What kind of power would you like?
Alchemy!
Or time travel (the ability to open portals into other worlds..)
However integrity and humour are the best 'real world' superpowers. Being able to view the world from alternate perspectives would surely bring about most social change and real benefit.
How would it manifest? What would enable it?
Moving through a wall down the street..
..or transporting into a photograph.
Who is your favourite superhero/person/public figure, contemporary or imagined?
Mary Shelley.
Favourite superhero would be Buffy. Not just her but the central idea of the show - group power as opposed to one singular hero that can save the world. In the Buffyverse everyone had an important role to play in order to overcome the social issues and enact change.
And Pussy Riot are pretty much contemporary superheroes.
As a teenager (and still today) musicians like PJ Harvey and Nick Cave made me feel and were able to transport me. I loved them for their passion, sexuality and art.
Lately I’m most drawn to comedians and their ability to stick it to power in the cleverest and most effective ways.
What do you admire most about Frida Kahlo and "Freda" Josephine Baker?
Their fearlessness, their creativity and their conviction.
What do you think of when you think of them?
Conviction, creativity, fearlessness, sex, revolution.
What would you change in Melbourne? Australia? The world?
The issues I'm most drawn to concern feminism and equal rights.
Are there any other issues that are important to you? Locally? Globally?
That art was valued in Australia
Do you feel like change is possible in these areas? How?
Yes, equality is possible and change is possible. It will take a lot of hard work and dismantling of current modes of thought but it's our responsibility to contribute to this future.
I think the best way is through education. Teaching equal rights and history from a feminist perspective/philosophy right from primary school.
Honest and truthful acknowledgment about the history of Australia including interrogating and taking responsibility for the past.
Offering alternative models.
Do you think your ideas could change anything?
As part of a group/movement, sure.
Are you comfortable speaking your mind/putting ideas into the world?
More so now than I ever have been. Guess it’s one benefit that comes with age. But I feel the need to back it up now, with action.
Listening is equally important and the world needs more of that.
Do you consider yourself a feminist? Womanist? Why/why not? What does this mean to you?
Yes.
I consider myself a feminist who engages in issues of intersectionality.
I view the world from a feminist perspective.
Feminism to me is the belief that all people are entitled to freedom and liberty including equal civil rights and that discrimination should not be made based on gender, sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity, religion, culture, or lifestyle.
It's also about recognising the past inequalities that have historically denied individuals especially women, access to social, economic and political spheres and recognising the result of these inequalities have lasting impacts today.
How often do you subconsciously/consciously think about your desired superpower when you dress on a daily basis?
To be honest, not consciously but when I look at the figures I admire the influences are apparent.
I love fashion, although you’d never know it by looking at me. I wear mostly black clothes and feel strongest/most comfortable in black. Textures of black like leather, velvet and fabrics/jewellery/garments/things that feel nice to touch.
I love clothes that fit tightly to my body; so I can feel my body.
