Something Vague

O Canada Part II

2008-06-30T20:36:00.004-04:00

Is there anything Canadians love more than comparing ourselves to Americans?
(Answer=no)

For Canada Day, Macleans magazine published an article called How Canada stole the American Dream (love the name, right?) in which they compiled some stats comparing Canadians to Americans--and we pretty much kicked their asses.

Snippet that sums it up well:

After digging through the data, here's what we found: the staid, underpaid Canadian is dead. Believe it or not, we now have more wealth than Americans, even though we work shorter hours. We drink more often, but we live longer and have fewer diseases. We have more sex, more sex partners and we're more adventurous in bed, but we have fewer teen pregnancies and fewer sexually transmitted diseases. We spend more time with family and friends, and more time exploring the world. Even in crime we come out ahead: we're just as prone to break the law, but when we do it, we don't get shot. Most of the time, we don't even go to jail.

Completely worth your time to read the whole article, I promise.

In other Canada-is-#1 news, the Order of Canada is going to be awarded to Dr. Henry Morgentaler. If you're not in the know, Dr. Morentaler used to perform safe abortions for women before it was fully legal in Canada. It's due to his legal battle over this that the Supreme Court of Canada decided that the laws restricting abortion were a violation of a woman's right to her own body.

Yea, some religious groups are making a fuss over giving him the award, but I don't think they'll stop him from getting it.

And since we love comparing ourselves to the US, just think about how here we're awarding someone the highest honour in the country for securing abortion access for women, while in the US presidential nominee John McCain wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the motion that gave abortion access to American women.

Happy Canada Day. Hug a maple tree.

Quickie: O Canada

2008-06-29T00:03:00.002-04:00

I'm not your friend, guy!

With Canada Day coming up, CityNews posted an article about a ceremony for new citizens, and added a link to a practice citizenship test--reminding those who were born here that we may not actually be able to pass it.

Link to the practice test
Give it a try

I took a 20 question one and got everything right. Guess I deserve my birth certificate!

I Do(n't)

2008-06-27T14:25:00.004-04:00

From my new morning obsession, Indexed

I read this article on the origins of wedding traditions on Feministing.com the other day, and CNN picked it up today.

I'm not crazy about the concept of marriage for more than a few reasons, but these just take the (wedding) cake.

And yea, some may call these harmless nowadays, merely cute, symbolic traditions devoid of the stuff revealed in the article. But I don't think I'd be cool with having my "special day" seeped in this bull. Just sayin'!

Highlights from the article:

Talk about your runaway brides -- the original duty of a "Best Man" was to serve as armed backup for the groom in case he had to resort to kidnapping his intended bride away from disapproving parents. The "best" part of that title refers to his skill with a sword, should the need arise.

And:

It used to be that after the bride and groom said, "I do," they were to go immediately into a nearby room and consummate the marriage. Obviously, to really make it official, there would need to be witnesses, which basically led to hordes of wedding guests crowding around the bed, pushing and shoving to get a good view and hopefully to get their hands on a lucky piece of the bride's dress as it was ripped from her body (...) and it was decided that for modesty's sake the bride could toss her bouquet as a diversion as she made her getaway and the groom could simply remove an item of the bride's undergarments and then toss it back outside to the waiting throngs to prove that he was about to, uh, seal the deal.

Classy!

MuchMusic Nostalgia

2008-06-27T00:04:00.005-04:00

I read in the paper the other day that Ed The Sock's late night CityTV show is being canceled.

I never really watched it, but the article did remind me of how much MuchMusic has changed, and how much I miss having Ed on there.

Seems to me that MuchMusic used have a much more indie vibe, with tacky, endearing graphics and quirky hosts.

Remember the annual Tree Toss special?

Remember the VJs Brad, Sook-Yin, Rainbow and Bill? And more recently George and Rick?

And Fromage! Video On Trial is sticking to the same theme, but lacks Ed's biting hilarity.

It also seems like they used to do more to promote Canadian bands.

Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky.

In any case, here's some MuchMusic nostalgia clips:
The Vines on Fromage:

They used to have Matt Good (<3)

Tree Toss compilation:

Sigh, eh?

PS: New blog colours! Woohoo.

Why I don't like the Toronto Sun

2008-06-13T23:43:00.004-04:00

I can get past the shoddy coverage of global events, the right-leaning bullshit and the screaming headlines due to The Sun's "tabloid" label.

But what I think makes The Sun lose the most credibility and respect is their insistence of keeping up the SUNshine Girl feature.

The issue here for me isn't that they have flesh-baring ladies in The Sun to begin with. I have no qualms (theoretically) with women having racy photos of themselves taken for publication. How they have a place in a newspaper I don't know, but I believe people are free to express their sexuality as they like.

The problem I have is the darling captions attached to their pictures.

For example,

"SUNshine Girl Elena is a brown-eyed beauty who hopes to become a teacher. If she succeeds, expect more dads to attend parent/teacher interview night. In her spare time she enjoys dancing and singing."

"SUNshine Girl Natasha is 18 years old. She hopes to skydive and own a motorcycle before she turns 25. Our girl is planning to become a sex therapist. Sounds good -- man walks into office, takes one look at Natasha and is cured."
(emphasis mine)

Both these women's career aspirations were instantly belittled by the implication that all they will stand to do is further titillate men instead of, ya know, being successful or hard-working.

Another jewel:

"SUNshine Girl Claudia likes working out, dancing and wearing pink nighties. Her goal is to be happy, successful and famous. Let's hope she's happy because you can't get much more successful and famous than being our SUNshine Girl."

Now I get that these are supposed to be tongue-in-cheek (right?), but in a culture that routinely and relentlessly tells women that they're only value is their publicly owned body, I don't see how The Sun's SUNshine girl feature is in any way harmless.

As a side, on Monday they featured twins. Some of the online photos show them with their legs over the other's and whatnot. How is implied incest sexy?

Summer Reading List!

2008-06-05T23:30:00.006-04:00

Yea, I bought them all up front because a) I have a happy pile of books screaming "read me!" b) I enjoy shopping a little too much and c) I'm a nerd :(

Now that school is out I can read freely again without the guilt of knowing I'm ignoring my course books. So in no particular order other than this is how I stacked them:

Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs
I didn't plan on this one. While buying I'm With the Band, I saw this sitting on the shelf with a 20% off sticker. I really liked Running With Scissors, and I really like sales. This book is a series of stories from Burroughs' life. I've read a few so far. His neurotic tenancies are rather endearing.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
I watched the film adaptation and wanted to make sure Kubrick didn't fuck with it like he did A Clockwork Orange.

I'm With the Band by Pamela Des Barres
Des Barres was a supposedly infamous groupie in the 60s/70s. I'm about 3/4 in and so far she's screwed around with Jimmy Page and Mick Jagger and a handful of others. I kept hearing promises that the book would be some big feministy, freed female sexuality saga, but I've been pretty let down so far. All I've gotten out of it is a girl who gets hung up on and ultimately passed around by rock stars. We'll see if my mind changes.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Been meaning to read this since I saw the movie Capote on the movie channel ages ago. Also, I seem to have this crush on the 60s.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
I read this one first, and it's really fairly amazing. If you liked the movie, you'll love the book. The prosy style of writing is addicting to read. Overall just soooo goooooood.

Animal Farm by George Orwell
I've been meaning to read this ever since my fave redhead did an essay about it way back when.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
This is lame, but I was cleaning my book shelves and found it. Don't ask me!

The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll
I like music? I ordered this online and the picture made it look novel-sized. But no, I get it and its this huge thing with unnecessarily large text. And content wise, it hasn't been updated since 1992 and seriously does not spend enough time on 80s post-punk stuff. Otherwise I'm pretty excited to read it!

What are you reading this summer?

NOW PRESENTING...

2008-06-03T21:56:00.002-04:00

...the problem with the representation of female sexuality in our culture summed up in a single image:
Take a bow, ass-hugging abstinence pants!

York University Anti-Choice Funding Cut

2008-06-02T00:01:00.007-04:00

York U to ban funding for anti-abortion groups

(follow the link to the article in The Star)

Abortion related groups on campus have popped up in Ryerson's student newspaper, The Eyeopener, a few times in the last year. And every time I'm conflicted. Now York U has formally moved to cut funding from anti-choice groups.

And yea, I like using the term "anti-choice." While both "pro-life" and "pro-choice" are loaded and misleading terms, I find the heart of the issue is the choices of the woman, not the "life" of the fertilized egg.

...thats a debate for another post that I frankly don't have the will to make.

The issue of this post is the funding cut.

On the one hand, being pro-choice, this news makes me happy. I find many anti-choice groups are chock full of misinformation and oppression, to put it lightly.

But on the other hand, isn't this a censorship issue? The ruling takes a viewpoint and tells it to shut up. In most cases, I'd say that is the wrong thing to do.

But.

In an Eyeopener article about the same issue at another university, a member of the Canadian Federation of Students said this:

“You wouldn’t take public money to put in an organization that moves to take away people’s rights, you wouldn’t fund the KKK,” said Shelley Melanson, Women’s Representative on the National Executive of the CFS. “Not with student space. Not with student resources.”

And there it is. The reason why censorship isn't always the correct argument.

To give some perspective, would any university dare fund a group that exists for the sole purpose of opposing the right to same-sex marriage?

What about a group opposing a woman's right to vote?

Well, no, of course not. Because we seem to be at a place where bold acts of homophobia and misogyny are condemned (at least the obvious ones, once again thats a whole other post).

Abortion rights are too often not seen as a women's right issue, and more of a murdering, bloody, moral fortitude issue. Seeing York's ban as a censorship issue just shows that we have not allowed abortion rights to hit the mainstream in the same way women's suffrage and anti-homophobia has.

It's going to take more steps like York's banning to normalize a woman's right to her own body, so bring 'em on.

My name is Lauren, and I'm a newsaholic

2008-05-31T22:30:00.000-04:00

Hi Lauren.

What We Call the News | Funny Jokes at JibJab

I have a problem. I compulsively check news websites a grossly high number of times per day. I may be a journalism student and it may be good that I'm someone who is bothering to keep up at all, but really, it's ridiculous.

I estimate I checked CNN about 15 times today. Once while I was getting ready this morning, about 11 times at work, twice when I got home from work, and once again just now.

I've checked CityNews slightly fewer times, maybe 10 times, as it doesn't have as much global coverage and it's updated less often.

The fact that I know it is updated less often is very telling.

I also check CBC, but only about once or twiceper week for the news pictures.

Then I also read The Star in the morning while I'm spooning down a yogurt, then I read The Sun once I'm at work.

Not to mention I check Feministing a few times per day, which keeps me updated on news related to women's rights or lack there of. News that CNN didn't touch.

And its completely autonomous. My fingers twitch on the keyboard, hit C-N-DOWN to where CNN is saved in the internet history. I don't even think when I do it.

But the trouble is, I still feel like I'm missing something.

When CNN litters their front page in fluff pieces about kittens and what is or is not in Angelina Jolie's uterus, what got bumped back?

If Feministing has more in depth coverage of global women's rights updates, and they are a blog without access to a press wire services, what else is being missed?

I don't lose sleep over it all, but maybe someone somewhere should be.

Then it's a question of why do I need to know these things? What good does it do? I can be aware, I can be opinionated, I can blog, but I don't know what that amounts to.

I'm just an addict.

At least it's not heroin, right?

*

PS-new goal: daily random, short blogging. Good luck to me.

Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones

2008-04-01T16:00:00.004-04:00

Photo credits to Jackie who is lovely and remembered to bring a camera.

Column written for class:

Every inch of you is touching every inch of someone else. Every breath you take is thick with fog machine chemicals. The moisture hanging in the air is the perspiration of hundreds of young adults.

This is the scene at any standing-room-only concert. If you have not attended one, I assure you they are more fun than that picture would suggest. The music feels closer, but unfortunately so does everyone else.

Those people you’re sandwiched against at a concert sometimes end up making the band a sideshow.

The last show I attended was The Hives on March 3 at Kool Haus in Toronto with a couple of friends. The crowd was the typical young hipster scene, the boys and girls hard to tell apart in their skinny jeans and matching skinny ties.

Deep in the masses, near stage left, is where it began.

“Sorry, babe!”

Two teenage boys wearing black Hives shirts fresh from the merchandise booth were pushing their way in front of me, jamming their elbows into my side and slamming their hips against mine, attempting to dislodge me from the tiny space I’d been holding into.

“’Scuse me, babe!”

Ignoring my returned pushes and glares that could scour pans clean, they stood right in front of me. Naturally, they were two heads taller than me.

“I think we pissed off the redhead,” yelled one to the other.

The redhead was my friend, and was indeed pissed off. I wasn’t entirely pleased either.

“Oh my God, you are so tall. Why do you have to be so close? Do you want to make love to the band or something?” came in a slurred shriek from behind us.

It was a petite blonde grasping a half-crushed can of Canadian. She was in the middle of clumsily tugging her shirt over her head.

My friends and I performed a chorus of eye rolls as those around us ogled the girl, some snapping photos destined to appear on Facebook the next day adorned with witty captions.

Struggling to kick her shoes off, and refusing to drop the beer can, the girl began motioning upwards in the universal signal for a hoist.

I ducked, refusing to participate, as the crowd picked her up and carried her away with masculine hands popping up to cop a feel. That is reason number one why crowd surfing may not be a good idea.

Reason number two came crashing down moments later.

A twenty-something man with a bald head and a red beard slammed into the floor. He had been floating on the crowd and hit a bare spot.

The crowd parted like a zipper as burly men in matching “Security” shirts rushed in, looking very composed as the fallen man squirmed into the fetal position. More cameras flashed.

Scooping their hands under his arms, they dragged the poor guy off with his head rocking from side to side. We did not see him again.

The shrieking blonde made one more appearance. After the show, while walking over the floor carpeted with beer cans, plastic cups and rolling papers, she slunk past on a friend’s supportive arm, hair mussed and makeup smudged.

Good news, she managed to find her shirt.

Herding with the sweaty hipsters into the cool night air, we laughed and cursed at the people we had encountered, armed with our own photos ready for Facebook.

So be warned, for better or for worse, your antics at a concert may end up being more memorable than the show itself.

"The Better Way"

2008-03-12T00:43:00.014-04:00

Top ten things that make me hate riding the TTC.

I am sick, which has made me angsty and rant-y.

In no particular order:

1) When the escalators don't work
So not a lazy thing. At certain places the flow of people means you have to take the broken escalator, where the steps are significantly bigger, and significantly more of a pain in the ass when you're at the end of a long day of running on three hours of sleep and four coffees.

2) Getting stuck in the no-pole void on the trains
So there's this spot right in the middle of opposite doors on the train where there are no poles. During rush hour, you'll often find yourself squished in here, and the amount of people makes it impossible to reach a pole. Maybe I just have shitty balance, but I need pole or I fall. I do. And I always seem to get stuck in that one little spot where the only thing to hold onto is the overhead bar which I am not tall enough to comfortably hold on to. What ends up happening is I attempt to position myself surfer-style (bent knees are key!) and try and stay balanced. And then when the train jolts to a stop I end up grabbing someones arm and then oh so coolly pretending that I didn't once the train stops moving.

3) People not respecting the proper stagger on bus seats
When on the bus, you are to maintain a stagger of seat-person-seat-person when not crowded enough to allow for it. This ensures that no one has to awkwardly graze anyone else, and you can put your shit on one of the empty seats. Then some jackass always comes along and sits his pompous self down beside someone (usually me it feels like) for no good reason, breaking the stagger, when they could have just as easily maintained it. If that is you, I hate you.

4) The Scarborough RT in its entirety.

5) People buying tickets who block the turnstile
Everyone feels douchey while buying tickets/tokens/a pass, and the TTC employee is slow, and people are lining up behind you, and the train/bus is pulling in. But some people manage to position themselves so those people using tickets can't get past them to the turnstile. It is possible to step back a little when buying tickets so as to allow others through! Do it!

6) Pretty much everyone getting on at Bloor station
Of all the stations, this is where people seem to be the most comfortable with forcing their bodies into the cars until no one can breathe. Remember commuters, during rush hour trains come every 1.5-2 minutes are so. You. Can. Wait.

7) People who put their bags onto empty seats during rush hour.
It's sort of funny in that everyone is too polite to ask them to move it.

8) Not moving to let others out on two-person bus seats
I couldn't figure out how to make that less wordy. Anyway. On TTC buses, there are a certain amount of two-person seats, and they are rather close behind/in front of one another. The problem arises when you're in the window seat, and you need to get off, and the person in the aisle seat simply swings their legs into the aisle. Durrr. There is not enough space to get out without giving them a lap dance. So you end up doing a super awkward shuffle dance with your ass hovering above the lazy, leg-swinging person. Point is, if you're the aisle person, get up for a sec. Unless you want a lap dance. You perv.

9) Not recognizing me as a "student"
I was all shocked that first day I slid a leftover student ticket in and the TTC lady bitched me out for not being in high school anymore. And I was all, but I'm in university. No dice. The student rates only apply to high school kids. Don't you love how once you start paying for your education, they start charging you more for transportation?

10) People who eat smelly foods
It's an enclosed space! Smells go nowhere, they just circulate and nauseate. Go with fruit, its healthy and low on smell.

Scary of the day

2008-02-22T17:42:00.009-05:00

Ahh, high school. (Click for full comic)

Another reason I'm glad to be out of high school.

A report released says that 33% of girls in Toronto high schools have been sexually harassed in the past two years. 33%! 1 in 3!

We tend to breeze by statistics, so let that one sink in. 33%. If you had 3 female friends in high school, 1 of them was sexually harassed.

And worse, 29% have been groped or otherwise touched.

29% of grade 9 girls felt unsafe at school due to comments/ogling/touching, 27% of grade 11 girls were pressured into doing something sexual that they didn't want to, and 7% of girls have experienced "major sexual assault," which I assume means rape plus all those other things we should call rape.

Now, I'm gonna venture a guess and assume that none of you have your shocked faces on.

Which kills me, by the way.

As this article says, and I agree, we've gone ahead and let those numbers be the norm.

I remember one day in high school I was walking up some stairs and a guy (who will remain nameless but those who went to my school may remember someone whose nickname started with Pervert) put his arm in front of me to block my way and proceeded to ogle my chest.

I complained to my friends after, and I was mad, but I did accept it as something that just happens.

But even if I had gone to a teacher/admin, what would have happened? Even if they had gotten the asshole down to the office, I doubt it would be more than a forced apology and me being labeled as a heinous, overreacting bitch with the rumor mill flying. Not worth it.

I'm betting every girl has a story like this. Leave it anonymously in the comments if you wouldn't mind.

So what to do?

Before I posted about calling Kathleen Wynne and demanding women and gender studies in high school on Valentines Day. Well, who cares what day it is. Do it now.

Shit like this is never a few bad apples, misogyny and sexism are systems. And I really do feel that women's studies would empower girls to speak out.

Kathleen Wynne's office: (416) 325-2600
TDD/TTY: 1-800-263-2892
E-mail: info@kathleenwynne.com
Fax: (416)325-2608

If nothing else, please be pissed off.

Fill in the blank: I didn't vote Conservative because ___________

2008-02-08T00:54:00.000-05:00

Pop quiz, kids!

Which Canadian political party has the least web space dedicated to women's rights?

Liberal

NDP

Green

Conservative
(not to give anything away but you're going to have to scroll)

Fun, huh? The Conservative Party of Canada had the least amount of information. For the Liberal and NDP, links to their women's sections were easily accessible from drop down menus at the top. The Green party's section was tougher to track down, but with decent pay off, plus the party is currently headed by a woman.

The Conservative section was buried in their 2005(!) policy declaration. And their current "Stand Up For Canada" platform had zip.

And let's not forget how the Tories slashed funding for women's groups that dared to perform any lobbying activities, among other things. Linkage with more info.

You elected a real class act, Canada.

On a side note, all you Torontonians should give Minister of Education Kathleen Wynne a ring on February 14th and remind her that we need women's and gender studies in high school. See the Facebook event page for more info.

That was Good For Her, was it good for you?

2008-02-01T01:00:00.000-05:00

My article about the sex toy shop:

Carlyle Jansen scrolls through an e-mail with photographs of a young brunette tied up in intricate red and black ropes. She stops on one showing an angled shot of the model’s limbs with deep red rows of lines from where the ropes had been pressing.

“I like that one,” she remarks, saying how she prefers photographs where it is difficult to figure out what is going on. The email is a proposal for an art show, but Jansen is not impressed with the full set. She dislikes the typical dominant male and subordinate female and the narrow range of body types and ethnicities with only one thin, white female.

The e-mail is a proposal for an art show, and is part of a perfectly routine Friday morning for Jansen, 41, the owner and founder of Good For Her, a Toronto sex toy shop catered towards women.

***

At 175 Harbord St. sits what looks like a typical semi-detached Annex house. Inside is an inviting space with wooden floors, cozy armchairs and warm yellow walls, but they happen to be lined with whips, leather collars, and “dills” and “vibes”. Erotic photography hovers above the shelves of feminist magazines, books about sexuality and adult videos. This is Jansen’s brainchild.

Born and raised in Toronto, Jansen left the city at 18 to get a commerce degree at the University of British Columbia. In 1993 she was off to Antioch University in Seattle, Washington for a masters degree in whole-systems design. It was during this time that the seeds of Good For Her were planted.

In 1995 she attended her sister’s bridal shower and brought her sex toys as a gift. Her sister’s friends were so impressed with the ease at which Jansen discussed sexuality that they suggested she start giving workshops. This was new for Jansen, who just a couple of years earlier had been uncomfortable with her sexuality and had been dumped for not being able to orgasm.

She took the advice and opened Good For Her in May 1997. Jansen now has two children, Willem, 2, and Nazrik, 4. Jansen identifies as bisexual and is currently seeing Helen Kennedy, a politician and social activist who has worked with Olivia Chow in the Trinity-Spadina ward of Toronto.

***

“I don’t really have a desk so I have to float around,” says Jansen as she kneels on the carpet of the second floor of the shop.

The second floor houses the office space for the shop as well as hosts Good For Her’s workshops. A white board on the wall has drawings of female genitalia from two angles and the word “contractions” half erased. Harness clips dangle from the ceiling. Pens, papers and toys are scattered on the floor.

Jansen spreads out the evaluation forms from the workshop she hosted the night before entitled “Bigger, Better and Multiple Orgasms for Women.” The workshop included tips to finding a woman’s g-spot and potential hinges such as poor body image and poor technique.

On the evaluations are many circled 10s and comments such as “I loved it,” and how the participant liked “the relaxed/informal atmosphere.” Singing along to a Scorpions song, Jansen snips off the e-mail addresses scrolled at the bottom of each evaluation to add to a mailing list.

***

The next day, Saturday, Jan. 26, Good For Her will have a table at a pro-choice event at Ryerson University, and Jansen is preparing with her employee Allison.

“I’ll wear my ‘Masturbation is Good For Her’ shirt,” says Jansen as they sit in a cramped office next to the main workshop space.

They decide Good For Her just requires a presence at the event, and don’t expect to sell anything. A week earlier Good For Her hosted a sex toy party at the Women’s Centre but had a poor turn-out.

Jansen heads back downstairs to pick out a selection of toys to bring.

“I want interesting toys,” she muses as she puts her hands on her hips and looks over the assortment of sex toys on the shelf. She decides on a Cone, a bubblegum pink vibrating toy shaped as the name would suggest, a Delight, a bright, curved g-spot stimulator that vaguely resembles a seahorse, and a travel-size Rubba Duckie Vibrator, a cute yellow toy just slightly smaller than its bath time cousin. She scribbles down the names along with a few others.

***

At 2 p.m. Jansen fields a call from a woman in Vancouver experiencing pain during intercourse with her partner.

“Tell me a little more about the pain. Where, how much, what you’ve done...” Jansen asks, “Do you remember the first time you were like ‘ow, that normally doesn’t feel that way’?”

As Jansen twirls back and forth in her chair, the woman describes how she feels the pain when intercourse begins.

Jansen quickly identifies the problem. “Your body is thinking ‘oh no here comes the pain,’” suggesting that the woman anticipates the pain and tenses up. “Why don’t I tell you what I’ve done.”

Jansen recommends the “vaginal exercise kit” from the Good For Her website. It is a set of six silicone phallic exercisers retailing for $160.

She instructs the caller to start with the smallest exerciser and gradually work her way up. “The moment you feel pain, stop. Take a deep breath and squeeze around the toy and relax,” she tells the caller while absentmindedly squeezing and releasing her hand.

“What you’re teaching your body is that penetration isn’t about pain."

Just then applause and a hearty "woo!" fill the shop as Good For Her's slick, new website goes live, marking another notch in Jansen's belt.

PS: New colours, woo.

Bucket List

2008-01-29T00:02:00.000-05:00

moar funny pictures

I recently watched The Bucket List (pretty sad, watch it when you're in a happy mood). So I decided to make my own.

Yea, its fairly whimsical and optimistic, but let me have my damn minute of fancy.

1. Live and work in Paris
Just for 6 months or a year or something. Why? Because I am such a sucker for all those romanticized images of Paris with all the mon cheri-ing and baguettes with brie and champagne and picnics at the Champs de Mars. Basically I'd act like a total tourist believing I was blending in with the Parisians--but I'd have fun doing it!

(1.5 Improve my French)

2. Attend high tea at a swanky hotel
...and proceed to make total ass of myself most likely. But doesn't it just sound so cutesy and old timey in the most novel way?

3. Convert a boy to feminism
Like hardcore feminist. Marching with a megaphone at pro-choice rallies and having that "this is what a feminist looks like" t-shirt in 5 colours. It's sexy.

4. Make the world a better place and stuff
Token answer. I'd honestly like to do something meaningful, but jeez, I'm 18, I don't know what yet. Something to do with feminism I'm sure. Stop pressuring me you jackasses.

5. Visit the Galapagos Islands
Yea, I was totally obsessed with them when I was a kid. All with the unique, evolutionist-theory-inspiring wildlife. Any interest I had in science faded in grade 10 when I pretty much discovered I sucked at it. I still want to hang with some Galapagos seals and booby birds though.

6. See the northern lights in person (while stoned)
OK, drugs optional. But does that not just seem like the opportune moment?

So that was more of a "shit to do" list than a "must do before I die" list. But. You know. Yay whimsy. I'm also going to call it a temporary list as I'll probably look back on it in 10 years and think I'm a total nut.

I'd also like to screw Johnny Depp, but the age difference is going to be an issue soon. Sorry, Johnny.

Also: 7. Have more than 2 people comment on a post. Seriously people, I have a hit counter. I see you reading it. Leave a comment already.

The Vagina Vote?

2008-01-27T01:00:00.000-05:00

Classy, eh?

Here's an article written for class.

For the record, we don't have to come up with proper headlines/titles in class. So none for you.

***

If Heather Noble, 24, were an American citizen she would vote for Hillary Clinton—but not because she is a woman.

“Sex has nothing to do with politics,” said Noble, a recent engineering graduate. When she votes, Noble prefers to concentrate on the policies and political parties, not the individual politicians. She said that any one candidate’s policies can be positive for women regardless of their gender.

But she does see how some women would vote for Clinton on an emotional basis, to “give the underdog a push.”

Last Thursday the New York Times published an article titled “Women’s Support for Clinton Rises in Wake of Perceived Sexism,” (link) exploring how some women are switching their support over to Clinton. It considers if personal attacks targeting her gender, such as two men shouting out “iron my shirt” in New Hampshire, and discussion of her voice pitch and cleavage, are attracting women to stand up for her through their votes. Clinton also, now famously, choked up while answering a question, which the article says “many women said they found moving.”

Some Canadian women had a different take.

If a woman were running for Prime Minister today, Noble said that would not guarantee her vote. She does however recognize that female politicians face obstacles.

“We’re still young as an independent group, we’re treated like a minority,” she said, “it’s a male society.”

Noble guessed that our Members of Parliament are 25 per cent female. She’s close. According to the Liberal Party’s website, women make up 51 per cent of the population, but only 21 per cent of MPs.

Stella Torres, 50, from Brampton, also would not vote for a woman running for Prime Minister based purely on gender, but rather says a female politician would have to prove herself as a politician, just like any other candidate.

Torres does however think that she would feel more of a connection with a female politician. “She would understand where we [women] are coming from.”

Torres says that she votes based on logic, looking at the individual running, and their party. She says that women voting based on emotional connection is “a stereotype, because that’s what they expect women to do.” She remarked how black Americans are also expected to vote for Barack Obama.

“I’d like to see some women step up to the plate and show that we can do it,” said Caitlyn Driscoll, 27, a Theatre Performance student from Peterborough.

Driscoll says she would feel swayed to vote for a female running for Prime Minister based on her gender.

“I’m definitely a feminist,” she says, and would like to counterbalance the male majority in Canadian politics.

She thinks that the backlash against Clinton stems from the public and media not being used to dealing with female politicians with such a high profile, and the they “fall back on what’s familiar when it comes to women” when focusing on Clinton’s appearance.

Ashley Mathiew, 21, a social work student and the coordinator of the Ryerson Women’s Centre would like to see a woman in the Prime Minister’s office one day, but only if she shares Mathiew’s ideologies. But she does see why women would rally behind a female politician.

“A lot of women would be proud that she would be running,” referring to the hypothetical future female running for Prime Minister, “they should be proud.”

She also said that women would feel a connection to a female politician working toward being Prime Minister. “You feel for the amount of work women do,” she said, “women do a lot, and are one of the most underpaid groups.”

Unlike the United States, Canada has had a female leader. For five months in 1993, Kim Campbell became Canada’s first and only female Prime Minister to date. She was voted leader of the Conservative Party of Canada when Brian Mulroney retired, automatically making her Prime Minister. She was then defeated in a federal election later that year.

***

PS: This is minus my prof's edits. Editors are very important in the journalistic process, but I'm way too fucking lazy to go through and put it all in.

PPS: Two posts in one day, go me.

PPPS: Expect my article about the sex toy shop Good For Her sometime next week. Be excited.

Sup Premier

2008-01-26T21:14:00.000-05:00

I'm famous and stuff.

(photo stolen from the Premier's website)

The F Word

2007-12-11T23:49:00.001-05:00

Feature article written as a final project. If you see mistakes I don't want to hear about them as its already handed in :)

The F Word

Why are young women being scared away from feminism?
Dec. 4, 2007

At some point in our cultural history, “feminism” became a dirty word.

The classic, dictionary definition of a feminist is someone who believes in the social and political equality between the sexes.

The word has become bogged down with negative stereotypes. You have heard them all before. Feminists are hairy, fat, unattractive lesbians with a man-hating agenda. But is it stopping young women from adopting the feminist label? And by extension the movement?

***

In an online, anonymous poll of 36 young women in university revealed that 19 of them, 51 per cent, would feel comfortable calling themselves feminists. Yet the 17 people who answered “no” unanimously agreed that they believed in the feminist ideals of equality between the sexes.

So where is the disconnect?

The participants were also asked to answer why they feel as they do, and the responses from the “no” side pointed to a common theme.

One respondent wrote, “I believe in equal rights for women, but I think the feminist perspective goes a little far. We have evolved greatly, and I think we need to appreciate that.

Many feminists take an extreme stance that I believe is unnecessary.”

The “extreme stance” referenced here is the man-hating stereotype, and that feminists seek dominance for women.

This is echoed by another participant, “I feel that feminism has gone from being about equality, to being about superiority. It's not what it used to be. It used to be about bringing women together and getting them the rights that they deserve, but now you see a lot of ‘feminists’ demeaning men and that's just as bad as when men did it to us.”

Another woman would not call herself a feminist, but acknowledged it was due to the negative stereotypes, “I think that there's a skewed perception of feminists in the media and among people of our age right now - they're generalized as angry, activist, hairy, radical and reactive.

This isn't true - most feminist thought comes from activism, yes, but more from a passion for and belief in a cause, as with anything else. I wouldn't be comfortable associating myself with the word unless the universal definition was adjusted.”

Even on the “yes” side, the stereotypes were present, with one woman agreeing that she would call herself a feminist, but admits that “there is a small voice in the back of my head telling me not to.” She mentions the negative connotations, and that “I am none of those things and don't want to be associated with them.”

Another simply said, “Because I think anyone who believes in women's rights is a feminist.”

***

It is a Tuesday afternoon, and four young women are sitting in a circle in the Women Centre’s office.

If you are looking to find feminists on Ryerson University’s campus, The Women’s Centre located in the Student Campus Centre is the place to go.

The Women’s Centre is a women-only safe space (men must knock to be let in), including trans people identified as female, where they can gather, discuss and hang out. The centre also has free tampons, pads and condoms available.

The room is small, the walls lined with Eating Disorder Awareness Week posters and shelves crammed with resources covering women’s studies, gay rights and more. Three more women trickle in. The topic of the day is women’s sexuality, sparked by a woman walking in one day seeking advice about whether or not she should allow her boyfriend to buy her a sex toy.

Helena Samsa, 20, a second year business management student and Women’s Centre volunteer passes around a sheet outlining the questions to be discussed, including defining female sexuality, female sexuality in the media and misconceptions about sex. What follows is a frank discussion about everything from labia to women hiding the number of people they have slept with.

Samsa describes herself as new to feminism.

“I got to a point where I was sick of the things I was seeing,” she said.

She remarked that the stigma against the label “feminist” could stem from the very fact that it’s a label.

“People say ‘labels are for jars, not people,’” she said, adding that instead of labelling themselves some women would rather “go out and just do it.”

Ashley Mathew, 21, is the Education and Campaign Coordinator for the Women’s Centre, she also identifies as a feminist. She sees the racial implications as an issue effecting feminism.

This is actually a founded criticism. The iconic women’s movements of the 1960s and 1970s mostly involved middle class white women.

Mathew also brings up the man-hating stereotype.

“It’s not about hating men, it’s about equality,” she said, “we don’t want more power than men.”

Rebecca Granovsky-Larsen, 28, is the editor and chief of the Ryerson Free Press and a continuing education student, and also a regular attendee of the Women’s Centre events and discussions.

She also calls herself a feminist, adding “I find it alarming that not many women do.”

Granovsky-Larsen offers another reason women do not adopt the feminist name.
“Some females have the misconception that all battles surrounding feminism ended with women’s suffrage,” adding that the problems are ongoing, and that this is a “dangerous misconception.”

She said that the current issues are sometimes glossed over, including harassment, lack of childcare support and the wage gap.

To solve feminism’s bad rap and to get more women involved, Granovsky-Larsen thinks the media and the classroom are the place to start. She said the “media has an enormous responsibility to expose and eliminate” the current issues facing women. She suggests that it should be mandatory to learn about gender inequality in school from a young age.

Granovsky-Larsen said that Ryerson Women’s Centre is a good resource for feminists and feminists-to-be on campus, but she worries that it is only preaching to the converted.

“My perception is that people who come are not the most vulnerable.”

***

The link between being a feminist and not can simply be a matter of definition.

Adrienne Barron, 18, is a student at Alternative Scarborough Education 1 (ASE 1), an alternative high school in Scarborough for grades 11 and 12.

At the beginning of the interview, Barron did not identify as a feminist. Her reasons included that she feels some feminists are seeking superiority, but also that some women perpetuate sexism on their own.

“I hate the way women behave. Obviously not everybody, I just mean in general. I really don't think its men objectifying women -- we objectify ourselves.” She also points out the unattractive, angry lesbian stereotypes about feminists, “that I, in no way, want attached to myself.”

Barron believes the source of the stereotypes as the media, “it’s no secret that every major media corporation is run by a group of old, white, evangelical males. They're old, different mentality.”

Indeed, evangelists have made comments regarding feminism before.

Pat Robertson, a televangelist in the United States, and founder of several organization including the Christian Broadcasting Network, the Christian Coalition and Regent University has spoken ill of feminists. He once said, “[Feminism is] a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”

Robertson isn’t an obscure man. In 2000, he won a Yale University Most Distinguished Alumni award. In 1992 he was named one of America's 100 Cultural Elite by Newsweek magazine.

When asked to define a feminist, Barron had a change of heart.

“Straight up, I don't have one [a definition]. I really, really don't know,” but she decides on, “Somebody who loves the ladies and thinks they should have every opportunity a man has.”

So in that sense why not call yourself a feminist?

“Well, I don’t know. I suppose I will,” adding, “I suppose I’ve been a feminist all along.”

***

Young feminists have been a hot topic amongst feminist circles.

Jessica Valenti, 29, is a feminist writer from New York. She is the executive editor of the feminist blog Feministing.com, and has contributed to magazines such as Bitch and Salon.

Recently, her new book Full Frontal Feminism: a Young Women’s Guide to Why Feminism Matters hit the shelves.

The books first chapter, entitled You’re A Hardcore Feminist. I swear. is dedicated to dispelling the feminist stereotypes.

In her trademark witty style of writing, Valenti arguments seek to dispel the notions that feminists are anti-everything, irrelevant and only for “old white ladies.”

On the accusation that feminists are ugly, she writes, “The easiest way to keep women—especially young women—away from feminism is to threaten them with the ugly stick. It’s also the easiest way to dismiss someone and her opinions. (‘Oh don’t listen to her—she’s just pissed ‘cause she’s ugly’.)”

In an April 2007 interview with Salon magazine, Valenti said she believes many young women are feminists, but “they either don't have the language for it or are afraid to use the word.”

Valenti was optimistic about young women getting into feminism, “I wrote the book because there are cool ways women can come to feminism. There have been women who stumbled across Feministing randomly, through a bizarre Google search or something, and had no idea what feminism was. They thought it was something older women do, or bought into the hairy bra-burning man-hating stereotype 100 percent. Anything that deviates from that is very exciting for them.”

Update

2007-12-11T23:47:00.000-05:00

Posting again.

Probably gonna be mostly articles from school.

Thats all.

54 East

2007-07-24T22:50:00.000-04:00

I've been interning at a magazine here in Scarborough called 54 East. It seeks to present the history and culture in Scarborough, which although we too often dismiss, does exist and is unique.

Here's the article I wrote which appears in the latest issue. You can pick up a copy of the mag at the 54 East studio in the Wexford Plaza at Warden and Lawrence. They have fun shirts too.

Clicking on the pics will make them larger. Much much larger. Can't figure out how to fix that :)

And thank you to everyone who has commented!

Forbidden snowflake

2007-07-02T23:39:00.001-04:00

I've realized why I don't post very often.
I get too many ideas then can't pick a single one then just give up.
I'm awesome like that.

So today is mostly randomness.

High school is over. Done. Fin.

It doesn't really feel like it yet. At my school, the actual commencement ceremony doesn't take place until November. So I miss out on the whole end of June throwing into the air of the grad caps experience. Thus taking away the sense of finality.

High school ended when I spent a half hour picking up my grades then casually left.

Was it so much to expect it to be a tad more monumental?

Now that its had time to sink in, I don't feel older, or accomplished. I feel young. Horribly, sickeningly, frightfully young. The pitiful years of public schooling are over, and it took until I was out to realize how short and meaningless they were.

When you're in high school, you surround yourself with it. When you're not living it, you're reading books, and watching movies and TV about it. Then it kinda pops.

Now all thats ahead is adulthood. Living.

...I can't wait :)

In other news, those billboards I was wishing death upon were taken down. One was in fact replaced with David Suzuki's smiling face. Looks like someone else was as offended as me. Hurrah.

And to digress further, I'm getting a laptop. And you know whats annoying? The Mac/PC debate. I want to try a Mac. My family thinks I'm a trendy hippy being seduced by those Mac vs PC commercials (which are admittedly very cute, but besides the point). I tried researching downsides of Macs, know what I got? "Macs suck!" Not even reasons, other than a lack of software. Then on the flip side PCs are painted as unreliable and virus ridden.

Can't we all just get along?

Atheism and morality

2007-06-13T22:48:00.000-04:00

Jeez Lauren, way to not update for like two weeks.

:)

Today I bring you a few things I've found concerning atheism and morals.

The assumption is that morals come from religion, and therefore atheists have no way of learning to be moral, and are thus immoral.

Well, not so says I and many others.

These are the "New Ten Commandments" as I found them in Richard Dawkin's book, The God Delusion. Although he got them from an atheist website. Anyway.

1. Do not do to others as you would not want them to do to you.

2. In all things, strive to cause no harm.

3. Treat your fellow human brings, your fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, faithfulness and respect.

4. Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.

5. Live life with a sense of wonder and joy.

6. Always seek to be learning something new.

7. Test all things; always check your ideas against the facts, and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them.

8. Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.

9. Form independent opinions on the basis of your own reasons and experience; do not allow yourself to be led blindly by others.

10. Question everything.

I personally find those much more inspiring and worthy of being followed than the original Ten Commandments.

These were written by atheists, and they clearly demonstrate that religion is not required to find morality.

I think that being an atheist has given me the opportunity to discover what is right and wrong through personal experience and common logic. And because I formed my morals myself, I fully understand why I believe in them.

I'll leave you with a video I found on YouTube that I adore:

Feminism, myself and some tough questions.

2007-06-01T00:33:00.000-04:00

I am a feminist.

I say it openly and often, and I mean it.

I believe that women are still oppressed, society is overwhelmingly patriarchal, and that its not right.

But there are tough questions that come along with that.

Am I a bad feminist?

I love make-up.

And fashion.

I show cleavage.

I even enjoy showing cleavage.

I aspire to be a magazine writer, preferably for a fashion magazine, not a scientist or the CEO of a fortune 500 company.

I love America's Next Top Model.

I played with Barbies and Polly Pockets as a kid.

Does this make me less of a feminist?

Less of a woman?

Am I part of the problem?

I want to say no. I do. But there's always that part of me whispering yes.

But does that mean I have to be to cover up my body, denounce beauty products and fashion, and encourage little girls to play with toy cars to be a feminist?

The whisper changes to a scream and says no.

Although thats not all of who I am. I also happen to be pierced, and outspoken, and comfortably unskinny. All of which surely contradict the image of women we're supposed to support.

I suppose the point is that women need options. That the only acceptable image shouldn't be the beauty obsessed one that I've partially adhered to. That as women we need to find where we strike our own individual balance.

It'll always linger in my mind that part of who I am could be the result of the patriarchal, gender-biased media that enrages me so.

I am a feminist. I am a strong woman. And my love of make-up and such in no way changes how I feel about the lack of equality around me.

Its important that I question my own image, but I happen to have no concrete answers as of yet.

Ageism

2007-05-26T23:50:00.000-04:00

I don't feel that I'm as targeted by ageism as others my age. I'm polite, dress nicely, and generally act mature. Thus I am not bothered.

Of course, there are those moments.

On Friday night, I had my grad trip. We went to Canada's Wonderland with thousands of other teenagers for a night of fun.

It started with a line of hundreds of school buses. The parking lot must have looked like a colony of mustard yellow ants from the air.

The first sort of checkpoint came at the edge of the parking lot. A security guard came on the bus and barked orders at us. Not even a hello, or even a breath it seemed as she went into "I'm not gonna yell, I've already been through 600 buses, so listen up", and then continued with a spiel about how we are not to have drugs, alcohol, weapons, etc.

Next, when the bus had parked, a cop came on board to repeat the speech (albeit in a much nicer tone). He then searched our bags before we were allowed off the bus.

All this before the regular park security which also includes a bag search. Not to mention the policemen they hired to patrol the park.

We had paid $40 to be treated like criminals. Had it been "Seniors Night" or perhaps "Advertising Industry Night" instead of "Grad Night", the extra security wouldn't have been in place.

Blatant ageism, right?

The smell of weed wafted through Wonderland like perfume at Sephora.

And certainly in greater amounts than any other time I've been to Wonderland on regular days.

Hm.

Teenagers often complain about being followed around in stores. A bit of googling found me this:

55% of adult shoplifters started in their teens Source

1 in 4 teens admits to shoplifting before age 16 Source

Before you go ahead and say "so that means 75% of shoplifters are adults, ha!", the 2006 Statistics Canada census says that 10-19 year olds only make up 13.1% of the population Source

So, whats this all mean?

To quote SLC Punk!: "What was the point? Final summation? None."

Now for some actual content

2007-05-24T20:28:00.000-04:00

I got the name "Something Vague" because I was listening to a Bright Eyes song of the same name when I made my blog. But also because I only have a vague idea of what I'm even going to be writing about.

Today I have a theatre review and a advertising related complaint. Complaint first.

I was on the bus on my jolly way to work when my eyes landed on a billboard for beer.

The copy read: "Smooth as a 1970s pimp".

Seriously.

The beer industry's portrayal of women already angers me, but advocating pimping directly advocates abusing women (i.e. selling their bodies for personal profit). I was fairly disgusted. I dealt with half naked ladies with no faces and voices, but I think they crossed a line.

I didn't manage to catch the beer brand, so I'll try and get that next time I bus past. They're in for it.

In other news, I saw Better Living at The Factory Theatre in Toronto.

First off, the theatre itself is lovely. Its in an old mansion on Bathurst, tucked away behind a courtyard. Its a small theatre, but the size of the seats in proximity to the stage was perfect. You're right up close and at eye level. I'm explaining it horribly, so just take my word for it.

The show was excellent. Better Living is a dark comedy about a whacky family whose lives are turned upside down by the return of their father.

The casting was excellent. The Q&A afterwards made me think everyone was typecast, because you'd swear it was their characters talking. Remember that episode of Little Mosque On The Prairie where the white guy converts to Islam and annoys everyone? He's in it.

And the set was fantastic! Being a small theatre, its not like they can have those big fancy movable sets you'd see at a broadway production, but the set they had was very detailed and despite being static always gave me something to look at.

Go see it and support The Factory, they're evidently doing good stuff.

I also was Bright Eyes the other day at Massey Hall. First, holy shit does music sound amazing in Massey Hall! The show was fabulous and Conor had his usual drunken stories, and who doesn't love those?

Hello, vanity blog!

2007-05-24T01:12:00.000-04:00

I suppose I'll be writing about books and movies and things that amuse me.
Starting tomorrow.

Earn your MBA degree online today.