Gender stereotyping

In the early 1990s, prominent feminists argued there was a media-driven backlash against the women’s movement, and it risked losing some of the momentum gained in the 1970s. Then along…

What’s the one word we need to teach our daughters to be more comfortable saying?

Tears don’t mean men are weak; it shows they have a heart.

“Hide your daughters.” “I’m only here for the ladies.” “Stud Muffin.” You might expect to see these kind of slogans brandished across a T-shirt worn by Benny Hill or Hugh…

Want to help your children succeed? Then focus on their mistakes. As adults, the single biggest mistake we make is our carefully staged, micromanaged, Instagram-filtered focus on perfection. We’ve created…

It’s the deceptively unhelpful piece of advice that every well-intentioned adult has at one point issued to a child: “You should be friends with everybody!” Admit it — who among…

The following post was first published in The Daily Telegraph 7/12/15 and online at RendezView. UK man Aaron Gillies recently tweeted a list of all the reasons his wife cries,…

The following post was originally published by RendezView 15/10/15. Like most Australians, every time I hear news reports about yet another woman who has died at the hands of her…

The following post was originally published by Kidspot. Yep. I’m calling it. This is the greatest marketing campaign aimed at little girls ever. Much-loved talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has…

The following article was originally published on News Corp’s popular online opinion site, RendezView. Holy Boycotts, Batman! Just when you thought it was safe to send your little one off…

This post originally appeared on News Corp’s popular online opinion site RendezView. “Lies, scams and deceit — just your average teen girl.” “Lost innocence: Why girls are having rough sex…

I’m a proud feminist. And I’m the CEO of Australia’s largest provider of in-school workshops for teen girls that help develop self-worth and resilience. And I promote self-defence classes to…

Dear Friends Who Take Selfies…

I find unpacking stereotypes fascinating and important work. The following post was first published by RendezView. View image | gettyimages.com As a teen girl I swapped secrets with my friends;…

What is the one thing teen boys say they wish adults better understood about their lives? Forget raging hormones, academic angst and peer pressure. When my team and I run…

On Sunday I woke to the news in the Telegraph that teenage girls were “riddled with fear and anxiety” and, overdosing on paracetamol. Was this behaviour really impacting on an…

The following post was first published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper 2/1/15. I’ll let you in on a little secret. Princesses? They are often far more resilient than we give…

I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to, and write, some really interesting pieces for various media outlets this week. I want to share the highlights with you here. The always-wise…

The following post was co-written with my colleague Nina Funnell. It was originally published by US website Feministing. Pointed hats, black cats, broomsticks, cauldrons: Halloween is a night for celebrating…

The following guest post is by my friend and colleague Nina Funnell. It was first published by Mamamia. Nina is a Sydney based journalist, author and speaker. Her writing has…

I was pleased to have had the opportunity to provide a context for why young girls might chose to send their images to online Instagram pages that invite others to…

It’s been wonderful to be back at Channel 7 this week on both The Daily Edition (discussing cyber bullying and the pressures placed on schools to address this), and The…

This week I wish to share spoken word poet Madiha Bhatti’s thoughtful piece on women in the music industry, an extract from which also appears below. Isn’t it powerful? Mu(Sick):…

Last week I shared three of the five things I, and the other noted Feminists I asked to contribute, believe we need to stop saying to girls now. You can…