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May-June 2018

REVIEW: In Elizabeth Renzetti’s new book on female experiences, the personal is political

Inside Shrewed

Jessica Rose

Shrewed By Elizabeth Renzetti House of Anansi, $22.95 In Shrewed, Globe and Mail columnist Elizabeth Renzetti asks the questions many of us ask as women: Why are there so few women in politics? Why must we feel unsafe in public spaces? Will things always be this way? However, the collection of essays really shines when […]

REVIEW: New book explores the unlikely success of an Alberta union

Inside Jason Foster's Defying Expectations

Jessica Rose

Defying Expectations: The Case of UFCW Local 401 By Jason Foster Athabasca University Press, $34.95 Defying Expectations: The Case of UFCW Local 401 is a book about success. In it, Edmonton’s Jason Foster, an associate professor of human resources and labour relations at Athabasca University and former director of policy analysis at the Alberta Federation […]

REVIEW: This Will Be Good paints a vivid portrait of growing into womanhood

Inside Mallory Tater's new book on burgeoning femininity

Jemicah Colleen Marasigan

This Will Be Good By Mallory Tater Book*hug, $18.00 Praise for This Will Be Good, written by Mallory Tater—a writer from the Algonquin Anishnaabeg Nation (Ottawa)—is thanks to flowing prose that evokes strong emotions. Unabashedly covering topics such as eating disorders, sexuality, and death, Tater’s stylistic voice paints a vivid portrait of a child growing […]

When it comes to queer parenthood, it’s complicated

Ashleigh-Rae Thomas knew she wanted to be a mother, but she wasn't sure how to do it. So, she turned to the LGBTQ community for answers

Ashleigh-Rae Thomas

I’ve always seen myself as a mother. As a child, I had dolls that I fed and bathed. I was one of the oldest of a dozen cousins, and often, there was a baby for me to hold and play with. I read parenting guides and magazines cover to cover—not required reading for a kid, […]

REVIEW: Jen Neale’s debut novel redefines life, death, love, and grief

Inside Land Mammals and Sea Creatures

Whitney Rothwell

Land Mammals and Sea Creatures By Jen Neale ECW Press, $18.95 Despite the title of Jen Neale’s debut magic realist novel, it’s the Birds who dominate this story. Julie Bird returns to her coastal B.C. hometown to prevent her father, Marty—struggling with PTSD—from his long-desired self-destruction. When a stranger from Marty’s past arrives the day […]

“Each death is a preventable tragedy”

Transgender women have long been subjected to violence in major cities. In Toronto, the reality is no different—and police have done little to stop it. These are their stories

Alex V. Green

I: Cassandra Do On August 25, 2003, a transgender woman named Cassandra Do was found dead in her apartment on Gloucester Street in Toronto’s LGBTQ Village. I don’t know much about Cassandra aside from some essential facts: She was 32, she did sex work, she was once in nursing school, she was Vietnamese. In one of […]

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Poetry by A. Light Zachary

A. Light Zachary

Yes, we’re bored—& if I could emotionally afford to leave & if your homeland weren’t burning, I would let you lead me south to one of those dozen American towns called The Palisades— make a life where the close of day, from our chrome balcony, would look like a glitter-bomb lobbed at the horizon— we’d […]

For Canadians with disabilities, accessibility is still a recurring issue

What still needs to change in even our biggest cities across the country

Susan Mockler

On August 20, 1995, I slipped into the passenger seat of my friend’s rusty old hatchback. It was nine o’clock at night. As we pulled onto the highway, heading from Ottawa toward Montreal, I wriggled to get comfortable on the vinyl seat, smooth against my bare legs. Fastening the seatbelt, I settled in. By ten […]

Nine Canadian LGBTQ artists you need to know this Pride Month

Writers, poets, singers, and more!

Madi Haslam

In honour of Pride Month, we’ve compiled a brief list of LGBTQ artists from across the country who are changing Canada’s arts landscape. Know someone who should be on the list? Tweet us @thismagazine! DAYNA DANGER is a queer, Two-Spirit, Métis/Saulteaux/Polish visual artist based in Montreal. Danger’s medium shifts to capture her ideas, whether that […]

REVIEW: Casey Plett’s debut novel challenges readers to reflect on humanity and love

Inside Little Fish

Stephanie Milliken

Little Fish By Casey Plett Arsenal Pulp Press, $19.95 In her debut novel, Little Fish, Lambda Literary Award-winner Casey Plett tells a heartbreaking but hopeful story about time, identity, and the intricate relationships that tie people together. The events of Little Fish take place during a Winnipeg winter, and Plett does an extraordinary job of […]

Toronto’s Queer Songbook Orchestra gives modern hits an LGBTQ spin

The group is queering everything from Top 40 songs to your favourite Disney movie soundtrack

Jeff Miller

On stage, a group of classical musicians dressed in formal evening wear hold their string, brass, and woodwind instruments. Making their final preparations before playing, they check their tuning, adjust their seats, and arrange sheet music on the stands in front of them. A pianist sits to one side, and a drummer near the back. […]