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Gender Block: Watch out for vaginas

Hillary Di Menna

Talking about having a cold is pretty socially acceptable. Common ground conversations start with this, not unlike the weather. But talking about something as normal as having a period needs to be prefaced with some sort of, “Sorry for any guys around,” and half-expecting disgusted protest to follow whatever you say. This isn’t about all […] More »

Gender Block: the deal with street harassment

Hillary Di Menna

So who else had a face palm family conversation over the Easter weekend? Well, if yours was anything like mine, it’s time to talk about street harassment. Street harassment can range from something as obvious as public masturbation to something as seemingly subtle as leering. Last year, the United Nations published Commission on the Status […] More »

Gender Block: New Brunswick’s abortion regulations are a danger to women

Hillary Di Menna

New Brunswick’s only private abortion facility will be closing by the end of July due to lack of funding. The Morgentaler Clinic announced the news last Thursday, April 10. If this closure happens, women in New Brunswick, and some from P.E.I (who make up 10 percent of the clinic’s clientele) will have little choice when it […] More »

Gender Block: Marie Collins

Hillary Di Menna

On March 22, Pope Francis created a commission—of four men and four women—that will directly advise him  on policies regarding sex abuse. This has been done a year after Pope Benedict requested Catholic Church authorities around the globe create national guidelines on how to protect children in the Church by the end of May 2014. […] More »

Gender Block: the vain, the fun, the selfie

Hillary Di Menna

Selfies: vain, fun, a cry for help, empowering and currently -kind of- a cancer awareness and fundraising tool.  MacBook’s have Photo Booth and savvy cell phone owners purchase apps that allow cats to indulge in a good selfie. Toronto’s OCAD University is currently hosting a student exhibition – All By Myselfie – with the explanation, […] More »

Gender Block: why didn’t she leave?

Hillary Di Menna

It wasn’t easy leaving my abusive ex. He was cooler than me; people liked him. Girls were jealous of me because he was good-looking. No one believed me when I shared only a fragment of what was happening behind closed doors, and if they did, they would remind me if it were that bad, I’d […] More »

Throwback Thursday: Q&A with Sally Gaikezheyongai

Simon Treanor

With the recent murder of Loretta Saunders, and the growing outcry for a national public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women (which was denied last week), it seems more relevant than ever for us to understand the battle aboriginal women face daily. Today’s Throwback Thursday revisits a Q&A with Sally Gaikezheyongai, an aboriginal mother of […] More »

Gender Block: stop calling girls “bossy”

Hillary Di Menna

Just yesterday I was laughing at how all of my daughter’s friends seemed to be just as bossy as her. They are all about six years old; very sure of who they are and what they want. At first, I thought it was a compliment. But then I thought: Why the need to point these […] More »

Gender Block: when private locker room talk goes public

Hillary Di Menna

“Locker room boy talk or the perpetuation of rape culture?” Has been the debate since the student body president of the University of Ottawa spoke out about a sexual conversation where she was made the topic. In a statement released yesterday, March 2, through Facebook Notes Anne-Marie Roy writes, “The fact that the five men […] More »

FTW Friday: One girl’s stand against bullies

Simon Treanor

In many ways, Alvena Little-Wolf Ear is a typical 9-year-old living in B.C. She goes to school, likes swimming, computers, painting her nails, and like so many other children her age, was the subject of bullying. For over 2 years, other kids at her school bullied her about her weight. It was so bad that […] More »

Celebrity meltdown coverage: gender matters

Lisa Whittington-Hill

  When male celebrities implode on the world stage, they’re arty heroes. When women do it, they’re called “troubled” and worse Did you miss the recent Valentine’s Day announcement that winning warlock Charlie Sheen is getting married for the fourth time? Maybe you were busy having a life, or watching season two of House of […] More »