February 22, 2015
- The week leading up to Oscars often produces numerous articles on the utter inanity of the event, but this year The Hollywood Reporter actually managed to convince us that the entire voting process is verified horseshit. This piece featured an anonymous Academy member explaining the reasons behind her votes; it includes gems like this, “Selma is a well-crafted movie, but … having the cast show up in T-shirts saying ‘I can’t breathe’ [at their New York premiere] — I thought that stuff was offensive. Did they want to be known for making the best movie of the year or for stirring up shit?” (In lieu of watching the Oscars, we think you should watch one of these movies.)
- OK, now that we have bashed the Academy Awards, it’s worth mentioning that Kristen Stewart won a Cesar (France’s equivalent of the Oscars) this week for her role in Clouds of Sils Maria. Why are we telling you this? Because the movie is excellent! Go watch the trailer on Youtube! (Sidebar: The Vanity Fair website is freaking out about the Oscars! They love that shit!)
- The Toast published some great stuff this week (doy)—some of our favourite pieces included, “After Amy Tan: An Asian American Literature Roundtable,” “Feminist Postpartum Vignettes,” and “Femslash Friday: The Other Woman.”
- The New Inquiry offers a retrospective on The Virgin Suicides, director Sofia Coppola’s freshman effort. Talking about this movie with friends recently, we remembered that maybe we were too young when we first watched it, but then this article reminded us that Coppola’s film was originally billed as a young-adult blockbuster.
- GUTS editor Ella Bedard tells us “How to drink beer and support striking workers too.” While you’re guzzling your can of PBR, keep in mind that the United Steel Workers (USW) Local 9176 are approaching their 18-month strike anniversary.
- It’s enraging that the three Toronto police officers who were charged with gang sexual assault this week are receiving pay while on suspension. Fire the fuckers!
- More grim and heartbreaking news: Robyn Gervais, the lawyer appointed to represent aboriginal interests at the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry (the investigation focuses on the disappearance of women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside between 1997 and 2002), has resigned, “saying she was too outnumbered by those representing police interests.”
- “This is What a Troll-Free Internet Feels like.” Mother Jones profiles new feminist web-mag, Femsplain, whose mandate is to “highlight all the amazing diversity of women on the Internet who might not have another outlet to share their experiences.” What’s your guys thoughts on Femsplain?
- Shameless published an excellent recap of “We Belong! Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Toronto’s Municipal Election,” a panel discussion that featured Munira Abukar (former Ward 2 Toronto City Councillor candidate), Olivia Chow (former Toronto mayoral candidate), and Kristyn Wong-Tam(current Ward 27 Toronto City Councillor). Anyone who remembers the disgusting racist and sexist cartoon of Olivia Chow in the Toronto Sun will understand the importance of having a platform to discuss the city’s hateful political climate.
- Xeph Kalma’s guest post on the Belle Jar speaks frankly about the microaggressions and misgendering trans women of colour regularly experience in work environments.
- The Victoria and Albert Museum has partnered with the Black Cultural Archives to present Staying Power: Photographs of Black British Experience 1950s -1990s, an exhibition exploring the history of Black culture in Britain. ID got to talk with the curator of the exhibition about the various themes of the photographs and the histories of the iconic black photographers themselves.
- Jacobin went to the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, and returned with the “porn boss playbook of business management.”
- Did you know that there is a humour magazine devoted to satirizing life in New Brunswick? It’s like The Onion, but it only talks about New Brunswick! And it has a great name—The Manatee! It includes great comedic nuggets like this: “NB musician ‘sings what she sees,’ runs out of material.”
- Black Girl Dangerous (BDG), a rad site that showcases the work and stories of queer and trans* people of color, tackles intersectionality in its new webseries, Qraftish. This is a really great video to share with younger siblings or students seeking to learn more about feminism.
- Autostraddle answered a question that has being weighing on our minds, Which SNL woman would you want to co-parent a kitten with? We gotta say, they really got the number one spot right. Gilda Radner forever!