opinions // no. 16

 

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The selective recognition
of women by women

>» Women’s voices or feminists’ voices?

Matthew Fraser
Opinions Editor

 

[tenations| Women's Day is meant to
celebrate and uplift the efforts of women
while speaking to the struggles they face
around the globe. In issue 21 of the Other
Press our Editor-in-Chief Jessica Berget
spoke about the gap separating men and
women in the world today. She spoke
about the horrors of domestic violence
that trap millions of women in painful
relationships that should be places of love.
She wrote about rape affecting 10 times
more women than men per capita; poverty
and mental health also made appearances
in her writing. This week, however, is a
more critical look at women's day and
what it stands for to women around the
globe. Namely, women's day seems to speak
for the loudest of liberal females while
forgetting that other women have voices
and differences of their own.

Women have created many things
and been denied recognition for their
efforts by the world for decades if not
centuries. Women like Eunice Newton
Foote who first published a paper regarding
the greenhouse effect in the 1800s only to
see science go with a man’s slightly more
comprehensive study—released three years
later—as the academic foundation (John
Tyndall); or Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who as
a PHD student discovered radio pulsars,

but in the all-too-common practice in
science, had her rightful spotlight and
Nobel prize stolen by her male professor,
Antony Hewish. Then there’s the myriad of
literary women—we may never know all of
them—who published under a male name
just to get their work out there. The list of
injustices goes on and on. But now, some
women are short-changing their gender
just as the world used to.

After the election of Donald Trump
it was clear that feminist media was
happy to label any conservative woman as
“brainwashed by the patriarchy” or “living
in fear of their husband's wrath, ...as if no
women could be Christian and choose to
make America great on her own terms. This
obvious bias has continued uninterrupted
into two key political debates: the place of
transgender women in the female world
and the determinacy of abortion rights.
Last month, three female high school
athletes put forth a lawsuit against the state
of Connecticut to prevent transgender
athletes competing in their disciplines (first
and second place going to the transgender
athletes in the 55-yard dash—one setting
the state record at 6.95 seconds...the
biological female finisher was a very
distant third). The reasoning of the suit
echoes that of the so-called TERFs (trans-
exclusionary radical feminists): that there
are biological differences in the capabilities
of a man’s body and a womar’s, and that
there should be an acknowledgement of

the spaces where these differences cannot
be bridged. Yet, event after event has seen
TERFs cancelled or booed off stage, as if
these women’s opinions are not welcome
amongst the opinions the mass movement
has sanctioned. The very same castigation
has been brought against any conservative
women who believe that abortion is
morally wrong or is misused to the
detriment of the human psyche at large. It
seems to be unsightly for a woman to state
too loudly or too proudly (on International
Women’s day) that she does not agree with
abortion at all. The liberal female mass will
move as one to push her aside or remove
her from any and every panel. So much for
listening to her voice.

Then we come toa problem that
follows women from one end of the world
to the other: the weight of oppression
bearing down on their backs. The pertinent
need for feminism is obvious in countries
like Saudi Arabia, which only recently
allowed women to drive vehicles and travel
via plane by themselves... “privileges”
women have enjoyed for decades in the
Western World. We cannot pretend that
the femicide used by many drug cartels to
intimidate or inflict damage on rivals isn’t
horrific nor can we turn our eyes against
human traffickers that target and exploit
young women around the world. But as we
look at these things, we also must know
that oppression is not as evenly spread as it
once was, and clearly this is for the better.

theotherpress.ca

a. an
Wyn Strongen

Amer

When I see feminists in Egypt and the
UAE, I know exactly what they are fighting
for and support them absolutely. But a
feminist in Vancouver confuses me: youre
fighting for the right to not shave your legs
and wear high heels? You scream that the
patriarchy prevents women from getting
jobs in tech while you smear menstrual
blood on canvas at Emily Carr? The spirit is
clear but the fight eludes me.

For as long as I’ve been acknowledging
that ] am not a feminist I’ve been struck
at every turn by one question: what is a
feminist act? Is it not feminism that my
mother raised three boys by herself? Is it
not feminism that some women choose
teaching over coding and nursing over
surgery? When is it feminist to wear the
hijab and when is it not? Do you get to
call yourself more womanly for your short
hair and entrepreneurial spirit or can you
be just as womanly in church with your
high-school-sweetheart-turned-husband
and two kids? What is a feminist act? Why
is it that awoman whose YouTube channel
supports Trump is less feminist than the
channel about fat acceptance and body
positivity? I will never have the answers
and neither will anyone else; but I do know
that someone decides who gets invited
to the Women’s March and that many
remarkable, talented, truly oppressed
women are intentionally excluded.

ViC rf
What to do with all the toilet

   
 

Have an idea for a story?
M humour@theotherpress.ca

 

paper you bought in a panic

» How to have fun with the only thing you stocked

The silver linings of COVID-19

  

» Making lemonade out of rotten lemons

Morgan Hannah
Life & Style Editor

 

Yor stuck on the train, forced to rub
elbows with people on either side of
you as you cup your hands around your
nose. You're stuck like this because who
would've thought that today—here of all
places, you'd need a tissue. And you haven't
got one. Everyone's attention is on you;
they all heard it, that was no clean sneeze
and they know it! They also know that as
soon as you move those hands, a trail of
snot, much like that of a snail on the forest
floor, will be hanging off your fingers.

We live in a dangerous time—where
coughs and sneezes could lead to full on
violence from the general public. If you so
much as inhale with the intent of sneezing,
youll get a severe stink-eye from your seat
neighbour on the SkyTrain these days.

But, there is a twisted advantage to
these times: faking having the flu can
get you in or out of a lot of places and
situations! Not that you should do sucha
thing, but if you are looking for an excuse
not to attend a particular event, get out of a

test, or you want to get to the front of a line
fast, this just might be your best bet. Other
silver linings to the COVID-19 era are cheap
fights and lower rates on buying homes!

If you love to travel but generally
cant afford tickets, this is the time to pack
your bags and book your flights! All good
precautions set aside, and all sights set on
adventure! Just remember to pack your
antibacterial wet-ones and give the plane
seatbelt buckle and tray table a good wipe
down before use. Additionally, window
seats are your best bet for avoiding the
virus—less likely to interact with people
roaming the hallway.

If you're more of a home body
without a home to call your own, you can
thank COVID-19 for lowering interest
rates on buying homes in the most
beautiful and most expensive place in
Canada. Right now the Bank of Canada
has slashed interest rates by 50%,
resulting in an outstanding 1.25%! The last
time they did this, it was a literal financial
crisis! The days of being able to afford a
home might be back thanks to the virus
that no one thought they'd be thanking!

Illustration by Sonam Kolati

Tania Arora
Staff Writer

 

here was a huge lineup early in the

morning outside the store. People were
waiting for the gates to open. At 9 am—
as soon as the employees unlocked the
door—the people went flying faster than a
plane...wooooosh! I am totally aware that
the health authorities are advising every
individual to wash their hands and sanitize
them, avoid any physical contact, and steer
clear of huge gatherings. But what role does
toilet paper play here?

When were we advised to stock

toilet paper so religiously that even our
next generation could use them? Videos
circulated all over the internet in which
people could be seen buying toilet paper
rolls in bulk. Big retail and wholesale
stores felt like it was black Friday already.
Now it’s not just sanitizers and masks, but
also the rolls that stores have run out of.
The demand has resulted in the soaring
prices of each roll. Costco ran out of their
Kirkland papers in 10 minutes. Their per
day sales on TP was almost equal to their
monthly sales. Following are the things
I assume people would be doing with all
those rolls:

1) Beamummy:
Since face masks are expensive, rolls are the

So, how do you
successfully fake a flu?
Well, with all the fear-
mongering that news
reporters, radio stations,
and the buzz of chatter
amongst the general
public—it’s really not
that difficult.

Step one: apply pink
or red eyeshadow to
your eyelids and just
under the water line of
your eyes for a sickly
appearance.

Step two: carry tissues
with you everywhere
and when no one’s
paying any attention, use a nasal spray to
simulate snot like no one’s business. Make
sure to sniffle and snort frequently.

Step three: act woozy and drowsy. Fall
asleep on your desk or while walking in the
hallway. It’ll do wonders for freaking out
your fellow students and friends, as well as
catching up on those unclaimed 2’s!

Step four: claim that much desired

 

humour // no. 17

¢ What to do with all the toilet paper you
bought in a panic
¢ The silver linings of COVID-19

..and that's everything!

next target. I assume with so much paper,
people will cover themselves up instead of
using the masks. With that much stocked,
people can dispose of it on a regular

basis and roll themselves up again, their
children, and their grandchildren.

2) Go to the washroom a lot:

lam pretty sure people have learnt from
some unknown source that the virus causes
pooing. Hence they started filling their
washrooms with the backup, and now just
sit there... waiting.

3) Resell it:

This category is trying to mess up the
demand and supply curve so that the
prices shoot up and they can resell it at a
much higher price. I wasn’t surprised when
I came across an online advertisement
where someone was actually reselling rolls
because they bought them in bulk. I guess
people are thinking that toilet paper rolls
are the new shares.

4) TP people's houses:
This would probably be welcome at this

point. Free toilet paper.

You never know if this is a strategy
of the stores to increase the footfall or
just a bunch of smart people sharing their
abundant knowledge. But the only thing
that can help right is to maintain the
hygiene level and not travel.

i)
iii

Illustration by Morgan Hannah

isolation that comes with actually being
sick, or in this case, pretending to be. Pro
tip: don’t abuse this very real crisis too
frequently or you'll lose your capability

to actually have time off when you really
need it. Also, people might be mad at you.
Probably.

Step five: have fun, stay safe, wash your
hands frequently!