Women on the Line

Three queer Aboriginal women share personal stories of negotiating identity, discovering community, and caring for friends amidst the AIDS crisis and after. Laniyuk Garcon, Sandy O’Sullivan, and Samia Goudie are contributors to the new book, 'Colouring the Rainbow: Blak Queer and Trans Perspectives.' Published by Wakefield Press, the volume includes 22 stories and essays by queer Aboriginal Austra...

This episode of Women on the Line focuses on the recently announced trials of the new Cashless Welfare Card and the implications of income management for Centrelink recipients. The cashless welfare card is a new debit card whereby 80% of the payments of most Centrelink recipients other than those on the Age Pension will be "quarantined."Trials of the card are scheduled to start in three trial site...

Amy Middleton speaks to two women doing amazing things for fair production of fashion. Rebekka Carey-Smith is an accreditation advisor for Ethical Clothing Australia, and Sigrid McCarthy has just launched Intent Journal, a magazine that explores the current fashion system, and people’s relationships with clothing. Presenter: Amy MiddletonGuests: Rebekka Carey-Smith, Sigrid McCarthy

In Our Own Words is an organisation that exists to encourage the development of young Afro-Black people through self awareness, de-colonial thinking and community empowerment. We chat with co-founders Aysha Tufa and Soreti Kadir about their upcoming conference Black Voices where they are curating a whole day of workshops, panels and performances with amazing international and local guests. In Our...

Recently well-known author & second wave feminist Germaine Greer angered transgender & gender diverse people and their supporters with a new wave of transphobic comments.  Trans women Regan Bleechmore & Lisbeth Latham, and Gender & Cultural studies academic Jessica Kean share their thoughts on the intersection of the transgender experience & feminism. Trigger warning: Please note that the content...

On November 4 Friends, Families and Feminists Against Detention (FFFAD) staged an action at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection in Melbourne to protest Australia's continued detention of asylum seekers. This episode of Women on the Line will cover the FFFAD action, hear from Hanan Marouf from Syrians for Freedom on the Australian Government's hypocritical treatment of refugees, and...

Cherchez La Femme is a monthly feminist talkshow held in Melbourne and hosted by founder Karen Pickering. The topic of the next Cherchez La Femme is Selfies and feminism. We chatted to one of the panellists, artist and writer, Virginia Fraser, about performance, creativity, feminism and the much maligned ‘Selfie’.Presenter: Amy MiddletonGuest: Virginia Fraser

Ascension magazine is Australia's first Indigenous and Ethnic women's lifestyle magazine founded by Sasha Sarago who saw a gap in the market. She explores the importance of representation of Women of Colour within this media space. Ascension Sampa The Great 

Women in Literary Arts Australia is a new organisation aimed at promoting and supporting women writers. We chat to founder Lefa Singleton Norton about WILAA, the state of literature, and the experience of being a woman writer in Australia today. Presenter: Amy Middleton Women in Literary Arts Australia is currently unfunded. Find out more: http://WILAA.org

Sisters Day Out is a full day workshop hosted by the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service Victoria aimed at breaking down the barriers to reporting family violence and building trust to empower Aboriginal women to access legal assistance services and other supports. The program has not been able to get the funding it needs and the future of Sisters Day Out is now at risk. On Oct...

Mother and daughter authors Lesley and Tammy Williams chat with us about their newly released book, 'Not Just Black And White - A Conversation Between a Mother and Daughter'. The book is a memoir about Lesley and Tammy shared journey which is rooted in shedding light on the untold stories of Aboriginal domestic servants and labourers who were never paid for their work. Not Just Black and White Web...

Women on the line went to Melbourne Fringe Festival show "I Am That Woman." The show features five self described non-conforming women who share their experiences. This episode of Women on the Line features highlights from the show and interviews with Lana Woolf and Viki Mealings exploring their thoughts about the show.

A conversation between Melbourne and Jakarta that traverses the role of women in the post-Suharto period. Zine making, DIY arts and crafts, and gender identity. From Jakarta, artist Ika Vantiani speaks about Jakarta's contemporary arts collective ruangrupa. Associate Producer Rani Pramesti, and founder of WANITA, Sooji Kim share their insights. This conversation was recorded in anticipation of Foo...

We hear an exciting and important talk about African feminism organised by Radical Women Australia. The talk is titled Feminism in Africa: From its Ancient Roots to Now and was delivered by Kenyan feminist, international student and Radical Women member, Nita Okoko. Soul is Heavy - NnekaRadical Women Australia

What would a feminist methodology sound like? That's the question that sound festival Liquid Architecture is posing. Over four weeks, 31 brilliant female artists are stepping up to respond. We hear profound performances from Celeste Liddle, Evelyn Ida Morris, and Makiko Yamamoto, plus a conversation with Liquid Architecture's artistic director, Danni Zuvela. 

Two staunch women in conversation about decolonisation and the free movement of people. Lucy Honan of the Refugee Action Collective and Meriki Onus from Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance discuss the parallels between their struggles that challenge the border, the nation state, and the violence used to uphold them. This is an edited version of a discussion recorded at Melbourne's Anarchist Book...

We speak with LA based poet, performer, teaching artist and ice cream connoisseur Mayda Del Valle who is down in Melbourne for the Footscray Community Arts Centre's Poetic Days Weekend. She discusses representation, ancestral memory and the sexism in the spoken word poetry spaces. www.maydadelvalle.comMayda del ValleVida linda – MyVerse

This week, we bring you a conversation recorded by Archer Magazine in Sydney in June 2015. Discussion centres around sexual diversity across generational divides, and features Teresa Savage and Viv McGregor. Teresa is the founder of 55uppitty.com, a documentary website about queer women over 55, and Viv is a photographer who heads up the women’s sexual health program Claude in Sydney.

This is the fifth and final instalment of our special Women on the Line series, 'Australia’s race to warm the planet' about this country’s particular contribution to global warming and what can be done to stop it. In this episode we look at how Australia can become completely decarbonized in the next decade. We talk to Jenny Lewis from think tank and research organisation Beyond Zero Emissions abo...

Atong Atem speaks on being a 'Third Culture Kid', studying fine art in a very white institution and why she identifies with Womanism. atongatem.tumblr.com Front To The Back- Akoko

Blank Noise is an art project that grew out of Bangalore India. Since 2003, activists have been finding creative ways to challenge cultures of victim blaming and street harassment. Founder Jasmeen Patheja tells us more. Their latest campaign is ineveraskforit.org  The Lesbian Rules is a short documentary in production. Budding film making Gena Riess is looking for participants.

We speak to the founder of Ladyz in Noyz Australia, along with two artists supported by the intiative, about women in experimental music, crowdfunding for their upcoming tour, and the need for arts collectives. DONATE HERE: gofundme.com/LINAtour Presenter: Amy MiddletonGuests: Lara Soulio, Edie Stevens, Fjorn Butler EVES (feat. Edie Stevens): https://eves.bandcamp.com/album/evesGURNER (feat. Fjorn...

The Bussy Project is a performance project in Egypt that creates a safe space to speak about social issues, personal experiences, and gender dynamics that aren't addressed in mainstream Egyptian society.  We speak with Nadia Elboubkri from Cairo about their work, and their current crowdfunder for a permanent space.  Also on the show,  Roxanne Gay shares her confessions of a bad feminist.

Why does our society assume that older people have no sexuality, and what impact does this assumption have on individuals in the ageing population? In this episode, we explore the importance of sexual expression among older people, and some of the issues faced by women around sexuality as they age, particularly in aged care services. I’m joined by Dr Catherine Barrett, a Senior Research Fellow and...

American campaigner and author Linda Tirado joins Nicole to speak about poverty, the minimum wage, and internet activism in the US and Australia. Discussing the #fightfor15 movement campaigning for a minumum wage in America, and considering the importance of a public health and welfare system