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CULTURE

I grew up thinking my first relationship would end in marriage

As my father paused at a red light, he turned towards me and said, “you’re not allowed to have a boyfriend until you get married”.
FAMILY

I healed because our baby did everything he wasn’t supposed to

I looked at my beautiful baby and I cried about the unfairness of it all. Was I to blame? It should have been me who suffered, not him. Was this my punishment,...
CULTURE

We almost lost our home to bushfire last year

Since the fires, we’ve had to cut down countless trees. I have cried over them. These were venerable natives, habitat to possums, corellas and koalas, that would...
FAMILY

We need to stop judging people on their parenting

Judgement is being cast upon such a tiny snapshot of their day, a fleeting moment in time.
22 Oct 2020 - 11:16am

As proud Egyptians, we want a say in Cleopatra's portrayal

Mixed heritage is a common reality for modern day Egyptians, who are as ethnically complex as our ancestor, Cleopatra. Yet, like the fabled Queen, we claim and...
FAMILY

I’ll be always grateful for summers I spent at my grandparents’ house

On Dad’s side we were the youngest in a long line of cousins: loved, certainly, but tacked onto the end. At Nana and Pa’s, we were the centre of attention.
FAMILY

It took a village to raise me, but I don’t have one for my kids

We had grandmothers, aunties, uncles and cousins who we saw every week. If it takes a village to raise a child, my parents were never short of helping hands,...

Voices video

00:01:46
Three things I wish people didn't say to adoptees like me
Writer and PhD Fellow Dr Eden Robertson gets a lot of comments when she tells people she is adopted. Here are some of the things she wish people didn't say.
  • Produced by SBS Voices

Health

 

Beyond studies and research, we examine how our health impacts the rest of our lives.  

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FAMILY

Cooking for my mother now that she can no longer do it herself

My mother taught me to cook. She was patient with me. She didn’t carry on if I didn’t get it right.
FAMILY

Facing up to the reality of having ageing parents

I have gone from being the one looked after (yes, even as a grown woman) to be the one to look after her.
HEALTH

Eight of the best dance workout videos on YouTube

The free YouTube dance-fitness class is a chaotic breed.
HEALTH

I have a 'fun fitness' equipment problem. Maybe you do too.

A Hula-Hoop basically makes standing exciting.
HEALTH

What diverse mental health care should look like

Besides affordability, there are other barriers that deter culturally and linguistically diverse Australians from addressing their mental health.
CULTURE

The women working through trauma with laughing yoga

“Laughing yoga” is a growing trend in India that is helping victims of trauma find their way back to the light, after enduring the horrific practice of acid burn...
CULTURE

I will never forget how my grandfather succumbed to Alzheimer’s

Relying on his memory was something my grandpa had always taken for granted. I guess it is something most of us do, until we can’t.
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Culture & Society

Your stories. Your words.

Would you like to write for SBS Voices? Send us an email at voices@sbs.com.au 

CULTURE

My parents sent me to Greece when I was three

Mum tells me of how she flew to Melbourne from Adelaide just to see me for five minutes before I flew away.
CULTURE

My love of cinema began with my father's video rental store

Some kids grow up in a family business and leave it behind, but for Amal Awad, her father’s video rental store sparked an enduring love of cinema.
LANGUAGE

It's time we banished the 'speak English, or else' chestnut

It seems to get a run every time there's any kind of social upheaval and it's easiest to blame migrants who can't really argue back.
NAME

"Our identity matters": #saymyname goes viral

The #saymyname hashtag was sparked after Senator David Perdue made fun of Vice-Presidential candidate Kamala Harris' name.
15 Sep 2020 - 2:16pm

Twitter mourns over 'chocolate hummus', unites against other hummus crimes

"I need to report a hate crime."
SEXUALITY

As a teen I got all my sex-ed info from Dolly Magazine

For those who grew up in immigrant homes, scanning for sex-ed info from the grapevine or through the pages of Dolly magazine was part of coming-of-age.
CULTURE

Floatation therapy helped my anxiety

“It is the closest to being pain free I have been since I was diagnosed,” she excitedly said. For her, this was an incredible reprieve from the constant pain she...

Pride

Celebrating the diversity of the LGBTIQ+ community in Australia.

Follow SBS Pride on Facebook. 

Do you have a story to share? Email us at voices@sbs.com.au

CULTURE

How airlines became a queer-friendly workplace

Back then, living a truer version of yourself was easier in the clouds than it was on solid ground, where there were serious, and often dangerous legal repercussions.
CULTURE

Indya Moore appears on the cover of Vogue India

“From living in survival mode, I have a set of experiences that I think are helpful to share.”
HEALTH

Queer people could be way more likely to suffer from migraines

According to a new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology, lesbian, gay, and bisexual people experience migraines at a rate...
PRIDE

Dance helped me come to terms with my non-binary body

When tackling dysphoria, the solutions often only comprise of hormones and gender affirming surgery. For many trans people, these are not viable options due to...
PRIDE

Becky Albertalli coming out as bisexual can help others do the same

Albertalli writes, “I’ve never kissed a girl. I never even realised I wanted to.” That’s how I felt when I came out – like people would question the validity of...
CULTURE

Letting go of a traumatic childhood, one box of memories at a time

When I came out to my parents at 16, the punches were coupled with blows to the heart.
CULTURE

Being a queer migrant in Australia is still hard

There is nothing more empowering than being accepted and celebrated by your own, especially with someone who was an integral part of your childhood.

Sweatshop Collective

A partnership with Western Sydney writers’ collective Sweatshop, now in its second year, showcases stories from diverse perspectives. 

 

22 Oct 2020 - 11:16am

As proud Egyptians, we want a say in Cleopatra's portrayal

Mixed heritage is a common reality for modern day Egyptians, who are as ethnically complex as our ancestor, Cleopatra. Yet, like the fabled Queen, we claim and...
27 Aug 2020 - 10:41am

What it means to be culturally Buddhist as a Vietnamese-Australian

Each cell of our body contains all the habit energies of all generations of ancestors.
Book extract

I became unlikely allies with my high school's Queen Bee

Of all the Chens at Sydney Girls, it had to be Vivian and Alice. After what happened last week, I do not want to face them. I go straight into the first cubicle...
FICTION

'Displaced': My connection to the country I left behind

This is an excerpt from the author's contribution to the speculative fiction anthology, "After Australia".
CULTURE

How it feels when white people deliberately mispronounce our names

Erin Molan’s comments about Pacific Islander names became news recently. It was not the first time writer Christine Afoa had heard names of people from her...
Video

The extra 'talk' that black parents have to give their children

These are the challenges I face as a black parent helping my sons navigate the world within their black skin. I’ll need to teach them to be careful of whom they...
CULTURE

Having Vitiligo strengthened my identity as a Samoan woman

The first white patches were on my chest.

Emerging Asian-Australian Writers

Read stories about love, sexuality, family and mental health by up and coming Asian-Australian voices, in an essay series edited by Candice Chung. 

CULTURE

I became an author to teach my daughter Filipino mythology

When my daughter was finally old enough to read my books, I gave her a copy of each one. I have never been more scared about a reader’s feedback my whole life.
HEALTH

What diverse mental health care should look like

Besides affordability, there are other barriers that deter culturally and linguistically diverse Australians from addressing their mental health.
CULTURE

I’m living the reverse migrant dream

It is a powerful feeling to not only buck the trend, but to undo any prejudice or expectation that I should follow suit in a traditional career path.
CULTURE

Introducing my Australian husband to the Filipino concept of family

To Filipinos, the family tree is always filled with a few extra branches - and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
RELATIONSHIPS

Five-hour-long video chats are my new social life

Everything is on the table during our catch ups: Who is having sex whilst working from home? How is everyone coping with their kids? Who might be losing their job?
CULTURE

How my name taught me to take pride in my non-binary body

For many trans people, changing their name is an important part of embodying identity. But what if your name also carries your cultural heritage?
FIRST PERSON

Learning to let go of my ‘white voice’

I’m beginning to say my name the way my mum utters it. I’m reclaiming my accent and it’s drawing me closer to my identity as Filipino-Australian.

Emerging Muslim women writers

Highlights from some of the most exciting emerging Muslim Australian writers.  

REPRESENTATION

I never saw any Muslim characters on screen except as baddies

Growing up, I never saw anyone like me in the media or saw any (non-villainous) Muslim characters in TV shows or movies.
RACISM

We need to tackle anti-black racism in Muslim communities

Black Lives Matter is forcing important conversations about race. But what we won’t voice, is that we too, the non-black Muslim community, have absorbed anti...
RACE

I'm proud to be an Indigenous Muslim woman descended from the cameleers

For me it starts, with being unapologetically proud of being a Pakistani-Muslim Indigenous woman. It starts by sharing our stories and celebrating who we are.
CULTURE

My parents’ refugee journey inspired me to become a doctor

Did you ever in your most outlandish dreams think you would make it to the land down under? I hope I can make you proud after all you have sacrificed for me.
LETTER WRITING

I re-discovered the lost art of letter writing

Even though we may be physically separated there is something sweet about knowing that cards with my messy handwriting sit in the homes of my friends.
CULTURE

How I made peace with being a cultural Muslim

I am an atheist, but I'm also a cultural Muslim and it took me many years of heated debates and a frustrating search for an identity to come to this conclusion.
FAMILY

Why the silence around family estrangement hurts

For the longest time, I had struggled with deep feelings of guilt and shame for choosing not to have my father in my life.

Family

Parenting for modern families: new rules for a new age.

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FAMILY

I was a slow-to-warm-up child just like my son

I know first-hand what he’s going through and it makes it tough as a parent.
FAMILY

It took a village to raise me, but I don’t have one for my kids

We had grandmothers, aunties, uncles and cousins who we saw every week. If it takes a village to raise a child, my parents were never short of helping hands,...
CULTURE

Introducing my Australian husband to the Filipino concept of family

To Filipinos, the family tree is always filled with a few extra branches - and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
HEALTH

Giving up breastfeeding to treat my bipolar

Weaning from breastfeeding is never a fun experience. But weaning because of needing to go back on medication is a whole other story.
FAMILY

Being in nature with my children has taught me about being in awe

Whether it’s rocks and leaves naturally shaped into love hearts, or the first to spot the arc of a rainbow, our children are the ones with eyes well trained to...
FAMILY

My husband and I were raised by single mums with opposite world views

“There was a long silence after my one-sided eruption. Then I realised something about my husband I should’ve known.”
FAMILY

How I’m teaching my children about Islam

Bringing up Muslim children in Western countries presents a real struggle for parents because we often face resistance from kids, there’s a lack of time and we...
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Relationships

Let's talk about it all: from love and dating to divorce and estrangement (and everything in between).

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CULTURE

I am a secret daughter born from an affair

My father was married, in fact he still is, to a woman he once described as his “best friend” but this woman was not, is not, my mother.
CULTURE

How our parents befriended each other in our cross-cultural marriage

My in-laws only speak Bengali, while my parents only speak Mandarin. To make matters more confusing, my husband and I communicate only in English. At times, the...
RELATIONSHIPS

It’s hard making friends when you're always on your best behaviour

It’s hard because you dilute who you are, or at least who you feel safe to be with older friends.
PARENTING

I recently realised household chores are also a man’s responsibility

"Here I was thinking that I was a work in progress when in-fact I was a piece of work as I still harboured the same outdated views that my father and his father...
FAMILY

How I broke free of the 'mother wound' cycle

The mothering experience I had growing up was complex, dark and painful and as a result, I developed dysfunctional coping mechanisms.This pain is called the ...
LETTER WRITING

I re-discovered the lost art of letter writing

Even though we may be physically separated there is something sweet about knowing that cards with my messy handwriting sit in the homes of my friends.
CULTURE

I stopped dating ‘coconuts’ and faced my own internalised racism

When you’re a ‘white and something’ mixed race kid in Australia, you quickly learn the white part of you is the side that should shine.
More

More dispatches from Voices

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Newly added
27 Oct 2020 - 5:19pm

We need to stop treating addiction as a personal failure

“There is this idea that addiction is their fault — the rest of us can control it, but those people who can’t are mentally weak.”
Addiction, as is commonly believed, isn’t just a matter of willpower. It’s not about having to reach rock bottom, and it does not exclusively affect the downtrodden, the homeless or those lacking self-control. In Australia, nearly 6000 peo...
Newly added
27 Oct 2020 - 4:50pm

There's no such thing as a 'typical' addict

I was still going to my new job; I was getting home safely, and I was having normal conversations with friends and colleagues. No one suspected that every time I went out for a coffee break, I would have a drink instead.
That I could become addicted to alcohol after happily living without it for 25 years was, and continues to be, as surprising to me as I’m sure it is to my friends and family.  I’ve never been someone to go bar hopping, or to binge drink un...
RACISM

'Living in my wife's shoes helped me understand racism' : Prince Harry

"Unconscious bias... I had no idea it existed. It took me many, many years to realise it, especially then living a day or a week in my wife's shoes."
Prince Harry has said it was imagining himself in wife Meghan Markle's shoes as key to awakening to the realities of racism and unconscious bias. In an interview series for GQ magazine, Harry speaks with activist Patrick Huchinson about ra...
RACISM

Barbie takes on racism and white privilege in viral video

"This stuff isn't easy to talk about, which is why we have to talk about it."
It's a conversation you never thought you'd see - Barbie taking on racism and white privilege. In a YouTube vlog explainer titled "Barbie and Nikki Discuss Racism,"  the doll comes to life in animated form, having a conversation with her f...
CULTURE

I grew up thinking my first relationship would end in marriage

As my father paused at a red light, he turned towards me and said, “you’re not allowed to have a boyfriend until you get married”.
I was twelve years old when I asked my father how old I should be before I could have my first boyfriend. We were driving home from a family friend’s wedding, a relative that we were somewhat related to. As my father paused at a red light,...
FAMILY

I healed because our baby did everything he wasn’t supposed to

I looked at my beautiful baby and I cried about the unfairness of it all. Was I to blame? It should have been me who suffered, not him. Was this my punishment, what had I done to warrant this?
Two years ago, my newborn baby’s flesh was bruised and pricked. His tiny flaky body was covered in medical wires and cables, beeps ringing through the stark hospital room. He was taken from me when he was hours old, tucked in a little plas...
22 Oct 2020 - 11:16am

As proud Egyptians, we want a say in Cleopatra's portrayal

Mixed heritage is a common reality for modern day Egyptians, who are as ethnically complex as our ancestor, Cleopatra. Yet, like the fabled Queen, we claim and celebrate our Egyptian identity.
Opinion Growing up in Australia as the son of Egyptian migrants, I longed to see Egyptians in mainstream television productions. The nearest I came was stories about criminals and ex-criminals. These Arabs were involved in dangerous underg...
CULTURE

We almost lost our home to bushfire last year

Since the fires, we’ve had to cut down countless trees. I have cried over them. These were venerable natives, habitat to possums, corellas and koalas, that would never come back to life.
It’s the last day of a mild Queensland winter and nights are still chilly, even though the days have been gentle and bright with sun. A planned cool burn has been scheduled in the suburb next to mine, but now it’s out of control. All after...
FAMILY

We need to stop judging people on their parenting

Judgement is being cast upon such a tiny snapshot of their day, a fleeting moment in time.
While I was out running errands one day, my son, who had been stuck in his pram for far longer than I knew he could handle without a meltdown, well, had a meltdown. He summoned up his best “let’s make it sound like you’re torturing me” scr...
NAIDOC WEEK

Indigenous people are custodians of our own cultural heritage

It wasn’t until my degree in ancient history that I came to understand the erasure or invalidity of Indigenous peoples in institutions when the information of the anthropologist was prioritised. ‘Nothing about us without us’ is required, not...
In many respects the 1920s aren’t much different to the beginning of the 2020s. We’re still combating Australia Day with messages of sorrow and survival. We’re fighting for our voices to be heard on matters that affect us - from racial bia...