The regrettable lack of women studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in post-secondary education is well-documented. Efforts to minimize this gender imbalance are widespread, and include initiatives such as Girls Who Code and a UNESCO publication investigating its root causes. However, similarly concerning, yet often overlooked, are rising gender[Read More…]
Tag: feminism
Abortion Beyond Bounds conference combines academia and activism
On the 30th anniversary of the decriminalization of abortion in Canada, the McGill Institute for Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies (IGSF) organized a two-day bilingual conference, Abortion Beyond Bounds 2018, to discuss the continuously-changing global landscape of access to abortion. The conference, which featured a series of student and expert[Read More…]
Why our mothers and grandmothers won’t say #MeToo
The holidays are awkward enough without having to explain the definition of sexual assault to your relatives. Yet, my sisters and I found ourselves doing just that at the end of 2017, when the subject of #MeToo, a movement created by Tarana Burke to increase awareness about sexual harassment and[Read More…]
Holy shiitake: A bite out of Montreal’s Vegan Festival
From Nov. 4 to 5, this year’s vegan festival ran as an ode to the emerging success of the vegan movement in Montreal. The city’s first vegan festival debuted in 2014, and it has come far since then. Among the festival’s stacked list of guest appearances was Chris Cooney, a[Read More…]
TEDxMontrealWomen built bridges and broke barriers with this year’s feminist speakers
On Nov. 5, Théâtre Saint-Denis hosted the fourth annual TEDxMontrealWomen conference, to bring together feminist minds. Since 2013, the independent, volunteer-led conference has presented innovative solutions for emerging social, political, and scientific problems to Montrealers. Predominantly organized by women, the event provides a platform for the work of emerging feminist[Read More…]
First Impressions: ‘1992 Deluxe’ – Princess Nokia
Keira Seidenberg: While Princess Nokia (Destiny Frasqueri) is often thought to bring a feminist edge to the generally male dominated hip hop genre, 1992 Deluxe (2017) is not an album solely dedicated to deconstructing gender-based social stratification. In “Tomboy” and “Saggy Denim,” where Nokia tackles issues of femininity and gender stereotypes,[Read More…]
New Assistant Professor Kelly Gordon introduces feminism to the McGill political science scene
As of Fall 2017, the newest addition to the McGill faculty is Assistant Professor Kelly Gordon, a proud feminist who is introducing McGill students in her class to the role of gender in politics. This is her first academic position, directly following the finalization of her of post-doctoral work at[Read More…]
Judicial independence should not be compromised for executive goals
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper left office in 2015, he left a legacy of politicizing the judiciary. Harper reformed the way judges are appointed to concentrate power in the federal government and pursue policy goals. Current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has used similar tactics for his own agenda. A PM[Read More…]
Bad Blood: Changing the conversation around menstruation
“You'd think all women do is clean and bleed,” was the line that resonated with me as I read Gillian Flynn’s psychological thriller Gone Girl. Despite the fact that the shedding of the uterine lining is a natural, normal, and healthy process that half of the world’s population experiences, menstruation is[Read More…]
U3 Engineering student posts Facebook status about distrust in new SSMU executive, citing ‘predominantly female executive’
U3 Engineering student Jack Martin recently posted a status on Facebook expressing his distrust in the newly elected Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executive team for the 2017-18 school year. “I don’t usually post things like this on Facebook, but recent events have alarmed me to a place that[Read More…]