The War on Womyn Continues

I was on a talk radio show recently about violence against womyn and the conversation quickly turned to why womyn stay in abusive relationships.

THIS is one of the reasons.

Womyn in abusive situations are stuck in a Catch-22. Stay in the relationship and continue to endure abuse and ostracism from others or leave the relationship and possibly have the abuse cease or leave the relationship and have the abuse escalate.

I've said this before and I will say it again: Statistically, a womyn's experiences of violence drastically increase AFTER they leave said relationship. Often, the violence results in murder.

In this latest case, the womyn had separated from her husband, attempted a restraining order and had called the police multiple times. And now, she's dead. According to CBC.ca, her murder is the third family homicide case in Quebec this year alone. Quebec is also currently in the midst of the trial for Ms. Michaud who appears to have been murdered by a neighbour. All this in only one province during one particular frame of time, in a country that apparently prides itself on democracy and keeping the peace.

My heart goes out to the children of Ms. Ghannoum and Ms. Michaud. What unspeakable tragedies.

Another Not-So-Friendly PSA

Children: Please observe carefully.

Good Satire.

Bad Satire.

Observe the subtle differences between intelligently used irony and outright assholery.

"Water Not Recognized As Human Right"

... a headline that breaks my heart.

A headline which clearly breaks CBC's heart too, based on their very obviously slanted article that follows it. But I'm not complaining. I'm sad, too.

Crazies Come Out To Play In Calgary

If you're looking for a Canadian city with a perpetually negative reputation, look no further than Toronto. On any given day, someone, somewhere is bashing Toronto, actively hating Toronto or talking about the latest crime spree of sorts in Toronto.

Hell, there was an entire documentary based on hating Toronto!

But watch out T.Dot; Calgary is climbing up the ranks and looking to steal your much-coveted spot as the most hated city in Canada.

Why?

First, they went and invited former President George W. Bush to come and speak. (True, there were anti-Bush protesters, but still... they invited him at all. That's telling).

Then, religious folk from Calgary got upset with the atheists buying some bus ads, so they went and bought their own. Which, whether you agree with the atheists or not, goes to prove their point that people are uber concerned about "their" God.

And then, in a move that stunned the country as a whole, Calgarians witnessed 50 white supremacists marching down the streets on the International Day to End Racism, who then clashed with actual anti-racists protesters. Apparently those ever-clever aryan race asshats have called March 21st "White Pride World Day". Anti-racists advocates didn't like that, so they blocked their way and then riots ensued.

Calgary police are now being criticized for protecting both the white supremacists and the anti-racist demonstrators.

Personally, I don't believe in any violent protesting and I do believe in Freedom of Speech but I also believe that it's really fucking sad when in 2009, Canada has at least 50 people in one city alone who are wanting to march through the streets in support of White Pride.

I love Alberta, I really do, but shit shows like these only act to reinforce the stereotype of Alberta as the Conservative, racist, Bible Belt of Canada.

(For a healthy dose of the Alberta that I love and adore, check out Alberta: Get Rich or Die Trying).

In Defense of Barbara

I was planning on writing a post about Barbie's 50th Anniversary this year and how I call myself a feminist and a major Barbie lover, but it seems that everyone has done this. Which makes me really happy, actually.

I could be sour grapes that other feminist bloggers have stolen my thunder, but the truth is, I'm happy to see that people are engaging in a critical analysis of Barbie.

In a nutshell? I understand that Barbie promotes unrealistic body ideals and that as a skinny, blonde, white girl growing up, I took that for granted. Barbie kinda looked like me, after all. But the truth is that Barbie was and still is in many ways, one of the few toys that didn't require you to mother it. She's not a doll in the typical sense of the word. You didn't feed Barbie, clothe Barbie or change Barbie like she was your child. You acted like you were her. And Barbie had some pretty bitchin' jobs, too. (For proof of how multi-tasking Barbie is, check out the amazing Sarah Haskins' video.)

Barbie was a "grown up" who was mature and not fetishized. She's a healthy way for young girls to see themselves as "older" without being... a Bratz doll. Hell, even the amazing Dora the Explorer got a makeover to look older and more attractive! Not cool. What was wrong with the other Dora?

So to me, the real magic of Barbie is that yes, she was an adult, but she wasn't telling girls to grow up and be an adult too quickly. Bratz et al on the other hand are telling girls that they can be adults now. All they need is to hike that skirt, lower that shirt and load up on the makeup. Barbie on the other hand, let you imagine you really were a Vet who was checking up on Skipper's dog or that you were cruising along the beach with your fancy car and all your lady friends. You were imagining it, after all.

So I say kudos, Barbie. You and your man have created impossible beauty ideals and promoted heterosexism above all else, but your plastic ways have also shown young girls (and boys!) that pretty girls aren't just pretty girls, they can be doctors, pilots, vets and singers, too.

Here's to 50 more years of synthetic tresses and disproportionate torsos!

Laugh of the Day

Alright ladies, here’s the deal: In case you thought that your liberation was the result of hard work fighting for suffrage, access to education, reproductive justice, or hell, even the right to wear pants, well girl, you are mistaken. Uh huh. According to the Vatican, washing machines are the real heroes in this story.

On International Women’s Day, the Vatican’s main newspaper had an editorial proclaiming that womyn around the world should be hugging their machines because the availability of the automatic washing machine is the number one cause of womyn's liberation. Apparently, it's what saved us. It liberated womyn from the labour of washing laundry which then allowed them to do other things. Like clean dishes, wash floors, fold the damn laundry, do the gardening, cook the meals…

Oh Vatican, keep the laughs a comin’. Honestly. This shit rules my world.

Of course, if you want my opinion, what really set womyn free was “the right to bare arms”. That's what really sealed the deal on our equality.

And the Conservatives Continue with their Classy Ways

Taken from the March 2nd Question Period in the House of Commons:

Irene Mathyssen (London-Fanshawe, ON, NDP): Mr. Speaker, yesterday was International Women's Day. Unfortunately, in Canada, our celebrations were marred by the regressive actions of this Government when it killed pay equity. Worse, they've insulted Canadian women by telling us that this decision was in our best interests. Mr. Speaker, women are not naive. We're sick of the half truths and we will fight back. Will the Government table any legal opinions that show it has contravened the Charter, and if not, what is this Government hiding?

Hon. Vic Toews (President of the Treasury Board): Well, Mr. Speaker, this Government thought it was wrong that women would have to wait for 15 or 20 years to achieve pay equity in the workforce, and so we brought forward legislation that was, in fact, partly inspired by the Liberal taskforce on this issue in 2004. And, in fact, we, in fact, ensure that … and I know the Member from Beaches got an issue and maybe she can speak later, but she just keeps on whining and whining and yelling, but it's very difficult for me to speak in these kind of circumstances. (FC's Note: Emphasis mine).

Irene Mathyssen (London-Fanshawe, ON, NDP): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Minister is so constable sending (FC's Note: I think this is supposed to read as condescending) and we're tired of the sales job. We can see through it, which is with disproportion at alI affected by the recession. Globally, 70% of the poor are women and in wealthy countries like ours, women are the majority of the poor. Women still earn less than men, and as a result, have less to fall back on when times are tough. Killing pay equity is an afront to women's human rights. Can this Government explain by muzzling women was necessary as part of their so-called economic plan? Or are they admit that it's ideologically driven and a swipe at human rights?

Oh the Conservatives; an ever classy bunch.