Tag: In My Opinion...
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In the Blog
Leveraging Procrastination
No matter how old you are or whether or not you feel that you’ve kicked the habit, chances are you have experienced the feeling of procrastination. Procrastination refers to the behaviour of avoiding doing something that needs to be done because, in the current moment, it feels better not to confront the task. READ MORE
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In the Blog
Rob Ford, Kanye West and Torontonians: What’s important?
I realize that there have been many articles and videos circulating about the scandals of the so-called mayor, Rob Ford. This blog will cover only some of the blunders and movie-like dramas of the Toronto stripped-of-his-powers mayor but it will also cover some serious criminal charges that seem to have been brushed under the rug by many Torontonians, in my humble opinion. First off, Rob Ford has had many moments in the press, personal and political … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Retired Supreme Court justice wrong to endorse Quebec values charter
This past weekend Amna Qureshi, a recent law school graduate, had her open letter to Supreme Court Justice Claire L’Heureux-Dube published in the Toronto Star. In the letter, Qureshi teases out many of the problems, contradictions, and discriminations within the Parti Quebecois’ proposed Charter of Values. Thanks to our friends over at Outubrst! for putting us in touch with Qureshi. The following is an open letter from recent law school graduate Amna Qureshi to retired Supreme … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Maybe You’ll Meet Someone Nice
by Denise Reich I was talking with my mom - who, aside from this issue, is a hip and cool sort of parent - when I mentioned that I was taking walks with my pets around my neighborhood. She said, very hopefully, “maybe you will meet another animal lover!” This is situation normal, unfortunately. Over the years well-meaning relatives have optimistically wished that I would “meet someone nice” or “find a life mate” at sporting events, concerts, … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Guest post: 4 Ways to Respond to Oppression on the Web
A blogger’s guide to making your statement by Kait Fowlie On the web, it’s scarily easy to scan too many things at once and gloss over oppressive messages. If you use the internet as your main source of information, inspiration, or creative support, the energy you put into your web-input can be as much, if not more as the energy you put into your web-output. Then you can add your best two cents to the blog-o-sphere. When … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Guest post: Shamelessly Single
Part one of two on living single lives. Shameless reader Laura Brightwell examines what happens when you choose to be celibate in a community that defines itself by its sexuality. Sometimes people cannot or do not want to have sex. When I started to tell people, 3 years ago, that I didn’t want to date anyone, I was always afraid. I anticipated people’s judgment, much like I had anticipated their homophobia when I came out as … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Not your ‘Fashion Dots’: The Continuous Appropriation of Bindis
In the latest slew of North American women pop stars to don the bindi, white-passing Selena Gomez clocked in at number 10 for her MTV Movie Awards performance of “Come and Get It.” While it can only be assumed that Selena probably didn’t think this move through, the question remains as to why popular pop stars such as Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, Shakira, Gwen Stefani, Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Nicole Scherzinger, Iggy Azalea and Azealia Banks have … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Challenging Mansplaining and Shame
Recently, I’ve been experiencing mansplaining. A lot of mansplaining. This phenomenon is one I define as explaining the world and all of its nuances in a supremely confident, woefully simplistic manner. Mansplanations rely on privilege–derived from whiteness, maleness, ability and/or straightness–not accuracy. It doesn’t matter if the mansplainer is misinformed, grossly inept, or just plain wrong. Worth pointing out as well is that mansplaining as a phenomenon doesn’t mean only self-identified cis men are guilty; whenever … READ MORE
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In the Blog
I am not sure “Happy International Women’s Day” is the right phrase
Scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed International Women’s Day is a hot topic. This makes sense because most of my friends and individuals/groups I follow are feminist. A number of posts state “Happy International Women’s Day” or comment that today is a day for women and girls to feel special. And it is true. Today is a day for celebration. It is important to celebrate our survival and accomplishments and we deserve to feel special. However… READ MORE
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In the Blog
LOL: Humour and Feminism
My acupuncturist said I needed to laugh a lot this past week, and I made a funny face at her–not funny-haha, but funny-“What the??” I made this face because I work at a rape crisis centre and it certainly has proved a challenge to laugh a lot there. Further, as an activist, most people have deemed me as too serious, over-political and of course, “can’t take a joke.” I love jokes. And I, myself, am … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Global outrage, Local “meh?”
While I home for the holidays I watched the 6 O’clock news with my mom. The local station highlighted the Indian protests against violence against women in response to the woman who was gang raped and beaten. A young protester was interviewed and stated the rates of sexual assault in India. I cannot remember the statistic, but it would have been alarming to the average viewer and was framed in sensationalized terms. … READ MORE
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In the Blog
That’s Rockist! A racialized experience of listening to western rock music Part I
Worn out leather jackets. Black skinny pants. Studded accessories. Groupies. Lots of groupies. Cowboy boots. Unkempt hair. Glamourous makeup. Despair. Joy. Smashing guitars in hotel rooms and getting caught in Tokyo for trying to smuggle marijuana into Japan. These terms and phrases reflect only some of the things that have come to inform the public imagination about what makes up the image of a rock star. While a careful and thoughtful analysis of pinpointing the precise social, economic and cultural factors for why rock music in … READ MORE
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In the Blog
On White Ribbon’s Be-a-Man.ca Launch
Put her in her place Tears are weak Feelings are for chicks Stop acting gay Grow some balls Say it with fists Toward the end of November, a series of posters featuring these statements went up in Toronto. The posters also had be-a-man.ca printed along the bottom. The be-a-man.ca site featured video of people walking past the posters, followed by text asking if the posters reflected what it means to be a man, then answering “we don’t think so” and announcing … READ MORE
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In the Blog
A Disabled Haircut?
Yesterday I got a haircut. For most people this sentence is seemingly innocuous, perhaps offered as a response to someone asking “What’s new?” or traded in other casual conversation. For me, it brought home a really powerful lesson of how no matter what I do, no matter how seemingly innocent or normal my activities might be, it is impossible to separate out me from my disabilities. While it would seem silly to say that I got … READ MORE
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In the Blog
An Open Letter to the AGO About Frida Kahlo’s Unibrow
by Sarah Mortimer Dear AGO, The week of October 20, while walking past the Drake Hotel, one of your employees handed me a card that said I should wear this unibrow in order to get 50% off the price of admission to your exhibit “Frida and Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting.” I am glad that Frida Kahlo’s work is here in Toronto and that you are eager to have people come see it, but I can’t help … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Gossip Girl
Many of us gossip and don’t even know we are doing it. Some of us gossip and know very well what we are doing. Sometimes, we think it is about sharing information, and other times, we are passing time talking with someone about someone else who is not present. And finally, gossiping often happens when someone is talking behind someone else’s back maliciously. I have decided to create my own definition of gossip, because I see … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Second Looks: A Sailor, A Nurse, and Sexual Assault
Photos are funny, aren’t they? A look through an album or Instagram and you see moments in time, frozen with the click of a shutter. It is, as Susan Sontag observed in her book of essays On Photography, proof that you were somewhere. A photo is a pictorial declaration that you took up space, at some point, in some location. And then, there are those images that are, for many, instantly recognizable. We might know nothing … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Zines! DIY! Revolution! Activity book! - Shameless Magazine at Nuit Blanche
If you’re in Toronto for Nuit Blanche the night-to-morning art festival, make sure to drop by the Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St. W.) at 9 p.m. for the 12 Hr. Zine Machine! Shameless Editorial Director Sheila, and Arts Editor Ronak are working alongside two super rad teens Kaya and Sahlla (the mastermind behind the Fight Like A Girl zine) to craft together a zine activity book on DIY interactive guides to revolution. We have one hour … READ MORE
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In the Blog
On the End of Teen Mom
This week marked the end of an MTV show that has been both polarizing and extremely popular since its inception three years ago. The show is Teen Mom, which began as a 2009 spin-off of MTV’s documentary series 16 and Pregnant. Created by Lauren Dolgen, 16 and Pregnant depicted the lives of real teen parents before and after the birth of their children. After the first season of 16 and Pregnant aired, MTV selected four … READ MORE
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In the Blog
What I learned while trying not to watch the Olympics
Now that we’re no longer inundated with the minute-by-minute updates from London–newsflashes brought to you by Coke and McDonalds–it’s time to take part in Ye Olde Olympic retrospective and for me to confess the following: My name is Meg. I am a feminist. But I also love the Olympics. That said, I am highly, highly critical of the corporate ethos that governs not just the Games’ infrastructure, but also how the labour of amateur athletes … READ MORE
