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We did the math: 53% of This Magazine writers are female—but there's a catch

hilary beaumont

[Editor’s note: On a semi-regular basis, we survey a sample of recent back issues of This to analyze the topics we cover, how truly national our scope is, and the makeup of our contributor roster.  See the last survey here.] The new documentary Page One focuses on the state of journalism, its new technologies and decreasing […] More »

Only five days left to enter the Great Canadian Literary Hunt!

hilary beaumont

Only five days remain until the deadline of the Great Canadian Literary Hunt! If you’re like me, you’re intimately familiar with those scarce final minutes. My art teacher back in the day, Cynthia Lewis, lived by the mantra: “Good art takes a long time.” While there were obvious exceptions, there was never good reason to […] More »

How to save arts and culture in Canada: a Massey Commission 2.0

hilary beaumont

Their jobs sound like an oxymoron in Canada’s present political climate; arts professionals earn about half the average national income per year, a large chunk of which comes from grants. That public funding is in danger since Stephen Harper made it perfectly clear he doesn’t consider the arts a priority. Given that the main agenda […] More »

How to win This Magazine’s Great Canadian Literary Hunt

hilary beaumont

The first year we ran the contest was 1996 (that’s the issue cover at right). That year, Toronto writer John Burton won first place in This Magazine’s Great Canadian Literary Hunt. Burton’s entry, “Sisters,” was his first-ever published story. It triumphed over some 1,000 other entries. Burton was a virtual nobody in the literary world, […] More »

The sinister power and deep historical roots of the word "slut"

hilary beaumont

Weighing in with 57,184 votes, the most popular definition of the word “slut” on Urban Dictionary is “a woman with the morals of a man.” If we strip away the male punchline, hasn’t “slut” always meant that? A woman who pursues her own pleasure in spite of a pervasive double standard? The SlutWalks are challenging that […] More »

42 years on, the freedoms that Bill C-150 affirmed can't be taken for granted

hilary beaumont

Tomorrow, let’s take a moment to reflect on the 42nd anniversary of the passing of Bill C-150, the omnibus bill that decriminalized abortion, contraception and homosexuality. The rights that Canadians have because of this historic bill are crucial to remember as those same rights come under attack elsewhere: on Wednesday, Indiana became the first state […] More »