I want to make something clear: I am one autistic¹ person. I have certain opinions about this show, but that does not mean they are the opinions of the “autistic community.” Rather, they are my opinions.

Love on the Spectrum (US) follows six single autistic adults: Dani, Abbey, James, Kaelynn, Subodh, and Steve. Each of these individuals has a different life story, and this variety illustrates how many diverse experiences there are on the autism spectrum. Throughout the course of the show, we get to learn about each of these people’s families, jobs, interests, and dating history, including how each of these things are impacted by their autism and/or other disabilities. The confessional-style interviews give us the ability to connect with the participants on a deeper level and are perhaps my favourite part of the show.

I had a great time watching Love on the Spectrum. For one, it’s not very often that autistic people see ourselves portrayed in romantic relationships in the media. TV often relies on a tired stereotype of autistic people as either asexual or unable to get a date. Some autistic people do fit into these boxes, but it definitely is not all of us. The representation of real, diverse autistic stories was almost enough to forget anything I disliked about the show. I saw my experiences of socializing, dating, and even everyday life portrayed in each of the stories. In one standout moment for me, Kaelynn, a 24-year-old autism therapist who lives with multiple disabilities, shows the way that she and her roommate have labelled each of their kitchen cupboards to show what was inside. I laughed as I paused the show and texted my former roommate, with whom I had done the exact same thing.

And I didn’t just relate to Kaelynn. Abbey, a 23-year-old from Los Angeles who runs an online hat shop, spent many of her interviews (and dates!) talking about her love for The Lion King and Disney princesses. As a 22-year-old who sometimes feels ashamed about my intense interest in the Descendants series due to online shaming of so-called “Disney adults,” it was refreshing to see another person my age who had a passion for
kids’ media.

Of course, the dates the participants go on are the show’s main focus. The participants are matched up with a person that shares some things in common with them, and they spend their dates doing things that match their unique interests. Abbey and David, who both love lions, spend their first date at the zoo looking at lions together, and Dani and Adan are matched over their love of animation. As an autistic person with an autistic partner whom I met online through one of our shared special interests, it was cool to see these people forgoing traditional dates for a special autistic date.

That being said, the way that the showrunners portray the autistic participants is not ideal. Much of the show is focused on the opinions of the caregivers of the autistic participants regarding the lives of the participants and their dating choices. While I think it is interesting to hear about the lives of the participants in the show, I’d rather hear from the participants themselves than from the parents. 

I felt particularly uncomfortable watching a scene where Abbey’s mom cried while remembering how she felt when Abbey was first diagnosed with autism – something that felt particularly out of place in a show that generally celebrates autism. The editing is also infantilizing at times – mainly the bouncy, playful scores that play over dates between two grown adults. This infantilization has translated to fan communities as well. For example, an “annoyed James compilation” that stitches together James in moments of distress for entertainment has over 60,000 views on YouTube. An infantilization that, in this case, borders on making fun of
James’s disability.

Given the considerable presence of a wide array of sexual orientations and gender identities among autistic people, it is surprising that there are no queer couples on  Love on the Spectrum (US). One of my favourite parts of the Australian version was watching Chloe and Teo discuss their queer identities and go on dates with people of different genders. I hope that if the US version is renewed for a second season, we will have the opportunity to see some queer folks. The Australian version also shows us two long-term couples: Jimmy and Sharnae, who get married in the second season, and Thomas and Ruth, who get engaged in the first season. It was refreshing to see autistic couples that had stayed together and were building their lives together – which was missing in the American version – especially as an autistic person in a long-term relationship. One bonus of Love on the Spectrum (US), however, is that the “autism expert” and dating coach, Jennifer Cook, is actually on the spectrum herself. The same cannot be said about the Australian version.

Overall, what I loved about Love on the Spectrum was the people – not the show. Seeing my own experiences reflected in participants was a breath of fresh air, and even the ones I didn’t necessarily relate to were likeable and fun. But the show is not without its faults.

So, should you watch Love on the Spectrum? Yes, but not without a critical eye. The show is a great chance to watch autistic people fall in love, but don’t expect anything more profound than your standard reality TV show.

¹ When speaking about the autistic community in this article, I have used identity-first language (“autistic person” rather than “person with autism”). While this contradicts the language often used in professional and clinical contexts, it corresponds with the preference of much of the autistic community, including myself. For more information on identity-first language, check out these pages from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network.

The post Why I (Mostly) Loved ‘Love on the Spectrum (US)’ appeared first on The McGill Daily.

While science education was wildly popular on YouTube, TikTok’s algorithm and structure has changed the way users are exposed to content. Users don’t necessarily have to seek out science content as they might on YouTube, since the content shows up directly on their “For You” pages. TikTok’s three-minute limit also forces users to explain concepts concisely, which may be particularly useful in reaching more people.

TikTok demystifies many aspects of science for those using the app who may not deal with science in their regular life, blending education with entertainment. This use of the platform has been crucial in eliminating some access barriers to science education. 

The benefits of science and technology education on TikTok

TikTok science has a significantly larger audience and a further reach than more traditional forms of science education – scientific research and journal articles are often hidden behind paywalls for non-academics who do not have access through an institution, and seeking further science education often comes with a price tag.  Anyone with a smartphone or computer can use TikTok, though it’s important to remember that not everyone has access to this technology. The barrier of entry knowledge-wise is also fairly low. The majority of science videos on TikTok do not require prior knowledge of the subject. They often discuss topics in a straightforward way, using plain language and assuming that they are not speaking to experts. 

There are a few different kinds of science videos on TikTok. Some videos involve creators explaining a scientific concept or breaking down the findings of a new study, such as when Abbie Richards published a TikTok explaining a recent study that she was a part of that found a link between seeking out transphobic content on TikTok and being recommended white supremacist content. Some TikTokers also do this in a more casual format – for example, AsapSCIENCE often posts videos of themselves doing popular TikTok dances with scientific facts on the screen – potentially to gain more views or make science content more fun to watch.

Other videos involve creators using the duet or stitch feature to debunk misinformation and harmful views in viral TikToks, especially around topics like contraception, autism, and the “no fap” movement. Creators also use the stitch feature (and the reply to comment feature) to answer questions about science topics.

All of these types of videos increase access to information about science and technology, and allow people who may not have access to academic materials (whether because of lack of student status, lack of prior knowledge, or financial reasons) to learn more about scientific topics that interest them and are related to current events.

Who gets to teach science and what do they get to teach?

That being said, not all science and technology creators are treated equally on TikTok. Many of the most popular creators are cisgender men, and almost all of them are white. 

This is not surprising. Time and time again, people of colour on TikTok, especially Black TikTokers, have reported having their content hidden, suppressed, and erased without explanation, to the point that many of them have chosen to leave TikTok altogether. Women and people of colour in the science community are also taken less seriously than Hank Green, who people consider an authority on all scientific subjects, even though he has encouraged people to consult other creators, who are often experts in their subject areas.

It should also be noted that the Creator Fund, which allows popular creators to make money on TikTok, is limited to the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. This  inherently privileges the perspectives of creators from these countries on the platform – additionally, this monetary barrier may prevent poorer creators in countries not included in the Creator Fund from making content. 

Some topics are also suppressed by TikTok, particularly those related to sex and drugs. In February 2021, Dr. Jennifer Lincoln, a gynecologist who makes TikTok videos, told the Daily that she had had videos taken down with no explanation. Suppression of these types of content limits the information that can be shared on TikTok. Especially considering the large percentage of youth users on the app, access to accurate scientific information on sexual health and drug use can potentially improve the health and wellbeing of viewers. 

These restrictions are not applied equally – for example, AsapSCIENCE can make videos about poppers and porn, even though other creators (typically those who are both less popular and more marginalized) are having videos taken down for containing similar subject matter. This limits who gets to be an authority on certain topics, and potentially prevents individuals from being able to act as experts on topics that directly impact them.

Conclusion

TikTok is a very important educational resource, allowing more users to discover accessible information on various scientific topics, and providing opportunities to ask questions and interact with experts who may otherwise be unreachable. However, like any media or educational material, we have to be critical about what we are consuming. Tiktok users need to be cognizant of the perspectives that are promoted on the app and ensure we don’t perpetuate the often misogynistic and racist algorithms on the platform. And please, don’t ask Hank Green to fact-check scientists of colour. 

People to check out

• Joel Bervell (@joelbervell): Medicine
• Dr. Casey Fiesler (@professorcasey): Information science, internet ethics, internet law
• Prof Kinnon (@prof.kinnon): Trans health
• @lesleypsyd: Psychology 
• Abbie Richard (@tofology): TikTok disinformation and extremism
• Robin Roscigno (@auteach): Autism, accessible education
• Kyne Santos (@onlinekyne): Math

The post Can Only White Men Talk About Science on TikTok? appeared first on The McGill Daily.

The list is divided into the following categories:

1. Resources for Students of Colour
2. Resources for LGBTQ+ Students
3. Food Security and Financial Aid
4. Support for Survivors of Sexual Violence
5. Health, Wellness, and Care
6. Resources for First-Generation and International Students

While care was taken to find the most recent information possible, some information provided here may not be up-to-date and events are subject to change depending on public health guidelines. For the most accurate information, please consult groups’ social media pages or contact them directly.

Resources for Students of Colour

For information on the Black Students Network and Indigenous Student Alliance, see pages 6-7.

Pan-Asian Collective (PAC)

The Pan-Asian Collective is a group that intends to uplift and encourage “meaningful engagement in Asian history and culture” at Montreal-area universities. They host a number of community events, including relaxed BIPOC gatherings, movie screenings, and potlucks, as well as a discussion series called Un(PAC)k.

They also operate a closed Facebook group for Asian-identifying folks, which you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/656651661411226

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/pacmcgill/ 

Email: panasiancollectivemontreal@gmail.com 

First Peoples’ House

The First Peoples’ House “attempts to provide a sense of community and a voice to Indigenous students who have left their home communities in order to pursue higher education.” They provide academic and cultural support to Indigenous students, including in-house tutoring support, soup and bannock lunches each Wednesday at noon, a drum circle, and the ability to meet with an elder in residence.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/6063708337/ 

Website: https://www.mcgill.ca/fph/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstpeopleshouse/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FPHMcGill 

Chez IBPOC-Tiohtià:ke/Montréal

Chez IBPOC is a Facebook group by and for “individuals who identify as Indigenous, Black, and/or people of colour EXCLUSIVELY and are seeking accommodation or housing to rent (short term or long term), rent out, buy, or sell, or looking for or sharing other information related to housing and shelter in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal.” 

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/303182606783952/

Resources for LGBTQ+ Students

Queer McGill (QM)

QM is a student-run service with drop-in office hours which offers resources including a queer library (English only, online library available on their website), safer-sex supplies, and gender-affirming products. QM also offers events focusing on queer students, including Rad Sex Month, games nights, and open mics. They also publish a zine featuring work from queer students. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QueerMcGill/

Website: queermcgill.org

Email: admin.qm@ssmu.ca

The Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE)

The UGE is a “trans-positive, anti-racist, feminist” organization that provides services to “any person who identifies with [their] anti-oppressive, feminist, and trans-positive principles, regardless of gender identity.” Its co-op offers safer sex supplies, gender-affirming products, and eco-friendly menstrual supplies on a pay-what-you-can (PWYC) basis. The UGE also co-runs an alternative library with Queer McGill, runs educational workshops and other programming, and has drop-in office hours (which are currently being held online).

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UGEMcGill/

Website: https://theuge.org/ 

Chez Queer Montreal

Chez Queer is a Facebook group “for all the queers and queer allies of Montreal to help queers find safe happy homes.” Visit this group to browse queer-friendly apartment listings, seek out roommates, or post your current place for a lease transfer.

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/chezqueer/ 

Gender Neutral Bathrooms

McGill has a number of gender-neutral washrooms across campus. 

You can view an index of washrooms here: https://www.mcgill.ca/equity/resources/gender-sexuality/gender-inclusive-washrooms

SSMU Gender and Sexuality Commissioner 

The SSMU Gender and Sexuality Commissioner can provide support to students facing issues due to their LGBTQ+ identity, including (but not limited to) being dead-named by university staff, homophobic or transphobic material in class documents (including syllabi), or facing barriers to accessing the Student Wellness Hub. 

To contact them, email gsc@ssmu.ca. 

Food Security and Financial Aid

Midnight Kitchen

Midnight Kitchen is “a non-profit, worker and volunteer-run collective […] dedicated to providing accessible food to as many people as possible.” Besides providing support to students and community members facing food insecurity, they provide free catering for events that align with their political mandate (under certain conditions), host educational workshops on different topics around food, and provide discretionary funding for certain projects.

Applications for their bi-weekly prepared meal program are currently closed, but students may email midnightkitchencollective@gmail.com to be added to the waitlist. More information is available here: https://midnightkitchen.org/meal-program. 

Students may also apply for a one-time emergency grocery gift card here: https://midnightkitchen.org/emergency-grocery-cards. 

Midnight Kitchen also provides information on services for people facing food insecurity here: https://midnightkitchen.org/new-index. 

Website: http://midnightkitchen.org  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midnightkitchencollective 

Email: midnightkitchencollective@gmail.com 

Montréal – Tio’tia:ke – Entraide – Mutual Aid

This Facebook group accepts mutual aid requests for things like food, delivery, legal help, housing, and more. 

Join the group and learn more here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1005041203222884.  

Support for Sexual Violence Survivors 

Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Student’s Society (SACOMSS)

SACOMSS provides support to survivors of sexual violence and their allies through “direct support, advocacy, and outreach.” The volunteer-run organization offers support groups (currently held online), an English phone service (Drop-In and Line or DIAL), and facilitates workshops and trainings around sexual violence. Volunteer training occurs in September/October – keep an eye on their Facebook page for more details.

They also have a page of resources for immediate survivors (those who have faced sexual violence in the last five days) which can be accessed here: https://www.sacomss.org/wp/resources-for-immediate-survivors/. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sacomss/

Website: https://www.sacomss.org/wp/

Email: main@sacomss.org

Phone/DIAL: 514-398-8500

Office for Sexual Violence Response Support and Education (OSVRSE)

OSVRSE is a service that “provides confidential, non-judgmental and non-directional support” within a survivor-centred, intersectional approach to members of the McGill community who have been impacted by sexual or gender-based violence. Survivors can access support services and short-term counselling, receive assistance with resource coordination (e.g. obtaining accommodations, accessing support services, and safety planning), and discuss reporting options. 

You can currently book a support session with OSVRSE here: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/ OfficeforSexualViolenceResponseSupportandEducation@McGill.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/ or via email. 

Website: https://www.mcgill.ca/osvrse/ 

Email: osvrse@mcgill.ca 

Health, Wellness, and Care

AIDS Community Care Montreal (ACCM)

ACCM is Montreal’s only English-language volunteer driven community “organization that provides support services and treatment information to people living with HIV/AIDS and/or hepatitis C.” The organization provides social and support services such as discussion groups (currently held via Zoom), 1-on-1 support, and practical assistance to people living with HIV and hepatitis C, such as information about treatment, symptoms, and medical coverage. They also run a number of educational programs to “decrease the transmission of HIV, hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections.” These programs include sexual health kiosks, workshops, and SextEd, a free anonymous texting helpline for youth seeking information about sex and dating. 

SextEd Phone Number: 514-700-4411

ACCM Phone Number: 514-527-0928

Website: https://accmontreal.org/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ACCMontreal/ 

Free and Inexpensive Menstrual Products

SSMU provides free pads and tampons to students in a number of campus buildings. You can see the map of locations here: https://ssmu.ca/resources/menstrual-hygiene-products/.

Students can also access Pay What You Can reusable pads and menstrual cups from the UGE’s co-op. More information is here: https://theuge.org/services/co-op/. 

Family Care

McGill Family Care provides resources to student parents and caregivers, including information on childcare, a map of family-friendly spaces on and around campus, and a list of policies that pertain to student parents and caregivers.

Website: https://www.mcgill.ca/familycare/ 

Montreal Queer Spoon Share

Montreal Queer Spoon Share is a Facebook group that “help[s] spoonies (people who are chronically ill or disabled, including people with brain-based illnesses, various impairments, assistive technology users, etc.) through mutual aid and support.”

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mtlqueerspoonshare 

Resources for 1st-Gen and International Students

International Student Services (ISS)

ISS provides services to international McGill students, including the buddy program for new students, workshops and webinars, and the iSTEP life prep program. They also have a number of resources for international students on topics like immigration, filing taxes, and document translation. 

Website: https://www.mcgill.ca/internationalstudents/ 

Service-specific contact information: https://www.mcgill.ca/internationalstudents/contact-us

First Generation Student Support

McGill Campus Life and Engagement (CL&E) and the Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) offer a number of resources for first-generation university students. One of their programs is 1st Up, a peer support group by and for first-generation university students.

They also published a guide for first-generation students in 2020, which you can access here: https://www.mcgill.ca/firstyear/files/firstyear/first_gen_guide_2020_0.pdf.  

Website: https://www.mcgill.ca/firstgeneration/  

1st Up Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/410525029814520/ 

Email: firstgeneration@mcgill.ca 

CEEC Map-real

McGill’s residence Community Engagement and Equity Committee (CEEC) has created a map of spaces in Montreal, including cultural and community centres, places of worship, and grocery stores, to help students find familiar spaces in Montreal. 

You can view the map here: 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1gqVtl9goeYvCpigbcsBc-5tF3hHPBIaO&fbclid=IwAR3Z_LiBiSBjL_W4SfgYoZlrZGuCwVQOpNa9sWHXPkTXkeBUHIeoXuuo1qM&ll=45.520002456481635%2C-73.66625385&z=11.

The post Resources in the McGill and Montreal Community appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Dan Harmon’s sitcom Community (2009-2015) centres on a study group at Greendale, a fictional community college in Colorado. The group includes seven core members: Jeff (Joel McHale), a former lawyer who returns to college when his degree is discovered to be fake; Britta (Gillian Jacobs), a psychology major and former activist; Troy (Donald Glover), a former high school football star; Pierce (Chevy Chase), an elderly millionaire; Annie (Alison Brie), an over-achieving medical administration student; Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), a mother of three hoping to start her own business; and Abed (Danny Pudi), a film major who is heavily coded as autistic. 

I immediately connected with Abed. This was a character that got me – I watched him dump his life story on Jeff before he even introduced himself in the pilot episode, and it was like seeing myself on television in the best and most confusing way. 

Though Abed is never explicitly labelled as autistic, the series often hints at this aspect of his identity. In the pilot, for instance, Jeff tells Abed, out of anger: “Yeah, well you have Asperger’s.” (Asperger’s is an outdated term for autism spectrum disorder without language delay). In the season 3 episode “Regional Holiday Music,” Abed says “On the spectrum? None of your business” during his “Christmas Infiltration” rap with Troy. Abed’s autism is generally accepted by Community’s fanbase; Dan Harmon even discovered that he was autistic himself while writing Abed’s character.

Just a note here: autism is a spectrum made up of many traits and characteristics that each autistic person embodies to different extents – here’s a pretty cool comic that explains this. Abed may be the perfect representation of autism for me, but that doesn’t mean he fulfils that role for every autistic person. 

Abed has a special interest in TV and film, and he attempts to understand the world through pop culture references. This resonates with me deeply as a person who understands others through the media I consume; I adopt much of the way I talk from my favourite books, TV shows, and YouTube videos. Abed speaks in movie quotes, uses movie marathons to connect with friends, and imagines himself as various film characters to problem-solve. 

Unlike in many depictions of autistic people, Abed’s friends accept and encourage his interests, instead of making fun of them. In season 1, Britta pays for Abed’s film class when his father refuses to, allowing him to pursue his aspiration of being a filmmaker. In the season 2 episode “Critical Film Studies,” Abed’s friends throw him a Pulp Fiction-themed birthday party. Abed even meets his girlfriend, Rachel, when she picks up on the rom-com-inspired “Two-Timer Date” scenario that Abed is pulling while she is working the coatroom at their school dance. 

Despite Abed’s in-depth knowledge of pop culture, the show doesn’t portray him as a savant – an autistic person who has “extraordinary” abilities in a specific category, a trope that is present in most portrayals of autism in the media, but that represents less than ten per cent of the autistic population. Abed loves making films, but he also struggles with his craft. He can build an impressively large blanket fort and memorize countless movie references, but he doesn’t know how to pay parking tickets, can’t tell his left from right without mouthing the Pledge of Allegiance, and can’t read an analog clock. He is multifaceted and imperfect, considered as neither a charity case, nor a superhuman. 

What sets Abed apart for me is the fact that his loved ones are patient with him when he misinterprets social situations and struggles to connect with others, while simultaneously holding him accountable when he messes up. When Abed fights with his girlfriend because he lies to her about wanting her to move in, she expresses her disappointment in him, but remains understanding of his difficulties with relationships. Abed’s friends give him pointers on sarcasm and teach him how to understand certain social cues, but they don’t excuse his manipulative behaviour as him “not knowing better.” 

While I love this character in so many ways, I am also upset by the show’s reluctance to confirm his diagnosis. In a media landscape with so few autistic characters, especially autistic characters of colour, Abed would have been meaningful representation. By skirting around his diagnosis, the writers seem to communicate that autism is a “bad thing,” rather than simply a neurotype that differs from the dominant one. Television is a space where autism can be spoken about openly, which makes it a tool to decrease the stigma around being autistic.

Nearly six years after the end of Community, I struggle to find an autistic character who is as accurately depicted, well-rounded, and as fun as Abed. As Autism Acceptance Month begins, it’s important to uplift the work of autistic individuals and advocate for meaningful representation in the media. Series like Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (in which autistic actress Kayla Cromer plays an autistic girl named Matilda) and films like A. S.imple D.ate (written by and starring autistic actress Rebecca Faith Quinn) are essential media. 

Seeing Abed Nadir on Community was a genuinely life-changing experience for me. For the first time, I felt truly seen by a character, and we can infer from Abed’s massive Twitter fanbase that many other people relate to him as well. Abed remains one of very few, well-written, autistic characters on television, but he can’t be the sole representation of autistic young adults, particularly when the traits and experiences of those on the spectrum vary so widely. Autistic people deserve meaningful representation that reflects the diversity of our lived experiences.

The post How Watching Abed Nadir Made Me Feel Seen appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Aries:

Sometimes things don’t quite go as planned, but this is YOUR season! Even the unexpected is in your favor, so trust the process and don’t overthink it. Life is like a twelve-tone composition: kind of confusing, but surprisingly pretty.

Taurus:

Somewhere out there, you have a coworker/friend who is very grateful for all of the time that you’ve spent together. Eat cupcakes with them. Also: I know that you’re putting off talking to that person. Just do it. (oh and you’re mom gay) 

Gemini:

You definitely keep things interesting. This week, spend some time reflecting on the impact that your actions can have on others. Hopefully that introspection will shed some light on your own problems, too — like why your Minecraft spawns always suck. There’s gotta be something fixable there, right?

Cancer:

Chaotic, competent, and creative – your energy is beyond appreciated this week. Trust your judgement, but don’t bite off more than you can chew. Speaking of which, treat yourself to a nice meal, if you can! And treat your coworkers with kindness. 

Leo:

We’re entirely convinced that you’re cooler than we’ll ever be. That’s poggers, bro. Aries season brings you support from all sides, so be sure to let your loved ones know you miss them. If you have any siblings, they might enjoy the occasional call. 

Virgo:

Your taste in media is impeccable, and everyone around you benefits from it. That said, please stop sending your friends Y/N TikToks. They love you, just not that much.

Libra:

You’re the funniest person in every room you walk into – we wish we could be you. Keep doing your thing and don’t change for anyone. That being said: when’s the last time you felt a genuine human connection? Maybe try a cat.

Scorpio:

It’s not easy to be accommodating while keeping your boundaries firm, but this week you’ve got it down. You’re great at what you do now, and change should excite you as much as it scares you. The only person still worrying about it is you!

Sagittarius:

We’re genuinely amazed at how powerful you are. Everything you do is incredible, and you emanate an awe-inspiring aura. We think your coworkers might want to be friends with you… Tell your cat hi from us.

Capricorn:

Aries season will bring you confidence and new opportunities to grow, both professionally and personally. You might feel unprepared, but trust us – you’re ready. Listen to a #problematicfave and get your confidence up. Maybe some old 3oh!3, or Blueface. Just a random selection.

Aquarius:

Because you might not be the loudest in the room, you might sometimes feel like your work goes unnoticed. You’re very talented and your contributions are important. One big plus of choosing your moments is that when you do share a joke with the people around you, it goes twice as hard. 

Pisces:

Your energy is irreplaceable, and you fit in a team like one of those T blocks in a Tetris game: perfectly, and also shaped like a T. There’s an editor out there who wouldn’t be the same without you. Cupcakes sound like a fantastic plan. (and please remember: you’re sister bisexual)

As we sign off on the last installment of our (admittedly short-lived) horoscopes column, we want to thank all of our fantastic co-editors, contributors, and readers. The stars have good things in store for the Daily. We just know it.

With love and epic vibes,

Kate Ellis (Coordinating Editor 2019-2021) and Willa Holt (Managing Editor 2019-2021)

The post April Horoscopes appeared first on The McGill Daily.

McGill’s bicentennial website features a timeline of McGill’s history, but this timeline is flawed and incomplete. In highlighting social justice accomplishments, this timeline takes credit for the work of racialized alumni, but fails to address McGill’s colonial history and present. The timeline also fails to recognize the efforts of students in pushing for these changes and improvements: for example, the introduction of an Indigenous Studies and Education task force is noted as an achievement on the part of Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi, but information regarding the Indigenous student led efforts to push for these changes, including the successful campaign to implement the Indigenous Studies minor program, are erased. The same goes for the information provided on the Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism: there is no recognition of activist labour. We cannot allow McGill to praise itself for the hard work of students and the community to fight and dismantle colonialism at this institution, especially not while the University remains complicit in the continued oppression of marginalized students – by failing to address the oppression that stems directly from their preservation of colonialism, McGill continues to fail its marginalized students.

It must be noted that it is impossible to decolonize a colonial institution, but the anti colonial work of marginalized students is vitally important. All students must assist in the fight against oppression on campus, and dismantle the inherent colonialism of this institution. McGill cannot be decolonized, but the University must continuously be challenged to address its harmful and unbalanced power dynamics, address its oppressive structures and systems, and reckon with its history in a real and tangible way. 

These realities cannot be ignored. It is impossible for us to observe the bicentennial without acknowledging and interrogating McGill’s ongoing role in settler colonialism. 

McGill University was founded in 1821, eight years after the passing of James McGill, who left behind £10,000 and his 46-acre Burnside estate “to the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning (RIAL), on the condition that they establish a college in his name within ten years of his death.” These 46-acres are the traditional territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka – it was never McGill’s land to own or bequeath. While historical narratives often portray James McGill as a hard-working man who acquired his wealth independently, he enslaved at least eight Black and Indigenous people. McGill’s bicentennial materials (technically) acknowledge this, but navigating to the page where they do so requires the user to click through multiple inadequately labelled pages. You have to be looking for this content to find it, so someone who does not know about James McGill’s life would not naturally come across it. Furthermore, McGill does not begin to grapple with the fact that celebrating this anniversary at all includes celebrating the conditions in which the University was built.

Although McGill claims to acknowledge the “deep, long-lasting adverse impacts that [enslavement has] exerted on Black and Indigenous communities,” the school’s administration has taken no action to support the efforts of Black and Indigenous communities in addressing these impacts. University administration continues to ignore the demands of current Black and Indigenous students, including continued demands to take down the statue of James McGill on the downtown campus. In contrast to the large and prominent statue of James McGill on campus, monuments and information that recognize the real history of the University are hard to find; Hochelaga Rock, a monument that acknowledges the Indigenous history of the land campus is situated on, is small and shoved out of sight.

McGill’s Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism includes a commitment to create a “Working Group on African and Black Studies to explore options for the expansion of the Program’s scope to include African diasporic/Black studies and to build its research capacity.” However, as former McGill professor Rachel Zellars notes, “African Studies is not the place to develop a rich and varied discipline that addresses the breadth of Black Canada’s history and people or the radical epistemological underpinnings that guide Black and Africana Studies. Simply, McGill must commit to and fund a stand-alone Africana (or Black Canadian, or Black Diasporic) Studies program.” Furthermore, McGill commitments to exploring options while completely disregarding the work that Black students have been doing for years to implement this type of program. Since as early as 1991, Black McGill students have been demanding the creation of a Black or Africana studies program, which still does not exist at McGill. In 2000, members of the Africana Studies Committee (a subcommittee of the Black Students Network) created a 24-page paper describing a proposed implementation of an Africana Studies program. This report was shelved, without any portion of it being implemented by the University. As of 2018, students were still asking McGill to implement the program to no avail.

McGill has also ignored the concerns of Indigenous students countless times. From 1927 to 2019, the McGill men’s varsity sports teams were named after an anti-Indigenous slur. Despite claims from people involved in varsity athletics that the name simply referred to the school’s team colours, McGill athletics used images of Indigenous people as logos and mascots from 1951 until 1992 and only stopped after continued lobbying by student groups. While the Athletics Board acknowledged that the name could be interpreted as anti-Indigenous, it ignored the demands of Indigenous students to change the name of the teams, saying in 1992 that “unless [they found] historical evidence which [established] that the R*dmen name came from other than the colour of McGill’s uniforms,” they intended “to preserve the traditional name for our men’s teams.” McGill only agreed to change the name after years of activism by Indigenous student groups, a SSMU referendum that gathered over 6000 votes (a disproportionately large number), and extensive consultations with “stakeholders” that demonstrated McGill’s commitment to protecting potential donors over Indigenous students.

These instances of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism are just a few of many perpetrated by the school’s administration over its long history. These are not the only times McGill has ignored Black and Indigenous students, and they’re continuing to do it today, 200 years later: the overwhelming lack of Black faculty members, refusal to divest from pipelines and fossil fuels, and a persistent commitment to “academic freedom” at the expense of racialized students all contribute to the continuation of oppression at McGill. Colonialism is endemic at McGill, and by looking back on this history we can see that the University has made very little progress to even mitigate the harms of systemic discrimination. 

The University and the McGill community must first recognize the presence of colonialism on campus in order to take action and support groups in our community that have historically been ignored and oppressed. Instead of attending bicentennial events, we, as students, should support the efforts of Black and Indigenous student groups, including the Black Students’ Network, Take James McGill Down, and the Indigenous Students Alliance.

The post McGill’s Bicentennial Fails to Recognize Continued Colonial Role appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Among the communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic over the past year are those living in precarious housing situations. Two weeks after McGill closed its campuses, Quebec’s eviction moratorium was in full effect. However, this measure did not protect residents from long-term economic struggle or the housing crisis more broadly, which continues to worsen as the pandemic drags on. More recently, Montreal’s unhoused residents have been expected to comply with Quebec’s evening curfews, despite an overwhelming lack of space in shelters across the city. Unhoused Montrealers are still subject to COVID-19-related fines, as the city focuses its funds towards the SPVM over social services. In the midst of a crisis in which Quebec residents should expect to rely on their government to ensure their safety, many people are facing a double threat of contagious disease and state violence.

Early in the pandemic, inmates at the Laval Migrant Prison began a hunger strike against unacceptable public health violations at the facility. Despite an initial success during which many inmates were released, the systemic harm enacted by the prison continued to threaten the lives and psychological well-being of incarcerated people. After a call over the summer to release more prisoners in light of ongoing poor conditions, including isolation from showers and entertainment as well as a heightened risk of contracting COVID-19, inmates at the Laval Migrant Prison began a second hunger strike approximately one year after the first. The punitive injustice system upheld by prisons categorically functions to continually harm already vulnerable populations – the pandemic has only made this more apparent. 

Indigenous communities and nations are also at a significant disadvantage in facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the first month of the pandemic, as ecofascist rhetoric surged with the claim, “we are the virus,” the colonial government’s egregious treatment of First Nations during previous epidemics such as H1N1 raised significant concerns for how Indigenous communities would be treated during this one. These fears were realized as the government deliberately disregarded the safety of Indigenous communities while case counts and death tolls rose. Although Justin Trudeau promised to end all boil water advisories on First Nations land by March 2021, the pandemic provided a convenient excuse to postpone this deadline, despite the fact that clean water is an even more essential resource during a public health crisis. The colonial government’s deliberate disregard for the safety of Indigenous communities intersects with its violence against incarcerated and unhoused populations, of which Indigenous people comprise a disquieting share.

As people across Quebec and Canada began to self-isolate and work from home, challenges also emerged on an individual level. Increased time spent on the internet, alone, and under chronic stress continues to exacerbate mental health conditions – including eating disorders – to which university students are already particularly susceptible. The COVID-19 pandemic has also put additional pressure on interpersonal relationships, and quarantine confinement has led to an increase in domestic and gender-based violence globally. These issues, which are often made invisible even during a “normal” year, endanger lives in ways that can’t be included in traditional epidemiological death counts. But mental health difficulties and interpersonal violence are direct consequences of the virus, consequences we can’t dismiss as fringe cases or collateral damage. Though the people struggling with these issues may be physically isolated from each other, their experiences are related to systemic issues that our governments must take seriously. 

Inequities have also been revealed on an international scale, which are just as important to examine as those playing out in Montreal. Since the onset of the pandemic, there has been a drastic increase in racism and xenophobia, which have led to acts of extreme violence against Asian people. Financial disparities across the globe have led to uneven distributions of vaccines: wealthier countries hoard higher quantities of COVID-19 vaccines, a phenomenon also called “vaccine nationalism.” This is not purely a product of the pandemic – as staff writer (and former Sci+Tech Editor!) Nabeela Jivraj explains, it is not only governments who contribute to vaccine nationalism, but also major corporations profiting from the pandemic itself. Because vaccinations are easier and more accessible in certain countries, wealthy individuals have begun to travel across state, provincial, or even national borders to receive a vaccination. This trend, known as “vaccine tourism,” not only poses further health risks associated with travel, but also places the needs of the vaccine tourist over the needs of the community they are exposing to further risk.

The Daily has also covered the injustices both revealed and created by the pandemic at McGill. The beginning of the pandemic saw students on exchange facing problems and a lack of accommodations from the University. Later on, we faced the transition to online learning, which came alongside unclear communication, constant zoom fatigue, and other inequities. In September 2020, staff writer Maya Ibbitson discussed the ways that COVID-19 was impacting students financially in our Features section.

Throughout the entirety of the pandemic, we have also seen the mistreatment of TAs and other student workers, who have been exposed to unsafe and precarious working conditions. Student workers are not the only ones who have faced unsafe conditions at the hands of McGill – in January 2021, News Editor Emily Black reported on the volatile conditions experienced by students at the Ingram School of Nursing, including major changes to the way classes and clinicals were carried out, burnout experienced by students, and mounting expectations. Student Housing and Hospitality Services also made the controversial decision to change its residence handbook permitting the eviction of students from residences for violating public health measures surrounding COVID-19, which reporter Saylor Catlin explained in a February 2021 news article.

COVID-19 has drastically changed the way we think about accessibility, as accommodations that were previously written off as impossible for disabled folks (including telemedicine and remote work) became widely available. Although it is long before we will return to “normal,” as vaccines become available and McGill alleges that we will return to in-person instruction this autumn, there is uncertainty around the future of accessibility. 

With case numbers remaining high and vaccine rollout leaving much to be desired, it is just as important to support each other now as it was a year ago. Throughout the pandemic, activists and advocates have done important local work to support our communities, and it is important both to recognize and to support these efforts. In Montreal, this includes mutual aid and community organizations such as Hoodstock, COVID-19 Mutual Aid Group, and Head and Hands. It is also important to continue to follow public safety guidelines like wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing.

As an editorial board, we recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing and are committed to covering the virus and its lingering effects with responsibility and accuracy. We will continue to hold our institutions accountable in a tumultuous time and uplift marginalized voices.

If you have any feedback regarding our ongoing COVID-19 coverage, we encourage you to reach out via our public feedback form.

The opinions expressed in this article reflect the views of The McGill Daily’s Editorial Board. This article was written by Coordinating Editor Kate Ellis and Managing Editor Willa Holt, with additional reporting from Culture Editor Sara Hashemi.

The post One Year Later, COVID Continues to Impact Our Lives appeared first on The McGill Daily.

The motion generated much discussion from attendees of the General Assembly, both in favour of and against its contents. Most controversial was the topic of divestment from Re/Max, which the motions states “sells real estate in illegal Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land, thereby facilitating and profiting from the transfer of Israeli settlers into occupied Palestinian territory by the Israeli government,” and Oshkosh Corporation, “whose vehicles are used to transport the soldiers and weapons of the Israeli military.” Discussion lasted for approximately two and half hours. Though the motion focused on military activity and the corporations’ operations on Palestinian land, much of the discussion centred concerns that a divestment campaign would lead to an increase in antisemitism on campus, due to a belief that the motion specifically targeted Israel. Multiple attendees, including VP University Affairs Brooklyn Frizzle, responded by explaining that the motion targeted specific corporations and not nations as a whole. 

The assembly moved to vote on the motion at approximately 9:00 p.m. EST. At this time, a number of participants left the GA, therefore causing the loss of quorum and turning the assembly into a consultative forum, meaning that votes would not be binding and the motion would have to be passed to the Legislative Council. Upon voting, the motion passed and was tabled to be discussed at the following week’s Legislative Council meeting. 

During the February 25 Legislative Council meeting, the motion was presented by VP External Ayo Ogunremi, who explained that the motion is intended to expand SSMU’s commitment to social justice and human rights by participating in divestment campaigns concerning several companies in which McGill is invested. He also noted that the “significant” amount of interest which students showed in the motion was important for SSMU representatives to consider while voting on the motion. 

Following Ogunremi’s introduction was a question period, which began with Management Representative Noah Gundermann asking movers of the motion to identify who they consulted in creating the motion. Maya Garfinkel, who moved the motion by petition, responded that the motion’s creators began their consultations by discussing with students, SSMU representatives, and student organizations such as Divest McGill and Climate Justice Action McGill (CJAM). Ogunremi added that the “Consultations Completed” section of the motion specifies that consultations were conducted with SSMU’s Governance Manager, President, and Communications Manager. He also stated that the motion had been reviewed and endorsed by SSMU’s Student Equity Committee.

Gundermann further questioned Ogunremi and Garfinkel, asking whether members of McGill administration or human rights experts had been consulted on the motion. According to Ogunremi, no McGill administrators were consulted, and though there was no “direct consultation” with human rights experts, sources and testimony from such experts are cited within the motion. Garfinkel claimed that there is precedent for approving similar policies despite a lack of consultation with McGill administration or human rights experts: the “Motion Regarding a Policy on Harmful Military Technology” had been passed at the Legislative Council just two weeks prior, without movers being questioned about such consultations, she pointed out. 

The debate period for the motion began with a pre-recorded statement from a student. The speaker asserted that the motion “creates a false and misleading parallel between the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict and human rights concerns worldwide.” They claimed that the other countries mentioned in the motion are “incomparable” to Israel, and characterized the “anti-Zionist elements” of the clauses concerning Israel as antisemitic. The student further argued that the motion was associated with the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement, making it a “fundamental violation of SSMU’s commitment to leadership in matters of human rights and social justice.” They speculated that the adoption of the motion would “jeopardize the safety and well-being of students,” claiming that Jewish students on campus saw an increase in antisemitism “following the many anti-Israel occurrences at McGill.”

Members of the Legislative Council expressed concern over the motion’s political content. Medical Representative Benson Wan explained that he felt the motion violated the Medical Student Society’s (MSS) Policy on General Council Positions and Press Releases, which holds that MSS representatives must survey members of the MSS via referendum or general assembly before taking political positions. Arts Representative Libby Williamson claimed that she had spoken to many constituents who felt that SSMU was neglecting student concerns by focusing on political issues. Additionally, Williamson characterized the motion as controversial, and claimed that divestment from Israel is unjustified: “the clauses that focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict attempt to create parallels between Israel and Palestine and other human rights concerns worldwide. [These parallels] do not exist and are harmful to imply.” Similarly, Dentistry Representative Tom Lee claimed that his constituents were largely opposed to the motion, on the grounds that it “disproportionately focuses on Israeli-Palestinian conflicts,” and may set a precedent for SSMU supporting the BDS movement. 

However, Frizzle claimed that they had never seen students with a higher level of engagement or interest than in the passage of this motion. “As democratic representatives, our mandate is clear: this is a policy represented by the membership […] I believe it is our responsibility as councillors not to be swayed by what I see as misinformation.” Likewise, Ogunremi described student interest in the motion as “extraordinary,” and said that SSMU executives have a responsibility to support marginalized communities from across the world. Member of the gallery Simone Bobrow expressed frustration with the claim that the motion was irrelevant to student concerns, saying that Palestinian students “have faced discrimination on campus as a result of [the Israel-Palestine] conflict.”

Councillor Gundermann also expressed opposition to the motion. He claimed that SSMU has no reason to divest from Lockheed-Martin – which the motion identifies as “the developer of weapons […] that has been used in violent conflicts in over 15 countries –” because the purchase of weapons should be “in the hands of governments.” He also took issue with divestment from the Oshkosh corporation, claiming that Oshkosh has been “internationally recognized as ethical,” and ultimately characterized the motion as “misleading and biased.” 

Supporters of the motion argued that it was not intended to perpetuate antisemitism or single out the state of Israel. Mover Noah Fisher said that the motion should not be interpreted as denouncing the state of Israel as a whole, as it only focuses on Re/max’s use of occupied Palestinian territory and not the entire state. “I find it insulting to suggest that the main way to oppose [antisemitism] is to fight individuals who are simply trying to end an occupation. I can guarantee that most of the instances of antisemitism that I’ve experienced, if not all of them, have not involved individuals trying to end an occupation,” he said, explaining that opposing human rights efforts would not help to combat antisemitism on campus. Similarly, Frizzle noted that the motion does not contain references to any individual nation, nor to Israeli corporations. Member of the gallery Ghida Malawi pointed out that the motion has no affiliation with BDS, and expressed frustration that councillors were conflating BDS with antisemitism. She also asked why councillors were claiming that Israel had been singled out, when human rights violations in other countries were also cited in the motion.

Garfinkel also spoke about her experiences with antisemitism: “As a Jewish student, the antisemitism that I’m concerned about is not coming from movements like [the motion and BDS].” She also said that “criticizing the occupation [of Palestine] is not the same as criticizing Israel’s right to exist.” She characterized some councillor’s treatments of the motion as insulting, and asked, “What claim for Palestinian human rights would this legislative council not take issue with?”

Clubs Representative Hussain Awan further expressed support for the motion, and said that he had been “dumbfounded” by some criticisms of the motion. He argued that portraying movers of the motion as “closeted BDS activists” was “wild speculation,” and further explained that he had seen much student interest in the many human rights issues addressed by the motion. 

After about one and a half hours of discussion, the motion was put to a vote. With 21 members in favor of the motion, 5 opposed, and 3 abstaining, the motion was passed.

A previous edition of this article erroneously stated that the policy had been adopted – in fact, the policy had not been adopted, but rather moved to the SSMU Board of Directors to be ratified. Additionally, the motion linked in the article was not the motion presented to Legislative Council, but rather an older version of the motion. The Daily regrets this error.

The post SSMU Legislative Council Passes Divest for Human Rights Motion appeared first on The McGill Daily.

These problems can be especially difficult for students who experience executive dysfunction. As one of these students, I understand first-hand how online learning can impact productivity. I hope to draw on my own experiences to provide some strategies for combatting and adapting to these challenges.  Of course, I am only one of many who has executive dysfunction, and my experiences do not embody the perspectives of everyone with these lived experiences. (I am also drawing on a number of sources to try to encapsulate as many experiences as possible). 

However, I also recognize the limitations of these conversations within the context of capitalism. After providing my advice on combatting executive dysfunction, I’ll discuss the ways in which our current economic system limits disabled and neurodivergent communities.

What is executive dysfunction?

Executive functioning skills are those that help people plan, follow through with, complete, and move between tasks.

These skills can include:

• Planning and organization
• Concentrating 
• Analyzing and processing information
• Controlling emotions and behavior
• Memory
• Time management
• Multitasking
• Problem-solving

Executive dysfunction occurs when one has trouble with these areas. Executive dysfunction is not a disorder in itself – everyone deals with executive dysfunction to some degree at some point in their life, especially when trying to learn or work in a new environment. However, increased difficulties with executive functioning often occur in conjunction with or as a result of brain injuries, dyslexia, ADHD, autism, anxiety disorders, and depression. 

Executive dysfunction can impact people in many different ways and have an effect on different areas of life. For me, executive dysfunction can feel like having a never-ending to do list that disappears from my brain the moment that I sit down to get started on my work. Another common experience is what I describe as “buffering brain”: this feeling that I can’t start a task because I am still loading up, but can’t bring myself to do anything about it. It feels like procrastinating, except you can’t get started, even if you want to. Many people with executive dysfunction describe this feeling as being “stuck”. 

Executive dysfunction doesn’t just impact productivity at work or school – for many people, executive dysfunction can prevent them from starting tasks that they want or need to do, like watching TV, calling a friend, even eating or sleeping.

What this means during online learning

Online learning impacts each individual differently. In terms of executive functioning, the transition to online learning can affect the things that help us learn, like routines, organization, and maintaining a positive work environment.

Online learning can require a lot more self-regulation and independent organization than in-person classes. Rather than showing up at the same building twice a week and participating in normal class sessions, which may occasionally include a test or quiz, many of us are now balancing discussion groups, a mix of synchronous and asynchronous lectures, posting on the myCourses discussion board, group project meetings, scheduled quizzes, take-home exams, and other tasks for which we have to hold ourselves accountable with little guidance. For me, it has been easy to lose track of deadlines and let tasks slip through the cracks if I don’t stay extremely organized.

Building new strategies and coping mechanisms as well as adjusting to new learning formats require use of our executive functioning skills, meaning that online learning can be particularly difficult for people who face executive dysfunction. 

Strategies to manage executive dysfunction

So how can we address the increase in difficulties with executive function that comes with online learning? I have compiled some ideas from what works for me and tips from other people who experience executive dysfunction. Not every idea or strategy will work for everyone, but hopefully you can find something that helps you.

1. Creating a working and/or learning environment that suits your needs

When working at home, it can be hard to stay focused, especially for those of us who are used to studying at a library or cafe. Most of us don’t have the money for a separate office in our apartments or making grand changes like purchasing a standing desk, but we can make little adjustments to make our working environment more suitable. In her video “Executive Function Deficit Bedroom organization Hacks,” YouTuber Autistic Tyla outlines some ways you can organize a room that may be easier when you’re experiencing executive dysfunction. One that I’ve adopted is using bins and cups for things like fidget toys and writing utensils, as putting objects away in a pencil case requires more deliberate task-shifting, which can throw me completely off of my course.

Creating a work environment can also involve paying attention to your sensory needs. I find it easier to focus when I am fidgeting, so I always keep fidget toys on my desk. I also use noise-cancelling headphones because I have trouble filtering noise and can become easily distracted by external sounds. A popular chrome extension among people who experience executive dysfunction is Mercury Reader, which eliminates distracting elements from web pages and presents a plain-text version of any given article with one click. 

As an individual, there may be other ways for you to make yourself comfortable in your work environment and eliminate distractions. It may be helpful to keep a list of what generally tends to distract you, so that you may work on eliminating it from your work environment.

2. Having a physical to-do list

One symptom of executive dysfunction that many people experience is having difficulty with short-term memory and prioritizing tasks. This means that we often forget important tasks or leave them to the last minute. Having a physical to-do list where you write down all of the tasks that you need to complete is one way to mitigate this. Organizing this list can be difficult, though. Although I don’t use it anymore, I found the Todoist app helpful, as it has some tools for categorizing and labelling that can help organize your tasks. However, many of these options only come with the premium version, which costs $5.50 per month, making it inaccessible to some. Other people may prefer to use a bullet journal or other physical organizer. Autistic* YouTuber b blushes has made a number of videos about how they use their planner.

Another method of creating a to-do list that I have personally found helpful is that presented in this TikTok by Michal Rogers. In the video, she explains a process of getting out of what she calls the “ADHD brain spiral” where she divides a piece of paper into three categories: “things that need to be done today, things that need to be done ever, and things in my brain.” She explains that this helps her organize her thoughts and allows her to see what tasks are immediately important. As students who may be juggling various tasks without knowing where to start, this method can be helpful for getting — and staying — on track.

3. Developing a routine

Having a consistent routine can be helpful in preventing the feeling of getting stuck. As someone who struggles with completing basic tasks on my worst days, I find creating a routine with everything, even the most mundane tasks, very helpful. Some people find using a bullet journal, whiteboard, or planner helpful in this. One app that I use, which has also been suggested by autistic influencers like Paige Layle and Yo Samdy Sam, is Tiimo. The app acts as a visual daily planner and allows individuals to create daily routines and checklists. Alongside work and academic tasks, I schedule basic tasks like eating, showering, and brushing my teeth in Tiimo. Tiimo keeps me on track More than anything I’ve tried – and I’ve tried a lot of different planners, organizational systems, and apps. The app does have a subscription cost, however, which may be a barrier to some individuals. 

4. Turning to your community

A number of community spaces exist that allow people who experience executive dysfunction to learn from each other and share their experiences. The Facebook group Executive dysfunction life hacks is a place where people can share and ask for tips on executive functioning. Executive dysfunction is also often discussed on TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter. Some of my personal favourite TikTokers who discuss executive dysfunction are adhadult, princessaspien, and domesticblisters. 

For me, seeing that other people shared my experiences was life-changing. While being able to get advice on managing my difficulties is also important, being in a community has helped me recognize that I am not alone and that the way I feel is much more common than I once thought. Community-specific groups, such as those on Facebook and Discord, can be a great place to connect with other people. Some that I’ve had good experiences with or heard good things about are autisticqueen’s Discord server and Facebook groups Actually Autistic and Trans, sounds like you forgot disabled people but ok, and A group where anxious people ask for simple advice and get helpful answers.

5. Consulting other resources

McGill’s Office for Students with Disabilities offers resources on topics such as note-taking, remote learning, and memory. Although I have not used these resources personally, they may be helpful to students experiencing executive dysfunction.

A team of autistic adults at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network have created a handbook about navigating college for autistic students. While it does not focus solely on executive functioning, it does cover related areas and may be helpful to both autistic and non-autistic people who face executive dysfunction. It should be noted, however, that some parts of this resource are specific to the United States.

The constraints of living in a neurotypical society

As much as we can use strategies to combat executive dysfunction, a lot of these issues also come down to living in a society that is not built for neurodivergent people. 

Neurodivergent: a term coined by autistic activists to describe having a brain that functions in ways diverging from dominant societal norms. It is often used in opposition to “neurotypical,” which refers to the dominant and accepted neurotype. Neurodivergence usually refers to those who have autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, epilepsy, hyperlexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and/or Tourette syndrome, but this is not an exhaustive list.

Productivity within capitalism is defined by the use of executive functioning skills in a way that may not come naturally to neurodivergent individuals. In order to truly combat difficulties with executive functioning, we need to restructure society in a way that is accessible beyond the neurotypical norm. 

Further, as explained by Gillian Giles in The Body is not an Apology, interventions and support for people with disabilities often focus on achieving ideal productivity within a capitalist society, such as performing well in school, maintaining a job, and reproducing. While I have written this article to share ways that I am able to be productive within the constraints posed by our current economic system, as I think that this will help people in navigating our current world, I truly believe that liberation for neurodivergent and disabled communities will only come with the abolishment of capitalism as a whole. 

A radical reimagining of society requires us to think about our value beyond our labour – something that cannot happen while we continue to put emphasis on our ability to participate in the workforce.

* When speaking about the autistic community in this article, I have used identity-first language (“autistic person” rather than “person with autism”). While this contradicts the language often used in professional and clinical contexts, it corresponds with the preference of much of the autistic community. For more information on identity-first language, see these articles from News @ Northeastern and The Mighty.

The post Navigating Executive Dysfunction appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Many students, however, report difficulties accessing and using OSD services. The Daily spoke with students who have faced a number of these barriers.

The Registration Process

To register and receive accommodations with the OSD, students must provide medical documents that meet specific criteria, including a diagnosis, according to provincial law. Students report facing financial, language, and other barriers when trying to acquire this documentation, which can only be provided by certain types of medical professionals.

Emma,* a second-year student who experiences chronic migraines, explained that the OSD did not accept paperwork from her doctor at the Wellness Hub. “They were like, ‘we need you to go to a neurologist.’ I did go to one back home, but I can’t reach them [now] because I don’t have a phone that can call [my home country], and they don’t have an email address.” Because Emma’s neurologist is in a different time zone, and the OSD only provided her with paperwork in English, the process was made even more difficult for her. 

Leila,* a fourth-year student, shared her frustration regarding the OSD website’s unclear registration instructions. “I asked my therapist to fill out the OSD referral forms so that I could get accommodations, as per the OSD website. She filled out the documentation based on an existing diagnosis, and recommended that I also get tested for ADHD, since she can’t diagnose me for that. When I brought the forms to my appointment, I asked if I could get subsidized testing for ADHD. The OSD said they only subsidize testing for students if they don’t already have a diagnosis, so I [didn’t qualify] for the subsidy. If I hadn’t provided documentation with a diagnosis, I could have possibly gotten tested at the centre. There is no clear information on [the OSD website] about subsidized ADHD testing. Had I known, I would have done things differently. ADHD testing is very expensive.”

“To make a four-year long story short, the OSD refused [to register] me because I have […] above average grades.”

While Leila said she regrets bringing medical documents to her appointment, GC,* another fourth-year student, shared the trouble they have had accessing the OSD without documentation. “I’ve been emailing various people since the start of the semester [to ask] what I should do to get [documentation] and a diagnosis, and so far it’s just been a lot of cancelled appointments due to my lack of [documentation] in the first place.” 

Yara,* a student in the School of Social Work, mentioned a similar incident: “one of my classmates [was registered with] the equivalent of the OSD in CEGEP, but because she did not have an official diagnosis, she [couldn’t receive] any help in university.”

After going through what they described as a slow and confusing registration process, fourth-year student Tessa reports being ultimately turned away from the OSD due to perceived lack of need. “To make a four-year long story short, the OSD refused [to register] me because I have […] above average grades.”

Many students felt that communication from the OSD during the registration process was unclear. “Trying to get a diagnosis, or knowing who at McGill will give [you] one is really hard – everyone seems to [direct you to] a different person, [and each person] wants a different type of referral,” GC told the Daily. Tessa echoed this concern: “I basically had to get three forms filled out because they either kept giving me the wrong one, or [the one I needed] kept changing.”

Accessing Accommodations 

According to students interviewed by the Daily, there has been a significant decrease in note-takers, whom the OSD now refers to as “note-sharers,” in the last few years. “Half of my classes don’t have note-takers. I have one class, I think, that might have [someone], but they’ve only uploaded four files since the beginning of the semester,” Emma mentioned. Students attribute this lack of note-takers to decreases in payment, and the OSD’s final decision to stop paying note-takers entirely last fall. “There were definitely more notes [for] classes when I was in my first year, back when note-takers were paid,” shared Lynne,* another fourth-year student. 

Students also noted that the accommodations that the OSD provided for them weren’t always the ones they needed, citing a lack of personalized learning plans. “My diagnosis determined which accommodations I [received]. Instead of basing them on what I actually needed to learn [better], [the OSD] automatically selected the accommodations that go with my diagnosis,” explained Yara.

Emma had a similar experience: “I have noise and light sensitivity, and for some reason, they have people coming in and out [of the OSD exam centre] constantly, and they shuffle papers the entire time. There was so much noise that I was like, this doesn’t make any sense. It was what I was trying to avoid [by taking my tests] in a smaller room.”

Yara mentioned that accessibility can depend on which professors students have class with, rather than on the OSD and the accommodations they provide. “Honestly, my professors were more accommodating than the OSD. And if I have a professor [who isn’t] accommodating, the OSD is not going to stand up for [me]. I’m really lucky to have professors who want to help me.”

Miranda, a student in the Faculty of Science, said that she finds the process of signing up for accommodations for exams and tests difficult and inefficient. “If I’m doing a quiz, I don’t find it worth it to go through [the entire process] to get my accommodations, even though I would really benefit from having them,” she stated. “It shouldn’t be this hard to be accommodated.”

Students also shared issues they’ve had when receiving the accommodations they are registered for. Miranda recalled an instance when her accommodations were not properly recorded by the OSD. “I start writing my calculus exam assuming that I have the accommodations that I signed up for – 50% extra time. So, I plan for a four-and-a-half-hour exam, but 15 minutes before the three-hour mark, they tell everyone [in the OSD exam centre] that we have 15 minutes left. I raise my hand, and I [explain my accommodations], and they say no, you do not get extra time. And I say, that’s not true, I signed up for it. And they say, no, you’ll be finished in 15 minutes.” Lynne once dealt with a situation similar to Miranda’s – though they registered for their accommodations in advance, the OSD did not notify their professor prior to the exam. 

Moving forward

Students have expressed a desire for clearer communication from the OSD. “I think it would really help to have a [clearer] list of steps for students [to register]” said GC. Lynne added that they would like the OSD to “communicate better with [students] about what’s happening, and about how things are going to work.”

In addition to giving students accommodations, the OSD provides McGill faculty with resources regarding classroom accessibility and Universal Design for Learning; these include webinars, a faculty guide, and a COVID-19 FAQ page for instructors. According to Teri Phillips, Director of the OSD, there were “approximately 830 clicks/views” of these tools in September and October 2020. These statistics do not specify, however, whether these are unique page views, nor whether they are from instructors. Phillips stated that while the OSD “encourage[s] faculty […] to take advantage of all the services and supports [they] offer,” only “some areas, such as the Faculty of Science, have mandated Inclusive Assessment Design” for remote learning. This gives professors the option not to implement UDL in classrooms. “Professors forget about us,” Miranda told the Daily, referring to students with disabilities.   

“There are ableist persons everywhere,” they stated. “We must fight ableism in academia.”

Jonathan Sterne, a professor in Communication Studies, highlighted the challenge that the McGill community is facing in adjusting accessibility measures to remote learning. “Moving online means we are figuring a lot of things out again. Students are re-learning to be students, profs are re-learning to be teachers, and whatever accommodation schemes we had for classroom settings may not be the right ones for online learning.”

Professor Sterne also stressed the importance of accessibility on an institutional level, stating that, “one thing the University could do better is educate people about disability. There’s still a lot of ignorance and stigma in our community.” 

Another faculty member, who asked to remain anonymous, echoed this idea, while indicating the larger issue at hand. “It is not the OSD’s [role] to teach the professors [about] Universal Design for instruction. [The OSD] does not have the human and financial resources to assume that duty. The University should [under]take the social responsibility of educating everyone on ableism, and how to put an end to it.” 

“There are ableist persons everywhere,” they stated. “We must fight ableism in academia. That is the challenge.”

* Names have been changed to preserve anonymity.

This article was updated on November 26, 2020 to include comments from the OSD.

The post “It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Be Accommodated” appeared first on The McGill Daily.

These barriers occur as a result of transmedicalism, “a belief that one needs to experience the medical condition known as gender dysphoria in order to be considered truly transgender.” Gender dysphoria “refers to the distress that may accompany the incongruence between one’s experienced or expressed gender and one’s assigned gender.” Although Gender Identity Disorder was renamed to Gender Dysphoria in the fifth edition of the DSM to remove the stigma surrounding the word “disorder,” trans individuals still need a clinical diagnosis to access treatment. In most cases, individuals need a clinical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and referral letters from a mental health professional to access HRT and gender-affirming surgeries in Quebec. In order to receive a clinical diagnosis, the ‘symptoms’ of gender dysphoria must appear in an individual for a minimum of six months. The inaccessibility of psychological services, including high fees and long wait lists, are one of the first barriers that a transgender individual may face in accessing gender-affirming care.

Although Montreal has a dedicated gender clinic at the Montreal General Hospital – the Human Sexuality Unit, where trans individuals can receive this diagnosis – the process of acquiring care at this clinic can still be costly and long. According to Santé Trans Health, the estimated cost of pursuing solely psychological therapy at this clinic is $3375 CAD per year, and it typically takes one to three years to meet requirements to gain access to an HRT prescription through this therapy. The clinic also does not use a harm reduction model or meet the Standards of Care delinated by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, a “non-profit, interdisciplinary professional and educational organization devoted to transgender health”, a set of guidelines already under fire for its ineffectiveness. According to Action santé travesti(e)s et transsexuel(le)s du Quebéc (ASTT(e)Q), a Quebec based trans advocacy group, “most frontline workers and trans advocacy organizations do not see the Montréal gender clinic as a respectful or accessible resource for the majority of people seeking to physically transition.”

Despite the fact that McGill reports itself as having LGBTQ-inclusive medical services, including designated LGBTQ friendly counsellors in its Student Wellness Hub, their services are not exempt from this transmedicalism, and trans students have reported facing barriers in accessing treatment through the Wellness Hub. According to one student, who asked to remain anonymous, a McGill psychiatrist gave him false information on where he could receive an HRT prescription and failed to complete a referral request. Students have also reported long wait times for appointments which is exasterbated by requesting a LGBTQ counsellor, and a lack of notice from the Wellness Hub prior to changes in which medical professionals they would be seeing.

Even when psychological evaluation is accessible, there still remains a number of barriers to accessing gender-affirming surgeries. For one, information about insurance coverage for these procedures is highly inaccessible; according to educaloi, RAMQ covers some gender confirmation surgeries, but eligible procedures are not clearly delineated. Some procedures, such as facial feminization surgery and breast implants, are specifically excluded. Even when these surgeries are covered by provincial healthcare, trans individuals have reported long wait lists, which leads many to pay out of pocket at private clinics. According to Santé Trans Health, these surgeries are not covered for refugees until they obtain Quebec residency. Further, it is unclear if either SSMU Studentcare insurance or the Blue Cross international student plan currently covers these surgeries.

There are also barriers in accessing HRT. Hormones are covered by the Québec Public Prescription Drug Insurance Plan, which applies to all Quebec residents without private drug plans, but this information is not readily available or easy to understand. Although HRT is also presumably covered by drug plans in the SSMU Studentcare insurance and Blue Cross international student plan, there is no specific information about this in the insurance booklets. Further, although any doctor can legally prescribe hormones, many refuse to do so, due to legal or moral concerns.

How can these barriers be addressed? 

Some medical professionals are moving towards a model of informed consent for prescribing HRT, which does not require a diagnosis of gender dysphoria and instead relies “on the assumption that you are best equipped to make decisions about your own body, while providing you with the tools to ensure that you have all the necessary information to make an informed decision.” As explained in A Clinician’s Guide to Gender-Affirming Care: Working with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients, “in trans-affirming care (or a client-centered approach), [a clinician’s] role is to help clients understand the choices they have.” According to Sarah L. Schulz, assistant professor of psychology at Point Park University, “this model shows promise for the treatment and understanding of the transgender experience outside of the lens of medical pathologization.” 

Information about informed consent clinics in Montreal is not easily available online, but trans advocacy organizations such as the Centre for Gender Advocacy at Concordia and the Union for Gender Empowerment at McGill can provide direction in accessing these services. 

For more information on trans medicalization and accessing care, visit Sante Trans Health and Action Sante Transvesti(e)s & Transsexuel(le)s du Quebec. Resources are available to medical professionals at the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health’s website.

The post Transmedicalist Barriers in Healthcare appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Four panelists were featured: Courage (Natasha) Bacchus, a Black Deaf athlete, artist, and activist, Che Birchwood, a Black multi-disciplinary healer and organizer; Gaitrie Persaud, a Guyanese-Canadian Deaf artist, actress, and director; and jaye simpson, an Oji-Cree Saulteaux Indigiqueer poet. The panel touched on a number of topics at the intersection of queerness, race, and disability. 

In the first question, “what does queerness and disability mean to you?” panelists drew on their own experiences of these intersections. simpson spoke on their experience, explaining that “I think for me, queerness and disability has always been so intertwined with me growing up, especially as a kid with chronic pain and neuro divergence. I was always told to hide that in favor of  normalcy. I think that’s such an intrinsic relationship with queerness, which was also my experience to work at being cisgender and heterosexual, and especially as an Indigenous person, I was always told to melt myself down to be palatable.” Che added to this, speaking on how they only recently found out they were autistic because they were told growing up – and believed themselves – that they were bullied and isolated from social situations due to their race, class, and queerness. 

The panelists also spoke on barriers to inclusion and the lack of resources for queer and disabled communities. Courage stressed the importance of removing barriers and uplifting queer Deaf BIPOC voices in the arts: “It’s so important because we need to have our culture, our religion, our philosophy, our ways of thinking represented.” Gaitrie, who worked with Courage on a show called The Two Natashas, also spoke about barriers, saying that “there’s really not a lot of accessibility. So in the arts world and theater, you don’t actually have that relationship for queer BIPOC deaf people. We don’t have the connections and we’re trying to figure out how to find those connections within a theater environment. There’s not a lot of resources out there to support us as artists.”

Panelists also discussed the racism that occurs in disabled communities. simpson spoke on how space that is often given to white neurodivergent and disabled folks is not given to BIPOC. “When only one group is highlighted, you’re doing a real disservice on some of the discussions and dialogue that needs to happen in the community,” they said. “And I don’t know, I’ve had some really awful experiences in community with white disabled folks. And it’s been a lot of racism at times. I think there needs to be a larger discussion on how that happens.” Che added on to this, speaking about the prevalence of racism in Facebook groups about autism and ADHD. “Sometimes people use their diagnoses as an excuse either for racism or for like not understanding  all the labour that people of colour are trying to do to explain to them. […] Saying like, oh, I can’t read that text because I have ADHD and I can’t read long stuff but there are even all the comments that are like breaking down for people that were just ignoring it.”

The panel ended with a question period in which participants asked questions about resources, community, and further reading. Both the panelists and participants suggested that the best way to access resources was to reach out to disability advocacy centres and join community-based Facebook groups like Passion and Disability and This is Autistic Culture.

The post Third Queer History Month Comes to a Close appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Happy Halloween! Though the full moon has faded, it’s still time to self-reflect. Our very own skeleton council has convened to read your fortunes, revealed to them through cursèd whispers in the night. Scroll down to uncover their nefarious predictions….if you DARE! 

Scorpio:

Put the ouija board down, are you TRYING to get haunted??? Do a solid bunz trade for a tarot reading like the rest of us. You know you’re going to be fine, but sometimes it’s nice to hear it from someone else.

Capricorn:

Right about now you should be hosting the apple bobbing contest and baking Pillsbury cookies for everyone. We get it. A new tip to channel your inner mom: e-cards! Ever heard of them? We know it’s not 2005, but you’ll have that parental charm as that little bunny saying “hoppy halloween” pops up in your friends’ inboxes. Live your best life.

Aquarius:

Are midterms creeping you out? Us too! The best solution? Turn on the scary concept album of the century, Kim Petras’s TURN OFF THE LIGHT, and eat something with entirely too much cinnamon. You’ll thank us later.

Pisces:

You are the Halloweenie. You know it, we know it, everyone knows it. Don’t let your friends convince you to watch Sinister, it’s WAY TOO SCARY! Seriously, just take a brisk fall walk and remember how nice it feels to be alive, here, in the present. Even just for a moment.

Aries:

Listen, we all know you’re winning the costume contest this year. Leave some drip for the rest of us!! It can be hard to stay focused, and that’s okay – you have a lot going on this season. Own your little victories.

Taurus:

Halloween has got you wanting to live out your Carmilla dreams of being a sapphic vampire, and honestly, we support it. Maybe not the time to be biting any necks (you know, with COVID and all), but you could use that inside time to dye your hair, invest in a new goth wardrobe on Depop, or make some edgy TikToks. We won’t judge you.

Gemini:

The days of pumpkin spice are drawing to a close as we move towards apple cider and extravagant hot chocolates. You know, indulging in some corporate latte excitement won’t strip you of your socialist card. We swear.

Cancer:

Ariana Grande really released an album JUST FOR YOU! Turn off the lights, pour your autumnal drink of choice, and simply vibe. Okay wait maybe turn the lights back on oh my god it’s really dark in here. Okay. Okay. We’re good. Light some candles. Next song.

Leo:

Maybe you aren’t a superstitious person, but hey – you’re reading the horoscopes. Beware of crossroads, ladders, and mirrors in the dark. But please be nice to black cats! You might feel an extra kinship with them this season; you both deserve some extra love right about now.

Virgo:

The stars tell us that you wish you could be dancing at some sort of wild Bar Le Ritz theme night. While we’re in the red zone, replicate the experience at home by blasting SOPHIE, dancing in your last-minute costume, and writing on the bathroom mirror. Want some extra immersion? Your kitchen table is now the stage. DISCLAIMER: we are not responsible for any ensuing injuries. 

Libra:

Now’s the time to show off your interpretive dance number expressing your complicated feelings about pumpkin-carving as an institutional practice. Be wary: it’s prime time for an old skeleton to jump out of its closet. No, not like that. You know what we mean.

The post ~ Horrorscopes ~ appeared first on The McGill Daily.

It’s not that there was no non-binary representation in the media when I was in high school. As an active member of many Tumblr fandoms – I was dedicated to YouTubers like Dodie and Dan and Phil – I’d interacted with non-binary people in some capacity. I had also engaged with more community-based forms of media created by non-binary folks, like the YouTube channels of Chandler Wilson and Ash Hardell, various fanfictions featuring non-binary characters, and informative comics on my Tumblr dashboard. This content made me feel more comfortable in my gender identity, but it also made me believe that being non-binary was something that only “happened” online on Tumblr, or at Vidcon. Most of my school friends and teachers didn’t understand non-binary genders, and I’d never seen non-binary folks in more mainstream media. I didn’t know how to picture a life where non-binary people existed as “normal” adults. I spent my high school years knowing that non-binary people existed, but I didn’t understand that I could identify that way.

Though I was fortunate to have access to these Internet communities, the lack of non-binary representation in popular media convinced me that these identities didn’t exist in everyday life. GLAAD’S 2019 Where We Are on TV report found that of the 488 regular and recurring LGBTQ characters on American scripted primetime broadcast, cable, and streaming programs that year, only five were non-binary. Back in 2016, there were none; only 16 transgender characters appeared on American television. An area of communications studies called cultivation theory has found that watching television may shape the way that individuals perceive reality, and that the lack of representation of queer people on television leads to the idea that queerness is abnormal or rare. Many LGBTQ+ individuals start coming to terms with their identity through film and television. I was lucky to have supportive friends and family members while I was learning about my gender identity, but I wouldn’t have known how to articulate what I was feeling had I not been what my friends refer to as being “extremely online” – that is, spending too much of my time on Tumblr and in various Internet communities. 

That being said, the representation of non-binary folks is expanding. There are now a handful of non-binary characters in film and television; Asia Kate Dillon appears in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum as a character called The Adjudicator; Alex Newell plays a genderfluid DJ in Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Syd on One Day at a Time uses they/them pronouns, and there’s even Double Trouble, a non-binary shapeshifting mercenary on She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. These characters make me feel like I belong in a way that the media I watched in high school did not.

It’s certainly refreshing to see these characters, but there still isn’t a normalization of non-binary genders in the media. Characters are seldom played by non-binary actors, and they never get to exist in the spotlight. They serve as the best friend, or if they somehow get to have a sexual or romantic life, as the partner. There’s usually a Big Coming Out moment where they have to explain their identity, instead of the character simply being introduced with their pronouns, or being presented as a non-binary person from the get-go. 

On One Day at a Time, Syd is introduced as part of a joke about pronouns. And although it’s in good taste, it still makes their identity stick out like a sore thumb. She-Ra’s Double Trouble is a rare form of casual representation, yet their presence underscores the fact that this kind of identity only seems to exist in action movies and fantasy worlds, rather than in the real world. As someone who proudly identifies as a non-binary lesbian, it’s frustrating that the most “relatable” example I have of a sapphic relationship is between One Day at a Time’s Syd and Elena. While I find their teen romance heart-warming, and though Syd is an excellent example of a well-written non-binary character, Syd and Elena don’t model my current experience with dating. I often feel like I don’t have any blueprint for who I can become, and for what my dating life could be like. What could being a non-binary adult look like for me? I try to imagine it all without much guidance, which leaves me feeling discouraged and lost.

It’s also important to recognize that the majority of non-binary characters on TV and in film are white. According to GLAAD, only 52 per cent of LGBTQ+ characters on television are people of colour. The white-washing of non-binary lives and identities is more than a lack of diversity: it displays a disregard for the rejection of the gender binary that has existed for centuries in many non “Western” cultures, and it ignores the role that colonialism has played in reinforcing the gender binary. Artist Rudy Loewe spoke about the importance of Black non-binary representation in an interview with i-D, saying that “art can be a lifeline for people who are otherwise living in isolated environments, so it can be extremely important to find those points of reference.” The hiring of mostly white non-binary writers and creators also leads to the depiction of non-binary characters of colour who embody white ideas of androgyny, erasing the diverse gender experiences of people of colour.

So, what do we do when we don’t see ourselves enough in the media? We make things for ourselves. While Tumblr was the DIY hub for queer kids when I was a teenager, TikTok now has a huge community of non-binary sapphics (sometimes called nblw, for “non-binary loving women”). Popular TikToks include jokes about lesbians having a complicated relationship with gender, comedic attempts to describe gender without using traditional labels, and funny videos about your family knowing you were gay before you did. It’s a dynamic community that makes me feel seen, and it follows a long history of media-making by gender diverse sapphics, who have found a sense of kinship in the creation of zines, podcasts, and more major works like Stone Butch Blues. It’s powerful and important for us to make our own media, and I know that the communities on TikTok will help many people the way that Tumblr and YouTube helped me. 

That being said, these online communities do come with certain risks. Many past bloggers have suggested that although Tumblr allowed many like-minded people to connect in 2016, there was often a lot of pressure on teens to commit to a specific identity label, and for them to figure themselves out before they felt ready. Having your coming out journey on a public platform can be really difficult – I worry that these pressures will continue to be a problem on TikTok. As many young TikTok users have begun to articulate, the demand for answers to personal questions about pronouns, sexuality, and gender identity is difficult for those who might want to try out certain labels online, but who aren’t ready or able to come out in their personal lives. This concern is particularly apparent on this new platform in a way that it wasn’t on Tumblr, where people like me were lucky to experience relative anonymity instead of using our own likenesses to get views.

Everyone deserves to see their reality reflected. I want kids to be able to see genderqueer students in a picture book. I want teens to encounter non-binary adults on their favourite sitcom. I also want to see more sapphic characters that exist for something other than the male gaze; couples that aren’t made up of two conventionally attractive femmes; lesbians who don’t use she/her pronouns; asexual lesbians and elderly lesbians. Here’s hoping for a new generation of representation, beyond the margins of the Internet, that non-binary folks like me can look up to.

The post Extremely Online and Incredibly Queer appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Scorpio: Congrats on being born! Those depop sellers really appreciate you singlehandedly keeping their businesses alive.

Sagittarius: consider bisexuality. savor the concept. really mull that one over. just saying.

Capricorn: stop overthinking your haircut/hair colour/whatever. you’re hot. make some bread.

Aquarius: Have you taken a break recently? Your friends care about you, bud. Let them put you first for once!

Pisces: When was the last time you washed your vibrator? Think about it. Stop sending tiktoks to your not-even-ex.

Aries: Stop selling your baby clothes to Scorpios on depop!!!! That’s not Y2K, it’s a Toddler size 2!!!

Taurus: Leave your house. Take a walk. Eat a leaf. It’s whatever, man.

Gemini: We know that AOC is hot, but stop worshipping political figures. And get that tattoo (if it’s safe in your area).

Cancer: You’re doing a great job, we promise. Your tiktok fame will come naturally, don’t sweat it!

Leo: Something is telling you to contribute to the McGill Daily… I wonder what it is? Water your plants.

Virgo: stream ungodly hour by chloe x halle, take a bubble bath, you can do this!

Libra: straightness isn’t like, criminal, but it’s also not a great long-term strategy. If you’ve already abandoned that road more taken, we recommend The Watermelon Woman. It’s on Kanopy. 

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