All posts tagged: equality

Happy International Women’s Day, hell yeah!

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Happy International Women’s Day. From the African woman who goes without food so her child can eat; from the Syrian refugee who puts her baby on a boat to a better life; from the lawyer or politician who advocates for equal rights; from the stay-at-home Mum gaining pleasure from the school run; from the wheel-chair user; from the butch/tomboy lesbian who wants no kids but to fix cars instead; from the Artist, the sex worker, the cleaner, the chef, the corporate Queen, the cashier: WOMEN ARE AMAZING. Happy International Women’s Day, and won’t it be a great fucken day when we no longer have to have this day, because we have Equality? I honour and celebrate EVERY WOMAN EVERY WHERE DOING WHATEVER SHE WANTS/NEEDS TO BE HERSELF, TO SURVIVE AND HOPEFULLY THRIVE, and to my dear old Mum, my first experience of Woman, who absolutely taught me to be a Feminist, first and foremost. I truly think that’s her greatest gift to me, and I have passed it on to my son, which I believe …

World Wednesday: Oprah is trending because we need her to

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So you must have seen her Golden Globes speech? If not, go Google it now, and we’ll wait for ya… ‘H’ and I watched it with tears in our eyes- both usually a bit cynical about all that ‘celebrity stuff’, yet absolutely moved by her sincerity, power, and integrity. Now I’m totally on the #Oprah2020 and #oprahforpresident movement! The world needs a drastic change of direction: environmentally, economically, even emotionally. I’ve spent years watching Oprah consistently expanding and exploring both heart and mind; she taught me so much about marginalised communities, and most importantly, about all the positive, grassroots campaigns quietly going on in neighbourhoods to counteract huge problems. Sure, sometimes she waffled on about the Top Ten fashion mistakes, but then she’d meet with the Dalai Lama and meditate for world peace, so she’s still got my loyalty. In my opinion (and of course this is my blog, so you’re getting it), Donald Trump represents the last, atrocious, dying breath of the ‘Old Way’- the exploitative, corporate, consumerist-based, Patriarchally-focussed, ego-driven, narcissistic, sexist, racist, homophobic …

Blog tales for the Over 50s with positive ageing, dating & relationships

When your teenage son asks if you’re a feminist

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‘Yes. Absolutely 100%. Totally, dedicated, committed, Yes!’ I replied. He shrugged, in that gangly, wide-collar-bone way so many teenagers have, and said: ‘Yeah, so am I; it’s just obvious isn’t it?’ My heart nearly burst with pride, and my eyes teared up over our cereal bowls. But I kept my cool, and made a casual remark about how great it was he thought that, and what a shame he wasn’t running the country entire world (he often teases me for my over-enthusiasm; I really don’t know what he means). That was last year. Yesterday, on March 7 2016, the day before International Women’s Day, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) released their updated report ‘Gender Pay Gap – Over the Life Cycle’, which sums up its findings with this nugget of shame: “Australian women are financially disadvantaged at every key stage of their life: in childhood, at the workplace, through pregnancy, motherhood and as a carer, and in retirement.” This is why I’m a Feminist. I care about financial equality because we live in a …