What's a Word's Worth?

I think I'm in love! A "Wordy Rappinghood" cover by Chicks on Speed? Yes, please.

I've been on a pretty tight writing deadline over the past few days and during my dancearoundmyroom breaks I've been listening to the Tom Tom Club version of this song on a loop.

My favourite line: "Words are like a certain person--don't say what they mean, don't mean what they say."

Seriously, I want to have an art orgy with all the members of chicks on speed and Tina Weymouth from Tom Tom Club where we're all clad in asymmetrical paper dresses and yell out catchy lyrics about semiotics as we're cumming. David Byrne can join in too.

Added bonus: "Glamour Girl" by Chicks on Speed.



Can these women do no wrong? I love the trashy, European dance video from the 90s feel almost as much as I like making fun of myself while I sing this song.

Cool Reads

Check out these proudly Canadian articles to titillate the sexy tip of your brain:

First off, Hal Niedzviecki, founder of Broken Pencil Magazine, ponders the question "Why are ordinary women exposing themselves online?" Focusing primarily on married, middle-class couples, he looks into the popularity of sites such as voyeurweb and, I think, bears witness to the fact that voyeurism, exhibitionism and sexy images are a huge part of human sexual expression, especially now.

The Walrus » Hal Niedzviecki on Internet Porn Addiction

Then, Alison Lee of Good for Her, discusses "The New Face of Porn" in This Magazine. Giving a great overview of the conflicted history of feminist scholarship around pornography, she talks about the new stakes feminists have in porn and how we can get our hands on smut that's hot, hardcore and stamped with a big approving F.

Happy sex geeking!

Posted using ShareThis

Pin-up Piss-Off

May 1971: “Male supremacy is all right — but I favor a different position.”


Dissatisfied with the rigid standards of beauty and thinness that are sadly de rigeur in Western culture, many grrrls have turned to the vintage pin-up as a alternative representation of the female form. Appropriating cheesecake images that were once only intended to titillate heterosexual men, this remixed celebration of the work of artists such as Alberto Vargas has emerged alongside a slew of art forms which make old new again.

What then, are we to make of these Vargas prints which take the empowering slogans of 70's era social movements and transform them into sexual invitations directed at the (likely white) male audience of Playboy magazine?

March 1969: “What sort of peace did you have in mind, Mr. Smith?”


April 1973: “So you’re from the Bureau of Indian Affairs?”


September 1970: “I believe in black pride, but there are some things I’d rather take lying down.”

November 1967: “And that, Mr. Bigelow, is yet another definition of black power.”

Clearly influenced by the "sexual revolution" that emerged temporally alongside grassroots liberation initiatives, such as the feminist and black power movements, these drawings water down political struggles and appropriate them in a way that is only humourous to those who have a stake in the status quo.

But, what about today? Looking at these prints, I can't help but think of other problematic campaigns that have appropriated images from different social movements in order to forward their own rights--most recently the pro-gay marriage movement's use of pictures of water fountains and benches marked "gay" and "straight" that attempt to bring home the gravity of their cause by likening anti-gay marriage sentiment to the kind of pernicious racism endured by African Americans through racial segregation.

What do you think?

Writing Tips that kick TS/TG Oppression right where it hurts!

Dear Non-Trans students, writers and bloggers,

As spring draws near and your desire/need to overthrow hetero colonial capitalist patriarchy is invigorated by the prospect of brighter days and muscular, unshaven legs spinning bicycle wheels, why not heed Jacob Hale's advice and aquaint yourself with these:

Suggested Rules for Non-Transsexuals Writing about Transsexuals, Transsexuality, Transsexualism, or Trans...

From sandystone.com:

"1. Approach your topic with a sense of humility: you are not the experts about transsexuals, transsexuality, transsexualism, or trans ____. Transsexuals are.

2. Interrogate your own subject position: the ways in which you have power that we don't (including powers of access, juridicial power, institutional power, material power, power of intelligible subjectivity), the ways in which this affects what you see and what you say, what your interests and stakes are in forming your initial interest, and what your interests and stakes are in what you see and say as you continue your work. (Here's what Bernie Hausman, p.vii, says about how her initial interest was formed: She had been reading about transvestism and ran across library material on transsexualism. "Now *that* was fascinating." Why? "The possibilities for understanding the construction of 'gender' through an analysis of transsexualism seemed enormous and there wasn't a lot of critical material out there." Remember that using those with less power within institutionalized, material and discursive structures as your meal ticket (retention, tenure, promotion) is objectionable to those so used.)

3. Beware of replicating the following discursive movement (which Sandy Stone articulates in "The Empire Strikes Back," and reminds us is familiar from other colonial discourses): Initial fascination with the exotic; denial of subjectivity, lack of access to dominant discourse; followed by a species of rehabilition.

4. Don't erase our voices by ignoring what we say and write, through gross misrepresentation (as Hausman does to Sandy Stone and to Kate Bornstein), by denying us our academic credentials if we have them (as Hausman does to Sandy Stone), or by insisting that we must have academic credentials if were are to be taken seriously.

5. Be aware that our words are very often part of conversations we're having within our communities, and that we may be participating in overlapping conversations within multiple communities, e.g., our trans communities, our scholarly communities (both interdisciplinary ones and those that are disciplinarily bounded), feminist communities, queer communities, communities of color. Be aware of these conversations, our places within them, and our places within community and power structures. Otherwise, you won't understand our words.

6. Don't totalize us, don't represent us or our discourses as monolithic or univocal; look carefully at each use of 'the', and at plurals.

7. Don't uncritically quote non-transsexual "experts," e.g., Harry Benjamin, Robert Stoller, Leslie Lothstein, Janice Raymond, Virgina Prince, Marjorie Garber. Apply the same critical acumen to their writings as you would to anyone else.

8. Start with the following as, minimally, a working hypothesis that you would be loathe to abandon: "Transsexual lives are lived, hence livable" (as Naomi Scheman put it in "Queering the Center by Centering the Queer").

9. When you're talking about male-to-female transsexual discourses, phenomena,experiences, lives, subjectivities, embodiments, etc., make that explicit and keep making it explicit throughout; stating it once or twice is not sufficient to undermine paradigmaticity. Don't toss in occasional references to female-to-male transsexual discourses, phenomena, experiences, lives, subjectivities, embodiments, etc., without asking what purposes those references serve you and whether or not those purposes are legitimate.

10. Be aware that if you judge us with reference to your political agenda (or agendas) taken as the measure or standard, especially without even asking if your agenda(s) might conflict with ours and might not automatically take precedence over ours, that it's equally legitimate (or illegitimate, as the case may be) for us to use our political agenda(s) as measures by which to judge you and your work.

11. Focus on: What does looking at transsexuals, transsexuality, transsexualism, or transsexual _____ tell you about *yourself*, *not* what does it tell you about trans.

12. Ask yourself if you can travel in our trans worlds. If not, you probably don't get what we're talking about. Remember that we live most of our lives in non-transsexual worlds, so we probably do get what you're talking about.

13. Don't imagine that you can write about the trope of transsexuality, the figure of the transsexual, transsexual discourse/s, or transsexual subject positions without writing about transsexual subjectivities, lives, experiences, embodiments. Ask yourself: what relations hold between these categorial constructions, thus what implications hold between what you write about one and what you don't write about another.

14. Don't imagine that there is only one trope of transsexuality, only one figure of "the" transsexual, or only one transsexual discourse at any one temporal and cultural location.

15. If we attend to your work closely enough to engage in angry, detailed criticism, don't take this as a rejection, crankiness, disordered ranting and raving, or the effects of testosterone poisoning. It's a *gift*. (And it's praise: there must be something we value about you to bother to engage you, especially since such engagement is often painful, as well as time-consuming, for us.)"

Magazine for and by girls seeks art director!

Authentik is an alternative magazine, written by girls for girls. Authentik Magazine’s vision is to encourage girls leadership skills, empowerment and self-expression. After producing two issues in French, we are currently preparing the first English issue. With an expected distribution of 10 000 copies, Authentik Magazine is a province-wide project. The project is just starting but we have great plans and prospects for the future.

We are looking for an enthusiastic young designer looking to gain invaluable experience as an Art Director. Due to the nature of this project there is no certainty about whether this will be a paid or an unpaid position, though charity tax receipts can be provided. The Art Director/Graphic Designer will collaborate with our small editorial team to ensure a dynamic professional magazine. More information and past issues may be found at www.magauthentik.com

Main activities:
-Ensure a professional
yet girl style
-Interpret theme and
articles to help us choose appropriate visuals, concepts, headlines etc
-Responsible for page
layout
-Responsible for designing
promotional documents

Type of designer we
are looking for:
-Interested in the
process of making an alternative girls magazines
-Self-directed team
player
-Graphic Design
experience
- Experience working
on a magazine (fantastic!)
-Be available until spring
2009

If you are interested in working on an exciting starting project please don’t hesitate to contact us
for further information and a chit-chat.

Please send a brief introduction and examples of your work to: authentik.magazine@gmail.com

Check out this feminist job opportunity!

Communication coordinator

Girls Action Foundation-Fondation filles d’action is a national charitable organization that inspires and supports the empowerment, leadership and healthy development of girls and young women across Canada. We provide leadership and violence prevention programs for girls in partnership with schools and community organizations. We also facilitate and provide resources and training to a national network consisting of organizations and individuals doing work with girls and young women. To further advance our mandate, we also collaborate with academics, policy makers, youth organizations and others whose work supports girls.

Position summary: Under the authority of the Executive Director the communication coordinator provide assistance to and report to the Director of Communications in the coordination and implementation of Girls Action Foundation’s communication strategy. The successful candidate will plan, coordinate and implement various external and internal communication initiatives including: preparation and editing of press releases, content development, writing and editing for web-based initiatives, Newsletters, and strategic communication pieces for members, stakeholders and other key audiences. In addition the position will support the overall knowledge transfer element of our communication strategy, and develop and implement a proactive media communication strategy.

The successful candidate will have excellent inter-personal skills, proven experience in writing and editing press releases, editorials, presentations, news articles, and web writing, as well as be familiar with major issues facing girls and young women in Canadian society today.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• University degree or college diploma in communications, public relations or a related discipline.
• 3-5 years experience in communications, public relations, government relations, or related field
• Fluency in French and English (written and oral)
• Knowledge of Canadian and Quebec media
• Superior writing, editing and oral communication skills in English
• Demonstrated success in the development and implementation of proactive communication initiatives including media relations; event planning and coordination; the creation of marketing tools and online communications.
• Experience initiating and managing on-line communications including web content management, promotion and e-communications/campaigning strategies
• Ability to manage concurrent projects with competing deadlines
• Strong planning and organizational skills with excellent attention to detail
• Ability to work independently, as part of a team
• Knowledge of Web site software is an asset
• Experience in a feminist organization is an asset.

How to apply

Please send resume, cover letter, two relevant samples of your writing, salary expectations and at least two references by December 8 2008 to: info@girlsactionfoundation.ca

(Electronic submissions are encouraged)

Applications can also be faxed to: 514-948-5926

Or mailed to:

Girls Action Foundation – Fondation filles d’action

24 Mont Royal Ouest, Suite 601

Montreal, Quebec H2T 2S2

We thank everyone for applying but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Feminist Responses to the Bouchard-Taylor Commission

FEMINIST RESPONSES TO THE
BOUCHARD-TAYLOR COMMISSION
RÉPONSES FÉMINISTES À LA COMMISSION BOUCHARD-TAYLOR

The symposium brings together scholars and representatives of immigrant and women’s groups in Quebec in order to examine, from a variety of feminist perspectives, the issues that led to the debate around “reasonable accommodation” and the effects of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission.

Le symposium se propose non seulement de réexaminer les travaux et le rapport de la commission, mais aussi de susciter une discussion critique quant à la place à réserver aux prises de position féministes dans le débat sur les accommodements raisonnables.

Alia Al-Saji, McGill University
Nancy Burrows, Fédération des femmes du Québec
Emilie Connolly and Robyn Maynard, Accommodate This! (awesome!!!)
Samaa Elibyari, Canadian Council of Muslim Women
Louise Langevin, Université Laval
Gada Mahrouse, Concordia University
Tess Tesalona, Immigrant Workers Center
Daniel Weinstock, Université de Montréal

Date: Friday, November 28th, 2008, 9 am to 5 pm, Leacock, Room 232
Please register: (514) 398-3911 or info@mcrtw.mcgill.ca