7 months ago my life took a change and I found out that I was pregnant; I had mixed emotions about the situation, on one hand I was thrilled to be expecting and yet felt afraid of what society may think of me as a 22 year old woman having a baby.

…In which I present just a few of the end of year best/worst of lists being written at the moment by all and sundry, and attempt to make witty feminist commentary on them. Won’t this be fun?

I have worked in international development for over 8 years focusing on various aspects, all with a gender lens. And I have to tell you, sports and development never sat comfortably with me. Surely there was better ways to spend money. Surely education, education for girls would be a better process for empowerment?! Or investments in sexual and reproductive health! What is more empowering for a woman than to have control of her reproductive life?

Bob Katter has a bit of a funny-old-Granpa feel. The kind of bloke who is relegated to the corner of the room, to be left alone with his beer and his muttering. Whether or not he shares the same love of casual racism that the older people in my life sure seem to enjoy is a question I can't answer, but it is undeniable that BobKat is dangerously socially conservative.

Well that’s it, petals – summer is officially at an end. To take my mind off this sad fact, this week’s link love is a collection of stuff that made me either do a big fist-pump or have a little ‘aww, kittens!’ type moment…

It's been far too long since my last Word of the Week. Please excuse my tardiness. Hopefully this week's word will help bridge the gap: freedom.

Hey there ladies, just a community service announcement in case anyone else missed the memo (no doubt I was too busy thinking about shoes): April seems to be Biological Determinism Month. Who knew? Luckily for us dithering and emotional females, there were a couple of knights in shining armour to explain the whole thing to us in simple words we could understand.

The topic of the article was, ‘LNP staffer quits after anti-feminist rant’. An obvious draw for a feminist, so I had a read. I drew a conclusion from the first few lines that the LNP staffer had resigned (or rather been let go) because of ignorance and cluelessness more than anything else.

When it comes to calling home, she’ll always be ‘Mum,’ but when it comes to discussions around aid and development, workforce participation, pay equity, housing or any other social issue, the word ‘mother’ just makes me cringe!

In a very tight Budget, women in low paid work are winners with reduced tax and improved superannuation. But there were also missed opportunities to safeguard Australian households from violence, poverty, and homelessness. Women who are already struggling to get by could be left behind while the rest of the community shares in the benefits of the resources boom.

Petals! It's been a long time between Link Loves, we know. We've sorted ourselves out decided to replace the sporadic, if-we-can-coordinate-it weekly link love and go for a monthly wrap up instead. So this is it: what you may have missed, or wish you had, in April. It was the month we celebrated those born under Aries (of which my dad is one: happy birthday Da!), the month Bob Brown retired from the leadership of the Australian Greens, and the month we found out, courtesy of Cardinal George Pell, that even atheists can go to heaven. Here it is, petals.

“We are calling on Queenslands Communities Minister Tracy Davis to urgently reinstate the funding for Sisters Inside, which provides critical support services and counselling for criminalised women pre and post release prison in North Queensland.

Having been silent for a couple of months, I should maybe share what has kept me quiet. I am dismayed quite sad actually at some realisations I have come too. Is there any hope for equality I have asked myself a number of times in the past couple of months and I am almost tempted to say no.

July was a busy month for feminists about town. Russian punk bands arrested, Brisbane doctor sactioned for assisting women to conduct home abortions, American woman facing jail time for outing her rapists on twitter. It's been a legally interesting time, feel free to add your own favourite July links in the comments and forum!

Ever wondered what goes on in a working mum's mind when she misses that sports carnival, all those after school pick-ups, that early learning presentation and the evening parents meeting? Well a lot of questions float over their head every time they miss something. Things like am I doing the right thing, will I regain this time, do my kids resent me, should I just give in to the pressure and stay home, never miss anything? Let's not even go to the times you have to be away from home for some time because of work, lobbying, interstate board meetings and the like. You cannot help but ask, am I making real change?

Another in our contraception series. Natural family planning goes by a few names, including the rhythm method, withdrawal, and Billings Method. The basic principle is always the same: avoid sperm and ova getting together for an unauthorised party.

It's World Mental Health Week, and Wednesday is World Mental Health Day, with the theme "Whoever you are or wherever you live, you're not alone".

Hello young women of Australia, Here's something funny: A year ago, I could name you the capital cities of most European countries. As a well-read young feminist, I also thought I had a good understanding of issues facing women around the world. However, I wouldn't have been able to tell you the names of capital cities in the countries closest to Australia. In fact, I probably would have struggled with most of the country names. I also knew next-to-nothing about issues affecting women in the Pacific region.

A lot has already been written about this young girl who was seriously injured by gunshot wounds only days ago, attacked for her belief that girls should receive education. What grabbed me about Malala's story was her age. At 14 years old, this young girl has the maturity, courage, and strength to stand up for what she knows is right. Whether from the Eastern or Western world, universal education of all children, girl or boy, is a basic human right. That she recognized this, despite the oppressive forces in her society that tell her otherwise, is beautiful, and a testament to her astounding capacity.

Women are very productive creatures. In fact, I reckon they redefine productivity. Especially as they have to do most of the domestic and caring work and earn an income from paid work at the same time.

What price do you put on peace? For Australian taxpayers, it's somewhere between $5 and $15. Do you think that's good value?

Week Two of roller derby training, and things have started to hurt. But that’s a good thing.

When I’m not falling with style in hotpants, I binge-watch Downton Abbey. Make of those two interests what you will. Anyway, there was a scene where Edith tells Sybil that she feels like a “spare part” and just wants to feel useful. Sybil tells Edith that everyone has a talent, she just has to find hers and put it to use.

Let me tell you the story of how I decided I needed to join in my local roller derby league. It was the night that I saw the impossible become reality, right in front of me.

Natural family planning goes by a few names, including the rhythm method, withdrawal, and Billings Method. The basic principle is always the same: avoid sperm and ova getting together for an unauthorised party. Here's our user review...

By now you will have heard about the sick joke that is the Lingerie Football League. I’m not even going to start on why it is damaging to women who are serious about sport. Instead, here are some women’s team sports that deserve the kind of funding and media attention currently going to a bunch of skinny, young, white women prepared to have their underwear ripped off on the football field for the amusement of NRL fans.

What’s in a name? A lot, as it turns out. There are very good reasons why we should refer to the Prime Minister by her title or surname, not her first name.

A young black woman just got named Global Creative Director at Blackberry, and I'm not all that happy about it.

The new season of Mad Men started in the US on 7 April, although we won't get to see it legally in Australia for darn ages. Until I can watch the real thing, I've been reading reviews of the opening season double-episode, thankful that the writers are avoiding spoilers. But why does everyone get so distressed about Don Draper's ongoing lack of self identity?

The fine city of Canberra is celebrating National Youth Week with free workshops on how to be noisy and disruptive! Yay us!