By Jodi A. Shaw “Oh, what book club are you in?” the librarian asks. “I’m not.” “So, you’re just reading this on your own time?” “Yes.” “Interesting.” The librarian then tells me to read the book, The Time Traveller’s Wife, in the given three weeks, as I will be unable to renew it. I explain […]
Alberta delivers on midwives’ potential
By Jodi A. Shaw I prefer not to know the finer details of child birth. Instead, I’d rather wait my turn to experience it, and find out the good, the bad, and the ugly of pregnancy and delivery. A pregnant co-worker, however, has been spoiling some of the secrets for me . . . and […]
Loonacy
Bev Schellenberg A few weeks ago, I helped an elderly woman at a public lavatory. Her distinguished male companion helped her through the main door but then stood awkwardly, carefully remaining on the outside of the women’s bathroom. I asked him quietly if I might be of assistance, and he agreed. His female partner, her […]
I am not an incubator
By Jodi A. Shaw I got married a year ago. I get asked on a regular basis when we are going to have kids. It didn’t start recently; it began only weeks after the ring was on my finger. “When are you going to have kids? When are you going to have kids?” At first […]
When Mommy is a Grandmommy
Marni Ko In 1993, a 59 year-old woman gave birth to twins. It wasn’t a miracle of nature or Act of God. She found another woman willing to donate her eggs, a doctor willing to experiment with in vitro fertilization, and her partner kicked in some sperm. Another Grandma made the news in late May. […]
Enough of Israeli spin
Let me be clear: I am not anti-Semitic. Let me be very clear: I am completely opposed to the current state of Israel. It is not democratic. It is oppressive. It is criminal, both morally and in its refusal to comply with United Nations resolutions. Let us all be very, very clear: speaking strongly against […]
In nobody’s yard except the pig farmer’s
So whose problem is the surreal level of violence against Aboriginal women in Canada? I am so monumentally pissed that I am ready to fire everybody, including the organizations run by Aboriginal women. It seems like nobody — absolutely nobody — is bringing their lunch pail to work on this problem. On Monday, October 4, […]
