Yesterday's protest against Bush speaking in Calgary as brought to us by our very own Calgary Chamber of Commerce was a creative success. To raise our voices in collective activism is empowering and initates necessary dialogue. The papers were reporting 200-300 people in attendance but I would estimate much closer to 500 or more. Suited attendees were heckled and shivered in the cold while lined up along the block listening to our sneering and chanting. The media's reporting of the protest as violent (here and here) is not representative of my experience. There were drums and noisemakers, performance artists, children, peaceful shouting and a lot of typical Calgarian politeness. I was pleased to take my lunch hour attending and proud to raise my voice with Calgary's community against Bush's visit. See more photos from the media here and here.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
"Bush is a Worm!" Calgary Protest Photos
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
A Male of a Tale
I just got back from a business meeting with 8 men, all over 40, all of them potential clients in my largely male-dominiated career industry in Calgary's business sector. Of the 8 men, 5 of them - that's over half - 63% - behaved in an inappropriate manner at some time over the 2 hour tour and lunch:
1. Upon meeting and shaking his hand, one man who I have corresponded with through email once or twice said, "Oh! You look a lot different from your emails! Taller…" Um, no photos in email signatures, sir. Weak.These men seemed to feed off each other's flirting and compete for more and more contact and attention. I noted the behaviour of #1 to my male colleague in the car and he simply laughed lightly and said, "yeah, what does that mean?" I'll tell you what you what it means, you little shitbird, it means that women are not respected and we are objectified. They're not touching you, are they? I am a professional. So many words spoken to me were discomforting, gross, and unprofessional. Maintaining my poise, I kept my remarks to myself and will save them, perhaps, for a function when I have some wine in my throat to spell out how it's going to be next we go for a tour!
2. Upon entering a site and requiring safety vests (only 4 to go around): "Hey, if you need to feel safe you can clutch onto me, I have no problem with that!"
3. "No, please, ladies first, Miss," and then gently squeezing my arm.
4. Upon arriving at the lunch table, one attempted to pull my chair out for me (chivalry is dead on business). I sat a chair over.
5. One man getting up for dessert, walking behind my chair, placing his hand on me and squeezing my shoulder, "Come on, don't you want dessert?" Ick. Remove your apendage.
As much as I know it is unacceptable for them to speak to me like this, I still feel conflicted for not standing up myself. I find it difficult to find a balance between my professionalism and my intolerance of unprofessionalism. In the moment they make me feel reduced and even embarrassed. For making this feminist feel reduced, I get mad. Really mad. At the end of the day, I'm pissed off. When I look at today closely and reflect on the real results for me, they don't take my power, they are giving it to me by showing their pathetic weakness. I am in control and I am determined to contribute to clearing the way for other women in this industry to advance and have an exciting career in this particular path. Taking anger and making myself stronger and more determined will be useful.
Potentially powerful but professional and firm responses:Why the touchy feely? What made these men feel that they had to handle me with their grubby little fingers or make totally stupid comments like "you can clutch onto me"? They were so goddamn intimidated by a woman that they were like giddy flappy-tongued frat boys who just can't get laid.
1. "You look the same." [Wry smile.]
2. "I have a problem with that." [ouch!]
3. "I insist. I am the host. Really." [and don't touch me.]
4. No need, to change this one, I think I did well. [I got it, thanks.]
5. My "no thank you" was enough, here. Although I wish I had casually reached for my fork and jabbed quickly in that moment of contact.
Tomorrow night I have an event which will involve alcohol, hockey, and over 25 men. One female client will be attending. I'm brushing off my feminist toolkit of verbal self defense at the tip of my tongue. I will be smart and witty, firm and intolerant. Professional but fun.
Hand me a fork and watch your hands, boys.
Dark Matter & Ceiling Shatter
New Scientiest writer Anil Ananthaswamy interviews the first woman to head a particle physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland. Fabiola Gianotti, also an artist and musician, says:
CERN is such a rich environment: there are people from all over the world, young students work with established scientists and Nobel prizewinners. So geographical origin, age and gender make no difference here. I don't feel there is anything special about a woman leading a big scientific project. On the other hand, I hope that as a woman scientist who has achieved a level of visibility in a big experiment like ATLAS, I can be an encouragement to young women who are thinking of a scientific career.
Indeed, Ms. Gianotti is an inspiration to women in science, particularly physics, and as previously noted in "Written Word for Nerd", Natalie Angier reports that 26 percent of full professors in the life sciences are women, but in physics, 6 percent. She continues:
For many female physicists, the mystery of women’s slow progress through their ranks is nearly as baffling as the research mysteries they confront in the lab. Of course, only 6 percent of physics professors are female; only 4 to 6 percent of the matter in the universe is visible. “Sound familiar?” Evalyn Gates, the assistant director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, said wryly.You can read the entire interview here!
Monday, March 2, 2009
IWD - CALGARY EVENT NOTICE!
On Sunday, March 8, come out for a fundraiser to celebrate International Women's Day and support the Calgary Immigrant Women's Association and Women in Need Society.
Yoga:
Sanguine Yoga
105,2763 Sunridge Way
10:30 a.m. & 12:00 p.m.
Celebration:
Ladies First After Party
Skybar
101 - 8 Avenue S.W.
7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Event Notice
A Mother from Gaza: Surviving Under Siege
Laila El-Haddad
March-03-2009
At the University of CalgaryRm Cragie Hall 119
6:30pm Tickets are $10 available at the door.
Advance tickets available(in person) at Macewan Hall Food Court Feb 25, 26, 27 and March 2 from 11am to 2pm.
This event will sell out please arrive early to ensure seating
"Laila El-Haddad: is a freelance Palestinian journalist, media activist,and mother from Gaza. She writes mainly for the Guardian and Aljazeera.She has also appeared on CNN, the BBC, NPR, CBC, and Democracy Now amongothers. Laila has been published in Le Monde Diplmatique, the NewStatesmen, the International Herald Tribune and the Washington Post amongothers. From 2003-2006, Laila was the Gaza correspondent for the theEnglish Aljazeera website. In 2007, she directed two Gaza-baseddocumentaries for Al-Jazeera International (Tunnel Trade and A RafahPlayground) with Tourist With A Typewriter production company. Heraward-winning blog "Raising Yousuf and Noor: diary of a Palestinian motherexplores the complex relationships between the personal and political asshe raises kids and negotiates displacement and occupation. She iscurrently based in the United States."
-Via www.pcsscalgary.org
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Assault
Yesterday morning an 18 year old woman was attacked and sexually assaulted in Northeast Calgary. Police warn us:
Calgarians are advised to exercise caution when out alone, to
stay in busy, well-lit areas and to avoid dark, deserted
places.
If you are suspicious of someone, trust your instincts.
Scream or use a personal emergency alarm to attract
attention.
It’s also advised Calgarians wait for transit or public
transportation with other people in a well-lit area.
But the Herald also suggests that Staff Sgt.Curtis Olson of the Calgary Police Service's sex crimes unit says "the harrowing incident should serve as a reminder for women to be extra cautious when they are alone."
Extra cautious when we're alone. I agree, and feeling safe just gets worse when we're not surrounded by leering strangers. But I sense a little bit of blaming the victim going on here. It's between the lines but it's there. How about waging a war on violence commited by men like this? How about railing against society's blind eye tolerance of this shit? Like releasing high-risk men from prison when they have refused to be rehabilitated? Like how my company didn't want to contribute to "fear" by posting the City Police's sketch of the man who raped a woman next to our building last year (and still hasn't been caught)?
I hope this young woman is able to find strength, healing, sweet dreams and renewal. My heart breaks apart for her.
Written Word for Nerd
Natalie Angier writes an important article on the new USA Administration's potential impact on women in science, In ‘Geek Chic’ and Obama, New Hope for Lifting Women in Science. An excerpt:
Surveying outcomes for 160,000 Ph.D. recipients across the United States, the researchers determined that 70 percent of male tenured professors were married with children, compared with only 44 percent of their tenured female colleagues. Twelve years or more after receiving their doctorates, tenured women were more than twice as likely as tenured men to be single and significantly more likely to be divorced. And lest all of this look like “personal choice,” when the researchers asked 8,700 faculty members in the University of California system about family and work issues, nearly 40 percent of the women agreed with the statement, “I had fewer children than I wanted,” compared with less than 20 percent of the men. The take-home message, Dr. Mason said in a telephone interview, is, “Men can have it all, but women can’t.”Check out the work the Rosalind Franklin Society is doing for women in science.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Event Notice
Calgary's Alliance to End Violence is hosting a workshop on Friday, January 23:
Violence Knows No Boundaries
The Alliance to End Violence is pleased to invite you to the launch of “Violence Knows No Boundaries” a manual on diverse cultural perspectives, legal resources and safety information on domestic violence for service providers.
We will be offering a full-day workshop on the manual with presenters: Naaz Bhatia with Tran-sitions Counselling and Michelle Papero with Calgary Legal Guidance.
The entire manual will not be covered. Registrants are asked to rank the following topics from one to five (most interested to least interested) upon registration so that we can best accommodate your professional needs. Please e-mail Barb Hill with your ranked topics.
-What women can do legally to protect themselves
-How family law intersects with domestic violence remedies
-Domestic violence and immigration issues
-Moving on from domestic violence, e.g. separation, divorce
-How the criminal justice process works
Free printed copies of the guide along with removable safety plans in nine languages will be available at the workshop.
All professional development opportunities and events are for professionals, teachers and students in the family and sexual violence sector only unless stated otherwise.
Rest in Peace Sandra Casey
My thoughts are with Sandra Casey's wife and friends this morning. Casey was killed on the weekend crossing the street on 10th Avenue in Calgary.
The driver of the vehicle didn't stop.
I find the music of Sigur Ros to be both devastatingly beautiful but ultimately comforting. May Deb Boniface, Sandra's wife, find healing. My utmost sympathies.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Shave the Date! Free from Bush!
We're pleased here in Canada that Bush is making his exit in January. Join our American sisters in this celebration! Mominatrix has initiated "Shave the Date: No Bush Left Behind".
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Calgary Assault
Michelle Butterfield reports a tragic and bizarre story in the Calgary Herald this morning (see also the government press release). Shortly before midnight last Friday, a woman was attacked by Daryl Pichler and beaten unconscious. This is a sad and bizarre story. Two men took the woman and Pichler to their home and it wasn't until two hours later that EMS was called. This woman is in critical condition. From the police report it is foggy what happened on Friday night but why would a woman woman suffering life-threatening injuries be talken to her home with the man that inflicted them? It seems they share a home together but if home is where the heart is this woman's is broken and Pichler should find prison comfortable.
Update: Looking back into prior press releases, it is claimed that the men who drove the couple to their resience were "unaware of the incident"; but that just doesn't make sense:
The woman suffered extensive head injuries during the altercation, which rendered her unconscious; unable to speak or walk away from the area. At least two vehicles pulled over to assist the woman following the assault. Unaware of the incident, the two men inside one of the vehicles, possibly a beige-coloured Toyota Corolla or NissanAltima, drove the couple to their nearby home in Deer Run.If she was unconscious, unable to speak or walk, how were these good samitans, then, unaware of the incident? I don't get it.
