The Sydney Feminists

  “Hidden Figures” made waves in the movie industry for portraying the brilliant, female, collective, computational minds behind one of the greatest scientific and engineering feats in history: putting humans on the moon. This movie showed us that there has been no lack of brilliant women contributing to STEM fields through history. We also know that women’s contributions to science, math, technology and engineering have been systematically written out of our history books.   All this complaining about not enough women idols in STEM fields for our future generations and we never stopped to wonder at what point in history we decided women were bad at math and science?  The history of patriarchy is hard to identify. For so many years, in the majority of societies around the world, patriarchy has been so widely accepted that it wasn’t even identified as a type of operating system until recently. The word “patriarchy” literally means “rule of the father” and did not em...

The Liberal/National party has a reputation for misunderstanding the needs of Australian women. Their attitude towards women is further exemplified by former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott’s comments about ‘the housewives of Australia doing the ironing’. The LNP doesn’t have a woman-focused policy record either, with continued criticism that they fail Australian women in parliamentary representation, policies, programs, and budget spending. The election of the LNP government in 2019 has been widely viewed as a failure for women, in part because the LNP cuts   spending on essential services for women, including The Women’s Family Law Service (WFLSS). Continued cuts to women’s services highlight the LNP governments’ lack of understanding of and disinterest in the wellbeing of Australian women. The Women’s Family Law Service (WLFLSS) is a joint program run by the Sydney Registry of the Family Court and the NSW Women’s refuge movement. Located in the Sydney registry of ...

Image Credit:  https://www.amazon.com/RAZOR-BLADES-HEART-SHAVING-BUCKLES/dp/B00WOSITX6 I not only believe there is a place in the gender equality minefield for men’s liberation, but that, in such a politically charged society, this movement is sorely needed. I know this is an odd statement to make in a space that by and large houses Feminist thought and action. But I’m certain that encouraging such a movement is the only way to preserve the integrity of Feminist spaces. I’m absolutely not suggesting we contact our local MRA’s and ask them out to lunch. I’m not of the mind that the bridge trolls that comprise such a movement are capable of any action that would complement, or even run remotely parallel to, the outcomes Feminism works to achieve. What I have in mind is more of a safe space for men seeking to combat the toxic masculinity so pervasive in our culture. The fact of the matter is, toxic masculinity is not and should not be a Feminist issue. But ...

The United States’ recent, draconian legislation on abortion has once again brought the topic of female bodily autonomy to the foreground. Once again, it seems that everyone, regardless of whether or not they actually own a uterus or identify as a woman, has an opinion. It is an understandably terrifying time for women in the United States, whether they happen to live in the states affected by the laws or not. Women are justifiably afraid this slow dismantling of the tenets of Roe v Wade will have only one outcome, and it's a dire one for women all around the world. Australian women have been keeping a close eye on the proceedings. As we’re all too aware on this side of the pond, when the United States sneezes, the rest of the world tends to catch cold. This decision by the US is particularly worrying here in New South Wales and also in Queensland, where we have our own issues with bodily autonomy - though thankfully, at this point, they are nowhere near as dangerou...

Dear Auntie, What’s a good comeback for someone who says, “only women who are raped deserve to have an abortion”?  Thanks, M Well for starters, that’s a horrible thing to say. That’s like saying “only people who have their nose broken from an assault deserve to have it fixed” or “car accident victims only warrant medical help if another driver smashes into them on purpose”. A woman shouldn’t need to be degraded and violated to warrant a termination. People have accidents. Sometimes they’re freak accidents. Others are accidents waiting to happen. Or worse yet, people hurt other people on purpose . The reason behind someone’s need for medical care shouldn’t dictate their right to it.  Furthermore, people can have an unwanted pregnancy for a plethora of agonising reasons and they should never be taken lightly .   I could go on and on about people’s right to safe abortion ... and I will. People against abortion often disregard the lac...