2017-09-24 08:52
Dear Lush,I wish to advise you of the sub-optimal performance of your "Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair" shower gel, purchased from your online shop in the last month. While frequent… Read More
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The Hand Mirror Blog
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Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.
2017-08-21 01:29
I'm watching Gareth Morgan make some great points in his press conference. He's trying very hard to wrestle the media towards old-fashioned policy analysis, rather than new-fangled cel… Read More
2017-08-07 22:07
I have a boyfriend (please leave me alone)Yes I am totally mentally distraught about this pregnancy and would get lots worse if I had to continue (please give me an abortion)No extra flatmat… Read More
2017-07-28 00:00
Content note: discusses sexual violence, transphobia and anal sex. The tidal wave of critique Teen Vogue set off by writing an anal sex 101 post a few weeks back has just washed up in Aotear… Read More
2017-07-17 00:08
Look I know it's probably unexpected, but I don't support a female Doctor Who. Why would we do that? Why would we pretend that it's ok for a shape shifting time-travelling immortal ali… Read More
2017-07-16 05:41
Two big Auckland opportunities coming up in AugustWomen's Choice Election Forum - 7th August, 7pm, University of AucklandHeld every three years, an opportunity to hear the major parties deba… Read More
2017-06-08 23:02
In between the Comey/Trump and British election news this morning was this: Colin Craig is planning to sue Rachel MacGregor for defamation.This is yet another way of abusing his former… Read More
2017-05-22 09:33
If you ever notice that I say chicken oddly, then know that it is because I worked at a fast food outlet called Chick-Inn every Friday night, Saturday day and Sunday night for some time in m… Read More
2017-05-16 02:24
It happened, it finally happened; Early's first tantrum, a few weeks from turning two.He decided to really really go for it. At St Lukes shopping mall, from when I tried to sit us down… Read More
2017-03-26 08:44
What: Feminist Parenting ForumWho: Put on by the Auckland Women's Centre, featuring a stellar panel of Emily Writes, Tania Pouwhare and Sisilia Eteuati, all welcomeWhen: Tu… Read More
2017-03-20 17:00
The clamour for consent education in high schools is growing post the Wellington College rape comments, from journalists to petitions to sexual violence prevention groups to hundreds of seco… Read More
2017-03-20 04:09
A few things it may help to understand, from my personal observations of being very anti-abortion until I was about 16, then increasingly pro-choice to the point where now I have badges and… Read More
2017-03-07 20:23
Wellington College hit the media yesterday in ways their leadership team will not be enjoying - two of their boys were posting comments encouraging rape in a Facebook group.The similarities… Read More
2017-03-07 02:44
So there's new local research out today that the gender pay gap is a) real and b) primarily due to conscious and unconscious bias.Firstly YES. And also: it is good to have this in the public… Read More
2017-03-05 22:19
Feminism that includes trans women - and indeed trans and non-binary gender people all across the spectrum - is not a "nice to have". It's not just a matter of having a jolly conversat… Read More
2017-01-21 08:12
I've been on a lot of marches, organised a few too. I used to get very affected by the crowd feeling, overwhelmed, which isn't a problem when it's happy but was harder when it was angr… Read More
2016-12-14 04:20
There is a whopping conflict of interest buried in a horrifying article I want to write about today. First the horrifying bit: Professor Richie Poulton is waxing lyrical about wh… Read More
2016-12-05 20:17
"Do you really think it's ok for us to get here so early, John? Doesn't strike you as a little, well, unfair to hold the leadership vote without anyone here but us?""Actually Bill, I'm… Read More
2016-11-07 00:32
As a little girl growing up I briefly hated Helen Clark because I realised she would likely be NZ's first female prime minister and beat me to it. I disliked Jenny Shipley for a lot lo… Read More
2016-10-25 22:25
In 2009/10, communities won a serious victory against this government when the hated, poorly conceived, cost-cutting travesty that was the "ACC Clinical Pathway" was kicked well and truly in… Read More
2016-10-10 23:47
This National government has found it's foreshore and seabed.It's not been enough to flirt with punitive legislative changes to benefits, legal aid restrictions, fail to curb housing greed o… Read More
2016-10-01 22:22
Don Brash is my father.Not in a Darth Vader way. But sadly, I don't believe Dr Brash's views are so way out we should just laugh at the stock photos on a website featuring a gallery of… Read More
2016-07-12 06:08
Caitlin Moran and others have pointed out that the fashion for removing all pubic hair from ladyparts arose from the proliferation of pornography via the internet.Sometimes it's argued that… Read More
2016-06-13 05:01
If you thought Donald Trump's widely condemned call for women who have abortions to be punished was totally off the wall, think again. It's already happening in the USA. http://feminist… Read More
2016-05-16 07:43
In recent public debate about child poverty blame has been laid once again on parents having too many children. Correspondents and opinion piece writers have stated or implied that mor… Read More
2016-05-09 03:17
Most people have done something for which they want to be forgiven. Things they feel ashamed of, and want to do differently in the future. Maybe they've said harsh things to peop… Read More
2016-04-12 04:20
Trigger warning: child sexual abuse, victim blaming, rape culture. It's official, Mr "Prominent Man" was not convicted of indecent acts towards the two girls who said that he repeatedly touc… Read More
2016-04-08 03:45
Back in the 1960s, when the Pill became available in Aotearoa New Zealand, the New Zealand Branch of the British Medical Association (the precursor to today’s NZMA) decided it would be… Read More
2016-03-19 20:27
The Doris Gordon Memorial Trust: Honouring Our Prejudiced Past?By Morgan Healey and Alison McCulloch Over 2015, the US witnessed a groundswell of campus-based racial justice… Read More
2016-03-16 05:45
Cross posted from my usual spot Most people have heard the ‘canary in the mine” thing, but I’m just going to quickly explain. Back in the days before electronic testi… Read More
2016-03-13 23:30
Cross Posted from my usual spot.Keyboard warriors… people with nothing better to do… SJWs, unsuccessful IRL… not helping in the REAL world…I quit one of my volunt… Read More
2016-03-08 02:00
In the last week I have had cramps bad enough to require pain killers; I have lost enough blood to warrant taking a prescribed clotting agent twice daily. I have had to apply a menstrual pad… Read More
2016-02-04 03:09
I've very carefully been avoiding reading any detail about the pro-rape Return of Kings hate group. I'm sure there are lots of other people doing the same. Too hard, too awful, t… Read More
2016-01-26 22:51
Let's say a newspaper writes a beat up story about a flat advert about a household asking for heterosexual people not to apply. The article subtly ridicules all the ways the flatmates… Read More
2016-01-13 22:32
At first, I can't quite believe it. No. Please, please, no.David Bowie is dead. Facebook is grieving. Gradually, numbly, I realise it's true.I heard the first song ab… Read More
2015-08-18 02:22
Hello there folks,I am intending to write a series of posts about local government politics, with the aim of enlightening and also encouraging people, particularly the kind of people who rea… Read More
2015-08-18 02:05
What: Take Back the NightWhen: 7:00pm, Friday 28 August 2015Where: Meet Corner of Symonds St and Alfred St, Auckland Centralhttps://www.facebook.com/events/14533046449… Read More
2015-08-11 03:15
Dear Radio New Zealand,Thank you for investigating the impact of marriage equality on sexuality and gender diverse communities (which I’m going to call “queer”) in your rec… Read More
2015-07-22 06:19
There has been a lot of back and forth about the stupidity of Dom Harvey taking still frames of a woman dancing in order to get a photo of her knickers/three pairs of stockings/leotard. Firs… Read More
2015-07-21 01:23
My third child is six weeks old today. For almost all of that time he and I have been living in a kind of dim twilight world, half-lit and full of unusual faint noises, as we navigated… Read More
2015-07-13 09:50
Remember when Paul Henry wasn't sure if our Governor General was enough of a New Zealander? He wanted someone who "looked" and "sounded" "more of a New Zealander" than Anand Satyanand.Rememb… Read More
2015-07-09 03:26
Content note: explicit discussion of violence against women, violent misogyny and rape culture. They call themselves "men's rights activists," and we've let them get away with it. They… Read More
2015-06-30 02:33
Recently I've been spending a lot of time on the 9th floor of Auckland City Hospital - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is currently the temporary home of my third child, born three weeks… Read More
2015-06-08 20:31
My Facebook stream is full of feminism, queer activism, commentary on racism and funny stories about what my friends are eating/watching/doing with their children. Just like everyone e… Read More
2015-05-27 18:59
It's fair to say Andy Haden and I have different views on the world, sharing only an enjoyment of the athletic. But when he described high levels of fear of homophobia from lesbian, ga… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Part of the series Nominate 2016, hoping to open up local government a bit so y'all will at least think about running in 2016. There are many parts to the role of an elected membe… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
What to make of Chris Brown being so well supported by a handful of Māori women, some with history of working to prevent family violence, that he's tweeting them to say thank you?Quite… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Part of the series Nominate 2016, hoping to open up local government a bit so y'all will at least think about running in 2016. Fairey's Theory of AwesomenessSome elected people think t… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Anita Sarkeesian is a brave woman who speaks out about the misogyny of video games and the abuse directed at her as a result.http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/29/anita-sarkeesia… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Last night I was excited to go and see Helen Clark speak at the University of Auckland on the Role of the Rule of Law and Access to Justice in Development. I made copious notes, and tri… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
For a bit of 2012 and most of 2013 I borrowed the Auckland Frocks on Bike bike to see if I could get around on two pedals. I've written about that experience here. In November la… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
This guest post has been submitted and written by an Auckland high school student, chelsea_makita. She wrote it for a short essay for school and was encouraged to seek a wider audience… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
There's a new campaign by one of my least favourite lobby groups (Family First in case you were wondering), which is encouraging people to wear special pink and blue ribbons to say "Choose L… Read More
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