The Sydney Feminists

Image Source: luxalptraum.com “… lies are strategic. Whether we are faking our orgasms or inventing boyfriends or concealing our pasts, women lie for specific reasons, ones that are often deeply connected to our very survival” (p. 224) Alptraum’s debut book Faking It is a provocative and progressive analysis of the restrictive stereotypes of female sexuality in our society. She writes in a passionate yet academic tone peppered with personal anecdotes and quotes from women from a variety of backgrounds. The central theme of Faking It revolves around the concept of women habitually lying as a means of protecting ourselves and attempting to embody impossible expectations. Alptraum’s arguments are thoroughly researched from a myriad of sources including historic scientific studies, TED Talks and legal statutes with pop culture references from When Harry Met Sally to South Park . The author demonstrates a breadth of knowledge of contemporary feminist theory with allusions to s...

As I’ve written previously ( click here ), the laws surrounding sexual consent in NSW have a patchy grey area. In NSW, when someone is on trial for sexual assault, the crown has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the complainant did not consent. NSW laws are structured in a way that puts the onus of proof on the victim: the victim must prove they did not give consent. The best practice example of consent laws in Australia is said to be either Tasmania or Victoria, wherein (according to Anthony Whealy QC, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW): “the crown must prove that the complainant gave free agreement to sexual intercourse taking place ... and the judge is asked to direct the jury that if the complaint said or did nothing at the time of the sexual intercourse, that means she did not give her free agreement.” As I’ve stated previously, this change switches the focus from the complainant to the accused. In this case, instead of focusing on the ways the complainant ...

You probably heard that Luke Lazarus was found not guilty of sexual assault this week. What you might not have heard is that he was found not guilty despite a jury and two judges determining that the complainant, Saxon Mullins, had NOT consented to sex with him. Upon finding that piece of information out, most people are confused. If someone doesn’t consent, isn’t that rape? Well, the answer to that question might depend on where you live. Saxon Mullins’ identity has been protected for five years because she is a sexual assault complainant. Five years ago, Saxon Mullins was eighteen and had the first sexual encounter in her life. I don’t want to detail that encounter here. It’s Mullins’ story. If you aren’t familiar with this case, here are Mullins’ own words , but if you can’t read them, for brevity I will point out that the sex happened within four minutes of the pair meeting and it was anal. Mullins calls the encounter rape. Lazarus states it was a misunderstanding. Laza...

Note: For this article, I’ll be centering on women who experience sexual harassment/assault in hetero sexual encounters. We can all agree sexual assault is a crime, and that no one should be subject to it. However, when we start having conversations about consent, what it is and what it looks like, those discussions seem to take place in murkier waters. In the NSW Crimes Act ( https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1900/40 ), the meaning of consent, as it pertains to a person in a sexual encounter, is “ A person consents to sexual intercourse if the person freely and voluntarily agrees to the sexual intercourse .” Now let’s apply that definition to a story that’s been in the public space recently: yes, I’m referring to the babe.net story ( https://babe.net/2018/01/13/aziz-ansari-28355 ) about “Grace” a 22 year old woman, who went on a date with Aziz Ansari, a 33 year old celebrity. Suddenly, what consent is, and what it looks like, has gotten more complicated. ...

A sexually submissive feminist activist sheds light on why being a sub doesn't conflict with being a bad ass feminista. (An abridged version of this piece was published in Cosmopolitan Magazine on Monday 4th of September, 2017.) Discliamer: The views in this piece reflect the opinion of the author. Feminism is diverse and there are many differing opinions on this subject. Q. There’s a common viewpoint that you can’t be a feminist and submissive as it goes against everything feminism is about. Can a person be a feminist and a submissive? Yes I've heard these comments on many occasions before, expressed by both men and women who when they learn of my sexual submissiveness in conversation after also knowing I'm a strong feminist activist, tell me things like "that's an oxymoron" or "you can't be a feminist and submissive. That's just being a hypocrite”, or even “how does that work?”  But you most certainly can be both an impassioned and ...