Category: Read

Lipstick calls attention to your mouth. It tells a room to read your lips. Yet most women and femme-leaning people I’ve spoken to say wearing it isn’t at all about attracting a mate. They say it’s about visibility or self-expression. They say it gives them joy. To wear lipstick is to be shamelessly, extravagantly, playfully,… Continue reading Why Wearing Lipstick Is a Small Act of Joyful Resistance

“Television has become a better place for women. Comedies like Broad City and Parks and Recreation have made space for representations of women that don’t fit into the traditional sitcom stereotype of the long-suffering wife and mother or single gal in search of a man. But when it comes to genre-bending stories with complex, metaphysical… Continue reading Why I loved Russian Doll

“I’d been made to understand, from a young age, the importance of being taken seriously in professional situations. I was raised by a single mother who worked mostly as a secretary. To prepare for my future, I did typing drills and collated files when I was barely out of junior high school. Handy with a… Continue reading The Perils of Professional Dress

I recently appeared on CBC Ideas to discuss my essay Fat Shaming Shouldn’t be Part of our New Normal which I published last year in the Walrus. I found it surprisingly challenging to explore my own experiences this way, radio interviews being so much more intimate and spontaneous than even the most personal writing. It’s… Continue reading Fat shaming, the pandemic, and a visit to CBC Ideas