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By marissaao • 13 years ago

The Canadian Election – What’s At Stake

Another election is coming up in Canada. As things stand, the Conservatives are in a position to win a majority in Parliament. We cannot let that happen.

The Harper Conservatives are without a doubt the worst party we have on women’s rights. They’ve tried to introduce legislation that would create a legal basis for recognizing fetal personhood. They closed 12 out of 16 of the regional offices of Status of Women Canada, cut the funding of those that were left, took the word “equality” out of the agency’s mandate, and prohibited funding to women’s groups for advocacy and law reform. They killed national daycare. They refuse to take any action to ensure pay equity. They shut down the Court Challenges Program, which was instrumental in many of the legal victories for women’s rights since the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. One of the first things the Harper Conservatives did when they were elected was to attempt to overturn same-sex marriage. Harper recently used the Conservative majority in the Senate to block a bill ensuring federal protection of trans rights.

This is what they’ve done with a minority government. Imagine what they’ll accomplish with an unchecked majority.

There are many more reasons why the  Harper Conservatives are horrible.

I would like to press my fellow Canadians to be more active in this election than you have ever been before. Volunteer with your local non-Conservative candidates. Write letters to your local newspaper. Just take a ...
By marissaao • 13 years ago

An Open Letter To Lady Gaga, From A Fan And Fellow Feminist

Cross-posted at This Is Hysteria!

Dear Lady Gaga,

I love what you do. The populist spirit with which you insist that pop culture is art. Your devotion to performance. The sense of community that you’re building with your fans. That you’re not afraid to make out with butch women in your music videos, or be photographed in drag. I love that you’ve taken up the phrase “born this way,” not only as the title of your next single and album, but almost as a slogan. In light of the constructedness of your image, it’s very post-modern, and speaks strongly to self-determination – you become the person you want to be, and no one else can tell you who you are. And I ...

Cross-posted at This Is Hysteria!

Dear Lady Gaga,

I love what you do. The populist spirit with which you insist that pop culture is art. Your devotion to performance. The sense of community that you’re building with your ...
By marissaao • 13 years ago

An Open Letter To Lady Gaga, From A Fan And Fellow Feminist

Cross-posted at This Is Hysteria!

Dear Lady Gaga,

I love what you do. The populist spirit with which you insist that pop culture is art. Your devotion to performance. The sense of community that you’re building with your fans. That you’re not afraid to make out with butch women in your music videos, or be photographed in drag. I love that you’ve taken up the phrase “born this way,” not only as the title of your next single and album, but almost as a slogan. In light of the constructedness of your image, it’s very post-modern, and speaks strongly to self-determination – you become the person you want to be, and no one else can tell you who you are. And I ...

Cross-posted at This Is Hysteria!

Dear Lady Gaga,

I love what you do. The populist spirit with which you insist that pop culture is art. Your devotion to performance. The sense of community that you’re building with your ...
By marissaao • 13 years ago

Homophobic Bullying Happens In Canada Too

Cross-posted to This Is Hysteria!

Many of us have been shocked and saddened by the tragic deaths of gay youths that have resulted from homophobic bullying these past couple of weeks in the United States. The problem of bullying and harassment has received far less attention here in Canada. This is not because there is no problem. Recent data being collected in Canada on homophobic bullying in schools shows results very similar to those in the USA.

High schools are “the land that time forgot” in the ongoing battle to eradicate homophobia, laments University of Winnipeg education and communications Prof. Catherine Taylor.

“It’s a non-issue for so many people these days. They don’t recognize how bad the situation is for so many people,” said ...

Cross-posted to This Is Hysteria!

Many of us have been shocked and saddened by the tragic deaths of gay youths that have resulted from homophobic bullying these past couple of weeks in the United States. The problem ...
By marissaao • 13 years ago

“Curing” Homosexuality Is A Charitable Activity In Canada

Exodus Global Alliance is a US-based “religious” organization that claims to offer “freedom from homosexuality.” They say that homosexuality is a disorder, one that they treat with religion and therapy.

As we know, it is a) impossible to “cure” homosexuality, and b) harmful and demeaning to gay people to attempt to do so.

No government should support an agenda that is based on fantasy, the only effect of which is to actively cause harm to people. And yet, Exodus Global Alliance is a full registered charity in Canada, with all the benefits that come along with that status.

Inspired by New Zealand’s refusal to grant Exodus charity status, there is now a campaign in Canada to do the same.

Learn more about it ...

Exodus Global Alliance is a US-based “religious” organization that claims to offer “freedom from homosexuality.” They say that homosexuality is a disorder, one that they treat with religion and therapy.

As we know, it is a) impossible to ...
By marissaao • 13 years ago

The latest shot at Canadian women is aimed at sex-workers

You can add this to the list of anti-woman things the Conservative government has done: treat sex-workers who work indoors instead of on the street like members of organized crime.

New regulations were recently announced which allow the government to crack down on certain offences associated with organized crime, without having to go to the trouble of getting warrants and such. One of those offences is “the keeping off a common bawdy house” which is defined by the Criminal Code of Canada as,

a place that is kept or occupied, or resorted to by one or more persons, for the purpose of prostitution or the practice of acts of indecency.

So a sex worker who takes clients at home, or at a condo ...

You can add this to the list of anti-woman things the Conservative government has done: treat sex-workers who work indoors instead of on the street like members of organized crime.

New regulations were recently announced which allow the ...
By marissaao • 13 years ago

Who Counts In Canada?

Cross-posted on This Is Hysteria

Canada’s Conservative government has decided to cut down the long census form from 63 to 8 questions, and are instead sending out the cut questions in a voluntary survey.

Such is Prime Minister Harper’s level of infatuation with US conservativism. If they had an uproar over the census, then darn it, Canada should have one too – even if it means Harper has to fabricate one himself.

But really, I think Harper had other very good reasons to shorten the census. Reasons that are good for him and his plan to shift the Canadian political spectrum to the right, not good for Canadians.

This isn’t about privacy. It’s about information. It’s about the anti-intellectualism of neo-conservativism. It’s ...

Cross-posted on This Is Hysteria

Canada’s Conservative government has decided to cut down the long census form from 63 to 8 questions, and are instead sending out the cut questions in a voluntary survey.

Such is Prime ...
By marissaao • 13 years ago

The Mel Gibson Meme

Trigger warning for links: violent and abusive language

By now, we’ve all heard about Mel Gibson’s racist and misogynistic rants threatening his wife. 

I can’t say that I’m surprised by Gibson’s behaviour. What I have been rather stunned by is how his rants have caught on as a meme – although in retrospect it shouldn’t have. We are, after all, talking about the internet here.

There have been remixes and parodies. Someone put the 20 worst quotes over photos of kittens.

The whole thing leaves me appalled and baffled. These are supposed to be, what, amusing? I was going to write a post for my blog about the trend, but I couldn’t quite figure out what to say. So I thought ...

Trigger warning for links: violent and abusive language

By now, we’ve all heard about Mel Gibson’s racist and misogynistic rants threatening his wife. 

I can’t say that I’m surprised by Gibson’s behaviour. What I have been rather stunned by ...

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