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Gender Block

Gender Block: advertising’s wolf in sheep’s clothing

Hillary Di Menna

Imagine having your waist measured with measuring tape and being a size “passionate.” Or stepping on a scale to see, not a number, but the word “perfect.” Body positive activists already have—and Special K has mysteriously come up with these same ideas to put in their ad campaigns. On August 21, a commercial for the […] More »

Gender Block: What we’d really like Rob Ford to apologize for

Hillary Di Menna

Yesterday Toronto’s mayor admitted on his radio show that he has made  “mistakes.” By now, the whole world (literally) knows that Ford is embroiled in a substance abuse scandal; beyond the vague-sounding “mistakes” there is, of course, the video in which it appears Rob Ford is smoking from a crack pipe. But what about the […] More »

Gender Block: chatting with a MRA leader

Hillary Di Menna

The founder behind a looked-to group in the men’s rights activist (MRA) community used to identify as a feminist. “We really did need a revolution,” says Paul Elam, in a Skype interview. “But it had to involve both sexes.” Elam believes the feminist wave of the ’60s created women as oppressors over men: “Meet the […] More »

Gender Block: awesome video

Hillary Di Menna

Here, Lily Myers finds the words to describe what it’s like growing up as a female,  compared to growing up as a male. Keep everything in—don’t grow out. Keep quiet—don’t speak up. Remember to be passive, “I asked five questions in genetics class today, and all of them started with the word sorry.” Check it […] More »

Gender Block: the National Anthem is safe

Hillary Di Menna

A new advocacy group for a not-so-new cause (This has been discussed in federal government for at least ten years) has formed to push for gender neutral language in the current version of O Canada. Together, Margaret Atwood Kim Campbell, Vivienne Roy, Sally Goddard and Nancy Ruth have launched Restore Our Anthem.  The group got […] More »

Gender Block: there’s no such thing as “one of the guys”

Hillary Di Menna

It is not uncommon for a woman to proudly declare she has no female friends and insists she is just, “one of the guys.” It is considered pretty cool to say this, just ask my high school self. It is also a big slap in the face to our gender, while buying into the mindset […] More »

Gender Block: news flash – women care about the world’s happenings too!

Hillary Di Menna

When I tell people I’m a journalist I get a lot of, “Ooh, you can be Carrie Bradshaw!” Not Christina McCall or Gloria Steinem . I am sometimes told I’ll be the next Rosie DiManno, not due to sharing a similar writing style—because we don’t—but because our last names are similar. Only the people who know me know […] More »

Gender Block: media misgendering and Chelsea Manning

Hillary Di Menna

On August 22 Chelsea Manning came out to the world, saying that she is trans gendered. She has been open since 2010 within the transgender community, using the name Breanna online. In her open letter to NBC’s Today Show Manning writes, “I also request that, starting today [Aug. 22] you refer to me by my […] More »