The books I read last year, in order, with a one sentence review.
No More Appeals to Power: On Learning from Kavanaugh and Rejecting White Feminism
When I read that Brett Kavanaugh was, after everything, being confirmed as a US Supreme Court Justice I felt exactly nothing. There was nothing where devastation was. There was nothing where grief was. There was nothing where rage was. When checking in with each other about the Kavanaugh confirmation, my dear friend Jennifer Scott hit … Continue reading No More Appeals to Power: On Learning from Kavanaugh and Rejecting White Feminism
You’re Not Special: Why Your Non-profit’s / Union’s / Political Party’s Justification for Not Paying a Living Wage is Just as Inadequate as Walmart’s
I didn’t want to write this piece. Not only because it feels tiresome, given how many times I've recited these arguments in personal conversations, in the comments sections of job postings, and with fellow decision makers in NGOs, unions, and political parties, but because we're often told not to speak publicly about the left's dirty … Continue reading You’re Not Special: Why Your Non-profit’s / Union’s / Political Party’s Justification for Not Paying a Living Wage is Just as Inadequate as Walmart’s
Dear fam, why are we volunteering to police victims? On Steven Galloway, UBC Accountable, and Our Responsibilities as Bystanders
It’s been a year. Well, it’s been a number of years, but for victims and survivors of sexual and intimate violence, the last year has been a dumpster fire of triggers, (un)surprising revelations, and all too familiar narrative arcs that end in disappointment. As someone living in overlapping communities that include writers, academics, progressives, and … Continue reading Dear fam, why are we volunteering to police victims? On Steven Galloway, UBC Accountable, and Our Responsibilities as Bystanders
Yes, the Left and the Democratic Party Need to Start Listening, but Not to the Same People They’ve Been Centring for Decades
So...it happened. Donald Trump is the United States President-elect. There will be a “President Trump”. In the last few weeks before the election many friends (and almost all the commentators) had been telling me “It's okay, Clinton is up in the polls. Her ground game is going to vastly outperform Trump's. Even some Republicans are … Continue reading Yes, the Left and the Democratic Party Need to Start Listening, but Not to the Same People They’ve Been Centring for Decades
The Contemporary Language of Everyday Racism that Enables Us to Say “It’s not me”
There's a familiar script that plays out periodically in "Western" - perhaps especially American - news / infotainment media. A prominent figure says or does something. Members of the public, commentators, and sometimes other people directly involved call it out for being racist. The prominent figure speaks out, their words thick with emotion and pain at … Continue reading The Contemporary Language of Everyday Racism that Enables Us to Say “It’s not me”
The Devaluation of Feminized Labour, and the Thankless Job of Mothering the Canadian Nation-State, or “Wages for Wife Work!”
Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau spoke publicly last week about her need for additional staff to keep up with the appearance / meeting requests and correspondence she has received since occupying the role of the spouse of a very popular prime minister. While there is precedent for additional staff for the PM's spouse (she currently has one staffer), much … Continue reading The Devaluation of Feminized Labour, and the Thankless Job of Mothering the Canadian Nation-State, or “Wages for Wife Work!”
On how many stories we’re telling, when we tell a rape story
The fall Jian Ghomeshi was fired by CBC I was TAing for an Intro to Fiction class. The professor was one of my favourites, with whom I'd taken two classes during my undergraduate degree. The respect she routinely showed her mostly first-year students impressed me. While many profs and TAs (myself included) participate in the … Continue reading On how many stories we’re telling, when we tell a rape story
this practice 