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Lorna Mills and Sally McKay
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I had a lot of fun operating The Burning Pit at the uTOpia launch yesterday. I was gratified that people seemed to really experience some catharsis when they rang the silver bell and I cut the cable, sending their demon plummeting into the fiery depths. Here are the Toronto demons that were banished throughout the day:
condo developers
Ontario Municipal Board
mega bins & sign variances
Hummers & SUVs
SUVs & Minivans
cars that cut off bikes
"pedestrians cross other side" signs at intersections
police harrassment
Rogers Video strip mall at Yonge and Roxborough
proliferation of Tim Hortons
city by-laws "weed" inspectors who continue to attack non-conventional gardens/gardeners
block apartment buildings
people who don't smile back
always waiting for permission
aggressive, reckless drivers
pushy people, no smiles, greedy drivers
ugly new proposed refuse bins & other impediments to pedestrian traffic
transit sucks, need to drive car
Motomedia truck billboards
crime
drivers oblivious to cyclists
pot holes in bike lanes
The Drake (Fake) Hotel
Homelessness, blame the victim legislation, bad cops
self entitled Rosedale drivers in their fucking S.U.V.s
red tape
the DVP
no bike lane on Dupont
bridge just east of Atlantic on King St.
Annex Yuppie Mafia
24 hour nothings
Dundas Square
violence/crime
lack of good bike lanes
lookism
billboards @ Yonge & Dundas
City-TV
garbage
HIV
I adored the riot grrrl phase in the 1990s. By then I was already ensconced in my own identitiy as a hetero-feminist freak, more interested in doing my projects and hanging out with interesting people than in weilding the potential power of my sexual persona. Grrrl power, with its focus on girls doing interesting things with their time and having fun too, was a very welcome development. And in my optimistic ignorance I thought it was here to stay. But no, tatoos and piercings and hoodies and choppy hair and boots and loud voices and acting out have been replaced with strapless little tops and silky long hair and demure stances and eye-lash batting and expensive weddings and fear of mice and white wine spritzers and bird-like portions of food and stupid shoes and little handbags and all kinds of other nasty irritating things. So I was interested in the latest Goodreads missive which includes this NY Times article by Maureen Dowd about the lack of feminist ideals among young women today.
I appreciate that Dowd, in her own way, is lamenting the same sad backslide that is bothering lots of my contemporaries. However, her POV is an objectionably two-dimensional corporate world. Dowd describes the post-feminist fate of us poor females who find that career success impedes our chances of snagging a man and tricking him into marrying us. Good golly but that sounds boring! Honestly, the only thing that puts me to sleep faster than someone's office politics is their wedding plans. Dowd's article presents a hegemonic fairy princess world where afterwork martinis and dates with boring corporate guys who foot the bill are all the fun that life has to offer. That is until you fulfill yourself by getting pregnant. Newsflash: procreation is not required. There's nothing exactly wrong with babies, but let's just say that if you don't have one, you will live.
I don't know if Dowd's post-feminist scenario of polished, power hungry pretty young things, caught in a horrible choice between flexing their corporate muscle or playing it soft like a little kitten, really exists. If so, I'm thrilled to be out here in exile. Sure some of my friends are married, some have children, and some are extremely successful in their professions, but they are focused on the content of their projects. It may not always work out perfeclty, but these women want to spend as much time as possible doing exactly what interests them nearly every single minute of the day and have fun doing it. Sound good? It is good ... it's called liberation, women's liberation, and everyone deserves it not just weirdo retro freaks like me.
| Come to the uTOpia book launch on Sunday! (venue: Gladstone, publisher: Coach House) The book is a groovy big anthology all about Toronto. I wrote about Fly gallery, because I find them inspiring. There are gonna be panels and activities at the launch! I'm on a panel at 3:00 with Bert Archer and Sheila Heti, moderated by Misha Glouberman. Our topic is Private Space. I'm also going to be hosting an activity booth where you get to consign your least favourite things about Toronto to the buring pit of hell. I've constructed an extremely classy and operational burning pit, but you'll have to come to the event to get a look at it. In the meantime, here are a couple of dYStopic burning pit images that I found with Google Images. All the details about the event and the book are here. | |
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Regular guest poster L.M. is on a much deserved break. Thank you, L.M.!! (when you come back we wanna hear your thoughts on France)
 | temporary chair "the event is unattainable..." |