Category Archives: Culture

Venus Noire, Video Vixens & Blackface

Posted on November 5, 2013 by The Girl on Bloor

I recently attended a screening of a film called Venus Noire, which portrayed the life of an infamous South African woman’s life as the star of a 19th century freakshow in Europe, attracting attention because of her unique and “exotic” … Continue reading →

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Should Fast Food Workers be Paid More?

Posted on October 16, 2013 by The Girl on Bloor

Is it feasible? McDonald’s recently raised its CEOs’ salaries despite complaints from front line workers, and as a result of multiple injustices many employees went on strike in the summer. CEO Don Thompson’s financial package jumped from $4.1M to $13.8M … Continue reading →

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Why Alice Munro’s Nobel Prize is Important

Posted on October 10, 2013 by The Girl on Bloor

Alice Munro is easily one of my favourite authors and I think it’s safe to say that she’s a legend in her own time. I’ve had the pleasure of writing a few essays on her work, as well as being … Continue reading →

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Lupe Fiasco has Good Intentions…

Posted on April 24, 2013 by The Girl on Bloor

But he still misses the mark. This week, I’m borrowing from one of my favorite gender studies lectures this year. Early last semester my pop culture prof had us watch rapper Lupe Fiasco’s “Bitch Bad” music video, one of his … Continue reading →

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Dove Real Beauty Sketches: Men’s Edition

Posted on April 19, 2013 by The Girl on Bloor

This is turning out to be the week of controversy between Dove’s claims about feminine self-image and the Boston Marathon… Keeping the focus on Dove however, I have to say, I’ve been pretty impressed by the response to the “Real … Continue reading →

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“Real Beauty” Does Not Come in All Shapes and Sizes

Posted on April 17, 2013 by The Girl on Bloor

At least according to Dove. I have been seeing the Youtube video “Real Beauty Sketches” ALL OVER Facebook, and it’s really kind of shocking to me how effective these advertisements are in drawing us in. And to prove I’m not … Continue reading →

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Monday Motivation: Don’t Overestimate What You Can Get Done Today

Posted on April 15, 2013 by The Girl on Bloor

Monday motivation, or all over the place? I remember reading an article a little while back discussing what is known as the Planning Fallacy, or in other words mistakenly assuming that you can get way more work done than you … Continue reading →

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How I Rediscovered My Love for George Orwell

Posted on March 28, 2013 by The Girl on Bloor

I was doing the Monday night routine helping tutor my usual group of high school girls when one of them presents her essay assignment about George Orwell’s Animal Farm, wanting to brainstorm some of the key themes with me and … Continue reading →

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Weekly Roundup: Some Saturday Afternoon Reads

Posted on March 16, 2013 by The Girl on Bloor

I’m having a bit of writer’s block as of late coming off this flu but it hasn’t quite managed to curb my appetite for reading material and attempting to keep up with what’s going on around me in the world. … Continue reading →

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Are YOU worth saving?

Posted on March 1, 2013 by The Girl on Bloor

We’ve all seen the cheesy horror movies where the weakest link gets the axe first. Typically your reaction is kind of apathetic. “They were stupid so they died” … “Well they should have known better so they got what was … Continue reading →

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