Am I a feminist?

I wasn’t sure what a feminist was even after reading up, so I decided to look at some definitions.

A feminist literally means that you are a person who supports feminism. There is a large misunderstanding throughout society that you must be a woman to be a feminist. This is certainly not true. Being a feminist simply means that you support feminism. Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. In addition, feminism seeks to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist is "an advocate or supporter of the rights and equality of women (Oxford English Dictionary, 2012)."

                

Of course I am all for women’s rights and the equality of women, but I would hardly consider myself an advocate. I’m not a campaigner, backer, activist, sponsor, or any other synonym relating to the word “advocate.” Thoughts of women’s rights rarely, if ever, enter my daily thinking mind. The only time I consider women’s rights is when I hear something outrageous, like how some states are able to fire women for using birth control, or states that do not allow abortions. These are pretty much the only times I pause to think about feminism. In fact, until this course, I did not even have a clear definition as to what a feminist or feminism is.

                Now that I am more informed, I think that I can say with confidence that although I appreciate the rights I have as a woman, no, I am not a feminist. I have never protested for women’s rights (or protested for anything, if we want to get right down to it), I never follow politicians who have the interests of women at heart, and I’ve never particularly cared about women’s rights in a historical sense, and our journey to get where we are today. I’m not sure if that makes me apathetic, lazy, or just uncaring, but this course will hopefully open my eyes to a new, unexplored, world for me.

                I think a lot of people’s views of what it means to be a feminist is skewed. Prior to reading the definition of a feminist, I simply thought that a feminist was an angry man-hater with a personal vendetta against men, or someone who women who are not feminists. I always hear the words, “You just put the women’s rights movement back 40 years” or some variation of this saying when a girl says she would be happy being taken care of financially by a man and wants to rear children at home and be a house wife. I don’t think an individual woman’s wants and desires could put the women’s movement back and erase all of that hard work. I think women should have the right to choose to do whatever she wants with her life and body, and no one should condemn her for that (unless it’s hurting someone else, of course).

                In short, yes I enjoy the benefits I have as a woman born in this day and age, but no I am not a feminist. 

Nostalgia Feels like a Heart Attack

Setting the scene: Live tweeting the first few episodes of Pokèmon, a beloved childhood cartoon.

“I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was.” Heart pounding, a million memories came rushing back. Playing, fighting, video games, movies, cards, and make believe. If you are a 90s kid, you know what this song lyric is from and you probably still remember the entire song, who your favourite Pokèmon was, and what their special move was.

Watching Pokèmon for the first time after ten plus years is a unique experience, especially when you “live tweet” it. Live tweeting is to relay information about an event on twitter minute by minute as the action is happening. Laying on a university dorm bed, hard springs with a hundred memories of their own living in the fabric, two screens glare and speakers blare with the iconic song, signally the beginning of an epic adventure. My back aches, my eyes are strained, my heart pounds. All other thought escapes my mind save for mouthing the song word for word, inflection for inflection. I remembered it to a tee.

The magic of the moment is broken by my first tweet of the night. The glow of my iPhone, and focus of trying to spell everything correctly in the tweet, distracts me from the show. “The theme song to Pokèmon makes me so nostalgic, I remember being in elementary school playing with Pokèmon cards.” My third tweet followed this vein, “Does anyone remember when Pokèmon cards were banned from school? I do, and it sucked. #childhoodgrudges.” The use of hash tags (#) brings more description to your tweet in a few characters.

My heart feels like it’s going to jump out of my throat and pound my eyeballs out of my skull. Why does nostalgia hurt so much, and basically feel like a heart attack? The intense rushing memories, every twitch of Pikachu’s ears, every turn of Ash’s hat feels like an old friend embracing me in their arms with a bear hug after ten years of absence.

I can almost smell my childhood home. I can almost hear my sisters racing to name “Who’s that Pokèmon.” I can almost feel my sponge Disney chair beneath me. Instead, I have a small dusty university dorm room, that is always so hot I want to gag, and the smell of stale beer wafting from the recycling bins in the hallway is enough to make anyone sick. The contradictory tones of feeling are so intense. My heart feels like a heart attack. The safe, warm feeling of Pokèmon playing, like a long lost photograph you haven’t seen in years, as opposed to the uncomfortable feeling of everyday existence in a dorm room, eight feet by eleven feet of avocado green walls and the shouts of floor mates a constant reminder of where and when you are.   

  I’m an adult child, there are many like me, who cling to the fabric of time with vicious claws and transport themselves to a simpler era. Cartoons, songs, and Pikachu’s thunderbolt attack are the closest thing to a real-life time machine we will ever have. 

Mama Hen and her Chickies

It was my first year back in my old high school after a three year absence. I transferred high schools at the beginning of grade eight, and finally got to be back with my childhood friends in grade eleven. It was a bizarre feeling, and I felt like the new kid all over again, all awkward and being gawked at.

That fall the school decided that they would plan a school trip for anyone who wanted to go, and we got to decide the destination. I didn’t think anything of it at first; I wasn’t particularly interested in exotic travel and experiencing different cultures. My friends had other plans, and soon we were planning our Euro Trip.

Fundraiser after fundraiser ensued to help us with the traveling fees. Bake sales, auctions, baskets, and donations all helped towards helping us have the best time possible. We started in the fall and were relentless until the spring, when March break was upon us, and it was time to depart.

Eleven days, three countries, eleven girls, two chaperones, and an experience on a lifetime, Euro Trip 2007 will forever be a part of our high school memories. First stop: Italy. Being only sixteen at the time, we were psyched that the drinking age was fourteen.  We asked our guide, Glauco, where we could go clubbing.

Excitedly running around and getting ready to go out in the hotel, we were berated several times by the neighboring guest at the hotel. No matter how many times she pounded on our door, and reminded us, “I have to be up at 7am!” We didn’t care. We didn’t settle down. We couldn’t settle down even if we wanted to. We were going to the Space Electronic Discotheque on a Tuesday, and she couldn’t damper our fun.

Running from room to room borrowing headbands, necklaces, bags, shoes, dresses, anything we coveted from our friends and wanted to borrow for just a few hours.

Finally, we were ready. Dressed to impress, and getting some final words from Mr. M, our super cool junior high vice principle who sadly couldn’t go because one of the girls wanted to stay behind. Why she wanted to stay behind will remain a mystery and high school legend.

When all the girls got their final words of, “Don’t wander off with strangers,” they filed out of his hotel room to await the fleet of cabs that would take us to the Discotheque.

“One moment Joelle,” said Mr. M when everyone had left.  For a slight second I thought I was in trouble, that I couldn’t go, and my night was ruined.

“Sure Mr. M,” I squeaked in a small nervous voice. Oh man, this is it, I thought. It’s all over, I’ve messed up somehow and I can’t go out with the girls.

“I’ve noticed that you’re the most responsible one of the group, would you mind keeping an eye on everyone for me?”

My heart soared, my spirits lifted, and to this day I’ve never felt more proud to be me in my entire life. There were three other girls on the trip who were older than me; he could have asked any one of them to help keep the other girls safe. Instead,he chose me.

“Oh, and don’t let Kristina drink too much,” Mr. M chuckled with dark humour. He probably remembered that on our very first night in Italy we got a hold of a bottle of wine and some boys from Texas and drank on the roof of our hotel.

The night was an amazing success. I kept everyone’s wallets and money in my oversized, white, fake Prada bag, no one got lost, and we only suffered minor heart attacks from the Italian cabbies driving skills. I still remember him trying to relate to us by talking in minimal English about the Californian forest fire when he heard we were Canadian.

From that night on I was Mama Hen, and I’ve kept a flock of ‘Chickies’ around me that I’ve always felt responsible for, and protective of.

Harry Potter; A Love Story

It was the summer of 1999, my ninth birthday. What was originally supposed to be a double gift for my younger sister and I (our birthdays are nine days apart) became a lifelong obsession for me, and an unused birthday gift for her. Our aunt gave us the first four Harry Potter books; the most grownup books I owned to date. The first time I ever owned a book with a swear word in it (damn), and the first books I’ve read until the lamp burned out (literally, caught the lamp shade of fire one time I was so entranced).

I’ll always remember starting the Philosopher’s Stone. My older sister had a ball game under the lights, meaning it would be a night game and “too late” for me to stay up. I showed them. I started reading Harry Potter out of pure spite that night, because I honestly didn’t think that I would like it, but I was mad I couldn’t go watch the game, so I started reading. And reading. And reading.

I read until my mother and sister came home; I still remember my mom being surprised that I was still awake. I read until the book fell out of my hands, and then I woke up the next morning and read some more.   

Over the years as the books and movies have been released it brings back that initial excitement I had that first night in the summer of ’99. Almost every book and movie has been released around my birthday, maximizing my excitement. All my friends and family know about my love for the series. When I was younger a lot of my gifts had Harry Potter themes. I’ve had a Harry Potter blanket, two puzzles, candy sets, and special screening tickets of new movies.

My love is plain, even on my skin. The first tattoo I received permanently inked upon my skin was drawn by me and influenced by Harry Potter. It says “Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus,” which is the Hogwarts school motto on the front page of all the books. A lot of people thought I was pretty crazy for getting it, but even more people think it’s kickass. A tattoo should mean something, and I think a thirteen (and counting) year obsessing fits the bill.

Two years ago I had the distinct honour of giving my younger cousin the full set of Harry Potter books on his ninth birthday. My aunt recently informed me that for a school project he had to bring his favourite thing to school, and he chose his books. This makes me prouder that words can express. His eleventh birthday is coming up, and I’m going to make him his very own Hogwarts acceptance letter; every wizard gets one on their eleventh birthday.

I used to be a solitary kid, and I kept to myself most of the time. I’ve always been an avid reader, and to the day I always have a book or two on the go. I’m never without a novel to read at night, and I was the same as a nine year old. I didn’t have many friends growing up, I had one best friend and I figured that was all I needed since I had a fairly large family. I read a lot in those days, and as soon as I was finished the Harry Potter series I would go right back to the first book and start them all over again. I’m fairly certain that I’ve read the first four books almost 30 times. They are as familiar to me as my own memories.

I read when I’m sad, I read when I’m bored, I read when I’m happy, mad, sleepy, excited, and depressed. The Harry Potter books are more than just words on paper; they’re an escape into another dimension where anything is possible.

My friends and I, each holding our favourite things. 

“We’re a stubborn bunch in Woods Harbour! We won’t give up!”

Growing up in a small town is hands down the best way to grow up. Side walks? Pssh. Malls? Who needs ‘em. A small town life is the life for me, and at its core are the people and places that make amazing things happen.

Rosalie and Darrell Stoddard are on a mission to upgrade the Woods Harbour Fire Hall, Community Centre, and Young at Heart New Horizons Senior Centre, but they can’t do it by themselves. Through some computer stumbling their new neighbour, B.C. native Alan Daykon, has found the Aviva Insurance Community Fund. The Aviva fund has $1,000,000 to give away, and the Stoddard’s want a piece of that pie.

This is our present hall. It needs help.

In the write up about why the community needs this renovation money, Rosalie writes:

“The Young at Heart New Horizons is a new group of seniors helping seniors. We have a lease agreement, along with the Woods Harbour Community Center for the former Woods Harbour Fire Hall. The building needs a lot of renovations and we are diligently working at getting this done. The two former truck bays on the end of the building need to be torn off as the floor under that part of the building is sinking. We will then put a new end wall up and renovate the roof to match. This will give the New Horizons a 17'x55'room. As you can appreciate this is a costly undertaking. When this is done it will give the New Horizons group a new well lit room with a kitchenette and tables and chairs so they can go any time and meet their friends and quilt or play cards etc. We hold seniors activities such as quilt shows and social events every month. We are trying to get card games and game nights going and we have a volunteer giving computer classes. The community center holds weekly kitchen parties (local musicians) every week, bingo and dances. Any help that we can access would be greatly appreciated. Seniors have been the ones who have built their communities up and now need help with getting out to social events that are geared to their interests. There are a lot of activities geared for the younger generation but not so much for the senior population. We have found that our social events where we provide a lunch and time for them to just sit and talk to ones their own age and renew old acquaintances has been good for all of them. The mingling with people of their own age and talking about the good old days when they were young keeps the mind sharp and the exercise of just getting out every week instead of shopping and the bank once a month keeps them in better shape. We are working on safety programs for the seniors also. We have the necessary building permits and a contractor willing to do the work. The project can start as soon as funding is finalized.”

                                   If you don't know what a kitchen party is, you are missing out!

The Fire Hall is so much more than this! The community uses the Hall for Woods Harbour Days, the annual celebration of our founding, trivia, birthday parties, weddings, comedy nights, auctions, bake sales, breakfasts, queen pageants, baby showers, and of course we use it to house our fire trucks and invaluable fire fighter volunteers.

                             Multiple generations listening to Mrs. Claus during story time

Built in 1973, the Woods Harbour Fire Department was modest and small. The hall was added in 1986, and since then the community has evolved around the hall, to host countless events and milestones.

Since its inception, the hall has brought the community together in ways that bigger towns and cities cannot comprehend. As of late, residents have noticed that a corner of the hall has started to sink, the entire building is in sore need of repair, and the New Horizons are actually hosting their meetings in the old ambulance bay!

“We are really hoping to get a new room built for the New Horizons [with the funding] as well as general repairs to the entire building. We need to update the community hall, New Horizons meeting room, a boardroom for the fire fighters, basically everything. It’s a multi-purpose building,” said Darrell Stoddard.

A lady in the community actually made the Grinch! He's a 6 foot tall stuffy.
"Fraser was trying to get him on the stage, I didn't know who was going to win, him or the Grinch!" -Darrell

Darrel has been a volunteer fire fighter for 44 years, is in the New Horizons, that his wife Rosalie is the president of, and they’re both apart of the community hall.  

“We put on a lot of stuff through the New Horizons. So many people look forward to the meetings each week, and we try to do as much as possible for our community. We put on a ‘wedding dresses throughout the ages’ show, quilting shows, tea socials, and much more. All of it really goes over big!” Darrell exclaimed with a lot of passion and gusto.

“We put on kitchen parties and get local bands to play every Wednesday. People come from all over, from Lockeport to Yarmouth! It’s more than a community hall. It’s a place for everyone to keep traditions alive.”

“The best thing about most of our events are that they’re free. You can give a donation at the door if you want, or bring a snack for everyone, but with so many people on fixed incomes a lot of people wouldn’t be able to participate if we started to charge.”

New technology is great, especially with community initiatives like this one. A former resident of the area, Carl Dixon, put on facebook that he thought the hall needed a piano, and the next morning one was donated! People in small towns just have that much more heart.

                This is a handmade quilt. If you don't own one, then your bed is probably sad.

“We’ve put on a lot of dances and other events throughout the years, and we’ve never had a bad report,” said Darrell with a lot of pride in his voice.

Other than being a meeting place, the hall, first and foremost, is a fire hall! We have amazingly dedicated volunteers, and every third Sunday of the month you can get an all you can eat, whatever you want breakfast, for just $7 to help raise funds for the fire department. Where else are you going to find a deal with a good cause like that?

In the comments section of the contest, locals have put in their heart warming two cents.

Kerrie Bubar writes:

“I also totally support this project. Living in a small community, it limits the seniors to have very little access to activities or functions for them. In the few months since this New Horizons group has begun, I am utterly amazed at the happiness of our seniors, not only those in Woods Harbour but they are traveling from neighboring communities to join in the fun (some are in their nineties). It has brought life back to many seniors to know they have something to look forward to. When you can walk into a building full of seniors every Wednesday night and see the toes tapping to the music, smiles on their faces and the friendships that are being made just by being able to get out of the house and meeting with others, it is a wonderful thing to witness. I can only wish for this to be able to continue and it can only be done by getting funding. I am very thankful for this organization and wish it the very best, you by far have brought the people of our little community a lot of laughs and enjoyment and I wish you continued success, I can't think of anything more deserving.”

Carl Dixon writes:

TOTALLY SUPPORT THIS PROJECT IN ITS ENTIRETY! Its a "BIG MUST DO"......The love, fun, joy and excitement experienced by not only the residents (young and for ever young) of Woods Habour as well as many other residents of Shelburne and Yarmouth country in the past few months has been overwhelming....All events since becoming the WHCC have been well attended bringing many local individuals together with...a renewal of friendships and companionship. Just in the past few months this WHCC has given man many people in the area a new lease on life....just seeing the happiness and smiles on their faces tells the whole story. I have lived in Toronto for 34 years and get home to Woods Habour every couple of months...It is pretty amazing the feeling of community involvement and renewed community friendships/ relationships that has been reignited/ renewed since the Old Fire Hall became the WHCC.....Funding must be made available to make the necessary renovations to physically transform the Old Woods Harbour Fire Hall into a safe, user friendly and manageable Community Centre. The well planned and well organized Community events draws people of all ages from Yarmouth and Shelburne Counties...The Directors/ Organizers of the New Horizons Seniors Group and the Woods Habour Community Centre are to be congratulated for all that has been done to date and in this very short period of time in organizing a very successful and well attended events.

The hall needs a lot of help. If we don’t win the Aviva contest, Darrell and Rosalie have been working tirelessly to ensure that other grant funds know of our needs.

“If we don’t win the contest, we have 5-6 applications in for grants with the government with seniors and recreation, environmental, etc. If these don’t work out we’ll find more! We’re a stubborn bunch in Woods Harbour! We won’t give up!”

To vote for upgrades to our hall please go to: http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf11468?fb_ref=.Tsm3Eyxuvb4.like&fb_source=profile_multiline