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How drag as an art form sashayed from the underground and strutted into the mainstream

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jonathan-w-marshall-1195978">Jonathan W. Marshall</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edith-cowan-university-720">Edith Cowan University</a> Recent protests against <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/aug/11/im-just-trying-to-make-the-world-a-little-brighter-how-the-culture-wars-hijacked-drag-queen-story-hour">drag queen story hours</a> are the latest in a series of actions targeting the increased prominence of displays of LGBTIQ+ culture in the public arena. But drag artists have been strutting their stuff in speakeasies, cabarets and films for a long time now. <h2>The long history of cross-dressing</h2> There is a long global history of cross-gendered performance. In the West, this included <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803105532521;jsessionid=B8A5B8C5FE0EBAEDAB763E0AC1405EEA">“travesty” roles</a>, “<a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2013/08/en-travestie-curious-tradition-of.html">breeches parts</a>”, pantomime dames and their cousins in <a href="https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1429&context=gradreports">blackface – “wench” – parts</a>, variety halls and Shakespearean performances. There’s also <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvcwnjxz">Japanese kabuki (onnagata)</a>, Beijing opera, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1124189">Samoan fale aitu and fa’afafine performances</a> and more. All share something with drag – cross-dressing and various forms of gender play and/or reversal – but none is quite the same as what we know today. Legal restrictions on gendered clothing have existed in places like Europe, China and Japan through to modern times – though the focus was more on class than gender. The wearing of men’s pants by women was <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/at-last-women-of-paris-can-wear-the-trousers-legally-after-200yearold-law-is-declared-null-and-void-8480666.html">technically illegal in France</a> until 2013. Centuries earlier, it contributed to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-BYbasO034">prosecution of Joan of Arc by church courts</a>. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p-BYbasO034?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>The emergence of drag</h2> Something like contemporary drag <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203411070/changing-room-laurence-senelick">appeared in the West from the late 18th century</a>, blending early burlesque (disrespectful comedy, not necessarily bawdy) with nascent queer culture (clubs, speakeasies and other semi-underground meeting places where same-sex-attracted individuals socialised). By the time the 20th century rolled around, drag artists, particularly in the US, offered beauty tips, attempted to engage in sponsorships or sold stylishly posed <a href="https://wislgbthistory.com/people/peo-l/leon_francis.htm">postcards</a> and <a href="https://ourcommunityroots.com/?p=13079">souvenirs</a>, closely recalling advertisements aimed at female consumers. Since much early drag made fun of women in general, and women of colour in particular, the form has hardly been a consistent force for good. Drawing on blackface minstrelsy, British panto and college revues, drag from the 1950s increasingly featured female impersonators offering hyperbolic, over-the-top and often disrespectful portraits of feminine characteristics. So called “glamour drag” was designed, in the words of artist Jimmy James, “to take people totally away from the ugly realities … and transport them to the realm of the magical” through fabulous dresses, hair and sequins. This became the dominant form of drag in the West, particularly in Australia – although there was also a vibrant counter-culture. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9dOrfO2gVs">Danny La Rue</a> camped it up on the stages of Britain and the US, touring Australia in the late 1970s, while <a href="https://dangerousminds.net/comments/ridiculous_a_little-known_drag_tv_role_by_charles_ludlam_1983">Charles Ludlam</a> made the difficult transition from outrageous drag to main stage theatre and back, losing none of his style. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e9dOrfO2gVs?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>From the queer underground to the straight mainstream</h2> Key to the crossover of drag from an underground principally LGBTIQ+ phenomena to the cis mainstream was the increasingly flamboyant manifestation of popular music – such as glam, hair metal, disco and new wave. The exultant 1978 video for disco star Sylvester’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD6cPE2BHic">You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)</a>, for example, introduced audiences to the concept of “<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/does-realness-actually-mean-surprising-heartbreaking-history/">realness</a>” as she inhabited different costumed personas. Sylvester was a former member of the avant-drag troupe the Cockettes and her clip was shot at London’s gay disco The Embassy. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gD6cPE2BHic?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> “Rock camp” performance found its perfect expression in <a href="https://youtu.be/4plqh6obZW4">The Rocky Horror Picture Show</a> stage show in 1973, directed by Australian queer theatre legend Jim Sharman. Its comedic celebration of gender fluid performance and sexuality helped make drag and related forms mainstream. Also crucial was Jennie Livingston’s 1990 film <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/24/burning-down-the-house-debate-paris-is-burning">Paris is Burning</a>, documenting the competitive balls (drag races) mounted by working class LGBTIQ+ African-Americans and Latinos in New York, some of whom (but not all) identified as trans. Performers at the balls competed to exhibit “realness” – not only in gender terms, but employment and social position: “executive realness”, “butch queer”, “banjee girl” and “military”. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4plqh6obZW4?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> Madonna famously recruited performers from Paris is Burning (Jose Gutierez and Luis Camacho from House Xtravaganza) to assist in the choreography for her video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuJQSAiODqI">Vogue</a> and then her Blond Ambition tour, skyrocketing the international renown of these practices. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9SqvD1-0odY?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>Drag landmarks</h2> Prior to The Rocky Horror Picture Show gracing the stages of London and Sydney, Kings Cross had seen the foundation of legendary drag revue <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G6aDpxhWlg">Les Girls</a>, running from 1963-93. This show was led by Carlotta, who took her girls on tour, and became the inspiration for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgFDIinCeYI">Priscilla Queen of the Desert</a>. “Alternative cabaret” also thrived. Notables included Australia’s truly outrageous Reg Livermore, the bizarre fantasies of Lindsay Kemp or the incredible Moira Finucane. Finucane’s brilliant early “gender fuck” performance as <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-765293824/view?sectionId=nla.obj-769278625&partId=nla.obj-765310182#page/n6/mode/1up">Romeo</a> involved an arrogant, moustachioed and convincingly male performer who undressed to reveal Finucane, who then pleasured herself with a feather boa. Australians might also remember the wonderful Pauline Pantsdown’s drag satire <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4tZRZSGxcE">I Don’t Like It</a> in 1998. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0G6aDpxhWlg?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> Topping it off was the huge success of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1353056/">RuPaul’s Drag Race reality TV show</a> in 2009. Producers were onto a winner: fabulous clothes, the highs and lows of competition and a scintillating array of would-be stars, presided over RuPaul, looking never less than fabulous. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PDe8zJvyF54?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>Lessons from the history of drag</h2> The glamorous, hyper-feminine artist remains the most popular model of drag. Perhaps unsurprisingly it was these paragons of camp femininity who were chosen to read to children in libraries, first in <a href="https://www.dragstoryhour.org/about">San Francisco in 2015</a> and then internationally. These glitter, glam and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340774905_Balirano_G_2020_Of_Rainbow_Unicorns_The_Role_of_Bonding_Queer_Icons_in_Contemporary_LGBTIQ_Re-Positionings">rainbow unicorns</a> seemingly conquered the globe. But more outré drag queens, drag kings and “genderfuck” performers never ceased toiling away in the underground. <a href="https://canadianart.ca/features/the-showstoppers/">Drag is changing</a>. If we are to look to history for lessons, I’d like to see story time presented by the successors to Divine (one of John Waters’ collaborators, whose <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfirqQJC3I0">1984 appearance on Countdown</a> marks one of the strangest moments in Australian television) or transgender superstar <a href="https://revolverwarholgallery.com/superstars/warhol-superstar-candy-darling/">Candy Darling</a>. Now that would be a story time education to remember.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205650/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jonathan-w-marshall-1195978">Jonathan W. Marshall</a>, Associate Professor & Postgraduate Research Coordinator, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edith-cowan-university-720">Edith Cowan University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-drag-as-an-art-form-sashayed-from-the-underground-and-strutted-into-the-mainstream-205650">original article</a>.

Art

Calling drag queens ‘groomers’ and ‘pedophiles’ is the latest in a long history of weaponising those terms against the LGBTIQA community

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/timothy-w-jones-11557">Timothy W. Jones</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a> Drag queens around the world are currently being accused of “grooming children” through <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_Queen_Story_Hour">drag storytime events</a>. These accusations curiously associate public book reading with child sex offending. We know from <a href="https://publishing.monash.edu/product/the-sexual-abuse-of-children/">decades of research and inquiries</a> the places that young people are most at risk of sexual victimisation are their home or an institution of care (such as a school, orphanage or church). The people that most often offend against children are family members and care providers. However, this recent panic about drag queens reading in public libraries is actually typical in the history of child sexual abuse. This history has involved repeated moral panics that distract from the alarming data regarding child sexual abuse in the home. Instead, these narratives locate the threat to children outside of the home - to gay men, “stranger danger” and even satanic ritual abuse - rather than confronting the situations and protecting children where they are most at risk. <h2>Moral panic</h2> In the 1970s, feminist attention to domestic violence, sexual assault and the patriarchy created the conditions that enabled the sexual assault of children in the home to be put in the spotlight. It wasn’t long, however, before attention was shifted elsewhere. In the 1980s, fears about a new form of abuse spread. <a href="https://theconversation.com/satanic-worship-sodomy-and-even-murder-how-stranger-things-revived-the-american-satanic-panic-of-the-80s-186292">Satanic ritual abuse</a> was thought to involve large numbers of victims and perpetrators, but was <a href="https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/pdf/10.1521/jscp.1997.16.2.112">“so cloaked in secrecy and involve such precise concealment of evidence that almost no one knew about it”</a>. Satanic ritual abuse captured headlines and people’s imaginations with tales of particularly painful, depraved and degrading practices. Research has shown that reports of abuse initially came from adults who “regained memories” of experiences of satanic abuse in their childhoods. Additional reports clustered in the periods after media attention on initial cases. The consensus in medical literature that emerged in the 1990s was there was a tendency of some individuals, especially clients of particular psychotherapists, to manufacture memories of abuse which never occurred. Corroborating evidence of abuse was not found, leading sceptics to account for these <a href="https://journals-sagepub-com.ez.library.latrobe.edu.au/doi/epdf/10.2466/pms.1994.78.3c.1376">“pseudomemories” through “misdiagnosis, and the misapplication of hypnosis, dreamwork, or regressive therapies”</a>. Subsequently, the <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Organised-Sexual-Abuse/Salter/p/book/9781138789159?gclid=CjwKCAjwjYKjBhB5EiwAiFdSflzGRpk-QL7yO8HrAOZbbtD-okQbGIOYC47WI3m-obre71DXVhs7_hoCfwcQAvD_BwE">satanic ritual abuse controversy</a> and “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924933816020824">false memory syndrome</a>” have been used to discredit hard-fought feminist recognition of the gravity of child sex offending <h2>A deviant lifestyle</h2> There is also a long history of using paedophilia and ideas about child grooming in homophobic and transphobic ways to oppose the recognition of the civil rights of LGBTIQA people. Campaigns to decriminalise homosexuality often struggled against attempts to impose unequal ages of consent in reform legislation. In 1967, for example, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_Offences_Act_1967">homosexuality was decriminalised in England and Wales</a>, but men had to wait until they were 21 to legally consummate their love, five years longer than straight lovers. In Tasmania, <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/The_Pink_Triangle.html?id=Wp6cPAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y">the last Australian state to decriminalise sex between men</a> (in 1997), a heated public debate frequently raised issues of child protection. Letters to newspapers claimed that decriminalisation “would only open the floodgates and allow the very young to become prey to those who have chosen to lead this deviant lifestyle”. The idea was that young people are vulnerable to becoming homosexual and shouldn’t be allowed to consent to sexual activity until they were much older than their heterosexual peers. Sitting behind this notion of the vulnerability of young queer people is the <a href="https://www.apa.org/topics/lgbtq/orientation">false idea</a> that LGBTIQA status is a sign of moral failing, illness or perversion. Further, it perpetuates the myth that queerness or transness is somehow transmissible. This is the somewhat fantastical idea that everybody has the latent potential to become queer or trans, and all that is needed to convert is exposure to a queer or trans person. These fears have fuelled repressive legislation, such as the notorious <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/27/section-28-protesters-30-years-on-we-were-arrested-and-put-in-a-cell-up-by-big-ben">Section 28</a> in Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/UGANDA-LGBT/movakykrjva/">Ugandan</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_gay_propaganda_law">Russian</a> laws banning the promotion of homosexuality, and the “<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/02/17/florida-advances-dont-say-gay-bill?gclid=Cj0KCQjwsIejBhDOARIsANYqkD1-IyOtYIl1WefomHHCyNZ0t88GRQTVciS7iJFoUslPSu4In5ayS3IaAqadEALw_wcB">don’t say gay</a>” laws in the United States. Ironically, these strange and harmful ideas are also behind the ineffective, discredited and dangerous attempts to change or suppress LGBTIQA people’s sexuality or gender identity. In these instances of so-called “conversion therapy”, it is <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/SexualOrientation/IESOGI/Academics/Equality_Australia_LGBTconversiontherapyinAustraliav2.pdf">often religious conservatives</a> who <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1201588/Healing-spiritual-harms-Supporting-recovery-from-LGBTQA-change-and-suppression-practices.pdf">“groom” young LGBTIQA people</a> in attempts to make them straight and cisgendered. Such change and suppression practices are now thankfully <a href="https://www.humanrights.vic.gov.au/change-or-suppression-practices/about-the-csp-act/#:%7E:text=Practices%20that%20seek%20to%20change,preventing%20and%20responding%20to%20them.">against the law</a> in many jurisdictions around the world. <h2>A kinder and gentler future</h2> Despite periodic moral panics, the history of gender and sexuality since 1970 tends towards a kinder, gentler future. People have generally become more accepting of LGBTIQA people’s human rights, and are more welcoming and celebrating of sexual and gender diversity. The pace of change has been fast, however, and some groups of people haven’t gotten used to contemporary community standards of acceptance, such as the move towards marriage equality around the world. Because of this history of growing acceptance, young people are feeling more comfortable and safer to explore their identities at younger ages. They are thus more visible than they used to be in the past. However, they’re also more vulnerable as they explore sensitive aspects of their inner selves at younger and potentially less resilient ages. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-021-00615-5">Research shows</a> the impacts that homophobic and transphobic messaging can have on young people, proving they need to be protected from this harmful rhetoric – not from drag queens. Drag storytime events are an age-appropriate way to celebrate diversity. They benefit all children – gay, straight, transgender and cisgender – with education about consent, human dignity, self determination and human rights. This <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681811.2021.1978964">knowledge is one of the best protective factors</a> against child victimisation.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205648/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/timothy-w-jones-11557">Timothy W. Jones</a>, Associate Professor in History, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/calling-drag-queens-groomers-and-pedophiles-is-the-latest-in-a-long-history-of-weaponising-those-terms-against-the-lgbtiqa-community-205648">original article</a>.

Caring

Won’t somebody please think of the children? Their agency is ignored in the moral panic around drag storytime

<a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/politics/protesters-clash-over-drag-story-time-event-at-melbourne-council-meeting/news-story/f8671b4047b59f9fc27d8ffee803c9f8">Protesters derailed</a> a Monash City Council meeting on Wednesday, demanding the cancellation of a sold-out drag storytime event at Oakleigh Library in Melbourne’s south-east. This is just the latest in a string of drag performances for children throughout Victoria being cancelled or postponed in response to protest. The central message of these campaigns (accompanied by varying levels of vitriol) is the same: “let our kids be kids”, “protect our children” and “hands off our kids”, while simultaneously labelling performers and supporters of the events “paedophiles”. This is part of a global backlash. Similar protests and cancellations have happened in <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/unhinged-conspiracy-theorists-auckland-drag-queen-targeted-in-avondale-library-protest-speaks-out/TE6BFUOXVJC6VFYMU4VAUAERTQ/">New Zealand</a>, the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-64610724">United Kingdom</a> and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/21/anti-drag-show-laws-bans-republican-states">United States</a>. The argument in support of drag emphasises the impact on the performers at the centre of these events and queer community, arguing that the cancellation of these events is a form of <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/03/02/drag-queens-tennessee-law-minors/">discrimination and a contravention of human rights</a>. But the debate so far overlooks the agency and rights of the events’ intended audiences: children and young people. <h2>Children as citizens</h2> Calls to “protect the children” from drag performers and trans people assume children are, in fact, in need of safeguarding. Such messaging is rooted in a tendency for Western societies to reduce childhood to an <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/au/academic/subjects/sociology/sociology-general-interest/importance-being-innocent-why-we-worry-about-children?format=PB&isbn=9780521146975">idyllic innocence</a>, which positions children as “in need of protection” and amplifies their constant vulnerability. Children’s vulnerability played a critical role in motivating the adoption of the United Nations’ <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child">Convention on the Rights of the Child</a> in 1989. Since the adoption of the charter, new laws and policies have been established in Australia to criminalise forced marriage, to remove children from detention and to change the Family Law Act to better protect the rights of children. The charter details children’s need for safeguarding and special care. But it also confirms the evolving capacity of children to assert their rights as cultural citizens and their need for freedom of thought and expression. <h2>The power of drag and imaginative play</h2> Drag as a form of creative, physical and spiritual expression has existed within theatre and cultural performance <a href="https://www.grunge.com/1243587/drag-shows-older-realize-real-history/">for millennia</a>. Drag and queer performance studies have given rise to understandings of gender as an everyday performance: from the clothes we pick out, to the products we gravitate towards in supermarkets, to our repeated physical and vocal gestures. Drag pokes fun at the gender binary and, in doing so, it aims to blur the boundaries and expose the artificiality of gender roles. While the success of television shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race have established drag as something more accessible and relatable for a range of audiences, the visibility of queerness that comes with drag – especially when moving outside designated queer spaces – is an apparent step too far. But the way drag asks us to question the socially constructed nature of gender offers children a vision of self-determination. You can do what you want to do, you can be who you want to be. The potentiality within the play of drag engages the power of children’s imaginations today to conceive better tomorrows. Philosopher David Harvey refers to moments of “<a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/40603">free play</a>” as fertile ways of exploring and expressing a vast range of ideas, of taking on power structures and social practices, and imagining new possibilities for how we structure and support community. <h2>The insights of the child</h2> In post-plebiscite Australia, the success of targeted campaigns against drag-themed events for children exposes certain conditions around what are “acceptable” encounters of queer expression for children. The all-too-familiar campaign messages that swirled around the marriage debate – “protect the sanctity of marriage”, “protect families” – are rearing up again with only a minor rhetorical shift. The more obvious difference now is that the messages have been co-opted by extreme groups who are targeting individuals and threatening violence. The drag storytime event at the centre of the protests at Monash City Council remains scheduled to take place at Oakleigh Library on May 19. At the time of writing, an online petition to cancel the event has 820 supporters, while another in support of the event has over 3,300 signatures. Perhaps, then, the social temperature is not as heated towards drag performers as recent cancellations suggest. Instead, a minority of vocal and visible dissenters are dictating the rights and freedoms of the majority. The image of a drag performer in relation to a child elicits violent responses for some because it is an image of progress and change and of queer acceptance and love set against a long history of homophobia and transphobia in this country. But there are two figures in this image and one has been kept silent. In debating rights and agency, perhaps it’s time to ask and be guided by the insights of the child. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/wont-somebody-please-think-of-the-children-their-agency-is-ignored-in-the-moral-panic-around-drag-storytime-204182" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Caring

Why has my cold dragged on so long, and how do I know when it’s morphed into something more serious?

Common colds are caused by viruses. There are no effective cures, and antibiotics do not work on viruses, so treatment is targeted at managing the symptoms until your immune system has cleared the cold. So why might someone go to a doctor at all for a cold? Well, occasionally a cold might turn into something more serious requiring assessment and specific treatment, and a GP visit could be warranted. Or you may just want reassurance and advice. <h2>Don’t rush to the GP for something totally normal</h2> Problems arise when there too many unwarranted visits to GPs for cold symptoms. Studies have shown <a href="https://www.annfammed.org/content/11/1/5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">antibiotics</a> are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.5694/mja16.01042" target="_blank" rel="noopener">still prescribed widely</a> for viral colds, even though they don’t help, and this contributes to antibiotic resistance. It hastens the arrival of an era when many antibiotics simply don’t work at all. On average, children have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7152362/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four to six colds</a> per year, while in adults the average is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7152362/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two to three</a>. Some people are more <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1530156705601189?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prone</a> to colds, but we don’t know exactly why. The usual cold persists about one week, although 25% last two weeks. In one <a href="https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.35.11.2864-2868.1997" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> with 346 adults, the infection lasted 9.5 to 11 days. Cold symptoms may last longer in younger children. One <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/87/2/129/56810/Upper-Respiratory-Tract-Infections-in-Young?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> showed an average duration of colds ranged from 6.6 to 9 days. But symptoms lasted more than 15 days in 6.5% of 1-3 year old children in home care, and 13.1% of 2-3 year old children in day care. A cough tends to last longer than other symptoms, and often beyond the actual viral infection. The average <a href="https://www.annfammed.org/content/11/1/5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">duration</a> of a cough is about 17.8 days. <h2>Discoloured sputum, cough or snot</h2> Discoloured mucus in snot or cough is a common trigger for requesting antibiotics from a GP. But as we know, antibiotics are useless against a virus. They only work against bacterial infection. In fact, thick or coloured nasal mucus secretion is common following colds. Only a tiny proportion <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/pmc/pmc7151789" target="_blank" rel="noopener">involve</a> bacterial infection. When it happens, this is termed <a href="https://www.nps.org.au/australian-prescriber/articles/treating-acute-sinusitis-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acute rhinosinusitis</a>. But antibiotics are not recommended unless it lasts more than ten to 14 days and there are <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/pmc/pmc7151789" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signs</a> of bacterial sinusitis infection, such as: <ul> <li>symptoms worsening after improvement in the original cold</li> <li>return of fever and</li> <li>strong facial pain.</li> </ul> A prolonged cough after colds is usually caused by an irritated throat or the clearing of sticky mucus coming down from the nose. The cough may sound moist (so wrongly called “chesty”) due to the phlegm, but only small amounts of phlegm are coughed up. Yellow or green coloured mucus is often interpreted as a <a href="http://theconversation.com/health-check-what-you-need-to-know-about-mucus-and-phlegm-33192" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sign</a> of bacterial infection. But yellow or green sputum alone <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02813430902759663" target="_blank" rel="noopener">does not</a> mean you have a serious bacterial infection. One study found being prescribed antibiotics under these circumstances <a href="https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/1/119" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failed</a> to shorten recovery time. Nasal saline sprays and washes can be used to rinse out the nose and sinuses and possibly <a href="https://dtb.bmj.com/content/57/4/56" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shorten</a> rhinosinusitis and cough after colds. <h2>Could it just be hayfever, or another underlying issue?</h2> Hayfever or allergic rhinitis is a common cause for prolonged symptoms after a cold, especially cough and nasal congestion and maybe also sneezing. The damage in the upper airways following a viral infection may allow airborne allergens to trigger hayfever. Self-medicating with antihistamines, nasal saline spray or intranasal steroids is worthwhile if <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-why-do-i-have-a-cough-and-what-can-i-do-about-it-119172" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allergic rhinitis</a> is suspected. There may be other reasons for persistence of cough, such as exacerbation of underlying asthma or chronic lung disease. If so, this may require a visit to your GP. <h2>What about bronchitis or pneumonia?</h2> Many people worry about developing a chest infection after a cold. Acute bronchitis is a self-limiting infectious disease characterised by acute cough with or without sputum but without <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pneumonia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signs of pneumonia</a> (such as high temperatures and feeling breathless). Most acute bronchitis cases are caused by viruses. Antibiotics are often prescribed, but produce <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14787210.2016.1193435" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no significant clinical improvement</a> compared with placebo, so are not recommended. Pneumonia is a potentially serious secondary disease that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28159155/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may follow</a> an episode of flu in a small number of cases, but is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532961/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">relatively rare</a> following a cold. Symptoms and signs of pneumonia feature heavily in the list of warning signs that signal the need for a medical assessment. <h2>When should I seek medical help for a cough or a cold?</h2> Contact a GP if you experience: <ul> <li>shortness of breath or trouble breathing</li> <li>feeling faint or dizzy</li> <li>chest pain</li> <li>dehydration</li> <li>fever or cough symptoms that improve but then return or worsen</li> <li>worsening of chronic medical conditions such as asthma.</li> </ul> This is not a complete list, but may guide you on what to expect and what to watch out for. You might also contact your GP (perhaps for a telehealth consult) if you are finding your symptoms very unpleasant, or are concerned your condition is more serious or prolonged than expected. You might just need reassurance and education about self care options. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-has-my-cold-dragged-on-so-long-and-how-do-i-know-when-its-morphed-into-something-more-serious-190429" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Body

Princess Mary dragged into royal family fracas

Crown Princess Mary has been dragged into an altercation between members of the Danish Royal Family after Queen Margrethe stripped four of her grandchildren of their titles. Queen Margrethe II announced that from January 1, 2023, Prince Joachim’s children - Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13 and Princess Athena, 10 - will not be able to use their “prince” and “princess” titles. Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary’s children are not affected by the decision, but have been dragged into the disagreement by Prince Joachim. Joachim and his second wife Marie say that the relationship between Mary and Frederik is “complicated”. He went on to say that his own mother hadn’t reached out or apologised and that his daughter Athena is being bullied at school as a result of the decision. Princess Mary defended Queen Margrethe’s decision, saying that change is never easy. “Change can be extremely difficult and can really hurt,” Princess Mary said. “I think most people have tried it. But this does not mean that the decision is not the right one. “… And I can understand that it is a very difficult decision to have to make, and also a very difficult decision to receive.” However, the Queen has since come forward to apologise to her son, saying that it was her duty to ensure the Monarchy is “forever forming in pact with time”. “There have been strong reactions in recent days to my decision to the future use of titles for Prince Joachim's four children. Of course, it affects me,” she wrote in a statement. “My decision has been long made. With my 50 years on the throne, it's only natural to look back and to look forward. “It is my duty and desire as Queen to ensure that the Monarchy is forever forming in pact with time. “It sometimes requires making difficult decisions, and finding the right time will always be difficult. “To wear a royal title entails a number of obligations and tasks, which will in the future restrain fewer members of the royal family. This adjustment, which I see as a necessary assurance for the future of the Monarchy, I wish to make in my time. “I have made my decision as a Queen, mother and grandmother, but as a mother and grandmother I have underestimated how much my youngest son and his family feel. This makes a big impression, and I'm sorry for that. “No one should doubt that my children, in-laws and grandchildren are my great joy and pride. I hope now we as a family can find peace to get through this situation ourselves.” Images: Getty

Family & Pets

Guns, tanks and Twitter: how Russia and Ukraine are using social media as the war drags on

Social media has become a primary source of information for news-hungry audiences around the world trying to make sense of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, it’s being used by the governments of Russia and Ukraine to set the agenda for wider media reporting. Official Russian government accounts <a href="https://theconversation.com/russian-government-accounts-are-using-a-twitter-loophole-to-spread-disinformation-178001" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have been found</a> to be amplifying pro-Russia disinformation on Twitter. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government has taken to the platform to appeal to its two million followers for support. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Hard to find words... The killing of civilians in Bucha by Russian war criminals is appalling beyond any measure. Help us stop Russia. Demand your governments to act now: - Provide Ukraine with all weapons we need - More tough sanctions on Russia - Cut all trade ties with them <a href="https://t.co/pYLbMALQfp">pic.twitter.com/pYLbMALQfp</a> — Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ukraine/status/1511106521345798153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2022</a></blockquote> Information warfare is no longer an additional arm of strategy, but a parallel component of <a href="https://press.armywarcollege.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2501&context=parameters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">military campaigns</a>. The rise of social media has made it easier than ever before to see how states use mass communication as a weapon. Putting social media in the mix Mass communication began as political communication intended to <a href="https://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/innis-empire/innis-empire-00-h.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">establish and control empires</a>. Whether it was Darius the Great imposing his image on buildings and coins to help control the Persian Empire; Henry VIII’s inspired <a href="https://royalcentral.co.uk/interests/history/royal-portraiture-propaganda-painting-52781/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">use of portraiture</a>, or the well-documented use of <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Film--Radio-Propaganda-in-World-War-II/Short/p/book/9781032077116" target="_blank" rel="noopener">radio and film in World War II</a> – media technologies have long been used to spread political ideas. Social media has added another element to the mix, and brought immediacy to strategic political communication. In asymmetric conflicts (such as the one we’re seeing now in Ukraine), a successful social media account can be a useful weapon against an adversary with many guns and tanks. The local uprisings in the 2010 Arab Spring, especially in Egypt and Tunisia, were among the first campaigns where <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/War_in_140_Characters/s3mZDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=social+media+and+The+Arab+Spring+asymmetric+warfare&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media played a pivotal role</a>. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2595096" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advocates of democracy</a> used Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to maintain networks of communication and openly criticised their governments for the world to see. It didn’t take long for governments to realise the power of social media. And they responded both by restricting access to social media as well as using it themselves. Social media alone may <a href="https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:35365/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not be capable of instigating</a> widespread change, but it can undoubtedly play a role. Information warfare Tension between Russia and Ukraine has a long history, and was <a href="https://www.ceeol.com/search/book-detail?id=661250" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highly charged on social media</a> well before the latest invasion. Pro-Russian accounts have circulated disinformation about Russia’s role in the Donetsk region since before 2014, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0163443716686672?casa_token=XaOHM4qJ8W8AAAAA:ikaBQXH8mEVeQDgCiHs78F-RsBKNMzP02-Wk6TXzTbKfcxPENb46k3NQLMz1U9n5ZZ5zbnAcnXQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fuelling confusion</a> and destabilisation, and assisting Russia’s takeover. This was in fact a critical element of Russia’s “<a href="http://connections-qj.org/article/defining-concept-hybrid-warfare-based-analysis-russias-aggression-against-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hybrid warfare</a>” approach. Russia’s strategic actions, and counter actions by Ukraine, have been studied widely by researchers. Unsurprisingly, the research has overwhelmingly found each side to be framing the conflict in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1750635217702539" target="_blank" rel="noopener">very different, and divergent</a> ways. Research has also found social media can sustain, and even aggravate, the hostility between <a href="https://ccdcoe.org/uploads/2018/10/Ch12_CyberWarinPerspective_Lange_Svetoka.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukrainians and Russians online</a>. For example, after Malaysian Airline flight MH17 was shot down by Russia over Ukraine, an <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ia/article/94/5/975/5092080?login=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis of 950,000 Twitter posts</a> found a plethora of competing claims online, creating a struggle for truth which continues today. As early as 2014, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Philip Breedlove, <a href="https://www.stripes.com/news/saceur-allies-must-prepare-for-russia-hybrid-war-1.301464" target="_blank" rel="noopener">described</a> the Russian communication strategy in Ukraine as “the most amazing information warfare <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/blitzkrieg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blitzkrieg</a> we have ever seen in the history of information warfare”. These efforts have escalated since Russia’s recent expansion of its invasion into Ukrainian territory. And with so much noise, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for users to make sense of the deluge of contradictory, emotive and (often) difficult-to-verify information. It’s even more difficult when the tone of posts changes quickly. The Ukraine government’s Twitter account is a study in contrasts of both content and tone. Set up in more peaceful times, the profile cheerily states: “Yes, this is the official Twitter account of Ukraine. Nice pics: #BeautifulUkraine Our music: #UkieBeats”. But the account now posts a range of content, images and video related to the war as part of its strategic communication campaign. This has included serious news updates, patriotic allusions to historic events and people, anti-Russian material and – prior to the recent reports of mass deaths – <a href="https://www.ceeol.com/search/chapter-detail?id=661124" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quite a lot of humour</a>. Why use humour? Humour has a long history of being used as an element of communication and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/13691481211023958" target="_blank" rel="noopener">public diplomacy</a> – <a href="https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/soc4.12138?casa_token=ci0wS1giS6AAAAAA%3AkH20TMNG-ln9Q8wdqVsA2ML0NSX4iX3X7FCMkhAdOiBRvQ5LSe1DaEtMxAAQ9HQAgBWHgkHezMGs0Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">even during wars</a>. For instance, <a href="https://www.berggruen.org/ideas/articles/to-defy-a-dictator-send-in-the-clowns/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">humour was used effectively</a> by the Serbian Otpor resistance movement in its campaign to overthrow dictator Slobodan Milošević at the turn of this century. <a href="https://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/sarah-snow/2015-07-06/science-behind-what-content-goes-viral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Humour is particularly effective</a> on social platforms because it produces <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1509/jmr.10.0353?casa_token=U5-C6j_iI7cAAAAA:p3Palq4Swuz34SC7eNukHO6Kb5OeB9TNgucv8magwnP9Q7iWtXx84ih83rZ8fKpbeHGVMH0HrdM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">virality</a>. And in the case of Ukraine’s defence, it displays defiance. After all, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (a former comedian) was famously thrust into the political spotlight thanks to a satirical television production. In it he played the role of a teacher whose secretly-filmed rant about corruption goes viral, leading the character to become President. Zelenskyy’s <a href="https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter account</a> is now the most immediate and reliable way for many Ukrainians to get crucial information on the invasion and negotiations between Zelenskyy and other leaders. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Talked to <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BorisJohnson</a> again. The United Kingdom is our powerful ally. Discussed the defensive support for 🇺🇦, intensification of anti-Russian sanctions and post-war security guarantees. We look forward to the donors' conference for Ukraine. — Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1510336038199300101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2022</a></blockquote> The thousands of “shares” the posts receive are helping Ukraine’s communication campaign. Zelenskyy’s recent address to the Grammy Awards reinforces that he understands the necessity of remaining visible to the world at this critical point. His speech has produced much support on social media (as well as cries of “propaganda” from Russia’s supporters). <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a surprise video appearance at the music industry's star-studded Grammy Awards celebration in Las Vegas and appealed to viewers to support his country ‘in any way you can’ <a href="https://t.co/hwQYnEpLGx">https://t.co/hwQYnEpLGx</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRAMMYs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GRAMMYs</a> <a href="https://t.co/dKTBCkfEB8">pic.twitter.com/dKTBCkfEB8</a> — Reuters (@Reuters) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1510868519323410440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2022</a></blockquote> Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/KremlinRussia_E" target="_blank" rel="noopener">account</a> has been dormant since March 16.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180131/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/collette-snowden-5543" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Collette Snowden</a>, Senior Lecturer, School of Communication, International Studies and Languages, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of South Australia</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/guns-tanks-and-twitter-how-russia-and-ukraine-are-using-social-media-as-the-war-drags-on-180131" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Technology

Ben Stiller dragged into fiery Kyrgios outburst

Fans of Nick Kyrgios are no strangers to the tennis bad boy's on-court antics. It's part of what makes him so watchable – especially since he so often has the prowess and natural talent to back it up and get the best of the world's top players. But this week at Indian Wells the entertaining Aussie may have let his temper get the better of him during a tense and tight loss to Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals. Nadal was able to hang on and clinch the contest 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 – but there were plenty of fiery outbursts along the way to keep the audience enthralled. After being broken in the third, Kyrgios took aim at chair umpire Carlos Bernardes for failing to keep unruly elements of the crowd quiet – with quite a few occasions of people in the crown yelling just as the second serve was about to commence. “How long are you going to let that s**t go on for? How long? How long? How long, bro? How long?” Kyrgios yelled at Bernardes. “If you did something about it before, maybe it wouldn’t have happened. “It happens again and again — and look at the f***ing score! Look at the score! It’s your job to control that, no one else’s. “It’ll keep happening over and over and over again. Say something!” In his defence, Bernardes replied to Kyrgios that he had already instructed the crowd to remain silent. That last outburst came in the third set when Kyrgios made a surprising left-turn by dragging Ben Stiller into the argument. The Hollywood heavyweight was perched in the front row, and when someone in the crowd angered Kyrgios, he called out to that person, “are you good at tennis?” before turning to Stiller to further illustrate his point “Exactly, so don’t tell me how to play. Do I tell HIM how to act?” Kyrgios later revved up the crowd when he won a key point, but Nadal was able to hold serve and creep ahead 6-5. After that the match continued to slip away, as Kyrgios missed a chance to break Nadal, who then progressed through to the semis. Images: Getty

News

"Beaten and pinned down": Christian church members dragged into street after raid by Chinese officials

Shocking video footage from inside a Christian church in China shows officials raiding and violently dragging members out of the church mid-service. ChinaAid, a Christian watchdog group on persecution posted the story from the church in Xiamen, a Fujian province. In a video taken at the church, officers and attendees of Xinguang Church shout as attendees try and block the officials from entering. <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe class="embed-responsive-item" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UkHgvKcpsaM"></iframe></div> <div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> Officials then drag a person to the door and the men who were guarding the door were “beaten and pinned down”, according to a statement from ChinaAid. "The state security police came banging at the door, then they kicked it down and dragged those in the way outside the doorway," <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/xiamen-church-05042020155239.html" target="_blank">Radio Free Asia</a> quoted Pastor Yang Xibo. Officers also confiscated phones and used “brutal force” against some Christian women as well. As the church’s meeting place is located at a private residence, police broke down barriers and dragged three people out. Church members had received no warnings, which an eyewitness confirmed. "They didn't say anything or show any documentation, but they just nailed a man and a woman to the ground, pinning them by the chest and legs using their knees. " No warrants were reportedly shown, and the church has since been banned. Gina Goh, International Christian Concern’s regional manager for Southeast Asia has said that China is resuming its crackdown on Christianity since the threat posed by COVID-19 has been reduced. "In recent weeks, we have seen an increased number of church demolitions and cross removals on state-sanctioned churches across China, as house church gatherings continue to face interruption and harassment. “It is deplorable that the local authorities not only conducted this raid without proper procedure, but deployed excessive use of force against church members and bystanders," she said. "ICC calls on the international community and the US government to condemn China's constant human rights abuses." Photo credits: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chinaaid.org/2020/05/breaking-violence-erupts-when-officials.html" target="_blank">ChinaAid</a> </div> </div> </div>

Travel Trouble

The shocking moment judge is dragged from court to begin prison sentence

Footage from inside a courtroom has gone viral after it depicted a juvenile judge being dragged away from court by police to immediately begin her prison sentence. The Ohio-based judge, Tracie Hunter had been on a mission since 2014 fighting her conviction and six-month jail sentence for allegedly using her influential position to help a family member, as reported by <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/female-judge-dramatically-dragged-away-from-court-to-begin-prison-sentence-045522601.html?guccounter=1">Yahoo News. </a> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Chaos in the courtroom: This was the scene in a Hamilton County courtroom Monday morning as former juvenile judge Tracie Hunter was ordered to serve six months in jail and dragged out: <a href="https://t.co/8NEFZWOVcY">https://t.co/8NEFZWOVcY</a> <a href="https://t.co/HBlImlDxnI">pic.twitter.com/HBlImlDxnI</a> — WLWT (@WLWT) <a href="https://twitter.com/WLWT/status/1153304329215991808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2019</a></blockquote> Tracie’s brother Stephen Hunter allegedly struck a young person while working as a youth corrections officer in 2013 - which led to his boss recommending he be fired. Tracie requested documents on the teenage offender and handed them over to her brother, according to prosecutors. She was the first African American to be elected to Hamilton County’s Juvenile Court and maintains her prosecution was politically motivated. She was handcuffed after the judge made his decision and was hastily taken away despite her protest. The courtroom was filled with supporters who believed the woman was wrongfully prosecuted and sent letters to the personal address of the presiding judge in the hearing - however, his overall decision was not influenced.

Legal

“What the hell?”: Roger Federer dragged into Serena Williams controversy at French Open

Dominic Thiem has continued his feud with Serena Williams, saying the tennis champion has a “bad personality” after he was booted from a press conference room at the French Open to accommodate for Williams. After a four-set win over Pablo Cuevas in Paris, Thiem was addressing reporters in the main press room before Williams, who had lost to Sofia Kenin, cut his interview short. The Austrian was asked to give the star priority, and he was not happy about it. “I don’t really get it, seriously. I mean, what the hell? No, but it’s a joke, really … I have to leave the room because she’s coming?” said Thiem. “What’s my point of that? I have to leave the room because she’s coming. Well I’ll leave also then. I can also do whatever I want.” During an interview with EuroSport afterwards, the player accused Williams of having a “bad personality”. “I wasn’t angry or frustrated. Maybe for a couple of minutes or so. It is just the principle,” he said. “It doesn’t matter, if it is me who sits in there. I still made a wrong statement. I said that I am not a junior anymore. But even if a junior is in there, every player has to wait. “It also shows a bad personality in my opinion. I am 100 per cent sure (Roger) Federer or (Rafa) Nadal would never do something like that.” But Federer found the entire incident amusing, as he spoke to journalists after his stunning win against Leonardo Mayer. “I just think it was an unfortunate situation that I thought was funny and we joked about it just before,” he said. “That’s why I’m very much aware of what happened, and that’s why we are laughing in the locker room about it now. “But in the moment, I’m sure I understand his, like, ‘What is going on? It’s a joke’. How he (Thiem) said it, it was great. I love his accent. In German too, by the way, not just in English. And he knows that.” But despite him taking the situation lightly, he does believe that Thiem should have been given priority, especially because he was the player who had won the match. “You know, I don’t know what went wrong, but something went wrong for this to happen,” said Federer. “I think there is, with all the players, always a way to go that, you know, the one who is still in the tournament gets priority. Anyway, that’s how I see it. “Now, there must have sure been a misunderstanding or maybe they should have kept Serena still in the locker room, not waiting here in the press centre. I don’t know exactly what happened. I understand Dominic’s frustration.” Williams has yet to address the issue but took to Instagram after losing to Kenin. “Yesterday was not my day, but it’s about getting up time and time again after you fall. Here’s to a multitude of tomorrows,” she wrote.

News

Is your day dragging on? It’s all in your head

You’ve no doubt noticed that time has a pesky habit of slowing down when you’re counting down the days, and speeding up when you’re enjoying yourself. Now, obviously, time doesn’t change according to your current schedule, but your individual perception of it does. Interestingly, scientists have discovered that our perception of time is affected by not just our activity, but by our own personality as well. According to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2017-08-29/science-explains-why-time-flies-when-youre-having-fun/8831478" target="_blank">a study</a> from Germany’s Institute of Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health, people will experience stretches of time very differently. In the study, led by psychologist Marc Wittmann, people were left to sit in an empty room for seven-and-a-half minutes. Depending upon the personality of each person, they reported the time as lasting differently. Impulsive people felt that the time was closer to 20 minutes, while those with more patience estimated that it was only a couple of minutes. Dr Wittmann suggested that the human brain is best able to process time accurately up to a period of about five seconds, after which, things become cloudier. In a separate study, Wittmann found that individuals with more activity in the insular cortex of the brain were better able to make accurate judgements of time compared to those with less activity in that area. The insular cortex is the part of the brain that integrates signals from around the body to help humans sense their own self, including the passing of time. When we have little stimulation, we are more prone to being sensitive about the passing of time – hence the feeling of things dragging on when we’re bored. Being busy, or enjoying oneself means we pay less attention to time’s passing, allowing it to slip by at what seems a clip. If you want things to slow down, Wittmann suggests taking a few minutes out from your business to do something different – fresh air and a walk around the block should help reset your perception of time when you’re feeling it slip through your fingers. When was the last time you felt time speeding up?

Mind

Waitress drags huge goanna from Aussie restaurant

When a huge goanna made a surprise appearance at a winery restaurant in Australia, a French waitress quickly took control of the situation. On Sunday, Samia Lila was serving at the packed restaurant in southern New South Wales when a customer grabbed her hand and pointed at the unwelcome scaly visitor crawling across the floor. "I looked at it and thought it was a dog at first," Lila said. "But then I realised it was a goanna." About 180cm long, it went under one of the tables and the customers sitting there started to scream. "Everyone was screaming, so I started screaming too," Lila said. The 25-year-old put a chair in its path to try and buy time to think of what to do while stopping it from reaching customers. Running out of options, the best she could think of was grabbing it by its tail and dragging it outside across the veranda and away from everyone – including past a woman who had by then jumped on her chair. "I was just like a kid; I thought 'I want to do it, I want to do it, I know it's bad, but it was getting close to customers,’" Ms Lila said. "I wasn't scared, I like reptiles so was a bit excited." She has been in Australia since November and it was only the second time she had seen a goanna, after scaring one away from the winery's vines last week. A video of Lila's brave actions was posted on the Mimosa Wines Facebook page and was viewed nearly 200,000 times in two days. The Normandy resident said she did not expect the video to go viral at all. Due to her actions, she has now been labelled the "Goanna Girl". She will be working at Mimosa Winery – and protecting it from goannas – under her Working Holiday Visa until June or July before she continues her travels. Written by Albert McKnight. First appeared on <a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz.</a> Video: Facebook/Mimosa Wines via Storyful. Related links: <a href="/news/news/2017/02/dog-tries-to-play-fetch-in-deep-snow/">Dog tries to play fetch in deep snow</a> <a href="/news/news/2017/02/fascinated-orangutan-tries-to-taste-bubbles/">Fascinated orangutan tries to taste bubbles</a> <a href="/news/news/2017/02/zookeeper-valentines-day-kisses-from-koalas/">Zookeeper receives Valentine’s Day kisses from two cute koalas</a>

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Is your day dragging on? It’s all in your head

Waitress drags huge goanna from Aussie restaurant