30 is the new black

When the saying ‘I am woman, hear me roar’ was coined, I don’t think women being called cougars and depicted as ‘preying’ on younger men was exactly what they had in mind.

A woman dating a man ten or years younger than herself is no difference to a man dating a younger woman but once again, women are reduced to and defined by their sexuality.

But is it really women who are furthering the cougar movement as the media and popular culture would like to suggest or are aggressive young cubs pursuing older women eager for some Mrs Robinson action?

I would like to  put an argument forward that it is the latter rather than the former.

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Social Media is a double-edge sword. On one hand, it’s nice to have a medium to catch up with friends who live interstate and more importantly around the world.

On the other hand, it’s also a handy platform for the sexualisation of women and cyber bullying and a breeding ground for sexual predators, paedophiles and stalkers.

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Indigenous model Samantha Harris has landed the coveted cover of the June 2010 issue of Vogue onsale today. She is only the second Aboriginal model to appear on the cover of the fashion bible, the first being Elaine George in 1993.

It is very rare to see a black model on the Australian cover of a magazine (not including celebrities and singers). Mia Freedman let us in on an industry secret back in 2005 that black models apparently do not sell magazines.

Naomi Campbell is an outspoken advocate of more racial diversity in the fashion industry and constantly speaks out about the lack of representation of black models.

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As some of you know, I have naturally curly hair. Growing up with afro curly hair in the ’80s was not as easy as it sounds.

Blessed with corkscrew curls and an unruly mane that no comb could tame, I tried every hair product on the limited Australian market to control my curls.

As the ’80s perm became passé, I realised that I was one of only a few waving the naturally curly hair flag.

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They say families that play together stay together but what happens when that line crosses over into sexual abuse? Allegations came to light this week that Sarah Monahan who played ‘Jenny’ on Hey Dad, one of Australia’s longest running and most successful TV shows, was molested on the set from the age of nine. Read more »

I’ve been dismayed and shocked by the vitriolic and hateful comments directed at Lara Bingle.

She may or may not have been aware that she was dating a married man and she may or may not have been out to wreck his marriage but this happened three years ago when she was a teenager. Since then she has been in a long term relationship and is engaged to be married.

It amazes me that ‘news’ about Lara Bingle is in the same newspapers as the article about a landmark court decision that allowed a young girl to successfully seek compensation for being bullied as a child? However, adult bullying is allowed to go on whether it’s bullying via the media, politicians bullying each other, workplace bullying or even bullying amongst our friends and family.

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Lara Bingle’s career has hit another speed bump this week with an image of her naked in Woman’s Day.

Apparently the image was taken without her consent and originally circulated by former lover AFL player Brendan Fevola to team mates years ago. The photo was offered to major newspaper outlets who decided in their better judgement not to publish the image.

It is really of no surprise to me that a woman editor of a high profile magazine decided to publish the image. Another step backwards for feminism and sadly another step forward in circulation for Woman’s Day.

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