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STRAND VICTORIA UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER VOLUME 64, ISSUE 9 | 15 FEBRUARY 2022
T d h n e L o v e a
Sex Issue with VicPr i d e !
02 NEWS
EDITORS | DREW-ANNE GLENNIE AND SARAH ABERNETHY NEWS@THESTRAND.CA
The federal government’s ban on conversion therapy What Bill C-4 means for the fight against conversion therapy and LGBTQ2SIA+ rights ROY SHI STAFF WRITER
Content warning: Mentions of physical assault, anti-LGBTQ2SIA hate crimes, starvation, religious trauma Parliament passed Bill C-4 on December 8, 2021, amending the Canadian Criminal Code to criminalize “caus[ing] another person to undergo conversion therapy, including by providing conversion therapy to that person,” as well as advertising or benefiting materially from conversion therapy. Bill C-4 defines conversion therapy as “any practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or a person’s gender identity to cisgender.” Tactics associated with conversion therapy include religious ceremonies, physical violence, and deprivation of food and water. The legislation was the government’s third attempt to ban conversion therapy after two previous bills were voted down by Conservative lawmakers. Nevertheless, Bill C-4 secured a unanimous vote. The Minister for Justice’s Parliamentary Secretary Gary Anandasangaree suggested that “[the opposition] felt the pressure from Canadians” in an interview with The Strand, prompting change. Anandasangaree promised the federal government would “bring forward programs...
and education of issues such as conversion therapy” to support the enforcement of Bill C-4. He also said that the Minister for Justice “will be addressing hate speech and its impact, especially through social media.” Nick Schiavo, Executive Director of the non-profit No Conversion Canada, told The Strand banning conversion therapy was “fundamentally about whether or not queer people have a right to exist.” He described No Conversion Canada’s advocacy as “a team effort,” saying that it involved “tough conversations with policymakers… ensuring that survivors’ voices are at the table.” One such survivor is Ben Rodgers, who runs a survivors’ support group called CT Survivors Connect. In an interview with The Strand, Rodgers shared his experience of conversion therapy at the age of 19. “I had to go through this dry fast, which means no food and no liquids. They had me do that for three days prior to attending a church service.” “They laid their hands on me, pressing their hands on my head, my shoulders, my chest. One of them pressed down on my gut. They screamed at me in these spiritual tongues to ‘cast out the demons.’” The trauma from the experience continues today, 16 years later. “I cried more than I have in years,” Rodgers said, describing talking to lawmakers about the treatment for the first time.
Ben Rodgers' testimony before the Kingston City Council, along other survivors and activists in the area, led to Kingston becoming the first municipality in Ontario to ban conversion therapy in January 2021. The fight against conversion therapy continues after the federal government’s ban. “Even with Bill C-4, we need proactive efforts. We need education, we need awareness, we need legal aid. We need municipal bylaws and provincial laws on top of the federal legislation,” Schiavo told The Strand. Nevertheless, Schiavo and Rodgers praised Bill C-4. “Bill C-4 is historic. It’s monumental,” Schiavo said. Rodgers agreed, saying, “Bill C-4 being passed is a very big positive step in LGBTQ rights.” Rodgers stipulated, however, that “governments need to step up” and do more to support survivors of conversion therapy. “Kingston has put a motion forward for $20,000 per year for the next three years for survivor-led supports,” Rodgers told The Strand, saying that the funding CT Survivors Connect will receive through the program “will make advocacy work a lot easier.” CT Survivors Connect has a GoFundMe page for donations. Rodgers is currently “developing educational resources for the CT Survivors Connect website,” which Rodgers hopes will serve as the “introduction to conversion therapy for Canada.” PHOTO | JONATHON HARRINGTON
Local sex workers help combat COVID-19 Zanzibar’s role in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines RION LEVY ASSOCIATE ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
An iconic part of downtown Toronto’s Yonge Street, Zanzibar Tavern is hard to miss. The Toronto landmark is set to hit their 62-year anniversary this year, and they started off 2022 with a bang. Although the bright lights and punny catchphrases dominate their location at 359 Yonge, their contribution to ending the COVID-19 pandemic is even more impressive. On January 3, 2022, Zanzibar kicked off the new year with a booster clinic. Like other pop-up clinics, Zanzibar’s clinic offered walk-in services for both Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines.
This was a joint collaboration between Zanzibar, Maggie’s Toronto Sex Work Action Project, and the University Health Network. They offered booster appointments to anyone over the age of 18, as well as first and second doses to those five and up. January 3 was not the first time Zanzibar collaborated with Maggie’s to offer low-barrier COVID-19 vaccination clinics, nor was Zanzibar Maggie’s first venue collaboration. Zanzibar and Maggie’s offered two other lowbarrier COVID-19 vaccine clinics during the month of June 2021. Maggie’s has also collaborated with other venues, such as the Church of Holy Trinity, Steamworks, and twice with Fillmore’s Gentlemen’s Club.
As part of their commitment to make vaccine access as equitable as possible, all clinics were walkin and did not require ID nor proof of address. However, they also offered appointments for those who preferred this option. Maggie’s emphasized that these “clinics advocate for an end to the targeted stigma Mayor Tory and Premier Ford use against strip clubs, exotic dancers, and sex workers more broadly through the pandemic. We are partners in public health strategies and stress that continued criminalization of our work, as well as increased stigma and shaming of our communities through the pandemic, only contributes to further violence against sex workers.”
NEWS 03
@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 15 FEBRUARY 2021
Unravelled: Love is green Student activists launch Divest Vic! campaign PHOTO | HANA NIKCEVIC
EMMA MACKENZIE ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
A new campaign, Divest Vic!, was launched by student activists on January 25, calling for Victoria College to join UofT’s commitment to divest from all fossil fuel investments. UofT’s divestment plan does not extend to federated colleges Last October, the University of Toronto’s president, Meric Gertler, announced the University’s plan to divest from all fossil fuel investments by the year 2030. This statement, however, does not include federated colleges like Victoria College. Victoria College operates as financially independent from the governance of UofT’s central administration. Thus, while the University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation (UTAM) has committed to taking an active role in shifting UofT’s investment policies, the pledge does not extend to Vic’s endowment fund. Victoria College has been open about its sustainability goals, including active promotion of recycling and waste diversion alongside replacing electrical lighting fixtures with more efficient LEDs. Spokesperson Liz Taylor Surani told The Varsity in early February that Victoria College supports addressing climate change and respecting the environment, recognizing that they “need to play a vital role.” However, any divestment plans have yet to be publicly addressed despite efforts of the Divest Vic! coalition, raising concerns amongst the student community. Divest Vic! Campaign Surani informed The Varsity that the Board of Regents are in charge of Victoria College’s investments. When unofficially meeting with members to discuss plans to divest in 2021, students reported being met with resistance. “There was never necessarily an explicit statement that Vic wouldn’t divest, but there was certainly resistance to the idea of it,” Leila Tjiang, a student representative on the Board of Regents and coorganizer of the Divest Vic! campaign, said in an interview with The Strand. This reluctance, she said, ultimately motivated the push for this petition, aiming to garner student support across campus and spread awareness of this ongoing issue that has yet to be addressed by the College. In an interview with The Strand, Jerico Raguindin, another co-organizer and President of
the Victoria University Students' Administrative Council (VUSAC), added that a lack of student engagement and active interest is largely what sanctions committee governance bodies to avoid the question of divestment, operating under the assumption that students “don’t care or that they will eventually forget and move on.” Raguindin suggested that this not only perpetuates the dismissal of the topic, but also allows the University to move forward without being held accountable for the shortcomings of its climate initiative. Tjiang asserted that Victoria College’s financial statements are unclear and difficult to decipher. Despite being publicly accessible, these documents make it arduous for students to find information about where the University is investing its money. Students, who are ultimately the institution’s main stakeholders, want to see more transparency when it comes to investments, said Tjiang. “Vic not only has the largest endowment of the three federated colleges, but it also likes to portray itself as having a progressive reputation,” she continued. Given that UofT has divested, Tjiang feels that there is adequate reason for Victoria to divest and that the College is failing to live up to its forward-thinking reputation, as well as standards set by UofT regarding the divestment movement. “Arguments that [divestment] is too difficult to understand are … basically answers to silence students,” stated Tjiang. “Because if the University really cared, they could probably spend the money to figure it out. Those funds are there.” Surani told The Varsity that the Board of Regents’s decisions regarding investment are guided by “Guidelines for Incorporating Environmental, Social, and Governance” (ESG). According to her, the committee will conduct its annual review of the ESG guidelines in the coming months, and any new decisions surrounding investment would reflect these updated guidelines. “All decisions are informed by the recognition that the Board of Regents holds the fiduciary responsibility for the long-term viability of Victoria University,” she wrote to The Varsity. This is not the first time that Vic is being criticized for its climate policy. Julia DaSilva, a Victoria College alum and former organizer of the 2018 Divest Vic! campaign, told The Strand that this call for action is part of a battle for climate justice that has been ongoing since 2012. According to her, that campaign fell through primarily as a result of the University not taking student activism seriously, coupled with waning student support for the initiative during the onset
of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time focus shifted away from Victoria College in favour of a UofT-wide push for divestment. The value of divestment Even though UofT’s commitments are a step forward in tackling climate change with “cautious optimism,” DaSilva feels that there is still a lot of work to be done on behalf of the federated colleges. Rivka Goetz of Leap UofT told The Strand that at Victoria College, there is a student representative on every committee in the Board of Regents except the investments committee. “UofT can do better by taking student activism seriously and creating more transparency and accountability to its students,” said Goetz. She also criticized UofT’s failure to mention the political and social implications of divestment, such as the role of the fossil fuel industry in land disputes, FPIC violations, and colonial violence in their announcement, implicating that there is still room for progress in the divestment movement. Tjiang suggested that Victoria College can step up and set the divestment standard for the other federated colleges and even universities across Canada, turning a mere drop in the pond into a sizable splash. She stated that divestment stands to delegitimize the fossil fuel industry by “removing the social license that companies rely upon to operate,” with the goal that fewer investments will result in a collective shift towards more sustainable energy sources. Essentially, this negative stigmatization of the extraction of fossil fuels will help position climate change as a pivotal issue that needs to be universally addressed. How can students become more involved? DaSilva offered an especially important message to consider on Valentine’s Day: we need to make room for possibilities of love beyond the boundaries of romance and consider the power that emanates from a community coming together to fight for their planet, manifesting a unifying love for the environment—a relationship that must be nurtured and cultivated to avoid disaster. If you are a student looking to become more engaged with climate activism, here are some environmental groups across campus you can join, along with the Divest Vic! petition: -Leap UofT -Divestment and Beyond -Divest Vic! Petition
04 EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | KHADIJA ALAM EDITOR@THESTRAND.CA
Love, sex, and pride
the
strand V O L U M E
Reflections on the brutal and the beautiful
6 4
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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KHADIJA ALAM
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NEWS
SARAH ABERNETHY DREW-ANNE GLENNIE
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FEATURES
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ANNA SOKOLOVA
SCIENCE
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JESS NASH
ARTS AND CULTURE
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STRANDED
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COPYEDITING
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DESIGN
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ART
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ILLUSTRATION | JAIDEN WINTER MUOIO
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The Strand has been the newspaper of record for Victoria University since 1953. It is published 12 times a year with a circulation of 1200 and is distributed in Victoria University buildings and across the University of Toronto’s St. George campus. The Strand flagrantly enjoys its editorial autonomy and is committed to acting as an agent of constructive social change. As such, we will not publish material deemed to exhibit racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or other oppressive language.
@STRANDPAPER WWW.THESTRAND.CA
JAIDEN WINTER MUOIO PRESIDENT, VICPRIDE!
Love, a word that immediately evokes images of grand romance. For many, it’s the picture of a man standing at an altar and a woman walking down the aisle—a cultural obsession treated as the holy grail of what it means to live a happy and fulfilling life. And sex, known by some as the ultimate pleasure, by others as the greatest sin, and for others still, both definitions simultaneously. It’s impossible to express how loaded these two words are for so many people, myself included. For a long time, my experience with sexuality as a queer person was one of self-hatred and shame, not helped by having grown up in a Catholic environment where sex, sexual desire and, procreation outside of marriage was considered taboo. More than most other kids, aspirations of finding true love were always on my mind, but these dreams never strayed far off the rules set by Disney movies. Heteronormative love was the only type of love I believed could lead to happiness. Queer love was simply out of the question. And yet, it was only in certain moments—like when that one boy in my class in whom I had taken an inexplicable interest glanced my way and made butterflies erupt in my stomach— that I could understand why so many people held love up like a holy grail. However, still unable to
accept my queerness, to take even a sip from the grail in front of me felt tantamount to Eve biting the apple. So, I walked away from my feelings, crushing hope under my heels and leaving a trail of bloody butterfly wings in my wake. For a long time, I considered sex and desire a curse. In turn it acted as a brimming well of internalized disgust and shame. Love, on the other hand, was more of a cruel practical joke: the ultimate goal of life, something that everyone around me will eventually find while being forever out of my own reach, incompatible with my very design. And I don’t think either of these are uncommon feelings. The struggle with sexual shame and the torment of seemingly incurable lovelessness plagues all of us, each to various degrees, and each for our own reasons. But this pain isn’t by any means all there is to love and sex. I’ve been on a few dates since coming to accept my queerness, but despite my extensive Tinder history, I’ve still never been in an actual relationship. To be completely honest, I’ve never had sex either and I’m not sure I ever even want to. Still, I’ve come to reconcile the pain that love and sex have caused me with a more hopeful outlook. There is beauty in sex and sexual diversity, in the personal relationships each of us has to sex (or lack thereof ), and of the communities and
cultures that stand strong around sexuality. And while love can still feel like it’s taunting me at times, I can also finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Because love is not just romance: love is my friends laughing at my jokes over Zoom; love is my mom making an effort to use my chosen name and pronouns; love is taking time for myself and doing things that make me happy without guilt. In this issue, you’ll find an exploration of the complexities of love and sex; a celebration of those aspects that are joyful or silly; a dissection of the pressures and the struggles; and much more. Associate News Editor Emma Mackenzie provides the rundown on the Divest Vic! campaign in this issue's Unravelled story. In Opinions, VicPride member Riley Switzman provides an aromantic perspective on love. In the Science section, Editorial Assistant Kieran Guimond writes about a number of inspiring queer scientists. In Arts and Culture, Catherine Der proposes polyamory as the solution to love triangles while Baran Seyedi writes about breaking the stigma surrounding sex. And Saucy Suzy provides her signature dating advice in Stranded. Date the Strand is also back and better than ever with a special appearance from a couple VicPride members.
OPINIONS 05
EDITOR | EMMA PAIDRA OPINIONS@THESTRAND.CA
Please don’t be my Valentine An aromantic look at romance everywhere RILEY SWITZMAN MEMBER, VICPRIDE!
Every year, when the February rush of romance and joy comes around, all I can think about is how incredibly exhausting it gets. I’m aromantic, and I have no desire to participate in the machinations of the hyped-up, romance-obsessed Valentine’s month that my peers idolize. Now, by no means do I speak for any aromantic experience other than my own; no two are the same or even necessarily similar. But aromanticism is an orientation that is quite unknown in the first place. Aromanticism is defined as experiencing little to no romantic attraction. This falls under the concept of the split attraction model, wherein your romantic and sexual orientation may not line up perfectly. Falling anywhere along the spectrum of aromanticism can be alienating when you are living in a society that is saturated with romance from every angle. Romance is the norm, the expectation, the universally agreed-upon desire. However, the desire for romance is something I’ve never experienced. For me, being aromantic manifested in a ton of confusion growing up, as the world around me was—and still is—full of love stories, from Disney princesses to family members consistently asking if you have a partner yet. Because it is always a “yet.” The majority of alloromantic people (those who experience romantic attraction) are so conditioned to the pervasive romantic narrative that the possibility of not partnering up with anyone is not even considered. From the time I was around ten years old, the crazy cat lady trope seemed like the best option for me. When the jokes of being forever alone were everywhere in tween-age meme culture, this resonated with me a little more strongly than
it did for the rest of my friends. Being forever alone was supposed to be selfdeprecating, and not an ideal outcome. So, then came the years of denial: of mixing up platonic attraction with romantic; of choosing your crushes so you could have someone to pretend to like when it inevitably came up; of avoiding the people who wanted to ask these questions in the first place; of carefully sliding out of these conversations and being boring enough to not get asked twice. Everywhere I looked, there seemed to be an indication that something was wrong when the thought of being in a relationship made me severely uncomfortable (which is not the experience of every aromantic person, but is definitely mine). Slowly, I learned that you can’t necessarily live a life without romance, but you can live a life where you don’t feel any desire for it, regardless of your sexual orientation. As I have continued to grow older (and hopefully wiser), I have come to terms with being aromantic in a world that is so filled with romance. There is no doubt in my mind that it is hard, and it wears on me; some days it can almost feel like I just wasn’t made for this world. However, I am also grateful for my aromantic identity. It gives me a unique perspective in a world that is focused on how finding love creates forms of belonging in life. Instead, I search for belonging in other places, and get to look at the world from an entirely different point of view. Within this worldview, I have noticed aspects of society that don’t necessarily surround romance, and come to appreciate their importance. I have noticed how conversations about the variation of attraction and emotion can benefit everyone, not only those who do not experience romantic
attraction. So, I urge anyone who may engage with this article to interrogate your own experiences in a way that you may not have done before. Make an attempt to appreciate your platonic attraction, aesthetic attraction, and romantic attraction. Take a moment to think about how these separate entities interact with each other. See how they might change your assessment of and appreciation for people and things in your own life. In a world that is so concerned with romance, see what happens if you take some time to critically acknowledge the ways that romance permeates media and consumerism. Analyze the narratives that claim there is only one correct romantic partner or relationship for everyone in this world, and that ending up with them should be your life’s goal. I think that you may come to find that there are more assumptions about how you should live your romantic life than you realise. I challenge you to question where your desires actually stand within these realities, and to reflect on what you find when you look at the world in light of how romance affects it. None of this is to say that romance is not a valuable and occasionally lovely thing when you experience it. I simply challenge you to look at friendships, ambitions, and even romantic relationships in a way that is aware of the fact that romance is not the be-all and end-all for everyone. And that you don’t have to experience it in the same way that the media chooses to portray it to be valid in your own experiences. There are myriad ways to experience anything in this lifetime, and so I would like to wish you a happy Valentine’s Day, in a purely platonic way.
VISUAL | ARBA BARDHI
06 OPINIONS
EDITOR | EMMA PAIDRA OPINIONS@THESTRAND.CA
An ode to late bloomers Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with you
PHOTO | AMIE LEUNG RADMILA YAROVAYA CONTRIBUTOR
My mother’s reaction when I first got myself a boyfriend at the ripe age of 16 was, “thank God—I thought it would’ve happened sooner!” After years of being overlooked by my peers, I was riding high, convinced that once I reached university, eligible bachelors would simply fall around me. As expected, my high school romance didn’t last. Unexpectedly, those adoring bachelors never materialized. Following unsuccessful attempts to generate interest in myself—which were simultaneously cringey and rites of passage—I was ready to throw in the towel. For a hopeless romantic, this nearly spelled out the end of the world as I knew it. Vacillating from one extreme to the next, I became convinced that romance was dead and its existence was a total fraud. I even researched a few monasteries where I could find refuge from the noise of the world and finally achieve inner peace. (There’s a cute one near Novosibirsk, by the way, if you ever decide to go down a similar rabbit hole.) After all, what could be more romantic and melodramatic than self-imposed exile? I will not lie to you, dear reader—I felt ashamed. And desperate. Which is the perfect cocktail needed to develop a healthy (or at least fun) romance. Perhaps one of the reasons that being a late bloomer is pathologized is because we don’t fit in. It is a universally acknowledged truth that the stability of our world depends on constant consumption. The only way to ensure that this stream of spending does not cease is by putting people on a timeline. Graduate high school by 18, finish university by 22, get married before 30, have a kid before 40, and preferably die before 90 so as to not further burden the economy. All of these milestones are accompanied by predictable and recognizable spending habits. You will first spend colossal sums of money getting an education that you have been convinced is necessary to succeed. Then, because the world is too scary and decrepit to face alone, you will find someone with whom you can jump into a long-term relationship.
Besides, you’re too cute and snarky not to saddle some unfortunate soul with your presence until the end of their days—see where I’m going with this? When you start a family, you will get a starter home, upgrading to a bigger one after popping out a kid or two, and once your marvelous spawn sees the light of day, the cycle will begin again. Peace, bliss, and capitalistic happiness. If you think you haven’t experienced its pressures, just wait until you hit fourth year and the existential dread of stepping off one track and onto another starts creeping into your mind. This is not to say that those of us who begin romantic relationships later in life completely cast off the yoke of capitalism and become socialist icons. Valentine’s Day becomes Galentine’s Day with an easy flourish of a pen and is followed by a similar outpouring of money from our wallets into restaurants, overpriced chocolate, and bars. However, we do bring a certain level of uncertainty with us. Why are they still single? Will they ever get married? Don’t they know that the only way to be fulfilled is to become proud owners of a house with a white picket fence, two and a half kids, and a dog named Spot? Blooming presupposes a death. You wait and you wait and you wait for the yellow tea rose in your garden to develop buds—making sure the pH of the soil is just right and you’re not overwatering it. Then, with bated breath, you anticipate when the radiant petals will open themselves up to the world. When it finally blooms, you are mesmerized— only to find in a few days that the petals have fallen, taking whole worlds with them. Why do we want so much for people to bloom, knowing that nothing as beautiful as they imagined will ever occur? Perhaps the world is predicated upon a conspiracy of mutual disappointment—but that is a discussion for another time. Romance, just like flowers, is based upon newness. The novelty and preciousness of something uncontaminated making its way into the world, not yet burdened with reality. Maybe this is why we equate courting with flowers—this too, is a discussion for a future piece.
One of my professors, recounting their weariness with romance, asked why they couldn’t identify their sexual orientation as pretty Parisian fountains. Truly, why do we give romantic partners—some of whom we haven’t even met—such power over our sense of self? If love and identity are fragmented and fluid, why do we feel the need to prove them to the outside world? Why can’t I be romanced by an aesthetic, by the first sip of a vanilla latte on the first cool day of fall, by cobbled streets and gas lanterns? Being a late bloomer has forced me to confront these ideas, which would otherwise have repulsed me as a hopeless romantic if I had kept on the blinders of romantic relationships throughout university. Romance is in the possibility. In the smirk of a stranger between Spadina and St. George. In the way the 5:13 pm light glints downtown glass mausoleums, bathing the entire world in amber. In soft gossip carried through suburban streets on a warm summer breeze. I refuse to let go of these simple seductions of life, to confine myself to the possible, to succumb to determinate negativity, to fit myself into the life of another for social recognition. I won’t lie and say that I don’t crave love and human connection. But just like the Greeks, I refuse to confine it to any narrow definition. I found love in my friends, for there is a special form of tenderness that is forged in the crucible of young adult angst and the Herculean labours of university. I found it in myself and the passions that I dared to pursue, unburdened by what this might look like to potential mates. A lot of my best friends are late bloomers. On occasion, I worry about what will happen when one of us finds their “one.” Will we too fall like dominoes, succumbing to the normative concepts of attachment that we bit our thumbs at? I hope not. Nothing is perfect, and nothing is lasting—except for the romance that you find when you stop looking for it in others, and open yourself up to the beauty of uncertainty.
OPINIONS 07
@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 15 FEBRUARY 2022
LGBTQ+ representation in Doctor Who A downgrade from 2005? KIERAN GUIMOND EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
This contains spoilers for the most recent episodes of Doctor Who. I was around 12 when I started to realize I wasn’t quite like the other people in my grade. I was starting to understand that my interests may not align with those of my peers. Now imagine my reaction when I witnessed a man kissing another man in the science fiction TV show my family was watching together. The show was, of course, Doctor Who, and my family has continued to watch it together to this day. Over the years, there have been a variety of different queer characters on the show, albeit some better written than others. The show originally aired in 1963, and the plot often contradicts itself, but the basis of the show is that there is an alien known as the Doctor with the ability to regenerate, and the show follows them and their companions as they travel through space and time. I’m going to start this discussion by bringing you all the way to the original 1963-1989 series. If you only consider the TV show as “canon,” it includes no queer characters, as it was primarily a children’s show, and queer people would have been deemed “inappropriate.” This is fine on its own, but it’s once you start to look into the greater Doctor Who lore that it all breaks down. There are a variety of novels, audio dramatizations, and comics that were released afterwards that effectively rewrite some of the characters to be queer. While this may be seen as a win for diversity, it doesn’t actually change how the character was originally written—which was as straight. In 2005, the show was relaunched for the BBC by Russell T. Davies, who is an openly gay man. You may be familiar with him as the writer of Queer as Folk and It’s a Sin. The first openly queer character who appeared on the show made his appearance in the first season: Captain Jack Harkness, played by openly gay actor John Barrowman. In his first scene, he comments on the attractiveness of both a man and a woman, making his pansexuality explicit. It is later explained that he comes from the 51st century, where there is a much more relaxed approach to sexuality. Throughout his episodes, Captain Jack flirts with both the Doctor (currently in a male body) and the woman he is travelling with, kissing them both before leaving for his apparent death. However, instead of dying, he becomes immortal, successfully avoiding the “bury your gays” trope.
After the first season of Doctor Who, Jack was given his own spinoff show, called Torchwood, which aired from 2006 to 2011. Torchwood was aimed towards an adult audience, and the show took full advantage of its target audience. One episode is about an alien who takes the form of a gaseous cloud and gets her energy from making men orgasm, subsequently killing them. Torchwood holds a special place in my heart, partially due to the fact that every single character in it is bisexual/pansexual, and they do not shy away from their sexualities. The show includes multiple well-written same-sex relationships, one of note being Jack and Ianto Jones. Unfortunately, Torchwood only got three seasons (I do not count Miracle Day, as it was produced by a US company and not the BBC) but Jack has shown up in multiple episodes of Doctor Who afterwards, his most recent appearance being 2021. Following Jack’s departure, there were no explicitly queer companions for multiple seasons, but there were characters who could be considered “ambiguously bisexual.” Clara Oswald, who was on the show from seasons seven to nine could be considered bisexual, but this is never explicitly shown. Her only romantic relationship is with a man, and there is a single line in which she suggests Jane Austen is a good kisser. This is never expanded on within the show, and I recently found out there is a book that officially confirms her as being bisexual. The next character is River Song, who appeared on and off throughout seasons four to nine. River is married to the Doctor (while he was in his male form) but has been mentioned to have been married to women before, although this is never expanded upon, and wasn’t brought up until her last appearance in 2015. The last character who fits this trope is the Master, who was the Doctor’s childhood friend and originally appeared as a man. I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say there was a lot of queer subtext surrounding their relationship. This was only heightened in 2014 when the Master regenerated into a woman, nicknamed “Missy.” In her first episode, she describes the Doctor as her “boyfriend” and kisses him senseless when they meet for the first time. It wasn’t until season ten in 2017 when Doctor Who had a full-time queer companion: Bill Potts, played by Pearl Mackie, who came out as bisexual after the season had aired. Bill’s a lesbian, and her sexuality is explicitly stated in the first episode. She spends the first episode trying to save the girl she’s
interested in from an alien, and in future episodes, she says she’s not interested in men. This leads to a very memorable scene, when after meeting up with a group of Roman soldiers and telling them this, they view it as strange, due to bisexuality being the norm for them. Bill was only present for one season, and in the finale, she was almost converted into a cyborg in a process that seemed a tad too similar to conversion therapy for my liking. She did end up getting a “happy” ending; she transformed into a sentient oil puddle after her death and travelled the world with her girlfriend (yes, I am aware of how this sounds). I do think her ending could have been handled better, but I appreciate the effort that the writers put in. In 2018 the Doctor regenerated for the thirteenth time, but instead of turning into a white man, they regenerated into a white woman, played by Jodie Whittaker. As expected, this change in gender led to a lot of “fans” being very angry, but I believe she has been doing a magnificent job as the Doctor. However, this does lead into the idea of how gender and sexuality works for their alien species. It was stated in the previous seasons that they don’t subscribe to the same notions of gender as us, and it is very easy to read the different regenerations of the Doctor as being genderfluid. This change also has the fortunate consequence of making all her previous relationships gay. As of yet, she has not mentioned her wife, but I keep my fingers crossed. This brings us to the most recently confirmed queer companion, which is Yasmin (Yaz) Khan, who has been present for the past three seasons. There has been some minor queer subtext throughout her episodes, but it was only in the most recent episode in which she admits to having romantic feelings for the Doctor. It is implied that Yaz had never told anyone she was gay before, and while having an arc about a woman discovering her sexuality is fantastic, I don’t think it was done to the standards it deserves and is too little, too late. Whittaker is only going to be in two more episodes before her version of the Doctor regenerates, and I don’t think there is enough time to properly create a romance between the two of them in that time. It feels as though the writers saw a lot of fans online were shipping the Doctor and Yaz, and decided to create romantic feelings based on that, as it doesn’t seem as though this was plotted out in advance. However, Russell Davies, who left in 2010, is set to take back over in 2023, so we can only hope he will continue his streak of having wellwritten queer characters and relationships. ILLUSTRATION | SHELLEY YAO
08 FEATURES
EDITOR | HADIYYAH KUMA FEATURES@THESTRAND.CA
ILLUSTRATIONS BY S
Khadija Swiftie-in-Chief Likes: Shiny things (but she’ll marry you with paper rings) Dislikes: Your little games, your tilted stage Default mood: Happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time Love language: Taylor Swift song lyrics
Holly Managing Editor Default mood: Oblivious Secret power: Doesn’t know what’s going on Usually found: Staring aimlessly at the wall What gift will get their attention: Pride and Prejudice (1995) DVD box set
Anna Features Editor Likes: The rush of submitting something at 11:59 pm Dislikes: The lag that means the file didn't upload and it's 12:01 am Red flag: The anarchist one Storyline plot twist: They break the fourth wall.
Faith Senior Copyeditor Likes: NYT crossword puzzles, Wordle, CATS, hiking, making travel boards on Pinterest to avoid her real life Dislikes: When the NYT crossword puzzle is too hard, when she has to confront her real life Default mood: Existential
Sarah News Co-Editor Usually found: Waiting for the kettle to boil Red flag: Wears animal socks Love language: Pig Latin What gift will get their attention: Flowers… duh Romance ends: When she can't fit you into her schedule anymore!!!!
Drew News Co-Editor, Unravelled Editor Romance trope: Home for the holidays, Hallmark-style How long it’ll take to get into their heart: She’s far too busy working to let anybody in… oh wait, is that your great grandmother’s apple pie recipe??
Victoria Stranded Editor Dislikes: No more potato chip? Default mood: Gassy :( Secret power: Very Polite What gift will get their attention: You totally don't have to get her anything. For real, she doesn’t even want anything, we swear! Don't get her anything! Wait, are you really not going to get her something?
Kalliopé Illustrator, Distribution Manager, Social Media Assistant Default mood: Disturbingly joyous Secret power: Transforms into a mermaid when her legs touch water Preferred weapon: Sex toy: one whack over the head and you’re done for
Seavey Art Editor Likes: The outdoors, crime podcasts, not getting repetitive strain injuries Dislikes: Litter, men talked about in crime podcasts, repetitive strain injuries Preferred weapon: Canoe paddle
FEATURES 09
@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 15 FEBRUARY 2022
SEAVEY VAN WALSUM
Abi Associate Opinions Editor Secret power: Predicting who’s gonna win at the Oscars Preferred weapon: Stilettos Love language: “Money <3.” (Actually, physical touch.) How long it’ll take to get into their heart: Two minutes and 37 seconds
Rion Associate Arts and Culture Editor Likes: Craig’s Cookies Red flag: The fact that he’s redeemed his 200 Craig's Cookies points.... What gift will get their attention: The dark chocolate chip cookie from Craig's
Tehlan Associate Features Editor Dislikes: The Outlook notification sound, tomatoes, Adam Sandler, essays worth 40% of the course grade Secret power: Immortal until proven otherwise Red flag: Eats olives from the jar
Emma Associate News Editor Secret power: Writing essays on books she hasn’t finished reading Preferred weapon: Words Red flag: Constantly brewing cups of tea she will never finish What gift will get their attention: Tulips!
Mayumi Editorial Assistant Default mood: Yearning Red flag: Follows @on_a_ downward_spiral. Need we say more? Love language: Meticulously proofreading her writing and praising her on it How long it’ll take to get into their heart: If you're trying, you're probably already there
Kieran Editorial Assistant Secret power: Has opinions on things you have never heard of in your life Usually found: In his bed or in Gerstein Red flag: Will not message you first. Will ghost you. Romance trope: Friends to lovers
NEW CHARACTERS UNLOCKED! Eva Editorial Assistant Dislikes: Men who unironically call their friends "the boys," the military industrial complex, salad (especially with vinegar), their high school experience, candles that have strong scents Default mood: Healthily cynical : )
Jaiden Winter VicPride President Usually found: In the bog Preferred weapon: Stats textbook. Perfect weight for swinging and she can also read it to inflict emotional damage! What gift will get their attention: Cheese! Cheese! Cheese! The confession they’ll make: “I don’t actually like cheese”
Aspen VicPride Executive Assistant Likes: Their dog, books, the piano, moths. Preferred weapon: Whatever’s closest, or a giant wrench Love language: Acts of service Romance trope: That broody mysterious and quiet guy who you just can’t seem to get close to
10 SCIENCE
EDITOR | JESS NASH SCIENCE@THESTRAND.CA
Para“social” activity The spooky influence our parasocial friends wield ILLUSTRATION | YOON-JI KWEON
ALBERT CHENG STAFF WRITER
As we ready ourselves for a return to in-person learning, it is with joy and excitement that we can again meet and vibe with the individuals with whom we build the greatest relationships: our friends. For many of us, the pandemic has kept us physically and socially isolated from our friendships, resulting in compensatory measures to supplement our deficiency in personal interactions. One such mechanism has been an increased consumption of parasocial interactions. Parasocial relationships (PSRs) are those formed between an audience member/consumer and another party who is unaware of their existence, where the former develops an emotional connection to the latter with sentiments of friendship and intimacy. Historically, the principal instance of PSR has been celebrity fascinations— it’s a bit reminiscent of that friend who “stans” Suga to an unwarranted and potentially unhealthy degree. Today, however, PSRs may develop with a multitude of individuals, ranging from YouTubers and influencers to fictional characters. Although such PSRs may appear harmless, the emotional leverage that public figures possess over their audiences may be far-reaching, with sinister consequences. It is easy to imagine that digital celebrities who have cultivated the image of an intimate relationship with their followers might be able to influence the purchasing habits of the latter, via endorsements of sponsored products, for example. The monetary benefit of collaborations and deals with influencers is being increasingly recognized by brands as a method of accessing potential consumers in a seemingly authentic manner, especially at a time when traditional digital advertisements (pop-ups, sidebar ads, etc.) fail to
attract engagement. The risk therein arises from the observation that individuals with low selfesteem are more likely to engage in PSRs and alter their purchasing behaviours, shifting the nature of marketing from informational to bordering on coercive.
FOR BETTER OR WORSE, POPULAR FIGURES HAVE DEMONSTRATED A DISTINCT ABILITY TO INFLUENCE AND MEDIATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY DURING A PANDEMIC
The populism evoked by former President Trump during his campaign and term, for example, has been linked to a parasocial relationship with his followers. One study found that a stronger PSR with Trump was linked to reduced informationseeking behavior for COVID-19. This is certainly not an isolated instance—the activities, ideas, and beliefs of the object of a PSR have the ability to influence the consumer of their content. Separately, the contraction of COVID-19 by the object of a PSR was found to be associated with an increase in consumers’ perceived susceptibility to contracting
COVID themselves, with the effect amplified in individuals who previously believed the threat of illness to be non-imminent. For better or worse, popular figures have demonstrated a distinct ability to influence and mediate the effectiveness of public health policy during a pandemic, especially to poorly informed peoples. Personae such as Joe Rogan or Candace Owens, who espouse vaccine skepticism and mockery or even propose blatant conspiracy theories, are able to strike devastating blows to the push for vaccination and social distancing. PSRs, however, are not without therapeutic benefits. Given that humans are innately social creatures, many have felt the psychological weight of carrying out their routines day in and day out without a single physical interaction. Retrospective studies have suggested a positive role of PSRs in supplanting lost social interactions and providing refuge from anxieties over the ever-changing landscape the pandemic has brought. For seniors and other vulnerable populations that had to quarantine to a greater extent, PSRs provide a sense of companionship and socialization in an otherwise very lonely time. As we continue to work towards pre-COVID social normalcy, we should consider taking the lessons we have learned from the grandest social experiment in recent history and harness the insights gleaned from the effects of global isolation on psychology, health, and mental well-being. Even in the far future, when the term “coronavirus” will be as antiquated as words like “grody” and “gnarly,” individuals will still be subject to the parasocial entities whose haunting grounds only expand as our digital lives become more and more intertwined with our identities.
SCIENCE 11
@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 15 FEBRUARY 2022
Eight LGBTQ+ scientists you should know about Science is queerer than you think KIERAN GUIMOND EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Content warning: this article contains mentions of Nazis and conversion therapy. It is well known that history tends to be “straightwashed,” and this is no less true in scientific fields. Queer and transgender people’s achievements are often brushed over, or their sexuality is removed from the narrative. STEM fields can be less inclusive than their humanities counterparts, and queer people in science may feel isolated. There are countless queer and transgender scientists who have made crucial advances in multiple branches of science, including but not limited to computer science, medicine, and neuroscience. James Barry (1789-1865) James Barry was assigned female at birth, but at age 20, he changed his name and went to medical school (which, at the time, did not accept female students). After passing his medical exams, he went to South Africa, where he worked on improving hygiene and sanitation. He also performed one of the first C-sections in South Africa where both the mother and child survived, and he served as the inspector general of military hospitals in Canada. Following his death, he requested that his body was not to be examined, but these wishes were not respected. Because Barry was alive before terms such as “transgender” were used, we do not know how he would have personally identified, which has caused much debate among historians. However, at no point during his adult life did he return to using his birth name or presenting as a woman, and he continuously referred to himself as a man throughout his life.
became the Chancellor of Germany, the Institute was attacked by Nazi supporters and the library was burned to the ground. Hirschfeld was both gay and Jewish and was regularly assaulted. Despite this, his research continued on and was adopted by scientists in the United States.
“gross indecency” in 1952 for having a relationship with another man and was forced to undergo chemical castration to reduce his sex drive. In 1954, Turing died of cyanide poisoning, but it is unknown if his death was due to suicide, accident, or murder. He was not given a pardon for his charges until 2013.
Alan L. Hart (1890-1962) Alan Hart was assigned female at birth, but began to present as male while attending college. After receiving his medical degree, he saw a physician and requested a hysterectomy, making him the first known transgender man to undergo gender affirming surgery in the United States. Hart also used synthetic male hormones (once they became available) to lower his voice and grow a beard. His research focused on tuberculosis (TB), and he pioneered new ways to track its spread and diagnose it through x-rays, which was a novel idea at the time. This technique allowed TB to be detected in asymptomatic patients, which saved many people’s lives..
Alfred Kinsey (1894-1956) Alfred Kinsey was a biologist and sexologist who founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, which has since been renamed the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. Kinsey is most well-known for creating the Kinsey scale, which ranges from “exclusively heterosexual” to “exclusively homosexual,” with many individuals falling somewhere between those two extremes. Kinsey himself was bisexual, and he was highly influential within the research of sexuality. During his life, Kinsey interviewed over 18,000 individuals on their sexual behaviour, which was recorded in the Kinsey Reports.
Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935) Magnus Hirschfeld was a German sexologist who created the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, which was a gay rights organization that fought against laws which punished sexual contact between men. Hirschfeld also founded the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute of Sex Research) in 1919. The centre performed research, as well as providing services such as gender affirming surgeries and psychological counselling. In 1933, when Adolf Hitler
Sally Ride (1951-2012) Sally Ride was an astronaut who worked for NASA and is primarily known for being the first woman from the United States to go into space in 1983. She helped develop a robotic arm for the space shuttle, which she operated multiple times. After leaving NASA, she started the Sally Ride Science company to promote science education. Ride was gay, and her partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, helped to create the Sally Ride Science company. She was very quiet regarding her personal life, and her sexuality was not publicly known until after her death, likely due to the prejudice she would have faced.
Ben Barres (1954-2017) Dr. Barres was a neurobiologist whose research focused on glial cells: cells in the brain that are not neurons. He was essential in discovering the role that glial cells play in neural function and brain activity. Barres was also transgender, and came out to his colleagues in 1997. Throughout his career, he pushed for gender equality in the sciences, as he saw first-hand how people treated him before and after his transition.
Alan Turing (1912-1954) Alan Turing is likely the most well-known figure on the list, and has the saddest story. Turing was a computer scientist and mathematician who is most well known for decrypting the “unbreakable” German Enigma codes during World War II. It is believed that his codebreaking work shortened the war by two to four years. He also came up with the idea of the Turing machine, which became the basis for all digital computers, and the Turing Test, which relates to artificial intelligence and asks the question: can computers “think”? Turing was arrested on charges of
Lauren Esposito (1982-Present) Dr. Esposito is a fantastic example of a queer scientist who is actively contributing to the scientific field, as well as engaging in community projects. Her research is concerned with scorpions in the Caribbean, specifically the evolution of scorpions and their venom. She also co-founded 500 Queer Scientists after she realized that there were many queer people who felt unsafe in STEM departments, and that queer people were less likely to remain in STEM fields. She wanted LGBTQ+ people to feel less isolated within their fields and for them to know there are others like them working in STEM.
12 ARTS AND CULTURE
EDITOR | JANNA ABBAS ARTSANDCULTURE@THESTRAND.CA
Why polyamory is the only way to solve love triangles On Xiran Jay Zhao's Iron Widow ILLUSTRATION | ROSA SCHAEFER BASTIAN
CATHERINE DER CONTRIBUTOR
When I saw Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao in my local bookstore, I knew I would buy it. A red and black colour scheme with an Asian woman on the cover? It’s my whole aesthetic. When I turned it over, the words “fight to shatter patriarchal definitions of power” read loud and clear. I knew I would love this book. Going into it, I was ready for some rebellion, a ton of female empowerment, and a total destruction of the patriarchy. However, I was not expecting my entire definition of a classic romance trope to change. Look, I’m an avid bookworm, and I’ve read a lot of books. I’ve become quite acquainted with the love triangle. Usually, it’s one female being pursued by two guys. I can almost guarantee that one of those men is morally grey and mysterious with a dangerous past, probably with colourful eyes or a tattoo. I can also almost guarantee that the other guy is some childhood best friend or he’s a total sweetheart—or both. Iron Widow starts off as a pretty classic love triangle with a lot of feminism mixed in. The main character, Wu Zetian, volunteers in a war that killed her sister, leaving behind her misogynistic family and her supportive (and rich) childhood best friend, Gao Yizhi. I was kind of on board for the Zetian and Yizhi ship. After joining the war and absolutely destroying the pilot that killed her sister, Zetian is paired with another pilot, Li Shimin, which people hoped would keep her under control. Surprise! He’s the morally grey and traumatized second love interest. I was fully on board for the Zetian and Shimin ship. To be fair, you can’t have two characters linked for life through a “special” bond and expect me not to ship them. Just as Zetian and Shimin are becoming close, Yizhi finds his way back to her. I mean, it
was obvious he would, especially after he offered to marry her instead of having her go off to war. As the story progresses, Zetian has moments with both love interests. I found myself shipping her equally with both. This was a rare moment for me, because normally I prefer one love interest over the other. While Zetian had moments with both the men, it was difficult to see moments between Yizhi and Shimin because of the book’s limited first-person narrative. But sometimes, we see glimpses of moments between the two. It was the little moments that sold me on that ship. By the time I was halfway through the book, I was shipping all three of them together. I had never done that before. I had never before wanted a main character to end up with both her love interests, and at the same time want the two love interests to end up together. And then it dawned on me— love triangles cannot exist without queer people. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a time machine back to second grade geometry. A triangle has three sides, three vertices. This would mean three people have to be in love with each other. The classic love triangle, on the other hand, is not even a geometric triangle! It’s a corner, at best. To create the proper triangle, there has to be some kind of queer element. Zhao has done an impeccable job at developing a totally shippable polyamorous relationship. The readers can clearly see the attraction and passion between all three characters, as well as the love that underlies it all. So much of the relationship is implicit, which speaks to the skill that Zhao has in developing characters and their romance. It’s the kind of relationship that takes you by surprise, but when you look back, the clues were all there. The relationship begins with respect and builds over time. The love is shown through actions, through small moments of conversation. It isn’t forced,
robotic, or rushed. It feels like the most natural thing in the world. Honestly, it’s better than most of the monogamous love stories we see in the media today. As Yizhi puts it, “There aren’t nearly enough nice feelings in the world, so why deprive ourselves?” Enough of the classic love triangle—if we can even call it that. The resolution of these triangles is always so unsatisfying anyways. No more killing off beloved characters; no more making them leave because of some inexplicable reason; no more merging the two love interests into one person (I’m looking at you, Rick Riordan). Polyamory is the only solution to love triangles, and Iron Widow is the prime example on how to do that. ILLUSTRATION | SEAVEY VAN WALSUM
ARTS AND CULTURE 13
@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 15 FEBRUARY 2022
The Strand cordially invites you to bite us!
VicPride is back in action
Our team’s hot takes on love
Our team revived a levy we were determined not to let disappear
THE STRAND STAFF CONTRIBUTORS
Turns out our team is more fond of friends to lovers (63%) than enemies to lovers, but that’s only true if Zendaya’s our lover. When asked to choose between the internet’s boyfriends, Timothée won our hearts (60%) (sorry Garfield, we still luv you!) When it comes to love confessions, most of us are Austen stans: “You must allow me to tell you how ardently Ii admire and love you”–Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen–Abi, Associate Opinions Editor "I cannot make speeches, Emma… If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more."–Emma, Jane Austen–Janna, Arts and Culture Editor “In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”–Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen–Sarah, Co-News Editor “‘Everything's going to be alright,’ he says. ‘Trust me. I love you, I'm never going to let anything like that happen to you ever again.’”–Normal People, Sally Rooney–Emma, Associate News Editor "I caught you a delicious bass."–Napoleon Dynamite–Holly, Managing Editor
Abi
Quick! Create a celebrity couple: “Zendaya & Timothée Chalamet (Zimothée)”–
“Zendaya and Me”–Kalliopé, Distribution Manager “Kate McKinnon and Me”–Seavey, Illustration Editor “The Strand x The Varsity (The Strasity)”–Rion, Associate Arts and Culture Editor “The campus celebs Vic x Trin (Vicinity or Tric)”– Janna “Jack Black & Adam Sandler (Jadam Blandler)”– Sarah “Timothée Chalamet x Tom Holland (White Twinks)”–Kieran, Editorial Assistant What movie makes you believe in love? “La La Land (2016)”–Abi “Marie Antoinette (2006)”–Eva, Editorial Assistant “About Time (2013)”–Emma “Holding the Man (2015)”–Rion “Titanic (1997)”–Janna “Before Sunrise (1995)”–Faith, Senior Copyeditor “The Old Guard (2020)”–Kieran “Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)”–Holly
Favourite breakup song? On Valentine’s Day, the Swifties come out to play: “Death By A Thousand Cuts”–Abi “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince”–Eva “Wildest Dreams”–Kalliopé “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”–Emma “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”– Rion “I Forgot That You Existed”–Janna “Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”–Sarah “Don’t You (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”– Holly What romance trope best describes your love life? “The girl who goes from nerd to hottie”–Abi “Strangers to fuck friends”–Kalliopé “None of them... I'm still waiting”–Rion “Girl who's outwardly cold and heartless, but is secretly a hopeless romantic”–Janna “North American girl & British boy”–Sarah “Always a bridesmaid…”–Faith “There was only one bed, but I'm the only person here”–Kieran “Secretly in love with a cyborg”–Holly Favourite Memory with your Bestie? “Moving into our first apartment together :”)”–Abi “Going to my first buck-wild house party”–Eva “Riding our bicycles to the waterfront to watch the sunset”–Kalliopé “A little too much wine and cheesecake & binging fleabag”–Emma “Reuniting & moving in together after a whole year!!”–Sarah “Six hour long zoom calls”–Kieran What would the text on your Valentine's Day candy say? “Bite Me”–Kalliopé; Janna; Rion “4 ever & ever”–Abi “Busy, TXT L8er ;)?”–Seavey “Short n' sweet”–Sarah “u r cute and stinky <3”–Faith “DON’T CALL”–Kieran “Nice Ass”–Holly
ILLUSTRATION | AIDA JAVAN
RILEY SWITZMAN MEMBER, VICPRIDE!
When most people think about Victoria College and the community within it, they often think of inclusivity and how getting involved creates a second home for students at Vic. Knowing this, I don’t think it is any surprise that VicPride is an important facet of the connection and community within Vic for us students who are involved with the levy. Over the past few years, VicPride has had a bit of a shaky time, as the pandemic created a rift in participation for all extracurricular activities. Personally, I have noticed how difficult it is to stay engaged when the pandemic makes the concept of isolation not only real, but mandatory for the safety of everyone in our communities. Connection is a large part of what VicPride has been working toward and continues to work toward as we adapt to current restrictions and try to re-establish ourselves as a prominent levy at Vic again. Within the Vic community, we aim to help foster this connection and activity while providing space for the LGBTQ+ community to feel safe and heard at our college. In line with the value of inclusion, VicPride is dedicated to holding this space, as well as hosting events to both create connections within the community and educate people on issues within the LGBTQ+ community. VicPride is an instrumental part of the Vic community. Discovering the levy during my orientation many years ago was part of what helped me become comfortable at UofT, comfortable being myself around campus. So, over the past year when the levy was inactive and without a team, I was devastated. Its inactivity felt like yet another source of community and education that the pandemic had swallowed up. When VicPride elections came around in the fall of 2021, I knew that I had to participate; watching this levy disappear was not something I was willing to do. Now, you can see us again as we host events, make spaces for learning, and generally just try to have fun! Our team is absolutely incredible; we are passionate about equality, equity, connection, and education within and outside the LGBTQ+ community. Together, our team forms a solid foundation for this levy and we are returning stronger than ever. We are fighting our way through pandemic hardships and reclaiming our space to connect and revel in the amazing community that can be created through VicPride. It is essential to us at VicPride that we maintain this space, where we can continue to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible ways that the LGBTQ+ community at Victoria College (and beyond) makes our lives a little livelier. So follow us on Instagram at @vicu.pride and come visit us during our general meetings sometime soon! VISUAL | VICPRIDE LOGO
14 ARTS AND CULTURE
EDITOR | JANNA ABBAS ARTSANDCULTURE@THESTRAND.CA
Church and Wellesley’s inclusive appearance: fact or fiction? The lack of intersectionality in Toronto’s queer community MADELINE VIEN CONTRIBUTOR
For queer people who are new to Toronto, going to a gay bar in the Village is a monumental experience. Having grown up in a conservative town, I was beyond excited to live in a city that was not only more accepting of my queer identity, but also had designated queer spaces such as the Church and Wellesley community. Although COVID-19 put a temporary hold on nightlife, once restrictions were lifted, my friends and I attended a drag show at Crews and Tangos, a popular bar on the Church and Wellesley strip. Before the night began, some of us discussed how we were nervous that we would not feel welcome, or that we would not “fit in” at a gay bar because we were queer women rather than gay men. We got so worked up in fear of not feeling welcome that we even debated not going at all, but after some deliberation, we decided to begin our trek to the Village. Once we arrived, any
remaining anxiety melted away and was replaced with pure joy. The DJ was playing music we loved, the club demographic was diverse and included queer people of various identities, and the people we met were all incredibly friendly. After such an amazing night, I thought to myself, what was I so afraid of? Despite my first experience in the Village being incredibly pleasant, the more frequently I returned, the more I observed cracks in its welcoming appearance. The Village presents itself as welcoming to all queer identities, but there is no bar or club designated for queer women, making misogyny easily noticeable within the spaces shared by men and women. This discrepancy can be seen in various forms, from drag performers complaining that an audience is predominantly women, to gay men complaining when the bars they frequent are too heavily attended by women. While the Village continues to act as an inclusive space for all queer people, there appears to be a considerable division between queer men and women. The instances
of misogyny I have observed only scratch the surface of prejudices that live within Toronto’s queer spaces. It is evident that queer communities often do not make the effort to be inclusive of all identities, and rather cater to their most privileged. In neglecting intersectionality, we fail to recognize that spaces exclusively welcoming white, cis, gay men are not truly inclusive to the queer community. The issue does not end with misogyny: many problems such as transphobia and racism remain within the Village. From clubs that deny access to those who are not “male” to the exploitation of Indigenous artists, it is obvious that many of Toronto’s queer spaces are subject to the same deeply rooted discrimination that lies within Canadian culture. If anything can be learned from these observations of intolerance within Toronto’s queer community, it is that to be a “safe space,” marginalized communities must actively participate in intersectionality.
Let’s talk about sex! Breaking the stigma one conversation at a time BARAN SEYEDI CONTRIBUTOR
Ever since I was little, I remember being curious about the birds and the bees. Along with that curiosity came a little bit of shame. I mean, the word “sex” in and of itself continues to make many of us feel uncomfortable. I just wish there had been someone to tell me that there is nothing to be embarrassed about. You would hear about sex from a classmate that had an older sibling, or see a glimpse of it in movies. But your teachers would get mad at you for talking about it, or you would have to cover your eyes when the scene came on. What are a bunch of teenagers to do with so many unanswered questions? In my case, my friends and I would secretly search the web by typing in words like “sex,” “kiss,” and “makeout” to find some answers—as if those were any help. It wasn’t until sex-ed in sixth grade that they
actually taught us what sex was. Even then, we were told it was solely for the purpose of reproduction, and we were scared with warnings of pregnancy and all sorts of sexually transmitted diseases. That day, I promised myself I would never do something so shameful. I laugh about that now. The experience I just described resonates with many people, which is why it is so important to talk about sex. Why should we shun such a natural part of human life? It is not just sex itself, but the pleasure that comes from it that has become taboo. Perhaps more representation of sex in the media could be a productive way to start the conversation. You might see and relate to an awkward sex scene or someone going through the same sexual struggles as you in a movie, finding it comforting or reassuring. I think representation in media can help people feel more comfortable with sex and slowly tear away the stigma around it. Of course, movies, TV shows, and social media posts are not
your best options when it comes to reliable sources of information—I remember my friends and I repeatedly getting into arguments about what goes where because we had read different things on Google or watched different videos on YouTube. Looking back now, none of us knew what the hell was going on! I do acknowledge that there are many ways in which information from the media can be detrimental to our personal lives. However, one thing that the media has done well—for me at least—is showing that I’m not an anomaly; I’m not the only one feeling a certain way. I want to end this off by recommending the show Sex Education, which follows a group of teenagers as they navigate their sex lives. Watch it by yourself, with a friend, even with your parents—at your own risk, though. However you do it, just get the conversation started!
VISUAL | SHELLEY YAO
STRANDED 15
@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 15 FEBRUARY 2022
What your favourite fanfic pairings say about you + super helpful dating advice PHOTO | FREESTOCKS
ENTERPRISE_D_2323 CONTRIBUTOR
Spirk (Spock and Kirk): No one is doing it like you are. You stand on the shoulders of giants: Desilu Studios and the 60s housewives who kept Star Trek on the air. You love a workplace romance, and wouldn’t mind lying to HR to date a superior, but you have a hard time articulating those emotions into anything other than an admirable work ethic. Ask Out: A Wolfstar (Sirius Black and Remus Lupin) fan. First Date: Pointing out constellations at the Ontario Science Centre Planetarium. Johnlock (Sherlock and Watson): You’re a SuperWhoLock survivor who still thinks it’s kind of funny to replace Benedict Cumberbatch’s name with any two words starting with B and C. You think you give pretty good dating advice, despite the fact that you were a gifted kid who didn’t date in highschool and still haven’t figured out how to get past the talking stage. Ask Out: A Stucky (Steve and Bucky) fan. First Date: People watching, making up lurid backstories based on innocuous details. Reylo (Rey and Kylo Ren): You have a type, and it’s big pouty dudes who could throw you across a room and/or short women who can kick your ass. You believe in the inherent romanticism of light vs. dark aesthetics, and you thought the crossguard lightsaber was pretty cool, actually. You love tension in your relationships. You live for the “3-am-can’t-sleep” because you’re thinking about them. You don’t know if you want them to text you, or if you’ll throw your phone across the room if they do. Ask Out: Someone who is really invested in MGK/Megan Fox.
First Date: Sitting on opposite ends of a really long dining table, staring at your date with the intention to either throw your knife or yourself at them. Grinch/Tony the Tiger: Very original. Cursed, but original. It indicates a creative spirit and questionable ethics of attraction to anthropomorphic characters. Or, a chronically online personality bordering on need for intervention. Ask Out: Someone whose first crush was Disney’s Robin Hood (the fox) First Date: Assign each other fursonas, then sit for a couples portrait commissioned from a furry artist. Destiel (Dean and Castiel): Hey, at least it’s canon? (In Spanish.) You are a loyal-tothe-end type, even when it seems there is no end in sight. You have a sense of faith and devotion to your beliefs that monks and nuns everywhere would envy. You have seriously considered crowdfunding to buy the CW Network. Ask Out: A Merthur (Merlin and Arthur) fan. First Date: Wander around the AGO. You totally like Renaissance art in a cool, intellectual way. Not because they draw Lucifer and the Angels… like that. Anne Shirley/Diana Barry: You had a crush on your best friend growing up, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You believe in love through thick and thin, and that some people are simply meant to be in each other’s lives, even if that doesn’t mean romance. Ask Out: That childhood best friend of yours, go get ‘em. First Date: Sentimentality is key, your favourite ice cream shop or a park picnic.
Ask Saucy Suzy: Do I have to call sex “making love”? SAUCY SUZY COLUMNIST
Dear Saucy Suzy, I like to pork it. I can do the nasty as well as the next guy, don’t you worry. Oh yeah, I can get reallllll sticky. That’s not the problem. The problem is that my girlfriend only likes it when I call sex “making love.” But the thing is…I just don’t look at it that way. If we’re taking a spin around the merry-go-round, I like to call it a bang-a-rama or doing the diddily. Something sexy like that. But all she wants to talk about is love. I like making love—but only to myself. I tried to explain to her that my therapist told me I need to spend more time focusing on self-love and set more boundaries in my life, but she doesn’t respect my limits. She says that only being able to make love to yourself is selfish. But how can I love her if I don’t love myself first—in the bathroom before we bump uglies? Last Valentine’s Day, she got so mad at me for doing this, that she tried to bust down the bathroom door—literally breaking one of my boundaries. This year, I’ve come prepared. I built an underground bunker, a.k.a. my special lovemaking cave. I set up a series of booby traps leading to the entrance; one of them could slice a man in two. She can’t break-in, and I can’t get out. I won’t let my therapist down this time. I know how to put up walls. But…what if I need to knock them down? If I ever make it out of here, I know my gf is going to say this is the last straw, and that I need to call it lovemaking. I don’t think she’s right, but I’m starting to wonder if I am either. Should I give in, or reinforce these mud pie walls? Love, Mr. Masturbator in Mimico Dear Mr. Masturbator, I’ve heard that touching yourself is, like, really important. It makes you happier, and all around just a better person. I totally get that. Even I used to touch myself before I had many, many boyfriends to do the work for me. I think your problem here is that your girlfriend doesn’t respect that you need to love yourself before you can love someone else. I mean, who hasn’t seen that quote before? Does she not have Instagram, or a brain or something? Anyways. I think it’s really cool that you make love to yourself. I don’t think you should give into her nagging—sex can just be called sex. But, you might want to consider this: do you ever tell your girlfriend that you love her? You should tell her every hour. Maybe twice an hour. If you’re not meeting this standard, maybe you’re the problem after all. Maybe she’s just trying to introduce the word into your, like, romantic vocabulary. If you can’t drop the L bomb when you’re talking about sex, try doing it somewhere else. Oh, and if you’re not using heart emojis with every text, you might as well spit in her eye. I hope these tips help, and remember, above all else… Stay Saucy, Suzy <3
16 STRANDED
EDITOR | VICTORIA MCINTYRE STRANDED@THESTRAND.CA
How Deleting TikTok Has Made Me a Better Lover HELEN HO CONTRIBUTOR
This January 3, 2022, I did one of the hardest things anybody could do: I ended a two-year long relationship. It was a mutual break up (that’s what they always say, isn’t it?)—it was just better this way. But as any lover will tell you, all the platitudes in the world cannot assuage the pain of ending a relationship. And I could say it was both of us, but really, I was the one who held the scissors that cut the red string of fate between me and my darling, my lover, my TikTok. Like every good relationship I’ve been in, I just… got tired. I’m a Leo; we need endless excitement! TikTok knew me too well. At times, it felt like they were trying too hard; other times, it felt like they didn’t know me at all, and I found myself insulted by their suggestions at every turn. Don’t get me wrong, I was never bored. But we were too comfortable in our little dance. I’d come home, and there they were waiting for me, and there were three more hours I’d waste away idling on the couch. We got complacent, and eventually, just like every good relationship I’ve ever been in… I left and didn’t look back. Commitment isn’t for everyone, but with the internet, it was for 4ever. Can you blame a girl for being a little scared? Leaving TikTok was hard. But once I did, I realized something important. It
seemed that in giving up TikTok as my lover, I’d gotten the man I actually needed all along: Father Time. As someone who attracts only the most voracious and salacious of lovers, having more of Father Time could only give me a leg up on all my other competition in the dating world. I don’t want to say deleting TikTok makes me better than everyone who hasn’t deleted TikTok,
but I will say that I have the most lovers of anyone I know. Breaking up with someone who you love, even if they’re bad for you, is hard. But it is worth it, trust me (and if not me, then trust my 18 lovers). They say time heals all wounds, and with more time on my hands, it’s easier for me to get a grip on the kinds of things I need in love. Plus, ever since deleting TikTok, I fuck like an animal. ILLUSTRATION | SHELLEY YAO