Rally Magazine acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land and waterways on which we work and live. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and to the traditional custodians of all the lands from which our stories and artworks were created.
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We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the land’s first storytellers and the custodians of the world’s oldest continuous living culture.

Rally Magazine uses the Social Model of Disability when referring to the term ‘disability’.

As defined by People with Disability Australia, "The social model seeks to change society in order to accommodate people with impairment. It does not seek to change persons with impairment to accommodate society."

You can learn more about this model here.

Editorial letter

Welcome to the inaugural issue of Rally Magazine: a multimedia mag on a mission.

Rally was born out of a desire to take action against political apathy. Our team – filled with washed-up student mag editors and designers – knew we wanted to use our storytelling skills to fight back. But the question became: how can we compete in an already oversaturated media landscape? ...

Baya Ou Yang

Co-founder and Editor

Ange Iaria

Co-founder and Creative Director

Sejal Bhikha

Design and Editorial Team

Steph Riordan

Editorial Team

Lynley Eavis

Editorial Team

Baya Ou Yang

Co-founder and Editor

Ange Iaria

Co-founder and
Creative Director

Sejal Bhikha

Design and Editorial Team

Steph Riordan

Editorial Team

Lynley Eavis

Editorial Team

Baya Ou Yang

Co-founder & Editor

Ange Iaria

Co-founder & Creative Director

Sejal Bhikha

Design & Editorial Team

Lynley Eavis

Editorial Team

Steph Riordan

Editorial Team

Meet the Advisory Board

Amity Mara

Advisory Board

Renay Barker-Mulholland

Advisory Board

Josie Young

Advisory Board

Kylie Maslen

Advisory Board

Amity Mara

Advisory Board

Josie Young

Advisory Board

Kylie Maslen

Advisory Board

Renay Barker-Mulholland

Advisory Board

Amity Mara

Josie Young

Kylie Maslen

Renay Barker-Mulholland

Part 1. Communication

How do we communicate something others can't see?

With Dominique Acciarito, Kaitlyn Blythe, Khadija Gbla, Helene Hill and Iman Rahman

Tap

Illustrations by Katie Zhou

Pain worlds, as coined by Dr Elena Gonzalez-Polledo and described in Kylie Maslen’s book Show Me Where It Hurts, are "corners of social media where those of us suffering from invisible illnesses are able to express ourselves through means more creative than a number."

We take you inside the pain worlds of 4 different content creators.

Tap

A window illustration with the Sick Sad Girlz sitting in bed behind the window, and the words 'Sick Sad Girlz' labelled beneath

A window illustration with Artie sitting in bed behind the window, and the words Artie Carden' labelled beneath

Illustrations by Katie Zhou

Pain worlds, as coined by Dr Elena Gonzalez-Polledo and described in Kylie Maslen’s book Show Me Where It Hurts, are "corners of social media where those of us suffering from invisible illnesses are able to express ourselves through means more creative than a number. Selfies, status updates and memes... help to make the pain feel observable, and its chronic nature and symptoms tangible."

We take you inside the pain worlds of 4 different content creators.

A window illustration with Fi sitting in bed behind the window, and the words 'Fi Macrae' labelled beneath

A window illustration with Iman sitting in bed behind the window, and the words 'Iman Rahman' labelled beneath

There

are

better

ways to

explain

pain

(And the internet is making it possible)

THERE ARE

BETTER WAYS

TO EXPLAIN PAIN

(And the internet is making it possible)

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We can hold two
(competing) truths at once

WORDS BY JULIA BAK

ILLUSTRATIONS BY GRACE TAYLOR

Much of chronic pain is about accepting and honouring contradictory truths. Using words, numbers and labels to explain pain is a crucial part to survival, but they also serve to flatten our experiences. So instead, we learn to straddle these grey areas like a pillow between the thighs.

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Article

Lou
Wall

The everyday quirks of living with invisible illness as told by our funniest creators.

Lou Wall

The everyday quirks of living with invisible illness as told by our funniest creators.

Representation matters:
(unless it sucks)

Words by

Alex Creece

Representation matters! But it counts for crumbs when the portrayals we see are not accurate, sensitive or helpful. What are the harms of misrepresentation in media for people with disability and chronic illness?

Words by

Alex Creece

Representation matters! But it counts for crumbs when the portrayals we see are not accurate, sensitive or helpful. What are the harms of misrepresentation in media for people with disability and chronic illness?

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A playlist from

Michael
Sun

Did you know that mediaeval humans used to sleep in two phases? One in the evening, one in the early morning. I know this because I used to Google it all the time when I couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night. I have no idea why I did this; call it delirium. It offered no comfort — I would convince myself the story was merely apocryphal. And, more importantly, we are no longer living in mediaeval times. Disordered sleeping fell out of fashion long ago.
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There is no romance to insomnia, despite what Sleepless in Seattle may suggest. Above all, insomnia is not chic; being tired isn’t a personality. Because I am melodramatic, staying up into the dark makes me want to literally die. Nothing to do but push through the roiling hours. 8, 12, then 24 hours awake: a feat of endurance with no medal at the finish line. May this playlist be your reward.

A playlist to listen to when you are going through it, curated by some people who have been through it too.

I've got a playlist for that

Something to listen to when you are going through it, curated by people who have been through it too.

Playlist by Michael Sun

Part 2. Systems

How do we communicate something others can't see?

With Sophie Aylmore, Kaitlyn Blythe and Tori Hobbs

Types of medical biases

A guide for understanding how medical biases effect our healthcare

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Ashley
Apap

The everyday quirks of living with invisible illness as told by our funniest creators.

Ashley Apap

The everyday quirks of living with invisible illness as told by our funniest creators.

A photo of Renay sitting on a stool in front of a white sheet, hung up on a hills hoist. There are words written on the sheet that read: "I'd not even noticed the layers of my intersectional quilt lighten. At that moment, I was just another Blak disabled woman doomed to carry the weight of that forever.

Three people. Three stories. Three generations of trauma trying to survive within the Australian medical system.

The Weight of the Medical System

Words by Renay Barker-Mulholland

Photos by Em Jensen

The Weight of the Medical System

Words by Renay Barker-Mulholland

Photos by Em Jensen

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A playlist from

Tori Hobbs

The disabled experience is wide and varied. No two are the same, but we still build worlds and communities around our collective experiences. We recognise our strengths, our unique perspectives, our joy. How we push on despite everything and hold each other, near and far, through it all. When it feels like the rest of the world has left us behind.
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This playlist is for all those times you feel isolated, for when you’re invited to your friend's DJ gig but the venue’s inaccessible, for when you shit your pants because all the bathrooms at the train station are closed, for when you’re in the car after a life- changing specialist appointment, for when you’re in line at the chemist transferring money out of your savings account to pay for your medication because it isn’t subsidised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), for when you’ve exhausted all your sick leave at work. For all those moments when you desperately need to dance, or cry it out, or both.