Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has referred to the country as ‘so-called Australia’ in a post plugging her new jewellery line.
Tame shared a series of photos highlighting her collaboration with Melbourne artist and jeweller Tom Whitty on Wednesday.
She wrote about being labelled ‘difficult’ for ‘speaking the truth’ about issues like ‘manmade poverty, famine, gender inequality, racism and environmental disasters’.
‘From Palestine, Brazil, Serbia, France to so-called Australia and beyond, revolution against the exploitative corporate class is sweeping across the globe,’ Tame wrote.
‘It is being led by First Nations trailblazers, students and ordinary civilians alike.’
Australia does not have a singular Indigenous name but is often referred to as ‘Country’ in Indigenous settings, like in Welcome to Country ceremonies.
The name ‘Australia’ is largely credited to English explorer Matthew Flinders who popularised the term in the early 1800s after being the first to circumnavigate the continent.
Tame’s collaboration with Whitty features gold and silver versions of limited-edition earrings.
Grace Tame (above) called the country ‘so-called Australia’ in a post promoting her new jewellery collab on Wednesday
The earrings that Tame is selling
The earrings show a woman swinging from an eye and the first 50 orders included a temporary tattoo.
The silver earrings were available for $130 while the gold were $150. All sales included a limited-edition foil print.
Whitty said both the name and designed referenced infamous moments of public scrutiny of Tame.
‘The title of these earrings references both the iconic moment Grace gave side-eye in a show of contempt to former Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, on her final day as Australian of the Year, as well as the more recent moment current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Grace ‘difficult’,’ he wrote.
Both Tame and Whitty repeatedly mentioned the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, particularly the humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by Israel’s bombing campaigns.
Tame has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s military action and repeatedly called its attacks on Palestine a ‘genocide’.
Just last month she attended a rally in Sydney to mark three years since Israel began its assault on the Palestinian enclave following the October 7 attacks, which left about 1,200 people dead.
She accused Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers and governments of ‘weaponising antisemitism’ to ‘distract and divide’ Australians over the conflict in Gaza.
Tame (above) released two pairs of earrings with Melbourne artist Tom Whitty, priced $130 adn $150, in celebration of ‘difficult women’
‘There is nothing really I can add to this conversation because we all know the truth – we know of Israel’s violent establishment in 1948, of the brutal occupation, of the racialised policies, of the settler violence, of our own governments complicity in all of these atrocities,’ Tame said at Sunday’s protest.
‘We know about the cynical weaponisation of antisemitism which is just another tool to distract and divide us.’
Australian Jewish Association president Robert Gregory at the time told the Daily Mail that Tame’s comments were ‘deeply offensive’ to Jewish Australians who had experienced a rise in antisemitism.
‘Antisemitism is not a political weapon or a distraction. It is a very real threat to Jewish Australians, who have faced intimidation, harassment and violence. At Bondi Beach, we saw where unchecked antisemitism leads,’ Mr Gregory said.
‘There is nothing cynical about calling out antisemitism. What is cynical is attempting to discredit those who speak out against it simply because their experiences are politically inconvenient.
‘Grace Tame should be standing with victims of antisemitism, not dismissing their concerns.’
Tame referenced the mixed responses to her activism on Wednesday.
‘I know that speaking out is terrifying, and comes with great risk, but the consequences of doing nothing should terrify us more,’ she wrote.
‘It doesn’t have to look like addressing crowds of thousands, or publicly criticising the government.
‘It can look like boycotting newspapers, peacefully protesting, or wearing a defiant pair of earrings.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Tame’s representation for comment.
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Should calling Australia “so-called” challenge national identity or spark honest conversation?
