The Sydney Feminists

Nowadays, when we know about another person suffering from mental illnesses (eating disorders are definitely included!), we tend to think different things: I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY / it's not my business anyway / they seem fine / they have close friends to help them / they're not asking for help, so why should I talk to them first? Because of those thoughts, we end up not helping them out. Who knows what positive impact you may have had on them if you asked a simple, "How have your eating habits been lately?" But sometimes, even those with good intentions have no idea  how to approach and help those facing mental illnesses. You are here to help your loved ones who are going through binge eating disorder. Mental illnesses are still stigmatized and not talked about openly at all and enough in our society. It starts with us - you must not feel scared or embarrassed to talk to your loved one about mental illnesses. Here are 5 top tips for you to help a l...

Guest Post From:  I'M STRONGER THAN THE URGE TO BINGE EAT :  RAW THOUGHTS OF A RECOVERED BINGE EATER picture taken from  manbicep.com This picture accurately captures what the  binge eating vicious cycle  is all about. Not sure if you have been in the “ Restrict ” zone? Do you display these actions but are not willing to admit that you have been restricting? Do you think you are on a diet or a very strict diet, but in fact you are displaying symptoms of an eating disorder? Restrict  may include actions such as: counting calories for everything you eat being on a diet only eating fruits & vegetables for meals / throughout the day drinking an excessive amount of water to make you feel full only eating food low in calories never stopping to lose weight. There is no goal weight. You want to be as thin as you can. using exercise as a means to punish yourself food controls almost all your thoughts HOW TO STOP A BINGE BEFORE IT S...

Cartoon character Betty Boop took the world by storm upon her debut in 1931. Her unique voice, signature “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” catchphrase and Jazz-age flapper dancer look made her standout from her Disney and Looney Tunes animation contemporaries. She was aimed at an adult audience and was considered one of the first Hollywood sex symbols. Like many other areas of American cinema at the time, when the Production Code was implemented in 1934, Boop saw drastic changes in representation and personality. She went from a carefree, sexually confident independent woman to a conservative fully dressed introvert. Mae Questel and Max Fleischer Boop was the brainchild of Max Fleischer. He was born on July 18, 1883, and was also known for bringing the Popeye the Sailor Man comic strip to the silver screen. After completing a commercial art degree, Fleischer worked in various forms in the entertainment industry. He started Inkwell Studios with his brother, Dave, in 1921. Beside...

Being nominated for Best Director is one of the most prestigious honours the Academy Awards has to offer. It’s the ultimate form of respect for a director’s hard work and achievements. Among the chosen are some of the greatest directors of all time, but only four women have been nominated since the Academy’s introduction in 1929. They are Lina Wertmüller, Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow. Out of this list, only Bigelow has won the award for The Hurt Locker in 2009. Lina Wertmüller An Italian director born on August 14 1928, Wertmüller was nominated for Seven Beauties in 1976. The film follows the story of Pasqualino Frauso (Giancarlo Giannini) as he goes AWOL from the Italian army, during World War II, only to be captured by Germans and thrown into a prison camp. The movie was the tenth written and directed by Wertmüller, but is her most well-known. Her films are noted for their arthouse-style and focus on political and social issues. So...

  In film theory, the Hawksian woman archetype describes the female lead characters in movies directed by Howard Hawks. An archetype is a character model, or pattern, that is common in storytelling. Hawks made a number of films during Hollywood’s Golden Age that featured female characters with very similar traits. The Hawksian woman archetype stepped outside the Hollywood norm – his female characters were not reduced to being damsels in distress or sexualised objects – and instead had spunk, charisma, wit, intelligence and were cool under pressure. They knew exactly what they wanted and were not afraid to go after it, but, most importantly, had the respect of their male counterparts and were considered “one of the gang” among them. Film critic Naomi Wise (1945-2011) first coined the term Hawksian woman in 1971. Howard Hawks, himself, was born on May 30 th , 1896. He made his way to Hollywood in the 1920s where he landed a position at the Mary Pickford company. H...

Mary Pickford was an actress who is synonymous with silent film and early Hollywood. In 1919, she formed the film studio United Artists alongside other screen legends of the day; Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith. Chaplin had become famous playing the Tramp in comedies and was known internationally. Fairbanks was one of the most sought after male leads of his era and known for doing his own, dangerous stunts. At the time, he was also married to Pickford. Griffith was one of the first great directors. He popularised many common camera techniques and angles that, as a modern audience, we take for granted today. One of the first close-up shots in a Hollywood film featured Pickford in Friends (1912). Pickford had been acting in plays since an early age to support her family. Her mother, sister and brother – Charlotte, Lottie and Jack – were all vaudeville actors too. Pickford’s father died when she was y...