Brazil's first female president takes office Jan. 1st

Democracy Now reports that Brazil's first female president will be sworn in on Saturday!



Dilma Rousseff is a former leftist guerrilla who was imprisoned and tortured for three years during Brazil’s dictatorship in the 1970s. Rousseff is a close ally of Brazil’s outgoing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In a recent nationally televised address, Lula praised the progress Brazil has made over the past eight years.



"It is deeply symbolic that the presidential sash is being handed over from the first working-class president to the first female president. This will be a landmark in the beautiful path our people have been building to turn Brazil, if it’s God’s will, into one of the world’s most equal countries."

- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Happy Person's Day!

On this day in 1929, women became "persons" in Canada, making women eligible to run for senate. This epic battle was won by five Alberta women, commonly known as the Famous Five.

Most Canadian women had been able to vote since 1918, but they couldn't run for senate due to some specific wording in the Canadian Constitution, which was written in 1867. It stated that only "qualified persons" could run for senate. The prevailing view of the legal establishment at that time was that "persons" did not include women.

So this group of gusty women fought to have the definition of "persons" changed. They were eventually successful, but it was quite a hard battle. To learn more about this, check out CJSW’s Today in Canadian History podcast for October 18, which features The Persons Case. It’s a 10-minute long podcast which was produced by me!

So, happy Person’s Day everyone! If you live in Calgary, please vote today! Women have only been allowed to vote in Canada for the last 92 years… so remember how lucky we are. Get out there and do your civic duty!

Tonight's Show: Canada's Sex-Trade Laws

Last week Justice Susan Himel invalidated parts of Section 212 and 213 of the Criminal Code, which basically means Canadians can’t be charged with keeping a bawdy house, communicating for the purpose of sex and living off the avails of prostitution. This is far from being law, as appeals are promised by both provincial and federal governments. Yet the decision has stirred up massive controversy across the nation and sex-trade workers are hailing the ruling as a victory.

Tonight we chat with special guest, Farrah Alladin, about Canada's sex-trade and what this new ruling may mean for those who make their living in the sex industry.

Mon Aug 2 - Music by Political / Activist Women

Tonight Jennie and Bee are spinning tracks by their fave feisty femmes! A selection of some of the best political/activist female musicians. The track listing will be posted tonight, as we're doing the show! Tune in from 8-9 pm to hear rad tunes by some amazing women.



Please note: There will be no podcast this week. We can't legally podcast music, so you'll just have to catch us live!

Tonight's Track Listing:

1. M.I.A. - Born Free

2. Peaches - I feel Cream

3. Le Tigre - All That Glitters

4. Dixie Chicks - Not Ready to Make Nice

5. Bitch & Animal - Feminist Housewives

6. Alix Olson - Armpit Hair

7. Tori Amos -  Me And A Gun

8. Ursula Rucker - Letter To A Sister Friend (feat. Vicki Miles)

9. Joan Baez - Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around

Australian Porn Censorship Going Too Far

Conservative Australian politicians are attempting to wage a war on smutty pornography through some very interesting (and anti-woman) censorship laws. These include proposed bans on small breasts and female ejaculation in pornography.

The “small breast ban” is supposedly an effort to fight child pornography. The argument is that women with small breasts may appear to be underage (even if they’re over 18). They propose a ban on female ejaculation because it depicts a form of urination, which is banned under the label of “golden showers” in the federal Classification Guidelines for pornography.

First of all – the small breast ban is ridiculous and insulting. It is an absurd reaction to a perfectly normal female body type. Not all adult women have large breasts! If this is their argument, then they should also ban shaved genitals, which I think looks far more “underage” than small breasts.

As for the ban on female ejaculation in porn – their arguments are once again based on fiction rather than fact. Female ejaculation is NOT urination – it is the female equivalent to male ejaculation. Maybe the REAL reason they want to ban female ejaculation is because (a) it’s a little too icky for them, and/or (b) they lack understanding about female sexuality.

Recommended Reading – A Woman Among Warlords by Malalai Joya

This is a fantastic book for anyone who wants to understand the REAL situation that women in Afghanistan are facing today.

Malalai Joya has been called "the bravest woman in Afghanistan." At a constitutional assembly in Kabul in 2003, she stood up and denounced her country's powerful NATO-backed warlords. She was twenty-five years old. Two years later, she became the youngest person elected to Afghanistan's new Parliament. In 2007, she was suspended from Parliament for her persistent criticism of the warlords and drug barons and their cronies. She has survived four assassination attempts to date, is accompanied at all times by armed guards, and sleeps only in safe houses.

Often compared to democratic leaders such as Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, this extraordinary young woman was raised in the refugee camps of Iran and Pakistan. Inspired in part by her father's activism, Malalai became a teacher in secret girls' schools, holding classes in a series of basements. She hid her books under her burqa so the Taliban couldn't find them. She also helped establish a free medical clinic and orphanage in her impoverished home province of Farah.

While many have talked about the serious plight of women in Afghanistan, Malalai Joya takes us inside the country and shows us the desperate day-to-day situations these remarkable people face at every turn. A controversial political figure in one of the most dangerous places on earth, Malalai Joya is a hero for our times, a young woman who refused to be silent, a young woman committed to making a difference in the world, no matter the cost.

Safe Food is a Feminist Issue

As women, we are largely responsible for the decision-making and purchasing of food that our family consumes. How safe are the foods we put in our bodies and give to our children? A new film, Food Inc., explores this topic.
The film is about the American food system, which is different from Canada's, but definitetly still worth checking out. Empower yourself with knowledge about where your food comes from, and take your health into your own hands.

The film is playing at The Uptown from July 17 to 23. Check it out!

Why are Alberta Politicians such Anti-Feminist Dorks?

It hasn’t been a great week for feminists in Alberta. First of all, Alberta’s Finance Minister, Iris Evans, made inappropriate comments about how children should be raised (see my post from June 19). And now Doug Elniski, a conservative MLA from Edmonton-Calder, made sexist comments at a Grade 9 graduation ceremony.

Elniski’s speech, which he posted on his blog (and has since removed due to the controversy it caused), included this advice to young girls: "Ladies, always smile when you walk into a room, there is nothing a man wants less than a woman scowling because he thinks he is going to get shit for something and has no idea what."

He went on to say, "Men are attracted to smiles, so smile, don't give me that 'treated equal' stuff. If you want Equal, it comes in little packages at Starbucks."

Rachel Notley, an MLA for the New Democratic Party is “very concerned that this is the kind of message that may be being given at junior high schools” and says the message is “hurtful and it sets the issue of women's equality back." At least one of Alberta’s politicians is as disgusted and disturbed by these sexist comments as I am.

How the hell can this joker get away with saying crap like this to kids? And on top of being incredibly sexist, he also throws in the s-word. How on earth can this be justified as appropriate for a Grade 9 graduation ceremony? The mind boggles.

Click here to read the CBC's coverage of this story.

ABBA and Feminism: Together At Last.

Oh my god, I think my head is going to explode from awesomeness. Two of my favourite things - ABBA and feminism - have come together at last.

In Sweden there is actually a feminist political party called Feminist Initiative (FI!). The party includes men and women and puts forth a pretty rad feminist platform.

Apparently in the past there have been many polling stations in Sweden where the FI! party was not an available choice. So Benny Andersson - pianist, composer and spandex-clad member of ABBA - contributed $1 million kronor ($143,518 Canadian) to ensure that Swedish voters have a chance to vote for the Feminist Initiatve party in today's European Union parliamentary elections.

To Benny Andersson, having the option to vote for all available political parties is an important democratic matter. Andersson released a statement saying, “Because I sympathize with [the FI!'s] persistent struggle for equal treatment, I offered to try and help by providing financial support for an advertisement that explains what to do when the pre-printed ballots are missing.”

Mamma Mia! I think I'm falling in love with ABBA all over again...