Spinifex poet Louise Crisp has collaborated with musician Tom Fitzgerald on Grasses, a poetic text on the water and environmental issues around the Snowy River. Listen to Grasses on ABC's Poetica.
A new review of Spinifex classic The Idea of Prostitution by Sheila Jeffreys has been published online at Ciaroscuro:
"The book questions liberal notions about what it means to be a woman in today’s society in which certain practices are still tolerated or have been normalised, showing an underlying view of women that is entirely patriarchal and misogynous."
Sandy Jeffs' memoir, Flying With Paper Wings: Reflections on Living With Madness got a great wrap in The Age a couple of weekends back. Reviewer Carmel Bird enthused: '...again and again the narrator comes back from the hell that lives in her own head - comes back with wit and grace and a kind of poetic flourish'.
NSW Government Whip, Greg Donelley MLC has expressed dismay at Cotton On's ongoing promotion of raunchy baby t-shirts, despite promises to remove them from outlets. Donnelly cited the American Psychological Association's 2007 Task Force Report on the Sexualisation of Girls as clear evidence of the negative impacts on child development of our increasingly pornified society. He went on to highlight Getting Real as a 'status report' on the issue, saying that, 'Australia can be proud that we have some of the world's most outstanding advocates and activists on this most important public policy matter'.
Susan Hawthorne will discusss art and nature with historian and biographer Janine Burke and curator Susan McCulloch at Eltham Bookshop, Thurs 10 December.
Where: Long Gallery, Montsalvat, Hillcrest Ave, Eltham (near the swimming pool) Time: 7-9pm Date: Thurs 10 December Cost: $10 (includes refreshments)
Bookings and enquiries: Eltham Bookshop, tel 9439 8700 or elthambookshop@bigpond.com
An article on Getting Real, 'Girls gone wild: One woman is trying to say no to our increasingly sexualised culture', was printed in the West Australian on the 11th of November. It features an interview with Melinda and notes that 'the pieces in Getting Real are far from prudish. They pull no punches'. You can find an excerpt from the article with our other Getting Real reviews.
The Hobart Mercury published an article 'Calls for girls to fight ad sexism', coinciding with the Tasmanian launch of Getting Real. It includes Melinda's 'hit list' of brands to boycott:
Pepsi, for its 'Score Every Hour' advertising campaign for mobile phones, teaching men how to 'score' with various female stereotypes.
Dove, for its 'Real Beauty' campaign that used airbrushed models, as well as its skin whitening products.
Lynx for highly sexualised advertising.
Playboy, for targeting young girls with its products.
Ms Tankard Reist also urged young girls to stop reading magazines like Dolly, saying they were still sending wrong messages about topics like underage sex.
On November 20th, Diane Bell, editor of Listen to Ngarrindjeri Women Speaking, will deliver the keynote address "River Stories" at Community Innovators, the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia 2009 National Conference in Brisbane.
