Tall poppy syndrome has been a part of New Zealand culture for nearly as long as we’ve been a country...
Joan Didion, speaking on her husband’s shock death in 2003, said she was afraid for the next year to begin. Once the next year began, her husband’...
It’s bizarre that until recently skincare was an area of my life in which I’ve never taken an evidence-based approach. Over the years, I’ve bought...
Being pretty is a privilege. Being pretty opens doors that are closed for so many others. Being pretty brings power and prosperity.
How?...
I’m writing this from my flat in Christchurch. Only two streets over...
On Saturday afternoon we commemorated the Christchurch terror attack with a vigil in Auckland. A sea of Aucklanders poured into the city. We...
Remember when Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, confessed to grabbing people by their...
Allow me to tell you about my quintessentially kiwi adolescence. From the ages...
Let’s be honest – pop culture hasn’t always been kind to women. Or...
I love true crime documentaries. Netflix has fuelled that obsession. Once I’d watched Making A Murderer , it suggested The Keepers . The...
I kept diaries when I was younger. I leaned them against my knees and wrote in them nightly. When I was a child I wrote about my friends at school...
Hey, sister with a heavy heart.
I’m so sorry about the things you’ve been through.
Know that I feel you, and I hold you in my...
I don’t think about my birth certificate much. It’s a struggle when I have to drag it out...
First published on Sunday the 9th of December, 2018, this piece comes in at number 1 in the top 30 most read...
First published on Wednesday the 18th of April, 2018, this piece comes in at number 9 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2018....
First published on Friday the 29th of June, 2018, this piece comes in at number 12 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2018.
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First published on Monday the 5th of February, 2018, this piece comes in at number 13 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2018....
First published on Thursday the 29th of March, 2018, this piece comes in at number 17 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2018....
First published on Monday the 26th of November, 2018, this piece comes in at number 19 in the top 30 most read...
First published on Tuesday the 31st of July, 2018, this piece comes in at number 20 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2018.
First published on Saturday the 12th of May, 2018, this piece comes in at number 21 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2018.
First published on Monday the 28th of May, 2018, this piece comes in at number 25 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2018.
I...
What a year. I don’t know anyone who isn’t staggering to the finish this December, counting down the days until they can finish work and fall face...
New Zealand has a problem with violence against women. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has watched the news recently. New changes to...
New Zealand is not great in terms of mental health or support for those with mental illness. That’s putting it lightly. OECD statistics shows how...
Earlier this year, I did some research for Tonic on the use of cannabis to treat symptoms of PMS, namely period pain. Since then, I’ve started...
The midterms were an exciting sign of change for America. Representation for women and...
Dear Mike Hosking,
Hey buddy what’s up? I’m a long time sufferer listener, first time caller.
“Blonde!” I told them, “Completely blonde!”
When I went through my last big breakup several years ago, I booked myself a salon sesh almost...
As a society, we’re bad at coping with sexual harassment. Helping survivors and holding perpetrators to account is not our strong suit. If that...
“We’re all born naked – the rest is drag.”
So said Ru Paul once upon a time, gifting the world a fabulous Instagram caption as well as a...
The way Australia handles...
I want to get one thing out of the way right up front. I’m not saying you can’t have or share an opinion. Everyone can freely express their...
When people call parenting the ‘hardest job in the world’ I often pick up a faint whiff of condescension. It seems like something people think...
I’m a white woman who maintains a biweekly yoga practice, and to be honest, I feel pretty uncomfortable about it.
As with many things, the...
If you’re anything like me, you probably made some kind of New Year’s resolution to read more books in 2018. Well, guess what? It’s almost...
It's a weird and wonderful time to be a woman, depending on where in the world you live. The likes of the #MeToo movement, the Free The Nipple...
Abortion holds a unique space in our society. Few other medical procedures are wished to be both ‘legal’ and ‘rare’. Few medical procedures sit...
Most of us reach a point in our lives where we look around, and suddenly realise that all our mates are either engaged or married. We’ve been so...
A few years ago I had no idea what the term ‘TERF’ meant. It popped up occasionally in my Twitter feed...
There’s a big gap when it comes to teaching young women about money. We don’t do it because money is like sex or peeing in the shower - people get...
Put down your phone. Stop focusing on the tasks you have to do. Think about why you’re here. Breathe.
It sounds simple. But… I’m really...
For the first time ever, this Queen’s Birthday weekend, the number of women receiving honours outnumbered the...
Blood, women’s suffering, and endless parallels with current events. I frequently ask myself why I’m...
“What are you going to do with that?” When I tell people that I study English at university, that’s the response I get. If I mention that Law is...
When you hear the word ‘nice’ what do you think about? Does it denote kindness? Is it vanilla? Is it male? Is it female?
I have a problem...
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...
Last week, Villainesse caught up with Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter. We wanted to know what work was happening in our government towards...
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...
Women are creatures of wisdom. Call it intuition,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
First published on Wednesday the 2nd of August, 2017, this piece was the most read Villainesse story of 2017.
Dear Mark Richardson and...
First published on Friday the 9th of June, 2017, this piece comes in at...
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....
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....
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.
First published on Saturday the 24th of July, 2017, this piece comes in at number 13 in the...
