Topics – Society

Human relationships are mediated by complex systems of power and privilege that determine our access and entitlement to health, safety, employment, dignity, home and belonging. As power becomes increasingly concentrated in the dominant classes, divisions and inequality based on race, gender, class, ability, sexuality and religion, among others, are becoming more prominent. These articles look at how these systems of power operate to divide us, and how we can overcome them and work toward a common humanity.

  • Antonia

    Film review

    Film review of Antonia

  • Body work

    Extreme adventures on the cutting edge of gender theory

    These underground, illegal operations seek to reconfigure female and male bodies in ways that make society squirm, challenging our most deeply held traditional notions of beauty and gender.

  • Status of Women vs. the status quo

    Conservative cuts seek to silence those seeking “equality”

    While particular communities will be injured by the Harper government’s actions, it is ultimately democracy itself that is hurt.

  • Queer internationalism

    Radical sexual diversity from South to North

    The current state of international LGBTQ activism does not speak to the needs and demands of the majority of LGBTQs, especially in the Global South. Instead, the agenda of such a movement can be seen as the projection of the demands of mainstream Northern LGBTQ social movements as “universal.”

  • Feminism 3.0

    Does the third wave need an upgrade?

    Third-wave feminism has overlapped so much with “girl culture,” Do It Yourself aesthetics, indie-rock and burlesque that it’s hard to see where the actual movement is.

  • Test your F.Q.

    A sexism self-exam for men

    Hey you with the Y chromosome: Do you believe that women and men should have equal rights and opportunities? If so, then you may have what it takes to become a pro-feminist man.

  • Why feminism isn’t for everybody

    Feminism is for everybody, the mantra goes. This slogan, inspired by bell hooks’ book of the same name, is widely used to envision a feminist movement that is open to all people and that, in theory, recognizes the real diversity among feminists and among women more generally. What could be wrong with that?

  • Yesterday’s men

    Lost opportunities in ending violence against women

    In spite of more than 30 years of intervention and education strategies designed to end violence against women by their male partners, such violence remains as prevalent as ever. It is high time we took stock of our strategies and our assumptions to determine what is and is not working—and what more can be done.

  • From Ciudad Juárez to Fort Qu’Appelle

    Families of missing women unite across borders to seek answers

    Clutching a mug of coffee, Gwenda Yuzicappi retreats from the cold outside. There’s a spark in her eyes. Her long brown hair is pulled back, and the pink sweater she wears complements the flush in her cheeks from the biting winter wind. Her younger sister sits beside her in the coffee shop and they speak animatedly. If you watched long enough you could find the grief that Yuzicappi carries, but in this moment she looks hopeful.

  • Letter from the editor

    On navigating the challenges of true independence

    When your intention is to challenge the status quo and provoke debate and discussion, you’re likely to ruffle some feathers now and then—and not always those of the people you set out to unsettle.