The Sydney Feminists

  Hollywood quickly adapted once it realised the power A-list stars held over box office revenue. Within the first two decades of American cinema, a well-oiled machine known as the Star System had been created. Producers and Hollywood Executives would find an actor and mould their personality and talent into a product that could be sold and marketed. If someone wanted to “make it big”, they needed to adhere to a strict set of rules and guidelines. The stress took its toll on many. Some turned to drugs, some turned to wild partying and others became self-destructive. Studios put up huge sums of money to pay off journalists and media outlets not to run stories that could be damaging to their star’s image, such as Rock Hudson’s coming out as a homosexual. Women had little control over their personal lives and their bodies were forever the subject of scrutiny. The Early Years The first silent films had no credits and the public didn’t know actors’ names. Audiences star...

Something was awry. And not just the fact that I was being hospitalised for my levels of emotional distress. This new psychiatrist was altogether too interested in me. He started stroking one hand with the other, a suggestive movement which recalled to me the letter I’d sent the mental health staff which included a reference to an orgasm-free masturbation session I’d had which had gotten me thinking about the deeper reasons behind me being hospitalised. No stranger to sexual predators, I offered him my complete silence, and a defiant stare. I let him know, nonverbally, that I knew what he was up to, and I was not going to fall for his trap. It worked. He was fuming by the time he ended the session with me. I relaxed a bit, but not much. For a mentally vulnerable 22 year old woman, the ward was a place full of menace. Some of that was from the patients (like the man who addressed all the females of the ward by the c word, volubly, and who made to harm one of the female nur...

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 ...

Over half the scripts written during Hollywood’s silent era were written by women. The women came from a variety of backgrounds when they entered the industry. Some were actors, some came from Broadway and others started off as journalists, to name a few professions. Largely unknown to a modern film audience, Frances Marion was one of the first well established and sought-after screenwriters in American cinema. During the 1910s to late 1930s, she penned many scripts for films that are now considered classics. She wrote across many genres and even received academy awards for The Big House (1930) and The Champ (1931). Born on the 18 th of November 1888, in San Francisco, her parents named her Marion Benson Owens. She would later be inspired and take her screen credit from famous American Civil War soldier Frances Marion. She started out as a journalist, model, career artist and World War I correspondent before eventually moving to Los Angeles. Marion’s Hollywood career...

It is my firm belief that everyone on the planet needs someone or something to inspire them.  Inspiration can come from many places; from the loved ones in your life, to an important and just cause, to the beauty of the world, to its profound sadness. It manifests itself in art, music, devotion and hard work. It is what drives us, gives us purpose and provides us with a comforting sense of something greater than ourselves. For the first 24 years of my life, my father was my inspiration. My father was a South African lawyer and anti-apartheid activist; he was an intellectual and a dreamer; he was a poet and a comedian; he was tender yet hard to reach; he was sensitive and quietly passionate; he was cynical and painfully hopeful.  He was my example, he was my guide.  I looked up to him like a flower does the sun, and when his light went out, so did mine. I was living in Australia when my father suddenly died. At the time I had just had a breakthrough with ...

By Dorka N. Have you ever heard that if something is repeated often enough people start to believe it? This phenomena is all around us and is so widely spread and crucially ACCEPTED. However, it is the media playing mind games on human beings. Media today is present in all sectors of our lives, often causing more damage than actual good. It is only natural that we fall victim to its intrusive nature, but in the fashion industry its impact is especially negative. Their adverts can be considered quite persuasive as they constantly tell us that we will feel a certain way after having bought their product, or by looking like the models. This constant pressure to conform to mass- manufactured  beauty ideals can cause a great deal of stress and unhappiness in many women. First of all, I believe eating disorders and false body image are always rooted in one or more great problems causing depression, either mild, moderate or severe. They have an obvious similarity: they last...

Feminism… What is feminism? How has it become one of the most trending topics of all time? Do people have a complete knowledge of it? Questions like these always raise topics to discuss. Men these days are blaming feminism for the ‘unequal’ treatment of males. According to many men, women are not using their rights in a ‘correct’ manner. They claim that women are taking all these rights for granted. They are building this notion that women are misusing their rights and trying to degrade men. Ideas like these are often created by the people who want to establish a false image of Feminism. They see each ‘ Feminist ‘ as someone who wants to lower the position of men in order to uplift women’s status in the society. However, it’s indicative of their lack of knowledge that they see Feminists as ruthless rebels who want to conquer the world! So, it’s necessary for each man as well as each woman to have a complete knowledge of what feminism actually is. Let’s read further to gain...