July 13, 2014
The Morgentaler Clinic in New Brunswick (and the ONLY private abortion facility in the entire province) is slated to close on July 18. Lend your support now by contributing to the clinic’s funding campaign!
- This week, Gawker Media announced that it was replacing the current editor-in-chief of Jezebel with Emma Carmichael, formerly of The Hairpin. Readers and contributors of Jezebel are questioning the choice, given that Dodai Stewart, the longtime deputy editor of the feminist website, seems for many to be the obvious candidate. With Stewart being one of the few women of colour on the masthead, the move has been read as a further amplification of the site’s “white voices.”
- Gradient Lair responds to the insanely popular kickstarter campaign, “Potato Salad,” which was started by a guy in Ohio looking to make a few bucks to craft his first potato salad, and which has, in the span of a week, raised nearly $50,000. While the debate rages on about whether or not Zack Danger Brown (the guy who started it all) should keep the money, Yaya M from New York has ingeniously revealed the racial/class dynamic of the the entire crowd-sourcing platform by launching her own campaign called “I need some white privilege.” For a donation of $5, she will “agree to be the black friend you are referencing when you tell people, ‘I’m not racist, I have a black friend.’”
- This week, the merits of Bill C-36—the government’s new, proposed anti-prostitution law (which would effectively “criminalize the purchase of sex, the advertising of sexual services, and place restrictions on public communication for soliciting sexual services”)—was debated among members of the Justice Committee. On July 7, during the hearing (which involved testimonials from sex workers), Conservative MP Robert Goguen asked a witness an incredibly offensive and bizarre question about her experience of being raped. Emmett Macfarlane from the Globe and Mail elaborates on why Goguen is the worst.
- This blog post about the “Feminism of Sailor Moon” will likely hit home for all of the 90s kids out there. “One of the more interesting subtexts of the old anime is how often consumerism is used to take advantage of young women. The male villain Jadeite’s many schemes to harvest human energy typically involve feminine-coded consumer activities, including a jewelry store, a fitness center, and a talent search.”
- “Tinder co-founder Whitney Wolfe is suing the dating app she helped start. She’s accusing co-founder Justin Mateen and Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Sean Rad … of harassment, discrimination, verbal abuse, and erasing her title and contributions to the company because, in their words, she was a ‘girl.’” Think Progress discusses sexism in the tech industry.
- Sarah Miller’s sarcastically funny response to Tom Junod’s essay, “In Praise of 42 Year Old Women” is worth a read. Katy Waldman from Slate answers the Junod piece by praising 56-year-old men.
- Looking for more laughs? Robin Thicke’s new album (“Paula” or popularly known as “I’m a creep”) sold less than 54 copies in Australia, only faring slightly better in Canada.
- Gender Focus tackles the growing trend of “cyber misogyny” among youth, looking at the case of Jada from Texas, a sixteen-year-old girl who spoke out this week after being raped at a party and harassed online.
- In the wake of Ronald Lee Haskell’s violent murder of a family of five in Texas this week, Mother Jones discusses US federal gun legislation, which currently does nothing to prevent domestic abusers from attaining firearms. “This is concerning, especially considering that in more than half of all states, fatal violence between intimate partners is most often perpetrated with a firearm.” The articles also provides some illuminating infographics about domestic abuse in the US.
- Axelle Despiegelaere, a Belgian soccer fan, was recently offered a modeling contract from L’Oréal after being spotted in photos of her attending a World Cup match. But, is this “modern celebrity fairytale” just a “commodified extension of the way games are broadcast”? TheNew Inquiry explores female sports fandom.
- On Friday, the Gitxsan Nation launched a court appeal against the newly approved Northern Gateway Pipeline. “The court challenge comes in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling that recognized the existence of aboriginal title, and as many First Nations gear up to assert their rights to oppose resource development on their lands without their consent.” Along with the federal court appeal, the Gitxsan Nation took action against “CN Rail, logging companies and sport fishermen” this week, serving notice “to leave their territory along the Skeena River.”
And last, but not least, there are only two more days left to submit a pitch for GUTS’s Sex Issue!
