Pin Up style has made a comeback with dozens of pin up competitions featuring at retro car festivals and events across Australia. A sub-culture has grown up around this phenomenon, with boutiques, celebrities and online influencers celebrating its aesthetic. I refer to this group as 'neo-pin ups' to differentiate them from the pin ups of the mid-twentieth century. Despite heralding the style and beauty of 1940s and 1950s pin ups, these neo-pin ups bear little resemblance to their mid-century counterparts. Researchers such as Madeleine Hamilton have investigated the era of the original Australian 1940s and 1950s pin up, finding an image deemed to be both 'wholesome' and 'patriotic' and suitable for the troops on the front lines. Ironically, this social approval resulted in pin up evolving in a more explicit direction throughout the 1960s as epitomized by Playboy magazine and the Miss World competitions. During this time, the increasingly influential feminist movement challenged the way women were viewed in society, particularly in regard to objectification and the male gaze. This critique continues today with the #metoo and gender equality movements. This article investigates how and why Australian women are transforming the image of the 1940s and 1950s pin up. Drawing upon interviews and observations conducted within the Australian neo-pin up culture, this article demonstrates how neo-pin ups draw on contemporary mores, rejecting the social values of their mid-century counterparts and reclaiming women's place in society and history, from a female point of view. Neo-pin ups are not looking to return to the past, instead they are rewriting what pin ups represent to the present and future.

The 1900s and 1910s were a prime era for the growth and empowerment of cadet corps within Australia. Private schools in particular sought to build on a newfound spirit of nationalism following the Federation of the colonies in 1901 by harnessing enthusiasm for the nation and British Empire, and by cultivating a martial culture among their predominantly middle-class students. The principal tool harnessed in that cultivation were the school cadet corps, and the most visible symbol of those corps were their uniforms. By focussing on the cadet corps in the private schools of Sydney during this era, this article will explore the emphasis placed on cadet corps uniforms and argue that uniforms were the central element used cultivate a sense of identity and esprit de corps. When considered within the context of broader cadet corps activities, this will further demonstrate the power of uniforms as an instrument of cultural inculcation.

An introduction to the special issue "The World is not Enough: The Impact of James Bond Studies" by the editors: Jo Coghlan, Lisa J. Hackett, and Huw Nolan.

Modern and historical royal families are a popular area of scholarly interest, with power and politics the centre of much research. Royalty is also a popular area of study in a range of other areas including gender, class, material culture, celebrity studies, consumption practices, and cinematic representations. Much of what we understand about royal families comes from mediated images, meaning we see a public version of kings and queens and their children. These images are heavily curated and stage-managed, with the aim of affirming them and their values in a positive social and national light. While some royal families are in decline, others such the House of Windsor and the House of Saud remain very visible and hold significant cultural and historic value. Popular culture uses the label ‘royals’ not just for royal family members, but it is largely used to denote someone who has hit the top of the game, like Tina Turner the Queen of rock'n'roll, or those seen as the Queens of daytime TV. Disney has made a habit of endearing royalty to its audiences with its imaginary famous queens and kings. In these few examples it is apparent that royalty is mediated, romanticised, imagined, and contested within a range of historical and cultural spaces.

A successful Internet meme entwines comedy with social commentary to make its point. This potent combination provides an accessible way for individuals to participate in public discourse. Asub-category of Internet meme are historic royal memes. These memes leverage shared historical knowledge to communicate ideas. This article examines memes that use imagery of past English and British monarchs from William the Conqueror (1066) to George VI (1952). It will provide illustrative analyses of memes that use Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554) and Richard III(1452-1485) as their inspiration to demonstrate how historic events are leveraged for both humor and social commentary. In doing so, it asks: what do historic royal memes reveal about how English and British monarchs are remembered in the popular imagination today? Findings reveal that on aggregate, monarchs are remembered more for their failings rather than their achievements, and that the politics of the past often mirror those of today. In this way, historic royal memes have much to tell us about our society today.