About
Jarrah Hodge – Writer and Editor: Jarrah blogs from New Westminster, BC. Jarrah graduated from the University of British Columbia with a B.A. in Women’s Studies and Sociology. In addition to running Gender Focus, Jarrah is currently a guest blogger on feminism and nerd culture for Bitch Magazine Blogs. She writes a column on gender issues for the Vancouver Observer and is a regular blog contributor to About-Face. She’s a fan of politics, crafts, boardgames, musical theatre, and brunch.
Welcome to Gender Focus.
Gender Focus looks at politics, pop culture, and current events from an anti-racist feminist perspective. We aim to showcase news and opinion relating to issues of social inequality, stereotyping and representations of marginalized groups in society, and the intersections between gender and public policy. In 2011 Gender Focus placed first in the juried Canadian Weblog Awards “Best Feminist Blog” category. It also placed second in a similar category in the votes-based 2011 Canadian Blog Awards.
Contributors:
Alicia Costa: Alicia is an activist/ anti-violence worker/ writer based out of Vancouver BC. She has a BA from SFU in Women’s Studies and a certificate from Langara College in Journalism.
E. Cain: E. Cain is a student and activist from Toronto, Ontario. She graduated from McGill University with a degree in Political Science and Women’s studies and is currently pursing a Master’s Degree in Political Science at the University of Waterloo. She is passionate about women’s rights and dreams of the day when there will finally be gender parity all levels of the Canadian government.
Jasmine Peterson: Jasmine is currently a graduate student in Clinical Psychology at Lakehead University (Ontario), and a feminist activist.
Jessica Critcher: Jessica has a B.A. in English from the University of Hawaiʻi and currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts. She has been published in Bitch Magazine and is (allegedly) working on a novel. Her hobbies include playing Fallout, tending carnivorous plants, anonymously correcting grammar on public bulletin boards, and baking. She fancies herself as the tattooed hooligan hybrid of Virginia Woolf, Daria and Wonder Woman.
Kaitlin Burnett: Kaitlin is a queer feminist from Burnaby, BC. She holds a degree in Political Science, and blogs about anti-oppression, politics, and social justice. She can normally be found at Equality Kitten.
Roxanna Bennett: Roxanna is a third-wave feminist radical mama from Toronto, Ontario. She works as an artist educator and freelance writer. She has a lot of opinions that can be found here: http://marvelist.wordpress.com/
Comments Policy
Most of the time, we love comments. Gender Focus is supposed to be a safe space for wide-ranging discussion on issues around race, gender, (in)equality, disability, representations, politics, and pop culture. We don’t pre-screen comments but here are some basic guidelines we expect commenters to observe. Those violating the guidelines may have their comments removed at the discretion of the editor. If you see a content you think violates this policy, please email jarrahhodge@gmail.com.
- Posting anonymously is fine, but not encouraged. If you don’t want to share your real name, consider taking the time to pick a pseudonym so you have an identity people can respond to.
- Please read the thread, including other comments to avoid repetition and misrepresenting the content of the article or other commenters’ feedback.
- Carefully consider what you post. While it’s often ok to mention offensive materials sensitively in order to discuss them, sexist, racist, ableist, or homophobic content posted for the purpose of promoting them rather than critiquing or discussing will be removed. The editor may also remove homophobic, sexist, racist comments or otherwise offensive comments, especially if they involve a personal attack or clearly show the poster has not read the thread.
- Respectfully Disagree. To borrow from the Bitch Magazine Blogs comments policy: “If you’re critiquing someone’s tone (“Why are you so upset?”), the emotions behind their argument (“You obviously have issues.”), or resorting to adjectives like “delusional,” “ridiculous,” and “paranoid,” you probably need to rethink your comment.”
- Consider your perspective. It’s easy to react defensively when you read a post that might be critiquing something you or someone you know does in your life. First, remember it’s not personal. It’s extremely rare that we post a story that is attacking a person rather than a social structure. We’re critiquing media and people’s actions, not individual identities. Pay special attention if you come from a place of privilege – if a post addresses an oppression you have not yourself experienced, listen to others’ voices and try to see where they’re coming from before responding angrily. Recognize that the impact of their lived experience is probably more significant for them than your being uncomfortable with the subject.
- Be respectful. To sum up, please just try to be respectful. The best discussion happens when people can put aside potential gut reactions to be dismissive or defensive and instead listen and approach new subjects and experiences with an open mind.
Comments»
I know you’ve covered a bunch of these, but I feel like your audience may appreciate this one, too… “Sh*t White Feminists Say” is worth it. Thanks in advance! Take care.
That’s pretty great. I love “I’m actually a registered doula”. If I get a few more collected I’ll post it with them.