2012 in review

january

• looking like a forlorn flapper
• adjusting to the fact that all of my very close friends had moved away
• enjoying the harsh cold québécois winter

recommended reading

1. Instead of an interview with Xtra by Rae Spoon (Jan 3, 2012)
2. They is me by Ivan Coyote (Jan 10, 2012)
3. If the Clothes Fit: A Feminist Takes on Fashion by Minh-Ha T. Pham (January 17, 2012)
4. Homai Vyarawalla, Pioneering Indian Photojournalist, Dies at 98 by Haresh Pandya (January 28, 2012)
5. If the clothes fit by Arabelle Sicardi (January 31, 2012)

soundtrack:

february

• mastering the art of looking – and being – surly
• went to a phenomenal exhibition on fashion in Québécois art, did a short radio report on it

recommended reading

1. The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League by Lawrence Lai (February 2, 2012)
2. Islamophobia in Canada: A Primer By Fathima Cader and Sumayya Kassamali (February 2, 2012)
3. Honor Codes and Dress Codes by Sharday Mosurinjohn (February 10, 2012)
4. Better Homes & Bloggers: Are lifestyle blogs a new way for women to compare themselves and come up short? by Holly Hilgenberg (February 18, 2012)
5. When Anger is all I have and why anger is my feminist stand by Flavia Dozan (February 22, 2012)
6. The Artists: Notes on a lost style of acting by David Denby (February 27, 2012)

soundtrack:

none of dem (robyn) covered by austra

march

• produced my first original radio documentary on photobooths
• spent a lot of time ranting on the internet

recommended reading

• Cultural Theft by Clem Bastow (March 2, 2012)
• what if I told you it was an accident? by jes sasche (March 15, 2012)
• Vogue’s Haute Mess Editorial: A Not-So-Subtle Swipe at Black Women by LJ Knight (March 12, 2012)
• The White Savior Industrial Complex by Teju Cole (March 21, 2012)

soundtrack:

april

• went out west for the very very first time to visit my best friend morgan
• visited toronto!
• celebrated james & rachel‘s wedding
• aforementioned radio documentary was rebroadcast nationally! on one of my favourite shows!
• read an awful lot, as proven below:

recommended reading:

1. She Told Us So: Nafissatou Diallo and Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s New Case by Valerie Jean-Charles (April 3, 2012)
2. Interview with Jenny Zhang at Chictopia (April 4, 2012)
3. Trying to understand a tragedy by Mary Burnet (April 23, 2012)
4. The Colour of the Student Movement – “Maîtres Chez Nous”  by Lee Way (April 23, 2012)
5. The changing face of beauty: the rise of make-up for darker skin by Anita Bhagwandas (April 24, 2012)
6. Carmen Miranda’s Ethnic Masquerade in The Gang’s All Here by ShienLee (Apr 25, 2012)
7. Femme Post III on [real] Cuntext (April 26, 2012)
8. Resistance is not violence: Putting property damage and economic disruption in perspective by Mona Luxion (April 28, 2012)

soundtrack:

may

• followed quebec politics incredibly closely
• reported on student strike protests and arrests in quebec city
• went to my little sister’s bachelorette party in a gorgeous cabin on the lake, went swimming in MAY!
• saw a Frida Kahlo self-portrait be unveiled, interviewed the man who travels with that painting

recommended reading

1. Femme: In Praise of Higher Expectations by Zoe Whittall (May 5, 2012)
2. What Fashion’s “Ethnic” Prints Are Really Called by Connie Wang (May 19, 2012)
3. Women Are Heroes: A Global Portrait of Strength in Hardship by French Guerrilla Artist-Activist JR by Maria Popova (May 24, 2012)

soundtrack

june

justyne, jasmine, julia and myriam. best wedding party ever.

• chopped off my hair for the 1st time in ages, felt (and looked!) so good.
• went to europe for the 1st time as an adult, since i lived there as a kid
• met amazing people in pamplona, wasted hours in bookstores and art galleries and wandering along cobblestone streets
• rented a scooter and rode along the atlantic coast in france…
• headed back to canada in time to be a bridesmaid for the very first time, for my little sister jasmine!

recommended reading:

1. Une autre raison de s’indigner by Sophie Le-Phat Ho, Kevin Lo, Faiz Abhuani, Amber Berson, Dominique Desjardins, Gwenaëlle Denis, Farha Najah (June 1, 2012)
2. How To Be A Reverse-Racist: An Actual Step by Step List For Oppressing White People by A.D Song and Mia McKenzie (June 27, 2012)
3. Life, death and the meaning of a wedding dress by Laura Snelgrove (June 15, 2012)

soundtrack:

july

• interviewed olympic swimmers
• interviewed some of my favourite musicians
• had all kinds of wonderful people visit me – namely teresa & meg!
• went for lots of bike rides

recommended reading

1. Field Notes on Fashion and Occupy by Maryam Monalisa Gharavi (July 9, 2012)
2. Turbans on the Runway: What does it mean for Sikhs? by Sonny Singh Brooklynwala (July 10, 2012)
3. Be a fan, not a jerk at Untitled Teen Mag (July 17, 2012)
4. Doing Femme: Fiona Apple by iris (July 16, 2012)
5. Make up, my bane and saviour by Teresa (July 25, 2012)

soundtrack:

august

• celebrated my 5-year anniversary with simon
• covered an election campaign as a journalist for the first time ever (was particularly amused by this story)
• had a nice visit with carmelle
• did not spend enough time in the sun, did not spend enough time outdoors
• spent far too much time thinking about/working on election coverage
• struggled with how to deal with that stress, and how my body was manifesting it…

recommended reading:

1. How To Talk to People Who Are In Wheelchairs by Monica (August 2, 2012)
2. Hate Crimes Always Have A Logic: On The Oak Creek Gurudwara Shootings by Harsha Walia (August 6, 2012)
3. At Least Pussy Riot Won the West by Kriston Capps (August 16, 2012)
4. Manic Pixie Dream Dissidents: How the World Misunderstands Pussy Riot by Sarah Kendzior (August 20, 2012)

september

• went to visit my family in ottawa
• thought i was going to have some time off, struggled with the ups and downs of being a freelancer
• worked on some pitches and ideas

recommended reading

1. «Nous sommes tous responsables» de l’attentat du Métropolis par Catherine Lalonde (8 septembre 2012)
2. What can’t be published by Stacey May Fowles (September 14, 2012)
3. Special Victims by Elizabeth Greenwood (September 14, 2012)
4. Accessibility to fashion and the visibility of bloggers by GraceLizaBetty (September 18, 2012)
5. The Good Girls Revolt: The Untold Story of the 1970 Lawsuit That Changed the Modern Workplace by Maria Popova (September 19, 2012)
6. Ariel Pink And Beta Male Misogyny by Joe Kennedy (September 24, 2012)
7. I wrote this thing about Grimes’ “Genesis” and it never ran so here you go by Julianne Escobedo Shepherd (September 28, 2012)

soundtrack:

october

• got sick
• went for a hike in the woods
• thought/wrote a lot about feminism…

recommended reading

1. What the Girls spat on Twitter tells us about feminism by Bim Adewunmi at The Guardian (October 8th, 2012)
2. A problem that stubbornly refuses to budge by Reni Eddo-Lodge (October 8th, 2012)
3. Bullying: It’s not just for kids (October 6, 2012) sidenote: this was also the most popular thing i shared on tumblr this year, with over 7000 notes
4. Her Body Is Not Your Playground: Why the Photoshopped Frida Nudes Are Not Okay by Mia McKenzie (October 25, 2012)
5. Trolls and the spaces created by trolling by Nora Loreto (October 24, 2012)
6. Real Talk: Am I living radically? by Katie West (October 26th, 2012)

soundtrack:

november

• followed the american elections a bit too closely
• went to the vintage clothing fair in ottawa with steph
• spent some quality time with my sisters
• started working on a big project…
• took a week off and went on a mini road trip with simon

recommended reading:

1. Die Antwoord’s revival of blackface does South Africa no favours by Adam Haupt (November 2, 2012)
2. An Open Letter to the AGO About Frida Kahlo’s Unibrow by Sarah Mortimer at Shameless Magazine (November 6, 2012)
3. An Unedited Rant About Looking Into Fatshion’s Navel by Natalie (November 11, 2012)
4. Doing Antiracism Wrong at Jezebel at Postbourgie (November 12, 2012)
5. Are we becoming cyborgs?

soundtrack:

december

• visited and interviewed my grandparents in valleyfield
• caught up with karina
• put together Threads: Fur, fabric and fashion in Quebec for CBC Radio
• celebrated my 27th birthday!
• got a really fucking good haircut, as pictured above

recommended reading:

1. The Natives are restless: Wondering why? by âpihtawikosisân (December 11, 2012)
2. For the last time, stop conflating violence & mental illness by s.e. smith (Dec 17, 2012)
3. Foreign Tokens: The Blackamoor Brooch by Rama Musa (Dec 17, 2012)
4. Parsing the online comments on #IdleNoMore: How Canadians are failing a tolerance test by David Newland (December 20, 2012)
5. White Men are Not in Decline by Sarah Jane Glynn (December 20, 2012)

soundtrack:

all in all, not too shabby!