Latest news with #AlexMills
ABC News
7 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Respect Victoria challenges men to question masculinity stereotypes in new ad campaign
Alex Mills feels very comfortable with the kind of man he is. But it's taken until the age of 40, a serious run-in with anxiety and depression and plenty of introspection to get there. "I'd just internalised a lot of that, so when I found myself in a really vulnerable space, opening up about that sort of stuff was really hard," he says. "That experience has always really stuck with me." Opening up is hard — for men, in particular — because it's in stark opposition to social pressures and stereotypes that expect toughness and stoicism. These pressures are fleshed out in a new campaign by Respect Victoria that has boiled down 18 months of research and conversations with Victorian men. It found that men who subscribed to macho stereotypes that included aggression, suppressing emotion and hypersexuality were 17 times more likely to commit gendered violence. Research manager Dr Stephanie Lusby says the campaign is about showing men it is possible to buck those expectations. "It's not about calling men perpetrators as a general bloc," she says. "It's about saying we've all got a part to play in finding avenues to change, resetting the social norms that allow violence to happen." Alex Mills is one of the 12 Victorian men featured in the campaign. All of them speak openly and honestly about what kind of man they want to be. Some have been on the receiving end of violence while others, like Alex, have waded through mental health issues. "There's lots of men out there who are really wrestling with this stuff, either in their own lives or maybe working with young people, or other men around them," he says. "A lot of that gets drowned out by the really big, loud, toxic voices. "I mean, you can't kind of talk about masculinity in 2025 without someone like Andrew Tate or a similar online influencer coming up." Respect Victoria drew on surveys of 3,500 men aged 18 to 45 about their attitudes and behaviours around masculinity. Dr Lusby says many men feel pressure to live up to harmful stereotypes, even if they do not personally endorse them. And that throughout the study, it became clear many men wanted to help prevent gendered violence but were not sure how to go about it. "Lots of men in the focus groups we were doing were saying that they wanted to do more, but that they weren't perpetrators … and so what was their role?" Dr Lusby says. "Not wanting to do more harm came out as a theme quite a bit … and so one of the things that we want to show in this campaign is the stories of men who have gone on their own journeys of building relationships that feel safer." The figures around violence against women in Australia are staggering. According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, since the age of 15, more than 1 in 3 women in Australia have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of a man. The growing list of murdered women's names feels unrelenting. Names like Jill Meagher, Aiia Maasarwe, Celeste Manno, and Samantha Murphy stoke rage and grief in the community. But there has also been some backlash. A Hosier Lane mural featuring the faces of women who have been killed was recently defaced with graffiti reading "war on men". Dr Lusby hopes this campaign will help engage men who might see themselves reflected in it and encourage them to push back against harmful behaviour and attitudes. "Lots of previous campaigns have been about teaching — do this and don't do that," she say. "This one is about listening and I think that that's a really important shift. Respect Victoria's campaign, called What Kind of Man Do You Want to Be? launches on Wednesday. Alex hopes that sharing his experience prompts other men to open up. "There're so many different ways to be a man," he says. "You can be strong, but you can also be vulnerable. You can be sensitive, you can be caring, compassionate, you can be scared. "I really hope this campaign … gets men thinking about how actually there's a whole bunch of ways that I can be. And they're all OK."
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I ate at a new restaurant with a beloved chef, tucked away in a leafy city suburb, and one dish was the best I'd ever had
Tucked away right in the middle of the leafy Cardiff suburbs of Canton and Pontcanna, is the capital's newest restaurant, Sonder. With sleek, sophisticated and cool vibes, Sonder opened on Easter Monday. Sonder is run by a former chef of the much-loved city steakhouse Pasture. The new neighbourhood restaurant, headed up by Jake Lewis, will offer casual daytime dining to long, relaxed evenings of dinner and drinks. We went along on its second opening night to the general public, with our table booked for 5.30pm. At first the restaurant was pretty quiet and as we arrived early we took a seat at the polished bar for a drink. READ MORE: I ate at the Cardiff institution that's among the last of its kind in the city centre READ MORE: I ate the best BBQ food you'll find in a gazebo outside Wales' best pub, and it was frankly ridiculous Drinks are something Sonder specialises in as on the Sonder team is Alex Mills who has previously won Best Bartender in the top 50 cocktail bars in the UK in 2018 He brings experience from his eight years at Cardiff's award-winning Lab 22, and his recent role as head of bars at the Celtic Manor Resort. For the latest restaurant news and reviews, sign up to our food and drink newsletter here. We opted for the classic cocktails of a Hugo spritz and a strawberry negroni, both £11, and they were a great choice. The Hugo spritz was light, bubbly and refreshing on the tongue, with a good taste of elderflower. The strawberry negroni had a very strong kick of gin, the strawberry adding a slight sweetness to its usual bitter flavour pallette, not one for the faint-hearted. After starting our drinks we were soon led to our table, which was a long booth and tucked away in the corner. Wanting to try a bit of everything we carefully looked at the menu, which includes dishes like pizza fritta with carbonara sauce, wild mushroom French toast, a toma-pork chop with caramel rhubarb (for two) and aubergine 'parm' with smoked mozzarella and tomato jam. We opted for a roasted beetroot and whipped ricotta starter, £9, a giant Atlantic king prawn starter, £9, two mains of flat iron steak frittes, £23 each and a side of wild mushrooms for £10. Both starters were impressive and the giant prawn really was giant. It had generous meaty presence on the plate and tasted so fresh, straight from the fish market. This was not surprising as Sonder is committed to offering quality, flavour and value and that will lean heavily on local and high-quality suppliers. The garlic aioli was smooth and creamy, the perfect texture to match with the prawns and you got a good hunk of melt-in-the-mouth sourdough bread that was perfectly drenched in butter. The beetroot and ricotta complimented each other very well with the light cheese having a delicious whipped texture, that was almost like a yogurt. Both starters were the perfect size and not too filling before the mains. The mains were simply delicious and after just one bite you could tell it was high-quality meat. Served medium, the steak was tender, juicy and, cut like butter. As my dining partner said: 'When I order steak that's exactly what I want' and even better it came with a huge portion of fries. While Sonder is very high-quality food, unlike other places, it did not skimp on the portions and we came away feeling very full. The fries were light, very well seasoned and despite the massive portion, very moreish and easily disappeared. For me though, the highlight of the meal was the wild mushrooms. There were simply the best mushrooms I have ever tasted and I could have eaten plates of them. They were so incredibly fresh like they had literally just been picked from the garden and had a real earthy taste. The tarragon complimented them perfectly, giving a brilliant herby kick that wasn't too strong but wasn't too subtle. They were drenched in oil, which was so smooth and silky it almost tasted like butter, and came with confit egg yolk that only added to the dish. If you go to Sonder you simply have to get these mushrooms. By the time we left, around 7.30pm, Sonder was busy and bustling which was lovely to see midweek. Many diners were enjoying their meal and it had a chatty and lighthearted atmosphere, it's going to be a great addition to the local eating out choice in Canton.
Wales Online
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
I ate at a new restaurant with a beloved chef, tucked away in a leafy city suburb, and one dish was the best I'd ever had
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Tucked away right in the middle of the leafy Cardiff suburbs of Canton and Pontcanna, is the capital's newest restaurant, Sonder. With sleek, sophisticated and cool vibes, Sonder opened on Easter Monday. Sonder is run by a former chef of the much-loved city steakhouse Pasture. The new neighbourhood restaurant, headed up by Jake Lewis, will offer casual daytime dining to long, relaxed evenings of dinner and drinks. We went along on its second opening night to the general public, with our table booked for 5.30pm. At first the restaurant was pretty quiet and as we arrived early we took a seat at the polished bar for a drink. Drinks are something Sonder specialises in as on the Sonder team is Alex Mills who has previously won Best Bartender in the top 50 cocktail bars in the UK in 2018 He brings experience from his eight years at Cardiff's award-winning Lab 22, and his recent role as head of bars at the Celtic Manor Resort. For the latest restaurant news and reviews, sign up to our food and drink newsletter here . We opted for the classic cocktails of a Hugo spritz and a strawberry negroni, both £11, and they were a great choice. The Hugo spritz was light, bubbly and refreshing on the tongue, with a good taste of elderflower. The strawberry negroni had a very strong kick of gin, the strawberry adding a slight sweetness to its usual bitter flavour pallette, not one for the faint-hearted. After starting our drinks we were soon led to our table, which was a long booth and tucked away in the corner. Wanting to try a bit of everything we carefully looked at the menu, which includes dishes like pizza fritta with carbonara sauce, wild mushroom French toast, a toma-pork chop with caramel rhubarb (for two) and aubergine 'parm' with smoked mozzarella and tomato jam. (Image: Steph Colderick) We opted for a roasted beetroot and whipped ricotta starter, £9, a giant Atlantic king prawn starter, £9, two mains of flat iron steak frittes, £23 each and a side of wild mushrooms for £10. Both starters were impressive and the giant prawn really was giant. It had generous meaty presence on the plate and tasted so fresh, straight from the fish market. This was not surprising as Sonder is committed to offering quality, flavour and value and that will lean heavily on local and high-quality suppliers. The garlic aioli was smooth and creamy, the perfect texture to match with the prawns and you got a good hunk of melt-in-the-mouth sourdough bread that was perfectly drenched in butter. The beetroot and ricotta complimented each other very well with the light cheese having a delicious whipped texture, that was almost like a yogurt. Both starters were the perfect size and not too filling before the mains. The mains were simply delicious and after just one bite you could tell it was high-quality meat. Served medium, the steak was tender, juicy and, cut like butter. (Image: Steph Colderick) As my dining partner said: 'When I order steak that's exactly what I want' and even better it came with a huge portion of fries. While Sonder is very high-quality food, unlike other places, it did not skimp on the portions and we came away feeling very full. The fries were light, very well seasoned and despite the massive portion, very moreish and easily disappeared. For me though, the highlight of the meal was the wild mushrooms. There were simply the best mushrooms I have ever tasted and I could have eaten plates of them. They were so incredibly fresh like they had literally just been picked from the garden and had a real earthy taste. (Image: Steph Colderick) The tarragon complimented them perfectly, giving a brilliant herby kick that wasn't too strong but wasn't too subtle. They were drenched in oil, which was so smooth and silky it almost tasted like butter, and came with confit egg yolk that only added to the dish. If you go to Sonder you simply have to get these mushrooms. By the time we left, around 7.30pm, Sonder was busy and bustling which was lovely to see midweek. Many diners were enjoying their meal and it had a chatty and lighthearted atmosphere, it's going to be a great addition to the local eating out choice in Canton.
