Empire Times 49.3

EMPIRE TIMES EDITION 50

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> HOW TO GET AN \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ABORTION\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ > I HATE RELIGION\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ >REVISITING THE PILL\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ > MUST BE THIS BIG TO RIDE\\\\\\\\\ > MY UTERUS IS TRYING TO KILL ME \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

EMPIRE TIMES EDITION.49 ISSUE.03 > FLINDERS_UNIVERSITY_ STUDENT_MAGAZINE

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Empire Times acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which its editors, contributors and readers live, and we honour Elders past and present.

Empire Times is printed and distributed on the traditional lands of the Arrernte, Barngarla, Boandik, Dagoman, Erawirung, Gunditjmara, Jawoyn, Kaurna, Larrakia, Nauo, Ngadjuri, Ngarrindjeri, Peramangk, Ramindjeri, Wardaman, Warumunga and Yolngu peoples. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and that this land is stolen.

We stand in solidarity

ISSUE 3 EDITORS Claire Gibbins Jessica Rowe Tahlia Dilberovic WRITERS Abby Guy Amari Butrecks Claire Gibbins Evangelia Karageorgos Georgia Nolan Hannah Ranger, Emily Eilers and the ‘My Uterus is Trying to Kill Me’ Directorial Team Jessica Rowe Lou Morrison Tahlia Dilberovic Sybella Schumacher

ARTISTS John Simons Isaac Brook Ella Uhl MASTHEAD Kienan McKay JOIN THE TEAM Empire Times is always on the look out for new contributors. We accept written and visual pieces. If you would like to be a part of your student mag, flick us an email at empiretimes@flinders.edu.au

WHAT IS ET? Empire Times is a publication of the Flinders University Student Association (FUSA). It is your student magazine.

FRONT COVER The opinions expressed within are not necessarily those of the editors, Flinders Jack Morton and the ‘My Uterus University or FUSA. Reasonable care is is Trying to Kill Me’ Directorial taken to ensure articles are accurate at the Team time of print BACK COVER Ella Uhl

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The Julio Iglesias Record

Not the President’s Address

How to Get an Abortion in South Australia

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Content to Cure Your Cultural Cringe

My Uterus is Trying to Kill Me

Keeping Kosher on Campus

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Satin on Skin

Body Modifications on Campus

Stolen Bodies

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I Hate Religion

Political Correspondence

Brother, Mine

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Must Be This Big to Ride

The Pill: 60 Years on

The Issue with ‘Cruetly Free”

Editorial Issue 3 of Empire Times was grounded in the word body. However, as we send this issue off to print we believe that the guiding word that holds the most weight to us now is catharsis. With every new issue we are able to have a sense of release. The releasing of the workload, and the releasing of whatever articles or words we had to seek approval for, or debate about whether to include. The ET team is inspired by the resiliance and adaptability of our bodies, and wish to channel that persisting spirit into the remainder of our term.

In this issue, our contributors had a lot to get off their chests. Evangelia Karageorgos treats us to a delightful musing in ‘Must be This Big to Ride’, while Sybella Schumacher invites us into the mind of the female voyeur. Likewise, the directorial team behind ‘My Uterus is Trying to Kill Me’ presents us with a new look at the disease that affects 190 million people worldwide.

As we come to the end of Ramadan and Passover, ET has investigated the halal and kosher food options available at the Bedford Park Campus, inspired by a post on Flinders’ very own Overheard - and for those of you who find it absolutely abhorrent that we have dared to acknowledge the R word, we present to you ‘I Hate Religion’, an article that we have to assume, dear reader, is satire.

Within this issue, we have included a guide on how to go about accessing an abortion in South Australia. In light of the news coming out of America regarding Roe v Wade, we cannot think of a better time to cast off the stigma and reiterate that there is no shame in having an abortion.

For those that are politically inclined, we present to you political correspondence! In an unsurprising turn of events, the Libs refuse to say the A-word (Apartheid), while Unity predictably plays both sides.

Finally, if you are looking for a light-hearted read, we have interviews with students who have undergone body modifications, and a bunch of reccomendations for films and TV shows made right here in Australia.

We hope with this issue the magazine continues to serve the specific body important to us; the student body. Many of you have probably experienced the bodily effects of the dreaded Covid-19 by now, and as the weather cools down it becomes even more important to do the things that we know are good for us. Eat an orange, go to bed early for once. Find a way for you to experience a personal catharsis, and most importantly, keep persisiting.

With love, Tahlia, Jess and Claire

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THE JULIO IGLESIAS RECORD Sybella Schumacher “You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur.”

Margaret Atwood

I don’t remember the exact time and date in which Julio Iglesias’ 1984 album 1100 Belair Palace on vinyl appeared on our family mantle. Curiously, I enquired about this new addition to our often-random array of peculiarly strung together knickknacks. I had no recollection of any of my family members proclaiming to like Mr Iglesias prior to the record’s purchase, so I wasn’t surprised when my mother explained, “I found it at a garage sale. I thought it was funny. He looks so… sensual”.

Sensual is surely a descriptor one could use for the shoulders-up, black bow-tie adorned Julio chosen to adorn the album. He looks you right in the eyes, his head tilted down, coyly grinning with dark fluffy hair framing a shining olive complexion. “I know something you don’t.” There is a certainty about his stare; he looks at you like a prime cut of beef, like he’s about to compliment your tits in a turtleneck. An unsolicited longing. Egging me on for a show.

Time passed and our new guest had now settled permanently into the living room. Less invasive was his stay; I suppose occasional eye-contact while watching midday television became second nature and a sometime thrill depending on my loneliness for that day. Although I had accepted his arrival with much hesitation (and a little disdain), I felt myself settling in with this new roommate; however, not without consequence.

See, as much as it pains me to admit, the show in which Julio had enquired about for months on end had begun to be performed.

I applied lipstick in the mirror of my newly purchased vintage vanity at 2:43am, just to take a halfassed picture of myself to look back on when I felt I needed reassurance on my physical appearance - I have looked at it approximately 37 times since. Sweatpants don’t belong in the house anymore; “dresses are more comfortable, I swear!” Mascara can’t be washed off in the shower, but must be done right before bed when no reflective surfaces will be passed until the morning.

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A virtually hairless monkey preening and prancing and performing privately despite never feeling truly alone. Because I’m not alone. Julio is watching.

Now, I don’t take issue with wanting to feel beautiful- it’s an unbelievably valuable currency, even to ourselves. We tend to feel better if we look better, and feel worse if we look worse. Whether we have autonomy over these feelings is entirely up for debate; those who adamantly concede that the target demographic for anti-aging creams are applying purely for their own merit need a wake up call.

These new sets of actions were ones I was not taking on for myself- previously the last of my concerns would have been wearing the right shoes with the right skirt inside the house. Who am I doing this for?

Julio had become a fixture in my life. He was a house-guest, then an occupant, a landlord, then a director. He never had to tell me stage directions. I was/am an actress with psychic superpowers who always knows the lines. I am the leading lady, with a spotlight and an encore, who sings and dances to an audience of imaginary men who want to sleep with me (or at least considering it).

We can say we make these choices for ourselves, when in reality I’m not too sure that is the case.

I don’t believe I would be purposefully cocking my head romantically in an empty coffee shop while sipping a delicate almond late unless I wasn’t compelled to do so for the eyes of invisible boys who wallow in my fabricated allure. Existing isn’t enough to satisfy me anymore. It is the art of performing femininity that fuels the fire which assured me that I am in not fact the worst looking woman in the room. Thanks a lot Julio.

INT: LIVING ROOM - DAY A Young Woman, nineteen. She perches on the edge of the sofa, thoughtfully typing away at her computer. She licks her bottom lip - pausing every couple of seconds to admire her writing, and reflection on the screen.

She looks up into CAMERA coyly, her breasts breasting breastingly.

She WINKS.

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NOT The

President’s Address

Help! I’m becoming transparent!

Protect your student council from the evils of transparency. It starts with a presidental address but it ends in this...!

By Issac Brooke

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As of March 2022, these changes have still not been enacted. South Australian health services are still waiting for new government regulations to be established, and in the meantime, people seeking these services are still subject to an archaic system; one that requires the approval of two doctors and is only technically legal if these doctors decide an abortion is necessary to a) protect the life, b) mental health of the patient or c) the fetus is detected to have serious abnormalities. No abortions on demand for us.

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Or at least, these changes were meant to happen.

AN TH A B O R I N S OU T I N O

Decriminalisation brought about many logistical changes as well – abortion shall now be allowed on demand until 22 weeks and 6 days without the approval of two doctors; patients would be able to access medical abortions via telehealth; abortions would be provided outside of hospitals; and patients would no longer need to be residents of SA for more than two months in order to access healthcare. Doctors who conscientiously objected to abortion would also finally be required to actually do their jobs and provide referrals if they did not wish to provide the procedure themselves.

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One year ago in March 2021, South Australia decided to join their more civilised counterparts and finally decriminalise abortion. This change meant that for the first time in decades people would not be treated like criminals for accessing vital healthcare.

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Perhaps something worse than the backwardness of South Australia’s laws is the inaccessibility of these procedures.

Even if fully decriminalised, there are still significant barriers to access – the distance of providers (especially for those living rurally), the cost of procedures (nope, it isn’t free!) and, of course, the underlying stigma involved. However, there is another barrier that is rarely ever talked about; knowledge – how the hell do you actually get an abortion in SA?

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LIA

Always the researcher, I asked around my friend group to see if this secret of womanhood had simply been kept from me (I went to a catholic school after all) – but nope. Hardly anyone in my pro-choice, politically (and sexually) active friendship group knew the particulars about actually accessing an abortion. So, while bitching about a problem is always fun (and, I would argue, a prerequisite for creating social change), this is a question I can actually answer.

So, here it is – a guide on how to the best of my understanding (gained by excessive googling and bugging of healthcare professionals) you get an abortion in South Australia. Mileage may vary and this is N O T medical advice

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GE H T U RTION IN SO

Words by Tahlia Dilberovic

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Step Step11

If you think you are pregnant, take a test.

Generic brands are essentially as accurate as expensive ones, so no need to splash out. Pregnancy tests are the most accurate after you’ve already missed your period (so 5 weeks from your last cycle) as it takes a while for enough HCG to build up in your urine. Let’s assume the test is positive.

Step Step 22

Contact your closest service provider to schedule an appointment (Scan the QR Code) This conversation for those who like having a script can simply start with ‘Hello, I think I may be pregnant and I want to discuss my options, can I please book an appointment?’.

When contacting the provider, it is best to give them an estimate of how far along in the pregnancy you may be (calculate this by counting the weeks since your last period).

If it is possible you are more than 12 weeks pregnant, mention this when booking the appointment. The waiting time for an appointment will generally be less than 2 weeks.

Step Step33 Bring your Medicare card (if you have one) with you to your first appointment.

This appointment will be a clinic consultation and may take up to two hours.

You will be assessed by a healthcare worker and a doctor who will confirm the pregnancy (either through a blood test, ultrasound, or both) and explain to you your options going forward.

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2 weeks after either procedure, you should schedule a follow up appointment to confirm the success of the procedure and address any concerns. This can be done through your GP, SHINE SA, the Pregnancy Advisory Centre, or the hospital the procedure was performed at.

Option One: A Medical Abortion A medical abortion is available to you up until 9 weeks gestation and involves a fee (which can be up to $250). It involves taking 2 pills, 24-48 hours apart, and can take place in the privacy of your own home. The first pill is mifepristone and is taken at the end of either your clinic consultation or a secondary appointment (this will depend on the provider).

Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone, which causes the breaking down of the uterus lining. After taking this pill, you may be able to resume normal activities.

24-48 hours after the first pill, you will take the second pill, Misoprostol. Misoprostol softens the cervix and causes the uterus to contract and expel the pregnancy. This will generally cause cramping and bleeding. It is recommended you have a support person with you during this time.

Option Two: A Surgical Abortion A surgical abortion is available up to 22 weeks (28 weeks under exceptional circumstances) under current regulations. Surgical abortions after 14 weeks require more extensive medical intervention.

A surgical abortion involves 2 appointments, which can last up to two hours each. The first appointment will follow the clinic consultation process outlined above, where the pregnancy is confirmed, and options discussed. The second appointment will be allocated to you and scheduled for the nearest appropriate date. You will also be given a date and time from which you need to fast from (cease intake of food and water).

The second appointment involves the surgery. A surgical abortion is preformed in hospital, under general anesthetic (you will not be awake for the procedure) and generally takes around 15 minutes.

What occurs during this surgery varies depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy. For most, it will mainly consist of the doctor using a gentle suction tool to remove the fetus (a suction aspiration abortion).

Prior to the surgery you will be given misoprostol to soften the cervix and reduce bleeding. You will take this once more after the surgery for the same effect.

After the surgery, you will need someone else to pick you up, as is the case with most surgeries.

Alternatively, you may be able to make arrangements to stay at the hospital overnight but this conversation should take place before the procedure.

content to cure your cultural cringe Words by Jessica Rowe Everyone knows the importance of good representation, but what happens when someone - or an entire country - doesn’t want to watch themselves? Cultural cringe is rife, even amongst film school lecture halls.

Don’t they know this is the industry they’ll be entering? If you ask me, I’d rather learn about the intricacies of my own industry than wasting time discussing Old Hollywood. Despite lack of enthusiasm around local films, anyone ‘adventurous’ enough to exit Netflix and go to ABC iView will know that there is a wealth of content reflecting us back to ourselves, in ways that are certainly not cringe. Without further adieu, here is a completely subjective guide to good Australian film and tv.

The ones I could watch again and again: The Sapphires: You’d probably have to be living under a rock if you don’t know what The Sapphires is right? The fun, funky and emotional movie follows a group of 4 First Nations singers in the 60s as they leave their small community to go perform to soldiers in Vietnam. The film is super enlightening in terms of what it was like in that era and the

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by the stolen generation. With Deborah Mailman, Miranda Tapsel and Chris O’Dowd, what’s not to love?

Tomorrow When The War Began Call me juvenile but I fucking love this movie. It is what sparked my recurring survival dream I get sporadically about hiding or resisting against an invasion.

As a young teen I remember thinking this was one of the most relatable depictions of rural Australian teenagehood. If you’re a bit of a slut for movies where civilisation has disintegrated and a group of young people must use diplomacy and survival to maintain some kind of society, this is for you.

The ones that fuel my romanticism, for better or for worse: The Dressmaker: This one makes me want to go to a football game in my hometown on Kangaroo Island wearing a fancy gown, out of some vengeful desire.

“Look at me now!” If you have similar fantasies you will like this movie.

Beneath Clouds: Two teenagers, a boy and girl, on the run. Perhaps the boredom of growing up in a small town is what makes me drawn to stories like this.

Two kids on the open road, getting to know and understand each other on their separate journeys. It’s sad and beautiful!

Innocence juxtaposed with misfortune!

The Secret Life Of Us: Ok this I’m obsessed with. This show is the angsty 20-somethingdrama we all need. It first came out in 2001 but that was the year I was born, so like many of you I’ve only just discovered it since it’s been added to Netflix. If you liked skins as a teenager, you’ll like the Secret Life Of Us now - I can’t explain why. A young and handsome Samuel Johnson plays the main character Evan, a broody, playful and poor writer living in St Kilda who I may or may not be in love with.

Picnic at Hanging Rock: This movie is simply just beautiful. However it’s romanticism is sort of its downfall, it has been put in a category with many movies made during its time that see the Australian landscape through a colonial lens. When you watch it you will adore the aesthetics, but it is impossible to ignore the colonialism of the entire film.

The Wrong Girl: Classic ‘I’m in love with my best friend’ story featuring the progression of a variety of interpersonal relationships. If you think you’re the main character, you will like this show.

The ones I love but give me sweaty palms: Wake In Fright: A haunting film about a guy trapped in a town that’s not quite right. If you’ve ever been shocked by the barbarity of some small town cultures, this movie is a hyperbolic (or is it?) representation of that.

Super off-putting, worth the watch.

Lantana: I’m not usually one for suspense films but once this movie came on the TV I just couldn’t switch it off, I was hooked. It has that same ‘something’s not quite right’ feel as Wake In Fright, though much more suburban and less barbaric. An Australian murder mystery that doesn’t try to be Australian and just is.

Cargo: This is probably one of my favourite movies, it was released in 2017 and is an Australian zombie apocalypse movie! I’m not

usually an action or thriller type but this whole movie was full of social commentary.

It was eerie to see this kind of situation depicted here, instead of some far away land in the US. My only bone to pick with this film is that the main character has a British accent - why?

Mad Max (any of them): Everyone knows mad max, it’s gross, it’s tragic but above all it is camp. I never pictured myself enjoying action movies about cars, but I think the over-the-top nature of them makes them so fun. Again, I am a sucker for postapocalyptic reimagined worlds.

The ones to make you chuckle: Upper Middle Bogan: Funny series about that family we all know, the ones with a lot of money who still choose the revhead lifestyle. You know the ones. With all the updated appliances of an urban lawyer, but the mouth of your aunt Shelly.

They’ll invest in expensive homewares and have the same budget for their sheepdog.

Starring someone that for some reason if you told me was your bi awakening I wouldn’t be surprised; Michala Banas.

Utopia: This comedy series may uncover trauma for anyone who’s worked in an office setting. Just saying.

Kath and Kim: Goes without saying.

The ones that everyone should watch: Rabbit Proof Fence: If your teachers didn’t show you this in school they should be fired.

The Hunting: This series was made right here in Adelaide! It stars Flinders student Luca Sardelis, and I know that some of you including one of our student council members were cast as extras! It tells the story of an online nude photo scandal that takes place in a high school. Students, teachers and parents must face hard truths, consequences and fight for what’s right.

This show encapsulates the patriarchal

culture that excuses men and boys in many settings, specifically our high schools.

Samson and Delilah: A sort of slice-of-life movie about two teenagers from a rural First Nations community, who run away to Alice Springs and survive through substance dependence, abuse and ignorance.

First Day: Another Adelaide production, which - excuse the brag - I am currently doing an internship for! First Day follows the life of Hannah Bradford as she faces the trials and tribulations of school, friendships, and social acceptance as a young trans person. The young local talent in this show is actually crazy, and it’s amazing how anyone of any age will find this enjoyable. I did cry about 100 times because of how heartwarming it is. The first and second season are available on ABC Iview.

Sweet Country: The amazing Warwick Thornton (director of Samson And Delilah) subverts the Western genre into a work that depicts a more realistic relationship between colonists and First Nations people.

The main character Sam kills a white man who sexually abused his wife, and then must go on the run as the law and land-owners in the area are after him. The film depicts an Australia that we don’t see very often, set in 1929 in the outback, when there was a sparse population of settlers, and some First Nations groups were still living relatively separately to any influence of white people.

Stateless: This show brings together two pretty random stories about being in a cult, and having to flee a country, that end up overlapping. The important part of this show is the way it exposes our refugee detention centres, a part of Australia that is kept well hidden from the general public’s view.

The ones that will break your heart: Candy: This movie follows the tragic lovestory of two people suffering from drug addiction. It stars Heath Ledger and was an excruciating watch.

Lion: Released in 2016 starring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman. So good, so heartwrenching. A story of a man on a journey of self-discovery as he finds his birth mother.

The ones I’m yet to see but have high hopes for: Muriel’s wedding Priscilla Queen Of the Desert Total Control Romper Stomper Baby Teeth My First Summer Have you seen any of these films? What were your thoughts? Let us know on our instagram page @empiretimes

Directors Emily Eilers & Hannah Ranger on set

My Uterus is Trying to Kill Me is a short documentary looking to spread awareness about endometriosis. Due to the invasive nature of the diagnostic process, endometriosis can have profound effects on an individual’s life. The documentary tells stories of various people living with endometriosis and their unique journeys, from diagnosis to coping with a chronic illness everyday. The film’s ultimate goal is to help change the social stigma that surrounds endometriosis and period pain in general. By showing people casually and confidently talking about the subject, we want to normalise the discussion around what is currently a taboo topic.

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This ground-breaking documentary is a Flinders University Honours student production by Hannah Ranger & Emily Eilers. Thank you to them and their team for contributing these words and images, and creating something so important. Behind-the-scenes stills photographers: Taia Doyle, Jack Morton, Jude Turner, Aiden Smith, Tully Templeman, Alice Lawrence, Chelsea Hammer and Alina Jansons.

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Keeping Kosher on Campus

In late March, a post popped up on Overheard decrying the lack of halal and kosher food options available on campus.

The Empire Times team did some digging, and this is what we found regarding the dietry options available on the Bedford Park Campus.

The Tavern The Tav has halal options that are listed on the menu. However, the Tav does not offer kosher options, although their meat is likely to be.

Bakmi Lim Bakmi Lim’s entire menu is halal, however they are not officially certified and thus do not advertise this. As with the Tav, Bakmi Lim does not have kosher options.

Toly Toly does not have halal or kosher options.

Alere Alere’s a’ la carte menu consists entirely of halal meats. The only items that are not are the cold meats kept in the display fridge.

As for kosher, Alere does not offer any options, and the café manager explained to ET why this is so, stating, ‘It’s not something we can do in a commercial kitchen […] we can’t separate utensils and food which would be classified as contaminated’. However, the manager does state that for those who are not strict in their observance there are vegan options.

Bon Voyage Bon Voyage does not have halal or kosher options, but some vegan or vegetarian options may be suitable.

UPCO UPCO does have some halal options, but these are stored in same fridge as pork. We received no indication as to whether they have kosher options, but our best guess would be no.

Subway Subway does not explicitly offer halal or kosher options however some vegan or vegetarian options may be suitable.

Zamberos Zamberos is not a halal approved restaurant (nor kosher). However, some of the vegetarian or vegan options may be suitable.

Grind & Press Grind and Press does not have halal or kosher certified options, but some of the vegetarian or vegan options may be suitable.

So, what’s the verdict?

Finding kosher-certified food on campus seems to be virtually impossible, depending on the strictness of your observance. The availability of halal options seems to be much higher.

What can be done?

Unfortunately, this situation is unlikely to change. The strict separation of food and utensils needed to ensure food is kosher presents logistical challenges that are essentially unsurmountable for Flinders’ retailers. These challenges, compounded by a lack of demand, with many retailers stating they had not been asked about kosher options since opening in 2016, and the financial devastation brought on by COVID-19, leaves both retailers, staff and students in a bind.

In semester 2, Flinders University will be releasing a retail survey to allow students to provide feedback on their experiences and assist in creating a long-term strategy to improve retail on campus. If the lack of kosher options is an issue for you, this would be the optimal place to address these concerns.

Satin on Skin Words by Abby Guy Moths. Their wings were soft. Delicate. Paper-thin. They’d always felt that way when I touched them. As a child, father had warned me that I would break the thing I adored so much if I overlooked the delight of frangible limbs. He had pinned many—a quiet hobby—and kept me at a distance. But I liked the way it felt when I grazed my fingers across the frail curves. Satin on skin.

Touching Eve had been like that—wings beating beneath fingertips.

In the evenings, with the sheets split, liquid gold, across her thighs and her breasts, light touched her with the same sense of fragility that I felt. Golden beams ventured beyond slatted blinds to drape tenderly across planes of warm, honey skin. They dared to dip and pool and taste and swallow.

I envied the sun.

And so, I dared to make it as covetous as I. To feel what the sun could not: breath on cheek, veil of linen upon limb, that beloved satin on skin.

But the sun had been a gentle lover—soft, tender—and it watched on and felt only remorse when Eve’s curves began to molder with my greed. Blackened. Decayed. Collected in my palms as mounts of dust and slipped between my desperate fingers. It tasted like mildew under the tongue. Sour honey.

Later, when the sheets were empty, no curves to bind them, the sun no longer kissed their edges. Guilt left no space for grief: it chewed at it until there was little more than a hollow sob. Until there was only the quiet and the emptiness of the sheets. Tears were much saltier than honey, they burned the throat instead of soothed.

I should have listened to my father.

Moths had soft wings.

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Interview by Claire Gibbins Interviewees: Jennah Sears & Isaac Brook

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Body Modification on Campus Body modification, also known as body alteration, is the physical alteration of your appearance. This is most commonly done through tattoos and piercings, but even plastic surgery is classed as a type of body modification. When someone hears the term ‘Body Modification’, you might think of extreme alterations, such as people who get surgery for a forked tongue (splitting of the tongue), or implants, but even just having a simple lobe piercing is a type of body modification.

There are many reasons why people get body modifications done, including personal, cultural, or simple aesthetics. To dive deeper into the world of body modifications, I’ve interviewed two students from our university, Jennah Stears and Isaac Brook, who both study a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Effects and Enterainment), to ask them why they have permanent modifiers on their bodies.

What have you done in relation to body modification?

I have gotten 3 tattoos, on my forearm, wrist and leg and I have 2 piercings, those being my ears and my septum.

14 facial piercings/ only 6 in use and one back tattoo and one below elbow tattoo (both no colour in black)

What is your favorite body modification and why did you have it done?

I would have to say my favorite body modification would be my forearm tattoo. I got it done as my first tattoo because although to other people it may just be a cool ghost design, it has a meaning behind it and I designed it

myself. The tattoo is on my forearm, and it has two meanings which kind of tie into each other. The first meaning is that it’s based off a Paramore song that I grew up listening to and hold close to my heart. The second meaning is that it is connected to my partner as Paramore is how we started to talk. So not only does it represent my childhood and some tough times throughout high school, but also my partner and our relationship.

For me personally, it’s the angel bites (two piercings above my lips, opposite to snake bites), mostly because they were something I wanted since I first saw them at 10 years old, which I then got when I was 13. Because of how long I’ve had them, most people in my life will associate them with me more than other piercings I go through, as well as the fact that traditionally in 2020, they’re not very trendy piercings, compared to septum’s or snake bites, so visually they’re my favorite piercings for myself.

What was one of the processes of body modification you’ve gotten done?

The process of getting my tattoo wasn’t too difficult, I did research on different artists around Adelaide and found an artist who was available not too far after my 18th birthday.

Once I found them, I sent them an email describing what I wanted, which included what size, the placement, the design idea, and my budget. Once they got back to me we decided to meet up in person and talk about what I wanted and put down a deposit for the tattoo to secure the date. Once the date came around the artist and I sat down for half an hour or so and went through different placements, sizes, and designs to make sure I was happy. I technically got two tattoos as I have one on my wrist that we started off with,

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but would be very hesitant to even plan for that without knowing how financially stable I will be for the rest of my life.

I would say my favourite body modification would be my forearm tattoo

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but that didn’t take too long as it was a band logo. Once the wrist tattoo was completed, we went onto the bigger piece. We took roughly 3 breaks, and the overall tattoo took 6 hours.

So, the ones I have now would’ve been my third attempt at getting them done (still at 13 years old with parent permission). The process itself is sitting up as someone cleans the lip and piercing before threading a needle through, making the hole, and then when removing the needle inserting a bar through the bottom of the lip. With my piercing we had to use a coated black plastic because during my first attempt getting them pierced, we didn’t predict how badly my lips would react to the metal and the plastic completely avoided the reaction.

Do you have any plans for future body modification and what those might be?

I have a lot of ideas about what I want to do in the future as I want to be covered in tattoos, I’m currently working on my arm sleeve idea and will hopefully soon be contacting an artist about design ideas. I do want more piercings, but personally, tattoos are my main focus as I love expressing myself through artwork.

Everything. In the short term next on the list would be a tongue piercing because it’s about time, they’re super cool, in the long term probably getting the tongue split. I have longterm plans as well, like custom cheek gauges,

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Have you any thoughts on custom body modification and or modifications that are dangerous to get done?

Personally, I think there are some dangerous piercings that can-do long-term damage, but it is always up to the person to make sure they do the correct research on the person doing the modification. I don’t like the idea of the ‘snake eye’ piercing (vertical tongue piercing) as it can cause major damage to your nerves if done incorrectly and can reject fast. I’m surprisingly not against split tongues and stretched ears as long as it is done safely.

I love the idea of custom body modifications; it is such an individual choice that assuming

jewelry that they used in the gun got stuck in my ear resulting in an ear infection and caused me to be in pain whenever I would need to change my jewelry. Thankfully about 6 years later I made a bet with my mum that if I were to get my ears done and keep them healed, I would be allowed to get my septum pierced (it worked!).

Not particularly horrible, but they should be carefully chosen when looking at cheaper locations. I was incredibly overcharged at a place that advertised it to be half as much, where they had very few jewelry options, which I assumed since I was getting it so cheap, I could just change the jewelry once I got to my preferred studio and I would’ve saved like $30. The piercing infected immediately, and what would’ve been a $30 dollar saving became an extra $60 dollars I had to pay, I was incredibly ripped off and my piercing closed up in seconds. people aren’t capable to understand the repercussions is stupid and a really bad way to portray people who like doing this stuff. The horizontal tongue piercing looks sick and is so unique because of how few people have it. If there wasn’t a chance of death I would do it and personally, that’s my decision to draw the line there, even though I want to have piercings that would make it really hard for me to eat or drink.

Dangerous piercings aren’t done on children and silicone injections and splittings are done in professional environments, the process can be just as similar and complex as general cosmetic surgery and should be treated as such.

Do you have any “horror” stories or great experiences at your chosen locations to get body modifications?

I sadly do, when I was young, I wanted my ears pierced and did not go to a proper tattoo and piercing studio. I went to a small corner hair salon that did ‘piercings’ and they ended up using a piercing gun on my ears. Piercing guns are super dangerous to use on ears (and especially noses) as the pressure from the gun can actually split your ear and damage it, thankfully this did not happen to me, but the

What advice would you give to people seeking to get their first body modification done?

I would definitely say research the people you’re going to and make sure you definitely want the modification you’re getting. It may seem like common sense, but we all have heard horror stories in regards to tattoos being infected because of where they went or the artist being under the influence giving them a crap tattoo, or even with piercings, I know many people who have gone to piercing studios and didn’t research where they were going, resulting in wonky piercings.

Listen to your body. going back to my lips, when I was very young, I split them and had no idea that that would make them a sensitive area getting pierced for the rest of my life. If you’re getting a bridge piercing, expect it to flare up, I don’t know anyone who ever enjoyed the healing time for that one, it’s quite a bitch. If in doubt most tattoo parlors who have piercers are safe and know what they’re doing.

7

Stolen Bodies What is repatriation and why is it so important?

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following article contains descriptions of deceased Indigenous persons.

Disclaimer: The author of this article is non-Indigenous and recognises her privilege and the way she has personally benefited from the colonisation of this land as a white Australian with convict and settler background.

Words by Jessica Rowe

In the Oxford dictionary, repatriation is defined as “the act of sending or bringing somebody back to their own country.” Though in the context of post-colonial Australia, repatriation means much more than its technical definition.

I was in a first year class, two years ago now, when my teacher spoke of a particularly bleak collection stored here in Adelaide. A collection of human remains.

Remains of First Nations people, in boxes belonging to the Museum of South Australia, sitting in Adelaide’s industrial outskirts (Daley, 2020). With the move towards decolonisation within our own institution here at Flinders University, and the

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urgency of reconciliation, it seems remiss not to highlight the importance of the repatriation of First Nations people’s remains in our ‘body, pain & representation’ issue.

According to author, essayist and journalist Paul Daley, in his article ‘The room of the dead: how a museum became a halfway house for bones and spirits,’ from the 1860s and into the 20th century Indigenous remains have been customarily stolen. He lists the institutions complicit in this practice as; the University of Adelaide Medical School, the South Australian Museum, the Aborigines [sic] Protection Board, Adelaide Hospital, the Morgue and asylum. In

a time where eugenics and social darwinist theories were rife among white academics, Indigenous bodies were collected and traded among researchers in a most unethical manner. As a white Australian visiting museums, it had never occurred to me to question the ethics of how bodies and cultural objects came into the hands of these institutions, but around the world organizations like the South Australian Museum are now working, or being urged to work, to repatriate what they have stolen back to the rightful communities.

The Routledge’s Companion to Indigenous Repatriation features a chapter from Unbound Collective, an art group made up of Flinders University’s very own academics. Associate Professor Ali Baker explains, “they use these violent Acts of taking our bodies, as a way of documenting our apparent biological inferiority.

They hold evidence of this research violence in their one-way archive. Things go in, and never come out.” The 1884 Anatomy Act allowed the remains of “anyone without family who died in a public institution and who did not express reservation about being anatomised,” Daley explains, to be “transferred post-mortem to the university medical school for dissection.” This sort of legislation means that in 2020, the South Australian Museum recorded that the remains of 4,600 people were being stored in cardboard containers yet to be returned to their country

(Daley, 2020). This temporary and undignified resting place is a mournful continuation of our colonial past, and returning these ancestors home is an important part of reconciliation.

In the ABC’s 2021 reconciliation week special, ‘‘A Journey Home, Reconciliation through Repatriation,’ the First Nations Director at The Australian Museum, Laura Mcbride explains that “A truly genuine process of reconciliation includes addressing past injustices against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”

These ancestors of First Nations people have been stripped of what is a deeply spiritual process, it is time for institutions to step up and right some wrongs, returning people to their correct burial places. Mcbride goes onto express that she thinks “... cultural repatriation has been overlooked in the truth-telling process, and that’s because not many people are aware of cultural repatriation.”

Where our historical narrative has been largely shaped by white institutions, truthtelling is an element often highlighted in conversations around reconciliation and decolonisation. Bringing awareness to these stolen bodies of First Nations people, as Paul Daley has done in his article, can challenge our view of Adelaide and the historical narratives we have been exposed to, as we are faced with the tangible bodies of people stolen and displaced still being held by our

institutions. As he explains, “exposure to the light of harsh scrutiny is the antidote to historical silence and secreted truths.”

Over recent years, progress has been made to repatriate ancestors to their respective communities across Australia. In A Journey Home, Dr Lyndon Ormond-Parker explained that “Institutions are now finally starting to turn around and get them and have them back, including from overseas. So we’ve had over 1,500 ancestors returned from overseas over the last 10 years. The Australian government policy has changed in the last 10 years to allow these programs to operate.”

He encourages an “... overarching Commonwealth piece of legislation that allows for the return of ancestors from overseas.”

Daley highlights that the return of all the bodies held here in Adelaide by the South Australian Museum could take another generation due to the “enormous practical difficulties, often involving by-laws on the burial of human remains, when it comes to interring so many bodies.” Speaking in terms of The Australian museum, Mcbride suggests that giving further agency to Indigenous staff could fast-track the repatriation process. We can also see people and groups like the Unbound Collective engaging in creative resistance, subverting dominant narratives through art and performance, and taking up space in these

institutions historically responsible for the stealing of/from and mistreatment of First Nations people.

Unbound Collective creative and Senior lecturer Faye Rosas Blanch speaks about one of her pieces, “I respond through repatriating love for my body and the bodies of my people through spoken Word performance. It is in the telling of a story I allow myself to find a way through the memories that are embedded in my body, and my own storage of memories that I carry across this vast land.”

Keep an eye out for work and exhibitions from the Unbound Collective, and to learn more about the relationship between repatriation and reconciliation checkout these resources: Peter Daley’s article for The Guardian, ‘The room of the dead: How a museum became a halfway house for bones and spirits,’ The Routledge Companion to Indigenous Repatriation : Return, Reconcile, Renew | Edited by Cressida Fforde (book available online via findit@flinders.edu.au) The Journey Home reconciliation through repatriation (Video available on ABC Australia’s YouTube Channel, can access via this link: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=_BtKiW16vwU

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By John Simons

19

The views expressed within this article do not reflect that of the Editors.

The article has been printed as it was received As a student here at Flinders, I’ve seen my fair share of propaganda posters, urging women to stop being ‘Masculine’ and for men to ‘rise up and take back ‘their place’ in society, I’d like to add that men’s place in society was to suppress others, take advance of others, and get away with disgusting sexist and racist behavior.

It pisses me off that people still think in this outdated way, they demonize pleasure, sexuality and women rights. Why would they want to go backward? And why would people born in these times want to go back to that time? It annoys me when people say they want to go back to the ‘1950s’ because of the fashion or the ‘simpler times, and I’m like really? You want to go back to having no rights? Your husband is the one who decides what you wear and where you can go? You know the University you are going to? you think that would be possible in that 40’s or 50’s?

Even the men who say they want to go back, the only reason you want to go back is because you can act like an asshole and get away with iT, and religious people want to go back because back then people weren’t as smart, and didn’t have the brain cells to work out that they were in a cult created by someone to suppress minorities, so white men can take what they want, when they want and no one can do shit because ‘God says I can’, fuck off with that.

Also the cristany club at uni, can also fuck off, last year they asked people to put a marble in the cup with that label of what they ‘belive’ in. The cups had many words... but only two, maybe three of them wear beliefs. One cup was labeled ‘Love’, love is not a belief. One cup was labeled ‘Science’, Science is not a belief. One cup was labeled ‘Hope’, Hope is not a belief. Then you had a cup labeled ‘God’, and holy shit, would you believe it? I know I wouldn’t but God is a belief. How did these dumb asses get into university when they don’t even know the definition of a belief.

If you want to be a moron and practice bullshit that is made to oppress women, stigmatizes women, says that women are ‘dirty’ on their periods, people of color or who are ‘different from you’ are free game and you can use them as slaves, but that men are the holy grail of all. then go ahead, in your own time, don’t ruin everyone else’s day with your ignorance.

Man, I could quote the fucking bible, I’ve read it and its the worst fiction I’ve ever read. People really think man was created by god and women by man’s ribs over the clear evidence of

evaluation? People can so fucking dumb.

Words by Amari Butrecks

Correspondence 1. What does Young Labor Left placing their posters on top of other clubs’ promotional materials say about their attitude towards campus culture?

2. Should the Australian Government recognise apartheid in Palestine?

3. Was the ALP offering conditional support for the religious discrimination bill a shrewd political move? Or a sell-out?

LEFT SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE 1. Yeah it’s a shame it happened, clubs shouldn’t cover up each other’s material. But our biggest concern isn’t whether they follow good postering etiquette or not, it’s that they are the student wing of the Labor party. The same party that refused to oppose the bigoted religious discrimination bill, set a paltry 43% carbon emissions reduction target, remains committed to keeping January 26th, refuses to condemn Israel’s apartheid regime and will only “consider” increasing welfare if they get into federal government. We want politics on campus to be about standing up to these major parties when they attack students and the oppressed, rather than cheering them on.

2.Yes, absolutely. Israel is a murderous regime intent on destroying Palestinians directly through warfare and poverty and indirectly through discriminatory laws. Palestinians are subject to strict limitations of movement, have limited access to public services like health care, and no voting rights. Israel upholds two separate codes of law for Palestinians and Israeli citizens, making a clear-cut case for apartheid.

3. Labor’s position on the bill is utterly appalling. It was a deliberate move to ensure the security of their conservative voter base. Had Labor followed their so-called oppositional stance, they would have voted the bill down in its entirety, not tinker around the edges.

During the week of debate around the bill, thousands of LGBTI+ people and allies took to the streets to rightly condemn this foul piece of legislation. This was a reflection of broader sentiment in society that was built up over years of protesting for equal marriage. That’s the strategy we need to have to defend LGBTI+ rights, that’s the strategy that wins.

CENTRE LABOR UNITY 1. The current campus culture of placing promotional materials on top of others is inappropriate however the material under is out of date. However Labor Unity doesn’t currently have its own FUSA affiliated university club after being disaffiliated with FUSA by the Labor Left a few years ago. Labor Left controls the Labor Club and won’t allow Unity members to join, showing a pattern of them seeking to disadvantage their political opponents.

2. The recent report by Amnesty International highlights a critical situation faced by Palestinian people. Racial segregation in the form of apartheid does nothing to heal the wounds of Jewish and Palestinian struggles, rather it deepens them and Australia should have no part in promoting it. The Morrison government actively chose a side mindlessly without looking at the history of the conflict and basing their decision on what is beneficial to them and not those suffering in Palestine. Their shifting of the Israeli embassy to Jerusalem was a purely political move designed to win Jewish votes for example.Instead, we need to be actively working toward peace between the two nations. In order to do this, Australia should first acknowledge the contribution that both Israel and Palestine have made to their generational conflict rather than blindly following the West in ‘taking sides’ with Israel.

3. The Successful ALP amendments to the deeply flawed Religious Descrimination Act caused the legislation to become so toxic for the conservative liberals that they pulled the legislation believing that it was no longer ‘conservative enough’. Though there is a huge amount of valid criticism that one could give to the Labor Party for their support of the bill during the week, the reality is that thanks to their amendments we do not have to face the horrific consequences that LGBT students and staff would have had to face if the bill had gone ahead.

RIGHT FLINDERS’ LIBERAL CLUB 1. We do not believe in any club silencing another and we endorse a free marketplace of ideas. However, it is in true Labor Left fashion to need to not only be the most obnoxious voice in the room, but also the only voice, at risk of their insufficiency and ineptitude showing.

2. We support an amicable solution to the complex relationship between Israel and Palestine 3. The Australian Labor Party voted against the religious discrimination act, not for it.

Any person who considers religion to be a vital aspect of their life or people who want to conserve traditional, religious values for their children should view this shrewd move as a disavowal of the ALP. We support the autonomy of corporate bodies to make decisions on their own internal values.

Brother, Mine Words by Lou Morrison The sun set to slumber, and shadows blanketed the streets.

Blacker than night was my brother’s face, ‘let us go,’ he said, ‘to where out destinies may meet, In credence for our lives in this place.’

Mien of royalty he sat, Glorious standards of chrome on leather backs, A living room, a living room, Softness strained in living tissue.

Thickened fog, curled to the right, Saw the particularizing southern night, And quietly, so quietly, Rend the air in misery.

Musically, drumming the door, Strumming his foot on the floor, Brother mine veiled his fate, Ere the lick of death, night create.

‘Pledge life to voiceless chambers, A wick of breathless behaviours, Matchsticks in the offices, Cardboard cut-outs and profits in the processes.’

With a stammer and flick, Brother mine slough his gun.

The dirty lustre of the windows trick, Worked its way on minds undone.

‘Time for yellow smoke, there will be,’ He began, perennial feal in the eye, ‘until the bust of Baldar is removed from me, Many symptoms shall you descry.’

Then, the room grew denser, And my countenance shrunk nether, The crooks of trouble forever, Could not exchange for another, The words of fallacy in a lover, Reeking in unknown censer, The ranking stately manner of my brother.

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‘Tossed ashore in tricksters feud, surely one stands in jest, nor I of mood, Tell me! The depths for which thoughts bred!’

Morosely, I said.

‘I notice the form of your tenor, The suspicions of darkness enter, And purloin grace from one suddenly old, Depended upon thee, with gold, My soul! Criss-cross chain from the ceiling, With its canals cracked, broken, peeling.

One! Two! Or Ten! Sawdust words, Shall actions perform my voice averred?

Merde! Glorious Merde!’

Like owls on winter nights, My voice escaped, to the night, made flight.

And as one so inclined to idolatry I revulsed brother mine as a rotten tree.

‘Filthy lie! Torturous is my ilk!

Yet, I love thee, even when words in muddy silk Vomit from your throat, poised for slaughter, Is all well in daughter’s order?’

How I desired for words like fingers, It soothes, softs and lingers, And rip the raptured demon of repulse To the feeble light, watch the evil convulse.

Whatever enemy of providence, so inclined It were to my brother, a breath of death, Tempting like wine, To stricken like wealth, health, and intolerable breadths, This horrible state of mind.

An attendant, the logical interpretation, I would be, the simple guise, For relation, simple communication, Of the meticulous kind, in starstruck eyes.

Finally, In fear of suspicion proven true, I stood rooted, And looked as though at a corpse.

A sharp acumen, brother mine suited and Flashed a vivacious grin of pettish sorts, And threw his shadows at my feet, To meet his daughter once more.

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Must be this Big to Ride

By Evangelia Karageorgos

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People are inherently curious creatures, fascinated by the unfamiliar and this is never more noticeable than when you are a person with any difference like a clear physical disability.

Dating, relationships and having a sex life when you are a person with a disability always comes with questions, mostly questions from curious strangers who are not actually in line for a relationship or having sex with you. This was something I learned quickly as soon as I entered the dating world, and it became more brazen when it came to online dating.

I imagine that what follows might give some insight to questions unasked or unanswered by others in my place.

I am a person of short stature; I am bisexual and non-monogamous. Most of my dating, relationship and sex life experience has been with the average heighted male. I used to regularly attend kink events, I have kissed and dated girls and dated Polyamorous guys. I have never dated another person of short stature, honestly, there aren’t many around and I have never been attracted to them anyway. I have mostly met the men I have been with in person, out at clubs, events, and gigs or through friends.

I don’t measure every cock I go near; I don’t hide a measuring tape up my sleeve or under my pillow.

Or am I meant to be asking each sexual partner for these measurements? Do these guys who are curious about size like to announce how big they are to every girl they sleep with?

Then there was that one special time when this question came up in person. Asked to both myself and the gentleman I was having sex with at the time by one of his friends. ‘How does it work? We all know … is a good 13 inches and I’m a good 11 inches, do you see it, like pocking through her stomach?” Disturbingly unfamiliar with human anatomy, makes you wonder about how this man satisfies a woman.

So, what is my answer? A person’s height has nothing to do with the size they can take, everyone is different, some girls are deeper, some are not. But me, well I am like the Tardis, I may be small on the outside, but I have lots of room on the inside.

Then we have those who get a little bit hot under the collar and hard for the short girls. Now there is nothing wrong with a fetish and nothing wrong with fetishisning an adult, if it’s safe and consensual it’s all good. I cannot deny that my height is a fetish for some, and I would play on that at the kink clubs, why not, the Early on when I first started going out it was clear I attention and flirting was fun. But just don’t go around was different when it came to getting attention. Men announcing it, especially if you don’t know me. It’s not have either avoided me or only given me attention a cool pick-up line, it’s just creepy and it won’t get you so they can get close to my friends. I had a lot of anywhere. I love dreadlocks, and will flirt with a guy or male friends, I am outspoken, blunt, and loud and girl with dreads every time, but I don’t attempt to pick men like this but only in a mate’s way. One night them up by announcing their dreads get me all hot and a female stranger approached me and declared bothered (though to think about it, some guys might that her nephew was a person of short stature and actually like that). Like in any relationship there are she believed we would be perfect together. Yes, a conversation about sexual positions, though again you stranger who didn’t know a thing about me decided do get your fascinated and curious guys who are just because I was disabled and short that my perfect ‘asking out of interest’ after they have announced their match was a disabled and short man. She was so size. Those guys who I am never going to sleep with. passionate about this she brought it up with my As a person of short stature this discussion comes up friends all night and then got upset with me for not because there are things I cannot do and other things wanting to meet her nephew. Not really the attention that require a more delicate approach. Wanna cowgirl? anyone is looking for.

Well, that’s not likely to work all that great. I have short legs, dodgy hips and knees and can’t bounce like Online dating is a strange kind of special space the average girl, though it can still be fun with a little when you have a clear difference and in general. The extra cooperation. 69 your thing? Well, having a short safety of anonymity brings out people’s arrogance, torso can make this a bit of a reach but honestly, it’s a saying things on screen that they would never say distracting position anyway. You can’t expect a girl to to someone’s face. I have always been direct and concentrate on doing a good job when she’s distracted. honest on my profile; pictures are deceiving so I state Blow jobs? Well, you’re in luck. I am just the right size. my height (3 foot 11) clearly. As such the awkward There’s no need for a pillow for my knees, I can just question about size is a staple opening line to my walk straight up and get straight to work. Finding the online dating experience. “What is the biggest you right height coffee table and doggy style is a winner have taken?” A disturbingly frequent question, one every time. that has me asking so many other questions. How would I know this?

Maybe I need to tattoo a tape measure on my forearm with the words ‘must be this big to ride.’

By Ella Uhl

Rev

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N ola

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Wor ds

sL ar a

Y 0 6 e

ter

The Pill

, first

approved in 1960, was and is revolutionary for women. Women can now say yes to sex without the looming fear of having a baby.

They don’t have to be forced into unplanned motherhood or undergo several abortions. Even now, the pill has become not just a contraceptive but a way to balance out hormones, ease endometritis and heavy periods, and clear acne. It’s many different properties make it almost magical, a “fix-all” solution. But is that really the case?

Don’t get me wrong, I believe the pill has made women’s lives much better overall. But I also believe there’s been a major oversight in how most of the world, in particular the medical industry see the pill.

I’ve been on the pill once in my life. I was 18 and prescribed Brenda-35 ED for my hormonal acne. And it worked.

But, it also came with a string of unpleasant side effects. I got random bouts of nausea, constant bloating which negatively affected my body image (I used to want to skip class because I was so self-conscious about it), and I could not, for the life of me, become physically strong. Deep down, I was unhappy.

So, I decided to go off it. And, though my skin got worse, I couldn’t give rat’s arse. I felt so much better.

3 years later, and I fall into a discussion with my co-workers on the inadequacy of medical professionals prescribing medicine to women. It strikes a memory in me, of how I was so easily given a script for Brenda,

without even being told of the side effects. Wanting to listen to other women’s experiences on the pill, I searched for confessional videos on YouTube. I found dozens.

“I didn’t even realise how bad I felt until now” Youtuber Stephanie Ledda claims in a confessional video. Ledda experienced severe digestive issues, including bloating, and insomnia.

After taking an exhaustive blood test, she was told her liver functions were highly unusual – one liver enzyme extremely low (linked to malnutrition), the other super high (linked to fatty liver and hepatitis). Being suggested it may be the pill, Ledda decided to research online. She found numerous medical journals on links between oral contraceptives and liver complications.

“So, I was like, you know what, this is a no-brainer, I’m going to get off the pill.” (Ledda). After 5 months, Ledda’s liver functions returned to normal.

Not only that but her mood improved, she stopped bloating and could gain muscle tone, her libido slightly increased, and she felt more confident in herself.

Countless other online YouTubers have gone on the same journey as Ledda, such as Lucie Fink, xameliax, and Karen Berndt, all finding that their quality of life significantly improved.

These women were also like me, hastily given a script for the pill without being notified of any potential side effects.

Amelia from YouTube channel xameliax took Cerozette, a progestogen-only pill, for 10 years before deciding to go off it and experience her natural cycle.

Amelia stopped bloating, her skin (surprisingly) improved, she became less depressed and anxious, and had an increase in libido. Like Ledda, she confirms being more confident after going off oral contraceptives. “I feel a million times lighter,” Amelia claims, “I feel like my most authentic self.” (xameliax).

And because I am a serious and seasoned academic, I also decided to peruse forums on birth control on Reddit.

Some Redditors describe their experience on the pill as easy and beneficial, claiming ‘it’s just a matter of finding the right pill’ (Rosydoodles).

Others describe ‘awful creeping side effects’ such as ‘mood disturbances, plummeting sex drive, [and] weight gain’ (mocchan). Opinions on oral contraceptives and whether they had more benefits or more downsides were 50/50.

And yes, it may just be a matter of finding the right pill. But what if there were other, better solutions? A pill with very little side effects, for women or even men? Well, I think one of the reasons we haven’t got this miracle pill is the complete lack of research on it in the first place.

I only came across few journal articles exploring the link between negative side effects - in particular, mood changes - and the pill.

In a 2020 journal article on oral contraceptives effect on stress reactivity and brain structure, it was found that ‘blunted stress reactivity can be a risk factor for depression and that adolescent OC [i.e., Oral

Contraceptive] use is related to greater vulnerability to depression diagnosis in adulthood’ (Fiksdal et al.; Anderl et al). ‘Prolonged OC use during puberty’ was also linked to ‘altered neurodevelopment’ including affecting ‘stress reactivity’ (Sharma et al).

Whilst none of the research suggests dire consequences in starting the pill during adolescence, there is data which indicates a slight deficit in emotional regulation and reactivity as compared to adolescent non-pill users.

The contraceptive pill: how safe is it?

(2018) also explored the link between teenage depression and the pill.

Danish studies revealed a 70 percent increase of antidepressant use in pill users. Additionally, teenage girls on the pill were twice more likely to be depressed and suicidal than teenage girls who were not on the pill.

Though these recent documentaries, articles, personal accounts are all steppingstones into addressing the potential failures of the pill, there is simply not a large enough body of research investigating these failures.

Women, or men for that matter, shouldn’t suffer just because they don’t want to have a baby. There should be better options out there for oral contraceptives, ones that don’t lower a person’s quality of life.

60 years ago, the pill was one of the best things that happened for women, and still is, but it’s 2022 – modern medicine can do better.

So why don’t they?

“

Cruelty-Free does NOT end with Animals

The issue with Cruelty-Free

”

When shopping for cosmetics, clothes, and everyday goods, even food, do you look for labels that say things like ‘Free Range’, ‘Not Tested on Animals’, and ‘Cruelty-Free’?

After all, testing on animals is inhumane and at worse it is torturous. However, there is a flip side. Cruelty-Free’ only applies to animals - not people.

If a product or company claims to be ‘Cruelty-Free’ then one would assume that that would mean no cruelty was involved in the production of what you are purchasing. In fact, most people when they see labels such as ‘Cruelty-Free’, probably think ‘That’s good, I’ll buy this one’, and that’s great, it should be that way, people should want to help our planet and animals.

But if it only means ‘No animals were tested on’ then it denies the other forms of cruelty, and this issue isn’t something that can be easily fixed as it rooted in our society.

Let’s use make-up as an example; the products have not been tested on animals and the materials used may be body-safe, but where does the company source the ingredients for these products?

An example of one of these minerals, used by many companies, is Mica; an ingredient found in lipstick, bronzer, highlight, glitter, eyeshadow, car paint, and is even a major mineral used in the clay that makes cups, plates, and other ceramics. Mica has a beautiful surface that is high in luster, which makes it perfect for giving products ‘shimmer’. Mica has to be mined and is then sold to a broker who then sells it to larger cosmetic companies. This basically means that the companies are not directly in contact with the Mica mines - but why is this an issue?

So, would you consider a company that sources its materials unethically through the use of child labor in dangerous mines to be cruelty-free?

But it’s ok right? No animals were harmed, so this brand must be cruelty-free. This is an example of why it’s important to know the extent of the definition of labels, because if society was truly holding companies to an ethical standard, then people should be included, cruelty does not end with animals.

Companies can also get away with using ‘Cruelty-Free’ labels by saying their final product has not been tested on animals- the keyword being ‘final’. This means that individual ingredients could have been tested on animals but the final formula wasn’t. It’s important to read labels, so why don’t we? Some might like the product they use and if they know if it’s sourced unethically, then they will obviously feel the pressure to no longer support the company and stop purchasing the product, but if they choose to be ignorant then they are still supporting the mistreatment of children.

Of course, there are still humans who are mistreated by these corporations, not just children, and changing labor laws/making stricter laws on the treatment and safety of employees is not something that will be easily changed, but as individuals, we can start that change by simply giving a shit and not just reading labels but understand what those labels mean.

Words by Claire Gibbins

Mica has to be mined and is, unfortunately, often mined with child labor in illegal mines in developing countries where workers are drastically underpaid. According to the Child Labor Coalition, there have been reports of up to 10 child deaths per month in unregulated Mica mines in India and Madagascar alone.

Volume 49, Issue 03