March 12, 2021

Gatekeepers make sports inaccessible

Gatekeepers are ruining sports for everybody. Elitism exists in all corners of pop culture. Nobody enjoying any entertainment form—from music to sports—is truly safe from gatekeepers standing high atop their pedestals. These purists are always ready to pounce on casual fans with stale critiques …

March 12, 2021

The art of sliding into DMs

Sliding into someone’s direct messages or ‘DMs’ is a scary move. Many of us refrain from messaging the person we’re interested in because we overthink what to say and don’t want to come across as c…

March 12, 2021

Navigating my body image following an abortion

This piece mentions abortion and may be triggering for some readers. The Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Line can be reached at 1-800-875-6213. For a while now, I’ve been on the hunt …

March 12, 2021

Burger King doesn’t care about you, but neither do other marketers

On International Women’s Day this past Monday, Burger King UK tweeted “Women belong in the kitchen.” Its goal was to promote its new culinary scholarships for women. The chain apologized and took d…

Tales from customer service

March 9, 2021

When I was in high school, I made the unfortunate decision to take a job as one of Santa’s helpers at my local mall. I expected the position to be fun, helping to carry out the magic of Christmas t…

The MCU is finally making strides in women representation

March 9, 2021

Last week, when I opened Disney+, I was met with a banner promoting Captain Marvel with the caption “Celebrate International Women’s Day.” I was infuriated. Not only was I frustrated because, as ma…

How adopting my cats changed my life

March 5, 2021

In a corner of my living room at any given time, there’s a pile of Whiskas cat food scattered across the hardwood floor. Every day my cat, Eleanor, sits mischievously in front of her bowl, looking …

How the pandemic is changing my relationship with my body

March 5, 2021

This article discusses eating disorders and may be triggering for some readers. The Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Line can be reached at 1-800-875-6213. A lot of things I love have been…

Sipping local: exploring lesser-known Kingston coffee shops

March 5, 2021

With Kingston claiming the title of highest per capita restaurants in the country, it’s no surprise the city is saturated with charming, small-town coffee shops. Most Queen’s students are familiar …

The melting pot: How my housemates and I bonded over food

March 5, 2021

When my five housemates and I met in October of our first year at Queen’s, all that connected us was a mutual friend, Amy. We were six young women thrown together, each from different religious bac…

Taylor Swift is mad, and we should at least respect that anger

March 5, 2021

Last week, Taylor Swift called out the Netflix series Ginny & Georgia for making a sexist joke at her expense. Unsurprisingly, Swift’s criticism spurred a divisive response online. Some are int…

The Bachelor’s racism doesn’t end with Chris Harrison

March 2, 2021

After 19 years of hosting ABC’s The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise, Chris Harrison is stepping aside. It’s unknown when or if he will return. This announcement comes shortly a…

‘To All the Boys: Always and Forever’ is the perfect romance for pandemic-era dating disappointment

March 2, 2021

It doesn’t top the original, but the third instalment of the To All the Boys franchise delivers the same comforting, romantic idealism as its predecessors. To All the Boys: Always and Forever does …

Living at home versus on-campus during a pandemic

March 2, 2021

For many of us, this year’s university experience has been confined to a computer screen, splitting our time between refreshing OnQ and attending dreaded Zoom lectures. With COVID-19 forcing Queen’…

‘February is the month of Black History Month, but it’s also the month of love’

February 26, 2021

This article contains words from the video “Black Women Dating at Predominantly White Institutions,” but is by no means a comprehensive summary of the diverse scope of its content. Nicole Osayand…

Streaming should be the end of reality TV

February 26, 2021

If video killed the radio star, then streaming should kill reality television. The appeal of reality TV is undeniable: humans are inherently nosy creatures. There’s a vicarious thrill in watching …

Stop criticizing Olivia Wilde over Harry Styles

February 26, 2021

Between his androgynous style and ambiguous song lyrics, Harry Styles has always been known as a rule-bender. Recently, however, Styles has gained acclaim for bending a whole new set of rules: thos…

Why I fall back into ‘comfort watching’

February 26, 2021

“Are you still watching?” This is the prompt that appears when Netflix is concerned that you’re spending too much time in front of the screen. Most of us have been there—a rabbit hole of content th…

We need more nuanced representations of Muslim women

February 26, 2021

Whenever we talk about representation of a minority group, we always talk about how to do it ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’ It’s no different for Muslim characters—we need them to be perfectly imperfect. We n…

The token Black friend

February 26, 2021

I’ve found that white people are often more worried about being called racist than they are about actually being racist. I’ve known white people who throw fits at the mere suggestion of being labe…

What it’s like being a ‘Castle Kid’

February 11, 2021

Back in 2018, I went out on a limb and accepted an offer to do my first year of undergrad at the Queen’s Bader International Study Centre (BISC), located in East Sussex, England, where students go …

We need to talk about sexually transmitted infections and diseases

February 11, 2021

Becoming more sex-positive doesn’t mean we’re only open to talking about the good parts of sex. If we want to foster a better understanding of sexual health, we need to change the conversation arou…

Snapchat Spotlight gives TikTok a run for their money

February 9, 2021

In the 2010s, Snapchat was one of the defining social media platforms. Popularizing filters, stories, and streaks, Snapchat quickly grew to be one of the favourite social media apps for teens and y…

Uprooting ‘hustle culture’ and its toxic byproducts

February 5, 2021

I attended a competitive high school where I took AP classes, made honour roll every year, and graduated with awards—but competition wasn’t limited to academic achievement. My peers competed for th…

Justin Timberlake’s Queer ‘allyship’ strips ally of its meaning

February 5, 2021

Apparently, Justin Timberlake is a Queer ally—who knew? Last week, during an interview for his upcoming film Palmer, Timberlake was asked why it’s important for him to be an outspoken advocate for …

Everything you need to know about the unfounded QAnon theory

February 5, 2021

Many of us will chalk the hardships of the last year up to difficult circumstances and doing our best to make it through. Others, however, might go looking for answers and wind up caught in a compl…

Hair care by trial and error: Experimenting with the ‘curly girl method’

February 5, 2021

“How to figure out your curl type.” “Product dos and don’ts for curly hair.” “Common curly hair mistakes and how to avoid them.” These are just a taste of titles from the overwhelming slew of artic…

Connecting with my grandma during the pandemic

February 2, 2021

My grandma cries every time my family goes on vacation. She knows she’s getting old and there’s always a small chance she may never see us again. As my grandma approaches her 90th birthday quaranti…

‘Gifted kid burnout’ is more than a punchline

February 2, 2021

The concept of ‘gifted kid burnout’ has been around on the internet for a while, but it’s recently found a second wind on TikTok. My social media feeds have been flooded with posts lamenting the ne…

Men: Please watch ‘Promising Young Woman’

February 2, 2021

This article discusses sexual assault and may be triggering for some readers. The Journal uses “survivor” to refer to those who have experienced sexual assault. We acknowledge this term is not univ…