How going bald helped me confront the politics of hair
Jill Andrew
I WORE MY OLD WOOL HAT almost every day in 2011. The plaid hat, formerly hiding at the bottom of my wardrobe, stuffed in between worn-down shoes, was suddenly my best friend, my savior—even in the summer when the smoldering heat held my head hostage. I was newly diagnosed with Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia. That […] More »
Each year, thousands of university graduates move to Korea to teach English. But why are so many of them white—and what does this say about racism here in Canada?
About five years ago, a rumour began circulating in South Korea that Indian and Filipino nationals might become eligible for E-2 English teaching visas. At this time, I had already been teaching in Korea for eight years on and off. It had been a wonderful resource for paying for backpacking trips through Asia and boozy […] More »
Millennials work hard to get their degrees—so why does everybody think they’re brats when they demand meaningful jobs? Hana Shafi deconstructs post-grad promises and the myth of entitlement
The months leading up to my graduation this spring were a mix of excitement and desperation. Excitement, because after four years of journalism school at Ryerson University my love for academia had turned sour—I was aching to be done. Desperation, because I knew once I was done, my unemployment would be more apparent and stark […] More »
If students from a totalitarian nation were secretly transported to a Canadian classroom to continue their lessons with new teachers and a new curriculum, would they be able to tell the difference? I do not ask this question facetiously. It seems plausible that a good lesson in multiplication, chemistry, or a foreign language might seem […] More »
Nearly 20 years ago, Mary Gordon created a program to bring moms and babies into school classrooms. How empathy can create kinder kids, better adults, and a more equitable society
Mary Gordon believes in the power of empathy. It can, she says, stop patterns of abuse, draw the curtain on generational cruelty, and create kinder, better worlds—especially if we instill its importance at a young age. That’s why, in 1996, the former teacher, as well as creator of the first Toronto District School Board daycare […] More »
For years, Aeman Ansari’s body shame kept her clothed in oversized tracksuits
Aeman Ansari
THE FIRST TIME I REALIZED I WAS OVERWEIGHT I was wearing a grey and red plaid dress with buttons snapped like daisies on the pockets. It was my eighth birthday, and my mum invited all of our friends and family over. Like always, she picked matching outfits for my sister and me, laying them out […] More »
When it comes to education, today’s social justice movement leaves behind the very people it’s trying to help. (Otherwise known as: Why I’m tired of your white guilt)
I don’t have much in common with Eminem, but I do empathize with these lyrics about his pre-rap battle jitters: “Palms sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy.” My body floods with this nerve-wracking discomfort in a space so many others navigate with ease: the rich world of academia. As a 23-year-old woman with extensive coursework in […] More »
Canada’s so-called Indian hospitals were depressing places that segregated, abused and even experimented on aboriginal patients. Gary Geddes speaks to those who were there about their long and painful legacy
Gary Geddes
The first image: a small child in striped pyjamas, three years old, peering through the bars of a crib, directly into the lens of the camera. There’s intelligence in her eyes, but no indication of pleasure or recognition. Just a quiet, cautious curiosity. She’s holding a naked, hairless, rubber doll. Behind her, off-kilter on […] More »
Why is sexy still so synonymous with white? Today’s independent porn industry challenges the sex-positive movement to break barriers and make more space for women of colour
Justine Ponomareff
It’s mid-April and Toronto’s Bloor Cinema is packed—so much so that it’s difficult to find two seats together. The lights dim around us and an announcer takes the stage. “There’s going to be naked people on screen, having sex,” she roars, punctuating her theatrical warning with a “who’da thunk” scoff. Ripples of laughter and cheers […] More »