Black holes

For Hannah Ferguson, the real meaning of a taboo is ‘a conversation which frays the fabric of patriarchy. A subject clouded in stigma which serves systems and institutions of power.’

Taboo is the sequel to her first book, Bite Back (2023). Both books argue that language and communication are the tools with which we can dismantle patriarchy. Bite Back considered patriarchal structures and systems in the Australian political and media landscape, particularly the Murdoch media empire. The new book turns its focus inward. Reminiscent of Clementine Ford’s Fight Like a Girl (2016) and Florence Given’s Women Don’t Owe You Pretty (2020), Taboo – part memoir, part call to arms – contemplates the body, sex, relationships, work, and friendship through a personal lens.

Ferguson is co-founder and CEO of Cheek Media Co, a digital media company that primarily shares her interpretations of news and current events via social media to an audience of 135,000 followers. As someone who has established her career online, Ferguson is aware of the restrictions that forum places on her. In Bite Back she states, ‘Our newsfeeds and our algorithms are black holes where engagement with complex topics and learning goes to die.’ In Taboo, she expresses the need to balance how funny and intelligent she is online and to maintain her ‘girl next door’ demeanour. She says, ‘I must be attractive enough to be listened to, but not too attractive or I won’t be listened to.’