New Title

I received a gift, a new name plate for my office. I love it. I hope you live up to it too! What would your title be if you choose it?

Representation

I found this to be a very useful picture explaining the proposed changes to voting politics.

Cookie Collection on blogs

This notice appears on my blog - which means I think when you look at this blog it collects data about your looking. I am so un-tech-savy I thought I should just share this information like this. I personally do not collect any data or use any cookies from this blog. 

European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used and data collected on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent. 

As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies, and other data collected by Google. 

Vote to create change

Vancouver is having an election. This is one opportunity to create change. I know that ballet is long and there are a lot of names and similar priorities to choose from. Besides choosing politics that align with your values you need to seek out and vote for folks who are people of colour,  transgender folks and LGBTQ2+ identified folks. We have a responsibility to seek out representatives who will bring social change.  Morgane Oger is on that list.

The Story of the Pink Coat

The Story of the Pink Coat 

Every girl is given a pink coat a birth (boys get a blue one). It is a tightly woven garment made of meekness, passivity, self-self-abnegation and maternal instinct. The child grows up wearing this coat, which magically adjusts to fit her. If she wants to take if off, those around her advise against it: she could catch a cold and, in any case, she will be punished if she ignores their advance. She is also so pretty and feminine in her coat. 

Some women become so used to the coat that [they] no longer know whether it’s the coat of their skin thats pink. And their skin and the coat in fact become one and the same thing. In the end, they believe they are meek by nature and are only fulfilled when those around them are happy. These feminine characteristics become their personality and not merely a social standard set for all women.

Women have to fight to make alterations to the pink coat. Those who try are judged severely (rejected by those around them, become lonely, etc.)

It is important to realize that society requires all women to wear pink coats. Women first learn what the coat is made of. Then they decide whether they will wear it all of the time, sometimes or not at all. But the important thing for them is to choose what they really want, not what society expects of them. They must feel free to keep the coat or throw it away. The purpose of feminist action is to enable women to become aware of their “pink coat” heritage. 

This analysis was shared with me in one of my early women’s class. I unfortunately do not have the source. If you know who the author is, please let me know so I can give credit. 

Who holds the door open

My Ambivalence

He supports Women's Lib.
He's quick to point out they are underpaid.
It's not who holds the door open;
The real issue, he says,
Is money and power.
I agree: form doesn't matter.
Sure, it's money and power.

When we leave he insists
     On getting my coat from the hat check,
     On his taking my stub to the parking attendant,
     On my waiting in the warm lobby.
I wait and gnaw on my ambivalence:
     He's polite, why should that bother me?
     Why doesn't this feel right?
     I struggle to know.

When we play out our accustomed roles,
We can't see how the parts make up the whole,
How being put in the warm lobby also
Puts "No Admittance" on the boardroom door.

First I feel, then, slowly, I know:
What really matters
Is Money and Power and Who holds the door open.


Estelle Padawer
At Our Core: Women writing about power - Sandra Haldman Martz

Violation of rights of the child to privacy: Consent forms

Every single activity a child participates in requires a waiver. From field trips to summer camps the exclusion of responsibility is endless. What is also included in these waivers more often then not is a request for consent to use images and videos for promotional materials and social media.

Is it possible to provide informed consent? Do parents know what they are agreeing to when they allow the use of images of their children? Maybe it's fun to see your child on a pamphlet or flashed across a screen having the time of their life at a club. Is there any harm in that?

Give your child the freedom to develop their own personality, their own rights to their body, their own experience interacting with the larger world, their own privacy, by NOT agreeing to use photos and video on social media. By saying no to photos and videos posted on line, in print, in any electronic form you respect your child's autonomy.

Have the organization, school, and summer camp move from everything being about performance to actually experiencing the activity in a more real way, without the video cameras rolling. I love seeing photos and videos, but they do not need to be shared with the world.

The most absurd consent for photo use I stumbled upon this week was at a child's dentist office. I could not believe their explicit request to use photos and videos, including biographical information and the voices of kids in the dentist chair. Their waiver form included removing them from all liability claims resulting in misuse of these photos once posted on-line, in their promotional materials and at events where they might showcase their patients. What a violation of the rights of the child to privacy.

We have sunk very low when a dentist wants to promote their practice on the backs of children unable to give informed consent. With our digital DNA accessible to everyone, we need to pause and think before giving consent for the unlimited future use of photos and videos. Our children have a right to privacy, don't sign it away.

Rock N Beau - Rachel Beau - Vancouver's Best Kept Secret!

Rachel Beau is the best rock n roll chica you could invite into your life! From bopping and dabbing with seven year olds to rocking out with 40 year old parents, she has the spirit and energy to make a party of two feel like you are at the Oscars.

Rachel helped our vision of a flash mob come to life and was instrumental to its success. Going above and beyond, Rachel committed whole-heartedly to embracing our ideas and her enthusiasm was real and down right fun.

If you are looking for a dance party, instruction, flash-mob, community event hosing or whatever other crazy creative idea you might have - call her! She's Vancouver's best-kept secret!

https://rocknbeau.com

City of Merritt Lacks Colour

In Merritt BC the Mayor and Council voted against allowing the high school to paint a rainbow crosswalk in celebration of diversity because it would open Pandora’s box for other “clubs”to want their own, such as the Rotary Club and the city junior hockey team. Well, if values and human rights are seen as “clubs” then I would ask the Rotary Club and the Merritt Centennial's Hockey team to step up and say yes, they’d like a painted crosswalk too, and they’d like it in rainbow colours! 

Neighbourhood Action

I saw this in the neighbourhood:

Anti-Racist Neighbourhood Watch

If you see something.
Do Something.

Thank you for posting this sticker and encouraging action!

Hot Brown Honey

A perfect way to spend a dark rainy afternoon was watching Hot Brown Honey. "Moisturize and Decolonize!" These fabulous folks rocked the East Van theatre and empowered everyone in the audience. Try and get a ticket.