I’m not gonna lie. I’m pretty excited that Toronto is getting it together with more electronic music festivals. Last year was the first mainstreaming of multi-day electronic music festivals with pretty big names coming to entertain hundreds. Digital Dreams and VELD are the big ones. And I’m glad they exist.
Continue readingTag: Feminist rant
Melissa Fong: On bombings and who gets our compassion
“Do I advise you to love thy neighbor? I suggest rather to escape from thy neighbor and to love those who are the farthest away from you. Higher than the love for thy neighbor is the love for the man who is distant and has still to come.” -Nietzsche (This
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Eliminating clubland: Planning for the right dance & social spaces in the city
Eliminating clubland: Planning for the right dance & social spaces in the city I’m going to respond to this article from an Urban Planning point of view, but also from a Feminist and “dance-positive” point of view [2]. This month I have been dreading my move back to Vancouver –
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Nina Kraviz: Why did Feminism go down the drain of a Bubble Bath?
This is one of those rare moments where my off-time interests mix with my academic work. I have seen some good commentary on the Nina: Bubble-gate but nothing from a point of view that considers systemic sexism, Feminism and male domination. Last month Resident Advisor (RA) released a feature on
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Will new businesses help the DTES?: A much needed lesson on the definition of gentrification
Apparently it looks like this has become a series on Gentrification in the DTES: 1) Are the Anti-Gentrification Front protesters wrong to “vandalize” Save-on-Meats? 2) Anarchy, the Anti-Gentrification Front and Violence I am still quite shocked that there seems to be a general lack of understanding that DISPLACEMENT of poor people is a central
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Asian eyes
So something entertaining happened yesterday. A friend of mine sent me a link to this Cabbage Patch Doll site. [3] Go ahead and click on the link and then look at the list of “eye colour” available. Yeah… How is “ASIAN” and eye colour? [Note, I’m not going to cover
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Are the Anti-Gentrification Front protesters wrong to “vandalize” Save-on-Meats?
My facebook feed went crazy last night with my Vancouver friends posting about a stolen sandwich board. Why is this important? Context: Save-on-Meats is kind of an iconic butcher in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. A long time retailer that had mixed reviews has now invested some capital into their business and,
Continue readingMelissa Fong: So you’re tired of hearing about "rape culture"?
Reblogged from Rant Against the Random: TRIGGER WARNING: The following includes descriptions, photos, and video that may serve as a trigger for victims of sexual violence. Please be advised. Someone asked me today, “What is ‘rape culture’ anyway? I’m tired of hearing about it.” Yeah, I hear ya. I’m tired
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Racist humour, Racial humour and Anti-Racist humour: #KondaboluKnows
Racist humour, Racial humour and Anti-Racist humour: #KondaboluKnows I have struggled a long time with stand-up comics and their use of race in jokes. I have had some downright sexist and racist remarks used against me in comedy clubs very much similar to this incident. (Yes, I DO understand the
Continue readingMelissa Fong: St. Patrick’s Day and the Celebration of White Masculinity.
St. Patrick’s Day and the Celebration of White Masculinity. Every St. Patrick’s Day I feel slight misgivings about celebrating. I like to go to parties; I enjoy green shamrock-shaped candy; and I certainly enjoy Guinness. But there is something wrong about the way St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated that puts
Continue readingMelissa Fong: This is what misogyny looks like: Paps and women’s health
This is what misogyny looks like. A lot of you may have heard me use the word “misogyny” before and were either confused or found it too harsh for what I was describing. Yes, misogyny basically means “hatred for women” (as opposed to Philogyny- the fondness, love or admiration of
Continue readingMelissa Fong: This is what is wrong with Liberals: Christy Clark and vain Multiculturalism policy
I tend to stay away from commenting on Provincial politics because I don’t feel too well-versed in it. However, I AM well versed in racism and the ways in which White supremacy is very relevant to Canadian politics. I can’t help myself… BC Premier Christy Clark is barely out of
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Making James Holmes innocent: The lengths we go to to explain White killers
(Written Jun 23, 2012 and reposted on this blog). This graphic has been circulating around the internet about how James Holmes, the killer in the recent Aurora, Colorado shooting, benefits from his Whiteness. (Image credit: Kim Katrin Crosby) Left side of graphic: I massacred innocent men, women and children in a
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