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...
Ah, birth control. That niggly aspect of having sex we hetero and bisexual women have to deal with for the majority of our adult lives. Having...
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...
In the wake of Eurydice Dixon’s tragic murder, there have been many things I’ve realised. One of them is that a lot of dudes have absolutely no...
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...
I realised I was bisexual at age 14. There was no denying it; the attraction I harboured for girls was just as strong as the one I had for boys....
Blood, women’s suffering, and endless parallels with current events. I frequently ask myself why I’m...
I have mixed feelings about school uniforms. Sure, my high school was neat and identifiable because we all wore the same thing. But is appearance...
“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...
The first thing to acknowledge in any discussion of nude selfies is that there’s nothing wrong with actually taking them.
People take them...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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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.
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First published on Saturday the 24th of July, 2017, this piece comes in at number 13 in the...
First published on Thursday the 13th of April, 2017, this piece comes in at...
First published on Friday the 21st of April, 2017, this piece comes in at number 25 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017.
First published on Wednesday the 20th of September, 2017, this piece...
First published on Sunday the 2nd of July, 2017, this piece comes in at number 30 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2017.
It’s that time of the year. The time when families and friends are finishing up their end-of-year workload, wrapping the last of the gifts, and...
School’s out for summer. Or, if you’re at a certain life stage, FOREVER. Thank God, right?
Maybe you’re so thrilled you could pass out...
Ah, Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year. Or not. After all, while most of us like giving other people presents, it’s the act of buying...
Wanted: A woman to be...
Here’s an experiment: visit Google. Click on “images.” Type the word “woman.” Hit “enter.”
Just make sure you do this when you’re sitting...
Apple’s Siri. Microsoft’s Cortana. Amazon’s Alexa.
Such “personal assistant” artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used by millions...
Halloween costumes.
It’s Rule 34 in real life: think of it, and there’s a “sexy” version of it.
Now, you do you. But remember:...
All the cool girls have anxiety. Heck, not just the cool girls – everyone is stressed out to the point of breakdown.
It’s the hot new...
Few things on this Earth are as frightening as… a supermarket. Or at least as bamboozling. They’re just confusing. Like, more mystifying that...
What springs to mind when you think about seeking mental health support? Is it an image of lying on an old-fashioned couch with an elderly,...
I may be well into my twenties, but I will shamelessly admit I love Harry Potter . Ever since I first read The Sorcerer’s Stone (I’m from the US;...
Māori Language Week fills me with all kinds of emotions. As a Māori woman who is now learning her language in her...
This year, on September 23, New Zealand will vote on who gets to lead the country for the next three years...
Dear Mike Hosking , yet again ,
We’re glad to see that you’re reporting on the big stories . Like the...
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Thou shall worship whichever God most appeals to thee. Thou shall not go to war over worshipping different Gods. Thou shall live and...
Femo-fascist (noun) – A term used by men (usually of the older and white variety) who are still smarting after being criticised by women * for...
Dear Mike Hosking,
Here we go again.
We’d like to share with you a few words...
It’s one of the great questions of our time: can your vibrator kill you?
