Tag:gender

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...

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...

Marching Proudly Through the Storm

Catch the rain-splashed streets of Taipei, and you’ll sense something electric: more than 150,000 people — undeterred by heavy downpours — flooded the capital...

New Maid Café Lets Men Wear the Apron

Ever fancied flipping the script and becoming the one wearing the frilly apron instead of being served? At the heart of Tokyo’s geek-chic enclave,...

Young 40s: When Your Knees Hurt but Your Outfit Slays

They’re old enough to remember dial-up but young enough to own three skincare serums. Meet South Korea’s “young 40s,” a meme-ready species of middle-aged...

A Woman at the Top, Patriarchy Intact

So Japan has its first female prime minister — and she’s here to prove that women, too, can uphold the patriarchy with impeccable discipline....

White Coats, Bloody Hands

Outrage surges as we learn that the very people entrusted with the care of girls—the doctors, nurses and midwives of the health system—are now...
Auntie Spices It Out
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...
Commentary

‘I’m Quitting Motherhood’

November 19, 2025

Sisters, allow Auntie to tell you something she has learned after decades of wandering through Asia’s kitchens, cramped apartments, community halls, PTA meetings, feminist circles, and yes — the occasional smoky karaoke bar where exhausted mothers sip a secret highball behind the neon. When have women in this region ever been truly free to choose their roles? When have mothers been allowed to breathe, to shape motherhood the way they want, rather than the way society scripts it? In Japan especially — and Auntie speaks as someone who has listened...
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