When did I become such a Greeny fuck? (and why you should, too)

For those of you who have me on Facebook, you may, MAY have noticed that in the last 6 months or so, I’ve jumped on my Greens soapbox more than once (conservative estimate). There is reason to the rhyme.

The Greens may not take up this line as their official slogan, but here’s the nuts and bolts of it: Aren’t you sick of this shit? Governments that refuse to properly tax multinational corporations, that refuse to acknowledge evidence when “crafting” policy about the environment, the economy, and social welfare? A government that politicises refugees to the point where they’re being raped in detention and Abbott acts like it’s in inevitability we must accept? Constant foot-in-mouth comments abound, more revealing about values and ideology than mere missteps from the person elected to represent us. I don’t know about you, but I am sufficiently embarrassed.

Aren’t you over an Opposition that essentially rolls over and dies on the grave of our civil liberties at great economic cost, in some weird bipartisan effort against the scary terrorists who apparently can only be caught by metadata? (Hint: they can’t). I seem to be hearing a bit recently about how we have to support Labor if we want any real change in parliament. “Change from within”, etc. Now, Greens, myself included,scoff at this line, because it always seems to apply to Labor when it’s used. That doesn’t mean we oppose the sentiment in a general sense. Sure, change can happen from within. It happens in The Greens all the time. Hell, all our policies are crafted through this very system. But mechanisms need to be in place to allow change to occur. The Greens is founded on grassroots democracy, and in NSW specifically, mechanisms are in place (such as reaching consensus amongst ordinary members) that allow the party to be a place of growth and dynamism.

Sing me this song though: When was the last time that the Left faction of Labor had a huge impact on the party? Beyond some tokenistic bone thrown to keep you on the hook? Foley only just came round to accepting marriage equality after what, like a decade of it happening in so many other developed and developing countries globally, and after over 60% of Australians were revealed to support it. That’s hardly brave, paving the way, or standing up for human rights. And the federal government didn’t even bother passing it before they were ousted in 2013.

If we are to examine the facts, if there has been any “change from within” from Labor, it’s been from the right faction of the party. Adopting a “fuck off, we’re full” asylum seeker policy, continuing NT intervention in indigenous communities that has resulted in more children being taken off their parents than during the Stolen Generations , supporting proven ineffective (and astronomically expensive) data retention laws. On the state level, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves after ICAC investigations revealed how deeply corruption runs in the party. Convinced that Labor will stop CSG mining and stop the sale of public assets? You only need to look at the recent Queensland election to see Labor’s hypocrisy at its height: campaigning on a platform against building a coal port in The Great Barrier Reef, they’ve turned around a month after election and given the ok to the whole plan. I don’t know about you, but I don’t trust them to stick to their word. Whatever you think Labor was before, they’re not now. Gillard herself admitted that Labor are not a progressive party.  This is absolutely correct. If you consider yourself progressive, Labor does not stand for you.

Some people vote Labor because they think they are the closest they will get to a progressive party that has any power; an unhappy strategy vote. Some voters that I’ve spoken to in the course of the Newtown campaign reluctantly believe that a two-party system is the only future ahead for our democracy. This is only true if you vote like it is; a case of thinking it making it so.

There has been a widespread belief that The Greens is only a protest party. Firstly, I want you to think about why you believe this. Who told you? Which media outlets supply this information, and why might it be in their interests to tell you this? We are often told that we have no vision or alternative to offer. To that I call bullshit. For an uplifting, inspiring spiel about the intricacies of The Greens plan for the future, listen to Senator Scott Ludlam’s Welcome to WA speech here, viewed almost 1 million times. Take a look at our kick-ass fully-costed Transport plan for NSW by 2020, and a $20 billion infrastructure and housing plan. Or just wander over to the ‘policies’ section of the NSW Greens website, and have a browse for yourself. We have a vision, mates. And it’s achievable.

I have been getting steadily more involved in The Greens. Honestly, it’s been so goddamn rewarding to be working within a grassroots structure and having intelligent policy discussion and debate. I really believe that there is potential for the party to make a marked difference in the future of Australian politics. We already have in the past when we’ve held the balance of power in the Senate. And we’ve influenced public debate on things like the environment when a decade ago the major parties wouldn’t touch these issues unless you gave them a bottle of Grange.

So wherever you are in NSW this Saturday, from the Western Suburbs to the Northern Beaches, from Newtown or Balmain to Lismore or Ballina, If you consider yourself a progressive, I ask you to give your vote to the Greens. I know I will be.

NSW CrimeStoppers: Committing Crimes against Web Design and Humanity.

We’re all pretty aware that government and non-for-profit websites aren’t exactly beacons of technologically innovative badassery, but community-based organisation CrimeStoppers really takes the cake. Not only is their NSW site amazing because of its decade-old state of perfect preservation, but because of these images that some smartass intern managed to get through without ANYONE BATTING AN EYELID.

Behold:

Help us finger a crook? Really? Do you need more than one person to do it? Shit, I didn’t even know it was legal. But you know, necessary, because DRUGS.

Also, you might notice that there are various combinations of 0s and 1s in the fingerprint, because each fingerprint is unique and binary code is made up entirely of zeroes and ones, something something we are tech-savvy professionals and definitely not a bunch of 50 year olds who wouldn’t know a scare tactic from a rape threat.

Moving on!

Nothing says “don’t take drugs” like a phone number written in a line of cocaine. But without referring to the horrible Photoshop job, I think we can all agree that this is not even close to realistic! Like, come on, if you have enough coke to make ten decently-sized digits, you don’t snort it with a 20 dollar bill. I want to see hundred dollar bills and at least three maxed out credit cards. Amateurs.

The question of how on earth we are meant to report crime to an agency that clearly thinks snorting sherbert and fingering criminals are rational courses of action remains. Maybe just inject some marijuanas, and don’t think about it.

Hey Tony baby, next time can you buy me breakfast? Because I like to be wined and dined after I get FUCKED.

Allow me to precursor this article by saying that I’m not surprised, nor do I care that Abbott and the LNP lied and broke some election promises. To think that they wouldn’t is pure naivety, and it is the nature of politics and politicians to sometimes go back on their word, for better or for worse. No, I think what needs to be debated is the extent to which they lied and misled the public about a budget emergency, and have disproportionately laid the unnecessarily heavy burden on the shoulders of the poorest and most vulnerable in the nation in the name of the “national interest”.

Over here on my fantastical pedestal that is my Italian adventure, I received the news of the long-awaited Australian budget. You may be thinking that I am suffering some bizarrely boring form of home-sickness, and that may very well hold some weight. But more than that was the looming anxiety that this conservative budget was going to affect me, and many others like me, in an incredibly adverse way.

Lo and behold, it was a more violent kick to the genitalia that I had been anticipating. Now, while there are obviously a wealth of budget groin-kicks affecting damn near all of the vulnerable (senior citizens, poor families, Indigenous communities and foreign aid recipients), I’m going to be focusing here on the impact on students and young people from a personal perspective. For a great overview of the budget’s effects on each sector of society, click here.

As a uni student from a working class background and living out of home, I am a Youth Allowance recipient. I don’t know what I would do without it: with the unreliability of hours from several casual jobs that I have held whilst studying, there have been some weeks where Youth Allowance covered my rent and groceries. However, even with limited hours, a casual job is generally necessary along with the allowance, and even then I can only afford to live an hour and a half from my university and place of employment. These circumstances make it incredibly difficult to be able to afford to take the time to complete an (inevitably) unpaid internship in my field of Communications, an experience that is practically essential experience to landing a graduate position. While I am working on arranging to hopefully do one soon, the pressure has been upped. You see, it’s rare for an Arts or Communications student to waltz straight into full-time employment at the end of their degree. Places are limited and graduates are numerous; it can realistically take 6 months to a year to find full-time employment. However under the new Budget, anyone under the age of 30 and not working or studying will not be eligible for Newstart (i.e, the dole), for the first 6 months. For the following six months, they will be eligible for it as long as they work 25 hours a week at well below the minimum wage, doing what can tactfully be described as “shitkicker jobs”, like cleaning graffiti. This process will continue until the person turns 30 or gets a job, whichever comes first.

This policy is problematic, not least because it feeds into the rhetoric that everyone who is young and unemployed is simply being too lazy or too choosy. “A job’s a job” is the tired mantra. And yes, I suppose when it comes down to a choice between eating and starving, between having a roof over our heads or languishing homeless in the streets, then yes, I suppose a job is a job. But where is the foresight in forcing graduates trying to start their career into an entry level retail or fast food job for close to full-time hours just to live, and thus taking away the valuable time needed to search for employment, go to interviews, and build a portfolio? In the immediate aftermath of graduating, the focus should be on finding longer-term employment that will jumpstart the chosen career path, not prioritizing a dead-end job just to make ends meet. But this is what will happen, because being alive in the short term is inconveniently necessary for any long-term plan.

So in lieu of the above scenario, the assumption is that parents will support their adult children in the event of unemployment. Obviously this is not an option for everyone, either because the parents are unable to (fair enough, if I had kids I wouldn’t consider that I might still need to be heavily supporting them at age 23), or they are unwilling to. “Perhaps the answer lies elsewhere”, I hear you eloquently think. “Perhaps postgraduate study to better your chances of finding employment in your chosen career.”

Ah, but here’s the (ultimate) crotch kicker: from 2016, students will have to pay 20% more of our degrees (we currently pay about 40%). University fees will become uncapped, which means that universities will be able to hike up the price of their degrees, all in the name of global competitiveness. And, as the icing on this poisonous pigeon pie, we will now have to pay back 6% interest on our educational loans (as opposed to the current rate of 2.9%), at a salary 10% lower than the current threshold is. So if I were to do an Honour’s year, I would be subject to paying 20% more than my other years of education. Or, I can try my luck in the workforce and possibly end up completely broke if I don’t walk into a job relatively soon. Bonus fact: 16,000 public sector jobs are being cut, as well as significant funding cuts to the ABC, SBS, and Screen Australia, which pretty much covers the areas where I would be searching for ideal long-term employment.

Now, call me an ideological warrior (actually, do call me that, it makes me sound like a badass), but I always secretly hoped that I would work in a job where I would make some sort of positive impact on the world, whether it be through political satire, or marketing for a cause that will better the world. At the very least, I hope to work in a job that doesn’t actively set out to hurt and deceive people. For example, I would loathe being a part of advertising beauty products in a way that makes women feel shit about themselves by encouraging them to place their worth in their unattainable beauty, and buying overpriced crap that they don’t need; by supporting products that are potentially tested on animals, and contributing to both sexual objectification and the prioritization of a capitalist agenda above all else. Unfortunately, most of the jobs available in communications are in this calibre of marketing, and with the complete lack of funding for charities or arguably worthy causes like building awareness of climate change through the (now governmentally defunded) Climate Change Council, there aren’t a lot of options. But as someone who has studied Writing and Cultural Studies, I would love to put my knowledge and skills to something that is both rewarding and influential. I don’t want these things to go to waste to become another cog in the machine, the machine that churns out money without a corporate conscience. If this isn’t possible, why did I bother educating myself at uni? Undoubtedly, others considering a university path will think the same, and we will lose valuable potential graduates and the contributions they could’ve made with an equitable university education.

Anyway, the best that we can hope for is that Abbott will be voted out at the next election, and that the implementation of the university changes in particular won’t be irreversible. If he’s voted in for another term, I fear that reversing this legislation will be impossible. So until then, we have to stay strong and keep fighting for fair access to education, and for support of the underclasses- this empowerment will ultimately result in less people being dependent on welfare! We don’t want our university system to mirror that in the US- their gap between rich and poor is not something to be envied or to aspire to.

Maintain the rage.

Australia: The Apathetic Nation Protests

Growing up in Australia, I always thought we had it pretty good. From hearing the repetitious “the lucky country” slogan throughout school, to a life undisrupted by war, and to what appeared to be an overall contentedness in Australian society, it seemed that the attitude was widely shared. Sure, there was always this politician or that politician that did something outrageous (WorkChoices comes to mind), that would make people change their mind when voting time came around, but on the whole there wasn’t much that could mobilize Australians out of our collective apathy.  It became frustrating as a young adult to see successive governments do little about minimizing our carbon emissions, or change their conservative stance on gay marriage. But while these issues anger myself and many in our generation, the apathetic way in which we grew up made us feel powerless to do anything besides sign a few petitions online. We feel insignificant in the face of massive corporate power, which is all most of us have ever known, so we have collectively shrugged our shoulders, thrown our hands up in the air and said, “what are you gonna do?”

How times have changed in recent months. I, like many other young Australians, was positively crestfallen after the LNP victory in September last year. In fact, the whole election process was disillusioning because of the lack of choice. It seemed that both major parties were in a race to the bottom on morality, pandering to the lowest, racist, homophobic common denominator in Australian society. Egos and the right to rule were prioritized above the good of the public and intensive policy debate. The dreaded Abbott was voted in by a convincing majority. A man who has passed innumerable remarks that reveal him as sexist, racist, homophobic and simply fucking stupid ( i.e disputing the science of climate change), it was actually impossible to prepare myself for how much worse it could get. After the first few weeks following the election, I could no longer bring myself to read the news daily. It was simply depressing, story after story of Abbott landing on the side of corporate interests and corporate greed, on the side of the rich, on sheer human cruelty. I despised what Australia was becoming, and I was happy to high-tail it out of the country on student exchange.

But something strange has been happening in the last month or two. Tempers are rising. Australians are getting fed up. I was blown away to read about the massive turn out of “March in March”, against Abbott and his many policies, which brought out between 10,000-12,000 people in Sydney alone.  I’m glad that it wasn’t organized or supported by the ALP, or even by a single agenda, because the ALP is just as guilty of cruel asylum seeker policies and of pandering to the lowest common denominator, rather than having a political backbone. No, this was a protest of so many things that Australians are fed up about. As it turns out, there are a certain number of atrocious things one can do to stir us out of our apathy. From his government’s disgustingly inhumane treatment of asylum seekers, to his stance on gay marriage, to his disregard for Tasmanian forests, to his self-appointed status as Minister for Women, to his vendetta against the ABC, to his attack on low-income workers, Abbott has proved he is capable of bringing out passion in ordinary Australians that have grown up in a culture of apathy. Fiery, passionate anger, directed at none other than himself. Many of the signs at the March in March rally are simply priceless. From the sobering:

To the poignantly funny:

And to classic, Aussie straightforwardness:

Another sign, simply featuring the word “Noted”, harks back to a recent Abbott backlash, an eloquent yet scathing speech by WA Greens Senator Scott Ludlam. Here is the video in all its unadulterated glory if you haven’t yet come across it. In it, Ludlam slams Abbott for the numerous times he has firmly and irresponsibly landed on the side of “predator capitalism” and corporate interests at the expense of ordinary Australians and marginalized groups. He simply thanked Abbott for pushing voters that would have never considered voting Greens to support them, because of the “blundering and technically illiterate assistance of your leadership team”.

I first viewed this video when it was at 80, 000 hits on YouTube. Over the next week I kept a check on the video, and today it stands at a hefty 784,000 views; not bad for a speech given by a Greens member to an almost-empty Senate chamber in WA. Something in this political commentary, or many things in fact, resonated with an Australian audience. Ludlam stood up to the plate and represented those among us who are horrified at Abbott’s cruelty and complete lack of regard for human life, the environment and so much more. Discussing his misdeeds in such detail was proof to ourselves and to others that we are not simply fear-mongering, hippy left-wing nuts, but that we have legitimate reason to be appalled and righteous.

We are in for a long three years, there’s no doubt about it. All of the things that Abbott and his government have done has been in the space of six months, so we can probably expect that things aren’t going to take a turn for the better for some time. But the fact that six months has stirred so much passion for justice inspires hope. As an expatriate my heart is positively swelling with pride right now to be Australian. Finally, I am being represented in a way that is congruent with my values as a left-wing feminist who believes in equal access to healthcare, education; who believes in the fundamental human right to safe haven in our prosperous nation; who believes that renewable energy is the future and protecting our environment is in the best interests of all of us. Australians stirred out of their collective apathy by passionate justice is an Australia I am proud to represent overseas.

Secrets of the Living Dolls

So there’s a documentary that’s been circulating in the last few weeks called ‘Secrets of the Living Dolls’ that chronicles the lives of men who identify as ‘female maskers’, and dress up as life-size dolls. They don full latex suits called ‘Femskins’ complete with ‘lifelike’ breasts and vaginas-some even with pubic hair from the men inside the suits, to create a more realistic Doll. “Femskins” are actually made from the molds of two women- the top half is molded from a German woman, the bottom half from a Brazilian. One woman’s body did not suffice, evidently.

Throughout the documentary, many of the men use the terms ‘doll’, ‘female’, and ‘woman’, interchangeably, and that’s what makes this little-known subgroup so problematic.

I am overwhelmingly curious and fascinated by the many cultures and subcultures in our world. Even if I don’t agree with the way of life, I am always so intent on knowing where people come from and why they believe what they do. Only in trying to understand people different from ourselves can we find common ground. I must admit though that I have never been so spine-shudderingly creeped out by a documentary. And I have pretty much watched the complete works of Louis Theroux, who documents the lives of a whole range of colourful people, including members of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. But in my mind, none of them compare to this kind of fucked-up.

It must be stressed that living dolls are not categorically identifiable as “cross dressers” or trans. However, while most describe it as a harmless hobby, I can’t help but be completely outraged by it. These are not Cosplayers, who dress up as characters from movies or TV shows. In the lives of many of these men, dolls have replaced real-life women, or are regarded as superior to them. One man in featured in the documentary, John, describes his hobby as the emulation of a “sexy woman”. The very essence of a woman is reduced to her sexual allure, which isn’t a brand new concept, but it does take it to a whole new level. So of course I have a problem with this. However, what I find most abhorrent about this “hobby” is what these men consider to be sexually alluring. They seem to be under the impression that the stares they attract when they walk down the street are ones of pure lust. To be fair, if I saw a Doll walking down the street, I would probably stare too: in horror at the inanimate object come to life. The expressionless, staring faces mounted atop a moving body, covered in either tons of jewellery and layers of clothing, or conversely bikini triangles over latex boobs, are truly unnerving to see. To these men, this is how women should ideally look. Yes, they look like dolls. Blow up dolls.

Seventy-year-old Robert, who transforms into ‘Cherry’, a buxom bouncy blonde doll, epitomizes the notion that the Dolls represent and replace real-life women. He marvels at his reflection in the mirror, noting that if he saw an actual woman who looked this “exciting” in the street, he would pursue her. He regards himself with deliriously orgasmic excitement, gasping and sighing heavily at his reflection. He notes that women he’s dated in their 50s and 60s are “in good shape for their age” but concludes breathily that “they just don’t look anything like this…and it’s very difficult to date when you have this to come home to.”

So to Robert, a brainless, passive latex suit is more interesting than a real life 60 year old woman, who yes, probably doesn’t have the most perky breasts, but is hilarious and well-read, or has travelled the world, or loves others with a generous spirit. Why does this not surprise me?

Although these men are creating a character of sorts, a professed extension of self, they have completely neglected to attach a brain to it. There’s no acknowledgement that a woman (as a human being) should be capable of complex thoughts and emotions, of facial expressions, for God’s sake.

I am all for expressing one’s true inner self, and if that happens to be as a person born as a man dressing in female clothing or undergoing surgery to make the outside match the perceived internal gender, then so be it. But Living Dolls are not expressing “an extension of self”. No, they are creating a gross misrepresentation of the female sex for the pleasure of the men inside the suits: brainless, ageless, expressionless, passive “beauties” who serve to undermine the basic fact that women are people too.

Perhaps it was the fault of the documentary for not delving deeply enough into the motivations for female masking. However, with the information presented, I believe that the subculture of Living Dolls speaks to a broader societal problem of masculine expectations. But surely there is a better, more systemic way to escape the throes of masculinity. Embrace the supposed “feminine side” by being in touch with emotions and communicating honestly. Hell, chuck on a dress and some make up. But don’t don a latex mask and idealize it as the sexiest, most perfect kind of woman. It’s degrading. 

Oh, howdy!

So, new blog! I aim to critique cultural texts that take my fancy or capture my attention. I do not claim perfection. I’m sure my first few posts will be flawed in a multitude of ways, and I welcome constructive feedback to help me better my writing and perspective. There’s no time like the present, so I figured I should pick a place to start and just start. My first critique will be of a fascinating and unnerving documentary I came across a few weeks ago called ‘Secrets of the Living Dolls’. It’s a rather dramatic text to begin with, and the opinions I express are strong. However, I am open to discussion and I welcome your thoughts. So we begin!