Author Archives: Maia

The week isn’t ending

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Maia

Last week was a week of feminist rage – this week was supposed to be something new. I wasn’t quite expecting a week of feminist revolt and joy, but I was hoping to rage about something else for a week.* … Continue reading →

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Dear Sandra Coney

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Maia

As readers may be aware New Zealand decriminalised prostitution in 2003.  At the moment a bill has been introduced that would allow a single local government council too designate areas where both buying and selling sex on the street was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Dear Sandra Coney

The promotion of drivel

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Maia

I heard this on Checkpoint (a news programme on NZ’s equivalent of NPR) last Thursday, as part of a story about research that had found a correlation between strokes and living close to a road The author’s did find that … Continue reading →

Posted in Whatever | 1 Comment

Why does no one seem to remember or care that President Zuma of South Africa is a rapist?

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Maia

I’m not AVAAZ’s biggest fan at the best of times. I’m wary of activities that make people feel like they’re doing something, without encouraging any sort of collective action that could actually create change. But AVAAZ’s latest campaign is particularly … Continue reading →

Posted in Rape, intimate violence, & related issues | 2 Comments

Mantrol and Manghurt?

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Maia

One of the great traditions of New Zealand advertising is that no portrayal of masculinity can be too over-the-top or too ridiculous to sell beer. However, recently beer’s place as the pinnacle of ridiculous masculinity by some products which are … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Men and masculinity | 1 Comment

Being a feminist is a lot like being a bowl of petunias

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Maia

I don’t always cross-post what I write about New Zealand issues, but I am going to cross-post something I wrote about a New Zealand left-wing journalist who has misrepresented the accusations against Assange. I think it’s worth bringing to wider … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Rape, intimate violence, & related issues | 3 Comments

Rape Myths and Julian Assange

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Maia

I don’t want to write about Julian Assange or the rape charges he is facing. I don’t speak Swedish, a lot of the material in English misrepresents the Swedish legal system and. I don’t have time to unpack all that. … Continue reading →

Posted in Rape, intimate violence, & related issues | 5 Comments

Apparently I live in a company town

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Maia

So apparently New Zealand’s latest industrial relations drama has made news around the world. I thought I’d cross-post something I wrote for my blog about the whole thing, so you can get a local perspective. For those just tuning in … Continue reading →

Posted in Class, poverty, labor, & related issues | 3 Comments

Finally, a Huge post

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Maia

Note – I wrote this post for my my blog so it is written for an audience who haven’t even heard of Huge (which hasn’t aired in New Zealand yet). But I thought I’d post it here, so we can … Continue reading →

Posted in Fat, fat and more fat, Popular (and unpopular) culture | 8 Comments

This is what progress looks like

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Maia

A minor shit-storm has blown up over on Feministe where a guest blogger called Monica posted an fat-hating rant.* I’m not going to quote any of it – it was an inane, illogical post – and the point of this … Continue reading →

Posted in Fat, fat and more fat | 75 Comments