CBC Radios The Current ran a great show on contraception this morning. It discussed the birth control pill, which is often credited with liberating women sexually and socially transforming society. But the show went further than many mainstream discussions of the pill and revealed some of the myths of the pill, including the racist underpinnings of the its development and the ways in which contraception is marked along racial, class and (more obviously) gender lines. The birth control pill has a shady past. For example, Margaret Sanger, the American woman credited with leading the US movement for birth control, was mostly interested in developing a pill for population-control reasons. She was a supporter of the eugenics movement and believed the pill would be effective in preventing poor women of colour from reproducing. The Current mentioned briefly that the pill was first tested by American researchers in Puerto Rico, but fails to fully explore some of the racist reasons why the pill was tested on Puerto Rican women, and doesnt mention that drugs developed by big pharmaceutical companies are still tested in third world countries, often without informing people of the potential side effects. The show covered a lot of other interesting pill-related issues. Listen to it here.

Women in politics has been a hot topic in lately, likely because several women have recently been elected leaders of their countries (Michelle Bachelet in Chile, Angela Merkel in Germany, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in Liberia, for example) and our own recent federal election’s failure to bring more women into Parliament — 20 percent of our Parliamentarians are women, ranking Canada in 44th place on this site, which classifies countries by the numbers of women in their federal governments.

There are many reasons to advocate for more women in government, one in particular is that female politicians are more likely to be sympathetic to issues women care about — women’s health and reproductive rights, equal pay for equal work, gender equality among boys and girls and a national daycare program, for example. Of course, just because a politician is a woman doesn’t mean she’s a feminist, or that she’s an advocate for feminist concerns, but our chances for important gains for women are more likely with a woman in charge. (For more on this check out Equal Voice‘s website.)

In the most recent issue of Shameless, Heather Cross wrote an insightful piece on an important reason why women are kept out of politics: the way they’re covered in the media. Often, a female politician will be in the paper because of what she’s wearing, not how she feels about Canada’s foreign policy. Have you ever noticed that reporters often describe what a female politician is wearing (especially if you’re Belinda Stronach) but will rarely comment on a male politician’s outfit (unless of course you’re Stephen Harper)?

But Heather Mallick notices another media tactic that quietens female politicians: ignorance. That’s right, just ignore women who are interested in politics and hopefully they’ll go away. Her column on the matter is worth a read.

There are many reasons why there are so few women in politics, including the dominant macho culture, sexism, money and the fact that women are still disproportionately responsible for the (usually unpaid) work of raising kids and taking care of the house, which doesn’t leave much time to get political. But being critical of media coverage is a good place to start.

Surprisingly, it was a friend in Vancouver who first told me about Spun Magazine but the gals behind this online knitting-plus-other-stuff zine are actually based in Toronto. The new issue they’ve just posted to the Web at www.spunmag.com has got all kinds of great stuff for knitters and non-knitters alike. Some things that caught my eye:

• a recipe for (vegan) broccoli pesto (ideal for people who’ve made the decision to not eat cheese for a year)


• instructions for DIY bath bombs (perfect for soothing sore muscles from all the biking you’re doing now that the weather’s warmer)


• a great pattern for knitting a glasses case (how practical and quick to make)

Definitely worth checking out.

In our most recent issue, I wrote about Skin Deep, an online report and database that keeps track of some of the toxic and dangerous ingredients in makeup and cosmetics that most of us probably use regularly (the database and information is online here).

Now, women in the US are pressuring nail polish company OPI to remove the toxic chemicals from their products (you may know OPI colours by their crazy names, such as Blushingham Palace and Miso Happy With This Color).

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of health and environmental groups, has found that OPI nail polishes contain seriously toxic ingredients that can lead to cancer, birth defects and other health problems.

Skin Deep reports that many OPI nail polishes contain formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate. According to the report, the three ingredients are identified by California’s Proposition 65 a list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. In addition, both toluene and formaldehyde are listed by the U.S. National Toxicology Program as “reasonably anticipated” to be human carcinogens. In 2004, the European Union banned the use of DBP, a chemical linked to reproductive harm, from cosmetics, forcing OPI and other companies to remove DBP from nail products sold in 25 European countries. Scary stuff!

If you want to find out more about OPI or other products, or join the action to make nail polish less toxic, you can do so here.

If you’re a girl aged 13-15 who lives in Toronto, check this out: Nightwood Theatre is recruiting for its free Busting Out theatre program, which we wrote about in the Fall 2004 issue of Shameless. The participants of the program will have the opportunity to create and perform a play for public presentation. Professional theatre artists will lead the girls in classes, which include acting, playwrighting, design, movement and clown. And it’s a whole lot of fun, too.

Here’s the info you need to apply:

Program Details:

• Saturday sessions (1pm-4pm) begin on June 3^rd and run to August 12^th, 2006.


• A week-long intensive workshop from Monday, August 14^th to Saturday, August 19^th.


• A public presentation, included in the 23^rd Annual Groundswell Festival, will be performed on Sunday, August 20^th.


• Location: Nightwood Studio (located in the Distillery District, 55 Mill Street).


• Only 14 participants will be selected.

How do you apply?
Deadline to apply is April 30^th, so get ready! Send one page telling us a little about who you are; include where you live in Toronto, and why you want to be part of Busting Out! Also send something artistic that shows us something about yourself (for example, a collage, a painting, a poem, an essay about why you like or dont like being a girl, a photo, or ANYTHING else).

To submit an application or if you have any questions:
Email: anna@nightwoodtheatre.net
Call: 416 944 1740 ext 6.
Fax: 416 944 1739
Mail: 55 Mill St. Suite 301, Case Goods Warehouse, Bldg. No. 74, Toronto M5A 3C4

On Monday, May 1st at 8:00 p.m., All Sleek and Skimming: Stories (Orca Book Publishers) will be launching at the Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St. W. in Toronto). The book is, according to its editor Lisa Heggum, an anthology of short stories for older teens.

Seven contributors will read at the launch (Gil Adamson, Diana Aspin, Gary Barwin, Susan Kernohan, Derek McCormack, Ania Szado, and Stuart Ross) and Carmen Elle will play solo and then with her band, the Whoremoans. You may remember Carmen from our Spring 2006 launch a few weeks back.

Maggie MacDonald, author of Kill the Robot and member of the Hidden Cameras and Republic of Safety (we profiled Maggie in the Fall 2005 issue of Shameless) has this to say: “Dark, tender, and funny, this is the book I wanted when I was a teen.”

Shameless contributor Julia De Laurentiis-Johnson sent me this the other day and it made me smile. The next time someone tells you that feminists aren’t funny, send them this poem, called “Pick-Up Lines For Feminists.”