It’s four in the morning and I am forced awake by the piercing pain — the pain I know so well. It starts and spreads all over my pelvis, then the dreaded, piping-hot dagger reaches inside of me, spreading the pain upwards through my abdomen and down my thighs. Ah, yes — here we go…

Walking down to Winifred Falls with my church mates, 14-year-old me is dressed in black, low-waisted bikini bottoms and a white crop under my clothes. I’m fucking nervous. The people I’m with are some of my nearest and dearest, sure, but they’re also the type to un-ironically claim (to females almost exclusively) that “modest is…

I’m watching the windows of the car condense and blur out the night streets as the radio presenter exclaims, “…more and more people are redefining the first time they had sex – whether it be the first time they masturbated, had any sexual experience, or orgasmed…” I chuckle to myself, more for comical effect than…

I’ve always been one of those people who complains about being attracted to emotionally unavailable guys, while also being emotionally unavailable myself. For four years now I’ve been single, and the only solid commitment I’ve had has been with Tinder and white wine. In moments of weakness (or shall I say “when tipsy and horny”),…

I’m writing from my hometown – so-called Fremantle – which is really Walyalup on Whadjuk-Noongar country. Throughout my life, I haven’t thought enough about that. I’m also writing from my soft, young, white (Croatian, Chilean, Australian) queer body. A body that is comfortably cis-female and simultaneously rejects gender identification with fervent force – if that’s…

After ‘What Every Woman Should Carry’ by Maura Dooley My first love gave me a lighter that was broken. I don’t smoke so I packed: a spare teabag, a pair of socks (they’re his – size 8), the morning after pill (in date – just), a book to pretend to read in case there is…

It’s taking all of my energy to write this. As someone who writes a lot on good days, that feels strange to say. But I’m deliberately writing this on a bad day in the midst of a devastating low to capture how I’m feeling. I’m in the middle of an endometriosis pain flare. What does…

“So, when are the kids coming?”“They’re coming when you stop asking me that.” This isn’t true, but it shuts them up long enough. “Are you getting married so young because you’re pregnant?”“I’m getting married so young because it’s none of your damn business.” I’d barely made it down the aisle before I started getting berated…

“Tell me where you feel it.” commands the psychologist. I place my hand on my chest, right at the top of my sternum. “In here,” I reply. “What does it feel like?” “Um... it just feels very tight,” I answer. I could tell her it feels like my chest is being compressed, compounded and then…

I got my first period a month before I started high school. It was 2008 and I was 12 years old. I was the first out of all my friends and wore my pad like a badge of honour. I was proud to be a baby woman, taking my first steps towards adulthood with a…

Josephine is 23-year-old engineer who spends so much time around men she has to devote all her free time to creating vagina art just to keep her from burning the world. She whipped this baby up as part of our artistry challenge about body hair, and you can suss more of her work here.

Popular culture is obsessed and saturated with love. Especially romantic love. From Valentine’s Day to rom-coms, it seems that nothing pulls our heartstrings quite so tenderly. We learn and internalise the narrative of romantic love from an early age; it is something that we are taught to seek and experience. But there are other expectations…