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Have yourself a gender-neutral Christmas

Bianca Pencz
Nov 30th, 2012

Images from TOP-TOY's 2012 Swedish Christmas catalogue. Inset picture of Batman figurine from MillionairePlayboy.com.

It's almost that time of year again. The time to show your loved ones how much you care for them (or, how much money you're willing to spend on them) with the perfect Christmas presents.

When it comes to shopping for children though, one Christmas catalogue from Swedish company TOP-TOY might make you rethink your gift plans. In their 2012 catalogue, girls take aim with Nerf guns, boys experiment with hairdressing toys, and girls and boys play with an infant doll -- together.

Did you hear that? That was the sound of conservatives the world over getting their knickers in a twist.

As TOP-TOY, parent company to the Swedish Toys 'R' Us, write on their website, "This year's catalogue is more gender neutral to reflect the values of the Swedish market. Swedish customers appreciate this new approach."

Canada’s gay and lesbian newspaper: poor job in representing L's in its name

Erin Flegg
Nov 7th, 2012

Photo courtesy of Xtra.ca

On October 18, Xtra! Magazine, the publication that bills itself as Canada’s gay and lesbian newspaper, published its 500th issue, and with it a timeline of gay and lesbian history in Vancouver since the 1970s.

Five hundred issues of activism and advocacy is a remarkable thing and should be celebrated by everyone in the LGBT community. But you wouldn’t necessarily know it to read the events on the timeline.


Xtra! Vancouver, Photo courtesy of Facebook

Radio station asks whether young women and girls are "doing enough" to prevent date rape

Beth Hong
Oct 26th, 2012

A local news station in Newfoundland asked as its Question of the Day: "Do you believe that women and young girls do enough to ensure that they don't become victims of the "date rape drugs"?

A radio station in Newfoundland wanted to know whether women and young girls were "doing enough" to ensure that they don't get raped.

Responding to rising sexual assaults linked to date-rape drugs in downtown St.John's, Newfoundland, a local radio news station asked listeners this 'Question of the Day': "Do you believe that women and young girls do enough to ensure that they don't become victims of the "date rape drugs"?

Respondents could answer with "Yes," "No," and "Not Sure."

"Man. That's a hard one! I'm going to try really hard not to get drugged by a sexual predator when I go out tonight, but how will I know if I've tried hard enough? Maybe I shouldn't leave my house at all! That'll show those sneaky rapists!" wrote Jezebel's Katie J.M. Baker.

Why isn't anyone talking about the misogyny involved in Amanda Todd's life and death?

Krissy Darch
Oct 12th, 2012

Photo sourced from R.I.P Amanda Todd Facebook page

With the death of 15-year-old Amanda Todd, BC schools have some reckoning on their hands. Will they take the opportunity to look at the systemic causes of Todd’s experience of harassment and violence, or let the lessons that can be learned from this tragedy get lost in a swamp of ambiguities?

While articles rolled in on mainstream news websites, conversation erupted on Facebook and in personal correspondence over email with women who are engaged in anti-violence and anti-oppression work across the country. In the spirit of our immediate reactions, I am quoting their comments in full.

Fighting the uterus threat

Beth Hong
Sep 24th, 2012

Vancouver-based video collective Deep Rogue Ram, headed by ex-CTV broadcast journalist Kai Nagata, takes aim at Motion 312a private member's bill from MP Stephen Woodworth which calls for a special committee review of the Criminal Code of Canada's definition of a child, which is defined as a human being once it's born. A vote is set for Wednesday September 26. 

"Time-travelling Canadian MP Stephen Woodworth is on a single-minded quest to understand the uterus. His motion, #312, seeks to redefine 'when life begins' & reopen the abortion debate. The vote's this Weds. Scared yet?" Deep Rogue Ram asks in the video description.

Motion 312: an attack on Canadian women's right to choose

Joanna Chiu
Sep 20th, 2012

Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth in the first hour of debate on Motion 312 on April 26, 2012. Screenshot from video of debate.

As a Canadian following the reproductive health coverage debate in the U.S., I was astounded at the theatrics. Replete with crusading priests and radio host Rush Limbaugh calling Georgetown student Sandra Fluke a “slut” for testifying in support of birth control, the war on women south of the border seemed more dramatic than anything going on in Canada.

But although abortion has been legal since 1969 and Canada is one of the few countries in the world with no legal restrictions on abortion, women’s reproductive rights are being insidiously attacked. In 2008, a bill that sought criminal penalties of up to life in prison for anyone who caused the death of a fetus passed through two readings in Parliament before being voted down.

Ann Romney's poignant desperation

Bianca Pencz
Aug 31st, 2012

Video of Ann Romney's 2012 RNC speech from YouTube.

Potential first lady Ann Romney did her best to convince the Republican National Convention that she and her husband were down with America's women. At a time when the GOP was flailing over "legitimate rape" comments, she reached out to female voters

"I love you, women!!!!" Mrs. Romney even yelled at one point — yes, it sounded like that many exclamation points — before emitting a laugh of poignant desperation.

If something seemed a little off about her speech, it was partly because her praise for the ladies was zeroed in on women within the traditional, long-suffering "mom" role.

An an excerpt of her speech:

What Vancouver women think about the US Republican Party's "war on women"

Beth Hong
Aug 30th, 2012
While Clint Eastwood's strange "invisible Obama chair" endorsement of Mitt Romney at the Republican National Convention last night took over news headlines and Twitter feeds this morning, many individual Americans and groups continue to focus their efforts on the Republican Party's 'war on women', a term referring to Republican-led initiatives in federal and state legislatures that many allege restrict women's rights, particularly reproductive rights.

CODEPINK cofounder to Canada: don't follow US electoral politics example

Jenny Uechi
Aug 29th, 2012

Photo courtesy of CODEPINK

Canadians should "beware" not to follow the US example in electoral politics, CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin warned, as her group staged a series of protests at the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Notably, CODEPINK held a "die-in" to oppose the "shoot out" event by the National Rifle Association during the convention. The group said the shooting event was "disgusting" and "offensive" in light of recent gun tragedies including the theatre shooting in Aurora, Colorado. 

People at the event held up signs that read, "32 gun homicides per day in the US" and "2,793 kids died from gunfire in 2009", surrounded by bloodstained bodies and coffins.

Republicans pandering to gun lobby rather than public

At Republican convention, CODEPINK tells GOP to"end war on women"

Staff Reporter
Aug 29th, 2012

CODEPINK activist Alli McCracken at Republican National Convention on opening night

During the opening night of the RNC the convention was interrupted twice by two activists with CODEPINK Women for Peace. As Gov. Scott Walker concluded his remarks, Jodie Evans, 58, from Los Angeles, unfurled a banner that read “Wisconsin: Where Austerity Failed First.”   

Responding to Walker’s talk, she shouted, “You just lied! You said Wisconsin unemployment went down but it is up to per cent!  Where are the jobs?  Where are the needs of the workers here? You only talk about business.  You only talk about corporations, not people. We need to support people over profits!” 

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