It seems like every celebrity focused magazine and website is still obsessing over this story. This week MuchMusic is doing a half hour special about the topic of violence against women, specifically in relation to this celebrity incident.
I was part of the taping and I am really interested in how the piece is edited together. I had a lot of issues with the direction MuchMusic took the discussion but overall I’m glad they’re using their airtime to highlight the issue. Below are the details. I really look forward to hearing what people think about this tv special.

Chris Brown & Rihanna: Love Gone Wrong airs Wednesday, February 25 at 6 p.m. ET.
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36-24-36 is being made by a small group of teenage girls in Kitmat, BC who teamed up with two off duty clinical counsellors.
The film is about the perception of female body image in our society and its correlation with eating disorders.
The film has been two years in the making and has never received financial funding of any kind.

What They Need…
The filmmakers are looking for photos from girls and women of any age that represent the pressures placed on females to maintain a ‘socially acceptable’ body type. The photos can be of anything, anybody, and from any part of the world, as long as they are pictures that you took. Be as creative as you want! Once all the photos are submitted, the young filmmakers will review them and place them in the film. Your name, age, and place of origin will be included in the film’s credits.

More info on the project and how to get involved after the break.

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Folks, at the Shameless party this week I realized that I had made an assumption. I thought that everybody knew the awesomeness that is Robyn. Some of you may remember Robyn from the mid-nineties when she was teen pop sensation.

I recently discovered that Robyn is back and she is now in full control of her music career and delivering seriously wicked songs about independence, gender and general good stuff.

Here’s two of my favourites but I encourage you to check out more.

It can’t be embedded but I urge you to check out Who’s That Girl!

Saturday December 6th is the National Day of Action and Remembrance on Violence Against Women.

Women Won’t Forget invite you to attend our annual candlelight vigil on Saturday, December 6 at 6 pm at Philosopher’s Walk, University of Toronto (path off Bloor St. between the Royal Ontario Museum and the Royal Conservatory of Music). We gather to remember the fourteen women who were killed in Montreal as well as the women who have been killed since then because of male violence. The Vigil consists of a native healing ceremony, speakers and performers and ends with the laying of roses. Everyone is welcome. Ceremony proceeds regardless of the weather.

For more information call 416.762.8798 or visit www.womenwontforget.org

The aim of Women Won’t Forget is to heighten awareness of the continuing and pervasive extent of abuse against women in our society and to encourage and support efforts to end it. Since 1989, we have met to tell the stories of those women who can no longer speak for themselves. Our permanent memorial consists of 14 red oak trees, a granite boulder and a memorial plaque.

I’ve only watched this video once but I felt really moved by it. If nothing else it seems to be asking those of us who are heterosexual to just think about our partners, think about the effects our actions have on our relationships and to think about what its like in someone else’s shoes. You can’t go wrong with that, can you?

The numbers aren’t official yet but…
Rwanda is set to be the first country to have more women in parliament then men. Their last government already had the highest percentage of women representatives in the world, at 48.8% but could now go up to 55%.

Read more here.

Some Bad News!
To put this in perspective, 20.8% of Canada’s parliamentary positions are held by women. To read more about women in Canada’s parliament check out this useful report.

Think anything… (Adbusters: Tony de Marco)

This news is a year old but its new to me. Sao Paolo, the world’s 4th biggest city, banned most forms of outdoor advertising in January of 2007. After a little research I found out that four US states (Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine) also have bans on billboards.

Shameless has been doing a lot of writing about about the advertising world’s negative portrayals of women (here, here, and here).

Is this kind of ban a possibility in Canadian cities? Is it a form of censorship? Anyone been to Sao Paolo since the ban went into effect?

Personally, I would love to walk and bike around my city without feeling like my brain is being invaded by every bus shelter, garbage bin, highway-side lawn ad, and billboard I see.

My childhood hero weeping

A couple of British media sources have been running articles lately related to masculinity. One of them is from the BBC and is a list of 10 things that make men weep in public. I’ve been interested in this for years. I am so curious about how it is often the most macho of public figures that are unpunished for crying.

For example, professional athletes are often seen crying on or off the sports field. But when I do work with young men they almost always tell me it is not okay to cry in front of their peers. The only reason I can think of to explain this is that the athletes have already proven their manhood in other ways so the crying doesn’t damage their image in the same way it might for a struggling teenager.

What do people think of this and the BBC list?

I don’t actually know anything about this performer. This video was sent to me and I thought it was touching and funny and furious.
The Revolution Will Not Be Masculinized