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Feminism July 22, 2016

Let’s stop hating on women through social media, shall we?

Over the past week, the world witnessed some rather high profile women get into some rather uncomfortable situations. And while life is bound to get messy at times, the problem with modern day society is that spectators are now able to watch the events unfold time and time again, while at the same time adding their thoughts and opinions on the matter — anonymously — through the click of a button.

And while this way of life has brought the world closer together and has provided insight on the mindset of today’s society, it has also allowed people to lack in forgiveness and spread negative dialogue. What hurts the most however, is to see independent, well educated and woke women engaging in the same negative dialogue – to criticize other women. Not only are we pushing the feminism movement back a couple of years by doing this, but we are doing our gender a disservice by dragging our colleagues through the mud.

Just last week, Qandeel Baloch split the world in two after being strangled by her brother because of the “kind of pictures she had been posting online.” Like many of you, I found myself scrolling through the deceased social media star’s Instagram, coming across sexually suggestive pictures and videos of an attractive South Asian woman boldly expressing herself. The think pieces and blogs flooded my newsfeed, with comments from mourners condoning the death and asking people to take a stand against these types of ‘honour killings’. However, in the same comment section, there were people — many of them women — who felt bad, but understood what provoked her brother to brutally murder her in the first place.

“She was asking for it.”

In a very different situation, the Internet witnessed Taylor Swift being ripped apart by Kim Kardashian West on Snapchat when the reality-tv star posted a telephone conversation between her husband, rapper Kanye West, and what is believed to be singer herself. The topic of the telephone conversation was the allegedly misogynistic lyrics directed at Swift in one of West’s singles. Swift had previously released a statement saying she wished the couple would ”just leave me alone.” Kim, listen up: A hundred years have passed since this shit storm started and Kanye West’s single released. Since then, we’ve already seen you and Swift publicly lash out at each other, while the Internet followed along, taking sides. So why don’t you exclude us from this narrative, and give each other a call?

Because here’s the thing, ladies. There are a lot of women out here that are fighting for your rights and freedom. Women that are currently driving on streets they are not allowed to drive on. Women that are interviewing for a job they are deemed unqualified for. Women that are being utilized for their body without their permission. The least you can do, is offer a little support. They’re not asking for billboards of heartfelt messages with a hashtag, or a protest in lieu of every mistreatment that takes place. However, when someone is strangled to death in the comfort of their own home for essentially being themselves, it is not an invitation to slut shame the victim and justify their killer’s actions. She wasn’t asking for it. No one ever is.

Neither was Leslie Jones; one of the stars of the new Ghostbusters movie, which has been getting mixed reviews. Jones announced early this week that she was leaving Twitter “with tears and a very sad heart” after receiving racist and sexist abuse that she describes as her own “personal hell.” Her response to the incident was not only relevant to the situation at hand, but also to the events that have occurred in the past weeks regarding social media hate.

Jones called on Twitter to crack down on the hate, posting, “Twitter I understand you got free speech I get it. But there has to be some guidelines when you let spread like that.” She had a few things to say about the negative comments as well. “You have to hate yourself to put out that type of hate. I mean on my worst day I can’t think of this type of hate to put out. I don’t know how to feel. I’m numb. Actually numb. I see the words and pics and videos. Videos y’all. Meaning people took time to sprew hate. I’m more human and real than you fucking think. I work my ass off. I’m not different than any of you who has a dream to do what they love. I’ve never claim to be better or special. I just try to do my job as best as I can. Isn’t that any of us yall. So Yea this hurts me!”

The question arises; how do we overcome this girl-on-girl hate? Social media has evidently fuelled gender violence. Comment sections will make you lose faith in humanity while trending hashtags will encourage you to take part in a social media cleanse. Imagine the difference we could make if women gushed about what they love about other women by merely swapping hate and jealousy for support and encouragement?

A big difference. Let’s start THAT hashtag!

What are your thoughts on social media hate against women? Let us know in the comments below!

What's Hot May 16, 2016

Curry Scented B*tches take over social media

Every South Asian knows the childhood struggle of hiding their clothes in the most closeted spaces of their homes to avoid infusing their wardrobe with the aromas of their mom’s afternoon curry-cooking session. Not to mention the jokes and humiliation they endured during lunch time in elementary school when opening the lid of their tupperware to release the smell of spices into the air for all their unsuspecting classmates to inhale. The bottom line is, curry has a strong smell, but it tastes good– and it’s all South Asians eat.

However, after graduating from grade school and learning how to perfect the ways of avoiding smelling like curry when assimilating into western society, South Asians also put behind the days of ridicule and not so funny jokes. Or so it seemed.

It’s safe to assume that a woman by the name of Azealia Banks didn’t go to grade school. So, she’s using her adult life to make curry jokes aimed at former One Direction member and fellow South Asian, Zayn Malik. That too, through Twitter.

Classy.

However, what Azealia Banks didn’t realize is how thick-skinned brown people actually are — and how big Zayn Mailk’s fan base actually is. Yes, Zayn Malik may be the ”token brown boy” of the entertainment industry, but that’s the reason why all of South Asia and every brown woman across the globe is obsessed with the 23-year-old’s tanned skin and sharp features.

After an initial Instagram post accusing Malik of copying her style in a new music video, the 24-year-old rapper later called out the Pakistani-British singer, a “Punjab,” “dirty bitch,” “token brown boy” and “hairy curry scented bitch.” This provoked a social media frenzy, influenced by Canadian Youtuber, JusReign. Because unfortunately, these jokes are not new to South Asians. We’ve endured the same jokes for years. This time, thanks to the power of social media, JusReign took to Twitter to show us how to turn these jokes into compliments.

With over a million subscribers on Vine and Facebook, JusReign, who was a recent victim of racism after a very public incident involving his turban at an airport, called out Azealia in a series of Tweets, including a photo of her in an old music video sporting a bindi, which is ironically derived from Indian culture.

Since then, thousands have taken to Instagram and Twitter to post fierce selfies embracing their culture. JusReign not only demonstrated what it means to be Canadian, he also showed the world the power of South Asian beauties. Yes, while millennials may seek any excuse to post selfies nowadays, it is empowering to scroll down my timeline to friends and families rocking their khol and smiling into the camera while Azealia looks into her back up career plan.

She has since then (sort of) apologized for the incident.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFZ7VslH1QT/?taken-by=azealiabanks

Thanks, Banks.

Feature Image

What your thoughts on #curryscentedbitch? Let us know in the comments below!

Feminism March 18, 2016

#UnfairandLovely Campaign embraces dark-skinned women

Being Bengali, I grew up seeing a large spectrum of skin colours and features across the country my parents grew up in, including that of my family. Whether it’s frizzy hair, a round nose, or having no curves (or too much curves), there is always something to criticize when it comes to women and their genetics. I was always told how lucky I was to have fair skin. It was ‘a sign of beauty which not everyone is blessed with.’

However, living in Canada quickly showed me how untrue that was. Dark-skinned girls are beautiful! I stare in awe whenever my darker friends post on Instagram — many of whom are featured below — taking in their sharp features, not to mention they can contour their face without looking dirty. They can rock the colour orange, pop in yellow, and look amazing in teal. So, when the Unfair and Lovely campaign took off, it was of no surprise to me. Of course unfair girls are lovely. It’s just surprising society tells them they’re not.

The movement was first started a few weeks ago by Pax Jones and a couple of friends.

“My own lived experiences as a black woman inspired me to develop this photo series. Mirusha, who modelled alongside her sister Yanusha, later came up with the title Unfair & Lovely for the series. The series was purely a creative project that I developed to combat under-representation of dark skinned people of colour in media.” stated Jones, in an interview with Women’s Post.

Since then, the movement has blown up. Despite tanning salons and sun bathing being so popular for women in North America, others are putting lightening creams on their face and scrolling through Pinterest, looking for ways to become fair-skinned. From a young age, girls are told to stay out of the sun, taught how to use face masks with lightening properties, and instructed to avoid drinking tea because “it makes your skin darker.” Therefore, when a group women come forward to tell you you’re ‘unfair and lovely’, it’s actually a rare compliment.

The campaign is a grassroots movement that has been fuelled by the leadership and activism of young women all over social media, and it is definitely important that their voices be centered in this conversation.

“I am an Indian woman, I am dark skinned and I am proud. The #UnfairAndLovely campaign to me is a well overdue step forward in certain communities that are mentally 10 decades behind than the people of today’s generation. I have been blessed to have grown up in a family of amazing beings that have taught me to love what’s underneath the skin and to ‘never judge a book by its cover’. It has allowed me to feel comfortable in my own skin and to support this movement whole heartedly in hope for a change that urge both men and women to put down fairness creams and take up the debate for a responsible media that doesn’t attribute success and beauty to skin colour,” said Kavi Anand, currently attending the University of Waterloo.

This isn’t the first campaign to embrace and empower women of colour. Reclaim the Bindi, which is collaborating with Unfair and Lovely, looks to combat cultural appropriation surrounding the bindi, the dot worn on the centre of the forehead of many South Asian women. Young women who grew up being ridiculed for their cultural practices are now being empowered to embrace them, posting powerful selfies of themselves wearing a bindi, which has both cultural and religious significance for South Asian women.

Jones shared her thoughts on working hand in hand with a more diverse range of Women of Colour (WoC) to elevate the platform of the initiative in which she mentioned:

”I’m happy it’s blown up and that many are using it to heal from abuse they’ve faced due to their skin colour. I think the invitation to collaborate with #reclaimthebindi for Reclaim The Bindi Week definitely helped. It’s also devastating how quickly the hashtag picked up steam, because it highlights how desperately our communities needed a space that represents dark-skinned people of colour.”

With thousands of online followers, Reclaim the Bindi has allowed young women to celebrate their skin colour, and the culture that comes with being said skin colour. Women’s Post spoke to founder of Reclaim the Bindi on the phone. While wishing to stay anonymous to avoid taking the spotlight away from the movement, she expressed her appreciation of being able to initiate this movement online, as it allows people to really educate themselves on the subject.

”It’s a great initiative.” says Heera Sri, a supporter of Reclaim the Bindi and a student at York University with a large Instagram following herself. ”It’s making a lot of women feel more comfortable and come into their own skin. It’s all about loving yourself. Personally, I went through my own journey of embracing my dark skin and love that there’s women looking to provide a back bone for those who don’t have one yet. We live in a progressive country and there’s so much diversity, so I don’t see why being dark skinned should restrict you from anything. ”

South Asian women often indulge in Bollywood movies, hoping to find their very own prince charming at the GO Station one day. However, even in an industry that can easily embrace darker-skinned women, there is a surge in lightening cream endorsements and ‘dusky’ girls who gradually become less dusky as they excel in their acting careers. The Tamil movie industry, Heera mentions, borrows actresses from Northern Sri Lanka and India to play Tamil characters. In a time when we crave colour on TV screens and movie theatres, most recently with #OscarsSoWhite, how come we’re not asking for the same back at home?

On the topic of cultural norms and harmful beauty standards, Ramisa Tasfia, a student at the University of Toronto Scarborough, says, “Treatments like skin bleaching or products like Fair & Lovely definitely perpetuate shadeism by promoting the idea that lighter is better. I feel that colorism is a result of systemic racism within our own cultures; partly believing that whiter people hold more power and beauty. I’ve never known dark skin to be ugly, or unappealing than light skin—but as I grew older I became more exposed to the obvious signs that lighter skin is favoured over darker skin.”

Jones created the #UnfairandLovely hashtag to encourage all women, with an emphasis on South Asian women, to embrace their natural colour and revel in their own beauty. But, Jones wants people to know the campaign is for everyone: “Some outlets have falsely reported that #unfairandlovely is only for dark-skinned South Asian women, but this is false. It’s for dark-skinned people of colour who are women, genderqueer, non-binary, etc.”

Amina Mohammed, former editor in chief of The Muslim Voice, shared her take on the movement through her perspective as a Somali-Canadian, Muslim woman. ”I’ve watched many of my South Asian friends struggle to come to terms with the dangers of colourism. I’ve seen them turn to whitening cream, lemon and potato peel facial masks, and extra sunscreen; all in an effort to appear fair (and lovely). I’ve also found the majority of anti-blackness from the South Asian community stems from this initial, internal adherence to a colourist social stratification. The Unfair and Lovely movement encourages probing dialogue, self-love, positivity and a re-definition of loveliness. I am all for this campaign, I think it’s great,” she added.

The movement comes in lieu of Reclaim the Bindi Week, which took place from March 8-14. As media got in on the story, we saw the impact that young women have of creating a voice for those who don’t. While movements like Unfair and Lovely are definitely steps towards ending discrimination, there will need to be a complete overhaul of the collective mindset of society to bring about an end to the prejudice that is shown against dark skinned people — not to mention the the superiority factor that is associated with fairness.

How has the Unfair and Lovely campaign affected you? Let us know in the comments below!

Featured February 26, 2016

#OscarsSoWhite: Should you join the boycott?

The biggest weekend for actors and actresses in Hollywood is just a few days away.

It’s the event movie enthusiasts look forward to every year. The event that encourages us to watch films that provoke various think pieces, blogs, and occasional snore-fests. But, for a few years now, the Oscars have brought on a different kind of conversation – and quite an important one, for that matter. It’s the kind of conversation that causes a certain discomfort not only within the industry, but also in the midst of friends and colleagues who have to decide whether or not they’ll even be watching the Oscars this year. And if you do – should you be feeling guilty?

Awkward, indeed.

Basically, for the last two years, no person of colour was nominated in any of the major categories for the most prestigious award in Hollywood; the Academy Award. Upon realizing this rather questionable circumstance, many actors and actresses have called on a boycott, agreeing not to partake or watch the Oscars this year. The boycott may, or may not, have started with critically-acclaimed actor Will Smith, who was said to have been snubbed for his role in Concussion. Thus, the question arises as to why the boycott really began. Was it due to feelings of bitterness and denial that his performance, specifically, was snubbed, or is it because there truly is a lack of diversity that needs to be addressed? Well, here are my thoughts.

No one is playing ‘the black card’ here. People of colour don’t want to be nominated because of their colour. They want to be nominated because of their talent, their performances, and their input to the film industry. Thus, the conversation about lack of diversity in the film industry is not an invitation to provide people of colour with pity nominations. It’s an invitation to look at the bigger picture, and the problems that are currently present in Hollywood. The fact that the Academy felt no persons of colour were eligible to be nominated for the past two years is not due to lack of talent in the industry – it’s due to the lack of roles available for people in the industry.

It’s not that progress isn’t being made. I see the slow emergence of colour in the industry when I flip through the channels on television. Still, very rarely, do I come across people who look like me. Sure, Viola Davis and Kerry Washington are tearing up Thursday nights and Priyanka Chopra is currently gracing Sunday’s with her South Asian beauty, but why is it when we watch movies, the people that are supposed to look like a certain race and ethnicity – don’t.

If you’ve seen John Oliver’s take on #OscarsSoWhite (below), you’ll know what I’m talking about. A compilation of video clips reveal that the lack of roles given to people of colour are largely due to part that it is in fact, white people, that are being cast in these roles instead. We saw this during the release of Aloha, where Emma Stone was cast as an island girl despite her pasty white skin and huge, buggy eyes. And we saw it again during the release of Prince of Persia, played by a very non-Persian looking Jake Gyllenhall. Although we’ve come a long way from black-face days in the industry, casting decisions like these really make me think – why?

The scariest part is, I, as a person of colour, did not notice the problem with some of these roles until it was pointed out to me. For me, watching Prince of Persia meant taking in the beauty of Jake Gyllenhall in a lot of armour. Gerard Butler in Gods of Egypt is equally yummy. We get so caught up in the star power, car explosions, sword fights, and all the basic eye-catching elements of a Hollywood movie, we forget to think about the more intellectual aspects such as historical accuracy and ethnic requirements.

The fact that we run off to the theatre as soon as a new Jennifer Lawrence movie or Leonardo DiCaprio flick comes out just comes to show that not only has Hollywood whitewashed the industry – it’s winning. With a few splashes of colour here and there with the likes of Lupita Nyong’o and Penelope Cruz, it seems the lack of diversity in Hollywood didn’t even matter to us – until now.

Stick all the nominees into one frame and the visual leaves you with a slap in the face. “Where are all the coloured people?” The thought flicks in our minds and the conversation is sparked. #OscarsSoWhite may not be the ideal hashtag for the board, but it’s the first step to initiating change and raising awareness. The only people we have to blame is ourselves for not starting the conversation sooner. Tje comments left by people named ‘John Goldman’ and ‘Stephanie Smith’ under these videos and think pieces will still leave you speechless. The reverse racism is prevalent and the thoughts and opinions are just plain ignorant.

To answer your question, there’s no need to boycott the Oscars. With Chris Rock set to host the night, we can already expect a plethora of black jokes and digs at the absence of colour in the hall. What we do need to do is continue the conversation and ask questions when casting mistakes happen again – as they will. With the hashtag circulating and the dialogue active, we’ve done what we need to do for now.

So it’s best that we acknowledge the nominees who have worked equally hard this year as the rest of us and enjoy the night. Besides, this may finally be the year that America’s sweetheart (and mine) wins an Oscar for his role in ‘The Revenant.’ DiCaprio, of all people, should know whats it’s like to be snubbed year after year. It’s only fair we repay the favour and root him on.

Of course, the decision is yours.

Will you be watching the Oscars this Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!

News November 18, 2015

Time is our biggest ally, Paris a week later

It’s been almost a week since news broke of the shooting and suicide bombing in Paris: 129 dead.

That Friday night, I got home from walking my dog and sat down in front of the television. It was cold outside, and my plan was to snuggle under a blanket and watch something trashy until my family got home. I turned on the television, which automatically tunes in to CP24, and heard the following words: “We still don’t know the condition of the 100 hostages, but our latest report has 30 people dead following the restaurant shooting in Paris. It is still unknown whether the disturbance at the soccer stadium is related.”

I ended up spending the entire night glued to CBC News. My computer was running a live-blog hosted by the Guardian, and my Twitter feed on my phone was lit up in #PrayForParis hashtags.

Simply put: since then, I’ve tried to avoid writing an article about the attack.

I was lost for words, but I also didn’t want to make the same mistakes as some media publications and members of the Twitterverse. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

Paris at night. Photo taken by Katherine DeClerq

It was only two months ago that I was in Paris, joyfully wandering the streets in the City of Lights, breathing in the Parisian lifestyle. It was an amazing experience. I wandered the twisted roads filled with shops and restaurants, drank wine, ate baguettes, visited museums, and saw the Eiffel tower. I got lost a few times, but luckily the people of Paris were nice enough to point me in the right direction. It’s important to know that when I say “people of Paris,” I mean people of every ethnicity. The kindest of them all was a Muslim man who showed us a short cut to the Eiffel tower.

My heart breaks when I hear about the racism and bigotry people are facing because of these terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut, and Baghdad. Politicians are screaming at each other for considering allowing refugees—people fleeing the very violence we just experienced—to enter their country. A mother was attacked when picking up her child from school, simply because she wore a hijab; a mosque in Peterborough was set ablaze with a molotov cocktail; and men and women are receiving letters in the mail from neighbours saying, “Canada is no place for immigrants. Go home.” The American media has been particular nasty to the Muslim community, asking them to “take responsibility” for the actions of a few extremists with ties to ISIS.

How is this Canada? How is this France, England, Germany, or the United States?

After a tragic event such as this one, time is our biggest ally. We may live in a 24-hour news cycle world, but that doesn’t mean we should rush to conclusions and continue to spread unfounded fear. Every time a mother is attacked, a mosque destroyed, or a man is falsely accused of being a terrorist, we add fuel to the fire. The people who killed 129 Parisians last Friday want us to turn on one another. They want Muslims to see the rest of the world as racist and islamophobic.

Let’s take some time. Sit back, breathe, and really think about what happened in Paris. Think of your neighbours and friends, some who may not be native to this country. In a world with a population of over 7 billion, there will be bad people. But, let’s not throw everyone with the same religion, skin colour, or beliefs into that categorization. Let’s not turn away those fleeing from violence, just because we are afraid. Chances are, in this political climate, they are more afraid than we are.

After taking a week to figure out how I feel following these tragic events, I’ve decided that I’m not going to #PrayForParis. Instead, I’m going to #PrayForTheWorld: Pray for a world of tolerance and acceptance, where no one feels afraid and everyone knows what it means to be loved. Lets not lose who we are and blindly follow the war cries.

Lets prove that we are better than that.