By Loose Lips Mag
@looselipsmag

Let’s get one thing out of the way: this. shit. is. embarrassing. It wasn’t so long ago that wearers of white robes, burning crosses and toting guns, were part of the lunatic fringe. Rallying numbers of the ‘Alt-Right’ marched in Charlottesville in the name of white nationalism this past Sunday, and it looks like those lunatics are no longer on the fringe. They’re organized, they’re numerous, and they’re dangerous.

Never did we think we’d see a white supremacist apologist for a world leader in 2017. With torches, police violence, and calls for literally building a wall to separate countries, we’ve woken up in a historically regressive nightmare. And let’s not start on the idea that we can’t talk about this because we’re Canadian. We’re not all immune to it North of the border, either.

Though the self-identifying feminist Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been the poster boy for Canadian politeness and joie de vivre, let’s not forget that Indigenous Canada 150 protestors were arrested on their own unceded territory for erecting a teepee to bring attention to the tangible, cultural genocide and marginilization of First Nation peoples on Parliament Hill. This year. In 2017.

Let’s not forget that 100 Syrian refugees were pepper sprayed this January during a welcome ceremony in Vancouver.

Let’s not forget there’s an anti-immigration rally planned this Saturday at Vancouver City Hall.

Let’s not forget that white privilege isn’t an insult: it’s the fact that you get to see people who look like you on 90 per cent of magazine covers, being 100 per cent of the main characters in television sitcoms, it’s feeling safe to drive home from work late at night without being pulled over for the colour of your skin, it’s visibility, it’s not being the token ethnic friend in your mostly European high school/college/friend circle. It’s not an insult. You didn’t do anything wrong. You just have to admit that you’re lucky.

Which takes us to our next point.

Let’s get this other thing out of the way: we are two feminist magazine editors who also happen to be (predominantly) white. We are women of privilege and we’re aware of that. We acknowledge it.

While our mandate is to be inherently intersectional and to give every woman a voice – her own voice – we know there’s room for growth. We can be better at intersectionality. We are learning and growing with the feminist movement – we are correcting our mistakes and making a concerted effort to be more educated on the harms of white colonialism.

That means we need our fellow feminists to hold our toes to the fire, and for women of colour to come forward and share their stories and their truths. Use our platform to break down barriers and dismantle white supremacy, dismantle inherent entitlement, and decolonize. Loose Lips Magazine was created with the intention of elevating our fellow women, not taking up space where our fellow women ought to be. So we ask of you: send us an email and use our platform to take up space. Lend us your words and we will step aside for you.

We don’t speak for you, but we stand for you. We stand with you.

With humility,
Kristi & Brittany