Gender studies at the ANU opened my eyes to fresh ways of ‘reading’ the world around me.  It allowed me to traverse a range of studies including history, philosophy, literature, film studies, linguistics and the law, and to explore in each – thanks to exceptional teaching – the politics and assumptions of gender and sexuality.  In my career since as a lawyer and barrister, I have come to treasure the analytical toolkit I gained from Gender Studies at the ANU.  Looking at a legal problem, and even a legal institution itself, through a lens of gender or culture can reveal justice issues and experiences that can otherwise go unseen.