Women | Issue 15 by Salient

Salient Issue 15

Women

Vol. 79

Contents Features

Her Body Politic

If You’re From Waimana, Why Are You White?

Sick As Poetry

What’s Your Story Lokal?

Fawning Over Frida

News

Wellington youth service in crisis

Nah that’s women’s work

Te Puni maintenance portal turns into giant black hole

Jury still out on whether your degree is worth it

Nicola Young “gets stuff done”

Regular Content 12

One Ocean

Maori Matters

VUWSA Executive

Visual Arts

Music

Film

Games

Opinions

Notes About My Father

Books

You Are Not Alone

Theatre

Being Non Binary

Puzzles

Editors: Emma Hurley Jayne Mulligan

Editor's Letter because they feel. When will men learn that repressing emotions only hurts yourself, and often leads to hurting others. That violence is not a solution; it is an assault. We’ve spent three weeks making three magazines dedicated to marginalised groups. From Te Ao Mārama, to Queerlient, to The Women’s Issue—each was and is full of powerful voices with something to say. Full of desire for a better state of affairs, for more representation, for more freedom, for rights and recognition. There is a growing surge of recognition of the psychological and emotional impact that activism for political and social change takes on people. Self-care and self-love are being recognized as essential to individuals being able to care for themselves as well as others. Community and self-care are the necessary accomplices to watching what can seem like a world going nowhere. It is how we can refuse to accept and continue to object to our environment being destroyed, people having their rights refuted, and people being killed because of their race. But there is hope. All it takes is looking back at the path we’ve walked down, how far we’ve come, how struggles have been won and people have forced change. Hope is seen as weakness because it’s vulnerability, but it takes strength to be vulnerable. Hope is not blind optimism or dire pessimism, it is what keeps us moving forward.

“We write history with our feet and with our presence and our collective voice and vision.” —Rebecca Solnit Where do we even start. It took immense consideration to decide on a cover image that could represent ‘women’, and to consider what writing could and should fit into the issue ‘women’. We had to think about whether we would keep it light, or throw depressing statistics into the void. When we think about women, what closely follows is everything that is wrong. Domestic violence, sexual violence, the gender pay gap, childcare and child support, emotional labour, representation in the media and leadership, queer rights, trans rights, racism—just some of the issues that make up women’s struggles. We lay no claim to the ultimate struggle. We are considerably more privileged than many women. We know that every woman is deeply different, unique, complex, and individual, and we lay no claim to speaking for them. We have only our experiences and views to go from, as limited as they ultimately are. And we have so many questions. When will women be paid the same as men for the same work? When will female jobs like childcare, elderly care, nursing, cleaning, be respected? When will women not be held as responsible for the emotional well-being around them, the only ones who are taught to care? When will women be able to feel safe and protected? When will our country not be infamous for domestic violence? When will women not be responsible for the state of the home and what to cook for dinner, and what is needed from the supermarket? When will women stop being the shoulder to cry on or the body to fuck? Equally, when will men be told that being emotional and strong are not mutually exclusive things? That women are strong

“Making an injury visible and public is usually the first step in remedying it, and political change often follows culture, as what was long tolerated is seen to be intolerable, or what was overlooked becomes obvious. Which means that every conflict is in part a battle over the story we tell, or who tells and who is heard.” —Rebecca Solnit

Going Up

*Interview* with Melania Trump

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Pokemon Go night walks.

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Snapchat as a breaking news medium (shoutout Kim K).

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Those tiny keep cups for long blacks.

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Unfollowing people on social media as self-care.

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Power bills.

Who are you? Michelle Obama.

Going Down

What do you do? I am a feng shui consultant, nail polish namer, and derivatives trader. So what do you actually do? I want to leave New Zealand in better shape than I found it. I know the job of prime minister is not forever and I’m going to do the best I can every day to make that difference. What do you think about your husband? Kanye is an amazing performer and cultural provocateur. What is your favourite quote? “What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory loans. While the bankers wear three-piece suits and don’t break the kneecaps of those who can’t pay back, they still are destroying people’s lives”—Bernie 2k16.

Humdingers

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Bumble (there’s only like five people on it).

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Donald Trump.

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Funding for mental health (bleak).

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Cold toilet seats in winter.

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Maintenance at Te Puni.

Lebanon has accused Israel of trying to steal hummus as their national dish. Shots were fired after Lebanon won the Guinness World Record for the world’s biggest hummus in 2009, only to have an Arab Israeli village fight back just months later and steal their record. The war is on-going, but the world has been assured by one of the Israeli hummus war leaders, “nobody gets hurt with this war.”

A bar in Tauranga has banned Pokemon Go. Apparently it is immature and people who are 18 or over should not be acting like children. This is weird coming from a bar that sells alcoholic slushies.

25.07.16

news@salient.org.nz

News Nah that’s Women’s Work Women are overrepresented in minimum wage jobs despite holding increasing numbers of qualifications, a government report to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has revealed. The report stated, “women are gaining qualifications at a greater rate than men but their skills are not being translated into greater career opportunities.” Statistics found that as of 2014, women over 25 made up 66.6 per cent of minimum wage earners, with higher numbers of Māori and Pacific women earning less than the minimum wage than Pakeha. It found that 13 per cent of Pacific women earned under the minimum wage compared to 9.4 per cent of Māori women, 9 per cent of Asian women, and 6.4 per cent of European women. The report states that Māori women, Pacific women, young mothers, and former prisoners are vulnerable to low wage employment and poorer outcomes for themselves and their families. New Zealand’s workforce is divided by gender. 47 per cent of women work in occupations that are at least 70 per cent female-dominated. Similarly, over half of men work in occupations that are at least 70 per cent male-dominated. The heavily women-dominated fields of work are being paid less than male-dominated fields. The government suggests the way to improve pay for women is to push them into male-dominated fields rather than increasing wages in female industries. “The government is working to encourage women and girls to train and work in occupations where high growth is projected and where women are currently underrepresented, in particular STEM and ICT industries, and construction and trades,” the report says. Beyond pushing women into other industries, the report suggests closing the gap between men and women’s employment chances through more flexible work hours and increased paid parental leave. However some are skeptical that the government’s plans to push women into other industries will change anything. Massey University management expert Dr Suze Wilson believes it is a structural issue. “Division of labour still sees women doing the majority of unpaid domestic work, and in paid employment you’ve got gender division hierarchically across industries. The normal way that work is organised is a way that's set up for men, not for women.” The full report from New Zealand to CEDAW was the eighth report of its kind and covered 2012 to 2016.

Evolve, a Wellington youth service, is struggling to meet an unprecedented demand for their counselling and health services due to underfunding, and have been forced to turn away new clients as a result. Manager Kirsten Smith said “we just can’t keep up with the numbers of people wanting to access support at Evolve. Particularly around mental health and on the clinical side of things, but also with our social support team around homelessness and those with not enough money to survive.” Demand on their services has been compounded by the fact that other primary mental health services across Wellington have had funding cuts, increasing pressure on Evolve. “What it means is that people who might have gone to other services are coming to Evolve… we’re kind of left being one of the few places now where people can access free counselling,” Smith said. Evolve is funded through the District Health Board and the Ministry of Social Development, but has not had a funding increase since 2009, despite their number of average patients increasing from 8000 in 2009 to 15,000 in 2015. Smith says that Evolve could do with another full time counsellor and another full time GP to meet demand, but “we just can’t afford to.” Evolve is limiting access for new intakes until further notice, accepting only those from specified age categories and specified categories of risk and need. Students at Victoria or Massey are encouraged to refer to their student health or student support services, and those who are employed for more than 30 hours per week or are 24 years or over are encouraged to refer to GPs or low cost health services. Manager Kirsten Smith added that although Evolve is under stress, “we do want the message to get out there that if people don’t feel like they’ve got another option they’ve got to let us know that and we’ll do our absolute best to be flexible.” Smith would like to see an acknowledgement of the increased pressure on Evolve’s services, and they need more funding to be able to properly support people. “Money spent at this end in the preventative space is going to stop people turning up in mental health services where they cost three times the amount.” “We do just need a bloody great cash injection.” 05

Charlie Prout

Emma Hurley & Jayne Mulligan

Wellington youth service in crisis

25.07.16

People noticed Re-OWeek this year

The New Zealand White Sox are still unbeaten at the Women’s Softball World Championship. They now move through to the top-eight playoffs after beating Chinese Taipei 4-0 last Wednesday. It is coach Kevin Gettins’ hope that the winning streak extends across the White Sox’s playoffs where games become knockout. The championship began on an up note for the eighthranked team with an impressive win against Kenya (28-0), scoring 53 runs overall in their first five games. Pitcher Rita Hokianga has proven a standout, taking an “outstanding” ten strikeouts during the win over Chinese Taipei. The White Sox’s success has come at an ideal time, given that in August the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will vote on the inclusion of the sport in the Olympic Games. “I think it’s good for the women’s game [in New Zealand] that we are starting to produce some credible results,” said Gettins. A purposeful open entry has also encouraged the involvement of 31 teams in the tournament, in comparison to the typical 16. At the time of print, the team still had one last pool game to play against defending world champions Japan, which determines whether or not they will be given a double life during playoffs this week.

The first week of trimester saw VUWSA’s usually lacklustre Re-OWeek generate more hype than usual, with events being well received by students across all year levels. Events included a movie night, comedy gig, speed dating, and shows by the Drax Project and Yoko-Zuna. VUWSA Engagement Vice President Nathaniel Mannings described Re-OWeek as “a huge success.” “We aimed to provide a diverse event line-up, catering to a variety of student interests.” He was particularly surprised by the success of speed dating, adding that he “spotted some people who seemed to hit it off, and even left tables early,” and he had “never thought matchmaking could be added to the list of VUWSA services.” The success of Re-OWeek comes in the wake of an exec meeting in which Treasurer George Grainger suggested VUWSA buy the naming rights of ‘OWeek’ to make clear to students that their events are in no way affiliated with their main competition, The Establishment. The Establishment’s lineup saw a UV glow party in collaboration with ZM, a onsie party, and NZ’s number one fucboi (DJ?) Max Key hit the decks. First year student Eva said she enjoyed all of the events, but added, “it would be fantastic if there was this much stuff on every week.” VUWSA, take note.

Not earning a living wage is shit

UK universities have hit a milestone this year with 94,000 more women than men applying to study at university. As of June 30, 593,720 people had applied to study at a tertiary level in the UK, with 344,000 women submitting applications. Since the Browne Review in 2010—which saw fees rise from £3000 per year to £9000—women have been outnumbering men not only in the already femaledominated humanities, but in traditionally male-dominated subjects, such as law and medicine. A report released by the Higher Education Policy Institute earlier this year described the growing imbalance as “a national scandal,” and suggested bringing in male role models to assist with recruitment, even advising institutes to host ‘Take Our Sons To University’ days to increase enrollments. This growing trend is also reflected in Victoria University’s gender breakdown, with 2015 seeing 2507 more women than men enrolled in study. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2015, New Zealand is ranked 10th and the UK 18th overall, with both achieving high ratings in educational attainment. Despite this both countries are still holding women back when it comes to political empowerment and economic participation. 06

Supporters of the Living Wage Movement gathered at the Hunter Lounge last Wednesday night. VUWSA, PGSA, NZTEU, Campus Care, and E tū Union came together to provide free pizza and host a quiz in the hope of increasing awareness of the campaign for the living wage at Victoria University. Some university staff (including library staff and cleaners) are currently earning under the living wage of $19.80. The event included speakers from Campus Care, cleaning services, and the library who spoke of the struggles they face by earning close to the minimum wage. Joshua James, who is employed by the library as desk assistant, earns $15.80 per hour and told the crowd “minimum wage means not living a decent life.” He compared the amount Vice Chancellor Professor Grant Guilford earns ($520,000 a year, or $266 an hour) to the lowest paid workers at the university. Tuamoana Williams, who works for Campus Care, spoke of how those he works with are dependent on each other due to their low wages. “We are lucky we’ve got each other because that is how we survive,” he said. Eleven teams competed in the quiz, and after some confusion the winners “Mull On It” took it out, winning cans of baked beans and a fifty dollar New World voucher.

Charlie Prout

Kate Robertson

UK universities’ gender imbalance grows

Siobhan O’Connor & Kate Robertson

McKenzie Collins

Finishing in White

Te Puni maintenance portal turns into giant black hole

#ChangeTheGovt comes to VUW

Some first-year students at Te Puni Village (TPV) are finding their living areas cold, damp, and poorly maintained after a string of maintenance requests have not been addressed. Students fed up with the lack of action have been taking to the hall Facebook page to vent their concerns, only to be told by hall management to log their problems in the maintenance portal, where they aren’t being properly addressed and followed up. Alleged ongoing problems include, but are not limited to, floor one of the edge building flooding on a fortnightly basis, flooding reaching residents bedrooms, women’s bathrooms not being cleaned for several months, pipes bursting, on-going lift outages, and shower floodings. When speaking of the flooding one student told Salient that, “the fans they placed by the leak were really distracting, and the smell was unpleasant and stayed in my room for days.” “It wasn’t very reassuring. It made me doubt the standards of the building and how much the staff at Te Puni cared about my well being,” they added. When asked why the problems weren’t being addressed, Director of Campus Services Jenny Bentley said, “in the case of flooding, there is an ongoing issue with some water pipes that is being managed until the end of the year when the pipes are expected to be replaced.” “In terms of cleaning, the university works closely with our contractors and we have raised a number of issues with them. We understand that some residents have raised issues about cleaning and we are working with our contractors to address these.” Bentley further added that VUW “sets targets for responding to maintenance issues and this year at Te Puni Village, we have an excellent record of meeting those targets.” VUWSA President Jonathan Gee said he hopes Victoria is “giving urgent attention to these issues and properly communicating the problems with residents.” “These are some of the coldest months of the year and it’s really not nice to have mould growing in your bathroom. For those who are still having issues, I’d encourage them to approach VUWSA and we can support them in hopefully raising the issues with the right people.” The current maintenance woes come in the wake of a heating outage on May 17 which also affected students in the edge building, and resulted in VUWSA bringing in emergency blankets and duvets to cold students. Students living at TPV pay between $359$375 per week for a catered room during the standard university year.

Green Party Co-Leader James Shaw and Labour Party Spokesperson on Climate Change Dr Megan Woods spoke to students at Victoria last week about the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two parties. The event was co-organised by VicLabour and Greens at Vic. Shaw outlined the aims of the MoU and what it meant for the Green Party’s policies and their position in New Zealand’s political landscape. Shaw said the Green Party is the “party of change,” and that they are ready to govern with Labour and end the “status quo,” by offering an alternative option for government in the 2017 election. Woods echoed Shaw’s ideas of strong partnerships between the two parties, but also stressed the MoU is an “open relationship.” It is remaining an “open relationship” because they haven’t yet “closed the door” on other parties such as NZ First and the Māori Party if successful in the 2017 election. Shaw and Woods said that the MoU has opened up the possibility for the first truly progressive government to be elected in our lifetimes, and that the parties are entering an era of change and vision to tackle critical issues like housing and climate change. In the Q & A session, students’ questions ranged from the environment, the housing crisis, warmer student flats, mental health services, the 2017 election campaign, unemployment, tax laws and tax havens, tertiary education, and student loans. The policy responses given by the politicians remained specific to their parties, especially when it came to housing—not joint policies. Shaw admitted to the audience on numerous occasions that this was because the MoU relationship is still new and both parties are still having to work out points of similarity and difference in their policies and campaign strategies. Greens at Vic Co-Convener Mona Oliver told Salient that “despite weather and delays, the night was amazing.” Oliver said the 60+ crowd was the biggest turnout at any Greens at Vic event on campus.

Alex Feinson

Katy Groom & Kate Robertson

25.07.16

Quiz NZIFF hits Wellington Answers on Page 46 Which 80s New Zealand comic book and TV show hero just received a tumultuous TVNZ reboot?

Melania Trump plagiarized whose speech at the Republican National Convention?

The Spinoff and what other NZ news website recently decided to remove the comments section from their online articles?

Darnell Boat is an alternate alias for which rapper?

The song “Sophie” by NZ band Goodshirt came out in what year?

Which US political figure just touched down in NZ, becoming the highest level US visitor in 15 years?

How many seasons did the sitcom Friends run for?

Which Whanganui Motorcycle Club HQ is now listed as a PokéStop?

True or False: A ‘try’ in rugby is called this because originally a try was only worth three points.

10. What is the name of the three eyed fish in The Simpsons?

Friday saw the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) officially kick off in Wellington, beginning a two month showcase across the country of critically acclaimed films from all corners of the globe. Headlining films include the first international collaboration from Studio Ghibli—The Red Turtle, a documentary focusing on the asylum story of a Syrian family—A Syrian Love Story, and Wild—a German film analysing one girl’s (sometimes sexual) obsession with a grey wolf. Alongside such prominent international titles, the NZIFF will also be showcasing New Zealand films made by lesser known filmmakers. The 5th Eye, by Errol Wright and Abi King-Jones, and Chronesthesia, by Hayden J. Weal, are two of the titles making waves around the festival. The 5th Eye examines the Five Eyes intelligence alliance and details the story of the Waihopai Three; while Chronesthesia is a time-travel romcom set in Wellington. “Enabling developing filmmakers to participate helps support the future of the Kiwi film industry,” says the Minister for Arts, Culture, and Heritage Maggie Barry. “New Zealanders enjoy the experience of going to the movies—we have one of the highest rates of film festival attendance in the world—and the NZIFF is a true celebration of our culture and an opportunity to see some intriguing, exciting, and moving films from around the world.” The NZIFF was formally created in 2009 after merging numerous smaller film festivals from around the country, namely the Auckland Film Festival and the Wellington Film Festival, and shows 150–170 films each year.

Alexa Zelensky

25.07.16

Jury still out on whether your degree is worth it holistic look at their lifestyle, development, health, and well-being.” “Universities recognised the need for government, students, and their families to have good evidence about the benefits of a university education. The results are also important to universities as they continually adjust their qualifications to meet the needs of students and employers.” “The data shows that graduates are good citizens who make a tangible contribution to New Zealand economically… these new results confirm that a degree doesn’t just benefit the individual. It also benefits their community and the country,” said Whelan. Although the study revealed a large rate of graduate job satisfaction, over one-fifth of participants didn’t feel satisfied, which calls into question the perception of a university degree impressed upon high school leavers by educational institutions. When speaking on the value of a degree, VUWSA President Jonathan Gee said “it depends on the student as to whether a university education is right for them. It’s important that students get quality career advice at high school.” “It’s equally important that universities continually adapt to an evolving marketplace, which favours ‘softer’ skills like work ethic and perseverance, as well as graduates who have some form of practical experience from their degrees,” he added. Most graduates had a loan between $10,000–$15,000, and 84 per cent of those surveyed indicated their likeliness to participate in national elections.

Jennie Kendrick

A recent study has revealed that over 20 per cent of university graduates do not believe their university degree was “worth it.” The study, conducted by the National Centre for Lifecourse Research, interviewed 6000 former New Zealand university students who had graduated in 2011, with results indicating that to some a tertiary degree is not the “golden ticket” to employment that it once was. 34 per cent of those surveyed had dealt with unemployment, with the average length of unemployment being six months. The study looked at the participants’ lives across twoand-a-half years since their graduation, with questions covering employment, health, and social life. While participants with degrees had satisfactory employment rates, there was an alarming number of recent graduates who felt negatively about their tertiary degrees. Roughly two-thirds of participants in the study were employed in their field of study and on average, two years after graduating, participants were earning $40,000– $50,000 per annum—a figure on par with the national median income. Executive Director of Universities New Zealand Chris Whelan said that it is widely thought to be the most comprehensive study to date of graduate outcomes around the world. “This study is important because it helps us to understand the impact of a university education by tracking and exploring how our graduates fare. Not only does it look at their careers and employment, which are important measures of success, but it also takes a more

25.07.16

Nicola Young “gets stuff done”— Election coverage part II Kate Robertson Nicola Young is running for mayor and this is what she has to say. K: Why do you want to be mayor? N: I’m a Wellingtonian. I was born here. I spent a long-time away when I was married and living in Britain, and since coming back I’ve had a really good career here and I feel the time has come to serve the city. It’s a fantastic city and we have so many areas with fantastic potential, one of the greatest of course being the student population. Wellington needs some strong leadership right now, and it needs someone who really cares about the city. K: You say you’re not in it to be a career politician, do you think some of the other candidates are? N: Absolutely. I think we should have term limits, because I don’t think anyone should be on council for more than twelve years. I’m on the council to get things done. I campaigned to make more of a feature of the laneways and those have been rolling out really successfully, and I worked to get the lights in the walkway down from Boyd-Wilson Field. If you can’t get your things done in twelve years then you’re never going to get them done. You should come in with a blast of energy, work like mad, and then go. After twelve years you’re no longer serving the city, the city’s just giving you a job. K: Where do you see gaps in WCC’s current infrastructure and spending? N: The first thing would be looking at the 5.4 per cent residential rates increase the council just approved in the context of almost no inflation. Over the past four years in the city centre rates have increased 20 per cent—I don’t know anyone whose wages have gone up 20 per cent. The

knock-on effect of this for students renting is landlords increasing rent. We need to stick to our core role of running the city and stop the vanity projects. I’m not going to make any grand promises, but what I will do is freeze rates at inflation, stick to core business, and save money by cutting back on waste. K: What are the problems you see for students? N: Housing is a real problem. Too much of of it is highly unsatisfactory and there’s also not enough of it. I’m not saying the WCC should build more housing, but they can incentivise developers, VUW can put money into it, and the council has a lot of levers it can pull to make this sort of thing happen. The other thing is the WoF issue. It’s a really good idea, but I’m concerned about unforeseen consequences such as the way it will push up the price of rent, because if landlords have to do work on their flats they will have to increase rent. Couple that with the rates increase and it doesn’t look good. A WoF will also probably decrease the supply of accommodation when we need to increase it. K: If elected, in three years time where would you see Wellington? N: I’d want to see the Urban Development Agency underway to help provide more student housing. I want to open proper talks with VUW, because if the students weren’t here it would rip the heart out of Wellington. We need to recognise how important the students are to the city. We need to allow students to thrive in Wellington. Economic growth is going to be really important for supplying jobs to students while they’re studying as well as really good career opportunities for when they graduate.

Do you want a job supporting people to live, learn, work and enjoy life? Why don’t you join us and help make a difference?

Do you have a passion for putting other people first? Support Workers help children and adults with intellectual disabilities to lead a satisfying and fulfilling life. To find out more or view current vacancies: Register online to receive job alerts P. 0800 WORK 4 IHC E. recruitment@ihc.org.nz

www.ihcjobs.co.nz

WHAT IS YOUR PASSION?

Languages, cultures, the creative arts, criminology, cultural anthropology, history or international relations and political science? Find out where it can take you at Victoria’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Postgraduate Evening WHEN 5pm Thursday 28 July WHERE Level 3, Murphy Building, Kelburn Parade, Kelburn Campus RVSP Email fhss-enquiries@vuw.ac.nz with ‘Postgraduate’ in the subject line, by Tuesday 26 July 2016 victoria.ac.nz/fhss-postgrad-evening

Capital thinking. Globally minded.

Maori Matters One Ocean

Rakaitemania Parata Gardiner

Laura Toailoa

In te Ao Māori, and in many instances of language transmission globally, it is the honour and the burden of Māori women to instil te reo in their children. In a time characterised by efforts to revitalise te reo in Aotearoa, this is a responsibility that should be shared by both men and women. Traditionally it is a woman’s duty is because the mother is historically the parent constantly in contact with the child, especially in the home where the majority of language transmission occurs. Now it is much more common for the father to be the main parent as women have gained more equality rights, such as empowerment to enter the workforce—even as a mother. The ‘roles’ of men and women are now less defined, they have become more flexible allowing for a truer reflection of our modern world. I hope this growing societal norm will filter more thoroughly into aspects of Māori culture, like the attempts to preserve our reo. The embedding and teaching of te reo me ona tikanga is of paramount importance to ngai Māori. Te reo carries with it our intrinsic cultural values, our histories, our stories, our whakapapa, and our identity. It’s the core pillar upon which our entire culture rests and must be cared for and passed on by not only our women, but also our men.

When the Pasifika Students’ Council teamed up with P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A. (a women’s organisation) to host an event titled “Empowering Pacific Women in Education”, you best believe there was a mix of impromptu dancing and choreographed routines, beautiful fairy lights, and whole lotta knowledge and wisdom passed down from experienced and successful women in the workforce to us younger world changers. It was an evening filled with laugher, difficult questions, and many lessons learned. I asked one of the women “what is more confronting for you in the workplace—being brown or being a woman?” She answered by saying neither. In the workplace, she is her position. She encouraged us to internalise and exude the confidence that we can get shit done. Our being Pasifika and our being a woman needs no announcing—it’s visible in our body, in our names, in our languages, in our humour. But our competency, that’s what we need to assert. Don’t be afraid to claim your titles, your abilities, and your worth (in the workplace and everywhere else). However, she said, that in no way means reduce our cultural and language competency. Why in the world do we not emphasise our bilingualism? We are used to keeping our languages at home, keeping it within our families. Some tell us our reo, our gagana, isn’t as valuable. But New Zealand’s current and future clients and customers need people who understand their world, their struggle, and their desires. Cultural competency is such an asset for the workplace. We know how to navigate different worlds, we know how to meet and connect people who are different from us—we do it daily. We know how to persevere against systems created to our disadvantage. We live it every day. And don’t let anyone tell you that won’t help you be a productive and valuable asset to any organisation. This is the wisdom passed down from one woman to another. It was encouragement I’ve heard before, but she was more like me than anyone else who has told me the same thing (excluding my parents and sisters, but like the disobedient child I am, I didn’t take their word for it). And I hope if you’ve never heard this, or you’ve heard it before and ignored it, you hear it now—your difference in language, culture, sex, and gender can be your weapons against the very things that tell you they’re worthless.

I te ao Māori, otirā tēnei ao hurihuri ka riro mā ngā whaea te pikau o te tukuihotanga o te reo hei kawe. He hōnore, ā, he taimahatanga anō hoki. Kei te kite atu tātou i te nui me te rahi o ngā mahi whakarauora reo i ēnei rangi, ā, nā runga i tērā ko tāku kia kaua e waiho mā ngā māmā anake te reo hei whāngai atu ki ngā tamariki, engari mā ngā pāpā anō hoki. I ngā rā o mua ko te whaea tērā ka nohotahi atu ki āna tamariki, koirā te take matua ka riro māna tēnei pīkau hei kawe. Waihoki, he maha ngā wā ka nohotahi atu te māmā ki āna tamariki ki te kāinga, ā, koinei te wāhi matua ka kite atu tātou i te tukuihotanga o tētahi reo mai i tētahi reanga ki tētahi atu. Ināianei, he māori te kite atu i ngā pāpā e tū ana hei mātua matua nā te mea kua whai mana taurite ake ngā wāhine, pērā i te whai mahi ahakoa te pōtae o Māmā. Kua pīngore haere te mahi tāne, te mahi wāhine i ngā tau kua pahure, ā, ka whakaatu pono mai tērā i te ao ā mohoa noa nei e karapoti ana i a tātou. Ko te whakaako me te whakatangata whenuahia i te reo Māori me ōna tikanga he mea whakamiramira rawa atu ki a ngāi Māori. Ka kawea hoki e te reo Māori ā tātou tikanga, ngā hītori, ngā pūrākau, te whakapapa me te tuakiri o te tangata. "Ko te reo te poutāwha e iri ai ngā taonga katoa a ō tātou mātua tipuna", ā, ehara mā ngā wāhine anake, engari mā ngā wāhine me ngā tāne kē. 12

VUWSA Exec

Jacinta Gulasekharam Academic Vice President

Chrissy Brown Equity Officer

I grew up wanting to be Cinderella

E•MO•TIONAL LABOUR

I grew up wanting to be Cinderella. Her life seemed so perfect and wonderful, who doesn't want a happily ever after? Turns out we were taught wrong. We weren’t taught from these fables the most important purpose in life, which isn’t being rescued or in love. It’s shared self-love. Many thanks to Jono for being a leader and giving me his column this week to share the importance of falling in love with your own life. It’s up to those in power to be true with their intentions to lead us to a fairer world, not one filled with post-truth. I look to us all at VUW with our time spent learning, and hope we can all do our part imparting our knowledge to others. This isn’t about being ignorant and standing on privilege to tell people to “lean in.” It’s not saying you believe in equality, but living a life of perpetuating equality around you. It’s about being more than just being ‘supportive’ of a better society. It’s about actively pursuing it within your own actions and interactions every day. I’m reminded of the quote—“be the change you want to see”—when I think of growing up with Helen Clark as Prime Minister and never questioning whether as a woman I could also aspire to that. I am proud of the latest appointments of fine women by VC Grant Guildford to his senior leadership team, and to be a member of our University Council with its equal gender split. I think of the period tax and Canada’s bravery / logic to remove it last year. These things take time, but change is never easy. Some final thoughts for you all out there: believe healthy relationships are the only ones worth your time. Believe you are the centre of your universe. Make your own damn fairy tale.

I in no way represent all the women out there. I am cis, white, and straight (I think) so there’s no point of me trying to write something that is meant to relate to all women. That would be so superficial and dumb especially coming from the privileged position I have. Emotional labour is a huge part of my role at VUWSA, especially as Equity Officer. I tend to deal with a lot of issues affecting people personally and in the more long-term. I see a lot of students struggling with their everyday lives. I’ve had some difficult conversations online and offline and sometimes it does not stop at the end of the day. I have been working with the Thursdays in Black campaign which involves the topic of sexual violence. The responsibility of my role is not something that sits lightly on my shoulders, and I have to personally seek support about it a lot. In addition to this I believe the university has a long way to go supporting the diversity across campus. On top of my role I have also been diagnosed with depression. It has been a really tough year for me and I have gone through a lot of personal issues, which has made some weeks really tough when it comes to ‘doing’ emotional labour through my role as Equity Officer. If anything, I want people to think more about how some jobs come with a lot of emotional labour—not only for women, but for different groups too. I find that especially working in an organisation that is striving for change, dealing with people, and engaging with difficult issues requires a lot of emotional labour. I encourage you all to think more about emotional labour and the kinds of effects it can have on people and their everyday lives.

Notes About My Father Naomi Peacock Co-president of the Women’s Group

The VUWSA Women’s Group is a representative group on campus, open to anyone who wants to engage in discussion about the safety and wellbeing of women and girls at Victoria. We have the Women’s Space near the Hunter Lounge which works as a safe space for women and non-binary people on campus, and we meet semi-regularly to discuss whichever feminist topics we can think of and just have a bit of a yarn. This year I was elected to be one of the co-presidents of the Women’s Group. It’s a strange and varied role. Although we’re a rep group, the mission and structure is more open ended than most. Our communication is mostly done via social media with fluctuating levels of engagement from the wider student body, and our battles seem to be forever changing and never ending. For this issue, I was originally

going to write a piece about female empowerment in this incredible age of social media. Or rather, I was going to write a piece on the lack of it. I was going to spend quite a long time moaning about Kim Kardashian and whether or not she really is as empowered as her 2016 International Women’s Day essay would make us believe. But as I was finding research for it, it dawned on me that it might have been rather hypocritical. I had placed myself on a pedestal above her and for whatever reason was assuming that I was exempt from this scrutiny myself. I had to ask myself, was I as empowered as I thought I was? Usually I am very good at knowing things about myself and yet, while trolling through countless Buzzfeed articles about Kim K and trying to resist looking up the price of Kylie Jenner’s lip kits, I realised something.

My five or so months as co-president has taught me a lot, and one of those things has been that decisions I make in the present are still being influenced by the memory of my father—to the extent that I am not sure now where my autonomy ends and a desire to impress him begins. He died when I was fifteen, and since then I have been surrounded by women pretty much all of the time. But it’s the way I work to impress men in my life, who have come to act as substitutes for my father, that has me questioning my own empowerment. I thought I knew where I stood in the discussion around empowerment. I am a pretty massive fan of make-up (see the paragraph directly above and the reference to Kylie’s lip kits). I like the fact I can make myself look fresher with just a few strokes of foundation and mascara. Seeing as I inherited some pretty dramatic eye bags, this comes in handy. Here’s the kicker though: I can look myself in the mirror and say till I’m blue in the face that I wear make up only for me as a way of empowering myself. But the truth is, I don’t. I know, that if I looked deep down inside, I would have to admit that I wear makeup because I am living in a society where my outward appearance is a thing to be valued by my male counterparts and that I want to appear attractive to these men. If I wanted to get real marxist I could even say that our capitalist society is a key player in this, as the sale of ‘women’s empowerment’ in the form of beauty products is done not to make women feel better about themselves, but to make the owners of these companies very very rich (Unilever I’m looking at you). In the same vein, my constant pursuit of success seems to derive from an overwhelming desire to impress the men in my life, rather than any empowerment I have for myself. The men I attempt to impress have taken the position of my father, in a kind of paternal pursuit of validation. There are countless aspects of my life in which I think I am doing something to please me, but maybe I am doing it because I am a woman living within a western patriarchal society. Of course I am not speaking

for everyone, but I wonder if I am speaking for someone. It’s been nearly seven years since Dad died; he died when I was 15, and I’m now 22. There are enough years in there for me to know that I’m doing okay. But I have come to realise that during those last six years I have approached men in roles of authority in a way that I feel has been influenced by his absence; often I spend too much time trying to impress them in what I think is an attempt to gain validation from men who have come to replace my father. Those close to me will agree that I have a bit of an obsession with fake family members. Every guy I’m close with is either my little brother or my big. My lecturers are my father figures or my fun uncles. There is no doubt in my mind that this has derived from the abandonment I felt and still feel due to my dad dying. I seek him in people that do not get a say in this, while simultaneously pushing myself to gain their acceptance. What does this say about my feminism? Of course I believe in gender equality and social equity. I understand why we need it, I strive for it, and I hope to educate those around me as much as I can. But is my feminism tainted by the constant need to impress men in authority as I channel my dad through them? I am aware that maybe this is something I should discuss with a psychologist and not a random bunch of strangers via a student magazine. But I figure now is as good a time as any to start asking these questions. Being a copresident of the Women’s Group has forced me to confront these issues within myself in a rather aggressive way. It has only been in the last six months I have really started to admit these things to myself, and it has made me ask the question: am I really the best person for this role if I allow myself to be influenced like this? Am I empowered enough to fulfill this role in the best way possible? Feminism is a difficult road to walk down enough without self-doubt getting in the way. But I did begin to doubt myself. Was I the best person to be in my position when my feminism was constantly hindered by what I would call a pretty

basic obstacle? I sat in front of my computer, staring at pictures of Kim K, and this all crashed down around me. But through this turmoil of dilemmas I began to wonder—is this just me? Or is everyone striving to disproportionately impress the men in their lives because of this patriarchal society that we find ourselves in? Have I just assumed it is more prominent in my life as the absence of my father is so blatantly obvious? Is everyone struggling with these issues just as I am? God I hope so. If everyone is, then I wonder even further—what are we to do about this? The Women’s Group works tirelessly to make sure that the sisters are doing it for themselves. Maybe it is about time I started doing that too. Honouring a ghost with good grades and a full CV is not going to bring him back, and continuing to channel him through other men in a grief driven attempt to remain close to him, while discrediting my own achievements, seems to go against the fundamental principles of the wider feminist movement and what I personally stand for. There is a difference between wearing makeup to try and blend into a tough and sometimes scary society, and ignoring your own hard work because you’ve been programmed to think that it has to be credited to some man—somewhere, wherever he is. For me, this man happens to be my father and he happens to not be alive. On the one hand, this makes things somewhat tricker, but on the other, being dead is rather permanent. There is no point wondering what he would think of my decisions, my achievements, and my failures—he will never know about them. What I have to focus on now is impressing myself and gaining validation for myself by myself. Wearing makeup is rather secondary to making sure that I know my own worth, without the eyes or memory of a man letting me know what that is. Tomorrow I will continue to wear my foundation and my mascara to hide the eye bags that my Dad left me, and I will look in the mirror and I will say “I am a sister and I can do this for myself.”

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Her Body Politic

Women’s bodies have not been ours for a long time; they are commodified, traumatised, taken as ‘spoils’ during wartime, and sterilized without consent. We bear the sole responsibility of contraception, yet we still cannot decide if and when to terminate a pregnancy. When I think about all the times I’ve had to defend abortion as a women’s rights issue or I’ve tried to talk about it and it’s been tossed aside, put in the ‘too hard’ box, I get mad. I get irate, angry, furious. Because the reality is women must have access to abortions, and they must be trusted to choose when it is appropriate for them to carry a child to term. The claim that life begins with the zygote is scientifically unsubstantiated; the claim that life begins at ‘conception’ is scientifically incorrect and is at best a quasi-spiritual or philosophical belief. Saying you are against abortion and it should be illegal because “it’s my opinion,” is no longer an acceptable answer when the lives and livelihood of thousands of women are at stake. The liberty that activists, nurses at Family Planning, and women like my Grandmother have fought for is choice. ‘Anti-choice’ would therefore be a semantically correct alternative to ‘pro-life’. I am angry. But it is the kind of anger that creates change; a visceral and desperate anger that exists deep inside me and many other women. The fight for reproductive rights is one my Grandmother was a part of, and I’m going to continue the legacy.

Sarah Batkin

work for her. Indeed the first higher-dosage versions of the pill caused side effects that ranged from mild to serious—nausea, vomiting, blood clots, and some women also reported that it made their hair fall out. “I was lucky because I could afford to go to hospital to have my tubes tied,” she says, “but a lot of people couldn’t afford that; they didn’t have that luxury.” I am also lucky, I was able to afford an IUD. The pill wasn’t suited to my body either, which is why we need to stop acting like getting pregnant by accident is “not good enough.” No contraceptive method is 100% infallible, and to be perfectly frank, the fact that contraception for men to use (besides condoms) has not been made available is not good enough. Sometimes it’s difficult not to see anti-choice activists as simply being anti-sex. Some may consider my words radical, or even violent. But what is truly violent is forcing women to give birth to a child they cannot realistically support, or forcing a woman to carry a child that had died in her womb. The latter actually happened in 2012 in Ireland, and the woman died as a result of complications from the miscarriage. This is but one example and the trauma does not stop there. Ireland’s abortion laws (which have just been found to be an encroachment on human rights) are slightly more restrictive than New Zealand’s. What is also terrifying is that the decision for a New Zealand woman to access the procedure is not up to the woman but up to two certifying doctors, who must decide that either the woman’s or foetus’ physical health is in danger, her mental health is in danger, or the pregnancy is the result of incestuous sexual relations. Rape is not included in this section of the Crimes Act 1961. Some contest that New Zealand’s abortion law should not be changed because accessing the procedure is relatively easy. Indeed this is what a man from the crowd yelled out during a symposium with feminist, and reproductive rights activist, Gloria Steinem. I think it’s safe to say that most of the crowd were floored by his reaction. While it may be easy for some, it is still an expensive and time consuming process—I am talking from firsthand experience here. Not all women have the time and resources to find two different doctors that will verify the procedure, and we should not have to feign a mental health concern for not wanting to have a child. All of this makes me angry, and there is a lot to be angry about. But there is also a lot to be hopeful for. Hearing stories like my Grandmother’s and seeing the support from people at pro-choice rallies or anti-choice counter-protests are all things that should give us hope. One day abortion will be legalized and women will be given ultimate freedom over their bodies, but until then we need to keep fighting for it. It may be quixotic to think that words can change people, but I would like to think that this article will, at the very least, provide reassurance and catharsis to women who have had abortions, who have been denied abortions, who have had to fight for the right to have bodily autonomy, and it is also for the men who have helped us in this arduous, exhausting, and rage-inducing battle.

In the late 60s my Grandma, a registered nurse, opened one of the first Family Planning clinics in New Zealand. The contraceptive pill was now commercially available and she thought all women should have easy access to it. However, as she found out through Zonta—a working women’s club she was a part of, it was not in fact easy for all women to access. There was no clinic in Auckland’s North Shore, where my Grandma lived, and the drive to the Remuera clinic was either too expensive or time consuming for some. So every Thursday night my Grandma and one other woman, a doctor, would open the doors of an office space and provide women with various kinds of contraception and information about abortions and sexual health. Before 6.00pm both women would rearrange all of the chairs, desks, and boxes of files in the office to make way for their patients, and after 9.00pm they would put everything back again so it could be used in the morning. They weren’t doing anything illegal, but for some of the female patients obtaining contraception was a clandestine activity. When I ask my Grandma if they ever had to stand up to crazed protesters or policemen she said no, but they did have many women come to the clinic in secret. She informs me that the Roman Catholic Church was still very active when the clinic opened and many women would get contraception without telling their husbands or the church because they wanted to stop having children, but knew it wouldn’t be allowed. She told me, “I felt like it was a necessity because there was a lot of talk of women who wanted to have normal sex and didn’t want to have a lot of children so I felt like something needed to be done.” Her work, and the work of the doctor who operated alongside her, is nothing short of life-changing. I tell her this and she smiles humbly, as if to say “yes, but we also didn’t have a choice.” It’s true that without these doctors and nurses committed to women’s reproductive freedom and health, women would continue to be reduced to vessels, and would have continued to seek out illegal abortions and sometimes there would have been fatalities. This fact is even discussed in the Family Planning charter. The Family Planning Association, formerly known as the Sex Hygiene and Birth Regulation Society, was started by a small group of women who lobbied the government and were motivated by widespread poverty, ill- health, and the fact that many women were resorting to illegal abortion where the death rate of procedures was high. After I talked to my Grandma about the clinic I asked some more personal questions about what it was like being sexually active before these clinics were set up and when premarital sex was still very much taboo. “We never had any contraceptives like the pill or IUD’s and a lot of us never had any intercourse because we knew there was too much of a risk to get pregnant.” She also informs me that there were never any DIY pregnancy tests when she was younger, which complicates things and further limits women’s sexual autonomy. She said that when the pill became commercially available she tried it but it didn’t

If You’re From Waimana, Why Are You White? Kahu Kutia At this stage of early adulthood, we all want to figure out who we are and what we truly care about doing. No matter how far I search, there’s something I always keep coming back to. It is the way in which I experience the world through my body—the body of a young Māori woman. Oppression works in ways that intersect according to the direct existence and experience of an individual. I want to dedicate this space to the experience of myself and so many other Māori in today’s world, whose identities are inevitably influenced by the power of whiteness and the systems of oppression that result from the echoes of colonization that still haunt Aotearoa. A high school sleepover with your gurlz is one of those occasions that is always likely to get way too

philosophical at 2am in the morning. I still remember one such sleepover, several years ago now, when one of my friends turned to me and said quite blatantly: “If I saw a Māori, I would cross to the other side of the road. What do you think about that?” Disclaimer: I am a Māori woman who very proudly hails from Ngāi Tūhoe, who grew up deep within my iwi territory—so ask me again what I think about that. This is the #whitemaorilyf, where I am someone who is perceived as being a milky version of my own brown culture. I am the daughter of a Māori father and a Pākehā mother, but I don’t really look like I am the child of either of them. Many of us have to learn how to walk in two worlds. I have often felt alienated on both sides, because

do not even have that benefit. How then should we draw conclusions about who we are? How do we assert our rights as indigenous people in indigenous bodies to occupy the lands our tĪpuna (ancestors) have occupied for hundreds of years? I’m not going to be entirely whiney, because I know that I benefit from my perceived whiteness too. I am far less likely to be racially profiled and I am much more likely to be perceived as worthy of the time and space that I will inevitably occupy. People probably won’t look at me and call me a dole-bludger behind my back. They might even think that I am worthy of the scholarships I receive, or the additional support systems I benefit from as a Māori student. I have turned to my culture for inspiration about how I exist. Within Māoritanga, there is an acknowledgement that we all have a job to do and a role to play in upholding the mana of the marae. The tides will continue to roll in and it is our responsibility to keep them rolling, in whatever way we can. As a Māori woman, my feminism comes forth from the ancient springs of ‘Mana Wāhine’. Mana Wāhine entails the agency and cultural standing of women within my culture. It tells me that I have value, I have a place in this world. It tells me that my body is sacred and my voice is strong. Mana Wāhine grants me the agency I deserve and the space to enact my culture. No, Māori is not a dying culture. The tikanga we lost through our struggles are being revived and in our own spaces our way of life continues to be practiced to this day, sometimes in new ways. Just because you haven’t been on a marae before and haven’t seen this yourself, doesn’t mean that this culture is irrelevant and failing. I can see the way your eyebrows rise in surprise when I tell you that actually, yes, there are quite a few people who choose to do Māori Studies in their degree, but your ignorance is not my job to correct. We should be using tikanga to create spaces to express our individual identities, and collaborate and support each other in the face of the patriarchy, colonialism, and all other systems of opression. Biologically, I am a bridge between two cultures, but that doesn’t mean its my job to make my culture more palatable for you. I am not the watered down version of my culture, a safe option for you to make friends with and call yourself #notracist. Please don’t place your assumptions upon us as people, because my Māoritanga is something that only I have the right to define. Being Māori is my own journey; it is a certain kind of knowing. It is listening and being listened to, making mistakes and making connections. My journey belongs to me, and I think I am finally ready to step forward and take a hold of that birthright.

of a perceived need to pick and choose just one world to belong to. Integrated spaces where I feel I can express the full range of my bi-culturalism are difficult to come by. Viewed by most as a ‘white Māori’, I have so often found my cultural grounding erased or discounted by others who assess me according to their own assumptions of what a Māori person looks and acts like. This leads to situations where good friends blatantly express their racist prejudice against my culture, directly to my face, without really understanding that what they are saying is a problem. By not aligning with your assumptions, I gain access to those spaces where some feel comfortable whispering how they truly feel about Māori scholarships, and Waitangi Tribunal distributions. I’ve had other friends who express surprise when they find out “how Māori I am.” As if the fact that I am, grudgingly, a slight Wellington hipster can’t simultaneously exist with a sense of knowing myself deeply through my Māoritanga and expression of Te Reo Māori. I’ve been a marae kid; I’ve participated in Kapa Haka; I’ve studied my language. But even if I hadn’t, the credentials of myself, or anyone else from my culture, are not something that you are allowed to quantify as some percentage of my blood or tone of my skin. My own experiences are alarming because they reveal that we still have so far to go as a bi-cultural nation. To my deep sadness, the idea of someone who is Māori but who doesn’t look like they just came out of an episode of BroTown, or a tourism advert for Rotorua, is still a steep surprise to some people. These are people who are failing to recognize the dynamic nature of Māori life. Often this is not even because they are deliberately trying to be racist, but sometimes they just have a lack of exposure with Māoritanga. And while it is hurtful that whiteness affects how others see us, what is even more hurtful is the way that whiteness affects how we see ourselves. It is not at all useful, but so often it is unavoidable that we will look at other members of our culture and compare ourselves accordingly. We will judge and dismiss our own right to inhabit our Māoritanga, because other people look like they’re “doing it better.” My culture is something I am still learning every day, so in what ways could I possibly speak for it in public spaces? This is one of the ways in which colonialism seeps, still, into the pores of this country. It is a poison that destroys some of us from the inside and attempts to dismiss our culture—not by creating laws or taking our land, but by erasing our very right to exist. I was fortunate enough to grow up on the territories of my iwi. I have had the chance to observe and articulate my own understandings of where I come from and what it is to be Tūhoe. My whakapapa is my identity, it is where I draw strength and grounding from. However many Māori, through the effects of colonialism and Western culture,

I remember this feeling of wanting to suffocate my body. His eyes were leering at me watching my breasts grow You learn when ur young that u perform all the emotional and domestic labour Competing against other women Learning and unlearning Gearing towards marriage and erasing ur māoriness and ur queerness to be desired and used by men who are just ‘nice guys’. Hide in the whiteness to be desired White skin, brown bones, brown soul Trauma melted into your bones The very young girl Lily Rose Depp on Instagram Idealised body Projected fantasy Fetishized other Feeling exhausted watching other women fight for the attention of men seeking validation in being desired. Someone u love having sex with u when ur too drunk and high to say anything Being told by ur entire friend group that ‘blurred lines don’t exist’. Having your identity erased over and over again White passing pania of the reef Queer invisibility Pania of the digital reef Oppression olympics Blood dissipating in the water. Pain like knives vibrating in your womb. Blood everywhere. Having a miscarriage when u didn't even realise u were pregnant. Thinking about the Tatu video for all the things she said at age 13 then masturbating then crying Carrying a knife from age 11 Keys between my knuckles In my togs bending over while blood gushed out of my body The horror of your alien body Cyborgization procedure by 2021 A weight pulling my body down Oxygen slowly disappearing from my body

Let’s not do this tonight 9.20am 20/06 tell me I’m beautiful 2.58pm 23/6 Let’s not do this on facebook Link attached Five Ways to Make a Woman Feel Really Loved Small talk in all small thing Five ways to say how wasteful How tasteless Days on end like this You smell like sex and my ex boyfriend and potpourri and you look like you smell like spearmint Sorry I romantically idealised you within an inch of my life last night Find any letter box you seem to like I like the metal ones that catch rain like they’re oily, for instance, Kate Winslet in Heavenly Creatures what I really want to read is the clickbait who was he wearing who was he dating when he wrote that Really is something If I could be a rock in a pond or the pond I guess I would have to be the pond, well, because I’m afraid of open bodies of water and if I was the rock I would be terrified, but if I was the pond, seems natural to me to be afraid of yourself Room To Move is a Two sided Thing My most recent google search for the definition of auto erotic asphyxiation Mt Hikurangi is the only place I might feel clean and even then I’m never there I have never been My first girlfriend and I first kissed in a tiny tin shed in the dark in Palmerston North in the home and garden section in the warehouse, my mum waited in the car, I hated the heat of it And she handed it back to me handle to me, blade to herself Excitable and entitled teens Raupo taranga, rengarenga, putaputaweta all beautiful things I’ve apologised to for falling into drunk 5:56pm 8/10 no lol 5:58pm 8/10 i mean, no, 0 libido

Sick as Poetry

Hana Pera Aoake and Jordana Bragg (Lokal Projects)

Sophie Giblin | sophiegiblin.com | instagram.com/sophiegoblin

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ya story, Lokal?

Photography by Laura Duffy, courtesy of Kollektiv Gallery & Lokal Stories.

Sophie Giblin is a artist, feminist, educator, and founder of Kollektiv Gallery in the UK. She spoke with the Salient arts editors about Kollektiv’s latest project—Lokal Stories—which explores the hate that marginalised groups experience online. The project is in collaboration with local artists Jordana Bragg and Hana Pera Aoake, and brings internet culture to the streets of Wellington.

So pretty soon after arriving in New Zealand you set about organising Lokal Stories, a project that you received funding for from Wellington City Council and Creative New Zealand. It begins this month. Tell us a bit more about the project, how will it work, what will it cover, and who will be involved?

You recently moved to Wellington / New Zealand from the UK. What inspired you to move here, and then to begin a project here?

Nine months ago I lived in a politically liberal bubble on the South Coast of England called Brighton. I founded Kollektiv Gallery there after my degree. Together with my friends who are incredible early career creatives, we opened galleries in dilapidated and alternative spaces. I realised my own potential in Brighton, something I hadn’t been sure about before. Three years went by and my partner Luke and I craved a challenge, something to whip us into shape. One cold afternoon in 2015 we imagined other places to live. Luke sweetly told me he’d studied New Zealand and Australia as a seven year old boy. “That’s where we should go,” I said. I could see him organising logistics files in his mind for a few seconds, then declared it was entirely doable. Over the next twelve months, we worked endlessly to make the money we needed. Now we’re here, hello.

Lokal Stories is a Kollektiv Gallery project and was conceived 18 months ago. It was originally designed as a global and digital communication platform—bringing together creatives from diverse countries to make art and discuss political and social inequalities, like the art world equivalent of the UN. I named the project Lokal Stories because the internet makes everyone in this world local. All my projects have the German spelling as an appreciative nod to my heritage, in particular my German grandmother who died in a car accident when my mother was 21.

Lokal Stories was the beginning of Kollekt and my ambition to make social and politi Until recently, Kollektiv concentrated on designing opportunities to do with self-starting like writing a contract, making money, opening a gallery, running an art festival, or designing a crowdfunding campaign. But I felt it was time to pivot mine and my gallery’s attention to facilitating more challenging and political conversations. I especially wanted to raise money for artists to connect more deeply to serious issues they cared about, so they could contribute solutions. Lokal Stories was the beginning of Kollektiv’s adolescence and my ambition to make social and political change. But I tried and failed four times to get Lokal funded in England. Government funding bodies in the UK have a reputation for mostly funding established artists and curators, but I didn’t give up. Each time I received another rejection letter, I’d rethink, bring on new collaborators, and try again. When I arrived in New Zealand I’d almost given up hope for Lokal. But coming here was a dream. I lived in a van for three months, giving me ample time to rethink and tweak my strategy. Then six months ago, when I officially moved to Wellington, I decided to give it one last go. I met with Wellington City Council and explained the premise, focussing on online hate and youth culture. Next I booked in a coffee with Enjoy Gallery to gauge the art scene. I asked them to suggest a like minded artist, someone digital, glitchy, strong, and politically minded. Enjoy pointed me in the direction of local artist Jordana Bragg, whose conversations shaped the feminist side of the project. Then we brought on Hana Pera Aoake from Fresh & Fruity collective, who rooted the project in online identity and neo-colonialism. It was hard work, but I was stoked to work on new concepts in a new country with new artists. I dedicated the first three months of my time to writing funding applications and with the artist’s help, they were the best I’d ever written. We waited and waited, then the news arrived two months ago to say we’d been awarded the funding. Now we’re here and we begin this week. Our collaboration confronts digital hate towards marginalised groups and looks closely at how neocolonialism has changed online identities today. Expect honesty, friendship, and humour. Expect writings, podcasts, and videos playing in Te Aro’s streets at night. Through all of this, we’ll share findings about self care and how to be a good ally online.

It sounds like the artists you chose to work with have really contributed to the direction the project is heading. Can you us more about the artists you are working and collaborating with?

Sure, Jordana and Hana are both children of the 90s and identify as Māori / Pākehā. Their art practices reference growing up with and into the internet. They’re dedicated to feminism, analysing online identity, national well being, and inspiring people to challenge bullying and patriarchy. Hana Pera Aoake is a 26 year old artist, writer, and the curator of Fresh & Fruity—an art collective devoted to giving space to marginalised and underrepresented practices, especially those of women, people of colour, people with disabilities and mental health issues. Hana explores female pain, digital social class, mental illness, race, queer visibility, intergenerational trauma, colonisation, biophilia, cyborgs, and humour. Hana has an active writing practice dedicated to strategies for decolonising digital space and community building by establishing solidarity with others through shared lived experiences. Then we also have 22 year old recent graduate, Jordana Bragg. Her video, writing, and performance art assesses the female body as policed through both interior and exterior means. Jordana explores gender and androgyny to negotiate the body’s digital condition as a neo-colonial entity. Her use of feminine signifiers is a reaction not only to the hetero-patriarchal world we live in, but also a confrontation of the hyper-masculine tech world. Both artists are multidisciplinary in their practices and we’ve only just begun, so we don’t know the direction our collaboration will take us just yet. Currently the artists are researching and exploring their whakapapa heritage. We’re also speaking with specialists from Rape Crisis, Women’s Refuge, and Sticks and Stones—a cyberbullying resource website. We’re exploring the way we’ll function as a collective and our digital togetherness. Right now we’re also reacting to the global news of shocking terrorist attacks and disgusting shootings of innocent people of colour. These horrific events have shaped our conversations towards online self care, being a good ally, mental wellbeing, and digital togetherness.

tiv’s adolescence ical change.

So there is a real emphasis with this project and each of your own practices on online space—whether that be through collective and supportive action, using online platforms as a site for activism, or as a site to share your work and the work of others. You’ve mentioned one of the aims of Lokal Stories is to educate and discuss hate online. What do you hope to accomplish and why is this such an important issue?

So where can we find you online and when will you be taking over the streets?

Online culture is pivotal in today’s society. There’s no avoiding it, especially for youth. We’re all aware that face to face interactions work, most of the time. But wouldn’t it be great if progressive people could express themselves freely online without fearing trolls or threats? Let’s teach young people to communicate virtually, there’s a whole dimension which needs considered training. The cold anonymity of the computer spawns hate. Do we need to invent a mandatory crash course in how not to vent in such a fucked-up way? Either that or maybe it’s best if we all wave goodbye to the internet. During September and October we’ll use the aesthetic language of the internet age. Jordana’s and Hana’s films will play on a continuous loop, glowing throughout the night. The films will be lit amongst the dark rooms of vacant shops for pedestrians to stare or glance at, similar to mobile phones and laptops screens. This purposeful strategy will become a testament to the fact that bullying and harassment happens even when our attention is seemingly away from our devices.

We’ll be taking to the streets around Te Aro during September and early October. But we’ll have plenty to share before then. Lokal Stories will be active with updates, articles, interviews, podcasts, workshops, and open discussions—all of which you’ll find on our website kollektivgallery.com/lokalstories, Twitter, and Facebook.

Follow Lokal Stories on Twitter and Instagram: @lokal_stories Like Lokal Stories page on Facebook: www.facebook. com/lokalstories Visit Kollektiv Gallery’s website: kollektivgallery.com/ lokalstories Get in touch on Twitter: @kollektiv_ Sophie Giblin’s website: sophiegiblin.com Get in touch on Twitter: @sophiegoblin

“If somebody doesn’t like this painting… then I know they can’t be my friend.” — Madonna, to Vanity Fair in 1991, on Frida Kahlo’s painting My Birth.

Fawning over Frida Jayne accidentally underwent a Frida Kahlo immersion experience. On the Friday night she attended La Casa Azul at Circa Theatre, and the following Saturday she drove to Palmerston North to see the Te Manawa exhibition Frida Kahlo — Her Photos. The two, so close together, compounded the cult of Kahlo.

night.” I asserted my stake and joined in. Each one of us were gesturing towards a deeper understanding, claiming the cult for ourselves. It felt like when that kid who thought they were alternative said, “hey, have you heard of this old band called The Beatles.” So much of Frida gets dispersed through various mediums of pop-culture you can know her before you know about her. I remembered, as a child, looking at the poster for the 2002 biopic Frida with Salma Hayek, featuring the legendary monobrow and being captivated by the colour and thinking how beautiful the poster was despite the monobrow. She is a cult classic: the aesthetic power of her imagery (which was largely herself) has burnt her into the neurons of the cultural brain. Kahlo has become a secular Guadalupe for Mexico. The story of her life is revisited time and time again because of its potency. From her passionate and revolutionary political views that lead her to alter the date of her birth to coincide with the Mexican revolution (shaving a neat three years off her age), to her fluid view of sexuality and relationships. She rejected many female beauty norms; Frida relished her monobrow; grooming it and filling it in and took to wearing traditional Mexicanidad outfits, donning long skirts and bright coloured shawls. She, like many artistic greats, exists in the low and high realms of the art world. I spent $50 on a plush Frida toy; Madonna spent a million dollars on My Birth in 1991. Her work would now sell for around ten million dollars, putting her into the same ranks as Picasso, Pollock, and

I know her story. I’ve read it, I’ve seen it, I’ve heard it. Polio at six, a debilitating traffic accident at 18, married to Diego Rivera, sordid affairs, a separation from Rivera, and a reconciliation with Rivera. Dotted throughout her life was her dedication to the communist revolution, her mexican heritage, her animals, and her husband. Running, like a stream, throughout her life was her suffering: 30 surgeries, years of pain, several miscarriages, heartbreaks. The play and the photo exhibition work to tell this same story. The play brings it to life with energy and drama. The actors manage to pull off Mexican accents without too much awkward racism. The set was simple and essential: a wheelchair, a painting table, a dresser (full of bright clothing), a bed, and a bath—each a significant aspect of her life. While the photo exhibition added the details, bringing together vignettes: her trip to detroit, her private affairs with both men and women, portraits of her father, and portraits taken of her by others. As we drove to Palmerston North, it was just moments of motorway before the who knows more about Frida discussion got going. “Have you read the biography?” / “Or the novel based on her life?” / “Oh I saw the play last

Jayne Mulligan

her best subject. In the foreground, at the bottom of Self Portrait with Loose Hair (1947) the inscription reads: “Here I painted myself, Frida Kahlo, with my reflection in the mirror. I am 37 years old and this is July, 1947. In Coyoacan, Mexico, the place where I was born.” Kahlo was 18, attending an elite school in Mexico, travelling in a bus on her way home, when a tram crashed into the bus, changing the course of her life forever. The accident was fatal for many people, and saw a handrail enter her abdomen and exit out her vagina. Her injuries were so severe that doctors didn’t think she would survive. She spent the next few months lying in her bed recovering. It was during this time that Kahlo first began to paint. Her mother set up an easel, somewhat suspended over her prostrate body, which had a mirror attached—and she began, from very early, to create self-portraits. “I paint myself because I am so often alone, because I am the subject I know best.” Kahlo painted around 200 paintings during her abbreviated lifetime, and self-portraits make up a large portion of her oeuvre. Frida’s gaze is penetrating, often facing the viewer directly—enigmatic and unflinching. So often female representation is in the hands of men, but Kahlo presents herself—her own sense of self, her own self-expression. Kahlo displays for her audience the variety of pain, pleasure, sorrow, fear, hope that built her. Kahlo expressed or perhaps captured more than just herself. She displays culture, she displays strength and vulnerability, things that transcend the individual, while being simultaneously based in her. In a world where women spend so much time as the object, Frida subverts this system by being simultaneously the creator and object, challenging the viewer with her piercing gaze. Her own biographer notes, “she was, in fact, one of the creators of her own legendary stature, and because she was so complex and so intricately self-aware, her myth is full of tangents, ambiguities, and contradictions.” Why are we so drawn to her? Is it her fascination with herself that draws us in? Are we drawn to those who explore themselves? Self-portraiture was a staple for most artists throughout history, and has only increased. However it has recently been taken under the gun by feminists such as Suzie Orbach for falsifying empowerment, who is that photo really for she asks, assessing the underpinning and the motives of the image. For Kahlo though, there is a sense that each of her portraits are for herself. A monograph of Kahlo’s portraits bares an alarming similarity to Kim Kardashian's best selling collection Selfish. Both Kim and Frida are their best, most interesting subjects. And in the same way that Kim Kardashian sells all that she touches, Kahlo gives art galleries and museums sales. Art galleries need her; Kahlo brings the people, brings the crowds (or hoards), and ensures that the gift shop is decked out with flower crowns and papel picado. And it’s at this heightened place of fame that artists and their work grow artificial; layers of plastic begin to grow like scar tissue, clouding the essence of the art.

Warhol. The difference is that her central image, her core artistic identifier, was herself as the artist. It is an entirely reproducible image, and entirely sell-able. The level of exposure and saturation of the image is threatening to build a legacy of tchotchkes that may already, or will one day, rival the legacy of her art. After Frida died of pneumonia, or perhaps suicide, her art and fame spent several years dormant. Frida was somewhat ‘rediscovered’ in the 1970s. After the publication of Hayden Herrera’s 1983 biography Frida her star began to shine even brighter, some 30 years after she had died. In a 2002 article, Stephanie Mencimer suggests that Kahlo’s entrance into the the cannon proper was dependant on her possession of tragedy, and tragedy she had. In fact many of her works are based around her struggle and suffering—she often represented herself central to this pain, quietly enduring the with strength and elegance. Mencimer goes further and suggests that her suffering became rather a designed part of Frida’s life. She underwent around 30 surgeries during her 47 years and Mencimer suspects motives of manipulation and attention were part and parcel with her pain and surgeries. Whether true or not, the story works to create a victim: victim to the accident, victim to a cheating husband, and victim to the patriarchy. Kahlo spent many years living in the shadow of her husband’s work. He was 20 years her senior and an internationally renown muralist. Kahlo had yet to make a name for herself when they first met. Channelling this suffering through art, Kahlo must have sensed the potency and universality of this pain. She must have known that humans are addicted to the dualities of pleasure and pain; a sore tooth that you can’t stop running your tongue over, a scab you can’t stop picking. In 2002 Salma Hayek fought Jennifer Lopez and Madonna to play Frida in her biopic, which was largely based on Herrera’s biography. There was no turning back at this point. She was viral, at least for 2002. Frida’s fame has reached a height where people may not even know her art as much as they know her, or her life’s story. The fusion between life and art is an oftdisputed aspect of art and literature, purists maintain that art should be the primary force and artists’ lives should simply inform it. For Frida, the two are interwoven and fused. She is her art. This same convalescence of art and life was fully realised in Kahlo’s only Mexican solo show. It was the year before she died, and her health was deteriorating at a rapid rate. It seemed, to many, unlikely she would even be able to attend. She was delivered by ambulance and spent the night sprawled across a four-poster bed in the middle of the gallery. The bed had been adorned with papiermâché skeletons, and photos of family and friends. She, her very existence, became dramatised and captivating during this gallery show—she stole her own thunder (or her life cast a shadow over her art that night, eclipsing it eternally). Perhaps the cult like following Kahlo has garnered is down to the centrality of the self. She had always been

Opinion

You are not alone

Rose McIlhone

to feel like it is. Finding people who listen and understand can be so important, whether this is your friends, family, or professionals. I highly recommend seeking professional help, it’s scary but it really helped me. A few years ago I felt like I was ready to work through what happened, so I contacted Wellington HELP foundation, which is a counselling service for survivors of sexual assault. This involved seeing a counsellor, making an ACC claim, and an assessment with a psychologist (which is required by ACC, so they can approve more counselling). I have some issues with ACC and this process, but my counsellor at HELP was very supportive. Practicing self care and self love are so important in recovery (and for staying well). I’ve written a list of gentle reminders that help me stay well, and might help others too. Even if it doesn’t feel true, tell yourself it wasn’t your fault. Try to shift the blame to those who hurt you. You are allowed to have a voice. Your experiences are valid. Reach out to those you love, let them know how you’re feeling and let them support you. Forgive and accept yourself for feeling broken. There are going to be bad days, try not to let them consume you and let them pass. Emotions are not weaknesses, they show that you are resilient and brave. Feeling numb is also ok. You are allowed to heal in your own way and in your own time. Learning to trust again is difficult but it will happen. Be patient, remember to breathe and focus on the present moment. Notice the little things that make you happy. Hold onto what/who you love.

At first I felt a lot of pressure in writing about this. But I realised, the only thing I can really do is tell my story. I hope that it gives people who don’t understand some sort of insight, and those who do a sense of solidarity. I can’t speak for others but I can help break the silence, even if it’s uncomfortable and difficult to hear. I want to do this because we are one in four women (probably more) and our stories matter. One of the shitty things about sexual violence is it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. We live in a society that blames the victim and silences the issue. For example, there’s this guy from high school who contacts me about once a year to enlighten me that “women don’t actually have it that bad.” The most recent time his chosen topic was the representation of violence against women in the media. I knew I shouldn’t let him get to me, but the thing is, this isn’t about winning an argument or men playing ‘devil’s advocate’. Men who try and silence women on the issues that affect them directly, already are the devil’s fucking advocate. This conversation is not hypothetical. This conversation is something that affects every aspect of my life. Misogyny in the media doesn’t upset me because I’m ‘too politically correct’. It upsets me because it’s a reminder that I have been hurt in ways that can’t be undone. Every time men like him bring women down and attempt to silence them, even if they are not committing physical acts of violence, they are contributing to the problem. The recent case with the Stanford swimmer really shook me. The father of the rapist referred to the assault as “just 20 minutes of action.” I found myself wondering if that’s what people thought. I wondered, what do people who haven’t experienced an assault think of people that have? Do they think I’m weak? Do they wonder how I got myself into those situations? Is it not actually a big deal, so why am I still hurting? I wonder if I was too promiscuous, so no wonder it happened? I’ve had some people tell me I just need to surround myself with “good people.” I don’t think telling someone this, or telling them they can’t let people treat them badly, will really change anything. We put too much emphasis on what we’re supposed to do as women to ‘protect’ ourselves, but it isn’t our fault and we shouldn’t be made

You are allowed to love yourself. You are not alone.

If you are in need of help contact the following: H.E.L.P. — http://www.wellingtonhelp.org.nz / (04) 499 7532 Victim Support — 0800 842 846 Wellington Rape Crisis — (04) 801 8973

Being Non-Binary

Charlie Hann

owning a binder. However isn’t it a bit of a coincidence that the stereotypical description of non-binary seems very masculine? Misogyny is not something that is barred from entering the beautiful land of rainbows and it means that society’s view of non-binary is rather masculine at the center.

Near the end of last year I began to think I might be non-binary. As someone who had spent their teenage years confused about gender norms, the idea of being non-binary resonated. However the road to identification was and is still full of accusations and questions from others and myself.

“How do you know you’re trans?”

“It’s just a phase.”

I experience some, but not much, dysphoria (however you don’t have to experience dysphoria to be trans). Sometimes I want to bind my breasts and to deepen my voice, but I’m scared people will laugh at me. I hate it when people tell me I’m pretty and the idea of heterosexual men being attracted to me disturbs me. And when I wear a dress out, I feel uncomfortable because I know people are going to automatically assume I’m a woman. But I don’t like how I look when I’m dressed too masculinely either. I was a teenager when I had my first experiences of dysphoria, though I’d never heard of the word at the time. I remember walking back from piano, wearing a hoodie and trackpants, and a girl asked her mother, “is that a boy or girl?” Her mother answered: “A girl. Look, she’s got long hair.” I was so disappointed that the woman assumed I was a girl just because of my long hair. Not long after I cut my hair short.

“You’re doing it for attention.” No one is LGBTQIA+ for the attention: being queer is tiring (c.f. these accusations) and often dangerous. I am privileged as white, middle class, and in many other ways. Still, I have been repeatedly misgendered, told that ‘they/them’ pronouns are “not grammatically correct,” that I am too feminine to be trans, that if I came out publicly I’d ruin my chances with guys (because I only want to date transphobic men), and that I’d never pass as anything except a woman.

If dysphoria is not a requirement to be trans, then what is? Possibly gender euphoria, a sense of pleasure from passing as or presenting as one’s chosen gender. My gender identity is very fluid. Sometimes I feel like a woman and catch myself referring to myself as ‘girl’ or ‘miss’. Other times I feel like I could be Charles, if Charles could be very feminine. When I present and am gendered as non-binary, I experience gender euphoria. And I have felt this, when I get mistaken for a man in the women’s toilets and-whenever I am referred to as ‘they/them’ my heart goes for a ride on a rainbow dragon.

“You’re not a real non-binary person.” I am terrified of being accused of faking being non-binary because I’m too feminine. Adding to my dysphoria is a little voice telling me that “non-binary people don’t wear dresses.” That little voice was one of the reasons I cut my hair because I couldn’t really envision the notion of being non-binary, assigned-female at birth, and having long hair. Not to mention not even

Opinion

I heard this when I came out as bisexual too. It comes in a box set with, “you’re too young to know,” and “being trans is trendy.” It is extremely upsetting to be told that something you have thought long and hard about is just a phase. Cis people are never told that their identities are just are phase. How long is it going to take for me to prove it? In the words of Sophie Labelle, “your life is a phase.”

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Visual Arts

The Salient Arts Editors weigh in on some local art world queens.

Lucy| Kate Newby

Ruby | Heather Galbraith

I have an INCREDIBLE FEELING for Kate Newby and I know I am not the only one. Its things like walking, talking, sunlight, rain, and rocks that inspire her work. Puddles and plastic bags, incidental marks, and accidental assemblages found on streets and footpaths. The ephemeral nature of Newby’s work is seen through the semi-permanence of her objects—from people skimming her ceramic stones into various bodies of water, to large concrete rocks embedded with crystals— hidden in parks or by the side of the footpath. Her work can be missed if you are not looking closely enough. Collections of handcrafted and found objects enhance her connection to the environment and her experience within it. Laura, Lucy, Mark and Felix (2014) was a site responsive work on Oriental Bay in Wellington, where an unstable installation of hanging coloured ceramics appears and disappears. This created an awareness of the impermanent nature of the surroundings and the everyday. Newby’s work provides an openness to observe, to take notice, and to care about what you are experiencing around you. She is someone that I will not be getting over anytime soon.

When I think of Heather I think of a photo that came up on her Facebook a few years ago. A 21 year old Heather stands in front of an easel, face turned to look at the camera, behind her the debris of an art school studio. It is the early 90s and she is the epitome of grunge in a plaid skirt and thigh high socks, her brush poised over a Seraphine Pick-esque still life including daggers, pearls, and a vintage smock dress. She is goddamn adorable. In the years to come this lil’ babe is going to be off curating, directing galleries, judging art prizes, writing about art, speaking about art, taking New Zealand to the Venice Biennale…. Eventually coming full circle, to become the head of Whiti o Rehua School of Art at Massey University, and art-mum to a whole new hoard of fresh faced and plaid wearing art students. And this is where I first met Heather, in a paper she wrote about artists who interrogate feelings and relationships, and of course it was love at first word— changing my own (barely formed) practice for ever. When I think of Heather, I think of ALL the strong, beautiful, intelligent, caring, creative, driven, women who graduate from art school, and then go on to kill it in all the ways possible.

I feel like a truck on a wet highway, 2013

Robbie | Eve Armstrong

Louise | Ann Shelton

Eve Armstrong is a full badass. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. In 2010 Eve participated in an exhibition in the south of the Netherlands called The Woods that See and Hear, curated by Sarah Farrar. The exhibition was held to address notions of sustainability, social responsibility, pollution, and regeneration from a post-environmentalist approach. For this, Eve took the remains of the farm buildings being demolished and left them in one clean pile in the centre of a lush green break in the landscape. A green isle between trees. Full. Badass. Eve’s work across her career has considered social, political, and cultural issues in the most careful but poignant ways. Namely her Trading Table, which was shown recently at the Auckland Art Fair. A simple formula that causes people to consider the neoliberal capitalist system we function within daily. Eve is a real-life functioning artist (with dealers and stuff!), a Mum, Wellington City Council Arts Advisor, and of course, a full badass.

It has been almost twenty years since Ann Shelton first published Redeye: a rampant, reckless, and voyeuristic collection of photographs documenting her friends and artists hectic social scene—punk, queer, outlandish, and firmly planted on K Road. Since then, Shelton has become one of New Zealand’s leading photographic artists. Turning her lens to landscapes and interiors, her work often deals with difficult histories (Hitler’s oaks, wastelands, execution sites) and investigates the social, political, and historical contexts that inform readings of the landscape. With a survey exhibition of her work opening at The Auckland Art Gallery in November this year and a documentary in in the works, 2016 is a great time to be Ann Shelton.

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Installation view, Manawatu Art Gallery, 1997.

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Turn, rubble from demolished farm buildings, 2010

Music Therapy

Music

Review by Matthew Watkins

but there’s always that sense of power: I am the patient, you are the doctor/ nurse/ counselor/ whatever. There is a pressure and an anxiety in their presence: I must try to be honest about my progress. I must open up to you. Music disarms those feelings. It’s a safe distraction for the patient that reduces pain and eases anxiety. It gives you words that you might not have been able to articulate otherwise and builds confidence to communicate on your own terms and integrate back into a social environment. I had made enough progress in my time with the therapist that I felt confident enough to venture out after hours one night, to see Sharon Van Etten play at Bodega. I hadn’t been around a crowd of people in so long and I had a panic attack, but I kept telling myself why I was there and that once the music started I would be okay. I was. She opened with “Afraid of Nothing” and all the anxiety, fear, self-loathing—all of it—just washed away. I stayed for the whole concert and even walked back to the ward smiling, singing my own little encore. It was a huge step forward. Music therapy is encouraging and motivating for those who have physiological or psychological disorders, and provides an outlet for self-expression that works directly with therapeutic and educational planning. Music therapists often work in collaboration with occupational therapists, speech therapists, nurses, educators— whoever is involved in the care of the person—to discuss and create forms of treatment will be most beneficial to the person they are working with. It’s also helpful to people who have suffered brain damage. Research on patients recovering from neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s, or from a stroke, shows that human beings have better memory of music and melodies than of faces and names. So in situations where a patient has aphasia, a condition that affects a person’s ability to speak and communicate through language, they have an easier time singing, which can

The power of music is profound; it has the ability to build you up, tear you down, or transport you to a different time and place in your life. It also has the ability to heal. Chances are you’ve had a nasty break-up before. You listened to Elliot Smith or Taylor Swift on repeat and wallowed for a while, but ultimately survived. Then, awhile later, you replay one of those comfort-songs you used to listen to and it all comes welling back. You have flashbacks of crying alone with a bottle of cheap wine and too many cigarettes—then suddenly you realize it doesn’t hurt anymore. Like scratching at an old scar, those pangs are just echoes of pain. May 21 marked the start of New Zealand’s first Music Therapy Week. The focus was to raise awareness of music therapy and to celebrate the great work its practitioners have been conducting all around the country. It is used to rehabilitate those with emotional, physical, intellectual, and social conditions. Music therapy focuses on encouragement and motivation, operating primarily within schools, retirement homes, and hospitals. The latter is where I first encountered it. From February till April last year, I spent time in Wellington’s Te Whare o Matairangi suffering from severe depression. Medication was helping, but I still felt a lot of shame and self-doubt, and though friends and family visited frequently I was still isolated. I had been meeting with the music therapist twice a week. She would read my charts and know how I’d been acting that morning, whether or not I’d eaten or even left my room. She would visit me with a guitar and we’d sit and play together, but mostly we’d chat about artists I was interested in, their writing styles, and songs I loved—this conversation naturally moved into how the music reflected the way I feel. This was the first time I had been the one to initiate a conversation about how I felt. When you’re in a situation like I was you meet so many health professionals and they all sort of merge together,

that anxiety they’re experiencing—so that they can carry on with the rest of their day and interact and learn more readily. Music can act as a catalyst for our conversations, as well as being a non-verbal way of communicating; for a lot of teenagers (and people), verbally expressing how you're doing is very difficult, even when healthy. Who do music therapists typically work with? Pretty much everyone. It’s often used for people with learning difficulties, inpatients at mental health units, the elderly under palliative care, anyone who struggles with isolation and suffers from anxiety or depression. Even for little kids going to the doctor to have an injection. Music therapists do some amazing work to make a measurable difference in the lives of thousands of New Zealanders every month by providing safe, constructive settings for people who struggle with their health and teach skills that help to aid rehabilitation and ease anxiety. They help people find comfort in the way they feel, gain insight and inspire creativity and the will the recover.

What are the highlights of working in the field? One boy who I work with has autism and has a lot of trouble coping with sound. He hasn’t been a part of a classroom setting for such a long time that noise that he doesn’t have control over, and even certain tones, gives him a huge sense of anxiety. So I made him the conductor of the group we played with—he had full control over what was being played and it’s volume so for the first time, he stayed during the whole session. Because of the age difference of the kids and that they all have such a variety of reasons for not being able to attend school, tastes, and backgrounds, it’s hard for them to open up to one another. Music provides a safe setting where they will suddenly find a common ground start interacting with one another socially, it’s really rewarding when you see that.

If you’re thinking about studying Music Therapy contact Te Kōki New Zealand School of Music (NZSM). For more information on Music Therapy or to find a Music Therapist in your area visit musictherapy.org.nz.

What about one on one sessions? The individual sessions are dependent on the person’s mood and therapeutic plan. If they’ve had a bad day we might put on some relaxing music, and do some breathing exercises to try and encourage relaxation and lose some of

Music

help revitalize some of the lost connections that impair the language centres of the brain and redevelop speech skills. Music Therapy is part of a masters program here at Victoria, so I spoke to Emma Johnson, a student of the program, about her experience of music therapy and specifically the placements and field work she has undertaken. Emma described the work that she does in her placements: “I do group work with teenagers from 13 to 18. A lot of the kids are really isolated due to their condition forcing them out of the education system because they’re either too difficult for teachers to handle, or that the overwhelming stimulus in a classroom is simply too much for them. Many of them also suffer from anxiety and have a lot of difficulty making friends.”

#52 Films by Women

Film

Review by Sarah Dillion

At the end of the day, it’s an opportunity for all of us to open our eyes to more than just what Hollywood delivers. Challenge yourself to watch material crafted from a different perspective. It’s not too late to start, you’ve got a calendar year to complete. At this point only a relatively pathetic 6713 people have signed up. So really, if you join now, you’re still at the forefront of the revolution.

This is not a bandwagon. I don’t think that men shouldn’t direct films. I don’t think they direct ‘bad’ films. I do think they direct most films—and I do question why. Last year, a blogger I follow semi-obsessively (she works for Rotten Tomatoes, okay—it’s the dream) undertook a challenge in which she watched and reviewed only films directed by women for a year. I was intrigued, impressed, and somewhat unnerved. It’s a project I wouldn’t dream of undertaking; let’s be real. Luckily for my guilt-ridden self, #52filmsbywomen came along and it’s the perfect balance of semi-challenge vs. quite literal armchair activism. The challenge was founded by Women in Film, a “non-profit organization dedicated to promoting equal opportunities for women, encouraging creative projects by women, and expanding and enhancing portrayals of women in all forms of global media.” The premise is incredibly basic: sign the online pledge, and proceed to watch one film directed by a woman per week for a year. I’m not going to spend a lot of time explaining why this is a thing. You, my dear readers, understand why a challenge promoting female directors and their work is fundamentally important. You are educated about the patriarchal structures that inform our society and the arts community. You agree that ‘Hollywood’, ‘The Academy’— all those vague non-entities of the film world—function as boys’ clubs approximately 99% of the time. You know, more precisely, that a 2014 study by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media found that females comprised just 7% of directors across their sample. You believe it’s time for change. This challenge has the potential to be effective for a number of reasons. • Exposure. We need eyes on screens to consider and celebrate existing female output (especially via nonstreaming mediums, but who am I to judge?). • Intersectionality. As much as gender itself is important, a key element here is to engage with films by women who aren’t all straight and white. • Awareness. Talking about the challenge, talking about the films: it creates momentum for the movement. • Flow-on effects. More demand for female films means more female films produced. More female films produced means more female roles in both cast and crew.

More information womeninfilm.org/52-films (sign-up) 52 Films By Women (Facebook group for collective discussion) Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (Facebook) Some Recommendations The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Marielle Heller, 2015) One of the gems from last year’s NZIFF, Heller brings a bold and brassy female voice with an infusion of seventies hip. Mustang (Deniz Gamze Ergüven, 2015) Another NZIFF hit. The Virgin Suicides minus the dreamy Coppola veil and plus some added Turkish grit. Sedmikrásky/Daisies (Vĕra Chytilová, 1966) Part of the Nová Vina movement and initially banned by Czech authorities, Daisies comedically carouses through the innovative pranks of two young girls. An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion, 1990) New Zealand’s own, Campion tells the story of another of New Zealand’s own, the legendary fuzzy-headed Janet Frame. El niño pez/The Fish Child (Lucía Puenzo, 2009) An Argentinian love story that evocatively weaves the ins and outs of two girls divided by class. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2015) Amirpour presents a unique, slick and stylish Iranian feminist twist on a classic vampire tale.

Film

Ghostbusters (2016): Addressing Women in Cinema

lining of female characters for the sake of a male-driven plot, not to mention the disproportionate pay-packet of male versus female leads (Gillian Anderson spoke out about this recently in regards to The X-Files). But we must also acknowledge that the so-called ‘accidental’ advances, made perhaps with profit in mind rather than representation, are just as important. And that having an all-female lead film, placing women at the forefront of a plot not driven by romance, placing them in positions of authority and in fields that are traditionally (and currently still) male-dominated, is a huge landmark in terms of Hollywood cinema. I would also like to point out a relevant statement that Ghostbusters director Paul Feig made in a NY Times interview: “Everything ever made in Hollywood since the beginning of time is a cash grab. That’s why the original Ghostbusters existed.” Moreover, his comments to the media have included what seems to be a genuine desire to see more gender diversity and parity in cinema, regarding it as “ridiculous” and “want[ing] it to be the new normal, where it doesn’t matter anymore.” At the end of the day, the representation and importance of females in cinema is still a point of contention, whereas male presence is assured. Ghostbusters was a bold move, and I can only hope that it is a funny and brilliant remake that does the original justice and incites other directors to include more female protagonists in their films.

Review by Livné Ore The Ghostbusters remake, premiering in New Zealand on July 14, has been accused of being a money-grab for making the female-led cast the selling point of the film. With a star studded cast including Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, who’s to deny that these female comedy heavy-weights won’t pull a big audience? But for me, this film isn’t just about casting female leads in traditionally ‘male’ roles or an attempt at making more money. The point is that you’re reimagining the film in some ways—otherwise why bother making it? It’s brilliant to see a more contemporary recreation of Ghostbusters that is underpinned by some of the issues women have faced, and are still facing, in Hollywood cinema. The lack of female representation in cinema has become an issue that has gained traction over the past decade, due to the activism and willingness of women actresses, as well as their producers, directors, and audiences. Now we see mainstream discussions about the need for female-led superhero films (Marvel fans wanting a Black Widow film), and protests over the side-

In defence of Pokémon GO, even though I haven’t played it

Games

Review by Cameron Gray can have difficulty understanding why few others share this dedication to their interests. Pokémon wouldn’t exist as we know it today if Tajiri hadn’t had the dedication to gaming to take apart his Famicom to try and find out how to make games, or envisioned connecting Game Boys together to trade and battle with others. Pokémon GO may well be the purest embodiment of Tajiri’s vision for what Pokémon can do. Technology has finally reached the point where, with the aid of a smartphone, a Pikachu can appear in the middle of Cuba Street and you can go and catch it. Maybe I’m just easily impressed, but Pokémon has been a part of my life for almost all of it, and five-year-old me would have been blown away by catching digital creatures in augmented reality had it been around earlier. He would have loved exploring the streets of Napier looking for rare Pokémon, capturing gyms, and getting points for his team. Frankly, I’m still blown away by it. I’ve long believed in the power of video games to encourage sociability and foster passion and creativity, and that games should be for everyone. Pokémon GO’s success is doing one thing that no slick marketing campaign or long-winded E3 press conference ever could, and that’s getting more people playing video games in a unique way. It’s why I can feel kind of sad when I sit in front of my TV and do nothing but play something like Overwatch for hours on end—sure, I’m having fun, but this isn’t something that everyone can do easily. Even though I haven’t gotten to play it yet, I will defend Pokémon GO for that reason alone. Just don’t spend too much on micro-transactions, okay?

Mobile games aren’t exactly my forte. Normally they are something I despise immensely, particularly since the major mobile storefronts are filled with micro-transactionladen money sinks, cheap knockoffs of said money sinks, and broken ports of triple-A games. It also doesn’t help that I have a Windows Phone and can’t afford to upgrade. It is for these reasons that trends in mobile apps tend to pass me by, and for the most part I’m happy to let that continue. Yet the latest one hits awfully close to home as a gamer, and the much dreaded fear of missing out has hit me hard over the past few weeks. Developed by Niantic, the studio behind the mobile MMO Ingress, Pokémon GO has swept over New Zealand like a fever and it has people of all ages and abilities walking around town, catching Pokémon, and having a good time doing it—when the servers are working. Much like the original games did back in the late 90s, when your only real option for gaming on the go was a Game Boy, Pokémon GO is inspiring its players to explore their local environments and interact with other players. Several walking clubs centred on the game have sprung up, and players agree that they’re getting good exercise in general, which only adds to my FOMO as an overweight person. The thing is, exploration has always been associated with Pokémon. The series creator, Satoshi Tajiri, was an avid bug collector as a child and wanted the games to allow players, especially children, to have a similar feeling of catching and collecting creatures. As it turns out he also has Asperger’s syndrome like yours truly, so I’m frankly not surprised that this is the case. People with Asperger’s typically have interests that are intensely focussed, often to the detriment of their social skills, and 42

Lady Dynamite, Season One 5/5

Review by Katie Meadows

there are two pugs and one of them sings. The true magic of Lady Dynamite lies in it being one of the most on-point shows to tackle the topic of mental illness to date. As someone who is mentally ill myself, representation in film and television is incredibly important to me and on the whole it’s pretty disappointing, with complex disorders often reduced to quirks and generalizations. This is particularly prevalent when it concerns mentally ill women, where you are given three categories: pale girls who write bad poetry, hysterical vengeful harpies, or the dreaded manic pixie dream girl—heaven forbid women not be sexualized even in regards to their mental health! Lady Dynamite refuses to indulge any of these stereotypes, giving an honest, if surreal, portrayal of what it’s like dealing with mental illness, medication, institutionalization, and recovery— even breaking the fourth wall to note that flashbacks set in Maria’s psych ward will have a blue wash to them, because it’s fucking miserable there. With only twelve episodes it’s easy to get lost in Maria’s mind for a day and then the dream is over, but one of my favorite things about the age of Netflix full-series releases is the notion that none of it is filler. To let loose a complete chunk of a show ready for binge watching means that it almost becomes a really long movie that you don’t want to turn off after seven hours, even though getting through all 179 minutes of The Wolf of Wall Street felt like a fucking battle. Each episode requires a cohesiveness and continuity and Lady Dynamite does it perfectly, coming to a surprisingly emotionally satisfying conclusion at the series’ end. In short: easily one of my favourite shows of 2016 and I can’t stop recommending it.

A show about a forty-five year old mentally ill woman struggling to get her life and comedy career back on track after a mental breakdown could be really depressing, but from the opening credits Lady Dynamite aims to subvert that. A slapstick homage to Blaxploitation era films, costumes, wigs, random words thrown out over a wacky song (“Pickles!”)—when I first pressed play I was worried I had wandered into Tim and Eric territory and was ready to back out, but I didn’t and I was richer for it. After an unfortunate undisclosed incident involving Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath, comedian and voiceover artist Maria Bamford is diagnosed with Bipolar II and interred at a psychiatric ward in her home town of Duluth, Minnesota. With the clarity of her diagnosis also comes many new hurdles including broaching the subject of mental illness with her friends and family and trying to find love and understanding in a world of ‘normal’ people, not to mention struggling to muster the energy to maintain her stand-up career or even just stand up in general with her new draining psych meds. Visually and stylistically, the show is highly reminiscent of Arrested Development—director Mitch Hurwitz’s previous critical darling and light of my life (side note: I recently saw the Blue Man Group live, but that’s a story for another time). Lady Dynamite is full of colour and life and perhaps that is the only way to film a show whose content revolves largely around a manic and suicidally depressed middle-aged woman. The series is peppered with amazing comedic guest stars including Patton Oswalt, Jenny Slate, the Lucas Brothers, and my personal favourite Inside Amy Schumer’s Bridget Everett as one of Maria’s best friends (who passionately hates her other best friend). Oh, and

An interview with Hera Lindsay Bird Hera Lindsay Bird

What was your process for writing Hera Lindsay Bird? Most of the poetry in this book is a disparate collection of things I’ve been working on over the last four years. It wasn’t written with a collection in mind, although Victoria University Press had expressed interest in publishing my MA thesis. It took me about four years to write twenty poems. It took me four years to have enough happen to me.

Author: Hera Lindsay Bird Publisher: Victoria University Press 5/5 Review by Cassie Richards

Where does your love for ellipses come from? They came from my favourite poet, Chelsey Minnis! Her first book Zirconia is almost all ellipses. I stole them from her and I can’t think without them now. I’m always trailing off vacantly at the end of all my sentences, and her book gave me permission to emulate that on the page. I love extravagant and useless punctuation. Besides, there are some sentences better left unfinished…

Books

I don’t think it’s right to hate people It’s just that I don’t care To wake each day in a snakeskin negligee and light myself on fire with such ethical behaviours (from the poem, “Hate”). I’ll be the first to admit that poetry intimidates and confounds me. These feelings can mostly be attributed to Alfred Lord Tennyson and T. S. Eliot, the old guard of university english courses, and are largely unfair to poetry. When I was sent a copy of Wellington writer Hera Lindsay Bird’s self-titled debut, I was hesitant and a pinch of anxious, not feeling up to the task of writing about a collection of poetry. Thankfully, reading the poem “Monica”, which discusses Monica Gellar from Friends as well as the tenuous nature of romantic relationships, set me at ease: What kind of a name for a show was F.R.I.E.N.D.S / When two of them were related / And the rest of them just fucked for ten seasons? / Maybe their fucking was secondary to their friendship / ... It just doesn’t seem emotionally realistic. Many of Bird’s poems feel like this—a conversation that you can participate in, or eavesdrop on, as you see fit. Bird features on the cover of the book, perched in a bright yellow raincoat on summer grass, her shadow before her. At odds with the title, we can’t see her face— her head is turned away from the camera, concealing even as she reveals. And this is a revealing book, with poems such as “Having Sex in a Field in 2013”, “Bisexuality”, and “Having Already Walked Out On Everyone I Ever Said I Loved”. Despite a modern aesthetic, Bird likes to toy with the antiquated and the fantastical, with mentions of Nostradamus, velvet birdbaths, a post-apocalyptic petting zoo, and ancient Egyptian pharaohs. It’s the kind of juxtaposition that you might be skeptical about, until you read it and it works, in a weird yet pleasing way. Like a demented nursery rhyme, perhaps. With her unique style and form, Bird is stirring things up in our small New Zealand literary scene and clearly enjoying herself. In “Keats is Dead So Fuck Me From Behind” poetry stalwart Bill Manhire gets a shout out: Eat my pussy from behind / Bill Manhire’s not getting any younger. It’s subversive, wry, and more than a little bit vulgar—in short, the things that make modern poetry fresh and exciting. Hera Lindsay Bird clearly marks Hera Lindsay Bird as one to watch closely.

Who are the authors or poets who have made the biggest impression on you? Poets Chelsey Minnis, Mark Leidner, Dorothea Lasky, and Frank O’Hara have been most important for this particular book, but Shirley Jackson, P. G.Wodehouse, George Saunders, Lorrie Moore, J.D Salinger, and Tove Jansson have been huge influences too. I read primarily for jokes and the occasional murder on a train, but I don’t think my love of Agatha Christie is very present in my poetry. As it’s the women’s issue, who are some women authors or poets that everyone should read? Everyone mentioned above, but I would also add Fran Ross, Fran Lebowitz, Patricia Highsmith, Sheila Heti, Louise Fitzhugh, Nancy Mitford, Muriel Spark, Mallory Ortberg, and Mary Ruefle. I don’t think everyone should read them though. I don’t think anyone should read anything. I don’t want to be another used car salesman for the arts. If you like TV better, good for you. Favourite thing about being a poet in New Zealand? Sometimes Vincent O’Sullivan lets me use his private golf course on the weekends. Least favourite thing about being a poet in New Zealand? He makes me carry his clubs around. When can we expect Hera Lindsay Bird—The Sequel? 2 Hera 2 Bird is coming out late next year, and I’ve already started work on Hera Lindsay Bird: Tokyo Drift. I have no idea if there will be another poetry collection. At this stage I have no idea what another collection would even look like. I’d like to write a detective series set in a nursing home, or maybe just get really into unsolved mysteries of the ancient world. I don’t want to make a career out of all my bad feelings. I don’t get paid enough for that. 44

Women in Theatre (Majors) Review by Ophelia Wass and Adeline Shaddick

Ailise: The biggest one would probably be VUWTSS. I was just in the right place at the right time and managed to get involved with the executive group and am now Co-President alongside Adam Hart. We’ve finally created a website which we are so proud of: www.vuwtss.com. This trimester we are working on publicity so that we can include all year levels in our workshops and meetings.

There a lot of women doing great things in Wellington theatre, but what about within the Victoria theatre program? Adeline and Ophelia sat down with three women, each at a different stage in their undergraduate theatre major, to see what kinds of opportunities there are for women studying at Victoria. Thanks to Nellie Panina (first year), Madeleine Warren (second year), and Ailise Beales (third year).

What has been your biggest success in theatre this year? Describe in a nutshell how your theatre major has been going this year:

Nellie: Meeting other people who are just as interested in theatre as I am. People actually take theatre seriously at university and are passionate about it. Madeleine: Finding how I fit in with with the group of people taking second year papers was a really nice moment in trimester one. And actually feeling like a show went well because we all worked together.

Madeleine: THEA 204 hits you with a whole bunch of old school theatre (think Shakespeare and Aristophanes) straight away. You get a taste for lots of different aspects of theatre—not just acting or theory. You can also sign up to do the lighting and all those interesting backstage jobs.

Ailise: Being apart of the THEA 302 production of Much Ado About Nothing—everything from the collaboration, the learning process, and the performance itself. It was all so home-grown. How do you feel as a woman taking a theatre degree?

Ailise: Incredible. Unbelievable. Best experience I have ever had at university. THEA 302 was such an authentic experience of the process of producing a show. You get all of these opportunities to take on technical roles and acting roles, and it is all under the guidance of a director who is so incredibly experienced.

Ailise: I remember auditioning for Young and Hungry in first year and there was a guy sitting next to me in the waiting room and we got chatting. He said something along the lines of: “I’m not too nervous [about the audition] because I’m a guy and I’ll probably get a role anyway.” I sat there and looked at all of the women in the room and there were a lot in comparison to men. I remember thinking: “Wow, we really have to be mindful that the competition between women in theatre is so much fiercer because of the sheer number of us. The reality should be that we are much more supportive of each other and helping each other to succeed in this kind of a field.”

What opportunities have you been given during this year? Nellie: We have been notified about auditioning for the Young and Hungry Festival, and VUWTSS (Victoria University of Wellington Theatre Students Society) offers acting workshops.

A word that comes to mind when you think about theatre:

Madeleine: I am currently in the theatre spiral of Wellington. There’s a Facebook group called the “Wellington Actors Group” which I joined and then that got me in contact with theatre companies and now I work for PlayShop (improvised theatre company). Opportunities come from talking to people around you at university. Everybody is so willing to give you the opportunities, you only need to look for them.

Nellie: Unexpected. Madeleine: Blended family. Ailise: Fulfilling.

Theatre

Nellie: It hasn’t been too riveting because of the THEA 101 theory paper. I don’t think it’s a great introduction to theatre, but the next course THEA 113 looks really interactive and will bring people out of their shell.

Puzzles Made by Puck

Target goals

Quiz Answers from Page 8

Good: 17 words

1) Terry Teo. 2) Michelle Obama. 3) RNZ. 4) Lil Yachty. 5) 2001. 6) Joe Biden. 7) Ten. 8) Hell’s Angels. 9) False. Originally grounding the ball was worth no points, only giving a team a ‘try’ to score points from a conversion. 10) Blinky.

Great: 20 words Impressive: 22 words

ACROSS 1. Diorama-style pictures (8) 5. Celebrity couple (4) 7. Place for your smallest bones (3) 8. Browser with a blue icon (8) 9. Greek hero depicted in the 'Belvedere Torso' (4) 11. Fancy goodbye (5) 12. Cut out (7) 16. What the tens in this puzzle are (5,8) 17. Publication who celebrated their 12th issue by tweeting a lot of weird emoji (7) 21. Floral part (5) 22. Lemongrass, for one (4) 23. Features of some wallpapers (8) 24. "___ Song" (Taylor Swift single) (3) 25. It was unveiled in 2001 by Bill Gates and The Rock (4) 26. Made larger (8) DOWN 1. Place where you'll find 'location' and 'site' under 'place' (9) 2. Related to a Christian rite (9) 3. Ability to put things into words good (9) 4. In New Zealand, it merged with Fujifilm (5) 5. Citizen of Basra, maybe (5) 6. DJ Key who did a NSFW photo shoot with Remix magazine (3) 10. Half of the poker pair dubbed 'Anna Kournikova' (3) 12. Act victorious (5) 13. Shakespeare character whose final line is "What should I stay-" (9) 14. Threw about (9) 15. Admitted, as with something confidential (9) 18. Brand name that Lynx goes by in the UK (3) 19. Mine is full of ignored LinkedIn invites (5) 20. American college, ____ Dame (5) 22. Curse (3) 46

Contributors

About Us Salient is published by, but remains editorially independent from, the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA). Salient is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA). Salient is funded in part by Victoria University of Wellington students through the Student Services Levy. The views expressed in Salient do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, VUWSA, or the University. Salient is printed on environmentally sustainable paper, and with vegetable ink, and is completely FSC approved. Complaints People with a complaint against the magazine should complain in writing to the Editor at editor@salient.org.nz and then, if not satisfied with the response, to VUWSA.

Editors Emma Hurley and Jayne Mulligan editor@salient.org.nz Design and Illustration Ella Bates-Hermans designer@salient.org.nz News Editor Kate Robertson news@salient.org.nz Chief Sub Editor Tim Manktelow Distributor Joe Morris News Reporters Charlie Prout Alex Feinson Jennie Kendrick Siobhan O’Connor Alexa Zelensky Olly Clifton Katy Groom McKenzie Collins

Read Salient online at salient.org.nz

Feature Writers Sarah Batkin Kahu Kutia Hana Pera Aoake Jordana Bragg Sophie Giblin

Contact Level 2 Student Union Building Victoria University PO Box 600, Wellington 04 463 6766

Section Editors Cassie Richards (Books) Dana Williams and Isaac Brodie (Film) Harri Robinson (Music) Ophelia Wass (Theatre) Ruby Joy Eade, Lucy Wardle, Louise Rutledge, Robbie Whyte (Visual Arts) Cameron Gray (Games) Katie Meadows (TV) Contributors Laura Toailoa, Jacinta Gulasekharam, Chrissy Brown, Naomi Peacock, Rose McIlhone, Charlie Hann, Matthew Watkins, Sarah Dillon, Livné Ore, Adeline Shaddick, Laura Duffy, Puck, Rakaitemania Parata Gardiner

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