2008: the year in review so far

It's been a rollercoaster. To put it lightly. I almost called this post "2008: is it over yet?" because the rollercoaster has gone through some terrifying tunnels and it hasn't been easy to deal with. The latest in a string of death-related events that have been on my radar is an old friend of a friend who was brutally murdered by a man she worked with.  I didn't know her well, but our conversations of her lately have been about how hilarious and fun she was and how great of a friend she was to so many.

It feels inappropriate to talk about "violence against women" here because I knew her and it feels much more personal than that tagline allows. But the reality to me is that she knew the man who killed her, worked with him, and probably felt she could trust him. I struggle with the reality as well, that he was convicted of attacking a woman several years ago. I feel failed by our corrections system. It fails us on a regular basis and this time it's failed a wonderful friend.

way to set the bar high NY state!

It's so great to see a giant like New York state take the bar and throw it high in the air that other states (and Canada for that matter) can barely see it anymore. This is part of the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence public awareness campaign asking parents, interestingly dads or men in a position of authority to the boys, to teach boys about respecting women. I love that men are being encouraged to join the fight to end violence against women. They're so often left out.

Where are the Canadian campaigns? The only thing I remember about December 6th this year was a notice that was sent through my school server that a woman had been sexually assaulted on campus. I'm sure there was a vigil somewhere or perhaps even a march, but the word about these things doesn't get much further than the women's center door it seems. We could be doing so much more. I could be doing so much more. And shit, I bet you could too.

Thank You Dr. Bitch

Check out the latest post on  Bitch Ph.D. I've been meaning to post for a while but her post on pornography was so wonderful I thought I'd just share it and cop-out on posting. Love her blog. LOVE IT!

I love Dove

Controversial as the company/brand/beauty company may be or as their campaign may be, Dove's new video is great and more and more I find myself buying their products to support the cause they advocate. Does this further support the beauty industry? Yes. Is Dove's focus still on beauty and beauty products? Yes. I fully support the argument that women in their commercials are still not fat enough, still traditionally beautiful and still portrayed as nice, clean, good women, but their giant leap in the right direction is a bigger step than anyone else I've seen take. What's more, they have a voice in the media so perhaps others will listen and take initiative as their voices (and collectively, ours as well) continue to resonate. 

Press play and then send it to everyone you know:

Check out their campaign and site too.

HP, what's wrong with you?

All I can do is *sigh*. This is messed up. 

We are faced with unattainable stereotyped ideals of "beauty" these days but now when we can't live up to these ideals (read: now or ever) we have to pretend that we do by faking thinness on our facebook albums. Check out HP's new camera at this link.

Jane Doe

I almost forgot: 'Jane Doe' is speaking at Carleton University next Tuesday. DON'T MISS THIS!! She's amazing.

Details:

"The Politics of Rape" a lecture by 'Jane Doe'

Oct 23 12:30-2:30pm in Bell Theatre, Minto Building 2000

Excerpt from the Carleton GSA about the event: Jane Doe successfully sued the Metro Toronto Police for negligence and charter violation in the investigation of her rape which took place in the Church/Wellesley area of Toronto in the summer of 1986. Jane Doe is a dynamic speaker. This is an event that should not be missed.

hey hey you you

I have to admit to finding Avril's songs a bit catchy. They stick in your head a bit and they're easy to follow which makes them easy to remember and perhaps because of contact theory (you hear them a lot) easy to like. The changes that we've watched Avril go through over the last few years have been incredibly disappointing though. Whereas she was once a different, tough, I think I even used to call her "a good role model for young girls", she's now turned into one of the rest. It seemed that with her platinum blonde hair came the shortening of her skirt, the raising of the height of her heels and the lowering of her intelligence. I did a quick search on youTube for an interview with her saying something smart or even the slightest bit profound and I came up empty-handed. I'm especially disappointed in her video for the song "Girlfriend". She actually promotes bullying and social aggression throughout. It's easy to tell me to lighten up about it but for a generation learning social skills and behaviour through television and the internet, these messages are incredibly harmful.