August 2022 - Glycerine Queen Media

TW: domestic violence

A regional Queensland newsletter has been condemned for publishing a ‘joke’ about domestic violence.

Murgon Moments published the joke in its August monthly newsletter.

I won’t go into detail on what the joke was. I’ll just say that implied that domestic violence victims should just keep their mouths shut.

Yeaaah. How anyone thought tbat was a ‘joke’ worth publishing I’ll never know.

Not surprisingly, outrage has been swift. Queensland’s Attorney – General and Women’s Minister, Shannon Fentiman expressed her outrage on social media on Wednesday.

…[it’s] a stark reminder of just how far we still have to go. Already this month, it has been reported that several women have lost their lives due to family violence — that’s just in Queensland alone.
Queensland’s Attorney – General Shann9n Fentiman

Numerous people commented their agreement with Fentiman’s criticism. Commenters said the ‘joke’ was “horrific and unacceptable”. Another commenter exclaimed:

Are you kidding!!???? It wasn’t funny or appropriate in 1963, let alone today. That’s a disgrace.

Another commented:

Appalled and ashamed. My heart goes out to every woman who has read this and had their abuse belittled like this.

Sexual consent activist, Chanel Contos shared Fentiman’s post on Instagram stories. She wrote:

[it’s] genuinely disgusting that an Australian newspaper would publish this.
Sexual consent activist, Chanel Contos

On Thursday, Fentimore confirmed that a complaint against Murgon Moments had been lodged to the Australian Press Council.

Publisher pulls joke and ‘apologises’

I know I’m using inverted commas a lot in this post, but it’s warranted. In response to the outrage, Murgon Moments’ publisher has pulled the ‘joke’ from the website and has offered an ‘apology‘. If you can call it that.

In a now – deleted post, Editor, Leo Geraghty wrote:

To my valued readers, I am sorry you found it offensive. Perhaps it might be better to remove all the snippets that used to be classed as jokes from the Murgon Moments which I have voluntary done for the last 190 issues.

Perhaps doing the copy for print at one o’clock in the morning, I should have been more careful to what I was including instead of including jokes from the 2007 edition.
Leo Geraghty

I find it ironic that Geraghty opened the apology with a common gaslighting statement (“I’m sorry you…”). I’m not saying Geraghty meant to. Just an observation.

Domestic violence is NEVER a joke

Needless to say, donestic violence is never, ever funny. It wasn’t funny in 2007 and isn’t now.

Domestic violence is such a serious issue. According to Australian Institute of Health and Wellness, around 1 in 16 men and 1 in 6 women over the age of fifteen have experienced partner violence.

In 2016, the PSS (Personal Safety Statistics) revealed that 3.6 million Australian adults reported experiencing some form of domestic violence. In more than ten per cent of cases (11.8%), the perpetrator was a partner.

Final point: domestic violence is NEVER the victim’s fault. They shouldn’t just keep quiet if they’re being abused.

To all victims and survivors of abuse, my heart goes out to you. I’m so sorry for the trauma you’ve suffered. I’m sorry for those who’ve had old wounds open because of this story. I genuinely hope you find peace and the support you need.

If you’re in Australia and need help, you can contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).

If you or someone you love is in danger, call 000 (or your national emergency number).

Home screen with TikTok and other apps — Image: iStock

People are getting concerned about children safety online.

According to The Australian, concerns over American toddler, Wren Eleanor has Australian influencers question posting their children online.

Wren’s mother, Jacquelyn, has received backlash after inappropriate comments were found under videos of the three – year – old. Videos of Wren eating attracted worrying comments.

Jacquelyn called the comments “disturbing”.

Influencers start questioning posting images of their children online

The scare over Wren has made other influencers think twice about posting their children’s images online. Social media creator, Caleb Finn told The Australian:

[Wren] is going to grow up and the mother claims it’s a digital scrapbook for her daughter to look back on, but if you go on any of the videos, it’s all these older people pining for this baby.

Adding to Finn’s comment, many of the comments on Wren’s and other children’s accounts appear to be by men.

Concerns for kids on social media isn’t new

The issue of children on social media has been discussed on social media since 2020. This was largely sparked by Myka and James Stauffer, who exploited, then ‘rehomed’ their Chinese – born adopted son.

Canadian YouTuber, Josh Barbour has been particularly critical of family vloggers who use children. He covered the Stauffer case, and has since exposed other family vloggers such as: Cole and Sav Labrant, Jessfam and Ruby and Kevin Franke (formerly Eight Passengers).

Since 2020, Canadian YouTuber has exposed the dangers of family vlogging and kid-fluencers

His argument has been consistent: children can’t give informed consent. When asked whether children can give informed consent, former Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and professor, Dr Kirk Honda said: “No. It’s obvious”.

In late 2020, Dr Kirk Honda confirmed that kids can’t properly give consent to having their images/ videos shared online

Barbour has exposed what I mentioned above — that young girls’ accounts are often targeted by men. Children such as Everleigh Labrant (Cole & Sav) and Piper Rockelle are exploited and numerous men make inappropriate comments.

Even infants and toddlers aren’t safe. More recently, Barbour has exposed TikToker, Maia Knight and the inappropriate parasocial relationships created between her twin infant daughters and Knight’s audience.

TMI: parents divulge sensitive and traumatic information

Apart from the sexualisation of young children, family vloggers tend to overshare. They divulge very personal information about their children, especially medical.

Barbour has slammed family vloggers who share their children’s sensitive information and traumas to their subscribers. Earlier this year, he slammed Tiffany Nelson for exploiting adopted daughter, JourNee’s traumatic past.

JourNee is twenty – three, but the video was so uncomfortable to watch. JourNee looked visibly uncomfortable.

Tiffany went into detail about JourNee’s living conditions in Russia before being adopted. JourNee didn’t remember it. Barbour was angered by these revelations.

Having adopted sons himself, he knows how information about trauma should be handled. It’s up to the adopted child when they’re an adult. They can access their file, or let it be. It’s not up to adopted parents to disclose the infornation or make it public.

Family vlogging may have sounded cute and fun. But there’s no other way to say it. It’s exploitation. Every day a parent decides to profit off their child’s image or video, they’re exposing them to danger.

Say it with me: kids can’t consent.