Dear Younger Me, It All Gets Better
Written by: Sylvia Kathirkamanathan As a woman of colour, I continue to learn more about myself and grow every single day. That being said, I would like to say that my experiences have opened my eyes to things I wish I was told or learned when I was younger, so here are some things I wish…
Too Brown to Handle
Written by: Sylvia Kathirkamanathan Beauty standards are constantly evolving with the times but one thing remains true; they have never incorporated the ethnic traits or tones of women of colour. This fact impacts women of colour immensely regardless of age. Growing up, I got the most comments on two things; my hair and my skin…
A Conversation With Rita Wong
Written by: Yiyi He Rita Wong is an Associate Professor in Critical and Cultural Studies at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She investigates the relationships between contemporary poetics, water justice, ecology, and decolonization. https://www.connect.ecuad.ca/people/profile/14259 Rita Wong: RW Yiyi He: YH YH: 1. In undercurrent, there are many allusions to Taoism, which I think have not been paid enough attention…
To Every Past Version of Myself
Written by: Dalyah Schiarizza To every past version of myself, You’ve always been beautiful. Beautiful when you’ve cried over your hair, your nose, your height, your stomach. You’ve always treated yourself too harshly. Too harsh about school, the future, your decisions. You’ve always been too accepting. Too accepting of others’ actions, of adult responsibilities, all the…
A Good Wife- Conclusion
Written by: Niroshini Mather To wrap up the first month of QWOCC’s book club, I thought I would share a few of my own thoughts on “A Good Wife” by Samra Zafar & Meg Masters. What do you think motivated the author to share her story? I believe there could be many reasons behind the…
The Curly Hair Dilemma
Written by: Serena Sengupta I have a love-hate relationship with my hair. Growing up, I envied the long, sleek, straight hair I saw on the television. No singular pieces of hair emerging from their part line, no frizzy ends. Their hair didn’t stand up on edge or have a mind and personality of its own.…
Romanticism of the Black Woman
Written by: Tyonna Ashby The main character, the love interest, was always the blonde haired, fair skinned, blue eyed girl. So growing up I associated that with love and beauty. As someone who never fit that bill I thought I’d be alone forever, growing up in small towns didn’t help. I found even when I…
Red Flags & Green Lights
Written by: Dalyah Schiarizza Navigating dating and romantic relationships has not been easy for me growing up. Throughout middle school and high school, I didn’t have many boyfriends or talking stages, so this is not my area of sheer expertise. I often thought that the boys in my grade never liked me because I was…
The Factors Impacting My Mental Health Last Semester
Written by: Anonymous The 2021 fall semester was my very first experience at university. As a first year student, the new university environment was an overwhelming but enjoyable experience. Throughout the semester, there were most definitely fluctuations with my mental health, and understanding these fluctuations early in the semester allowed me to adjust and develop…
Love
Written by: Shayla Joshi Love. I believe love is the greatest thing we have. It knows no boundaries, no barriers, no rules. Love is what holds us all together. I think there’s a misconception that love is just romantic. The idea that love is something exclusive alluding to only a figment of “the one” is…
A Good Wife- Introduction
Written by: Niroshini Mather Welcome to the QWOCC Book Club! Each month we will be sharing a book related to our monthly themes that shares stories about or written by women of color. Historically, women’s book clubs were more than just a gathering of friends to share opinions on favorite characters or plot twists. Rather,…
A Double-Edged Sword: My Mental Health
Written by: Mehak Narula Being a woman of colour already has many challenges, and mental health is one of them. Coming from an Indian immigrant household, mental health is something that isn’t talked about at all. The suppression of this conversation made me feel very confused with how to tackle my mental health, to the…
My Superpower & My Kryptonite – Reflecting on Being a Woman of Color
Written by: Sylvia Kathirkamanathan My views on being a woman of colour have fluctuated my entire life, finally plateauing in recent years as this source of immense pride and appreciation. It is a slice of my identity that has always been undeniably mine and opened the gates for me to explore other aspects of my…
Are You Brown Enough?
Written by: Aliya Kermali Being a woman of colour, I’ve found myself stuck in the middle of this impossible spectrum more times than I can count. Apparently, there’s an unachievable standard we need to live up to and maintain, that I just never knew about. We’re just never good enough. Growing up in a diverse…
The Resiliency of Being a Black Woman
Written by: Tyonna Ashby Strong, proud, resilient, courageous. Black women struggle and push through adversity every single day. It’s what makes us strong. Having to achieve more than what others think is possible to stay on top and pushing ourselves past the point of exhaustion is something that we live with every day. What do…
White-Tinted Glasses
Written by: Dalyah Schiarizza I’ve only begun reflecting on what it means to be a woman of colour. For most of my life, it hardly even crossed my mind. I had an ignorance that protected me for so long until I came to a point in my life where that protection vanished. I find that…
Today
Written by: Rana Salman Like many women of colour, I spent a lot of my adolescence feeling isolated. I grew up in a predominantly white area where I was asked countless probably-innocent questions about my skin, my hair, and my culture. For most of my youth, I was among the few people of colour in…
Allyship: It Begins With Us
Written by: Serena Sengupta A quick google search returns the definition of an ally as “being a person or organization that cooperates with or helps another in a particular activity”. What does this mean? Why is it important? Being an ally isn’t easy; it requires constant attention and awareness of the situations we are in.…
Am I Doing Enough As An Ally?
Written by: Sylvia Kathirkamanathan The term ally is easily thrown around in today’s society, but is it being executed to its best potential? What separates a good ally from a performative ally in today’s world? As a South Asian woman of colour, I find myself reflecting on what I do in my daily life to…
What’s In a Name
Written by: Jade Courchesne “F**k, I’m in a group with international students.” Let’s unpack this sentence. Let’s talk about how someone I used to know would look at a list of names for a group project and assume that the outcome would be detrimental to their grade; that they would be pulling all the weight;…
Being a Real Ally
Written by: Rana Salman Allyship is a powerful and beneficial trait that we often hear a lot about, but what does that really look like? Social media posts are probably what many think of when considering what allyship means in 2021. They think posting black squares to their timelines, retweeting statistics and reposting articles to…
How to Become an Ally to Women of Colour
Written by: Sophia Wang Most definitely you have heard or seen the phrase “become an ally,” but what does this really mean, and how can this be achieved? There are many ways to become an ally, including being an ally to people of colour, an ally with the LGBTQ community, or an ally for women’s…
Understanding the Difference Between Performative Activism and Genuine Allyship
Written by: Mehak Narula In the world of social media, it is becoming increasingly hard to connect to the social issues surrounding us. Thus, the distinction between performative and genuine allyship tends to be blurred. Being able to understand the difference of when allyship is performative or genuine is extremely important for being an ally.…
Being an Ally is Hot
Written by: Abigail Mathews Being an ally is hot. An ally uses their power to stand up for a person or group that is facing discrimination or injustice, An ally understands that educating themselves is entirely up to them, An ally uses the benefits of their privilege to support those lacking it, An ally is…
Various Forms of Discrimination & the Within Group Allyship We Must Cultivate
Written by: Shayla Joshi I often find myself questioning my identity as a woman of colour, and when this internal dialogue arises, I find myself validating my identity by analyzing my experiences. Have I even been racially discriminated against? Well, before I even start with that I must ask: what is discrimination? Racial discrimination can…
Humans of Queen’s
a QWOCC x QBFA collab QWOCC is so excited to have collaborated with Queen’s Black Fashion Association (QBFA) on the Humans of Queen’s photo series to explore the ways in which women use fashion to express their identity. Founded in May 2021, QBFA is a rapidly growing club on campus that facilitates an inclusive, safe…
Book Review: Ecocriticism and Ecologism
Written by: Yiyi He Ecocriticism and Ecologism by Chinese ecocritic Wang Nuo constructs a theory of ecocriticism with uniquely Chinese characteristics, comprehensively discussing ecologism as one of the foundations of ecocritical theory and analyzing and responding to more than one hundred of the most controversial and mystifying issues[1] in the field of ecocriticism and ecological…
“Never Have I Ever” Experienced Representation
Written by: Serena Sengupta Growing up, I longed to see someone like me in the media. All my friends in elementary school had their idols – Hillary Duff, Vanessa Hudgens, Taylor Swift. Turning on the television, many of them could easily find a protagonist on any show that they immediately could resonate with; one that…
Sapphire
Written by: Dalyah Schiarizza So sassy, Sapphire. Quick-witted tongue. Sharp mind. Bold with an attitude. So sassy, Sapphire. When I was told about the prompt for this month, I was immediately reminded of this common stereotype for Black women that has snuck its way into the media. I also greatly suspect it won’t be leaving…
Who Does This Benefit?
Written by: Ana Storer Social media activism has been used in so many ways to help amplify voices, educate people, and make meaningful change. From the #MeToo movement to amplifying voices about climate injustice or coordinating protests for Black Lives Matter, many movements have been rooted in social media. There is no doubt that social…
Am I Brown Enough?
Written By: Niroshini Mather In most first-generation Canadian communities, there is an unspoken agreement on how one should navigate their dual identities. The story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears offers the perfect analogy for this continuous battle of identities; don’t be too Canadian and, in my own experience, don’t be too Tamil. We conduct…
Racial Erasure of the MENA Community
Written By: Mariam Ibrahim When my family first moved to Nova Scotia, I was suddenly asked to put myself into neat little boxes by the schools I went to through an annual sort of census. I was already confused about my racial and ethnic identity and being introduced to a limited list did not make…
Book Review
Cheng, Xiangzhan. Sheng-sheng Eco-aesthetics (Aesthetics of Creating Life) Analects, People’s Publisher, 2012. Written By: Yiyi He Chinese ecocritic and aesthetician Xiangzhan Cheng’s anthology, Sheng-sheng Eco-aesthetics Analects (2012) collects a decade’s worth of his Chinese academic essays. Cheng demonstrates an evolution throughout his research that covers the transition from literary aesthetics (文艺美学) to the construction of…
Not Just a “Dark Chapter”
Written by: Mariam Ibrahim TRIGGER WARNING: brief mention of genocide and residential schools; this article centers around racial gaslighting and systemic racism. Residential School Survivors Society Helpline: 1 800 721 0066 24 hour residential schools crisis Line: 1 866 925 4419 Residential Schools Resolution Health Program Resources: 1-877-477-0775 Blackline: 1(800) 604-5841 (also textable) Kids Help…
Model Minorities- A Backhanded Compliment
Written by: Abha Shah The term “Model Minority” applies to communities perceived as achieving a higher degree of socioeconomic success as compared to other minority groups. Communities that fall under such a label are often praised and looked up to, which as a result undermines the danger of assigning such titles. Aside from the fact…
FINA’S BAN ON SWIM CAPS FOR NATURAL BLACK HAIR
Written by: Shayla Joshi This upcoming week will mark the beginning of the Tokyo 2021 Olympics. Set to start on July 23 and end on August 8th, this year’s Olympics will be for summer sports including swimming. The governing body responsible for the rules and regulations surrounding competitive swimming is FINA: Fédération Internationale De Natation(1).…
White-Passing: Acknowledging Privilege and Reclaiming Identity
Written by: Ana Storer Navigating our identities is a quintessential part of both the human experience and personal growth. There can be different layers of complexity for people of mixed ethnicities. I can’t speak for others, but I know I go through life hyper-conscious that others are making assumptions or guesses about me and my…
Critical Race Theory
Written By: Niroshini Mather On June 16th, the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, signed a controversial bill officially banning the teaching of critical race theory in educational institutions, following in the steps of Florida. This legislative change is a frightening step backwards in the global movement towards racial equity, which reignited after the devastating and…
Black Women in Space, Time, and Place
Written by: Solana Pasqual Trigger Warning: Racism, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, Rape “We have still to recognize that being a woman is, in fact, not extractable from the context in which one is a woman—that is, race, class, time, and place.” [1] I was initially very hesitant to speak on the experiences of Black women…
QWOCC x LMF Queen’s: Introduction to Like Minded Females
Interviews Conducted by: Sydney Ko, Shayla Joshi, and Niroshini Mather Meet LMF’s Leaders Sonya Barlow Sonya is the founder of LMF Network, and is also a TEDxSpeaker, Podcast Host, Independent Diversity Consultant and soon-to-be published author. In 2020, she was named the winner of the Most Influential Women in Tech UK. Beenish Saeed Beenish is…
Let’s Start Dating With More Empathy
Written by: Sydney Ko In an ideal world, people can be with whoever they want. In an ideal world, we could stare at each other lovingly, sipping on our coffee while gazing into each other’s eyes; because you’re admiring everything that I portray, and I’m deeply fascinated with all things you have to say. But…
Appreciation or Fetishization?
Written by: Anonymous In my first year here at Queen’s I met a guy named Tyler. When Tyler and I first met we were exclusively class friends; you know, those friends you only talk to in lecture and don’t really go out of your way to hang out with outside of school. Second year came…
QWOCC: a Year in Review
Written by: Niroshini Mather, Sydney Ko, Shayla Joshi March 8th 2021, not only marks International Women’s Day but our first ever blog anniversary. QWOCC’s blog has been up and running officially for one whole year. To celebrate this milestone, our blog team collaborated to create this year in review- a timeline from when we launched…
From Then to Now: Opinion Piece (WOC In The Workplace)
Written by: Niroshini Mather Growing up I was always pragmatic about my dream career. One year I wanted to be a teacher like my aunt and the next, an accountant like my mother. The constant theme was choosing a career I knew to be achievable; a career I had seen others like me work and…
What Does Being a WOC Mean to You?
Written by: Niroshini Mather What does being a woman of colour mean to you? This is not only a loaded question, but one I cannot give a concrete answer to. The significance of being a woman of colour has changed so drastically over the course of my life and will continue to change as I…
What Does Being a WOC Mean to Me?
Written by: Shayla Joshi What does being a woman of colour mean to me? It’s a big question- a question of identity, a question of origin, a question of my sense of self. Being a woman of colour can mean so many things to so many different people, but its significance is more than just…
Missing: Women of Colour Educators
Written by: Niroshini Mather A teacher is often defined as a figure who helps students develop knowledge, virtues and morals. In primary education, they play an immeasurable role during a child’s most impressionable years. This persists in post-secondary education, where professors often act as mentors to bridge the intimidating jump into the workforce. In my 16…
QWOCC x VCFS: Beauty Standards for WOC
Written by: Shayla Joshi, in collaboration with the models QWOCC is so excited to have collaborated with VCFS to talk about the beauty standards that exist for women of colour. It is difficult to feel beautiful as a woman of colour when the standards set cater to a Eurocentric population. Though this can be an…
Let’s Normalize Aesthetic Surgeries
The “perfect” look isn’t natural so it is time to disclose these facts and reclaim our beauty Written by: Sydney Ko Beauty standards are perhaps some of the most bizarre concepts society has ever collectively agreed upon. We all somehow shook our head in disapproval when one’s lips are too thin, or when thighs are…
Why Diversity Just Isn’t Enough For The Beauty Industry
Written by: Niroshini Mather When Fenty Beauty first launched in 2017, it was seen to be revolutionary within the beauty industry as its inclusive line of up to 40 foundation and concealer shades was unheard of up until that point. For many people like me, it was inspiring to finally see our skin tone being…
Origin Story
Written by: Urooj Salar I am the girl from the mountains that hold my roots, the way my mother used to hold me in her arms. I am the girl split into sections by lines on a map drawn by strangers with ill intentions, dictating where one fraction of my identity begins and the other…
Decolonizing Beauty at Queen’s
Written by: Larissa Zhong It’s a curious incongruity to be Han Chinese (belonging to one of the biggest ethnic groups in the world) and to be acutely underrepresented, but it’s my reality. At Queen’s, more than ever before, I feel that my almond eyes and short nose are unwanted. Student government leaders, university service staff,…
What They Don’t Tell You About Exchange
Written by: Emily Reynolds On January 4th 2020, I embarked on one of the most ambitious journeys of my life thus far. Armed with two suitcases, my trusty backpack, and my brand new money belt, I flew across the Atlantic to Lyon, France, for my winter semester abroad. My exchange was one of the most…
Stolen by Smith- an Article
Written by: Niroshini Mather The instagram account @StolenbySmith has sparked a much needed introspection into the experiences of BIPOC students and staff at Queen’s University. The account was launched by Kelly Zou, a fourth year commerce student, in order to offer Queens students and alumni the opportunity to anonymously share their experiences of racism, homophobia…
How to Spark Change: the Distinction Between Equity and Equality
Written By: Shayla Joshi A distinction that is often overlooked is that of equity versus equality. Sure, in general terms, most people understand the definitions of these words, but what do they mean when executed? What do they signify as ideals? The distinction between equality and equity is paramount in addressing the systemic barriers rooted…
Colourism in the South Asian Community
Written By: Niroshini Mather Now more than ever, the daily struggles faced by the Black community are being brought forward in light of the recent murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of the police. As a result, many of us have begun a much needed introspection to determine how, inadavertently or…
Don’t be a Hero, be Clark Kent
How to actively practice anti-racism Written By: Sydney Ko My dad used to say to me, “don’t be a hero.” I was 13, and we were on our drive to school. Maybe it was because I was at the age where I thought the world revolved around me, but I was baffled by his statement.…
The Angry Black Woman
Written By: Danielle Pinder Like many mixed race individuals, growing up I struggled with my identity. In my mind, black was a bad word and I feared claiming it as my own. I wished to put as much distance between my black roots and my identity, hoping that the tie between the two would eventually snap.…
“Matters is the Minimum”
Written and Photographed By: Leah Biberdorf In the midst of one of the greatest health pandemics, the biggest civil rights movement ever recorded is happening. Not in some far off news story that gets broadcasted for ten minutes but right in our own countries, cities, and homes. The death of George Floyd has rightfully sparked a…
Resources: Ways You Can Help
Written By: Niroshini Mather DONATIONS: For the Victims Official George Floyd Memorial Fund – The Official George Floyd Memorial Fund I Run With Maud – I Run with Maud Justice for Breonna Taylor – Justice for Breonna Taylor For Protestors : https://bailfunds.github.io/ – A list of Community Bail Funds Organized by States & Cities Donating…
What is a Woman of Colour?
Written By: Shayla Joshi What is a Woman of Colour (WOC)? Who qualifies as a WOC? Questions paralleling these are observed as the focus of discussion within a variety of fields, ranging from academia to politics. A basic definition of a woman of colour would be: a female person of colour. Simple, right? Not necessarily—…
Meet Our Exec!
Yasmeen Choudhri: Co-President Yasmeen is a second year Life Sciences Specialization student at Queen’s. She was born and raised in Ottawa but has mixed Pakistani and Yemeni roots. Yasmeen is very passionate about peer support and representation for women of colour in STEM fields. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, and having impromptu dance…
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