issue 11: our annual reproductive justice issue is about autonomy. it’s about the right to make decisions about your body and your future without coercion, neglect, or punishment. who is granted that privacy, and who is subjected to scrutiny? what’s the next step of bodies becoming sites of regulation? the handmaid’s tale can’t be the only imaginable endpoint. why have we become comfortable framing personal experiences as public concerns, letting institutions and culture define what is “responsible,” “moral,” or “acceptable” for us to do with our own bodies? is surrogacy morally reprehensible, or is that question a distraction?
send all proposals or initial drafts to ucgargoyle@gmail.com by march 6th at 5 pm with “issue 11 proposal for section x, contributor’s name” as the subject line. include a sample paragraph (about 200 words) with your proposal. final drafts are due tuesday, march 11th at 11:59 pm. pieces can be anywhere from 1 to 1000 words. production night will run march 19th from 5–9 in the jcr.
some prompts to get you pondering:
uc: talk about your experience with uoft’s support systems: the sexual violence prevention & support centre, PEARS project, the sexual education centre, the health and wellness centre. has uoft’s sexual violence policy (or lack of effort therein) made you feel less safe on campus? did you tune into governing council elections just to realize that no one is actually interested in doing the work to make campus safer? have the osap cuts made you and your dependents unsure about whether or not you can continue at university? we’re looking for testimonies as to how this institution provides its students with justice and support. write anonymously, write with your full government name, but write.
arts & culture: pink hats, green bandanas, coat hangers, handmaids’ cloaks. trace the visual life of reproductive justice. when does a symbol galvanize, and when does it get flattened into merch? think about the body as billboard and battleground. slogans sharpied onto stomachs. glitter, blood, milk, lace. interrogate the aesthetics of “choice” more generally. who gets styled as innocent, maternal, worthy of protection and who gets rendered deviant, irresponsible, disposable?
politics: write about a moment when a body became a “case,” a “risk,” or a “diagnosis” instead of a person: who gained power in that shift, and who lost it? imagine a clinic waiting room as a political space: whose reproduction is encouraged, whose is surveilled, and whose is quietly discouraged? tell a story from the perspective of a medical chart, tracking how race, class, gender, disability, or immigration status shape the care someone receives. explore a character who resists a medical label placed on their reproductive body: what forms can refusal take? describe the language of “choice” and contrast it with the material realities that make some choices possible and others impossible.
opinions: how do cultural values play into your or your family’s attitudes about reproduction? is there a clash, or a generational divide? what about class, or gender? how does religion — practiced or inherited — show up in your reproductive choices? rank menstrual products. birth control, contraception, IUDs, hormone medication: have you changed your body in the name of reproductive health? are our systems set up effectively to reflect these changes, or can you recount an instance where these systems let you down? how do cultural values play into your or your family’s attitudes about reproduction? is there a clash, or a generational divide? what about class, or gender? how does religion — practiced or inherited — show up in your reproductive choices? rank menstrual products. birth control, contraception, IUDs, hormone medication: have you changed your body in the name of reproductive health? are our systems set up effectively to reflect these changes, or can you recount an instance where these systems let you down?
avant garg: “no” means no but so do a million other words, gestures, and expressions. bold it, underline it, italicize it. trace the contours of your body, yes, your body, emphasizing its extensions, detachments, hollows, and scars. let’s talk about metaphors for the body — are they enough to encompass human corporeality? blackout medicolegal documents and reveal what they actually say (see: vol. 70 iss. 11 what was really said at the overturning of roe v. wade by suraiya jiwani).
comics: draw us a poster in protest for freedom and autonomy. draw us a map of your favourite reproductive resources and health centres around the city. give us a comic about your experiences. or give us a comic about your dreams, how your life will look in a perfect world
stay greasy,
amareena saleh
communications editor
