An new alliance of women’s organisationshas called on the Victorian Government toensure that reform of the State’s abortionlaws are made in the interests of women WFA Media Release | 21 August 2008The alliance, ‘Real Reform’ comprises women’s advocacy groups including Women’s Forum Australia (WFA), Real Choices Australia (RCA), Real Alternatives for Women (RAW) Feminists for Life (FFL), and the Feminist International Network of Resistance to Reproductive and Genetic Engineering (FINRRAGE). Real Reform accepts that the new Bill will decriminalise abortion. However there must be amendments that address the importance of informed consent, counselling and options. Read the full release here National Council to Reduce Violenceagainst Women and ChildrenWFA SubmissionWomen's Forum Australia has provided a submission to the National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and Children. You can read the submission here: Women's Forum Australia Submission The Pornification of GirlhoodMelinda Tankard Reist | July 2008 In her book The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls (1998), Joan Jacobs Brumberg examines the diaries of girls from the 1800s to the present. Extracts from two journals illustrate the significant shifts in the way girls see themselves and what they consider important. In 1882 a girl wrote: "Resolved, not to talk about myself or feelings. To think before speaking. To work seriously, To be self restrained in conversation and actions. Not to let my thoughts wander. To be dignified. Interest myself more in others." A century later, another girl writes in her diary: "I will try to make myself better in any way I possibly can with the help of my budget and baby-sitting money. I will lose weight, get new lenses, already got new hair cut, good makeup, new clothes and accessories." Read the full article here Watch This!Melinda Tankard Reist and Julie Gale - 9am show, Channel Ten 
Click on the image to watch Melinda and Julie talk about the sexualisation of children, the Senate enquiry and its outcome, or click here. Pin-up ChildrenMelinda Tankard Reist | 28 July 2008 When the Senate inquiry into the sexualisation of children in the media was announced, those of us who had worked hard to point out that it wasn’t in the best interests of children to be treated as mini adults and sexual selling aids, welcomed it. At last, we thought, our elected representatives think this issue warrants serious attention. Read the full article on Online Opinion here An image of a girlMelinda Tankard Reist | 18 July 2008 Art, we were told last week, is about “giving people dignity”. That’s how art critic Robert Nelson described the role of art on ABC’s PM program. “We’ve got to have faith in art,” he implored. Nelson is the father of Olympia, whose naked photos appear in Art Monthly Australia’s latest issue. The photos were taken in 2003 by her mother, when the girl was six. Flicking through a copy of Art Monthly I picked up in a Canberra newsagency, I wondered if Mr Nelson had actually looked through the magazine which featured his little daughter, before he gave us his profound thoughts on art and human dignity? Call me particular, but I don’t find images of semi-naked bound women with protruding sex organs, all that dignified. Read the full article on Online Opinion here You say dignity, I say torture porn - andne'er the twain shall meet.Melinda Tankard Reist | 9 July 2008 Art is about "giving people dignity", the critic Robert Nelson told ABC radio this week. "We've got to have fairh in art," he said. Nelson is the father of Olympia, whose naked photos appear in Art Monthly Australia's latest issue. The photos were taken in 2003 by her mother, when the girl was six. While flicking through Art Monthly, I wondered whether Mr Nelson had looked at the magazine that featured his daughter before he gave us his thoughts on art and human dignity. Call me particular, but I don't find images of semi-naked, bound women with protruding sex organis all that dignified. I looked really hard, but couldn't see much dignity in the photograph of a Japanese schoolgirl trussed in rope and suspended with her skirt raised to reveal her underwear. Torture porn just doesn't stir my soul. Read the full article in the Sydney Morning Herald PM and Opposition Leader offer support for "Get Real" body image forum at World Youth Day WFA Media Release | 17 July 2008The Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Leader of the Opposition Brendan Nelson, have provided messages of support to be read at the "Get Real!" body image forum at World Youth Day tomorrow night. "World Youth Day brings together youth from around the world to celebrate shared values of peace and humanity. It is an ideal forum in which to raise awareness of body issues affecting young women, given the global reach of advertising and modern media," Mr Rudd said. Download the press release here "Get Real" Body Image Forumcomes to Sydney for World YouthDayWFA Media Release | 15 July 2008"Get Real!", a major event on body image issues, will be held on Sydney's Darling Harbour, Friday July 18, as part of World Youth Day. Hosted by independent women's think tank, Women's Forum Australia, "Get Real!" will take place at the Parkside Ballroom, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, at 8pm. The event will look at issues around the objectification of women and sexualisation of girls in popular culture, body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders. The Sydney launch of WFA's magazine-style research paper Faking It will also take place on the night. Download the press release here.
Sexualisation inquiry report takes soft optionsWFA Media Release | 26 June 2008 The Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communication and the Arts has failed to deliver the strong recommendations needed to address the sexualisation of children, in its inquiry report tabled today. The Committee’s recommendations don’t go far enough. The advertising industry needed a big shake up - it didn’t get it. Read our press release here Read statements from Dr Clive Hamilton and Young Media Australia and Kids Free 2 B Kids Melinda Tankard Reist and Dr Clive Hamilton respond to the Inquiry report on ABC radio PM program. Listen to the interview with Real Player, Windows Media Player or mp3. Read the transcript here. Watch This!The issue of the sexualisation of girls in the media and popular culture received special attention on the NINE Network Sunday June 22, with features on 60 Minutes and Sunday. Julie Gale (Kids Free 2B Kids), Dannielle Miller (Enlighten Education), Amanda Gordon (Australian Psychological Association), Louise Newman (University of Newcastle), and Clive Hamilton (previously with the Australia Institute) presented a compelling case for the harm wrought especially on girls, through treating them as sexy little adults. We were pleased to see NINE treat the issue with the seriousness it deserved. You can view the Sunday program here by clicking on the image or the title. 
Sunday Interview - Part 1
Sunday Interview - Part 2 You can view the 60 Minutes program here by clicking on the image or the title. 
Watch the 60 Minutes story here 60 Minutes Chat with Danni MillerDanielle Miller from Enlighten Education answered questions online after the interview. She mentioned our work: "Women's Forum Australia have a publication entitled "Faking It" which does a tremendous job of combining the research on the sexualisation and objectification of women's bodies with a highly readable approach." Read the chat transcript here Body fix the wrong answer for teensMelinda Tankard Reist | May 9, 2008 The Iemma Government has announced a ban on intimate body piercing on children and teenagers. If you're under 16, you won't be able to get rings and studs through your nipples or genitals and any other piercings will require parental consent. "I can't see any reason why a child … would need to expose their intimate body parts to strange adults for the sake of fashion or a trend," the Minister for Community Services, Kevin Greene, said. It's a good move. But if the Government is serious about addressing the issue of body modification in young people, it needs to demonstrate it doesn't think fake breasts, celebrity-style noses or nerve-paralysing poison injections are a good idea for young people, either. While Queensland will ban cosmetic procedures for under-18s, "we're not heading in that direction", a spokeswoman for the NSW Health Minister, Reba Meagher, said recently. Read complete article at Sydney Morning Herald.
WFA welcomes end of legal action against
Australia InstituteWomen’s Forum Australia today welcomed the decision of David Jones to end legal proceedings against the Australia Institute related to its 2006 discussion paper Corporate Paedophilia: sexualisation of children in Australia. The report, written by Emma Rush and Andrea La Nauze, was responsible for kick starting the debate over the sexualisation of children in the media and popular culture in Australia. Anyone concerned about the sexualisation of children owes the Australia Institute a debt of gratitude for getting the issue the attention it deserved. Download full media release here. The sluts-r-us approach to childhood playMelinda Tankard Reist | May 8, 2008 “What do you want to be when you grow up darling?” a mother asks her little girl. A Bimbo!” she replies enthusiastically. Forget dreams of your precious daughter growing up to be Prime Minister or solving world poverty. Young girls are being given the message that their ultimate aim in life is to be a bimbo. Read full article at Online Opinion. Branding girls for s*xMelinda Tankard Reist | May 6, 2008 The insertion of long-acting, potentially dangerous, hormonal contraceptives into the bodies of young Indigenous girls does not protect them from sexual abuse. It actually sets them up for greater exploitation. Queensland Health recently admitted implanting contraceptive rods in girls as young as 12 after the practice was discovered in two Indigenous communities - Aurukun on Cape York and Woorabinda, west of Rockhampton. It has since emerged that girls in the Northern Territory are also being given the hormones. Read full article at Online Opinion. WFA welcomes changes to advertising codeTranscript of the Lateline interview with Melinda Tankard Reist. Faking ItHeard about our magazine-style research paper Faking It? Wondering why it has received so much attention? Find out by ordering your copy today. 
"Thank you for using real girls in the pages of your magazine (girls who haven't been photoshopped or pancaked in makeup). Thank you for creating awareness around the dangerous of dieting and not encouraging people to believe the misconceptions that all eating disorder sufferers are; a) looking for attention, b) have been sexually abused, c) are just spoilt brats, d) need to eat a sandwich. Thank you for making a mockery of the fashion/beauty industry. I was so disappointed to find that this magazine was not for sale as a continued publication. I would be proud to read this magazine" – Noelle, recovering eating disorder sufferer. Second edition available now! Read more... Recommended readingChild sexualisation shrouded in weasel words Clive Hamilton | June 29, 2008 IN A store one Saturday morning early in 2006, I became aware of a bank of television screens tuned to a music video showing a rap singer engaged in simulated sex with several barely clad dancers. The women were bent over while the rap singer rhythmically thrust his genitals at their backsides. There were quite a few children in the store with parents. I looked around to see if anyone was shocked that soft porn should be shown in a "family environment", in public on a Saturday. No one seemed to be taking any notice and I thought maybe it was just me. I considered complaining, but wondered whether I was so out of touch I would be regarded as weird. Read the full article at The Age Let's stop trying to turn girls into probationary sexpots Tracie Winch | June 23, 2008 I've just learnt to be an A+ kisser. I'm also totally in the know about hooking up, performing oral sex (with or without braces) and girl-on-girl pashing. I've read the sealed section too and know that 58% of readers lost their virginity between age 10 and 15. This, I guess, means I'm either hot — or not. As for rehab, that's a bit like staying in a really posh hotel isn't it? Read full article at The Age |
