Mia Freedman's best columns: from birthzillas to the twisted shopping logic.

1. ‘Women should be classy about breastfeeding in public.’ Sorry… what?

Earlier this year, Channel 7 breakfast host Kochie made the above remark when commenting on the story of a mother who was forced to leave her local pool after breastfeeding in public. But Mia, just like mums across the country, wasn’t having a bar of it. Because 1953 called, and it wants its attitudes towards women back. Read this column here.

2. An open letter to those freaking out about gay teachers

Before he resigned from the Katter Party, Bernard Gaynor fell into hot water with his opposition to gays and lesbians in the classroom. In this column, Mia writes about the (gay) kindy teacher who has taught all three of her children, and why sexual orientation has nothing to do with teaching ability. Read it here.

3. Help us educate Bernard Gaynor

When Bernard Gaynor responded to Mia’s letter to him about gay teachers (which comes in at number 2 on our list), she decided that, rather than fighting him, it was best to educate him. This column features the MM ‘I support gay teachers’ pledge. Read it (and take the pledge) here.

4. Why the “Mamamia crowd” are suspicious of Abbott

In January of this year, Peta Credlin, Tony Abbott’s Chief of Staff, spoke about her boss’s support for her IVF treatment, providing an image of ‘feminist Tony’ that didn’t seem to stack up with his previous sentiments. Once and for all, Mia explained exactly why she was suspicious of Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, and his views on women’s issues. Read her reasons here.

5. Birthzillas: when it’s all about the birth, not the baby

From plating your placenta, to the choice between a ‘calm birth’ and a ‘silent birth’, it seems that there’s more to plan for a child’s birth than for the next 18 years of their life. In this column Mia explored the world of the Birthzilla which is “a bit like going to Paris and obsessing about the in-flight entertainment instead of, you know, PARIS.” Read it here.

6. Mia Freedman interviews Caitlin Moran about how to be a woman.

In this column, Mia (and her mum… and her daughter) met up with Caitlin Moran to talk mummy porn, Germaine Greer and ‘vagina power.’ Read the full interview here.

7. 6 friends you need in your life. (And 10 you don’t.)

Author Dominique Bertolucci decided that you only need 6 types of friends in your life. Mia agreed, but she had something to add, because while there are friends you need, there are also those you don’t. To find out why you should give that friend who keeps on tagging unflattering pictures of you on Facebook the chop, click here.

8. Every baby is NOT a gift. 

Rick Santorum is a name you don’t hear much anymore. But in the race to see who would become the Republican candidate for the US Presidency last year, he was one of the forerunners. Santorum was also a serial victim of foot-in-mouth disease, the symptoms of which became painfully apparent when he described unwanted pregnancies as ‘gifts.’ To learn the difference between a scented candle and a baby, read Mia’s comments here.

9. Parallel shopping economy

After explaining to her husband why you can buy a jacket on sale and make money, Mia outlined her twisted shopping logic so that you too can understand how clothes are free if you haven’t had a parking ticket for 6 months. Read it here.

10. Why Mia axed the Dolly modelling contest

It was the contest that launched the career of Victoria’s Secret model, Miranda Kerr. But Mia axed the Dolly Model Comp when she became editor-in-chief in 2005. Read why (as well as her list of 8 things you should know about modelling) here.