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'Tara Moss has worn many labels in her time, including 'author', 'model', 'gold-digger', 'commentator', 'inspiration', 'dumb blonde', 'feminist' and 'mother', among many others.
'Now, in her first work of non-fiction, she blends memoir and social analysis to examine the common fictions about women. She traces key moments in her life - from small-town tomboy in Canada, to international fashion model in the 90s, to bestselling author taking a polygraph test in 2002 to prove she writes her own work - and weaves her own experiences into a broader look at everyday sexism and issues surrounding the underrepresentation of women, modern motherhood, body image and the portrayal of women in politics, entertainment, advertising and the media.
'Deeply personal and revealing, this is more than just Tara Moss's own story. At once insightful, challenging and entertaining, she asks how we can change the old fictions, one woman at a time. ' (Publication summary)
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Notes
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Dedication: for my daughter, Sapphira
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The Corporeal Female Body in Literary Rape–Revenge : Shame, Violence, and Scriptotherapy
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Feminist Studies , vol. 33 no. 97 2018; (p. 384-399)'This article evaluates rape–revenge narratives in literature, asking how written scenes of rape and revenge depict female bodies without relying on visual representations that replicate evidence-based investigations of the crime. It then examines how authors and readers may seek scriptotherapy through rape–revenge literature, both fiction and memoir. It takes up Elizabeth Grosz's theories of corporeal feminism, feminist criticism on rape–revenge by scholars such as Tara Roeder and criticism on scriptotherapy. Primary texts discussed include novels and memoirs by Barbara Wilson, Y. A. Erskine, Tara Moss, and Alice Sebold. The article positions the rape–revenge narrative through the prism of therapeutic reading and writing, and compares it to the current public responses to sexual assault in Australia. The article determines that rape–revenge narratives in literature are more nuanced than their filmic counterparts. Furthermore, it concludes that memoir can only act therapeutically in a one-on-one sense and has no greater public service to the treatment of rape victims, and is, therefore, no more therapeutic than rape–revenge fantasies.' (Publication abstract)
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Tara Moss : We Do Not Live in a Predominantly Feminist World
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 26 May 2016; 'Moss has written a guide for women who want to speak out in a world that would prefer them quiet, a book she wishes she had read 10 years ago.' -
Breaking the Silence
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 15 May 2016; (p. 10) -
Female Faces Cover Designers in Glory
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 25 May 2015; (p. 11) -
Review : The Fictional Woman
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , September 2014; (p. 58)
— Review of The Fictional Woman 2014 single work autobiography
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Time for a New Label
Archetypes Laid Bare
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 12-13 July 2014; (p. 32) The Age , 12 July 2014; (p. 32) The Canberra Times , 12 July 2014; (p. 21)
— Review of The Fictional Woman 2014 single work autobiography -
Review : The Fictional Woman
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , September 2014; (p. 58)
— Review of The Fictional Woman 2014 single work autobiography -
Under the Skin
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 17 May 2014; The Age , 17 May 2014; The Canberra Times , 17 May 2014; -
Female Faces Cover Designers in Glory
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 25 May 2015; (p. 11) -
Breaking the Silence
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 15 May 2016; (p. 10) -
Tara Moss : We Do Not Live in a Predominantly Feminist World
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 26 May 2016; 'Moss has written a guide for women who want to speak out in a world that would prefer them quiet, a book she wishes she had read 10 years ago.' -
The Corporeal Female Body in Literary Rape–Revenge : Shame, Violence, and Scriptotherapy
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Feminist Studies , vol. 33 no. 97 2018; (p. 384-399)'This article evaluates rape–revenge narratives in literature, asking how written scenes of rape and revenge depict female bodies without relying on visual representations that replicate evidence-based investigations of the crime. It then examines how authors and readers may seek scriptotherapy through rape–revenge literature, both fiction and memoir. It takes up Elizabeth Grosz's theories of corporeal feminism, feminist criticism on rape–revenge by scholars such as Tara Roeder and criticism on scriptotherapy. Primary texts discussed include novels and memoirs by Barbara Wilson, Y. A. Erskine, Tara Moss, and Alice Sebold. The article positions the rape–revenge narrative through the prism of therapeutic reading and writing, and compares it to the current public responses to sexual assault in Australia. The article determines that rape–revenge narratives in literature are more nuanced than their filmic counterparts. Furthermore, it concludes that memoir can only act therapeutically in a one-on-one sense and has no greater public service to the treatment of rape victims, and is, therefore, no more therapeutic than rape–revenge fantasies.' (Publication abstract)
