The Power of Women’s Voices

Over half of Intermissions contributors are women, and we are proud to offer a space where women can pen their thoughts and share them widely. This list barely scratches the surface of all the brilliant female-authored work that’s gone up on our site, but in the spirit of International Women’s Day, here is a list of essays, interviews, and conversations created by women that are well worth revisiting.

1. Asha Jain, “Asha, In Her Own Words”

“I never got nervous or sweaty or anything. But I was very scared in my heart, deep down, that I will be hated by people. They will be thinking what a bad mother I am, a controlling mother. I thought they will throw tomatoes at me! That’s what I see in the movies. But to my surprise, people took it very nicely.”

2. Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava, “Funeral for the Fun Girls”

“I look at him directly and say in a firm voice: ‘I’m done with this conversation’ and turn away. As I walk off I overhear him saying the five words I can never unhear… ‘Norah used to be fun.’”

3. Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster, “Performing and Parenting: Neema Bickersteth”

“I remember this one time, I was sitting next to a soprano and she got to this super high note and one of my boobs just exploded, as if it was a baby crying.”

4. Diane Flacks, “Is Religion Open to Women?”

Unholy

“I think we can all admit that religion needs to keep ten feet the fuck away from women’s bodies and souls. And yet, many deeply thoughtful women have faith, have religion, have both. I wanted to find out why.”

5. Frances Koncan, “Truth, Reconciliation, and Zahgidiwin/Love

Frances Koncan

“Growing up in a half-Anishinaabe, half-Slovene family in Winnipeg, Manitoba—‘the most racist city in Canada’—was a lot of fun, if you’re the kind of person who finds prejudice a blast.”

6. Gabriella Colavecchio, “Feeling for the Edge: The Artist’s Odyssey for the Frontier”

“If someone tells me that a play is ‘edgy’ I usually have to fight the urge to roll my eyes. That word is as ubiquitous in the arts as the word ‘brilliant.’”

7. Ivana Shein, “Eating in LA”

Ivana

“Your friends back in Toronto, the cool ones, think you’re basically throwing your life away to play a kidnapped girl who gets thrown into a trunk in an episode of CSI. No one talks about how hard it actually is to get cast as a dead girl in a trunk on CSI.”

8. Jijo Quayson, “How to Tell Stories Across Cultures”

“Happiness. Joy. Jealousy. Greed. Lust. Love. This emotional compass is the same in all people, from all over the world. The way these emotions are expressed may vary due to cultural norms, but they will always exist.”

9. Polly Phokeev, “The Age of the Female Gaze”

“When I Google ‘female gaze’ what I get is a bunch of search results basically inverting ‘male gaze,’ putting men as objects instead of women. Not what I’m talking about. The answer doesn’t lie in plugging new folks into the roles of objectifier/objectified in the same system. The language of our storytelling has been built on a hierarchy that pits bodies against each other. The change we need comes from the root.”

10. Vivien Endicott-Douglas, “What’s in a Name? What’s in a Label?”

Shakespeare in the Ruff Romeo and Juliet

“I am revelling in Romeo. I am surprised at the part of me that walks with a swagger, that feels attractive without makeup, and that doesn’t constantly judge and censor myself but confidently expresses ideas and passionately declares love.”


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