Cate Blanchett covers the February issue of Vogue Australia, and everyone is hoping that the real Vogue images aren’t this… orange. Maybe we just got some bad scans or something. Cate is beautiful and pale – there’s absolutely no reason to make her look like John Boehner. Anyway, as you can imagine, Cate is still campaigning for Best Actress for her work in Blue Jasmine. A few months ago, I thought Cate was definitely going to be telling Meryl Streep to take a seat, but nowadays… I don’t know. Meryl will be some big competition, and I suspect Sandra Bullock, Judi Dench and Amy Adams will be around too. We’ll see how this plays out. Here are some highlights from the Vogue interview and a Marie Claire interview:
Cate “isn’t scared” of growing old: “Should I be? What for? Who would want a face that hasn’t seen or lived properly, hasn’t got any wrinkles that come with age, experience and laughter? Not me, anyway. We’re all travelling in the same direction.”
Her sons Roman, Ignatius and Dashiell: ”They are magnificent boys… If they know how to cut wood, light a fire, ride horses and will always help an old lady cross the road, then we won’t have done too badly as parents.”
Aussie pride: ”I don’t think Australians are any less pretentious than other people. But it’s true that we’re generally good company and we don’t pay attention to social class.”
Whether she brought Jasmine French home with her: “I have three sons who need me to feed them, help them with homework and chase them into bed. They are an instant reality check. They would simply not allow Jasmine French to read them a bedtime story.”
[From Contact Music & the Herald Sun]
Something about seeing the names of her sons all together makes me wonder just how down-to-earth Cate really is. I know that’s a Blanchett heresy, but seriously… Dashiell, Roman AND Ignatius?! I do like Dashiell though. Dash Upton is a great name, very English-y. That being said, Dash, Iggy and Roman have been primarily raised in England and Australia and they’re barely seen or heard of within The Celebrity Baby Industrial Complex, so chances are, they will turn out okay.
As for Cate’s continued insistence that she hasn’t had any work done… I still believe her, but I also think she might need to stop talking about it because people might think the lady doth protest too much.
Photos courtesy of Vogue Australia.
Cate is one of the most photogenic women in the world, yet most of the recent photos I’ve seen of her have been meh at best. What’s with the orange skin? Seriously.
And I don’t think she’s always going on about not having had work done. Even here, she doesn’t make any specific reference to cosmetic surgery. She’s simply answering the inane question about ‘ageing’ which female (rarely male) stars get asked in every single interview. And I think she answered if really well.
I agree about her recent photo shoots. They photoshop the shit out of her and it’s unattractive.
Then they have the nerve to ask her if she’s afraid of aging.
Also, her nose looks really big and awkward in that first photo. Which it normally isn’t at all.
@Ice, I agree she isn’t going on and on about having or not having work done. When is the issue when it is Jennifer Lawrence the one talking about her body ad nauseam?
Trust me, she isn’t all that. A few years ago one of the Australian Sunday newspaper liftouts had an interview with her and it seemed that they forgot to photoshop her close ups [heaps of sun damaged skin]. She doesn’t have the greatest skin and if she does now, it’s because of various procedures and/or photoshop.
Well, I have seen her in person while she was filming Blue Jasmine in San Francisco and her skin was flawless and so very pale. For that I agree that the cover looks nothing like her.
if she was filming, she was probably in full make-up
She did a cover for Intelligent Life a couple years ago that was photoshop-free. Yes, she had some fine lines and other signs of aging, but she had minimal discolouration. (She was probably wearing make-up though).
She is my ultimate girl crush. Love her!
These photos look very un-Cate. I think they were going for Aussie sun-kissed skin, but it doesn’t sit right on Cate. Who knows, maybe she does tan on her downtime, but you’d think we would have seen signs of that before.
Maybe celebs should just leave the comments on surgery alone. It does get old.
Yes, I would like to hear from the Aussies on this one.
I’m a black American chick and I lived in OZ for a year, 2010-2011. Not a racist country at all. That’s an extreme statement Bie. BUT, there is no diversity there except for some immigrants here and there and a lot of Asians who have established themselves there. That being said, there is only one class!! There’s not a huge gap in socioeconomic demographics and all that comes into play with that, like in the US and UK. So that’s a naive statement for her to make bc she has no class ineQuality to base the statement on.
Like my band Melbsey on Facebook!!
Um Enn… what about the indigenous people?
Not only racist, but elitist [The way Cate Blanchett and her husband manage the Sydney Theatre Company is a great example of her hypocrisy, it’s not only difficult to afford tickets to shows, but to book at a timely way as tickets tend to go to season holders – and good luck affording that] in all areas: education, work. People in the media for the last few years were making fun of Greece [as a result of the crisis] as being prone to nepotism. Australia is identical. We only have a small population of less than 30 million nation wide. So you can imagine, if you want a decent job, it’s always better to know someone.
As for racism, it’s not just based on skin colour, it’s quite subtle and entwined with financial elements [like the United States, the way Mexicans are exploited in factories]. For example, a high proportion of staff that work in the duopoly supermarket chains at Coles and Woolworths, are always individuals who originate from Asian countries: Pakistan, India, etc. It’s as though they hire people with limited visas or qualifications just to pay them less.
Office cleaners? Usually Indian, as they quote the lowest price as contractors, to corporations.
There is a car washing chain in Sydney owned by a belligerent millionaire who is always in the news for the wrong reasons [altercations, etc], and most of his staff is from India or Pakistan, staff that can be paid less than the proper minimum.
@Evi
I’m not sure how the fact that tickets for Cate’s theatre are in high demand makes her a ‘hypocrite’? I believe she’s now no longer managing the theatre (her husband is) but in any case, I doubt she ever had any control over financial matters – her involvement would have been artistic.
Evi
I was there for a semester abroad. I fully agree. The class system and racism is alive and thriving there.
Of course money makes others care less about skin tone and heritage, but it’s still lingering.
When you’re a director in a theatre, you make important contributions/suggestions and the STC has changed considerably during their tenure.
So it is hypocritical for her to say there is no pretentiousness when there clearly was, in the sense of limiting ticket access to a certain group of people.
In any case, her and her husband’s tenure as artistic directors has only recently ended.
Hi littlewood, check out the john pilgers documentary Utopia re the aboriginal people in Australia.
I am a proud Aussie and have seen both racism and unbelievable kindness/humility amongst the population. I’m sure its the same in every other country. Of course we have a class system, but I think the point Cate is trying to make is that it isn’t so ingrained into our culture as in other countries (although many people from around the world now call Australia home and may or may not bring some of their cultural prejudices/beliefs with them).
I can only speak for myself, but I don’t think Australia is any more or less racist than anywhere else. Its actually one of the most multicultural countries in the world. I’m lucky to call it my home.
I don’t know, Kaiser. Ugly orange or not, it’s refreshing to see one damned photo of Cate that isn’t entirely beige.
And can someone from Australia confirm that the country is class-blind? If so, that’s incredibly cool, but I have a difficult time believing that such a place exists, especially since Rupert Murdoch hails from there.
Australia is a relatively new country, so Cate is probably right in saying that they don’t have ‘classses’ in, say, the British sense. But I’m sure they have other ways of stratifying society and forming ‘in’ and ‘out’ groups. It could be with regard to wealth, ethnicity, coming from the wrong side of the tracks etc. but I’m willing to bet it’s there.
I’ve been to Australia for a while.. I agree with Cate, classes are not important..but jobs are. If you’re a waitress or a lawyer it makes a substantial difference, like almost everywhere in the world. But aussies are great people to hang out with, they know how to have fun and around a barbie with a beer in hand they’re all friends and no class or wealth is involved.
Spot on. We don’t have classes but there are groups based on things that ice maiden mention.
Definitely.
The funniest [in terms of reading in the Australian gossip columns] example of elitism in Sydney occurs after New Years Eve, but even on New Years Eve, the Lord Mayor’s party is an elite event – cordoned off from the public outside the Opera House [an area that the public usually accesses most days]
But after NYE, on New Years Day, there is always a rivalry within the eastern suburbs social set as to who is invited to which [of two] New Years Day’s lunches. It’s always between Catalina’s and Bondi Icebergs and because the invitations are limited and change each year, it’s an elitist battle to get the invite.
Mmm I think she lives in that artsy fartsy world so perhaps she does not hear it being thrown around a lot but aussies do have terms like bogan (similar to when brits say chav) and ocker (a redneck) and a westie. Every country is class conscious, some more subtle than others.
I agree. All societies have ways of putting people into little boxes. It may not be ‘class’, but there’s always something.
In my experience, Australians tend to have a rather rose-tinted view of their own country and believe they have the perfect society with no faults. Obviously not all Australians are like that, but going by the ones I’ve known, quite a few of them are.
Regarding class, it’s quiite interesting in post-communist countries, at least in mine. There is this reverse snobism going on – private schools are looked down on, private universities even more, politicians are more likely to get votes if they have working class roots. Heck, the only reason I have a soft spot for Kate Middleton is because she’s a commoner.
It’s quite interesting, and in my opinion, some of it is good ( like the opinion of private school because we do not need them and hopefully won’t be getting more of them).
I used to work in the hotel industry and Vegas is a tourist town. Aussies are almost always funny and extremely polite. That’s my main exposure to their culture. However my former sister in law lived there for many years and claimed that Australia is trailing behind other countries in terms if equality. She referred to the feminist culture in particular as lacking compared to the USA. Now I have no firsthand experience with this but I was surprised that she felt this way.
I used to work in the hotel industry and Vegas is a tourist town. Aussies are almost always funny and extremely polite. That’s my main exposure to their culture. However my former sister in law lived there for many years and claimed that Australia is trailing behind other countries in terms of equality. She referred to the feminist culture in particular as lacking compared to the USA. Now I have no firsthand experience with this but I was surprised that she felt this way.
Australia, like the US, is not based on the caste-like class system that the UK is.
To understand the difference, look at how Kate Middleton is always defined as middle class despite her family’s immense wealth. She is middle class because she is not an aristocrat and not ‘working class’ (think coal miners and shop girls). It isn’t about wealth and one does not move between the classes in that system.
Is everyone forgetting about the aboriginal people in Australia?? 1/3 of aboriginal people die before the age of 45, and they are among the most imprisoned people on Earth. The white Australia policy was only scrapped in the 70s and there is still widespread racism towards aborigines. It might be a classless society… if you’re white.
@Mich
Well, Cate is now a Duchess and will be Queen, and some of her ancestors were coal miners, so the Middletons are proof that you CAN move through the system, even if it’s unusual.
Also, it’s important not to overstate the importance of the ‘class system’ in the UK in 2014. The vast majority of people really don’t care, and they would always have considered the Middletons – given their wealth and the fact that they sent their kids to schools costing £20,000 a year – to be very much a part of the ‘upper class’ in the real sense of the phrase, whatever their social background. Social class really isn’t relevant for most British people these days – money is.
I’ve never heard about that mynameispearl, might be because I live in Europe. Do you have any links? I’m interested to read about it.
I’m not forgetting indigenous peoples. That, however, is a race and bigotry issue not a social class issue in the way Blanchett means it.
@ Ice Maiden.
Kate will always be the ‘commoner Queen’. Always. No matter what her title, she was not born into the aristocracy and it will always be part and parcel to the way she is defined. That is the social class system at work.
”Kate will always be the ‘commoner Queen’. ”
For who? I am Irish and have lived in the UK and can honestly say that NOBODY I know would think of it that way. If they think about the ‘royals’ at all – and very many Brits do not – they would consider Kate as a rich Home Counties girl who went to a posh school and bagged her man. Seriously, I don’t know ANYONE who gives a toss about whether a duchess is ‘common’ or not. Sure, some people probably do, but they are the 1%. It’s money that makes you elite these days, not ‘class’. In the UK as just abour everywhere else.
Ice Maiden – There are parts of Britain where class doesn’t matter and there are parts where it is rabid. Depending on the job you get, the higher you climb, the more it begins to matter. Count yourself lucky that no one has ever asked you as an adult what school you went to. The answer has nothing to do with the actual school you attended and everything to do with class.
The fact that the Middletons had to make themselves over to give the appearance of being upper class absolutely points to it’s existence because no matter what we think of Kate, who seriously thinks William would have dated a girl who didn’t look like someone from the upper classes.
Walk down the King’s road and you will find thousands of these girls. If it was a money thing, the Ecclestone [sp] girls were available. Same upbringing and loads more money than Kate, move in the same circles. And yet no one calls the Ecclestone [sp] girls upper class.
Well yes. Obviously, William is part of the 1% I referred to – the people who DO care about ‘class’. But I honestly do not believe that the same is true for the vast majority of British people. Like I said, for everyone I know, the Middletons are part of an elite simply because they are very wealthy. I think a lot of people exaggerate the importance of the ‘class system’ in the UK and believe it is a crucial factor in everyday life. For most people, it really isn’t. Money is.
@ Ice Maiden
I don’t disagree with you. For many, it doesn’t matter. But for the world Kate is living in (and that she aspired to live in) it does. And, I suspect that Blanchett was also a part of that world because otherwise she would not have made the comment.
I’ve known plenty of people (all from the UK) who it does matter to. Some are obsessed with it.
Personally, I think it is stupid.
Littlewood,
You may be interested in the book Rabbit Proof Fence. There is also a movie adaptation with the same name.
A caste system is a system that is based on hereditary class. A system that is exclusive, that passes on inherited wealth and socially approved marriages. To say that Australia doesn’t have this type of system on some level is fallacious. Every society has a caste system on some level and this is always marked by the social divisions that can be grasped by dominant financial families. England, for example, has the Rothschilds. They aren’t ‘royal’ in terms of their geneology, but they are in the upper echelon due to their financial power over the centuries, i.e. bankers.
Australia, likewise has similar families that have, over generations, occupied the upper layer of society: the Packers, the Murdochs. And these hereditary classes are not restricted to business, but exist in areas of science, law, etc. For example, you can trace the genealogical route of some High Court judges: all attend certain schools, universities, etc, like a rite of social passage.
So to say that Australia does not have a caste like system is completely incorrect.
Cate is saying what she is saying because it is Oscar campaigning time and she’ll say whatever for the highest bidder/pay check/prestige.
I am astonished by the extreme orange, but I love what she’s wearing in the second photo. Except the sandals look really cheap.
Beautiful woman. Why the clunky shoes?
I think it’s an attempt to balance out the formal/proper wear with casual laid back footwear. Like she’s just chillin’ on the beach. But I don’t think she is. She never quite looks relaxed, to me, at least.
To totally change your mind you should watch this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHwPRARGICg
paola, I meant her portrayal in photo shoots. She always looks dead serious.
I watched Blue jasmine last night. I didn’t love it, but I loved her. She is an amazing actress but if I’m honest i don’t like Woody Allen and I’m not sure i would like her to win an Oscar with one of his films. I really hated most of Woody Allen recent movies, the only reason i watched Blue Jasmine is because of Cate. Without Cate that film would be a pile of crap with really weak supporter characters, I think Allen is one of the most overrated directors and a seriously creepy guy.
i saw it today,its a hopeless ,pointless movie ,but watching Cate in it i finally understod her star power ,she made that movie look atleast substantial ,which otherwise without her would be an over fluffed ,pointless romcom, i hate how woody made Cate character responsible for everyones losses ,rather than makin it look like the others were responsible for their own losses and fallouts, and the only end for a woman with self esteem is loneliness and nervous breakdown
As an Australian, I’d just like to point out that not all of us are “as racist as hell” thanks very much!! How offensive. There are elements of racism & a type of class structure in many, many countries, including, shock horror, the US, Britain, Europe, Africa, Australia….
+1 I have been to Australia ( I tease my husband saying my next one will be Aussie) as I am tired of the damp, grey of the UK. I am black and from the US and yes it felt like NO ONE looked like me but I had an amazing time, and although half way across the world could park myself there in a NY minute. Although I did get asked by an older gentlemen outside of Sydney if I was from Papua New Guinea? made me laugh. I am from Texas so I know elements of it exists everywhere.
AG-UK
Just because you, as a foreign black woman, didn’t encounter racism on a brief visit to Australia, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Ask the native Australians if they consider Australia to be a racist society, and I bet you’ll get a different perspective.
I’m an Aussie, and I wouldn’t expect an African-American to experience racism in Australia.
The races/peoples that are victims of racism differ in each country, depending on who is perceived as “other” and who is perceived as threatening.
There simply aren’t enough African-Americans in Oz for any kind of wide-held prejudice … you’d be seen as “exotic”, rather than feared/hated. It’d be like being racist against Icelanders … who’s met enough Icelanders to even have an opinion? (Iceland was just the first small country I thought of, if you happen to live somewhere with a large Icelandic immigrant population, feel free to insert your own “I’ve never met anyone from X” country!) No anti-Semitism problem here either, for the same reason … very few Jews.
But you’re right, there is racism here. It’s just not the same targets as you’d expect in the US … because we have our own history/issues. Australia has always had a problem with racism against Aboriginals (obvious reasons). Otherwise, the target and strength ebbs and flows, depending on who/what is seen as threatening. There was a lot of anti-Asian sentiment when I was younger, but that seems to have improved a bit. As in the US (and I assume elsewhere), anti -Muslim sentiment rapidly increased after 911. The new boogie-man is “illegal immigrants”, which’d be a mixed bag but mainly Afghani or Iraqis. And some of the problems are highly regional. Sydney had a problem with Lebanese gangs a while back, but none of that bled over to Perth (which is where I live).
In short, what I’m trying to say is that all places have racism, but it’s not going to be the same targets, or the same reasons, or expressed in the same way. So it’s really, really hard to compare.
@Lucrezia – that’s what I wanted to say too.
In America, blacks have traditionally been the most usual victims of racism. However, that doesn’t mean the same would apply to Australia, where blacks are more likely to be seen as ‘exotic’. The groups which are seen as ‘problematic’ vary from country to country, and from time to time. Take the UK. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, blacks were seen as ‘the other’ and there were race riots involving black residents fighting with the police. Over time, blacks have become seen as an integral part of British society (which is not to say there is no racism against them) and over the past decade, Muslims have been seen as more of ‘an issue’. Now, with increased immigration from the Balkans, things have shifted again, and it’s all about the Roma and the social problems they supposedly create.
In other words, you can’t neatly extrapolate from one society to another.
Lucrezia,
Based on what you said (and I’m guessing this isn’t what you meant) you implied that minorities caused their own prejudice. And that’s not true. Bigots cause prejudice — not the minority themselves. And bigotry/prejudicial views or acts is not equal to the numbers of the minorities either. Erasing a person’s humanity is how others can justify and legitimise doing horrific things to another person or group. All that can and does happen even when there are small populations of the minority.
Again, I don’t think you looked at how your words would look but wanted to make sure you and others caught the error.
Apologies LS (and anyone else who read it that way), I definitely didn’t mean to cast any blame on the victims. I’d re-word/explain more specifically, but I’m honestly not sure which bit came off badly! If you come back LS, please let me know the specific problem, so I can figure out a better way to explain myself in the future.
(Ice Maiden seemed to get what I was trying to say, so I’m hoping I didn’t accidently offend too many people.)
I think the comment said “some”, which is probably true. There are racists everywhere, god knows we have more than our share where I come from. So don’t get offended.
That said, I have never met a racist Australian, and I’ve worked with quite a few. Fun folks, for the most part, with their priorities in order: life, family, fun, and then work.
(And it’s a HUGE place. Just huge. You can’t paint the entire population with one brush. Lots of different attitudes in different places.)
She is not saying that people are racist, she is saying that class distinction isn’t an issue – which I find inaccurate, having lived all my life in Australia.
Cate never has an original opinion and always says something PC just to say something for public relations.
Not saying Australians are racist but up until the 70s? Australia had laws about “breeding out” the indigenous people and a goal of the native culture to become extinct.
That was the 70s. A lot has changed in most countries since the 70s. I lived in OZ for a year two years ago, and am a black american girl. I experienced no racism. Personally. These racism statements are way extreme. OZ has only one class though, so that’s where Cate’s statement is naive
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This cover would be really great if they let her keep her actual skin tone. She’s known for her skin being gorgeous and pale, and she embraces that, so why give her that horrible looking fake tan?
I think the kids names are supposed to be bookish – they all have literary associations. Cate might be down to earth in not buying into the Hollywood stuff, but culturally speaking, she’s pretty highbrow.
She means ‘social class’ in the British context (i.e. aristocrat, middle class, etc.), not the American one.
If you have never lived it, it is virtually impossible for an American to understand the difference. It is totally at odds with the way we look at the world.
Australia is still a constitutional monarchy. No we don’t have fancy titles here, but the Australian/Anglo elite [in terms of old colonial families] still exist and happen to own the most exclusive properties.
Our land title system is one of tenure. In other words, if you buy property in Australia, the land is not yours in the allodial sense, but it is a right granted to you by the Crown and there are families that still hold onto land grants, but there are also prominent families that, like the English, have not sold off their interests in land.
Following that logic, there are still prominent Australian families who can trace their heritage back to the colonial days, and then there are prominent business families that are considered to be the elite. This may not be identical to the titled nobility of England, but it is still reflective of an elitist system.
Anyway, up until 1986 [When Australia became a separate legal entity, i.e. not controlled/overseen by England- yet still follows the English common law system], knighthoods were still in operation.
Australians are still given honours like the high achieving English [e.g. OBE in England has its Australian equivalent] and those who receive such awards are considered to occupy an elite area. It’s not like it’s voted by the general public. E.g. If you’re a multi-millionaire, you’re bound to get an honour. If you’re a hard working nurse….unlikely.
http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/Honours/awards/medals/order_of_australia.cfm
@ Evi
I’m assuming from your post that you are Australian but am unclear about whether or not you still live there – or if you have ever lived in America.
I’m American but have spent the last 15 years in South Africa. Because of its history of being under the British Crown, there is a significant UK expat population there and it was through them that my eyes were opened to the differences. At first, I thought it was just utter pretentiousness. It took awhile for me to understand that it was actually a fundamentally different world view.
The concept of ‘social class’ to an American is, culturally, completely different than it is to the British. Personally, I prefer the American view. I might feel different if my name was preceded by the words “Lady”, “Duchess” or “Princess” 🙂
Born and bred in Australia, as the saying goes.
I think you’re really making way too much of the English title system. The class system in England is not just about titles. It’s about social associations and economics.
Those who have money are permitted or allowed access to the upper echelon. Australia follows this closely – despite the absence of British nobility here on our shores. We still play Cricket…we still engage in polo matches…Even though Westminster is no longer an authority of our law, we still follow the English common law system to a T. Our judges are not elected, they are appointed – and therein you will see the class system. It’s difficult to explain in a short blog comment, the gist of it, except to say that Australia is reluctant to become a republic and that Australian governments tend to emulate policies in the UK. E.g. all political ideas in Australia are copied from England.
I agree with what Evi said about British political classes. Aristocratics in the real term are not that ‘spread’ all over Britain as some people believe. The ‘class division’ I see every day is based on economical reasons and all the class differences are quite evident. Worst, the only ‘royalty’ I met was quite far more approachable than any British CEO or MP, who think they are so above the masses that they wouldn’t touch you with a pole. New Zealand follows Australian example re: laws and policies.
Wait, what? Who said anything about racism?
I’m an Aussie. Yes, there are racists (there are idiots everywhere). But that’s got nothing to do with “not paying attention to social class”, which is what Cate said. Aussies are definitely a lot less “classist” than other countries.
I’m actually finding it a bit weird/disturbing that you guys heard “class” and instantly thought of race. Can you explain why your mind went there?
I think Aussies are less classist for a very simple reason: there really aren’t any reliable clues as to how much money someone has. When you can’t tell if the foul-mouthed, beer-drinking guy in t-shirt and shorts is an unemployed gardener or a multi-millionaire mining magnate it makes you less likely to judge based on appearance. You really have no clue unless someone goes out of their way to flaunt their money, and that is frowned upon.
Race and class are tied together, and I’m sure the indigenous people of Austrailia would be able to inform you on how their race affects their status in society.
While I do think Cate was speaking about the fact that most Australians are republican minded, (they don’t care if you have a “title”), being from a commonwealth country, I know it’s not entirely true.
I’m Australian and I too, have a problem with the way Americans use the term race. Americans have problems defining race conceptually and I blame that on their journalists/media as a whole. It’s as though this pseudo term ‘race’ is a remnant from the racialist/eugenics movement. People are classified in finite categories.
It’s a view/conclusion I’ve made based on the way certain subjects are taught at university: i.e. psychology is heavily American influenced, all texts at university refer to ‘race’ – this despite the fact that the APA has stated that race is not a valid term to use to categorise individuals.
I couldn’t reply to Evi, but I have to disagree awards etc. They aren’t just handed out to the elite, I know several hard working average Aussies that have been given various awards, including the OAM.
As for being racist, show me a country that doesn’t have it!
I couldn’t reply to Evi, but I have to disagree re: honours/awards etc. They aren’t just handed out to the elite, I know several hard working average Aussies that have been given various awards, including the OAM.
As for being racist, show me a country that doesn’t have it!
My point Joey is that a small pool of Australians receive honours when so many others do make contributions, but our award system is still prone to honouring the few, i.e. follows the same UK example when businessmen are concerned and obtain honours.
Cate says such rubbish. Australians do pay attention to social class. Maybe not in the identical manner the English do, but they still pay attention to social class. If they didn’t, then why is the term Bogan [UK equivalent would be Chav and Oik] still used? Why are there enclaves based on financial status?
Social class distinctions exist everywhere. I wish Cate would just talk about acting and leave the social and political to those who are qualified.
As for Australians being less pretentious?
I’ve tried to buy tickets to see shows at the Sydney Theatre Company, but ever since Cate and her husband have controlled/managed it, ticket price range and availability is quite difficult/impossible ‘unless’ you’re a season ticket holder [if you can afford it].
So Cate, please spare us! You and your husband as managers of the STC ‘care’ about social class because low income earners would still find it difficult to afford ticket price to any of your productions.
In other words, Cate is a huge hypocrite.
If this is true then you should write to the magazine who featured her in its pages and tell them this.
Can you elaborate on what the words Bogan, Chav, and Oik refer too? I’m American, and words that denigrate poor whites include – white trash, redneck, backwoods, hillbilly, etc. Many of these words are directed to those from the South. Since these words are used white against white, I guess it could be argued it’s about class distinction.
Oik (UK) = ignorant, uneducated, lower-class. More importantly, rude/unpleasant. Don’t know if any of your given US terms quite match, because I can imagine a nice (though uneducated) hillbilly or redneck, while oik definitely implies not-a-nice-person. It’s more an insult than a group-name, you wouldn’t see people saying “I’m an oik” like they might admit they’re a hillbilly or redneck.
Chav (UK) = lower-class antisocial youth. Think poor kids, with a lot of anger, who commit crime out of boredom. Tends to hang in packs. 16, pregnant, and smoking? Female-chav. Probably unemployed, with unemployed parents. If employed it’s a lower-class menial job. The US equivalent would be white trash teens.
Bogan (Oz) = Listens to rock/metal; wears jeans, wife-beater/singlet and flannel; drinks beer; likes cars. Probably works as a tradie (bricklayer, electrician etc), but might be a truck-driver or farmer. US equivalent would be redneck.
But I’m not fully on board with Evi’s leap from “bogan” to financial enclaves. Where I’m from (Perth: the opposite side of the country from Evi in Sydney), there’s been a huge mining boom and tradies are now extremely well paid (easily over $100k/yr). So they’re not financially lower class these days, more middle to upper-middle class. A few are ridiculously wealthy. It’s confused all the existing stereotypes about class.
To me, the fact that bogans are now firmly middle to upper-middle class is a great example of how we don’t have entrenched classes in Oz: I just watched basically an entire clichéd “lower class” group shift socio-economic status within a few years. (But, as I said, I’m in a different city than Evi, so we’ve got different perceptions.)
I love her. I love her, I love her. She’s my favorite; always has been.
I would be afraid to name my child Ignatius for fear kids would tease him by calling him Ignoramus!
Kids can (and often will) find a way of making a joke of just about ANY name. I would never let that be a determining factor for naming my child. My sister Katie was called “Katie the cleaning lady” until 7th grade. Sometimes it’s done out of harmless fun, other times it’s mean and cruel. One of my best friends, who is Black, is named Michelle and was routinely called “Whitey” by other Black children because (they said) she had “a White name”. So if someone named Katie and Michelle can have their names poked fun of, no one else is safe. And I adore the name Ignatius.
@MYNAMEISPEARL the Aboriginal people are not imprisoned in this country, unless you are referring to the ones who are actually in prison. They predominantly live on their own land and do as they please, whether its work/schooling or whatever. Granted they are isolated and when you live in a remote area, services/work opportunities/schooling are lacking to a certain extent. I know when buying groceries and fuel the prices are a hell of a lot higher than in the larger cities, apparently due to freight costs, which is true in some part, but in some places shop owners take advantage. Not all, but some.
And dying before the age of 45…….in terms of health, there are a lot of medical problems that can be solved very easily in these communities and I don’t mean just by throwing a pill at the problem. Closing The Gap we are not, despite what your Govt. and co. are telling you.
I met a lot of Australians traveling abroad and they did seem to have a broader world perspective and pay less attention to money than Americans. I also wish they would show Cate more naturally! I really like her. I think she was referring to a certain outlook on life Aussies tend to have that just isn’t the same as others. They seem more laid back, care free and open minded across the board I would say. I hope the criticism and the statements about her hypocrisy are exaggerated or untrue because I love her as an actress.
Gasp! I disagree with my Goddess! Australians are very aware of social class and of race. That is not to say that all of us are horrible- racist- classist bogans. Personally, I am sick of people asking me where “I am from” just because I don’t look Anglo- Aussie. My parents moved from South America to Australia and I was born in here! That makes me Australian and nothing more. A lot of people are not really satisfied when I give them that answer.
I am Australian and I am surprised one thing hasn’t been brought up – our current government got into office based primarily on the policy of “Stop The Boats”. Basically stop asylum seekers coming to Australia via people smuggling boats from Indonesia. However the issue is way more heated than that, and depending who you discuss it with it quickly gets racist as a lot of people just don’t want outsiders coming to australia and stealing their jobs/using government benefits to buy themselves flat screen TVs (one of the main arguments).
We also have a terrible history of the way we have treated our indigenous people, as do many other countries. If you’re like me and live in a big city you might not actually know any Aboriginal people, they aren’t very visible in our society – but that is changing as more policies are put in place.
However the majority of Australians are pretty open minded, british ideas of class doesn’t really exist, and there are a lot of ways to improve your prospects in life. University is relatively accessible for most people. I live in inner-city Melbourne, the most hipster area, and things are extremely multi cultural and tolerant here. Although same sex marriage is absolutely no where near being legal, which is ridiculous.
On a whole we’re probably most racist towards are Kiwi cousins, and they are the same to us. But it’s done with love.
the boats do need to stop though. They are dangerous and not all of the people on them are genuine asylum seekers. You know there were terrorism suspects on one of them right? and the ones who are genuine are paying everything they have to get on them, how are they going to have a decent life here with all their savings gone?
But again, those boats are dangerous. How many people, how many CHILDREN have to drown off the coast before people realise this? my friends husband works in border control, he is out there on government boats and he said we don’t even hear the half of it through the media. he has seen some awful stuff on those boats. he has had to recover the bodies of children who have drowned because of the boats not being sea worthy. I value his opinion, formed by first hand experience not second hand media coverage, and he said from a humanitarian stand point the boats need to stop.
A suspect does not a culprit make, nor should it mean others should miss their chance to seek asylum.
Besides, if you are willing to risk everything – including your life – to try your luck at getting to another country what does that say about where these people are coming from? Stopping the boats doesn’t fix the problem and it circumvents our responsibilities as a signatory to the refugee convention.
Thanks Ange, that sums up my thoughts quite well. Stopping the boats is not an easy task, and the majority of people on those boats have been proven to be genuine asylum seekers.
i never said it did Ange. i merely mentioned it.
But like i said, the boats are dangerous and i’m getting that from a person who has seen the horrors first hand
Shoe_lover of course they’re dangerous, that is not even a question, but what is the alternative? A refugee isn’t exactly going to manage a plane ticket or a berth on a cruise liner. Stopping the boats doesn’t fix the problem, it just shoves the problem out of sight and gives people even less recourse to seek asylum.
I did mention the asylum seeker issue as one of Australia’s racist problems up above. We’re not all ignoring it! 🙂
I didn’t go into detail because it’s a) complicated and b) I think racism and classism (in the sense Cate was talking about) are separate issues.
But since you bought it up … I’ve had plenty of conversations with people who were extremely anti-boat-people (and sounded racist as heck), but when I gave them a theoretical story involving a specific immigrant, what they were fleeing and why they’d take a boat here, they were sympathetic. A lot of people are simply hung up on the “they’re queue jumpers” thing, rather than being actually being racist or anti-immigration. (Some people are simply racist idiots, but honestly I’ve found a large number really weren’t bigots … just misinformed.) I blame the politicians and the media. They’re manufacturing racism for ratings and cheap political points. It’s sick.
The government needs to increase the number of refugee places, and ditch the link between on-shore and off-shore applications. The media needs to stop spreading myths. But ordinary Aussies who understand the system also have a responsibility to try to explain the facts to their misinformed countrymen.
Good grief, as if this post hasn’t got touchy enough, you bring politics into it as well. I’m going to have an Anzac bickie, a Tim Tam and some vegemite on toast and try to forget this post ever happened.
I had no idea there were so many Aussie’s on this site.
Cate Blanchett and the creepy, sexual predator, Woody Allen. Enough said.
I used to love her.
I’m an Aussie and I’d like to weigh in here.
We are a very small population (22 million) living in a vast land mass but most of us cling to the coastline because the climate is cooler and less punishing.
As a people, we are very well looked after via middle class welfare, though that is being eroded year by year. As a single mother of two boys, I receive $700 a fortnight in family assistance, plus we are given free doctor’s/hospital visits, free car registration, 4 long distance train travel passes every year, discounted electricity and it goes on. You can earn up to 100 grand a year and still receive family assistance.
Australians as a whole don’t understand how lucky we are…but this luck generally only extends to urban and suburban Aussies. Our indigenous peoples up in the Territory still live in dire living conditions and it is an ongoing humanitarian disaster that receives very little local or international press.
It is (or should be) our national shame.
Australians can be very racist towards Aboriginal people, it is true.
Having said that, there are plenty of urban Aboriginal people just living regular lives as lawyers, mums, artists, professional sportspeople etc but these people receive very little press.
Something we can be proud of is that Australians have one of the most successfully integrated multicultural societies in the world. There are more Greeks here than in Athens.
Despite all that, I have travelled all over the world and I still think Australia is the most beautiful country on the planet.
Regardless of income, background or profession, most Aussies know the joy of the salty turquoise ocean, the deafening racket of the cicadas at Christmas, the high blue summer skies, the twilight barbecues with the neighbours, the smell of the eucalypts in the bush, long days spent at the beach, sunburnt noses and the smell of frangipanis on a warm, scented evening.
We also are very welcoming, openminded and friendly. Why wouldn’t we be when we are given so much? We shake our heads in disbelief at the fiasco that is the American health system, where people are left at the doorway of hospitals because they don’t have insurance. Aussies have conniptions if someone is left in a waiting room for three hours…it’ll make the headlines of the national news.
I have never paid one cent for healthcare in this country.
I’m a single mum on a very low income and what Cate says is true. I live in a small flat in an extremely affluent area and we mix with famous people, rich people, artists, people on the dole, surfers, bludgers and drug addicts at parties and nobody gives a fiddler’s fart about who you are or how much money you have or where you’ve come from.
This is so much better than Canada where most of the land is tundra (I exaggerate) and the social divide grows larger and larger (we’re really just a wannabe extension of the states these days, IMO). Really eloquent and lovely comment. I wish could move there.
Awww thankyou Maven. I suppose it has taken me all of my 38 years to really appreciate just how good we have it here in Australia. We all seem to take it for granted but the truth is, we probably have a better lifestyle than any other country in the world, regardless of your wealth.
There just isn’t really an enclave of rich people. Poor people live next door to rich people and mix socially with one another. My neighbour next door lives in a 30 million dollar house but invited us all to her annual Xmas party where she served Veuve all night.
It really is egalitarian like that, in some parts.
Also, you’ve caught me at a weak point because January is a great time to be alive, especially where I live at Bondi Beach. The weather is magnificent and there are impromptu barbecues, parties and shindigs; everyone is tanned and relaxed, the frangipanis are in full bloom, the summer fruits are in abundance (mangoes, peaches, nactarines, plums, peaches and grapes) and the air is redolent with a benevolent kindness.
I grew up in Redfern, an inner city area in Sydney. Do you know how much housing the Aborigines are given? Plenty. What do they do with the housing? They don’t respect it. How many houses in Everleigh Street were damaged or torched by the Aboriginals there? Most of them in fact, so many that demolition had to take place.
The same logic applies in the Northern Territory. Even if you handed them property, they’ll still damage it or fail to maintain it. To sit there feeling sorry is no solution. They too need to realise that drinking and damaging property is not going to cast a positive light on their situation but only reinforce prejudices.
The reality of the NT is that there are few opportunities there and that the type of housing that we are used to in our coastal cities are unsuitable for the barren/desert areas of the Northern Territory, i.e. in Aboriginal settlements.
As for racism towards Aboriginals, I wouldn’t call it racism now. I’d call it irritation – especially in urban areas. Why? Because they are given many opportunities and benefits by the government, indeed first priority, and they decide to still have that chip on the shoulder and do the opposite. There is only a 2 percent representation of indigenous Australians in universities. Whenever a crime is committed by an Aboriginal, they are given many chances, and as a result, a portion of them have become aware of their advantage and continue to commit crimes. I’ve been burgled twice and called police, to be told that nothing much would come from it [because of the Aboriginality of the burglars].
I’m interested to know which affluent suburb you can live in on a government benefit in Australia – out of curiosity. Because most rents in cities like Melbourne and Sydney are completely untouchable by working families, never mind single parents on government benefits -unless you’re renting a granny flat on a property your own parents own. But most working Australians are struggling to find rental properties to afford in Sydney [where I live] and many struggle to purchase property as Sydney is ranked in the top ten most expensive cities to buy property.
The average rent in Sydney and Melbourne [cities, not country areas] well exceeds $350 per week i.e. $700 per week for two bedroom flats. Unless you’re living in Adelaide.
What Cate says is BS on many levels. Why? If social class didn’t make a difference to Cate, then why does she live in a ten million dollar house in Hunter’s Hill?
Evi – thanks for your reply.
Some of what you say is true, however it must come with a heavy disclaimer.
Aboriginal culture has been rent by an enormous sadness that has not had long enough time to be repaired. That coupled with ‘blackfella’ culture – family is everything, money is to be shared, urban foraging and hunting – means that their culture is diametrically opposed to the way whitefellas live and conduct themselves.
But to say they ‘have a chip on their shoulder’ is utterly disrespectful and disgracefully ignorant in the extreme.
This was their country before Europeans came and trashed the joint and yet they were only granted the vote in 1969. They were hunted like animals, used as slaves, their women were raped, their children stolen, their whole beautiful ancient way of being decimated and destroyed. Their culture is the oldest continuous culture on the planet, going back 80 thousand years.
Up until only one generation ago, they had children forcibly removed by do-gooding God botherers, convinced that the only way to integrate them into white culture was for them to be brought up by white people. Imagine if you had been stolen from your mother and brought up in an institution, subjected to sexual abuse, racism, violent brutality and never allowed to see your family ever again?
This is what happened to thousands of Aboriginal children and it has cast a deep shadow and caused an intergenerational sadness and sorrow that will unlikely ever be repaired.
Your comments reek of racism and ignorance but I will give you the benefit of the doubt because you grew up in Redfern and witnessed the worst of their race; burning down of housos, alcoholism and violence, muggings, rapes and bashings.
But to tar the whole race of our indigenous people with the same brush is offensive, ignorant and smacks of white supremacy. I suggest you review your comments before posting such ignorant nonsense again.
PS Cate lives in HH because she can afford to. Why the hell not? She has earnt every penny of her money. Do you expect her to live in Blacktown, purely to prove how egalitarian she is? What a silly thing to say. You, dear, are the one with the chip on her shoulder.
@EVI I think Snowpea could be living in Surry Hills or Darlinghurst, if not there are plenty of housing commission flats there. Australia is a very lucky country (just look at the first home owners grant!!), but you can’t earn up to $100,000 and not pay for medical, unless you’re under 16 or are a pensioner, you get slugged Medicare levy and I’ve never heard of anyone getting free car rego!! Apologies this response (well the last bit) was to Snowpea.
And you’re spot on Evi about the Indigenous, the same happens in remote.
+ a million Snowpea, well said.
Add another +1 to what Snowpea said.
Snowpea ,beautiful posts !
“It’s true that we’re generally good company and we don’t pay attention to social class.”…. except when a Chinese woman is harassed on the bus by some drunken Aussie hick.
BIE, Excuse me but F*CK YOU!!! I’m Australian and let me tell you right here and now we aren’t all racist. I’m certainly not nor are any of my friends. There are racists of course, just like there is in any country. Don’t spread your bullsh!t, ignorant and one sided view.
I was in America during the 2008 elections and i specifically heard someone say that they were voting for McCain/Palin because they wouldn’t let a black man be president and that Palin would sort the n words out. so get off your high horse and stop acting like racism isn’t present in every country in the world. its unfortunate but its true.
And yeah the Aboriginals were treated poorly. But tell me, how are the native Americans? did they enjoy the treatment they received from your ancestors? Those in glass houses shouldn’t through stones.
Do you know how tense most of us feel when any non white foreigner has a problem here? because we know the international media is going to play the racism card. for example, A young Korean woman was murdered recently in my city and the media was saying it was racially motivated. It wasn’t. The killer himself said he went out specifically to kill someone to see how it felt and she was the first person he came across.
Thank you. I wholeheartedly agree.
The treatment of Australia’s Indigenous people is widely acknowledged as a disgrace – one which we have bent over backwards to try and resolve. (Although I notice that English people have somehow deluded themselves that this was not part of their own country’s history).
And there is no doubt we have our fair share of racist and xenophobic idiots just like any other country.
However for someone from ANY European country or the US (or, for that matter, Latin America, Asia or the Middle East) to point a finger and shout ‘racist’ at Australia is ludicrous considering their own chequered histories.
Slavery, anyone? The Brixton riots? The EDL? Hitler? The various far-right nationalist parties that have sprung up across Europe?? Or how about the treatment of the US’ own indigenous peoples?
Australia also has one of the most diverse populations on the planet, with a huge percentage born overseas. To look at our population and just describe it as a bunch of ‘white people’ and ‘Asians’ is pretty damn racist, in my opinion.
I should add though, that I don’t doubt that it must be very tough to be Sudanese or one of the newer ethnic groups in Australia.
I’m sure getting stared at and being asked “where do you come from?” a million times a day must be enormously irritating (especially when you are actually born here)! Hopefully that kind of thing is wearing off as people get used to new migrant groups.
My experience of Australia is that it is one of the few places where most people genuinely like and appreciate multiculturalism. I would have hated to have lived here during the 1950s and 60s when that wasn’t the case (although my father is from a NESB background and emigrated here during the ’50s and loved it, so who knows?)
I laugh when people who are from the US or UK call up Australia on racism. The two most racist nations in the world and when I say that, I’m referring to the way the US hides behind ‘freedom of expression’ to justify the existence of racist groups like the KKK, Aryan nation and whatnot, that will do anything to recruit people. In Australia these hate groups wouldn’t see the light of day let alone be supported by pathetic politicians hiding behind a questionable platitude they don’t wish to debate. But I also refer to the way they established these nations and how they still socially manage them, or should I say ‘engineer’ them in order to keep certain ethnicities at the bottom.
One look at how each nation manages its social housing system is an indicator of its institutional racism. So no, the US and the UK and other European countries haven’t gotten off the hook and should take care of what is in their own back yards before looking toward farther shores to make racist accusations. Racism exists everywhere, but on different levels as it is not a clear cut black and white issue [no pun intended], but lies on a spectrum.
Well said! Unfortunately there are many people who are racist against Australia. The ignorant comments I see on here have me shaking my head.
I love Cate.
“Australians don’t pay attention to social class”?
has she been up to the Sydney upper north shore, or possibly crossed the bridge before she made that statement?
And yet Cate lives in a ten million dollar house in Hunters Hill…
Look it’s Oscar campaign/desperation time and she has to say something – even if it’s stupid and inaccurate. She isn’t renowned for her intelligence.
Evi for crying out loud. We get it. You hate Cate.
To the contrary, Cate is renowned for her poise, charm, intelligence and is often hailed as the greatest actor of her generation.
I am not entirely sure why you believe otherwise but there you go. It takes all sorts to keep this world a-turnin’.
Shoe_Lover – I think you protest too much??
I’ve lived in Australia all my life and was born here and can confirm that rasicm does strongly exist in Australia. My parents are both from Egypt so I don’t look caucasian (or much of anything really) but am tired of being asked which country I come from. And when I say Australia, the disbelief on faces is amusing and appalling. Every country is racist to a degree and Australia is no exception.
But it’s interesting that I’m not viewed as an Australian – largely because I don’t look it. That was a real shock to me.
And of course class does exist. 90% of the population can’t afford to live in Mosman and each area does have its own general demographic…
No i don’t protest too much. I was told that i and my fellow countrymen were “racist as hell” i have every right to defend that.
And my family knows all about racism. My Italian grandfather married my Australian grandmother in the early 50s and both were disowned by their parents. Sure its not the same as what black, asian or middle eastern people have dealt with (and still do) but you can believe it hurt them. My mother and her siblings weren’t allowed to go to the school near them and had to go to one further away because the school didn’t take, in their words, wogs. But that was the 50s and this is today and no one would ever stop a child going to school because they are a wog or black or asian or whatever
I’m constantly asked what my heritage is but it doesn’t offend me, i proudly say my mothers side is Italian and my fathers side is Australian. And do you know why people tell me they are asking? Its not to be rude and it’s not to be racist, they say its because they find my features and colouring to be beautiful and they are interested in other cultures. i don’t look very Italian though so i have no clue what they are on about, i’m pale as hell and will most likely burst into flames if in the sun too long.
Asking someone about their heritage isn’t racist. for me anyway its about learning about other people, their cultures and backgrounds. How is that rude or racist?
E, I didn’t mention reverse racism and i will come hard at anyone who makes a generalised statement like yours.
I agree Bie and any Aussie who tries to deny fairly extensive racism in Australia is living under a rock.
If you are an Aussie (and I am – pommy ancestry) one look at Facebook around Christmas and Australia Day should show you the extent of it all. The cries of ‘they’re taking away our Christmas trees!’ and ‘they want to call it Citizen’s Day!’ are everywhere. I saw my first citizen’s day post today and I’m expecting plenty more before Jan 26. That’s not to say, however, that our racism problem is any worse than any other nation – I’m sure Duck Dynasty has proven that.
“The cries of ‘they’re taking away our Christmas trees!’ and ‘they want to call it Citizen’s Day!’ ”
I honestly fail to see how either of those proves racism. IF its true, and clearly it is in some places, that towns, shopping centres etc are doing away with Christmas trees and the reasons given by Centre Management is due to diversity, how else do you word it? If it IS the truth, then how would YOU choose to word it? Likewise with Citizens Day, there is a large indigenous population who, quite rightly, label Australia Day Invasion Day and suggest it be moved to another date and called Citizens Day. Do you want me to provide proof of this, from Indigenous Facebook pages and organisations? I will if you want. I don’t understand what the point of your post is. Are you saying its racist that there are groups doing/calling for both? That its racist that it even be mentioned? What is it you are trying to prove, other than state facts?
Sal what I’m saying is these issues are the hot button ones that bring racists out of the woodwork, not that they are issues I do or don’t support. You need to look at the ‘they’ people are always talking about – usually minority groups. Anglo Australians with race issues take great exception to anything that is seen as threatening their ‘way of life.’ Did you see the troll post on Facebook last year where someone set up a dummy account pretending to be a young Muslim man saying Australia Day was citizens day? The vile comments on that post made me sad for weeks. Ever seen a tshirt or picture with the saying that ends with the lovely slogan ‘and we speak f**ken English!’ or the lovely ‘f*ck off we’re full’ Because that’s what I’m talking about. I can assure you too that a lot of Australians WOULD take exception to indigenous lobbying to have the name changed.
Essentially you only need to look at these issues on social media to see how alive and well racism is here. The acts themselves don’t prove racism, it’s the reactions to them that do.
I should also point out that when people refer to the mysterious ‘they’ wanting to change everything they always mean minority groups like Muslims despite having absolutely no evidence that this is the case.
As with any country there are people who have thoughts to the extreme. As an Australian I take offence at being told I am “racist as hell.”
Excuse me, but I’m Australian and I take great offence at that comment. Australians are no more nor less racist than any other country. In fact, I find your comment racist in itself.
Common theme in these comments: why is asking “where are you from” racist or similar?
As an Aussie I assure you there are people here who are not conscious of class, race or where one lives. There are equally those who do. Ask the snobs who live in Toorak & Brighton if they’d go to Broadmeadows or drive a Kia. Every country is a mixture of ideas, ideals & perspectives.
Cate’s grand-standing summing up the whole of the country from her ivory tower shouldn’t be taken so seriously. I like her as an actress. Getting tired of celebrities putting forward opinions on everything.
I love Cate, I’m Aussie, and I read her comment as meaning that, yes, we have our social problems, too — but like another commentator upthread has said, class here is less easy to pinpoint based on material wealth and possessions. My home state is Western Australia, and the mining boom here, sustained for the last decade or so, has meant that many Aussies who might have been “working class” have now worked their way into “upper middle class” or “upper class” — and that’s ok by me. A fair go for everyone who’s willing to work! Of course we still have pretensions (to quote Cate’s quote), but social mobility is maybe less rigid here than in other countries.