On the face of it I am often mistaken for Eurasian and interestingly, very few strangers guess that I have any Chinese in me. I have read, heard, and digested multiple accounts of racism, specifically Sinophobia since the initial outbreak of COVID-19. Much like the 1918 pandemic, commonly referred to… Read More »The enemy is not your neighbour
Shifting goalposts Those of us unfortunately familiar with forms of psychological abuse are likely also familiar with the device of shifting goalposts where you can never speak or act in such a way as to meet the standards required to avoid retribution, rebuke, or violence (verbal, physical, or otherwise) because… Read More »Lost in pursuit of perfection
Permission The current conversation in Australia (and beyond) is fraught with damaging perspectives, underlying assumptions, and riddled with mythologies about the domestic terrorism that is the experience of intimate partner violence (which includes emotional, mental, religious, financial, verbal, sexual, and the more often visible and broadly understood physical forms of… Read More »Giving to myself
Whispers inside Echoing unspoken glances interpreted Polite declines Invitations retracted Applications rejected Submissions that do not make a long list, short list, someone else’s list Trying is practice Practice is building Building me, building craft, building potential Honing skill… Read More »The pain of considering failure
Growing by diving in In 2019, the Centre for Stories selected a number of emerging writers to be part of an inaugural Fellowship called Inclusion Matters. I was fortunate to be selected to be one of the fellows and this represented the start of a new chapter in my life,… Read More »The nail that sticks out
Everyday, I was a different mask for an emotion I didn’t feel There’s a blur between us Your anger is my burden Your raised hand will be my ache tomorrow My vision is consumed with your concerns Your troubles demand my solutions Your… Read More »Move
Making Whole Again Historians are not in agreement about how the practice began but many theorise Japanese Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa had a broken yet beloved Chinese tea bowl sent back to China to be repaired and was dismayed to see it returned with large unsightly staples (Gopnik, 2009). He asked… Read More »What is broken
Will I be allowed to be part of your us Binegativity speaks to the experience of anti-bisexual sentiment and discrimination. Anecdotally, this has ranged from assumptions of promiscuity, to implications and accusations of being “bad at” being straight/homosexual, being indecisive (about sexuality ergo anything else important in life), being a… Read More »Getting bent
Included As we ease our way into December in Perth, conventionally referred to as Spring but better understood in Noongar framing of Birak (the hot dry time), we have seen a colourful Pride Month come to a close in 2019. This year saw several changes and inevitable evolution come to… Read More »The Pride of being included
On the Patience of Being a Patient Previously, I carefully plotted my day squeezing the time from one activity to the next, often layering tasks upon one another. Over the years, I have cultivated and continue to practice (because it’s much more difficult than it looks, at least for me)… Read More »An impatient patient