From the Editor

Kia Ora, After the trials and tribulations of Semester 1, I’m sure we’re all pretty keen to reinvent ourselves.

This semester is the one where we actually do our readings, stop crying over ugly Tinder dates and actually use that Moleskine planner that was far too expensive to warrant only writing in for one week.

Lately, I've been telling my mates that I’m manifesting a white girl’s 5:30am morning routine full of Yoga with Adrienne, oat milk matcha lattes and aesthetic notion layouts. If this doesn’t amalgamate into a six figure salary I'm blaming the patriarchy.

But in truth, the concept of manifesting has never really sat right with me. I’m far from spiritual so that's partly to blame.But the idea of manifesting also seems as conducive to my own personal growth and success as getting financial advice from a boomer or listening to a shore lad on how to climb the corporate ladder. Like yeah, I should save more, but also that isn’t going to help me buy a house anytime soon. And yeah I get it, I should be more assertive and demand that pay rise, but I’m also an Asian female and I’m going to be classed as difficult. Frankly, the promise of abundance and wealth operates within a white body. And this dissonance in agency just ain’t hot imo. Am I really just out here saying “maybe you manifested it, maybe it’s white privilege”? Yeah, not far from it aye.

On another note, the Olympics are really just proving the extent to which white supremacy straight up fears nothing like it fears Black excellence. A quick google search and you’ll note the countless ways that the organisation has contributed towards racial exclusion in just a matter of days. In an op-ed piece on NBC, Attorney Chase Strangio writes “bodies are often coded as appropriately ‘male’ or appropriately ‘female’ through a lens of racism and white supremacy. And this lens is used to police some bodies in the alleged service of others.” The regulations imposed on athletes are directly utilised to marginalise Black women.

To end on, I think it’s about time I introduce this issue's theme, ‘Ships.’ This issue is concerned with all things related to friendships and relationships. Well that was the intention... our editorial assistant Andy misunderstood the brief and took it a bit too literally. Rather than spoiling his fuck up, I encourage you all to just go on and read the issue.

Ngā mihi,

Rebecca