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THEATRE

The diverse cast and crew telling bold stories from Western Sydney

"How do I talk about sex in such a public way, in an artistic way without thinking 'oh my god this is going to bring such shame on my community?'"
CULTURE

My 12-year-old son's drag shows help build community in rural Queensland

The story of Taboo, a regular drag show which revitalised a struggling bowls club in Ipswich, is the focus of a new Untold Australia documentary on SBS, Bowled Over.
CULTURE

Kamala Harris admits to Googling husband Doug Emhoff before date

The couple also spoke about their diverse family unit, which includes children Ella and Cole from Emhoff's first marriage.
CRICKET

I love cricket, but the sting of racism on the pitch still haunts me

I was called a monkey, often. It didn’t help that I was also an early bloomer, fully bearded by the time I was playing in the Under 16s. When I told the other...
CULTURE

Tilda Swinton to British Vogue: 'I always felt I was Queer'

"I always felt I was queer – I was just looking for my queer circus, and I found it."
HEALTH

Why did no one tell me about the pelvic floor?

“In fitness classes, instructors skip right over it. They go straight from the core to the legs.”

Voices video

00:02:44
The SBS Emerging Writers' Competition Winner 2020
Alana Hicks tells us about her winning entry for the SBS Emerging Writers' Competition 2020 and what writing the story meant to her.
  • Produced by SBS Voices

Read the winning entries

Of more than 2000 entries submitted to the inaugural Emerging Writers' Competition these are the top four prizewinning stories, as judged by Melissa Lucashenko and Benjamin Law. 

www.sbs.com.au/writers

First Prize entry

The Australia of my youth was not diverse. It was medium-beige

SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition Winner: Alana Hicks.
Second Prize entry

Schism

How it feels to be a First Nations person inside a colonial education system
Highly Commended

The red plastic chair is a Vietnamese cultural institution, and my anchor

Emerging Writers’ Competition Highly Commended: Amy Duong.
Highly Commended

As a migrant kid I was obsessed with talkback radio kings like Alan Jones

Emerging Writers’ Competition Highly Commended: Nakul Legha.
Emerging Writers' Competition

Meet the winners of the SBS Emerging Writers' Competition

Four winners have been chosen from thousands of entries into the inaugural SBS Emerging Writers' Competition. Read more about their writing journey and what...

Culture & Society

Your stories. Your words.

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

AOC

US Capitol attacks could be triggering for trauma survivors: AOC

"Wednesday's events could have been very triggering for you...if you at all feel unsettled in a deep way, (and) your intuition is telling you something is not right,...
CRICKET

I love cricket, but the sting of racism on the pitch still haunts me

I was called a monkey, often. It didn’t help that I was also an early bloomer, fully bearded by the time I was playing in the Under 16s. When I told the other...
TV

Watching period dramas like Bridgerton growing up made me less of an outsider

Growing up with a conservative Indian culture, the social norms displayed in period dramas were not dissimilar to the expectations of us as modest girls expected...
CULTURE

Why I’ve embraced the art of re-gifting

Re-gifting can be one of the most environmentally responsible things you can do.
CULTURE

Let's talk about 'blackfishing' and Aussie beach culture

It’s easy for those who have not personally experienced racism to look at ad campaigns and think that a white woman with too much fake tan is unproblematic.
THE AREA

Mt Druitt’s new gen: Proud, fierce and unapologetic

2770, Mount Druitt: It’s a notorious postcode. It's also a creative and complicated place, teeming with stories.
The Area

Parramatta: Once Australia's colonial headquarters, it's now the heart of diverse Sydney

“A lot of my friends moved to the Inner West to be a part of everything. My theory was that if I move to Parramatta it can come to me.”

Addicted

Watch Addicted Australia on SBS On Demand. The four-part documentary series will be available with simplified Chinese and Vietnamese subtitles.

Join the conversation #AddictedSBS

ADDICTED AUSTRALIA

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...
ADDICTED AUSTRALIA

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.”
Addicted Australia

Where to find help if you are battling addiction

If you’re trying to overcome addiction, you don’t need to do it alone.
Addiction

I was addicted to food, heroin and ice. Now I’m trying to get clean

“A food addiction is almost more exhausting than the drug addiction – you can put the drugs and alcohol down but you can never put down food. You always have to...
Challenging myths

Ice addiction: How accurate are the stereotypes you believe?

Stick thin, sunken eyes, blistered sores, violent rages; how accurate our perceptions of ice addicts? We get the facts from a drug expert.
4 Nov 2020 - 11:58am

What are the hardest addictions to break?

There is debate on what the most addictive substances are. So why the disparity and what can you do?
HEALTH

What it's like attending AA meetings online

Being able to attend from the comfort of my couch has literally been a lifesaver, but for me online meetings miss a crucial ingredient important for my sobriety.

Health

 

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

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CULTURE

I went overseas and had a panic attack and flew home after 24 hours

Never mind that for the last few years, I hadn’t been able to leave my house alone. Here I was going half way across the world by myself.
HEALTH

Is there such a thing as a safe level of anxiety?

Is anxiety useful too? And if not, why would my body have evolved an entirely useless response?
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,...
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.
More

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

Star Trek actor Mary Wiseman is 'queer and proud'

“I never liked it when straight-presenting women dominated conversations about bisexuality/pansexuality when I was with women, so I try not to do it now.”
CULTURE

My 12-year-old son's drag shows help build community in rural Queensland

The story of Taboo, a regular drag show which revitalised a struggling bowls club in Ipswich, is the focus of a new Untold Australia documentary on SBS, Bowled Over.
CULTURE

Tilda Swinton to British Vogue: 'I always felt I was Queer'

"I always felt I was queer – I was just looking for my queer circus, and I found it."
CULTURE

Celebrating Christmas when you're queer

The experience of welcoming friends that turn into family is a gift all of its own.
CULTURE

I stopped drinking and started dressing like I did when I was 5

My need to blend in followed me throughout primary school, into high school, and well into adulthood. I never wore colour - a black tee was my 'adult life' uniform.
PRIDE

Netflix amends Elliot Page's name on all past credits

The actor's name has been changed in the credits for 'The Umbrella Academy', 'Tales of the City', 'Flatliners' and 'Tallulah'.
PRIDE

The Finnish PM is proud to be raised by two mums

"I thought anything was possible because my mom told me I could become anything."

Sweatshop Collective

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

 

FAMILY

Being Indian with two mums taught me to embrace contradictions

Whilst many queer spaces centre sexual liberation, my birth mum maintains cultural values around sexual modesty.
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...
Pride

The moments my race, gender and sexuality collide

Throughout my late teens and early 20s, the first response I usually got when I came out to people was, ‘What does your family think?’
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...

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.  

SWIMMING

There are many ways to be an Aussie water baby, and this is mine

I missed out on the joy of swimming carnivals as a kid, but here is how I am now making up for lost time.
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

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

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FAMILY

Why I keep a journal for my daughter

When your parent dies young, it becomes a harbinger of your own death and I always feared I would not live past 30.
PARENTING

The praise my husband receives for parenting in public does my head in

After we had our third child my husband would sometimes feel like a minor celebrity if he chose to walk down the street with all three children in tow.
HEALTH

What no one tells you about living with a partner with PTSD

Living with a partner who suffers from PTSD means that while I have seen my husband make great strides in dealing this his symptoms, I have also learnt that he...
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.
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.
More

Relationships

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

More
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”.
RELATIONSHIPS

The perks of sleeping separately from my partner

My husband and I thought that we would sleep separately until the morning sickness stopped, but it never did.
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 ...
More

More dispatches from Voices

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FAMILY

Why I keep a journal for my daughter

When your parent dies young, it becomes a harbinger of your own death and I always feared I would not live past 30.
When my husband and I tried to conceive, it took us 10 months. I had begun to believe that one of us was infertile and had started collecting information about IVF and adoption. When I fell pregnant with my daughter I was 30 years old, the...
CULTURE

Explaining why I stutter to my 6-year-old

My six-year-old initially found it hard to understand why I had a stutter. She would say, “you are over 30 years old but you can’t speak well.”
My earliest memory of having a stutter was when I was five years old. I remembered struggling to say different words. Sometimes I would be stuck on a word for 30 seconds. My parents would tell me to slow down but I remembered trying so har...
CULTURE

How Hollywood is set up against women over 40

One study showed that female stars reached their peak earning age at 34 whereas male stars didn't peak until 51.
It’s no secret that Hollywood promotes younger women and that by the time they are 40 most actresses find themselves being overlooked for starring roles. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal paid testament to this when a few years ago she said in an ...
PARENTING

The praise my husband receives for parenting in public does my head in

After we had our third child my husband would sometimes feel like a minor celebrity if he chose to walk down the street with all three children in tow.
It’s important that I say this from the start, just in case there is any confusion further along: my husband is an incredible, hands-on father. Without his support I wouldn’t be able to do half of the things I embark on, not just in my car...
POETRY PRIZE

Poet Omar Sakr recognised with Prime Minister's Literary Award

The judges called the work "vital, energy-driven...with a clear and fearless voice, a voice that is often passionate and sometimes angry, but always lucid and warmly human."
Omar Sakr’s The Lost Arabs has taken away the 2020 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Poetry, The judges called the work "the vital, energy-driven... with a clear and fearless voice, a voice that is often passionate and sometimes angry, b...
REPRESENTATION

We need more journalists of colour in newsrooms

Seeing people of colour present the news gives me hope to continue.
I got a taste of my dream job at 21.  And the habitat for this dream job was mind-numbingly generic - unremarkable chairs and tables, inaccessible outlets to charge my laptop, computer programs with unfriendly user interfaces. It was like ...

Influencer Olivia Jade discusses her privilege after college admissions scandal

"A huge part of privilege is not knowing you have privilege."
Influencer Olivia Jade Giannulli has talked publicly about being at the centre of a US college admissions scandal in an episode of Red Table Talk.  The young influencer made the news after her parents, Hollywood actress Lori Loughlin an...
CULTURE

Forbes releases a diverse list of the 100 most powerful women

A number of politicians and CEOs were on the list, but there were a few surprises this year with newcomers Stacey Abrams and Australian Shemara Wikramanayake also making the list.
While the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel took out the top spot in Forbes 100 most powerful women list, with fellow politicians Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi also in the top 10, it was some of the other entrants on the list that had ...
CULTURE

'Accha': the small word with many meanings is now in the Cambridge dictionary

"Cambridge dictionary totally underestimated how we use acha."
In a year that's been okay at best it seems to make sense that the Hindi and Urdu word for OK, "accha" has been added to the Cambridge dictionary. Though if you were going to get technical about it, you would never use accha to say somethi...
CULTURE

Naomi Osaka on challenging her inner introvert: "It will trigger more people than you can imagine"

"Note to my introverted 13 year old self: in about 10 years you’re finally going to open your mouth."
The current number one women's tennis player, Naomi Osaka, recently tweeted: "Note to my introverted 13 year old self : in about 10 years you’re finally going to open your mouth and it will trigger more people than you could’ve ever imagin...