WRITING

​I’m an essayist, critic and commentator interested in identity (race, queerness and migration), screen and pop culture, the creative industries, mental health, critical theory, linguistics, and the many intersections between these areas.

I also write poetry—mostly about love, desire, language and distance—and, very sporadically, bite-size ramen reviews via my Instagram hashtag #ratetheramen.

My work has been published widely in Australia and abroad, including in Meanjin, Right Now, Screen Education, The Big Issue, Cordite, wildness and The Manila Review, among others.


​Image: Meanjin vol. 78, no. 1 (read my cover essay here)

Publication highlights

​More information and hyperlinks can be found in the full list of publication credits further down.

Screen Education #94

Right Now, 2017

Growing Up Queer in Australia (ed. Benjamin Law)

Cordite #88

The Lifted Brow, 2019

Margaret & David: 5 Stars (ed. Amanda Duthie)

Peril #28/29

The Manila Review vol. 1, no. 5

jump to:  2021  |  2020  |  2019  |  2018  |  2017  |  2016  |  Earlier

 

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​2022

• ‘No Turning Back: Temporality, Displacement and Desire in Of an Age’, Metro (forthcoming)
• ‘Pack of Lies: Masquerades of Masculinity in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog’, Metro
• Flee review, The Big Issue

​2021

• ‘A Conversation with Tony Ayres’, Liminal
• ‘Alone on the Borderline’, The Victorian Writer
• The Unusual Suspects review, The Big Issue
• Scattered (38 x 1-minute episodes, co-writer), TikTok, Screen Australia & Film Victoria 
• ‘Wading in Chest-Deep: Broede Carmody’s Flat Exit’, Australian Poetry Journal
• ‘Moving Targets: Snapshots of Representation’, Metro
• ‘Screens #6 — Long Day’s Journey into Night, Shoplifters, Bulbbul’, Liminal

 

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​2020​

• ​Monsoon review, The Big Issue
• ‘“The Show Must Go On”: Transgression and the Carnivalesque in Moulin Rouge!’, Metro
• ‘Infectious Scrolling: Social Media, Mental Health and COVID-19’, Metro
• Kajillionaire review, The Big Issue
• Small Acts of Resistance catalogue essay, Samstag Museum of Art​

• Baby Done review, The Big Issue
• ‘2020 Vision and Optical Illusions’, Meanjin
• ‘Screens #5 — Sisterakas, Sid & Aya, Howl’s Moving Castle’, Liminal
• ‘All-Access Pass?: Film Festivals Go Viral’, Metro
• The Devil All the Time pitch pack, Netflix
• ‘Screens #4 — Uncle Boonmee, The Act of Killing, Dear Ex’, Liminal
• ‘Screens #3 — No Hard Feelings, Suk Suk, Wet Season (Special MIFF 68½ Edition)’, Liminal
• ‘Screens #2 — Loev, Wadjda, Yellow Is Forbidden’, Liminal
• ‘Laws of Motion: Vertigo and Virtual Performance’, MOD. Museum
• ‘Against Gay Conversion Therapy: Loving the “Sinner”’, Archer​
• ‘Screens #1 — Beastars, Parasite, The Kingmaker’, Liminal
• ‘Platforming for Community’, The Relationship Is the Project

 

​​2019

• ‘Identity Crisis: Forging a Path Forward’, The Australian Rationalist
• ‘Coming Out, Coming Home’, Growing Up Queer in Australia​
• ‘Sitting in the Movement’, The Lifted Brow
• ‘Change of Heart: Boy Erased, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Gay Conversion Therapy’, Screen Education​
• ‘A Fetching Achievement’, Metro
• ‘Rough-rider’, wildness
• ‘A Conversation with Benjamin Law’, Liminal
• ‘Quest and Queerness: Role-Playing Identity’, Meanjin

 

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2018

• ‘Monstrous Motherhood: Summoning the Abject in The Babadook’, Screen Education

• ‘Mind’s Eye: Re-envisioning Mental Health in the Arts’, The Other Film Festival
• ‘ETA’, Cordite
• ‘Tickled Pink: Thailand Tourism Comes Out’, Archer
• ‘A Conversation with Alan Weedon’, Liminal
• ‘Adventures in Genre Down Under’, Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts
• ‘Here’, Scum
• ‘A Conversation with Mama Alto’, Liminal
• ‘Canon Fodder: The Polemics of Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar’, Meanjin
• ‘Solstice 2’, Milk Crates
• ‘Pride in Programming: 25 Years of the Mardi Gras Film Festival’, ABC Mardi Gras 40th Anniversary Magazine

 

​2017

• ‘Growing Up Queer: A Filipino Perspective’, Dumbo Feather
• ‘A Conversation with Yumi Umiumare’, Liminal
• ‘Confronting Images: Suicide, Rape Culture and Responsibility in 13 Reasons Why’, Screen Education​
• ‘In the Spotlight’, Midsumma Festival
• ‘Motion’, Cordite Poetry Review
• ‘Critical Opinion Is Critical’, Margaret and David: 5 Stars 
• ‘A Conversation with Raina Peterson’, Liminal
• ‘Love in Time: Confronting Queerness in Call Me by Your Name’, Meanjin

• ‘A Conversation with Elizabeth Flux’, Liminal
• ‘Death of the Editor’, Overland
• ‘The Abstraction of Privilege’, Right Now​
• ‘“I’m a Badass Hunky Dude”: Gender, Hegemony and She’s the Man’, Screen Education
• ‘Confession’, The Suburban Review
• ‘A Conversation with Bobuq Sayed’, Liminal
• ‘Terrain’, ‘Slingshot’ and ‘Turbulence’, Peril
• ‘Container’, Mascara Literary Review 
• ‘Fingerprint’ (republished), Liminal 
• ‘Confessions of a Privileged Minority’, Right Now

 

​2016

• ​‘Queering the Airwaves for TV Diversity’, Eureka Street
• ‘Straight Talk about Toxic Homonormativity’, Right Now
• ‘Reimagining Manhood after ABC’s Man Up’, Eureka Street
• ‘Populism, Trump and the Perils of “Dutertopia”’, Right Now
• ‘Combating the Selfishness of Freedom of Expression’, Right Now
• ‘Oppression Olympics: A Game Nobody Wins’, Right Now
• ‘Discriminating Differently’, Right Now
• ‘Increasing Mental Health Visibility’, Right Now
• ‘Matters of Consequence: Growing Up with The Little Prince’, Screen Education
• ​‘Fingerprint’, ‘Constellations’ and ‘Journey’, Plaything
• ‘Setting Change in Motion (Pictures)’, Right Now (republished by the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival)
• ‘Beyond “Colourblindness” and Racebending’, Right Now
• ‘1035’, Scum

 

See 2015 and Earlier

​2015

• ‘People of Colour and Sexuality (roundtable)’, Plaything
• ‘Power from a Different Perspective: Race, Gender and Grief in Big Hero 6’, Screen Education​
• ‘Adolfo Aranjuez Recommends Loving Absolutely and without Fear’, The Lifted Brow
• ‘Walking through the Fire: For Kat Muscat’, Writers Victoria (republished by The Wheeler Centre and Express Media)
• ‘The Legend of Korra and Minority Representation’, Screen Education
• ‘Editorially Speaking’, Melbourne Writers Festival​

2014

• ‘A Different Shade of Evil: Questions of Ethics in Maleficent’, Screen Education

• ‘In the Claws of the City: Manila in Film’, The Manila Review
• ‘Museums without Walls: Safeguarding Our Heritage’, Simpublica​
• Amadeo: Changing Latitudes, from ‘The Third Space’ series of novellas, Garratt Publishing

• ‘You’re “Literally” a Grammar Nazi’, Going Down Swinging​

​2013

• ‘Surface to Air vs Sea Hearts’, Meanjin
• ‘Introduction’, Award Winning Australian Writing 2013
• ‘Internet Killed the Editing Star’, Virgule
• ‘Does This Make Sense?’, Virgule​
• ‘Know Your Roots’, Virgule
• ‘Win, Win, Nudge, Nudge: Why Enter Writing Competitions’, The Emerging Writer
• ​‘Compounded’, Virgule
• Translation and commentary, ‘Three Stories in the Life of Julian Candelabra’ (by Lualhati Bautista), The Lifted Brow
• ‘The Write and Wrong Words’, Virgule
• ‘Apostrophilia’, Virgule​

2012

• ‘“That” versus “Which” (a.k.a. Microsoft Word Keeps Adding Squiggly Green Lines)’, Virgule
• ‘Introduction’, Award Winning Australian Writing 2012
• ‘Month of Reading’, The Victorian Writer
• ‘The Seduction of the Intellect: On Truth and Poeisis’, 
  Metre Maids
• ‘The Editor Wears Prada’, Virgule
• ‘Solstice’, Geek Mook​

2011

• ‘Latitudes’, Voiceworks
• ‘Introduction’, Award Winning Australian Writing 2011
• ‘On Writing and Competitions’, Meanjin
• ‘Pyrolysis’, Hands Like Mirrors
• ​‘Splinter’, Velour Poetry Zine
• ‘Off the Mill’, Voiceworks
• ‘To A.A.B., one year later’, Apple Cart Zine

2010

• ‘Introduction’, Award Winning Australian Writing 2010
• ‘Soldier(ing)’, Voiceworks
• ‘Reading Space’, Virgule
• ‘Josephine’, Love, Loss & Intimacy
• ‘How Exquisite (Corpse)!’, Virgule

​​2009

• ‘Panopticon 2.0’, Voiceworks

• ‘Dumpster Diving’, Youth Central
• ‘I Dress, Therefore I am’, Voiceworks
• ‘Of Catwalks and Copycats’, Voiceworks
• ‘Op-Shopping: A Rough Guide’, Youth Central 

2008

• ‘A T-Shirt Named Desire’, Voiceworks
• ‘Centre Upgrade to Open’, Hobsons Bay Leader
• ‘What is This Financial Crisis Thing All About?’, Youth Central 
• ‘Power is the New Black’, Voiceworks
• ‘Boy-girls and Girl-boys’, Voiceworks
• ‘Explode’, Vibewire
• ‘The Op-Shop Pandemic’, Vibewire 
• ‘Wooden-soled Boots and a Mustard-Yellow, Sausage-Shaped Train’, Vibewire

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Image: YA’ll Are Thirsty, MWF 2019 (photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea)