tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85209354502735181402024-03-06T05:49:02.783+11:00天高皇企鹅远stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-80338100341953963112013-08-06T21:09:00.002+10:002013-08-06T21:09:51.279+10:00no award: social justice. media. fandom. drop bears. Hey so all my apologies! I have a brand new blog that I'm super excited about. That makes blog number eleventy million for me of course, and I am in no way neglecting this one, or the vegan blog or the tumblr, but this new one makes all others PALE IN COMPARISON in terms of my passion and drive for it. At least right now.<br />
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Liz and I have combined to bring you <a href="http://no-award.net/">No Award</a>, a blog where we talk about social justice and media and intersectionality all specifically keeping in mind that we are Australians of varying backgrounds. So far in our first three weeks of posting I've spent a lot of time blogging about racial and <a href="http://no-award.net/2013/07/15/pacific-rim-and-the-chinese-jaegar-program-and-what-that-means-in-2013/">infrastructure</a> and <a href="http://no-award.net/2013/07/17/australias-jaegar-program-ps-racism-and-history/">political</a> issues in Pacific Rim, and also about the <a href="http://no-award.net/2013/08/01/the-exotic-place-as-other-and-notes-on-cinder-by-marissa-meter/">exotic as shorthand</a> in dystopic future fiction. Liz has looked at lots of things including the deconstruction of masculinity in Dance Academy, and an old school Melbunnie SF novel. It has been a lot of fun so far, and I look forward to continuing this project.<br />
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Come say hi! It is super fun.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-75430478320092730542013-04-18T12:53:00.001+10:002013-04-18T16:21:25.436+10:008 ways to keep applying for jobs when all you (i) want to do is yell JUST GIVE ME A JOB and then go to sleep <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yiduiqie/7221708510/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="red is the star by yiduiqie, on Flickr"><img alt="red is the star" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/7221708510_1d6a379334.jpg" width="375" /></a> My contract with WWF-China finished in November of last year, and since then I've been busy but payments have been intermittent. I've been working hard on my con (just seven weeks away, and mildly stressful), working on a major personal (but hopefully fruitful) project, baking cookies for sale in a cafe, looking for a new place to live and dealing with my ever exciting depression and anxious tendencies.<br />
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So in all of this I have trouble with motivation; though to be more specific, what I have is a motivation issue in regards to finding a new job. I've been for so many interviews since I returned to Australia, and written so many selection criteria, and been told so many times 'you were amazing and we love you but we went with someone less qualified' - as if telling me that makes me feel any better about the job search that is slowly sucking my soul.<br />
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And I'm sitting on the couch right now, prioritising everything that isn't writing yet another set of selection criteria for one of the jobs that I have open in a tab, but I do have some techniques for getting this stuff done, even when I'm feeling demotivated and all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch Super Sizers.
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<ol>
<li>Do something little but useful every day. I get a whole bunch of job emails sent to me that I've tailored to what I'm looking for. I filter these into a separate folder, but I check that folder every day. Even if all I do on the job hunt that day is open the folder, read the emails, and open the jobs that look suitable in new tabs, that's still a thing, and I did it.</li>
<li>Prioritise the jobs by date. I keep track of them in my head but if that doesn't work for you, put them in a spreadsheet. When I see how far apart the due dates are, it allows me to feel like I can breathe.</li>
<li>Breathe.</li>
<li>Break it down. Break the job application down into something that looks like a process, then do one part each day, or two parts, or whatever works for you. A normal government job for me looks like: find the pd; pull out the selection criteria; write each criteria point (not all at once); email BFF to review them; write a cover letter that directly addresses the sc points; review cv; have someone (BFF) reassure me that I would be great for this job; rewrite sc; submit; don't think about it again. You are good for doing each of those elements, you have achieved something for any step that you complete of that. </li>
<li>Sometimes apply for easy jobs. Not jobs that you easily get, jobs that are easy to apply for. With the work I do, for the most part I have to write five pages of selection criteria and a tailored cover letter, plus of course my CV. That takes days. Sometimes it feels really good to just write the cover letter and shoot it off. I might not get that job (though it's always a job I think I could do, just maybe a bit higher than I should be aiming or out to the side or something), but it helps me to maintain momentum on days when the thought of yet another 3000 words on my suitability just seems insurmountable.</li>
<li>Take a break. Don't do it constantly, it wears you down.</li>
<li>Get someone to poke you. For me that's a person whose specific task is to say 'hey did you apply for that thing? Let me sit on the internet next to you while you write one criteria and then we'll watch some tv together,' but your mileage may vary.</li>
<li>Reward yourself. Applying for jobs is hard, for so many reasons, including the constant rejection and the constant doubts of your own self. You have to do this work, but reward yourself immediately for getting it done. The nebulous satisfaction of 'getting a job' is great but ultimately useless when you're in the throes of rejection/anxiety/omg I'm going to die homeless and friendless and alone, and sometimes you just need a cookie and a cat gif. </li>
</ol>
stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-62763474374924529832013-03-09T11:11:00.001+11:002013-03-09T11:20:19.214+11:00mqff is upon us! prepare for queer cinema! The <a href="http://www.mqff.com.au/">Melbourne Queer Film Festival</a> starts next week, and as always I'm super excited! I missed out on the Festival last year (because China), and I'm really looking forward to this year's festival.<br />
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I volunteer every year, which is something I recommend for anyone who is in to films, is in to queer films, or wants to support their queer community. It's a great festival, everyone is always really lovely and there's a great feeling around it.<br />
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Also, this year, there are vegan lollies available for sale! Which is pretty awesome, please feel free to thank your local vegan for the idea (me) and everyone at MQFF who let me suggest it and then just Did It. I love when people accomodate dietary requirements, I hope there's no gluten in the lollies hmm. And there's an app for iPhone and Android, and most of the movies screen at ACMI which as you know (Melbourne) is one of the best cinemas and spaces ever.<br />
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Here is my short list, in screening order:<br />
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<a href="http://tix.mqff.com.au/session2_mqff.asp?sn=When+Hainan+Meets+Teochew+%28Dang+Hai+Nan+Yu+Shang+Chao+Zhou%29&s=20"><b>When Hainan Meets Teochew (当海南遇上潮州)</b></a> (Saturday 16 March, 16:00)<br />
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<blockquote>
When Hainan Meets Teochew tells a unique story about love between a butch and a femme woman. The two meet in the most unusual circumstances (involving a falling bra), become enemies in the most unpredictable situation and become friends in the most unforgettable manner. Just as they gradually develop feelings for each other, Hainan’s ex-girlfriend appears and puts their relationship under the most challenging test. The ensuing love triangle results in much misunderstanding and hilarity. What will become of Hainan and Teochew’s romance, and who is the owner of the falling bra?</blockquote>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/i-xtgrcuMTE" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://tix.mqff.com.au/session2_mqff.asp?sn=OZ+DOCS&s=33"><b>Oz Docs </b></a>(Monday 18 March, 18:00)<br />
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This is a series of Australian documentaries, including 'The La La Road' on Chinese lesbians, and the Aquaporko Documentary, featuring a whole lot of awesome, fat, queer ladies of my acquaintance. <br />
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<a href="http://tix.mqff.com.au/session2_mqff.asp?sn=Cockpit&s=152"><b>Cockpit </b></a>(Thursday 21 March, 18:30)<br />
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<blockquote>
Mrs. Doubtfire meets Tootsie, meets Some Like it Hot - 10,000m up, in this over-the-top comedy of mistaken identities from Sweden. After losing his job as an airline pilot when his company downsizes, Valle is thrown out by his materialistic wife, who takes the kids with her and immediately begins a new relationship with a wealthy elderly man. After countless knock backs by airlines, he hears that Silver airlines are looking for a female captain. In desperation, and with little in the way of a plan, Valle dons a pair of high heels, borrows his staunchly feminist and queer friendly sister’s identity and transforms himself into attractive Maria and wins himself a pilot’s job. The plan begins to unravel when his lesbian airline colleague Cecilia starts to fall for him/her, and a narrowly averted plane crash, lands Maria all over the news.</blockquote>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oovHqvMFjGI" width="560"></iframe>
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<b><a href="http://tix.mqff.com.au/session2_mqff.asp?sn=Queens%21+Destiny+Of+Dance&s=185">Queens! Destiny of Dance</a> </b>(Friday 22 March, 20:30)<br />
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<blockquote>
Guru Amma presides over a community of hijras (male to female transgenders) inside a huge palace, with love and severity in equal measure. The apple of her eye is the talented Mukta who is the best dancer among them and also the potential next leader of the community. Mukta adores Guru Amma with all her heart, to the point of worshipping her. One day, a beautiful young girl turns up at their door without any explanation. Awed by her beauty, Amma takes the mysterious girl under her wings and names her Nandini.<br />
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Soon, Nandini becomes the centre of attraction for the other hijras and for Amma as well, thereby sidelining Mukta. Mukta’s jealousy soon turns to paranoia about Nandini, and Mukta leaves the community after threatening Amma. But Mukta soon realises that she will never be taken back into her house or the community. Determined to set things right, Mukta returns to Amma and the community, but behaves kindly towards Nandini this time around, until enough is enough and events unfold leading to a shocking climax.<br />
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True to the essence of Bollywood films, Queens! is chock full of colourful characters, and fantastic dance scenes.</blockquote>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Aa9OaGArrSE" width="420"></iframe>
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<b><a href="http://tix.mqff.com.au/session2_mqff.asp?sn=Strange+Frame%3A+Love+And+Sax&s=193">Strange Frame: Love and Sax</a> </b>(Saturday 23 March, 14:00)<br />
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<blockquote>
The first lesbian, science fiction, rock ‘n’ roll animated film is here! Hold on tight as we head off into the 29th Century.<br />
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200 years after the human race has left a decimated Earth behind, life on Ganymede, one of Saturn’s moons, is a world of space pirates, indentured slaves and genetic mutations. Parker, a saxophonist, meets a gutsy singer, Naia, who’s a ‘debt slave’, and the two quickly fall in love and form a band. Gaining cult notoriety, the band catches the eye of the authorities, and Naia is recaptured. As Parker begins a desperate search for her love, Naia is repackaged by ‘the man’ as a generic rock star and achieves immense fame. Will Naia be saved before her soul is forever destroyed?</blockquote>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/frCDuh27nrw" width="560"></iframe>
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(quotes are from the mqff programme)<br />
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I always keep my short list short, because I burn out fast during festivals, but others I wouldn't mind seeing eventually are:<br />
<a href="http://tix.mqff.com.au/session2_mqff.asp?sn=Gayby&s=1"><b>Gayby</b></a><br />
<a href="http://tix.mqff.com.au/session2_mqff.asp?sn=My+Best+Day&s=176"><b>My Best Day</b></a><br />
<a href="http://tix.mqff.com.au/session2_mqff.asp?sn=The+Mermaids&s=170"><b>The Mermaids</b></a><br />
<a href="http://tix.mqff.com.au/session2_mqff.asp?sn=Speechless+%28Wu+Yan%29&s=192"><b>Speechless (无言)</b></a>stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-91396882819324601372012-11-05T11:46:00.000+11:002012-11-05T11:46:16.693+11:00down under feminists carnival: 54th edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello and welcome to the 54th Down Under Feminists Carnival! For your reading pleasure (or rage, I guess, there is some rage going on), I present this month's links; for your listening pleasure, I have also embedded a song at the end that is about presentation and jerks and shaking your fist. It is in Mandarin Chinese but I've included a super rough translation into English.<br />
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<b>Sexuality and Society </b><br />
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In <a href="http://mymilkspilt.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/the-coming-out-post">the coming out post</a>, Elizabeth at Spilt Milk talks about coming out, and divorce, and erasure. <a href="http://alifeunexamined.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/pondering-asexuality-and-living-arrangements/">Pondering Asexuality and Living Arrangements</a> sees Jo at A Life Examined looking at non-partnered living and options and relationships. And at My Scarlett Heartt: <a href="http://myscarlettheartt.com/?p=340">Narratives of Kinky Sex</a>.<br />
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<b>Harassment </b><br />
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The News with Nipples shares <a href="http://newswithnipples.com/2012/10/22/actually-how-to-respond-when-you-see-some-sexism-happening/">how to respond when you see sexism happening</a>, and Mary at the Ada Initiative shares <a href="http://adainitiative.org/blog/2012/10/04/harassment-report-at-your-conference-what-do-you-do/">what to do when there's a harassment report at your conference</a>.<br />
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Luddite Journo looks at <a href="http://thehandmirror.blogspot.com/2012/10/imagining-world-without-sexual-violence.html">Imagining a World without Sexual Violence</a> and <a href="http://thehandmirror.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/mike-tyson-undisputed-truth.html">Mike Tyson: the Undisputed Truth</a> at the Hand Mirror. There's <a href="http://danni.dreamwidth.org/78250.html">at the risk of sounding like *that* feminist</a>, on violence and blame and Jill Meagher, by Danni at Crosslegged on the Front Lawn, and Justine Larbalestier writes about <a href="http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2012/10/02/the-brad-pitt-defence/">the Brad Pitt Defence</a> of harassment.
Stargazer looks at <a href="http://thehandmirror.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/targetting-young-women.html">targeting young women</a> and <a href="http://thehandmirror.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/a-culture-of-silence.html">a culture of silence</a> at the Hand Mirror.<br />
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<b>On Prime Minister Gillard and Australian Politics </b><br />
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Because there was a lot of it this month, I'm not going to include a description for every one of these links, and I haven't included every post on this, but I have included ones that I thought were particularly interesting or important or different.<br />
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<a href="http://newswithnipples.com/2012/10/08/some-of-tony-abbotts-best-friends-are-women/">Some of Tony Abbot's Best Friends are Women</a> at the News with Nipples; <a href="http://shonias.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/yesterday-in-politics.html">Yesterday in Politics</a> at Ariane's little world; Bluemilk shares a lot of links <a href="http://bluemilk.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/about-the-prime-ministers-speech/">about the prime minister's speech</a> (including the video); <a href="http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/why-julia-gillards-smackdown-speech-was-brilliant/">Why Julia Gillard's Smackdown Speech was Brilliant</a> at Mamamia; Raivans talks about <a href="http://raivans.tumblr.com/post/33355001161/hearts-and-minds-and-votes">the difference a good speech makes</a>; and <a href="http://hoydenabouttown.com/20121019.12499/now-the-dust-has-settled">Now the Dust has Settled</a> at HaT; <a href="http://beefaerie.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/singing-our-song-2/">Singing our Song 2</a> at A Bee of a Certain Age; and <a href="http://emma-in-oz.livejournal.com/488951.html">Perceptions of Gillard and Misogyny</a> at Emma in Oz.
Tigtog brings us a collection of links at Hoyden About Town about <a href="http://hoydenabouttown.com/20121030.12532/media-circus-read-my-memoirs-edition">the media circus</a> that is particularly relevant to ladies in Australian politics.<br />
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A few posts on silence, and anger: At HaT, Mindy asks <a href="http://hoydenabouttown.com/20121011.12447/when-is-anger-allowed/">When is Anger Allowed?</a> There is some great linking and discussion in the comments as well. Bluemilk has <a href="http://bluemilk.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/a-lesson-in-silencing-women-from-a-woman/">a lesson in silencing women</a> and the video of Penny Wong being awesome in <a href="http://bluemilk.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/omg-australia-is-discussing-the-nuance-of-misogyny-sexism-privilege-silencing-and-moral-equivalence/">OMG! Australia is discussing the nuances of misogyny, sexism, privilege, silencing and moral equivalence</a> (and when I grow up I would like to be Penny Wong, or at least, a fierce, queer, intelligent, Chinese-Malaysian Australian woman who knows where she's at).<br />
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<a href="http://noplaceforsheep.com/2012/10/15/flexing-my-mussel/">Flexing my mussel</a> and <a href="http://noplaceforsheep.com/2012/10/11/the-real-gillard-hypocrisy/">the Real Gillard Hypocrisy</a> at No Place for Sheep<br />
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<b>Ada Lovelace Day </b><br />
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For Ada Lovelace Day, Danni at Scrambled Tofu <a href="http://blogs.gnome.org/danni/2012/10/16/finding-ada-elaine-miles/">profiled colleague Elaine Miles</a>, a researcher at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The Bureau followed this with profiles on its <a href="http://www.facebook.com/bureauofmeteorology">FB page</a> of four of its awesome Bureau Women (scroll to Oct 16 on the timeline). Mary profiled <a href="http://lecta.puzzling.org/2012/10/16/ada-lovelace-day-marita-cheng-robogals-founder/">Marita Cheng, Robogals Founder</a>, and <a href="http://lecta.puzzling.org/2012/10/16/ada-lovelace-day-else-shepherd/">Else Shepherd</a>, leading Australian electrical engineer.<br />
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<b>Representation and Women in the Media </b><br />
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Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear discusses <a href="http://thatsmyphilosophy.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/qandas-interruptus-how-the-boys-club-lynched-kate-ellis-on-qa/">Kate Elliot's appearance on Q&A</a> and how the boys are jerks. You can find <a href="http://melitasmilovic.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/an-open-letter-to-usborne-books-who-are.html">An Open Letter to Usborne Books: who are you calling famous?</a> at Jill in a Box; and <a href="http://hoydenabouttown.com/20121003.12405/so-its-okay-as-long-as-there-are-no-women-around/">So it's okay so long as there are no women around?</a> by Mindy at HaT. At My Scarlett Heartt, <a href="http://myscarlettheartt.com/?p=354">Let me tell you a secret Chaka Khan…I am not every woman</a>.<br />
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<b>Performance and Art and Bodies</b><br />
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A review of <a href="http://womynews.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/the-wizard-of-auslan-by-vulcana-womens-circus-review/">The Wizard of Auslan</a> at the UQ Wom*n's Collective; and a visit to <a href="http://fatheffalump.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/fat-stories-an-exhibition/">Fat Stories: An Exhibition</a> written up at Fat Heffalump.<br />
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Things about performativity and bodies: <a href="http://gingerandhoney.com/2012/10/03/in-pursuit-of-a-political-argument-for-exercise/">In pursuit of a political argument for exercise</a> by Stephanie at Ginger and Honey; <a href="http://fatheffalump.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/how-not-to-market-to-fat-customers/">How not to Market to Fat Customers</a>, <a href="http://fatheffalump.wordpress.com/2012/10/13/om-nom-nom/">Om Nom Nom</a> and <a href="http://fatheffalump.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/my-fat-body-is-me/">My Fat Body is Me</a> at Fat Heffalump; A <a href="http://blackfeministranter.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/frocktober-check-in.html">Frocktober Checkin</a> and on bras and breasts in <a href="http://blackfeministranter.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/do-they-wobble-to-and-fro.html">do they wobble too and fro</a> at Rantings of an Aboriginal Feminist; <a href="http://www.definatalie.com/2012/10/10/public-knowledge-private-performances/">Public Knowledge / Private Performances</a> at Definatalie.<br />
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<b>On Families and Motherhood </b><br />
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On <a href="http://bluemilk.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/you-dont-have-to-be-a-homebirth-advocate-to-see-that-homebirth-is-a-feminist-issue/">homebirth as a feminist issue</a> at Bluemilk and <a href="http://ideologicallyimpure.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/no-surprise-here-family-first-doesnt-really-put-families-first/">No surprise here: Family First doesn't really put families first</a> and <a href="http://ideologicallyimpure.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/paid-parental-leave-zombies-babies-they-sound-similar-for-a-reason-edition/">Paid parental leave: zombies/babies - they sound similar for a reason</a> at Idealogically Impure. Idealogically Impure also has a series of posts on anti-choice and abortion: <a href="http://ideologicallyimpure.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/namethedentists/">Name the Dentists</a>; <a href="http://ideologicallyimpure.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/abortion-in-southland-alison-mcculloch-kicks-ass-edition/">Abortion in Southland: Alison McCulloch kicks ass edition</a>; <a href="http://ideologicallyimpure.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/irony-in-action-antichoice-whinge-edition/">Irony in Action: antichoice whinge edition</a>.<br />
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<b>A, Miscellany </b><br />
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I post about <a href="http://allmypenguins.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/azn-aus-lady-things-im-giving-money-to.html">two short-film projects</a> featuring Asian-Australian ladies that are currently fundraising via indiegogo.<br />
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<a href="http://hoydenabouttown.com/20121012.12450/international-day-of-the-girl">International Day of the Girl</a> links at HaT.<br />
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At Leftover Words, Sky Croeser asks that we <a href="http://skycroeser.tumblr.com/post/34626707902/please-tell-labor-not-to-excise-the-mainland-from-our">please tell Labor not to excise the mainland from our migration zone</a>. Continuing with Chally's Feminists of Faith series, we have <a href="http://zeroatthebone.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/feminists-of-faith-anjum/">anjum rahman</a>. On the demands on time and marginalised users in <a href="http://beefaerie.wordpress.com/2008/03/03/what-are-all-these-cars-doing-on-my-road/">what are all these cars doing on my road?</a> at a Bee of a Certain Age. A collection of links on <a href="http://hoydenabouttown.com/20121003.12402/pinktober-is-upon-us/">Pinktober</a> at HaT.<br />
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On <a href="http://hoydenabouttown.com/20121019.12500/privacy-anonymity-pseudonymity-outing-accountability-where-are-the-boundaries/">Privacy, anonymity, pseudonymity, outing, and accountability</a> by tigtog at HaT. <a href="http://canbebitter.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/st-this-feminist-says-that-she-shouldnt/">Sh*t this feminist says (that she shouldn't)</a> by Katherine Klaus at Can be Bitter. Jo at a Life Unexamined writes on <a href="http://alifeunexamined.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/feminism-as-a-way-of-life/">feminism as a way of life</a> (and being a good feminist).<br />
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In <a href="http://blackfeministranter.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/i-wonder-if-i-am-too-weak-to-write.html">I wonder if I am too weak to write</a>, Utopiana talks about Anthony Mundine's comments and the media reaction to it.<br />
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Thank you for visiting the carnival! Next month's carnival will be hosted by the <a href="http://newswithnipples.com/">News with Nipples</a>! Submissions to newswithnipples at gmail etc.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">No No</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;"> 你說的全都不對</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">說我高貴我根本不配</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">這幾年我到底得罪了誰</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">經常招來一些討厭的嘴</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">紅頭髮 黑指甲</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">有什麼奇怪什麼驚訝</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">沒表情 話太少</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">被你說成 無可救藥</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">我就這樣</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">沒辦法討好所有的人</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">我只能這樣</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">你喜歡 不喜歡 跟我全都無關</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18pt;">算了吧 無所謂 隨便你 去說吧</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">好幾次 我試圖 對你微笑</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">可你覺得我在 強顏 歡笑</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">既然這樣 我只好 做自己</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">轉過身 還有 一大片天空</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">紅頭髮 黑指甲</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">有什麼奇怪什麼驚訝</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">沒表情 話太少</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">難道真的 無可救藥</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">我就這樣</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">沒辦法討好所有的人</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">我只能這樣</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">你喜歡 不喜歡 跟我全都無關</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">算了吧 無所謂 隨便你 去說吧</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">你說對的 他說錯</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">都不在乎 </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">let it be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">他說對的 你說錯</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">都不在乎 </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">let it go<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Hey Hey Hey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">來 瞄准我方向</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">隨便你要怎麼對待我</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">我就站在這裡 微笑著 盯著你看</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">面對那些軟弱的子彈</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">優雅的 轉過身 我根本不怕</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">我已經 受夠啦 受夠啦 受夠啦</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: STHeitiSC-Light; font-size: 11.0pt;">無所謂 無所謂 算了吧</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">No no you say it</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">’s</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"> all wrong<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Said my awesome self wasn’t worthy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">These years, who have I insulted<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Usually provoked by some gross mouth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Red hair, black fingernails<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">What’s strange, what’s surprising<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">No feelings, words missing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">You say hopeless<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">This is the way I am<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">No way to please everyone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">I can only be this way<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">You like me or not, it’s nothing to do
with me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Forget it, whatever you tell me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Several times I tried to smile at you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">You thought I was laughing (at you)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">But that was just you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Turned the body in the sky<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Red hair, black fingernails<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">What’s strange, what’s surprising<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">No feelings, words missing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">You say hopeless<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">This is the way I am<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">No way to please everyone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">I can only <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">You like me or not, it’s nothing to do with
me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Forget it, whatever you tell me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">You say he was wrong<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Don’t worry about it let it be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">He said you were wrong<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Don’t worry about it let it be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Hey hey hey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Come, aim in my direction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">However you want to treat me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">I stand here smiling, staring at you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">In the face of weak bullets<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">I shift gracefully, I’m unafraid<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">I’ve had enough had enough had enough<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Forget it, it doesn’t matter, let it go<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-57480584737532050482012-10-31T09:11:00.001+11:002012-10-31T09:11:49.613+11:00azn aus lady things i'm giving money toI came across two awesome looking short movies starring Asian Australian ladies that are currently looking for funding. I'm planning to donate to both of them as soon as I find my credit card, and I think they sound super interesting. I don't know any of the people involved in this (though if they want to say hi, they should definitely do so!).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/256166">Blood for the Devil's Daughters</a> sees three Asian vampires resurrected and threatening Melbourne's Chinatown. The vampires will allegedly mix Asian "vampire" themes with Western ones - like hopping ghosts, fox spirits, and flying heads, and will be battled by two ladies of Asian heritage. The fundraising for this movie ends December 1.<br />
<br />
<center>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="429px" scrolling="no" src="http://www.indiegogo.com/project/256166/widget" width="224px"></iframe></center>
<a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/hitgirls">Hit Girls</a> is an action girl assassin comedy. It's set in Sydney and looks amazing and I want it and it aims to help to fill a space in Australia where we're multicultural but our media is all white. And I want it. Their fundraising ends November 13.<br />
<br />
<center>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="429px" scrolling="no" src="http://www.indiegogo.com/project/237845/widget" width="224px"></iframe></center>
stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-73287595504107482962012-10-29T12:07:00.000+11:002012-10-29T12:08:28.635+11:00movie review: tai chi hero / 太极2<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v9bHTviY6KM" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
My short review <a href="https://twitter.com/yiduiqie/status/262499274745606144">on twitter</a> immediately after seeing Tai Chi Hero:<br />
<blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3iodv32jGif8Q0ikqXUC5Avaq3xEJzFGXudGrqPiapZQuIApt_P5oFLL4tMjyt7fWtOoMvANX50eVsBC9aIdy1T4gk9_AVhsO1RHxeOeil3qFoUa3oN_0HO99UUEJxwD9TqpIfwEk4SE/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-10-29+at+11.15.16+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3iodv32jGif8Q0ikqXUC5Avaq3xEJzFGXudGrqPiapZQuIApt_P5oFLL4tMjyt7fWtOoMvANX50eVsBC9aIdy1T4gk9_AVhsO1RHxeOeil3qFoUa3oN_0HO99UUEJxwD9TqpIfwEk4SE/s320/Screen+shot+2012-10-29+at+11.15.16+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[text of tweet: love flying machines & kung fu machines; sideeye at sudden & unexpected sideline of ladies; enjoyed the humour.]</span></blockquote>
The longer review (some spoilers):<br />
<br />
Tai Chi Hero follows immediately on from Tai Chi 0, and has been released in China (and in Australia) with only a month between. It's easy to view them as one long movie, but it's easy to see where the original rumours of a trilogy would have come from. It's a duology with an epic story to tell, and just not enough time.<br />
<br />
In Tai Chi 0, Yang Lu Chan ("the freak") comes to Chen Village to learn the Chen family style of Kung Fu. Lu Chan has been born with a natural advantage, the "Three Blossoms Horn" which both gives him awesome powers and is slowly killing him, hence his need to learn the more even Chen family style. The problem is that Chen family style is only taught to members of the Chen family, and Lu Chan is desperate enough to try anything to learn this style.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2ZqMs83N3PhNOP4WDmQqJsEd_7_Q0azdJemoGjoGbIv8Hm0rqdCvHxaKYB8N0rWgtdAm6J_4RBCpt9Y1n_vbc9D3PupNHBwzfsCo9uqM_gPukf46LvkozRTxQyKd_IHydogtpITrnbk/s1600/TCH6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2ZqMs83N3PhNOP4WDmQqJsEd_7_Q0azdJemoGjoGbIv8Hm0rqdCvHxaKYB8N0rWgtdAm6J_4RBCpt9Y1n_vbc9D3PupNHBwzfsCo9uqM_gPukf46LvkozRTxQyKd_IHydogtpITrnbk/s320/TCH6.jpeg" width="225" /></a></div>
Tai Chi 0 features lots of fun action, videogame style sequencing and introductions, and lots of elements that I loved (including great machines and action sequences), as well as some awesome characters such as Yu Niang, who is not only the village apothecary but also completely stone fierce; brother Tofu; and the overly dramatic Fang Zijing, a family member with the wrong name who has never been allowed to learn the Chen family style.<br />
<br />
In Tai Chi Hero, we are introduced to the remaining characters, some who have been given elevated importance in the trailer and some who weren't really introduced at all. The Inventor and the Silent Wife turn up, and I really hope that the Silent Wife's parts were originally there but later cut because otherwise what we have is a mysterious sidelining of the ladies, after they were all so awesome in the previous instalment. Yu Niang, who was so amazing in Tai Chi 0, and becomes Lu Chan's teacher in this instalment, is later resigned to standing on the sidelines as Lu Chan battles to prove that they are truly from the Chen family. This is obviously done for story purposes - it is, after all, the story of how Lu Chan becomes one with the yin and yang and with himself, therefore it must be he who demonstrates the style for the story - but Yu Niang, as daughter of the Chen Grandmaster, is surely the more logical demonstrator here? And the Silent Wife has so much potential, does some excellent kung fu, and then runs around looking sad and being threatened with torture. As this follows on from British agent Claire Heathrow's death in Tai Chi 0, which motivates Fang Zijing to become Truly Evil, it is unfortunate.<br />
<br />
The switches between English and Mandarin are fun but sadly lacking. Mandy Lieu, as Claire Heathrow, is great in Mandarin but not so much in English. Peter Stormare turns up as another agent of the British East India Company and chews the scenery in both English and Mandarin. Eddie Peng (as Fang Zijing) is dramatic in English and unsympathetic in Mandarin.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYT_2JPM4Ap_1CciVxOfi7lL3CFOWGR6W9AK4bfngfYzzUybYdiMVFfnS9VwxFoMxmGpxaH8GTrMOwJI7rvLgDV9HUC66DhTJKNdAjitqTj-tjJZ73rkas_UD9tWW0kPVlOFkrCRBowQ/s1600/tc2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYT_2JPM4Ap_1CciVxOfi7lL3CFOWGR6W9AK4bfngfYzzUybYdiMVFfnS9VwxFoMxmGpxaH8GTrMOwJI7rvLgDV9HUC66DhTJKNdAjitqTj-tjJZ73rkas_UD9tWW0kPVlOFkrCRBowQ/s320/tc2.jpeg" width="228" /></a></div>
It's not all criticisms. In fact, it's barely any criticisms, really, I criticise because I care. Tai Chi Hero continues to be a great (if heavy-handed) look at the impact of Western influence and modernisation in China at the turn of the century, and how that conflicted and contrasted with the desire to keep things as they are, for whatever reason and by whatever means necessary. It's a look at government corruption and the interpretation of history. I loved big brother, the inventor, who wanted to revolutionise China and his family by taking western machinery and ideas and developing it to take advantage of their best assets - in the Chen family's case, by making their kung fu even better. The revelation of his kung fu-aiding machine vest was probably the greatest moment of the film for me, a commentary on modernisation and adaptability and family and tradition and being Chinese in a five minute sequence.
<br />
<br />
I really loved the moment when we found out why the movies are called Tai Chi X; and every moment featuring the Prince.<br />
<br />
This instalment also continued with the humour and self-reflection, and I'm sorry to tell you that the translations didn't manage to capture all of the humour in the dialogue, so if you thought it was funny and you don't speak Mandarin, let me assure you that it was actually (intentionally) even more hilarious.<br />
<br />
I loved it, I will definitely own this one, and I hope this new-ish trend of Chinese kung-fu steampunk movies continues. I just wish all of them had awesome ladies, is that too much to ask?<br />
<br />
Other reviews: <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s3589655.htm">Margaret and David review Tai Chi 0</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s3589656.htm">Margaret interviews Kuo-Fu Chen and Tony Leung Ka-Fai</a>*; <a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/10/chinese-steampunk-movie-tai-chi-zero-review">Ay-Leen the Peacemaker reviews Tai Chi 0 at Tor</a>; <a href="http://twitchfilm.com/2012/10/review-tai-chi-hero-bides-its-time-before-final-throwdown.html">James Marsh at Twitch Films reviews Tai Chi Hero</a>; an article on how it's a<a href="http://ent.ifeng.com/movie/news/mainland/detail_2012_10/29/18629707_0.shtml"> return to more traditional WuXia</a> and it's a box office success for doing so (Zh).<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*David and Margaret are Australia's favourite movie reviewers. Margaret's earrings have a Facebook page and my favourite Facebook page ever is called "When David Stratton from At the Movies gets shirty about handheld cameras." I love them. A lot. </span>stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-2594828269461179922012-10-07T22:33:00.000+11:002012-10-07T22:34:30.533+11:0054th Down Under Feminist's Carnival Okay, wow, the last time I hosted the Down Under Feminist's Carnival was the e<a href="http://stephiepenguin.livejournal.com/259394.html">ighth edition</a>, and now we're up to the 54th! Nobody point out to me what a terrible number that is.<br />
<br />
The next edition of the Down Under Feminists Carnival is planned for 5 November, 2012 and submissions can be made up until November 2, though it would be excellent for me if you would submit before that. Submissions can be sent to yiduiqie [at] gmail [dot] com for those who can’t <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_4257.html">access the blogcarnival submissions form</a>.<br />
<br />
Submissions must be of posts of feminist interest by writers from Australia and New Zealand that were published in October. So submit early and often, please, and tell your friends!<br />
<br />
There is no official theme for this edition of the carnival, though the unofficial theme of this blog is always race and ethnicity representation, so please definitely feel free to use that for guidance! (Do you sense a post brewing on exoticism and feminism and my experiences in China? oh yes indeed)<br />
<br />
The 53rd edition of the carnival is <a href="http://blogs.bluebec.com/53rd-down-under-feminist-carnival/">available now at Opinions @ bluebec.com</a> and is filled with all sorts of awesome and interesting posts.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-55680084975175568992012-09-07T13:40:00.000+10:002012-09-07T13:40:21.398+10:00book review: the fat years by chan koonchung<br />
When I moved back to Australia three weeks ago (!!), the first book I picked up was my copy of The Fat Years (《盛世:中国,2013年》), which I'd left languishing on my bestie's bookshelf. I bought it when it first was translated into English, and then promptly moved to China. As it is a banned book (proclaimed in large print on the cover!), I left the book behind in Australia.<br />
<blockquote>
Part satire, part dystopian imaging, part road trip, part political thriller, The Fat Years seeks to establish reasons for erasure, and reasons for acceptance, and whilst it explores these issues it never places the blame in any one area, and never really comes to any conclusion. The government does things; the people do things; the government accepts some actions; the people accept some actions. The structure of the novel means there is a direct opportunity for the government to defend its actions, and defend it it does, in a way that makes such cold (but boring) sense in a Chinese context. It also includes warnings about the path China is taking, at the same time as providing support. It’s a clear indictment of the government system, at the same time as accepting what was done as needful.</blockquote>
<br />
Read the <a href="http://travellingpenguin.tumblr.com/post/30841093554/the-fat-years-2013-by-chan-koonchung">full review</a> at my China blog!stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-2478089014670670892012-09-07T08:57:00.000+10:002012-09-07T13:44:16.381+10:00citation neededIt was quiet when I finally made it to the path lab, and the tests I was getting meant the phlebotomist could guess I'd been overseas, and ask where I had been. <i>China</i>, I said, and explained that I had been working and living there, and then I waited for the question that is always asked, not only from strangers but from people who I feel should know better.<br />
<br />
"Do they have free-thinkers, then?"<br />
<br />
I'm still working on my elevator pitch, but it goes like this:<br />
<br />
Of course they do. I have my issues with the system (I always say this, lest they disregard my opinion as biased or something, though I don't know what would be regarded as biased) but there are writers and artists and scientists and discoveries and awesome things happening every day.<br />
<br />
<br />
People think that mainland Chinese are still living under the yoke of Mao's wooden farming equipment, wearing their Mao collars and starving, completely unfamiliar with Western media and consumed by their communism. Sure I have a list of issues with China that's longer than I care to actually write down, but there's social media and access to foreign websites and this phlebotomist so clearly thinks that the media we get in Australia tells us everything, that they're not keeping anything out or picking and choosing what stories are spun. There is reporting of a quality higher than Today Tonight in Beijing, I want to say (I rarely do).<br />
<br />
The Chinese education system doesn't encourage a deep analysis of media (or referencing and verification, as I can elaborate on at length, with a lot of flailing and waving around of reports I've edited half a dozen times and ask me about the google citation one time), but many people I know work on the assumption that while they're not necessarily being told lies, there's a possibility they're not being told the entire truth. I have a friend who has never lived anywhere other than China, but his first holiday overseas he googled 'Tiananmen Incident' and read and watched everything he could find; and after all of that he went home again.<br />
<br />
When I told the story about Kuai (his name is not Kuai, but let us call him that), the phlebotomist paused. "Oh, they can go on holiday?" she asked. Imagine me restraining from throwing my hands up in the air. Going on trips overseas is very encouraged. Domestic tourism is massive but international tourism is growing and growing and growing and if I wanted to change my career to tourism the first thing I would write on any cover letter would be that I speak Mandarin, that I lived in China, that I have connections in China's tourism industry.<br />
<br />
Representations of mainland China in English-language media are all dire, post Cultural Revolution gritty stuff. Despite a wealth of Chinese fantasy, science fiction, romance, and comedy being written, the stuff that's translated from Chinese into English and held up as authentic Chinese experiences are those that look at the desolation of the Opening Up of China, or life during the Cultural Revolution. Sometimes there are stories about the materialism of modern China and how it's ruining China (and the world). And let us not forget for a moment that the critiques and summaries of life in China that are given weight are also the ones written by foreigners.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2012/08/08/158448847/chinas-internet-police-targets-collective-action">This article at NPR</a> suggests that censorship in China is less about specific issues and more about collective action. Certainly it speaks to my experience - news about the Occupy Movement, for example, was easy to access up until the narrative started to project being about organising against one's own government.<br />
<br />
I have a sort of recoil now, a distaste when Westerners ask why Chinese people don't get active about [insert issue here]. Well, I try to say, why don't we? Active in Australia is so specific, characterised as protests and rallies about things we can see, but what brought this up was the pollution in the air in Beijing, and how you just get used to it. She asked, why don't they get active, get something happening about the pollution? I explained that China is developing fast, and there's this idea that in order to catch up with Western, developed countries, China must be like those countries in terms of manufacturing and development, and that the preference, for the most part, was for keeping that manufacturing in-house (<a href="http://www.baldingsworld.com/2012/08/28/the-real-risk-of-the-chinese-economy/">this blog post</a> has been at least partially debunked but has some links about this stuff). At least China is taking responsibility for its pollution, I said. Where do you think ours goes, when we import all of our manufactured goods?<br />
<br />
Mind blown.<br />
<br />
I'm currently reading Gaysia, by Mr Benjamin Law, and I have plans for an extensive review when I'm finished but what stood out for me in the section on China was the concept of self-censorship, and the idea that some censorship was needed, self or otherwise, otherwise there'd be anarchy.<br />
<br />
The level of censorship is frustrating and sucks and is all about the national government's obsession with stability, or at least it claims to be. There are ways around it, like hosting websites overseas, getting info from overseas, <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/the-most-famous-chinese-blogger-and-racecar-driver-youve-never-heard-of/261666/">pointed self-censorship</a> or my very favourite, memes using coded words. The meme in this style that you might of heard of outside of China is the <a href="http://chinadigitaltimes.net/space/Grass-mud_horse">grass-mud horse</a>, both a way of expressing a vulgarity and a political comment. Commentary about China is so obsessed with free speech but often people don't really know what that means (particularly as Australians! This <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9vZL0AcMyA&feature=plcp">article on Anita Heiss' Black enough</a> has some really gross comments exemplifying that - yes, free speech has been curtailed when we can't 'say anything that could be deemed offensive'! Yes, that's right, miscellaneous Australian).<br />
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I self-censor. I self-censor for different reasons. I self-censored before I considered moving to China. I avoided using certain T words while I was living in China. I self-censor now.<br />
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Living in China has changed me in ways I didn't expect. I don't know if I would have had all of these attitudes or thoughts before I lived there, but I certainly have them now. When you know a thing, when you have lived a thing, and it is a thing that works, then it is a thing that works. And it frustrated me before I went, and while I lived there, and definitely now, that people can't see the connections between the things they were supposed to complain about, because China, and the things in their own daily lives.<br />
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Sometimes it surprises me that I have to explain some of these things; sometimes, it doesn't surprise me at all.
stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-48496142465699171892012-08-03T00:26:00.001+10:002012-08-03T00:26:51.889+10:00personal positives: experiencing my mistakesMaybe my answer will be different in two months' time, after I've moved home to Australia and settled back in to Melbourne. But right now, here in Beijing, far away from my home and my loved ones and loving (and hating) my life here and this city, the thing I do to make a difference is share.<br />
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Not share my opinions, though I'm perfectly capable of that. I share my experiences. I've made so many mistakes and I've done so many things right; I've tried so many new things and so many old things and some have been good and some have been bad and some have been anywhere in between. I've moved countries and cities and navigated new problems. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I feel shame when I do something less than perfect, whether that thing be mix up jiao and mao (they are, in fact, the same thing), or misunderstand someone when they speak, or turn the wrong way down a street and have to come back again. What if someone notices? I feel horrible and terrible and wrong, which is almost certainly a marker of my anxiety. </div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Whenever someone asks, I always try to say yes. This works for me and against me, at times. Sometimes I feel so guilty when it comes time to say no, because I do genuinely want to do as much as I can. Sometimes I think I want to share these experiences so badly because I wish someone else could help me from making any mistake ever. Sometimes I forget that part of learning and living and experiencing is making mistakes and mixing up mao and jiao and walking the wrong way down a street and learning to be okay with having those experiences yourself.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
It pleases me to make a difference in this way, to help others avoid feeling this way and to maybe help others have awesome experiences the way I feel I have been able to. I feel like this is my personal positive, but maybe it isn't <b>always</b> <a href="http://transcendancing.posterous.com/51st-down-under-feminists-carnival-personal-p">a personal positive</a>?</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yiduiqie/7549700016/" title="batman! in a piece by ns harsha by yiduiqie, on Flickr"><img alt="batman! in a piece by ns harsha" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7549700016_c3d862a40a.jpg" width="500" /></a></center>stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-63807596797723243512012-06-24T12:55:00.000+10:002012-06-24T13:07:28.029+10:00three names<br />
I have had three legal names, and the name I am happiest with, as it turns out, is the one I gave myself. I know it shouldn’t surprise me, but it does, because coincidentally that name was also the one I already had.<br />
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The hardest thing about going through the process of changing my name is what a hassle it is, every time. There are questions that I don’t want to answer (questions like: why are you changing your name?). It costs a lot of money, especially the bit where I need to get a new passport issued, and I have to send off to N.S.W. to get my birth certificate reissued again. It’s inconvenient. The transition period especially is a pain, and due to being overseas I’m still in that period, where my chosen name is where I can put it but that other name is all over everything that my passport touches. One of the first things I’m doing when I get back to Australia is changing my passport, again.<br />
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But this is the most comfortable I’ve ever been in a name. I didn’t realise how uncomfortable I was with my own name until I changed it and changed it again, and suddenly it fit me. And every moment of annoyance that came before has been totally worth it, because it’s my name and even thinking about my name makes me feel good, even though it’s been my name my whole life and it didn’t fit until I shifted where it sat.<br />
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I use my legal name now a lot more than I ever used to. Before this name, I defaulted far more frequently to Steph or Stephie Penguin, and I'd never put my family name on things, not any of the ones that came before, not for privacy reasons, but because it didn't fit. I seriously considered making Penguin my legal name, but whilst that, too, is part of the name that makes my identity, I don't think I could sign it on a credit card with a straight face.<br />
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There are discussions that we have, about names, whether we want to or not. After picking this name, I've chosen not to have any of these discussions. But there is a propriety there, from strangers and from not-strangers, a request for information and explanation that I don't want to give, because I picked this name for my own reasons and unlike the previous name change, there were no expectations, there was no assumption that I would do it or not do it. And I don't want to explain it.<br />
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I made my Chinese name my family name, and picked myself a brand new middle name. It means I don't share my family name with people who are my family. It means I don’t have a Chinese name anymore, not officially (though my business cards say ‘绿叶’, I kind of borrowed it from my Apore and that’s good enough for me), and sometimes I get people who are like ‘Oh...I thought you’d be Chinese...,’ or ‘...but that’s an individual name, not a family name,’ but it’s exactly right for me. And everyone else can just deal.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-5906366524384035592012-04-30T12:21:00.000+10:002012-04-30T12:22:59.381+10:00queering beijingWhen I was preparing to come to China, at training (provided by the Australian government) it was made clear that coming out as queer in China was probably not a thing that I should do.<br />
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At work I say 'my partner' and the singular 'they' in English; in Mandarin 她 (she) is pronounced the same as 他 (he), so I just don't correct people. Someone (a native English speaker) heard my slip up one time in English, saying 'she'; they took me aside later, and told me not to come out at work, because 'they' (my Chinese colleagues) just wouldn't understand, and maybe I should consider actively using 'he' in English. I feel crappy enough as it is hiding my queerness for the first time in a long time, there's no way I'm using the pronoun he to refer to my wonderful beautiful girlfriend.<br />
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Incidentally, the verb for coming out is the same: 出柜, or 'to go out of the closet'.<br />
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Despite these warnings I've received from Westerners living or who have lived in China, however, what I see doesn't necessarily match up with what I've been told. There's a local <a href="http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/articles/blogs-beijing/expat-life/la-la-love-hanging-out-lesbian-center/">lesbian centre</a> (the only reason I haven't visited it is because it's a bit of a distance from where I live), and a <a href="http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/articles/blogs-beijing/the-beat/reviewing-top-gay-and-lesbian-bars-capital/">number of queer bars</a>, and regular events with queer authors and movie makers, and I know these links are to expat sites but it's not only expats who are involved in these things. And then last week <a href="http://tealeafnation.com/2012/04/a-case-study-of-chinese-netizen-attitude-towards-homosexuality/">Anthony Wong</a> came out, and it was all good!<br />
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I came out to my Chinese tutor (she's about the same age as me), and she didn't seem to care.<br />
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My warnings came from older expats, being given directly to me, a young decadent Westerner working a cushy office job in an international organisation, and I wonder if there's a reason for that. I recognise things would be different if I worked in a different kind of situation, or if I wasn't from Australia, and didn't have this assumed right to privacy (or not privacy), as I see it, that we have in Australia (another post for another time, the difference between privacy in China and privacy in Australia).<br />
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I haven't quite been brave enough to come out at work yet, and I mean, I'm not going to take out an announcement or anything but last week a colleague asked me if I had a boyfriend back home and I said no, which is technically true, and left it at that.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-8024990495501546132012-04-01T02:03:00.004+11:002012-04-01T22:28:48.776+10:00queer australian teeveeI’m not watching much Australian television at the moment, because I’m in China and sadly ABC iview isn’t available outside of Australia, but I have been making an effort to watch two shows: Outland and The Newtown Girls. Coincidentally, these are both humourous shows about Australian Queers. <br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/outland/">Outland</a></b> is a six-part series that just finished on ABC1. It's a comedy about a gay science fiction club in Melbourne. I’ve been watching it via iTunes (AUD2.99 an episode; AUD16 for the lot).<br /><br /><b><a href="http://thenewtowngirls.com/">The Newtown Girls</a></b> is a ten-part webseries, a dramedy about the dating lols that accompany "returning to the scene." I didn't realise dressing up as Xena counted as a part of returning to the scene but it's all good. I’ve been watching it on the website (no cost).<br /><br />Both of these shows are not only Australian and set in queer communities, but my favourite characters on both are queer ladies of colour. This makes me so happy.<br /><br />Rae is an Indigenous sci-fi fan in a wheel chair. She wears awesome clothes and is a little insecure about her body but she’s not afraid of calling bullshit when it hits her. She’s played by Christine Anu, who is a super awesome TSI with a <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/anuchristine">twitter</a>.<br /><br />Alex is a young Asian woman living it up in Newtown. She’s addicted to coffee (looks like an espresso) and she’s cheerful and forthright and she wears awesome clothes. She’s played by Renee Lim, who is an Asian actress from Perth who is a doctor in her spare time. <br /><br />How could I not love them? I love them. <br /><br />It took me a long time to become comfortable with being a queer Australian woman of an Asian background, and sometimes it’s still something I have to fight with other people about (more on that later), but it is my identity and I love it. And I’m so happy that there are two queer Australian women of a not-white ethnicity on my television (well, on my laptop), who speak like me and are portrayed by actresses I already liked and also one of whom is a science fiction fan like meeeee.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-20160866504446239792012-03-30T00:27:00.002+11:002012-03-30T00:34:09.675+11:00queer chinese things!<a href="http://www.chinadailyapac.com/article/zooming-lgbt-issues">Zooming in on LGBT issues</a>, about a program in Beijing designed to train lesbian, trans, bi and gay people in creating documentaries about their queer lives. <br /><br />An article kind of about fear, homophobia and expectations in Chinese culture: <a href="http://www.theafricareport.com/index.php/society-and-culture/wives-of-gay-men-not-an-easy-job-in-china-501807884.html">Wives of gay men: not an easy job in China</a>.<blockquote>About 80 per cent of homosexuals in China get married to avoid social pressure. Their wives, who number about 24 million, are not having it easy, but they have started organising themselves.</blockquote>A talk in London: <a href="http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/activist-and-film-maker-talks-gay-life-modern-china270312">Activist and film maker talks on gay life in modern China</a><blockquote>Gay activist and film maker Xiaogang Wei will be giving a talk in London on how queer activism is changing the face of modern China.</blockquote>stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-19669949983810731262012-03-04T15:09:00.003+11:002012-03-04T20:20:40.942+11:00[books] the secret history of the mongol queens, jack weatherfordThe Secret History of the Mongol Queens is an attempt to fill in some of the gaps that can be found in Mongolian history. It’s a comprehensive look at the role of Mongolian Queens in the ruling and establishment of Mongolia and how they advanced its borders over the centuries, starting from the early years of Genghis Khan through seven hundred years of history. It’s a compelling illustration, looking at not only Mongolian history but also touching on the role of historians in erasing those histories of which they don’t approve (here, ladies in ruling and making decisions and being awesome). <br /><br />I really enjoyed learning about Genghis Khan’s wives and daughters, and the critical role they played in the division and governing of the Mongol Empire. The book gave a lot of insight into Mongolian history centred around Genghis Khan, and not knowing a lot about Mongol history it was a nice introduction for me. And I like lady-centric history!<br /><br />It’s a shame then that in all the reviews I read of The Secret History of the Mongol Queens, not a one mentioned that the writer was patronising and condescending. Ordinarily when I make these claims I like to have page numbers, but I was reading on my iphone so alas page numbers are not to be. However the author did make a number of sweeping unsubstantiated claims such as the lack of a son was ‘one of the cruelest blows of her life’ (I didn’t note which queen this was in reference to), and the entire epilogue was just about how shocked and surprised he was that Mongolian people knew something about their history that he didn’t, and how he constantly dismissed tales of Mongolian Queens (and Manduhai) as folk tales. Definitely an epilogue that makes me respect him as an historian and researcher. He comments that there were a number of contradictions in the Secret History whilst rarely specifying what they were. The Secret History, incidentally, is an historical Mongolian document, and maybe it was just my epub version but at no point did the author mention what the Secret History was, so there were lots of confusing references to things in the Secret History. <br /><br />The book also veers from history, and things actually verifiable, to actual made-up storytelling, or at the very least, poetic license, with little distinction between what is what. And rather than this elaboration making what could be a dry historical document interesting and compelling, it just makes it longer and boring. <br /><br />I’m glad this book exists, I just wish it was written by someone else.<br /><br />five out of ten penguinsstephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-81303109536697174002012-02-21T00:46:00.004+11:002012-02-27T00:28:18.528+11:00[books] women of lettersDear Women of Letters (the book); <br /><br />I know you've probably received many reviews in the guise of letters; this has probably been done. BUT I AM DOING IT ANYWAY. <br /><br />I read you recently, and I found it a very pleasant experience. I only started attending your events about twelve months ago; in fact I believe 'A letter to my turning point' was my first event (and in fact my first visit to Thornbury Theatre). I was pleased to hear you would be a book, and you were a good read. Easy to read, engaging stories, different emotions and glimpses into lives, and a chance for me to experience the letters I was previously unable to know. I liked the layout of you, and your selection of letters, and I liked that some authors were repeated. I liked that you chose to include some Men of Letters. I loved how familiar some of the letters were, despite me not knowing the author nor the situation; but then, I guess that's why so many people love you. <br /><br />I loved Amanda Roff's dystopic Melbourne, of course I did. Dystopic Australia is one of my favourite things! And I don't deny that fiction can be a source of reality, just as any true story can; and any true story can be made up, exploring nothing but the author's imagination. But I can't lie, Women of Letters: every work of fiction that someone chooses to share instead of an actual letter leaves me a little disappointed. Maybe Roff really is dying of boredom. But her choice means I choose to think it was all made up. I feel a little bit cheated, but I'm willing to accept it's just me.<br /><br />I remember the first time I heard someone read a letter and it turned out to be a short story. It was the same day I first saw the note to Angie Hart and her greatness in the toilets at the Thornbury Theatre, and in the queue for the loo I took a poll about the fictional story thing. People were divided. So it's a personal preference, I guess, and I don't hold it against you. <br /><br />I cried twice whilst reading you, Women of Letters. Once when Fee B-Squared wrote about her Nanna at her Pa's bedside, and again when Karen Hitchcock failed to meet Deborah. I'm fragile right now, and I was tired, and eight hours into a fifteen hour transit, and I was on the plane taking me away from beloved Melbourne back to Beijing for another six months, and maybe that has something to do with it, but those moments hit me where I was most vulnerable. And that's part of the reason why I love you, Women of Letters.<br /><br />You're not perfect, Women of Letters. There are some letters in there that I don't like, and there are some words and attitudes that bother me (ablist things, mostly), but when I think about how you'd go about censoring your contributors I sort of go around in circles. I haven't worked out how to deal with this yet, but I'll get there, and I hope you will, too. <br /><br />I laughed, too, you weren't all doom and gloom and sadness and vulnerability! And I rolled my eyes a few times, too, but I came out of it pleased I read you. As always, I loved that you were about women, awesome or otherwise. That's the thing I love the most about you, Women of Letters, that you're about celebrating women (and not, sometimes, and that's okay). I've already promised to pass you on, to another Melbunnie here in Beijing (who told me with glee of the time she saw Marieke Hardy on Sydney Road. She's very excited to read you, and I look forward to bringing her to visit you in your new home when we both return to Melbourne. I think she'll like you). <br /><br />Yesterday was your last show at the Thornbury Theatre. I wish you all the best in your new home, and I hope to see you again soon (in book form or otherwise).<br /><br /><br />Best Regards<br />Stephaniestephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-8763338596935016882011-12-26T17:17:00.001+11:002011-12-26T23:38:29.342+11:00wind farming the countrysideLast week I was talking to my boss (a USAmerican), who actually didn't believe me at first when I started talking about one of the arguments against wind farms in Australia being the health impact of noise levels. <br /><br />I should have told him about daylight savings fading the curtains.<br /><br />So this will go well: <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-23/nsw-landowners-to-be-given-veto-on-windfarms/3745768">NSW landowners to get veto on wind farms</a><blockquote>Just two days out from Christmas, Planning Minister Brad Hazzard revealed draft planning guidelines which give landowners the right to veto wind farms proposed within two kilometres of their homes.</blockquote>Of course I am all for community consultation. I love community consultation. I just don't trust Australians to go into this as informed as they need to be.<blockquote>The British Acoustics Bulletin has just published what is now the 10th independent review of the evidence on wind farms causing annoyance and ill health in people. And for the 10th time it has emphasised that annoyance has far more to do with social and psychological factors in those complaining than any direct effect from sound or inaudible infrasound emanating from wind turbines.</blockquote> <b><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/much-angst-over-wind-turbines-is-just-hot-air-20111220-1p3sb.html">Much angst over wind turbines is just hot air</a></b> explains part of why I'm so skeptical at this consultation process. We have a significantly-sized anti-wind farm lobby in Australia, and it preys on fears of things that are widely considered to not be an issue.<br /><br />One of the most recent major reports on the health impacts of wind farms was issued by a Canadian Working Group (<a href="http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/publications/ministry_reports/wind_turbine/wind_turbine.pdf">The Potential Health Impact of Wind Turbines</a>). It drew no conclusions, unable to find any direct causal link between wind turbine noise and health impacts. The only thing it highlighted is that "some people may find it annoying" (pg10). A reading of the report implies to me that the report has drawn the same conclusion the opinion piece above does, that "[c]oncerns about fairness and equity may also influence attitudes towards wind farms and allegations about effects on health." That is, people are more likely to report health effects from wind farms if they're not getting a financial benefit. And most reports find that the only significant noise coming from wind farms are during construction and maintenance, rather than during operation. <br /><br />There’s Australian research into the topic as well. As recently as the beginning of December, an article in <a href=”http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/spotlight-on-wind-farm-health-woes/story-e6frede3-1226210676481”>Adelaide Now</a> (I know, hush) has been talking about the fallacy of the health impacts of wind farms. And a <a href=”http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-06-23/health-effects-of-wind-turbines-under-spotlight/2769340”> senate committee</a> handed down findings in July that there was no conclusive evidence around wind turbine syndrome. <br /><br />It pains me to dismiss someone else’s medical issues just because they’re not internationally recognised, but even if wind turbine syndrome exists and is a real problem, how does it compare to the health impacts of coal? <br /><br />A few health impacts of coal: <a href=”http://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/9553_coal-plants-health-impacts.pdf”>particulate related issues</a> such as cardiopulmonary and lung impacts, the injection of mercury and selenium into the water systems and then potentially into people, leading to <a href=” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071107083907.htm”>neurological issues</a>, and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2010/s2867659.htm">the potential for respiratory and cardiovascular issues</a>.<br /><br />As someone who currently lives in Beijing, is anticipating coming home with a respiratory issue, and who has lived in apartments in Beijing and Melbourne situated on major road traffic routes, let’s just say the potential buzzing of wind farms is probably not an issue for me.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-53969456933539145822011-06-01T22:31:00.003+10:002011-06-01T22:46:13.851+10:00"i have seen firsthand the devastation and misery and death that result from homosexual and bisexual practices"Following the removal of the RipNRoll ads from Adshel shelters, and the <a href="http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/2011/06/01/adshel-reinstates-safe-sex-campaign/53623">reinstatement today</a>, I spent this afternoon <a href="http://www.qahc.org.au/files/shared/docs/ASB_-_complaints.pdf">reading the complaints and loling big time</a>. They are an excellent read (seriously amazing stuff), and (unsurprisingly) reading the complaints brings me even more questions. They are freeform for you below! <br /><br />Adshel has cited being unaware that the complaints were coordinated by the ACL as the major reason why they agreed to pull the ads, thinking they were coming from a wide range across society. Looking at this sample of letters, a number of them are word for word identical, down to the SHOUTING CAPITALISATION, which makes me wonder how closely ad companies (or adshel at least) look at this stuff. <br /><br />A number of the complainants appear to think that condoms are only required for gay sex, which is making me wonder about the levels of safe sex amongst other groups. <br /><br />It is apparently all about the children! And also the Christians ("Please, for the sake of all Christians and children"). Which, uh, do people not want their children to know about safe sex? IT IS A GOOD THING. Also apparently many parents don't want to explain things to their children ("Also it is something that children shouldn't see or enquire about" ARE YOU KIDDING ME?). The complaints also reveal that it is all about not owning up to one's own bigotry. All the comments are about the children, and filled with 'it's too PC' and 'I'm not against homosexuals' sort of comments.<br /><br />JUST SAY IT.<br /><br />YOU DON'T LIKE TEH GAYS. <br /><br />ALSO YOU LIKE PEARL CLUTCHING.<br /><br />Seriously the complaints are amazing.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-77967197368410043682011-05-17T09:17:00.003+10:002011-05-17T10:09:37.754+10:00idaho invisible t dayToday is <a href="http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/-IDAHO-english,41-">IDAHO</a>(T), the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia! But the T is invisible. Because the T is always invisible. Which is cool, you know, because the T can totally afford to be invisible. Because transphobia is one of those issues that everyone knows about and that everyone totally understands and nobody ever dies because of it. <br /><br />There is allegedly a flashmob going on in the Melbourne CBD this evening for IDAHO(T), which I hope is cool. <br /><br />This seems like an excellent time to remind you of the <a href="http://nixwilliams.blogspot.com/2011/04/out-in-perth-article-trans-men-head-to.html">two WA trans men heading to the high court</a> and that you can <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/High-Court-Challenge">help fund them</a> (do it!).<br /><br />Some links (mostly older):<br /><a href="http://transmeditations.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/blog-27-bob-jensen-lierre-keith-et-al-the-rabid-transphobic-hate-mongering-of-the-anti-pornography-movement/">Bob Jensen, Lierre Keith et al. : The Rabid, Transphobic Hate-Mongering of the Anti-Pornography Movement</a> by Joelle<br /><a href="http://bitchmagazine.org/post/pushback-at-the-intersections-i-think-you-dropped-your-t">Push(back) at the Intersections: I Think You Dropped Your 'T'</a> by s.e. smith at bitch magazine, on depictions of trans folk in pop culture<br /><a href="http://www.questioningtransphobia.com/?p=2094">Intent! It's Fucking Magic!</a> by Genderbitch, at Questioning Transphobia; a great post on intent. <br />On tumblr, <a href="http://ourcatastrophe.tumblr.com/post/1084112365/some-politics-around-supporting-trans-womens-access-to">Some politics around supporting trans women’s access to surgery</a>, mostly on transphobia around surgery. <br /><a href="http://www.thescavenger.net/fem1/who-is-allowed-to-reclaim-the-night-442214.html">Who’s allowed to reclaim the night?</a> by 3P published at The Scavenger, on transmisogyny at Melbourne's 2010 event. <br />Also at the Scavenger, Mercedes Allen writes on <a href="http://www.thescavenger.net/isgd/advocating-for-trans-people-if-you-are-not-trans-38145.html">Advocating for trans people if you’re not trans</a> (I have a few issues with appropriation in this article but overall it's an okay illustration).stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-56471629240631505172011-04-19T13:11:00.003+10:002011-04-19T13:18:43.083+10:00on melbourne's feminist futureSo behind in the blogging, but just quickly, three really great posts on the crap going down around the Melbourne Feminist Futures conference:<br /><br />Nixwilliams: <a href="http://nixwilliams.blogspot.com/2011/04/not-my-feminist-future.html">NOT MY FEMINIST FUTURE</a>:<blockquote>So, Melbourne Feminist Collective is holding a 'Feminist Futures' conference in late May. Sounds good, and there are some interesting speakers on the list, and a good range of links on their site.<br /><br />But Sheila Jeffreys? Really?<br /><br />This is a woman who says trans people are delusional and calls trans-related surgeries mutilation. A woman who is famously anti-sex-worker. Why on earth would such a relic be invited to a conference on 'futures'?<br /><br />And before anyone comments saying that it's only fair to include such viewpoints, I want you to read this excellent post by Ika Willis. It breaks down the expectation that people whose very existence is being challenged should do massive amounts of unpaid emotional, political and academic labour in such situations[.</blockquote>(I really recommend reading the linked <a href="http://nowandrome.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/you-just-kind-of-wasted-my-precious-time/">post by Ika Willis</a>, it is excellent)<br /><br />Genderqueer 2 genderqueer: <a href="http://genderqueer2genderqueer.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/feminist-pasts/">Feminist pasts</a>:<blockquote>I feel, as a feminist that the moment has a lot to apologise for, white middle class feminisms have ignored and pushed out trans women, sex workers women of colour and other minorities, so I am heartened to see that the Melbourne feminist futures conference is reminding us just how far we haven’t come. But inviting speakers and programs with the most bigoted backward looking agenda I have seen in a while.</blockquote>Hexpletive: <a href="http://www.hexpletive.com/2011/04/melbourne-feminist-conference.html">Melbourne Feminist Conference demonstrates anti trans and anti sex work position</a>:<blockquote>A participants agreement has been distributed to all panelists and workshop presenters requesting, amongst other things, that they abstain from oppressive behaviour, including transphobia and whorephobia. The organising collective apparently sees no conflict between this request and allowing Sheila Jeffreys to present a workshop entitled "Why Prostitution is Violence Against Women". Considering her track record and complete lack of remorse for her hate speech against trans* people and sex workers, the Melbourne Feminist Collective has failed to provide a safe space for those groups simply by inviting her to speak. And that's not even getting into the problematic history that is the racism and anti-choice politics inherent to the "feminism" of other anti sex work speakers like Tankard Reist.</blockquote>stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-70113569394922808812011-03-21T16:37:00.004+11:002011-03-21T16:47:10.284+11:00"Gay marriage against my upbringing" I just I don't even<a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/pm-julia-gillard-gay-marriage-against-my-upbringing/story-e6freuy9-1226025009815">PM Julia Gillard: Gay marriage against my upbringing</a><blockquote>Ms Gillard said she was "on the conservative side" of the gay marriage issue "because of the way our society is and how we got here".<br /><br />"I think that there are some important things from our past that need to continue to be part of our present and part of our future," she said. "If I was in a different walk of life, if I'd continued in the law and was partner of a law firm now, I would express the same view, that I think for our culture, for our heritage, the Marriage Act and marriage being between a man and a woman has a special status.<br /><br />"Now, I know people might look at me and think that's something that they wouldn't necessarily expect me to say, but that is what I believe.<br /><br />"I'm on the record as saying things like I think it's important for people to understand their Bible stories, not because I'm an advocate of religion - clearly, I'm not - but once again, what comes from the Bible has formed such an important part of our culture."<br /><br />Ms Gillard said she had a "pro-union, pro-Labor upbringing in a quite conservative family, in the sense of personal values".</blockquote>This is like some sort of word salad, a mish mash of sentences randomly squished together in the hopes of confusing us, or distracting us, or something. I don't even know what this is. <br /><br />Here is a list of possibilities:<br /><ul><li>Erasure of every Australian who doesn't believe the bible</li><li>Erasure of every Australian who wasn't brought up as a Christian</li><li>Erasure of Australians who have a background which supports gay marriage</li><li>Erasure of non-Australians who live here</li><li>The most amazing toeing of the party line I've ever seen</li><li>Perpetuation of the idea that culture is immutable and what has come before is what we should aim toward</li><li>Really shitty</li></ul>Please feel free to add to the list.<br /><br />Also you know how "we" got "here"? Through things so gross we don't actually talk about them (though we should). So maybe 'denial of evvverything' should also go on that list. <br /><br />So far my favourite responses have been on twitter:<br /><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/Hannahgadsby/status/49690278612828160">Hannah Gadsby</a>:<blockquote>I had a conservative upbringing too, Julia Gillard. That's why I hated myself when I found out I was gay. You could help prevent this cycle.</blockquote> and my friend <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/josie_is/status/49703066072662016">Josie</a>:<blockquote>You can't fault the logic, marriage equality is not traditional. Neither are women prime ministers, so I expect her resignation post haste.</blockquote>Now, in this time of our atheist PM reminding us to read our bibles, I'd like to remind everyone that there is an equal marriage rally in Melbourne this saturday at 1pm. You should go if you can. And I know it's not quite the same, but go see a movie whilst <a href="http://www.mqff.com.au/">MQFF</a> is on. Though I guess it's not a part of our culture, whatever that means.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-71131738407228225842011-03-09T14:08:00.002+11:002011-03-09T15:24:49.727+11:00women in print: brief panel notesLast night I went to the Women in Print event at Readings in Carlton, being held for International Women's Day. The event was a 45 minute panel discussion with three panelists and a moderator. I rocked in, my belly full of burger but with room for one of the cupcakes I'd been carrying around all afternoon. Bamboo Gnome and I found a spot right up the front (we had been advised by Fi on the best places to stake out) and we settled in. I even took notes. <br /><br />The panel started off weirdly, which is why I started taking notes. Louise Swinn (Sleepers editorial director) commented that actually maybe there are more women being published in Australian than overseas stats (and some Australian stats) would suggest. This point wasn't really engaged with, which I thought was weird given the whole point was to talk about Women in Print and what the status is. <br /><br />Sophie Cunningham commented that when she was the editor of Meanjin, more essays were submitted by men; women were more likely, even when approached, to say 'I'm not an expert.' <br /><br />There was some consensus that it's important for women to learn to be jerks* in order to get somewhere in print - they definately have to promote themselves, and push themselves forwards (and how this is exacerbated by the need in today's publishing world for authors to self-promote, and how unwilling many women are to do this). At points this almost veered in to 'if only women would push themselves they'd get published,' which is a little close to victim blaming if you're not examining the underlying themes of this. These themes were touched on a little, including a brief discussion of the second shift, but only in very Eurocentric ways. Statements such as 'only in the last fifty years have women had that exposure,' coming from an all white (seeming) panel, never fail to make me bristle. <br /><br />Other things that make me bristle: "I don't want to get too Bolshie;" and the way these sorts of discussions always seem to revolve around or have an emphasis on terms and concepts like "penis writing" and "vagina writing." Way to be super cis-centric. <br /><br />Overall it was an interesting talk (shame about the diversity), and it has reminded me that I should always say yes (if possible) when asked to give a talk.<br /><br /><br /><br />*just to be clear: I think that a woman (or anyone) can be confident and promote oneself without being a jerk; however during this panel sometimes 'being confident' and 'being a jerk' were conflated so they seemed to be the same.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-44700544839527065072011-02-08T15:35:00.006+11:002011-02-08T15:40:46.382+11:00tuesday afternoon why can't i log in to the network linksI'll totally post some words up soon! But for now, have some links whilst I continue hoping IT will sort out all my issues.<br /><br /><b>Race/ethnicity stuff</b><br /><br />Some comments on <a href="http://yiduiqie.tumblr.com/post/3172609231/other-new-age-events-manifests-the-movements">New Age Appropriation</a>, particularly about Yoga. <br /><br />Also a bit on appropriation and yoga, and also about copyright, <a href="http://colorblue.dreamwidth.org/60441.html?style=site">this is not a post about yoga!</a>, by colorblue. <br /><br />Awesome article by Lia Incognita at Peril, <a href="http://www.peril.com.au/edition10/fissures-and-friendships">Fissures and friendships: how I became a woman of colour</a>, on identity and identification. <br /><br />In the Age, <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/absent-faces-20101202-18i3g.html">Absent faces</a>, on the lack of representation of Asian women in Australian modelling. <br /><br /><b>Religion</b><br /><br />A book review and a look at stereotypes up at Dove Grey Matter, <a href="http://dgreymatter.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/between-worlds-the-jilbab-and-being-transgender-in-indonesia/">Between worlds: the jilbab and being transgender in Indonesia</a> (the book review is for Jangan lepas jilbabku! (Please do not remove my jilbab!)).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/43148.html">Nationalism and identity in a disaster</a>, an interesting piece at the Drum, about how the use of nationalism erases a spirit of shared humanity. <br /><br />A bit related to the yoga stuff, and a bit not: <a href="http://www.angryasianbuddhist.com/2010/12/on-white-women-and-buddhism.html">On White Women and Buddhism</a> at Angry Asian Buddhist.<blockquote>Brought together to discuss these questions are the brilliant minds of Grace Schireson, Christina Feldman, Lama Palden Drolma, Rita Gross, Lama Tsultrim Allione, and Joan Sutherland. These authors delve into the history of women bringing balance to the Buddhist community, current forward-moving trends and the outlines of a more equitable future for us all. But apart from these great women and their compelling discussion, I found something missing.<br /><br />Namely, Asians.</blockquote><b>Sexuality stuff</b><br /><br />Ardhra has a post filled with links about <a href="http://ardhra.tumblr.com/post/3159156220/a-question-from-a-reader-does-anyone-know-any">resources for LGBTQ people from non-white/non-Western cultures</a>. It is a fantastic reference list and I recommend checking it out. <br /><br />An <a href="http://srawr.tumblr.com/post/2685357808/lookingout-evil-as-plain-as-the-scar-on-his-face-a">analysis of Scar (from the Lion King) as queer</a>, first by charlie danger and then more by srawr. <br /><br /><b>Class</b><br /><br />At Flat 7, Ana Australian comments on <a href="http://flat7.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/gender-urban-inequality-i/">Gender and Urban Inequality</a>, specifically on older single women as 'the new face of homelessness' in Australia.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-67799008548763066592010-12-26T19:54:00.001+11:002010-12-26T19:54:56.706+11:00brief sunday afternoon linksAustralia-specific racism + intersections:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/26/3077535.htm">Silence down the generations of Aboriginal hearing loss</a><blockquote>The older children range from kindergarten to Year 7. Out of the 21 screened, six have discharging, infected ears - almost one third. Anne O'Leary calls this "pretty shocking", but she was expecting even higher rates.<br />Ian is one of the worst cases. Kate says GPs prescribe antibiotics, but the infection persists. She had an appointment with an Ear Nose and Throat specialist in Perth, but it was cancelled. The waiting list is three years long.<br /><br />"How Ian's developed academically I don't know. I don't know how he can be achieving anything," says Anne O'Leary. The infection means he's had impaired hearing for half his life.</blockquote>It probably won't surprise you but I'm wondering what impact this has on the ability of Indigenous kids to study, and I wonder how this contributes to stereotypes of the Indigenous community. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/01/3081157.htm?section=justin">Indigenous ATM fee burden revealed</a><blockquote>A new study has found some people in remote Indigenous communities are spending between 10 and 20 per cent of their income on ATM fees.<br />In some cases, the fees are much higher than they would be in the city, but there is no competition, so locals have no option but to pay.</blockquote><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335290/Indian-migrant-Sarel-Singh-decapitated-chicken-factory-accident-Australia.html">Worker decapitated in chicken factory after being sucked into machine</a>. I mentioned this in the other blog, because I want to make clear the intersections of this: there are so many things contributing to these crappy working conditions, including but in no way limited to the crap conditions for immigrants, and the high processing speeds due to the cheapness of animal meat. It's totally uncool. <br /><br />Things on Gender:<br /><a href="http://www.thescavenger.net/isgd/movember-good-cause-poor-execution-445879.html">Movember: Good cause, poor execution</a> at the Scavenger, on the sexist, heteronormative and classist (amongst other things) elements behind initiatives like Movember. <br /><br /><a href="http://nkjemisin.com/2010/12/women-warriors-and-gender-policing/">Women, Warriors, and Gender Policing</a> by N.K. Jemisin. <br /><br />Other Stuff:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/where-climate-and-conservation-collide-20101213-18uxn.html">Where climate and conservation collide</a><br /><br /><br />And finally, Glass Icarus and I are proud to announce: <a href="http://glass-icarus.dreamwidth.org/264280.html">Potluck: An Intersectional Food Carnival</a>. More details at the link.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520935450273518140.post-26164809656674529282010-12-26T10:12:00.001+11:002010-12-26T10:14:34.564+11:00[book review] Cordelia Fine - Delusions of GenderI zoomed through <i>Delusions of Gender</i> this week, in an attempt to get it read and reviewed before I go away. I found this book a really interesting read. <i>Delusions of Gender</i> is a take-down of evolutionary psychology theories, and does it in an easily readable, well-referenced way. This was a fast read, at just over 200 pages it didn't take too long, and it was engaging and interesting, and though I think it's a good read, ultimately there was a level of intersectionality that was missing for me that I think limits it. <br /><br /> The book opens with an analysis of priming which I liked. It looked at the way priming is used in general, and as a way to trigger a response against stereotype (for example, wording that is used to prime women to be more empathic is appropriately worded to have a similar impact on men). It looked at social expectations, and how those expectations create a motivation gap. From this, Fine explored the ways the ideas behind the motivation gap can create ability gaps. <br /><br />I really enjoyed this stuff on priming. I've not done a huge amount of reading on this stuff, so it was interesting for me. <br /><br />Although Fine is a psychologist, she did not have a lot of regard for psychologists, particularly highlighting the way psychologists 'enjoy' exploiting stereotype threats. There was a bit of an exploration of stereotype threats, and the importance of role models and a 'sense of belonging' in increasing or removing stereotype threats. <br /><br />The book concludes with a section on gender neutral parenting and the socio-cultural situation. It is an excellent takedown of those parents who claim to have tried gender neutral parenting, but had to give up because their daughter clearly just naturally preferred pink or whatever. My horror at unconscious prenatal gendered expectations meant I spent most of this section leafing through with a pen to make copious notes. I was especially intrigued (though not surprised) by the analysis of terms used before conception depending on the sex of the child, even by parents who honestly believed they were being gender neutral. <br /><br />There is a thread through of other themes. Mention is made several times of the publishing bias, of studies and things only being published when they demonstrate a gender difference; studies that show a difference are rarely published (this can hardly be a surprise). Fine appears to have a significant issue with a book, frequently cited in <i>Delusions of Gender</i>, <i>The Female Brain</i> by Louise Brizendine. At the point where Fine begins to tear apart this text, the tone also starts to become very sassy. Not distractingly so, but it becomes very sassy. Fine also implies that texts, studies and experts who make neuroscience claims generalise far too much than should be accepted. <br /><br /><a href="http://kanata.dreamwidth.org/1333585.html">Other reviews</a> have mentioned the white heterosexuality of the book, and I definitely have to agree, and add in the ciscentricism. There were a few references to studies which focussed on or touched on racism, or moved away from a heterocentrist or ciscentric viewpoint, but for the most part they were just side mentions to support the overall argument. In addition, in the final third of the book, a stand up example of binary-gendered transphobic essentialism was held up as an exemplary effort at gender neutral parenting. There was also a bit of essentialist speciesism in the book. <br /><br />In general, I enjoyed this book. There were some new-to-me things, and I see its value as a first year Gender Studies text, but there is nothing really world shattering in it, particularly in light of its failure at real, meaningful intersectionality.stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09751546842854214664noreply@blogger.com1