Pushing women to their death is not a joke, but a real-life scenario for too many women
*Content warning: This post contains descriptions of men’s violence against women and may be distressing* This week a supporter contacted us after coming across a disturbing image on Golfporn’s Facebook page. The picture, which showed a woman being kicked off a cliff after suggesting her male partner sell his golf clubs, “did not violate community […]
When boys say sorry to girls: the transformative power of challenging harmful messages about masculinity
Empowering boys to change Recently I addressed Year 10 girls and boys at a school in NSW. During question time at the end of my presentation, one of the young women read out a Facebook post by a male peer, filled with disparaging descriptions of the girls in his class. The girls were clearly […]
‘I think a bullet might hurt a little bit less than this loneliness’: The Instagram fad normalising suicidal yearnings as fashionable
‘The glamorising and approval of teen girl audiences of the captioned desire to depart from life is surely one of the most dangerous digital conversations unfolding today’ These postings provide a snapshot of the Instagram dialogue trending amongst Australian adolescent girls. It is a virtual battleground of life and death on the popular image-sharing […]
Chemist Warehouse forced to remove ‘virgin’ sex toy
Company slammed for aiding sexual fantasies for young girls On Tuesday night, young Melbourne supporter (and kayaking buddy) Verity Thompson sent me a link through Facebook messenger, to the website of Chemist Warehouse, which featured a disembodied ‘virgin pussy’ – a replica vagina of a young girl with ‘realistic hymen’ just waiting for a man […]
Porn before first kiss: MTR on ABC 7:30 Report
Porn’s distortions need addressing in schools say educators The ABC filmed me addressing students at Healthdale Christian College in Melbourne last Wednesday. Some of the students were interviewed – hear how well they articulate the issues! (click on image below for link to video) MELINDA TANKARD REIST, AUTHOR, ADVOCATE FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS: Our boys […]
13 year old girls as ‘Boner Garage’ click bait: the latest trend in the pornified worlds of teen girls
How sexualised behaviour has become the new normal While the content was disturbing, it was encouraging to wake up to the front page of The Australian on the weekend and see the issues myself and my colleagues write and speak about most days, reflected on the front page. A news piece titled ‘Click bait: kids […]
My online harasser tried to pimp me out online
Activist speaks out about mock twitter account, rape, death threats and police inaction By Caitlin Roper Earlier this year, Germaine Greer argued that women now are worse off than ever, citing the proliferation of pornography and the level of harassment and abuse directed toward women on social media as evidence. I tend to agree. For […]
Twitter, feminism and mean girls
‘What I’ve learned from Twitter is that it doesn’t matter what I do. It didn’t matter what I’ve done, what I’ve said, what I’ve written. My body of work doesn’t matter and my actual thoughts don’t matter. Not to those who have decided to hate me’ I’ve got a problem with Meghan Murphy and her […]
‘I bloody hate u bitch’: more fan mail from the Brosphere
This message from a special fan landed in my public profile Facebook inbox this morning. I won’t include his name, as he would probably enjoy that too much. You are a dickhead. You fk’n leso feminist. I bloody hate u bitch. You always have something to say. I bet you think “Playgirl” with pictures of […]
I’m telling your mum: How one young woman dobbed in an online harasser – to his mum!
Dolly June: Skip straight to the second half of the mag for anything of substance
Readers wanting something of substance from Dolly’s June issue would do best to skip the first half and go straight to the second. Articles on self-harm, hate pages and unhealthy attitudes toward food redeem the insubstantial nature of the pages that go before. ‘Would you “like” a hate page?’ explores the phenomenon of online hate […]
Tax office admits it gave ‘unacceptable’ response to MTR complaint re sexist tweet
Apologies for the way I was treated and undertakings to improve It wasn’t easy doing this. But now the Australian Public Service Commission and the Australian Tax Office is on the record on oath saying that policy and practice will change for the better. This is how the ABC reported it: The head of the […]