It’s shocking to think that 18 months ago, I wrote my first Let’s Talk? column. In some ways it seems like yesterday; in others, it seems like it’s been a lifetime. From Women’s Day to fuckboys, from consent to baking for firemen, from Alabama to questioning the validity of Ross and Rachel, Let’s Talk? has been a grab bag examining issues I’ve experienced and observed as a woman over the last year and a half. It’s been an honour to produce this column and I’m so sad to write this, my swan-song rant.
The time has come for me to move on from Camosun and Nexus, but there is still so much more to say. While the tides have certainly turned since I started writing the column and the #MeToo movement was on the upswing, things still happen on a daily basis that I could write a column about, which makes it so bittersweet to say goodbye. It’s time for me to move on, but oh, how I wish I could keep going.
So, before I go, I just want to say thank you for taking this journey with me. This column is where I found my voice as a feminist. Where I learned that I know simultaneously so much more and oh so very much less than I realized. I’ve been empowered and humbled by this experience. For better or worse, words have power.
Be kind, be fierce, be patient. The world is changing. I know sometimes it feels like it’s happening at a glacial pace, but it is changing. I hope 25 years from now, Let’s Talk? will seem laughably outdated. I hope my daughters will stumble on it and roll their eyes, convinced their mom was exaggerating about the absurdity of a need for Women’s Day or the concept of unequal pay. But we aren’t there yet.
From the “oh Hells no” to “no, please, sir, continue to mansplain” to the heartbreaking realities of inequality, the battles for our bodies, and the things we whisper in the dark because we’re afraid to say them out loud—these conversations still need to happen. Observations still need to made. So, please continue to have those talks. Talk to your friends, your family. Let your voice be heard—hey, if you’re a writer, I’d love to see a Let’s Talk 2.0 in these pages.
Remember, words have power—use them carefully.