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Zahra Zsuzsanna Stardust

PhD Candidate, Arts/Media & Law, UNSW
Zahra Stardust is a PhD Candidate at UNSW. Her doctoral research examines the legal regulation of pornography in Australia, the emergence of alternative pornographies as a social protest and political movement, and the implications of criminalising non-normative intimacies. This follows on from her Masters research into conventions and counter-practices among erotic performers.

Over the past decade Zahra has worked in policy and research capacities on human rights projects for NGOs, community organisations, academic institutions, corporate law firms and United Nations bodies, in Australia and internationally.

During this time she worked in areas of HIV prevention, health promotion, safe migration, anti-discrimination, LGBTIQA+ rights, sexual and reproductive health, gendered violence, sexual assault, refugee status determination, homelessness, stolen wages and native title.

Zahra's most recent work is published in peer-reviewed journals Porn Studies, World Journal of AIDS and Research for Sex Work, and edited anthologies Queer Sex Work, Coming Out Like a Porn Star: Essays on Pornography, Protection and Privacy, and The DIY Porn Handbook: Documenting Our Own Sexual Revolutions (forthcoming).

She has spoken at conferences such as the International Bar Association (Tokyo), Sexual Cultures (Brunel University), Erotic Screen and Sound (Griffith University), Trans/Forming Feminisms (University of Otago) and the Feminist Porn Conference (University of Toronto), and has guest lectured or presented at the Universities of Sydney, UNSW, UTS, Curtin University and University of Queensland.

A new online safety bill could allow censorship of anyone who engages with sexual content on the internet

Feb 20, 2021 12:32 pm UTC| Technology Law

Under new draft laws, the eSafety Commissioner could order your nude selfies, sex education or slash fiction to be taken down from the internet with just 24 hours notice. Officially, the Morrison governments new bill...

Economy

JPMorgan Sees ECB Raising Rates to 2.75% in December

JPMorgan now expects the European Central Bank (ECB) to raise interest rates for a third time in December, lifting its policy rate to 2.75% as persistent inflation, higher energy costs and resilient eurozone growth...

Asian Currencies Rise as Yen Surges on Fed Rate Outlook

Asian currencies strengthened on Friday, led by a sharp rally in the Japanese yen as the U.S. dollar weakened following dovish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller. The yen was heading for a weekly...

US Oil Blockade Deepens Iran’s Economic Crisis

Iran is facing mounting economic strain as a U.S. campaign targeting its oil exports, financial networks and sanctions-evasion channels increasingly restricts Tehrans access to foreign currency and essential imports,...

U.S. Payrolls Seen Rebounding in August as Labor Market Stays Soft

U.S. payroll growth is expected to have recovered in August as local government education employment rebounded, although job losses linked to changes in immigration protections could limit overall gains. Economists...

Gold Prices Hold Near $4,500 as Fed Rate Hike Bets Ease

Gold prices hovered near $4,500 an ounce on Thursday, extending a strong rebound as Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Wallers comments reduced expectations for a September interest rate hike. A softer U.S. dollar and...

Politics

Milei Threatens Falkland Oil Firms With Sanctions

Argentine President Javier Milei has threatened sanctions against oil companies operating around the Falkland Islands, escalating Argentinas long-running sovereignty dispute with Britain over the South Atlantic territory....

South Korea, US Discuss Chip Investments Amid Tariff Plans

South Korea and the United States are holding discussions over semiconductor investments in U.S. manufacturing as the two countries navigate broader economic and trade negotiations, a senior Seoul official said Friday. The...

Trump Seeks Europe Repayment for U.S. Ukraine Military Aid

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to ask European nations to reimburse the United States for military aid and munitions previously supplied to Ukraine, while signaling that U.S. weapons sales to allies...

Brazil Warns EU of Retaliation Over Animal Products Ban

Brazil has warned that it could impose reciprocal measures against the European Union if negotiations fail to resolve a new EU ban on Brazilian animal products, raising the prospect of fresh trade tensions between the two...

Pacific Leaders Raise Alarm Over China Missile Test as Nauru Dissents

Pacific Island leaders have raised concerns over Chinas latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test in the Pacific, although Nauru formally rejected the regional blocs position during an annual summit in Palau....

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Anthropic Nears $15 Billion Credit Deal Ahead of IPO

Anthropic is reportedly close to finalizing an expansion of its revolving credit facility to $15 billion, strengthening the artificial intelligence companys financial position ahead of its widely anticipated initial public...

Xiaomi Shares Jump on Europe EV Expansion Plan

Xiaomi shares climbed sharply on Friday after the Chinese technology giant confirmed plans to begin selling its electric vehicles in Europe in 2027, marking a major step in its international EV expansion. Xiaomi Corp...

Nvidia Eyes $2.5 Billion Investment in Thinking Machines Lab

Nvidia is reportedly in discussions to invest about $2.5 billion in Thinking Machines Lab, the artificial intelligence startup founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati, as the chip giant continues to expand its...

Chinese AI Stocks Rally After OpenAI Launches GPT-6 Astra

Chinese AI stocks rallied on Friday after OpenAI unveiled GPT-6 Astra, its latest artificial intelligence model, fueling investor optimism over accelerating AI development and the commercial potential of advanced AI...

OpenAI Launches GPT-6 Astra With Advanced AI Agent Capabilities

OpenAI unveiled GPT-6 Astra on Thursday, describing it as its most capable artificial intelligence model yet as the company confronts growing concerns over the safety and control of increasingly autonomous AI systems. The...