The Sydney Feminists

We often ridicule the Victorians for their backward views, conservative ways, and blatantly sexist mindsets. However, studying Victorian literature, there are some notable parallels between their attitudes then and our attitudes now. Fiction is a vision into the past– it shows opinions, both personal and public, and manages to convey the wider context in a way studying statistics cannot. It is important to remember that literature is of its time. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ would not be considered   a pioneering feminist novel nowadays, but in 1813 Elizabeth Bennet’s character completely defied the perfect, ‘angel of the house’ archetype that women were expected to strive for; intelligent and fiercely independent, she turned down marriage proposals for her own sake, rather than accepting them as she was expected to. The point is that in an ever-progressing society, these views should have changed. We view ourselves as superior to the Victorians, but in fact, these examples from ...

“#MeToo: Stories From the Australian Movement” is the must-read, women tell-declaration against sexual exploitation every woman should own. This powerful collection, edited by Natalie Kon-Yu, Christie Nieman, Maggie Scott, and Miriam Sved offers a variety of articulate and gripping accounts of sexual abuse against women. Ranging from short stories to poems, “#MeToo” effortlessly blends the voices of multicultural Australian women from numerous walks of life. Image Description: Image of the front cover of "#MeToo: Stories from the Australian Movement." The background is a pale cream color. At the top of the image the words "Stories from the Australian Movement" are written in bold, black lettering. Beneath this, there is a quote from Tracey Spicer in smaller black lettering which reads "An extremely important anthology." Along the right side, written from the bottom to the top, are the names of the editors in purple, bold lettering. The rest...

By Matthew J. Healy A television series is only as good as its creative team. Star Tre k is no exception. For 50 years now the franchise has been a cultural phenomenon, pulling in new fans with each new incarnation. The original series (1966-1969) pioneered many things and seriously went where no TV series, of the time, had gone before. It presented a unique view of the future where humanity had put their differences aside and explored the galaxy peacefully in starships. Our hero ship, the USS Enterprise , was led by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) with Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Doctor McCoy (DeForest Kelley) not too far behind. A big behind the scenes imprint came from writer D. C. Fontana. Not only did she write some of the most notable episodes, but she held a position very few women had in the male-dominated era of 1960s Hollywood. Dorothy Catherine Fontana was born in Sussex, New Jersey, on the 25 th of March, 1939. From an early age, Fontana had a ...