Culture
Onscreen diversity
Why the jobs of female characters in movies matter
CLEM BASTOW 8:25am A new UN-backed study on gender representation in the on-screen workforce shows its slim pickings for women. Here's why that needs to change.
Gender stereotyping
Consultancy firm McKinsey tries to woo Stanford's female business students with free manicures
Rob Moran 1:02pm Oh dear.
Clementine Ford
Is Gone Girl's Amy Dunne a misandrist?
CLEMENTINE FORD And should we even care? [Warning: spoilers ahead]
Texts from your ex
Texts From Your Ex: The Instagram account we can all relate to
Radhika Sanghani A new Instagram account asks users to send in real texts from their exes with hilarious results.
James Deen
Is James Deen the 'porn star for women'?
Jane Cadzow Why the 28-year-old is being hailed as the poster boy of female-friendly porn.
YouTube sexism
How young women joined forces against misogynistic YouTuber Sam Pepper
Reni-Eddo Lodge Since the online star's "ass pinch" video went viral, female fans and YouTubers have sought to expose the misogynistic underbelly of vlogging.
Real life
Growing up, all I wanted was to be white
Gabrielle Wang Children's author Gabrielle Wang on the importance of diversity in children's literature.
Parents get sequel
Go the F--- to Sleep author's new book tells children they need to f---ing eat
SARAH THOMAS A sequel is coming soon to the 2011 hit book Go the F--- to Sleep.
The one with the writer
How did they all stay Friends?
Nick Allen Twenty years on from the first episode, the writer of the original series tells why Friends could have been a flop.
Righting reading habits
More men need to read books written by women
Aviva Tuffield By the time young boys leave school they are so used to reading male authors their world view becomes narrowed.
The Godmother?
Five films we'd like to see remade with female leads
Radhika Sanghani Following rumours Ghostbusters is being remade with an all-female cast here are five other classic movies that would benefit from having women in the starring roles
Social media
Facebook's 'Share 10 books' has restored my faith in social media
Daisy Buchanan Social media campaigns enocuraging users to perform ever-more extreme stunts have left Daisy Buchanan cold. But a new meme, encouraging online friends to share their top books has made her fall back in love with Facebook.
Happy birthday Amy
Four times Amy Poehler is the greatest
CLEMENTINE FORD Happy birthday, you beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk-ox.
Huff lessons
What Arianna Huffington can teach us about success and failure
SARAH MACDONALD The charismatic media mogul has a public conversation with Annabel Crabb in Sydney last night.
Sexism in gaming
Death threats force feminist game critic to flee her home
James 'DexX' Dominguez Anita Sarkeesian, a prevalent feminist video game critic, was forced to flee her home this week after explicit death threats.
Feminist classics
Why you should be watching Pre-Code films
Emma Alsop Back in the 30s, stars like Harlow, Stanwyck and Mae West ruled cinema with strong characters, brave performances and tons of class.
Vagina art
What can we learn from the 'Gay Men Draw Vaginas' project?
JEN VUK What began as a weird goof-off between friends has become something much more positive.
Beyonce & TSwift
Pop music is having a feminist awakening (again)
CLEM BASTOW All the women who independent, throw your hands up at me.
GoT nudity
Cersei Lannister’s naked GoT walk ’banned by church’
Nudity may be normal in King’s Landing, but one Game of Thrones actress has reportedly been banned from baring her breasts while filming on location.
Girl talk
Do you talk like a girl?
NATALIE REILLY It's called linguistic appropriation and it happens more than you think.
Overdue respect
Six accomplished women in maths and science who deserve more respect
RUBY HAMAD From Maryam Mirzakhani to Rosalind Franklin, let's give some overdue recognition to women who have been smashing it in the sciences for centuries.
Why aren't more people watching Please Like Me?
Debi Enker What’s the matter with you people? Why aren’t you watching one of the best comedies on TV?
Female gaze
Why Guardians Of The Galaxy is so popular with women and what that means for Marvel
CLEM BASTOW Given the enthusiastic female response to Pratt’s amped up body, it’s tempting to speculate as to whether or not Marvel have slowly been cottoning on to the power of the female gaze.
Rom-com relatability
Is 'The Lunchbox' the perfect indie love story?
NEHA KALE A new film from India is challenging the way Western audiences watch romantic movies.
Melissa George
Melissa George: enjoying the good life
ED GIBBS Croissants, a babe in arms and a new film ... this Aussie actor has much to be happy about.
Uncomfortable truths
Nine times we think we're being logical (but we're really not)
Dr Ben Ambridge We might like to think that our decisions are generally based on careful consideration of evidence and facts, but science tells us we're fools. Poor, poor fools.
Books
Roald Dahl 'creepy' cover redesign: 'Why not just get Rolf Harris to design the next one?'
Anita Singh A publisher's attempt to cash in on the trend for adults reading children's books backfired when it was accused of sexualising the cover to Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Literary crush
Everything you've always wanted to ask Jeanette Winterson
ALECIA SIMMONDS Love, relationships, mothers, madness... and Tony Abbott.
Defensive tweeting
A beginner's guide to defensive tweeting
ANDREW P STREET Key learnings from disasterous Twitter comebacks.
Hollywood
A female superhero won't solve Hollywood's gender problem
Fans, bloggers and filmmakers are fed up with the way women and minorities are underrepresented.
Ukraine Is Not A Brothel
The most controversial thing about FEMEN is no longer their nudity
CLEM BASTOW Melbourne film maker Kitty Green documents her experiences in the Ukraine, caught up in the group’s ascent.
Bro country culture
Is Maddie & Tae’s Girl In A Country Song a successful gender flip or fail?
CLEM BASTOW The country music hit claims to turn the tables on bro country culture.
Heigl hate
It's time we all gave Katherine Heigl a break
CLEM BASTOW Because no body is perfect and being 'difficult' is not a crime.
Creepy plotlines
Your favourite movies from the past were actually pretty offensive
NATALIE REILLY [Trigger warning: discussion of rape and sexual assault]
Erotic censorship
Painting pulled from exhibition because of “disgusting” pubic hair
Luke Malone Artist Leena McCall's semi-nude female portrait was removed from a London gallery to protect "children and vulnerable adults".
TV Queen
A love letter to Elaine Benes
CLEM BASTOW On the 25th anniversary of Seinfeld Clem Bastow explains why Elaine Benes is her favourite comic creation of all time.
What would Sarah Ferguson do?
JACQUELINE MALEY 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson on pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and never backing down from a challenge.
Dominic Knight
In defence of the daggy friend
DOM KNIGHT Daggy Friends are kind and loyal, and Dom Knight thinks they deserve better treatment in Hollywood.
A cultural icon
The invention of the 'supermodel'
Kathleen Horton How the idea of the 'supermodel' came to be.
Art of recaps
Do TV recaps make us feel less alone?
NATALIE REILLY The psychology behind your TV recapping habit.
You need to watch 'The World Before Her'
RUBY HAMAD When women are asked to embrace your “true inferior nature” or exploit their sexuality.
Win her back campaign
The false romance of "winning her back"
CLEM BASTOW Sometimes life just does not need the grand romantic gesture.
Parenting don'ts
Parenting lessons from Game of Thrones
PAUL CHAI Some dos and don'ts from the parents of the Seven Kingdoms.
Basic bitches
The evolution of the basic bitch
NICOLE ELPHICK The problem with being a basic bitch isn't what you first might think.
Small talk to high drama
I'm the guy who drums up the romance on reality TV
Amanda Hess The art of turning small talk into high drama.
Ultimate 90s flashback
Important life lessons from Jason Priestley's memoir
LAUREN SMELCHER SAMS Let's relive the 90s in 243 pages, shall we?
Filmic boyfriends
Introducing the Manic Pixie Dream Dude
Clem Bastow Could the latest genre of filmic boyfriends be a win for women?
Life of a TV recapper
The (unexpected) pleasures and sorrows of writing TV recaps
ANDREW P STREET Andrew P Street attempts to justify an entire genre of pop-journalism.
First person art
Artist Lee Price explores the hidden world of binge eating
After struggling with her own food challenges, artist Lee Price began painting a deeply personal series of self-portraits.
Indo pop
You should know who Agnez Mo is already
CLEM BASTOW When it comes to visibility within pop Asian women have served as 'decoration' for far too long.
Environmental rock star
How Jane Goodall changed our view of humanity
SARAH MACDONALD Beloved primatologist Jane Goodall on the gap we need to bridge between the human mind and heart.
RIP Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou and why accessible poetry is so important
Matt Petronzio Maya Angelou's work gave — and continues to give — young readers and poetry beginners a way in.
The Illusionists
The Illusionists: 'Happy people make bad consumers'
NICOLE ELPHICK A new documentary examines how corporations profit from our anxieties.
The Fictional Woman
Tara Moss: ‘I kept the story locked up in me for 20 years’
SUSAN WYNDHAM Author Tara Moss opens up about her experience of sexual violence, feminism and sexist labels in a brave new memoir.
TV's best bad ass single women
CLEMENTINE FORD Clementine Ford on the best small screen broads to get acquainted with.
New female voices
Ten female singers you should know about
Alexander Anderson There's no shortage of women waiting in the wings take your ears by storm.
Lorde V paparazzos
Lorde was right to pursue her 'stalker' paparazzo
CLEM BASTOW The new rules of acceptable and unacceptable when it comes to being famous.
