Filed under: Generalizations | Tags: baking, Canada, Canadian women, cooking, culture, feminism, independence, lifestyle, sewing, social, women's movement
Doris Hilda Anderson, CBC: Life and Times
Her autobiography “Rebel Daughter” was absolutely fascinating. It outlined her life growing up in Calgary, Alberta during the Great Depression and her continued fight against the status quo. Pretty much, you’re freaking lucky this lady was around, girls. Women have only really truly had their equal rights in Canada since 1981. Yeah, only thirty years have gone past and yet my own generation is completely in the dark about how it was. But I think we lost something when we gained feminism.
I think we lost an essential skill set: domestication. My own generation of women are, well, sort of useless. Oh sure, we hold down jobs and are good at things, but how many actually know how to cook? How many can cook without a recipe? How many of us bake? How many of us can sew? Yeah, not very many. And why would we have to? Dinner is a phone call away. You can have that pretty dress for the office Christmas party for $120, in all sizes and colours. This is capitalism, and this is feminism.
When we gained the freedom to pursue our own interests, we forgot how to do those things our grandmothers spent a life doing. So ladies, have we really helped ourselves? Or have we traded in our over mitts and sewing machines for computer screens and drive-thru? We have lost what made us the queens and conquerors of our homes. We have lost autonomy from mass-produced, capitalistic, shit.
So ladies, remember the women who lived through the Great Depression, who saw the fight for our freedom, and who watched us forget all about it… do them a favour, Ok? Let’s learn to do those skills that are taken for granted; that are needed, but unappreciated. Let’s learn how to do this stuff because if we don’t, we will never be able to gain back what we’ve lost.
Edit: We’ve already kicked men’s asses in the workforce, so let’s kick their asses at home again. Cool?
Filed under: FOOOOOD, Generalizations | Tags: advertising, Canada, controversy, ethics, Montreal, Pamela Anderson, PETA
New PETA ad, courtesy of Sympatico.ca
Upon reading an article about Pamela Anderson’s new PETA advertisement, I was appalled at the reaction from Montreal. Known internationally as a forward-thinking city, it was surprising they would deem it as “sexist”. My initial reaction upon seeing it was that Pamela Anderson looks amazing (airbrushing or no airbrushing). They way her body is dissected and labelled makes me want to understand what this advertisement is about. When I realized it was for PETA, I was shocked. Normally, PETA’s scare tactics turn me off rather than enlisting me to their cause. I don’t find this advertisement sexist. Rather, I find it to be a very clever marketing strategy. It captures its audience’s attention and makes them think twice about the food they are ingesting.
If large corporations with ridiculous net profits can use sex to sell books, magazines, clothing, make-up, hygiene products, cars, houses, vacation destinations, food and what-have-you, then why is it suddenly “sexist” to use it to sell ethics? This seems rather hypocritical and more of a biased opinion of PETA rather than the ad itself.
A vegetarian lifestyle isn’t always right for everyone. Just like a vegan lifestyle isn’t right fo me. I love milk and ice cream and cheese and eggs and couldn’t imagine my life without them. I try to think about HOW products are produced rather than what they are made of. However, I say good for you Pamela Anderson and PETA for thinking outside of the box and finding a new way to promote your cause.
The Lifespan of a Fly 