My publishers, Spinifex Press, made this Christmas decoration for their Christmas mailout. I bet you’ve never quite seen one like that before. I confess to some cognitive dissonance when I first saw the image. I don’t really picture Big Porn Inc under the Christmas tree, or as something ones true love would give you on the 13th day of Christmas after the turtle doves and the partridges and geese, or as the ideal last minute gift idea for the special person in your life (at the annual neighbourhood Xmas party in our street the sweet elderly lady from across the road asked where could she buy a copy of my latest book. I tried to interest her in something else).
It’s been a wild year, I think the busiest and most demanding ever. The release of my fourth book, huge amounts of travel and speaking, daily media and campaigning with Collective Shout. We have seen many wins over major corporations and our voice continues to get louder.
As the year winds up, I reflect on the amazing support I’ve had this past year which has got me through some pretty challenging days. If you are someone who has sent just one word of encouragement please know how greatly I appreciated it. Often such words came at the perfect time (for some reason, I am not universally adored!). So, big thanks.
I’m taking a break. I might do something really crazy and take all of January off. So things will be quiet here. But I look forward to engaging with my readers again after then and hope for your support for another year. Until then, you have my best good wishes for Christmas and New Year.
Melinda
15 Responses
Happy Christmas, Melinda, and thank you for all you do. Enjoy your well-deserved time off! 🙂
Merry Christmas Melinda, enjoy your time off you deserve it and here’s to the collective making more gains in 2012.
Sam 🙂
Thanks again for your effort melinda this year.
Enjoy a good break and some time tO relax refresh and reflect
. It’s been a great year, which takes a great team but also takes a great leader , so thanks
Happy Christmas
Enjoy this lovely Christmas season and your coming month of rest, Melinda. Your work is very much valued by those of us out here who often feel we have no public voice or are mocked and vilified for speaking out about the ugly pornification of our society. Please keep up the fight, your book is terribly sad reading but so necessary to counter balance all the misinformation out there. I’m promoting it at every opportunity.
Melinda I join with the above wishing you a very Happy Christmas and a successful New Year . Keep up with your crusade against those who see the demeaning of girls as women as fair game in pursuit of the almighty dollar. Do take a month off, you certainly need it to recharge the batteries and enjoy time with your family. Sincerely Shirey Owen
Congratulations for your continuing dedication and perseverance duing the past year. I hope you have a really good break. You most definitely deserve a month of enjoying all the beautiful people and things of life.
Peace
Helen
In the words of Adrienne Sere – “Sex, as it is organized in this society, is the most common way in which human rights violations, injustice and inequality are acted out. Acts of sexual injustice continue to be protected by the right as moral, and by the left as personal freedom.” Thank you Melinda for your inspirational work to address this issue and I look forward to supporting the movement in 2012 ! Have a lovely break.
Thank YOU for all you do. I come here too infrequently, but I read your book this year. Courage and perseverence to you.
Read your story in Sunday Life. Was very impressed and encouraged. Our world needs people like you who are articulate and stand up for moral values. It is so good to know that feminism could be a positive where to me it has done nothing for women so far!
I am particularly anti abortion as see it as the taking of human life, Victorian polititians passed a law allowing late term abortions which is abhorrent !
Keep up the good work Melinda.
I saw an article about you in Sunday Life, very interesting read! I’ve seen you a few times on those morning programs. I’m now going to check out more of your blog. 😀
I really enjoyed the article in the Sunday Life. It is a relief to see others fighting for women’s equality.
I also appreciate your giving a voice to those women who typically do not have one- such as women who have suffered grief after abortions, or after being denied the opportunity to make an informed choice for themselves. These women should not have to be silent for political reasons but should be provided with support.
After seeing a piece in ‘The Age’ newspaper I am relieved to find a feminist voice that rejects rauch culture and is not pushing the pro abortion stance.
To be clear, I am not anti abortion but I have seen girls have abortions because it is inconvenient to their male partners to go ahead and have the child. this is not a free choice, this is not a case of women engaging in their feminist freedom. Most feminists miss this point. Both raunch culture and abortion seem to me to often serve the interests of men rather than expanding the choices and support available to women.
Looking forward to reading your books.
Melissa
It doesn’t matter if you are a Christian a Buddhist a Muslim an atheist ..if you are advocating for the rights of others to be protected from abuse in any way shape or form, all advocates for human rights are equally valid. P.C. feminists who fail to see this reality and tear shreds off a person actively engaged in redressing the balance in a society that continues to repress women via the pornography trade, display the height of hypocrisy. Your team are doing a great job and many many people from all backgrounds and beliefs support your work. For the record I am a lefty and pro-choice and regard you and your team amongst the best women’s rights advocates against the sexual objectification of women this country has seen. Set the pace MTR. WELL done.
Hi Melinda,
Thank you for who you are and doing what you do. I’ve only recently been made aware and I am just so impressed that you do tackle the hard vileness of our nation, and humanity without lowering your own tone.
I have no doubt that the result of your intelligence and determination to make things better, or at least make people look at them selves brings about the most horrific threats, comments and abuses.
I just want to say “Good on you”. Your writing helps me solidify in my mind the lessons I need to teach my boys (4 and 6) as the grow into good men, not the ones that think that violence and vileness both real and imagined are well and truly beneath their dignity, and to give them the strength they will need to go against the flow.
God bless you, and thanks again.
just purchased your most recent book and also faking it,, and i cant wait to read them both, i heard you speak last year in wollongong and you have changed my world view forever, huge fan – i love your work, our culture lacks real role models and real bravery and i so admire you. alison.