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Girl Power

Try a little Tender-ness: The new show about love and sex in 2018

  • Apr 20, 2018

Think

What’s our problem with naked selfies?

  • Apr 18, 2018

Culture

Video premiere: Helen Corry - La Femme

  • Apr 16, 2018

No Filter

Death to myths and stereotypes

  • Apr 22, 2018

No Filter.

It's time for a different conversation about porn...

When did you first see porn? I vividly remember stumbling across a grainy old website circa 2001 (okay, I didn’t exactly ‘stumble’… I may have...

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Girl Power

Why girls should stop competing with one another

Cast your mind back, girls. Do you remember when it started happening to you? Was it in primary years? Earlier? High school? Or when you entered...

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Think

Does yes mean yes when you're drunk or high?...

New Zealand has a party culture. Whether you like that culture or not, it undeniably exists. Binge drinking is a rite of passage and for a lot of...

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Culture

LinkedIn wants me to connect with my ex

LinkedIn wants me to connect with my ex.

God knows why. It wasn’t exactly a good idea the first time round.

Gone are the days of...

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No Filter

We spoke to RainbowYOUTH about inclusive sex ed

Let’s face it, New Zealand’s sex ed is generally pretty terrible when it comes to gender and sexuality. I don’t think the word ‘lesbian’ was...

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Girl Power

The games studio trying to walk the walk on diversity

Runaway is a Dunedin-based games company. In the lead-up to International Women’s Day, they started a Girls Behind the Games campaign to encourage...

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Think

Catching up with the Minister for Women, Julie Anne Genter

Last week, Villainesse caught up with Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter. We wanted to know what work was happening in our government towards...

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Culture

Empowered Youth: A conversation with 17-year-old Chandler Kinney from the Fox show Lethal Weapon

Life as a 17-year-old is already challenging enough. Balancing school, new-found freedom, responsibilities, trying to have a social life, holding...

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Think

Where’s the conversation about female masturbation?

I can remember sitting in health class, learning about wet dreams. At the time I probably thought ‘This is gross, TMI’. Now, I appreciate the fact...

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Girl Power

#RelationshipGoals

Barack and Michelle Obama / Luke Vargas / Wikimedia Commons

As a society, we are suckers for a good power couple. Beyonce and Jay-Z, Barack and...

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No Filter

What was your first time really like?

The first time gets a lot of sensationalised press. The mixture of expectation and anxiety make it an experience like no other. Whatever happens,...

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Culture

Body Double: The raucous chat you have with your friend, only on stage

I sometimes wish that real sex were like movie sex. A shared lustful look followed by a bit of kissing, hastily removed clothing, instant...

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No Filter

Going to a doctor/nurse for contraception and protection

In my experience, the first few trips to get contraception and protection from Family Planning or the doctor require a whole team of girls....

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Girl Power

I wish I was taught about consent at school

When I was at school, the only time I heard the word ‘consent’ was when we had to get parental permission to go on a school trip. Somewhere...

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Think

I am not a feminist any more

Image: Kahu Kutia

When I was 15 I made myself a Tumblr. Tumblr for me was like a portal to the rest of the world. I grew up in a small town where...

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Culture

Is the adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 the most terrifying play you’ll see?

Image: 1984 / ATC / Andi Crown

Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? Or that we’re all being brain-washed into dumbing down our thoughts,...

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No Filter

Why we need 'The REAL Sex Talk'...

Do you remember how you learnt about sex and relationships? Was it a cosy, friendly chat with one or both of your parents about navigating your...

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Girl Power

Body Double: The play putting female sexual desire centre stage

Image: Tabitha Arthur

Body Double is a play about female sexual pleasure. Have I got your attention now? It certainly grabbed mine, when I went...

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Think

International Women's Day - Women of Wisdom: Bronwynn Bakker, Prue Kapua, Caroline Herewini,...

Images: Bernice Mene / Claire Chitham / Prue Kapua / Bronwynn Bakker / Caroline Herewini

Women are creatures of wisdom. Call it intuition,...

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Girl Power

International Women's Day - Women of Wisdom: Helen Clark, Dame Susan Devoy, Chlöe Swarbrick...

Images: Chlöe Swarbrick / Helen Clark / Heather du Plessis-Allan / Dame Susan Devoy

Women are creatures of wisdom. Call it intuition, experience,...

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Culture

International Women's Day - Women of Wisdom: Hilary Barry, Lucy Lovegrove, and Mihingarangi...

Women are creatures of wisdom. Call it intuition, experience, insight, a hunch, whatever… the world would be a better place if women were listened...

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Culture

Introducing: The REAL Sex Talk

Sex, porn, relationships and consent will be put under the spotlight in the new 12-part web series The REAL Sex Talk , launching online on...

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No Filter

International Women’s Day - Women of Wisdom: Georgia Nott, Moana Maniapoto and Alison Mau

Images: Georgia Nott / Moana Maniapoto / Alison Mau

Women are creatures of wisdom. Call it intuition, experience, insight, a hunch, whatever… the...

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Girl Power

Who is to blame? Facing death in the theatre show Bless the Child

Shardae, played by Carrie Green in Bless the Child / Matt Grace / Tawata Productions

The death of a loved one is gruelling, even in the best...

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Think

Workplace culture: Just hiring more women is not enough

A lot of industries are dominated by men. It’s an unfortunate, retrograde fact, but it’s true. Workplaces were built for men, by men, and not a...

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Culture

Fruit from the Vine: How rangatahi Māori are empowering others through the power of stories

Rangatahi gathered at Te Araroa for wānanga / Trinity Thompson-Browne / Fruit from the Vine

Ko Rangitumau te maunga. Ko Ruamāhanga te awa...

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No Filter

Consent should not be that complicated

If you based your knowledge of sexual consent on popular movies, books, and songs, you would probably be a rapist. So why is Western pop culture...

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Girl Power

Add these books by Kiwi women to your reading list

Books are one of my reasons to get out of bed each morning. It’s a cliché, but reading opens up new worlds. However, a lot of the time , those...

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Think

Why is it so hard for students to access counselling?

As a student, you have a lot of freedom. Your work week is often flexible, you can skip classes, you have StudyLink to get you through the tight...

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Culture

Louise Beuvink on 'Ladylike: A Modern Guide to Etiquette'...

New Zealand comedian Louise Beuvink was frustrated with gender roles and society’s expectations of women, so she created Ladylike: A Modern Guide...

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No Filter

The pill messed up my mental health

I regret taking the pill. Not because I’m against contraception, or I didn’t like taking medication daily, but because my enjoyment of life was...

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Girl Power

Saying no to fat talk, and saying yes to body positivity

Bad. Naughty. They’re judging words; shaming words; they are words we use to tell children off. They’re also the words you’ll hear women use to...

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Think

Who should we hold accountable for the baffling opinions of Sir Bob Jones?

In the age of the internet, the entire web may become an arena of political dialogue and debate. Freedom of speech rules at the center of this...

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Culture

Churchill didn't deserve another film...

Winston Churchill with his cigar / Wikimedia Commons

Some movies give you chills for a good reason, like brilliant cinematography or acting....

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No Filter

Dear Diary: A few days after Waitangi Day

New Zealand Flag and Tino Rangatiratanga Flag / Stuart Grange / Wikimedia Commons

Ata mārie diary!

Watercress and avocado on toast for...

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Girl Power

I'm a Producer and I'm Furious...

Image: David Moroni/ Flickr

While reading Uma Thurman’s recent interview in the New York Times detailing her story of the breakdown in her working...

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Think

Commercial feminism is not empowering

Right now, somewhere in a high rise building, a discussion is taking place. “How can we sell this product to women?” There are no women around...

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Culture

A love letter to the Kiwi Holiday Park

The first word I ever uttered was the word ‘kaukau’, meaning to swim in Māori. My family used to take summer trips to Marokopa - a notoriously...

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No Filter

A brief history of utterly terrible takes on Waitangi Day

Image: Waitangi Day celebrations / Rebecca Cox / Flickr

Waitangi Day is just around the corner, which means that thinly-veiled racism season has...

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Girl Power

What's next for #MeToo in New Zealand?...

#MeToo poster / Duncan C / Flickr.com

I’m used to being told to “stop with the feminist shit”. If I had a dollar for every time I’d heard that...

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Think

How do we hold a tangi when the deceased elected to die?

I have never really considered Te Ao Māori a world that is uncomfortable with death. While my Pākehā friends have been to maybe a few funerals in...

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Culture

The media love affair with Don Brash

Image: Screenshot / Don Brash on The AM Show / Newshub

Like death and taxes, Don Brash is one of life’s inevitabilities. No year is complete...

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No Filter

Can more guys please be stay-at-home dads?

It starts when we’re babies ourselves. We can barely walk, and we’re presented with a tiny plastic humanoid dressed in a cute onesie that, truth...

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Girl Power

2018: The year when women will take no shit

Aaaaaand we’re back!

Did you miss us? We missed you!

Happy New Year and all that stuff – if it’s still okay to say that on the 22...

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Think

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 1. Dear Mark Richardson and Jesse Mulligan

First published on Wednesday the 2nd of August, 2017, this piece was the most read Villainesse story of 2017.

Dear Mark Richardson and...

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Think

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 2. Why do we worship the All Blacks and not the Black Ferns?

Image: The Black Ferns performing a Haka / saintmalojmgsports / Flickr

First published on Friday the 9th of June, 2017, this piece comes in at...

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Think

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 3. Metiria Turei: 21 Things I wish I could tell my 21-year-old self

First published on Monday the 15th of May, 2017, this piece comes in at number 3 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017.

1....

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No Filter

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 4. Wellington isn’t the only place where rape culture happens

First published on Thursday the 16th of March, 2017, this piece comes in at number 4 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017....

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No Filter

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 5. Is Pākehā NZ about to lose its mind again over the foreshore and seabed?

First published on Wednesday the 3rd of May, 2017, this piece comes in at number 5 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017.

...

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Culture

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 6. The growing problem of burnout among young women, and how to avoid it

First published on Saturday the 5th of August, 2017, this piece comes in at number 6 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017....

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Think

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 7. Endometriosis: It's bloody hell...

First published on Tuesday the 28th of March, 2017, this piece comes in at number 7 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017....

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No Filter

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 8. Confessions of a white Māori

Image: Māori kākahu / Flickr

First published on Wednesday the 28th of June, 2017, this piece comes in at number 8 in the top 30 most read...

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Think

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 9. My best friend was a rapist [Trigger Warning]

First published on Tuesday the 18th of July, 2017, this piece comes in at number 9 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017.

...

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No Filter

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 10. Villainesse investigates rape culture in New Zealand schools

By Ben Mack, Lizzie Marvelly and Jo Raj

First published on Friday the 24th of March, 2017, this piece comes in at number 10 in the top...

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Culture

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 11. Megan Annear and Emma Calveley talk body image, pressure to be thin, and...

First published on Friday the 28th of July, 2017, this piece comes in at number 11 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017.

...

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No Filter

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 12. A day in the life of Feminist Mike Hosking

First published on Saturday the 11th of November, 2017, this piece comes in at number 12 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017....

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Think

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 13. Marae are not slums. Interns are not slaves.

Image: Māori carvings at Waitangi / Wikimedia Commons

First published on Saturday the 24th of July, 2017, this piece comes in at number 13 in the...

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No Filter

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 14. Villainesse goes inside ultra-conservative New Zealand churches

First published on Friday the 19th of May, 2017, this piece comes in at number 14 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017.

A...

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Girl Power

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 15. Stop blaming women for not coming forward about sexual abuse

First published on Thursday the 12th of October, 2017, this piece comes in at number 15 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017....

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Girl Power

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 16. I wish my teenaged self had known how to say no

First published on Tuesday the 11th of April, 2017, this piece comes in at number 16 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017....

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No Filter

TOP 30 OF 2017 - 17. Our nationhood was not born in Gallipoli

Image: New Zealand Defence Force / Wikimedia Commons

First published on Tuesday the 25th of April, 2017, this piece comes in at number 17 in the...

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