The 64th Down Under Feminists’ Carnival

The logo for the Down Under Feminists Carnival: a southern cross within the symbol for female.

Welcome to the 64th edition of the Down Under Feminists’ Carnival!

For the uninitiated, this carnival is a collection of blogging on feminist-y themes by Australian and New Zealand bloggers. I last hosted the carnival in July 2012, so this is my second go. You can find past carnivals here on the DUFC website. (You can volunteer to host one yourself too!)

This carnival comes to you on Election Day 2013, as a respite (except for the political stuff, I guess) from the tense feeling that is dominating many of my circles today. This is the first federal election I get to vote in, and it makes me feel somewhat sad to think that Australia may well be facing a change in government, that will inevitably be followed by an Australia-wide lament when the country realises what it has done. Because that is exactly what happened in Queensland last year. But without further ado, let me present the 64th DUFC!

Politics (no really, this has been a thing recently) and the Media

Though not technically a blog, Mary Delahunty has a great post up at The Drum, asking ‘where are the women in this election?‘

Indeed, the only woman we’ve really seen in this whole election thing is Fiona Scott, because she has Sex Appeal (TM). Team Oyeniyi has an excellent summary and takedown. A slightly different perspective comes from Zoya at lip magazine, who asks if getting outraged at every gaffe actually does any good.

Danielle Bagnato at lip magazine takes us back to where it all began for voting women with the Suffragette movement.

Race, Asylum Seekers, and Representation

Celeste of  Rantings of an Aboriginal Feminist asks when Aboriginal women (and women in general) will get to be the stars of their own stories, and not just supporting cast members.

On that very note, Candice Chung at Daily Life ponders on the whitewashing of the US DVD cover for The Sapphires.

Stephanie at No Award has some great posts this month: one on race, the exotic, and the other, with a particular focus on dystopian or futuristic stories, and another on immigration narratives and the idea of immigrants against immigration.

Cosette at Stumble Down Under analyses the question ‘is Melbourne a racist city?’

Work and Parenting

Georgina Dent at The Women’s Agenda spoke with the Minister for Early Childhood and Childcare, Kate Ellis, and has a comprehensive discussion of policies on affordable childcare.

At feminaust, IsBambi discusses the Coalition’s Paid Parental leave Policy and why they prefer it to that of the Labour party.

Andie Fox of blue milk has a piece in The Guardian about the mixed blessing that is Rudd’s $450 million plan for after-hours school care.

Tara Moss pleads for better quality writing and discussion about breastfeeding.

Women’s Bodies

Sydney University’s Honi Soit features eighteen vulvas on its cover, and a story on the sexualisation of and stigma around vaginas. (Maybe breaking down that stigma starts with using the correct terms for vulvas and vaginas instead of conflating the two?)

The Human Rights Law Centre has some news on Tasmania’s move to decriminalise abortion.

The UQ Women’s Collective ran a Make-Up Free Me photo campaign, getting women to identify something they found beautiful about themselves that didn’t have to do with their appearance. (Points to whoever can find my photo and what I wrote!)

Sexism, Harassment and Violence (the category I wish we didn’t have to write about)

Canbebitter continues the ever-present discussion on women’s safety and not getting raped, and says ‘we are careful.’ Sara also has similar thoughts on the safety excuse, writing at lip magazine.

Rafi Alam at Honi Soit writes about rape apologism in far-left and radical groups.

Rape Crisis Dunedin has an emotional post on the sentencing of Ariel Castro and the treatment of rape survivors.

Helen Pringle at New Matilda writes about sexual harassment, and how too many people still see it as harmless flirtation (and anyone who speaks up as the ‘fun police’).

At Hoyden About Town, tigtog writes on how people are starting to realise that keeping the names of harassers hidden isn’t really helping.

On Feminism and Intersectionality

Chally at Zero at the Bone has sad and angry thoughts on how abusers profit from feminism while vulnerable women suffer.

Holly from Confessions of a Stuffed Olive has similar thoughts on non-intersectional feminism.

The UQ Save Gender Studies Campaign released a video for Bluestocking Week on why we need Gender Studies in Australia.

Good Weekend Magazine had an article a few weeks ago featuring Jo of A Life Unexamined (a.k.a. me) on asexuality, companionship and relationships.

Books, TV and Pop Culture

Scarlett at The Early Bird Catches the Worm writes about sexist tropes on The Mindy Project. She also has a review of Patricia Cornelius’ play Savages at Theater Press.

Celeste at Rantings of an Aboriginal Feminist shares her love for Donna Noble of Doctor Who.

Leena Van Deventer writes on gatekeeping culture in gaming communities, especially with regard to women, at their eponymous blog.

Lotte at wom*news reviews Joan Smith’s book The Public Woman.

Kath at Fat Heffalump reviews Fatropolis by Tracey Thompson, and also shares some thoughts on activism and getting tired of having the same 101 conversations over and over again.

Thank you for joining me today! The next edition of the DUFC will be hosted Rebecca at Opinions @ bluebec.com. You can send submissions for September to rebecca [dot] dominguez [at] gmail [dot] com, or  the blogcarnival submissions form.