What does solidarity mean? This is a question I’ve been grappling with since the pandemic started. It might be a strange topic to be thinking about, given that a lot of people are concerned with public health and vaccines, but I think their questions and mine are related. Think about it this way: aren’t the lockdown measures a symbol of solidarity? By complying with the stay-at-home orders, we’re demonstrating solidarity with the sick and vulnerable, friends and colleagues, our family, and even … [Read more...]
Thoughts on attentive listening in a masked, post-pandemic public
"When are things going to get back to normal?" is a question I hear often. Others point out that "normal" will be drastically different. On April 27, Ontario released A Framework for Reopening Our Province. The plan emphasizes the slow and the incremental. I imagine what changes I will encounter in the future: Will a server take my temperature before I enter a restaurant? At the movie theater, will there be several empty seats separating me (and the popcorn bucket) from my friends? Will I wear a … [Read more...]
Health Canada posts draft regulations regulating reimbursement in surrogacy and gamete donation
Last month Health Canada released draft language specifying what constitutes a legitimate and legal reimbursement for expenses incurred during gamete provision or surrogacy. Section 12 of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act states that reimbursements must be made "in accordance with the regulations" which have not existed (until now). The lack of regulation has created confusion and wariness about the legality of reimbursing expenses in surrogacy or gamete donation. Indeed, the only criminal … [Read more...]
Vulnerability, trauma, and the university
I came across Frank Furedi's March 8 article "The Therapeutic University" via the Hannah Arendt Center's weekly newsletter. In this article, Furedi reflects on the increasing medicalization of trauma in university contexts. Furedi's article is wide-reaching and provocative. Although I cannot take up all of his points, I would like to comment on a few ways in which feminist relational theory is relevant to his discussion, especially with respect to vulnerability. The therapeutic turn in … [Read more...]