Five self-identified women participated in the first video series for #WomanTalk. Continue reading to learn more about Alyssa, Beth, Sian, Hanna, and Avery!
Alyssa Bertram
Bertram is the founder of Easy Period, a subscription service for organic menstrual products. Easy Period is also a platform for vocalizing and sharing the importance of women’s empowerment, by contributing to “the conversation of menstrual health and access” (“La Femme Collective”). Bertram is an active advocate within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) for women’s rights and equity.
Easy Period: https://www.easyperiod.ca/ Beth Mairs
Mairs is a well-known activist and feminist media maker in northern Ontario. She is the founder of BAM North Productions; a feminist film company “whose aim was to expand the diversity of voices and perspectives currently depicted within in the adventure film genre” ("BAM North Productions"), Wild Women Expeditions; an LGBT retreat and adventure company for women, and is the managing director of Indie Cinema Sudbury; a film co-op in northern Ontario that is responsible for initiating local the film festivals and events Hot Docs Sudbury, Queer North, and Women in Film Wednesdays.
BAM North Productions: http://bamnorth.ca/
Sian Melton
Melton is a freelance writer and project manager, and is the creative director of the Monthly Underground Feminist Film (MUFF) Society in Toronto. The MUFF Society aims to highlight women both on screen and in production-based roles within the film industry, and also promotes local women-made productions in Ontario.
The MUFF Society: https://www.muffsociety.com/
Hana Shafi
Shafi is a freelance journalist and feminist illustrator, who is known throughout the GTA by her artist alias, Frizz Kid. A Ryerson University journalism graduate, Shafi’s work centres around the main themes of gender, sexual violence, mental health, and feminism. She is well-known for her “affirmation” illustration series, a weekly illustration that contains a positive message, and “Sexual Assault: The Roadshow”, an art installation that was present on Ryerson’s campus during their annual social justice week.
Frizz Kid Art: http://thefrizzkid.tumblr.com/
Avery Steel
Steel is a fine arts photographer and Photography and Preservation graduate student at Ryerson University. Many of her projects are autobiographical and depict themes surrounding the female identity. She is known for her art exhibits “She Wrote” and “I Speak Because I Can”, which explore “female identity and personal narratives related to trauma” ("She Wrote").
Avery Steel Photography: https://www.averysteel.com/