Changes Edition

Technology Hot Takes

Words by: Lizzie Tooth
Art by: Jasper Kidman

I’d like to preface this article by saying I am a hypocrite.

Although I wish and try my best not to succumb to the technological advancements of the early 2000s, I am no better than everyone else around me.

Now, what is it that’s got me all heated you might ask?

They have spread across the globe like a plague, infecting the daily lives of approximately 90% of the population, and in the hands of almost all Australian teens. They are the ultimate global pandemic. 

It’s none other than our beloved mobile phones.  

… Technology Hot Takes
Changes Edition

Chick Flicks: The Ultimate Super Trooper

Words by: Akira Kerr 
Art by: Ava Toon

My cousin turned 13 this year and it was kind of a shock. I thought her know-it-all eight-year-old phase was going to last forever. 

For so many years, I felt like I couldn’t relate to her. A nine-year age gap feels like an entire lifetime. While I was being a serious university student (an endeavour that includes putting fancy transitions on Powerpoint presentations), she was moving from primary school to middle school. It probably didn’t help that we only see each other two times a year on average, but I just felt like I couldn’t and wouldn’t connect with her. 

Until I discovered her love for ‘Mamma Mia!’. 

… Chick Flicks: The Ultimate Super Trooper
Changes Edition

The Journey to Find Myself

Words by: Anonymous
Art by: Siena Thomas

One of the challenges I wasn’t prepared for growing up is that the journey of self-discovery doesn’t become any easier with age.

In my early teenage years, I felt like I was constantly battling with my identity, but I pushed it away, thinking “I’m young, I don’t need to figure out all of this right now. I bet in a couple of years I will finally have the answers”. Well, now I’m almost 20, and I’m still confused and still feel lost most of the time. 

… The Journey to Find Myself
Changes Edition

Run Clubs, Saunas And Breathwork: Is Melbourne My New Fitspo?

Words by: Laura Walsh
Art by: Luca Maclsaac

It seems staying out late and partying is out and Melbourne has entered a new era of health and wellness.

Gen Zs appear more eager to wake up at 5am, lace up their Hokas and hit their local run club to smash out 10 kms than get sloshed with their mates and fall ill with a case of the Sunday scaries the next morning.

The decline in Melbourne’s clubbing culture has been looming since COVID. Compounded with the crushing cost-of-living crisis and the increasingly unattainable property market, people just aren’t going out and partying like they used to. 

… Run Clubs, Saunas And Breathwork: Is Melbourne My New Fitspo?
Changes Edition

2024: The Year I Became a Bitch

Words by: Alice O'Brien
Art by: Dora Chung

Now, don’t freak out when you see the word ‘bitch’. 

If you told me one year ago that I would be calling myself a bitch… well I simply wouldn’t believe you. My 2023 self would have used the words ‘kind’, ‘friendly’ or ‘helpful’ to describe herself (very humble Alice), but the word ‘bitch’ would be 1000 miles away. 

Alas, here I am in 2024 using the b-word to describe who I am. 

Why?

Why would I choose to call myself a bitch in this very public manner? 

… 2024: The Year I Became a Bitch
Uncategorized

2025: Looking Through the Crystal Ball

Words and art by: Arathi

In the last five years, we’ve created our own villain, healing, and brain rot eras.

As we progress through the digital years, the world is starting to appear stranger and unpredictable. With all the quirky cultural shifts we have been part of, the future promises to be anything but boring. With the number of ‘skibidi’s used in conversations going up, 2025 is gearing up to be one of the most bizarre years so far. So, grab your close ones (or your virtual ones, if that’s more your speed) for five visions we’ve glimpsed at through the crystal ball behind the Queen Victoria Market laneway.

… 2025: Looking Through the Crystal Ball
Sex Edition (2024)

Espy Asks: A Sexologist

Words by: Esperanto Team
Sexologist: Chantelle Otten

Chantelle Otten is the sex therapist of sex therapists. Based here in Melbourne but globally renowned, Chantelle’s passion is to help people feel free and confident in their sensual selves. She is an award-winning sexologist, a published author and a Sexual Health and Wellness ambassador for Lovehoney and Bumble. Chantelle is all about making sex ed sexy through her practice as a sex therapist, short explainers on Instagram, her podcast ‘Give Me A Buzz’ and much more.

… Espy Asks: A Sexologist
Sex Edition (2024)

Talk Directly To Me

Words by: Ash Dowling 
Art by: Jen Chen

As a law student, I’ve gotten pretty intimate with the affirmative consent laws that came into effect in Victoria in July last year. They require a person to actively take steps, through words or actions, to obtain the affirmative consent of the other person, which means willingness and permission, rather than a mere lack of protestation.

Sorry — talking about law reform is probably a turn-off, but asking your sexual partner for consent shouldn’t have the same effect.

… Talk Directly To Me
Sex Edition (2024)

The Perfect Vanilla Sex

Words and Art by: Anonymous

Rating: ★★★★★

Prep: 3 mins – 20 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Serves: As many as you like

Written and tested by Anonymous

Vanilla sex gets a bad wrap. Is it slow? Yes. Can it be a little repetitive? Maybe. Is it boring? Absolutely not. Vanilla might not be your cup of tea, but it’s definitely mine. There is nothing better than feeling loved and being caressed like a delicacy by your partner. So here is my recipe for decadent, craving-satisfying vanilla sex that can be enjoyed in the bedroom, sprawled across the living room rug, on the kitchen counter or anywhere else you might fancy a little something sweet.

… The Perfect Vanilla Sex
Sex Edition (2024)

Porn Supremacy: The Female POV

Words by: Dayna Lim 
Art by: Jennifer Hoang

I ventured into watching porn some time shy of 18-years-old, and like many others, I started on Tumblr. A platform that marks a bygone era and that will be missed by many.

On Tumblr, my primary viewing platform, most of the content I encountered was cis and hetero-centric. While this did not bother me as much back then, I look back in hindsight with a lot more potential concerns regarding my personal curation of pornography. I had not encountered the concept of ethical porn back then.

… Porn Supremacy: The Female POV
Sex Edition (2024)

Femfresh, No Thanks!

Words by: Ash Dowling 
Art by: Luca Maclssac
There is no shortage of products on the market that claim to be the key to a happy and healthy cooch. The feminine hygiene industry (distinct from the menstrual product industry) has attracted a lot of success from capitalising on long-standing insecurities around natural female functions.

But it’s time to stand up to the industry and debunk some of the tools that are at best, unnecessary, and at worst, harmful to our sexual health.

… Femfresh, No Thanks!
Sex Edition (2024)

Heartbreak Highs and Lows

Words and Art by: Anonymous

Much like the sexually active teens from Netflix’s reboot of ‘Heartbreak High’, I too have made some interesting willy-nilly choices in my youth. In hindsight, these horny choices might seem regrettable, but now I have some entertaining stories to tell. So, I guess there are positives to everything!

… Heartbreak Highs and Lows
Sex Edition (2024)

The Intimate Moments

Words by: Ilana Cohen
Art by: Dora Chung

It has been one hell of a year. Without getting too Carrie Bradshaw on you, I’ll tell you how my sex life was impacted, and how my partner and I were brought closer together because of it.

A lot of things can impact one’s sex life. Grief being one of them. recently lost someone close to me, someone I spent a lot of time with and who welcomed me into their life amidst a terminal diagnosis. To add to the heartbreak, she was my partner’s sister. He experienced a loss and pain can’t even imagine. Because of that, my relationship felt stagnant at times, and at others, couldn’t have been more enthralling.

… The Intimate Moments