In this post, I examine how abortion language functions in M. R. Carey's 2014 zombie novel The Girl with All the Gifts. I devoured (heh, heh) most of the novel last week on an airplane. One of the things that struck me was how a group of children--not quite human, and not quite zombie--were referred to as "frigging little abortions." This post will be as spoiler-free as possible. Some of you may want to read the book, which I enthusiatically recommend. Or, you may want to see the film, which … [Read more...]
Equality, Diversity, and the Family
This past weekend I attended the Organizing Equality conference at Museum London in London, Ontario. This conference brought together activists, academics, and community members to discuss various aspects of building more just worlds. This post shares the presentation I gave with my friend and collaborator, Dr. Rita A. Gardiner, on family as an organizational structure and diversity. Rita is a scholar and teacher of Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies in the Faculty of Education at … [Read more...]
Vulnerability, trauma, and the university
I came across Frank Furedi's March 8 article "The Therapeutic University" via the Hannah Arendt Center's weekly newsletter. In this article, Furedi reflects on the increasing medicalization of trauma in university contexts. Furedi's article is wide-reaching and provocative. Although I cannot take up all of his points, I would like to comment on a few ways in which feminist relational theory is relevant to his discussion, especially with respect to vulnerability. The therapeutic turn in … [Read more...]
My yoga practice and rape culture
This post discusses rape, sexual harassment, and rape culture. Read with whatever care you need. Birth of a Nation and black feminists' solidarity Birth of a Nation is a film that chronicles the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner. In the autumn of 2016, the anticipation over Birth of a Nation became somewhat overshadowed by the history of its director, co-writer, and star, Nate Parker. In 1999, Parker was charged with rape. He was acquitted. His then college roommate, and Birth of a Nation … [Read more...]
Rape culture and HBO’s Game of Thrones
On September 16, 2016 the Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo organized a Rape Culture Teach-A-Thon. Fourteen teachers from Arts gave 10-15 minute talks on rape culture in their areas of expertise. I spoke about Game of Thrones. While I am not a cultural theorist or an expert in fantasy literature, I am a huge Game of Thrones fan. I took my fan-hood to give me enough expertise to discuss rape culture in the franchise--primarily in HBO's adaptation. For this post, I've shared the … [Read more...]