Around age 10, I start to press my lap against the edge of the kitchen table. No one ever notices and I never make it noticeable. I don’t know...
In a landscape of blonde actresses with chiseled jaws and pearly white teeth, there’s something...
I’m 10 years old and the chattering of teeth is audible in the 9am mist. Teachers warm their hands with their breath as kids spread out before...
When I left university, the first time, I was lucky enough to receive an overseas internship. It was incredibly exciting – and tremendously scary...
He calls himself a feminist, but doesn’t do anything to support the claim. He expects a round of applause anyway.
He says he’s a ‘nice guy...
If you haven’t heard of The Worst Idea of All...
A former editor once told me ‘Clickbaity headlines are fine, so long as they’re backed up by quality content.’
I think she was right. As...
If you’re a woman who wants equality you best not have breasts.
Alright, you can have them, but they should be small, though not flat, and...
When Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S House of Representatives, was asked about...
Dresses must be completely full length. This means below the ankle bone.
Dresses should not dip down between the cleavage area.
No...
A few years ago now, when ‘wellness’ was still a novel concept, I decided to quit sugar. I was sick of my relationship with the white stuff – and...
For my money, the best piece of cinema to come out of 2018 was the opening minute of Beychella . My partner and I watched the Beyoncé Coachella...
Romantic comedy is not a genre beloved by women. Go ahead, survey a bunch of women. If my guess is...
I was 16 when Lady Gaga unearthed me. I was out (to myself and my friends) as...
In certain circles, Laura Bates is considered a legend. She founded The Everyday Sexism Project in 2012– a website touted by some...
As sometimes happens, even if only by coincidence, two vastly similar films were released within months of each other last year. Beautiful Boy and...
It just makes me nervous, you know? What with Hannah Tamaki taking up the reins of the Destiny Church Party (sorry, Coalition New Zealand) and...
Recently, on a Waiheke ferry trip, my partner who I will call M (Filipino) and myself (Pākehā) grabbed a couple of coffees. As we waited for our...
I want to write a letter to the women on the edges. The mothers who allowed me to drink in their garages, their daughters who held back my hair as...
I read the comments.
Oh, God. I read the comments.
It doesn’t require any further context, does it? It doesn’t matter the subject...
It was a rant that did it. I am grateful, now fuck off , wrote Emily Writes in 2015, catapulting herself into...
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. The customer is always right.
What a...
If you think you don’t know Nat Puff, aka Left at London, you’re probably mistaken.
She’s the internet...
Did you know that doctors in the United States are executing babies after birth? That’s right. Look up ‘born alive’ on Twitter and you’ll discover...
Conferences. I don’t know if I’ve ever attended one that I loved. If there’s a choice between sharing an air-conditioned room with 200 strangers...
After some recent hoopla around the validity of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill (...
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’...
On There Will Be No Intermission, Amanda Palmer’s first solo album in seven years, the artist sings...
“I’m gonna get it, you’re going to get it, we’re all gonna get it.”
That was...
There was a moment in Dirty John ’s final episode that really made the show for me. It had so far been a...
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...
New Zealand has a strange relationship with its own culture. I’d say it’s debatable whether New Zealand even has a culture. I’m not talking about...
They may not have won gold tonight, but these are the women, and women-led films, that truly deserve our applause...
Founded in Te Atatu, ‘I Am Eva’ is the latest big thing on the NZ period scene. Perhaps they’re...
I’m excited. The Oscars, only the most important event in the global film industry, are a week away tomorrow. I can’t wait to see Debra Granik...
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...
I feel so stupid when it happens. The ‘you’re-a-phony’ siren goes off at such a high screech inside my head - it almost surprises me the...
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’ve decided to cut the bullshit this year. Below are my own personal no filter 2019 resolutions. Feel free to steal them, adapt them, use them or...
First published on Tuesday the 6th of November, 2018, this piece comes in at number 4 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2018....
First published on Tuesday the 28th of August, 2018, this piece comes in at number 8 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2018....
First published on Thursday the 27th of September, 2018, this piece comes in at number 11 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2018....
First published on Wednesday the 31st of October, 2018, this piece comes in at number 16 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 Monday the 28th of May, 2018, this piece comes in at number 25 in the top 30 most read Villainesse stories of 2018.
I...
The 2019 Academy Awards show, due to take place on February 25 th , is just over two months away. Still a while away in the grand scheme things,...
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...
I believe, as a culture, we’ve come a long way in terms of how we treat mental health. When Britney Spears...
When I think of feminist films, I think of Thelma and Louise , The Colour Purple , and the...
I try to keep things in perspective. I live in New Zealand – the 15 th country in the world to legalise gay marriage. I can walk down the street...
“Blonde!” I told them, “Completely blonde!”
When I went through my last big breakup several years ago, I booked myself a salon sesh almost...
Amanda Palmer didn’t mean for her latest release to be so relevant. Mr Weinstein Will See You Now, her latest Patreon-powered THING – as she likes...
“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...
Ariana Grande has been called a diva , a symbol , a leader , and a killer. No link to that last one,...
Dear Kristy, Mary-Anne, Claudia, Stacey, Dawn, Mallory, and Jessi – by way of Ann M....
Abigail Johnson chatted with emerging indie artist Josie Moon about music, aesthetics, and trying to put...
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...
Abigail Johnson caught up with pop-country songstress Jamie McDell to see what she’s been up to,...
I’m old enough (read: not that old) to remember when people said ‘kiwi comedy’ was an oxymoron. The quip still pops up in the rubbish dump that is...
