The Australia Times - TAT Girl magazine. Volume 1, issue 1

TAT GiRL

TATgirl

Photography Culture Poetry Art Food Music Fashion Life

TAT GiRL

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

VOL.1 No. 1

October 2013

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Amy Freund

E di tor

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

WHAT’S INSIDE?

Amy Freund

E d i tor

Rachel Plank

Creative Editor

Hello lovely readers! Whether you have stumbled

upon this magazine by accident or are just check-

ing out what it has to offer, welcome to TATGIRL.

TATgirl is basically a young, fun magazine that

incorporates art, culture, food and creative and

factual writings that are interesting and exciting.

Whether you love travel, music, love struck poetry

or just flicking through pages of pretty pictures,

TATgirl’s got you covered.

In case you were wondering, this is our very first

issue, and we are incredibly excited to see what

you think. We love to get insight from fresh, young

writers who are eager to get their voice heard out

there in the big world of journalism, so if you’ve

got something to say or just want to draw a pic-

ture, feel free to contribute to our next issue.

A huge thank-you to all of the contributors that

made this issue happen – you are all amazeballs!

A brief description of yourself and all submissions can

be emailed to amy.freund@theaustraliatimes.com.au

We oﬀer both veteran and undiscovered writers the opportunity to get published.

Have something to communicate, or an opinion to state, we are your voice!

Want to join a like minded community in a great project?

Click here to join us.

FORUM

COMMENT

ARCHIVE

Life as a Brunchilly girl / Life

A Hyper Heart / Poetry

What Be A Hipster? / Life

Spring into Fashion / Fashion

Spring Essentials / Photography

Avocado & Me / Food

Arte e fisicità d’Italia / Art

Redefining the F word / Culture

Groovin’ / Music

Behind the brands / Culture

Contributors:

Sandy Marie Bauer

Eilish Gilligan

Ying Wang

Amy Johnston

Zoe Kimpton

Kara Blakeley

Alexandra Saltis

Jeyda Erdogan

Sophie Boyd

Front Cover: Ying Wang

TAT GiRL

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Hi! My name is Sandy Marie Bauer and I am officially

15 years old. My everyday life is almost exactly like

yours except for the fact that I live in the middle of

nowhere and that I am surrounded by animals and

the same people 24/7.

I live on a cattl e station called ‘Brunchilly,’ which is 5,136 square

kilometers and holds 22,000 head of cattle. Brunchilly Station

is in the middle of the Northern Territory, which is located

smack bang 13 hours south of Darwin and 1 ½ hours north

of Tennant Creek which is our nearest small town. Brunchilly

is one of fifteen properties owned by Sir Sidne y Kidman & Co.

(Look him up!)

My family and I came here in 2004, when I had just

turned six. Originally my Nan and Grandad were

managing the property and we were just doing the

family trip up to visit them for a couple of weeks.

During this time my dad got offered a job as a ma-

chinery operator, so he accepted and we moved all

the way from ‘Emu Creek’ QLD, to ‘Brunchilly Sta-

tion, NT. I didn’t think it was anything to worry about

until we got back to QLD and we had to say good-

bye to our school friends!

We had moved into our new house over two weeks.

I didn’t find it too hard to be in such a remote place

after I saw all of the things that we could do out

here. We were allowed to help with the weaner

branding and we got to rear the poddy calves. Not

to mention in the first year I was loaned a white

Albino mare called Mystery, who I later bought off

my aunty. During the first year dad went from the

‘Machinery Operator’ to the ‘Bore Mechanic.’

We had a completely new way of doing school

work; it was a thing called ‘Distance Education’ and

our mum was to be our teacher.

As part of our distance education, we did all of our

classes that we once did face to face over the radio.

This was a lot harder than I first thought it would be,

you were forever trying to hear what your teacher

wanted you to do!

Not to mention the only friend about my age on the

Life as a

Brunchilly girl

“I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

station was my older sister!

I appreciate living remotely because I appreciate

what I have. Everything that I have, I have bought

myself through birthday money and pocket mon-

ey. The biggest things that I own, that I have paid

for myself, are my two horses and my camera and

accessories.

In January last year I bought a Pentax K-r DSLR, I

learnt how to use it and then I decided to start up

my photography page with the goal to show every-

one, the place where I live and why I like it so much.

At the age of 14 it seemed like a pretty big goal to

take photos of a rural place in an interesting way so

that people actually liked the photos. My business

‘A Little Piece of Heart Photography’ (Check out my

Facebook page!) has grown so much over a year, I

have bought myself 3 different lenses, a tripod and I

have been gifted a bigger camera bag and heaps of

props for my 15th birthday!

Photography went from a hobby to one of my favourite things,

and gives me the opportunity to sh are my life with others.

I am in year 10 now and currently doing school

through NTOEC (Northern Territory Open Educa-

tion Centre) which is located in Darwin, I am doing

a VET course in Photography to further my skills in

that area. At the start of term one and term three

we have a Residential school where we travel on

the bus for 14 hours to participate in classes for a

week. Next year I will be completing Year 11 pho-

tography and focusing on building my portfolio, I

will also be taking business courses to help with my

business!

The only downside to living remotely is when you

go to town to go shopping the shop assistants al-

ways wonder why you are buying 10 pairs of shorts

in one go!

But I wouldn’t change it for the world, I love the

rural life.

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

Photo: Sandy Marie Bauer

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

A well-loved poem of mine is this one by Shane Koy-

czan. No one, to my knowledge, has expressed morn-

ing sentiment better. I’ve been told that people in

the army do more by 7:00 am than I do in an entire

day But if I wake at 6:59 am and turn to you to

trace the outline of your lips with mine I will have

done enough and killed no one in the process.

I always wake up before he does. Always, and I wish

I could kiss his perfect sleeping body up and down

and all over without disturbing him. But I can’t, so I lie

patiently as the sun rises, watching as he glows in his

A HYPER HEART

sleep. His eyelids flutter as he dreams and he shud-

ders with some mad thought that will be gone when

his day begins. I wonder what it was. Quietly I slip

out from under his arms and pull some clothes on, the

thin fabric barriers that separate our bodies during

the day. I barely brush his cheekbone with the side

of my hand with as much tenderness as I can muster,

then leave the room.

I eat my breakfast alone. I like the routine of it; open-

ing the little portion-controlled sachet of oats, mea-

suring the milk, heating it up, mixing, then heating

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

Photo: Eilish Giligan

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

again. Pour coffee. Strong, milky. Add cinnamon to

porridge, burn tongue, read yesterday’s newspaper. I

like knowing how much food I have put in my body at

that time, and I like the push into consciousness that

the strong coffee gives me. I’m suddenly capable of

beginning the day. Next is his breakfast. Everything

fried, everything buttery, everything delicious. I love

to cook food for him that I would never eat; eggs

over easy, greasy bacon, loads of Turkish bread and

fried tomatoes and mushrooms and baked beans, all

stacked ma jestically and precariously onto one plate.

My lover is impossibly thin, tall, and humble. He eats

everything I cook for him, no matter what it is or if it’s

burnt or cold or in silly excess. I love him madly when

he eats the mountainous breakfasts I have brought

to him; he does it because I am so afraid to. He lets

me pick fussily at single beans off of the side of his

plate, and kisses me with his bacon mouth when he’s

finished.

For more visit:

Eilish Gilligan

http://eilish-gilligan.blogspot.com.au/

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

They thrive in Melbourne’s hid-

den laneways and grungy under-

ground venues, sipping soy caps

with listless eyes and fingers that

tousle scraggly hair. Everyone has

a personal definition of what a

hipster aims to be, but what does

calling something hipster or being

called hipster actually mean?

If you sit on the lush flowing green

of the State Library’s lawn, prime

examples of the social phenome-

non trot past. They graze in grun-

gy packs with trademark paisley

collars and rolled up jeans in deep

jewel tones.

Hipsters are largely constructed

through fashionable knowhow

with clear visual calling cards to

yell out: “Name’s River. And I’m

hip.” But there’s a distinct cast

that River must fit to meet ex-

pectations of what has become

stereotypically ‘alternative.’

They bear shirts with loud off-

beat prints, sweeping fringes that

What Be

a Hipster?

dangle precariously across di-

shevelled eyes, skinny jeans rolled

up at the ankles and Aztec print

rucksacks. Rolled up sleeves re-

veal thin bodies and an unofficial

colour palette of mustard, burgun-

dy, bottle green, navy and black

cover their limbs.

Branching off from old sister term

‘indie’, hipster has become a new

lingo that differentiates from the

original definition of true inde-

pendence that ‘indie’ offers. ‘Indie’

derived from the independent

music genre attributed to individ-

uals truly alternative and far, far

away from the bright green city of

mainstream.

‘Hipster’ counters this like the

pesky younger brother of 14 years.

They aspire to construct an image

of what they believe to be alter-

native, like a teenager wanting to

retaliate against the rigid Sunday

school shoes their mother leaves

by their door.

By Ying Wang

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

This need to break away from

conventional collared shirts and

calf length plaid skirts is a com-

munal desire; so collectively the

hipster was born. It’s a new age

sense of style that speaks visually

of a desire to break away from

regulation without so much as a

word spoken.

Ironically, there’s a clear hipster

code to abide by, caressed by a

book jacket of paisley print can-

vas. There’s a level of conformity

that underscores the surface of

dressing in the particular hipster

style.

Hipster has become what is in

vogue – a contradiction with the

innocent beginnings of trying to

construct something alternative.

If you window shop past youth

clothing stores you’ll see perfect

examples of traditional hipster

garb. Hanging off gangly man-

nequins you’ll see loud vintage

inspired prints and burgundy

jeans. Retailers have responded to

this hipster code of dress and are

creating exactly what consumers

want, without them even realising

it.

The hipster phenomenon be-

comes something deeper than a

dress code now. It’s a contradic-

tion of trying to rebel from what’s

considered conventional and a

search for acceptance amongst

like minded peers, to fit into the

social convention.

Hipsters can be considered ‘indie’

– but in fashion. Bound by the dic-

tatorial fashion police who speak

from an elusive gospel of vogue.

It becomes a materialistic matter

underpinned by a search for iden-

tity as River is still trying to look

cool. And the commercial cats

are smart enough to cash in on

the fad, fishing away River’s hard

earned student earning wage.

Deep down it’s the need for ac-

ceptance and approval that still

governs the hipster cast.

Artwork by Ying Wang

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Spring is well and truly here and

what better way to celebrate than

giving your wardrobe that much

needed pre-summer re-vamp. It’s

necessary right? With all of the par-

ties and end of year events coming

up, the wardrobe may be starting

to look a little drab. Why not zhuzz

it up a little, add in some colour and

get away from those depressing win-

ter blues. It’s time to shine and what

better way to do it than with some of

this spring’s hottest designer pieces

just shown at Melbourne Fashion

Week.

There are so many styles and colour

palette’s to choose from this season,

so get out there and discover what’s

in store. Neon hasn’t really stuck

around, but don’t stress, if you have

a lot in your wardrobe just add to a

few new pieces – grab a neon crop

and team with a girly A-line skirt,

cap and high tops and voila, you’ll be

looking fab in no time.

Spring into

Fashion

Whether you are a tomboy or a

super primp girly girl, there’s some-

thing for everyone this season, and

everything in between. Aussie brand

Honour Among Thieves are bringing

back the 90’s this season, which is

great because there were some hot

pieces during this super pop era. It’s

casual and fun with a tomboy edge

and the outfits can easily be dressed

up for the next house party at the

crush’s place. Honour Among Thieves

are all about denim, and what better

way to get on board with the blue

trend this season than grabbing

yourself a pair of dungarees and

teaming it with an old band t-shirt.

Slap on some converse, or heels if

you want to dress it up, and you’ll

be one gorgeous gal – and not to

mention you’ll look amazing without

looking like you tried too hard!

If you’re more of a girly girl, Lime-

drop is taking it under their wing

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

Photo: Amy Johnston

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

this season to supply you with the

most gorgeous collection of femi-

nine pieces. It’s floaty, full of patterns

and floral in every pastel shade you

can imagine. And who doesn’t love

the backpack craze right now? They

have it covered with some of the

cutest backpacks to hit the runway

this year. It’s all about fun, free and

flirty, so make use of some of those

loose white and pink t’s you have

in the closet, team with a Limedrop

A-line skirt and backpack and you’ll

be ready for the beach, or that fun

night out with the girls.

If you’re somewhere in between,

Aussie brand Kings of Carnaby have

a beautiful collection this season,

sporting a must have dress with a

brown leather bodice and cream

skirt. Divine! If you haven’t quite

worked out how to rock the leath-

er (or faux leather) this season, but

want to, the greatest investment to

be made is with a simple black A-line

or mini skirt. These are great be-

cause they can be dressed up with a

cute blouse and heels, or dressed for

casual with a T and sandals. Versatile

and gorgeous with just a little bit of

edge.

And remember, it’s not always about

having the best and newest of every-

thing this season, it’s smart to take

existing pieces from your wardrobe

and team with just a couple of new

items. It’s great to recycle clothing,

so organise a clothing swap with

your friends, it’s a great way of get-

ting some new pieces, but at no cost.

Often outfits that your friend doesn’t

fit or like anymore, will be something

that really suits your body type and

colouring.

Happy Spring!

Photographed and writen by:

Amy Johnston

Photo: Amy Johnston Photo: Amy Johnston

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Spring Essentials

Flower Crowns

- The best thing to happen since sliced bread.

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

Photo: Zoe Kimpton

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

People say that they have the

best day of their life, take the best

flight of their life, the best trip of

their life. Well, today, I took the

best bite of my life! You may scoff,

taunt, or even laugh at my strange

excitement for what I’m about to

tell you; but believe me, it’s pretty

darn amazing. I’m talking about

Avocado, that small green vege-

table that sort of just sits in the

back of your fridge until it grows

a beard. But once you hear my

concoction of avocadoey great-

ness, you will soon be brushing

off their half-formed moustaches

and taking a giant scoop out of its

little green bod.

I’m using separate sentences for

this next part to exemplify the

sheer quantum of greatness this

meal really is:

Sautéed mushrooms.

Wilted Spinach.

Danish Fetta.

Salmon.

Lemon.

And avocado.

All on a focaccia roll, with some

Dijon mustard… even as I write

this I am salivating so badly I may

cause a technical fire as my key-

board is covered in excitement! It

is simply amazing!

Where did this strange obsession

come from you may ask? From

those government funded “add an

Avo” adds? Barely. From those diet

adds you see that have avocado

extract as their main super food?

Not even close. My obsession

started with my dad’s hair-brain

scheme to take us to “Avocado

World” in the NSW border be-

tween Tumbulgum and the very

bottom of Queensland. Don’t ask

me why this appealed to my dad

to take 3 unenthused teens to an

avocado theme park; but he knew

us better than we knew ourselves,

as it was one of the best days of-

dare I say it- my life! Now known

as “Tropical Fruit World” (their at-

tempt to appeal to a broader mar-

ket,) we had a private tour on the

back of a golf buggy, as we, being

the fools we are, got confused

Avocado

& Me

- A true love story.

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

with daylight saving times and

turned up half an hour before the

park closed rather than an hour

and a half before it closed. Kindly,

the guide whizzed us around the

park for the last half hour of being

open in his little buggy, showing

us all types of weird and wonder-

ful fruits. Fruits that tingle your

tastebuds and even sometimes

numb them; fruits that taste like

chocolate, fruits that have every

single different fruit in them to

create a super fruit, and last but

not least, their reigning glory; the

avocado. This was the part I was

not looking forward to. I’d never

liked avocado. I thought the tex-

ture was -well- weird.

The guide enthusiastically ex-

plained how great the avocado

was, the antioxidants it contains,

and how it can be put on “practi-

cally anything.”

“Bet you couldn’t put it on ice-

cream,” I mumbled to my sister

next to me who exploded in a fit

of laughter. The guide then made

a guacamole salsa dip with avoca-

do and their own blend of sauces

and handed me a corn chip, say-

ing: “80 per cent of people who

hate avocado love this.”

I grumbled and took a chip, con-

vinced that that wouldn’t be me,

partly because I knew that noth-

ing could stifle my hate for avoca-

do, and mostly because after he

said that, the pigheaded teenag-

er I was, I wanted to prove him

wrong. But after one corn chip of

that avocado magic dip, as much

as I tried not to, I had to hand it to

him. It was amazing. And not only

did I take another scoop, I took

the whole bowl and then bought 7

avocados and the sauces he used

so I could make it every day in the

hotel room until we went home.

And after that, I bought 4 more

bottles of the sauces so I would be

stocked up at home until we went

back to Queensland, and I would

convince my dad to go there

again!

So everybody, don’t let your

avocado grow a beard that even

Santa would be proud of - get it

out of the back of your fridge and

take a scoop – believe me, your

taste buds will thank you!

By Amy Freund

Photo: Amy Freund

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Arte e fisicità d'Italia

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

Photo: Rachel Plank

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

For the duration of the Prato program I consistently

found difficulty in avoiding comparisons between the

ancient sculptures, paintings and frescoes we experi-

enced throughout Tuscan Italy to the contemporary

artworks of the world that we witnessed within the

various sites at the 55th Venice Biennale. It wasn’t an

inbuilt and ongoing agenda of analysing the formal

and aesthetic qualities of an artwork, which stemmed

from Greek visual culture thousands of years ago

(although that may very well continue to shape the

way we perceive contemporary art and culture in the

world today), nor was it a case of one era in prefer-

ence over the other. I was actually captivated by this

subconscious necessity I felt to project a sense of

myself upon the artworks so as to create personal as-

sociations to that something, which I would otherwise

feel quite detached from. I was increasingly fascinat-

ed by the ways in which my mind would conjure up

various pathways to travel to and from my physical

presence in the here and now and my psychological

whereabouts that were often led back home or else-

where creating links to past experiences, memories,

and knowledge.

As far as I’m aware this psychological way of seeing,

or perhaps not seeing but rather feeling, or experi-

encing, is not covered as one of the four major quali-

ties of the way we artists perceive the world through

visual aesthetics. Balance, harmony, symmetry and

proportion are four of the main properties of analysis

that we umbrella under the term ‘aesthetic’ when in-

terpreting visual culture, and these qualities, although

Kara Blakeley recently travelled to

Italy on a student study program, and

speaks of her experience exploring the

relationships between the past and

present in physicality and psychology.

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

abstract, are mostly to do with physicality and the

actuality of visual evidence of them existing within an

artwork. Yes, since Duchamp’s “Fountain” we are now

also taking into account the context of the artwork,

which does extend beyond the boundaries of the

frame or the plinth or the projector screen on which

it exists, and considers the environment in which

the artwork is displayed and the influence this has

on our perception of it. We are also interested in the

conceptual, theoretical and historical frameworks on

which the art is made, which does take into account

psychology as well as physicality, but overall, when I

look at these outlines on visual perception, I see a set

of rules governing how we are to look, how we are to

think and how we are to judge what it is that’s ‘visu-

ally pleasing’ a term in which has no one definition,

and so cannot possibly be found by following a set of

basic instructions on how to identify it. I must admit,

I have always stood by these rules and used them

to my advantage when approaching an artwork and

wanting to create a strong personal connection with

it by understanding the artists intent, his methods,

his techniques and his materials, but never have I felt

more connected to an artwork than when I witnessed

a piece in the Venice Biennale and honestly felt like I

wasn’t even looking at the work at all.

What I experienced for the first time at the Venice

Biennale this year, was the way in which I can be

physically standing in a room, surrounded by people,

completely engulfed by the amazing artworks that fill

the space, to then be virtually detached from my own

physical self and allow my mind to take me elsewhere

and disappear from that space in a moment. I don’t

know what it was, but the site-specific multi-channel

video and sound installation of Gilad Ratman at the

Israeli Pavilion was above all, the most enlightening

and moving artwork I experienced as I found myself

creating endless numbers of mental collaborations

between the artwork and myself, between what I

was seeing in front of me and what I have seen, and

between the physical present, the psychological past

and the imaginative future.

I suppose whilst on the Prato program I was most

interested in thinking of ideas, links and connections

and interrelationships between old and new, past

and present, and the known and the unknown. I often

found myself overwhelmed by the captivating an-

cientness of the country with its medieval buildings,

its extensive artistic history, and an undoubtedly

strong sense of tradition and culture, very different

to that of my own. I felt myself attempting to cre-

ate links from my own experiences, memories, and

knowledge of home to assist in coming to understand

this new environment I was temporarily a part of and

what will now be a temporal part of myself. These

links, regardless of whether I am aware of them or

not, will constantly attempt to form in my mind as I

approach anything new or unfamiliar, it is a coping

mechanism used to come to terms with and accept

the fear of the unknown.

Photo: Amy Freund

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Redefining

the

F Word

By Alexandra Saltis

I want to write about the dirti-

est ‘F word’ there is. Oh yes, the

one you roll your eyes at. And

oh yes, the one that you hope

your daughter never uses. FEM-

INISM. Isn’t it disgusting? Isn’t

it the foulest thing you have

ever heard? In my encounters

with feminism, and as a self

proclaimed feminist, there have

been some questionable stereo-

types, generalisations and per-

haps even some misplaced un-

comfortableness associated with

feminism and advocates of it.

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

Photo: Zoe Kimpton

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

My experiences have been clouded with unsavoury

reactions and pursed lips upon declaring “I am

a feminist”; the dangerous words that prompt

judgement and images of bra burning lesbians.

However, feminism could take a turn for the best; a

turn to praxis that requires a global commitment.

This will not only afford feminism a practical and

real-world humanitarian role, but also a change in

the way that feminists are perceived.

I care about women’s issues and gender issues.

I believe that there is good reason to care about

them or at least be aware of them. In my classes,

there are the token couple of students who are,

shall we say, the fundamentalists of the feminist

genre. They’re the classic outspoken and difficult

to shush ‘man haters’. They have become the

face of popular feminism, and, it must be ad-

mitted, seem to take a relatively unspecific and

uninformed view of the whole ontology. Views of

feminism have unfortunately been based upon

encounters with these individuals. Society has

begun to associate those individuals with feminists

at large, which renders feminists reluctant to as-

sociate themselves with feminism. Even in classes

about feminist theories, there is some wariness

shown towards raising your own hand when the

lecturer boldly asks “who here is a feminist?”. I

observed that others around me had slowly put up

their hand, glancing to either side, and retracting

it immediately upon seeing others glancing back

at them. I have also experienced admitting that

I am a feminist in social spaces, met with smirks

and a “get back into the kitchen and make me a

sandwich” joke. The crux of all this talk is really

about one thing: what type of world are we creat-

ing if we allow such ashamedness and judgement

to continue?

Many of the current international issues are gen-

der based if we look through glasses fitted firmly

with gender lenses. Female genital mutilation, men

implicated in endless war as soldiers, little sup-

port for victims of rape of both genders and child

marriages still continue. It is simple to dismiss

these as merely ‘feminist issues’. But these issues

shouldn’t be dismissed as ideas that have come

from a fanatical bunch of unfeminine women who

have stopped wearing girdles. In my eyes, feminist

concerns are humanitarian concerns. By looking

at the prominent and in many cases disturbingin-

ternational issues, feminism is an anti-exclusionary

paradigm of justice, equality, dignity and respect

that can be employed to address the problems

that so many families and individuals face, espe-

cially in underdeveloped nations. After all, feminism

is based on anti-exclusionary framework and this

can be applied to any plight of any origin.

What is particularly difficult for feminist human-

itarians now is practicality. After having watched

the documentary entitled ‘I am a girl’, I was in-

spired, angry and frustrated. Particularly, I was

fixated with three things. Firstly, how inherently

unjust the world is. Why are some people blessed

infinitely with education, food and peace whilst

others have none of the above? Secondly, I was

so glad that someone was publicising the sto-

ries of six girls who each had different struggles

within their own contexts and lives, many of them

suffering at the hands of social entrenched val-

ues and economic struggles. The multiplicity of

different female experiences was uncovered. And

then the third concern came floating in. It just isn’t

enough. This thought plagued my mind for almost

the whole screening time. It just isn’t enough. The

film was commendable in so many ways; it raises

awareness about women’s issues, it gives some-

what silenced girls a voice, it makes us re-examine

ourselves as women and men. However, it does

very little to help the whole situation. There will still

be women and girls after the production of the film

who have not been helped. It almost makes such

projects seem arbitrary because those six girls,

randomly chosen, now have some help and guid-

ance but others do not. Ultimately, it isn’t enough

that the feminist community raises awareness.

Harking back to the protests of the suffragette

movement, something real must be done for femi-

nists to truly practice what we preach.

Ma ybe, instead of viewing feminism as a theoretica l some-

thing that has no real place in the modern world where

women can do everything a man can, it will take on a new

humanitarian identity th at can be cel ebrated as the catalyst

behind less maternal and infant deaths, fewer adol escents

prostituting themselves to feed their families and fewer

young men feeling like they are emasculated because the y

don’t believe in wars. With any luck, one da y parents will

encourage their children to raise their h and to the ques tion

of “who here is a feminist?”

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Groovin

4 MAY 2013

Groovin’ the Moo Bendigo

’

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

Photo: Jeyda Erdogan

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

Ever picked up a 50 cent choco-

late bar or fair trade peppermint

tea bag without knowing what

you are buying? Ethical eating can

often seem an unobtainable ideal

for struggling students, but it’s

important to know what you are

supporting when you spend your

money. Oxfam’s Behind the Brands

initiative focuses on connecting

consumers with the origins of their

food and clothing. By highlight-

ing the ethical shortcomings of

the ten highest earning compa-

nies, Oxfam anticipates to show

consumers how influential their

choices are.

Oxfam hopes the initiative will

raise awareness of how consumer

choice and brand infrastructure

affects workers in developing

countries. “No company is big

enough not to listen to their con-

sumers,” believes Oxfam’s Clancy

Moore. “The Behind the Brands

initiative is really asking people to

change the way the big food com-

panies do business.”

On a local level the initiative

hopes to improve the conditions

of workers – especially wom-

en – who don’t have access to

training allowing them to earn

above minimum wage. Mr Moore

Behind

the

brands

says the project has the potential

to “improve lives of millions of

women and their families. Some

of these women are earning less

than two dollars a day”. Globally

the project aims to tackle hun-

ger and food insecurity through

improved sustainability and fair

conditions for workers across the

supply chain.

The initiative relies on consum-

ers taking the time to understand

the impact of their choices and

demanding change through their

purchases. “I think the success of

Behind the Brands comes down to

consumers and young people and

students who really care about

the food they eat, and really want

to see these companies use their

power for good and actually make

a difference by their operations,”

Clancy Moore from oxfam stated

when speaking of the “Behind the

brands” initiative.

It’s hard to always have a so-

cial conscience when browsing

through your favourite brands, but

if you want to learn more about

Behind the brands or the ethics of

your food visit:

www.behindthebrands.org.

By Sophie Boyd

- an Oxfam initiative

Image: http://www.fairtraderesource.org/wftd/toolkit/

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA

Artwork by Ying Wang

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

TAT GiRL

Artwork by Ying Wang

Independent Media Inspiring Minds

THE TIMES

AUSTRALIA