Gazing out the window of the bus, I noticed a woman seated in the sheltered stoop of a closed office building. With her was a shopping trolley which appeared to be housing her possessions. She was brushing her hair with her fingers, using the reflective window glass as a mirror.
I watched on as she fixed a ribbon in her hair, gave herself a small smile, and, standing up, began to push her trolley up the street and out of sight. As my bus pulled out and rounded the corner, I could see that both she and her trolley had joined the line of people queuing outside of the local soup kitchen.
I was maybe 16 at the time, but there was something about that moment that stayed with me. The care she took in fixing her hair before joining the group was such a deeply relatable moment, and highlighted to me the contrast between the humanity which exists in the reality of individuals living in various circumstances, and the way politicians and mainstream media portray them.
Our understanding of people, cultures, and practices that exist outside our own realm of experience, are greatly influenced by the portrayals of them which we have been exposed to. Much of what we see within Australian politics, mainstream media, advertisements, infrastructure, architecture, and formal education, is heavily reflective of colonisation and the enforced Eurocentric standpoint of 'normal' that came with it.
This empowers, and structurally protects, those who fit and conform to Eurocentric ideals, positioning these people and practices as 'normal', while simultaneously disempowering those outside of this 'norm', positioning them as 'different'. Historically, since invasion, such disempowerment has been intentional and legislated, forcibly placing First Nations People, women, immigrants, members of the LGBQTI community, those who are deemed to not be neuro-typical, or who have various levels of physical ability, in positions where they are treated as having diminished humanity, value, and worth.
While strategic branding and declared goodwill used by various political groups and organisations today would imply that this is no longer the case, the lived experience of many, and the 'gaps' identified within current statistics, demonstrates otherwise. The violence and Eurocentric framework of colonisation continues to impact and be reflected throughout various aspects of life in Australia, influencing the level of privilege, opportunity, advocacy, and representation that a person is likely to experience based on their physical form, rather than their character and