June 8, 2014
- “This is not the ‘Nordic’ approach, nor is it a Canadian variation on the ‘Nordic’ approach. It is an unconstitutional variation of our broken laws that impose more danger, more criminalization, and fewer safe options, contrary to the requirement of the Supreme Court of Canada to address these dangerous and ineffective laws. This made in Canada model will lead to a continued epidemic of violence against sex workers in Canada.” A year after the old rules were struck down by the Supreme Court, Canada’s government has passed new legislation on sex work in this country. For analysis, and to find out why these new rules will not make life safer for sex workers or those who live them them and love them, read more here, here and watch a panel discussion on the new legislation here. It’s also a great time to revisit Ainsley Doty’s piece from our recent issue, After Bedford.
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Are you a man looking to further feminist practice in your own life? Here are 35 really useful ways to put your thinking into practice every day.
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“Suddenly it became possible to see that if there’s a rule, it’s that the more obviously your work benefits others, the less you’re paid for it. CEOs and financial consultants that are actually making other people’s lives worse were paid millions, useless paper-pushers got handsomely compensated, people fulfilling obviously useful functions like taking care of the sick or teaching children or repairing broken heating systems or picking vegetables were the least rewarded.” Does your job actually benefit society? Then you’re probably not getting paid very much. David Graeber deconstructs why people with bullshit jobs are the highest earners.
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“When you have a living wage, you don’t get paid and think: do I buy food this week? How am I going to pay this bill? Are they gonna shut my lights off?” What happens when workers are actually paid a living wage? They can afford healthcare, childcare, food and rent. Provincial governments take note.
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“The woman is overrated. The woman has produced only one really great work of art. The woman owes her best work to something else. The woman can’t even really take credit for her one really great work of art.” Mallory Ortberg on how not to review women’s writing. (She also recently taught us how to talk to babies.)
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“You know — Canadian words…N—r doesn’t mean anything in Canada.” Whoopi Goldberg puts her foot in her mouth once again, claiming that Canada is free from a history of racial oppression. Let’s talk about the myth of Canada as a ‘postracial’ country, and examine our history more closely.
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“We need to believe that our neighbor, with whom we chat late at night while walking the dog, will not suddenly raise an eyebrow and start talking about our legs, our hair, our bodies, and that we will not have to mentally calculate how far it is to the door, how many times we have to go out at night alone, how many days are left on our lease.” Sarah Jaffe on the “not all men” phenomenon, and why women so desperately wish we could believe it.
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“I feel like I’ve been waiting all my life for women to be talking the way we are right now, and that many men have joined in the conversation or support from the sidelines or get it is magnificent and inspiriting.” Jessica Valenti interviews Rebecca Solnit, talking about her coinage of the term ‘mansplaining’, rape culture, and online harassment.
- In the wake of her death at 93, there have been numerous tributes to lifelong activist Yuri Kochiyama, who fought for reparations for Japanese internment in the US, and worked with the Black Power movement and the anti-war movement. Read more about her life and work, and watch this interview between Kochiyama and Angela Davis: “People in the movement sustain each other. It’s because their spirit is so contagious.”
