Gender

If the urge to say, not all, in response to a general statement arises, it’s important to understand that’s not the most helpful response to a conversation… and here’s why…

It can be nerve-wracking to be vulnerable, especially when we don’t know if sharing that vulnerability will come back to bite us. Historically, there have been a lot of legitimate reasons for people to fear disclosing gender status or sexual orientation that was not cis-hetero. People have been killed, subjected to torture, or simply rejected […]

What do we mean when we are talking about “toxic masculinity“? Despite the recent attention to the term in the last few years, it actually was coined in the 1980s and 90s. The concept came about from various men participating in male-only workshops, drumming circles, and retreats to reconnect and redefine what the true nature […]

Most people have heard of “mansplaining” but what about “womansplaining”? Is that a thing? Splaining of any kind if when one person needlessly explains, often in great detail, about a subject to someone who doesn’t need the explanation. It is making the assumption of ignorance of the person being explained to. We hear more about mansplaining because many more women are acutely aware of the level of sexism that still faces many women across the world. Women are in a better position today to have their voices heard. It is important to note that sexism can work both ways. Whenever we have gender inequality, there is the potential for this sort of thing to occur, regardless of the gender of the purpose perpetrating it.

It’s not hard to find a reference to masculinity and penis size. In North America, and many cultures across the world, there is a pre-occupation with the concept that a larger penis means more masculinity and power. Many insults, as well as compliments, play into this idea. We hear it when people criticize a person […]

We still live in a world where we still need to fight for equality. Many of the old prejudices and injustices still exist in the world. In some areas of the world, it’s much more obvious than others but it’s still extremely present in all societies. It’s merely a question of how obvious and outright it is. Women still face a lot of discrimination. This still comes out in our society in a whole variety of ways. One more recent example is the lack of respect shown to women who have achieved a high level of expertise and education…

Have you heard about the #droptheb controversy? The LGBTQ2SA* community has for years used a variation of this acronym. Each letter represents a different aspect of gender or sexual orientation. The community is meant to be inclusive and a safe space for those who have faced discrimination due to their identity and preferences. Recently, there has been some argument for dropping the “B”, which stands for Bisexuality, from the acronym. This has caused a lot of heated arguments for both sides…

This spring women’s rights have taken a step forward in Egypt. On May 30, 2018, it was declared that female genital mutilation (FGM) goes against all religious principles. FGM is now considered to be an attack on religion through damaging the most sensitive organ in the female body. This is a huge step forward because it’s a step towards acknowledging women as people, and not property, in Islam.

June is Pride month and a celebration of the LGBTQ community. But what is the history or pride month? How far have we come? Members of the LGBTQ community have faced horrific levels of discrimination and violence. The community still faces higher rates of violence than other groups. It is an ongoing battle with the history of injustice stretching out behind us.

A satisfying step forward towards equal rights happened in Virginia in the case of Gavin Grimm. His high school was refusing him access to the boys washroom and instructed him to use the unisex washroom exclusively. The fallout from the school’s actions has pushed this teen into the spotlight of recent trans rights activism. Transgender rights have really been in the spotlight for the last few years. One of the largest controversies, strangely enough, is the argument about bathroom access.

Recently there has been some upset in the world of hockey when one particular player, Brad Marchand, has been put on suspension for licking the face of two other players during the game. The more recent incident happened after Marchand had been punched a few times. He decided to respond by licking the other player’s face. NHL has warned Marchand with a threat of discipline. Marchand continues to be flippant about the situation. It’s clear he doesn’t see this as a big deal.