I’m not sure if it was the lunar eclipse in Leo, or the fact that the days are getting longer, or the result of anti-Valentine’s-day love-ins, but this was a good week for surfing the internet. I’m thrilled to be finding some pleasure in one of my favourite past times again. Here’s some of what I’ve been reading, hearing, watching:
- This week, the Ontario provincial government promised it will clean up Grassy Narrows First Nation’s polluted river system, which has been contaminated with mercury for four decades. While this is a moment worth celebrating, similar promises have been made and broken before. You can make a pledge here to support Grassy Narrows until the river is truly clean and mercury justice is achieved
- Kai Cheng Thom on the Galloway affair, survival, and women’s participation in CanLit rape culture, and Jen Sookfong Lee on racism and entitlement in CanLit.
- “What struck me the most about the group of people assembled—who have adopted words like ‘snowflake’ to point out how liberals and left-leaning people can’t handle criticism or any sort of challenge—was their victim complex.” Sarah Hagi on Toronto’s pro-Islamophobia rally
- Filed under inspiring online-publishing-I’d-love-to-see-more-of: Sophmore mag’s “A Woman Speaks” features nine activists speaking about their work and what fuels them, with incredible photography, videos, and web design to accompany.
- “Saying ‘I want to kill myself’ kept me alive.” Vivek Shraya is brilliant, and her new short film and visual essay about contemplating suicide is difficult and stunning and brave.
- A story about a dream: a podcast exploring the relationship between violence against Indigenous women and Indigenous land.
- How Marcia Brown Martel, a survivor of the policy known as the Sixties Scoop that separated Indigenous children in Ontario from their families, fought for justice and found her family.
- Mother and immigrant Jeanette Vizguerra speaks about taking refuge with her children in a church basement as risk of deportation looms.
- Setting an incredibly dangerous precedent in the nation-wide immigration raids happening in America right now, ICE agents arrested a domestic violence victim after she sought a protective order.
- Eden Robinson on her new book Son of a Trickster, softening her work for The Walrus, and why no one should be seen as a representative for 600 different nations.
- And also from Eden Robinson, on dating:
If you like me, why bring flowers? Dead plants you can’t eat or dry into tea. Bring me totes of salmon so fresh their blood smells like the sea, brined seal, shucked cockles, moose roasts. My loving gestures include gifts of wool work socks and value packs of cotton underwear. Also, jam.
- A love letter to the queer and trans community, and a radical love manifesto
- These 15 #pleasureprinciples about dating are excellent (and reminded me how much I love that Janet Jackson song)
- Two zines to check out: Femmes surviving toxic masculinity, featuring affirming and magical advice, and Decolonizing gender: a curriculum.
- Doreen St Félix on spirituality, motherhood, and Beyonce’s Grammy performance, and Myles E. Johnson on how some victories are greater than others.
- An interview with Morgan Parker about her new book, There are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé
- How makeup can affect people dealing with anxiety and depression
- “If we are truly at a transgender ‘tipping point’ as the fashion media insists, this greater acceptance of “fashion without limits” has yet to trickle down to the high street shopping experience. A clear example is fitting rooms – still often segregated on gender – despite the fact that all fitting rooms are individual cubicles.” In the fitting rooms with trans femmes
- I wish I had time to submit to this – maybe you do? LIES is looking for contributors!
- And finally, an very important how-to: defending communism