The Sydney Feminists

In the wake of the horror that was the Christchurch mosque shooting, Brunei’s anti-LGBT laws and the current political atmosphere, solidarity and community must become our anchor. It can act as the compass that guides us through this tumultuous period of anger and sorrow. As the old but never aged feminist saying goes, ‘the personal is the political’. This quote holds particularly true for those of us who exist within the margins of identities that do not align with white cis-heteronormativity. But for those whose reality is a privileged one and who don’t necessarily have to think about how skin colour, gender and sexuality impact job opportunities, healthcare, the right to exist, etc., this article is for you.  Particularly, for those of you who want to support the equality and rights of marginal groups and identities, or who have already declared themselves allies to these groups, but don’t seem to understand how this works in concrete terms. Because it takes more than hashta...

A subject very close to my heart is how to use privilege to build, not destroy.   Feminism has improved the collective status of women globally – but that is only true by aggregating the monumentally larger improvement to some women’s lives to hide the fact that thus far feminism has not shared its victories equitably. In fact, when the first feminist movement's victories were achieved, and some women began to enjoy the opportunities this afforded, this glow obscured the experiences of women who remained excluded. There were women whose life circumstances didn't allow them to enjoy those freedoms. The victories of the first two waves of feminism were monumental if we consider women as an amorphous homogeneous group.  The right to vote, participate economically, liberation of contraception and abortion, and laws enshrined to support women with children who wanted to work were staggeringly hard-fought achievements that benefit me – that benefit all women (to varying ...