McClung's spring 2014 issue by McClung's Magazine

UNDERWEAR EMPIRE

Joanna Griffiths makes women’s underwear functional 16

HIJABI HIPSTERS

When Muslim women’s fashion became a political statement 28

CZECH CRISIS

How the country’s three-year parental leave traps women 30

mcclung’s spring 2014

FREEDOM FIGHTER Masha Domingo’s battle against apartheid

TABLE OF CONTENTS

6 EDITOR’S NOTE

8 FEMME-O-NOMICS A closer look at an emerging theory of economics and what it says about women’s unpaid labour By Chandra Kavanagh 9 A CLASSROOM OF ITS OWN Women’s studies programs still fight for academic recognition By Erica Ngao 10 FEMME FATALE

26 THERAPY FOR THE WORKING MOM Toronto-based clinic KMA Therapy helps working women find balance By Robyn Fiorda

14 BUFFY VS. BRADSHAW

Gender equality takes on a different meaning for men’s right’s groups By Vjosa Isai

Cover photo by Michelle-Andrea Girouard

Social stigmas and the Czech Republic’s three-year parental leave discourage moms from returning to work By Viviane Fairbank

36 DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

When sexual assault survivors are abandoned by the system By Ophelie Zalcmanis-Lai

30 PINK SLIP

Portrait of growing up in a single-parent family By Nadya Domingo

22 ABANDONED

When hijabi hipsters created a viral YouTube video, they sparked a debate about Muslim women’s identity By Vjosa Isai

12 WITHOUT YOU

18 MISS REPRESENTATION Drag queen culture breaks gender roles – but is it inherently feminist? By Hana Shafi

28 MIPSTERZ MISUNDERSTOOD

When your friends are your worst critics By Chandra Kavanagh

How Joanna Griffiths reinvented the panty with women’s needs in mind By Robyn Fiorda

McClung’s | spring 2014

Masha Domingo reflects on apartheid By Nadya Domingo

34 DRESSING UP FOR THE GIRLS

16 UNDERWEAR AFFAIR

24 GET UP, STAND UP

When Nan Kinney couldn’t find authentic lesbian porn, she made her own By Jessica Galang

Why is there a high demand but a short supply of TV shows about girls in their mid-20s? By Celina Torrijos

38 BUSH POLITICS The debate on women’s pubic hair is about more than just appearance By Jenna Campbell

40 SHE SAID Is playing hard to get regressive or progressive? By Michelle-Andrea Girouard and Sofie Mikhaylova

42 Q&A with Debra Goldblatt-Sadowski The PR pro talks about success and sacrifice By Chandra Kavanagh

43 BOOK REVIEWS By Chandra Kavanagh, Shannon Clarke and Michelle-Andrea Girouard McClung’s | spring 2014

mcclung’s

EDITOR’S NOTE

CO-EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Jennifer Cheng Jessica Galang MANAGING EDITORS Kelsey Rolfe, Hana Shafi, Robin Poon HEAD OF COPY Kelsey Rolfe HEAD OF RESEARCH Erica Lenti PHOTO DIRECTOR Katii Capern ART DIRECTOR Harleen Singh ART Assistant Art Director Deborah Lewis Illustrators Charisse Aganon, Holly Blair, Maria Morosovska, Sarah Stanley, Jessica Tsang Assistant Photo Director Michelle-Andrea Girouard Photographers Alina Bykova, Erica Ngao, Vjosa Isai

Jessica Galang (left), Jennifer Cheng (right)

espite various perspectives in the feminist movement, most feminists can agree that the empowerment of women is one of the key goals of feminism. In this spring 2014 issue of McClung’s, we feature many strong women who conquer obstacles from all walks of life. In our cover story, “Get Up, Stand Up” (page 24), Nadya Domingo’s 68-year-old grandmother, Masha, reflects on her role in the anti-apartheid movement and memories of her parents working closely with the African National Congress – the party of Nelson Mandela when he became the first black president of the nation in 1994. We also feature another case of activists decrying an unjust national policy in Viviane Fairbank’s “Pink Slip,” (page 30), which brings to light Czech women’s discontent against a three-year-long, state-supported parental leave that isn’t as progressive as it seems to be. But this issue’s stories aren’t just political—they’re personal. In “Underwear Affair” (page 16), Robyn Fiorda writes about Joanna Griffiths, founder and CEO of Knix Wear—a practical underwear line that keeps the needs of women’s bodies in mind, although women are constantly bombarded with advertisements suggesting that lingerie's only purpose is to make them look sexy. In the same vein, Chandra Kavanagh debunks societal expectations of women’s bodies in her personal essay, “Dressing Up for the Girls” (page 34). She relays her experience on being overweight in the past and dressing to impress her critical girlfriends. For other women, however, dressing well can exemplify subversive feminism. Turn to Vjosa Isai’s “Mipsterz Misunderstood” (page 28), where she talks to Muslim hipsters, known as “Mipsterz,” about reactions to their viral YouTube music video featuring various colours of the hijab. Set to Jay Z’s Somewhere in America, what started out as a celebration of fashion, art and religion ended up igniting a dialogue about the complexities of being a Muslim woman in the West. Whatever page you flip through, you’ll be inspired by women who embody strength and perseverance through their experiences.

Jennifer Cheng and Jessica Galang Co-editors-in-chief

FACT CHECKERS Sofie Mikhaylova, Alisha Sawhney, Harriet Luke, Viviane Fairbank Maham Shakeel, Laura Calabrese, Aimee O’Connor, Ophelie Zalcmanis-Lai WRITERS Celina Torrijos, Hana Shafi, Viviane Fairbank, Chandra Kavanagh, Vjosa Isai, Jenna Campbell, Michelle-Andrea Girouard, Ophelie Zalcmanis-Lai, Sofie Mikhaylova, Shannon Clarke, Robyn Fiorda, Nadya Domingo, Erica Ngao MCCLUNGS.CA Online editors Shannon Clarke, Sameera Raja Social media director Anna Sawchuk

Table of Contents photo credits 12 Michelle-Andrea Girouard, 16 Katii Capern, 24 Michelle-Andrea Girouard, 30 Ambruz & Dark Deloitte Legal, 34 Katii Capern, 36 courtesy of CAFE

We love hearing from you! Please write to us at mcclungsonline@gmail.com

McClung’s | spring 2014

HANDLING EDITORS Sofie Mikhaylova, Laura Calabrese, Harriet Luke, Nadya Domingo, Aimee O’Connor, Viviane Fairbank, Abigale Subdhan, Prajakta Dhopade, Khadija Khan

ADVERTISING AND CIRCULATION Marketing and Promotions director Meaghan Yuen Advertising directors Meaghan Yuen, Darlene Ferreira Circulation directors Tracy Laranjo, Sierra Bein, Jenna Campbell

Sincerely,

COPY EDITORS Ellen Pitt, Jennifer Joseph, Jenna Campbell, Linda Nguyen, Maham Shakeel, Emily Rivas, Alisha Sawhney, Patricia Karounos, Emily Westover, Prajakta Dhopade

Special thanks Jaclyn Mika, Sam Rashid, Tim Falconer, Trevor Godinho, Masha Domingo, Michaela Fraser, Amanda Woolley, PointOne Graphics, Oakham House, Jennifer Stacey

Photo by Michelle-Andrea Girouard

McClung’s | spring 2014

FEMME-O-NOMICS Feminist economists seek to have women’s unpaid work recognized with pay BY CHANDRA KAVANAGH

etween scrubbing toilets, washing laundry and taking care of the kids, many women probably think they should get paid for this at least once. Of course, in North America’s current profit-focused economic system, getting paid for this work is a dream. But Patricia Ellie Perkins, an environmental studies and economics professor at York University, believes this should be a reality. She teaches feminist economics, which explores the idea that women’s unpaid labour—including domestic work—should be compensated. The current economic system, however, relies on money and the endless supply of workers and demand of work. Thus, they end up ignoring the vast world of unpaid work, which is largely performed by women. This makes capitalism “the teeth and claws of patriarchy,” as Perkins puts it. Without someone to prepare meals, keep a home clean and provide childcare, there would be no workers to create products and no consumers to buy them. “Capitalist society excludes difficult-to-value services that the woman provides, like teaching kids how to socialize or speak a language,” she says. “You can’t hire somebody else to do this.” But the indeterminate monetary value of housework is only part of the problem. In an era of endless wedding reality shows, like Say Yes to the Dress, we culturally force women to accept that marriage is what they want. “Once they’re married, they’re binded inside a system

McClung’s | spring 2014

that prevents them from leaving due to financial and sociocultural constraints,” Perkins says. “If they want to have children, there’s economic and social pressure to stay home and take care of the kids. It’s all mutually reinforcing.” Not only does feminist economics de-

mand the inclusion of women’s unpaid labour within the economic model, this interpretation also points to capitalism as a catalyst for why it’s difficult for women to pursue higher-paying jobs. “The patriarchy wants you to have kids, raise them, then do your work,” Perkins says. “You

can’t be a mother, homemaker and wife and also devote yourself in the same way that a man could to a professional career. It’s physically impossible.” It’s especially difficult to balance life and work in higher-paying fields—for instance, medicine and law—that demand more personal sacrifice. This demand coaxes women into fields like teaching or nursing, rather than management jobs. “Such professions are structured by gender,” says Angela Miles, head of the Centre for Women’s Studies in Education at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. If women are in the labour force, they feel guilty and judged, she says, but if there are women who are not in the labour force, they’re incredibly pressured and bitter because they get no social recognition. Perkins thinks it’s difficult to teach economics in university through means other than the neoclassical model, which strictly looks at how every service in the economy can generate profits. “I think it’s ideological. Economists say these other perspectives don’t explain the way the world is, but the world is so messed up,” she says. “We have to look at alternatives and find hope somewhere else.” Miles agrees, calling it propaganda. “The economy tells us that wealth is what passes through the market,” she says. “But wealth is not what makes us richer.” M

Illustration by Holly Blair

Prof. May Friedman

A CLASSROOM OF ITS OWN

The necessity of women’s studies programs are still undermined and questioned BY ERICA NGAO

hen the University of Guelph discontinued its women’s studies program in 2009 due to budget cuts, it prompted a slew of activists to voice their discontent. It also revived a debate dating back to the field’s beginnings in the late 1960s and ‘70s. Today, the question remains: does women’s studies still have a place in universities? Like any program, women’s studies face obstacles—funding, faculty

Photo by Erica Ngao

and enrollment, to name a few. But the toughest hurdle continues to lie in defending the value and doctrine of a program rooted in feminist scholarship. People often disregard the program, although women’s studies enables and encourages students of all backgrounds to understand what it means to be a woman, a minority, a member of the oppressed in society. Ceta Ramkhalawansingh was one of the 12 scholars who made up the teaching collective that spearheaded the first women’s studies course at

the University of Toronto in 1970. A year later, the interdisciplinary department started offering “Women in the Twentieth Century,” which involved a weekly public lecture series with an audience of over 250 students and speakers such as Margaret Atwood and June Callwood. “Women and gender studies programs provide students with an analytical framework,” Ramkhalawansingh explains, “from which to view the power imbalance within society.” The campaign for women’s studies emerged out of the 1960s women’s movement, which sought to challenge female gender norms and address inequality in society. The first curriculum was a collective, experimental effort among students, professors and feminist academics. An ever-evolving field, women’s studies allow exploration into issues concerning women, gender, race and sexuality from a feminist perspective. Women’s studies continue to deal with publicized attacks. In 2010, the National Post released an editorial entitled “Women’s studies is still with us,” describing the program as “angry, divisive, and dubious,” and doing “untold damage to families, our court system and our labour laws.” Ramkhalawansingh argues that women’s studies is no different from other specialized academic programs. “I have no time for such criticism. Post-graduate institutions offer many programs that cover specific themes or foci,” she says. “Are we to believe that some things are appropriate for study and others are not?” May Friedman, a social work professor at Ryerson University with a PhD in women’s studies, found that the field really shifted the way she understood the world. “I became more aware of the issues against women in society,” she says. “Everything I teach, I teach from that lens.” Today, 71 colleges and universities in Canada offer women’s studies. “My hope is that students continue to be engaged,” Ramkhalawansingh says, “and excited by feminist enquiry and to evolve feminist theory.” M McClung’s | spring 2014

Nan Kinney, co-founder of Fatale Media

FEMME FATALE Nan Kinney makes porn for, by and about lesbians

BY JESSICA GALANG 10

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dele, a high schooler, stares passionately into her lover’s eyes. Emma, an upscale college student with blue hair, caresses her, strokes her clit and licks her all over. The two are lost in each other’s bodies with hopeless abandon for seven minutes. The lesbian sex scene in the French coming-of-age film Blue is the Warmest Colour, known as La Vie d’Adèle in France, has become infamous since winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2013. Some lesbians criticized the scene for portraying “two straight women having sex,” movie critics said the way the scene was shot catered disturbingly to the male gaze and others thought it was just too racy. Nan Kinney, president and co-founder of Fatale Media, a porn company that produces authentic lesbian porn targeted to lesbians – a surprisingly rare niche in the porn market – hopes to silence squeamish reactions to lesbian pornography in the mainstream. In 2013, she won the Trailblazer Award at the Feminist Porn Awards for her company's work. Fatale, which operates out of San Rafael, Calif., doesn’t work with professional porn stars; instead, they feature real-life

timents at the time, but went on to fill a gap in the market. Kinney and Deborah Sundahl, her partner at the time, along with their friend Susie Bright, had gone out looking for lesbian porn—in any form—and were shocked to find none. “In the 1980s and ‘90s, the erotic representations of women were misogynist or glorified,” Sundahl, now 60, says. “So lesbian imagery fell under that category.” In 1985, Kinney and Sundahl founded Fatale and released their first films – Shadows and Private Pleasures – that year. Both feature a femme and butch lesbian couple; one film was shot in an underground ‘love room’ full of whips, beads and cat o’ nine tails, the other in a ritzy apartment while another lesbian watches. Most mainstream “lesbian” porn films are made for men and feature straight, femme actresses playing lesbians. The overacting and overuse of props coupled with obviously fake orgasms give a cringe-worthy portrayal of lesbian sex. Kinney counters that by producing films like One Night Stand, which won first prize of the lesbian jury at the Berlin Porn Film Festival in 2006. The film was celebrated for featuring five onenight stands from first-time lovers. In 2004, Take Her Down! Lesbian Erotic Oil Wrestling Party was nominated for an Adult Video News Award in the Best Specialty category. Almost 30 years and 17 films lat-

sion of the world we actually live in.” It’s a similar sentiment to Kinney’s desire to show more diversity in her films. When filming, Kinney creates sexual imagery that she and other lesbians can relate to. The whole point of porn is to turn people on, she explains, and typically mainstream porn doesn’t do that for women. Fatale’s videos feature more intimate scenes of people who have been “generous and brave” enough to share such private moments on film. Plus, the orgasms are real. Even when Kinney isn’t the producer, Fatale offers films that are authentic, like Courtney Trouble’s Lesbian Curves, a 2013 film featuring BBW lesbians, which won Hottest Dyke Film at the Feminist Porn Awards that year. For people who feel lesbian sex in the mainstream isn’t realistic, the films from Fatale are a welcome change. Kinney still recalls one customer’s response to the films when they first started: “Oh my god, thank you. This is so great ‒ finally some porn I can enjoy!” In the future, Kinney wants to see explicit sexual imagery become more accepted in the mainstream media. She says the ideal reaction would be: “It has explicit sex in it and it’s not a big deal anymore.” Sundahl, now a sex educator, believes their work paved the way for today’s feminist movement, which is more focused on sex education. “For this [fem-

THAT WAS OUR HUGE GOAL - TO GET IMAGES OF WHAT WE WOULD CALL

‘REAL LESBIANS’

couples and regular people—and what Kinney refers to as a “melding of sexualities,” with the inclusion of bisexual and transgender actors. “That was our huge goal – to get images of what we would call ‘real lesbians.’” The 62-year-old is also the co-founder of the now-defunct On Our Backs ̶ the first ever women-run erotica magazine ̶ which focused on a lesbian audience. In 1984, the San Francisco-based magazine began as a response to the anti-porn sen-

Photo courtesy of Nan Kinney

er, Kinney’s passion for unapologetic and genuine representations of sex has incited others in the erotic business to do the same. Sarah Nicole Prickett, editor-in-chief of New York-based erotic magazine Adult, drew inspiration from On Our Backs’s approach to producing realistic porn, which she says “wasn’t about women as a luxury good” before she released her first issue in late 2013. While Adult isn’t strictly lesbian, the 28-year-old just wants an “idealized ver-

inist] generation…sex is no longer separated from every activity on the planet,” she says. “It’s finally getting integrated into life.” Although movies like Blue still stir debate, Kinney influenced the lesbian society, which was more anti-porn in the ‘80s. “There is actually a lesbian porn industry now and it’s being more accepted in the world of pornography,” she says. “There is a niche of lesbian pornography.” M

McClung’s | spring 2014

Nadya Domingo

A CLASSMATE FOUND IT "GROSS" THAT MY GRANDPA WAS MY

FATHER FIGURE

WITHOUT YOU A closer look at the stereotype of the ‘deadbeat dad’ BY NADYA DOMINGO 12

McClung’s | spring 2014

HEN I WAS THREE-YEARS-OLD, my dad took me out on our only lunch date. I dipped my McNuggets into ketchup, observing the stranger before me. I imagined what I looked like in his eyes: a mess of black curls, pale skin, chicken legs and a smile that said “I double dare you.” We were practically twins. I inched my bum away from him across the scratched, plastic booth. He soon became a figment of my dreams. That’s the first and last memory I have of my dad, and I’m in love with it. When I was in elementary school, I would shyly tell my friends that I didn’t have a dad. I later realized this wasn’t true. When it comes to growing up without a father, I can only speak for myself. Fathers don’t support their families for many reasons; sometimes it’s their choice and sometimes it’s their situation. I think that people are quick to use the phrase “deadbeat dad.” But the topic deserves much more than a write-off. It didn’t come easily, but I’ve accepted

Photo by Michelle-Andrea Girouard

that I’ll never know why my dad left. When you grow up without a father, you’re constantly reminded. In elementary school, I felt embarrassed because my dad left. A classmate found it “gross” that my grandpa was my father figure. I recall sitting with friends who made paper ties for Father’s Day, as I struggled to fight back tears. I was disappointed that teachers made us fill out family trees that only had spots for a mother and father. In fact, I don’t have any memories of teachers explaining the concept of single-parent families. I can’t be the only one who’s aware of this obvious and disappointing flaw in the education system. These lessons weren’t inclusive of families who don’t fit the supposed “norm.” What about the children of same-sex parents? What about step-families? What about children who, like myself, were looked after by their grandparents while their parents were working 12-hour shifts? When you grow up without a father, the person you blame most is yourself. All you want to do is give your mother the world because she has sadness that mirrors your own. My mom tried to make up for my dad’s absence. She took me to the CNE, Canada’s largest annual fair, every summer until I was 18. I remember one magical summer when she wouldn’t quit playing a birthday game until she finally won a child-sized elephant pillow for me. All I saw then was a fun day with mom. Now, at 21, I realize all of the financial implications that just one trip to the fair meant for a single parent. That prize not only represented hours of her hard work, but also her unconditional love for me. Despite all the love and respect I have for my mom, my sadness lingered. I obsessed over being the perfect child. In high school, I longed for perfect grades and popularity. I starved myself for days at a time by hiding my breakfast and walked aimlessly through the hallways at lunch. I often delayed going home to avoid thoughts that I was disappointing my mom – something I felt I was doing every second of every day. My blame spiralled into an obsession with finding love where I felt I lacked it. I created fleeting relationships with classmates to fill the void of my dad’s absence. My first year of university became the worst year of my life because I contemplated suicide more than once. I was constantly plagued with unanswered questions: why did he leave, where does he live, is he still alive? I tried hard all my life to be the perfect child, thinking it would cure my mother’s unhappiness and bring my dad back all at once. I couldn’t handle going any further in life without knowing if he would return. Despite my ongoing depression, I found love. I have a mom, and not just any mom, but one I wish to be like someday. I found love in movies, in reading poetry and singing along to Kurt Cobain. When you grow up without a father, you are gifted with a thousand mentors in return. They are the ones that saved me. People should stop pitying those with one parent. We should

Photos courtesy of Carmella Domingo

take time to understand each individual’s experience. We should try to understand the reasons behind why parents leave, and the unique challenges that families face when that happens. We should teach our children not to judge other families. It’s important to share with others what you’ve experienced – especially when it’s

Top: Nadya, 2, with her uncle; Bottom: Nadya, 3, at the CNE

something that many confront every day. When you grow up without a father, there are days when you feel like giving up on him. But one day, you wake up with the hope that somewhere he is still out there and maybe he is thinking of you too. M

McClung’s | spring 2014

BUFFY VS. BRADSHAW Women in their early and mid-

20s still aren’t seeing their stories represented on the small screen

BY CELINA TORRIJOS

aries, which follows the journalist protagonist, Carrie Bradshaw, in high school. The period between the end of college and the beginning of a well-established career is difficult to define, which contributes to the lack of 20-something female characters in popular television. There isn’t one story that applies to many girls the way high school dramas often encapsulate many people’s experience. “It’s such a different time for everybody,” says Samantha Blake, a 20-yearold radio and television arts student at Ryerson University and aspiring television or web series writer. “Portraying it one way is great for one group of people, but then other people feel on the edges because they didn’t have that experience.” The broad appeal of TV shows centered on high school girls knows no limits. Almost everyone has experienced high school, but the time period after graduation is not as predictable nor as commer-

OUR STORIES AS 20-SOMETHINGS ‘‘ WE DON’T KNOW WHAT ’S

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cial. There is no shortage of series like Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries. While the 20s are almost impossible to characterize, high school years for a woman—as told by TV—follow the same tried-and-true formula: fight with your best friend, get the guy and graduate. “High school stories are a built-in structure,” Markman says. “Our stories [as 20-somethings] are not that black and white. We don’t necessarily know what’s going to happen next.” High school shows are easy to sell, but that’s not all that excludes women in their 20s from TV shows. These women are underrepresented on television, as they are underrepresented in the industry. A 2013 Canadian survey by Ryerson’s RTA School of Media revealed that there are twice as many male screenwriters as females. The highest paid and most powerful writing positions in the country still

belong to well-educated, middle-aged men. Female writers are paid less than male writers. And when women’s stories make it to the screen, it’s usually men who are writing and producing it. The broadcasting industry is seemingly uninterested in stories about women told by women. “Whoever is telling the story is telling their story,” says Laurie Petrou, a digital media professor at Ryerson University. “There’s direct correlation between who the directors are, who the producers are, who the writers are and the stories that they’re telling.” More shows about women in their 20s have emerged because people like Dunham have access to the industry. Maybe 26 isn’t as sexy as 16. Maybe broadcasters see no merit in portraying women in this age group. The period in a woman’s life before adulthood and a professional career is mostly unchartered territory on television until recently. But

ARE NOT THAT BLACK AND WHITE.

an audience does exist for these types of shows. Just ask the girl who rolls her eyes every time Lena Dunham speaks. “We’re learning that an audience will turn out for stories about women,” said Kristy Puchko, a film critic for entertainment site cinemablend.com. Disney’s Frozen and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire were two of the most successful films last year and both had female leads. “For the people producing these stories, there’s still this fear factor that people aren’t interested in what women have to say.” “I see a gap that I want to fill and am qualified to fill,” she says. She has already started writing scripts that feature young female leads. She writes what she knows. “These are stories that I absolutely can tell because I experience them and I see them every day. It’s certainly daunting in some aspects, but ultimately, I see a challenge I’m ready to take on.” M

‘‘

LIX

Markman is thankful that she lives in a world where Netflix exists. It means she can watch all the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns she wants. The 21-year-old is an emerging screenwriter, studying radio and television arts at Ryerson University. TV is more than entertainment to her; she keeps up with a variety of current series— and studies characters and plotlines the way a math student studies numbers. But Buffy, a supernatural drama hit that first aired in the late 1990s, remains one of her favourite TV shows for a simple reason: it stars several strong female characters on the cusp of adulthood. Today’s television landscape offers an endless supply of Gossip Girls and Carrie Bradshaws; in other words, high school and adulthood with no in-between. Markman, like most women in their 20s, struggles to find heroines facing the same obstacles that she encounters on her own journey to the professional world. “I think we are severely lacking an accurate portrayal of women like me,” Markman says. “To this day, Buffy is one

of my favourite depictions of a character in that transitional phase, but the series ended 11 years ago. That’s not right.” Girls, an HBO show which debuted in 2012, tries to alleviate the scarcity of 20-something women in television. The series, which just finished airing its third season, focuses on Hannah Horvath, a writer struggling to make it in New York City, her three best friends and their unglamorous stories of love, unemployment, turbulent families and financial difficulties. It has captivated a wide audience, both male and female. Women aged 18-49 account for 48 per cent of video-on-demand viewers; men over 50 make up 22 per cent. The season three premiere drew in 1.1 million viewers, 28 per cent more than season two’s premiere. Its creator Lena Dunham, 27, was praised with five Emmy nominations in 2013. But Girls is not our saving grace. It has often been criticized for its exclusive portrayal of white and privileged women in their 20s and life in Brooklyn. Without other series that tell these stories and feature all-female leads, Girls is celebrated regardless of its problematic representation. Before Girls, there was Sex and the City, the winner of eight Golden Globe awards during its six-season run from the late 1990s to early 2000s. It told the story of four high-profile middle-aged women – lawyer, journalist, businesswoman in PR, art dealer – their wild sex lives and New York City living. In 2013, CW premiered Sex and the City’s prequel, The Carrie Di-

GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. Illustration by Charisse Aganon

McClung’s | spring 2014

IT WAS A TEST FOR ME TO MAKE TOPICS THAT PEOPLE DON’T TALK ABOUT APPROACHABLE AND SEXY.

UNDERWEAR AFFAIR How Joanna Griffiths reinvented the panty

BY ROBYN FIORDA

oanna Griffiths emerges from the back of a spacious loft in Toronto’s Queen West, carrying a box filled with tubes of individually packaged underwear. The founder and CEO of women’s underwear startup Knix Wear puts the order down beside a row of mannequins dressed in black and beige knickers. A few pairs are solid in colour, another is adorned with intricate black lace. But there’s more to these undies than meets the eye. Knix Wear uses fabrics designed to absorb moisture, offer a leak-proof seal and stop odour-causing bacteria from growing. From lace thongs to boy shorts, the high-tech women’s underwear brand carries every style – with a top layer made of 100 per cent cotton to provide comfort. In 2009, Griffiths learned from her mother, a doctor, that one in three women leak a little when they laugh too hard, do a squat, sneeze or cough, especially after they start having kids. She realized that women need their underwear to do a little more than just look pretty. “I’d alway bring up my big entrepreneur vision at dinner parties,” the 30-year-old says. So, she founded Knix Wear in 2012 to confront such uncomfortable issues. “It was a real test for me,” she says, “to make topics that people don’t really talk

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about – menstruation, sweat, odour – approachable and sexy.” In 2012, she began testing the idea while pursuing her MBA at INSEAD, a global business school in France, where she won the 24th annual INSEAD Business Venture Competition, the Women’s Award for Entrepreneurship and a $20,000 prize to kick-start her venture. And it was during this time that Griffiths researched extensively and analyzed the product’s potential. When she moved back to Toronto in July of that year, she began working independently on the business full-time. In 2013, Griffiths took her idea public with a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, raising more than $60,000—just over $20,000 more than their goal. Shortly after, the company’s video caught the attention of Bonnie Brooks, the CEO of the Hudson’s Bay Company, which became Knix Wear’s first retail partner. Griffiths recalls the experience as surreal and emotional. “I was driving when I got the news and I had to pull over and take a moment. It was an unbelievable feeling,” she says. “Our crowdfunding campaign was a test to see if people were actually interested in buying the product.” It also marked the first time a major retailer has placed a pre-order on a crowdfunding campaign website. In November 2013, The Bay started selling two Knix Wear lines—Knix for day (seamless undies), Knixy for night (lace panties)—in 18 of its 90

stores for $28 to $38 per pair. But there were challenges to overcome. According to Griffiths, breaking into an industry as a female entrepreneur requires women to sometimes break away from their usual temperament. “You have to be aggressive,” Griffiths says. “I think women have a tendency to be modest, or sort of embarrassed to talk about their accomplishments ‒ and the truth is that you have to dream big.” She has done just that. When looking back on her success, Griffiths thinks it was all about knowing when to share ideas with others and make revisions based on feedback to improve the quality of the product. From concept to execution, she put her idea through a variety of tests: interviewing hundreds of women, buying every single product that was on the market, testing them herself and getting her friends to test them. Griffiths’ long-time friend Amy Welsman, also the marketing and communications director of Knix Wear, has found it easy to balance their friendship with their professional relationship as colleagues. “Joanna is incredibly smart. She loves to have fun,” Welsman says. “She’s patient and someone that you can learn from, no matter how old you are.” Griffiths certainly doesn’t hesitate to learn from others. “When I moved to Toronto, I couldn’t imagine starting a business anywhere else,” she says, “as I had to rely so heavily on my network and ask just about everyone I knew for help in some capacity.” She had originally planned to work in business development for a digital media company, so it was also all about following her intuition. “It was a case of coming up with an idea, falling in love with it,” Griffiths says, “and crossing that point where I knew that I wouldn’t be able to live my life without giving it a shot.” M

Photos by Katii Capern

Joanna Griffiths, founder of Knix Wear

McClung’s | spring 2014

MISS REPRE SENTATION Do drag queen performances have feminist undertones? BY HANA SHAF I

Katherine Hytes Dior photographed at Crews & Tangos Restaurant & Bar

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Photo by Katii Capern

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amilla Toe is a 21-year-old drag queen. But for this performance, she’s a distraught teenage girl. Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis is playing in the background, while Toe has her first period on stage. For the first chorus, she pretends like nothing is wrong, theatrically wiping herself as inconspicuously as possible. But by the end of the performance, there is Clamato juice—blood— all over the stage. She’s spilling it, drinking it, covered in it. From a feminist perspective, this performance has subversive female empowerment written all over it. It attempts to tackle the often taboo imagery of menstruation. But to regular viewers, it’s just an exciting performance, the kind of cheeky, over-the-top spectacle one comes to expect when going to a drag show. Drag queen culture is the focal point of entertainment in the LGBTQ community. Few

Fields started experimenting with drag in 2012, after seeing drag shows and spending more time at Church and Wellesley, home to Toronto’s gay village. Over time, he developed Toe’s character, inspired by the style of artists like Beyoncé, Ke$ha – and Christina Aguilera, who donned old school glam corsets in the movie Burlesque. Fields describe Toe as “Ellen Degeneres mixed with a burlesque dancer.” His interest in drag grew out of his love for theatre and dance, which was part of his high school life, but creating Toe let Fields explore a different side of him. “For me, it’s entertainment,” Fields says, “and it’s finding that woman inside me and exploring a different way to be me.” Embracing the woman inside is a major aspect of drag. Regardless of a performer’s gender and sexuality outside of drag, their drag queen persona is all about flaunting their femininity and making a theatrical show out of it. That powerful, on-stage female presence can be a part of feminism – but some queens like Donnarama, a performer for 17 years, are skeptical of its place in the movement. “It’s not responsible, that’s for sure,” the 36-year-old says. “I would say that it’s not associated. For men to dress up like a woman in a performance, they usually have to exaggerate something. And I’ve actually heard from women that drag is misrepresenting them.” That’s the argument for feminists who feel that drag queen culture is misogynistic and misrepresentative of women – and therefore demeaning towards women. Demona Deville, a Toronto drag queen, has been accused of misrepresenting women through her performances and told that it is

Ivory Towers (left) and Katherine Hytes Dior (right)

science professor and associate of the sexual diversity studies program at the University of Toronto, says it's not meant to be an accurate representation of women. “I think for some it is a form of theatre. It’s meant to be a mockery of gender stereotypes,” he says. “There’s a willingness to deliberately exaggerate some features and I think it’s meant in an ironic way.” Like feminists, drag queens seek to challenge gender constructs – they just choose to use “alternative” humour, as Rayside puts it. And they do it well. With outrageously teased hair, over-arched eyebrows and six-inch stilettos, they don’t look like all women, but they do look like some. Sheila Cavanagh, a sexuality studies professor at York University, thinks the idea that they misrepresent women applies mostly to cisgendered women, and doesn’t make room for trans women. “Femininity isn’t a property belonging to those who are female,” she says. “There is no one kind of woman. Drag makes room for a myriad of ways of being women, include male femininity.” By exploring different interpretations of femininity, drag queens inevitably delve into controversy. Donnarama herself is an expert in messing with taboo topics. “Drag queens don’t play it safe,” she says. “If there’s taboo there, they definitely want to mess with it.” Whether they’re related to female power is best left to interpretation, but her performances are undoubtedly political and push the audience to face risky topics. “I like to do stuff that’s really exaggerated on stage,” she says. “For example, Madonna has adopted a black baby or two, so I came out to Papa Don’t Preach, but I painted all these

‘‘WE DO FEMALE POWER, WE DO GAY POWER.

DRAG CULTURE UNIFIES THAT BARRIER BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN. ‘‘

could deny that it embraces and exaggerates images of traditional femininity; big lashes and even bigger hair. As drag celebrates the ultra-feminine and pushes constricting gender roles to its limits, some drag queens, like Toe, argue that this entertainment can go hand-inhand with feminism. “We do female power, we do gay power,” says Trevor Fields, the man behind drag persona Camilla Toe. “Drag culture unifies that barrier between women and men.”

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wrong for her to be depicting women as men. “There are so many different kinds of women that I don’t think you can lump them all together like that and say that one or the other isn’t representing,” she says. “What I do has nothing to do with being a man or a woman—it’s a costume.” Those who criticize the theatric nature of drag may be reading too much into the culture's ultimate goal. David Rayside, a political

baby dolls black and they were all over me.” Donnarama wants her performances to encourage open debate about controversial topics. “Why not use humour politically?” she asks. Cavanagh agrees and points out that parody and carnival are part of queer culture and activism. As she says, “it is necessary to exaggerate gender norms to understand their socially constructed character.” Deville, however, prefers to keep feminism

and other hot political topics out of the performances altogether. “I don’t want to bring people down or make people think of anything too heavy,” she says. While Deville describes herself as a feminist, she doesn’t want to incorporate it into her shows. She sees drag as mostly a hobby, although it's a job for some drag queens. But whether it’s for profit, personal pleasure ‒ or both, it’s a creative outlet and way of expression. Drag is an art form; it is sometimes politically charged, other times purely for the aesthetic. “We’re standing up for who we are, and being exactly who we should be,” Fields says. “We [drag queens] are exploring a whole new realm of entertainment, of empowerment. We motivate the community. We represent our people.” But representing the community and standing up for who they are through drag isn’t all that it’s made out to be. There are risks too, such as being ostracized within the gay community. Both Donnarama and Fields have seen how their drag personas get in the way of relationships and dat-

Photos by Katii Capern

ing. “There’s stuff that I did on stage that affected me,” Donnarama says. “When I walked down the street, people were giving me funny looks.” As for Fields, he’s been rejected after his dates discover that he does drag. They weren’t okay with dating a gay man who does drag in his spare time. “I’m not a woman,” he says. “I’m a dude.” The gender-bending nature of drag queen culture and the way its performers fearlessly push boundaries makes it an ally of feminism. While Fields views his performances as just a job, Rayside thinks drag queens make a political statement whether they’d like to or not. “It’s performance with an edge,” he says. “It’s performing, but it has social consequences and in most versions, it’s meant to be a social commentary.” Fields thinks people should embrace drag. “We’re the focal point of entertainment for the gay community,” he says, “and for that to be female empowerment, I think that’s incredible.” M

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STEUBENVILLE

AMANDA TODD

REHTAEH PARSONS

16 ST STEUBENVILLE, OHIO Aug. 11, 2012

15 PO PORT COQUITLAM, B.C. O Oc t 10, 2012 Oct.

17 HA HALIFAX A Ap Apr. 4, 2013

Videos and photos circulated of an unconscious girl who was sexually assaulted over several hours, while people watched at a party. The assailants were members of the Steubenville high school football team. The victim’s parents took her to police with evidence three days later, but were told it was too late for toxicology. Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, both 16, were charged with rape and kidnapping; the high school wrestling coach for failing to report the abuse; the assistant football coach for allowing underage drinking.

After Todd’s topless photo was sent to "everyone" she knew by an unknown perpetrator, she moved schools, but it resurfaced on a Facebook page. So she began self-harming. Todd later hooked up with a male friend who had a girlfriend, but was assaulted. It was filmed. She then attempted suicide by drinking bleach. Todd moved again, but was tagged in photos of bleach and ditches on Facebook and encouraged to kill herself. An unnamed 35-year-old Dutch man has been charged with extortion.

At 15, Parsons learned that people took photos of her alleged gang rape and circulated them. She was depressed and hospitalized. Then Parsons switched schools and made new friends, but suffered from mood swings—and had an outburst before committing suicide. Upon her death, authorities didn't file charges. Hacker group Anonymous said they found "screen shots of incriminating statements" from one of four boys allegedly involved in the incident. Two unnamed 18-year-olds have been charged with child pornography.

LINDSAY ARMSTRONG 17 SC SCOTLAND, UK JJuly u 16, 2002

Armstrong was raped by a 14-year-old boy at a park. During the trial, she was made to hold up her underwear from the day of the attack, which read "little devil.” She later said she felt like “a tart.” While she waited for her rapist's sentencing, she overdosed on her anti-depressants. Her rapist was sentenced to four years in detention, followed by three years of supervision. He also had to register as a sex offender. Armstrong’s treatment in court is being investigated.

ABANDONED Sexual assault cases, where victims were slut-shamed and victim-blamed into silence—and rendered irrelevant by the justice system

AUDRIE POTT

By Ophelie Zalcmanis-Lai *

15 SARATOGA, CALIF. SA Sep. S e 10, 2012

After passing out at a party, Pott was sexually assaulted by male classmates, who took pictures of the attack. She then received taunts on Facebook. One day, she called her mother to pick her up from school. Pott went to her room and hung herself in the shower. Three boys admitted to sexually assaulting Pott. Two were ordered to serve 30 days in a juvenile hall over weekends, while the third was sentenced to 45 consecutive days.

CHERICE MORALEZ

HOPE WITSELL

16 BILLINGS, MONT. B BI Feb. F e 6, 2010

13 RU RUSKIN, FLA. Se Sep. 12, 2009

At 14, Moralez was targeted by her male teacher, Stacey Rambold, and repeatedly raped. As her case went public, Moralez was bullied by friends and eventually shot herself. In August 2013, Rambold was sentenced to 30 days in jail after the judge ruled that Moralez was mature enough and just as in control as Rambold. After public outcry, he clarified that a 14-year-old couldn’t consent, but he didn't want people to think that it was a "violent, forcible, horrible rape."

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Witsell "sexted" a picture of her breasts to her boyfriend. But another student got hold of the photo and distributed it to people at different schools. So she began self-harming amidst bullying and taunting by others. When the school administration found out about the photo, she was suspended for a week. School social workers talked to Witsell about her cutting, but her parents were never informed. Witsell eventually hung herself at home.

Illustration by Harleen Singh

VINEETA 17 BABINA, INDIA BA N No Nov. 3, 2011

Vineeta was raped by her sister's husband after going to her house to take care of household chores. Vineeta's father rushed to the house after he repeatedly tried to contact her to no avail. Her body was later found in a well. Vineeta's father lodged a complaint against his son in-law and his son-in law's parents. The preliminary inquiry’s report states that the assailant was upset that his wife couldn't bear children and was interested in marrying her younger sister.

*Note: All victims in this infographic except the 16-year-old in the Steubenville case committed suicide as a result of the trauma they suffered.

McClung’s | spring 2014

How a South African freedom fighter defied the apartheid regime BY NADYA DOMINGO

A N G. Bang. Bang. The police knock loudly on the door of a house in Durban, South Africa. They storm in past a speechless woman. It is 1963. Eight police officers run to the bathroom and grab her husband without telling them why or where they are taking him. Their 17-year-old daughter, Masha Domingo, watches her father being taken away from the hall. “My mom, who was usually very loud, didn’t say a word. It was just shock,” the 68-year-old now says in Ajax, Ont., where she’s lived since 2000. Her father, George Ponnen, then 51, and mother, Vera Ponnen, then 50, were anti-apartheid freedom fighters in South Africa. The result: George was jailed and the police often raided Masha’s home, where the family hid banned literature and held secret meetings for the African National Congress (ANC)

– a liberation movement founded in 1912, which played a critical role in creating political, economic and social changes in pursuit of a non-racial and non-sexist society. The couple also provided refuge for those affected by South Africa’s racist and sexist views. Domingo has memories of prominent ANC members, like Govan Mbeki and Walter Sisulu, coming to their home – some of whom were later imprisoned on Robben Island. My grandmother Masha, known to many as Mingo, was born at a time when racist laws were escalating in South Africa. She experienced racism firsthand because of her status as an Indian citizen. She had to attend an Indian-only school, watch movies in separate theatres and swim in Indian-only pools and beaches. But apartheid didn’t stop her family or millions of others from uprising in an antiapartheid movement. Mingo modelled her life after her freedom-fighter parents, often risking her well-being as a member of antiapartheid groups. Her family became wellrespected by fighting for unity in South Africa. Racism in South Africa didn’t simply start with apartheid; rather, it was a buildup of pre-existing racial segregation beliefs. Apartheid, which means apartness, was a legislative system that enforced these beliefs by law. When the National Party

gained control of the country in 1948, it immediately instilled laws to divide the people. Citizens were separated by race: Indian, coloured, African (black) or Afrikaner (white). Under the 1950 Group Areas Act, which prevented mingling between races, people lived in racially segregated neighbourhoods. Police could demand to see people’s passbooks, which stated their identification number, name and group. Mingo considered herself fortunate because she had more privilege than many. Her parents’s involvement with the ANC gave her an insider’s look at the antiapartheid uprising. The Ponnens’s flat was a meeting place for ANC members — but it wasn’t just politicians and activists who frequented. Mingo remembers women of every colour visiting and speaking to her mother about their abusive spouses. Vera took their stories to lawyers who could help. “That’s where we came to understand how to respect human beings, and not because of the colour of their skin. I’ve been very lucky to have been able to do that in that country,” Mingo says. “This is what has molded me into the human being I am today.” Mingo continued her parents’ legacy. In 1968, she became a member of the Women’s League in Zambia, a section

‘‘WE CAME TO UNDERSTAND HOW

Masha Domingo

retired, on weekdays she voluntarily reads to children, who shout “Mingo! Mingo!” when she arrives. In her spare time, Mingo crafts puppets with glittering eyeballs, and zebra-patterned instruments for children whom she cared about for many years. Mingo often sits at home reflecting on her life. In the summer, she quietly slips away into the vine-covered corner of her backyard. A wooden sign hangs from the

foliage; it reads “Mingo’s Place.” It’s clear that despite how much time has passed, her parents’s message lingers. When she talks about her parents, her eyes well, but she never cries. “You never forget as a human being who you are. You have to start with yourself first and if there’s something you believe in, you have to stand up for it.” M

TO RESPECT HUMAN BEINGS,

‘‘

GET UP, STAND UP

of the ANC that fought for female representation within the anti-apartheid struggle. During that two-year period, Mingo helped represent the ANC at the 9th World Festival of Youth and Students, an event that brought youth together globally. On the trip, she assisted ANC member Thabo Mbeki, who later served as the second post-apartheid president of South Africa from 1999 to 2008. Her trip halted when Tanzanian authorities jailed her for 24 hours, as her name was left off the ANC’s returning travel documents to Zambia. In 1967, Mingo risked imprisonment again by illegally collecting money to support the ANC’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe. For two years, she traded Zambian currency (kwacha) for South African currency (rand) from tourists. Many South Africans tried to defy the government, but the effects of racism still lingered. “We weren’t considered human beings,” says Richard Domingo, Mingo’s husband. My grandpa exemplifies apartheid’s ambiguity. Although he may look white to some, he was classified as coloured because of his Malay descent. He fooled authorities by simultaneously using nonwhite and white facilities. My grandpa accompanied my grandmother once they found out where the police had imprisoned George. Mingo found her father in Durban’s Mayville Jail, standing in a white circle drawn on the floor. He was in solitary confinement for 103 days, during which police abused him. George was arrested under the 90 Day Act, which allowed police to detain people for 90 days or more. When George was released in 1964, the ANC advised him to leave the country and tell others about apartheid. The Ponnens reunited in Zambia after Vera was forced to leave South Africa on exit permit in 1967. Mingo moved to Canada in 1970, her parents following in 1975. For the past 30 years, Mingo has worked as an early childhood educator in Durham, Ont. When she walks into the classrooms at 8 a.m., she entertains the sleepy-eyed children who claw at her sparkling, teal-coloured earrings and various silver rings. Although Mingo is

AND NOT BECAUSE OF THE COLOUR OF THEIR SKIN. 24

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Photo by Katii Capern

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Kimberly Moffit, founder of KMA Therapy

THERAPY FOR THE WORKING MOM Toronto-based private clinic KMA Therapy explores the stress of trying to "have it all" BY ROBYN FIORDA

n the outside, the modern working mom seems to have everything figured out: a successful career by day and children she can come home to at night. But she frequently worries that she is not spending enough time with her kids—or on her career. With the two stresses colliding regularly, working moms may benefit from turning to therapy for help. Kimberly Moffit, a Toronto-based psychotherapist, is aiming to help this demographic with her private clinic, KMA Therapy one of the largest therapy practices in the city. Founded in 2008, it provides psychotherapy and psychology services to clients from the Greater Toronto Area. KMA Therapy has a female to male client ratio of 3:2 and an all-female team of 15 experts, who specialize in family and marital therapy, life coaching and counselling. In recent years, Moffit has seen an increasing number of women who feel pressured to achieve a perfect work and family balance. In 2013, American working moms spent an average of 29 hours a week worrying about work and their families, according to a study by the department of sociology and anthropology at BarIlan University in Israel. The study revealed that women suffer a double burden that causes guilt, as they feel like bad mothers when they work and bad employees when putting their children first. “In every part of life,” Moffit says, “it’s hard for women to have it all.” Sabrina Infante, the mother of two kids under age six, often puts pressure on herself to be a successful working mom. The 35-year-old works full-time as an event manager at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. “I put pressure on myself because I want my kids to have a mom who is always around. I don’t want to feel like I was never there,” she says. “But I also have to work and I want to be successful at my job.” As a new mom herself, Moffitt understands her concern fully. “It’s always difficult, but having someone to help work through the issues,” she says, “and establish positive habits is a great step in the right direction.” Moffit initially started KMA Therapy to gain practicum hours for her PhD in counselling psychology at Middlesex University in England. Supervised by a clinical psychologist, her first office was a small, inexpensive space that she rented one day a week at the Toronto Healing Arts Centre. While establishing her clinic and working her way through three different offices from 2008 to

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2010, Moffitt faced many challenges. “The whole practice was my sole venture,” she says. “I used my own small savings at the time to start the company and the business profits to reinvest in growing the company.” She moved to her current Yonge and Eglinton location in 2009 and the risks finally paid off one year later. Her overbooked schedule of about 25 to 30 clients per week allowed her to expand KMA Therapy, attracting many young female therapists to work for her. As the team grew, so did her vision for the clinic. “It’s worked out that our team has been completely women,” Moffitt says. “It’s empowering.” Interestingly, Moffitt never set out to hire an all-female team— she is open to having male staff in the future. Like education and law, the psychotherapy field, she explains, has more women than men simply due to the overall increasing number of women pursuing higher education. KMA Therapy has also gained a reputation for its women-only workplace, resulting in many female applicants.

The clinic is known for addressing common issues among women: fertility, postpartum depression, eating disorders and anxiety. The 31-year-old thinks it’s important for working moms to do things that make them happy, like having a hobby, to feel like they are succeeding. “Women have the most pressure on them, not only to be amazing in their career, but also to be amazing mothers, wives, girlfriends or family members,” she says. “And then there’s also pressure to look great.” In December 2013, Moffit took a short break from the office, as she was about to have a baby, but hired two new therapists and continued to manage the company—even participating in media relations. Although parenting has been rewarding for Moffit, she also couldn’t wait to start seeing clients again. She returned to work a few weeks after giving birth. As a working mom, Moffit plans to work eight to 10 hours per week. “I love being a working mom,” Moffit says. “I can’t imagine my life without seeing my

Photo courtesy of KMA Therapy

clients.” Like Moffitt, Infante says she wants to work and be successful. But at certain times of the year, her job is more demanding, resulting in longer hours and a more stressful home life since she is not around as much. “There’s less time to cook, meaning more take-out food,” she says. “Laundry also gets behind. And I’m not spending as much time with the kids to help them with their reading.” Although Infante has never sought therapy before, she would consider it if her stress began to have a negative impact on her family. Moffit believes that working moms need to be positive and aware of their priorities to balance multiple roles in the workplace and at home. “It doesn’t have to be stressful,” she says. “Make sure you make time for yourself and your relationships—they are equally important. They’re only there for a short time, and if you blink, you’ll miss those beautiful moments.” M

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MIPSTERZ MISUNDERSTOOD Muslim fashionistas are just trying to look good, but they're still breaking barriers

BY VJOSA ISAI

young woman sporting strappy heels skateboards effortlessly across the concrete, her dusty rose hijab fluttering in the breeze. Seconds later, about a dozen “Mipsterz”— Muslim hipsters— join her on the streets of five American cities, wearing headscarves of various colours. Set to rapper Jay Z’s Somewhere in America, the next two and a half minutes of the YouTube video plays out like an urban clothing commercial. Mipsterz celebrate religion, art, fashion and the diversity of Muslim women through social media. Their video has garnered 350,000 views to date, their Facebook page over 7,000 likes. But the video’s artistic and creative intent was soon neglected in favour of the view that they want to break stereotypes and debunk myths of the hijab as an “oppressive” symbol. While the Mipsterz did not intend for their hijab fashion to make a political statement, they inevitably sparked a conversation about what it means to be a Muslim woman in the West—even igniting a Twitterstorm of criticism and support under the hashtag #Mipsterz after the video's December 2013 release. Aminah Sheikh, a graduate of the school of oriental and African studies at York University, was the only Canadian woman in the Mipsterz video. Communicating political views with the hijab, she explains, was not the goal. But some media outlets—Al Jazeera, CBC and the Huffington Post—see a political message in the video. They have also contributed to the narrative that Mipsterz women want to challenge the stereotype of female Muslims in the Western world. For Sheikh, however, the Mipsterz shoot was about celebrating beauty and choice, which need to be embraced, she says,

Muslim woman, she related to the niche group of Mipsterz who don’t fit into mainstream Western culture. “I am in between identities,” she says, “and in between discourse.” The video has not only received commentary from Western media outlets, but caused ripples within the Muslim community. In fact, such criticism sheds light on political issues like sexism and patriarchy. Yasmine Hafiz, associate editor of Huffington Post Religion, believes the video started a dialogue among Muslims about what it means to be a Muslim woman in North America. In Hafiz’s 2013 article entitled, “Why Islam Needs More ‘Mipsterz,’” she dismisses criticism from fellow Muslims that the video is not “Muslim enough.” As Hafiz wrote, “The self-policing and body shaming needs to stop. I am a Muslim woman—and my appearance and sexuality is no one’s business, but my own.” Sheikh agrees and asserts that “everyone needs to get over the fact that Muslim women want to look good.” From how they worship to what they wear, the way in which they practice their religion should not be up for public debate. And some aren’t questioning the personal choices of the Mipsterz, but rather the social implications of how they represent the hijab. Dr. Suad Abdul-Khabeer, an assistant professor of anthropology and African American studies at Purdue University in Indiana, considers the video a shallow portrayal of such a complex religious identity-marker. “Everywhere in America, a Muslim woman’s headscarf is not only some sex, swag and consumption,” Abdul-Khabeer writes on her blog, drsuad.tumblr.com, in 2013. “It’s also belief and beauty, defiance and struggle, secrets and shame.” For many women, the hijab has become a symbol of defiance, particularly in Western countries, which refuse to accept this form of religious observance. Many European governments—France, Netherlands, Belgium—are outspoken about their disapproval of the hijab. Québec also joined the debate with the Parti Quebecois Charter of Values, which would have banned public service workers from wearing the hijab and any other religious symbols if it had passed. The struggle to don the veil in the West can also come with personal ramifications, as Sheikh describes in her 2013 post entitled “Why I Participated in the ‘Somewhere in America’ #Mipsterz Video” on Patheos.com, a religion and spirituality online portal. “I hated never fitting in,” Sheikh writes. “I hated that I was not white, thin or beautiful enough. The hijab only magnified

NEEDS TO GET ‘‘EVERYONE OVER THE FACT THAT MUSLIM

‘‘

WOMEN WANT TO LOOK GOOD.

whether one is wearing brightly coloured pants or a plain black abaya (a dress that offers full body coverage). The 28-year-old’s experience bonding with other like-minded Muslim women was also memorable. “They have my style and views on music and Ramadan,” Sheikh says. “It may be weird and niche, but we really seemed to connect.” Sheikh’s family immigrated to Canada during the IndiaPakistan partition conflict in the late 1940s. As a first-generation

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Amina Sheikh, the only Canadian in the Mipsterz video

these dysmorphic feelings, while also masking my perpetual self-loathing.” Being excluded from mainstream Western culture based on her religious and cultural identity only made Sheikh’s personal insecurities grow. But some critics claim that the video may not address the inner conflict that Muslim women face. Fatma Bin-Othman, a thirdyear communications and political science student at McMaster University, doesn’t see how the Mipsterz video contributes to a broad conversation about Western women and Islam. As an active member in her town’s Muslim community, the 21-year-old adds that it would have been more inspirational to see the women do more than just strut. After learning more about them in the video, Bin-Othman was disappointed to discover that their talents as lawyers, journalists and philanthropists were not shown. Bin-Othman, who regularly runs youth initiatives at the mosque in her hometown of Hamilton, argues that there are more meaningful ways to portray the myriad of identities associated with the hijab. For instance, renowned fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first Muslim woman to compete internationally for the United States in 2011, is filmed in her professional element, but the other

Photos courtesy of Chris Smart

women are not. “Those women have so much more to them than aesthetics,” Bin-Othman says. “I would have loved to see that part of them.” However, Sheikh insists that Mipsterz tap into the creative identities of women rather than the professional and political. They also showcase their diverse cultural identities. Mipsterz understand that there is more than one way for a Muslim woman to represent herself. “In Africa, women tie their hijab in a turban and show their arms, but in Saudi Arabia, they often wear things like abayas,” Sheikh says. “Our religion is so widespread—and it’s not static.” She adds that it’s important to not create a dichotomy between the subcultures of Muslim women. Islamofashionista cliques tend to feel alienated from their more traditional hijabi counterparts, she explains, who do not accept their style of dress. The Muslim community defines themselves by negating what the West is, Sheikh says, which is “ridiculous” because that’s exactly what the West does to them. “You don’t judge a person for what their shell is. That’s the whole point of the hijab.” M

McClung’s | spring 2014

Lawyer Jaroslava Ignáciková with her son, Marek

PINK SLIP How the Czech Republic's parental leave is hurting women BY VIVIANE FAIRBANK

McClung’s | spring 2014

W hen Alena Křížková returned to full-time work after a six-month-long maternity leave with her first son in the Czech Republic—where mothers are able and often expected to stay with their child for at least three years— both her family and friends condemned her use of daycare programs so early on. They told her that she could hamper her son’s development by leaving him without his mother’s constant care. “There was this attitude that I am a bad mother for choosing to work,” the 38-year-old now says. Křížková’s ordeal in 2011 epitomizes the plight of many Czech women, who still feel torn between making their own choices and living in a culture that doesn’t support them. While men who are focused on work may be considered “dedicated” or “determined” in Czech society, Křížková explains, a mother who leaves her child with others before the three-year-mark is described as “selfish” or “career-oriented” instead of “familyoriented.” Her son, Cyril, who attends private kindergarten three days a week, is sometimes left in the care of his two grandmothers. As the department head of gender and sociology at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague, Křížková works about 50 hours a week. However, her decision to go back to work is not overly common. In fact, only 36 per cent of Czech women – the second lowest percentage of the 28 countries in the European Union – with children under sixyears-old were employed in 2013. Mothers in the Czech Republic are allowed a sixmonth-long maternity leave, starting six to eight weeks before birth. This period is typically followed by a guaranteed threeyear parental leave for the mother and father – with paid benefits for one parent until the child’s fourth birthday. This makes the Czech Republic’s parental leave one of the longest in the world. In fact, almost 70,000 women could not find employment once their children

Photo courtesy of fotoprome

turned three, according to a 2013 report by the European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO). As Křížková points out, a three-year parental leave can be a major deterrent to hiring women in their late 20s or early 30s. “Employers expect women to use the full three years,” she says. “Most women encounter questions on their family situation or childcare plans during the hiring process—even though it is illegal.” For Czech women, the lack of options after childbirth can be attributed to the job market – or, more specifically, few part-time employment opportunities – and deeply entrenched cultural attitudes, which frown upon mothers who return to work quickly. Privatized kindergarten facilities are also expensive. Unless women can afford private childcare, the choice is already made for them. And for those who do have more money to spend, their options for childcare institutions are still limited. According to a 2013 study by the International Network on Leave Policies and Research, only two per cent of Czech children under the age of three are enrolled in formal childcare, which is well below the 30 per cent average among the 34 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “This is all somehow wrapped in the policy rhetoric of free choice,” says Křížková, who also works as a correspondent for the European Commission, a major institution of the European Union in charge of drafting proposals for laws. She regularly reports to them about how changes in laws and policies affect people from a gender equality perspective. Although the right to go on maternity and parental leave is generally regarded as

labour code that guarantee women can return to their jobs after parental leave, many companies actually don’t comply with these standards or stay in touch with employees on parental leave. Although equality has clearly not yet been achieved—Czech women still get paid 22 per cent less than men as of 2012, according to the European Union—Jitka Kolářová, a project manager at the Gender Studies Institute, points out that the Czech Republic is a tolerant society, which she believes is rooted in the country’s strong atheism and communist background. While it took Western feminists as long as 80 years to fight for rights like joining the workforce as mothers, it took Czech women considerably less time to do so after the Velvet revolution, which was the peaceful transfer from communism to democracy in 1989. With piercings and pink-streaked hair, Kolářová has always been reluctant to follow stereotypes. So has her father, who wanted to have sons instead of daughters. Growing up, he took Kolářová and her sister out to sport games and on hiking expeditions. Later, when Kolářová was 10, her parents tried to introduce them to more traditional gender roles, like wearing skirts and being tidy. But this time, they were the ones unwilling to conform. “I had a feeling that something was already wrong from high school, where I couldn’t fit in,” the 33-year-old says, adding that she struggled with never dressing or acting like other girls in her school. Kolářová felt that she needed to do something about all the problems she saw around her, so she started contributing to anarchist-feminist magazines and organizing demonstrations during her

CZECH WOMEN HAVE FEW OPTIONS AFTER CHILDBIRTH DUE TO THE JOB MARKET AND CULTURAL ATTITUDES. a milestone for women’s health, the Gender Studies Institute, a feminist organization in Prague, found in 2012 that so many years off from work—some Czech women may take up to eight years off if they give birth to two children in a row—can negatively affect women’s position at work. While there are provisions in the Czech Republic’s

university years. Those experiences continue to aid her in her work today. “It made me think about topics that I would normally never think about, like BDSM as a liberal form of sexuality—or feminine health,” she says. “It also threw me into the sphere of radical queer activism.” Kolářová, a women’s rights advocate,

McClung’s | spring 2014

Lawyer Jaroslava Ignáciková

contends that parental leave and the issue of work-life balance may be worse in today’s democracy. In the Czech Republic’s communist regime, which emphasized a two-worker household, women were encouraged to work with enthusiasm that did not exist in the democratic, Western countries of the time in part due to the communist belief of equity among workers. In 1980, Czechoslovakia had over 61 per cent of women participating in the workforce—one of the highest percentages among Central Europe’s communist countries—according to the EWCO. “In a sense, the communist regime

McClung’s | spring 2014

was very generous to mothers,” Kolářová says. “When women left Czechoslovakia for, say, Germany, they felt that they had gained their freedom as citizens, but lost some of it as women.” Jamila Kolkovà, an elementary school teacher in Prague during the Communist era, shares the same sentiment. To the 76-year-old grandmother, the extended maternity leave policy back then was the result of enlightened thought within the strict, single-party dictatorship. When her two daughters were born in 1964 and 1971 respectively, she was able to go on maternity leave for at least a year in both

cases, and then return to a guaranteed job teaching Czech and physical education, although at a different elementary school. What’s more, many state-supported kindergarten institutions under Czech’s communist regime started taking care of children as early as six-months-old, Kolkovà says, providing mothers with an unprecedented level of freedom to resume working fairly quickly. But when the Czech Republic transitioned from communism to a capitalist democracy, it took away public childcare services without allowing the private economy to make up for them. Kolkovà still vehemently insists that she does not support communism. It’s a touchy subject in the Central European country, which is still greatly affected by the Soviet presence of the 20th century. While the communist regime was supportive of working mothers and pushed for long maternity leave in the 1960s and ‘70s, it was not for the purpose of equality. Veronika Šprincová, 31, a project coordinator for Czech feminist group Fórum 50%, explains that the end of the Second World War saw many women working to produce a strong economy due to the many male casualties. Then, a decade later, men started losing jobs in diminishing industries like mining, so they needed opportunities in other fields. While the three-year extended maternity leave, now known as parental leave, was accepted and seemed progressive then, Šprincová says, “it was originally designed to push women out of the labour market.” It was also during this time that many child psychologists began to supposedly prove how important it is for the mother to have constant contact with her child during the first three years. Today, that idea, Šprincová says, is ingrained among the Czech people. “The negative image of the selfish mother who puts her career before her family is still present,” Kolářová says. However, she acknowledges that there are women who enjoy taking the full three years simply because they find it fulfilling and meaningful to raise children – but only if they are guaranteed a job to return to after parental leave. Jaroslava Ignáciková is one of those lucky women who could count on returning to a guaranteed job after her parental leave. The 33-year-old, who has a 10-month-old son, likes her job as a corporate lawyer, but still appreciated the length of her parental leave. This March, she returned to work

Photo courtesy of Ambruz & Dark Deloitte Legal

THE THREE-YEAR MATERNITY LEAVE SEEMED PROGRESSIVE THEN, BUT IT WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED TO

"PUSH WOMEN OUT OF THE LABOUR MARKET."

part-time after almost a year off with her son, Marek. She will have to coordinate between babysitters and private childcare facilities for the next couple of years before he enters kindergarten. “Going back to work is good for my social life and mental health,” Ignáciková says, “and therefore also for the baby.” She considers herself lucky. Since Ignáciková started working for her current law firm 10 years ago, she has never felt any discrimination based on her gender, although she says her female friends who are also lawyers haven’t had the same experiences at work. But Ignáciková hasn’t had the same luck when it comes to childcare. Her options are limited, as her parents live in a different country. Most Czech women with parents who live in the same city are able to get them to babysit their children, allowing mothers to go back to work without having to pay the high cost of private childcare. It can be quite challenging to make ends meet when grandparents are unavailable. “If the mother started working before her child was three-years-old,” Ignáciková says, “all her income would have to be used to cover the costs of childcare.” It’s precisely why she works part-time—a choice that works well for a lawyer in an accommodating firm, but perhaps not so much for other women. The OECD reports that among its 34 member countries, the Czech Republic has one of the the lowest incidences of part-time employment—almost four per cent in 2011, compared to 19.9 per cent in Canada. Although the availability of part-time

Photo courtesy of fotoprome

employment encourages Czech women to work, the role of a mother and father in childrearing remain traditional. After over a decade of equal leave benefits for either parent, fathers are still not taking parental leave as often as mothers. In 2013, the number of fathers on paternal leave nearly

considers itself progressive toward women’s rights. Until Czech society recognizes the three-year parental leave as a choice— rather than an expectation—there will be a need for women, like Křížkova, to fight for equality. “As a mother and academic, I can relate to the things that I’ve been researching,” she says. “I see a lot of the same things in my own family or relationships.” These days, Křížková finds herself going to work with a much smaller chance of criticism than before. Her son, Cyril, who is now three, is finally old enough to enter publicly-funded childcare institutions. Still, she feels pressure from Czech society to be a more attentive mother. Now pregnant with her second child, who is due in August, her decision to return to work again after her six-month maternity leave is already being met with the same kind of comments that she received when Cyril was born. “When I reveal my plans to somebody,” Křížková says, “they already say, ‘poor girl!’” The notion of a child requiring continuous motherly attention for Lawyer development is a cultural relic of Jaroslava the Communist era that never truly Ignáciková left the Czech Republic. Although with her husband. she’s aware of all the historical and cultural factors that contribute to the Czech Republic’s negative doubled from 2001, up to 5,200 from attitude towards mothers returning to work, 2,000. Although it’s an improvement, this it didn’t make the criticism any easier figure only amounts to 1.5 per cent of all to swallow. “This culture is also in my men in the Czech Republic, according to head, so I have to fight it,” Křížková says. Radio Praha, a popular Czech news agency. “Although I know it’s normal for children While several feminist groups across to go to kindergarten in other countries, the Czech Republic today are pushing it’s difficult to accept while living in this for awareness of gender inequality, it will country.” M be hard to change a society that already

McClung’s | spring 2014

Chandra Kavanagh (left) and friend Rachel Robinson

t’s not easy being the fat girl at the club. And sometimes, friends make it harder. Female friendships can be supportive, safe havens, but there are times when women—even close friends—are just as guilty as any misogynistic frat guy of putting pressure on us to look a

certain way. In 2007, I was around 100 lbs heavier and about half as confident as I am now. But that didn’t mean that I didn’t want to go out, flirt and dance like many other women do. It can be incredibly difficult to put yourself in a situation where you might draw attention to the body that you’re unhappy with. The world can be judgmental and unkind, an echo chamber for the kind of thoughts that you already have about yourself. And while going out and dancing with friends could have been an enjoyable experience, for me it was a minefield of

I looked pretty and fashionable, my friends made it clear that they thought too much of my socially unacceptable body was visible. While I thought I looked comfy and approachable, my friends reprimanded me for looking sloppy or not trying hard enough. “Did you just get off work? I thought we were going out!” Even after I’d plucked up the courage to go out with my friends, there were still times when I was made to feel uncomfortable, insufficient or out of place. After just 10 minutes of dancing, I would be sweaty and redfaced, but enjoying myself. Inevitably, the innocuous question would come from one of my companions: “Are you okay?” When you’re smiling and happily dancing away, it sounds a lot more like “You don’t look so good.” – even if it’s an expression of genuine concern. My experience is not an isolated one. In 2011, a survey of 2,000 women, sponsored by UK-based skincare company Simple, sought to find out if they were dressing in order to please themselves, men or other women. It found that two-thirds of those women “had their girlfriends in mind when they chose what to wear for a big night out.”

feminine outfits almost overnight. “I didn’t want to let down the pretty girl squad,” she confessed, when I asked her what prompted this change. While no one directly convinced her to change the way that she dressed, she still felt that she had to in order to fit in with her friends. But dressing up for other women doesn’t need to be a bad thing. In fact, some might say it’s a step away from the old assumption that they dress up to please men. However, no woman should feel pressured to conform to a standard of beauty that isn’t her own. And it’s important to acknowledge that female peers play an underlying role in contributing to that pressure. Instead of putting so such emphasis on the way we look, we can ask each other—and ourselves—how we feel. Does this Lisa Frank shirt make me feel like a frolicking pixie? Well, that’s a great way to feel at a dance club. Do these heels make me feel like a trained pig walking on my hind legs? Well, then maybe I won’t wear them to that meeting. Instead of contributing to a culture that tells us that how we look is the only thing that matters, women can support each other in their style and choice of clothing; in doing so, they help each other feel good about

A STUDY REVEALED THAT WOMEN

DRESSING UP FOR THE GIRLS The power and pressure of the feminine gaze BY CHANDRA KAVANAGH

McClung’s | spring 2014

Photo by Katii Capern

“HAD THEIR GIRLFRIENDS IN MIND WHEN THEY CHOSE WHAT TO WEAR FOR A BIG NIGHT OUT.” mixed emotions: excitement, pleasure, shame, disappointment and self-hatred. “Girl, is that what you’re wearing? You need to go change,” a friend would say after I had dressed up in what I thought was a cute, sexy outfit. I remember getting this kind of reaction no matter what I wore—tank tops, skirts, hoodies or jeans. While I thought

I’ve spoken to many women who feel this pressure—often indirectly— from mothers, daughters, sisters, colleagues and friends. While I was an undergraduate student, I had a close group of female friends, most of whom were very fashionable. One friend went from wearing comfy, casual clothing exclusively to super trendy

themselves. Now, when I feel the urge to tell my girlfriend that she doesn’t look well, I control my disapproving eyebrow raise and think twice. If I can learn to feel good about my body, then hopefully I can make space for other women to feel the same way. M

McClung’s | spring 2014

DEVIL'S ADVOCATE Does the men's rights movement contribute to the debate on equality? BY VJOSA ISAI

sign on the entrance of a Ryerson University building reads “bullhorns, noise makers, placards or similar items are not allowed inside.” About six security guards wearing navy blue uniforms pace around to enforce this rule. On the seventh floor, two more await a protest. A crowd of about 100 people are here for a talk entitled, “Are men obsolete? Feminism, Free Speech and the Censorship of Men’s Issues.” Nine cameras line the wall, live-streaming to hundreds of viewers online for nearly two hours. This February, the Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE) organized the event, which began with Karen Straughan, producer of YouTube channel Girlwriteswhat, to launch the Ryerson-based Men’s Issues Awareness Society. The gender-politics activist argued that men require the civilizing influence of women in any discussion so that they don’t do—or say— anything bad. “It’s almost like people believe that men have no right to an opinion about themselves,” says Straughan, who launched her YouTube channel in 2011 to start a conversation about men’s rights issues and feminism’s shortcomings. Similarly, CAFE, a controversial Toronto-based organization, advocates for men’s issues, such as men’s health and educa-

McClung’s | spring 2014

(MIAs) is contingent on each group’s mandate. Issue groups present themselves as a safe space for men to discuss topics such as education and health, while so-called rights groups are anti-feminist. Many feminist and men’s groups are concerned with advancing gender equality. However, the image of some men’s groups could be harming others who wish to promote equality and simply give men an opportunity to share similar experiences. Some feminists slam MRAs for what they see as misogyny cloaked in the guise of activism—and for their portrayal of men as victims. They are concerned that these groups are attacking the feminist movement. “Men’s rights groups are not about equality,” says Meghan Murphy, 34, founder and editor of feministcurrent.com, an award-winning feminism blog founded in 2012. She adds that men’s groups can’t expect to be heard if they discredit the experiences of women. While men face issues specific to their sex, Murphy argues that it isn’t on the same level. “As real as these problems are to an individual,” she says, “they cannot compare to the systematic oppression that women face by virtue of being a woman in a patriarchal society.” Murphy parallels the existence of a men’s centre on a uniAdam versity campus to a centre for McPhee, white people. While individuals CAFE's board in both groups may experience member oppression or discrimination at

tion. Straughan’s talk was a response to “Gender in the 21st century,” a debate held by the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs in late 2013. Two of the four female panelists—The Atlantic’s senior editor Hanna Rosin and The New York Times op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd—argued that “men are obsolete.” It is this sentiment that has led some men to form controversial rights and issues groups in recent years. The distinction between men’s rights activists (MRAs) and men’s issues activists

Photo by Vjosa Isai

some point, she explains, the systematic and political oppression of men is not substantial enough to warrant a rights movement. Having a safe place to discuss male issues shouldn’t be considered a threat to women’s centres, but rather a complementary organization, according to one of CAFE’s board members, Adam McPhee. He says that a woman may prefer speaking to another woman about menstruation in the same way a man might feel more comfortable talking about relationship issues with another man. Although general health and equality institutions are already in place, McPhee explains, spaces should be available for both sexes to streamline these conversations as people may feel more comfortable discussing certain issues with members of the same sex. “Feminism has been guiding the gender conversation for so long that when men try to speak up about issues specific to their gender,” McPhee says, “they get backlash.” CAFE is in the midst of establishing the first Canadian Centre for Men and Families. The organization raised $50,000 for five months in 2013 and

with three Ryerson students to form a men’s group on campus to address issues, such as reproductive rights, education among boys and health issues from a male perspective. Their request was denied by the Ryerson Students’ Union as a preventative measure against encouraging misogyny on campus. What’s more, their free speech at campus events comes with a heavy price tag. The “Are Men Obsolete?” lecture could have cost CAFE almost $1,600 in security fees alone if Ryerson had not agreed to cover it. During the talk, Straughan, a mother of three, pointed out that female privilege is rooted deep in society. “If men are obsolete,” she says, “all I can say is that it’s engineered by institutional, social and legal policies that prioritize women’s feelings and their participation in school and work.” While some feminists may disagree with the idea of men’s centres, shutting down the debate altogether may not be an effective alternative for reconciling differences on both sides. In March 2013, CAFE hosted a men’s issues talk–by men’s rights advocate and University of Ottawa English prof. Janice Fiamengo–which was interrupted after

AS REAL AS MEN'S PROBLEMS ARE, THEY CANNOT COMPARE TO THE OPPRESSION WOMEN FACE. then released an action plan for the centre this March. CAFE is seeking out a Toronto property, which will create a space for discussing issues related to men and boys—for instance, anti-father bias in the courts and rising violence against men. With social services, research, public events and a library, the centre hopes their voice will finally be heard. But CAFE faces a lot of criticism. Although the group has been accused of promoting “hate speech,” McPhee wants to make one thing clear: “It’s not like we’re anti-women, but a lot of people equate counter-feminism to anti-feminism to anti-women,” he says, “and it’s just a gratuitous leap of logic to follow that train of thought.” In March 2013, CAFE partnered

feminist protestors pulled the fire alarm. However, these protests can occur in response to the behaviour of some men’s rights groups. Later, in July of that year, Men’s Rights Edmonton ran a campaign called “Don’t Be THAT Girl.” Group members plastered posters on the University of Alberta’s campus, calling out false rape accusers with tag lines like “Just because you regret a one-night stand doesn’t mean that it wasn’t consensual.” Rape is one of many issues that men’s rights organizations are reframing to justify their movement. Their goal of ending what groups like A Voice For Men (AVFM), a controversial men’s rights group, refer to as “rape hysteria” are offensive to victims of this crime. According to a 2010 report from

the U of A, false accusations for sexual crimes are no higher than false reports of other types of crime, and sexual assault remains one of the most underreported crimes in Canada. About 96 to 98 per cent of reported assaults are true. AVFM is an American men’s rights group which, according to their mandate, “do not consider [feminists] well intentioned or honest agents...and extend to them no more courtesy...than we would...neo Nazis...” CAFE is not affiliated with AVFM, but its supporters often attend CAFE-sponsored events. Although the definition of feminism is becoming increasingly unclear with its countless schools of thought, a common thread that binds most feminists is the goal to improve gender equality and eliminate patriarchy. Gender equality is the purported goal for both feminists and men’s issues groups, but the spirit of collaboration is hindered by men’s rights groups who portray themselves as victims. While feminists fight against patriarchy, shutting down the men’s issues conversation, which is dismissive of the men’s rights movement, contradicts this ultimate goal of gender equality that both groups share. As Straughan’s talk comes to an end, a Ryerson student in attendance motions for her friend’s pen and notebook. “She could easily get the point across,” she writes, “without calling men too victimized.” Then, another student expresses a similar view. She asks Straughan why men need a safe space when all spaces are already safe for them. What follows mimics the frequent dead-end nature of conversations about gender between men’s rights groups and feminists. Straughan reiterates that men tend to experience more violence in the public sphere and suffer more severe consequences than women for behaving violently. She uses a six-year-old girl who hits a boy as an example. If he retaliated, they would not be punished equally, she says, which she calls a systematic form of oppression. The audience claps for the student, who keeps asking “How?” M

McClung’s | spring 2014

Emma Muncaster, co-blogger of feminine fiascos.com

BUSH POLITICS Women make a subversive choice when they grow body hair—and add to the feminist conversation BY JENNA CAMPBELL

McClung’s | spring 2014

“GIRLS SHOULD SHAVE! Guys have to put their faces directly into it,” says my 20-year-old roommate. He is referring to female pubic hair. To demonstrate, he picks up a menu, sticks his face directly into it and bobs his golden-brown head up and down vigorously. It’s a Saturday night and we are squished shoulder-toshoulder in a booth with friends at Sneaky Dee’s in Toronto. Our conversation gets heated once he reveals that his little sister told him she and her friends began shaving at 13. The age-old feminist debate around whether or not women should shave is often brushed off with the answer, “Her body, her choice.” Some feminists question if the argument is even important. However, this four-word answer is not ending the conversation. While body hair issues seem superficial, the politics behind the decision to grow or remove hair can be surprisingly complex. The triangle of hair is loaded with meaning, and compared to female body hair in other areas, it dominates the discussion. Many women feel they must go hairless to be beautiful - should we blame patriarchy, the porn industry, capitalism or beauty trends? “Why do we have a preference for hairlessness when hair was a symbolic way to know if a woman was fertile or not in evolution and history?” asks Katie Stewart, co-blogger of FeminineFiascos. com. The blog features stories about beauty, women and fashion, but it’s the feminist-focused articles that stir the most debate. In her January 2014 blog post entitled “On Body Hair,”

Photo by Erica Ngao

Stewart, 20, writes about how she started shaving at age 11; like many women her age, she felt that she was left with no alternative. Her post received negative comments like “Bet she has a huge bush,” and “No guy wants to fuck a girl with hairy legs, get over it.” As Stewart says: “It’s pretty sad that a girl cannot write about body hair without sexual comments being made about her or being told that she is sort of an unappealing, butch and radical girl.” She co-blogs with Toronto-born Emma Muncaster, who is in her final year of high school. The 17-year-old speaks with conviction about her beliefs – from growing her body hair to loving her prominent eyebrows that kids used to call “windshield wipers” when she was 12. Muncaster says older generations of women have criticized their topics, commenting that the bloggers should write more about global feminism. “Yes, women all over the world face issues with rights,” says Muncaster. “At the same time, it’s important to focus locally, especially around your personal atmosphere because that is where you can have more of an impact. I think there are definitely misconceptions around body hair.” There are, however, global movements in the fight against body hair hate. UK-based charity Armpits4August, which asks participants to grow their armpit hair for money, has been catching the media’s attention worldwide. Since its inception in 2012, A4A has been spreading the word about body hair acceptance and raising awareness about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a condition affecting the function of ovaries – with excessive body hair as a common symptom. The charity offers women a community that promotes selfacceptance and support for not adhering to beauty norms. For A4A’s graphic designer Soofiya Chaudry, being around people who accept body hair has, in turn, helped her to accept herself. She was diagnosed with PCOS in January 2013, but the condition has always been a part of her life. “Whether you remove it or keep it is sort of arbitrary,” the 21-year-old says. “It has to do with whether you accept yourself because a lot of the time people are removing body hair as an act of self-hatred. There is a lot of shame attached to it as well.”

She thinks talking about pubic hair can open a wide debate on beauty standards placed on women, which is already spreading into the mainstream media with an upsurge of pro-pubic hair voices. Lady Gaga showed her pubic hair on the December 2013 cover of Candy, the world’s first transversal style mag; Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz’s December 2013 Body Book included a section titled “Praise of Pubes.” Feline Queer, a member of the closed Facebook group WANG: Women Against Non-Essential Grooming, hopes the recent media coverage isn’t making pubic hair a fashion statement. “Every time someone has a new idea, a new notion or a new fashion statement, the media puts it into some package that’s all pretty and lovely,” Queer says. “It’s sold and then it loses its verve or the thing that made it an idea in the first place.” But pubic hair hasn’t lost its place within the beauty industry. Sexuality counselor Ian Kerner, The New York Times best-selling author of She Comes First, a book dedicated to helping individuals please their female partners orally, believes there are a lot of reasons to have pubic hair. “It’s really a personal choice, but I guess it takes a lot of work,” he says. “It can be painful – you can get ingrown hairs, you can be more prone to infections.” Sex may hurt more because of the friction against the skin and pubic hair contains pheromones with a scent that contributes to sexual arousal. Whether or not pubic hair is a relevant issue, a beauty trend, a political statement or a personal preference, I am curious to hear an outsider’s opinion. When the waiter – a clean-shaven white male – approaches our table, I decide to question him about his partner’s pubic hair. “Excuse me, what is your preference for your girlfriend’s pubes?” “I have a wife,” he says. “Okay. What is your preference for your wife’s pubes?” I start listing all the hairstyles I can think of. “…landing strip, bald eagle, au natur—” “I prefer a bald pussy,” he says, cutting me off. His face is a deadpan. As he walks away abruptly, my jaw drops and my roommate laughs. He thinks he’s won the argument. Unfortunately, he has – for now. The preference today still seems to be this bald pussy ideal. Still, as women learn to love the bush, hopefully they will learn to love themselves. M

A GIRL CANNOT WRITE ABOUT BODY HAIR WITHOUT GETTING COMMENTS ABOUT BEING

UNAPPEALING, BUTCH AND RADICAL.

Photo by Michelle-Andrea Girouard

McClung’s | spring 2014

Be a strong woman and never let a man take advantage of you. These are the words of caution that my loving Colombian mother always gives me when it comes to dating. “El hombre aprecia más a la mujer cuando es mas difícil de conquistar,” she says. It means a man appreciates a woman more if she is harder to win over. While her advice put my best interests at heart, it also gave me the false impression that if I played hard to get, I could win the heart of any man. I saw dating as a game of woman versus man—or me versus my dating skills—as opposed to a journey to find a compatible, suitable match. Of course, this often resulted in heartbreak. Like many rituals that supposedly empower women, playing hard to get offers the illusion of female power. It supposedly promotes fun, pleasure and control. But when things go awry, playing hard to get can result in desperation or loneliness instead. It promotes a mentality that is less about what the woman wants, and more about what the man wants from her. And what he wants is a woman who is a challenge—not a strongheaded woman who isn’t afraid to show her interest. Rosalind Gill, a British feminist, argues in her article, “Supersexualize Me! Advertising and the ‘midriffs,” that women were seen as passive, mute objects in the past. Today, they are portrayed as autonomous agents that are no longer subject to gender inequality and have as much—if not more—power as men, although this may not reflect reality. Playing hard to get is an example of what Gill calls “power femininity,” a strategy created by a patriarchal society that draws on feminist ideas of empowerment and post-feminist assumptions to create the illusion that “women today can have it all.” A Google search of “playing hard to get” eventually pulls up a long list of dating websites, which suggest that it is part of the woman’s dating game, even giving men advice on how to deal with women who act this way. In most of the articles, as in real life, there is a prevalent idea that all women play hard to get, including those who are genuinely uninterested. And since all women do this, they must all want the attention of a man. Robin Thicke epitomizes this idea in Blurred Lines with one key line: “I know you want it.” So if a woman says she doesn’t want to have sex after consensual kissing, then she must be playing hard to get too, right? That’s what a Swedish judge decided in January when he

IS PLAYING HARD TO GET

O R

ROBIN THICKE EPITOMIZES THIS IDEA IN BLURRED LINES WITH ONE KEY LINE: "I

FLIRTING IS A WAY FOR WOMEN TO USE THEIR

SEXUALITY IN A POSITIVE WAY.

KNOW YOU WANT IT."

McClung’s | spring 2014

that “no” – no matter how stern or strict – is just a maybe, a “yes” in disguise. While flirting and trying to be chased, we mean yes. But we don’t mean yes all the time. Perhaps the flirty no contributes to rape culture, teaching men that sometimes, maybe even all the time, no means yes. Here’s the thing: consent is not implied or suggested. While the coy act of playing hard to get can be a verbal no, if someone is really playing hard to get (and, therefore, actually wants to get with whomever they’re flirting with), they will say so with their body, and with their tone of voice. Flirting — coyly, openly or however — is a way for women to use their sexuality in a positive way. Women’s bodies and sex have always been used against them — women are called sluts for having sex and prudes for not, but flirting, teasing, and playing hard to get is a way to take control and use sexuality for their own purposes. It doesn’t have to be a tool to please men — playing hard to get allows women’s sexuality to become an assertion of power, both a shield against men and a weapon for themselves. The idea in play here is that flirting is a feminist choice — because a woman is consciously making it. Choice feminism is an idea from mid-90s third-wave feminism that, according to author R. Claire Snyder-Hall, “seeks to reunite the ideals of gender equality and sexual freedom.” She writes that “third-wave feminism respects the right of women to decide for themselves how to negotiate the often contradictory desires for both gender equality and sexual pleasure.” Though choice feminism has its own problems with eliminating political and personal responsibility, the idea can be applied well here: if a woman is using her body, her appearance, her femininity, her sexuality to flirt with and tease men (or other women), then this form of flirting is another way for women to exert agency, to gain power, to feel strong. It gives them the upper hand in the often male-controlled dating game. Third-wave feminism and sex-positive feminism says that playing hard to get and being coy is more than a way to flirt with boys — it’s a way to show those boys that the woman is really the one in charge. It’s a way for women to take control in a sexual setting, and to decide whether or not they even want to make the situation a sexual one. As a sex-positive feminist, I’m never going to be against women taking control of their sexuality, and playing hard to get is one way to do that. If flirting is a way for women to reclaim their feminine power, then I’m all for it. M

REGRESSIVE

PROGRESSIVE?

acquitted a man charged with rape because the defendant thought the woman was teasing him when she screamed “no”. He argued, “I recognized the way she said no as a part of the sex.” The apparently misogynous judge agreed and said if the man didn’t think it was rape, it wasn’t rape. Admittedly, both men and women are guilty of thinking that playing hard to get is the only approach to dating, but it creates a power imbalance between genders, and promotes rape culture. However innocent one’s intentions, any relationship beginning with the need to deceive another is bound for failure. M

The first thing I learned about flirting as an awkward, uncertain

BY MICHELLE-ANDREA GIROUARD

BY SOFIE MIKHAYLOVA

13-year-old was that I always had to be coy. Act like I want him, but not too much. Be a little seductive, but not too much. Let him come to me. Playing hard to get is a concept that girls learn as they grow up, and they never really grow out of it. Women are romantically socialized to be chased — hence the coyness, the teasing “no's,” the flirty bedroom eyes and over-the-shoulder glances. This fake-no, fake-shy flirting has already been established as a part of Western rape culture. Men clearly got the wrong idea

Photos by Alina Bykova

McClung’s | spring 2014

Q& A

C.K.: WHAT IS A TYPICAL DAY LIKE FOR A PR TITAN? D.G.S.: To work in public relations, you need to be able to write very well and be a strong communicator and multi-tasker. Sometimes I am working on 10 different client initiatives at once and need to bring my A-game to each one. Working in a creative industry means that we need new ideas all the time.

with

C.K..: WHAT ARE THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR POSITION? D.G.S.: I am the founder and president of the company, so I do everything from working on new business, to managing my staff, to paying the bills, to taking out the garbage. I don’t believe that any job is too small for the boss. If I expect others to do it, then you lead by example.

BY CHANDRA KAVANAGH

C.K.: HOW CAN BEING A WOMAN AFFECT ONE’S ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS? D.G.S.: The one area that is toughest for a female entrepreneur is being both a mother and a business owner. I worked TIFF and Fashion Week when I was eight months pregnant with my first child, and I worked equally as hard while pregnant with my second, who is five-months-old. I structure my calendar very carefully to ensure there is balance.

Debra GoldblattSadowski

C.K.: DO YOU FEEL WOMEN IN POSITIONS OF POWER HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO CULTIVATE THE SUCCESS OF OTHER WOMEN? D.G.S.: Yes, I think it’s important for strong women in general to be good role models for younger women. I was a bit wild when I was younger, so I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, but I do think it’s important to think about what your choices will mean in the future.

DEBRA GOLBLATTSADOWSKI lives every aspiring businesswoman's dream. Founder and president of the public relations firm, rock-it promotions, she is a successful entrepreneur and a mother of two. From taking out the trash to rubbing elbows with the likes of Helen Mirren, Jane Seymour and Joaquin Phoenix, McClung’s finds out what it takes to be a thriving businesswoman.

McClung’s | spring 2014

C.K.: HOW CAN WELL-ESTABLISHED WOMEN SUCCESSFULLY FOSTER NEWCOMERS? D.G.S.: For me, it is [by] mentoring various women in my life. Some have outright asked, and some are a natural fit as they work for me and with me. I try to remember to be kind and calm, a good boss and a good listener. C.K.: WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO A YOUNG WOMAN’S SUCCESS AS AN ENTREPRENEUR? D.G.S.: You have to be willing to make sacrifices— it’s that simple. Owning your own business will mean working around the clock sometimes. It will mean not getting paid sometimes. It will mean losing sometimes. It will mean not having as much time for your loved ones as you would like. But it will also mean huge rewards and privileges if you do succeed. As my business grows, I am more particular about who we work with, and ensuring there is brand alignment. I’m very proud of who works for me, who we represent, and our reputation in this industry. M

Photo by Jessica Blaine Smith

BOOK REVIEW WHAT SHOULD WE TELL OUR DAUGHTERS? BY CHANDRA KAVANAGH

Author: Melissa Benn Published in 2013

MELISSA BENN’S BOOK IS A HEARTFELT AND WELLRESEARCHED INQUIRY into the modern ambivalence toward both women and feminism. It offers a vision of contemporary womanhood that is both inspiring and reassuring. With personal narratives, poignant interviews and thought-provoking research, Benn introduces the reader to fundamental issues in feminist theory and history. Occasionally, she offers deep, philosophical insight, drawing parallels between the prepubescent girl, who has

yet to see herself as a sex object for the male gaze, and the post-menopausal woman, who refuses to let herself be defined in this way. She begins with teen angst, slutshaming and then touches on the quest for perfection among working women. Despite high levels of expectation and achievement, Benn sharply illustrates that low self-confidence and internalized misogyny plague young women. In the book’s second section, Benn moves into the world of the adult woman, who struggles to find a perfect balance between work and love, which is always more challenging than we think, and a requirement of motherhood. In the third section, she asks us, “How Should a Woman Be?” In truth, she offers no real answers, just some snippets of motherly advice. She seems to tell us not to be afraid to get angry or take up space. But all that is really being said is to be open– even if we don’t know what we are opening ourselves up to yet. No feminist work has ever completely overcome the influence of patriarchy

and Benn’s book is no exception. In the chapter entitled “Name, Shame – and Blame,” she explores the exaggerated account of the free and easy 20-something woman who only wants casual relationships, and falls victim to describing “authentic” sex in terms of men’s pleasure. In her frank discussions of sexual acts, she mentions “blow jobs” several times, but cunnilingus only once. With hot pink hues and a naked woman on the front, this book can be tough to read on the subway. But potential glances from passengers, who may judge the book based on its cover, make many of the arguments and observations in the text that much more meaningful. For readers who are interested in raising their consciousness, while being introduced to the history and current affairs surrounding feminism, Benn’s book is definitely worth a read. M

McClung’s | spring 2014

BOOK REVIEW

EXCLUDED: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive

BOOK REVIEW

I AM MALALA: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot By The Taliban

BY SHANNON CLARKE

BY MICHELLE-ANDREA GIROUARD

Author: Julia Serano Published in 2013

A SIGN OUTSIDE THE MICHIGAN WOMYN’S MUSIC FESTIVAL

reads “womyn-born-womyn-only,” and if readers can’t see the problem with it immediately, they will by the time they reach the end of Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive. In her second book, author Julia Serano critiques the pervasive cissexism and transmisogyny of so-called progressive movements and deconstructs some of the cornerstones of feminist and queer activism: the idea that gender is entirely constructed; that we live within an oppressive gender system; and especially that feminists and queer

McClung’s | spring 2014

activists cannot participate in the discrimination they explicitly reject. This last point might not be new information to younger feminists, but as Serano points out, conversations about intersectionality focus on inequities of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and ability. But this is not the extent to which people are oppressed. “Intersectionality should encourage us to view each person as uniquely situated within a multidimensional web of marginalization,” she writes. Equal parts personal essay and academic writing, Serano draws from her experience as a queer activist and as a biologist to argue for a new approach to viewing gender. In her chapter called “Reclaiming Femininity,” she addresses the tendency of cis- and queer-feminists to dismiss feminine gender expression while celebrating androgyny and masculinity. In “Bisexuality and Binaries Revisited,” she examines the alienation of those who identify as bi- or pansexual. In “On the Outside Looking in” and “Dating,” Serano, a trans-woman, takes feminist and queer movements to task for their trans-misogyny. “As someone on the MTF spectrum, I am not dismissed for merely failing to live up to binary gender norms,” she writes, “but also

for expressing my own femaleness and femininity.” This is not a book that should be read in one sitting. The ideas explored in Excluded are too important to read quickly and then put down (they are introduced in Serano’s first book, Whipping Girl). She explains and defines concepts several times, drawing examples from her own life as well as others. Each chapter is an introduction to nuanced and rarely discussed concepts, speaking to Serano’s thesis that feminists and queer activists also operate from a place of privilege. It might seem as though 2013 was the year capital “F” feminism was forced to examine its own prejudice, particularly on social media (the hashtags #SolidarityisforWhiteWomen, #MyFeminismisTransInclusive and #LifeofaMuslimFeminist, for a start). However, activists like Serano have condemned hegemony for far longer and little has changed, except for additions to the LGBT abbreviation (LGBTQIA+.) Beyond the acknowledgement of varied gender experiences, Serano argues for reflection on the part of feminist and queer activists—and, more than anything, an overhaul of the way we think about and discuss gender.

Author: Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb Published in 2013

STRANGE MASKED MEN ROAM THE STREETS WITH RIFLES

slung over their shoulders, killing two or three citizens a day. Dozens of familiar faces are murdered in suicide bombings or shootings, only no one calls it murder since the local radio station says it’s God’s will. Girls are denied education and restricted to the inside of their homes. There is no television, music or activity to pass the time for fear that it will “westernize” the population. Poverty is everywhere. Corruption rules the state and it seems as though the government has abandoned its people. These are a few of the horrifying things Malala Yousafzai, a 16-yearold Pakistani girl, describes in her

autobiography, I Am Malala, cowritten with The Sunday Times’ foreign correspondent Christina Lamb. By now, most of the world knows Yousafzai as “the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban,” as the subtitle reads, but her book reveals that she is so much more. The 2013 book highlights her remarkable character— intelligence, unfaltering perseverance and passion for education—as well as her bravery in the face of a direct threat from the Taliban. As one of the British doctors who treated her head wound said, she is “Pakistan’s Mother Teresa.” More than an autobiography, the best-selling book is a historical account of the incessant political struggles that the young Pakistan has faced since its inception. The text delves deep into the day-to-day horrors and violence that occurs in the country, which continue to be ignored by North American media. Yousafzai explains these issues and the history of Pakistan using simple words and sentences, so even an uninformed reader can understand. Yousafzai uses the power of the pen, as her father would say, and attempts to answer the difficult questions many politicians and experts are asking—for instance, why corruption prevails in the country and how civilians fall into

extremism and violence. Throughout, she openly criticizes South Asia’s political leaders, as well as the United States and its military. Yet her solution to Pakistan’s problems is simple: only through children’s education can the future generation think independently and critically. So at the age of 11, Yousafzai began her crusade for justice and education. As she states in the book, “this is the war I was going to fight.” Admittedly, I Am Malala is far from a literary masterpiece. Besides the minor grammatical errors and missing punctuation, the beginning lacks substance and failed to grasp my attention. Understandably, there is only so much the now 17-year-old can say about her life, so Lamb and Yousafzai fill the empty spaces with extensive history and her father’s experiences. Still, the extraordinary main character and her incredible story make up for what the book lacks. I Am Malala is both a heroic tale of activism and a reminder that education and privilege should never be taken for granted. M

McClung’s | spring 2014

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