Shopping for a cause can be problematic; we’ve explored it here, here and here. But when I came across this fantastic fundraising campaign via myspace (no, not facebook,) I knew I had to share it with readers. This isn’t corporations selling pink iPods and red t-shirts. This is the kind of grassroots, DIY fundraising I can get behind:

Help a FtM get top surgery and get a rocking shirt at the same time!

Here’s the deal, via the awesome Riot Grrl Ink:

“Sam is FtM, who is in need of funds for his top surgery. His partner and him came up with the idea of the “No Titty Committee.” An online t-shirt store where all the profit would go towards the surgery. The surgery it self is $8,000. Like most Americans, Sam and his partner live a modest life style on a limited budget, with no access to the amount needed for surgery. The insurance companies don’t recognize top surgery as medically necessary, they see it as cosmetic. Sam needs the help of the queer community. Please go to www.goodstorm.com/stores/notittycommittee and check out the shirts!

The idea for the “No Titty Committee” is for ANY FtM in need of top surgery. The idea behind it is to create your own designs and raise much needed funds. By raising funds ourselves we DO NOT have to go into debt for something that should be recognized.”

By the way, here’s my t-shirt choice:

There are two crucial things every cyclist should know - how to change a flat, and when your bike is too messed up to fix yourself. In which case, it helps to know a good mechanic, and if you’re in Montreal then you’re in luck. Revolution Montreal (1757 Amherst, in the gay village) is our city’s new woman-owned bike shop, where Danielle Flowers will true your wheel and her partner jj levine will - wait for it - give you a lesbian haircut for $15. It’s kind of like “Shoes Shined While U Wait”, only queerer.

Flowers says she started the shop because she wanted a safe space for women and queer folk to get involved with their bikes, and goodness knows it will be a breath of fresh air.* And in levine’s experience, dykes and queer kids often have trouble getting the haircuts they want at conventional salons, so the two put their heads and their business sense together, and Revolution Montreal Bike Shop And Lesbian Haircuts For Everyone was born. I wonder if they’ll install my new spokey-dokes.

To read more, check out this article, and then get out there - the streets are waiting.

(photo by Meera Margaret Singh)

*a li’l sidenote: I have known many, many extremely lovely mechanics who are also menfolk. But I have also had male mechanics condescend to me, try to cheat me, and even get all sleezy-like - while signing up for the mailing list at my local drop-in bike workshop, the mechanic said “So, what’s your email? Hot-babe dot com?” At the community bike co-op, for crying out loud! Hence my perhaps poorly-thought-out kneejerk tendency to want to throw my arms around every lady mechanic I come across.

When the Community Bicycle Network‘s BikeShare program was forced to close this year due to lack of funding (though not a lack of enthusiasm or merit), I foolishly didn’t realize that was not the end for all of CBN’s programs, most particularly — Wenches with Wrenches. Wenches with Wrenches “is an ongoing program of CBN volunteers who host bicycle repair workshops run by and for women in downtown Toronto. The idea has been to make basic bicycle repair skills accessible to women in the hope that participants will then share their knowledge and their confidence with others in the community.”

You gotta go.

Fortunately, I am not too late to spread some word — there appears to still be room this year in both the June and September sessions. The sessions consist of four lessons, one a week, and the cost is $30 or pay-what-you-can. You can register at Urbane Cyclist.

Knowing your rear sprockets from your crank arms is some of that pretty pretty shiny practical knowledge that no one can take from you, and it is enormously empowering even to pick up a few basics (adjusting your seat height and tilt and cleaning your chain can add years both to your knees and your bike). Wenches with Wrenches delivers on these basics and goes beyond to give you a comprehensive understanding of how it all fits together, and how you can keep it that way. The sessions are hands-on, and you bring your own bike, so what you’re learning can be applied in real-time.

Bikes are one of those marvels of mechanics that we tend to get a bit blasé about. But they’re a straightforward sort of complicated and once you start fiddling with your bike, you may find it very hard to stop. So get down with your inner-mechanic and sign up for a Wenches with Wrenches session. You’ll be tweaking your brakes and patching your tires in no time.

Concordia University TeleVision (CUTV) in Montreal is offering a two-week summer day camp in July for youth ages 14 to 19 to learn filming techniques (shooting, editing, directing, etc). At the end of the camp, you’ll have made your own short film!

The fee is $150 or pay-what-you-can. The only criteria is enthusiasm, and preference will be given to youth who come from low-income situations.

If you’re interested contact Jason: jason at geek4hire dot ca.

Last week saw the unfortunate passing of Valentine’s Day. I hate Valentine’s Day. People I have dated will say it is because I have a penchant for unsentimentality, that I am unromantic, and that I am a bit of a love party pooper. (Well, the ones who are still bitter would likely say these things.) A few days before the “big” night of the 14th, I went to a yearly literary party (we usually get together at Christmas but the timing didn’t work out this year) and I went around to everyone saying “Happy Heartbreak!” in my most saccharine voice. I was hoping that the boorish literary crowd would indulge my hatred of cheap emotion and bad chocolate. I wanted to joke about heartbreak, loss, and Nina Simone. I was playing the role of V Day’s arch-nemesis.

Instead, everyone looked at me like I was pathetic. I got pep talks, blank looks, and requests for more martinis. (I was playing bartender.)

But I’m not particularly heartbroken at the moment. In fact, I am dating a few different people who rock my world. I have amazing friends. My life is overflowing with love of both the erotic and platonic sorts.

So please don’t attribute my blase attitude about Valentine’s Day to bitter unrequited love. It has more to do with hating throwaway objects and too shiny emotions. And I don’t like sugary treats. I prefer savoury!! In general I hate feeling “forced” to display emotions and depth of feeling. I never hug mascots. Clowns with painted smiles freak me out. (I do like the tragic ones.) I dislike buying gifts for people’s birthdays and/or anniversaries. I resent trotting out the (commercial) love as proof of… caring? commitment? friendship? But at the same time, I’m a deeply caring and sentimental person… I just don’t show it with stock phrases and Hallmark. When I am going to say something special to you, I really mean it. I don’t use words like love lightly. If people do so with me, I get suspicious. Wouldn’t you?

So I think I might have found the right V Day event in Toronto and you should come too! Apparently some local writers are going to read stories about love gone wrong, bad girls, sex soured, scorching heat and a new twist on lust that is guaranteed to leave marks. Sounds purrrrfect.

Not sure why it is happening more than a week after the yuck day, but I’m going to go check it out:

Get Your Lit Out - Heartbreaker
Thurs, Feb 22
Doors open at 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. (it says here “until hearts reach fever pitch”)
Edward Day Gallery
952 Queen St. West (just west of Shaw St., entrance through courtyard).

With cool queer writers Marusya Bociurkiw, Rose Cullis, Tara-Michelle Ziniuk, Julia Gonsalves, Chanelle Gallant, and Lisa Foad.

The promo reads “Heartbreaker is also prepared to break the spell of your winter hibernation. So unwrap yourself from that blanket, roll out of bed, bring your soggy love letters and empty chocolate boxes, and be prepared to get read to!”

See ya there!

Nicole’s post below just reminded me of something I’ve been meaning to post about. A small British press called godhaven ink has reissued Hot Pantz, the DIY gynecology zine that’s been on the bookshelf of every savvy riot wiccan and herbal grrrl since it was first published in 1994. If there was one object I’d like to place lovingly in the hands of every woman I meet, it’s this guide to, as the authors put it, “knowing more about your cunt than your doctor does”. With herbal recipes for everything from treating STIs to brewing aphrodesiacs, it’s a well-researched, clearly-written, non-condescending booklet that has helped me, at least, feel like my “area” isn’t a foreign country that I have to learn a whole new language to visit.

I know it seems a bit funny to have to order it from overseas, but if you know a better way to get it please let me know. Ever since my local women’s resource centre got turned into a bougie clothing boutique (they have a few Keepers and Luna pads crammed in the back, just to twist the knife a bit), I’m at a bit of a loss. In conclusion, if there is a space near you where you can buy this kind of stuff, for heaven’s sake support it. And spread the word.

Ring in the new year with some good ol’ fashioned zine making, care of Cheryl Dobinson!
When: Tuesdays, 6:30-9:00 pm, February 6, 13, 20, 27 (4 weeks)
Where: This Ain’t the Rosedale Library, 483 Church Street, Toronto
Cost: $80 per person, $60 for students/seniors/underemployed

In the DIY (do-it-yourself) tradition, this 4 week course is your chance to learn how to make your own zine. Well cover what a zine is, things to consider when creating one, layout, copying and putting your zine together, and distribution. Well also use creative and hands-on activities to help us explore and experience the joy of zines. Participants can work on their own personal zine project throughout the course and/or contribute to a group zine we make together. Basic tools and materials will be provided.

Week 1: Introduction to zines (what is a zine? types of zines, tools of the trade)
Week 2: Starting your own zine (your vision + practical considerations, what goes into making a zine)
Week 3: Getting it on paper (laying it all out, creating your flats, copying tips and tricks)
Week 4: Finishing touches (assembly, binding techniques, distribution)

Cheryl Dobinson joined Torontos DIY scene in 2002 when she started publishing the bisexual womens zine The Fence. With a print run of 300, The Fence is widely distributed (for a zine!) in Canada, the US and internationally. Her other creative passions include writing poetry, making buttons and weaving sacred rituals. One of her current goals is to recruit as many people as possible into the DIY revolution.

To register, call 416-929-9912 or visit This Ain’t the Rosedale Library at 483 Church St. Enrolment is limited to 12 participants. We regret the space is not wheelchair accessible.

Payment must be made in advance. Courses are 50% refundable in cases of illness or emergency.

Just a quick blog entry to let you know about two great workshops that are happening at The Toronto Women’s Bookstore next month:

JANUARY 2007 courses @ TWB
1. Bisexuality: Exploring the Issues with Cheryl Dobinson (Mondays)
2. Anthology Incubator: From Pitch to Print with instructor-facilitator Anna Camilleri (Tuesdays)

I’m big fans of both women, and the work of each have had major effects on the redefinition of the feminist community at large. Camilleri has been involved in a variety of fab femme projects and produced some of the finest anthologies investigating the queer femme identity, including Red Light: Superheroes, Saints and Sluts and Brazen Femme: Queering Femininity - why not learn the ins and outs of creating an anthology from the best? Dobinson is a bisexual writer, researcher and advocate. In October 2003 she began co-facilitating “Fluid” - a new group for bisexual, bi-curious, pansexual, genderqueer, questioning and other queer youth who don’t fit neatly into categories, through Toronto’s Supporting Our Youth community development initiative.

While I’m here, I also thought I’d mention that feminist press McGilligan Books is back with a vengeance this season, with three fantastic new releases that continue its mandate. Of particular note is Tara-Michelle Ziniuk’s Emergency Contact…

“Emergency Contact reckons with social, political and cultural violations of the body familial dysfunction, mental illness, poverty, addiction, gender and sexual politics, and romance gone awry.”

‘Tis the season for gender and sexual politics…

I’m beginning to get a sneaking suspicion that posting on any event outside Toronto on this board might be a little academic, so let this be my attempt to woo readers from outside the Big Smoke, specifically those in Montreal and surrounding areas. This Saturday is the fifth annual Expozine, Montreal’s yearly fair of all things stapled, photocopied, folded, bound, silkscreened, glued, BeDazzled, beglittered, hand-tinted, and read all over. Take a look at the website for info on where and when, and also for details on the fifth anniversary party taking place the night of.

I’ve been tabling at Expozine since it began in 2002, and it never fails to blow my mind (and empty my pockets). Not that it’s all fun and games - as my friend Angie so rightly pointed out, the zine fair basically takes people who don’t generally like being around other humans (hence the time spent hunched over photocopiers and wielding x-acto knives with mind-boggling precision) and shoves them into a room together for eight hours straight. Needless to say, some chaos ensues. But there’s always some amazing gems to be found amidst the jostling shoulders and sweaty palms. I’ll get back to you soon with my findings. In the meantime - Montrealers, bonne chance et bonne fete. And Torontonians, eat your hearts out - and then go write a zine about it. I’ll traydja for it.