THE FRONT
Sex workers’ day—Women’s day—Boobs day—A local food weekend
by MIRROR NEWS
March 3, 2011
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “If they were unconscious, they would have thanked me. Instead, they were asleep and decided to give me a ticket.” —Trois-Rivières resident Maxime Charpentier, on the SQ cops he found snoozing in their vehicle on the 40. When the sleepy officers discovered they were being filmed, they issued Charpentier a $154 ticket for stopping his car at an inappropriate location.
Heart your whore
Thursday, March 3, is International Sex Worker Rights Day. And before you go looking for one to shower you with affection (or whatever else), note that this year’s edition comes amid an ongoing debate over the trade’s legalization and/or decriminalization. An Ontario court struck down Canada’s prostitution laws, saying they force women into unsafe working conditions. The federal government is appealing.
The decision has ramifications across the country and is being closely watched by sex workers’ rights groups and anti-prostitution activists—both of which, strangely, refer to themselves as feminist. In Montreal, the Alliance Féministe Solidaire pour les droits des travailleuses(rs) du sexe (AFS), a sex workers’ rights group launched today, is hoping all aspects of prostitution will be decriminalized, which they say will lead to safer working conditions. On the other hand, the Concertation des luttes contre l’exploitation sexuelle (CLES), which also calls itself feminist, says law enforcement should focus on arresting pimps and johns. The AFS’s Veronique Leduc says it’s a “New Zealand versus Sweden” fight, referring to the countries’ sex trade laws: New Zealand having complete decriminalization, Sweden focusing on busting clients.
Both groups are having events on March 18. See AFS’s Facebook page and lacles.org for details.
—PATRICK LEJTENYI
Women of the century
This year, International Women’s Day will celebrate its 100th birthday. In recognition of this milestone, the Montreal-based group Women of Diverse Origins (WDO) will be building solidarity amongst feminists of all walks of life in the lead-up to the day through their “Slaves of the Slaves Rise Up” events. The name was chosen in recognition of the role women are playing at the forefront in the uprisings taking place across the Middle East and North Africa.
“These women are not only oppressed by virtue of gender,” says WDO programming and organization committee representative Tanya Bindra. “They are also resisting patriarchy, imperialism, neo-liberalism and capitalism.”
On Saturday, March 5, WDO will be facilitating a forum on feminist issues at UQAM’s Pavillon Hubert Aquin (Room A-2885), 9 a.m.–5 p.m., suggested donation $5. The morning will focus on international topics, while the afternoon will be devoted to local debates. Lunch, childcare and translations of all presentations will be provided.
Then, on Tuesday, March 8, WDO will hold its annual demonstration to mark International Women’s Day itself. Participants meet at Cabot Square (Atwater and Ste-Catherine) at 6 p.m. before marching east along Ste-Catherine.
For more information, visit wdofdo.wordpress.com or e-mail wdo.fdo@gmail.com.
—ADRIENNE KLASA
Whither tits?
The latest University of the Streets café invites you to hang out and talk titties.
“Breasts, Boobs, and Bazongas: How many roles can a woman’s breasts play?” features a panel of four female speakers who will kick off a March 8 discussion on all matters breast-related.
Moderator and café coordinator Elizabeth Hunt says she got the idea for the theme while breastfeeding her 14-month-old son. “I spent every day of 2010 staring at my breasts,” Hunt laughs.
University of the Streets is a series of free public conversations organized by Concordia University each semester. “We essentially create a space for learning, for people to engage with each other,” says Hunt.
The breast-fest will take place at NDG’s aptly named Melons & Clémentines (5659 Sherbrooke W.), a breastfeeding centre for young moms.
Running from 7–9 p.m., the chat will look at breasts from every angle. “We just have this image of breasts in our society … but we don’t want to see nursing breasts, we don’t want to see breasts that are old, or have some kind of sickness,” says Hunt.
Fellas are welcome, too. Hunt is even considering a penis-themed café next semester. Working title? “Governments and penises: does size matter?”
Info: univcafe.concordia.ca.
—ELISABETH FAURE
Local food on the table
On the off-chance those smarty-pants Mayans got their dates confused and we don’t all perish in 2012, as time goes on and the Earth heats up, there’s an excellent chance that sustainable food production will become an increasingly important global issue. Sustainable Concordia and Concordia Greenhouse have been pondering the future of food for a long time now, and on Thursday, March 3 from 6–9 p.m., and again on March 4 from 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m., will be co-hosting a conference called Moving Forward: An Inter-Community Discussion, to give some good old academic thought to the situation.
“We want to get people to get together to consider what the issues are with our food and to start creating solutions,” says Concordia Greenhouse coordinator Arlene Throness. “Certainly urban agriculture is one option but we’ll be discussing other ideas as well, like buying local and creating other sustainable food systems.
“Through this conference, we hope to assess the state of urban agriculture in Montreal right now and create a vision for the future.” The public is invited. The conference takes place at Concordia’s downtown campus (1455 de Maisonneuve W., rooms H763, H765 and 767).
—CHRIS BARRY
REAR-VIEW MIRROR
14 YEARS AGO – MARCH 6– 13 1997
On the cover: Bloc Québécois leadership hopefuls (designed to look like the Brady Bunch), who answer questions on anglo culture and politics. Shockingly, only one, Daniel Turp, correctly answers the question, “Who is William Shatner?” (“Captain Kirk”). Gilles Duceppe is the only one who can name the three players the Habs got in return for Patrick Roy and Mike Keane (“Thibault, Kovalenko, Rucinsky”).
• Johnson Cummins asks Ivan Novak of “Slovenia’s dark lords Laibach,” better known for their “choice of cover songs than their original doom-laden industrial tracks” what songs they wouldn’t cover. Among them: The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar,” Rod Stewart’s “Do You Think I’m Sexy” and the soundtrack to Grease. The suggestion “Wind Beneath My Wings” is met “with silence.”
• David Lynch’s Lost Highway is described as “horrific, vile, bloodied and excruciating, but compelling beyond belief.”
• Media Circus gives Howard Stern’s Private Parts a rating of “three (small) penises.” One big problem is Howard: “With his make-up and flowing hair, he’s like some sort of grotesque matinee idol.” ■
ANGEL: Montreal’s baseball heroes At the risk of sounding old and crotchety (or worse, like Jack Todd), baseball was better back in the day. Two events reminded Montrealers why this past week. On Monday, Jackie Robinson, who played for the Montreal Royals in 1946 en route to breaking the colour barrier as the first ever black Major Leaguer, was honoured with a plaque outside his modest de Gaspé street home on Monday—the last day of Black History Month. On Saturday, longtime Expos broadcaster and legendary Brooklyn Dodgers centre fielder and Hall of Famer Duke Snider passed away, age 84. Any Montrealer with fond recollections of baseball probably can’t help but associate them with the sound of the Duke’s voice and deep knowledge of the game. For anyone who cares, Major League Baseballs’ 2011 season opens March 31.
INSECT: Summer driving Anyone who owns a car knows how frustrating this city can be, year-round. And as the warmer weather approaches, so will drivers’ headaches galore. The province unveiled its summer construction schedule this week and it isn’t pretty: over 50 major projects will be on the go, including facelifts to the Decarie, the Anjou, Dorval and Turcot Interchanges, as well as the 15, 40 and 720 highways. The total price tag is expected to be around $4-billion. Great: more smog, more dust, more congestion, more roadwork that will need additional repairs in a few short years. Do yourself a favour and take the bus.Short URL: http://www.montrealmirror.com/wp/?p=19472
