Run the World 2022: Hearth by UNSW Law Society

RUN THE WORLD 2022

d e l g w e m o n e k n c A countr t y of We would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our editorial team and readers reside, and pay our respect to their Elders past and present. We extend that respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reading this publication.

Contrib Editor-in-chief Stella Wailes

Managing Editors Talah Al-Jelani Alifa Monjur

Writers Juwariya Mk (head) Emily Calbert Isabella Newton Angeline Concepcion Olivia Sharkey Muskan Chowdbury Paris Spennato Alannah Galloway Vanessa Wishalim Adam Hughes Monique Zakis

butors!

Editors Editors Jessica Wang (head)

Ella Davidson Ada Luong Anita Huang Stephanie McCann Annika Katyal Estell Mathew Dayeon Seo Minrui Li Jessie Liu Grace Wong

Graphic Designers Graphic Design Isabelle Doan (head) Amrita Chahal Nerine Chan Jessie Liu Dayeon Seo Grace Wong

TABLE OF CONTENTS Editor-in-Chief's Address

by Stella Wailes .........................................7

Summaries............................................................................................................................8 Rape Culture: Privilege & Private Schools

by Olivia Sharkey..........................................................11

Solidarity ≠ Safety: Isolation as a Lesbian in Male-Dominated LGBTQIA+ Spaces

by Alannah Galloway...........................................................................14

The Spaces Carved

by Vanessa Wishalim ...........................................18

The Hyper-Feminine She-Devil

by Paris Spennato...............22

EVEN MIRACLES TAKE A _______ LITTLE LOT OF TIME

by Emily Calbert..................................................................................25

Campfire Stories for the Digital Age by Adam Hughes...29 The Gendered Nature of Workplace Confidence by Monique Zakis.......................................................................33 Is it Really the 21st Century? by Muskan Chowdbury ..........37 More than Scones: The Work of the CWA

by Isabella Newton............................................................................42

The Twilight Zone: A Liminal Space

by Angeline Concepcion.......................................................................47

References .........................................................................................................................50

n i c h r i o e t i f's d E Address Dear readers, Welcome to the first issue of Run the World for 2022. For this issue we have selected the theme of Hearth. Historically, the hearth was a place in the home where the fire was kept for heating and cooking. The hearth has long been a place of gathering and community. Life revolved around the hearth. The hearth provided warmth and nourishment, and similarly, this publication seeks to provide you with a sense of belonging in our literary community and intellectual nourishment. The hearth has an undeniable link with fire. Fire has long been a fortitudinous element. In ancient times, fire symbolises the safety and strength of the Roman Empire. The Vestal Virgins, priestesses of Vesta in Ancient Rome were goddesses and protectors of the hearth. Just like these women before us we continue to stoke, protect and feed the hearth with our stories that will remain as embers long after the flames have subsided. We hope that this issue is a hearth for all patriarchy affected people - that you will find warmth, community, nourishment, protection and strength in these pages. HEARTH. HEARTH. HEARTH. HEARTH HEARTH Happy reading, Stella [We would like to thank Emily O'Brien for coming up with the theme of the hearth and contributing to the above synopsis]

SUMMARIES My article contemplates the importance of welcoming boys and men to the ‘hearth’ in conversations about consent and sexual assault. It reflects upon the need for more holistic consent education and how the culture in privileged boys’ private schools reinforces rape culture. - Olivia Sharkey

The Hearth is a representation of gathering & connection and an integral part of building community. My piece explores how the spaces which allow for us to find connection within the LGBTQIA+ community don’t always include queer women & nonmen. Our unique experiences mean that our Hearth may be one which is centred solely on queer women & gender-diverse people. - Alannah Galloway

From the lens of our Assyrian culture, I explore the importance of family, connection and belonging in the spaces made by the women in my life. From my beautiful grandmothers, to my strong mama and to my inspiring aunties, I feel their presence with me at all times and this article hopefully attempts to share even a small fraction of that. - Vanessa Wishalim 8

My article reflects the patriarchal nature of female popular culture spaces. I sought to elucidate how expressions of feminine identity often serve to disempower women and confine us to a one-dimensional and superficial collective identity, nullifying individuality. I discuss how powerful, independent women are often represented as malicious and cruel, undermining their legitimate authority. - Paris Spennato

_____

My reflective critical piece seeks to expose the issues behind the gradual progress made by the legal system in providing a hearth for females - a hearth allegedly apparent as a result of females making up the majority of solicitors. Drawing upon Disney archetypes, I explore how the legal system continues to oppress represented, comparatively to how the princesses in these adored tales are reduced to secondary characters. Although inviting the audience to ponder the advancements the industry has undergone in respect to the recognition of female practitioners, the piece ultimately opens for deliberation what further changes need to be actioned – even if such miracles take a lot of time. - Emily Calbert

My article explores the hearth as a symbol of community and storytelling, and the way they are inextricably linked. I discuss transformative fiction and how they give marginalised and underrepresented communities a voice to reclaim stories made for the majority, and create their own sub communities based on the power of shared story and experience. - Adam Hughes 9

I took a more literal approach to the theme hearth and the meaning of ‘her earth’. Initially the phrase made me very angry because with everything going on, my first thought as a female was ‘but is it really our(her) earth’? I did a deep dive into key changes in international law and Australia’s response. I found that while there has been progress, we still have a long way to go. - Muskan Chowdbury

When people think of the CWA, they probably think of scones and knitting. However, the CWA has over its one-hundred-year history has created their own ‘hearths’ where regional and rural women can congregate, create community and address the needs of women from the bush are addressed.

‘The Gendered Nature of Workplace Confidence’ analyses how our word choices impact the perception of our confidence. The article subverts the impotent nature of feminine speech conventions, and praises their use in certain situations. Overall, anyone can use linguistics to set their ambitions ablaze! - Monique Zakis

- Isabella Newton

Navigating one’s place of belonging is especially difficult when society has created an environment of hostility. The search for a ‘hearth’ is present in individuals’ endeavour to find a space of inclusion in an otherwise chronic process of coming out. The ‘twilight zone’ is the liminal space between individuality and community where one struggles with the privacy crafted of the closet while seeking connections beyond four walls.

- Angeline Concepcion

RAPE CULTURE: PRIVILEGE & PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Written by Olivia Sharkey Edited by Stephanie McCann

When I was 14, a girl I knew was raped while unconscious at a house party. The assault was filmed by the perpetrators’ mates and posted on social media. 1

From a young age, we teach girls safety strategies and perpetuate victim-blaming narratives: ‘What was she wearing?’ ‘Why would she accept that lift home?’ ‘I mean, what did she think would happen?’. This gendered messaging places the burden on girls and women to avoid sexual assault. It reminds women that we can’t rely on men to change; we need to learn how to protect ourselves. Instead of holding men and boys accountable, (who represent the majority of perpetrators), we are 2 excluding them from the conversation.

I distinctly remember the response of my all-girls private school when the story was published. Teachers criticised the parents for allowing their daughters at unsupervised parties. Our headmaster preached in assembly about the dangers of underage alcohol consumption and the importance of women looking out for each other. Most memorably, the school enforced an insensitive self-defence masterclass to teach us sexual assault ‘prevention tips’.

This issue of promoting different messages about sex and consent to boys and girls is exacerbated by the distorted gender dynamics in same-sex schools. When boys and girls are separated, they only interact in the privileged ‘pressurecooker’ of the Saturday night party scene, with drugs, alcohol and unsupervised freedom that most teenagers their age do not have access to.3 They are not taught how to have selfregulating friendships with the opposite sex, or about the nuances of consent. Instead, boys and girls internalise conflicting messages about how their value is determined by their ‘body count’ and sexual desirability.

The class was run by an ex-policeman who explained to a room of young girls that the most effective strategy to avoid aggressive rape was to pretend we were ‘into it’. This was essentially the extent of our consent education. At 14, it shocked me that we still seem to view consent and sexual violence as a ‘women’s issue’. While we were learning rape ‘prevention’ strategies and told to stop partying so hard, what were the boys being taught?

[1] Kate Bastians, ‘Girls and women are still subject to abuse, assault or violence of every kind <Principal’s call for action,’ The Daily Telegraph (Web Page) https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/wentworth-courier/girls-and-women-are-still-subject-to-abuse-assault-or-violence-of-every-kind-principalscall-for-action/news-story/b4c4e77301de06274929920ca18abbf2>. [2] Liz Plank, ‘Most perpetrators of sexual violence are men, so why do we call it a women’s issue,’ Divided States of Women (Web Page) <https://www.dividedstatesofwomen.com/2017/11/2/16597768/sexual-assault-men-himthough>.

This environment nurtures a structurally embedded culture of entitlement to women’s bodies. From as early as primary school, young boys make rape jokes about their female peers, dismissed as ‘dark humour’. They are taught that boys are ‘simps’ if they respect their female friends, and that nothing is more embarrassing than being a ‘virgin’. This culture fuels traditions of objectifying chants (ie. ‘if all the ladies were holes in the road…’).4 It encourages sexist conquests of ‘who can get with the most chicks; ironically followed by slut-shaming those same girls the next Monday morning.5

"It is time to welcome boys and men to the hearth in discussions about consent and sexual assault." We need to ensure both boys’ and girls’ schools are doing everything in their power to combat a system in which sexual violence continues without retribution; in which victims and perpetrators are unaware of what behaviour qualifies as sexual assault.8 If boys were taught from an impressionable age about consent and to hold each other accountable, perhaps we could stop the entitlement to women's bodies and violence they perpetuate as adults. But how can we expect the attitudes of boys and men to change when we’re barely involving them in the conversation?

This seemingly harmless ‘locker room talk’ continues in 'elite' university colleges and emerges in the behaviour of the most privileged, high-status men in power and parliament.6 These attitudes translate to the entitlement of men to spike drinks, grope women in bars and clubs, fetishize queer women and catcall from the streets. They allow men to turn a blind eye when their mates perpetuate casual sexism or more criminal acts of sexual violence.7 With the unique privilege of many top private boys’ schools comes the idea that these men have a ‘free pass’ to disrespect and assault whomever they please. In this context, it’s easy to see why victims’ decisions to report are defined by this entrenched culture of male entitlement and protection.

[3] Natassia Chrysanthos, ‘Pretty dark culture: Sydney boys’ school heads express regret over rape claims,’ The Sydney Morning Herald (Web Page) <https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/pretty-dark-culture-sydney-boys-school-heads-express-regret-over-rape-claims-20210222-p574pr.html>. [4] Summeyya Llanbey and Tom Cowie, ‘Boys from St Kevin’s College filmed chanting sexist song,’ The Age (Web Page) <https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/boys-from-elite-toorak-college-filmed-chanting-sexist-song-20191021-p532uj.html>. [5] Davide Leser and Natassia Chrysanthos, ‘Sex, schoolkids and where it all goes wrong,’ The Sydney Morning Herald (Web Page) <https://www.smh.com.au/national/sex-schoolkids-and-where-it-all-goes-wrong-20210312-p57a48.html> [6] Katharine Murphy, ‘Brittany Higgins’ shocking story must be a turning point. Women in politics have had enough,’ The Guardian (Web Page) <https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/20/brittany-higgins-shocking-story-must-be-a-turning-point-women-in-politics-have-had-enough>. [7] Belinda Jepsen, ‘Nicholas Drummond punched a woman in the face. We need to take a closer look at why he walked free,’ MamaMia (Web Page) <https://www.mamamia.com.au/nicholas-drummond-case/>. [8] Chantel Contos, ‘Do they even know they did this to us?: why I launched the school sexual assault petition,’ The Guardian (Web Page) <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/15/do-they-even-know-they-did-this-to-us-why-i-launched-the-school-sexual-assault-petition>.

W R

LOWAY | EDIT H GAL ED B A N N YA A L NIT A A BY HU N E T A IT

SOLIDARITY ≠ SAFETY ISOLATION AS A LESBIAN IN MALE-DOMINATED LGBTQIA+ SPACES

In Sydney, there is only one night at one venue broadly known and dedicated to queer women and gender-diverse people.

The first time I stepped foot into a gay bar, I was filled with years of pent-up closeted anticipation and excitement. It was the day COVID-19 restrictions allowed dancing again. I could feel the music beating through the door as the beautiful drag queen checked my ID, and ushered me into... a room full of men.

This event called 'Birdcage', which hosts drag performers every Wednesday, has become an intimate space to be unashamedly yourself in a supportive, safe environment amongst people with similar experiences.

Furrowed eyebrows and confused looks followed me through the bar, as I am ‘straight-presenting’, i.e. not your typical butch lesbian.

It offers an oasis of queer expression and comfort for women and trans people.

I wasn’t expecting the entire place to be full of queer women by any means, but I also didn’t expect to feel so completely out of my depth.

In comparison, there are a number of queer bars in the city, namely along Oxford Street, which are dominated by and designed for gay men. This imbalance in visibility means that queer wom*n and non-binary people don’t always feel included in these supposedly inclusive places.

A lack of lesbian bars leaves queer women & GNC people having to resort to being a minority in gay bars, which ultimately leads to harassment and rejection due to a common assumption that we are straight women invading queer spaces, when in fact we just want to find community and connection.

Meeting other queer people is hard enough as it is, so feeling out of place in what’s supposed to be our safe haven is an isolating experience.

In 2019, a U.S. based study found that the number of bars catering to queer women in the country had halved since 2007, and the decline had reached 60 percent for bars catering to queer people of colour.1

HER, an online dating app for queer women & GNC people, conducted a 2 survey back in 2016 of over 3000 of its users, who noted that many Pride events felt more catered to gay men.

This trend is reflected in Australia through the blatant lack of remaining spaces for non-men.

3 One in three respondents stated they didn’t feel comfortable or welcomed at Pride.

Greggor Mattson, ‘Are Gay Bars Closing? Using Business Listings to Infer Rates of Gay Bar Closures in the United States, 1977 2019’ (2019) 5(1) Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, 1-2. 2 Diana Tourjee, ‘LGBTQ Women Don’t Feel Comfortable at Pride, Survey Says’, Vice (online, 25 June 2016) <https://www.vice.com/en/article/kzeedn/lgbtq-women-pride-uncomfortable-her-survey>. 3 Ibid.

Pride is such an important part of LGBTQIA+ history and is an event where all queer people should feel supported and celebrated. We want the entire community to be able to celebrate their queerness, but condensed into one month (and two weeks in March for Mardi Gras), we have to rely on gay bars throughout the rest of the year.

This is not a new occurrence. Back in 2011, a popular gay bar in Collingwood, Victoria, Sircuit Bar, successfully gained the right to ban women from the venue. 4

Of course, these clubs often aren’t free from cisgender heterosexual influence either.

This narrative enforces outdated stereotypes of ‘predatory females’ women who approach gay men attempting to change their sexuality. It deliberately excludes the experiences and existence of queer women & gender-diverse people.

I have a number of straight female friends who love to loudly proclaim, “I go to gay bars all the time! They’re so fun and there’s no men that will hit on me!”

Additionally, where straight women go, straight men inevitably follow.

I ask them, ‘Do you go with other queer friends?’, and receive rolled eyes in response.

“Straight men refuse to leave alone, even when we’re in a gay and I’ve made it clear that I’m not men,” a non-binary friend of mine me.

What cis-het women don’t understand, is that while these spaces are intended to be free of straight men, that ‘privilege’ is not theirs to enjoy. They are also not a quirky experience for a hens night or a wild 21st birthday.

me bar into told

The audacity and persistence of cishet men in openly queer spaces isn’t really surprising at this point, but beyond the microaggressions and actual aggression perpetuated by cishets in gay bars, these environments are a breeding ground for misogynistic bias.

This trend has resulted in further isolation for queer wom*n in these spaces, as some gay men interpret our presence as a threat.

4 Padraic Murphy, ‘Gay Sircuit Bar wins right to ban ‘predatory females’, Perth Now <https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/nsw/gay-sircuit-bar-wins-right-to-ban-predatory-females-ngbff4efaa8a454379f5a7b5c17c81d030>.

(online,

June

2011)

The intersection of queerness and misogyny is a hazy area. We’re already marginalised enough, we don’t need ‘infighting’ within the community to further any homophobic stereotypes.

While drag in particular is a form of subversive art which makes ironic commentary on gender stereotypes, it has the potential to simultaneously dismiss the feminine presentation which trans women use to resist patriarchal expectations. 6

But when cis gay men think it’s okay to touch us, or harass us, simply because they’re not attracted to us, it is difficult to ignore.

In these spaces, queer women & GNC people are pushed to the edges in favour of the residual hegemonic assumptions which underpin our everyday interactions.

As gay bars are the only places for queer men to express themselves freely as well, their desire to detach from an attraction to women is natural, but this tends to leave behind a hostile attitude towards queer women.

Bars and clubs have historically been the only locations where we could explore diverse sexualities, but surely we’ve progressed beyond these clandestine meetings.

This sense of patriarchal entitlement over LGBTQIA+ spaces, which appears to transcend the ostracism of being queer is not uncommon, but is also not widely acknowledged.

Why are the only safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ people clubs or bars? Why can’t we have more wholesome experiences like Sappho’s in Glebe? Despite not being a targeted space for women or GNC people, Sappho’s is a queer-centric book and record store, and cafe which fosters balance, respect and open communication between and among queer communities.

By enforcing a scrutiny over our identities and gender expression, the structures of power afforded to gay men due to their position as men are nevertheless reinforced, which you’d think would have been left at the door.

Queer wom*n deserve more places to meet, to connect, and to enjoy without the entrenched pressures that come with gay bars and malecentric spaces.

Some queer theorists argue that the reverence of hyper-femininity by white gay men (i.e. drag or camp) relies on the priority response they receive, over that of trans women or femmes, both in queer circles and heteronormative society. 5 5 6

Julia Serano, Whipping Girl: a Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity (Seal Press, 2nd ed, 2007) 11. Ibid.

The Spaces Carved Written by Vanessa Wishalim Edited by Minrui Li

The knock on the door echoed in my hallway as a child. Even now, after having moved houses, it still has the same effect. I remember being able to hear the sounds of my aunty laughing even before we opened the door. It’s a loud laugh that lets everyone in the room know that she’s there. By the sound alone I could picture her wide smile that reminded me of home and comfort. Her barely-there dimples poking through her soft and round cheeks provide me with the same feeling even today at the age of twenty-one. That wash of ease that flows through you and lets you know that you’re okay. We would open the door and in her hands would be a pot. Not one of those sold on the infomercials that would play late at night - the only thing to watch come past midnight. It would be a pot that was scratched and resembled those that my grandma used in our homeland. A pot that was carried in a knitted woollen sleeve, pale pink some days or pastel yellow others, to protect eager hands from being burnt and to safeguard the goods that hid within. My sisters and I knew just knew what that meant and what was to come. Nestled inside was something that Assyrian children believed part of childhood. If it’s not our mothers, it's our grandmothers or aunties that dedicate a whole day to picking grape leaves, folding the leaves and then eventually cooking them. A food I grew up with, and learnt to love as almost a part of my childhood, is dolma. According to a quick Google search, dolma is literally defined as “a stuffed vegetable dish that has so many variations across the Middle East, Turkey, the Balkans, and Central Asia.” It normally includes rice, some sort 1 of red meat, tomato and onion. Whilst there are multiple variations of dolma across the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern region, dolma is considered sacred to an Assyrian. To me, it holds a symbol of warmth, home, and belonging. The image of both my maternal and paternal nanas bent over the kitchen countertop folding grape leaves has etched an eternal imprint onto my consciousness; a fingerprint with its ridges and furrows marking the contours of my ancestry. Dolma has become more than just a food to me. Growing up, I was lucky to live in close proximity to most of my cousins and extended family. There was a safety in being surrounded with people who you knew and loved in a country that seemed quite unfamiliar. The communal act of sharing food with family, including that uncle you never spoke to, was second nature. The most notable feature growing up as the third-youngest grandchild of 18 on my paternal side was, besides being overly babied at times, the encompassing presence of warmth. I use the word warmth to describe the blanket of home that is the women in my life. The soft and wrinkled hands of my nana who would hold my hand as we watched shows in English she never could truly understand but would nevertheless enjoy. The eyes of my aunty that resembled my own too much as she would relentlessly fill my plate with more and more until I eventually just stopped refusing. The lilt of my other nana’s native [1] Amina Al-Saigh, ‘Iraqi Dolma (Middle Eastern Stuffed Vegetables)’, Hungry Paprikas (9 December 2020) <https://www.hungrypaprikas.com/iraqi-dolma/>.

tongue caressing my name as she asked me how school was in a way that she could only imagine because she never got the opportunity to continue her own education. My mama who always reiterated the importance of remaining kind in a world that was often built to be against people like us. I sit here as I write this and struggle to truly articulate the way in which the Assyrian women in my life shaped my own sense of self. In a community and world that often had no place created for women, who believed their education to be unimportant and their own sense of self diluted to lift others. I am conflicted that my own joy came at the expense of the generations of women before me; that is, my mother, aunty, grandmothers and cousins who fled a place that was not home. Who, like a stone skipped into a flowing river, settled somewhere meant to be home, but was too different, fast-paced and distant from what once was. As a young woman born to parents that fled our homeland, commonly known as Iraq and less commonly known as occupied Assyria, my connection to my culture has fallen victim to disruption and disconnection. This is compounded by the obvious impacts of living in a diaspora which include but are not limited to loss of language, traditions, cultural understanding and a sense of community and self. The struggles of the older members of my family and community are physically manifested in war, political instability and an eventual act of fleeing. Even now, seeing our parents flinch at loud noises or have a fear of thunder is a common experience across most Assyrian households, with overprotective instincts being universally accepted amongst all Assyrian parents. I joke around with my other friends that Assyrian parents must have a handbook that they all follow but underneath it, the universality of their experiences shows. Whilst my own experiences aren’t necessarily the same, I can’t call myself a stranger to disconnection. Struggling to fit into a society where I was the perpetual Other; my eyebrows were too dark and thick, I had too much body hair, I spoke a language that seemed too angry, eating food that smelt or looked a certain way, getting called a terrorist because I was from the Middle East, and being told my English is “actually good” on a regular basis. These experiences formed the foundation of my identity that couldn’t be tethered to the physical, and possibly explains why I have this attachment to the strongest people in my life, the women who have experienced the same, and worse than me. The reminders of my otherness compounded in greater difficulties. The role of diaspora in perpetuating further disconnection occurs in the physical distance from my homeland. However, the effects of losing my fluency in speaking, reading and writing Assyrian occurred through the process of assimilation into greater society. Having never visited my home village nor the place where my parents grew up, the tether to the women in my life remains more important than ever. Though I haven’t seen the physical homeland, my homeland is in my people. It is in my resilient but kind grandmothers, in my overwhelming but genuine aunties, and in my strong-headed but intelligent mother. Seeing my culture lived out and practised daily, by partaking in meals together of our cultural food, intertwining our language into our daily conversations and encouraging growth and learning within a heritage

that can be lost, shows the belonging of the women in my life. The places they have carved in my heart forever bears their shapes as I I think of the hands that have spent countless hours repeating the same pattern to fill even one pot for one family to eat. These shapes take the form of being hunched over for hours folding grape leaves, having long conversations with my nana in our native tongue about her life in our homeland, wearing my traditional clothing with my mum at weddings and celebrations and being inspired by this all and participating in advocacy and awareness for my people as a result. It looks like dolma; like the effort needed, the community coming together and the excitement and gratitude that fills people. So yes, that knock on the door still echoes in my hallway. A s I still open the door in child-like excitement to see the same rusty pot, I think of this. The spaces the Assyrian women in my life have created for themselves are touched by their genuineness, resilience and continued efforts to create a home. I can only hope that the space I call my own, the fingerprint I leave on my community and my people, undulates with the richness and warmth of my culture. Rosie Malek-Yonan said that, “I may not have a country with boundaries, but my country is in me. My country is in my soul and in my heart. I am Assyria.“2 This resounds, not dissimilar to the knock on my front door, with me as I look at the spaces etched in my heart. The spaces that look like my mama, nanas, aunties and cousins who create a boundless nation.

[2] Rosie Malek-Yonan and Monica Malek-Yonan, Rosie Malek-Yonan’s the Crimson Field: A Historical Novel (Pearlida Pub, 2005).

THE HYPERFEMININE SHE-DEVIL

WRITTEN BY PARIS SPENNATO EDITED BY JESSIE LIU

EDITED BY JESSIE LIU

WRITTEN BY PARIS SPENNATO

THE HYPER-FEMININE SHE-DEVIL I vividly recall my first time watching the film ‘High School Musical’. As a typical ‘girlygirl’, I was in awe of the antagonist Sharpay Evans – her glamorous and chic outfits, complete with glittering accoutrements, fabulous, oversized sunglasses, and endearing tiaras. I adored her richly luxurious and lavish locker, which stood out amongst the monotonous sea of white locker doors as defiantly hot pink, and was adorned with pink decorations, a rack to hang clothes, a mirror for applying makeup, numerous perfume bottles and other plush items. I admired her unapologetic commitment to her ostentatious and extravagant style, her perpetual panache, and her confident flair. I loved that she loved who she was, and that she was not afraid to act like it.

Through ubiquitous representations of the ‘hot, popular girl’, which pervade popular culture, I learnt that embodying a ‘girly’ and hyperfeminine persona is equated with being vapid, high maintenance, narcissistic and self-serving.

However, as the film proceeded, I began to dislike Sharpay more and more. Her motivation to sabotage other female characters’ romantic relationships through humiliation, rumour-spreading and gossiping; her ceaseless desire to consume the spotlight; and her manipulation of circumstances to subjugate her competitors in the school play, rendered her a repugnant personality. How could a confident, assertive, and independent female character – in stark contrast to the often moderated, timid, and needy female typecast – have such a spiteful and villainous temperament?

This is perfectly exemplified by the hot, blonde, and legendary character of Regina George, depicted in the film ‘Mean Girls’. As another example of this hyper-feminine shedevil, Regina’s social power emanates from her attractive physical appearance, of which she is highly preoccupied with, and her wealthy family. Nevertheless, it is how she uses this power – to intimidate, persecute and humiliate other female classmates, spread rumours, emotionally manipulate men, cheat on her boyfriend, exclude any unattractive female from joining her ‘clan’, and degrade her female classmates due to their weight, fashion choices, and other shallow aspects of their appearance – that posits Regina George as the

Murnen and Byrne define ‘hyper-femininity’ as ‘an exaggerated adherence to a feminine gender role as it relates to heterosexual 1 relationships. It is from this definition that I will challenge the representation of hyperfemininity as mutually constitutive with a malicious and superficial identity – the notion, cemented in popular culture, that attractive and successful women are inevitably cold-hearted.

That was my introduction to the ‘girl world’.

[1] Melannie Matschiner and Sarah K Murnen, ‘Hyperfemininity and Influence’ (2006) 23(3) Psychology of Women Quarterly 631, 631.

notorious, hyper-feminine villain. Since Regina’s power stems from her appearance and money, young women watching this film and idolising Regina’s alluring looks, and untouchable social status, are simultaneously being taught that social power is obtained from one’s looks and wealth, and that it is maintained by degrading the women around them.

popular culture.

I am sure that these representations do exist; however, they are so greatly outweighed by the Sharpay Evans’, the Regina George’s and Taylor Swift’s ‘cheerleader captain’ nemesis, that they are rendered immaterial. The Sharpay Evans’ and Regina George’s become the salient image of hyper-femininity, and the dominant paradigm through which we conceptualise alluring, empowered and stereotypically feminine women.

Not only does this situate women in perpetual competition with each other, but it fosters a culture in which shaming other women to preserve one’s position atop the social hierarchy becomes the norm. If you want to be the ‘Queen Bee’ – the popular, unattainable, powerful, and highly feminine persona – you must keep all your worker bees subordinated.

Many women’s identity is premised off of embodying a highly feminine persona. And some girls just love the colour pink, dressing in a typically feminine manner, applying makeup, shopping and enjoy investing time and energy into their appearance. With increasing acceptance of all forms of female self-expression, including those which are stereotypically ‘masculine’, it is important to recognise that hyper-femininity is just another way to articulate one’s identity. Popular culture has positioned this hyperfeminine identity as villainous and debased. However, this does not mean we should accept this stereotype at face value. Rather, we should interrogate why attractive, empowered females, who choose to unapologetically express themselves through typically feminine characteristics, are consistently denigrated through popular culture representations. Why does the media endeavour to demonise hyper-femininity? Is it perhaps interlinked with an inability to accept a woman who is confident and comfortable with her identity, seeking to disempower ‘her’ through positing ‘her’ as malicious, superficial, and ultimately lacking any depth? Or does it pertain to women’s continued sexualisation in the media, rendering her intellect and distinctive personality unimportant?

Taylor Swift depicts her own version of the infamous ‘Queen Bee’ in her iconic hit ‘You Belong with Me’. Most of us would have belted out the song’s lyrics: ‘But she wears short skirts I wear T-shirts She's Cheer Captain, and I'm on the bleachers… She wears high heels I wear sneakers She's Cheer Captain, and I'm on the bleachers…’ But, when you consider these lyrics more deeply, it is clear that they epitomise this hot-and-popular, yet extremely onedimensional female stereotype. The ‘shortskirt’ and ‘high-heel-wearing’ schoolgirl, who also happens to be the ‘cheerleader captain’, is depicted as the she-devil, who is undeserving of a genuine and kind boyfriend. She inevitably becomes the girl who ‘brought’ the kind-hearted boy ‘down’. In fact, there is not one positive representation of the hyper-feminine ‘popular girl’ that I can recall in 24

Trigger Warning:

This article discusses domestic violence and sexual harassment and according may be triggering to some readers. Please proceed with caution.

EDITED BY BY EDITED GRACE WONG WONG GRACE

WRITTEN BY BY WRITTEN EMILY CALBERT CALBERT EMILY

Growing up, like many young girls, I was obsessed with Disney. There was something magical about the classic Disney archetypes of a damsel in distress longing for a handsome prince to reliably come rescue her from whatever pickle of a situation she had found herself in. Cinderella needing a man to come save her from a dire situation, Rapunzel waiting for a prince to rescue her from the tower, Sleeping Beauty requiring true love’s kiss from a prince she was betrothed to at birth - the list goes on. How dreamy … a woman placed on a pedestal as a prize for the male hero. On screen, the stories are highly edited and falsified into what young women should aspire to be. They condition women to believe the hearth in which they thrive is in the background of a man and in domestic roles which undeniably limit their intelligence and skills. They paint a one-dimensional picture that women’s stories cannot amount to anything but a difficult situation without being dependent on a man. A few life lessons learnt later and now navigating both adulthood and law school, I became disillusioned with the classic Disney narratives I formerly watched in awe. I am unsure what was more disempowering; how females with the potential to be valiant, strong and trailblazing were reduced to secondary characters or how these oppressive macronarratives were, and continue to be, not far from reality. Even the legal system is not above silencing the autonomy of women, for it fails to adequately protect both the women who are represented and the women who seek to represent others. Recent years have illuminated how the legal system continues to inadequately protect women from being victimised by domestic violence. Although no demographic is safe from experiencing domestic violence, which occurs across all ages, classes, religions and educational levels, the AIHW has highlighted how the crime primarily victimises women and children. 1 Women in vulnerable groups - including Indigenous women, young women and pregnant women - are at an especially heightened risk.2 It is estimated that one woman is killed each week by domestic violence, which tragically shows that women are not even safe in their own home - not even in their alleged hearth where they thrive by supporting the male figures in their life.

1 2

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, Report (2018), 5. Ibid.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been extremely impressive achievements of women in the legal profession over history which illuminate how the industry is not completely antithetical to female professionals. History was initially made in 1902 when Ada Evans became the first woman to graduate with a law degree, although she was unable to practise law at the time due to not satisfying the definition of ‘person’ in the admission 3 requirement of ‘person of good fame and character’. However, just three years later in 1905, Flos Greig became the first woman to be successfully admitted to practice as a barrister in Victoria.4 Roma Mitchell later became the first woman in Australia to be appointed as Queen’s Counsel in 1962 5 followed by the first woman in Australia to be appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court of Australia in 1965. 6 Later in 1987, Mary Gaudron became the first female to be appointed as a Justice of the High Court, marking a significant milestone for women in the Australian legal profession. 7 Despite this achievement, by 2003 there were no women on the High Court,8 which begs the question why did the remarkable advancements of female legal practitioners abruptly end?

Gender inequality weaves its way into society in many ways, fuelling fundamentally problematic differences between how men and women are viewed across various considerations including professional opportunities, family roles and relationship expectations. The ongoing issue of the gender pay gap further affirms the societal perception of men as superior to their female counterparts, even when the job title or responsibilities are identical.

The women who strive to help others in their pursuit of justice - men, women, children and businesses alike - courageously navigate and fight an ongoing battle to be respected in a traditionally male-dominated legal profession. Looking around at law school, the divide between female and male students seems fairly proportionate, so why do the treatment of men and women legal professionals differ despite 53% of solicitors in Australia being female? 9 Why is it that, although the legal industry comprises an almost even divide of male and female lawyers, only about 30 percent of partners at Australian mid-tier and top-tier law firms are women?10 Why is it that women make up a mere 16% of the bench in the Federal Court of Australia? 11

Kate Eastman, ‘Sex Discrimination in the Legal Profession’ (2004) 27(3) UNSW Law Journal 866, 868. Ibid. Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 Michael Pelly, It’s official, women take over the legal profession (Web Page, 14 July 2021) <https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/it-s-official-women-take-over-the-legal-profession-20210712p588wn>. 10 Hannah Wootton, Female law partners break through 30pc barrier (Web Page, 10 December 2020), <https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/women-partners-break-through-30pc-barrier-20201130-p56j7u>. 11 The Australian Human Rights Commission, Women in Leadership (Web Page), <https://humanrights.gov.au/ourwork/women-leadership-old>. 4 5

The COVID-19 pandemic in recent years has particularly accentuated how discriminatory the working conditions within the legal industry are against female professionals, in terms of struggling to balance the intense workloads of a legal career although not in a senior position which females generally do not have equal access to in the first place - with their caregiving and domestic responsibilities. Female lawyers are additionally more likely to be explicitly assigned to undertaking administrative tasks, 12 leading to the misunderstanding that they are not a lawyer but rather an assistant. Moreover, female lawyers tend to have limited opportunities to work with key clients or work on big matters and are often criticised for appearing too assertive in the workplace. 13 Such challenges become obstacles to women’s careers, thereby maintaining an oppressive cycle where female professionals go unrecognised in comparison to their male counterparts. In addition to being victimised by the industry, female lawyers are also often victims to sexual harassment in the workplace at the hands of male legal practitioners. Numerous factors women lawyers are subject to create an environment conducive to abuse of power, 14 including long work hours and the close working relationship between a supervising partner and lawyer. The prevalence of sexual stereotypes which perceive female lawyers as weak, 15 overly emotional and unprofessional similarly assert male authority in the industry. A common form of sexual harassment women lawyers tend to endure is the manipulation of gender issues wilfully used by men during proceedings with the intent to intimidate. For instance, male counsels will make comments about the personal appearance of a female lawyer as an attempt to interfere with her case. Sexual harassment in the legal profession is thus ultimately driven by the uneven power dynamics valuing male domination. It has been incredibly refreshing to watch Disney create female characters who deviate from the traditional ‘princess’ archetype, such as Moana, Mulan and Nerida, who are not afraid to affirm their place in society and to exhibit characteristics of courage, resilience and strength. However, the legal profession still has a long way to go to recognise the strong females who operate both within the system as representation and who are represented by the system. Change may not be inevitable but must be actioned. Behaviours and cultures long accepted in society which have facilitated disrespect and harm towards women should have never been allowed and are no longer permissible.

12 Kim

Elsesser, Female lawyers face widespread gender bias, according to new study (Web Page, 1 October 2018), <https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2018/10/01/female-lawyers-face-widespread-gender-bias-according-tonew-study/?sh=1c23a0034b55>. 13 Ibid. 14 Joyce Smithey, Women and the Legal Profession: Four common obstacles faced by female lawyers (Blog post, 13 January 2017), <https://ms-jd.org/blog/article/women-and-the-legal-profession-four-common-obstacles-faced-by-femalelawyer>. 15 The Atlantic, What it Takes to be a Trial Lawyer if you’re not a Man (Web Page, September 2018) <https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/09/female-lawyers-sexism-courtroom/565778/>.

campfire stories for the digital age

written by Adam Hughes edited by Estell Mathew

Storytelling is an integral part of human nature. As fundamental to us as breathing. Every civilisation from every period in history has a tradition of storytelling to express their lived experiences, from the intricate cave-painted scenes of fierce battles from aeons ago, to the multi-million dollar blockbuster franchises that we enjoy today. But as much as stories are everywhere, it would be inaccurate to say that stories have always been, for everyone.

Transformative fiction - more colloquially known as fanfiction has a history as rich as any other storytelling tradition. However, one thing that makes it stand out is that, since its inception, it has been dominated by the less represented figures in society. Fanfiction as we recognise it today arose from Star Trek ‘zines’ in the sixties: people primarily women, would use mailing lists to share physical copies of stories based on the popular scifi franchise. Crucially, a lot of these stories were explicitly queer, with Kirk and Spock, the two male leads, often paired together. In the 1960s, where queerness was still heavily discriminated against in the places where these ‘zines’ were popular, this was no small matter. While certainly not elevating queer stories to the mainstream yet, it established a tangible community for those who connected to these tales of queer love.

Storytelling, like any form of art, is inherently political, as it holds up a mirror to our society and those who run it. It is no wonder then that the cultural giants in the Western world’s storytelling history - from the classics to the modern hits tend to be centred around the dominant groups in society: the cis, the straight, the white, and the male. Art reflects life - or, at least, the life that its creators perceive - and so the art pushed onto us every day is a reflection of their reality, not our own.

Fanfiction has come a long way since the secretive mailing lists of the sixties, now becoming a popular pastime with multiple dedicated websites hosting millions of stories. Fanfictions have even served as the blueprint for multiple successful original book series’, such as Fifty Shades of Grey and Shadowhunters. But what has not changed for a large portion of the fanfiction being produced today, is its inherently subversive nature. A quick study of Archive Of Our Own, one of the most prominent fanfiction sites on the internet, shows that

For women, for queer people, for people of colour, this can leave an empty space in our books and television screens where we long to see our reflections looking back at us. The implicit message enclosed in the dearth of representation is that our stories are not worth being told. But, as I said, storytelling is an inextricably human experience: if these stories are not made for us, we will make them ourselves.

the five most popular pieces of media to write about are the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Harry Potter, Supernatural, My Hero Academia, and Star Wars. Despite these franchises primarily providing representing for cisgender-heterosexual audiences - with some of them being notable for having creators who have been outspoken against the queer community - the most popular relationships within the stories for these franchises are queer. Much has been said about why these particular relationships are so popular, but in my opinion, why they have come about is less important than the effect that they have had: fanfiction has taken stories catering to the hegemonic groups in society and reclaimed them for the underrepresented.

discovered fanfiction. In the world of transformative fiction, however, queerness was normalised; even celebrated. Beyond seeing myself as a one dimensional character, I got nuanced depictions, issues handled with sensitivity, and a freedom within queer storytelling that didn’t exist in mainstream media. This is not to say that fanfiction is an unparalleled artform. It is infamous for being poorly written. Some of it is, like every other genre. However, the subjective quality of a written work does not necessarily underscore its value when its content carries meaning and solidarity, particularly for the young people who are consuming and creating it - and, indeed, a large proportion of fanfiction writers and readers are young. What does it say about our cultural landscape that young people feel such a strong need to create any story, no matter how poorly formed, in order to feel a stronger connection to modern art? And indeed, what does it say about our society that we are so quick and eager to discredit the stories of young, predominantly queer and female writers whose work we don’t consider up to scratch, without sharing nearly the same amount of energy for the professional writers who create similarly mediocre work every day?

Why does this matter? It matters because stories matter. Because community matters. Representation for the queer community in media has undoubtedly improved - while still leaving a lot to be desired - but younger teenagers might be surprised at what a recent shift that was. Growing up in the 2000s and 2010s, I didn’t see people like myself on the TV, at the movies, or in my books. When queer people were featured, they were the easy joke, or the token side character, or the tragic sob story. I wasn’t exposed to the idea of the possibility of gay romantic love as a genuine possibility until I discovered fanfiction. I had never heard of trans people at all until I

from an existing story and shape it into something new. By this definition, a good portion of the content that crosses our television screens can be considered fanfiction, even franchises as well known and lauded as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (‘MCU’) which adapted their central characters and plots from the original comic books. Now compare the celebration of the MCU to the way other mainstream transformative works were received - such as the allfemale remakes of Oceans 8 and Ghostbusters. What’s the key difference here? Take your time, it’ll come to you. Those who have dominated the field of storytelling will despise any transformative works that don’t cater to them, even when they are ‘professional’ works made for the big screen. But this is exactly why transformative works why fanfiction is so powerful. It makes the social majority mad, because it isn’t for them. It’s for us, and that sense of community in storytelling is as valuable now as it has ever been. So the next time you’re opening your laptop to surf Archive Of Our Own or Fanfiction.net, remember that you’re taking part in a time honoured tradition of sticking it to the man, and enjoy.

The gendered nature of workplace confidence

Written by Monique Zakis

Edited by Anika Katyal

When breaking glass ceilings, don’t forget to pack your dictionary. We’re enthralled in a movement of diversity quotas and powersuits, but what if gender bias could be combated with linguistics? In my online Economics class last year, I was approached over the course forum by a peer, requesting to study together in the lead up to exams. With an open mind, I accepted and worked with this person virtually throughout the term. They were intelligent and confident, with robust answers to all of my questions. But with an androgynous name, it did not occur to me that this person was in fact female. I had subconsciously assumed she was a man all along. I was dumbfounded at my own bias. So I did some investigating. A study reported in the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s March 2022 Bulletin observed a tendency for females to report a poorer understanding and less confidence in their economic capabilities, even though they were likely to be more proficient than their male counterparts. 1 A similar tendency was found within students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Self perception is a major influence on a student’s choice to pursue further studies in Economics, or any discipline.

A Hewlett Packard internal report observed the differences in job and promotion applications between men and women. The study found that on average, men applied when meeting 60% of the qualifications, but women only applied if they met 100% of them. 2 This is consistent with the RBA’s finding that women experience barriers, not through their ability, but through an attitude of unsuitability. It is against this gendered backdrop that I had formed assumptions about my classmate’s capability. Why do women consistently underestimate their capabilities? I propose two main reasons. The first is that women have traditionally lacked female role models to encourage them to aspire to positions of leadership. People in positions of power tend to gravitate towards people in whom they see themselves. Without an existing network of female leaders, women cannot benefit from this intrinsic bond. It is a matter of commonsense that one’s aspirations are larger when they are given a platform to dream about them. Women have historically lacked this platform.

[1] Joyce Tan, “Exploring the ‘Confidence Gap’” (Bulletin March 2022, Reserve Bank of Australia, 17 March 2022) (‘RBA Bulletin’). [2] Jack Zenger, ‘The Confidence Gap In Men and Women: Why it Matters and How to Overcome it’ (2018) Forbes.

According to the IMF, women are still significantly under-represented in financial leadership, with less than 20% of bank board seats and less than 2% of bank CEOs being female.3 With female leaders as the historic exception rather than the norm, women lacked the solidarity in their aspirations to positions of power. This pattern is largely grounded in the weight of historic gender roles upon a woman’s lifestyle choices. Women were once conditioned to perceive their most honourable duty in motherhood; in nights spent sitting around the hearth, and playing with children. The expectation of a motherly presence weighs on the shoulders of women today, who fear social reprisal for favouring their careers. The second reason that women underestimate their capability is gendered behavioural and linguistic tendencies which create a perception of low confidence. A woman’s self assessment may underestimate her capacity by comparison to her male counterparts. An RBA study cited evidence that women tend to make more conservative updates of their ability than men, in response to receiving praise. 4 This insight is noteworthy for managers in the workplace so that they may adjust their perception of employee competence independently of that employee’s verbal self assessment. I will not venture so far as some critics to suggest that gendered linguistic habits are a result of the historic subordination of women in conversation with their male counterparts.

However, it is apparent that these traits are born out of gendered social norms. Women tend to soften their behaviour when they are in the right; allowing others to save face. Women also tend to use the pronoun ‘we’ rather than ‘I’ when presenting their own work, out of concern to appear modest before their peers. Awareness of the feminine humility signals to individuals to recalibrate upwards, the contribution of their female colleagues and peers. Awareness of gender bias is important, because the way one speaks largely determines ‘who gets heard, who gets credit, and what gets done.’ 5 Decision makers often resonate with the pitch that is presented by the fiery self-assured person. Where women downplay their certainty, men minimise their doubts. Women are more likely to use lexical hedges such as ‘you know’ and ‘sort of’, which snuff the persuasiveness of a proposal; leaving behind a haze of uncertainty. But sometimes a spark, with a little wind, can be kindled into an idea. From the above tendencies, we see that linguistic patterns can create an illusion of confidence or weakness. The beauty of the analysis is that these traits are now raised in the consciousness of any reader, male or female, in the hope of overcoming gender bias. Furthermore, with skill and practice, these language patterns can be adopted (or avoided) in a business context.

[3] Era Dabla-Norris and Lalpana Kochhar, ‘Closing the Gender Gap’ (2019) (March) IMF. [4] RBA Bulletin (n 1). [5] Deborah Tannen, ‘The Power of Talk: Who Gets Heard and Why’ (1995) (September-October) Harvard Business Review.

Navigating confrontation with linguistics With an aim to disrupt stereotypes of women’s speech, I present some scenarios with individuals named arbitrarily Person A and Person B. The context is an employee explaining to their boss that they did not find the requested document. They attempt to use language to put out their fire. This could be phrased in one of two ways. Person A says ‘I could not find the document in the system.’ Person B says, ‘The document is not in the system.’ The former explanation suggests doubt by the employee of their own abilities by attributing fault to themselves. The latter formulation allows the employee to assure their boss, by extinguishing uncertainty with a reliable fact.

The removal of the subject from the sentence distances the issue from the person, allowing the speaker to be ‘hard on the issue, soft on the person.’ 6 A good leader may adopt such feedback style to correct mistakes while preserving the employee’s integrity. Tempered language to the rescue! Conclusion It is important that everyone, regardless of their gender, can appreciate and utilise the nuance of language to kindle their interpersonal relations. Employers may become aware of biases in their selection and students can inform themselves of their own barriers to confidence. With a dictionary in hand, and a passion in our hearts, we can all set our ambitions ablaze.

Another discrepancy between the genders is their general approach to relationships. Relationships between women show a desire for solidarity and togetherness, whereas those between men tend to embody status and independence. But a lone ember cannot stoke a fire. It is the feminine tendency to diffuse confrontation that ignites quality leadership. One example concerns the use of gentle speech in delivering negative feedback. Person B assertively informs the employee that ‘you didn’t close the file correctly last night.’ However, Person A says ‘I don’t think the file was closed correctly last night.’

[6] Henry Cloud, Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge (HarperCollins Publishers, 2013).

IS IT REALLY THE 21ST CENTURY? Written by Muskan Chowdhury Edited by Dayeon Seo

"It is the 21st Century..." This phrase often marks the beginning of heated debates and discourse around how much things have changed and ironically also about why things should be different.

While this may be true, I think the reactions of Australians and the media are more telling. On the Today Show following the election, a fellow panellist said – quite arrogantly – to Miss Universe Australia 2022, Maria Thattil, that ‘it feels pretty good to see more women than ever taking up top jobs huh?’.5 To which she responded, ‘woah, well [women are] taking their rightful space up where the top jobs are…’ and spoke about how women are underrepresented in decision-making spheres.6

To me, it symbolises how young girls and women still must fight for their voices to be heard… despite it being the 21st century. While there has been progress made in breaking down stereotypical ideas that “girls should stay quiet” and “men should decide”, it seems superficial. A deeper analysis of formal decision-making processes, and also our daily lives as women, shows that such notions still exist at the root of our society.

There has been progress. This is undeniable, but the reactions and subtle behaviours of the public reveal a sheen of reluctance. Women often feel the need to justify why we should be included, why more representation is good and why our issues are important. These notions are also prevalent in decision-making when it comes to the sphere of environmental law.

Just look at our parliament. The previous Morrison ministry used to have the ‘highest number [eight] and percentage [33%] of women in Cabinet to date.’ 1 During the recent 2022 Federal Election, there were a record number of women who successfully ran for election.2 In the Albanese ministry, there will now be a record number of 10 women in a 23 member cabinet.3 In the words of our new Prime Minister, ‘we are making progress’. 4

Claudia Ituarte-Lima’s discussion of the Stockholm Declaration which ‘sowed the seeds for the growth of

[1] Anna Hough, ‘Trends in the gender composition of ministries’, Parliament of Australia (Web Page, 2 May 2022) <https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/ FlagPost/2022/May/Trends_in_the_gender_composition_of_ministries>. [2] James Massola, ‘Record number of women in Albanese’s first cabinet’, Sydney Morning Herald (online at 31 May 2022) <https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/record-number-of-women-in-albanese-s-first-cabinet20220531-p5apwd.html>. [3] Ibid. [4] Ibid. [5] @mariathattil, ‘Latest segment on The Today Show - we talked about how Australia’s new government has a record number of women in the ministry’ (TikTok, 1 June 2020, AEST) <https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSdo3G3wQ/?k=1>. [6] Ibid.

transnational environmental law’ 7 further encapsulates these notions. The Declaration does not refer to women or any other groups. Rather than using gender-neutral language, it only refers to men; every gender is referred to as ‘man’. Ituarte-Lima specifically referred to principle 1 of the Declaration which states:

female pioneers alongside whom she shared the ‘cellars of the UN building in New York’ to discuss policies, 9 interventions and strategies. They developed the Women’s Action Agenda for a Healthy Planet ‘to ensure that delegations were gender balanced, and to build a network of women acting on environment and development.’ 10 Thousands of women took part in meetings in NGO forums, and were not only persistent, but visible, in some meetings. 11 This allowed WEDO and its partnering organisations to leave the summit with principle 20 of the Rio Declaration, which states:

Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality, and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being, and he bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations. 8

Women have a vital role in environmental management and development. Their full participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable development. 12

She also discussed how this occurred even though women such as the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, played a major role in the drafting process. It took 20 years for the vital role of women to be formally recognised in the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio.

Over the following years, many more conventions and treaties actioned gender equality within the environmental policy-making sphere. This included the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), Beijing+25 Declaration (2020) and more. 13

Irene Dankelman, former Women’s Environment & Development Organisation (WEDO) Board Chair wrote about her experience leading up to the summit. She mentioned many other

[7] Claudia Ituarte-Lima, ‘Women’s rights in environmental law, from 1972 to today’, China Dialogue (Web Page, 28 December 2021) <https://chinadialogue.net/en/climate/womens-rights-in-environmental-law-from-1972to-today/>. [8] Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, UN Doc A/Conf. 48/14/Rev. 1 (25 July 1995). [9] Ituarte-Lima (n 7). [10] Ibid. [11] Ibid. [12] Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, UN Doc A/Conf. 151/26/Rev. 1(Vol. 1) (3-14 June 1992). [13] Asian Development Bank, 'Gender-Inclusive Legislative Framework and Laws to Strengthen Women’s Resilience to Climate Change and Disasters', Relief Web by OCHA Services (Web Page, 27 December 2021) <https://reliefweb.int/report/world/gender-inclusive-legislative-framework-and-laws-strengthen-women-sresilience-climate>.

According to Richard Marlin, ‘Australia was a keen participant at the Rio conference.’ 14 This is exemplified through Australia’s Submission to the Rio+20 Compilation Document, which set out our main priorities. The three overarching priorities were to:

Declaration is a “declaration of principles”; a type of "soft law" which is only meant to act as a guiding document. Nonetheless, according to the Law Council of Australia, we have signed and ratified seven key international human rights treaties including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW. 18

1. Enable development of resilient and sustainable economies; 2. Address cross cutting sustainable development issues including continuing to empower women and; 3. Improving the institutional framework to support and drive sustainable development. 15

From our eager contributions and suggestions in Australia’s submission to the Rio+20 Compilation Document and the ratification of treaties supporting women, I think I can proudly conclude that like international legal systems, Australia has also come far.

The report said ‘Australia supports efforts to promote gender equality and empower women.’ 16 It noted if women cannot contribute to discussions surrounding the environment and its surrounding laws, then the debate and actions around such issues would be skewed. The report's eight recommendations in regards to how women can be included show Australia’s support for principles such as principle 20 of the Declaration.17 My research did not reveal whether Australia actually ratified the Rio Declaration. Instead I kept circling back to the conclusion that the Rio

That is not to say that we do not have more work to do. In Australia, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, and Indigenous women in particular, are still disadvantaged. The article, The Impact of Environmental Law on Indigenous Women in Australia, discusses how we embrace Aboriginal practices such as burning to reduce bushfire risk, but ignore their ‘cultural dimensions’. 19

[14] Australian Government, Australia’s Submission to the Rio+20 Compilation Document (Report). [15] Ibid. [16] Ibid. [17] Ibid 13. [18] Law Council of Australia, ‘Policy Agenda’, Australia’s International Human Rights Obligations (Web Page) <https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/policy-agenda/human-rights/australias-international-human-rightsobligations). [19] President Fleur Kingham, ‘The Impact of Environmental Law on Indigenous Women in Australia' (Speech, IAWJ Biennial Conference).

It also discusses how Professor Graeme Samuel recommended that rather than prioritising Western science acts like the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), we should encourage more Indigenous engagement and adopt more of their practices.

Despite all the progress since 1972 when the Stockholm Declaration was first created, the Asian Development Bank’s 2021 Report referred to how ‘too often, laws and policies on climate change and disasters fail to include women, and when they do, they are described as a vulnerable group or recognised only in relation to women’s 21 reproductive role.’

So while we have come a long way in regards to women, we fail to acknowledge and respect First Nations peoples; the traditional owners of the land we stand on today.

Evidently, while there has been progress made, albeit very slowly, we still have a long way to go.

This especially applies to Indigenous women such as Queensland’s first allwomen Aboriginal ranger crew in the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation.20

My question is, will we have to wait till the 22nd century?

Initiatives carried out by such groups, and particularly those by Indigenous women, are integral to environmental protection in Australia. Even here we still have a long way to go…

[20] Ibid. [21] Asian Development Bank (n 13).

More than Scones: The Work of the CWA

WRITTEN BY

ISABELLA NEWTON

EDITED BY

PEIMIN MANDY LI

Five Ingredients for Effective Advocacy: - 8000 tenacious women - 370 branches - 100 years of history - 1 non-partisan organisation - A copious amount of baking and knitting

crisis

the

bush.

The

preventable

deaths

10,000 women and 20,000 newborns in NSW over thirty years. This was the inciting issue that led to the foundation of the Country Women’s Association (CWA) in 1922 by nurse Grace Munro — to establish an organisation to address the needs of women and children in rural areas across NSW. These

deaths

provision

could

adequate

have

been

country

prevented

maternity

through

wards

and

the rural

training for nurses. Within a year of Grace Munro’s call to action, the CWA was firmly established as an organisation for women with sixty-eight branches across NSW and QLD. Demonstrating their commitment to addressing the needs of women,

the

Millthorpe

branch

successfully

fundraised

pounds (approximately $4500 nowadays) for the hospital in Orange and Blayney in under twelve months.

The CWA has been crucial in advocating and creating spaces for

women

who

are

isolated.

you

imagine

classic

Australian country town it is likely one populated by pubs are areas historically for men coming from their farms who had

[1] Julia Power, ‘Initiators, fighters’: Why the CWA is More than Scones’, Sydney Morning Herald, (Sydney. 14 January 2022). [2] 'Country Women’s Association’, State Library New South Wales Archive (Web Page) <https://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/discover_collections/history_nation/agriculture/communities/cw a.html>, Julia Power, ‘Initiators, fighters’: Why the CWA is More than Scones’, Sydney Morning Herald, (Sydney. 14 January 2022).

a place to gather and socialise. No space was set aside for women where they could gather together and care for their c h i l d r e n i n p r i v a c y .3 T h e C W A s a w t h i s n e e d a n d c r e a t e d o v e r 288

restrooms

for

women

c h i l d r e n .4 T h e y

and

provided

hospitals in remote areas, holiday homes for those who lived in the Western Plains, rest homes for women who had to seek medical care away from their homes, hostels for schoolgirls, a n d p r e n a t a l a p a r t m e n t s .5 T h e C W A h a s p r o v i d e d a n e t w o r k for

women

creating

who

have

place

historically

where

women

been

can

spatially

gather

advocate for issues that impact them.

isolated,

together

and

This advocacy has

been acknowledged as providing ‘decades of well-researched, s t u b b o r n a n d d i p l o m a t i c l o b b y i n g o n b e h a l f o f r u r a l w o m e n ’ .7 In 2022, the CWA is still the largest women’s organisation in NSW

with

m e m b e r s8 a n d

8000

continues

advocate

for

issues that impact country women.

The

diminishing

the

CWA,

organisation

that

constantly arguing that it is more than tea and scones, points to a more insidious understanding of women’s work. Skills that are typically perceived as feminine and have generally belonged to the domestic sphere such as cooking and sewing have

historically

been

devalued

society,

seen

unintellectual and not requiring great skill.9

[3] Elizabeth K Teather, ‘Remote Rural Women’s Ideologies, Spaces and Networks: Country Women’s Association of New South Wales, 1922/1992’ (1992) 28(3) Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, 369, 372. [4] Ibid, 372. [5] Ibid, 372-373. [6] Ibid, 373. [7] Ibid, 370. [8] Power (n 1). [9] Katherine Grayson, ‘The Art of Embroidery: Why a Traditional ‘Woman’s Craft’ became a Popular Form of Feminist Expression’, Harpy (online, 8 April 2021) <https://harpymagazine.com/home1/2021/4/7/the-art-of-embroidery-feminist-expression>.

As a side note, this understanding has bled into how much we, as a society, are prepared to pay nurses, teachers, and childcare workers, as they are taking on historically feminine roles of caring for the vulnerable and raising children. The work undertaken by the CWA is often devalued as it has focused primarily on the needs of women and children and issues within the domestic sphere. By belittling the work of the CWA it shows disdain and disinterest for the needs of w o m e n a n d c h i l d r e n . 10

After 100 years, the CWA is still battling the same issues that led to its inception. There is still a significant gap in health and experiences of isolation for those living in the c o u n t r y t h a n t h o s e t h a t l i v e i n m e t r o p o l i t a n a r e a s .11 T h e C W A also directly confronts contemporary issues facing country women. They have advocated for the introduction of domestic violence operative teams in all police commands and police districts abusers

across tend

NSW

which

weaponise

is the

particularly isolation

important

inherent

as the

country alongside the lack of anonymity, to prevent women s e e k i n g h e l p .12

[10] Power (n 1). [11] ‘Rural and Remote Health’ Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (Web Page, 22 October 2019) <https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/rural-remote-australians/rural-remotehealth/contents/summary>. [12] Monica Campo and Sarah Tayton, ‘Domestic and Family Violence in Regional, Rural and Remote Communities’, Australian Institute of Family Studies (Web Page, December 2015) <https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/domestic-and-family-violence-regional-rural-and-remotecommunities>.

Grace

Munro

women’s

sought

healthcare

in in

1922

rural

areas

fix

was

simple not

problem priority

—

for

governments. Women and children were dying as a result of indifference.

100

years

after

the

CWA

was

founded,

continues to prove that when women have spaces to gather together, they advocate not only the improvement of the lives of women but the betterment of their communities.

T W I L I G H T

SP S PA AC CE E

A A

LIMINAL

WRITTEN BY

ANGELENE CONCEPCION

The chronic nature of coming out creates a liminal space. It is understood that coming out is never a one-time, exceptional instance that immediately impedes any further need to affirm one’s identity. Instead, it is a continuous series of conversations and each one brings about a different kind of response: good, bad or indifferent. Although our identity is never measured by the responses of others, we can’t help but seek validation in what they have to say. The space between the closet and ‘outside’ blurs

Life is structured in a manner that is arguably linear. An individual aims to progress from point A to point B, giving little to no thought of the space that exists in between. In most cases, the progression is evident, clear, and concrete. In others, the door is one that

the lines between what being ‘out’ is. Albeit each story is a tale distinct from

revolves; a continuous orbit; a ceaseless journey; a liminal space. As society has been formed, straight is the default. It is

the next but the feeling is universal.

the immediate assumption, creating a universal understanding that each individual belongs, and those who don’t are caught in a space of their own either

However the closet is not an independent infrastructure: it forms part of a room.

by choice or circumstance; or both.

The room which is filled with the staples of our identity - that of which we put on

A Room of One’s Own, as Woolf pitches, is a space where one exists in total isolation from the greater part of the world. While it is lonely, it may be safe. Where safety is provided, it may be a haven. Though isolation has never proven to aid the ills of loneliness. Although we should also consider how we are deprived of the luxuries enjoyed by others. The closet is enjoyed by those who are hidden, shielded from the prying and judging eyes of others. Though while the door can be opened, it is always a free-fall if one dares to step out. And while there is no lock, there exists a feeling that the door should remain untouched - the hinges kept still.

display. The walls are hued, photos framed, books shelved and beds made. This room is still a haven - it provides privacy, independence and identity. In the moments where loneliness makes its presence known, we unlock the door. We invite people in; slowly and calculatedly, or all at once. Their eyes glaze over the space, questions being formed in their minds. There is a certain kind of vulnerability that comes with this act that is almost always unspoken.

Queerness has always had to create a space of it’s own in a society that has attempted to conceal it otherwise. The existence of the closet is the consequence of an intolerant environment that denies individuals community, instead driving them into isolation. While each story reads differently as we all hold our own unique tale, the existence of the liminal space; the air between the closet, the room and beyond is often overlooked. Coming out remains a chronic process, and the closet becomes a sanctum sanctorum for many. The twilight zone almost holds

Much can be said about ‘coming out.’ The term itself is interesting – to come out is to progress forward or depart from something. It is an action that should be

a magnetic field, where one feels a pull between each point at each interaction.

voluntary, made with the independence of one's will at the time that they please.

The foreign yet universal nature of this process binds us; forming connections and solidarities with unspoken words and

However, it is not as linear as making it from point A to point B. What lies beyond is inherently unknown – a testing of waters always ensues. One fails to really know whether the leap is one of faith or

untold stories.

detriment. While we always prefer the

Albeit while a room of one’s own bestows

former, the latter is an expected default.

a comfort that is familiar, the window just above offers us a world we are deprived of. Further, while the liminal space tugs at both the hidden and the revealed, we are often constantly eclipsed. Belonging can feel like a distant concept out of one’s grasp and determined by the fate of coming out. The process illuminates drawbacks but it also highlights liberation. Indeed, the space in-between remains a constant home through it all.

Arguably, the act of ‘coming out’ may be viewed as redundant. Some may argue that the requirement to publicly articulate one’s identity is regressive something practised to appease [straight] society. While this may hold some truth, the experience is also universal and has formed the bedrock of community and belonging. It is a manifestation of courage, bravery and perhaps even protest.

EDITED BY

ADA LUONG 49

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Solidarity ≠ Safety: Isolation as a Lesbian in MaleDominated LGBTQIA+ Spaces (Pg. 14-17) 1. Greggor Mattson, ‘Are Gay Bars Closing? Using Business Listings to Infer Rates of Gay Bar Closures in the United States, 1977 - 2019’ (2019) 5(1) Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, 1-2. 2. Diana Tourjee, ‘LGBTQ Women Don’t Feel Comfortable at Pride, Survey Says’, Vice (online, 25 June 2016) <https://www.vice.com/en/article/kzeedn/lgbtqwomen-pride-uncomfortable-her-survey>. 3. Ibid. 4. Padraic Murphy, ‘Gay Sircuit Bar wins right to ban ‘predatory females’, Perth Now (online, 10 June 2011) <https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/nsw/gaysircuit-bar-wins-right-to-ban-predatory-females-ngbff4efaa8a454379f5a7b5c17c81d030>. 5. Julia Serano, Whipping Girl: a Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity (Seal Press, 2nd ed, 2007) 11. 6. Ibid.

The Spaces Carved (Pg. 18-21) 1. Amina Al-Saigh, ‘Iraqi Dolma (Middle Eastern Stuffed Vegetables)’, Hungry Paprikas (9 December 2020) <https://www.hungrypaprikas.com/iraqi-dolma/>. 2. Rosie Malek-Yonan and Monica Malek-Yonan, Rosie Malek-Yonan’s the Crimson Field: A Historical Novel (Pearlida Pub, 2005).

The Hyper-Feminine She-Devil (Pg. 22-24) 1. Melannie Matschiner and Sarah K Murnen, ‘Hyperfemininity and Influence’ (2006) 23(3) Psychology of Women Quarterly 631, 631.

EVEN MIRACLES TAKE A ______ LITTLE LOT OF TIME (Pg. 25-28) 1. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, Report (2018), 5. 2. Ibid. 3. Kate Eastman, ‘Sex Discrimination in the Legal Profession’ (2004) 27(3) UNSW Law Journal 866, 868. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. 7. Ibid. 8. Ibid. 9. Michael Pelly, It’s official, women take over the legal profession (Web Page, 14 July 2021) <https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/it-s-officialwomen-take-over-the-legal-profession-20210712-p588wn>.

8. Ibid. 9. Michael Pelly, It’s official, women take over the legal profession (Web Page, 14 July 2021) <https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/it-s-officialwomen-take-over-the-legal-profession-20210712-p588wn>. 10. Hannah Wootton, Female law partners break through 30pc barrier (Web Page, 10 December 2020) <https://www.afr.com/companies/professionalservices/women-partners-break-through-30pc-barrier-20201130-p56j7u>. 11. The Australian Human Rights Commission, Women in Leadership (Web Page), <https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/women-leadership-old>. 12. Kim Elsesser, Female lawyers face widespread gender bias, according to new study (Web Page, 1 October 2018), <https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2018/10/01/female-lawyers-facewidespread-gender-bias-according-to-new-study/?sh=1c23a0034b55>. 13. Ibid. 14. Joyce Smithey, Women and the Legal Profession: Four common obstacles faced by female lawyers (Blog post, 13 January 2017), <https://msjd.org/blog/article/women-and-the-legal-profession-four-common-obstaclesfaced-by-female-lawyer>. 15. The Atlantic, What it Takes to be a Trial Lawyer if you’re not a Man (Web Page, September 2018 <https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/09/female-lawyerssexism-courtroom/565778/>.

The Gendered Nature of Workplace Confidence (Pg. 33-36) 1. Joyce Tan, “Exploring the ‘Confidence Gap’” (Bulletin March 2022, Reserve Bank of Australia, 17 March 2022) (‘RBA Bulletin’). 2. Jack Zenger, ‘The Confidence Gap In Men and Women: Why it Matters and How to Overcome it’ (2018) Forbes. 3. Era Dabla-Norris and Lalpana Kochhar, ‘Closing the Gender Gap’ (2019) (March) IMF. 4. RBA Bulletin (n 1). 5. Deborah Tannen, ‘The Power of Talk: Who Gets Heard and Why’ (1995) (September-October) Harvard Business Review. 6. Henry Cloud, Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge (HarperCollins Publishers, 2013).

Is It Really the 21st Century? (Pg. 37-41) 1. Anna Hough, ‘Trends in the gender composition of ministries’, Parliament of Australia (Web Page, 2 May 2022 <https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parlia mentary_Library/FlagPost/2022/May/Trends_in_the_gender_composition_of_mi nistries>. 2. James Massola, ‘Record number of women in Albanese’s first cabinet’, Sydney Morning Herald (online at 31 May 2022) <https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/record-number-of-women-inalbanese-s-first-cabinet-20220531-p5apwd.html>. 52

Sydney Morning Herald (online at 31 May 2022) <https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/record-number-of-women-inalbanese-s-first-cabinet-20220531-p5apwd.html>. 3. Ibid. 4. Ibid. 5. @mariathattil, ‘Latest segment on The Today Show - we talked about how Australia’s new government has a record number of women in the ministry’ (TikTok, 1 June 2020, AEST) <https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSdo3G3wQ/?k=1>. 6. Ibid. 7. Claudia Ituarte-Lima, ‘Women’s rights in environmental law, from 1972 to today’, China Dialogue (Web Page, 28 December 2021) <https://chinadialogue.net/en/climate/womens-rights-in-environmentallaw-from-1972-to-today/>. 8. Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, UN Doc A/Conf. 48/14/Rev. 1 (25 July 1995). 9. Ituarte-Lima (n 7). 10. Ibid. 11. Ibid. 12. Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, UN Doc A/Conf. 151/26/Rev. 1(Vol. 1) (3-14 June 1992). 13. Asian Development Bank, ‘Gender-Inclusive Legislative Framework and Laws to Strengthen Women’s Resilience to Climate Change and Disasters’, Relief Web by OCHA Services (Web Page, 27 December 2021) <https://reliefweb.int/report/world/gender-inclusive-legislativeframework-and-laws-strengthen-women-s-resilience-climate>. 14. Australian Government, Australia’s Submission to the Rio+20 Compilation Document (Report). 15. Ibid. 16. Ibid. 17. Ibid 13. 18. Asian Development Bank (n 13). 19. President Fleur Kingham, ‘The Impact of Environmental Law on Indigenous Women in Australia' (Speech, IAWJ Biennial Conference). 20.Ibid. 21. Asian Development Bank (n 13). More than Scones: The Work of the CWA (Pg. 42-46) 1. Julia Power, ‘Initiators, fighters’: Why the CWA is More than Scones’, Sydney Morning Herald, (Sydney. 14 January 2022). 2. ‘Country Women’s Association’, State Library New South Wales Archive (Web Page) <https://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/discover_collections/history_nation/agricult ure/communities/cwa.html>, Julia Power, ‘Initiators, fighters’: Why the CWA is More than Scones’, Sydney Morning Herald, (Sydney. 14 January 2022). 53

Page) <https://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/discover_collections/history_nation/agricult ure/communities/cwa.html>, Julia Power, ‘Initiators, fighters’: Why the CWA is More than Scones’, Sydney Morning Herald, (Sydney. 14 January 2022). 3. Elizabeth K Teather, ‘Remote Rural Women’s Ideologies, Spaces and Networks: Country Women’s Association of New South Wales, 1922/1992’ (1992) 28(3) Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, 369, 372. 4. Ibid, 372. 5. Ibid, 372-373. 6. Ibid, 373. 7. Ibid, 370. 8. Power (n 1). 9. Katherine Grayson, ‘The Art of Embroidery: Why a Traditional ‘Woman’s Craft’ became a Popular Form of Feminist Expression’, Harpy (online, 8 April 2021) <https://harpymagazine.com/home-1/2021/4/7/the-art-of-embroideryfeminist-expression>. 10. Power (n 1). 11. ‘Rural and Remote Health’ Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (Web Page, 22 October 2019) <https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/rural-remoteaustralians/rural-remote-health/contents/summary>. 12. Monica Campo and Sarah Tayton, ‘Domestic and Family Violence in Regional, Rural and Remote Communities’, Australian Institute of Family Studies (Web Page, December 2015) <https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/domestic-andfamily-violence-regional-rural-and-remote-communities>.