Tag: Guest Blogs
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In the Blog
Guest Post: Chick/Lit: Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and E.L. James’s Fifty Shades of Grey
I am not a reader of “chick lit.” I am, however, a reader of women writers who grapple with the same issues as today’s chick lit - relationships, motherhood, sexuality. Among my favourites are Toni Morrison, the Brontes, Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith - Jane Austen is my chick lit. But is this really fair? Is there really such a big difference between lit for chicks and literature for women? Recently, I read Fifty Shades of Grey … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Guest Post: The Myth of the Woman-Child
Originally posted at The Belle Jar. My good friend Audra Williams challenged me to blog about this piece on Tavi Gevinson. Then she posted this ridiculous article from Jezebel on Facebook, and I thought I would address both of them at once. I am killing two birds with one stone! Two ugly, judgmental, anti-feminist birds! Both articles are concerned with the girlification of today’s women. Katrina Onstad, author of the Tavi Gevinson piece, bemoans the rise of … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Guest Post: Stand up for Pussy Riot, stand up for yourself
By Kasia Mychajlowycz Last Friday, more than 100 people got together in Toronto to protest the guilty verdict and two-year sentence handed down to Russian punk rock performance artists Pussy Riot. There was punk music, chalk drawings, drumming, chanting, costumes–everything that makes a good, peaceful protest. And, of course, the media. In a way, I am “the media.” I’ve recently finished my master’s degree in journalism, and I’m wrapping up an internship at a great magazine. But … READ MORE
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In the Blog
2-qtpocmontreal: a look ahead
I have heard it so many times in the past few months: we love Montreal. We love the community, the endless cultures of resistance, and the freedom and joy the city gives us. But over and over again, I hear, it feels so hard to stay here. For all it gives them, Montreal also exposes its 2-qtpoc folks (two-spirited, queer, and trans people of colour) to surprisingly overt, harsh, and exhausting racism. People talk about 2-qtpoc … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Guest post: The psychological is political: Mental health as a feminist issue
Currently, mental health is a hot topic in Ontario. Countless media stories along with governmental and professional groups have highlighted the importance of reducing stigma, identifying folks who need support and connecting folks in need of support to clinical services. There are aspects of this that are awesome. Many of us do suffer from some form of mental distress at one point or another and/or love someone who has/does. It is important that we … READ MORE
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In the Blog
The Greatest Band You’ve Never Heard Of: Fifth Column
Before Bikini Kill, before MEN, hell - before the Indigo Girls - there was Fifth Column. Fifth Column was a queer-as-hell punk band comprised of young art students from Toronto in the early 1980s, now immortalized in the recent documentary film, She Said Boom: The Story of Fifth Column directed by Kevin Hegge. Fifth Column was an all-girl band, which was just about the most political thing that could happen to the misogynist music industry of … READ MORE
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In the Blog
CROSS-POST: Youth violence in Toronto and our hierarchy of victimhood
This piece originally appeared in the Toronto Star on Wednesday, June 6, 2012. It is cross-posted here with the permission of its author, Simon Black. You can find Simon on Twitter @_simonblack or at his website. Last year in the city of Chicago, nearly 700 young people were hit by gunfire; 66 of them died. The vast majority of victims were African-American and Latino youth living in the city’s racialized low-income neighbourhoods. A recent analysis found … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Fight Like a Girl
Outside my work with Shameless, I run an activist design studio called The Public. This March, I was proud to be a co-facilitator of the Fight Like a Girl Activist Training Job, hosted by Newcomer Women Services Toronto. Fight Like a Girl was a two-week paid job in which twenty-four young women came together to talk about racism, forced marriage, gender-based violence and bullying, learn about media literacy and creation, and kick some serious ass … READ MORE
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In the Blog
A week with Girls Learning Code
During March Break from March 12th to the 16th, 40 girls attended the first Girls Learning Code camp in Toronto, a technology program aimed at getting girls interested in the tech industry by teaching them to create and influence technology as a means of self-expression, instead of merely consuming it. The camp was created by the tech-savvy leaders of Ladies Learning Code, a not-for-profit Toronto group that provides women with a supportive space to comfortably hone … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Quantifying the Hype: The Shafia Case in Context
The Shafia case is a tragedy, all around. But the way this case has been used to promote some of the most casually xenophobic and Islamophobic commentary in Canada yet only makes it more difficult to honor these women and their lives. As many commentators have already pointed out, the rush to condemn the Shafia murders as part of a minority culture that has nothing to do with “Canadian values” perpetuates the familiar narrative of … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Sisters in Spirit Vigil - Toronto 2011
The sixth annual Sisters in Spirit Vigil took place across the country on the annual event date of October 4th. The Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto held the event, as in past years, at Allan Gardens, which is located across from the centre. About 60 vigils took place across Canada this year to honour the lives of murdered and missing Aboriginal women and their families. Sisters in Spirit (SIS) is a Native Women’s Association of … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Guest Blog: No Shame, All Consent
Today’s guest blog comes to us from Ben Privot of the Consensual Project. The Consensual Project partners with schools and universities to bring students a fresh understanding of consent. The innovative curriculum, workshops, and website empower young people to incorporate consent into their daily lives. The Consensual Project is committed to helping students connect through consent. Hi Shameless readers! It’s an honor to get to share with you today. Please let me be clear: I LOVE Shameless magazine’s … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Guest post: The Art of Letting Go: A Portrait of the Surrendered Activist as a Young Man
This guest post comes to us from Jeff Perera. Jeff is a volunteer workshop facilitator with the White Ribbon Campaign and co-chair of the Ryerson White Ribbon Campaign, a group inspiring men to be the best version of themselves. Follow Ryerson’s White Ribbon Campaign on Twitter: ryewhiteribbon Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on” ~Eckhart Tolle I remember watching cartoons as a kid and seeing that classic image of … READ MORE
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