THIS IS IMPORTANT TO READ. Most of us are complicit in this behaviour (reaching out to the man in a situation over a woman). Many of us have been on the receiving end. This needs to stop or at the very least be addressed openly without the defensiveness it already managed to arouse. By Marie Claire For the past 3.5 years I have worked incredibly hard on Weird Canada. I have been deeply involved in all the hardest and most tedious parts of the work since 2010 (wc-the-blog existed for about 6 months before I got involved). I still struggle to get any recognition for the work I do, and Aaron still gets credited for my work. For the longest time we both thought it was just because of the 6 months when I wasnt involved. But every year it gets a little more embarrassing. Even when Aaron states outright that he has nothing to do with something, his name is still there, almost always above mine. If Aaron was a jerk, this would be different. But he is supportive and is just as embarrassed about this as I am. Im Aarons plus one at nearly every show I go to, even if I am volunteering to sell merch and Aaron is just a guest. On every partnership I initialize, at some point Aaron becomes the direct contact or voice of authority even when hes unresponsive, absent, and not involved. I honestly dont know what to do. Im talking about this: - music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2011/3/Edmontons-Weird-Canada-named-Best-Canadian-Music-Site - ffwdweekly/article/music/music-features/exhaustive-and-exhausting-7476/ - exclaim.ca/News/exclaim_salutes_ten_heroes_in_canadian_music - polarismusicprize.ca/article/334/67-aaron-levin-weird-canada/ - blogto/music/2012/08/aaron_levin_weird_canada_shine_light_on_indie_music/ - nmc.ca/blog/weird-canada-nmcs-newest-blog-partner - ominocity/2011/05/18/wyrd-fest-part-1/ - arts.nationalpost/2014/02/14/wyrd-distro-looks-to-make-canada-weirder-one-diy-album-at-a-time/ Im talking about Aaron being tagged in this interview, that he had nothing to do with: vishkhanna/2014/02/13/ep-72-marie-leblanc-flanagan-of-weird-canada/ Aaron was credited in Offerings for months and he literally never did a single thing. If you are wondering about all the interviews with me lately, it is because I paid a professional (and wonderful) publicist to present me as the person-of-interest. Even still: People say shit to me like oh, my girlfriend helps me too and aarons lucky to have you and oh, I didnt know you helped out with Weird and can you pass this on to aaron, please. Even when I orchestrate projects or partnerships from beginning to end. Even when I take 15 months off work to dedicate to full time Weird Canada. Im talking about every interview where the person wants to talk about founding of the blog and has little interest in the founding of the national nonprofit, the winning of the searchlight award, in the 350+ amazing people who are building something really special, in the formation of the distro, in the accessibility projects, in the databases and information shares, in the ideas pieces, in the transition to bilingualism, in all the magic that has been done in the last 3.5 years. I know people dont mean any harm by this. And yes, there have been exceptions. I know it is not done consciously. And I know there are all kinds of reasons and justifications for each circumstance. But it is really hurting me. I start to clam up in interviews, and it exacerbates the problem. And there is no room for me to talk about it without it becoming a personal confrontation. And it doesnt feel personal, it feels systemic. Help.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 12:13:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015