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Evaluation of a Wikipedia Article

Blackbirding (Start Class Article)

Wikipedia Quality - Good	Rate from 1/10	Explain your rating
The Lead section is understandable	7/10	The lead section conveys the important locations, but could elaborate more on why it was a notable practice.
The structure is clear	8/10	Good use of headings and subheadings, though some of the titles could be improved.
Good balance	6/10	There is a greater number of sources relating to Blackbirding in Australia than other countries.
Coverage is neutral	9/10	Remains neutral, though could be improved my modifying some of the word choices.
Reliable sources	6/10	The article makes good use of newspaper articles, but it could be improved by including more academic studies. There is also a notable spelling era that could be addressed.

For this rating system 1 is the worst, 10 is the best.

Wikipedia quality - Bad	Rate from 1/10	Explain your rating
Has a warning banner on top	10/10	Does not have a warning banner on top.
Language Problems in Lead section	7/10	Informative, but lacks sources and uses general statements ("most commonly").
Unsourced opinion & value statements	8/10	Does not include value statements, however there lack of sources for information provided in areas.
Too general statements	7/10	Uses language that is too general at points, including the lead section.
Aspects of the topic are missing	5/10	Specifically the etymology of the term has minimal information and has citations needed.
Overly long relative to importance	6/10	As mentioned previously, the majority of the information refers to the practice in Australia, potentially meaning that it warrants its own page.
Few references or lacks footnotes	7/10	There is a good number of articles, but there needs to be some diversification as there are areas in the article that are not addressed.
Hostile dialogue in talk page	5/10	The dialogue in the talk section is not a respectful or civil as it could be in parts.

Other relevant comments in regard to equity and balance.

This article contains information relating to various Indigenous peoples and it is unclear how much input they have had in this article. There is also complex and nuanced discussions needed around its connection to slavery; as this point in particular influences an editors perspective on the articles neutrality.

Minor Editing

(Paragraph 2 of Lead Section)

Blackbirders was the term used for owners, captains and crew of the ships involved in the acquisition of this type of labourer. The demand for this kind of cheap labour principally came from European colonists in New South Wales, Queensland, Samoa, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tahiti and Hawaii, as well as plantations in Peru, Mexico and Guatemala. Labouring on sugarcane, cotton and coffee plantations in these lands was the primary usage of blackbirded labour; there was also exploitation in other industries. Blackbirding ships began operations in the Pacific from the 1840s which continued into the 1930s. Blackbirders from the Americas sought workers for their haciendas and to mine the guano deposits on the Chincha Islands,. The blackbirding trade organised by colonists in places like Queensland, Fiji and New Caledonia, used the labourers at plantations, particularly those producing sugarcane.

(Edits included: grammatical alterations, sentence restructuring, fixing inconsistent hyphenation and rewording).

Puberty Blues (novel) (Start Class Article)

Puberty Blues (novel)

This page is about the novel. For the film, see Puberty Blues. For the TV miniseries, see Puberty Blues (TV series).

Puberty Blues (1979) is a novel by the Australian writers Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette. It is their first published book and is considered an Australian classic. The book is based on the real-life experiences of the authors growing up. It has long been controversial with adults but much sought out by teenagers for its depictions of adolescent sex. A film based on the novel was released in 1981. A television series based on the novel began aired from 2012 to 2014.

Biographical background

Carey and Lette became close after meeting through a mutual friend in their last year of primary school. Puberty Blues is an autobiographical account of their experiences of being high school students growing up in the Sutherland Shire (which is situated in southern Sydney) during the 1970s. The 1970s in Australia featured significant governmental, economic, and social changes, which influenced the authors growing up.

The novel was written when Carey and Lette were still teenagers and coincided with the emergence of a sub-genre of works that centred "woman's revelations of their sexual experiences". Lette has stated that she believes Puberty Blues prompted an increase in Australian girls surfing.

Plot summary

Set in the Sutherland Shire in the 1970s, the novel follows thirteen-year-old high school students, Deborah Vickers and Susan Knight. They are "surfie chicks" set on joining the Greenhills gang, the most prestigious gang comprised of the best surfie boys and prettiest girls from school. To fit in with the gang, the girls wear straight-leg Levis, smoke Marlboro cigarettes, skip school, take drugs and spend as much time at the beach as possible. Adhering to rules that prevent them from eating or going to the toilet in the surfers' presence, the girls manage to become members. They are assigned boyfriends but soon discover that there is very little romance involved in the relationships. Gradually, after Deb suffers a surprise miscarriage, and the introduction of heroin takes its toll on their social group, the girls finally become disillusioned with the gang. In a send-up to the sexism and narrow-mindedness of their old crowd, they decide to become surfers themselves. The story finishes by giving a reader a glimpse into where the characters ended up years later.

Themes and style

Puberty Blues is a coming-of-age story that deals with what would become common young adult themes such as love, sex and identity. It also addresses the sexism of surf culture and youth culture in general in Australia in the 1970s. Because of these themes, it has been described as "a cultural and social document of its era".

Realism

The novel uses the real-life experiences of its author to portray life at the time with a "gritty realism" that resonated with its teenage readership. The depictions gaining of sexual experience and prevalent rape culture drew attention in particular. It also showcased youth sex culture and drug use before the knowledge (and pandemic) of HIV/AIDS. Another area the novel brought exposure to was surf culture. At the time, surfing was seen as part of the counterculture, contrasting with the broader acceptance of the beach as an integral part of Australian culture.

Feminism

Puberty Blues is often considered a feminist text and came out during the midst of second-wave feminism. The novel features subjects that parallel the concerns and desires of the Women's Liberation movement. An example of this is the centring of female friendship in the story; which is in line with an emphasis on sisterhood within the movement. The scenes of normalised rape and sexual violence found in the novel, were also part of broader societal discussions at the time.

Critical reception

There were strong reactions to the depictions of underage sex, rape, pregnancy, drinking and drug-taking. Carey and Lette faced accusations that the autobiographical elements of the novel were made up, which Carey has denied. Many were scandalised, while others defended it as a feminist work, with Germaine Greer calling it a "profoundly moral story". As the book was largely autobiographical, it also drew attention from those whom it was based. Kylie Minogue reflected that, upon reading the book at thirteen, she didn't "recall reading Puberty Blues so much as devouring it". The novel is now regarded as a classic.

With the publication of the book, Carey and Lette gained celebrity status. Carey has stated that she was not ready for public response and found the experience "traumatic". Lette's mother, who was a headmistress, "received threatening phone calls from judgmental parents". The pressures of the public attention caused Carey and Lette to go their separate ways. The novel was the third to be published by McPhee Gribble and thus occupied a special place in the development of Australian literature.

Adaptations

In 1982, the novel was adapted into the film Puberty Blues directed by Bruce Beresford from a screenplay by Margaret Kelly. The film brought in $2.6 million at the box office, making it a commercial success for the time. Debbie and Sue were portrayed by Nell Schofield and Jad Capelja, respectively. The film has been criticised for removing or downplaying some of the more controversial content from the novel.

In 2012, the novel was adapted to the television series Puberty Blues, starring Ashleigh Cummings and Brenna Harding. For her performance as Sue, Brenna Harding received a Logie Award for Most Popular New Female Talent.

References

Category:1979 Australian novels Category:Novels set in Sydney Category:1979 debut novels