Realistic images of women make a real difference

My mum regularly goes to England to visit her family there and she always brings me back a British magazine. Six years ago I asked her to look for a feminist magazine because I wanted to check out the lady-power publications from across the pond. What I ended up getting was a lesbian magazine called Diva.

My mum didn't realize she had bought me a lady-lovers mag until said she decided to read it on the plane ride home, which is an amusing mental picture for me. Anyhow, from that year on, she always brings me back a copy of Diva, and I've grown to really like the magazine even though I'm straight as an arrow.

The most recent issue I received was from May 2012 and I was thoroughly impressed. I'm really passionate about the representation of women in the media - in particular, the over-saturation of impossibly perfect, highly Photoshopped images of women that are jammed down our throats every day. Over exposure to these images of super skinny women with no pores, fat, wrinkles, imperfections or stray hairs creates an an unrealistic beauty standard, which results in many women feeling inadequate.

That's why I was so excited when I saw these models in Diva magazine - they made me feel great! It's not very often that I feel good about myself after looking at women in magazines, but this time I did. It was a fantastic feeling. And I know that it wasn't just me "reading too deeply" into the images, because a friend of mine flipped through the magazine and upon seeing the images said, "HEY! These girls are like... normal! It's so awesome!"

In my personal experiences chatting with women about this subject, I find that women are crying out for images like this in the media. Are you listening, magazine editors? WE WANT MORE REALISTIC IMAGES OF WOMEN!

This is perfectly illustrated by the recent online petition started by 14-year-old Julie Bluhm. She requested that Seventeen magazine print just one unaltered photo spread per month. Over 70,000 people have signed the petition, but Seventeen magazine has refused to budge.

The women in Diva magazine's spread are both slim and have great skin - basic requirements for most models - but they are softer, fuller and their "imperfections" (such as moles) have not been erased by Photoshop. They convey a healthy, natural look and their skin isn't plastic-like. Their faces aren't caked in makeup and their hair styles look like something I could actually achieve at home and feel comfortable wearing in public.

I'm sure that these images have been touched up with Photoshop to some extent (it's pretty much standard in the industry), but it's not ridiculous. They are a more realistic, down-to-earth representation of women. Kudos to Diva magazine for using models like this. I can't wait until we see more of this in all magazines.

A homeless woman's journey from the streets to security

As the host of a feminist radio program, I recently had the opportunity to interview a formerly homeless woman who now lives in a social housing complex built especially for women like her. Cindy is an aboriginal woman who has lived homeless on-and-off for a large part of her adult life.

Cindy’s long, stringy hair is black and grey with split ends. She’s a short woman with big brown eyes and a lifetime worth of wrinkles, although I’d estimate she’s only in her late 40’s. She looks like someone who’s lived a hard life.

Like so many homeless women, Cindy became homeless after fleeing abusive relationship. She stayed with her abuser for years despite the fact that she knew he was no good. She relied on him for income and was terrified to report his abuse to the police, for fear he’d be jailed for a night and then return to her angrier and more violent. “You can ask me or any other homeless woman why we stayed with those men” she said, “and we’ll all tell you that we’d rather be in a relationship with an abusive man than be out there on the streets by ourselves.”

She was stuck between two terrible options: stay and be abused, or leave and be homeless. Eventually things became so bad she had no choice but to run away and the price she paid was living on the streets of Calgary. Homeless women face a myriad of challenges above and beyond the struggles experienced by homeless men.  There are few shelters exclusively for women and mixed shelters are an uninviting place. Homeless women are at great risk for sexual and physical violence – both on the street and within a homeless shelter.

Matters are further complicated and challenging if the woman has children. She doesn’t want them in a shelter environment and she certainly doesn’t want the authorities to notice them for fear the children will be apprehended. That’s a big reason why so many women stay in abusive relationships, or live as “concealed homeless” people – those who sleep on a friend’s couch, in a family member’s basement or live out of a car.

Cindy’s life changed when she decided to join a program at the YWCA that aimed to teach homeless women life skills. “I took every program they offered” she said, “I wanted them to see that I really wanted things to change.” She dedicated herself to the program and was eventually chosen as a candidate for The Ophelia – an apartment complex with subsidized rent for homeless women trying to get their lives back together.

Cindy and 14 other women live independently at The Ophelia, although the YWCA is there to provide support when they need it. Time and time again, Cindy told me that although having a safe place to live is incredibly important, it’s the ongoing support from the YWCA staff that’s making this a successful transition for her. “They call me and make sure I’m OK, ask me if I need anything. I would have lost that apartment twice already if they weren’t there to support me.”

Her statement reinforces the fact that you can’t put homeless people in a housing complex and leave them alone expecting them to thrive. Ongoing support is needed to deal with the mental and emotional issues that need to be addressed. “Now I have the time and space to deal with all kinds of stuff I haven’t over the years” says Cindy. “I’ve been given a chance to work on myself. I’ve never had time to focus on me before. I am so grateful.”

The YWCA’s program is built on the “Housing First” model, where homeless people are first placed into safe, appropriate housing and then being to work on the issues that caused them to become homeless. In Cindy’s own words, she is now trying to “learn how to be a straight person.” Her goals include getting a job and eventually moving out of The Ophelia so that another deserving woman can take her place.

Cindy is an incredible survivor, and a great example of how lives can change with little bit of support and security. 

Listen to the interview with Cindy here.

Am I a bad feminist?

My best friend and fellow feminist hates folk music. I’ve always said to her, “If you don’t like Ani DiFranco, you’re a bad feminist!” We joke about it, but as a feminist I sometimes find myself wondering if some of the things I do, think and like make me a bad feminist.

It seems like there are rules to being a feminist; you must be pro-choice, you shouldn’t wear too much makeup and you better not read glossy magazines. But these aren’t rules, they’re stereotypes. And the first thing you should know about feminism is that it’s an extremely diverse movement full of different people and conflicting ideas. For example, some feminists are vehemently against porn, while others strongly support it. Feminists, and the issues we’re passionate about, are extremely complex and diverse. You seriously can’t expect us to all be the same.

None the less, I regularly question whether certain thoughts that pop into my head or things that I enjoy are anti-feminist. I laugh at sexist jokes, judge women who dress slutty and do the majority of household chores even though I live with a perfectly capable man. Yikes… maybe I am a bad feminist!
So I did a quick search on Twitter to see if other women are worried about being bad feminists too. Turns out, it’s pretty damn common. Here are just a few examples of what I found.

It seems that questioning the legitimacy of our feminism is a common experience. But is this just an extension of the guilt that us women are so prone to feeling about everything? We feel bad about eating fast food, not exercising, not spending enough time with our kids and pretty much everything else.

I’ve decided that we need to stop worrying about being bad feminists. We’ve got enough shit to feel guilty about – let’s not let feminism make us feel that way too. As long as you’re openly calling yourself a feminist, you believe in equality and you support the empowerment of women, you’re fightin’ the good fight and you’re part of the team. If you laugh at a sexist joke, so what? Feminists have a sense of humour, and we’re smart enough to know the difference between a joke and something malicious.

As long as you’re not spewing shit like, “It would be a much better country if women did not vote. That is simply a fact” as Ann Coulture famously said, then you’re probably OK. Pat yourself on the back for being part of Team Feminism and quit feeling so damn guilty!

Sheryl Underwood: Crass, raunchy, confident and hilarious

While doing research about female comedians for an interview I recently did, I discovered the bawdy and hilarious Sheryl Underwood. I wouldn't classify her comedy as feminist, but her confidence and balls-out attitude are definitely inspirational to me. She even serves up some decent relationship advice along with a healthy dose of profanities and laughs.

If you love funny, crass ladies with attitude and smarts I seriously recommend you clear your calendar for 10 minutes and watch this video.

A Tina Fey quote to brighten your day

"Every girl is expected to have caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama and doll tits.

The person closest to actually achieving this look is Kim Kardashian, who, as we know, was made by Russian scientists to sabotage our athletes. Everyone else is struggling."

- Tina Fey

Jennie Thunder's feminist adventures in Windsor

I was invited to speak at the University of Windsor as part of their International Women's Day events this year. It was a real honour to be invited to share my knowledge about the representation of women in advertising, plus my experiences as a feminist radio program host and blogger.

Me (left) with Nicole and Meghan, hosts of Milk & Vodka

One of the coolest experiences was being a guest on another radio program. The University of Windsor has a campus radio station much like our beloved CJSW in Calgary. CJAM is smaller, but they do have a feminist radio program - Milk and Vodka. I was interviewed by the fabulous hosts Nicole and Meghan.

It was really fun to be the guest rather than the host, and it was awesome to meet other feminist radio program hosts! We share a lot of similarities regarding our goals and hopes for strengthening the feminist communities in our respective cities.

I gave three presentations while in Windsor, all of which involved ad-busting - my specialty! I taught students how to identify things like sexism and racism in ads, and showed them how advertisements work by making us feel ugly, wrinkly, fat and generally inadequate. The shittier we feel about ourselves, the more we'll spend on products that supposedly make us thinner, more beautiful, less hairy, less wrinkly, and so on. Below is a typical example of what my ad-busting looks like. I've been doing this for about 6 years now and it's so much fun. I like challenging the mainstream messages in advertisements and inserting my own message of empowerment (or maybe just something funny that makes people think twice about the images they're seeing). 

My whole experience at Windsor was thanks to a group of women's studies students who were asked to find a presenter for Women's Day. They wanted a young feminist who was active in her community, and they found me via this blog. As I mentioned, I felt very honoured to be asked to present. Spending time with the students who organized the events was a real treat. They reminded me of myself six years ago - a keener student (I mean that in the most affectionate way!) with a passion for women's issues and a desire to make a difference. 

The students who organized the event: Sapphire, Marianne, Alexis, me and Laura

On my final night in Windsor I attended a button-making event at a local cafe. Tons of students from all faculties showed up to make buttons. I made a few myself - pictured here. This was actually my first time making buttons - hard to believe since that's practically a right of passage for feminists!

Well, that's my trip to Windsor in a nut shell. The best aspects of the whole experience were spending time with other young feminists and hearing feedback from my presentations like, "I learned a lot" and "That was really interesting." I have returned to Calgary with renewed feminist spirit and I'm ready to keep on rockin'!

International Women's Day events in Calgary - March 8, 2012

March 8th is International Women's Day! Here's what's going down in Calgary.

International Women’s Day Fair

Hosted by Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association

Date: Thursday, March 8

Time: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Location: Jack Singer Concert Hall Lobby 205 – 8th Ave SE

Details: Free walk-in event. More details on their website.

Women’s Day Potluck

Hosted by the Calgary Women’s Centre

Date: Thursday, March 8

Time: 5:30 – 8 p.m.

Location: Kery Centre – 1133 7th Ave SW

Details: Free potluck community dinner. Everyone welcome. RSVP at 403-264-1155 or sarah@womenscentrecalgary.org. More details on their website.

Screening of the film Miss Representation

Date: Thursday, March 8

Time: 8 p.m.

Location: University of Calgary, building Science B, room 103

Cost: $10. Purchase tickets through the U of C campus ticket centre, or online at ucalgary.ca/tickets.

Ad-busting L'Oréal's Roller Foundation

Is cleaning the office kitchen a woman's job?

Ever since I joined the workforce I’ve been cleaning kitchens.

No, I’m not a cleaning lady or a nanny. I work in a professional job, and I just happen to be one of the only people at every office I've worked at who cleans out the fridge. In fact, I have never seen a male co-worker clean out a communal fridge since I joined the workforce in 2007.

Where I currently work there are approximately equal numbers of men and women who share the kitchen and fridge. In the past year, only myself and one other woman (let’s call her Nancy) have cleaned the fridge out. I know because there’s a signup sheet on the fridge that says, “Cleaning the fridge is a team effort! Please do your part and sign up.” The “team effort” for the past year has looked like this: Jennie. Nancy. Jennie. Nancy. Jennie. Nancy.

The dishwasher is another point of contention. A few more people contribute to turning the dishwasher on and unloading clean dishes, but by and large it’s done by women. That too has been a trend in every office I've worked at.

This got me wondering, just how widespread is it for women to do all or most of the kitchen cleaning in the office? I’m willing to bet that it’s pretty damn common, and I’m getting a little pissed off about it. Women already do the double shift (work 8 hours in the office then come home to chores, cooking and childcare) – we don't need to make it a triple shift.

Well, it only took us women decades of feminism to get men helping out in the home kitchen... do we have to wait another few decades before they’ll do their part in the work kitchen?

Calgary's Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Women - Feb 14, 2012

The Native Women's Association of Canada has documented over 600 cases of Native women who have disappeared or been murdered over the past 30 years in Canada. Young Indigenous women are 5x more likely than other women of the same age to die as the result of violence.

Every year on Valentine's Day a memorial march is organized to grieve the loss of our sisters and to remember the women who are still missing.

Calgary's 4th Annual Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Women

Date: Tuesday February 14, 2012

Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Location: United Scarboro Church (134 Scarboro Ave SW)
Speakers at 6:30 p.m. with the march beginning at 7 p.m. Light meal to follow. Open mic for families of missing loved ones. Check the Facebook event for more details.

We have moved!

We now have a website! Please check out www.vimmagazine.com for the latest fashion, beauty and lifestyle news at Michigan State!

A funny, kinda feminist commercial involving mom jeans

I can't believe I just saw a commercial that manages to authentically promote body acceptance and the concept that regular women can be smokin' hot sexy mammas. It's also decently funny too.

Kudos to Real California Milk for making a commercial that celebrates a woman's "bunt cake"!

Just some good ol' fashioned ad-busting

I used to do a lot of ad-busting when I was in university. I even taught ad-busting workshops to teens and university students. I haven't done any in a while and I kinda miss it, so I thought I'd post a few of my favourite busted ads and maybe it'll help inspire me to do more!

Seriously funny ladies make "Shit Guys Say" videos

By now most people have heard about Shit Girls Say - a couple of dudes who tweet and make videos about about... erm, shit girls say. The videos have gone viral for a reason - they're funny. The creators do a good job of poking fun at women without offending them.

Well, hot on the tails of Shit Girls Say is a whole slew of other Shit People Say videos. I watched a few made by women about the shit guys say, and I laughed my ass off. These ladies are seriously funny - check 'em out.  

Shit Guys Say
Canadian ladies Tori Lord and Chanelle Ramsubick mock dudes pretty accurately in this video. Keep your eyes out for the Edmonton Oilers jersey - a nice little Canadian touch.




Shit Black Guys Say
Comedians Robin Thede and Inda Craig-Galván amused me greatly with their popular sayings of black guys.

Feminist film "Miss Representation" to screen in Calgary

This film looks awesome. Miss Representation exposes how mainstream media contributes to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. Please come down to The Globe Cinema on Wednesday, January 18 from 6 - 9 p.m. to check it out and meet other feminists in Calgary!

All the details are on the Facebook event - invite your friends.

I love advertisements with strong, sassy, smart ladies

I just saw this ad for World of Warcraft on TV the other day and I absolutely loved it. First let me say that I do not play World of Warcraft (or any computer/video games, for that matter) but I have definitely noticed their catchy and creative advertisements (have you seen the one with Mr. T?).

Anyway, back to the reason why I like this commercial so much. First, Aubrey Plaza, who's awesomely hilarious in the TV show Parks and Recreation, is equally snarky and funny in this commercial. I love her sassy personality in this ad. She comes accross as a strong, smart woman who don't take no shit from nobody, and I love it.

There's nothing worse than whiny, weak women like Bella from the Twilight series. Kudos to the marketing team at World of Warcraft for portraying smart, powerful women in their advertising, and not trying to "cutesy" up the game or the commercials in order to appeal to women. 

My Christmas Wish List

Although this is a bit much to ask for here's what I would love to see under the tree....
1... The Alexander Wang bag is probably my number 1 choice - I'm in desperate need of a new black leather bag and this one is so unique.
2. Fashion Books - great reads and great for coffee tables too
3. iMac desktop computer for at home surfing
4. Some short black booties... love the wedges .. these one are Acne... any kind really works for me just need some! ... or want some shall I say
5. Good Candles - I heard the ones from Bath & Body Works are amazing so I found a picture of these ones.
6. Beach Cover-Up for our upcoming trips down south... to wear around the resort & on the sail boat :)
7. Nail Polish set from Sephora - this is truly amazing and would save me from having to decide every now and then what shade to buy from the Drug Stores....

Stole these pictures from random websites... they are not my own photos.

Christmas gifts for feminists - 2011 edition

Wondering what to get your feisty lady-friend, awesome gal pal, ball-busting sister, or otherwise kick-ass woman? Well, here are some suggestions.

Feminist necklace

Handmade by "nappyhappy" in England, this charming little necklace is available to order through Etsy.

£10 ($16.22 CAD), plus shipping.

Awesome panties!

Knickerocker makes these awesome Wonder Woman panties in two different styles, plus a pretty awesome pair of uterus panties.

Only $4 each, plus shipping.

Beer cozies for the ladies

It has a fucking unicorn on it!

Order through the Bust Boobtique

$9 plus shipping

Subscription to a feminist magazine

There are three great feminist magazines I recommend, check em out:

Ms. - $42.00
BUST - $29.95
Bitch - $34.95

*all prices are for a one year Canadian subscription

Gift certificate to a second hand store

Feminists love consignment shopping. Well, at least every feminist I know does. Here are my favourite second hand stores in Calgary:

1. Trend - located in Kensington
2. Rewind Consignment - located downtown
3. Vespucci - located at Elbow & Heritage SW

Rosie the Riveter memorabilia

This Rosie the Riveter action figure is only $10, and she comes with a lunchbox and rivet gun! I've also seen these action figures at Paper Roots stores in Calgary.

Or, you could always go for a Rosie wall clock or lunchbox.

Feminist tote bag

Feminists always get a bad rap for being humourless killjoys. Buy this bag for the feminist in your life so that everyone knows she's a bright and happy feminist. Yes, we do exist.
£10 ($16.22 CAD), plus shipping.

P.S. This History vs. Herstory tote bag is pretty cute too.

1950's style feminist magnets

I love these retro magnets. They're usually around $6 each and available in stores like Twisted Goods and Paper Roots in Calgary.

Yummy bath and beauty products

LUSH bath bombs and other yummy products are great for ladies who want to use vegetarian, chemical-free, cruelty-free beauty products. There's lots of pre-made gift packs to choose from.

Feminist books

Two of my feminist friends, Juliet and Tamara, recommended these new books:

Big Big Love: A sex and relationships guide for people of size (and those who love them). This book is for people of every gender, size and sexual orientation.
$13.13 on Amazon.ca.

Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed Down World by Lisa Bloom. The author outlines the ways that we as a society, and particularly women, have fallen off the intellectual path, and points to how damaging this has been to us on many levels. $18.90 on Amazon.ca.

Virginia Woolf earrings

These are awesome and only $8 (+ shipping)!

I also found a pretty cool Virginia Woolf t-shirt for $21 (+ shipping).

The Great Wall of Vagina: Changing female body perception through art

British artist James McCartney spent five years plaster casting 400 women’s vulvas for his sculpture The Great Wall of Vagina. The project is an exploration of women’s relationships with their genitals.

James came up with the idea while he was working on a different sculpture for a sex museum. He discovered that many women have anxiety about the appearance of their genitals, incorrectly believing they are ugly or abnormal. “It appalled me that our society has created yet one more way to make women feel bad about themselves” he said. He decided to do something about it – so he created art that dispels misconceptions about what women look like “down there.”

The women who volunteered to participate ranged in age from 18 to 76. There is great variety in the vulvas, as you would expect given there are 400 of them. One has multiple piercings, two are from identical twins, there are mother and daughter castings and transgendered men and women. There are even casts from a woman pre and post natal, and another pre and post labiaplasty. 

The sculptures are fascinating to look at and people can view them without feeling shame or discomfort because the images are not pornographic. They allow women (and men) the opportunity to see the immense diversity in female genitalia. Each one is completely different and completely normal.

Check out the videos below to learn more about James and The Great Wall of Vagina (which should probably be called The Great Wall of Vulva, since the vagina is your birth canal, while the vulva is your sex organ. But I’ll forgive James that grammatical mishap, because his project is awesome!).