Greetings, y’all.

Well, I don’t mind saying that I was ridiculously excited to be asked to take part in Feministe’s guest blogger series. I may have even squee’d, just a bit.

I should probably introduce myself. I am Andie, frequent reader, occasional commenter. I’m a divorced mother of two girls, a former sociology goober (as one of my profs affectionately referred to us) who, by accident of a fraught economy and a degree that was chosen more for interest than employability, stumbled into online media and print publishing. At one point in time, my goal was to become a sexual health counsellor. A goal, I may add, I have not entirely given up.

I hail from a semi-rural touristy area in Ontario, Canada – “Cottage Country”, if you will, so my experiences and understanding of some laws will have a northern slant to them.

I’ve been blogging for about seven or eight years now and my subject matter tends to vary from parenting issues, day-to-day life, pop culture, weird things my kids say, social issues, feminism, creative writing and so on and so forth. I’ve also done some writing on Health At Every Size (HAES) for a group weight loss blog (the embracing of this ideal being what eventually led me to stop writing for them).

As the mother of two girls, the oldest of whom is rapidly approaching adolescence, feminism has been an important part of learning how to help them navigate a world that may seem, a good portion of the time, pitted against them. More than anything, I want to instill in them a sense of values that embrace being strong, kind to others, but unafraid to call bullshit on the world around them.

During my time here I’d like to focus on how we, as parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, and older friends and peers influence the coming generation. I may also touch on some pop culture, as it’s a fascination of mine and in one post I’d like to expand on the issues of gentrification that were brought up in Anna’s post, but tackle them from a rural standpoint.

Before I go (I’m sick as a dog today and in need of a nap) I want to add that although I’ve spent a lot of time lurking as well as commenting and in general tend to err on the side of ‘Shut Up and Listen’ I will admit I come from a place of privilege on many axes and I may show my ass from time to time. I hope I don’t, but should it come to that, please don’t hesitate to call me out and it is my pledge that I will try my damndest not to get butthurt and to Shut Up and Listen.

Looking forward to posting!