Person -al- ity?

Attentive Analyst

While you're there check me out on Facebook:

"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

Burial ground, The Definite Article and other adventures

Another baby gecko died. Got stuck on the tape again. Yet to bury it. Quite a collection I have out there. Two dead baby geckos, soon to be three and a dead mouse. Starting to wonder if I'm cursed or something.

The new student magazine, of which I am a sub-editor for, is now out. The Definite Article, seems more political and arty than the two other student magazines, Sticks and Stones and Universe, floating around Queensland unis at the moment. I'm hoping to get a bit more solid news content in it next issue. If anyone's interested in a copy, let me know and I'll send you one.

Enjoyed The Gluten-Free Expo thoroughly last Saturday, and discovered oodles of gluten free stores and stockists in the area. Went home with a sore tummy from eating waaaaay too much.

Our broadband was down for about a week, recently. Wild IT has appalling customer service. Be warned!

Apparently Adam is much more settled at school now. He's doing quite well. I can't believe he's starting college next year. I feel so old.

Hmmm that should be enough to keep you all updated.
I'll try not to kill any more animals, promise!


"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

'Family' Death

My brother's dad has died.
This doesn't personally effect me, but I'm most worried about Adam.
He sounded pretty good yesterday.
I know it's ok if he's not ok though.

um, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions, I'm not comfortable going into any detail in a 'public' domain.

Canberraness

(ok, so I didn't post yesterday as promised, I'm sure you will cope)

I have much to blog about Canberra.
After Desci's exciting trip to Canberra, I had a trip of my own. Probably not as exciting considering I'd live there for my whole life and all, but it was still enjoyable.

Food and eating seemed to form a large part of it. I purchased some basil and sundried tomato bread from Deeks. Also indulging in some hazlenut biscuits. Before leaving, on Monday, I returned and tried 'the world's first gluten [and lactose] free meat pie'. Freakin' delicious.

Gran made me some rock cakes and the most divine chocolate nut torte. An awesome birthday cake indeed.

A visit to As Nature Intended at the Belconnen Markets involved the purchasement of Turtle Mountain Chocolate Obsession Icecream. Oh god! If you live in Canberra and you're vegan, lactose or gluten intolerant, buy this! Today!

It was excellent to see many of my friends. Chiara gave me a bottle of tequila, which was well utilised at my party. A million billion thanks to Flipe and Skye for letting me have it at their house and thanks to Casey for helping with invites.

Kerces gave me a book of 3024 Dirty Limericks. I read a great one at the party entitled 'The Feminist', which was somewhat appropriate to Kerces as it was about a journalist. Unfortunately, I can't find it again. So, here's another doozy from the crazy book:

The panties of old spinster Tweek
Dropped down in a mishap unique
At a twat exhibition-
It was judged mint condition
And it won the first prize for antique.

Adam and I had fun. It was fantastic watching Monty Python with him, Gran and Pop. Adam and Pop were laughing hysterically. The laughter of loved ones is so precious. Adam assisted me in buying food for my party and he didn't complain about not getting any of the junkfood. He helped carry heavy bags to the car without complaint. Adam also complimented my car - it was so sweet, "Pop's car isn't groovy like yours." He said for me to not tell Pop that he said that though.

Mum was, well, Mum, but she cheered up a bit on Monday. That was good :)

The house did not fall down around Andy in my absence. He successfully purchased a fridge and washing machine. He also bought a microwave but I contest the necessity of the purchase. My microwave was fine! The fridge is HUGE and I think we could both fit in it. Mum suggested that if we are ever poor and destitute we could live in the fridge.

There was a Samuel-Spotting, however I was saying goodbye to Mum at the time, as she got on the bus, so I couldn't get his autograph.

I'd forgotten how crazy Canberra busdrivers are. Nutters! Or, maybe Brisbane busdrivers are boring?

It was great to see those of you I did see (particularly awesome to see Julia and Lesley) and I look forward to seeing those of you I didn't in April! I think this time I might stay at Greg's, as he will be out of town and offered - it got a bit much staying at Gran and Pop's.

'Tis all.

"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

P.S March Porn Catalogue has arrived! Watch this space for funniest porn titles.

Political activists arrested on QUT Campus

(Proper post tomorrow - promise!)

Quoted from a message posted on the NUSQueer Yahoo! Group

Here is a leaflet the social justice collective are handing out at QUT today. Yesterday four students were arrested by the cops after security was called on the social justice collective by the student guild during market week. This is the culmination of sytematic harassment, intimidation and censorship by the university against activists in the collective in which the student guild has been complicit.

We think the fact that the guild called security who subsequently called the pigs on students who were mainly building a forum about black deaths in custody should also portray the seriousness of what occurred.

Free Speech on campus
No to QUT's Political Censorship

At QUT Kelvin Grove Market Day 2007, a group of QUT students held a Students for Social Justice stall on campus. The students were handing out pamphlets about an anti-war film screening and and a black deaths in custody forum - not an unusual occurrence on a university campus that's supposed to be a place of learning, enlightenment, and free thinking. On this day, though, the students had campus Security, and then the police, called on them. Four students were arrested from
behind the stall, forced into police wagons, and charged with contravening a police order directing them to leave their own campus for eight hours - an occurrence unheard of at any other university campus in Australia.

The students received no support from their own Student Guild, who, in the era of VSU, have decided to side with Security and ask students to have their political activity 'authorised' by the Guild President - a process which, in the past, has seen students asked to censor their material, for example, alter text on leaflets (e.g., 'Free Palestine' was banned in 2006), provide lists of speakers for political forums -
or face intimidation and threats.

This harassment of students holding political activities on campus is not new. In second semester 2006, at a Mamdouh Habib forum on campus organised by the QUT Social Justice collective, students were harassed and prevented from handing out leaflets and building the forum on campus, QUT staff were harassed for letting students talk about the forum in their lectures, and students were repeatedly told their was a 'blanket ban' on political activity on campus. QUT Security deemed
Mamdouh Habib, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, a 'controversial figure', and the administration didn't want to see the forum go ahead. When it did, with attendance by 150 students, the issue of this harassment of students and staff, and the attempted censorship, was raised, and Security claimed they'd made no attempt to shut down the activity.

We think that students have a right to hold political stalls and activities on their campus without the university administration's permission, or have to submit to any order to censor or conservatise their material. The campaigns to end the war in Iraq, Free DavidHicks, and stop black deaths in custody, need your support on campus.

Join us in standing up to this blatant intimidation and harassment.

WE DEMAND:
The right to campaign for Social Justice without censorship!
No QUT disciplinary action for arrested students!
No cops on campus!

From members of the QUT Social Justice Collective.
(Amy Thomas, Ellen Nicholas, Rob Nicholas, Lauren Mellor).


Discuss

Home again

After less than a month in Queensland I'm heading home for the weekend (Feb 23 - 26).

Flippy's letting me have a birthday party at her house. So, I'll be able to catch up with everyone and celebrate turning 23 with them. (If you think you should've received the deets and haven't let me know)

Hopefully, Adam's gonna stay over at Gran and Pop's with me on Friday night, so I'll be able to spend some time with him. Then, there's the obligatory family lunch. *cringe* It's gonna be a spanner in the works that I'll want to do the lunch on Saturday instead of Sunday. That'll be messing with the system and really throw Gran and Pop out. The alternative is having a hungover, non-functioning, anti-social Jey at lunch - not that I can tell them that.

I think it'll be more sad leaving Canberra this time. More of the permanency of the move would have sunk in.

Bit afraid the house will fall down around Andy while I'm not here. Self-important much? I think I'm particularly worried about coming home to a very untidy house - I'll be tired and will have to head into uni then next day, so that'll be the last thing I'll want to deal with. The universe (probably) won't end, try and focus on the fun and soak up my friends and family.

"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

Confession

I am responsible for the geckoslaughter of a little baby gecko. I discovered it this morning dead in a puddle of Ant Rid. A truly awful discovery.

It was very, very young. Much smaller than the one I photographed. It was probably about 10 cm long in total.

I dug a small hole in the yard and placed it in there. I created a little grave site.

Probably a bit tacky but I feel very sad and responsible.

I’m now investigating natural ant deterrents, seems like peppermint oil or baby powder is the go. Can anyone vouch for their effectiveness or recommend something else?

Farewell little gecko.

You have no mail

I'm becoming quite concerned. We've received very little mail since moving in. Perhaps my mail redirection isn't working and Andy's parents are waiting until he has a few letters and will post them up together? Although his parents were going to send some small parts for his desk up over a week ago. We're yet to receive this.
Maybe there's some kind of protocol you have to give the new postie some choccies or something, before he will deliver your mail? Anyone care to fill me in?
I'd also like the porn catalogue so I can announce the result of January's funniest titles and get onto February's. I should have received that ages ago.
I think I'm going to have to call up some ppl or something. I hate phone calls.

Last (week)day of freedom today. My PhD starts on Monday. Feeling a bit, hmm, emotional, I guess. The uni seems pretty cool and I like my research supervisor. Met some members of the queer and left action collectives. So it won't be so much like the traumatising first day of school, I know the area, some staff and some students. Have successfully negotiated the public transport system a few times now. I may have, however, got nicked by a speed camera on the way home from the trainstation. Stupid pale brown police 4WD, you can't bloody see the things!

Went for quite a ride around my suburb the other day. Got a little misplaced but found my way home. There's another small lake thingy and heaps of green land. The suburb is huuuuge. Lots of people have cows, horses, sheep and geese, too. I think a duck would be a cool pet except I'm scared of them.

Doing alright with the cohabitation. There's one pile of crap that Andy is just not addressing. I've moved it from the dining table and if it continues to grow, I shall put it in a cupboard so I don't have to see it. The other things that are bothering me are small things, so hopefully I can overcome my obsessiveness.

We have broadband! I caught up on downloading my podcasts last night. They download in like five seconds! Now, I just have to get round to listening to them.
Now I watch the silly things people post from the intertubes too.

We're going to the beach tomorrow. I loves the beach!!!!

Oooh btw, today Andy and I have been together for two years! Hooray!
A few friends inquired if we were going to get married when they heard we were moving to QLD and in together. I was slightly surprised by their old-school minds, a bit of a dated assumption, I think.

I should go now. Call people and find out about our mail maybe? Darn people.


"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

Jey in Queensland – brought to from Boganshire

[I wrote this post yesterday arvo, haven't been able to get online.]

I’ve been here for a week now, I think it’s still all sinking in.

Feeling bloody crook, I don’t want to get sick!

The house is coming together quite well. Andy still needs to find a place for a few bits and bobs and complete his office and the garage, but I’ve pretty much done most of what I have to. I need to finish the bar though. Shouldn’t take longer than an hour. I cleaned for 3 hours yesterday. It was horrid. Once I start getting paid, I’m going to be paying to get the place cleaned regularly, so shouldn’t have to deal with that again.

I managed to avoid most of the heavy lifting involved in packing and unpacking. Thanks to those who helped!

Julia has returned to Canberra. I look forward to seeing her when I’m down at the end of Feb.

Next Monday I am going into the city and to QUT to meet my supervisor and the post-graduate convener. I’m catching the same train as Andy so hopefully it won’t end in tears. The Brisbane public transport is very very useful so I’ve got various options, all noted, and I’ve photocopied lots of maps. Hopefully, the adventure doesn’t end in tears.

I’ve got some piccies to share but I’ll post them up separately. There’s a few more I wanna take.

We are near Marsden State High School, they have the most awful school uniforms in the world. They are brown, brown and brown. I’d post piccies of that but I don’t want to go around photographing high school children.

I can see the McDonald’s M from my shower at night, this bother me. KFC is really nearby and sometimes the smell wafts in. This is rather torturous as I can’t eat KFC. The closest servo was held up twice this month, both times the perps got away with nothing. Still kinda creepy. The library is nice, has cheap photocopying, but smells funny. I think it’s a new building.

I’ve lived on Northbourne Avenue but this place, and my last place, are much noisier. I prefer the noise of constant traffic to birds, lotsa birds. Here, there’s birds and traffic. Should get used to it soon though.

The house has some annoying oddities. There are light switches in bizarre places. Everyone time I walk into my office I reach to the right to turn on the light switch and it’s not there then, I curse, “Fucking light switch!”

Something runs across our roof around 6am, without fail. If it's a possum, it's freakin' huge!

My car has seen the inside of the garage! Andy made room for it. It’s a tight squeeze and you have to be really careful reversing, but it fits.

The drive up was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I was quite drowsy before the first stop and I was worried that I was going to have to stop every hour and the drive would take forever. After that first stop, I was fine though. We stayed in Goondiwindi. Cute caravan park. It’s getting a spa and pool put in this year, pity it didn’t have it put in last year.

Being feeling a bit down today and yesterday. Was walking through the small plaza near us. It wasn’t anything new or exciting, just different, and I nearly started crying, thinking ‘I live here now.’

Still not confident I am going to be able to handle living with Andy.

The suburb we live in is really nice. The houses are huge, on huge blocks, and all have these huge ‘fuck off I don’t want you to see my property’ fences. Haven’t checked out the lagoon yet but hope to by the end of the weekend.

Hello to all my Canberra peeps. I miss you!

Thankyou to all of you on the webosphere who sent me well-wishes. :)

Outie.

"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

More boxes, tape, and where the hell is that bloody marker?!?!

Oh, the joys of moving!
The house is chaos. I'm not even sure what I'm doing any more. You know when there's a really big job to be done, like cleaning a disasterously messy room, and there's just no plan or sense of organisation to the job?
That's what it's like right now. A bit done over here, start a job over there, wrap up something there, move that four inches to the left, check my email.
The system has dissolved into a mess of newspaper.
It'd be nice to be so extravagantly rich to be able to pay people to pack your house up, move all your stuff and unpack it in the new place. Oh how luxurious!

This will be my last entry in Canberra. (I may post when I visit Canberra, however it is unlikely as visits will only be for a few days and I probably won't have easy web access). Still feeling 'meh' about most aspects of the move. Rather 'gah!' about moving in with Andy though. I cried last night at the thought of having to live with someone. Since overcoming depression, I have really enjoyed living on my own. I'm concerned about being grumpy often and that affecting Andy and not being able to relax because of the constant presence of someone else. I have the ability to adapt pretty well and everyone keeps saying, 'You'll be fine', so I'll try to stop worrying.

On the drive up, my first long distance drive ever, we are taking the inland route. We'll be going through all these crazy country towns. I have visions of the land being all dry and dusty, quintessential Australiana bush landscape. I've also fears of car break-downs and Wolf Creek type characters. Looking forward to all the yummy travel munchies though. Andy bought a bunch of Powerade and Red Eye, he'll be off his face! :p

*BIG HUGS* to all my Canberra peeps, I'll see you around the 23rd of Feb (My birthday weekend *hint hint*).

Guess I'll bugger off and do something productive now.
Over and out.

P.S Where the hell is that bloody marker?!?!

"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

T minus one week

Gah! This time next week I'll be on the road, driving to Queensland. Not sure when the most powerful emotions are going to sink in. Not sure I want them to. I might cry, lots.
I'm excited, nervous, happy, stressed and sad but not as much as I could be. I probably shouldn't complain but I usually feel emotions much stronger, thus I'm expecting a big wave to hit me soon.

I've never driven long distance before so, that's going to be a bit scary. I haven't lived with anyone since I was 17 so, that' s going to be a lot scary. I'm a control, neatness and organisation freak. I'm really going to try to go easy with all of that, it's going to take some adjustment though. Say a prayer for Andy's soul?

This is probably the biggest life change for me, ever:
1. Moving interstate, having lived in Canberra my whole life
2. Moving into new house
3. Moving in with partner
3. Starting a PhD
4. Starting at new uni

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to cut down on those anti-depressants last month? I hate change and I predict lots of stress and anxiety. Once the stress and anxiety exhausts me, I get depressed.

Ok, so I'm probably sounding all whingy. I'm excited and happy and stuff. Just have a lot of emotions to work through and trying to deal with them before they bite me on the arse.

My friends keep telling me they're proud of me. I'll focus on that. Go me! :D

"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

Decisions, decisions. - Update

It has been a tough week. I emailed QUT to inform them of my decision to undertake my PhD at UQ. QUT then offered an extra $5000 per year if I were to study with them.

My Pop was very opinionated on the topic and made me feel like I would be letting him down if I didn't attend UQ.

UQ is unequivocally the best academic option, however money is incredibly tight right now. I will owe Andy thousands after the move, and, well, money is nice.

Yes, it is possible that by attending UQ I could earn more down the track however now is when I need the money.

I made a number of enquiries and I think I have decided to attend QUT.

Andy was really fantastic, avoiding opinionated comment and giving impartial advice.

This dilemma has caused me to fell anxious and depressed. But, yes, I think it's going to be QUT.

Blogging can be quite cathartic.

That is all.

UPDATE: I have now decided to attend QUT. I will be in the Creative Industries Faculty at the Kelvin Grove Campus. I have already been offered tutorial and research assistant work.


"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

Decisions, decisions.

It has been a tough week. I emailed QUT to inform them of my decision to undertake my PhD at UQ. QUT then offered an extra $5000 per year if I were to study with them.

My Pop was very opinionated on the topic and made me feel like I would be letting him down if I didn't attend UQ.

UQ is unequivocally the best academic option, however money is incredibly tight right now. I will owe Andy thousands after the move, and, well, money is nice.

Yes, it is possible that by attending UQ I could earn more down the track however now is when I need the money.

I made a number of enquiries and I think I have decided to attend QUT.

Andy was really fantastic, avoiding opinionated comment and giving impartial advice.

This dilemma has caused me to fell anxious and depressed. But, yes, I think it's going to be QUT.

Blogging can be quite cathartic.

That is all.



"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

I'm in, baby!

I've just been formally accepted into the University of Queensland! They had a weird condition on their offer letter that didn't make much sense. They've since received my transcript and I'm in! :D

An admin type email regarding enrolment ect. said I might not get paid til up to four weeks after my commencement date. Things are already pretty tight so this kind of sucks. When I take my reimbursement form for the move in I'll make puppy-dog eyes at them and have a sook and see if that gets me anywhere.

Now I have to get in touch with QUT and un-accept their offer, and email all the academics who helped me out with my proposals and applications. That can wait til Monday.

On another note, my house looks like a bomb site, but at least I stopped procrastinating about packing and it's moving along nicely.

"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

A hunting we will go

Andy and I spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday househunting in Queensland. We looked at a number of houses in the Logan Shire, about 30 minutes from Brisbane.

I am proud to announce Andy has purchased a house in the suburb of Waterford West.

This is the house:



The advertisement for the house can be viewed here, with the real estate agent's photos here.

It has a huge backyard which we can put a pool in or, with council approval, sell that half of the block.



The yard is already dog proof, as the previous owners have two dogs. This makes things easier for me, reducing the amount of preparation I have to do when I'm ready to purchase a dog.

There is a snazzy bar downstairs which opens up to an area which we're going to add some shade to to make a patio.





The main bedroom is purple! My office is pink and orange.
Incredibly cute.



The laundry is really spiffy.



I'm also rather fond of the patio that can be accessed via the loungeroom or the main bedroom.



The blinds and curtains are staying which makes life a bit easier for us. I like the wooden blinds too. You can kinda see them here on the side of the loungeroom.



The house is near numerous shopping centres including walking distance to one smallish centre. Also in walking distance is KFC, Red Rooster, Blockbuster video, two servos, two chemists and the bestest darn little fish and chip shop. $1.80 buys a serve of chips that would cost about $3.00 in Canberra.

This is Bill, our friendly real estate agent.



We were able to settle for comfortably less than the advertised sale price. We shall be receiving the keys on January 25. Based on this we will probably leave Canberra on the 24th.

I'm hoping to organise the farewell party for Saturday January 13. Those who know me, get in touch for the details if you don't have them by the first week of January.

I'm terribly excited and feel like I have a million things today between now and when we leave.

Oh! I should probably mention I also received a scholarship offer from the University of Queensland. It has a condition I don't quite understand but if I meet that condition I shall be attending that University and studying under Dr Fiona Nicoll, author of From Diggers to Dragqueens.

I told my brother today of the plans to leave Canberra. He handled it pretty well. I hope mum handles it just as well.

That's about all for now.

"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

Dear Scholarship Applicant...

Dear Scholarship Applicant

I am pleased to advise that you have been made a scholarship offer in the first round postgraduate awards at Queensland University of Technology for 2007!



WOOOO HOOO!!!

My Gran has also just offered to pay for me to go up to Brissie with Andy to look at houses with him when he goes up on the 14th of December.

Just got of the phone to Andy, he sounds super excited that
a) I got the offer and
b) I'm going up to look at houses with him.

If I get an offer from University of Queensland before I accept this one I may decide to go there but either way, I guess I'm moving to QLD.

Hoorah! and stuff!

"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

Jey is FIRST CLASS!!!

That's right fools, I received FIRST CLASS HONOURS!!!
Me, first class. Me, who usually only gets the second best possible, never the best possible.

When I first heard, I think I went into a state of shock. I may or may not be still in shock.

Now to wait for the PhD placement and scholarship offers to roll in.

Good luck to Desci, who hands her honours in today.


Tell me I'm wonderful, go on tell me!


"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

I have beliefs!

You scored as Satanism. Your beliefs most closely resemble those of Satanism! Before you scream, do a bit of research on it. To be a Satanist, you don't actually have to believe in Satan. Satanism generally focuses upon the spiritual advancement of the self, rather than upon submission to a deity or a set of moral codes. Do some research if you immediately think of the satanic cult stereotype. Your beliefs may also resemble those of earth-based religions such as paganism. Satanism 83% atheism 71% Buddhism 71% agnosticism 50% Islam 46% Christianity 42% Judaism 38% Paganism 38% Hinduism 25% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

I was truly shocked by these results, as I consciously consider myself an atheist.
Occasionally, if conversation arises, I may say, "I believe in science".

"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).

Queer(y)ing the Sydney Star Observer: Queer Representation in 'Queer' Media

Queerying the Sydney Star Observer: Queer Representation in 'Queer' Media

Bachelor of Communication (Honours)

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge the sovereignty of the Ngunnawal people, the traditional owners of the land that I live on.

Thankyou to Belinda Cooper, my inspiration. Thankyou to Belinda Morrissey for your wisdom, guidance and brilliant mind. Thankyou to Mum, Gran, Pop, Adam and Andrew for your love, patience and support.

Abstract

Australians of minority sexes, genders and sexualities have little, if any, access to widely distributed media. The Sydney Star Observer (SSO) is Australia’s leading gay and lesbian newspaper. The SSO aims to provide news and information to a range of minority sexes, genders and sexualities. However this is not the case. Instead, the majority of the queer community is ignored in the SSO, which focuses on and markets to mainly a white, affluent, gay audience, thus contributing little to the plight of minority sexes, genders and sexualities across Australia.

This thesis investigates queer representation in the SSO. It aims to determine who is represented in the SSO, how they are represented and why they are represented as such. The thesis provides an alternative model to the way the SSO community and the SSO citizen are currently represented in order to better meet its aims.

The work of Michel Foucault and Judith Butler is used to understand what queer is and the possibilities that queer enables. Research into the lives of people of minority sexes, genders and sexualities provide evidence as to why representation of a range of minority sexes, gender and sexualities is important. An overview on ‘queer’ media provides an insight into the form ‘queer’ media tends to adopt and assists in explaining why the SSO takes its current form.

The research employs Foucauldian discourse analysis to explore the complexities of queer theory and identity in an attempt to understand how these impact on queer representation in the SSO. Content analysis is used to prove the relevancy of the thesis statement and assists in identifying themes for discourse analysis.

The analysis of the SSO community reveals a community founded on caring ideals that touts equality, however, equality is not truly achieved due to the limited focus on the rights and care of the gay, white male. This community is essentialist, enabling participation for a limited few.

An examination of citizenship and the SSO citizen, using Alan McKee’s frame of a gay consumer citizenship, reveals that the SSO produces a consumer citizenship and a gay, white male citizen. This SSO citizen must possess a number of qualities, all closely associated with consumerism, in order to participate in the SSO’s citizenship.

Due to the limited community model, the limited ideas of the citizen and of citizenship, adopted by the SSO, the paper produces an exclusionary formulation of community and citizenship which undermines ideals of equality touted by the paper. These limitations also result in the failure of the SSO to meet its stated aims and do little to represent and provide news and information for others of minority sexes, genders and sexualities.

Submitted!

I submitted my thesis today. The sense that it is completed is yet to kick in. I suspect it will somewhere in between the opening of the bottle of sparkly and the finishing of the bottle of sparkly, on Saturday night.

We shall have our thesis marks on the 16th of November and our course grades on the 24th.

Then, to await the offer of a PhD place and a shiny, shiny $20 grand/year scholarship.

For now, I'm trying to relax. It's been a stressed couple of weeks with the addition of multiple PhD applications as well as completing my thesis.

Now, as promised...the acknowledgements and abstract [See above post].

Friends who would like to see more of the thesis, just let me know.

"Well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to talk to my orange" - Adam (my 14-year-old brother).