Author Archives: Kat

So, I’ve got this Wedding…

As you are all probably sick of hearing by now, I’m getting married. Except now it’s for real, this Saturday in fact. Things are really crazy this week because my parent’s house is full of family and there’s lots still left to do.

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Like find an axe to cut the cake. 

So the boys have graciously allowed me to skip out on my post this week. Don’t have too much fun without me, and I’ll see you next week.

EVAN: Kat’s actually free to skip next week as well; whether or not she takes me up on that offer is another thing entirely. After that point I can only assume that her and John’s marital bliss will have surely faded, and we can continue on with our regularly scheduled programming.

The Problem With Cute

A few years ago I took a fantastic Political Science course at my local community college.

Unfortunately, Señor Chang did not go to my college.

Our professor wanted everyone to love Political Science as much as he did, so he gave us a lot of freedom on what we would write our major class papers on. That’s how I ended up writing a paper called “Advertising, the Gateway Porn: How Hypersexualization Undermines Cross-Gender Relationships.”

Last week I tried to use some of my research from that paper to cover a topic Gordon introduced in a previous post, how advertising can be just as damaging as pornography, but I quickly realized there was far too much information for just one post. That’s why today I’m going to continue with the topic of sexualization in advertising. Continue reading

Shame Day: Plastic

Plastic. I really hate it. I really didn’t realize how much I hated plastic until I went to Niger and saw this.

dump in niger

There were several mini-dumps like this in neighbourhoods near where I lived.

 

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The Problem With Pink

Pink is everywhere, and it’s a problem.

Let me clarify. There is nothing actually wrong with the colour pink. I’m not personally a fan, but I don’t have anything against the colour itself. I have an issue with how it is being used. It’s being used to tell children that certain toys are for girls and certain toys are for boys.

Often it’s as simple as taking the same toy and making one pink and one blue. But more often than not toys are also separated into certain play “scripts.” These scripts teach children that different behavior is appropriate depending on if you are a boy or girl. While little girls are sold kitchen sets, little boys are sold mini tools kits.

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Fame Day: Guerrilla Gardeners

I do love a good story of an individual sticking it to “the system”, i.e. the reign of capitalism. But having grown up in British Columbia’s Shuswap region, land of rich earthy gardens and succulent fruit (getting hungry?), I was shocked to discover that in some areas that act of rebellion can be as simple as growing a garden. It’s illegal.

But, but, but WHY???

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A Culture War Report: New Prosperity Mine

For the month of July I was living with my in-laws in Williams Lake. So on Monday, July 22nd, I was able to be present at the “first day of public hearings into Taseko’s proposed $1-billion open pit gold and copper mine near Williams Lake, B.C.”

I was working until about one o’clock that day but my mother-in-law, who is a teacher here in Williams Lake, first went downtown around lunchtime at which point two very separate information centers were happening.

Join us and have hot dogs galore!

At one camp, the Taseko mine representatives were serving burnt hot dogs to visitors. There wasn’t much of a crowd, but the vice president of the mine was offering her students jobs if the mine was allowed to come in.

Meanwhile, at the park nearby the Tsilhqot’in nation had prepared a lunchtime feast. There was music and dancing. Most of her friends were at the park. In fact, most of the crowd seemed to be at the park.

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