Tides

tides M AY 2 0 1 9

May 2016

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tides M AY 2019

5 EDITORS’ NOTE

Welcome to Tides, an exploration of what keeps us afloat.

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Wherein we sail the seven seas and encounter pliable prostitutes delivered to your door, new electronic sleepware, arms escalation in police departments, exploitation of the creative class, the weaponization of porn, the plastic problem, true romance on Tinder, and drag queens reading progressive stories to children. By Alejandra Rivera, Keith Jackson, Greta Kooy, John Tabbernor, Sarah Rose, Sara Rabek, Carley England, Juliana Ferrante

42 FLOW

Reaching not-so-distant shores, here be dragons, or at least artfully tattooed scales. But even more interestingly, we ride the bleeding edge of wetware. By Kaschelle Thiessen

VO LU M E 1 / ISSUE 1

FEATURES 14 BANDING TOGETHER For bet-

ter or worse, local bands are learning new ways to publish, promote and produce themselves without the industry’s old guard. By Kurt Steigleder

17 NUCLEAR MELTDOWN The

supremacy of white-picket-fence relationships is on the decline as young Canadians find love and community in alternative family structures.

By Kaschelle Thiessen

20 THE NEW YOUNG TIMES

Tech-savvy readers are changing the game for traditional news outlets.

They’re harder to reach, but it doesn’t mean they’re not listening.

By Brett Young

22 THE DOCTOR IS ON And how

does that make you real? A therapy website offers affordable, convenient, immediate mental health support but lacks human connection.

By Caroline Jirka

25 THAT’S GROSS, UNLESS

YOU’RE UP FOR IT Looking for

non-vanilla sex? Now there are more widely accepted avenues for people to explore what makes them feel good.

By Rachel Louise Moore

COVER PHOTO AND ABOVE: COURTNEY BRICE / PHOTO EDITING: SARAH ROSE

28 PEELING BACK THE LABELS

In the anti-vax versus pro-vax debate, we’ve lost the ability to see the person behind the decision. By Greta Kooy

31

HIGH DINING A local chef is

elevating his passion for cooking with cannabis. Evan Elman has found a way to create a five-course, fine dining experience with enough THC to keep his guests wanting more.

By Danielle Lavis

34 FOOD FOR THOUGHT Our love

of food will stand the test of time.

How we gather and consume it? Not so much. By Helen Aikenhead

36 PRESS START FOR

EXPLOITATION Why the video

game industry is in turmoil over unionization. By John Tabbernor

40 MAKING IT

Thanks to the rising cost of living, Vancouverites have come together to create community spaces of all sorts: gardens, living areas, and now makerspaces. By Sean Sallis-Lyon

43 EMPLOYMENT RATES

How online reviews are shaping the face of work and benefitting those who have figured out how to manipulate them. By Juliana Ferrante MAY 2019 t i de s

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masthead EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Masa Takei CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Catherine Mullaly EDITORS

Natalie Brzyski, Greta Kooy, Kaschelle Thiessen, MANAGING EDITORS

Kurt Steigieder, John Tabbernor ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Helen Aikenhead WRITERS

Helen Aikenhead, Carley England, Juliana Ferrante, Keith Jackson, Caroline Jirka, Greta Kooy, Danielle Lavis, Rachel Louise Moore, Mia Prokopetz, Sara Rabek, Sarah Rose, Alejandra Rivera, Sean Sallis-Lyon, Kurt Steigleder, John Tabbernor, Kaschell Thiessen, Brett Young

Editors from top: Greta Kooy, Kaschelle Thiessen and Natalie Brzyski

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Courtney Brice, Sara Rose ILLUSTRATORS

The tides of change are rolling in: ready to jump?

Some change is just too

big, it seems, with too much momentum, to get our minds and collective actions around. (Thinking of climate change here.) But on an everyday level, in the realms of technology, business, and the arts, and in meeting our primal needs, humans are nothing if resilient.

Our world doesn’t look anything like the sleek futuristic visions we see in movies, but the level of automation and customization is bringing us closer to it. Tattoos become passé because we’re inserting literal magnets into our fingertips to make ourselves distant cousins to Magneto from the X-Men. Our lives are more centered around our mental or physical health than ever, but to counter this we find asocial tactics to deal with everyday tasks: your groceries or favourite restaurant will come straight to your door without you having to speak to anyone (except to thank the delivery driver).

Fresh-faced and starry-eyed, we’re trying to pave a new way, but it comes at a price. We no longer look PHOTO: COURTNEY BRICE

forward to a gold watch for long service; we hustle from gig to contract, and many of us will not afford retirement. The most intimate moments of our lives are surveilled, rated, and offered up for consumption by the masses. As the joke goes, we used to be concerned about the government wiretapping our phones; now we ask our wiretap what’s for dinner.

Tides magazine is the final product of a collective of this up-and-coming generation. Attempting to find the good, the hope and the potential in what’s to come, we asked ourselves how things used to be and investigated these sites of change.

The challenges presented to us by late-stage capitalism have forced us to face new realities. We are striving to create innovative solutions while hanging on to hope in the face of precarious prospects. It’s this next generation’s bookmark in a long history that is still being written.

Tides is our imperfect offering, a collection of stories exploring the ways we are confronting an uncertain future. ■

Cynthia Tran Vo ADVERTISING EDITOR

Brett Young CONTRIBUTING INFOGRAPH DESIGNER:

Nova Mujagic CONTRIBUTING COPY EDITORS + FACT CHECKING EDITORS

Elizabeth Kerschbaumer, Lacey Koop, Hanna McGalliard, Whitman Mclallen, Amanda Mitchell, Catherine Velazquez Duda, Jenna Young, Alexis Zygan PUBLISHER

School of Communication Sue Dritmanis, Co-Chair sdritman@capilanou.ca Tides is published once a year by the students in CMNS 490, Group Project in Publishing, a course in the Bachelor of Communication Studies degree at Capilano University, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V7J 3H5. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited.

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House of Dolls

Life in plastic is fantastic. The first legal sex-doll brothel opened in B.C. last December.

Is this the future of the world’s oldest profession? by Alejandra Rivera

K

risten Dickson always wanted to own a brothel. “To be the one that is in control of something so controversial is amazing to me,” she says. “I love the idea of being untouchable.”

Her dream was not an easy one to accomplish at first, especially due to the legalities of owning a brothel, but this didn’t stop her.

She contacted a lawyer and began to set the foundations for what would later become the first business of its kind to be made legal

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in Canada. In December of 2018, Dickson officially opened House of Dolls, a fully licensed sex-doll rental service.

The selling of sex is no modern phenomenon; in fact it’s often referred to as “the world’s oldest profession.” The job has changed considerably, however, with laws and regulations making prostitution one of the most difficult and dangerous occupations. Despite this, those involved in sex work have found new ways of making the law work for them, and

Dickson is certainly one of the industry’s pioneers.

House of Dolls operates out of Kamloops, B.C., as a home-based rental business for adult novelty toys. Because the city isn’t concerned with what people do with the items in their own homes, Dickson was able to work with the law rather than against it. The brothel business model, according to the City of Kamloops, would be classified as a body-rub parlour and is illegal. As a delivery service, however, House of Dolls is well

within its legal rights to operate as a legitimate business. “It’s like an escort agency,” she explained, “but without prostitution and human beings involved.”

Her clientele ranges from people in their 30s to senior citizens.

Some are couples, some are individuals with social anxieties. “Just a large variety,” she explains. As is the case with most sex work, client anonymity is a high priority. Dickson’s business was created with this in mind and allows its clients to express themselves sexually PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

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without feeling like they need to put their identities or reputations at risk. The House of Dolls experience also affords clients the assurance that they are at no risk of contracting any sexually transmitted diseases, something both clients and sex workers themselves are on wary of. Because of this, Dickson takes the sanitation of her dolls very seriously. After use, a doll is put through a rigorous cleaning process that takes three hours to complete. Dickson uses a blacklight and internal camera to examine all components of the doll’s body, looking for any foreign objects that could potentially be harmful to the doll’s next client.

Dickson, a wife and mother of two, takes great pride in her work. “My family is aware of my business and my children understand that mommy has mannequins that she dresses up and rents out,” she says. “I tell them that it’s like the ones that they see in the stores at the mall.” House of Dolls has given this entrepreneur the freedom to do what she wants without being scared of the law. And, for the most part, her business has been welcomed by the community.

House of Dolls has been extremely successful since opening and serves as a prime example of the obvious shifts within the sex work industry. “I have so many ideas for the future with this company, right now the possibilities are endless,” Dickson says. She insists that her business serves as a viable option for clients with disabilities, seniors or people with social anxiety who find it difficult to form relationships.

Although they are unconventional sexual partners for most, sex dolls can have a positive impact on an individual’s life and on sex work and the sex industry as a whole. • PHOTO: ISTOCK

Plugging in to Power Down

With a doctor on your wrist, wearable technology can revolutionize your life. by Keith Jackson A TYPICAL BEDTIME routine for 25-year-old Dylan Van As is in many ways like everyone else’s: he brushes his teeth, puts on his pyjamas and slips into bed. Before drifting off to sleep though, Van As has one more step to complete. “To be honest, I hate wearing my Apple watch during the day,” he says, “but I’ll wear it to bed every night.” Van As is a young entrepreneur, constantly working at expanding his businesses. This often involves staying up through the night, using his laptop or phone. His watch, however, isn’t intended for work but rather as a way to track his sleeping habits.

Although technology is often regarded as something that disrupts sleep, the answer to combating our nocturnal woes may actually be more technology. In 2014, the National Sleep Foundation reported Americans as having “good sleep quantity, but not quality.” There’s a variety of reasons why sleep quality has decreased, but it’s become clear among experts that overuse of gadgets like smartphones,tablets and laptop computers is at the top of the list. Several studies have shown that the blue light beaming off of LED screens can slow or halt the production of melatonin, the hormone in our bodies that lets the brain know it’s time for bed. While falling asleep in front of the TV is common, the blue light emitted from our smartphones and tablets is

much more powerful than that of a TV a few feet away and therefore interferes with the brain’s ability to enter sleep mode.

Recent reports suggest that roughly one in three Canadians is chronically sleep-deprived, making the country the third most sleep-deprived on the planet. If you’re curious about whether or not you’re getting enough sleep, try remembering your last dream — dreams a big indicator of your overall sleep health as they are associated with rapid eye movement (REM). REM sleep is the unique phase of sleep where dreams unfold, usually occurring about 90 minutes after dozing off. A lack of REM sleep indicates a low-quality sleep, often resulting in drowsiness and poor concentration the following day.

Traditional clinical practices of sleep assessment are either time- and resource-intensive or suffer from self-reporting biases.

In order to adapt to ever-changing technological shifts, clinics now recommend smartwatches to help patients track and improve their sleep patterns. The wearable technology market is estimated to reach $71 billion in 2024 — a threefold increase in value since 2017 — and more than one-third of Canadians currently have a mobile health application on a smart device.

Smartwatches can track sleeping habits and provide users with an ideal daily routine to optimize their sleep. By wearing

a watch to bed, sleep analytics are automatically transferred to a smartphone which tells users when they fell asleep, when they woke up, when they had their deepest sleep and when they were most restless. Briana Miller, a 22-year-old university student, uses a Fitbit Versa. “Tracking my sleep has been an [uneasy] process so far,” she admits.

“The correlation between nights [where] I had poor sleeps and what I had done during that day made me question my routines”.

Most surprising to Miller were the nights where a few glasses of wine sent her into a quick sleep. Although she had dozed off easily, her analytics confirmed that she did not, in fact, sleep well that night.

Apart from devices like Smartwatches, Apple’s App Store and Google Play offer free downloadable apps created specifically to fight the dreaded blue light. Apps like Night Shift and Flux, for instance, add a subtle warm filter to your screen meant to be used when winding down for the day. Efforts to improve sleep vary depending on the individual. Makers of wearable devices are racing forward with advances that will help you track your sleep. Regardless, experts agree that the best way of ensuring a more restful sleep, believe it or not, is to shut those devices down at least an hour before bed. • MAY 2019 t i de s

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Loaded for Bear Police militarization in Canada and the battle of public opinion by Greta Kooy

J

ust 17 years ago, Michael Moore’s 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine shocked audiences with its unnerving exploration of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. In Canada, active shooter incidents, both in school settings and otherwise, have occurred at an alarming frequency over the past three decades. One study conducted by independent news website The Conversation found an increase of roughly 2,100 per cent in tactical unit deployments in Canada from 1980 to 2018.

Since 1975, Canada has seen more than 10 school-related massacres and 12 mass shootings despite having stricter gun control laws than the U.S. Although

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Canada’s numbers are lower, the surge in recent gun activity — like the mass public shooting in downtown Toronto in July of 2018 — has increased public anxiety over this frightening trend.

The RCMP and police departments nationwide have reconfigured their training programs to address these types of incidents over the past two decades, implementing the Immediate Action Rapid Deployment (IARD) Program, designed specifically to train officers how to respond to active shooters. “That training is crucial, and they’re doing it now,” says Constable Carson Rhodes (name changed), who currently works in a counter-terrorism unit out of the Toronto area. “But it took that many school shootings,

or that many mass shootings, for us to say, ‘Hey, this is an important training protocol.’”

In March of 2005, James Roszko killed four RCMP constables using a semi-automatic rifle in an incident now known as the Mayerthorpe tragedy. This event prompted the RCMP to adopt more advanced weapons, something that had not been seriously addressed in the past. The roll-out of these weapons was not swift.

While the RCMP took steps to better equip its officers, another tragedy struck. In June of 2014, in Moncton, New Brunswick, Justin Bourque shot and killed three RCMP officers, severely injuring two more. Unfortunately, the officers were not equipped well enough to handle this shooter.

As shooter-focused headlines become more prevalent, people naturally wonder if officers are properly prepared.

Despite several reports following the Mayerthorpe and Moncton incidents, such as the MacNeil report which indicated the need

for more advanced weapons and better training, civilians and popular media outlets continue to object to the idea. “It contradicts the current climate,” says Rhodes.

“Ever since Mayerthorpe, [reports have said] that we need better weapons to respond to these types of threats, and we never really got them.” The reason? Public perception. “If you see a police officer with too many sophisticated weapons, it can be intimidating,” he says. “But sadly, the truth is that we do need more advanced weapons. When there’s an active shooter in a school we can’t run in there with just pistols.”

After Moncton, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson stated his concernes about militarizing the police force. “It’s a delicate balancing act,” he told The Globe and Mail. “We have seen situations in the U.S. and some in Canada where this can distance the public from the police.”

Rhodes explains that following these high-profile incidents, and a “precedent-setting” trial, the PHOTO: ISTOCK

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RCMP began rolling out the C8 carbine: a semi-automatic rifle with more accuracy and longer range. “It’s still being rolled out,” he says. Prior to the C8, officers were equipped with a 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol. The guns were outclassed and not designed to handle shooters with semi-automatic long arms. “[Shooters] can get these weapons. So, if we don’t have them, they can shoot us at a longer range, accurately,” says Rhodes.

The roll-out of the C8 and heavy body armour is a step in the right direction Rhodes says. Hard body armour, a heavy plate worn inside of a bullet-proof vest, has now been placed in police vehicles in the event that it’s needed. “All that equipment is in our car, so we don’t wear it 24/7,” he explains.

The increasing presence of tactical units and heavily armed police officers at public events blurs the line between the police and the military. The result is an anxious society, one that has a mistrust for the police and valid concerns that these weapons may be used on the public. “Sometimes you’ll see these [heavily armoured] cops, and it does have an effect on you,” admits Rhodes.

“People don’t want us, our own commissioner doesn’t want us, to look too militarized.”

“Before Columbine,” says Rhodes, “the policy for any type of active shooter was [for officers] to surround the place and wait for the ERT (Emergency Response Team) or SWAT. It would be more like a hostage situation.” Columbine was a wake-up call for law enforcement, one that was never truly listened to until recently.

“Our policies have changed since then. We don’t contain and wait; we go in,” says Rhodes. “No matter who you are. That’s just our reality now.” •

Dying of Exposure Young creatives struggle to survive and get paid.

“EXPOSURE. THAT IS MY favourite word,” Ted Spenceley quips sarcastically as he smiles and leans against his standing desk. When first getting started as a videographer and editor, it was a word he heard a lot.

“When it came up, I’d wonder if my work wasn’t good enough to get paid for it.” Working out of his bedroom, Spenceley co-founded Railcar Creative with photogra-

PHOTO: JAXON HOWELL / RAILCAR CREATIVE

by John Tabbernor

pher and friend, Jaxon Howell.

Like a lot of young Canadians working independently, they found one of the biggest hurdles in their path was getting paid fairly, if at all.

Grinding on your own means you don’t have the reassurance of an employer depositing your cheque every couple of weeks.

Spenceley admits he felt unprepared to handle the business

side of things for Railcar. “We both just wanted to pursue something creatively.” Their new production company specializes in social media content for artists, entertainers, and influencers. “No matter what you do, everyone has an authentic story. We want to tell those.” Spenceley recalls doing real estate videos for clients when he was getting started and quoting them absurdly low MAY 2019 t i de s

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The Professional Writers Association of Canada found that freelance writing rates in Canada have barely moved in the last

30 years

Similarly, since 1998 the Writer’s Union of Canada notes that Canadian writers have seen incomes drop

j78%

prices just to get the work. Even then, the client would often balk at the price. “They’d have an expectation that they’d help me by getting my name out there.” It might be common for newcomers to the industry to devalue their own work, but rates of pay in these creative fields have been languishing for years.

Statistics Canada found that from 2014 to 2018 the average hourly wage for part-time workers in arts and culture sectors only increased somewhere between 14 and 94 cents. The Professional Writers Association of Canada found that freelance writing rates in Canada have barely moved in the last 30 years. Similarly, the Writer’s Union of Canada notes that Canadian writers have seen incomes drop 78 per cent since 1998. Compounding the existing economic realities, modern tools may also be to blame. Seemingly anyone can learn to create visual or written content and join the creative class. Earning a decent living at it? Unlikely. l

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Hate Porn Victims of revenge porn find themselves left as virtual puppets in the fight for privacy, and for identity itself. by Sarah Rose

T

he first collage of photos appeared on her Facebook page almost 10 years ago.

Jessica A., at the time 17 years old, woke up to find her body laid bare across the page like a crime scene. Each image tagged with her full name blurred into a mosaic of nightmares. “I just remember him saying: “You worthless cunt, 4chan [an imageboard website that generates high traffic] is gonna love your tits.” I didn’t even think about that part. I just went and cried in my mom’s arms. I couldn’t tell her.”

Jessica, now 25, can’t remember how her high school boyfriend David convinced her to send him the photos, but the torment she would endure is a permanent memory. “Saying it out loud makes it so much harder,” she writes. “I don’t trust my own memories, I always feel like I’m secretly under attack.”

Not long after the photos appeared on Facebook , Jessica found her trauma immortalized on user-based porn websites such as Xhamster where images receive thousands of views and upvotes. She explains how David ensured the Xhamster content would look as if she posted it herself, voluntarily. “I was living a nightmare every single day for years and years,” Jessica recalls.

Bombarded with hundreds of sexually harassing messages daily, she eventually deleted her Facebook account, but revenge porn has a way of making certain things stay frozen in time.

The Internet may have radically extended the power of speech and creative expression, but individuals are gradually losing control over their own images.

The digital double is complicating personal identity at increasingly fragile ages.

Half of teen girls cite pressure from men as a reason to send sexual photos. Jessica is no exception: “I thought that’s just what everyone did, and I wanted guys to like me.” To other teens, sending sexually explicit content is a form of normal interaction.

Most of the teenagers sampled by MediaSmarts at the University of Toronto knew sharing these photos was a crime, but that knowledge had no influence on whether they chose to share compromising photos or not. More than one in three felt a girl shouldn’t be sur-

prised if her intimate photos were exposed; worse, an even higher percentage didn’t see anything wrong with that.

Revenge porn skulks in a moral and legal blind spot, and Jessica still isn’t sure how much ownership she has of her own images. She penned a lengthy plea to Xhamster to remove the abusive imagery. They never responded.

Some members of the social media oligarchy such as Reddit, Twitter and Google have taken to completely banning and de-indexing revenge porn, but it’s not enough. Virtual sexual encounters are an expectation, and girls experience degradation and abuse in alarmingly real ways. Yet there is still the chasm of a generational disconnect. It’s hard to imagine a teenager seeking moral guidance

PHOTO: COURTNEY BRICE: PHOTO EDITING: SARAH ROSE

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from their parents on issues they’ve never dealt with before.

Between Snapchat pornstars and the 85 per cent of college students in America who have used Tinder at least once, virtual sex and revenge porn are entrenched in the dating experience.

Michael Begg, a Vancouver lawyer, explains that victims of revenge porn can protect themselves using privacy and copyright. The first thing victims need to do is research their respective privacy laws. In this province, that’s the B.C .Privacy Act. If a website like Xhamster refuses to take your images down, threaten legal action. Citing section one of the Privacy Act, and (if necessary) getting someone with legal status to write the letter, should be the silver bullet for almost any website operator.

Revenge porn is primarily a privacy invasion and in Jessica’s case, it’s also distribution of child pornography. The copyright for these nude selfies belongs to the photographer not the subject.

The bottom line: there is no imperative for those who take intimate selfies to tell those they share it with not to share it. The B.C. Privacy Act doesn’t include anything about waiving a right to privacy once a photo is shared, either. “Consent is a defense,” Begg explains. “The defendant must prove they have consent, not the plaintiff.”

Legal experts wonder if nebulous privacy and copyright laws will be enough to protect victims.

“There’s not really a change in attitude towards privacy,” says Begg, adding that with the ever-expanding capabilities of technology, “people don’t have as much control as they used to.”

Perhaps the future legality of social media should focus on what goes beyond privacy: the right to identity itself. l PHOTO: ISTOCK

WAVES

Good Things Come in No Packaging Two Vancouver stores are reducing our stream of container waste through reuse, recycling, and reimagining our consumption. by Sara Rabek IT IS A COMMON misconception that plastics can be recycled more than once. The truth is, only 10 per cent of it will re-enter the system and the other 90 per cent ends up in a landfill or in the ocean. The Soap Dispensary (3718 Main Street; thesoapdispensary.com and Nada (675 East Broadway; nadagrocery.com) are two companies in Vancouver that do not use packaging for their groceries. They also promote products that help people minimize their own waste. Their goal is to help and inspire people to change the way they shop while working toward a healthier environment and lifestyle.

Freya Deedes, who frequents both shops, has been trying

to minimize her waste for the past year. When asked what influenced her to change her shopping habits she refers to June 1 of 2018, when “Vancouver expanded their recycling program and began accepting other types of plastic packaging. Rather than throw away these plastics like I had previously done, I started to wash, collect and take them to the depot. Doing this made me realize how much plastic my food came packaged in!”

Plastic bag use is at an all-time high in North America, where for every person, there is one plastic bag used per day. (In places like Denmark, about four plastic bags are used per person every year.)

Around 18 billion pounds of plas-

tic garbage ends up in the ocean annually. Currently, nearly every marine turtle has plastic pollution in its system and more than 56 per cent of whales are found with plastics and garbage in their stomachs. These concerns are widely expressed in the media, but the question is, how seriously is society taking this environmental crisis and changing the way it disposes of its mess? Yes, there are recycling systems in place, but from 1950 to 2015, out of all the plastic that was utilized in the United States, only nine per cent was recycled. In 2016, 320 million tons of plastic was produced world-wide; by 2034 this number is predicted to double. Packaging is the main culprit; 40 per cent of MAY 2019 t i de s

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packaging is used only one time and then discarded.

The Soap Dispensary takes pride in not using cheap plastics and materials, and encourages minimizing waste. The shop carries a variety of lifestyle and home products that are almost all biodegradable and often compostable.

Products in this shop are made from natural sources and materials that are designed to last and leave zero to no footprint on the environment. Here you can purchase the plastic-free containers that you will need or you can take ones from the previously used bin to start your limited-waste way of living. A wall of products sold in bulk is at your disposal. The products range from natural cleaning ingredients to hair and body care, personal hygiene products, and even laundry detergents.

Nada is another retailer focused on minimizing waste, which means you bring your own containers or cloth bags to hold your groceries. The owners focus on ethical products by researching where their stock originates, how it is transported, and who grew or produced it. Knowing each product’s story is a core part of their values. Stores that discourage throwaway plastic packaging reduce our environmental impact in the short-term, but promoting ethical consumerism involves much more than that.

Living in a major city like Vancouver, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to be conscious about our consumption and environmental impact. Nada and The Soap Dispensary are two retailers that are trying to make a difference. It is important to both of these companies that consumers are conscious of their impact, and do their part in minimizing the use of packaging plastics in their day-to-day lives. •

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Love at Right Swipe Tinder is more than a way of meeting people for casual sex; it could potentially lead to your future spouse. by Carley England

W

aking up with a groggy memory and a pounding headache, Danica Rodriguez rolls over to find her phone and her shorts. After checking the time, she gets up wearing a baggy T-shirt and walks to the bathroom. She brushes her teeth, wipes off her day-old makeup and puts her glasses on before entering the kitchen to make coffee. Hearing some grumbling from under the sheets, she looks over at her bed to see a man just waking up. She grabs a mug, pours coffee in it and walks toward him.

“Coffee? Um… Sorry, what’s your name again?”

For 21-year-old Rodriguez, this is just one of many scenarios users experience when they meet up through online dating. The 3 a.m. “You up?” texts are part of the new normal when meeting people, and the inception of Tinder in 2012 only fuelled such activity. It’s almost unheard of these days to wait until you’re dating before you see someone naked.

“My boyfriend and I slept

together on our first date. Actually, I wouldn’t even call it a date. I met him on Tinder and we talked for a few days,” Rodriguez says, sipping her iced vanilla macchiato. “One night we were both drinking and met at a hotel room.

The rest was history.”

According to Craig Smith, a digital marketing expert and blogger who reported on Tinder’s 2018 statistics, there are an estimated 50 million users on the app and 10 million of those use it actively. Its simplicity is key, says Rodriguez.

“I don’t have to go onto Safari and type in a website url. I just unlock my phone and click on the app.”

Back in 1986, matchmaker. com debuted to the public as a way to virtually match singles through surveys. For the average single then, the dating process was delayed by Internet speed, distance and time. In 2019, you can skip the quizzes, questionnaires and personal essays about how someone loves long walks on the beach. A study by Giulia Ranzini and Christoph Lutz confirmed that “GPS-based dating apps, more so than traditional dating

sites, strengthen the connection between online and offline, giving users an incentive to meet ‘in real life.’” Rodriguez observes: “People my age don’t want to waste their time with someone who is going to suck in bed. We like to test out the waters before jumping ship with them.”

Some sites like profilehelper. com argue in favour of old-school websites, claiming that Tinder “is designed for impulse-driven choices that are based on attraction.” Rodriguez says: “Tinder has a bad rep for just being a hook-up site. But I know this couple who met on the app, moved in together, and got a cat. He just proposed to her and they’re getting married in September.” She adds, “The way people do things changes every day. There’s a big culture shock at first, but eventually everyone accepts it and moves on.” l

Who uses Tinder?

38%

FEMALE

62% MALE

OTHER

38% 25-34 YRS

16-24 YRS

38%

45%

PHOTO: ISTOCK

Drag Queen Cholula Lemon has a captive audience at Drag Queen Story Hour.

The Library is Open Drag Queen Story Hour: From feminist fairytales to queer stories, proud queens around the world are reaching the next generation through more than just words. by Juliana Ferrante PHOTO: JESSYE HERRELL

“It’s called Julian Wants to be a Mermaid and it’s a book we use on the regular as it promotes diversity and possibilities,” says Ona Louise, a New York City drag queen. Step aside nightlife drag and welcome a whole new approach – Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH).

Drag Queen Story Hour first made its appearance in 2015 when co-founder Rachel Aimee, with help from Honey Mahogany, former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant, promoted the concept in San Francisco. That winter, Louise adopted the idea and brought it to New York City. It was a fresh take on drag that she had never seen before, and she wanted to spread it.

So what is Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH)? “Well, it’s exactly what is sounds like: Drag Queens reading to children,” says Louise.

“We perform at public libraries, schools, and you can even organize your own.” Each hour consists of inspirational book readings and a creative activity and closes with a dance, led by a proud queen.

This non-profit organization creates an innovative environment for children (ages three to eight) to experience gender diversity and identity formation. “DQSH captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models,” Louise states. After receiving national press from their first event, the organization grew rapidly, forming chapters and holding story hours in cities across Canada, the U.S., Japan, Germany and Australia.

Louise, who leads up to five story hours per week, describes her gig as “rewarding.”

“There is a point in every reading where I feel like I want to

cry. Even if there is just one kid who really experiences the magic during my reading.”

The glitz and glamour of drag queens is mesmerizing for young kids and allows a new way for them to be introduced to the queer community. Stories like It’s Ok to be Different by Todd Parr, Neither by Airlie Anderson, and Julian Wants to be a Mermaid by Jessica Love, are regularly read to promote messages of acceptance and inclusivity.

Each story hour is different, as the queens bring their own unique talents to entertain participants.

“We have 14 queens we rotate through here in New York City,” Louise explains. They speak different languages, play musical instruments, lead games and engage their kids with their outsize personalities. DQSH is also broadening their inclusive story space by organizing readings for children older than eight, and for differently abled children.

Most traditional drag performances are held at nightclubs and cater to an older crowd; DQSH brings forward day-drag and allows the art form to express itself in new ways. Combining learning, fun and excitement, the queens are able to positively promote to children through story hours that “it’s ok to be different.”

DQSH is paving the way for new generations by creating an accepting environment for children. Not only does each story hour promote literacy, but it’s exciting for kids to meet the queens and see their costumes, hairstyles and makeup close up.

“Once we had so many children at a story hour, I had to read the story in three different waves,” Louise recalls.

It’s an experience that literally adds more than a little sparkle to modern-day storytelling. ■ MAY 2019 t i de s

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story by KURT STEIGLEDER photograph by JUSTIN FORSTER

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BANDING TOGETHER FOR BETTER OR WORSE, LOCAL BANDS ARE FINDING NEW WAYS TO PUBLISH, PROMOTE, AND PRODUCE THEMSELVES WITHOUT THE INDUSTRY’S OLD-GUARD.

“Hey you piece of shit,

Jessie Grace, vocalist for the Vancouver-based progressive metal act KOSM affectionately grumbles at one of her young cats. Her cat is currently climbing up her jacket, which is hanging next to the door of the basement suite she and her new husband, Erik, share. “Wow. Problem child.” She laughs, as she sits back down and the cat takes a swipe at her. “But yeah, I don’t really think a lot of people realize how much merch actually costs.” Grace has a lot to say regarding the struggles a modern local band faces to achieve the level that KOSM has reached. They attract strong audiences at every show, accumulated 10,000 likes on their Facebook page, and played the first round of Wacken Metal Battle B.C. 2018, the winner of which earned a slot at the German music festival Wacken, one of the largest heavy metal festivals in the world.

Local bands have much to overcome when starting out: networking with promoters and venues, selling tickets, finding the time to practice, and even just attracting an audience and fanbase. Networking includes going to the shows of other bands in the scene, as this makes it more likely that the members of those bands will reciprocate by attending your band’s shows. But there are further challenges for the local bands that are starting to gain a

following: the cost of everything that goes into being a band. That can be gear, merchandise, publicity, artwork, and recording services.

Musical instruments can range widely in cost, from a few hundred dollars to thousands. While top-of-the-line gear isn’t always necessary, the metal subgenre that KOSM occupies — progressive metal — is known for its musicians utilizing high-quality gear to create wonderfully hi-fidelity sounds. It makes an excellent listening experience, but it adds an additional monetary barrier to entry for a growing band. Merchandise is another cost that growing bands must take into account.

KOSM spent $2,000 for 200-odd T-shirts, and that was for shirts that were simply black and white. When ordering merch, you have to pay more to have more colours present on that particular item. A shirt with five or six colours can cost up to $18 to have made; selling something like that for $20 doesn’t leave much in the way of profit for the band. Bands that self-produce can save money, as a full home recording set-up can be had for under $1,000.

However, if you want to contract the services of a talented mix engineer, producer, and an acoustically treated recording studio, that can cost thousands. Shawn Hillman, a member of the Vancouver bands Opus Arise, SVNEATR, Thousand Arrows, and Ysgaroth, personally

financed the first Opus Arise record. This cost him $6,000; that’s 1,200 shirts to break even if you’re making $5 per shirt.

Being a local band can come with a high price tag if you’re one of the bands trying to make it, but it’s actually not as bad as it used to be. It’s easier than ever to have your own merch, and as previously mentioned it’s cheaper than ever to record at home. To illustrate this, from Long and McQuade, a Tascam 16x8 recording interface, which converts the analogue signal of musical instruments into a digital signal that a computer can process, can be had for $400. Compare that to the price tag of a Neve 5088, which serves the same basic purpose as the Tascam 16x8, with the difference being that the Neve uses analogue technology; and it’s roughly $150,000. It also requires an entire room dedicated to housing it, compared to the Tascam 16x8 which plugs neatly into a laptop in your bedroom.

While most bedrooms might not give studio-quality sound due to reflections, carpet deadening of soundwaves, and background noise, this is not always the case. The vocal recordings for KOSM’s debut album were actually produced in three locations: a studio, Grace’s home, and the band’s practice space, which allowed her to record in whichever environment made her most comfortable. KOSM MAY 2019 t i de s

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also uses file-sharing services regularly just to bounce around musical ideas. For Grace, technology has been a massive contributor to KOSM’s success.

And technology has its fingers in more than just the creation of music, but also its distribution. Services like Qrates even let bands press their own vinyl records, which was something that earlier bands simply could not do, short of starting their own label. A subscription to DistroKid is $19.99 USD a year, and it allows bands to self-publish their music to a multitude of online platforms. Taken together with Qrates, DistroKid makes the need for a record label almost a thing of the past.

An argument can be made that record labels aren’t quite dead just because musicians can self-publish, because a label promotes its artists, which does have real value. However, yet another tool has appeared to gut the remaining value of the record label: social media. “I think that you can’t be a band if you don’t have social media.” Grace authoritatively stated when asked about the role social media plays in KOSM’s success. “This is the age of the Internet, the age of social media. There are old-school metalheads that don’t think that they need it… but it’s crucial…. We have 10,000 likes on Facebook. That number, as much as we don’t want it to be, is a large portion of the opportunities we get. People see that number, they see that we have a following, and they give us those opportunities because they know that we can sell something.” Being social mediasavvy has its clear benefits, but not all bands are adapting.

A band Grace brought up had its start several decades prior to KOSM, but only has 9,000 likes on Facebook to KOSM’s 10,000 after two active years. This illustrates how younger bands are adapting to the Internet-fuelled present better than their artistic forebears.

However, social media needs to be used correctly, as evidenced by a recent controversy Grace herself accidentally caused. Several months ago, she casually posted on Facebook a comment consisting of, “When you find out a band in Victoria is also named KOSM and refuses to change their name.

Not cool, guys. Indignant members of the Vancouver metal scene embarked on a witch hunt against the Victoria band that dared to use the same name, including sending them hate messages. Grace had to make several

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THE ACCESSIBILITY OF NEW AND AFFORDABLE TOOLS LIKE DISTROKID AND QRATES ALLOWS LOCAL BANDS TO RECORD, PUBLISH AND PROMOTE THEMSELVES, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THEY CAN CAUSE ANOTHER ISSUE: OVERSATURATION. public Facebook statements asking people within the Vancouver scene to lay off the other band, and the members of KOSM even reached out afterwards to let the other band — which has since changed its name — know that they would be willing to help them get connected with the Vancouver scene if they ever needed it. KOSM wanted to fix the damage that had been unintentionally done, and Grace even came out in defense of the Victoria band, making very clear that she hadn’t intended to evoke such a strong response from the Vancouver scene, she had just been venting — but it’s a clear lesson in how powerful social media can be, even on a small scale. Grace is now deliberately less vocal on social media due to this incident.

The accessibility of these new tools allows local bands to record, publish and promote themselves, but they are are not purely positive, and may cause another issue: oversaturation. In the pre-Internet age, a music listener had limited access to music. There were physical releases in local music stores, whatever was played on the radio, and the local live music scene. Compare that to now — with a tap on a screen audiences can access literally thousands of artists, and for such a small cost in comparison. “The bands don’t really get paid what they’re worth,” Grace stresses about streaming services. Spotify is free with ads, or ad-free with a $10 subscription. Compared to a $10 album, the choice for the consumer is easily made. But this hurts artists; Spotify only pays between $0.006 and $0.0084 per stream.

That’s less than a penny per song play. To put that into perspective, a fan would need to listen to a 10-song album more than 160 times for the artist to earn a measly $10 at the base rate. And even if a band has managed to amass a number of such die-hard and dedicated fans, roughly 70 per cent of the income from Spotify streams goes to rights-holders, such as an artist’s record label, publisher, and distributor. Consider the 2014 controversy with Taylor Swift publicly complaining how little she earns from streaming platforms. Swift racked up millions of plays on Spotify, meaning her per-play income would have been close to the cap of $0.0084, but her Spotify revenue was nothing compared to what she would have made from a comparable number of album sales. She felt that her art was being actively devalued by streaming platforms, and considering that she was making at most $0.0084 per play, that’s not an unreasonable statement. In light of the growing adoption of streaming services, this is an issue that affects artists at every level of popularity, and it’s not going away.

There are very real challenges for bands at the local level, but who’s to say that in a few years those challenges will even exist? Digital audio workstations, which make recording music infinitely more accessible, first gained popularity in the early 2000s; no longer were recording desks costing thousands of dollars absolutely required for music production.

DistroKid was only founded in 2013, Spotify in 2006, and iTunes was first released in 2001. That means that over the last 20 years bands still had to rely on a record label to deliver their artistic creations to their fans, but starting six years ago bands suddenly had a way to reliably circumvent that decades-old institution.

Instagram, one of the most popular social media networks in the world and a major platform for bands to promote themselves, launched in October of 2010. Within the last decade the number of tools that bands have at their disposal have exploded, but those tools have then created their own issues — like needing to be very careful with what you say online. All that can truly be said of the challenges that local bands face is that within the next few years, what bands are dealing with will probably be significantly different.

The real struggle for bands is finding ways to adapt. ■

NUCLEAR M E LT D OW N

The supremacy of white-picket-fence relationships is on the decline as young Canadians find love and community in alternative family structures. story by KASCHELLE THIESSEN

Ashley Speed’s home is

is a slice of Vancouver suburbia — a minivan is parked in the driveway of her co-op townhouse and two excitable chihuahuas named Spock and Warlock guard the house, protecting their family from interlopers. From the waisthigh hooks hung with tiny coats and Sharpie scrawls across the walls, you can tell a child lives here. The family snake, Seven, sleeps in a tank in the front room while Miss Andrea, the gecko, lives in Noora’s room. Noora, age three, takes care of Miss Andrea. Perhaps a tall order for a three-year-old, but this is a Montessori household and Speed, who is 34, is a Montessori teacher with a specialization in early childhood education. Children are expected to take on household duties early around here.

Cross-stitch projects are hung throughout the front room featuring feminist slogans and geeky ’90s throwbacks, and the staircase walls are covered in framed photos — here there is a sleeping infant, there is Speed in a wedding gown, nestled into the chest of her new husband. Speed holds up a collage frame with four pictures in it . “This is a photo of my daughter as a baby,” says Speed, “in a sleeper that

says ‘little bear bum’ on the butt... this is my daughter sitting in a bath-bomb bubble bath.”

She gestures to the pictures in turn; “This is a photo of my daughter and me at a wedding, dressed in blue,” she says, “and then here is a photo of me and my husband and my boyfriend and our dogs. All together.”

Speed married her husband Ryon Anas in 2011. They have been together for 10 years, married for eight of them. She will be celebrating her fourth anniversary with her boyfriend in May. She was also seeing a woman on Vancouver Island but they broke up recently. Speed and Anas are polyamorous, a word derived from the Greek word poly, meaning many, and the Latin amory, for love.

This is a different practice than polygamy, the relationships featured on TLC’s show Sister Wives. While polygamy — having more than one spouse — is typically rooted in patriarchal religious practices, the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family (CRILF) found that most polyamorous people highly value equality in their relationships, regardless of parental status or gender. “They tend to believe that their partners should have a say in changes to their relationship,” reports MAY 2019 t i de s

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CRILF, “and should be able to leave those relationships how and when they wish.” Consensual non-monogamy, any form of non-monogamous relationship which has the full awareness and consent of everyone involved, is not the same as cheating. Unlike cheating, which involves deception and disrespecting your partner’s boundaries, consensual or ‘‘ethical’’ non-monogamy is pre-negotiated and involves a lot of communication between everyone involved. It may even include family dinners with multiple adults around the table or parents dropping their kid off with another partner so they can have a date night out.

Michelle Osgood, 30, is an office administrator and romance novelist who lives in a funky studio apartment in Kitsilano. Her most recent novel is featured prominently on a floating shelf adorned with twinkle lights.

Osgood describes herself as “solo poly” which means that while she loves and dates multiple people, she is not looking for a primary or nesting partner. “I don’t want someone to fit into my day-to-day life,” explains Osgood, “I don’t want someone who is living with me.” Osgood has a number of lovers, ranging from several sexual partners to two long-term, committed partners. “One is coming up on two years and we see each other once a week and have really amazing sex that’s like…” Osgood flashes a coy smile, “and the other one is just over six months. We go see art shows, have dinner, drinks... do more traditionally ‘datey’ things.”

Osgood makes it clear that she values her lovers and her independence. “I get to make my own decisions,” she explains. “My house is the exact way I want it. How I spend my time is the exact way I want it. The way I’ve structured my relationships, no one is entitled to me or my presence or my feelings or my actions. It’s great — I don’t resent anyone because I don’t feel obligated to do those things.”

Speed and Osgood are part of a growing trend of adults who are openly non-monogamous. Non-monogamous relationships themselves are not new; from mistresses of the French Courts to the key parties of the ’70s,

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as a species we sure like to get around. What is new is the openness around it. A recent study by CRILF of non-monogamous people in Canada found that 81 per cent of them were in openly non-monogamous relationships and 83 per cent perceived a recent increase in the number of people who identify as polyamorous. This coincides with a downward trend in Canadians prioritizing marriage and traditional families. The Angus Reid Insti-

nuclear family is on the decline. Once sold as promoting security and stability, the white picket fence model is being questioned; in an increasingly precarious economic system, is the nuclear family really all it’s cracked up to be? “I find the concept too hierarchical and isolating for my tastes,” explains Osgood. “I think pressures on two adults to raise an unknown number of children with limited time, support, and resources is the perfect recipe for abuse

WHILE NON-MONOGAMY CAN INCLUDE AN ARRAY OF EXCITING SEXUAL EXPERIENCES, IT CAN ALSO JUST AS EASILY MEAN BORING DOMESTICITY OR FINDING JOY IN THE EVERYDAY. tute released a study in 2018 which examined Canadian attitudes towards marriage and parenthood and found that 53 per cent of Canadian adults feel that marriage isn’t necessary at all. Furthermore, 40 per cent of Canadian adults have never been married and are unsure if they ever want to be. If you look at the younger demographic that number rises significantly ; 62 per cent of adults between 25 and 34 have never been married. These attitudes are consistent, even if children are involved, and only 17 per cent of Canadians think marriage is important for child-rearing.

In research done by John Hopkins University, Andrew Cherlin found that 57 per cent of parents in the 26 to 31 cohort were having children outside of wedlock. “The lofty place that marriage once held among the markers of adulthood,” writes Cherlin, “is in serious question among early adults.”

“I love weddings. I will cry at yours,” admits Osgood, “and I will also encourage you to go through your divorce in five years when you realize that you’re not happy and that there are huge legal consequences that happen when you make decisions because you are in love.” The primacy of the heteronormative

and neglect.” The model of the nuclear family as a self-sufficient unit discourages seeking support outside the home. “I think that we are stronger in this world with larger support circles,” says Speed, “and I don’t think that’s easily achieved by making the nuclear family the be-all and end-all. My community is my family, regardless of marital or blood relation.”

The concept of chosen families has been integral in queer communities for decades.

Denied love and acceptance from their own families, LGBTQAI2+ people have formed their own communities of people who consistently show up with love and support. “Chosen family means the people I have chosen to share my life with,” explains Speed. “They are the ones who I can call at the drop of a hat if there is a crisis... the people I depend on for most of my emotional support. The friends who became more than friends.” Chosen family goes beyond close friendships, these are the relationships, whether romantic or platonic, that provide tangible support for surviving in a harsh world. “Those of us growing up in late- stage capitalism and who know we can’t rely on the system... we are better at forming support groups and social units,” says Speed.

“We clearly can’t rely on anyone else. We have to do it.” Facing precarious work, eroded social support systems and rising instability, strong community networks are integral to navigating the shifting tide. “Quite frankly I ask my lovers less than I ask of my friends,” says Osgood. “Romantic and sexual feelings change and they can change quickly… that makes those relationships feel less sustainable than those that are built on,” she pauses, searching for the right word. “I don’t know. Whatever friendship gets built on, right?”

Creating family intentionally means there are more people available to provide support.

Speed describes being on bedrest for weeks during her high-risk pregnancy with Noora.

“My husband drove a truck and couldn’t work from home,” Speed recounts, noting there was a high concern that she could pass out and become unconscious while unattended.

“My boyfriend spent the last three weeks of my pregnancy while I was on bedrest with me.

He worked from home, from my house, just sitting on the couch with his laptop.” Speed’s boyfriend and husband discussed the best way to support her while maintaining everyone’s boundaries respectfully. The risk of postpartum depression was also a concern. “They talked about it,” says Speed, “about what would happen if I was really, really fucked by postpartum after the baby was born.” The three of them settled on a plan that involved Speed’s boyfriend taking care of her while her husband worked. “I think that’s the thing that surprises people,” says Speed.” Most poly people I know have multiple emotional relationships. It’s not just fucking around.”

While non-monogamy can include an array of exciting sexual experiences, it can also just as easily mean boring domesticity or finding joy in the everyday. “My husband and boyfriend have both been in the kitchen cooking latkes for Hanukkah,” says Speed, as her husband tidies up the living room. Osgood, who is disinterested in cohabitation, discusses the importance of ordinary connection. “You just find intimacies in different places that aren’t

like ‘Oh, our laundry is tossed in together,’” explains Osgood. “You are out somewhere and you see something and you think, ‘Wow, this person would really enjoy this small whatever.”

Osgood admits that while monogamous couples experience the same, “it means something different when it is someone that you don’t see that frequently. It makes small gestures mean more because you know that they are freely given and they are not there out of some sense of obligation.”

Though the extended networks provided by non-monogamy can provide extra support, they can also mean extra work. The more people involved, the more feelings, needs and schedules to be considered. If you have ever disagreed with your partner about whose family to spend the holidays at, - imagine that dispute with three sets of in-laws. Time is a finite resource, and in our increasingly fastpaced lifestyles it can be a challenge to juggle the sometimes-conflicting needs of multiple partners. There is also the challenge of navigating boundaries. Speed and Anas don’t have rules for each other but some non-monogamous people do. “I know some couples who don’t do sleepovers, says Speed, “or [who have] strict rules on sexual acts they can do with other partners.”

Discussing boundaries is important, but Speed doesn’t believe in setting rules. “It’s weird treating other people like they are not autonomous beings,” says Speed. She points to “the one-penis-policy, where they are open but the female partner is only allowed to sleep with other women.” The man, it may come as no surprise to learn, is allowed to sleep with other women. “It’s super weird and super gross,” says Speed. “It’s a huge devaluing of female sex, often done to get a threesome, and it’s just another way that queer sex is not viewed as important or valid.” So how do non-monogamous people figure out boundaries without controlling their partners’ behaviour? “My advice would be to talk,” says Speed. “Everyone always says to have good communication but I still don’t think a lot of poly people do.”

There are also legal implications. How are assets divided if a multi-adult household decides to end their relationship? Who is able to claim benefits such as the Canada Pension Plan survivor’s pension or receive health insurance? If children are involved, it becomes even more complicated. Who can pick up the child from school or go to meet-the-teacher night, and how do you share custody with three or more adults? B.C. couples cohabitating for two years are considered common-law; the same privilege is not granted to cohabitating non-monogamous triads. Yet the law is slowly shifting; in 2011, polyamorous Canadians had mixed feelings about a court ruling that stated consensual non-monogamy was not prohibited while at the same time upholding a law that states plural marriages are illegal. In 2018, Newfoundland courts legally recognized three adults in a polyamorous relationship as the parents of their child. Justice Robert Fowler who presided over the case concluded, “Society is continuously changing and family structures are changing along with it.”

Speed hopes societal attitudes catch up to current practices. “I wish people knew that being poly doesn’t make us bad parents,” says Speed. “Even my parents were worried about [this]. They were like, ‘What about your daughter? Isn’t she going to be confused?’”

Speed, who works with preschoolers, points out the intelligence of children. “If children can understand step-parents and half-siblings and foster parents and grandparents raising kids,” says Speed, “they can understand having different relationships.”

Osgood also wishes people understood non-monogamy better. “I would like people to know that my relationships are still loving,” she says. “People think polyamory means things are disposable and you don’t care for people. That’s not the case.” Osgood is into love; she is a romance novelist, after all. “I have beautiful, meaningful connections with people that are still life-altering.” Osgood lets out a tinkling laugh. “I just don’t want to share my bed.” ■ MAY 2019 t i de s

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The NEW YOUNG TIMES When was the last time

you picked up a newspaper? Perhaps you reused it as fire-starter, gift wrap or you read the colour comics at the back. I bet it’s been a long time, if ever, that you’ve read a physical newspaper from start to finish.

According to Business Insider, 64 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds consume news online — which includes social media. The younger generations no longer receive news from traditional channels, and the concern is that could mean they’re not engaging with what’s happening in the rest of the world.

The early 2000s saw print newspaper readership decrease by about 10 per cent each year until the rise of digital devices, which allowed for mobile content. Statistics Canada figures show that between 2014 and 2016, the operating revenue of newspapers decreased by 19.8 per cent, advertising sales fell 21.8 per cent, and circulation decreased by 10 per cent. Since you can access almost anything online now, the demand for print news is decreasing sharply. That doesn’t necessarily mean people are less in the know about global news stories.

When Dr. Kym Stewart — a communications instructor at Capilano University — asks her 20-year-old daughter where she reads the news, Tayme replies, “I don’t have time, I’m studying for midterms!” Tayme mostly uses Facebook for school projects, but comes across news stories there. Stewart respects her daughter’s willingness to say, “I don’t know what the hell is going on; can someone explain this to me?” They use these channels as a starting point to proceed with their own research on topics using more credible sources. Stewart trusts that if Tayme “wanted to understand an

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A TECH-SAVVY GENERATION IS CHANGING THE GAME FOR TRADITIONAL NEWS OUTLETS. THEY MAY BE HARDER TO REACH, BUT IT DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE NOT LISTENING. story by BRETT YOUNG

event she could do the footwork needed — she doesn’t believe all she sees or hears.” Years of yelling at the TV and ranting about misrepresentation has taught her daughter to use a skeptical lens when consuming media.

Stewart believes history was written at a specific time by important people (of that time), but “there were a lot of voices missing, so maybe if young people are investigating [those stories], they might investigate in a different way to hear those marginalized voices and actually get a better understanding about what’s going on.” The positive aspect of this is the ability to debunk old myths, challenge the misconception that “everything in history is true,” and find different viewpoints in a way that may enrich our understanding of a story. Stewart is hopeful that her daughter is “worldly in other ways… although maybe not geographically.” She sees a sense of wonder and confidence in Tayme, and her ability to

piece together the history and world challenges of today. Once we outgrow the hype of social media, we crave real stories told by real people.

A 2015 study called the Media Insight Project (a collaboration between the American Press Institute and the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs) showed that “69 per cent of millennials get news at least once a day” and 47 per cent of millennials use Facebook to do so. Rather than going directly to news outlets, younger generations are retrieving “news and information [that is] woven into an often continuous but mindful way… to connect to the world generally, which mixes news with social connection, problem- solving, social action and entertainment.” A source from that project, 25-year-old Elese, states that “social media keeps me more informed than I could be with the other forms of news… By quickly scrolling through my feed, I can see the major stories going on. If I need to read deeper into it, I can go to a credible sources website.”

A typical routine for most university students encompasses a tight class schedule sandwiched with full-time work. It’s no wonder during their downtime that students rely heavily on bubble-gum content, mindless music or entertainment produced to appeal to the masses. Stewart mentions that student life is a bubble, too. As a professor, she knows how much heavy content is thrown at students everyday and understands how social media is used as an escape.

Dr. Ilona Jerabek, president of PsychTests AIM Inc., a human resources consulting firm based in Montreal, emphasizes that youth constantly “dealing with stressful situations by

resorting to distraction can lead to escapism, where the individual completely loses touch with reality through social media, video games, books, movies and, on the more extreme side, drugs and alcohol. Temporary distraction is fine, but you can’t avoid your problems forever.” She suggests that “young people [should] find better ways to cope with stress through social support, or mindfulness and meditation in order to change a negative, defeatist attitude to a more positive one.” Stewart agrees with Jerabek’s statement; however, she believes it affects our population as a whole. She thinks it’s improperly labelled as solely a newer generation’s condition. Social support can be a “way out” of the escapism trend; it’s about creating spaces where connections can happen face-to-face. “The awkwardness of teen years helps them become functional adults, but when those social situations are damped by media — when they are mediated by technologies — I think a lot will be missed.”

As a tech-savvy generation, the capacity to conduct thoughtful research is still there.

In Stewart’s first-year media class, she notes that one student went as far as turning off all

the colour from his phone screen. This made it less vibrant and attractive, and he found he spent less time on it. She sees that “each year… students are able to take a step back, critically analyze and carefully consider the ramification of constant connection.” Again, the emphasis on reducing our reliance on quick-hit digital media shouldn’t rest exclusively on the younger generations.

“The more we provide space for dialogue (away from online distraction) the more it becomes normalized,” Stewart says, “and the more people find those lovely spaces of face to face, or meditation or mindfulness practices, or social experiences.”

With its late 2018 iOS update, Apple tried making it easier for iPhone users to discover trending news articles with a swift swipe to the left. The Apple News widget compiles the top stories from various publications in topics like entertainment, politics, food or science and caters to your interests based on what you pick.

Unfortunately, the highlighted articles on feeds may not always come from reliable sources.

Stewart discloses that she’s apprehensive of news coverage. When she is truly interested

in the topic, she’ll “do [her] own research and investigate a bit more or go to the sources [she] really trust[s].” She’s cautious when discussing news stories in conversations with others, because she doesn’t always trust that the full story was revealed. A 2019 Statista survey determined that, on average, 58 per cent of Canadians trust news media whereas only 34 per cent of Americans do. The highest percentage of trustworthiness is among Finns, at 62 per cent.

“Contrary to the idea that social media creates a polarizing filter bubble, exposing people to only a narrow range of opinions, 70 per cent of millennials say that their social media feeds are comprised of diverse viewpoints evenly mixed between those similar to and different from their own” the Media Insight Project found. In addition, 16 per cent said their feeds contain different viewpoints than their own.

Instead of focusing on the shift away from print news as a young generation’s response, we need to look at how all ages interact with media and learn about the real world in front of them, not merely the one reflected imperfectly on a digital device. ■

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics stated in 2016 that, on average, full-time university students spend four hours a day socializing, relaxing, or engaged in “leisure” (a.k.a. scrolling on their phones while simultaneously watching Netflix). Leisure time rated as the second-highest daily activity in hours after the 8.8 hours they spent sleeping.

PHOTO: ISTOCK

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THE DOCTOR IS ON AND HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU REAL?

Therapy websites offer affordable, convenient and immediate mental health support, but lack human connection.

I’VE BEEN FEELING DOWN LATELY, SO I decide to take advantage of therapy. It is my very first time trying it out. On a Thursday afternoon, I leave work and step outside of my comfort zone; I open up about my feelings.

THERAPIST: I’m looking forward to getting to

know you better over time. Why don’t you start by telling me a little more about what brought you here today?

ME: Lately, I’ve been feeling a little bit depressed and not like myself.

THERAPIST: It might help to tell me more about your moods.

ME: I am constantly tired and easily irritated, I have no energy to do anything.

THERAPIST: What do you try when you are tired out?

ME: I usually just end up at home being lazy, watching TV after my long days which consists of either working or studying at school.

THERAPIST: What drains your enthusiasm most?

story by CAROLINE JIRKA

ME: Waking up and doing the same thing over

and over again THERAPIST: What are you most looking forward to in the future?

ME: Travelling and building great memories with my partner.

THERAPIST: Please lend me a hand in interpreting. Would you like me to refer to this person as a male or female?

ME: Male.

THERAPIST: OK, noted. Continue typing with what is important.

“Typing?” That conversation was not with a human therapist, but an online conversation on a website called Open Dialogue, a private company run by Vancouver resident and UBC commerce graduate Ed Blunderfield. It’s a self-help site (opendialogue.ai) encouraging users to find their own answers by continuously rephrasing their questions and problems.

It also offers “The Mindset Course” to teach self-reflection and stress management skills.

The site’s humanizing language made me

illustration by CYNTHIA TRAN VO

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feel comfortable to continue the conversation, and the questions the chatbot asked allowed me to reflect on my answers.

“They help people learn more about themselves and overcome life stress,” says Blunderfield, “This website gives people the opportunity to self-reflect in an anonymous, non-judgmental space” Then, I hit a roadblock.

After a few interactions, the bot began asking similar questions repeatedly. This was expected of the program, but I began to hunger for specific feedback. As the bot itself and the website description mention, the program is new and still “learning.” The use of artificial intelligence in chatbots is growing in popularity and becoming a means of providing support for people seeking help or simply someone to talk to. Open Dialogue combines “educational resources with an artificially intelligent conversational program,” Blunderfield explains.

However, the experience definitely left me wanting more.

Mental health problems have increased significantly over the past decade. According to the World Health Organization, depression affects nearly 300 million people worldwidearound the world. By age 40, about 50 per cent of the population will have — or have had — a mental illness. These rates are higher than ever before, which heightens the need for alternative resources. People with mental health issues have several options available to them, including medication and therapy; however, the problem is that not everybody is comfortable utilizing these methods.

Problems such as the stigma around mental health or a lack of financial resources, can cause barriers for people with mental health conditions seeking help. The Mental Health Commission of Canada notes that almost one half (49 per cent) of those who feel they have suffered from depression or anxiety have never gone to a doctor. This is where AI websites and apps for mental health or self-help come in.

These automated therapists (TAs) are designed to offer a time-efficient, cheap and short-term alternative.

Therapy sessions with another human normally require taking time out of your day getting to and from the appointment. It’s not an instantaneous process, and it can be expensive unless you have health insurance. Alternatively, you can connect with Open Dialogue

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Ed Blunderfield

and it responds immediately. No appointment needed and no fee is charged for the first two weeks. For Blunderfield, it is critical for us to “first take responsibility for ourselves and our lives” and “use the various different tools to help us on our personal growth journey.” People shouldn’t solely rely on AI bots, especially for long-term issues. Tools like Open Dialogue and therapy chatbots offer people services in moments of need with the click of a button.

The non-stop nature of social media allows us access to chatbots 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “Smartphones put this information and these digital experiences in the palm of our hand, whenever and wherever we want,” says Blunderfield.

AI in healthcare still raises concerns regarding ethics. Can a chatbot replicate the same levels of trust and empathy that take place during complex interactions between client and therapist in a real-world therapy session? The answer is unclear.

“It all depends on what our expectations of technology are,” Blunderfield acknowledges.

“There are certainly aspects of human companionship that an AI is highly unlikely to be able to replicate, but if we look to AI for other forms of companionship then you can see it has some advantages over humans.”

Blunderfield distinguishes Open Dialogue not as a trained therapist but as an interactive tool to encourage self-help. It provides accessibility and gives people resources that aid them in overcoming their struggles. A disclaimer on the site states that it is not a crisis service and recommends users seek immediate help if someone is in need. Those contemplating suicide are encouraged to contact the Canadian Suicide Prevention Services (CSPS) by calling

1-833-456-4566 or texting “TALK” to 686868 for the Crisis Text Line.

The use of artificial intelligence in mental healthcare, or in any situation for that matter, also raises concern in regards to privacy and security. Vulnerabilities in website design may allow hackers to access private and sensitive information about users. Therefore, it’s crucial for the companies creating these websites to ensure their data is stored and managed appropriately. Open Dialogue’s data is managed using Amazon’s AWS trusted platform and is stored on their servers located in Oregon.

Many website users have given the company positive feedback. One client felt his ability to support others people improved. By using this website, he believed his “empathic listening and skillful questioning” significantly increased. Another user described the website as “a chatbot that helps you get your shit together.” He shared that, “solutions like Open Dialogue are good for people who are stressedout, don’t have time to sit with a therapist or don’t really need one, and just need someone to help them refocus their thoughts.”

When utilizing these tools for personal growth, we must keep in mind that they simply provide temporary help. Open Dialogue’s ultimate goal is to “help people develop skills that enhance their mental and physical wellbeing.”

Blunderfield claims “so many of our problems arise as a result of a lack of understanding of how the mind works.” AI potentially gives a significant percentage of the population access to therapy in a way they’ve never had before.

“I believe that we can teach people these foundational life skills, and then provide a safe, encouraging environment for them to explore how these ideas relate to their own personal situation,” Blunderfield insists.

Open Dialogue was launched as a basic website to start with, and its chatbot was thoroughly tested using volunteers. The company is continually adding new content and capabilities to meet individuals’ needs.

Blunderfield emphasizes, “It’s been evolving for a long time and continues to grow and learn new things.” Blunderfield hopes that his website can “help people experience meaningful personal growth and will remind us of our humanity, help us cultivate our most essential attributes and encourage us to thrive as human beings.” ■

THAT’S

GROSS

(UNLESS YOU’RE UP FOR IT) People have always engaged in non-vanilla sex, and now there are more widely accepted avenues for them to explore what makes them feel good.

IT’S A CLEAR, BUT EXTREMELY COLD, Friday night in Vancouver, but the line-up to get into the Vancouver Convention Centre is full of people in barely-there leather and lace ensembles. They are waiting to enter the Taboo Naughty but Nice Sex Show and the negative temperature hasn’t discouraged them from wearing what makes them feel sexy.

story by RACHEL LOUISE MOORE

PHOTO: ISTOCK

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Between those in latex and dog collars are business men in suits, and women in yoga pants, who have wandered down to check out the excitement. The Taboo show is for everyone, not just those into kink. The atmosphere in the large convention room closely resembles that of an EDM show. Packed with people, it is warm, illuminated with multicolored lights, and a remix of “I Put a Spell on You” plays over the sound system.

Product booths selling everything from rubber fists to riding crops fill the convention room in rows. The booths cater to those looking to explore the various kinks and fetishes that are slowly becoming more prominent and visible within society. The Vancouver Convention Centre, known for hosting other events such as the Healthy Family Expo and the Gluten Free Expo, has received a temporary, yet very spicy makeover. A large green booth is set up directly across from the entrance doors, where eight topless webcam models fondle themselves in front of their computer monitors. To the right, a booth demonstrates how to safely restrain your partner(s) with rope or cuffs. Beyond are displays of fetish costumes: life-sized silicone sex dolls, nipple nibblers, pocket rockets, and panties of the crotch-less and gummy variety. A show featuring two submissive performers being spun into a web of ropes on a hotel luggage-trolley type of apparatus is taking place. Dominants kiss their feet and stroke their hair while suspending and tangling them even further.

A middle-aged male wearing a suit hosts an orgasm competition amongst the crowd.

Loud grunts, whimpers and an occasional “fuck me, don’t stop, harder!” pierces the sound of others shopping. Inquisitive guests attend lectures throughout the day. Topics responsibly introduce BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism) in the bedroom, or wherever else someone prefers to bump uglies. This convention is not just a place where one can purchase phallic-shaped candles or 12 different flavours of lubricant — more importantly, it provides people of different sexualities and genders with a sense of inclusivity as they explore what fulfills them sexually.

The Taboo Naughty but Nice Sex Show has been around for 18 years, but has more recently been pushed to the forefront of must-attend events in Vancouver thanks to

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Robin Beatch, a sex and relationship coach, sex educator, writer and a speaker at the Taboo Naughty but Nice Sex Show, says, “I would confidently estimate that sex is becoming safer and more satisfying – both physically and emotionally.” the mainstreaming of kinks, fetishes, and all things sex. Kink is an unconventional way to engage in a sexual practice while enhancing pleasure; it includes cross-dressing, wearing animal costumes or cuckolding. The term fetish is used when one feels a sexual desire for and fixation on an object or specific body part, like the classic foot fetish. The increase in public acceptance of different sexual practices is a recent shift, but people were most certainly getting freaky years ago. Who knows?

Abraham Lincoln may have very well enjoyed a good toe suck.

“There’s definitely been more mainstream marketing of kink lately,” says Jenn Matsui De Roo, registered clinical counsellor and owner of Genderoo Counselling and Consulting.

“Witness the 50 Shades of Grey books and movies, but there’s been plenty of that before this snapshot in time too, such as the films Belle Du Jour, Night Porter, and Secretary.” Media sources have mainstreamed kink to the point where reading a book like 50 Shades of Grey on the bus is completely acceptable, even though it is essentially porn. Thoughtfully flipping through a pornographic magazine on the bus, decades ago, would most likely result in some unfavourable name-calling or a ride in the back of a cop car. The creation of hook-up apps like Tinder have made it much easier for people to find others with similar kinks and fetishes. For example, in the past you may have awkwardly waited six platonic dates before admitting that you are sexually aroused when urinated on, only to chase your potential lover away.

Now, modern hook-up apps let you lay it all out before you even meet the person, so you can stop wasting time, and start getting peed on, because you deserve it!

Robin Beatch, a sex and relationship coach, sex educator, writer, and a speaker at the Taboo Naughty but Nice Sex Show, says, “I would confidently estimate that sex is becoming safer and more satisfying — both physically and emotionally.” Beatch believes that this could very well be connected to the popularity of hook-up apps. “[Some apps] ask questions that want to know whether or not I think it’s okay to have sex on the first date, whether the number of sexual partners my date has had would affect my opinion of them, or whether I’d be open to a threesome,” says Beatch. With the misrepresentation of kink in the mainstream media, and sex in pornography, consent culture and clear communication is more important than ever. “People are getting better at asking things like, ‘How does this feel?’ and ‘Is this okay?’” Beatch observes, which then leads to greater awareness, ultimately making a rendezvous more enjoyable for everyone.

Years ago, repercussions of going public with your different sexual interests could very well result in termination from your place of work, or alienation from the community.

Now, people feel more free to express and embrace their kinks and fetishes on social media, hook-up apps, and by attending themed events or parties. What might the future look like if society keeps shifting in a sex-positive, kink-embracing way? The new sexual confidence, empowerment and prowess felt by today’s society could eventually lead to the development of a virtual reality system which makes you forget you’re just using your right hand. Perhaps people will start having more sex in moving cars since vehicles will be able to drive themselves, or we’ll see the normalization of people taking their scantily clad sex dolls out to dine at Cactus Club, with zero shame. It is clear that each generation desires to be revolutionaries when it comes to shagging but the truth is people have been getting freaky forever. The increasingly open society we live in has made it a little easier. Your grandma probably had anal sex, but it certainly wasn’t with a My Little Pony butt-plug that she purchased at the Taboo sex show after a day at the office. ■

GUIDE TO COMMON KINK SUBSETS ( A GL OSSA RY OF TERMS FO R NEWBIES )

IMPACT PLAY: refers to the use of hands, paddles, whips, or whatever you have around the house to hit fleshy areas of the body such as the thighs and booty.

Highly associated with bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism (BDSM).

ROLE PLAY: people who desire to dress up and act as characters. A sub-category of this includes FURRIES, people who wear animal costumes while engaging in sexual activites.

DOMINATRIX & SUBMIS SIVE: The dominant partners derive sexual pleasure from taking control of submissive partner as part of the consensual power exchange.

FOOT FETISH: when an individual is turned on by kissing, sucking, and stroking someone else’s feet. This can also be referred to as “foot worship.”

CROSS DRESSING: when people wear items of clothing associated with the opposite sex.

CUCKOLDING: when a heterosexual couple agrees to explore the turn-on of the female sleeping with other men and then humiliating her male partner about the fact that she’s sleeping with someone else.

LATEX & LEATHER: when people are attracted to clothes that show off curves, that are shiny, and that are slick to rub against.

BDSM

Kinks

INFOGRAPH DESIGN: NOVA MUJAGIC; SOURCES: GLAMOUR.COM; ASKMEN.CA

STORM SEX: Feeling frisky outdoors? People into this kink become aroused and excited by naturally occuring weather phenomena such as thunder and rainstorms.

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PEELING BACK IN THE ANTI-VAX VERSUS PRO-VAX DEBATE, HAVE WE LOST THE ABILITY TO SEE THE PERSON BEHIND THE DECISION (AND CAN WE RESPECT ONE ANOTHER)? story by GRETA KOOY

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“I hadn’t really ever

thought of vaccinating or not, it was always ‘just what you do’,” says Glen Hughes (name changed). Hughes sits cross-legged at his office desk, noticeably lowering his voice, as he describes his experience as a parent who chose not to vaccinate his child. “We did everything wacky according to my parents,” he laughs.

Hughes and his partner are what many today would label as “anti-vaxxers,” but he disagrees.

Both he and his wife are academics — educated individuals capable of independent research and critical thought. “My partner started to do a whole lot of scientific research. So, it was never just about going onto blogs, it wasn’t

PHOTO: ISTOCK

THE LABELS going online… It was definitely based on scientific evidence versus a celebrity or pop culture reference or anything emotional. I had never even questioned [whether or not to vaccinate] before,” he says. They based their choice on their own research efforts — and yet by today’s standards, the two are dubbed crazy. And they’re not alone.

Despite two centuries of medical and technological advancement, and the eradication of several diseases, a trend has emerged that could potentially put people at risk again.

Once a fringe movement made up of seemingly small and quiet numbers, anti-vaxxers now command an online band of devoted supporters. Spawning documentaries and books, the movement grew as parents became inspired parents to exercise their autonomy.

But Hughes, a so-called “anti-vaxx” parent, disregards the movement. “Honestly, I don’t pay attention to this whole anti-vaxx/pro-vaxx debate,” he says. “It’s just two parties yelling at each other.”

Anti-vaxxers have existed as long as vaccines: roughly 220 years. Edward Jenner, the inventor of the smallpox vaccine, was ultimately ostracized from his community after immunizing his family members. To the community’s credit, watching Jenner scrape pus from the flesh of sick cows and onto a person’s skin was probably disgusting, let alone confusing. Despite the community’s skepticism and distrust, Jenner’s method led to the world’s first eradication of a common, deadly disease.

Two centuries later, the anti-vaccination movement resurfaced online in popular media, spearheaded by celebrities whose voices go largely unstifled. It peaked in the mid-2000s, when several well-known figures came out in support of the anti-vaxx community, namely Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey, Alicia Silverstone, Cindy Crawford, Bill Maher and even actress and neuroscience PhD Mayim Bialik.

Then, many were praised for being brave

enough to come forward on the issue at all.

Ironically, 60 years prior, a smiling Elvis Presley appeared on a nationwide broadcast of The Ed Sullivan Show as a health official stuck a needle into his arm. Presley’s goal was to convince the American people that the new polio vaccine was safe — and it worked.

So, what happened?

Modern day anti-vaxx movements are rooted in a 1998 study published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, The Lancet, by British doctor Andrew Wakefield. Shortly before publication, there was an inexplicable rise in autism rates simultaneously as vaccination rates rose. Wakefield reported a supposed link between vaccines and autism based on a sample of eight children. He single-handedly fueled the fire of anti-vaxxers and created distrust of the medical community among the public. Although his study was later found to be baseless, he remains a champion of the anti-vaccination community.

“I had heard about the links between autism and vaccines… but that was never our fundamental reason for [not vaccinating],” Hughes insists. “I didn’t really care about the study. It was more the bigger studies about what was in the vaccines that we were worried about.”

Concerns regarding Wakefield’s study were raised, and The Lancet retracted the article in 2010. That same year, Wakefield officially lost his medical licence. “There’s so many people in that movement who chose to not vaccinate above and beyond this one study,” says Hughes.

“But then they kind of get lumped together as ‘Oh, you believe that one study and you only believe it causes autism,’ and there’s no other reason why you would’ve done that.… but no one discloses why people have made these choices.

It just becomes very one-sided, for or against.”

Despite the retracting of Wakefield’s article and the debunking of his findings, the damage was done. “Looking back now, [Dr. Wakefield’s study] probably did more to aid pro-vaxxers

than anti-vaxxers, just due to the discussion around it and the fact that it was very clearly refuted in later studies,” says Dr. Jack Kooy, a B.C .family physician with 30 years experience [editors’ disclosure: the author of this article is related to Dr. Kooy]. “Sometimes controversy is good.” He explains that Wakefield’s fraudulent study was neither the first nor last time unfounded information has been published in medical journals. “Changes in society and in the medical society is not just about accepting the status quo,” he says, “If, for instance, you look at thalidomide, it’s thanks to a Canadian-born physician [Frances Oldham Kelsey] who refused to allow the use of thalidomide in the U.S. when it was regarded as safe. The Canadian government continued to allow it, with disastrous consequences. She was ultimately awarded a medal by President Kennedy for standing up for her beliefs despite tremendous pressure from her community to allow the drug.”

Seth Mnookin’s 2011 book, The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear, explores the history of the anti-vaxx community and why it still has grounds for existence. “Why, despite all the evidence to the contrary, do so many people remain adamant in their belief that vaccines are responsible for harming hundreds of thousands of otherwise healthy children?” the author asks. “Why is the media so inclined to air their views? Why are so many others so readily convinced? Why, in other words, are we willing to believe things that are, according to all available evidence, false?” Celebrity power, he explains, gives the movement a false sense of credibility.

Mnookin estimates that when Jenny McCarthy appeared on shows like Larry King Live and Good Morning America, her message reached the ears of 15 to 20 million people.

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without the medical evidence to support their statements,” says Dr. Kooy. “It’s irresponsible and it can cause great harm to a great number of people. Those who watch those shows, like [The Oprah Winfrey Show] or The Dr. Oz Show, want to believe that people have good intentions, and they may have good intentions. But their direction can be wrong.”

Dr. Alicia Slade, another B.C. family physician, agrees. “Celebrity influence has definitely made an impact on some parents in their decisions on whether or not to vaccinate,” she says,. “Social media and the Internet are also influential factors. There’s a vast amount of information available online, and not all of it is validated or linked to a reputable source.”

Although celebrity advocacy against vaccination is popular now, Hughes insists that it had nothing to do with the decision she and her husband made. “Back [in the late 1990s] there was no celebrity endorsement. There were communities talking about it… but I never heard any celebrities talking about it,” she says, “That came way later, but by then we had already decided.”

Slade, Kooy and thousands of physicians globally have grown concerned over the online influence of the anti-vaccination community.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer and expert in immunization, shared similar sentiments in a statement released March of this year. “In an era where, thanks to the success of vaccines, we are no longer familiar with these dangerous illnesses, some parents have come to fear the prevention more than the disease,” says Tam. “I am very concerned to see vaccine-preventable diseases, particularly those as serious and highly contagious as measles, making a comeback in Canada and around the globe.”

Measles was declared eradicated in Canada in 1998, but the virus is making a comeback in 2019. In B.C. alone, 23 confirmed cases of measles have been reported, most of which are linked to the school system. The re-emergence prompted the World Health Organization to announce that “hesitancy to vaccinate” is among the top 10 threats to global health.

The anti-vaccination community is not only concerned by the perceived threat of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). “The majority of parents have a general concern for their child’s health and want to make the best decisions for their well-being,” Dr. Slade says,.

“With anti-vaxxers, there can be different

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reasons as to why each set of parents decline to vaccinate their children, so listening to their reasoning and logic is very important in order to have an informative discussion.” Similarly, Dr. Kooy acknowledges the rights of these parents, “As a free society, everybody has the right to make that decision for him or herself, or on behalf of their child. We also have to remember that as parents, we are guardians to our children’s health, and it’s important that you make a very well-founded, well-researched and responsible decision that would be best for your child.”

When Hughes and his wife announced to doctors in the late 1990s that they would not be vaccinating, they were not met with understanding. “We [were] yelled at, we’ve been called bad parents by a doctor,” he says. “When they yelled at me, I was shocked because I thought it was very unprofessional, but I wasn’t persuaded. I didn’t think I was a bad parent. But there was no dialogue.” In his experience, the doctor’s office was a hostile environment that was “overwhelming” and “invasive.”

Physicians work to change public discourse and equip patients with relevant and valid information, but they cannot prevent the spread of misinformation online. Recently, the American Medical Association (AMA) took action by sending a letter to the CEOs of mega-companies like Google and Amazon, advising social media platforms to stop sharing misinformation generated by anti-vaccine groups. “We urge you to do your part to ensure that users have access to scientifically valid information on vaccinations,” pleaded AMA CEO Dr. James Madara. “As evident from the measles outbreaks currently impacting communities in several states, when people decide not to be immunized as a matter of personal preference or misinformation, they put themselves and others at risk of disease. That is why it is extremely important that people who are searching for information about vaccination have access to accurate, evidence-based information grounded in science.”

Tim Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, recently interviewed on CBC Radio’s The Current, said that “just being exposed to [anti-vaxx arguments] can create a degree of hesitancy… Some studies estimate that 20 to 30 per cent of the Canadian population can be classified as vaccine-hesitant.” Hughes is frustrated by what he sees as a kind of censorship around vaccine

information. “If you were waffling, it’d be nice to go on and actually see evidence from both sides,” he says, “and then make a decision… that you wholeheartedly want to make.”

By refusing to vaccinate their children, parents may expose a new generations to viruses and diseases once considered eradicated. Will those children, when they become adults, take matters into their own hands?

The rising tide of unvaccinated children turning against their parents includes Ethan Lindenberger, an 18-year-old from Ohio. He spoke before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on his personal experience as a child of an anti-vaxx parent.

Lindenberger’s story, especially in the wake of a very public anti-vaccination debate, caught the attention of people worldwide.

Since he was born, Lindenberger lived unvaccinated. In later years, he grew skeptical of his mother’s beliefs and researched the topic, looking for answers. When he turned 18, an age where he could legally make his own healthcare decisions, Lindenberger traveled to the local Ohio Department of Health and received several vaccinations. Though Dr. Kooy doesn’t want to assume Lindenberger’s actions will become a trend, he is hopeful. “It’s a positive sign for me, as a pro-vaxxer, that that would happen. But I’m sure that the contrary happens too, where a hardened pro-vaxxer’s child may become an anti-vaxxer due to negative experience.”

Hughes’s daughter is now in her 20s and supported by her parents when it comes to making her own choices. “I would want [my daughter] to read the literature and make that decision for herself,” Hughes says. And for new parents? “I would totally endorse a delay,” he advocates, describing how many vaccines are bundled together and administered at one time. “I would like to pick and choose,” he says, “because that’s a lot that they’re doing to a little baby.”

Hughes is happy to see physicians opening up to unconventional methods like holistic and naturopathic medicine, and points out that he is not distrusting of the medical community.

“I’m doing what I think is best for my child.

As strongly as you feel about your child, I feel about my child,” he says. We should have, he says, “a bigger conversation about this, where we could look at the science, and re-evaluate things culturally and socially… I think that would be invaluable.” ■

HiGH DiNiNG

A LOCAL CHEF IS ELEVATING HIS PASSION FOR COOKING WITH CANNABIS. EVAN ELMAN HAS FOUND A WAY TO CREATE A FIVE-COURSE FINE DINING EXPERIENCE WITH ENOUGH THC TO KEEP HIS GUESTS WANTING MORE. b y D A N I E L L E L AV I S

WHEN CHEF EVAN ELMAN SET DOWN a plateful of cannabis-infused cuisine in front of his guests, the savoury smells of smoked salmon, espresso-rubbed duck breast and seared lamb immersed them in a culinary heaven. Chef Elman and Travis Petersen (now also known as The Nomad Cook) presented their first five-course, cannabis-infused, private pop-up dining experience on the weekend of 4/20, an especially important day in Vancouver’s cannabis community. “It was great,” says Elman, adding that it was also a learning experience. “People got really stoned, so we knew we had to fix our methods.”

Originally from Boston, the young chef moved to Vancouver when he was 18. Elman graduated from the Uni-

versity of British Columbia with a degree in history and a minor in film studies but would later realize that he didn’t have a true passion for either. Eventually, he made the move towards a career in the culinary arts. “I started at the bottom at some crappy burger joint and realized that I wanted to just dive head-first into this,” he explains. “I think it was because I was at that crossroad where I just graduated from university, and I didn’t know what to do.” Elman’s career soon began to take off. Working with the Hawksworth Group in Vancouver, he had the opportunity to cook at pop-up dinners for the likes of writers from The New York Times and magazines Food & Wine and Complex, among others. Pop-up dinners are an increasingly growing trend within the food and beverage industries.

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These are a one-of-a-kind dining experiences, hosted in various locations such as existing restaurants, bars, private homes or even outdoors.

Today, more and more people are discovering new ways to use the cannabis plant, whether for medical or non-medical reasons. The latest trend is cannabis-infused dining, which first appeared in the U.S. shortly after recreational use was decriminalized in certain states.

Los Angeles-based Christopher Sayegh, also known as The Herbal Chef, pioneered the cannabis-infused dining experience and inspired chefs across Canada to begin incorporating the herb into their own culinary creations.

With legalization fast approaching at the time, Elman took note. His and Peterson’s 4/20 pop-up was a first test of the Vancouver market, and the response was very positive.

Marijuana was officially legalized for recreational use in Canada on October 17, 2018. This makes it easy to assume that cooking with cannabis is a modern phe-

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nomenon, but in fact it has a long history with roots in 10th-century India where “bhang” was incorporated into food and drinks for both spiritual and medicinal purposes. Throughout history other cultures adopted the plant strictly for medical purposes, but with the dawn of 1960s counterculture in North America, marijuana steadily gained traction as a recreational drug. For most of the 20th century, and before legalization, marijuana was stereotypically portrayed as a dangerous, addictive drug when used for non-medical purposes.

Elman realized just how successful cannbis-infused pop-up dinners were becoming when chefs across Canada quickly caught on to the trend. “I didn’t want mine to be seen as just another pot dinner, though,” he explains. “So I had the idea of setting up the infrastructure for my own company.” With legalization well on its way, Elman threw caution to the wind. He opened Verde Vancouver just months before federal decriminalization, where he blends his culinary skills in private dining with PHOTO: ISTOCK

“IF YOU’VE EVER HAD A POT BROWNIE, THEN YOU KNOW IT DOESN’T TASTE THAT GOOD... IT TASTES JUST LIKE WEED,” ELMAN SAYS. HIS MISSION? USE CANNABIS INFUSIONS AS CULINARY BUILDING BLOCKS. “WE’RE JUST GETTING STARTED.” a high-end cannabis-infused experience.

Since the federal government’s decision to legalize marijuana, Canada’s cannabis industry has experienced significant growth — it’s estimated that the industry could be worth somewhere between $4.9 and $8.7 billion annually after 2020, and overall consumption is expected to rise 35 per cent as new consumers enter the market.

As it grows, the industry is also becoming increasingly sophisticated as people find unique ways to consume cannabis. The stereotypical consumers of pot pre-decriminalization were young risk-takers, known to put their health and safety on the line. Post-legalization however, a different kind of consumer has emerged.

Millennials still seem to be consuming the most cannabis, but it’s the baby-boomers who are now circling back to their old ways, using marijuana recreationally and for the treatment of chronic pain, anxiety and insomnia. This comes as no surprise, as the cannabis industry in Canada is now bigger than both the tobacco and alcohol industries. Boomers who once scoffed at the substance are now the leaders of giant corporations looking to cash in on a thriving and very profitable market.

Also shifting are societal attitudes towards marijuana.

Once stigmatized as an illegal drug that was considered a health hazard, a public nuisance and a habit-forming depressant, marijuana is now a substance with proven health benefits. Millennials have arguably contributed the most towards this shift by showing tremendous public support for the plant and heavily promoting its use in pop culture. As THC-infused products (tetrahydrocannabinol is the main psychoactive constituent of marijuana) become widely available across Canada and new

consumers are introduced to the market, the “stoner” stereotype is beginning to fade. New consumers tend to skew older, and for a variety of reasons. The conventional burning of bud can have serious health implications and is not a refined or appealing delivery method for THC compared to incorporating cannabis into a gourmet meal.

New consumers also expect safety and consistency in the products they purchase, something the marijuana industry previously lacked. In order to appeal to this new type of consumer, Elman had to create a specific menu. Earlier in his career, the young chef had the opportunity to collaborate with Farm & Florist, Canada’s first producer of high-end infusions, where he learned how to develop a cannabis infusion devoid of odour and flavour. “If you’ve ever had a pot brownie, then you know it doesn’t really taste that good… it tastes just like weed,” he points out.

“We realized that this was just a building block. There are so many applications that can be done with this method and we were really just getting started.”

Each dinner guest of Elman’s indicates his or her level of experience with the drug and the amount of THC is adjusted accordingly. As expected, a ticket to attend one of Elman’s private dining experiences isn’t cheap, starting at $120 per person for a five-course meal. Using innovative techniques, up to 50mg of THC is infused in dishes throughout the meal. Dinners take place in the client’s home, with Elman and staff on hand to provide a safe, relaxing and stress-free environment.

“It’s not an easy business,” Elman reports. “You really need to educate people about what the fuck this is.” He hopes his infusions will create a path for future pro-cannabis chefs to follow, as well as help educate the public and reduce the stigma of cannabis.

Whether Prime Minister Trudeau keeps his pledge to regulate marijuana, restrict its production, and prevent its use entirely among the underaged remains to be seen.

But the pop-up cannabis market prompts questions of how cannabis will change the culture of Canada.

Legalized cannabis oils are already providing a cleaner alternative to smoking the substance. This means ervices like chef Elman’s are just the beginning as the stigma surrounding cannabis starts to fade away and new products arrive on store shelves. A better-tasting future for cannabis users awaits. ■ MAY 2019 t i de s

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FOOD for

THOUGHT OUR LOVE OF FOOD WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME. HOW WE GATHER AND CONSUME IT? NOT SO MUCH.

A QUICK SEARCH on Instagram kitchens of millions across North for #foodporn will instantly bring America and they are changing the up more than 189 million pictures game when it comes to getting our of, well, food. This is just the most noses out of restaurant menus and recent, and most visible example of back into recipes. They couldn’t have the timeless relationship we have come at a better time. In a 2018 study, with what we eat. While countBloomberg.com reported that the less foodie blogs, apps and social average number of restaurant meals media accounts devoted to niche eaten by an American citizen peaked diets, or food and eating in general in 2000 at 216 a year. This number story by HELEN have been popping up over the past dropped to 185 in the year the report AIKENHEAD decade, indicative of a particularly was published, matching the exact food-obsessed generation, they’ve average number reported in 1990. also created the idea of a deep sepaThe leading causes of this decline are ration between people and perhaps linked to a desire to save money and the most fundamental aspect of loving food: cooking. to stay home after a busy day, and meal-kit services allow Self-proclaimed foodies, and their 189 million posts, their customers to do both. offer endless images of restaurant-cooked meals, helping While Blue Apron is one of the most widely known grow the idea of the increasing distance between people providers of these services in the American market, it’s and what they’re eating. More often than not, this distance German company HelloFresh that’s currently dominating is blamed on time and just how easy it is to not interact sales in both the U.S. and Canada. with one another — it’s quicker to go out for a meal than it “After a long day of work I get home around 7 p.m. and is to cook one. Why even go out when you can have virtu- the box is waiting for me at my doorstep,” explains Alejanally anything you want delivered to your door with just a dra Rivera, a new and very satisfied HelloFresh customer. few taps on your phone’s screen? There are plenty of apps “I just need to open it, and start cooking!” Rivera, like many to make that possible, and not just for takeaway. Most big- who’ve decided to try out meal-kit delivery services, leads a box grocery stores offer programs that allow you to shop busy life. As a full-time student with a demanding job, the online and request delivery of the groceries right to your time she has for cooking is sparse. Especially since cookdoor. But within the past decade, another innovation has ing isn’t something she’s particularly experienced with, the hit the market. . whole ordeal often took more time than she had to give. “I Home-delivered meal kits have found a space in the have tried to cook at home, but grocery shopping for one

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person is hard,” Rivera admits. “Most of the things would go bad before I even tried to cook them. I was mostly buying snacks and breakfast food and resorting to take-out (mostly sushi) for my main meals.”

Rivera is exactly the type of customer meal-kit companies aim to serve. With varying price points, recipe offerings, and other, somewhat minor logistical details, meal-kit delivery services really don’t have much differentiation.

Despite that, the industry as a whole is accumulating good profit margins. As reported by Investor’s Business Daily in 2018, meal kits generated $1 billion in 2015 and are projected to reach $10 billion by 2020. All the services allow customers to sign up for a meal box delivery once a week as needed. Customers select which meals they’d like for the week from a pre-set catalogue with various offerings catering to specific dietary needs or preferences. Then, come delivery day, a box is left on the customer’s doorstep containing portioned ingredients (even pre-chopped and sliced if requested) and recipe cards with detailed instructions on how to assemble the meals they ordered.

Without the trek to the grocery store, the thought and research that goes into finding a new recipe, or the measuring and preparation, assembling a home-cooked meal couldn’t be faster. A majority of the recipes are designed to require just 30 minutes of cooking. Plus, after accounting for the money you save on wasted ingredients, the average cost is closer to that of a grocery store than a restaurant.

Obviously, convenience is king and is the main motivator for many of these service’s users. But a general rise in nutritional knowledge, plus an increasing awareness of waste reduction, is also encouraging North Americans to give meal kits a try. Megan Orr, a full-time student based in Vancouver, has a similar schedule to Rivera. Although she began with a little more experience in the kitchen, she found cooking for herself entirely from scratch was too time-consuming and she was enticed by the meal-kit service option.

For Orr, it was Canadian company Chef’s Plate that convinced her to sign up. As someone who really hates wasting food, she appreciated the freedom a meal-kit service gave her to try out new ingredients. Delivered in single-use portions, these prepared kits significantly reduce food waste by only sending what’s needed, unlike the bulk quantities found on grocery store shelves. But unfortunately, Orr discovered that a lot was left to be desired in terms of the wasteful packaging. Ultimately, it was this over-packaging that was a key factor in her decision to

PHOTO: DEPOSIT PHOTOS

cancel her subscription a couple of years ago.

“It was just super wasteful,” Orr explains. “It comes in a box and everything was wrapped up in plastic, and little plastic containers. And that plastic, it can’t go into recycling — like soft plastics, they don’t get recycled in Vancouver.”

While meal-kit companies assure their packaging materials are recyclable, which is technically true as they can be broken down, Vancouver and many other cities are still working out the bugs in the system to properly sort them to make this happen. Chef ’s Plate and other companies are still working on this issue, but others are taking action. As Rivera and several unboxing videos on YouTube can attest, HelloFresh has adjusted its packaging process to use less plastic. “All the veggies and ingredients come in a paper bag,” Rivera reports. “Sometimes a few ingredients are in plastic such as thyme. The only waste it really has are the insulted ice packs it comes with — but you can use them for camping, or even better, once you have enough to fill a box, you can message [the company] and they can pick them up to re use-them.”

As with any relatively new service, experiences are bound to vary and issues can always be worked out with time and some thought. But to Orr, there’s one major shift in consumerist culture that can be seen as a cause of the meal-kit’s success. “I think that we’re seeing a big shift from the brick-and-mortar stores… like with Amazon and everything else shifting the world into online, that’s just the way things are going,” she says. “Smart companies are recognizing that and utilizing it to their benefit.” The same Business Investor’s Daily article suggests that while this natural progression of consumer culture may currently be to the benefit of these companies, it is also foreshadowing their downfall. They suggest that when retail giants catch on to the trend, as Amazon and Walmart have with their recent entry into the meal-kit game, it may not be long before smaller companies like Chef’s Plate and HelloFresh succumb to price pressures that could wipe them out of business.

Although the future of these companies as they now operate is unclear, the demand for this type of convenience isn’t. Now that consumers have shown their interest, the influence of these kits is not going away anytime soon. At the end of the day, people are finding new ways to interact with what they eat and it’s allowing for more conversations about waste control, nutrition and time management. Now that’s some food for thought. ■

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EX PLOI TATION story by JOHN TABBERNOR

illustration by CYNTHIA TRAN VO

WHY THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY IS IN TURMOIL OVER UNIONIZATION.

ADAM IS CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR OF his Vancouver apartment, having an anxiety attack. His wife, Rachel, is laying on top of him, applying pressure to his body. This job is slowly killing him. The anxiety attacks have become commonplace, as have the bouts of depression. Over the last couple of years, Adam has become thin as a rail. The only thing keeping weight on him is the copious amount of whiskey he drinks every night. Adam makes video games. And he loves it.

Adam was managing the live-ops at a small

mobile developer in the city at the time of this attack. He’s moved on to a new studio since then, but these memories still weigh heavy on him. At that first job, he handled how the studio generated money and kept players engaged over the long term. He decided what promos and sales would get pushed out to users when revenue began to wane. “We had these dashboards we could look at which would update every 15 minutes. And my last six months was looking at these charts all day. It became a compulsive tick because I had to know how MAY 2019 t i de s

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much money we were making.” Rachel banned Adam (not their real names) from checking his phone at home. “When that number fell short, it was an awful feeling,” Adam remembers.

“Because the revenue number falling short is people losing their jobs.”

The reality of the industry in 2019 is that for a game to be a success, it needs to adopt the mobile model of “games-as-service.” A live-ops environment is different from publishing a game or movie that has a start, middle, and end. In live-ops, teams are responsible for making ceaseless pipelines of content for their users. Gone are the days of $60 finished and packaged products. “Developing a game is just hemorrhaging money forever until you release it, and you hope what you’ve done will stem the bleeding,” says Adam. The salve studios are applying to those wounds include things like season passes and in-game purchases to keep players engaged and feeding money into their ecosystem.

Even then, that’s not always enough to keep studios and teams together.

From the outside looking in, video game development is tumultuous and chaotic.

Every few weeks there are stories of mass layoffs and studio closures, and yet it is an industry that is slowly eclipsing every other medium on the planet. TV, film, and music no longer hold a candle to the billions of dollars video games generate every year globally. By 2016, yearly revenue in the U.S. surpassed $23.5 billion according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). In the UK this year the Entertainment Retailers Association reported that the games industry is worth $4.85 billion — double what it was in 2007.

In 2015 alone, video game development contributed $3 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product (ESA of Canada). This number is helped by significant tax incentives and lax labour laws from many of Canada’s provinces.

Aside from CEOs, most people in the industry, especially junior developers like Adam, are rarely benefiting from the blood, sweat and tears they pour into their work. Instead, they bear the brunt of any and all fall-out, sacrificing their health and job security at the altar of quarterly profits and stock prices. Any talk around the water cooler of unionizing has always been waved away as “not for us” or “won’t solve our problems,” notes Adam. But that conversation is changing.

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Labour abuses and mass layoffs are nothing new in the industry, but recent events have led to a rapid shift in the conversations around them. The sudden closure of Telltale, a studio made famous by its adaptations of The Walking Dead, left the industry reeling. Not just that the management at a seemingly successful studio had bungled its finances so poorly, but that more than 200 employees would be let go without severance.

The biggest argument against unions in video game development is that they’re just not the right fit. Developers often jump from project to project and might change studios every few years. As it stands, a studio will often staff up as a game gets underway, but once it’s ready to ship a couple of years down the road, people start working on their resumés. As a result, a young artist or engineer might not care much about any labour concerns at a specific studio since they don’t plan on being there very long.

That could also be attributed to a generational shift as the job market changes and fewer young workers have experience with collective action. “A lot of people are quite young in the video game industry,” Adam explains. “They didn’t come from something else, they started here. Nobody quit their union nursing job to make games.”

When we conjure images of unions, we stereotypically see picket lines outside steel mills and automotive factories. Though this type of collective organization might seem dated, it’s proven successful in similarly fast-paced

and creative industries – film and television.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees encompasses almost all branches of film, with B.C.’s own local chapter dating to 1962. Not only do these union chapters provide the typical protections for their members against abuses by employers and managers, they go above and beyond: skill upgrading, educational programs, extended family health benefits, and even group retirement savings plans. In an equally chaotic and project-based field, old solutions seem to be solving modern problems.

We could chalk up horror stories of unpaid overtime, sweeping layoffs, and lack of severance to the blind passion of young workers chasing their dream job. Or maybe it’s just that managers can take advantage of them because they’re easily manipulated and lulled into compliance with free dinners and bean bag chairs. The reality is a little more nefarious.

The labour laws in provinces like B.C specifically exempt what they call “high technology companies,” which video game developers fall under. What that means is studios don’t have to worry about minimum daily pay, meal breaks, or even severance. That’s why we see powerhouse studios like Electronic Arts setting up shop in these cities. It’s not because they want their workers to take advantage of everything the city has to offer; it’s so the company can take advantage of its workers.

Labour abuses and mass layoffs are nothing new in the industry, but recent events have led to a rapid shift in the conversations around them. The sudden closure of Telltale, a studio made famous by its adaptations of The Walking Dead, left the industry reeling. Not just that the management at a seemingly successful studio had bungled its finances so poorly, but that more than 200 employees would be let go without severance. As recently as this February, the behemoth publisher Activision Blizzard fired 800 people — a staggering 8 per cent of the 9,600 working for the company across the globe.

On an earnings call with investors the morning of the layoffs, CEO Bobby Kotick celebrated “record results in 2018.” But apparently making more money than the company has ever made was not good enough. Activision Blizzard did not meet its “expectations,” and as a result, 800 people were turned out. Bobby Kotick’s net worth is estimated to be $7 billion.

When asked if Adam felt missing revenue targets were his fault, even as a junior developer, he answers instantly, “Absolutely.

We were the ones trying to create ways to continue to generate revenue. That number would come from the higher-ups. One day our boss came back and yelled at us for not making enough money.” So, developers work as hard as they can to hit those targets. There is rarely mandated overtime, but unpaid overtime often stems from a soft pressure within a studio. People want to be seen as pulling their weight and as good team players. Adam even admits that management didn’t have to tell people when to come in or work. “They just said, ‘These are the numbers we have to hit,’ and people knew what they’d have to do to get that done.” Hence, checking numbers on your phone every 15 minutes or staying late at the office. Yet, why is there so much resistance to organization and labour protections? “People have this perception that a union isn’t going to save them from [layoffs]. What is going to save them from that is making a game that makes money. I’m not looking forward to getting amazing severance, I’m looking forward to making an amazing game,” says Adam.

Though every creative wants to work on a project that is successful or fulfilling, it seems that in recent months that’s just not enough anymore. Late in 2018 a chapter of Game Workers Unite in the United Kingdom became the first legal video game trade union there.

Game Workers Unite has quickly become the go-to advocacy group within the industry.

After a very public debut at last year’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the organization has been gaining support and growing in numbers. The group claims that more than a dozen studios across the industry are in the process of creating bargaining units and organizing within their own studios. A survey of 4,000 developers conducted at that same conference found that half of them felt the industry should unionize. However, those results take a turn as only 21 per cent thought it would actually happen and 24 per cent didn’t think it would. Recent mass layoffs like those at Telltale and Activision Blizzard might leave workers like Adam reconsidering their options.

“My dad had this saying, ‘You either eat steak or you eat shit,’ and that’s this industry.

When business is booming, no one’s thinking

about how bad it’s going to be when they’re laid off because everyone’s making so much money,” states Adam. Bandai Namco and Capcom Vancouver were two major studios that recently closed their doors in the city, affecting hundreds of employees. Those layoffs are still fresh in the minds of Vancouver’s developers. “People are feeling the pain of that,” Adam says. “And as more and more companies go under and the industry goes on a bit of a downswing, people will start to think about what it means to not have a job. That attitude will undoubtedly cause people to turn towards unions more. With stuff like this Game Workers Unite thing, the louder they get, the more people are going to hear it and realize that it’s an option.”

Young creatives trying to find their way in a billion-dollar industry seem to have the cards stacked against them — especially when things like contracts prevent you from sharing your salary information with coworkers. Not knowing what coworkers make, what their bonuses are, or even when or how they get raises acts to pit workers against one another. Adam admits that “this part of the culture keeps people’s wages down and keeps people from being paid more. You don’t have a leg to stand on if you don’t know what everyone else is making.” He went out to lunch with a number of coworkers a few months back to do just that. “We all had the same title, on the same project, at the same company, and we were all making different amounts. One person was making $7,000 less than another. Something like a union could help with that.”

Even with reservations, Adam, like many developers, thinks unionization is just a matter of time. “It’s gonna happen. Eventually I believe it will.” Though it might not happen overnight, there is a growing sentiment among developers that the status quo just won’t hack it anymore. Government policies make unionizing difficult, but not impossible. As horror stories of shareholder greed pervade the industry and support for groups like Game Workers Unite keeps mounting, the stage seems set to completely revitalize the industry. As anachronistic as unions might seem in a modern industry such as video games, it could be just the solution thousands of workers desperately need. Turning everything on its head may be the only way to hit reset on how studios treat their talent. ■

FAT CATS ON NOTICE After the massive layoffs at Activision Blizzard in February, America’s largest labour group, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, wrote a letter published on Kotaku to all game developers. The AFL-CIO represents more than 12 million workers across multiple industries in the U.S. Liz Shuler, the organization’s secretary treasurer, directly called out CEOs such as Bobby Kotick of Activision Blizzard, noting that they make billions of dollars while workers burn themselves out for measly pay. “They get rich.

They get notoriety. They get to be crowned visionaries and regarded as pioneers. What do you get?” She finished by calling on the industry to organize from the ground up and to form unions so that workers have a seat at the table.

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Communal workshops like Vancouver’s MakerLabs give craftspeople, both professional and amateur, a space to plan, build and perfect projects

MAKING WITH RISING COSTS OF LIVING, VANCOUVERITES HAVE COME TOGETHER TO CREATE COMMUNITY SPACES OF ALL SORTS: GARDENS, LIVING AREAS, AND NOW MAKERSPACES s t o r y b y S E A N S A L L I S - LY O N photographs by HERO IMAGES

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I WALKED INTO THE BUILDING, a vast, two-storey workspace that smelled of wood.

Someone asked if I had an appointment to use the laser cutter. Above me there were rainbow lights and a lamp made of other lamps. In one corner there were couches with video games set up, right next to high walls of tools and professional equipment. This was 780 East Cordova, home of MakerLabs here in Vancouver.

MakerLabs is a makerspace (sometimes known as a hackerspace), a place where people can come in and work on all kinds of different projects. Members use the space’s tools and equipment, buy materials they need, and most importantly work together and share their knowledge. While similar in concept to a rentable office space, it’s that collaborative aspect that sets it apart.

MakerLabs began in 2013 as a pop-up shop in Chinatown, founded by Derek Gaw. He first learned about makerspaces in San Francisco at a company called TechshopFab Labs, which promoted community involvement. Gaw couldn’t find an equivalent space here in Vancouver, so he created his own.

But what do we mean when we say “maker”? Well, the Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines a maker as “a person or thing that makes.” If that sounds somewhat vague, it’s because it is. A maker can be someone who makes things out of wood, metal, fibre, plastic

or electronics; they could be programmers or machinists, people who sew or people who knit. Simply put, there are a lot of makers out there.

Makerspaces have risen in popularity in recent years. They’ve come into existence thanks to the rising cost of living, resulting in people being forced to cram themselves into smaller and smaller homes where they can’t have a workshop to call their own. How many Vancouverites have the space (or the money!) for a CNC router table?

MakerLabs, by comparison, has 42,000 square feet of space. A good portion of it is taken up by equipment available to its members, but most of it is occupied by 951 small, personal workspaces that are rented out. There’s a tradition of transparency and collaboration with these workspaces; at least 50 per cent of any work area needs to be open, without walls. Thanks to this, when you walk in you can readily see what kinds of people are MAY 2019 t i de s

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using these spaces. There are woodworkers, machinists, chemists, weavers, artists, and many more. Interspersed among their individual workspaces are lounge areas where people can talk, sit down, and relax. There’s also a library filled with technical manuals, as well as eating and meeting areas. People are eager to help one another, and eager to share.

Local businesses are also taking advantage of these spaces. Dozens of the personal workspaces in MakerLabs are rented to them, with people running their own companies in the workshop. Demand is compounded by the rise of companies like Etsy and Kickstarter, which have become popular by supporting small, local makers, giving rise to many new small businesses.

This isn’t something just for professionals though, far from it. As it turns out, MakerLabs has a rule: if you want to use any of the machines in the shop, you have to take one of their relevant courses. It doesn’t matter if you’re an expert who’s been using CNC machines for decades, or a complete newbie who doesn’t know what CNC means (it stands for computer numerical control); everyone is treated the same. Not only does this mean that there’s little chance of feeling out of place, but if you have any questions there’s bound to be

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an expert nearby. MakerLabs now has around 200 members, and they want to make the place feel open to everyone.

This applies to Tools for Women (TFW), a program to remove barriers for women in the shop. Derek Gaw and other users realized that more often than not, when women would come in to check out the shop there would be exclusively men working at any given time. If you’re a woman and you don’t see women in a workspace, you don’t see yourself there either.

TFW takes in four women per month as a group, allowing them to take classes together, and to act as mentors for the next groups.

The concept of sharing tools and resources among a group of people is hardly new. Schools have had similar set-ups for generations, and you can even find examples in some apartment complexes and in co-op housing projects.

However, makerspaces like MakerLabs are not limited to schools or restricted to on-site residents; they are community spaces where anyone can join, and where joining is actively encouraged. Nowadays there are many makerspaces here in B.C., like the Vancouver Hack Space or the Vancouver Community Laboratory, but they remain a relatively recent phenomenon. Makerspaces are growing in popularity, not just here in Vancouver, but

around the world. As of 2016, there were 483 such spaces in North America, a 14-fold increase since 2006. In 2014 the White House held its first-ever Maker Faire, and celebrities like Adam Savage from Mythbusters are encouraging people to become involved. Calgary’s Mini Maker Faire had 700 attendees in 2012; by 2015, that number had risen to 4,300.

Living around Vancouver is expensive, and that’s forcing people to adjust. Over the past decade, this has taken on many forms, from community living areas, community gardens, and now community makerspaces.

These low-cost environments give hundreds of Vancouverites access to tools they need, to a community of supportive, like-minded people to help them with their work. It could be one individual wanting to do a small woodworking project; it could be a professional business that wants an open work environment.

Makerspaces are new, innovative ways to fill these niches, to help bring communities together. What’s more, they just make economic sense. If you have 20 people who need to use a tablesaw a few times a month, why should they each buy their own? The future depends on people becoming more comfortable with sharing, with collaborating, and with getting out and making things together. ■

stars reaching for the HOW A FIVE-STAR RATING COULD SOON IMPACT YOUR LIVELIHOOD, YOUR DATING LIFE, AND MORE. story by JULIANA FERRANTE

IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT IN DOWNTOWN, Vancouver and you just arrived at your dinner reservation. You grab a seat and check your watch. It’s nine on the dot. As you begin to squeeze the lemon off your glass into your $12 gin-infused cocktail, you start to actively scan for “Mark, six foot tall, brown hair, lawyer, likes dogs, nice eyes.” You met him online last week, and agreed to the date because his overall score was 4.5. His rating only heightened your interest as he had reviews from more than 10 other women stating he was “kind,” “gentlemanlike,” and “easy on the eyes.” He has no negative reviews and since you have 3.5 rating, you jump at the chance for a date with a 4.5, because maybe, the encounter will increase your average.

In comes Mark; his profile did not lie in the looks department, but his personality, on the other hand, is not what you expected. You leave the minute the bill is paid and once you’re out the door, you give him the one-star review you felt he deserved because he didn’t pay for your portion of the meal, and how could a 4.5 do such a thing?

Imagine a scenario where, after every interaction you could publicly rate the individual on his or her performance. If a date did not hold the door for you, one star; if a waiter provided poor service, one star. Either positive or negative, you could review someone entirely based on a interaction you had in a moment of time. CEO of Peeple, Julia Cordray, wants to do just that.

Peeple, an online tool which allows you to rate individuals online, was first lauchned in 2015. This “online reputation space” operates a selection process where you have the ability to rate individuals on a personal, professional or romantic level.

“Peeple allows you to safely manage your online reputation, while making better decisions on the people around you,” says Cordray.

Her inspiration spawns from wanting to give workers she meets in daily life, “who are good at their jobs,” a new type of recommendation where they can attain a rating on the platform and later present it to employers. Cordray states that the platform is a place you can “get to know your neighbours” from reading about them online.

Though her ideas stem from inspiration on what the future may bring us, rating people online may not be the best idea for our society, yet we are already seeing varieties of it on social media and other service apps.

“This ain’t for the best, my reputation’s never been worse, so, you must like me for me,” Taylor Swift sings delicately on her 2017 album about her struggles with being “rated.”

Her reputation, as she describes, it has been destroyed in recent years due to increased media attention and online negativity.

Don’t worry, this is not about TSwift; her situation is far away from the ordinary concerns most individuals might have. But with concepts like Peeple, we are beginning to

see reputations slowly blended into online ratings and reviews.

“Check them out on Instagram first,” or “Google them” is advice we receive on a daily basis because of the constant research and online attention we undertake before we commit to a choice or action.

Instagram, Yelp, Google, Trip Advisor, Airbnb, Uber, Skip the Dishes, RateMDs, Rate My Professor (RMP) and more, are all examples of networks primarily based on reviews and testimonies of millions of daily active users. Now, thanks to Peeple and other apps, we have journeyed beyond rating consumer goods or services towards people and professions. New platforms will exert a huge influence on how we choose products, services and people to interact with, but in a world of fake news, fake reviews are also destined to influence our decisions.

When apps allow public reviews to be accumulated, the danger is that it turns into a dumping ground of comments which will impact a person’s reputation in several ways.

Although Peeple is not in full swing quite yet, we are already seeing the reputations of academic professionals being damaged on Rate My Professor.

Earlier this year, student Sydney Knox of Vancouver dug deeper into the reputational consequences of Rate My Professor, surveying 29 professors and conducting four in-person interviews at Capilano University.

Knox discovered that 80 per cent had actually searched for their names on the site, and 41.4 per cent of the instructors felt negatively about their reviews posted there. Knox describes the results she attained as surprising.

Most people would probably not appreciate being rated online, especially with no ability to check the credibility of the reviewer, respond to the comment, or request it be deleted altogether. On Rate My Professor, it’s almost always the case that reviews are posted either by students who had very good or very bad experiences. One disappointing letter grade that prompts a student to write a negative review can motivate others to add similar comments, sometimes embellishing them for dramatic effect.

“Students using RMP express their opinions, which are always individual and personal. There is more freedom to exaggerate or outright make things up in the less MAY 2019 t i de s

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controlled environment of RMP,” says a Capilano professor.

As Knox reflected on this particular comment, she mentioned that universities already conduct in-class surveys and evaluations which, in turn, should be made public.

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)in the U.S. is already controlling its reviews and ratings by posting them on the university’s homepage.

“They’re allowing reviews to be public and not allowing any room for bullying, because it’s just information from the teacher evaluations.

In my opinion,” Knox says, “Rate My Professor should not exist, and this school [CMU] is genius for publishing their own results. In situations like this, we can see if teachers are working on different areas [that their students suggest need improvement] and hold them more accountable.”

Evaluations can be a useful, honest tool for students when the integrity of teachers is protected. Knox suggests more universities take up the same practice as Carnegie, which could potentially lead to the dissolution of RMP. When rating become more intertwined with reputation, it is hard not to take offense to online comments. “This also impacts me in my personal life as people outside of work have looked up my rating” says another Capilano instructor. “I don’t like that, as I feel like I am being judged without a fair trial by students and anyone else that cares to look up my name.

I feel a bit violated and I have heard that I have a good rating. It must be really hard for those that don’t.”

Knox concluded in her results that 60.9 per cent felt that the ranking on the site could “potentially harm an instructor’s career.”

But others see online rating as a interesting opportunity, such as an English teacher at Capilano. “In an effort to stop students who use Rate My Professor to choose classes based on rankings from taking his class, this teacher left himself negative reviews at the end of every summer, so that they would be seen by students applying for classes in the fall. His strong feelings toward users of the site are based in the opinion that even positive comments weren’t constructive,” says Knox.

Discouraging students who rely entirely on a ratings system to cherry-pick their instructors is a way to subvert the system.

Currently being revamped, Peeple is still pushing for success but is also removing many of the criticized areas. Even Rate My Professor has dropped the chili pepper icon that as rates

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PHOTO: ISTOCK

teachers on their “hotness.” Rate my Professor is currently being criticized by the teachers union in France which strongly believes naming teachers online should be illegal.

At this moment China is launching its own mandatory “Social Credit System” to create a country of trustworthiness and is aiming for completion by 2020. This credit system would give you a public ranking which could determine your eligibility for a mortgage, what

school your children can attend, or simply your chances of getting a date.”

It’s inevitable that a website like Peeple will attract users who want to vent about their negative experience, and the necessity of reputation management as a result will fall to both the app or website owners, and to the person who is (unfairly?) being maligned. Where we once looked online for honest, unbiased reviews of the best burger joint, or the best coffee shop,

we’ve moved now to an unsettlingly critical place where we are rating our interactions with each other. If we continue on this path, damaged reputations (and legal action against those doing the damage online) could become prevalent in society.

Given its one-star rating on Google, the Peeple app may not have a bright future, but a replacement may be popping up sooner than we think. ■

Is 1 to 5 the new 9 to 5?

ONE STAR OR FIVE? HOW ONLINE REVIEWS (AND THE CLEVER MANIPULATION OF THEM) ARE SHAPING THE FACE OF WORK. s t o r y b y M I A P R O K O P E T Z

T

here are many ways to research whether a product or a service is worth buying, but there’s only one shortcut: online ratings. When you’re scrolling through websites like Groupon and Amazon, comparing ratings and reviews is a crucial part of the online shopping experience.

Ratings play such an important role in establishing business credibility that some companies are even using ratings as a part of their business model. Rating culture has immersed itself in the business world, but is this a bad thing?

Services like Uber and SkipTheDishes, have their employees rated on every interaction they have with a customer. Uber passengers and Skip customers are basically unpaid supervisors for these companies. At Lyft and Uber, employees startsoff with a five star rating and if they drop below a 4.6, the company informs them that they’re on review probation. If ratings continues to drop, they could lose their jobs and be deactivated from the service. The pressure of being supervised via customer ratings is a

severe representation of the motto, the customer is always right. Riley, a 22-year-old university student, is a prime example of someone who suffered under the pressure of rating culture. He was first hired as a SkipTheDishes driver during the summer of 2018, and was fired for poor ratings given by customers.

“Sometimes there would be traffic and I would get a poor rating because the food took a while, or a main street would be closed because of the snow and I wouldn’t be updated on how to get to their house,” Riley explains. Many of the complaints made by customers were issues that he had no control over. “I got fired because one restaurant left an item out of the order... The customer who ordered it was really drunk and accused me of eating it. The problem is the restaurant wouldn’t let me look at the food to make sure everything was there because it was stapled shut to save heat,” says Riley.

User ratings also have a huge impact on our buying decisions.

A study of Seattle restaurants found that a one-star increase on Yelp led to a five- to nine-per-cent

increase in revenue. Considering how important ratings are for businesses, it’s not unusual that some reviews may be falsified.

MIT research found that online ratings are one of the most trusted sources of consumer confidence in e-commerce decisions, but they are systematically biased and easily manipulated. Their study found that people are more likely to leave good reviews if the consumers before them wrote positive comments about the service, and vice versa.

Reviews can also be manipulated to benefit certain businesses.

Some websites will allow business owners to pay to have poor reviews removed from their page, and others will personally hire people to leave positive ratings using fake accounts. For example, if you’re looking for a cosmetic surgeon, going online and reading reviews may help you decide where to go.

In Canada, RateMDs is the most popular website for reviewing physicians. This site is beneficial for patients as it allows them to anonymously post reviews about their experience and doctors can

use the reviews to promote their practice. But patients should be wary of RateMD, as it permits doctors to manipulate their reviews. If a physician is willing to pay a monthly fee of $179, her or she can delete a certain number of negative reviews and even place banner ads on the profiles of other doctors.

Some aspects of the rating system are corrupt, but there are still positive results when receiving and leaving reviews. Pierre Eady, a 45-year-old real-estate agent in Vancouver, frequently checks his ratings on sites such as RankMy Agent to make sure his services are being well received by his customers. “I do two things. Do my best all the time, and do what I say I’m going to do. I like happy clients.

I then ask them to write a review, which goes online, and is available to the masses. This is great for business, as well as my professional reputation,” says Eady.

Without reviews, it’s easy to question whether a business is active or real. But as we search the web for ratings and reviews, we should still be cautious of their authenticity. ■ MAY 2019 t i de s

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