All posts written by Jenna Owsianik

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• • Queeriosities

  King for a Night

  March 21, 2011 • Jenna Owsianik

  Last autumn, my friend Sarah Buell and I worked together to produce “King for a Night.” The 8-minute doc reveals a glimpse into the lives of two Vancouver drag kings - women-identified people who like to stuff their pants and perform on stage as men. By following Paige Frewer (Ponyboy) and Kelli Gold (Billi Gold), we bring to light the often misunderstood character of female drag through a rare perspective from the city’s queer scene.

  Frewer and Gold perform in Man Up, a bi-monthly drag king variety show in Vancouver. The next show takes place on March 26 at 9 p.m. at the Astoria.

• • DIY
  • Rape Culture

  Campus gropers told to look over shoulders

  February 27, 2011 • Jenna Owsianik

  

  Last semester at least three women reported being groped while on The University of British Columbia campus. Almost predictably the message from police was for us ladies to watch ourselves and make sure we took the proper steps to avoid being the next target. I didn’t hear police warning men to stop assaulting women.

  Then a few weeks ago I came across some signs near the university library giving tips to the campus gropers on how to keep getting away with violating women. Slightly puzzled by their intended meaning I tried sleuthing for the person or people who posted them. No one came forward, but my hunch is whoever put them up was using a sort of dark humour to slam the victim blaming discourses travelling through the university. I’m not sure how effective the signs were in offsetting the standard narrative of putting the responsibility on women after assaults take place. But, they definitely made me smile because I thought, “Hey, I’m not the only one who is fed up here!”

  In case you have trouble reading the above sign it says:

  ATTENTION GROPERS

  Based on recent incidents of men groping women on campus, the public has become increasingly concerned with risky groper behaviour. We have compiled a series of tips we think would help you.

  TIP #1:
  Frame your entire day, every day, around your groping

  If you are constantly brainstorming opportunities to grope, noting campus areas amenable to groping, and looking over your shoulder to avoid being caught groping, you can enjoy a life full of groping with impunity.

  Hey Women,
  Tired of making your life revolve around them? We are too.

  
  

• • Body Politics
  • Media Savvy

  Jacob stops some forms of retouching, still uses typical models

  September 9, 2010 • Jenna Owsianik

  

  Canadian retailer Jacob shows off its new retouching policy in fall campaign. (JACOB)

  Although fashion retailer Jacob announced last week that it will no longer alter the size of models’ bodies in its advertising images, does this really mean the company is committed to promoting realistic images of women’s bodies? Or, is the company simply peddling a body positive approach in an attempt to sell more merchandise?

  Jacob explained the move in a statement on the company’s website:

  “As a socially responsible company, JACOB has always made an effort to promote a healthy image of the female body. By adopting an official policy and broadcasting it publicly, we hope to reverse the trend in digital photo manipulation that has become excessive in our industry,” says spokesperson and Communications Director Cristelle Basmaji.

  That being said, the company hasn’t dropped using all forms of photoshopping. The statement continues:

  However, JACOB is not against all forms of touch-ups. Certain digital enhancements cannot be avoided in order to produce an image the size that is required for advertising. In all transparency, JACOB will continue to retouch its photos in some regards, as there will always be a need to calibrate colours for better product representation and to even out skin tone or erase tattoos and scars.

  It’s not clear whether this means cellulite or stretch marks are going to be retouched, but since scars are going to disappear, I’d guess they would unfortunately be wiped away as well.

  Jacob’s campaign promoting the new retouching policy shows three versions of one model’s image: the raw image, the image used in the company’s advertising, and the retouched image that would have been previously used.

  (more inside…)

• • Activist Report
  • Race and Racism

  Vigils honour missing and murdered women

  September 6, 2010 • Jenna Owsianik

  

  Maisy Odjick (left) and Shannon Alexander (right) are shown in these undated photographs. (FindMaisyAndShannon.com)

  
  Two years ago, Shannon Alexander, 16, and Maisy Odjick, 16, disappeared without a trace from the town of Maniwaki, Que., near their native community of Kitigan Zibi.

  Families and friends continue to search for the girls, and are holding a candlelight vigil in their honour on Monday evening in Kitigan Zibi.

  Shannon and Maisy are two of nearly 600 missing or murdered aboriginal women and girls in Canada, according to the Native Women’s Association of Canada.

  On Oct. 4, candlelight vigils will be held across the country to commemorate the lives of the missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls, and to highlight the violence carried out against them.

  To find a vigil in your area, or to organize your own, click here.
  

• • Eco Speak

  Safe cosmetics campaign targets Canadian girls

  April 12, 2010 • Jenna Owsianik

  

  Photo courtesy of FemmeToxic.

  
  Many of the popular resources available on cosmetic products and toxic ingredients come from the United States. They include some useful databases and backgrounders, but their conclusions seem at times periphery to us Canadians. Up here, we regulate our cosmetics differently!

  You may be happy to then know that FemmeToxic, a Montreal-based campaign for safe cosmetics, launched last summer. Its goal: to inform Canadian girls and young women about the chemicals found in cosmetic ingredients.

  FemmeToxic is hosted by Breast Cancer Action Montreal, a cancer prevention organization. The Girls Action Foundation also partners the project, and operates to promote girls “to speak out, build skills, and create action on issues that are important and real to them.”

  “Youth specifically are more susceptible to toxins in the environment, at that stage in development, so they decided to launch this project,” Angela Day said, the safe cosmetics campaign assistant.
  
  Originally posted on TheThunderbird.ca. Read the rest here.
  

• • Eco Speak

  Eco-beauty resources

  March 25, 2010 • Jenna Owsianik

  Sometimes trying to figure out how to find safe personal care products and what ingredients to avoid can be overwhelming. Depending on where you look, you might even find conflicting information that will only aggravate the headache you’ve developed in the process of your search. Below, I’ve provided a list of helpful resources that break down the details for us in a palatable way.

  Health Canada’s Consumer Product Safety website on Cosmetics and Personal Care. This website is crucial if you want to know how cosmetics are classified and regulated in Canada. It also provides a “Hotlist” of ingredients banned from use.

  Guide to Less Toxic Products developed by the Environmental Health Association of Nova Scotia.
  This site compiles an extensive list of common hazardous chemicals found in beauty products and explains why they are problematic. It also ranks and recommends a wide range of natural product brands for eye and face make-up, hair care, feminine hygiene and much more.

  Originally posted on TheThunderbird.ca. Read the rest here.
  

• • Eco Speak
  • In My Opinion...

  Health risks: Parabens in beauty products

  March 19, 2010 • Jenna Owsianik

  What’s in your make-up kit? And how many of those beauty products do you use in a day? Give or take a few products, my usual morning regime involves body lotion, tinted moisturizer, mascara, hair mold, and sometimes bronzer or eyeliner if I’m feeling so inclined. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of other women, particularly young women, also reach my daily average.
  

  

  What concerns me is that most beauty products contain parabens, a type of preservative used to extend the shelf life of cosmetics and prevent them from developing mold. But, what concerns me more are recent studies suggesting parabens may pose human health risks.

  Originally posted on TheThunderbird.ca. Read the rest here.

• • Eco Speak
  • In My Opinion...

  In search of safe beauty products

  March 17, 2010 • Jenna Owsianik

  

  Picture from flickr user kuuipo1207

  
  The living’s green and pretty in Vancouver, again named “the most liveable city in the world.” Just about every cosmetic product comes in a greenwashed or health-friendly option: there’s paraben-free lotion, deodorant without aluminum, and nail polish sans formaldehyde! I’ve spent a year trying to pick safe, personal care products that work, and I’m still confused about which ones I should avoid.

  Sarah Dickson, the body care buyer at Capers Whole Foods Market in Kitsilano, puts it to me simply, “I’d like to be able to eat all my make-up if I had to.” Our bodies absorb most of what we put on our skin, and we can’t always break down that material she explains. If it’s not safe to eat, don’t put it on you is the idea.

  The problem is many people don’t understand the meaning of the often hard to pronounce substances found on long ingredients lists, let alone their potentially harmful effects.
  
  Originally posted on TheThunderbird.ca. Read the rest here.

• • Arts
  • Bibliothèque

  J.D. Salinger: His “recluse” status and women

  February 11, 2010 • Jenna Owsianik

  

  
  (via flickr user masaaki miyara)

  Over two weeks have passed since the death of mystified literary icon, J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye and creator of its angst-ridden and much-loved antihero Holden Caulfield. Headlines and obituaries emphasize Salinger’s reclusive and secretive lifestyle, mentioning diehard fans’ wild goose chases for the man in his small town of Cornish, New Hampshire.

  Although Mikki Halpin at Salon.com says she understands the appeal to see Salinger as a “higher intellect who has rejected it all,” she also finds this portrait of him “curious,” suggesting it conveniently bars the public from facing some uneasy assertions about the late writer’s relationships with women.

  (more inside…)

• • Film Fridays

  Provoked, Battered Woman’s Syndrome

  January 2, 2009 • Jenna Owsianik

  I hope everyone is enjoying the new year! I’m usually ‘anti’ any sort of holiday, even if it’s not religious, but the fresh start of a new year is quite tantalizing. Anyone have any good resolutions to share?

  Also, here’s a video review of the film Provoked:

  Watch Provoked for free online, here.

  Order the book, here.

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