I’m a strong proponent of the belief that the personal is the political. Hair: massively political. But lately, with the help of Barbara Walters, I’m learning that hair is not only the arena for personal political battles with things like sexism and consumerism, it’s also a great stage for racism!

From birth we learn that hair is one of the most important expressions of “feminine beauty.” My battle with hair and popular perception has been fraught with enough neuroses and over-analyses to give Woody Allen a run for his money (do you think Woody has hair issues?). For a long time I wore it really short, which was shocking where I grew up. I think a lot of people thought, horror of horrors, that I might be (gasp!) a lesbian. But when I realised that I was wearing it short not necessarily because I liked it, but because I was trying to rebel against how ladies are supposed to look, I was disturbed to realise that whether you’re rebelling against hair facism, or conforming to it, you’re still being controlled by it. The drama! The anguish!

What happens when you throw race into the mix of this wildly complex issue, considering that women of different backgrounds have very different hair types? I am often told by people who aren’t East Asian how lucky East Asian women are to have such beautiful manageable hair. As an East Asian woman, I say this is poppycock! My non-East Asian comrades who covet the apparent easy Asian hair have been shocked to hear that one the most recent crazes to sweep that side of the continent is “hair rebonding,” where women cheerfully pour face-burning chemicals on their allegedly manageable hair to make sure it stays stick straight.

For a hiliarious/horrifying example of one woman totally mis-managing cross-cultural hair relations, witness Barbara Walters and co. on The View alienate Brandy and Tanika Ray here, and then you can watch them tell Mo’Nique that she’s gross because she doesn’t shave her legs here. I laughed! I cried! I mostly cried!

I’m sorry that my blogs of late have all just been event listings. It’s very Toronto-centric behaviour! As a peace offering, I present…another event listing.

The Toronto Women’s Bookstore is sponsoring a benefit concert in support of the Six Nations, and the land reclamation of Kanenhstaton. I’m personally excited that d’bi young and LAL are performing, but if that doesn’t float your boat, there’s going to be crafts and food, woot woot! It’s at 6:30 at the Trane Studio at 964 Bathurst on Sunday July 30 (a.k.a. tomorrow). For all the deets, go here.

New content from our latest issue, set to hit newsstands and mailboxes momentarily, is now up on the website! Check out the advice column on sexual harassment, which includes a page of additional resources that we couldn’t get into the print edition. We’ve also got this month’s mixtape courtesy of Controller.Controller’s Nirmala Basnayake, who not only sent us a pretty CD of her selections but also a set of liner notes. And of course there’s the monthly letter from the editors—this month, the eds look back at a glorious two-year reign.

By now you’ve probably heard about the raging conflict in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon that started last week. This is distressing and alarming, not just because those “poor people” over there are being bombed to heck, and not just because there are Canadians over there, but because it’s also forcing the world to question (yet again) the right and wrong ways for countries to act. That’s an issue that concerns anyone who lives in a country.

For people who are a little unclear on what’s happening, the internet (as always) is abundant with information, and eager to fill you in. I was going to do a summary of my own, but I quickly and maturely realised that my raving bias would prevent me from doing a good job. The BBC News Page is always a seemingly non-biased source. Democracy Now is my personal preferred news site. Today’s headlines in particular have lots of disheartening destruction stats, as well as this great quote from George Bush: “Everybody abhors the loss of innocent life. On the other hand…” And if you’re looking for some journalism that picks a team, on one side we have Robert Fulford at the National Post, and on the other we have Greg Albo at ZNet. And of course, if anyone here has any thoughts to toss in, we’d love to hear them.

And to finally reveal my true stripes, here are some No War! rallies that you can go to. If I haven’t got your hometown down here and if you live in a big city, I bet there is a rally going on somewhere on Saturday July 22. Just Google it.

Toronto
Saturday July 22nd
Israeli Consulate
1:00 p.m.
Organised by the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War

Vancouver
Saturday July 22nd
Vancouver Art Gallery
3:00 p.m.
Organized by: Al-awdaPalestine Right of Return Coalition, Adala, and the Lebanese Information CentreBC

Ottawa
Saturday, July 22nd
Parliament Hill
11:00 a.m.
Organised by NOWAR-PAIX

AskMetafilter is the sister site to the massively popular community weblog Metafilter. It’s an advice site that covers a wide spectrum of topics, from “what laptop should I buy?” to “how do I come across as less condescending in e-mails?” to “are shifts in your political outlook inevitable as you get older?” Even if the question never gets answered satisfactorily, you can usually count on an engaging, intelligent conversation.

So, AskMetafilter, how do you explain feminism to your sister? A thread that reveals much about the state of feminism today.

Here’s our party flyer and a sneak peek at the cover of the new issue!

Has anyone seen the awesome documentary Double Dare (directed by Amanda Micheli)? It follows two stuntwomen as they try to negotiate the politics of Hollywood and working in a male-dominated industry. Its fascinating stuff! The film features two women: Jeannie Epper, who comes from a famous family of stuntpeople and has had a long career as a stuntwoman, and the much younger Zoe Bell, who was the stunt double on Xena: Warrior Princess and did Uma Thurmans wicked stunts on Kill Bill (which she won awards for).

Bell is tough, fearless and super talented, and watching her do martial arts and backflip around movie sets is totally inspiring. But Eppers story is the most fascinating, and the most touching. Epper is famous for her stunt work on the TV show Wonder Woman in the late 1970s, when she doubled for Lynda Carter and did all the fighting, jumping, high falls and car crashes. Now a grandmother, Epper has to deal with ageing in Hollywood, something that is practically a sin for women. Its interesting to see how the sexism and gendered aspects of stunt work play out differently over Eppers career.

First of all, stunt work is more dangerous for women. Men can get away with wearing baggy clothes that hide padding and protection, but, as all the women interviewed for the doc note, women in films are usually expected to wear skimpy, tight or elaborate costumes that dont allow for padding. Imagine Wonder Woman wearing padding under her tiny red, white and blue outfit? Another interesting thing to note is the way in which stuntwomen have to be tough and act like one of the boys, yet at the same time have to fit into Hollywoods feminine ideal. Many people interviewed for the film commend Epper on her ability to maintain her femininity while getting down and dirty with the men.

Even now, at the end of a successful career, Epper is coming up against gender barriers. One scene in the film takes place at a planning meeting for the World Stunt Awards. The committee is suggesting categories like Best Car Chase and Best Fire Scene, when Epper interrupts to note that there are much fewer stunt scenes for women in films and suggests creating separate categories for men and women, like in the Academy Awards. The men at the table were very reluctant to do so, worrying it would give women special treatment. But the biggest struggle Epper faces is her career path. Usually, when stuntmen get too old to do crazy stunts, they become stunt coordinators. Epper, on the other hand, hasnt been offered such a promotion, even though she is extremely qualified and extremely passionate about her work. She knows that things would be different if she were a man.

The film is also really entertaining! There are some excellent behind-the-scenes look at stunt work, including one very high, stomach-turning jump. I highly recommend checking out the website, especially the history of the film, and renting a copy. (I would also be remiss not to mention that Shameless featured a Q&A with a stunt woman in our second issue!)

Hello Shameless friends,

How’s your summer going? Hot enough for ya? Well, it’s about to get a lot hotter. Shameless is launching our fabulous summer issue — and celebrating our second birthday — in less than two weeks with an all-ages extravaganza of fun. Please strap on your party hat, climb into your dancing shoes, put on your reading glasses and join us as…

SHAMELESS TURNS 2!

WHEN: Friday, July 21, from 7:30pm to 11pm
WHERE: Gibsone Jessop Gallery, in the historic Distillery District (55 Mill St., Building 4, Toronto)
FEATURING: the kalimba stylings of Laura Barrett, cunt rock from The Whoremoans, a performance by the Fat Femme Mafia and, of course, a big ol’ dance party!
AMAZING LOW PRICE: $5, includes a magazine, all-ages!
DIRECTIONS: At www.thedistillerydistrict.com. We promise it’s not as complicated as it sounds.

WHY YOU SHOULD COME: We’re launching our best issue yet, with a DIY guide to T-shirt stencilling, a feature on why podcasting will rock your world, interviews with indie-publishing wonder Emily Pohl-Weary and CBC radio goddess Patti Schmidt, and a look at what it’s like to step into the boxing ring, put your gloves up and get the workout of your life.

So mark it on your calendar: Friday, July 21! 7:30pm! Distillery District! We can’t wait to see you! Tell your friends!

So it turns out, as it usually does, that we are not alone in our despair at the way women are often drawn in comic books. I stumbled across this high-larious website: Girls Read Comics (And They’re Pissed). It sometimes takes a while to load, but it’s worth the wait. Not as funny but extremely fascinating is Project Girl Wonder, who’ve adopted the fantastic strategy of actually lobbying DC Comics to change a storyline that they feel has severely dis-serviced women, by killing off a central female character in a brutal and degrading way.

I was shocked when I discovered that, in writing my complaint about how women in comic books are sometimes drawn (that is, like toothpicks, though with symmetrical cotton balls stuck to their upper regions), I didn’t consult a most obvious resource: Shameless! See Shameless: Summer 2005 for more info. (If you, horror of horrors, don’t have it, don’t fret! You can still buy it here).

And, to finally out myself as a Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con geek, here is a video of Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and the movie Serenity, giving a damn fine speech.