Gender

The Daughter, the Sister and the Throne

The most-watched preteen in 21st-century geopolitics might be trailing behind her father, Kim Jong-un, but the sound of her careful steps on North Korea’s...

Growing Up Before Tying the Knot

In the sun-washed hush of the ʻAlāpito (porch) of a Tongan fale (house), young voices chatter of the future while elders sip kava and...

Perfect Surgery, Imperfect System

In the glittering opulence of Bangkok’s cosmetic-surgery clinics – where ceilings gleam with fluorescent precision and brochures promise “your true self” – the journey...

Marriage Starts with a Razor

China’s wedding season has a thousand hairstyles—and sometimes none at all. In the Lahu communities of Yunnan, the most striking bridal accessory can be...

Love Hotels & Legal Loopholes

If you thought the only thrill-seeking habit of salarymen in Tokyo’s neon glow was karaoke until last train, think again: in Japan, the concept...

Rainbow Journey in the Lion City

In the last decade, the winds of change have been brisk, even if they haven’t yet blown through every corner of Singapore’s tightly-woven social...

When (Almost) Equal Pay Masks Unequal Reality

In a twist that might surprise some, when we talk about the gender pay gap in India we can now say: the “gap” is...

Young Nation, Ancient Barriers

On 26 October 2025, Timor-Leste officially entered the ASEAN family as the bloc’s 11th member, cementing its place in the regional order and marking...
Auntie Spices It Out
Commentary

The Girls Who Never Got a Chance

November 21, 2025

If there is one topic that makes Auntie’s blood simmer like sambal on a low flame, it’s the long, tragic, infuriating history of gender selection in Asia. The quiet, polite cruelty of deciding a child’s worth before they even take their first breath. Selective abortions, abandoned newborn girls, ultrasound hush-hush deals, families whispering prayers for sons as if daughters were defective products—Auntie has seen it, heard it, and tasted the bitterness in a dozen countries from Delhi to Da Nang. Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a “cultural preference” or...
Commentary

Cartoon Censorship Strikes Again

November 20, 2025

Auntie needs to have a stern word, again, with the self-appointed moral police who seem to think they’re the new headmasters of Asia’s playgrounds. You’d think, with everything going on in the world—economic troubles, political scandals, floods, real social issues—they’d have better things to do than policing cartoons. But no. A mermaid gives a peck on the cheek and suddenly the guardians of “public morality” come marching in like we’re on the brink of societal collapse. Please. Spare me the drama. Let’s get something straight, sweethearts: children are not fragile...
Commentary

Equal Boots on the Ground

November 20, 2025

Let Auntie adjust her dupatta and sip her ginger tea before diving into this one — because yes, I am a proud, card-carrying pacifist. I would rather see armies turned into libraries, barracks transformed into community gardens, and all those defence budgets redirected to health, education, and childcare. But reality has a funny way of marching on, boots thumping, uniforms pressed, and flags flying. And if the world insists on keeping its militaries, then by all that is sacred and sensible, women must have every right to step into those...
Commentary

Porn, Power, and the Badge

November 20, 2025

Oh, New Zealand. Sweet, quiet, well-behaved New Zealand — land of hobbits, good manners, and public agencies that supposedly sparkle with integrity. And yet here we are. Your almost-Commissioner of Police, Jevon “I-Swear-I’m-Innocent” McSkimming, has been caught with more inappropriate material than a bored teenager with unlimited Wi-Fi. Except this was not a bored teenager. This was the man sitting one step below the most powerful policing role in the country. Using work devices. During office hours. Darling, even Southeast Asian politicians caught in karaoke bars are shaking their heads....
Commentary

The Sex–Abstinence Paradox

November 20, 2025

Darlings, gather around. Auntie needs to sip her peppermint tea before she screams. Because once again, the guardians of 1950s morality—the same ones who still believe Elvis’ hips were the beginning of humanity’s downfall—are back to save us from that terrifying, scandalous concept called reality. Yes, the abstinence crusaders, pearl-clutchers, and self-appointed guardians of public virtue are marching proudly into the 2025 debate on sex education like they’re storming Normandy, armed with nothing but outdated pamphlets and fear of their own bodies. Honestly, I almost admire the confidence. Imagine waking...
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