The Sister(s) Strain

The first in our 5 part "Care to Share" campaign, this week we talk with Renee Geniole from R.O.C.K Reach Out Chatham-Kent. There have been so many questions and concerns swirling around our community in light of the encampment movement and bylaw proposals. We sat down with Renee to learn a little more about R.O.C.K.- where they get their funding, what their funding is intended for...and even the pressing remark on community members minds- How much does Renee make as the Director of R.O.C.K?!

We hope you will follow along and "Care to Share" this information so we can all get more informed before forming an opinion!

Summer is almost here and so it seems like the perfect time to do a final episode to punctuate the first season of The Sister(s) Strain. The Sisters are hard at work on multiple documentary film projects. They will share with you a few summer reading recommendations and hopes to return next season with many new faces and voices to share.

Stay curious this summer, stretch outside your comfort zones and live your fullest!!

Summer Reading List:

A Return to Eros by Marc Gafni & Kristina Kincaid

Cunt: A Declaration of Independence by Inga Muscio

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez

Pussy: A Reclamation by Regina Thomashauer

Vagina by Naomi Wolf

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

There has been a LOT of talk about this floating around the internet as of late and the Sisters took their time to really contemplate the issue and to dig a little deeper for a few unique perspectives on it. Why are we seeing this shift, how are social media and masculinity influencers affecting it and what work do we need to do face it as a society?! Join us for a dialogue on Season 1, episode 9 of The Sister(s) Strain!

Look for the currently unpublished but hopefully coming soon book titled "Men Without Men" by Angelica Ferrara

A few positive on-line influencers:

@heybrotherco

@everforwardclub

@whiteribbonaust

@nextgenmen

@mrhealthteacher

@re.masculine

@professor_neil

@jeffperera

Season 1, Episode 8 of the The Sister(s) Strain invites in special guest, actress and filmmaker, Ann Pirvu. The ladies discuss women in comedy, the need for our media to represent/promote a wider array of unique perspectives/voices, and how to be authentic to your truth and intentions as an artist.

Although there were more stats and data about the current climate of women working in the comedy genre there was simply not enough time to discuss them all during this episode. Attached are resources where you can continue further reading for yourself!

The conversation shares some inside info into the female led comedy series Ann stars in titled “Poly is the new Monogamy” written by Cat Hostick, that is currently available on Hollywood Suite.

https://hollywoodsuite.ca/series/poly-is-the-new-monogamy/

Ann also shows off the newly released comic book she created with her husband, “Doctor Awesome Woman” now available through Vortex Comics:

https://vortex-comics.myshopify.com/products/doctor-awesome-woman-volume-1-issue-1?_pos=1&_sid=e0d3c734a&_ss=r&fbclid=IwY2xjawKZcsdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHlsjJoC2T83u0Jd9ZwPKoitvYkyBzGNoxG5JWw3M7UcQoh67ldgjmHmFtBZW_aem_YAnZ_smrWoOeHHojdBA8gg&sfnsn=mo

Episode 7 takes a deep dive into the meaning of words...one word more specifically...CUNT! While the sisters explore the lost meanings of many female oriented words and our societies current attachments to them, they'll be focusing on the etymology of the word cunt and where it has most notably appeared in our literature. You can't believe everything you have come to know about the words you use...

Suggested subject matter books:

CUNT: A Declaration of Independence by Inga Muscio

Vagina by Naomi Wolf

The Female Eunuch, Sex & Destiny, The Whole Woman by Germaine Greer

Episode 6 is a personally MONUMENTAL one!!! As we gear up for Mothers Day this weekend the Sisters Strain get to celebrate the coming birth of their beautiful creative baby!! Their Directorial debut feature film "Call of The Blackbird" is set to release next Tuesday, May 13th on streaming platforms all over the World!!

Tune in to hear the story of how this film came to be and the fears they overcame to conquer this dream of theirs <3

Season 1, Episode 5 is a fun one...and perhaps a bit brazen...as The Sisters do best hehe Patriarchy loves to take points of feminine pride and turn them into an insult. Today we're reclaiming one of them...PUSSY!;)

Join us on this pleasure-filled podcast and take your curiosities further by following the resource links provided/reading the books suggested below:

Books:

Pussy: A Reclamation by Regena Thomashauer

VAGINA by Naomi Wolf

Instagram:

@themerakiproject

Season 1, Episode 4 is a topic very near and dear to The Sisters hearts- the pursuit of female filmmaking. Studies show that the number of males and females studying filmmaking is at an even divide so why are the numbers of women directing films so low??!! The sisters will take you on a journey through time, exploring the past, present and hopeful future of female filmmakers!

Links attached provide resources to stats/discussion material heard in this episode. Here are some recommended books on the subject:

1)Backwards & In Heels

The Past, Present And Future Of Women Working In Film by Alicia Malone

2) The Female Gaze: Essential Movies Made by Women by Alicia Malone

3) The Wrong Kind of Women

Inside Our Revolution to Dismantle the Gods of Hollywood by Naomi McDougall Jones

The Sisters are joined by their long time friend Meg as their first guest! The ladies explain why their group chat is titled "Daddy Issues" and dig into the deeper meanings behind the expression-where it came from and what it presently represents-in our society.

Menstruation is a topic the sisters are very passionate about! As they wrap up a period product campaign they've been conducting for the month of March they share a few things they've learned along the way and shed some light on global period inequity stats.

A few resources they used for this episode:

The book "It's Only Blood: Shattering the Taboo of Menstruation" by Anna Dahlqvist A MUST READ!!!!!

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9903918/

https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/nigerian-activists-take-period-poverty#:~:text=In%20Nigeria%2C%20an%20estimated%2037,also%20pain%20medication%20and%20underwear.

https://www.ujaas.in/blogs/period-poverty-in-india-understanding-the-issue-solutions

From our passion to our pen,

~The Sisters Strain~