Semper Floreat is the University of Queensland Union's free & independent student newspaper.
When it happened, I refused to believe it was true. He had been a friend of mine. He had come into a room knowing I was in a vulnerable, drunk, half-naked position. He entered the room with the intention of harming me. Raping me. And he succeeded. I tried to fight him off. After a […]
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Fashion has always been a form of political expression. With the change of an item, or preference of a colour, one can shift the way they are perceived by others: are you conservative, alternative, feminine, artsy, goth? Often, our identity is rooted in how we present ourselves through fashion. It has been a topic of […]
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Stoicism has seen a surge in popularity on social media. This philosophy was first developed by the Hellenistic Greeks, adopted by the Romans with Marcus Aurelius as one of the most well-known stoics. With stoicism’s popularity high amongst early 20th century Christian theologians, is it any wonder that this philosophy that was embraced by many […]
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In 19th century Queensland, the age of consent was twelve. Upon marriage, women lost what little autonomy they had. They were often forced to resign, and the law prevented them from owning property or investments, obtaining divorces easily, or retaining custody of their children. There were no laws against marital rape or domestic violence. Women’s […]
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Patricia Clarke’s Bold Types recounts the journey of women journalists in their struggle for gender equality in Australia from 1860 to the end of World War II. Clarke argues that there has been a historical misrepresentation of the instrumental role women played within journalism (Clarke 2022). The prevailing thought is that the press, like most […]
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In Studio Morra, Naples, 1974, there was a table with seventy-two objects. These objects varied from instruments of pleasure to instruments of pain, such as a rose, lipstick, a knife, and a gun with a bullet. Standing at the centre of this performative art piece was Marina Abramović, a Serbian conceptual and performance artist who […]
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The Guerrilla Girls are an anonymous activist group who utilise disruptive visuals and striking statistics to protest gender and racial biases in the art world. They use “guerrilla”-like tactics – loud posters and protests – to expose these issues, whilst wearing gorilla masks to ensure they remain anonymous. The art collective believes in undermining the […]
Continue ReadingOne of my fondest memories of my childhood is my dad reading me the comic Calvin and Hobbes. The tattered collections of the comic strip remain in my room today, and probably always will. Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes follows six-year-old Calvin and his best friend, a stuffed toy tiger, Hobbes. The comic’s emotional and […]
Continue ReadingThe “Slip, Slop, Slap” slogan is likely one those of us who grew up in Australia are very familiar with, as is “no hat, no play”. But in adulthood, the rejection of sun safety is alarming – it becomes uncool to lather yourself in sunscreen or wear a hat. Instead, young adults in Australia are […]
Continue ReadingWhat is with our fixation on fear? As humans, we are biologically programmed to be in constant fear – it may seem caveman-ish, but it’s our survival instinct. When it comes to watching films, jump scares, tense music scores, and sharp sounds can all heighten our feeling of fear. So why do we love horror […]
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