Free Hour of Data: Max speeds for 40GB/m then reduced max speeds of 1mbps. At reduced speeds your experience will be impacted. Data expires each day if not used. Register on the Data Clock app for your free hour of data per day. See www.2degrees.nz/data-clock for details on registering for the Data Clock app. Fair Use Policy applies. See 2degrees for full T&Cs. Buy instore before 30th March
SOC 101 by VUW International Socialists
Women are in a pretty shitty position right now. We’re collateral damage in the rich’s ongoing war on the poor, and deliberate ideological targets of the Right. While we endure the sharp end of cuts, grifters are stirring up and weaponising sexual resentment to recruit young men, selling male supremacy as an antidote to the alienation of life under capitalism, and making scapegoats of trans people (and, by extension, anyone who steps outside of gender roles).
Sexism under capitalism always has these two sides: the sexism of ideas and attitudes; and the sexism of structures that trap us in an unequal position in society. As students we experience both. On campus we experience everything from being belittled to being assaulted. Even for those of us without kids, unequal expectations start to creep into the distribution of flat chores. MSD and Studylink assume that if we are in a relationship we’ll be financially entangled. Often we are, and we face danger when we can’t afford to move away from an abusive partner. We understand that reproductive healthcare is an absolute necessity - if life’s hard now, imagine getting pregnant. As students, we’re already experiencing power imbalances at work. If we’re assaulted, we’re seeing how little the “justice” system seems to care.
If we’re trans, access to gender affirming care is already an issue. For queer and gender non-conforming people, discrimination in housing and employment together with possible estrangement from our birth families means that we’re more likely to experience financial hardship and homelessness. Stepping outside gender norms comes with a cost.
For many, it only gets harder post-graduation. Gender and racial pay gaps affect not just your working life, but other “choices” like who’s going to take time off if you have to look after a kid. You start to notice how many structures (welfare and disability for example) are shaped by certain assumptions about home-makers and bread-winners. Not only are these regressive, they also don’t reflect our present economic reality: today, a single income is rarely enough to support a family. Cue financial hardship for everyone and misery for women as we struggle under the double burden of paid work and domestic work.
What good is believing in independence if circumstances force you to be financially dependent on a partner? What good is believing in freedom of choice if you can’t access abortion? What good is believing that the work of caring is valuable if everyone who does it is either underpaid or unpaid?
So, we have to fight the misogynists telling us to get back in the kitchen, and the people (often the same ones) who are cutting off all other options. That is what cuts to healthcare, benefits, education, childcare and public services mean. Every attack on pay equity is an attack on our independence. Every rollback of reproductive rights and gender affirming care limits not only what we can do with our bodies but what we can do with our lives.
And we have to demand solidarity from men, believing that they are capable of committing to equality - and of seeing through the bullshit to the fact that the Right Wing project offers nothing but misery and impoverishment to all but a tiny cadre of rich assholes.
Women don’t need to be told to get out into the streets - we’re already there. But we can arm ourselves with a better understanding of what we’re up against, and of what we stand to win if we fight back consciously as women, students and workers.
A blind date was the last thing I would have ever imagined myself walking into, but there I was walking towards Evil Twins Coffee. Me a few weeks ago, emotionally unstable yet weirdly confident at midnight, must have thought this was a good idea, but I couldn’t have disagreed more. (I barely talk to people I know, never have I been on a “date”... so many reasons why this seems like a bad idea) Needless to say I was in full panic mode, and had caffeine induced anxiety.
My mistake #1 was that I waited out the door for a few while, before realising that I should have checked inside first to see if he was in there already. And yes, he already was. We started chatting, asking each other questions. I’m usually a slow talker, but the nervousness made me talk too fast, and ramble too. Mistake #2. (Readers should be aware that 80% of this is going to be me recounting my mistakes like I’m at some catholic confession. I hope you can learn something from this, but otherwise just bare with me)
He mostly took the lead of the conversation, asking me questions first. It was really sweet of him, considering that I was too focused on restraining myself from slipping something stupid and was not returning them. Mistake #3.
Despite all this, he remained engaged and patient all the way, even introducing me to words (sesquipedalian, discombobulated) and music (Run Run Run, is now in my playlist) I wouldn’t have found on my own.
As strange as this may sound, I wish I was more prepared for a blind date. By this I mean, I wish I took 10 minutes to self reflect before I left my house. Because, after we separated I realised that I liked Billy Joel and Queen, and knew more classical composers than Mozart. Only if I didn’t have to search inside my brain on the spot, maybe it would have been different?
Oh, and Mistake #5, I didn’t even ask or hint at the exchange of our numbers or socials.
I've learnt English from sitcoms and you can tell. Currently working on sounding less American, but my current obsession is Abbot Elementary so no progress whatsoever. I also enjoy watching movies, yup I said it, movies not "films". I like Devil wears Prada, and Zootopia.
Holden
Just your average 19-year-old bri’ish geezer, I love playing music and reading literature. The only red flag I have is the union jack. my secret talent is that when im drunk I can recite poetry.
Like most major events in my life, I pregamed my salient blind date. After one Negroni Spagliati and two hastily mixed G&Ts, I was ready to meet my soulmate. Halfway to the coffee shop, I began to feel that familiar ache to piss. I should’ve gone before I left, I thought to myself. I arrived exactly on time and said in a hushed, half-ashamed whisper to the barista, “I’m here for the salient thing.”
“Have a seat! I’ll let you know when your date is here,” she announced.
I had to sober up quickly, so I read the news. My date arrived shortly after, and post the customary pleasantries, the conversation quickly got deep. “Favourite vegetable?” I asked. “Brussel sprouts.” My eyes shot up. This was not the woman for me. She also said she’d probably die early in a zombie apocalypse scenario. Not with that attitude I thought, I explained my long-term survival strategy and only stopped when I was convinced she believed me.
In the middle of the date, my plumbing’s subtle ache crescendoed into a consistent throb. My date was perfectly kind and convivial, and I enjoyed the conversation. It was surprising when I discovered she was a Massey student. How did she surpass Salient’s rigorous background checks? I thought to myself. Though she was not the one for me, I wish her all the best! Of course, as a good New Zealand citizen I questioned the intricacies of her visa to see if she was here legally. “So, are you on a dependent visa or student visa?” She passed my rigorous interrogation.
Eventually, the barista came and told us they were closing. We walked in the same lofty direction on Willis Street, and after an unceremonious goodbye, I speed-walked home, pissed in my toilet, and decided my dating adventures were behind me.
Every week, we send two anonymous strangers on a blind date at Wellington’s hottest coffee shop. Evil Twins was founded by Natalie and Stephanie Chin, and is open on Willis St from Monday to Saturday every week. Think you could be next? Send a photo and a brief description containing your age, gender, interests, and sexuality
figured out a better way to do this whole reproduction thing?” But, as sucky as periods are, I soon figured out that not everyone was on the floor, throwing up from pain. When my appendix nearly burst because I spent four days attributing my symptoms to period pain, I realised that something wasn’t right. Still, it took me six years to get diagnosed with endometriosis.
Endo is not just painful periods. Endometriosis is when tissue similar to the lining of the womb (endometrium) is found outside the uterus. This tissue can grow on and through the ovaries, fallopian tubes, bowel, bladder, abdominal lining, and rare cases up into the lungs and brain. These lesions cause pain, fatigue, fertility issues, painful penetrative sex, and issues with the bladder and bowel.
Michelle* (she/her) describes her experience, “The most significant symptom that I experience is pelvic pain. This can range from a slight cramp to feeling repeatedly stabbed. I will end up in bed unable to carry out day-to-day activities… There is a common misconception that endometriosis is just really bad cramps. While cramping pain is a large symptom that I experience, I also deal with severe fatigue and sharp pain which radiates from my thighs to my knees, a result of scarring from endometriosis impacting my nerves.”
River’s* (he/they) symptoms include chronic pain, fatigue, dizziness and nausea. They say, “what started out as pelvic pain has spread from just my lower pelvis into my entire body. Whether it's just endometriosis or my comorbid conditions remains to be seen, but it has left me reliant on mobility aids including a wheelchair and crutches… I've thrown up anywhere I frequent. Friends houses, my house, uni, work, outside, public transport and out of car windows. I always feel sick, even when I seem okay. It's been six years since I felt like I had the energy to do anything intense or enjoyable. “ These symptoms indirectly contribute to their mental health struggles, “this condition is a silent killer,” they say.
Laura’s* (she/her) worst symptom was bleeding, “I can bleed for months at a time, which is exhausting and disruptive. Along with that comes bloating and intense pain, making everyday tasks really difficult.”
Laura also spoke of the negative mental and emotional impact of endometriosis, saying, “Getting the diagnosis was bittersweet. On one hand, it was affirming to finally have a medical explanation for my pain. But at the same time, it was crushing to realise, this is for life. There’s no cure. That reality was hard to process.”
Endometriosis affects one in ten women, but it takes an average of 9.7 years to get a diagnosis in New Zealand. When medical research didn’t include women until the late eighties/early nineties, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Still, many endo sufferers are gaslit by medical professionals, and prescribed antidepressants instead of painkillers. Endo is relatively unknown, and many women remain unaware that disabling period pain is not normal.
Michelle can recall two negative experiences whilst trying to get diagnosed, “One of my worst experiences was being driven to an after-hours clinic due to acute pain from endometriosis. I was sweating, crying and trying not to pass out. I thought I was gonna die. I waited for hours to be seen and when my turn finally came around the nurse said ‘Give her some paracetamol and send her home’.” Michelle was also frustrated by “the constant medications individuals are trialled on, such as birth control. This did absolutely nothing to relieve my symptoms, and gave me a whole lot of nasty side effects. Worst of all it seemed like my gynaecologist already expected it not to work.”
Laura had a more positive experience,”My mum suffered extensively from endo, so she was proactive about getting me help. I had a great GP who explored different treatment options with me, including hormonal birth control, pain relief, and medications to reduce bleeding. But when my symptoms persisted, I was referred to a gynaecologist. After just one appointment, they recommended an exploratory and diagnostic laparoscopy, which led to my official diagnosis at 15. I was incredibly privileged to access this through my parents’ health insurance—something so many people don’t have.”
River says getting their diagnosis was miserable. “I had been fighting to be heard since I got my first period as a 12 and a half year old. The diagnostic process included multiple vaginal ultrasounds (between the ages of 13-16), vaginal screenings, many appointments
where I was told it was all in my head and I should learn to deal with it and given no support. When I was given medication, those medications mostly exacerbated my symptoms, leading to more irregular and painful periods. By the time I had surgery I'd tried upwards of twenty different medications to control my pain- ranging from antidepressants, painkillers, supplements, hormones and birth control.”
If there was a medical condition that affected one in ten men, causing debilitating pain, infertility, and painful sex, I can’t help but feel that there would be a lot more research going into finding a cure. As of 2025, the gold standard treatment is surgery to cut away endometriosis tissue. However, even with full hysterectomies, these lesions, and the symptoms they cause, eventually grow back. Repeated surgeries cause extensive scarring and adhesions, sticking body bits together that really should be separate.
But we’re resilient, Michelle finds “a hot water bottle or a wheat pack is the best relief method. You can carry them around and reheat them on campus discreetly. They are also cheap and reusable.”
Ash (they/he) says, “Endo lovelies, TENS machines are your best friends! They're battery powered gadgets that zap your body with low level electrical pulses to help ease pain; Attach sticky pads to the sore area, and when switched on, it sends tiny electrical pulses through your skin. Essentially tricking your brain into feeling less pain by stopping the pain signals from reaching your brain.”
Laura recommends seekinging help from a healthcare provider, “I know GPs can be hit or miss, but booking that first appointment is an important step… Also, explore your options. I was skeptical about hormonal treatments, but some worked for a period of time, and even temporary relief made a difference. Managing endo is all about trial and error—what works for one person might not work for another, so keeping an open mind can help.”
So, what can be done? A lot of us just want people to be more aware of endometriosis and its impact.
When asked what they wished people knew about endo, Michelle said, “We're not being dramatic, the pain is that bad.”
Ash raises another important point, whilst endometriosis most commonly affects cis women, ignoring its effects on others stops us from getting a full picture of the disease. They say, “Not all people with endometriosis are women; they have found endometriosis in cisgender men, let alone those of us who are genderqueer, transgender or intersex. Intersex bodies can get endometriosis, feminine bodies can get endometriosis, masculine bodies can get endometriosis; treating it as a solely women's issue is entirely disingenuous to those of us who aren't women, and misrepresents the sexual and gender diversity in those of us who have the condition. Gender identity should be taken more seriously within gynecology; and should not be a barrier to getting proper gynaecological support.”
Laura echoes both Michelle and Ash’s points, saying “It’s so much more than just a ‘bad period’ or a uterus-related issue. My experience with endo has involved pain in my ovaries, rectum, urethra, bladder, legs, and back. I also struggle with migraines and serious fatigue. Also—endo is not just a ‘women’s’ issue. A lot of endo awareness campaigns still push outdated, exclusionary messaging, failing to acknowledge that you don’t have to be a woman to experience it. This erases the experiences of many people who suffer from endometriosis and makes it even harder for them to access care.”
If you happen to be studying biomedical science, maybe one day you can help find a cure, or better treatment. In the meantime, endo sufferers had these suggestions to make university more accessible to them:
“I wish there were more options to attend tutorials and workshops via Zoom. My lecturers have been understanding and accommodating to me when I can’t make them, however, I hate missing out on them considering how much we pay to take each paper.”
“I’d love to have proper support and funding in place to access necessary mobility aids and physical support.”
To find out more about endometriosis, check out Endometriosis New Zealand’s website or Endo Warriors Aotearoa.
Hope Cotton (she/her)
words by Alexandra Cherian (she/they)
ABOUT US
Salient is published by, but remains editorially independent from, the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA). Salient is funded in part by VUWSA through the Student Services Levy. Salient is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA).
COMPLAINTS:
Complaints regarding the material published in Salient should be first brought to the CEO in writing (ceo@ vuwsa.org.nz). Letters to the editor can be sent to editor@salient.org.nz. If not satisfied with the response, complaints should be directed to the Media Council (info@mediacouncil.org.nz)
WRITE FOR US
Our magazine is run by students for students. If you want to help us put out the world’s best little student magazine, send us a pitch at editor@salient.org.nz
