Canadian feminists have been pretty pissed off lately, and with good reason. Debra over at April Reign has a pretty good explanation about why we’re angry: Throughout history those who seek to reign despotically first seek to silence and disenfranchise the women, this current PM scrabbling after a majority like
Continue readingAuthor: Saraline
Feminist Mom in Montreal: Joining the chorus by not shutting the fuck up
Canadian feminists have been pretty pissed off lately, and with good reason. Debra over at April Reign has a pretty good explanation about why we’re angry: Throughout history those who seek to reign despotically first seek to silence and disenfranchise the women, this current PM scrabbling after a majority like
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Cyberbullying not just for kids: moms get bullied too
Motherhood is supposed to be like apple pie and a warm hug. Wholesome. Dependable. But online, it can be anything but. Right next to support groups on diaper rash and the terrible twos are mean girls, all grown up. It’s mom on mom cyberbullying and as the popularity of mommy
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Cyberbullying not just for kids: moms get bullied too
Motherhood is supposed to be like apple pie and a warm hug. Wholesome. Dependable. But online, it can be anything but. Right next to support groups on diaper rash and the terrible twos are mean girls, all grown up. It’s mom on mom cyberbullying and as the popularity of mommy
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Cyberbullying not just for kids: moms get bullied too
Motherhood is supposed to be like apple pie and a warm hug. Wholesome. Dependable.But online, it can be anything but. Right next to support groups on diaper rash and the terrible twos are mean girls, all grown up.It’s mom on mom cyberbullying and as th…
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Happy Mother’s Day
I know that some people criticize Mother’s Day as a commercial holiday, but we all like to feel appreciated once in awhile. This post is dedicated to my mom, a very strong and very brave woman.My mom had me when she was only 17. She married my dad and …
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Happy Mother’s Day
I know that some people criticize Mother’s Day as a commercial holiday, but we all like to feel appreciated once in awhile. This post is dedicated to my mom, a very strong and very brave woman. My mom had me when she was only 17. She married my dad and
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Happy Mother’s Day
I know that some people criticize Mother’s Day as a commercial holiday, but we all like to feel appreciated once in awhile. This post is dedicated to my mom, a very strong and very brave woman. My mom had me when she was only 17. She married my dad and
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Brontë sisters power dolls
Thank you to my friend Sarah for sharing this wonderful video on facebook:
I don’t really have anything to say about this aside from “Brontë sisters power up!”
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Brontë sisters power dolls
Thank you to my friend Sarah for sharing this wonderful video on facebook: I don’t really have anything to say about this aside from “Brontë sisters power up!”
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Brontë sisters power dolls
Thank you to my friend Sarah for sharing this wonderful video on facebook: I don’t really have anything to say about this aside from “Brontë sisters power up!”
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Kathleen Hanna on leadership
A few days ago, somebody posted this interview with Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre in ontd_feminism:
In the interview, Hanna discusses how she feels about donating her zines and other papers to the New York University Library. More information about this is available in this article at Village Voice:
After a series of trivializing articles appeared in Newsweek, USA Today, and some alternative press outlets, many in the Riot Grrrl movement called for a media blackout, which left much of Riot Grrrl unrecorded in anything other than private and piecemeal fashion. A Riot Grrrl archive would thus function as a remarkable resource, providing scholars of feminism, gender theory, and music history with a trove of unpublished and undocumented primary sources. As Jenna Freedman, a librarian who maintains a zine collection at Barnard College, explains, “I think it’s just essential to preserve the activist voices in their own unmediated work, especially because of the media blackout that they called for. What the young women have to say in the unedited, un–’corporate stamp of approval’ way is really powerful.”
Another thing that Kathleen Hanna discusses in this interview is leadership:
I want more interesting leaders. I think the thing that um is really hard for feminist women who are also interested in challenging like all kinds of oppression is that we’re freaked out about leadership, and so there’s not more interesting leaders, and a lot of times we kill off our own leaders. I mean not because I think because we’re women but because we’re in a culture that you know we create products and then we destroy those products, the same way that we lift people up and it’s like the kill your idol syndrome, and then we’re like, “They’re not good enough, and this is wrong,” and we get all picky about everything and I just, I don’t know, I just wish there was more feminist leaders to choose from and more variety.
I think I agree with her. A recent example of “kill your idol syndrome” is some of the negative reaction to Jen McCreight’s Boobquake. And maybe we were all a little hard on McCreight:
The main feminist objection to Boobquake seemed to be that the women who participated were letting ourselves be exploited. They argued that many men reacted to the event with sexist, “Show us your tits!” idiocy—a reaction McCreight should have foreseen, and was therefore responsible for. Even if the intention behind the event was good (a point on which anti-Boobquake feminists differ)—even though the event was initiated by a woman and voluntarily participated in by women—the result was simply another round of female bodies being objectified by men.
Ah. I see.
Women ought not to display our sexuality—because men can’t be trusted. In the presence of a display of desirable female flesh, men will lose control of themselves. Women ought to dress modestly, and ought not to encourage other women to dress immodestly… and if we persist in our immodesty, and men respond by behaving badly, it’s women’s fault.
-Greta Christina
On the other hand, I also agree with Kathleen Hanna that it’s better to have more leaders, and because there were some people who disagreed with Boobquake, Negar Mottahedeh and Golbarg Bashi created Brainquake. Because we had Boobquake and Brainquake, we had more leaders to choose from and we could choose to follow the movement that we were more comfortable with.
Now, don’t think that just because I think that it’s better to have more leaders that I’ve changed my mind about men as feminist leaders. I still think that the oppressor leading the oppressed is counter-productive to the feminist movement. It doesn’t seem that Maymay sees himself as an oppressor, but I’ve noticed some viewpoints from his supporters that are a danger to feminism. There were two comments in particular in response to this debate (one on Maymay’s twitter and the other on the Femquake facebook page) that I found to be very unsettling:
I think it means more when more privileged people acknowledge the problems and contribute to solutions.
and:
If anything, I think it’s better that you’re a man.
If we’re going to place more importance on men’s roles within feminism than on women’s roles, then what’s the point of even having feminism?
If you agree with Maymay that men can be feminist leaders, then I suggest that you read Feminism 101. There are some good articles in their FAQ about what roles men should have in feminism and why. If you read that and you still think that men should be feminist leaders, then we’re not in this together.
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Kathleen Hanna on leadership
A few days ago, somebody posted this interview with Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre in ontd_feminism: In the interview, Hanna discusses how she feels about donating her zines and other papers to the New York University Library. More information about this is available in this article at
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Kathleen Hanna on leadership
A few days ago, somebody posted this interview with Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre in ontd_feminism: In the interview, Hanna discusses how she feels about donating her zines and other papers to the New York University Library. More information about this is available in this article at
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Eleven reasons to have a mommy business card
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m fascinated by the idea of mommy business cards. I’ve been looking into this, and one website I found has a list of top 10 reasons to use your mommy cards: 1. New moms you meet and want play dates with2. Contact info for Babysitter3. Neighbors4.
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Eleven reasons to have a mommy business card
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m fascinated by the idea of mommy business cards. I’ve been looking into this, and one website I found has a list of top 10 reasons to use your mommy cards: 1. New moms you meet and want play dates with2. Contact info for Babysitter3. Neighbors4.
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Eleven reasons to have a mommy business card
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m fascinated by the idea of mommy business cards. I’ve been looking into this, and one website I found has a list of top 10 reasons to use your mommy cards:
1. New moms you meet and want play dates with
2. Contact info for Babysitter
3. Neighbors
4. Existing friends (the cards are just too cute not to share)
5. Put in holiday cards, birthday cards, thank you cards and more
6. When dropping off your child at someone’s house for a play date or birthday party
7. If your child is lost you can give out the card with their picture on it to help find them
8. Keep one in your suitcase or diaper bag in case it gets lost
9. Will make grandparents smile
10. Just for fun!
I have one more to add to this list:
11. It shows everyone that you’re an important person; mothers are important people, too.
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Children’s tylenol recall and chocolate flavoured formula
McNeil Consumer Healthcare has issued a recall for more than 40 over the counter medications for children. The recall includes children’s versions of Tylenol, Tylenol Plus, Motrin, Zyrtec, and Benadryl. The medications in question have been sold in 12 countries, including Canada and the U.S. The recall is a precautionary
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Children’s tylenol recall and chocolate flavoured formula
McNeil Consumer Healthcare has issued a recall for more than 40 over the counter medications for children. The recall includes children’s versions of Tylenol, Tylenol Plus, Motrin, Zyrtec, and Benadryl. The medications in question have been sold in 12 …
Continue readingFeminist Mom in Montreal: Children’s tylenol recall and chocolate flavoured formula
McNeil Consumer Healthcare has issued a recall for more than 40 over the counter medications for children. The recall includes children’s versions of Tylenol, Tylenol Plus, Motrin, Zyrtec, and Benadryl. The medications in question have been sold in 12 countries, including Canada and the U.S. The recall is a precautionary
Continue reading