Recently, Toronto held its second annual Drum and Bass awards at XS nightclub, hosted by Destiny and Future Sound productions. The winners of each award were decided by an online poll--I wont go into the issues and controversy regarding the polls, because that's a whole other blog, and I don't see ANYTHING being resolved by blogging it, so I'll pass on that one. (in case you are interested in the debate, check out http://torontojungle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56947)
Anyway, early on, I noticed that there was a problem. The promoters had decided that the winner of the Best DJ category would get to play a set at the event. However, every single female DJ in the city was eliminated from this opportunity because Girl DJs were not part of the Best Dj category, she could only compete against other girls in the "best girl dj" category.
Being my little ol' Julie Pie self, I immediately brought this up on torontojungle.com in the event post (you can check it out here at http://www.torontojungle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55098)
If the old boys club was going to segregate the girls from the boys, they were essentially saying that the girls are not even CLOSE to as good as the boys, and they don't deserve a spot at the event show.
COMPLETELY UNTRUE, and not cool, at all.
To my amazement, my complaint was immediately responded to, and I was informed that the winning girl would be, in fact, given an opportunity to play at the award event.
Success! Julie Pie wins one for the girls! Err... or so I thought.
The awards have come and gone, and we're still facing a whole whack of drama (see my first link)
I mean, I can't REALLY complain. Female DJs and sexism in drum and bass seems to be a hot topic at the moment, and I LOVE the dialogue. The Toronto Drum and Bass scene has traditionally been male dominated--from the promoters throwing the jams to the DJs playing the music, not to mention the fact that nearly ALL producers of Drum and Bass are boys. Now, we're looking at a crop of talented, driven and passionate FEMALE DJs that are all coming up in the scene right now.
Toronto has a very unique situation--it's a small community, and it's becoming nearly an equal split in all aspects.. more girls are throwing parties, more girls are getting behind the decks, and I seriously hope there's more girl trying their hands at producing tunes.
All of these things are GOOD signs that we're heading in the right direction, and the constant discussion on Torontojungle.com is a reflection of the progress we're making here. We're going to see a lot of growing pains, it's always hard for the boys in the scene to deal with change, but I do see a lot of respect for this movement, even from the guys.
When it comes down to it, we all love Drum and Bass, and no one can dispute when a DJ tears up a club, doesn't matter if it's a dude or a girl.
Pr0n, sex tapes, cute guys in business suits and other NSFW topics
It's Fridayeeeee!! And because it's the best day of the week, I've been tremendously inappropriate all afternoon.
Something about being at work, in an office, doin the 2-5 shift on a Friday just tempts me to act indecently. Probably something to do with all the cute guys in business suits parading past my desk today..
So, my afternoon of crass conversations began with a question about sex tapes. This, of course, was instigated by the suggestion that I should spend my afternoon watching porn on my computer at work--which I think goes a little beyond NSFW, and into the category of DIYWGF (do-if-you-wanna-get-fired) tbh.
Anyway, porn was suggested, and it's been on my mind lately anyhow (for purely academic purposes, honest). My question to my msn buddy was "so you think those girls know they're going to end up online after making a lil harmless sextape with their boyfriend?"
Harmless, never. You can't really claim to be innocent of the consequences while you're making a sex tape. Voyeurism and Exhibhitionism are kinda the point (duh) of sex tapes, afterall. But would most of those girls actually consent to their homemade video online? Hmmm I'm guessing no... otherwise the videos wouldn't be titled "My ex girlfriend", but rather "My ex boyfriend".
Something about being at work, in an office, doin the 2-5 shift on a Friday just tempts me to act indecently. Probably something to do with all the cute guys in business suits parading past my desk today..
So, my afternoon of crass conversations began with a question about sex tapes. This, of course, was instigated by the suggestion that I should spend my afternoon watching porn on my computer at work--which I think goes a little beyond NSFW, and into the category of DIYWGF (do-if-you-wanna-get-fired) tbh.
Anyway, porn was suggested, and it's been on my mind lately anyhow (for purely academic purposes, honest). My question to my msn buddy was "so you think those girls know they're going to end up online after making a lil harmless sextape with their boyfriend?"
Harmless, never. You can't really claim to be innocent of the consequences while you're making a sex tape. Voyeurism and Exhibhitionism are kinda the point (duh) of sex tapes, afterall. But would most of those girls actually consent to their homemade video online? Hmmm I'm guessing no... otherwise the videos wouldn't be titled "My ex girlfriend", but rather "My ex boyfriend".
Feeling a little under the weather today.. merrr.
Had a discussion today regarding how I handled a situation online. Goes like this: boy on internet forum decides to post that he wants to bail on his date with a girl (who is apparently a doctor) because he'd rather stay home and play video games.
Also, at the time of his post, he was supposed to be meeting her in half an hour.
Hookay.
Chances are, half an hour to the time of the date, she's already dressed. Bailing is bad form. Terrible form, really.
And I definitely tore into this kid about that fact.. Who ditches a woman who is clearly smart, interesting, and talented, so he can stay home and play video games??!?
Okay, so I missed a key factor. Boys get nervous and do stupid things. PEOPLE get nervous and do stupid things, I wont gender qualify that.
Anyway, this point was brought to my attention earlier today, and I felt kinda silly about it. I didn't mean to tear into this kid quite so harshly, it just came out pretty hard. I guess internet forums have a way of bringing out the vicious side of me, sometimes.
Had a discussion today regarding how I handled a situation online. Goes like this: boy on internet forum decides to post that he wants to bail on his date with a girl (who is apparently a doctor) because he'd rather stay home and play video games.
Also, at the time of his post, he was supposed to be meeting her in half an hour.
Hookay.
Chances are, half an hour to the time of the date, she's already dressed. Bailing is bad form. Terrible form, really.
And I definitely tore into this kid about that fact.. Who ditches a woman who is clearly smart, interesting, and talented, so he can stay home and play video games??!?
Okay, so I missed a key factor. Boys get nervous and do stupid things. PEOPLE get nervous and do stupid things, I wont gender qualify that.
Anyway, this point was brought to my attention earlier today, and I felt kinda silly about it. I didn't mean to tear into this kid quite so harshly, it just came out pretty hard. I guess internet forums have a way of bringing out the vicious side of me, sometimes.
Have a nice slice of Julie Pie
I'm Julie Pie aka DJB from Torontojungle.com. I'm an active member of the Toronto drum and bass scene, as well as a Dj.
Shocking, I know.. a girl dj.. Unheard of, right? No. Not even close, but you'd think so considering the type of sexism female djs put up with on a regular basis in this scene.
Our talent is trivialized, and we become novalties relegated to "girls only" dj nights once in awhile. And even still, we're forced to constantly defend ourselves and our right to play the music we love.
So, I'm going to post critical musings here regarding sexism in the scene, but I'll also be blogging about topics that come up in day to day life, always with a feminist view, of course.
Shocking, I know.. a girl dj.. Unheard of, right? No. Not even close, but you'd think so considering the type of sexism female djs put up with on a regular basis in this scene.
Our talent is trivialized, and we become novalties relegated to "girls only" dj nights once in awhile. And even still, we're forced to constantly defend ourselves and our right to play the music we love.
So, I'm going to post critical musings here regarding sexism in the scene, but I'll also be blogging about topics that come up in day to day life, always with a feminist view, of course.
