Rebelliously Tiny

*Content Warning: Sharing of personal coming out stories, the good, the bad and everything in-between.

In the first season of Rebelliously Tiny, we talked about the personal, the political, the complicated, the intimate, the relatable and all the ambivalence in-between. With these discussions, we hoped to foster tenderness, friendship, love, understanding, learning and unlearning. We are currently working on a second season of our podcast but before we share our new conversations we decided to take a moment to reflect on Season 1.

In this in-between-seasons episode, we hear  familiar voices as they discuss “coming out” and help AY answer this episode’s question: “I need help coming out. I don’t know how to do it. I want to do it in a creative way.”

A podcast by Ambivalently Yours
Co-produced by Hannah McCasland
Recorded at Oboro Arist-Run Center in Montreal
Technical support: Stéphane Claude
Music: Greg Barkley

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The first season of Rebelliously Tiny premiered in May 2017, and features conversations about growing up, feminism, anxiety, sexual, gender and racial identity, sexual violence, body image, toxic masculinity, depression and more. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and now we are ready to start working on season 2. We just launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund our studio time, production costs and allow us to compensate our collaborators. Please help support this project by donating to our campaign and/or by sharing it with your family and friends. Thank you!

A podcast by Ambivalently Yours
Co-produced by Hannah McCasland
Recorded at (with their technical and financial support) Oboro Arist-Run Center in Montreal
Technical support: Stéphane Claude
Music: Greg Barkley

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*Content Warning: Discussions of depression, mental illness and suicidal thoughts.

Welcome to the season finale of Rebelliously Tiny. Here’s this week’s question: “Hey there, I just wanted to let you know how much I love your art and how it makes me feel so understood and a little less alone. I'm 21 years old and for the past few months I've been feeling so alone and so afraid of what the future holds. I feel hopeless and useless. Most days I can't even get out of bed. I feel like I'm wasting my life. I need hope and motivation. Honestly I need a bit of a reason to live. Do you ever feel this way and do you have any words of wisdom?”

As we mentioned in the first episode, this podcast began as Ambivalently Yours’ way of asking her community for help. This is why she decided to end our first season with the person she has turned to the most throughout her life: her mom, Johanne. Together they discuss what to do when you wake up with negative feelings and have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning. Johanne then shares tips on how to stay motivated, in a way that only a mom could. Johanne and Ambivalently Yours also use this opportunity to look at their personal relationship and family history, and the influence it has had on the way they face the world. They also talk about the challenges of becoming more emotionally open and the advantages of learning how to ask for help.

A podcast by Ambivalently Yours
Co-produced by Hannah McCasland
Recorded at (with their technical and financial support) Oboro Arist-Run Center in Montreal
Technical support: Stéphane Claude
Music: Greg Barkley

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*Content Warning: Discussions of gendered violence, sexism, and eating disorders. 

Welcome to another episode of Rebelliously Tiny. Here’s this week’s question: “I'm 15 and my good friend at school is male and anorexic, many people shame him for this because 'male' and 'anorexic' don't seem to match in today's society sadly. There's also a girl with anorexia but people give her support, I assume because she's female. I was wondering if you knew of anything I could do for people at my school to view males with mental health illnesses differently?”

This week, Ambivalently Yours reaches out to her friends Armando and Michaël, a married couple, and to her partner Graeme, for help responding to this question. In this “double date” podcast episode, we talk about allyship, mental health, body image and its relationship to gender norms. The two couples became friends after discussing these topics, and wanted to think through this question together. We also explore the implications of gender roles in society, and our guests speak to their own experiences with masculinity and femininity as defined by mainstream culture. In addition, we think about when and how we could be including different voices into these discussions, while also making space for specificity within social justice.

A podcast by Ambivalently Yours
Co-produced by Hannah McCasland
Recorded at (with their technical and financial support) Oboro Arist-Run Center in Montreal
Technical support: Stéphane Claude
Music: Greg Barkley

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*Content Warning: A very brief and vague discussion of eating disorders

Welcome to another episode of Rebelliously Tiny. Here’s this week’s question: “Are all traditional values bad? I was brought up where my mom did a lot of the basic "housewife" things but my father never demanded her or disrespected her or belittled her… I recently saw a peer post something against traditional values and she identifies as a feminist am I wrong or a hypocrite for having a different opinion? Does that not make me fit to be a feminist (I'm still trying to learn about the feminist movement and wish to have your perspective on this) thank you if you read this.”

In this episode, Ambivalently Yours turns to her best friend, Laura, for help answering this week’s question. Laura recently became a mother to twins, and has some insight on how “traditional values” are often defined. She talks about how feminism isn’t about condemning motherhood, but about dismantling systems that uphold restrictive gender norms. Together, we discuss the concept of “choice” and the importance of choosing jobs and roles that are right for us, despite societal pressures and expectations.

To learn more about Laura: @lauraka on Instagram

A podcast by Ambivalently Yours
Co-produced by Hannah McCasland
Recorded at (with their technical and financial support) Oboro Arist-Run Center in Montreal
Technical support: Stéphane Claude
Music: Greg Barkley

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*Content Warning: Discussions about Sexual Assault

Welcome to another episode of Rebelliously Tiny. Here’s this week’s question: “I'm going to uni and one of my friends got raped at the beginning of the year. It makes me sick to my stomach that such a high percentage of girls at uni get raped and yet they refuse to do anything about it. She went to the college counselors and the police. Everyone made it seem like it was her fault. The garbage male got her extremely drunk and she thought they were friends, but then he took her to his room and assaulted her. I want to help but it makes me so mad I dont want to scare her.”  

This week, we talk with Crickett, the Public Education Coordinatorat the Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton, Ontario (SACHA), who helps us reflect upon and answer this question about sexual assault. It is a tough question that outlines the harsh realities of the prevalence of sexual violence in our culture. Our discussion with Crickett gives us hope as it highlights the important work being done to help support survivors and combat the systems and structures that enable this violence to happen. Crickett also shares tips for friends of survivors on how to be supportive, and explains the extreme importance of “loving, trusting, and believing” each other. We tackle topics such as how the media misrepresents and blames victims of sexual assault and the failure of institutions meant to protect them. Lastly, we highlight the importance of self-care for survivors, friends of survivors, and anyone practicing resistance in the current political climate.

To learn more about SACHA please visit: sacha.ca
Facebook: @sachamilton
Twitter: @SACHA_tweets
Youtube: SACHAbroadcast

A podcast by Ambivalently Yours
Co-produced by Hannah McCasland
Recorded at (with their technical and financial support) Oboro Arist-Run Center in Montreal
Technical support: Stéphane Claude
Music: Greg Barkley

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*Content Warning: discussions of fat shaming and fatphobia, ableism

Welcome to the 5th episode of Rebelliously Tiny. Here’s this week’s question: “im a bigger girl and i feel like shit about it and people always make comments on my weight but its like not their buisness, you know? they say their "worried for my health" but really they dont care at all they just want me to stick to their standards of whats beautiful…”  

This week, we talk with Noé about issues of body-shaming that affect women, people of color and gender nonconforming individuals in particular. We also discuss how these issues intersect with disability and pain and the assumptions people make about “health” based on outward appearance. Noé has a lot of insight from their personal experiences, and Ambivalently Yours can relate, from her time working as a designer in the fashion industry. Both are familiar with the shame involved in the way women’s bodies are policed and constantly measured against a specific beauty standard. We discuss the pressures to lose some mystical amount of weight to be happy, or to buy outfits or makeup in order to be a version of “beautiful” imposed by society. Noé also talks about the support that can come from friendships and communities, as well as the importance of language and their decision to reclaim the word “fat.”

Follow Noé’s work at @fatkittyrising on Facebook and Tumblr.

A podcast by Ambivalently Yours
Co-produced by Hannah McCasland
Recorded at (with their technical and financial support) Oboro Arist-Run Center in Montreal
Technical support: Stéphane Claude
Music: Greg Barkley

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*Content Warning: discussions of mental health issues; online misogyny.

Welcome to the fourth episode of Rebelliously Tiny. Here’s this week’s question: “I have severe anxiety and it's hard for me to do some daily tasks. People roll their eyes at me everyday and tell me to get over it. No one understands that my anxiety is like this demon on my shoulder. I am strong and anxiety does not control me.”

This week, we speak with vlogger, writer and feminist philosopher Celia Edell about mental health. Our question is about anxiety, and Celia has a lot of great advice, including tips about how to get help and what to do when people tell you to “just get over it.” She tells us a little bit about her personal experiences and how they have shaped her perspectives on mental health. We talk about different coping mechanisms like listening to podcasts or watching Gilmore Girls and Teen Mom, and the power of a good cry. Ambivalently Yours and Celia also share experiences of online hate and criticisms, and strategies for ignoring hateful comments. Finally, towards the end of the episode, Zhi Xi, who you may have met in our episode last week, asks Celia for some advice. 

Learn more about Celia’s work at @ceedling on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Tumblr.

A podcast by Ambivalently Yours
Co-produced by Hannah McCasland
Recorded at (with their technical and financial support) Oboro Arist-Run Center in Montreal
Technical support: Stéphane Claude
Music: Greg Barkley

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*Content Warning: discussions of racism and sexism, mentions of police violence

Welcome to the third episode of Rebelliously Tiny. Here’s this week’s question: “Hi, so as a high school student, I come in contact with misogyny, rape jokes, and overall sexist things quite often. I do my best to stop the person making the comment and tell them why what they said was wrong, but most people just call me a crazy bitch. I'm known in my school as the loud mouthed feminist. Why are people, high schoolers esp, so scared to learn about feminism versus treating it like a joke?”  

This week, our guest Zhi Xi talks with us about high school. We question whether feminism is taken seriously as a topic in high school, why it should be, and where else teenagers might have the chance to learn about feminism and social justice. Zhi Xi talks about useful spaces on the Internet and social media where much of this learning occurs. She also touches upon the complicated aspects of celebrities using their platform to raise awareness about social justice issues and why feminism has to be intersectional. Ambivalently Yours and Zhi Xi relate about embracing feminism and the struggles that can come along with being labeled the “feminist killjoy.”  

A podcast by Ambivalently Yours
Co-produced by Hannah McCasland
Recorded at (with their technical and financial support) Oboro Arist-Run Center in Montreal
Technical support: Stéphane Claude
Music: Greg Barkley

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*Content Warning: discussions of racism, police violence

Welcome to episode 2 of Rebelliously Tiny.Here’s this week’s question: “hi sweetheart, i need to talk about something. a few months ago, i started questioning my sexuality because i had a crush on one of my same-sex friends. i had tried to discover my sexuality a couple times before, but i kept thinking that i was straight. now, im not sure. my main problem is that i dont know whether my thoughts are real, or if im just doing this because of one crush. ive already talked about this to some friends who are lgbt+ themselves, but im so scared that i might just be imagining all of this, and that i offended my friends whose feelings are actually real. i wouldnt have a problem with being gay, bi, pan, straight or whatever; i just have a problem with not knowing if what i feel is real. thanks for listening, i love your blog a lot!!”  

We were lucky to have Lux help us answer our question this week. Ambivalently Yours met Lux at a drawing workshop, and has since been inspired by their use of social media to start conversations. We talk with Lux about sexuality, race, gender, and how to navigate difficult, intimate and important discussions about tough issues. We learn a lot from Lux and along the way we laugh about Gilmore Girls and first crushes.

A podcast by Ambivalently Yours
Co-produced by Hannah McCasland
Recorded at (with their technical and financial support) Oboro Arist-Run Center in Montreal
Technical support: Stéphane Claude
Music: Greg Barkley

SUBSCRIBE ON ITUNES
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