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It’s time to disassociate food and guilt

  • Jan 18, 2021

Culture

Five life-upending quotes about capitalism to take into 2021

  • Jan 26, 2021

Think

The new nature of world issues

  • Jan 23, 2021

Girl Power

An ode to the wonderful women of Christmas

  • Dec 22, 2020

No Filter

There's a sickness in celebrity culture...

In some ways, it’s hard to think of the members of the Kardashian/Jenner family as real people. They loom so large in the public consciousness,...

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Girl Power

On Sweat with Pride and celebrating trailblazing queer women in our herstory

My knowledge about history in general is problematically limited. But whatever small and simplistically explained fragments of history were...

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Think

Britney Spears’ freedom matters

Britney Spears - Work B**ch (Official Music Video) / YouTube

In 2008, Rolling Stone ran a cover story called The Tragedy of Britney Spears. It...

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Culture

All Who Live on Islands captures the changing faces of Aotearoa

On one hand I’m not a sentimental person.

I object out loud to cliches and unrealistic tropes in every rom-com I watch (which makes me a...

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No Filter

When did we trade in basic empathy for conspiracy theories?

Naya Rivera at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con on Glee / Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons

When it was announced that former Glee star Naya Rivera...

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Girl Power

What Santana meant to me

Naya Rivera and Heather Morris at the Paley Festival 2011 panel on Glee / Francis Orante / Wikimedia Commons

“Abuelita – I love girls, the way I’m...

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Think

How to pace your activism

Woman with megaphone / Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels

For about a month, my social media feed was awash with #BlackoutTuesday panels, heartfelt...

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Culture

Book Review: ‘We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast’ by Jonathan Safran Foer

When it comes to climate change, I’ve been feeling a bit deflated about my efforts to make a difference for a while. Every thing that I could buy...

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No Filter

Jacinda’s strength is undeniable

NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visits the Muslim community the day after the Christchurch mosque shootings / Kirk Hargreaves / Wikimedia Commons...
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Girl Power

The ultimate guide to the influencer lifestyle

According to Caroline Calloway, Instagram captions are art . At least, her Instagram captions are art. She puts a lot of time into documenting her...

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Think

We don't let women disagree with one another...

One of the great myths of the palatable modern feminism that we’ve all become accustomed to is this: women should never criticise other women,...

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Culture

A love letter to Avatar: The Last Airbender

If I hear the word ‘Avatar’ I don’t think of blue people in a jungle.

I think of my siblings and I crammed into a two square-meter study...

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No Filter

Plastic Free July 2020: kickstarting our green post-COVID recovery

These last few months, we have seen nations enact a collective response in the face of a global threat, showing us similar action is possible in...

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Girl Power

Why can't the music industry have its #MeToo moment? ...

Screenshot: Justin Bieber / What Do You Mean? (Official Music Video) / Youtube

In 2018, inspired by the #MeToo movement and an onslaught of...

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Think

Can we stop shaming women for their femininity?

Megan Fox @ Jennifer's Body screening / Michael Vlasaty / Wikimedia Commons

I’ve been a part of various feminist Facebook groups for a while now...

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Culture

Know Your Place is an essential read for feminist New Zealanders

Golriz Ghahraman and Marama Davidson at the Auckland vigil for Christchurch / Todd Henry / Provided

Know Your Place , Golriz Ghahraman’s memoir,...

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Not everyone has a dream job

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

How many times were you asked that as a child? How many times, as an adult, have you asked a...

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Girl Power

Friendships with men are not "just less drama"...

Women lying on car / Pixabay.com

“In university, you find your tribe.”

Among other less welcome, more invasive pieces of advice that...

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Think

Beware the fake male feminist

You know him. One of him. If you’re involved in feminist conversations, you will have encountered a version of him.

He thinks women should...

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Culture

Book review: ‘If I Had Your Face’ by Frances Cha

In 2012, I was accepted for admission to Seoul National University’s College of Humanities. I never ended up going that spring, choosing instead...

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No Filter

Why Tik Tok scares me

I’m 23 years old, and for at least a month this year, I was an avid user of Tik Tok. Don’t judge me, okay? We all got bored in lockdown.

...

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Girl Power

My lesbianism is not threatened by trans people

I’ve always been late to the play. Last year, deciding the time had finally come, I decided to read the Harry Potter series. It wasn’t that I’d...

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Think

The women's clothing size system is broken...

Rack of clothes / Pixabay

There’s always a line for the fitting room on the days I shop, though I have been thrifting a lot more lately. Most...

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Culture

Why you should [re]watch Beyoncé’s Homecoming

HOMECOMING: A Film By Beyoncé / Netflix

With the Black Lives Matter movement gaining steam (and achieving results) across the globe, Black media...

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The Black Lives Matter movement needs us to be better allies

Though posting on social media and showing up for protests are important ways to show solidarity, it’s important we’re mindful to not engage in...

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Girl Power

White celebrities can’t stop posting cop propaganda

In 2020, celebrity culture seems to be crumbling before our very eyes. What with the tone deaf videos of millionaires singing “Imagine” from their...

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Think

Why Aotearoa should stand with #BlackLivesMatter

Protestor / SouthSide Photography NZ

I know NZ likes to think that we are different.

Our government is competent, as the last two months...

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Culture

The Green Home: where can you get environmentally mindful lingerie?

Undergarments have always been about more than just fabric for your private parts. Reflecting the spirit of the times, lingerie has evolved over...

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No Filter

New Zealand police do not need guns

No cops, anywhere, should have guns. That much is simple. But it would take major upheaval to remove weapons from the militarized police forces...

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Girl Power

Why pop star reinventions are so empowering

Pop stars are constantly evolving. It’s almost like they’re human or something. I find it fascinating to watch pop stars teasing their latest...

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Think

The monster in our closets: how COVID19 placed a spotlight on the failings of the fashion industry

As Aotearoa went into alert level three, and then four, a lot of medical professionals considered buying our own scrubs to wear at work. I was...

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No Filter

Privilege and demonisation

When you were young, did anyone ever tell you that they loved you? That’s a question court cultural report writer Associate Professor Khylee...

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Culture

Why can't white women take criticism? ...

Lana Del Rey performing during her show at 2017 KROQ Weenie Roast festival in Carson, California, United States / Harmony Gerber / Wikimedia Commons...
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Sex work is being transformed, our attitudes are not

Woman in white shirt / cottonbro / Pexels.com

The porn industry of the 1970s, headquartered in the San Fernando Valley in California, was a...

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Girl Power

Why should you be in the office five days a week?

Over the past eight weeks, I bet an awful lot of work has been completed by people wearing pyjamas. Good work. Work that would otherwise have...

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No Filter

The government retraining scheme needs to cater for all

I’m scared of hammers. It’s embarrassingly ridiculous, but it’s true. Over the past year or so, I’ve surprised myself by completing a few DIY...

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Think

There’s just no winning for sexual assault survivors

Growing up, I understood the world in a black and white context. Things were right and wrong. Police officers were the goodest, most law-abiding...

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Culture

Book review: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

It was a moment almost sacriligious – when many booklovers quietly and guiltily mused that perhaps Margaret Atwood didn’t deserve to win the...

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No Filter

Simon Bridges' deadly hair dye own goal...

Image: Simon Bridges / The National Party

“There’s no hair dye, just saying…”

Six little words that said so much. When Newshub asked...

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No Filter

Let go of your fear of being called a racist

I’m white. My family is white. A lot of my friends are white. A lot of my parents’ friends are white. As a result, I’ve spent a lot of time...

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Girl Power

Talking new music, B-sides and cyber-performance with Theia

At the other end of a Skype call, Em-Haley Walker — better known as homegrown superstar Theia — greets me with double Dutch braids and a small...

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Think

I’ll miss some parts of the lockdown

Let me just address this from the jump: I certainly don’t want to move back into lockdown. For one thing, I’m not sure if New Zealanders could do...

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Culture

Why Survivor is still going strong

Survivor Season 35 Promo / CBS / YouTube

What if I told you that Survivor is the only thing getting me through these “unprecedented times”? Yes,...

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I miss the library

I’m lucky to live near a fantastic West Auckland library. It’s one of the newer ones, with the high ceilings and glass walls. It’s not Devonport...

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Now is not the time to shut up about suicide

Content note: Suicide

Suicide is something we seldom talk about. It’s a difficult conversation at the best of times. Now, as we enter our...

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Girl Power

Supporting local: NZ women-owned/operated businesses and the amazing products you can buy to show...

Supporting small businesses and our local economy has never been more important. If you’re looking to buy something new (for yourself or as a gift...

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Think

NZ Made Products: the Facebook group supporting local businesses

Small local businesses have been hit hard by Covid-19.

Most are classed “non-essential”, some depend on physical sales and others charge...

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Culture

Why the sex in Normal People is so damn hot

Normal People Trailer (Official) • A Hulu Original / YouTube

You probably don’t want to watch Normal People with your mum.

If possible,...

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No Filter

An ode to Girls Related After Dark

If you know Girls Related - After Dark (a.k.a. GRAD), then you will understand my struggle at putting the group into words. If you don’t know GRAD...

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No Filter

After Covid: what happens next?

So what happens next?

What happens when there’s no 1pm Jacinda-and-Ashley Show? When there’s no wage subsidy? When we’re allowed to go out...

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Girl Power

Women are the frontlines

If this pandemic has made one thing clear, it’s that there are certain people and professions that society simply cannot survive without, aptly...

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Think

You don’t have to be passionate about your job

What a hand we’ve been dealt, huh?

I often get to thinking that, had I been born around a decade earlier, I would have hit the sweet spot...

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Culture

Four audiobook recommendations for vicarious travel and relaxation

Whether you’re looking for ways to fill your time while social distancing, having an acute case of wanderlust within the confines of your bubble,...

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No Filter

Silver linings or ecofascism? It's not so clear...

White swans on water / Marija Zaric / Unsplash.com

When I saw a tweet that claimed dolphins had returned to the Venice canals , my heart felt the...

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Girl Power

An ode to the binge-TV queen

TIFF 2019 Sarah Paulson / John Bauld / Wikimedia Commons

It’s pretty rare for a female celebrity to be liked, universally.

I mean, no one...

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Think

The view from a bubble: inequality in Aotearoa and running in lockdown

As indisputably reckless and inexcusably selfish as it is for people to travel to their holiday homes during lockdown (#stayhomeNZ), on some level...

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Culture

#Guillotine2020: is the world turning on the upper class?

Woman shopping / Andrea Paicquadio / Pexels.com

Because of the lockdown, I’ve finally had time to get around to watching Parasite (a cinematic...

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No Filter

Coronavirus isn’t the only crisis we’ll have to change for

As the number of new cases drops each day, the consensus is pretty much clear: New Zealand has done a pretty good job so far with this whole Covid...

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Girl Power

How to be famous in a pandemic

Cover shot of Lady Gaga’s debut album The Fame / Pieter Henket / Wikimedia Commons

Let me start by addressing that headline. This article is not...

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Think

Let’s not pretend that self-isolation is easy

The messaging around COVID-19 has been crystal clear: stay at home. Don’t interact with others. It’s simple and easy to follow and everyone should...

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Culture

Why NZ’s coolest cinema just went on demand

Once upon a time, entering Auckland’s Academy Cinema was like entering a prohibition-era speakeasy. The first challenge was finding the door (and...

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