All blog posts published in December 2008 - Shameless Magazine - your daily dose of fresh feminism for girls and trans youth

All posts published in December 2008

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- Laugh Track
- News Flash
All I want for Christmas is safe sex

December 19, 2008 • Jessica Yee

You can always count on LifeSite News to make you laugh:

“This holiday season, Durex(R) wants lovers to really feel the Love,” says the (press) release. “Helping Canadians get in the mood to wrap their packages, Durex and Santa will start celebrating the holidays by handing out Love condoms this Tuesday, December 16, 2008 in downtown Toronto. Giving never felt so good!”

“It’s deeply saddening to me that at one of the most sacred times of the year, Durex would do such a thing,” said Suresh Dominic of Campaign Life Catholic in response to the publicity stunt.

“Santa Claus is simply another name for St. Nicholas, a Catholic bishop and saint from the early Church known for generosity to the poor. He is also a symbol of the beauty and mystery of Christmas, particularly for children. To use the figure of Santa to promote an ideology of casual sex on busy public streets is offensive in the extreme.”
- Film Fridays
- Race and Racism
White Chicks and Black Men

December 19, 2008 • Jenna Owsianik

It’s finally Friday, and that means another edition of my bi-weekly video review!

Comment and rate it, even if you hate it!

“Racism (and Misogyny) in the Elevator” video:
- Shameless Women
Rebecca Gallant: Volunteers & Rock n’ Roll

December 18, 2008 • Desirée O

Every Thursday I profile a new incredible woman, each from a different walk of life. Different professions, causes, backgrounds, ethnicities, orientations, and anything/everything else!

So without further delay, let me introduce the wonderfully rockin’ Rebecca Gallant…

If you’ve ever considered volunteering for a music festival, Rebecca Gallant is a good example of why you should. Festival Crew Manager of North By Northeast, Rebecca began as a volunteer cashier, then moved on to stage manager, and now handles a crew that grows year by year for one of the largest festivals in North America. She organizes, schedules, and troubleshoots all with a friendly smile – and even takes time to answer a few of our shameless questions.

(more inside…)
- Picks from Planet Venus
- Playlist
Lavender Love

December 18, 2008 • Anna Leventhal

The holidays can be a rough time for many people; what with the excessive family time (“Yes, Auntie Zelda, as a matter of fact I am trying to scare away husbands”), trauma caused by shattering of previously rock-solid resolve to be healthy, and the complete and utter panic attacks brought on every time you hear a “funky” remix of Jingle Bell Rock, the season of joy can sometimes turn into a nightmare. Well, I know what you need. You need a bunch of latter-day Los Angeles hippies dancing down the street in decrepit party dresses. You need Lavender Diamond.

The video for Open Your Heart from last year’s album Imagine Our Love is so feel-good it kind of makes me uncomfortable, like I start wondering what kind of sick creep I am that I keep excepting Becky Stark to get hit by a Good Humor ice cream truck as she wobbles down the street like a new-born deer on her vintage rollerskates. But the thing that saves this video from total saccharine cheesitude is that it’s 100% for real. As far as I can tell, Lavender Diamond are total dyed-in-the-hemp A-1 genuine peace-and-love-loving lovers. (more inside…)
- All About Shameless
Shameless Subscriptions For Everyone!

December 18, 2008 • Stacey May Fowles

Not sure what to get that sassy, Shameless girl in your life this holiday season? We make it easy for you. Give her a meaningful, informative, entertaining gift that she actually wants —a whole year of Shameless for only $10!

This holiday season we’re giving you a special limited-time only offer. You can give Shameless as a gift for only $10! That’s right, for only $10 a strong young woman in your life will receive Shameless for a full year. You can buy and give as many subscriptions as you like for only $10 each ($20 in the US) and we’ll send the lucky recipients their gift on your behalf!

$10 SHAMELESS SUBSCRIPTIONS MAKE THE PERFECT GIFT FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST!

Giving the gift of Shameless is a great way to support vital independent media. Shameless is Canada’s award-winning independent voice for smart, strong, sassy young women. It’s a fresh alternative to typical teen magazines, for girls who know there’s more to life than makeup and diet tips. Packed with articles about arts, culture and current events, Shameless reaches out to readers who are often ignored by mainstream media: freethinkers, queer youth, young women of colour, punk rockers, feminists, intellectuals, artists, activists.

You can even take advantage of this holiday offer and give yourself a well-deserved gift! You’ll get a whole year of smart, well-written, thought-provoking reading material. What better way to start the New Year off right? (Or, if you’re already a subscriber, for the same price, we’ll be happy to extend your subscription for one more year.)

Subscriptions are available through PayPal right now! Or, if you’d rather mail in a subscription form, you can print one off here. All prices are in Canadian Dollars (CAD).
- Activist Report
- On The Job
Stop Unfashionable Conduct at Zara

December 17, 2008 • Nicole Cohen

UNITE HERE, a union that represents workers in the apparel, textile, hotel, and restaurant industries, has just launched a campaign against clothing chain Zara. Zara workers in a downtown Montreal store joined UNITE HERE in 2007 to fight bad working conditions at their store, including unpredictable schedules, short staffing, favouritism by bosses, and disregard for seniority.

According to UNITE HERE, however, Zara has fought back, using tactics that may have violated the Quebec labour code: four workers who supported the union at Zara’s Rockland Mall store were fired in April and May 2008; two workers who led a union drive at Zara’s downtown Montreal store were demoted in August 2007; and management held anti-union meetings at three of their Montreal stores, telling workers that joining a union would be “treason” – in fact, it’s their legal right.

These are old, dirty, anti-labour tricks that need to be stopped, especially in the retail sector, which employs a disproportionate number of young women in low-wage work (see graph below). It takes a lot of guts to fight back against an employer that’s being a bully (I should know, I’ve been on strike against York University for the past six weeks), and these workers need our support.

You can read about the situation here, and take action here. For insight into the retail industry and why unions can make a difference, read this.

(UNITE HERE)
The violence needs to stop. The humanity needs to begin.

December 17, 2008 • Jessica Yee

Today, December 17th is the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.

Several different events are taking place across Canada.

What will you be doing to commemorate this important day?
- Comics are for Everybody
ANGRY KIDS? ZOMBIE DOGS? KILLING PEOPLE WITH YOUR MIND? HOORAY FOR DEMO!

December 16, 2008 • Tiina Johns

It’s cold as heck out, and the dreaded holiday season is here, so I’ve been dealing with it by curling up with some old favourites. I just reread Demo, a collection of twelve monthly comics written by Brian Wood and drawn by Becky Cloonan. It’s an awesome collection of angsty teenage stories, with Buffy or X-men-style metaphors where fantastic elements represent intense emotion.

Brian Wood is generally loved by the ladies for his focus on female characters (Local, The New York Four) and his cool blend of politics and realistic characters in an alternate future, sci-fi-ish setting (DMZ). Becky Cloonan perfectly renders young folks in styles ranging manga-y to stark black and white. Her punk-pirate book, East Coast Rising, is fun as heck.

Each of the twelve issues collected in Demo are individual stories, linked together loosely with the theme of angry youth, and hidden power.

(Beware, there are some swears after the jump.)

(more inside…)
Just eat the shortbread, okay.

December 16, 2008 • Mir Verburg

In ‘Enough, Already’ Globe and Mail columnist Judith Timson discusses the cover of January’s O magazine, where a now “fat” Oprah stands before the freakishly slim Oprah of yester-month(?). I don’t know how quickly Oprah’s diet yo-yo is currently going but seasonal weight changes seem to be the norm for anyone with a media empire.

Timson makes the point that if weight obsession makes the cover of O in a month where economic downturns, the first African-American president in history and senate scandals are but a few of the big issues, maybe Oprah’s “body problem” isn’t that important?

(more inside…)
- Body Politics
- News Flash
The fight must go on

December 16, 2008 • Jessica Yee

Disheartening news from sex worker rights collectives across the country. But the fight must go on.

Official press release from Pivot Legal Society, in conjunction with the Montreal Coalition for the Rights of Sex Workers:

MONTREAL SEX WORKER RIGHTS GROUP DENOUNCES
BC SUPREME COURT RULING THAT DENIES SEX WORKERS’ HUMAN RIGHTS
Monday December 15
Today, the BC Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought forward by a group of sex workers from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver (“SWUAV”) who are attempting to challenge the prostitution laws using the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Lainie Basman, of Montreal’s Coalition for the Rights of Sex Workers says, “This decision is incredibly disappointing. The B.C. Supreme Court had the rare opportunity to hear a critical claim by sex workers that Canada’s Criminal Code endangers their safety and violates their fundamental right to equality. Outrageously, the Court has chosen to close its doors to one of this country’s most marginalized and oppressed groups.”

Joe Arvay, a lawyer working on the case alongside Katrina Pacey, of Pivot Legal Society, says, “The government’s argument that the Court should recognize as plaintiffs only those sex workers who are presently active in sex work or who are presently facing an actual prosecution is neither sound law or good policy.”

(more inside…)