Don’t Be Friendly or We’ll Take It the Wrong Way

May 13, 2013 in Gender, Human Rights, News, People, Society, Travel

I was casually scrolling through news.com.au one lunchtime, and came across an article entitled “Western women warned “friendliness’ confuses Indian men”. My first reaction was “huh?” which of course prompted me to read the article. In short, Indian men “often get the ‘wrong signal’ from female tourists who are simply being friendly”. Well that makes complete sense… In this day and age, women are constantly being told they can’t do things. We can’t expect to earn the same as men. We can’t expect to be treated with respect in our chosen career. We can’t expect other women to accept us [...]

This Week: Heart Health, Anniversary & New Jeans

April 20, 2013 in Anecdotes, Comedy, Fashion, Food & Recipes, Health, Humour, Marriage, Nutrition, Stories, Style, Wedding

This week has been, and will continue to be, a busy one. After pulling on my jeans last Thursday morning only to discover they were ripped right in the crotch (stylish, no?) I began my search for the ‘right’ jeans. I had pretty specific ideas of what I wanted in this pair of jeans. They had to be tight, stretchy enough that I could move comfortably, long enough to scrunch a little at the ankle, dark blue in colour, super skinny and high waisted. Not a long list of requirements at all! It took 3 different shopping trips with the [...]

Ask A Brothel Receptionist: Part 2 (NSFW)

April 19, 2013 in Anecdotes, People, Sex, Sexuality, Society, Work

Cassie worked as a receptionist in a brothel. She’s written a series answering the most common questions. This is Part 2. Go here for Part 1 4. Well, I’ve never seen a sex worker. How pathetic are people who have to pay for sex? Don’t you just hate them? Okay, so this one isn’t so much a question as a statement I heard over and over again. And while, admittedly, the clients could drive me nuts sometimes, they were also paying my wage, so they got at least a little bit of my protectiveness as well. Clients aren’t assholes – assholes are [...]

Ask A Brothel Receptionist: Part 1 (NSFW)

April 12, 2013 in Entertainment, Film & TV, Gender, Health, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Nutrition, People, Sex, Sexuality, Society, Work

Cassie worked as a receptionist in a brothel. She’s written a series answering the most common questions. This is Part 1 You probably won’t be surprised to hear I’ve gotten into quite a few heated arguments with people over my acceptance of the sex industry and the people who work in it. It’s an issue that can set people off very very quickly, and I’ve seen people go from zero to Hitler with appalling speed as soon as sex work is mentioned. But I’ve learned that head on arguments take more out of me than they chip away at the [...]

This Week: Breakfast & Cleaning

March 30, 2013 in Food & Recipes, Home, Lifestyle, Meta, Pets, Self, Sexuality, Society

In the past week I’ve spent more than the recommended amount of time cleaning. The up side being my house is all spotless in time for Easter and we finally unpacked the boxes in the hallway that have been there for, oh, a while (3 years). I also cleaned all the windows which haven’t been cleaned for a long time. This was my week in pics: Breakfast for Good Friday: Porridge! Note how my one is the child size version? Hilarious.  Night at the Chapel last Friday night. Church has changed quite a bit since I was last there. Lionel [...]

Marriage: I’m Just Not That Into You

March 27, 2013 in Lifestyle, Marriage, People, Relationships, Religion, Self, Sexuality, Society

Like many other girls, when I was young I would picture my wedding. There was the white dress, the flowers, the bridesmaids, and sometimes even the groom. The thing is; I never thought I would actually get married. I always assumed I would feel different when I was older. It’s never happened. In fact, I’ve become almost adamant that I never want to get married. I would like to preface this piece by saying that I love weddings. Seriously. I LOVE them! Seeing a couple stand up and affirm their love for one another is a beautiful thing. And there [...]

When a Nickname Hurts

March 13, 2013 in Body Image, Gender, Health, Mental Health, Sexuality

This post may contain words offensive to some readers. Nicknames: most of us have one, maybe more. Usually those around us give them to us. When I was born, I was a solid baby, and a long baby. My first nickname given to me by my parents was ‘Big Bird’.  And to this day, they still bust it out, now and again. Once I started school, I was quickly named ‘Mars’ or ‘Mars Bar’ by my primary school peers.  Harmless and fun. Nothing hurtful about these nicknames. Then came high school- ‘Bostik’ (the glue stick, as I was straight up [...]

Abortion: I’m Pro-Choice And Pro-Life

February 11, 2013 in Current Affairs, Gender, Health, Human Rights, Lifestyle, Parenting, People, Pregnancy & Birth, Religion, Self, Sexuality, Society

I’m glad to see that there’s been some new discussions around the antiquated abortion laws in New South Wales and Queensland – about time! Whenever I see articles about abortion, it always makes me wonder what I would do if a sexual partner of mine became pregnant. Given my age, sex, and relationship status (middle-aged, male, and in a 20 year committed relationship) it’s unlikely that I will ever be confronted with this situation. But when people ask me if I am pro-choice or pro-life, I always reply “both”. “How can that be?” they will ask. Well, it all depends [...]

What KiKi & Tea has taught me

December 13, 2012 in Body Image, Health, Mental Health, Meta, People, Self, Sexuality

This year I became involved with KiKi & Tea- a blog that I had been reading for a while. I was asked to write a guest piece on Easter, and soon after was offered the opportunity to be a regular contributor. I was hesitant: would people hate what I wrote? Would my writing be of an acceptable caliber? Would I be a big enough person to not get upset if someone disagreed with a point I’d made? KK&T taught me to think outside the square. I was able to get my Friday gossip fix thanks to Monique. I was always [...]

Book Review: Looking for Alaska

November 20, 2012 in Books, Dating, Entertainment, Friendship, People, Relationships, Sex, Sexuality

Like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Looking for Alaska is a young adult novel that can easily be enjoyed by adults. In fact, any of John Green’s novels make for good adult reads. He is a fan of exploring his character’s inner most desires and writes intellectually satisfying prose. The main character is Pudge (Miles), a fifteen-year-old who manages to go through life mostly unnoticed. He is scrawny, smart, and studious and stays out of trouble. His one quirk is memorising people’s last words. It’s this pastime that leads him to pack up and move to boarding school in [...]