As a news media publication, making space for historically neglected voices and issues is a vital component of reconciliation
For three years now, the Silhouette has been dedicating nearly half of our print issues to covering stories about and the voices of communities that have been historically and continually marginalized.
Our Love is Love issue, which runs in June, is dedicated to covering people of and issues facing the 2SLGBTQIA+ community at McMaster and in Hamilton. Vision, which runs in March, is dedicated to highlighting the stories and voices of Black students and faculty at McMaster.
This issue, Education and Reconciliation, not only gives platform to the voices of Indigenous students, faculty and community members, but specifically strives to highlight stories and discussion about reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and the dark history of the land we occupy.
For those that do not understand or may question the importance of these issues, especially this one, allow me to spell it out for you in the simplest of terms. Despite the appalling history that looms behind us and the resulting systemic issues that continue to face Indigenous people today, the voices of Indigenous people and the serious issues that have and continue to affect them have been sorely underrepresented by the news media industry.
The voices of Indigenous people and the serious issues that have and continue to affect them have been sorely underrepresented by the news media industry.
One way by which we can do our part as a media publication in working towards reconciliation is by making a concerted effort to platform what has historically been neglected. But I must also make clear that our special issues are not the only time for these topics to be platformed and written about.
On the contrary, working towards reconciliation as a news media publication means reporting on these issues whenever they are pertinent. Nonetheless, we believe specifically dedicating space to talk about and report on reconciliation and what still needs to be done on campus and in our community is also important considering this history of neglect by news media.
We believe specifically dedicating space to talk about and report on reconciliation and what still needs to be done on campus and in our community is also important considering this history of neglect by news media.
When curating our first iteration of this issue three years ago, the Silhouette collaborated closely with the then Indigenous Studies Program. In curating this year’s iteration of the issue, we collaborated with the now Indigenous Studies Department, as well as a many Indigenous student groups at McMaster. I would like to thank both the department and these student groups for working with us over the summer and early fall to support us in doing our part in reconciliation.
As this year’s issue hits the stands just ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I hope that along with other initiatives on campus , the content of this issue will serve to be a cause for reflection and contemplation on the part of you, our readership.
C/O Ainsley Thurgood
A discussion on the underrepresentation and stereotyping of Black women in the media
When I was little, there was rarely any diversity in the music I listened to or the shows I watched. Most of the media I consumed highlighted White women such as Hannah Montana and Zoey 101.
Although I may have been partly to blame for what I chose to watch, the music and television industries were to blame as well. Later on, I remember how much I loved shows like “That’s So Raven” and it wasn’t until I reflected that I absorbed the lack of diversity in these industries, especially when I was a young child.
Although today we have many A-List Black female artists like Beyonce, Rihanna, SZA, Willow Smith and more, it's still a prominent issue. Black female artists do not receive the same recognition as White female artists.
Even employment in these industries is an issue, as there are more White individuals working in the industry than Black.
“We are supposed to accept what we are given because to be Black in this industry is thought to be even more of a privilege for us than for white artists,” stated VV Brown, a British indie pop singer-songwriter.
The lack of diversity and inclusion when it comes to Black females in the music and television industries runs deep. Often, the music industry won’t even accept more than one Black female artist at “the top,” pitting women against one another and creating competitiveness among fans as well.
Moreover, it can be seen as a societal issue, since these companies predominantly advertise with images of White females. This can make Black female artists feel left out and the lack of advertisment can impact their popularity. For example, it wasn’t until 2018 that a Black woman, Beyonce, headlined Coachella for the first time.
These societal issues can lead to the prolonging of stereotypes about Black females.
I myself have heard artists such as Nicki Minaj, Beyonce and Rihanna speak upon the struggles they face being Black women in the industry.
Nicki Minaj specifically, has spoken about constantly having to defend her image and how it is important for women like her to not become timid or confined in what society believes is right. In her messaging to her fans, she tells them to actually embrace the stereotype. She encourages them to be loud, confident and bold.
It is important in helping fight stereotypes and underrepresentation to see Black women such as Nicki Minaj and Beyonce in positions of leadership. However, there is still a lot of work to be done, especially in the music and television industries, to undo the damage caused by past underrepresentation and stereotyping and foster true inclusivity.
The Women’s Adventure Film Tour first premiered to a sold-out crowd in Sydney, Australia in May 2017. Since then, the film tour has left its home country and toured across Asia, Europe and North America. This spring, it is coming to Eastern Canada with a stop at Hamilton’s historic Playhouse Cinema on March 21.
The tour celebrates the extraordinary adventures of women by putting on a selection of short films. It is the result of a partnership between Australian company Adventure Film Tours and women-centred outdoors community She Went Wild. The Hamilton screening is open to all and will be two hours long with a short intermission. There will be also be raffle and door prizes offered.
Eastern Canada tour organizer, Benoit Brunet-Poirier got involved with the tour when he met Adventure Film Tours owner Toby Ryston-Pratt on a trip to Australia last year. At the time, Ryston-Pratt had been thinking about expanding to Canada. Brunet-Poirier discussed the opportunity with his partner Jamie Stewart and the two decided to take on the challenge of bringing the film tour home.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9HXWDFs4WM[/embedyt]
Adventure is important for the couple, who met while rock-climbing. The tour also combines their respective industries as Brunet-Poirier works in the entertainment industry and Stewart works for an outdoors retailer.
By showing women-centred films, the tour is helping break down barriers in the outdoors industry. Brunet-Poirier noted that women are historically thought of as individuals to be protected and this series of short films challenges that notion.
“So I really like the idea of having a woman-focused film tour just because… although women are starting to be represented more in adventure stores and in the media and in film, I do think that there still is a misrepresentation or underrepresentation of women. And so this film tour is just putting… the spotlight on women,” Stewart said.
The couple did their first screening for the film tour in Ottawa last fall. They are taking the feedback from that event on the road by increasing the number of films in order to show a few shorter ones and playing well-received flicks.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DE3F336tVQ[/embedyt]
One such film, titled Finding the Line, follows professional skiers and sisters Anna and Nat Segal across Canada, France and the United States. While the film’s humour and thrilling 80 degree slopes make it an exciting watch, it is one of Stewart’s personal favourites because of its narratives of overcoming fear and sisterly bonding. It is these narratives that Stewart and Brunet-Poirier feel will resonate with audiences.
“We let go of some films that were focused on physical achievement to give room to films that are focused on the psychological or social achievement of other women. So there are films about BASE jumping and extreme sports, but there are also films that are more accessible,” said Brunet-Poirier.
In this way, the films should provide something that appeals to everyone, regardless of activity level or interest in extreme sports. The couple hopes that the pictures inspire audiences of all ages to attempt new things or take on a challenge that frightens them.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcWXn_Ydxuc[/embedyt]
Stewart and Brunet-Poirier also focused on ensuring that the films showcases diversity. From a film about an older, blind woman learning to swim for the first time to another about the challenges a lesbian couple faces in a mountain biking community when they open a pizza shop, the films capture a range of identities.
The films were selected from Adventure Films Tours’ global database. While the couple chose some films based in North America in order to be more local, their priority on diversity led them to select films from around the world.
“I am a Chinese woman here in Canada and… we really wanted to showcase diversity and acceptance of everyone… [T]hat's the root of our cause. [We] really try to reach as many people as we can and showing representation in adventure sports of all types of people,” said Stewart.
By centring the diversity of women, Women’s Adventure Film Tour pushes back against the perception of the outdoors community as male-dominated or predominantly white. The films aim to be a comprehensive show of the physical and mental strength of women.
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