Marginal Notes

Polly on Porn

Laura Barcella of AlterNet reports that the owner of SuicideGirls is being heavily criticized by his own models, and many have walked away from the company.

She writes,

Dia," a former Suicide Girl who is now a California businesswoman, describes Suhl as "verbally abusive" to SG models. She tells the Phoenix, "[SG is] exploitation to women, and abusive… because it lures women in with a marketing scheme that purports feminism, when in actuality the sole owner of the company is an active misogynist.

What blows my mind is that women have signed away rights to their pictures for only 300 bucks.  Are you kidding me?  This supposedly "empowering" site is run by a man???

I think there may be good things about the whole idea of SuicideGirls: challenging the traditional notions of beauty, normalizing sex, etc.  I want to think that women should do whatever they want with their bodies...But, come on - Organize your own site and control the resources!  Better yet decide to play the subject, instead of the object, and make your own porn!  Got any ideas?

Maybe then, the Liberal party's "blogging liaison" wouldn't describe cyberspace as the place "where no one can hear you scream... because they're too busy looking at naked ladies."

....We'll all be too busy looking at naked men.

If I Only Had a Ring

I remember watching the Wizard of Oz as a little girl.  I loved the scene where the scarecrow danced, clicking his heels in the air, and singing,

I would dance and be merry
Life would be a ding-a-derry
If I only had a brain

Little did I know that I would grow up to find myself living in a culture where the ultimate prize for a woman seems to be a ring.  Do you think I'm exaggerating? Let me provide you with one of many examples from my own life:

At twenty, I moved in with a guy I had met in Hawaii.  My boss at the time remarked, Are you sure you know what you're doing?  I mean why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free? 

Of course, I responded, You're right; I don't plan on buying the cow.  Nor, did I.

These messages are given to young women over an over:  the goal is to get married; sex is for men not for you; sex should be used for exchange; your worth is connected to others; and most importantly make sure you get that ring.

Picture retrieved from Shakespeare's Sister

What Barry Says: An Uncompromising Examination of US Foreign Policy

The BBC Film Network showcases short films by British filmmakers.  What Barry Says is a three minute documentary by Simon Robson. 

Robson was inspired by his friend Barry who encouraged him to take a stronger political stance.  He writes,

Barry is a friend of mine, who to put it mildly, is an astute political thinker. He's also an old hippy and therefore a 'right' lefty. Many times we'd be sat in our local pub and I'd be there, totally captivated by Barry and his knowledge and opinions on his area of speciality: US foreign policy.

Barry always accused me of being a 'fence-sitter'. "Soon there'll be no political middle ground," he'd say. "You'll have to jump one way or another." So i jumped.

This piece is an uncompromising examination and criticism of US foreign policy, in particular 'the project for the new American century'. The film is really there to illustrate Barry's words. The question was always, how do we get other people interested in this stuff? The answer was to create an animation which would give visual form and resonance to Barry's dialogue and grab the audience's attention.

Watch the film and find out if you agree with Barry.

Two Can Play At That Game

Sometimes, things really piss me off,

   

and I have to let the anger out...

                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                        

Rally Against the Calgary Downtown Association

This morning I attended a rally against the Calgary Downtown Association, organized by Food Not Bombs Calgary.  People joined together to protest the anti-panhandling campaign launched by the CDA last month.  Food Not Bombs provide coffee, juice, and pancakes for everyone.  People participated by holding cardboard signs with various phrases written on them, such as "spare change for social justice".

A film crew from NUTV was present, covering the rally and conducting interviews with various participants.  The hope is to eventually make a documentary on the issue of panhandling in Calgary.  My hope is that they will be able to give voice to the panhandlers and the homeless themselves, so that we can better understand their views of the situation.

I was able to speak with some of the panhandlers in the downtown core. I helped a woman named Shari carry some juice and pancakes to her boyfriend, Mike, who was a few blocks away.  Mike was lying wrapped in some sleeping bags, in an alcove in an alley.  Shari and Mike agreed to chat for a bit so that I could get some of their views across to others.  They told me that they moved from BC, because they heard there were more jobs in Alberta.  However, they can't get welfare to help start them up, because they need an address for the forms.  While they have tried to find a place, no one will rent to them because they don't have a damage deposit.  Not surprisingly, they both were very frustrated as they described the situation.  Mike has found some part-time work in construction, but, as he says, "It's hard to go to work looking like this."

When I asked Shari what her experience was panhandling, she told me, "There's a lot of people who just ignore you.  It's like you're not even there...You're a ghost.  It's embarrassing".  Shari went on to tell me that recently, those that do acknowledge her, have begun to say, "We were told that we aren't allowed to give to you."

Mike said, "There are nice people though." To which, Shari agreed.  Apparently, one person gave them a hundred dollars one day.  Mike said, "You know that someone who does that has been through hard times too.  They know what it's like and that's why they help."

I admire Food Not Bombs Calgary for devoting time to helping others on an ongoing basis, preparing and delivering food a couple of times a week.  At the same time, I remain angry and feel that those who are running the NGOs, as well as the city councillors, need to take a stronger stance and provide leadership on social issues.

Corporate Calgary should not be setting the social agenda.

Margaret Cho for the Soul

In my view, Margaret Cho epitomizes authenticity.  Watching her comedy, it is evident that she is in a constant process of reclaiming and reinventing herself.  I feel that she uses her voice in a more powerful way than anyone I have ever seen. 

Cho always tackles complex issues including sex, politics, and oppression.  Remarkably aware, and attuned to emotions, she speaks to fear, doubt, loneliness, and hurt. I sense that she appeals to people because she satisfies our need to feel connected and understood.  Indeed, the Washington Post has heralded her, "the patron saint of anyone who has ever felt like an outsider."  And, who hasn't felt like an outsider at one time?

If there is ever a day when you feel deflated and suffocated by this world, Margaret Cho is a cure for the ailing soul.

You can rent DVDs of her shows at most video stores, including I'm the One That I Want, Notorious C.H.O, and Revolution.  Enjoy her blog and clips from her show Revolution in the meantime!

Anti-Poverty Group Challenges Calgary Downtown Association

The Calgary Downtown Association launched a campaign last month that unfairly targets the poor through print ads and the use of so-called "Street Teams".  For more information, please refer to Letter to the Editor in the October archive of this blog. (http://marginalnotes.typepad.com/pj/2005/10/letter_to_the_e.html)

Food Not Bombs Calgary is an anti-poverty, anti-war group active in Calgary, Canada.  They are holding a rally on November 22, 2005 to call on the Calgary Downtown Association to stop its campaign against the poor.

For more information, view the poster for the rally, or visit the Food Not Bombs Calgary website.

The Elimination Diet

I've been unwell for almost six months now with a chronic sore throat.  I've been checked for tumors, and luckily I look okay on that front.  The doctors suspect my sore throat may be related to the MANY serious allergies I have including all fur-bearing animals, trees, grass, and dust.

Many people who are allergic to birch tree are also allergic to fruits, nuts, and a variety of vegetables.  As well, those who are allergic to grass, tend to be allergic to foods from the grass-grain family including corn, wheat, and rice.

Several days ago, I decided to cut all of these foods out of my diet for several weeks, so I can slowly reintroduce them and determine my level of reaction.  I'm also cutting out milk as I was allergic to it as a kid.

So far,I've been drinking many soy lattes, but I assume I will learn to cook more meat and green vegetables quickly.  If this doesn't work, I'll see if I can purchase a large, inflatable plastic dome and change my name to Bubble Girl.

Victims Hope for Justice in Hemlock Rapist Case

Between 1988 and 1992, seven women were attacked as they slept in their lower-level suites in the Spruce Cliff neighbourhood of Calgary.

On April 26, 2005, Emile Joseph Cromwell pled guilty to raping four women, in southwest Calgary, between June 1988 and May 1992.   While the attacks happened over 13 years ago the case only came to trial this past summer.  Despite an intensive investigation around the time of the assaults, there was insufficient evidence and the case went cold.  With new DNA evidence, the case was re-opened in July of 2004.

During the trial the following information was disclosed:

The first victim was attacked on June 11, 1988.  She was attacked in the middle of the night.  After striking her several times in the head with a beer bottle, Cromwell placed a pillow case over her head and proceeded to sexually assault her.  In 1989, Cromwell attacked two other women in the same area.  Then in 1992, Cromwell attacked a 13-year-old girl.  She was sleeping on the couch, while babysitting, when he bound and dragged her to a nearby field to sexually assault her.

Now, as the case wraps up, there is discussion regarding sentencing.  CTV reports:

Thursday, the crown argued he should be sentenced to 18 years for the crimes.

The defense says the fact that Cromwell showed remorse and hasn't committed any known crimes since then, means he should only get 10 to 12 years.

Cromwell's lawyer says more violent rape cases have had similar sentences, and this one is no different.

"My respectful submission was that we were toward the lower end of the spectrum," justifies Larry Ross, "I didn't want to minimize the fact or trauma caused to these complainants."

Cromwell's victims are shocked by the sentencing recommendation.

Shannon Denver is "Disgusted."

"In the sense of, poor Mr. Cromwell, that he supposedly pled guilty to save us the trial, and he was doing it for us?

"He was doing it for himself, the DNA had him nailed to the wall, he knew that, now it's being used as a mitigating factor to supposedly give him a lesser sentence," fumes Denver.

All of these women have been living with the pain of these assaults for over thirteen years.  And yet, the defense believes that Cromwell should only be sentenced to ten.  To me, this is absolutely shocking.

The judge will deliver sentencing on December 8th. 

Related Links:

CTV
The Globe and Mail
The Western Wheel

The Personal is Indeed the Political

Since I began this blog, I have struggled with its purpose and format.   Recently having entered graduate school in social work, I am, there too, struggling to find a way of being that I am comfortable with.

There are social rules within society that constrain us in the discussion of our personal lives.   This constraint is magnified in social work, and the other helping professions, because of their reliance on dichotomies: helper and helpee, professional and patient, functional and dysfunctional, normal and abnormal.

In class, I make the case for oppressed groups; I raise my voice in favour of anti-oppressive social work practice.  I take examples from journal and newspaper articles to expose the ways in which social work can act as an agent of social control, as opposed to one of social change.  Here, on this blog, I have raged against the Calgary Downtown Association for their shameful ad campaign against panhandlers, and I have commented on violence against women, citing various statistics.  Absent, from all of these discussions, is my authentic voice which honours my own life experiences.

Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."  With the recent passing of Rosa Parks, we are reminded that activism does not only take form in organized protest; it rises out of everyday demands for the world to be as we wish it to be.  It seems obvious to us now that it was a horrific social practice to give preferential seating on the bus to white people, at the expense of black people.  However, clearly for some time, it was a social practice accepted by everyone.  Rosa Parks saw a world that could be different; by refusing to give up her seat, she actually physically illustrated a new world as she wished it.  She revealed how her personal experience of taking the bus was inextricably linked to political forces and social structures.

We have to at least allow ourselves to draw inspiration from people like Gandhi and Parks.  Myself, I wish to see a world in which: there is no sexual violence; children and women are not sold for sex; people aren't labeled as deviant, or abnormal, or crazy; help is genuine and kind...

I also wish for a world in which people can talk about their lives without shame.  My blogging is going to get much more personal; I will speak about my own life experiences including some that are disturbing, like having been sexually assaulted and having suffered from severe depression.  Some people might think 'big deal', and I am sure that there are people blogging about this sort of thing all over the web.  But, for me, it is a big deal because it is a move towards speaking more openly about these things within my profession.  I do not want to allow this blog to turn into boundless self exposure.  I hope to couch discussions of my own experiences in the context of larger issues. 

At the moment, I don't 'promote' my blog to friends, classmates, or family.  (In fact, I think it might literally kill my mother.)  I believe my concern that those I know might stumble across my writing is evidence in itself for the need to speak out.  And so, as various issues arise in my daily life, I will share them through this blog, in an effort to make visible and central, those life experiences that are often rendered invisible and marginal.  It is my hope that I will reveal that the personal is indeed the political.