Does the 50 Shades franchise disguise abuse as romance? – MTR on ABC Radio

Ryk Goddard interviews MTR on links between Fifty Shades and violence against women A coalition of organisations combating abuse want you donate $50 rather than watch 50 Shades darker. Melinda Tankard Reist explains where the lines are between romance, fantasy and the facts. See also: Nothing says true love like getting a belting and being […]

Nothing says true love like getting a belting and being stalked. MTR on ABC

Violence is the New Black: Fifty Shades and the Glamorisation of Abuse Melinda Tankard Reist ABC Religion and Ethics 9 Feb 2017 “Every fairy tale has a dark side.” That’s the motto of the just released film Fifty Shades Darker, the second in the trilogy of films adapted from E.L. James’s Fifty Shades pulp fiction […]

Banishing the Beasts: The Slick Misogyny of U.S. Pick-up Artists Not Welcome Here

Melinda Tankard Reist  Yesterday, American “pick-up” artist and “executive dating coach” Jeff (Jeffy) Allen had his Australian visa revoked by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. Allen’s tour – part of a Real Social Dynamics (RSD) global roadshow – was billed as “Meet Jeffy.” Those concerned about rising rates of violence against women and the callous mistreatment […]

Why cricketer Chris Gayle must be called out on sexism: MTR on ABC

No, Chris Gayle, We Won’t ‘Move On’ from your Nationally Televised Sexism Melinda Tankard Reist – 5 Jan 2016 To sporting news now, and West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle has found closure from an incident this week in which he propositioned a female sports reporter live on air. After making a pass at Channel Ten […]

Klein and Hawthorne on feminism and MTR

By Renate Klein and  Susan Hawthorne Since the publication of Rachael Hills’s article “Who’s Afraid of Melinda Tankard Reist” (and see her reflections two weeks later) at least ten on-line and print media articles have joined in a public dissection and commentary along the lines of, “she’s a conservative religious fundamentalist” and “she’s pro-life and […]