@legal__tender, @jackiebyjoanne,@ _petty_in_pink_

Shot by: @kalindymillions

@jackiebyjoanne

What are you looking at besides this email? It’s 1:30am and I’m looking at my very clean living room after a weird surge of nocturnal cleaning energy! I’m also looking at episode 4, season 5 of Dance Moms (I’m a reality tv fiend it’s terrible!!)

What are you obsessed with at the moment? Cooking for my friends! I actually just finished baking the layers of a 4 tier vegan choc honeycomb cake for a surprise party for a friend so fingers crossed I pull it off! Forever obsessed with tropical fruits, dancing, Kath & Kim, the sun, the strong people doing amazing work for their communities. And plants :~)

What creative activities & pursuits, endeavours are you embarking on?

With the help of some lovely friends I’m getting into things like mosaics, pottery and just cute stuff like DIY gifts and cards. I’m also trying my hardest to pursue what I want to do career wise (sexual health nursing!), it’s gonna be difficult getting back into study but I’m really excited to do something I love for my community, and myself too.

What challengers have you faced and what lessons have you learnt on your journey to accept and like yourself?  I feel like every year has given me a new lesson on self acceptance and understanding. In recent years I’ve learned that sometimes you need others to help you on a path to self acceptance – amazing poc, disabled + neurodivergent, queer and trans writers, friends and advocates have provided me with a wealth of knowledge and put so many of my feelings about the complexities and intersections of self love into words. I’m still on that journey and thankful to have so many people and resources around to help along the way!

Who are the most important babes in your life and how have they contributed to you being the person that you are? The list of “how’s” is never ending but I’m just so thankful to be surrounded by people who are encouraging of my journey and whatever steps I’ve had to take to better myself. I credit all of my friends who’ve counselled me in cars by the beach, maccas car parks, driveways, random parks and share houses for all the magic, beautiful and positive things I now have in my life. Also my two not-so-little-anymore sisters who are the biggest driving forces in my life, thank you for keeping me in line if you’re reading this! And don’t tell mum and dad about these piccies xx

What does sexy mean to you?  Sexy is a feeling of being comfortable, fun, open to communication, free of judgement and shame. Sexy is originality, mindfulness and strength in yourself.

And lastly how do you define a babe?  A babe to me is someone who upholds the values of kindness, understanding and fairness in everything they do. Babes understand that many of us are held to a different standard even in spaces centered around body and sex positivity. Babes understand that some bodies are inherently politicised, sexualised and dehumanised. Babes do everything in their power to elevate the voices, spaces and bodies of those of us who don’t conform to society’s latest model of Babe™!!!!

@ _petty_in_pink_

What are you looking at besides this email? My cat, who is about to bite my ankle, and a bunch of houseplants.

What are you obsessed with at the moment? Pink. It has taken over my life, and I’m not mad about it.

What creative activities & pursuits, endeavours are you embarking on? At the moment I’m spending most of my time designing a research project based around LGBTQIA+ community engagement. I’ll be running creative writing workshops with queer & trans folk, and I’m super excited.

The gay punk band I’m in, Cystic Nightmare, are also gonna be releasing our first album soon! We’re going through some musician changes too, so lots of rehearsing/planning gigs.

What challenges have you faced and what lessons have you learnt on your journey to accept and like yourself? Until I started understanding and embracing my queerness I didn’t like myself very much, so figuring that out was a big shift. I think it allowed me to express things I hadn’t felt allowed or able to before. It also meant that a lot of people who knew me up until that point had no idea what to make of me anymore, and it took a long time to build a new, more supportive network of relationships.

Realising I was genderqueer/non-binary a few years ago was another challenge, and I’m still working out how to be someone who often presents and is read as “femme,” but who isn’t a woman. There’s a lot of pressure to conform to people’s expectations both outside and within queer/trans communities, and body dysphoria sucks. I’ve found that having fun cultivating my own particular style is how I express my gender. A lot of it involves drag – it’s very theatrical and over the top. Being femme or aligning with aspects of that in whatever way makes you feel good is bloody powerful, political and important. I don’t have to be ‘transmasc’ to be trans.

Who are the most important babes in your life and how have they contributed to you being the person that you are? Woooahh that’s a long list! Queer family is really important to me, and those relationships take constant work. It’s been amazing to see how much change relationships can withstand if you’re building them with honest, strong-minded people who are working on their own stuff too.

My best pal, my sister and her wife (my sister in law) and my Mum are all very different, strong, creative women who I love and admire. Women are fucking great.

My partner is an incredible babe who isn’t afraid to challenge me/call me on my shit. They are also super hot, obviously.

What does sexy mean to you? Many many things, and it changes all the time. Velvet & latex are sexy. Baths are sexy. Plants can be sexy. Cher is sexy.

And lastly how do you define a babe? ‘Babe’ can be a term of endearment to me, and often a gay greeting. So I would define a babe as someone I’m keen on, and who gets my wrists flapping because of what they’re putting out into the world.

@legal__tender

What are you looking at besides this email?  Brooke Candy “I Love You” Act Two stills (you can find it on PornHub)

What are you obsessed with at the moment?  Pure Smile “Will You Be A Dog” facemask, it’s got collagen in it, you can get them from Daiso and there’s different breeds of dogmask!

What creative activities & pursuits, endeavours are you embarking on?  Right now putting most of my focus into making music more than visual art (shout out to Soft Approach)

What challenges have you faced and what lessons have you learnt on your journey to accept and like yourself?  Being not straight was a pretty big kick in the ass during high school, refined my outlook on heteronormativy and the defiance people hold over you for simply not wanting to be in it. I could go on for hours about this lol.

Who are the most important babes in your life and how have they contributed to you being the person that you are?  Mum and my younger sibling. My two main squeezes, easy. I trust them the most for always sticking by me which I consider my biggest influence.

What does sexy mean to you?  Confidence in your beliefs whilst also being open to new paths I find damn sexy.

And lastly how do you define a babe?  They define themselves to me usually by doing this ^