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Feminism

January-February 2018

Whose job is it to tackle sexism in comedy?

The onus often falls on women—but it shouldn't

Stephanie Philp

I take improv on Wednesday nights in a basement dance studio with floors so sensitive we’re not allowed to wear outdoor shoes on them. The ratio of men to women in the class is about five to one, which is pretty normal. It’s my turn to play. On stage my scene partner stations himself at […] More »

Allegations against Aziz Ansari have opened up powerful conversations about consent that we need to have

Commentary around allegations against the actor has been heated, but the story has brought about an important dialogue about sex

Hanna Lee

On January 7, 2018, Aziz Ansari won a Golden Globe in a black suit adorned with a Time’s Up pin, a symbol of solidarity with women in the industry. Six days later, he was accused of sexual misconduct. Ansari has spent his career displaying his understanding of nuances—of the dating world, of gender inequality, of […] More »
November-December 2017

Vancouver’s Sandeep Johal offers hope in the face of female violence with her artwork

The artist's Rest in Power series celebrates women whose lives were taken brutally and unjustly

Madi Haslam

When Vancouver-based artist Sandeep Johal read Shauna Singh Baldwin’s novel, The Selector of Souls, she was deeply moved. The story of two Indian women tackles difficult gender-based issues Johal often finds herself considering: female foeticide, infanticide, femicide, domestic abuse, dowry, and rape. Soon after reading it, Johal was bringing a fictional goddess from the novel to […] More »

What the NDP leadership race taught us about attitudes toward pregnant women

Niki Ashton may not have won, but stereotypes about her pregnancy are still a pressing matter for politicians

Nora Loreto@NoLore

After my Vancouver book launch in October 2013, I headed right for the snack table. My travel schedule had brought me from Winnipeg to Vancouver early that morning: I had slept on a friend’s floor in Winnipeg and arrived before sunrise in Vancouver. By the end of my talk, the sun was back down and […] More »

Inside the complicated world of North American anti-abortion activists

Lauren McKeon follows anti-abortionists south of the border in her new book, F-Bomb

Lauren McKeon

The day before the 2017 March for Life, anti-abortion activists took over the hulking Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel. After lunch, I joined about fifty activists, lawyers, law students, and others for the adjacent Law of Life Summit, designed to advance the anti-abortion movement through putting forward more antiabortion legislation, attacking Planned Parenthood as a […] More »
July-August 2017

Peek inside Canada’s only feminist bookstore

Montreal's L’Euguélionne carries 4,000 titles

Megan Jones@MegJonesA

On a Thursday evening in May, about a dozen women gather around a large wooden table at L’Euguélionne, Canada’s only feminist bookstore. The Montreal shop is filled with chatter as the crew, participants in a zine-making workshop, sift through piles of paper. Since it opened in December 2016, L’Euguélionne has become a hub, hosting public events like […] More »
July-August 2017

In addressing sexual assault cases on campus, B.C. universities miss the mark

Whether new policies for handling sexual violence at universities in British Columbia will be effective remains to be seen

Madi Haslam@madihaslam

This year, Canada celebrates its 150th birthday. Ours is a country of rich history—but not all Canadian stories are told equally. In this special report, This tackles 13 issues—one per province and territory—that have yet to be addressed and resolved by our country in a century and a half In April 2016, British Columbia passed a […] More »

How survivors are confronting sexual assault on one Toronto campus

Tamsyn Riddle has filed a human rights complaint against the University of Toronto in the wake of her alleged sexual assault

Hillary Di Menna

Tamsyn Riddle was excited to start her university courses in 2015. At the University of Toronto, where she majors in diaspora and transnational studies and minors in equity studies and political science, her academic successes would be appreciated in a way that they weren’t at her Peterborough high school. Plus, she could be a part […] More »
May-June 2017

The heartwrenching reality of mourning between cultures

How one writer dealt with her father's death, between Canada and Morocco

Sheima Benembarek

One morning, in early September 2011, I sat at my work computer and watched my hands hover over the keyboard, shaking. I had just flown back to Montreal from Morocco, a trip I’d done many times since I immigrated to Canada six years ago; I was used to flying across time zones. But these hands […] More »

Linda Christina Redgrave: One year after Jian Ghomeshi’s acquittal, I’m keeping the conversation going

She was Witness 1 in Ghomeshi's trial. She feared the dialogue around sexual assault would fizzle out. It's not.

Linda Christina Redgrave

It’s been a year since I took my final police escorted ride to hear Judge William B. Horkins deliver the verdict for the Jian Ghomeshi trial. Lucy, Witness 3 (still under publication ban) and I gathered in the Victim/Witness Assistance Program (VWAP) room accompanied by lawyers and friends to hear the outcome of this much […] More »
January-February 2017

2017 Kick-Ass Activist: Glynnis Kirchmeier

Paralegal Glynnis Kirchmeier is tackling sexual assault on campus head on, giving a voice to survivors at the University of British Columbia

Hillary Di Menna

For the last year, University of British Columbia (UBC) graduate Glynnis Kirchmeier has been working to hold her alma mater accountable for the sexual violence that happens on its campus. The paralegal has developed 44 recommendations for how the university can better respond to reports of sexual violence—what she calls her “unfinished business” in B.C. Her […] More »