PUTTING THE MAN IN ‘MANDATE’

September 18, 2013 by Scout Boxall

Scout’s getting nervous: a quick look on how newly sworn-in Prime Minister Tony Abbott is doing the political equivalent of a time warp to Cold War era. 1. One female cabinet minister out of nineteen positions. Julie Bishop’s ferocity and persistence in politics have stood her in good stead as Deputy Opposition Leader. She will be remember for three things: (1) a death stare that would have paralysed Thatcher; (2) violating Indonesian sovereignty with a policy to “turn back” asylum […]

Categories: Something Blue, Something New • Tags: auspocalyspe, MANdate, new cabinet

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: RETHINKING GENDER

September 13, 2013 by Scout Boxall

A gender studies major (Scout) on artists who find beauty in blurring gender. Nir Arieli is a former military photographer for the Israeli magazine Bamachane. Now living and studying in New York City, his portfolio “Men” captures the lithe, slender ostensibly ungendered bodies of young male models. These images have none of masculinity’s conventional phallic strength, stoicism or supremacy. Their gender is neutralised: even though they are clearly male, their bodies are feminised. In each shot, the young subject is […]

Categories: Something New • Tags: Gender, nir arieli, she monkeys, tomboy

BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS

August 27, 2013 by Scout Boxall

I’ve taken a tumble recently, and unearthed a beautiful blog called Old Loves, collating images of celebrities and their (former) lovers. You can watch the romantic entanglements of actors, musicians and models unfold before your eyes. Think Peter Sellers and Liza Minnelli (engaged three days after meeting, in spite of having their own respective partners, and then separated a month later). Think Cher in her various, increasingly silicon, reincarnations. Think the impossible love pentacle of Orson Welles, Rita Hayworth, Nora […]

Categories: Uncategorized

COOL YOUR JETS

August 22, 2013 by Scout Boxall

The Daily Spread regrets to inform its consumers that, due to the increased workload and emotional burden of the entirety of its staff*, it will only be posting weekly. Yes, that technically makes it The Weekly Spread, but our editor* paid twenty dollars for a domain name and is in no position to be wasting money. So you can use your imagination. Or redefine the linear time-space fabric that dictate that a day must only consist of twenty-four hours. What […]

Categories: Uncategorized

PRAYING THE GAY AWAY

August 21, 2013 by Scout Boxall

Writing for University of Sydney’s student paper Honi Soit, Georgia Kriz spends a day with a gay conversion therapist. A small woman answers the door. She’s dressed nicely; in a neat blazer, crisply ironed trousers, small blue earrings. Her hair is dyed a blonde that is perhaps one shade shy of bombshell – she looks much younger than I know she is. Her gold necklace reads “Jesus” in block letters. “Lucy, is it? I’m Cheryl. Come in, dear.” I have […]

Categories: Something New, Something Old • Tags: conversion therapy, ex-gay, exodus international

CAN WE BORROW… POPE FRANCIS’ PRIDE?

August 12, 2013 by Scout Boxall

It looked like the first movement towards a reconciliation between Catholicism and the queer community. On July 29, during a flight back home from the Rio de Janeiro World Youth Day festivities, newly-inaugurated Pope Francis said that he was in no position to “judge” homosexuals. Twitter imploded. The Gay Catholic Voice Ireland praised the Pope’s airborne comments as “a significant development from previous papal pronouncements, which have usually referred to a ‘homosexual condition’”. But even the elated queers of Éire […]

Categories: Something Borrowed, Something New • Tags: catholic church, homosexuality, pope francis i

PSA: “BOYS BEWARE”

August 5, 2013 by Scout Boxall

A conspicuous consumer (Scout) on the catch-22 of queer-friendly advertising campaigns. Watching antiquated Public Service Announcements and guidance films gives me a thrill. Most recently, I uncovered a gem from Inglewood, California (one of the final bastions of racism and homophobia). The short film warns young boys to be wary of homosexuals. And I watched this feverishly, like a dog that has dug up a stick to chew on or a feminist who has found a poorly-written spiel defending men’s […]

Categories: Something Old

ASMR: GOOD VIBRATIONS

August 2, 2013 by Scout Boxall

A neurotic (Scout) on the closest she’ll get to an out-of-body experience or superpower. It’s difficult to describe the sensation I experience when I listen to someone whispering. Every hiss or sharp “t” sound sends a new tingling, shivering wave around the crown of my head. My hair stands on end. It’s like being massaged by tiny cold inside your skull. I feel as if I’m sinking into a vat of milk and honey. My nerves are bubbling and sparkling […]

Categories: Something Blue, Something New • Tags: asmr, euphoria, frisson, music, shivers

RUBBING SALT IN THE WOUND

July 29, 2013 by Scout Boxall

Someone new to the debate (Scout) on the implications for queer asylum seekers under Labor’s new “hardline”. We Australians are used to seeing blood in the ocean. There were the red sands of Gallipoli, the white sharks of the East Coast, the convict ships of the First Fleet. And now we have the shallows of Christmas Island. One thousand and eleven asylum seekers have surrendered their lives to the ocean in an attempt to reach safety in Australia since 2008. […]

Categories: Something Blue, Something New • Tags: asylum seekers, lgbt, salt