Volume 43, Issue 9

Something’s Missing on Ste. Caths

But Nilufar’s Falafels Will Live On

Sophie Dufresne

On Dec. 16 2022, Ste. Catherine St. lost a benchmark for healthy, affordable food. Nilufar Restaurant, a student favourite, shut its doors after conflicts with their landlord, Amcor Holdings.

Store manager Nilufar Al-Shourbaji, after whom the restaurant is named, told The Link that she does not currently have plans to open another storefront. Nonetheless, she mentioned that the restaurant will continue selling their Falafel Royale in grocery stores. They will also pursue their catering services as well as their Falafel-it-forward community initiative.

“I will never stop Falafeling-it-forward," Al-Shourbaji said, adding that she might have designated drop-off locations in the near future to facilitate falafel distribution in underprivileged communities. “I want to keep that initiative going […] hopefully for the rest of my life. I will always give back to the community in that way.”

Many recipients of Falafel-it-forward have been members of the unhoused commun-

ity, the store manager explained, but she has also helped Concordia students in need.

“I’ve had students come [in the store] and be like ‘look, all my money went to school. I haven’t eaten in two days, please help me.’ and I’d give them food,” Al-Shourbaji recounted.

Resilience Montreal, a community-led project offering food, clothing and support to the unhoused population of the Cabot Square area, has benefited from the Falafel-it-forward initiative in the past.

“The people working at this restaurant were incredibly thoughtful, kind and generous,” said Margo Buchanan, a coordinator at Resilience.

As he was exiting the store, Sam, who has been a customer of Nilufar Restaurant for the past eight years, said that it’s a shame the shop has been forced to close because “the food is amazing” and the restaurant is very community-oriented.

The past few years have been difficult for smaller businesses, he said, especially with COVID-19, as “the bigger chains get more calls [from customers].”

However, losing her storefront will not deter Al-Shourbaji from continuing to make falafels. People can still contact Al-Shourbaji on social media or by phone to book catering services or to request falafels.

“For the people who are coming in daily, whether they have the money [to buy the food] or not, I’m actually worried about [them],” said Al-Shourbaji. “I’m

hoping the ones who do have access to internet can ask me for help if they need it.”

“I strongly encourage [the restaurant] to continue because they’re doing an amazing job for the community,” Sam said.

The Link reached out to Amcor Holdings for a statement but did not hear back.

Contact Nilufar Restaurant:

By phone: (514) 262-9032

Via Twitter: @resto_nilufar

Via Instagram: @nilufar_mtl

A First for Disabled Concordia Students

The Disabled Spoonies and Friends Are Mobilizing for Change

Olivia Integlia

In the Fall 2022 semester, a collective of disabled Concordia University students launched Disabled Spoonies and Friends, a non-hierarchical collective by and for students with disabilities. This club is the first of its kind in the university’s history, according to co-founder Mimi Boysen.

The foundation of the club “came from a need to connect with people that lived similar experiences of being disabled in a place

like academia,” explained Gabriella Dery, one of the club’s co-organizers. “[It] reminds you of your disabilities every single day [...] We are trying to fill in the gaps where the Access Centre has really let us down and is unable to provide the services that we all need,” Dery said.

Club members expressed the importance of such a group on campus. “We wanted to meet other students who are also disabled and support each other and

create a mutual care web,” said Elise, a co-organizer. “One of the goals of the club is to listen to disabled students and believe us when we are telling you what we want and need,” they added.

Disabled Spoonies and Friends allows disabled students to convene and discuss how academic and student spaces continuously disadvantage them, added member Cory Shallow.

Specifically, members of the club speak out against Concordia’s alleged micro and macroaggresions towards disabled students.

“I had some pretty horrific run-ins with Concordia and it is really not okay,” mentioned Boysen. They recalled instances in which the administration doubted their disability, made it difficult to access accommodations, assumed they were less capable than able-bodied students and silenced them from speaking about their experiences.

“I want to shed light on what people are actually going through,” Boysen said.

Creating the club did not happen overnight, highlighted

Boysen. “I have been trying to create a group like this for two years,” they said. Having been diagnosed with autism at 19 years old, they learnt how deep the stigma around disability actually runs.

“The reason I created [this club] was because it didn’t exist, which is really sad,” Boysen said. They spoke to several disabled activists and founders of clubs from different universities to know where to begin.

The first step was finding a name. “We wanted something that wasn’t syndical and more fun,” Boysen said.

Their name, Disabled Spoonies and Friends, is based on the Spoon Theory—an analogy used to illustrate the reality of those living with a chronic illness. Boysen explained that each individual has a set number of spoons that they use throughout the day to do various activities, including getting out of bed and making breakfast.

This concept, Boysen added, normalizes the everyday life of disabled individuals because “no one is at fault for the things [they] can’t do today because [they] just don’t have the spoons.”

Last semester, the club held weekly meetings, both in-person at the Frigo Vert and virtually, to ensure accessibility, explained Boysen. At meetings, the group brainstormed services for the disabled community, such as peer support groups and events, including a speed dating activity, they added.

And while the club is still in its initial stages, members have discussed the impact this community has had on them. Member and Concordia alumni Aline Yip said that the club offers an alternative space to the Access Centre for disabled individuals to gather.

“One thing that really warmed my heart,” Elise added, “was seeing a bunch of disabled people take up space in a public setting in an accessible way as much as possible— [...] it was really beautiful.”

Their upcoming meetings and events are advertised on the @disabledspoonies Instagram page for anyone to attend.

THE RESTAURANT CLOSED ITS LOCATION ON 1923 STE-CATHERINE ST. FOR GOOD ON DEC. 16. AMCOR HOLDINGS HAS NOT REPLACED THE STOREFRONT YET. -- PHOTO IVAN DE JACQUELIN

Maktaba: Serving Culture Over Commerce

Artist-Run Bookstore Representing SWANA and BIPOC Communities

From the outside it looks like any regular shop in the area, but upon entering, there’s an embrace of South West Asian North African diaspora that immerses you into its world. Customers that enter the shop are greeted with chill hip-hop beats, a cozy red carpet with Islamic patterns and vast amounts of books, magazines, clothing and vinyl records.

One section of the store has shelves stacked with kids’ books with framed posters of famous Arab singers Fairuz and Abdel Halim Hafez.

On another shelf rests a book about the Egyptian singing goddess Umm Kulthum next to the autobiography of hip hop legend Talib Kweli. While the store only consists of a single room, the collection, community and people that run Maktaba make it seem larger than life.

The owners of Maktaba are Sundus Abdul Hadi and her partner Yassin “Narcy” Alsalman who are part of the art collective We Are The Medium. The group produces films, music, and now publishes books. The bookstore opened in June 2022 with a curated selection of books by diverse writers on a variety of subjects. The catalog and overall design of Maktaba focuses on the perspectives of SWANA authors who live in the region or belong to the diaspora. Their voices are rooted in political activism and challenges to assumed notions

about the Middle East and other marginalized communities.

The space also features books from Black Liberation authors and includes novels by Japanese, Turkish and Indigenous writers. Other books focus on mental health and spirituality.

Hip-hop artist Narcy and visual artist Abdul Hadi both shared their projects with the bookstore for entertainment and education.

“Maktaba is sort of like a physical art project for the city,” said Alsalman. “We wanted a space to reflect all of our practices of edutainment. We wanted to open a space that served culture over commerce.”.

Alsalman explained that Maktaba’s merchandise is influenced by hip hop, as well as by a mix of Arab, Western and eastern cultures. Their goods include totebags, hats, sweaters, shirts, stickers and even skateboards. The store also sells products imprinted with seasonal thematic designs. During November 2022, the theme was the General Federation of International Women. The purpose of these products, according to Alsalman, is to start conversations about the themes they depict, such as identity, gender and language.

“When someone's wearing the [GFIW] T-shirt, we want somebody to ask them where they got it from because there aren't that many of them and then for it to

start a conversation about whatever the T-shirt is saying,” he said.

Part of the store’s collection is curated by Abdul Hadi but the shop’s community also provides input. “It is curated in terms of what is new and exciting and changing around us,” she said. Abdul Hadi explained the bookstore’s origins lay in a pop-up gallery she rented for her 2017 creative research project, Take Care of Yourself. It was a week-long exhibit featuring works from 28 artists of different backgrounds, centered around the theme of care and struggle.

“I felt really empowered after that to take it [galleries] a bit more seriously and start thinking about what it means to have a permanent space in the city," Abdul Hadi said. "For my community specifically, but also a meeting ground for many other communities as well whose work is important and often marginalized or that don’t have spaces to display their work.”

The bookstore is also a space for community workshops that include tarot card readings, mediation, group readings, art classes, book and magazine launches, as well as guest lectures with local authors. Throughout November 2022, Abdul Hadi used the space for the launch of the Journal Safar and Al Hayya Magazine. Both publications focus on feminist perspectives by SWANA writers.

Maktaba also hosted a collective reading of the book You Have Not Yet Been Defeated in solidarity with the Egyptian writer and political prisoner Alaa Abd El-Fattah.

However, not every activity at Maktaba revolves around political activism. Sundus explained that the shop is also a space for the community to create art and enjoy wellness and mindfulness workshops.

On Nov.12 and 13, the bookstore hosted Istanbul-based teaching-artist Laurelie Rae for an Islamic art pattern workshop for the first time. The attendees explored biomorphic vegetal and geometric patterns.

“The patterns we are exploring are based on Andalusian and Turkish patterns,” said Rae. The attendees consisted of both newcomers and seasoned artists of the craft.

For Abdul Hadi, being able to stock Maktaba with the body of

works of SWANA and other BIPOC writers and creatives is a privilege. These books are an essential resource for marginalized and decolonial perspectives and it’s important that she can recommend them to people who may not be aware of their ideas and to walk out of the library with these new narratives. Another important aspect of the store is being able to share these perspectives without having to acquire the items through mega corporations like Amazon. While it can be challenging to run Maktaba in this independent way, it has also allowed the bookstore to flourish into a very unique and creative space. “Through this process, it's been really special for me to be able to just build these relationships and realize that yeah, we can actually run a bookstore a different way,” she said.

Anthony Issa

PHOTO ANTHONY ISSA

PHOTO ANTHONY

EDITORIAL: Getting Real On Sex Education

“T

hey’re indoctrinating, not educating.”

This was how Chanel Pfahl, an Ottawa-Carleton district school board trustee candidate, spoke of pro-LGBTQIA2S+ education programs in her city’s public schools.

Pfahl was one of at least 20 right-wing candidates running in Ontario’s school board elections focused on sexual-cultural wedge issues in October 2022. In particular, she raged against queer visibility and inclusive sexual education curricula.

On her Twitter account, Pfahl spread forms for parents to fill out—paperwork created by Parents as First Educators, an anti-LGBTQIA2S+ advocacy group focused on ripping out the roots of progress from public schools. The purpose is for parents to protest what their children are taught in sexual health class.

Trans panic surrounding education has sky-rocketed in the past several years. Right-wing Canadian politicians, like Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, have

been increasingly parroting talking points about sexual indoctrination in schools for some time now. The noise is only getting louder.

Thankfully, Pfahl and many of her fellow lackeys lost their elections. Nonetheless, the vitriol towards comprehensive, inclusive sexual education is alarming.

While conservative politicians moan and bitch in front of their microphones, teachers are once again facing the brunt of teaching sexual education in an increasingly hostile climate.

From an uptick in parents stoked on anti-woke roid rage emailing them about the dangers of sex education to provincial governments slashing their classroom budgets, it is only getting harder for teachers to do their jobs effectively.

The sexual education we get in Quebec is mediocre at best. Although the government outlines the steps teachers must take to educate their students, implementing these guidelines is a challenge when there is a lack of funding and resources.

For most of us raised in this system, we received a rapid-fire information session from a teacher about puberty and our changing bodies as we entered high school. Five years later, we eleventh graders would get a second earful on sex ed, this time about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases.

Surprisingly, passing around a fishbowl of condoms to a bunch of teenagers is not an adequate means of conveying crucial information about sexual health and wellbeing.

According to Quebec’s Ministry of Education, themes like consent need to be taught on a frequent basis. Learning about consent was an afterthought in most of our sex ed experiences. Let us not even start on LGBTQIA2S+ sexual education, which most of us never formally learnt about in the classroom.

If our current system is already overloaded and crumbling to bits, it is evident that attempts from the right to light a culture war on the education system are purely in bad-faith.

If we want to see substantial changes in our current sexual education system, we first need to adequately fund it. This means giving teachers the proper resources to do their jobs without the fear of going broke.

We need to make sure any sexual education project properly covers gender identity, gendered violence, consent and sexual diversity. Our fight for progress cannot be drowned out by transphobes with a bloodthirst for privatization.

Elementary and high school students need effective and inclusive sexual education, but it should not stop there. Universities also have a duty to educate their students about sexual conduct and sexual diversity beyond a mandated training on consent.

This is why we at The Link have created The Sex Issue, which highlights the realities of sexual and gender minorities, amplifies resources revolving around sex and features important discourse on sexuality.

Let’s talk about sex, baby!

PHOTO LOUISE SAUVARD

Up and Coming: Sex and Self Concordia

The Student-Run Organization Helping Hundreds Explore Their Sexuality Iness Rifay

I

t all began with a desire. When confronted with Quebec’s “outdated and insufficient” sex education curriculum, McGill student Felicia Gisondi took matters into her own hands. She founded Sex and Self in May 2019.

The non-profit sought to break through the lacking sex-ed curriculum by promoting inclusive, comprehensive, and evidence-based knowledge and tools. With the help of books, seminars, and gender-affirming gear— amongst other services—the organization expanded and provided resources to those in need.

In August 2021, Concordia student Gabriela Kennedy met Gisondi by pure luck. Working as a nail technician, Kennedy ended up with Gisondi as her client. At the time, Kennedy had begun questioning sexual accessibility in the Concordia community.

“We talked about Sex and Self and the idea of bringing it to Concordia. It really felt like all the issues I had heard and thought about within the student body could finally be addressed,” said Kennedy. “This was the one thing I felt like I could take on, so I let myself take a leap.”

That same month, Kennedy founded the Sex and Self chapter at Concordia University and consequently became its president. After some time spent applying for grants and looking for volunteers willing to contribute, the organization grew exponentially.

“[The chapter] is so much bigger than me. It has turned into something that will outlive us completely,” said Kennedy.

Blue Fraser joined their peer right away in her effort to launch the Concordia Sex and Self branch. As the diversity advocate of the chapter, Fraser shared how “gratifying it is to give back to [their] community.”

“As a trans person, it makes me happy to see how well Sex and Self has impacted LGBTQIA2S+ people,” said Fraser. “When we get messages on our Instagram about how our services have changed lives, it feels awesome.”

Concordia’s Sex and Self chapter provides students with condoms, dental dams, menstrual products, lubricant, sex toys, gender affirming gear, and ovulation and pregnancy tests, all free of costs.

Restocked every month, Sex and Self’s Wellness Pantry, located at Le Frigo Vert, allows anyone in need of these tools to grab them on a completely anonymous basis. According to Kennedy, several hundred students make use of the pantry and attend the events they have organized, such as movie and paint nights and book giveaways.

“When we had our launch party for the pantry,” said Fraser, “everyone came up to us, showed us what they got and thanked us. The response made it clear that these items were so needed.”

Alongside helping students explore their sexuality in their own way, Sex and Self contributes to lifting the veil of secrecy on the topic. Cameron Brunet, the group’s university representative, shares their gratitude for the service that didn’t exist when they needed it.

“Growing up, I didn’t have access to gender affirming gear,” Brunet said. “My parents were always watching me, and it felt like no one out there would support a young trans queer kid like me.”

Don’t Get Bested, Get Tested A Guide to Free STBBI Clinics in Montreal

Paula Teves

Sexually active Canadians under the age of 25 are the most atrisk demographic for sexually transmissible blood borne infections, according to Health Quebec.

Any health professional, including nurse Harpuneet Kaur from the CLSC Benny Farm, will tell you that in order to stay safe, a healthy sex life requires getting tested at least every six months or every time you have a new sexual partner.

Furthermore, the provincial government recommends all individuals who “have had unprotected sex, shared equipment used to prepare, inject or inhale drugs, had a tattoo or piercing done with non-sterile equipment, had sex with someone who has an STBBI, or have symptoms similar to those of an STBBI at least once” to alert their sexual partners and get tested as soon as possible.

Contrary to popular belief, sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections don’t always have alarming symptoms—carriers can some-

times unknowingly infect their partners, which is why regular upkeep is so crucially important.

Just as important is the accessibility and affordability of said testing, so that these recommendations can realistically be met.

STBBIs have significantly increased over the last 10 years, Health Canada reports. Chlamydia infections have increased by over 30 per cent, Gonorrhea rates have almost tripled and Infectious syphilis rates have increased by over 300 per cent.

While Quebec offers free testing services for Canadians at any CSLC, the system suffers from heavy overload, meaning booking an appointment can be challenging. At time of writing, the CLSC Metro at Guy-Concordia is fully booked until at least the end of May 2023.

Appointments can only be made through Clic Santé, Quebec’s healthcare portal. For those who manage to book a slot, CLSCs offer STBBI screenings, consultations for contraception, follow-ups and

guides on how to prevent STBBIs.

“Practicing safe sex is not only about contraception, but also keeping up to date with our own health and paying attention to our bodies,” Kaur said. She also stated the importance for young adults to wear condoms and to incorporate STBBI testing into their regular check-ups. These services are free in CLSCs for all Canadians because

They continued by sharing how meaningful Sex and Self is to them. “I know what it means to people. I know how life-changing it can be to have access to these items. It’s important that this remains a resource at Concordia.”

The 2023 schedule for Sex and Self is looking full. Students can anticipate many more in-person activities, educational seminars, giveaways, and Wellness Pantry refills.

Those interested can follow @sexandselfconcordia on Instagram for information on upcoming events.

they are covered by the public health system. For those who are not Canadian citizens, there are fees ranging from $5 to $15, depending on the services needed.

In addition to the multiple CLSCs spread across Montreal, some clinics specialize in young people under the age of 25 to offer more booking availabilities. The SIDEP+ clinics in the Gay village

and Montérégie provide free services for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, whether cisgender or transgender.

If you are due for a screening test, Clic Santé’s website should have at least one location with availabilities within one week, but not all of those are part of the public health system, so fees may apply.

COURTESYSEXANDSELFCONCORDIA

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

LGBTQIA2S+ Blood Donation Advocates Underwhelmed by Recent Reforms Hannah Vogan

I

n April 2022, Canadian Blood Services announced it would remove its policy deferring sexually active, gay men from donating blood for three months from their last sexual encounter.

Instead, an individual riskbased screening was implemented in September 2022 and went into effect throughout Canada. Quebec was the last province to adopt this new policy.

According to Laurent Paul Ménard, public relations director of Héma-Québec, “the objective is to maintain the same very high level of safety of blood products while being more inclusive.”

Héma-Quebec followed in CBS’ footsteps and, as of Oct. 2, 2022, switched to an individual risk-based evaluation that is to be filled out by every potential donor regardless of their sex, gender or sexual orientation.

“Eligibility for blood, platelets and plasma donations is now based on an individual atrisk behaviour evaluation rather than a population-based evaluation,” read Héma-Quebec’s website. “With this new approach, each person wishing to donate blood products, regardless of sex,

gender or sexual orientation, is asked new questions aimed at atrisk sexual behaviours."

In contrast, the older model solely screened gay, trans and bi men, who were considered high-risk applicants. Agencies anticipated these populations to have higher rates of HIV, hepatitis B and C.

The new screening asks potential donors if they have had a new sexual partner or multiple sexual partners in the previous three months. If yes, they must declare if the sexual act was anal sex. If it was not, the donor is still free to donate as long as they qualify for other usual criteria. If the potential donor did partake in anal sex with one or more new partners, they are excluded from donating for another three months.

However, if a donor has been with the same partner for longer than three months, they are permitted to donate—one of the first policies allowing men who have sex with men to donate blood while being sexually active since the 1970s.

Christopher Karas, an LGBTQIA2S+ activist who is not only vocal about this topic, but also filed a human rights complaint against CBS in 2016 for their dis-

criminatory policy, sees an error in CBS’ allegedly inclusive approach to its new evaluation process.

Karas' interest in blood donation inequality began in high school when he realized he could not donate blood. "I knew I wouldn't be able to do this thing that so many others do, and that helps people. I wanted to be able to do that, too," he said.

Karas recalled an early attempt to donate blood: "I went there, you know, prepared. I had my [negative STI] test results in hand, and that wasn't enough."

The blood donation clinic worker gave him a pamphlet informing him why he was being turned away. At the time—2013 to 2016—the deferral period was set at five years, meaning Karas or any MSM could not have sex for an unbroken five years to be considered eligible.

"They've continued their decade-old policy just in a new form," said Karas. "It's not fair for them to just categorically exclude donors as they have, and they continue to do that."

Karas compared CBS’ new screening to the one he dealt with previously. He views them as pragmatically similar since those

partaking in anal sex will have to remain abstinent for a deferral period—unless in a monogamous relationship—to be allowed to donate.

"Who knows how long it will take to have a full three months of abstinence?" added Karas.

He pointed out a margin of error, as the revised policy still restricts MSM who are not in a

Burnin’ Rubber Is Canada Doing Enough To Provide Free Contraception?

Maria Cholakova

Since its invention in 1858, the rubber condom has revolutionized contraception. From latex-free to flavoured, in different shapes and sizes, condoms have become an essential part of people’s sex lives.

In 2020, Statistics Canada reported that Quebec had the lowest condom use nationwide, at only 48 per cent of sexually active 15 to 24-year-olds using them regularly. In addition, the data found that the likelihood of condom use decreased as teenagers entered their early twenties. But Canada is not alone in facing this issue.

On Dec. 8, 2022, the French government announced that free condoms would be available at pharmacies at the beginning of 2023 for people below the age of 26. The decision was made as an initiative to decrease rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

According to Alexander McKay, the executive director of Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, France is

miles ahead of Canada when it comes to providing free and accessible contraception.

“There is little doubt from the research that SIECCAN has done that many young people are entering the university system with a very low level of awareness around sexually transmitted infections,” said McKay. “Educational programs related to sexual health, specifically targeting university students, need to be an ongoing priority.”

McKay said that rates of reportable sexually transmitted infections in Canada have been increasing over the years. To combat that, access to education and services promoting sexual health and well-being of people is essential.

But in order to follow France’s footsteps, McKay stressed the importance of setting priorities. “The process requires a consensus amongst public health institutions and governments that providing those services at free or low cost,” he explained.

It all comes down to the consumer’s decision. For the average buyer, a pack of condoms costs around $12. Depending on how sexually active they are, that cost quickly adds up. Advocates like McKay say that access to free condoms should be widened to lessen the financial burden of the buyer and promote safe sex.

Manikya Singh, a master's student at Concordia, firmly agrees with McKay. “When I was a little bit younger,” he recalled, “I used to have friends who would really hesitate to go up to a pharmacy and spend money on contraception. When it's a free resource, it's quite convenient.”

Singh believes that condoms should be free. “When the government proposes any type of free service, it’s great as it gives open access to people,” he pointed out.

Nonetheless, Singh is a bit skeptical. “Even if we have free condoms, if a guy refuses to wear them, it won’t make too much of a difference,” he said. “Providing

monogamous relationship from donating. Regardless if the questionnaire is presented to all potential donors, questions about anal sex continue to target the MSM community.

“My hope is that we do see the end of these policies,” Karas said. “I think there’s still potential for us to review alternatives.”

free condoms is not going to do anything, I believe until people actually change their mindset and get more aware about the risk they are taking.”

Across the country, multiple organizations provide free condoms. In Montreal, Head and Hands, a social service centre for young people, gives out free condoms at their offices at 3465 Benny Ave. and at 3770 Decarie Blvd.

Concordia also distributes condoms, lube, screens, pipes, dental dams, sterile water, gloves, and information booklets at multiple locations across campus.

Health Services provide free condoms at both SGW (GM-200) and Loyola (AD-131) campuses. Supplies are also available at the Concordia Student Union’s offices at both H-711 and CC-426.

Students can also find condoms and other supplies at the Center for Gender Advocacy, located at PR-Annex at 2110 Mackay St., and Le Frigo Vert at 1444 Mackay St.

GRAPHIC MICHA PARADIS

Decriminalization: What’s The Best Path?

Activists Disagree on How to Best Ensure the Safety of Sex Workers

Sophie Dufresne

I

n the 1990s, Nadja worked various jobs in the sex industry. At the time, being a dominatrix was illegal in Canada.

While working as a dominatrix, one of her clients suffered a minor heart attack during a session. The incident was no fault of her own, but Nadja felt she could no longer safely work in an illegal environment afterwards.

“Though he quickly recovered, I realized that if it had been worse and the police got involved, there may have been legal repercussions for myself,” Nadja said.

Since leaving the sex industry, Nadja has enrolled as a mature undergraduate student at Concordia, where she is studying psychology.

For decades, activists have gone back and forth on the question of whether sex work should be fully or partially decriminalized. While the debate is still ongoing, those involved remain committed to advocating for the safety of sex workers.

In 2016, Amnesty International made the decision to support full decriminalization of sex work in order to protect the human rights of sex workers.

Unlike partial decriminalization advocates, who believe sex-buying, brothels and third-party facilitators should remain criminalized, full decriminalization advocates believe all aspects of the sex industry should be decriminalized.

Sandra Wesley, executive director of Stella, l’amie de Maimie, an organization by and for sex workers, explained that while Amnesty’s decision was controversial, it was necessary because “criminalizing third parties puts people in direct danger.”

Stella advocates for full decriminalization, she explained, which means removing sex work from the criminal code so it is considered a form of labour instead of a crime.

This, Wesley added, would grant sex workers access to provincial labour standards, which would improve their work conditions. Another benefit would be the availability of the civil court system to resolve any sex work-related disputes. Existing criminal law would deal with any violence sex workers experience on the job, she added, so there would be no need for new legislation.

“We come together because we experience violence in our work; because we experience bad working conditions; because we see that things are not right in our industry and we want to improve them,” Wesley said.

“If you’re going to build a world where sex work is safe, you have to listen to sex workers,” said Nadja. She specified that victims of sex trafficking and abused children are not sex workers, they are survivors.

In her experience, people who were forced into sex work often have difficulty understanding that others enter the industry voluntarily.

As Nadja sees it, advocating for the legal right to sell one’s body doesn’t invalidate the experiences of trafficked individuals. “It doesn’t negate or devalue the importance of survivor voices,” she stated.

Human rights attorney Yasmin Vafa, co-founder and executive director of the American non-

profit organization Rights4Girls is a sex work abolitionist. She stated that “decriminalization is much more dangerous than legalization because it’s a complete deregulation of the market.”

Decriminalization means repealing the laws that criminalize a certain industry or behaviour, such as carrying drugs, whereas legalization means replacing the current laws with new ones, like what Canada did in 2018 with cannabis regulations. Legalization thus leads to the implementation of strict regulations that have the potential to coerce sex workers into dangerous conditions.

Wesley agreed that the legalization model, which has been implemented in Germany and in the Netherlands, is dangerous and should be avoided. She explained that this tactic only legalizes the small percentage of sex workers who are able to conform to strict regulations imposed on the industry, forcing marginalized women to continue their work in even more dangerous conditions.

However, Wesley countered that every form of criminalization, including partial decriminalization, means there are no regulations or rights for sex workers.

“When we decriminalize, we’re not sending sex workers in an empty wasteland of no regulation, we’re integrating them into an [existing] system,” Wesley said, adding that Canada’s civil and criminal codes would suffice to keep sex workers safe from violence if sex work were removed from the realm of criminal law.

Vafa countered that decriminalizing the purchase of sex leads to an increased demand for sex workers, which results in an increase of sex trafficking. She specified that Rights4Girls are sex trade abolitionists because they strive for a world free of genderbased violence and exploitation.

“The sex trade is deeply rooted in colonialism and patriarchy,” Vafa stated.

In 2003, New Zealand became the first country to decriminalize sex work.

Vafa explained that according to a U.S Department of State report, New Zealand has not initiated a single sex trafficking investigation nor identified any victims within the last two years. She alleged this means traffickers are getting away with their crimes.

However, Wesley said that trafficking is facilitated by criminalization and is most common in industries where workers don’t have rights, such as domestic work and farming.

Wesley specified that migrant workers are especially vulnerable in criminalized contexts, particularly in Canada, where they risk deportation if the police finds them working in an environment where sex work takes place.

According to Wesley, New Zealand’s full decriminalization model has allowed for their sex workers to work in safe, organized workplaces. She added that workers can now bring their employers to court and report bad working conditions or even go to the police and report clients who have assaulted them.

When factories and mines used to employ children and expose workers to toxins, Wesley said, the government didn’t respond by shutting them down, it responded “by giving workers rights.” This labour reform is what Stella Montreal wants for the sex industry.

She added that decriminalizing the industry would decrease the stigma surrounding sex workers and allow them to change careers more easily than in a society that criminalizes sex purchasing.

GRAPHIC NADINE ABDELATIF

“Decriminalization actually facilitates sex workers’ social inclusion,” Wesley said.

For Nadja, “the sex worker-run decriminalization movement is more inclusive [because] it includes survivors and people who want to voluntarily sell their sexual services, whereas […] the criminalization of sex work does not make a place for those who wish to sell their bodies.”

Nadja added that although partial decriminalization is a better alternative to criminalization, criminalizing the purchase of sex still creates a dangerous environment.

Bridget Perrier, co-founder of SexTrade101, believes that all sex work is trauma-inducing.

After being forced to work in the sex trade from the ages of 12 to 24, Perrier escaped her violent

and abusive conditions. She now works with women who are trying to find a way out.

Perrier explained that she doesn’t see many Indigenous women like herself surviving the sex trade in one piece. “They’re getting out either in a body bag or in mass addiction,” she stated.

“I was begging God for a grandson,” Perrier said of her Black and Native granddaughter, “because I didn’t want a child to go through what I went through as an Indigenous woman in a country where they hate Indigenous persons.”

According to her, the sex trade isn’t work, it’s exploitation. She doesn’t believe women can find empowerment in sex work.

“I think sex trafficking is a new buzzword. It’s sexual exploitation,” Perrier answered when asked if

there is a difference between sex trafficking and sex work.

Wesley explained that she finds it disrespectful to victims of sex trafficking to claim that they are in the same situation as those who willingly sell sex.

“We have reached a point where trafficking and sex work are being fully conflated,” Wesley said.

Nadja conceded that while she “leans towards decriminalization,” the debate between full and partial decriminalization remains unresolved.

“There is no such thing as partial decriminalization,” claimed Wesley. “The talk of partial decriminalization is a marketing tactic to make criminalization palatable for the general public.”

She added that criminalizing the client still criminalizes the work-

er because the entire transaction is criminalized. “You can’t criminalize half of a transaction,” Wesley said.

Nadja explained how pimps, who live off the earnings of a sex worker, are generally exploitative and should not exist. She clarified that not all third party facilitators are pimps, however, because security guards, drivers and brothel managers can all be crucial for sex workers to operate in safety.

“I think they need a finer tool for identifying what a pimp is and that finer tool would be a sex worker’s testimony,” Nadja said. “Third parties should be decriminalized […] so that sex workers can expand to the next stage of economic security and not be isolated.”

Nonetheless, Nadja cautioned, “There’s a danger of white feminism stepping into this space,”

acknowledging her own whiteness and how privileged women often assume leadership positions within organizations that claim to speak on behalf of all sex workers.

“Let’s never forget about the most vulnerable people who also do this work and [let’s] centre their voices,” Nadja said.

Our First Date

Cielo Buendia

The windows are starting to fog.

I look into your eyes lit by the street light; a warm yellow that makes them glow. It’s the first time I see your face in person, though we’ve been FaceTiming almost every night. I’ve seen every part of your body through a screen.

I drive my ear closer to your mouth so I can hear you panting, calling my name as my fingers continue to touch you. Exploring your body for the first time feels magical, and I can feel myself getting wetter and wetter.

I move my fingers across your crotch, teasing you until you can’t take it anymore and you grab my hand to pleasure yourself with it. I’m both surprised and turned on

by how bold you are in bed. You then let out a moan and your lips touch my ear—I gasp at the feeling. I continue to touch you, my fingers moving back and forth, entering you, and going faster as you press on my bicep.

You pause to look at me. “Are you sure no one will hear us?” you ask, your eyes filled with excitement.

“You’re not the first hookup I bring here,” I lie, awaiting your reaction.

“Look at you, now you’re talking,” you say as you make your way on top of me with a grin.

You move your fingers along my chest and stomach until you reach my crotch. “Can I touch you?” you ask. I immediately whisper “yes.”

Your fingers penetrate me and I feel myself grabbing your thighs in response. Your skin is soft, and your fingers inside me send waves of pleasure along my body. I’m amazed by how good you are at this.

“Do you like it?” you ask me. I don’t know what to answer, so I nod diligently. “Then show me,” you answer. I slide my hand along you until I reach your mouth and put my index finger in. Because you take it so well, I put a second finger in. As we fuck each other, I can feel my inner thighs tense up, close to climaxing, close to cumming.

We look into each other’s eyes and we can both tell the other wants more. “I want to suck you off,” you say to me. I nod, already imagining how your mouth will feel around my dick. As your head lowers, I grab your hair to push and pull it as I guide you. You have long hair, smooth to the touch and I easily grab it into a ponytail to continue showing you how to pleasure me.

But I feel the need to explore your body as well. I want to lick, suck and bite every single part of you. “Come here,” I ask you. Your eyes turn to look at me but your mouth is still moving around me. “Come here,” I tell you again, this time pulling on your hair to get you closer to me.

As your head begins to reach me I start leaving messy kisses on your face. When you’re finally next to me, you grab my jaw, forcing me to stop, and plant a kiss on my lips.

The Hot n’ Heavy Playlist

Who Up Spinning They Cassette Tapes rn?

Scarlet Guy

“Just the Two of Us” by Grover Washington, Jr. “Beggin’” by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

“Last Thing on Your Mind” by H. Hawkline

“Lovers Rock” by TV Girl

“No Love” by Summer Walker and SZA

“Put On Repeat” by Sabrina Claudio

“Been Like This” by Doja Cat

“PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA” by Beyoncé

“Ain’t Nobody” by Rufus and Chaka Khan

“Miss You” by The Rolling Stones

“Ava Adore” by The Smashing Pumpkins

“This Mess We’re In” by PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke

“bad idea!” by girl in red

“Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drops” by Cocteau Twins

“505” by Arctic Monkeys

“Atomic” by Sleeper and Rapino Brothers

“Demain Berlin” by Film Noir

“Voyage Voyage” by Desireless “What’s Your Pleasure?” by Jessie Ware

“I Feel Love” by Donna Summer

GRAPHIC NADINE ABDELLATIF

Lunar New Year with Lust Cove

The QTBIPOC Performance Collective Gives Lunar New Year a Fresh, Alluring and Exciting Spin

Alexa Toguri-Laurin

The Montreal-based burlesque collective Lust Cove is returning in full-force with their upcoming in-person show Moon Cake.

The collective of People of Colour, Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous and artists provides inclusive, accessible and exciting performances. Their upcoming show celebrates the Lunar New Year and performers from East Asian backgrounds.

Lust Cove’s creator, Kaya Koko, started the collective with two of her friends, Kira Lockheart and Mei, before the pandemic ripped through the city. As Asian sex workers and burlesque performers, they noticed how burlesque clubs across Montreal lack diversity in their performances and casts, especially in terms of ethnicity, body shapes and gender identities.

“We’re sick of how white a lot of performance scenes [were], how fatphobic they are, as well just ableist—all the ‘isms’. So we’re like: ‘Fuck that, you’re not going to give us space to perform, so we’re just going to make it ourselves,’” Koko explained.

Koko pointed out how some clubs falsely market themselves as inclusive through Asian-inspired shows. “They use the branding but I don’t see any Asian performers,” she said.

Lust Cove started performing virtually throughout the pandemic, creating a space for performers to express themselves and to entertain attendees stuck at home. From then on, each online show formed a supportive community.

As in-person performances are welcomed back, Lust Cove commemorates the Lunar New Year and celebrates East Asian culture by featuring an all-Asian cast. Attendees can expect butts, boobs, and music that will stimulate the senses. As Koko puts it, Moon Cake is a “slutty variety show.”

Performer Lia Jasmine will perform her first go-go set with Lust Cove in Moon Cake. With Koko’s guidance, Jasmine found her way to enjoy the art of burlesque, despite being a novice.

To her, performing for a queer and BIPOC collective helped her find belonging in the burlesque-sphere. “It’s kinda a dream to have my first performance with an entirely queer and BIPOC sensual troupe,” Jasmine said.

“There aren’t often spaces for queer and BIPOC people. For people who live in that intersection, there’s not always those spaces, so to be part of [a space like this] is beautiful,” Jasmine added.

Singer-songwriter Big Daddy Queen Power will have her first live musical performance of 2023 with Lust Cove. Having performed alongside burlesque dancers before, she is excited to return to the stage and share her new songs with an open audience.

“[There's] going to be a lot of new community-building [...]. It feels good to be supporting events like these,” Big Daddy said.

Koko ensured that attendees will be well-accommodated. Venues

will be wheelchair-accessible and there will be hybrid performances online for immunocompromised attendees. Lust Cove also encourages attendees to adhere to health guidelines, such as mask-wearing and social distancing.

Lust Cove welcomes new members interested in joining the collective. “We’re really open to anyone who wants to get started and join our troupe. It's really a space for people to come together and learn to [perform],” Koko said.

COURTESY LEA JASMINE

COURTESY LUST COVE

PHOTO LOUISE SAUVARD

Ace of Gays

Sophie Dufresne

The Characters

JANET (she/her): a 25-year-old woman who took a few psychology electives in her undergraduate degree and now believes she is basically a psychologist. She met JESSIE in one such class and somehow befriended them despite the two having nothing in common besides being different shades of queer.

JESSIE (they/he): a 23-yearold androgynous person who writes short stories because they are taking a mental health break from their undergraduate degree in English literature. The break could last anywhere between one and three years.

Ace of Gays

The stage is bare besides a café table with two chairs. JANET and JESSIE are sitting facing each other and JANET is reading something on her computer. JESSIE is sipping from a mug and is tapping nervously on the table with their free hand.

JANET [looking up from her computer screen, on which she had been reading a short story draft written by JESSIE]: Where’s the love arc?

JESSIE [sighing and speaking slowly]: Why does everything in western media need a love arc? [They roll their eyes playfully] Can’t I tell a story for the sake of telling a story without there being a side dish of sex and romance? The message of my story would get lost if I made the main character fall in love. Romantic love is just filler for when you don’t know how to advance your plot. [Pause]

JESSIE (cont’d) [in a more genuine tone]: That was a cynical way of putting it. I just wanted to write a story where the focus isn’t romance, for once. While I never state it explicitly, my main character doesn’t experience romantic attraction, but they still have fondness for the people they care about.

JANET [confused]: Are you implying your main character can’t feel love?

JESSIE: No, of course not. My main character loves their friends and family. They just don’t experience romantic love, sexual desire or lust. [Pause]

JESSIE (cont’d) [thinking aloud]: Well, they could be both aromantic and asexual, but maybe they are only aromantic, meaning they would experience sexual attraction. I haven’t decided that yet, but it’s probably not important for my story.

JANET [still confused]: Will there be a plot twist where they find the right person? Everyone has a soulmate. [JESSIE gives JANET a glare, reminding JANET that her friend doesn’t believe in soulmates] Okay! Okay! Even if you don’t believe in soulmates, you agree that everyone can fall in love, it’s just a matter of finding the right person! If aromanticism is just an aversion to romance, and asexuality is just an aversion to sex, meeting the right person will change that.

JESSIE [facepalming]: No cause—what are you saying? [Laughs] Aromanticism isn’t necessarily an aversion to romance just like asexuality isn’t necessarily an aversion to sex. Both are spectrums, so the degree to which different aromantic people experience romantic attraction varies, meaning some occasionally do and others never do. It’s not a matter of finding the right person unless you mean the right person is someone who will respect that and won’t try to change who the person is. Now, for asexuals, some are sex-positive, meaning they aren’t averted to sex and may even experience sexual desire without having that desire being elicited by someone they find attractive.

JANET: So asexuals can still find people attractive?

JESSIE: Of course, and some will have sex with people they find attractive either just for fun or to feel closer to their partner or partners.

JANET [surprised]: I thought asexuals never had sex. I thought they were… what’s the word? Sex-repulsed!

JESSIE: Some asexuals are sex-repulsed, yes, but asexuality is hard to define because asexuals aren’t a monolith.

JANET [finally understanding]: Okay, so the label ‘asexual’ is kind of a misnomer then.

JESSIE: Well, terms like demisexual and greysexual exist to describe those who either sometimes feel sexual attraction or who don’t quite fit the asexual mould. I wasn’t trying to make a statement by making my character appear aromantic and/or asexual, I was just trying to write a story that didn’t have any unnecessary fluff.

JANET [laughing and looking back at her computer screen]: Okay, then in that case, here are some adjustments I would make…

[The stage lights slowly fade to black as JANET says something the audience barely hears. JESSIE listens to JANET attentively and takes notes on a notepad.]

male G-spot

be under

named after a famous British Queen’s husband

by Frank Ocean for thousands of dollars and worn on male genitalia Handcuff me, mommy Let’s face it, it rarely happens to women during heterosexual sex

GRAPHIC ALEXANDRA NACKLEY

Isabela Marino

When Sport Meets Art

Pole Dancing: A Misunderstood Discipline

Gabrielle Laperriere Leblanc

Making the way up the elevators of this newly renovated apartment building in Outremont, one notices the modern look of the studio Alyssa Da Silva lives in. It is fitted with everything a studio needs—except for the eight-foot metal pole reaching from floor to ceiling directly in the middle of the apartment. “I installed it there myself,” Da Silva said proudly.

"When people think pole dance, they think strippers, then they think sex work, which is a hell of a stretch,” said Da Silva. She explained that pole dancing is a full-body workout: it is resistance training and cardio. It also requires rhythm, agility, flexibility and strength while looking effortlessly beautiful.

Da Silva started pole dancing a little bit over a year ago at Studio Milan, located on the Plateau Mont-Royal. “It looked interesting, and I had a few friends who wanted to try it as well,” said Da Silva. “I’m the only one who stuck with it and decided to go up the different levels. I ended up loving it so much. Each new figure that I would learn made me want to get better at it.”

“I grew up playing sports with my brothers and my father, I was a bit of a tomboy, […] it's funny that I am so into pole-dancing nowadays, it allowed me to explore that more feminine and gracious side of me,” she said.

In a pole dancing class, instructors will teach you how to do different positions and motions on the pole, which become increasingly complex as you go up levels. From there, combinations of figures and choreography are added, making it the beautiful show that pole dancing can be.

Joanie Coutu is a 28 year-old pole dancer and instructor at Studio Vexial, a business Coutu and her partner, Nadine Gagnon, started in 2017. Located in the Charlemagne neighbourhood, the studio provides services such as private or in-group pole dancing classes, aerial hoop classes and aerial silk classes.

According to Coutu, there are three main categories of pole dancing: fitness, arts and exotic pole dancing. “In the fitness sections, that’s where competition pole-dancing and workout pole-dancing exists, you will see the performers dressed a little

bit like gymnasts,” she explained. “[Artistic] pole dancing is any performance where a pole dancer is there, a lot of time some choreography of ballet or contemporary dance will be incorporated, and the pole dancer will be dressed a little bit like a ballerina or contemporary dancer […] Exotic pole-dancing is where the pole dancers are wearing high heels, and where there is more focus on sensuality, usually found in strip-clubs.”

“To practice pole dancing, you need to develop strength and certain muscles that other workouts don’t target,” shared Coutu, who believes pole dancing is a discipline to be taken seriously. “You need to be strong to hold yourself on the pole, so going to the gym a couple of times a week to get stronger while pole-dancing is recommended.”

Coutu considers the stigma around the sport to prevent the discipline from entering into more serious spaces. [Pole dancing] has aspects of sports and beauty, but the distinctions need to be made in people’s minds,” said Coutu. She hopes that the

sport will eventually enter the Olympics. “At any pole dancing competition, there are judges and criteria to be met, a certain number of figures to execute properly to get points,” explained Coutu. “If you think about it, it’s not that different from gymnastics.”

A 31 year-old mother of two, Marjorie Poirier is an unexpected pole dancer. She said she joined Coutu’s studio a little over seven months ago, after years of a sedentary lifestyle.

“I never thought I would fall in love with pole dancing the way I did,” said Poirier. “Now, I am entering my first competition, not even a year after I first started the discipline.”

Coutu and Poirier went on to participate in the Pole Sports Organization, one of the world’s largest pro-am competitions. The competition happened in Boston on the weekend of Nov. 19 and 20, 2022. Poirier finished in third place.

“Eleven months ago, I was 50 pounds heavier and I wasn’t practicing any sports,” Poirier stated in a Facebook post following the event. “Today, I performed on stage in front of the public and a jury of judges for my first fitness

pole competition after only practicing this sport for six months. […] I landed in third place, a huge accomplishment when I look back at it!”

Very small shorts and tops are the appropriate outfit for pole dancing since the skin has to stick to the metal pole to be able to hold yourself on it: “I was a bit nervous and I thought people might judge or give me looks, but the experience turned out to be the exact opposite. The environment was so diverse and inclusive, people with all body types and all ages were there”, said Poirier.

According to Coutu, pole dancing is very in demand in all types of spheres, and is now more inclusive than ever: “Thanks to social media, I have people contacting me for all sorts of gigs. Sometimes an artist needs a pole dancer in a video. Sometimes a musical event, like a concert want pole dancers accompanying the musicians on stage. One time I needed to train an actor on the pole because of the stunts he was going to have to do in a movie, I have to turn down gigs nowadays!” said Coutu.

Shut Up and Dribble: The Hypersexualization of Women in Sports

How the Male Gaze Undermines the Achievements of Female Athletes

P

rofessional track athlete Tara Davis won the women’s long jump event at the 114th Millrose Games in January 2022. How was she congratulated for it? With a viral thirst trap TikTok that repeats the way she landed and stood up in slow motion over a sensual song.

The comments section is full of sexual remarks and men saying she “knows what she is doing”— that her intention was to appeal to men. Davis dedicated her life to that moment, and yet men believe that she was putting her mental energy towards looking sexy on the landing of her winning jump.

This example is far from unique and, as I see it, represents a larger trend in the historical advertising and reception of women’s sports. In a world of media created by and for men, women’s sports needed a selling point. Men’s sports already fulfilled the fantasy of hyper-masculinity so women’s sports had to sell something else, and of course it landed on sex.

Though the characters and storyline are fictionalized, this history is represented in the 2022 series A League of Their Own, a reimagining of the 1992 film by the same name. The series follows the creation of a women’s professional baseball league during the Second World War as the MLB

talent dwindled due to the draft.

The league, in both the series and real life, had strict regulations for the athletes that determined how they were allowed to dress and act. The rules forbade pants, short hair, drinking and smoking, and required lipstick, to ensure they had more sex appeal. The athletes were also required to attend a charm school to learn ladylike conduct and beauty routines.

Even the uniforms they played in were short dresses. If men wanted to watch sports, they’d watch men play. To market a women’s sports league, they had to market the women themselves. It didn’t matter how well the women could pitch or hit if they didn’t look pretty doing it.

This idea that female athletes are performing for men is still present today, as shown with the response to Davis’ long jump. A similar issue arose in 2016 when Olympic gymnast Simone Biles posted a photo on Instagram of herself and fellow gymnasts Aly Raisman and Madison Kocian in bikinis at the beach. The internet was flooded with both support and hate, with one viral response saying, “y’all find this attractive? lmaaoo.”

This kind of reaction not only bashes the looks of the gymnasts, but devalues their bodies to mere objects of attraction rather than the

cause and result of incredible athletic achievement. This is even more devastating when you consider the fact that this happened during the trial of former USA women’s gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, who was found guilty for sexually abusing all three athletes.

From debates on uniforms to sketchy camerawork, women's sports are undoubtedly riddled with misogyny. They all stem from the same unfair assumption that a woman performing any kind of physical expression is her putting her body up for discussion–submitting herself to the discourse.

Women’s sports leagues are a microcosm of the treatment of women in modern society. The devaluation and sexualization of female athletes begins within the leagues themselves and is reflected back by viewers. This creates an environment that allows sexual harassment, assault and abuse to happen far too often, and wrongly justifies unequal pay for female athletes. The deeply rooted patriarchal fear of women taking on traditionally masculine roles has stained women’s sports from their very beginnings, and the athletes should not be left to scrub that stain out on their own.

The Condom Chronicles

GRAPHIC RENEE KENNEDY

Juiette Uliana

Just Ask Me Who I’m Fucking

The Sex Lives of Girls With Nosey Family Members

Autumn Darey

L

ike many families, the holidays are usually when we catch up the most.

For some people, my romantic life is of particular interest, though you may not be able to tell based solely on how they ask their questions. You’d think by now they’d know I don’t have much of a love life, since I’ve never brought anyone home to meet my family.

Yet the questions persist: “Are there any cute boys in your classes?”, “Have you met anyone at a party?”, “Is there anyone you want to tell us about?” ask my cousins, aunts, uncles and extended family. They usually strike right when I've taken a sip of my soda or a bite of food. Their questions lurking under the loveseat and coffee table like ankle-biting kittens.

One of the things I’ve found asked most often to me and my femme-presenting friends are questions like “are you seeing someone?” If we’re honest, the real question they’re trying to ask is if we’re fucking someone.

I started getting asked that question, in one of its many forms, around age 12. While I’ve been able to avoid it for the last few years because of COVID-19’s halt on gatherings, I know that when I see family I haven't gathered with in a while, it’s bound to come up.

Dating has never been a priority for me. I've always put my education and financial independence first. While it would be great to have a partner, relationships are work that

I, quite frankly, have varying levels of time for. I also know that I’m still young, and not having a partner in my 20s is normal. This is my time to try new things and find out what I want and don’t want from life.

When I was around 16, I was asked by a male member of my extended family when I planned on having kids. I asked why he felt comfortable asking a minor. When I got no reply, I followed up and asked how he knew I didn't have health

issues that would make it difficult or impossible for me to have children.

The questions have slowed down, possibly because said family members know they’ll get a reply that they really don’t like. However, it's also likely because society’s interest in women plummets as we age. I was cat-called and harassed more between 10 and 17 than I have been between 18 and 26.

The men in the room grew visibly uncomfortable and the

women looked on, waiting for an answer as the room stood still. Never did I get an answer and the subject has never been overtly brought up around me since.

While I know my family members mean well and want to know that I’m happy, I often wish they’d just ask me if I’m fucking someone.

It’s extremely difficult to explain to people—particularly older, married people who haven't dated in

decades—how difficult it is to date now. As a cis woman who dates men, I can tell you from experience that there are a lot of single men out there, and very few of them are ready for adult relationships. There might be a lot of fish in the sea, but there's also an ungodly amount of trash.

While sex might be an important part of some relationships, it might be at the bottom of the list for others. We need to be willing to accept that sex and intimacy aren't and never have had a onesize fits all solution.

The majority of sex education is horrendous. We seldom give young people the tools and space to talk about sex and sexuality beyond the most basic details. We seem almost afraid of overtly talking about our sex lives and desires, yet there are so many who are willing to ask, covertly (or not), under the guise of catching up.

So, for any of my family members who might be reading this, no, I’m not currently fucking anyone. I’m a little busy with multiple degrees, three part-time jobs and my attempt to maintain my mental and physical well-being. Adding in another human being who needs and deserves the time and effort a relationship takes is not on my schedule.

If and when that changes, I'll be sure to let you know. Please pass the potatoes.

GRAPHIC RENEE KENNEDY

Not Your Jezebel

Black Women’s Bodies and Desirability Politics

Sandra Mouafo

Iwas only 10 years old when puberty hit me like a ton of bricks.

My body was changing; somehow, it seemed to have meant that it became okay for me to be sexualized and talked about despite my age.

By the time I was 19, I, like approximately 4.7 million other women in Canada, had been sexually harassed and sexually assaulted.

I wasn’t even safe from this objectification at work. In fact, when not directly encouraged to boost business, my objectification was perpetuated by my supervisors.

When I was a medical secretary, I was offered a breast reduction in lieu of a raise, despite having never discussed or complained about my body, breasts or back to neither my boss nor my colleagues. Still, that did nothing to stop my 60-something-year-old white male boss from making the suggestion. I was gone soon after.

There is, in essence, no way to exist in a femme Black body without inviting unjustified criticism and the punitive eyes of the white supremacist gaze. If the allure of what makes us a target is our very skin, how may we ever be free?

In her book Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia, author, Chancellor’s Fellow and Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of

California, Sabrina Strings, reveals the colonial and racial provenance of the modern discourse on fatness.

There is a fear of fat Black women, Strings explains, that stems from historical narratives that exploded during the Enlightenment era; it relates fatness to savagery and racial inferiority.

“When we're in the [slave trade] colonies, we're noticing that Africans are sensuous,” said String in a 2020 NPR interview about the colonizer’s minds. “They love sex, and they love food. And for this reason, they tend to be too fat. Europeans, we have rational self-control. This is what makes us the premier race of the world. So in terms of body size, we should be slender, and we should watch what we eat.”

This type of thinking still echoes in modern discourse surrounding bodies and results in damaging beliefs surrounding health and beauty. Body size is thus weaponized as a tool of distinction for discrimination.

The body mass index is one of the many weapons used in the war on Black bodies. “[It] imposes white male body norms on the world,” according to Strings in a 2022 WBUR article.

This discriminatory practice is “also present in the fashion industry through waist trainers and body shapers that sought to emulate the Black body while at the same time constricting it,” Strings added.

In August 2022, nepotism baby and film critic Lena Wilson reviewed Amandla Stenberg’s performance in Bodies Bodies Bodies. She stated that the film “doubles as a 95-minute advertisement for cleavage.”

Stenberg later responded in an Instagram video that “it’s quite surprising the amount of commentary I receive on my boobs,” and that their character’s fashion was an artistic choice made with the costume designer. “I do get tired of people talking about my chest—there seems to be a lot of unwarranted conversation about my chest.”

I know this to be true because I have personally had the same experience. Whether I wear a turtleneck, a dress or a low-cut shirt, people will shamelessly and unwarrantedly comment on my body. This is all too common.

“Men talked about the size of my butt. There are people who were telling me I was angry. That stuff hurts, and it makes you sort of wonder, what are people seeing?” stated Michelle Obama in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

“They called me un-American, and this stuff sticks with you.”

Even she, the first lady of the United States, despite her status, education, title and caution, remained at the mercy of the commodification of Black femme bodies.

“The portrayal of Black women as lascivious by nature is an enduring stereotype,” states Ferris State University’s Jim Crow Museum. “The descriptive words associated with this stereotype are singular in their focus: seductive, alluring, worldly, beguiling, tempting, and lewd. Historically, white women, as a category, were portrayed as models of self-respect, self-control, and modesty— even sexual purity, but Black women were often portrayed as innately promiscuous, even predatory.” This contextualizes the birth of the Jezebel stereotype.

The Jezebel stereotype has been used as a tool in the dehumanization of Black women via our bodies. It ranges from incessant commentary on Chloe Bailey’s body, to the prevalence of the ebony category in porn searches, to the crusade against Megan Thee Stallion’s testimonial credibility based on her sexual history.

The scrutiny is only made worse when coupled with fatness. Someone like Lizzo, for instance,

who can play the flute and twerk at the same damn time, seems to be the poster child for “unhealthy” people. Yet, the likes of DJ Khaled, Rick Ross, Fat Joe, are not subjected to the same criticism or standards. That is, in its very essence, misogynoir.

These white supremacist techniques seek to sexualize Black women’s bodies to have more substantial grounds for our dismissal as people regardless of our status, education, skin tone or talent. Meanwhile, we are celebrated only when we graciously tolerate hate and disrespect despite our many pleas to be believed and protected.

Such was the case of Saartjie (Sarah) Baartman, a Black woman whose brain, skeleton and sexual organs remained on display in a Paris museum until 1974 despite dying in 1815.

Baartman was deemed a freak show for her accentuated buttocks. Orphaned, the father of her dead child murdered by a Dutch colonist, she was left with no choice but to become a travelling circus exhibit, not dissimilar to the human zoo of Tervuren.

Baartman was a woman who lost everything from her dignity to her ability to rest in peace. The continued exploitation of her trauma further exemplifies Strings’ analysis of the simultaneous fascination and constriction of the Black body. Today, Baartman remains a prime example of colonial exploitation and the commodification of Black people.

I am tired of being treated like a display. My value is seen or dismissed based on my desirability, and that same desirability only serves as a tool for my objectification.

The cases of Amandla Stenberg, Megan Thee Stallion, Chloe Bailey, Lizzo and even Michelle Obama are but contemporary examples of the stripping of Black women’s basic human dignity through the commodification and sexualization of our bodies.

What am I meant to do if my desirability comes at the cost of my humanity? The problem isn’t Lizzo’s weight, Megan’s sexual history, Chloe’s unapologetic sexuality or my boobs in a tank top during summer.

The root problem is the normalization of colonial beauty standards and white supremacist control techniques. It is high time for Black women to be free from the tyrannical gaze of white supremacy.

GRAPHIC MYRIAM OUAZZANI

My Love Letter to My NuvaRing

Let’s Talk About the Contraception no one Seems to Know About

Eva Rizk

Disclaimer: Please consult with a healthcare provider to see which method of contraception is right for you.

Birth control pills can be the most annoying and painful drug to take. Instead, I’ve fallen in love with NuvaRing and haven’t shut up about it since.

When I was 15, my period started coming twice a month—thus began my jour ney with birth control. I took the pill for six months to regular ize my periods. While it magically got rid of my teenage acne, it made me depressed. I would fall asleep in class, had an unusually low sex drive for a teenage girl. Ultimately, I didn’t feel like myself. When I stopped taking it, it felt like a weight was finally lifted off my shoulders and I could finally be my real self again.

At 18, a man I was seeing pushed me into taking birth control pills because he refused to use a condom. Scarred by my high school experience with the pill, I opted for what seemed like the most convenient form of birth control, an Intrauterine Device. My gynecologist was the same man who oversaw my

nancy with me. This meant he was at the age of retirement by the time I wanted an IUD, a fact I wasn’t entirely comfortable with. He didn’t bother informing me of how painful the insertion was going to be. It felt like something was puncturing my uterus. Despite my high pain tolerance and the desire to pretend like I was feeling well, the pain from the insertion only worsened throughout the day. I had a shock-induced period on my bus ride home and spent the rest of my day bedridden. The next week, my IUD fell out.

GRAPHICRENEEKENNEDY

my arm. The vaginal ring seemed like the best option, and this is where our love story began.

To me, the ring stands at number one because it’s the most practical and least invasive form of birth control for me. It’s basically a ring-shaped tampon you can forget about for three weeks. My partner doesn’t feel it, but if he does, I can take it out for up to three hours without risk. And no—it doesn’t fall out when you take a shit.

psychological and physiological changes, but this method has not changed anything about myself.

Still, despite having only heard about good experiences, I have only ever heard about vaginal rings from other users. The only way I ever found out I wasn’t the only NuvaRing user was through drunken endorsement of the drug during bar conversations. This made me realize how important it is for birth control users to discuss their experiences and decrease the stigma around lesser-known contraceptives.

I re-started taking birth control for a man and now I use NuvaRing for myself. Nothing can make me let go of a four-day period. But to discover it, I had to do a lot of independent research.

What other options were left? My school’s health services provided me with a list: a contraceptive patch you change weekly, a quarterly arm injection, a plastic arm implant or the vaginal ring.

At first glance, I was shocked at the extensive birth control options I had never been told about. Why is our sex-education system so centered around the impractical birth control pill?

I was looking for an option that didn’t rely on me remembering to take it daily and definitely didn’t want a piece of plastic inserted in

Douching 101: A Hole Ordeal

A How-to Guide on Deep-Cleaning Your Booty

Zachary Fortier

NuvaRing also helped me discover my period doesn’t need to be seven days long. In fact, you can skip your period by continuously switching your ring without taking any breaks. The same can even be done with the pill if you just skip the sugar pills. Since that method doesn’t really work for me, I prefer to leave my ring in for 24 days and take it out for four days. My fourday period is short, light and did I mention it is only four days long?

Most importantly, the fact that I only need to change it once a month means that I’m not reminded of my fear of pregnancy every day like I would be if I was taking the pill.

I love the ring because it makes me feel like me! I know birth control hormones can lead to many

I hate hearing my girlfriends complain about the pill because they haven’t been informed about other contraceptives. Looking back, I feel as though my high school sexual education barely touched on the birth control options available to us. My first introduction to an alternative like the IUD was through an article in Teen Vogue. I hope kids today are being educated on all the birth control options out there including their dangerous side effects so they can choose the option that best suits their needs.

If you’re looking to explore different birth control options, I highly suggest talking to an OB/GYN. You can easily find one and book an appointment at a CLSC near you.

A

nal sex is a journey and a half. Millions around the world who partake understand the process of preparing for a good, clean sexual encounter. But for newcomers or skeptics, the process of anal douching can seem a little bit daunting.

Douching is the process of cleaning out your precious bits in order to have sex. While vaginal douching has been widely criticized and discouraged by medical professionals, anal douching is generally safer, though there are still some risks.

At the end of the day, an asshole’s an asshole. So, is douching even worth the hassle? Cleanliness is a conversation that needs to happen between you and your partner(s). For a lot of people, myself included, there is an added peace of mind that comes with eliminat-

ing the fear of dookie on the dick.

Before you douche, there are a few things to consider. First and foremost is your diet. Anal sex is about turning a one-way street into a hustling, bustling avenue. Hence, you need to make sure you’re getting plenty of fibre. I recommend taking a wee bit of psyllium husk supplement, available in any drugstore.

If possible, try to space out when you’re eating a big meal and when you’re having anal sex. I completely condemn anyone who tells people to starve themselves all day just for some peen. Starving yourself for dick and balls in this economy? Have some decorum. The trick is to know your body and be familiar with your digestive system’s habits.

Ideally, douching should be done in a private bathroom, but

anywhere with a toilet and sink will do. Make sure you have at least one towel on hand. Get a tiny bit of lubricant, as this will aid with inserting the douche.

The most common type of douche is a bulb, but these can be pricier and a tad harder to access. Attachments also exist for showers, but they can lead to over-douching because of the constant water pressure. Ultimately, finding the vessel that works best for you takes time.

Many baby gays will tell you it is not uncommon to use a plastic water bottle as a douche. DO. NOT. DO. THIS. Using a water bottle is ineffective and messy.

The most accessible method is to buy an enema from the drugstore—the most common brand is Fleet. These are single-use plastic enemas with nozzles that can

actually clean thoroughly. When using an enema, make sure to wash out any of the saline solution that comes in the bottle. Using that solution will likely result in an ocean of diarrhea.

Filling your douche with water is the next step. Make sure the water you use is drinkable and room-temperature. If your water is too hot or cold, you will get painful cramps and likely call it a night. Do not add anything else (soap, essential oils, literally anything) to the douche, for it will hurt.

Lightly press the bulb before insertion to remove any air. Next, get into a semi-squat position. Using that little bit of lube, prepare the nozzle of your douche and gently insert into your rectum. Really try to not go too deep. Once inserted, squeeze the base and let the water enter.

Once you’ve squeezed the water in, remove the douche and clench your cheeks. Now, make like DaBaby and do your lil’ dancy dance. Wiggle around a little bit, like you’re gargling mouthwash. This is a bit of an old wives’ tale, but I’m convinced it works.

After a few good seconds, waddle over to the toilet and release the kraken. Squeezing out the water does feel weird, but you’ll get used to it. Inspect your water when done and repeat this process until your water runs clear.

Now that you’re ready to go, remember to practice safe, healthy sex with people who will respect your body and the process it took for you to be here. Hopefully, this guide has quelled some of your anal anxieties. Now, go get ‘em!

GRAPHIC MARILOU BRICKERT

Cis-Het Men Don’t Know How to Fuck

Addressing the Orgasm Gap and What to Do About It

Bri Kang

C

an we take a moment of silence for all the unfound clitoral orgasms of 2022?

Whether you believe in the orgasm gap or not, there is no denying that many of us who have sex with cis-het men are often left…orgasmless, both statistically and anecdotally. It seems that every time my friends meet up and talk about our sexual escapades, we are left unsatisfied nine times out of ten. Life really is like Sex and the City, except with less white and straight people.

Of course, I’m not fully holding these men responsible for their inability to please. We can thank the patriarchy for that one!

Being good at sex is not an innate quality, but a skill that you develop with time and, you know, effort. There are a lot of factors perpetuating these inequalities in the bedroom—or whichever room you choose to have sex in.

As a sex educator, I can definitely attest to the fact that the topic of pleasure is a neglected component in typical school curriculums, while fearmongering is definitely pushed. Oftentimes, sexually transmitted infections are the central point of discussion and any topic promoting the potential joys of sex are completely made taboo. Media and culture definitely

don’t help. Straight porn mostly depicts men’s pleasure. You’ll barely see cunnilingus scenes for more than 20 seconds. Instead, you’ll be gifted with a solid eight minute blowjob scene. I know because I have done extensive research—for sociological purposes, of course.

Here’s a little secret: there is no secret universal position, speed or rhythm that will guarantee your partner having an orgasm. Even if some cis men with podcasts somehow believe they are the truth-holders in how to please people with vulvas rather than, you know, people with vulvas. So can we please stop pretending that all

bodies are the same, and just better communicate with each other?

Penetration shouldn’t be the only kind of sex that we aim for. It can be pleasurable and exciting, but sex should not only be considered valid when it’s penetrative.

I know that because once I started living my best queer life, sex got so much better. There wasn’t an expectation to get roughly pounded, and other forms of sex were equally prioritized.

How can cis men do better?

Dismantling the patriarchy will obviously take a little more time, so here are some smaller-scale solutions in the meantime.

For one, start by communicating and actually asking what your partner wants instead of assuming. I promise this won’t kill the mood. Seriously, what is it with men getting so jealous as soon as their partner pulls out their Satisfyer Pro? Don’t be afraid to make sex toys your allies rather than your enemies, especially if your partner enjoys them.

Finally, de-centre your own needs and acknowledge that sex should involve mutual care and pleasure. We live in a culture that teaches us to privilege cis men’s pleasure—we can all work to unlearn it for ourselves and the people we get intimate with.

Don’t let your bedroom become a microcosm of our misogynistic society. Remember, sex is for mutual pleasure, not labour—unless you want to financially compensate us for what we’re worth.

A s a young girl, the inner workings of the female body fascinated me. Since learning of its cyclical nature, the impact of hormones on the mind and the mysterious changes brought about by puberty, the body’s complexity became enthralling.

Knowledge about female anatomy is fundamental, especially for those living in these bodies. Understanding the workings of our bodies makes it easier for us to be confident that any experienced pain might not be normal. It also allows us to make informed decisions about our bodily health, especially when faced with gender bias in healthcare.

I was very excited to deepen my knowledge during my first sexual education classes in grade nine. Three classes focused mostly on the importance of using contraception and getting regular tests for sexually transmitted infections. Though I am glad I was

spared the rhetorics of abstinence being the best method of contraception, this was a sexual education class where sex was noticeably absent and orgasm was even more noticeably tabooed.

Patriarchal stigmatization of female pleasure continues to cause harm. We are told our pleasure is shameful and that sex is not something to be enjoyed. As I grew older and took part in conversations about sex with those around me, the topic of female pleasure finally came into the picture.

The female orgasm has always had its degree of potentially harmful mysticism. Is the vaginal orgasm possible? Can orgasms only occur through clitoral stimulation? Is the G-spot real? Are female orgasms different from male orgasms? Is it more difficult for women to orgasm? What does an orgasm feel like for women?

The clitoris is an erogenous

sexual organ that has suffered from the stigma regarding female pleasure. Because it is a sexual organ that is not useful for reproduction and whose only function is female pleasure, the medical community has not studied it in depth. Urologist surgeon Helen O’Connell, who was the first person to map out the anatomy of the clitoris, told The Guardian that many of her fellow doctors (including obstetrics and gynecology doctors) did not know about the complete anatomy of the clitoris.

The term orgasm gap—popularized by Dr. Laurie Mintz of the University of Florida—refers to the discrepancy between the male versus female orgasm rate. According to a 2018 U.S. National Sample study, heterosexual men have a 95 per cent orgasm rate during sex, while heterosexual women have a rate of 65 per cent. This shocking difference is not

due to women being naturally less prone to orgasms than men—it is due to a lack of medical knowledge regarding the female body.

Until 2017, science manuals across France misrepresented the clitoris’ anatomy. It was discovered in 2022 that the clitoris had over 10,000 nerve endings and not 8,000, like it was previously thought. The clitoris, which many consider to be essential to orgasm, is misunderstood and unknown by many.

When medical professionals neglect the importance of the clitoris in the lives and health of those concerned, it normalizes the exclusion of the clitoris from medical discourse. This exclusion directly impacts the sexual satisfaction of all those with a clitoris, since a vital part of their sexual anatomy gets medically dismissed. How can one expect to reach orgasm without adequate knowledge of their sexual anatomy?

The orgasm gap is a reflection of the medical community’s historical unwillingness to study female anatomy with the same fervor as they do for male anatomy. It also reflects a desire to maintain female pleasure within the confines of shame, perversion and immorality.

I wish my sex-ed classes had taught me about the clitoris, along with accurate depictions of female anatomy. I wish my sexual education classes had not separated boys and girls so all of us could have learned more comprehensively together. However, wishes will not bridge the orgasm gap.

To be properly understood, female anatomy needs to be studied, free from the confines of patriarchal prejudices. Those new scientific discoveries should then be made available to all. No one should discover what the anatomy of half of the world's population looks like only when entering their 20s.

GRAPHIC MARILOU BRICKERT

Understanding the Growth of Women’s Hockey

Concordia Alumni and Athletes Provide Their Insights

Jared Lackman-Mincoff

S

ocial media, streaming services, hockey idols and increased opportunities: they have all paved the way for incredible growth and recognition of women’s hockey in a short time.

Julie Chu, former Olympic hockey player and current head coach of the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team, retired from professional hockey in 2014. According to her, social media has come a very long way as a marketing tool since then. Chu said the social media boom has not only allowed women’s hockey teams to make a name for themselves publicly, but individual players are able to better market themselves.

The Premier Hockey Federation is currently the only professional women’s hockey league in North America. However, the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association is attempting to create a second league that would compete with the PHF, since the two entities are not currently affiliated.

The PHF was known as the National Women’s Hockey League from its inception in 2015 until it re-branded in 2021. The PWHPA

was created in 2019 with a mandate to create a women’s hockey league supported by the organization.

The PHF expanded to seven teams for the 2022-23 season, introducing La Force de Montréal as its newest team. Just prior to the start of the season, the league agreed to a two-year deal with ESPN+ to extend their broadcasting rights in the United States through the 2023-24 season. The PHF also has a deal in place with TSN for broadcasting rights in Canada. On Dec. 15, the league announced that they will double their salary cap from $750,000 USD to $1.5 million USD per team, starting in the 2023-24 season.

The PWHPA does not have their own league yet. However, they will still be holding hockey games while they attempt to create one. Their plan is to hold events and competitions across the continent for the 2022-23 season. These events will feature former Olympians as well as high-level college and university graduates.

“It’s a good thing that women now have these options after university,” said Stéphanie Lalancette,

who played for the Stingers from 2016-22. “Some of them have to go to Europe to continue playing hockey, and now we have options that allow them to get paid and play hockey in [North America].”

Due to her injury history, Lalancette does not currently play professional hockey. But she still has a passion for the game and the development of the women’s hockey scene sometimes gave her the motivation to pursue a professional career.

“I think coverage of female sports is still greatly reduced,” Chu said. “Whether it’s social media, online platforms, interviews, television. We still need to push and we need to get that out more.”

To gain fans, Chu says that networks also need to tell the athletes’ stories. It is about more than simply showing the sport.

“Why are people die hard fans?” Chu continued. “They’re die hard fans not just because of a player, but because of what that team represents [and] what they’ve been able to see: the history, the stories and the feelings that that athlete or that team has created.”

The Stingers women’s hockey team have and continue to run workshops for kids who want to learn skating and improve their hockey skills. The players on the team act as coaches, which shows the kids their abilities in both roles.

“Our players now run it, and it’s awesome,” Chu exclaimed. “Everyone that’s there isn’t batting an eyelid that they have a female coach. You’re just coming to learn hockey.”

When Chu was learning to play, she only had male coaches to look up to, because there were not many female hockey players. But that is changing before her eyes. “Now, we’re creating a generation where it could be a woman, it could be a man, and it doesn’t matter. They’re coaches.”

“We often have young hockey players that come watch [our games],” she explained. “You see them excited. They come into our locker room. There are females but we also have a lot of boys that are supportive of our team, and that already is changing the dynamic. Now, young boys are seeing women athletes as role models.”

Chu and assistant coach Caroline Ouellette are key figures inside

their own dressing room as well, since they represent the height that women’s hockey players can reach.

“I’m from a small town, small region, where there was not a lot of women’s hockey,” Lalancette said. “I saw Caroline Ouellette at the Olympics. Julie Chu, too. So, when I went to Concordia, for sure they were role models.”

Coach Chu has noticed that more of her players are motivated to pursue professional hockey now that the women’s game is gathering more attention. One such example that comes to her mind is Brigitte Laganière, who played for the Stingers and now plays for La Force de Montéal in the PHF.

“If they didn’t have La Force, or the [PWHPA] was not around, she probably would have graduated, had an incredible university career, and moved on to her next career,” Coach Chu explained. “But now for her, she has the opportunity to actually push […] and she’s going to help now to bring women’s hockey to that next level.”

Lalancette thinks it is important to keep female university talent, such as Laganière, playing in North America after their university careers.

“The university level is really good,” she affirmed. “So if we can keep these girls after that […] more of them are going to be motivated to continue because they have an option.”

Knowing Laganière’s story, several of Chu’s players are more motivated to pursue their own professional careers.

When Chu started playing, her aspirations were to make her local boys’ team. Then she wanted to make her high school team. When the Olympics became a possibility, that became her goal. She flourished in women’s hockey, but there simply were not enough opportunities for everyone.

“After university, if you weren’t on the Olympic track, there [were not] really opportunities after,” Chu explained. “Now I think that pool of players that are not necessarily Olympic-bound, […] they now have more opportunities and that’s what’s exciting.”

Yes, Objectivity Sucks, But There's More to It

Eradicating Objectivity Won't Be the End All Be All of Journalism

Menna Nayel

It wasn’t until June 2020 that the perfect image I had for journalism was shattered.

Fellow students of colour took part in a call to action against Carleton University’s journalism program citing racist experiences in classrooms and lack of support from faculty members. The call to action addressed the teachings of objectivity, demanding they “should be thoroughly deconstructed to explore how the term became the industry's bedrock and who it ultimately serves and silences,” as well as acknowledge that objectivity was created by and serves white, straight, cisgender male journalists.

The influx of anti-objectivity journalists finally speaking up came at a strange time for me. When I started my undergraduate degree in journalism at Carleton University, objectivity was ingrained into my brain. As a naïve 17-year-old, I clung to everything my professors told me with a compulsive need to prove myself. After all, I was an international student speaking accented English.

Objectivity is a paradox in the sense that it is taught in all journalism schools, yet no one seems to agree on its definition. Every scholarly definition is slightly different but essentially, it is removing one’s biases before reporting on an issue.

“Journalism, Race and Diversity” was a class created at Carleton in response to the call to action. There was a stark difference between that class and the first journalism class I ever took. One preached objectivity while the other heavily criticized it. One told me to put my own experiences aside while the other told me to use them.

When I walked into “Journalism, Race and Diversity” and saw the first professor of colour to ever teach me journalism, I felt a calm welcome. As the semester went on, I experienced something that was completely foreign to me since I moved to Canada: a sense of belonging. My opinions were valued, I was seen, I was heard. I imagine that’s the difference between a diverse newsroom and a predominantly white one.

As the world begins to actualize the harmful effects that objectivity has on marginalized journalists, it is important that we look deeper. Yes, objectivity is an outdated and undefined method of conducting journalism, but it's not the root cause of racism in the industry. It's

a tool for racism. Racist individuals who weaponize objectivity are the main cause of censorship and racism in newsrooms.

Perhaps the most memorable example of how many newsrooms utilize objectivity is Egyptian journalist Pacinthe Mattar’s article “Objectivity is a privilege afforded to white journalists.” In her op-ed, Mattar recounts multiple instances where she was silenced in the name of objectivity. Her journalistic expertise and ethics came into question along with accusations of bias. Perfectly put, Mattar wrote, “There is the lack of trust toward the Black, Indigenous and other racialized people whose stories we are supposed to cover as a reflection of the world we live in.”

In his book Losing the News, journalist and Pulitzer prize winner Alex S. Jones defined objectivity as “a genuine effort to be an honest broker when it comes to news […]. That means playing it straight without favouring one side when the facts are in dispute, regardless of your own views and preferences.”

However, Jones added that it “also means not trying to create the illusion of fairness by letting advocates pretend in your journalism that there is a debate about the facts

when the weight of truth is clear.”

As humans, we must recognize that being completely unbiased is an unrealistic expectation. Our work can sometimes naturally take the form of advocacy when we write about our own communities or issues we strongly believe in. Journalist, activist and author of The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance, Desmond Cole explained in his book that he prioritizes being an advocate for marginalized communities over being an objective journalist.

Thanks to my professors of colour, I began understanding objectivity in a different light. However, it was a class with a white professor that helped me come to the realization that white newsrooms are the cause of racism and censorship whereas objectivity was just the excuse used.

That class was solely dedicated to students producing and publishing journalism. It operated exactly like a newsroom, we had to pitch a story and have it ready soon after. With every idea I pitched, however, I had to prove that it was newsworthy enough to my professor. He gushed over other students’ articles on fashion, local wineries and thrift

stores, but completely ignored my articles on immigration, the healthcare system, international students and even the systematic racism within the program.

The first opinion piece I ever wrote was an assignment for his class. He specifically stated that it didn't need to be newsworthy and students could write about anything they want. That was my opportunity to write about something genuinely meaningful to me without being concerned with newsworthiness.

After he spent a class praising another student’s opinion piece, in which she wrote about her pet, I decided to finally pitch my own idea: Muslim representation in Hollywood. Imagine my surprise when I received an email questioning how that piece would be newsworthy. When I presented that same idea in “Journalism, Race and Diversity,” my Black professor praised me for it.

Although I cannot say that white professor was racist, I can, however, say he was an old white man with old white man interests. There was simply no place for me or my own interests in a sea of white classmates. Objectivity was not a dominant factor in that class. However, my professor’s

interests and what he “objectively” deemed as newsworthy was why students of colour felt they needed to work harder and prove themselves against white peers.

Objectivity played no role in our struggle to succeed, my professor’s perception of “newsworthiness” did. I realized that no matter how hard I worked, my white classmates and their white stories would always trump anything I produce.

Let’s not allow this justified crusade against objectivity distract us from what the real issue is. Removing the theory of objectivity from journalism won't solve BIPOC issues within the industry. We need to look deeper and hold journalists who weaponize objectivity (or any other journalistic theory) against marginalized journalists accountable.

As Mattar said, “there’s so much more we want to talk about, so much more we want to do. But the burden is now on the Canadian media industry and its leaders to enable that work instead of questioning it.”

GRAPHIC NADINE ABDELLATIF

New Year, New Variants

The first week back to school after winter break is always rough, but for students with health concerns, the anxiety of returning goes beyond the usual class stress. On top of trying to balance classes, work and a social life, some students also have to figure out how to keep from contracting an illness that could incapacitate or kill them.

In his start of semester email, President Graham Carr said that Concordia will “continue to monitor ongoing public health trends,” after a full in-person fall semester. While they may be monitoring the situation, they are not being proactive in protecting students. In reality, immunocompromised people are facing the stress of potentially contracting an illness that could impact them for months or even years.

Protecting immunocompromised students, faculty, staff and others would be much easier if Concordia reinstated its mask mandate, which was lifted on June 23, 2022. The university also never provided any rapid tests to students and stopped its contact tracing protocol in April of the same year. If it had been properly implemented, contact tracing would have been one of the best tools to keep community members aware of their own exposure.

This lack of protective measures comes during a time of record hospitalizations across Quebec. In 2022 alone, the province reported more COVID-19 hospitalizations than it did in 2020 and 2021 combined.

Symptoms have changed. Many infected may not even know they have COVID when coming to class and infecting their classmates. One of the most recent variants, named Kraken, has symptoms like scratchy throat, runny nose, congestion, headache and fatigue. These aren’t usually enough for people to stay home.

Concordia asks “those with symptoms that allow them to leave home” to “consider wearing a mask

to protect others,” which completely disregards the safety of community members. Students who want to take a mask offered at one of the dispensers located almost exclusively by entrances risk being unable as they are often left empty.

Students who get sick have to rely on classmates for notes or miss work if they are too unwell to go to classes because there is no mandate for professors to provide them. Some departments even have rules

regarding how many classes a student can miss before failing. Concordia has done nothing to ensure that students can recover at home while staying on top of their studies. Many are forced to come to campus sick, making classrooms an unsafe environment for immunocompromised students.

While Concordia has a form you can fill out if you know you will be sick for two consecutive days or fewer, it barely covers

someone with food poisoning, let alone the flu or COVID.

We have already proven that online classes work; notes and slides can be shared via Moodle or email to accommodate students who might be sick or otherwise unable to attend classes for health-related reasons.

Gabriella Dery, a disabled Concordia student, said in part that plenty of accommodations were made for everyone during the at-home COVID semesters. Many of these accommodations have now disappeared as we return to in-person only classes, besides the eConcordia classes, which have always been online.

“The pandemic showed that these things are possible and that you can give more leeway and accessibility to academia,” Dery said.

The pandemic forced academic institutions into accessibility, and instead of continuing that accessibility, Concordia seems to have gotten rid of it at its first opportunity. Concordia’s lack of response to the issue, aside from the occasional ‘we care, stay well’ emails is, in itself, sickening.

New variants are popping up and the number of people getting vaccinated–including boosters– is stagnating. More people are guaranteed to get sick and Concordia seems to have no plan to deal with that reality. The most basic thing they could do is ask everyone to wear a mask.

Volume 43, Issue 9 Tuesday, January 10, 2023

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Material appearing in The Link may not be reproduced without prior written permission from The Link Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters 400 words or less will be printed, space permitting. The letters deadline is Friday at 4:00 p.m. The Link reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length and refuse those deemed racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, libellous, or otherwise contrary to The Link ’s statement of principles.

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BRICKERT

CONOR TOMALTY SANDRA MOUAFO

SOPHIE DUFRESNE

MARIANA CHAJON OLIVEROS

IVAN DE JACQUELIN

AUDE SIMON

NADINE ABDELLATIF

RACHEL BOUCHER

ADAM GIBBARD

ANURAG MOPALA

GUY LANDRY

Corrections for Vol. 43, Issue 8: In “Kay Family Demands Answers” p.6-7, minor details in the article were misrepresented;

The

version of

article. In “A Knitting Passion Turned Into a Business” p.8-9,

Yeung

Members: Rachel

updates have been made to the online

the

the name of Julia De Cotiis was misspelled. In “Dear Fellow Immigrant, Your CV and Degree Are Not Valid Here” p.13, the graphic credit should have been attributed to both Nadine Abdellatif and Myriam Ouazzani.

Link regrets all the above mentioned errors.