Post #6- Class and Social Status

Link to article: Ontario launches immigration expert panel

Ontario launches immigration expert panel
Immigration reporter: Nicholas Keung

For this week’s blog post I will be addressing Canada’s cultural diversity and social cohesion. In the report Sharpening the Lens: Recent Research on Cultural Policy, Cultural Diversity, and Social Cohesion, by Greg Baeker for Toronto’s Arts and Cultural Planning, it was revealed that in Canada there were two major challenges to traditional formulations of citizenship, connectedness, and social cohesion:

1. The transitional flow of peoples

2. The globalizing communication systems and markets

These challenges raised questions about the role of culture and cultural policy in responding to the new global environment. The report stated that “on a per capita basis, Canada receives more immigrants annually than any other country in the world,” (p. 181). It also stated that major urban centres such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, helped coined the term EthniCities, which are “large urban areas of the developed world that contain high levels of ethno-racial and are culturally diverse in their populations,” (p.189 ). When there is a high concentration of immigrants in these EthniCities new challenges and social dynamics are created. Although the report was published in 2002, these major urban cities have still been noted to attract a high number of immigrants, and Ontario is the number one destination for newcomers to Canada.

As Canada is a desirable place to live, diversity is still seen in Canadian policy circles as “one of a number of ‘fault lines’ exposing cracks in the Canadian façade of social cohesion. Baeker stated, “Culture diversity intersects with economic and other types of polarization, thus jeopardizing Canada’s reputation for leadership on these issues and challenging its image as a caring, open, and compassionate society,” (p. 181). Today, Canada has acknowledged the increase in diversity in cultural production and representation.

In the article I read this week I found out that Ontario has taken a step in the right direction by developing the first-ever immigration strategy to help newcomers find jobs as well as support Ontario’s economic development. However, it has been noted in the report that integration with mainstream institutions and cultural policies can “carry with it charges of compromising the integrity of diversity and cultural appropriation,” (p. 187).

When I read the article I felt that this immigration strategy is a healthy way of accepting diversity, and using it to our advantage. Other provinces too have signed immigration agreements with the government to help skilled immigrants and spread diversity evenly across the country. Baeker noted, “Fields of urban planning and community development can guide our thinking… experience with self-organizing systems and community self-government reflects a workable strategy for broadening engagement from the grassroots up,” (p. 190). What I liked about this report is that it told me that these types of approaches rely on social learning models and a deepening of public understanding of social problems. These immigrants provide our local economic needs, spread diversity and contriute to social cohesion, while in return can help us break through these "fault lines". By adopting these new perspectives we acknowledge the need for new formulations of cultural justice in diverse societies.

I’d like to end this with a quote from the report that I thought was useful to remember when looking at defining diversity. “Canadian experience points to an understanding of diversity as an ongoing negotiation of intersecting and often conflicting interesting,” (p. 183).

References

Baeker, G. (2002). Sharpening the Lens: Recent Research on Cultural Policy, Cultural Diversity, and Social Cohesion. Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol 27, 179-196.

Keung, N. (2012, March 2). Ontario launches immigration expert panel. The Toronto Star.

Tim Wise

Today in class we learned the importance of challenging cultural normalcies.
Tim Wise, antiracist essayist, author and educator, gave a speech in Texas where he revealed many people believe that by discussing race, we are only deepening the racism. However, he argued that the past is not compartmentalized. The fact is most people believe that “the less we talk about it, the better the situation will be,” (Wise). Obviously, this is not the case. I highly recommend watching the entire speech, or just listening to anything he has to say since he is so well spoken!

Post #5- Love as a Diversity Issue

Link to article: Ottawa tables legislation to ensure foreign gay marriages recognized

Ottawa tables legislation to ensure foreign gay marriages recognized
By: Tobi Cohen

I am not sure what the irony behind timing with this law is, but it seems a bit peculiar to me.
I remember I read an article a number of years ago about how a lesbian couple, one from Florida and the other from the UK, wanted to get married. Like most same-sex couples living in America who want to tie the knot legally, they headed to Canada. However, when the relationship didn’t turn out as expected, the couple were unable to divorce because Canada has a law that requires married couples who want to divorce in Canada, to live here for at least one year. 

Same-sex couple Heather Gass and Lisa Lachange in 2003 

Recently, and a few days before Valentine’s Day, I read an article pertaining to this problem once again. This article explained that, finally, the government was considering altering the law so these foreign couples weren’t legally trapped in their marriages.

In 2003 Liberal politician Paul Martin was sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada. In 2004, same-sex marriage became legal in Canada. This new law however didn’t seem to have all the kinks worked out for foreigners since one-year residency was required for divorce. Matrimonial lawyer, Rain Henderson, claimed the marriage application forms indicated that you cannot marry family members, and “it doesn’t say be cautious, because you might not be able to get divorced,” she said, “marriage application forms should include a new warning for same-sex couples,”(Henderson, 2009). Today however, there is a glimmer of hope for this loophole to be fixed.

The government tabled legislation today to amend the Civil Marriage Act, which would allow foreign same-sex couples to divorce in Canada. (Since most likely their home countries do not allow it). NDP representative Jack Harris encourages this legislation. Harris expressed concerns about a clause that required both spouses to reside in a jurisdiction that doesn’t recognize that they are married. According to National Post reporter Tobi Cohen, Harris said, “When heterosexuals seek a divorce, only one applicant must reside in the jurisdiction in which they are seeing the dissolution… Obviously, we need to study this in some detail,” (Cohen, 2012).

There are many controversies with the lesbian couple and the story had made several international headlines. Especially since when same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada it was often advertised to foreigners that it was the place to be to say your “I dos.”

Same-sex cake toppers

According to CTV reporter Sonja Puzic “Egale Canada, a human rights organization advocating equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, called the apparent flip-flop ‘a direct insult to gays and lesbians both in Canada and abroad’,” (Puzic, 2012).

As someone who has read the story and followed it from day 1, I am shocked to find that only today are considerations being made to change the law for these couples. Although a couple is able to get married, they should be able to get divorced! What I find most surprising is that as North American’s living in the 21 century I find that we often pride ourselves on equality, yet the law seems so out-dated. Today, what we see is more emphasis on living and loving whoever you want, but our legal system does not reflect that.

Everyone should have the right to get married, and divorced. Whether they want to or not, it should be an option they can choose if it's an option for the rest of the population. 

References

CBC News (2012, September 25). Gay U.S. couples can’t get divorces for Canadian marriages. Retrieved February 17, 2012, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/09/25/bc-gay-couples-divorce-canada-marriage.html

Cohen, T. (2012, February 17). Ottawa tables legislation to ensure foreign gay marriages recognized. National Post. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/17/ottawa-tables-legislation-to-ensure-foreign-gay-marriages-recognized/

Sonja, P. (2012, January 12). Ottawa to explore same-sex divorce options. CTV News. Retrieved from http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20120112/harper-same-sex-marriage-debate-questions-120112/

Google.com celebrates diversity on Valentine's Day 2012

On Valentine's Day I went onto google and stumbled upon this adorable video. A little boy was trying to win a little girls heart. He tried the typical flowers and chocolate, but what ended up working for him was being himself! I thought it was a great message that could be shown all over the country, and world. At the end of the video they showed a number of different couples, diverse in nature of course, pictured here:

If you'd like to see the full video for yourself, click here!

Post #4- Beyond Masculine & Feminine Roles

Link to article: Boy Meets Girl

Boy Meets Girl
By: Rani Sheen

For this post I’d like to first mention how I stumbled upon the subject I will be discussing. I am not one to read magazines religiously, but the other day I was stuck in a waiting room without my BlackBerry, and the only other form of literature were pamphlets about various illnesses. It was there that I grabbed the only magazine available in the room. It was Toronto’s February 2012 issue of Fashion Magazine. It is also where I stumbled upon this…

What do you think of when you see this model? Do the words beautiful, graceful or perhaps, feminine come up? That’s what came to mind for me. But wait, you may want to hear the whole story.

I skimmed through the articles, advertisements and photographs until I saw another image that caught me off guard...

I flicked back to the cover, then back to this image, and still went back and forth about four more times before I realized they were the same person. I proceeded to read the article that followed. “He’s no lady. Boy wonder Andrej Pejic brings his dry wit and supermodel moves to the top Canadian designs for spring." It was true; this beautiful, yet feminine, women's wear model on the cover was in fact a man. It made me reconsider what sexuality meant within our society.

Today in my Communicating Diversity class we discussed once again how gender is socially constructed. However, this time we also discussed how in today’s society it is a possibility that even sex can be socially constructed. We discussed inventions of new languages and terms used to describe sexualities, and we discussed how developments such as sex changes, and sexual enhancements are socially constructed and reconstructed. In a lecture on February 10, 2012, to a COMM 372OU class, Dr. Pierce said that we “cannot look at it like that anymore because it has changed overtime.”

It’s true. Sexuality is a complex and controversial topic. Brenda Allen described sexuality as “the social expression of social relations to and social reference to bodily desire or desires, real or imagined, by or for others or for oneself, together with the related bodily states and experiences… Others can be of the same or opposite sex, or even occasionally of indeterminate gender” (p. 118). Not only does she point out that it achieves to capture the complexities of sexuality, but it describes sexuality as social.

According to Allen, “sexuality is a primary, primal aspect of human identity,” (p. 135). She claimed that throughout history, “constructions of sexuality reflect changing attitudes related to reproduction, pleasure, and hetero- versus homosexuality. Currently, ideologies of heteronormativity infuse dominant institutions of society, as glbt (gay lesbian bisexual and transgender) groups and their advocates seek equality,” (p. 135). For as long as I could remember, Fashion Magazine had always presented females on their cover. The fact that now a man had been presented in this way made me feel that society’s construction of sex may be beginning to reflect a changing attitude towards a new view of the term.

I believe Pejic plays an important role in our society right now. This is because he wasn’t considered to fit “neatly into their menswear or womenswear divisions,” (Sheen, 2012). It was this misplacement that continues to increases public awareness on differences in sexuality. It makes it possible to bridge these divides and help us to understand as well as continue to encourage parents to “encourage their children to contradict gender stereotypes,” (Sheen, 2012). It is a fact that society today is rich in diversity, and Pejic is in a position where these diverse individuals who also do not neatly fit into certain divisions can relate to. His flourishing career and confidence can provide as inspiration to others who do not neatly fit, the way he does.

Why discuss sexuality? Well, according to Allen, “sexuality matters because it is an important aspect of everyone’s identity and experiences” (p.120). As I read the article, it was clear Pejic was fed up with questions regarding his sexuality; however, he said if he’s asked, he’ll answer.

Here are some more gorgeous photos of model Andrej Pejic

References

Allen, B. J, (2004) Difference matters: communicating social identity. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

Sheen, R. (2012, January 3). Boy Meets Girl. Fashion Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.fashionmagazine.com/blogs/fashion/2012/01/03/andrej-pejic/

(T. Pierce, COMM 372OU, February 10, 2012).

I am a cultural gatekeeper

In our class this week we read an article titled "Advertising Whiteness" by Angela Ka Ying Mak.

The article examined how images in ads can shape social values. Something that resonated with me from this article was how Mak said it is our duty (since I am a communication student) to educate consumers on how to become more visually literate.

“Visual literacy, therefore, must be taught in journalism and communication schools because the students are the ‘cultural gatekeepers’ in the future. If they do not have visual intelligence in looking at visual images, all of us would be controlled by the manipulative advertising messages from the large corporations.”

Not only can ads shape social values, but it can shape our self image."By knowing one's inner self better, it could unmask the beauty illusion and refocus the consumer's needs in other meaningful ways."

What I would like to take from this is to continue to do my best in order to play my part as a cultural gatekeeper!

Post #3- Masculinities & femininities

Link to article: Gay and Green presidential contender battles to break the mould in Finland

Gay and Green presidential contender battles to break the mould in Finland
By: Charlotta Hedman and Héctor Montes

For this blog post I have chosen to discuss an issue that I have been following for a few weeks now. This issue is the recent elections in Finland. Or, more suitably I should say, the current re-elections in Finland. I am both a citizen of Canada as well as Finland so I try to keep in touch. I am one of 230,000 Finn's who live abroad. The article I choose to discuss "Gay and Green presidential contender battles to break the mould in Finland" reveals my main point regarding gender, sexuality, masculinity and femininity.

Currently, Finland has a female president. (Not to mention it’s the first female president!) Tarja Halonen is part of the Social Democratic Party and was elected as president in 2000, and re-elected in 2006. I know not everyone is probably familiar with her but fans of Conan O'Brien’s late night show may recognize her since she`s been called his look-alike! (Not to mention they are friends!)  Over the past couple weeks Finland has been looking for a new president. However, as elections closed last week, no one was officially elected because there was not enough of a majority vote for the candidates.

My issue with this article is that I feel I was hearing about traits that seemed unimportant in politics. One of the two remaining candidates, Pekka Haavisto`s sexuality was labelled more prominently in the article rather than his political standpoint.

Brenda Allen describes gender and sex as terms used interchangeably, yet are still related to our identity.  For the past 30 years Finland has elected the social democratic party, and this candidate is a member of the green party. I am left wondering if this interchange of revealing his sexuality so outwardly is a tactic of theirs to cover his political stance, or to gain more media coverage. “Understanding how sex and gender differ is important for thinking about the social construction of identity and its consequences” (p. 40).

We are born with our sex, and our society assigns our gender. According to Allen’s source “gender classifications are based on a web of socially constructed meanings that differentiate humans on the basis of perceived physical, social, and psychological characteristics “(p. 40). Allen also mentioned that within the North American society, there are both male dominated jobs as well as female dominated jobs. What sex do you picture as a nurse? How about an engineer? Our society, like gender, has constructed these meanings. When we unknowingly contribute to them by picturing certain individuals in these roles we are only further perpetuating these locked in categories. Finland seems to have managed to break through their cycle with a female president. To me, Haavisto’s sexuality shouldn’t matter just as Halonen’s sex didn’t hold her back. Although males still have similar workplace dominance to that of North America’s, our society can look to countries like Finland and look to be more open.

Allen continues to express that gender is something we do instead of have. Haavisto is an openly gay politician living in a partnership with a man from Ecuador, Antonio Flores, a hairdresser in Finland`s capital. What I found really interesting in this article was the comment made that “Antonio would be an excellent first lady.” This again, perpetuates the rigid stereotype that hairdressers are a feminine job.

I love Finland, as you can probably tell.
I wanted to close with an interesting quote I read in this article from another citizen. “If you can’t say ‘my president can be gay’ it means the time is right for it” (Hedman and Montes, 2012).

References

Allen, B. J, (2004) Difference matters: communicating social identity. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

Hedman, C., Montes, H. (2012, February 3). Gay and Green presidential contender battles to break the mould in Finland. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/03/finnish-election-pekka-haavisto?newsfeed=true