The Body Issue 2018
Samuel Engelking
Letters To The Editor | January 11-17, 2018
Lots of strong opinions from readers on the meaning of nudity in our Love Your Body Issue; plus, what real news used to look like more
William Lavinia: performer and model
"The most offensive thing would be for someone to assume I’m a cis man. I want people to see my chest and know I’m not." more
Samuel Engelking
Danika Lorèn: opera singer
"When puberty came, suddenly I had a very womanly body, and I didn’t know how to deal with that. It’s taken me years to feel like the woman I’m displaying to the world." more
Tracy Wai de Boer: writer, researcher and facilitator
"My hair plays a big role in my Chinese identity. It’s thick, wiry and dark, much like my mother’s. I feel like my hair pushes against my whiteness." more
Samuel Engelking
Devon O'Reilly: musician in Eyes Violet
"Every time I had a panic attack, cutting was a daily thing. Some scars have healed and are barely noticeable, but there are ones that will be there forever." more
Samuel Engelking
Yami Msosa: anti-violence educator and activist
"Being honest with the trauma we’ve experienced is particularly hard for Black women, and it doesn’t really allow us to take care of ourselves." more
Vivia Kieswetter: lay minister
"When i looked in the mirror any tiny flaw was all I could see. I tied up a lot of my self-worth in that instead of thinking of myself as a divine creature." more
Hann Peliowski: cinema studies student, U of T
"People need to know that breast cancer doesn’t only happen to women or older people." more
Quinn Rockliff: visual artist
"As a survivor of sexual assault – that’s very much tied into my art practice – every time I draw my body I’m reclaiming it." more
William Webster: actor in Amadeus (Soulpepper, from January 10)
"We’re born naked, and that’s how we’ll die, too. Why not celebrate it in between?" more
Talli Osborne: motivational speaker, musician
"So many people don’t like the things that make them stand out, but I think we really need to embrace those differences and make them sparkle." more
Love your body: introduction
What does it mean to “love your body” in 2018? Surely it’s more than just celebrating curves, stretch marks and body hair more