Author name: Stephanie Hollington-Sawyer

Jian Ghomeshi and the Problem of Narcissistic Male Rage

His public persona shattered, Jian Ghomeshi’s overweening narcissism has become the subject of public scorn. His reported violence against women, whether inside or outside sexual interplay, has been rightly denounced. Yet making this scandal all about Ghomeshi, we risk ignoring the broader sources of male narcissistic rage towards females. We are dealing here with far more than the pathological quirks of an apparently disturbed and charismatic individual.

Jian Ghomeshi and the Problem of Narcissistic Male Rage Read More »

We Should Be Alarmed That Our Children Are Not More Alarmed

Many parents would be horrified at the sadism their children favour as entertainment. Ought they to be worried? In Hostel, the gore flick young audiences have made into North America’s top-grossing theatre attraction, human beings perpetrate on one another whatever can be accomplished with knives, hooks, scalpels, tongs, drills, pincers and electrical saws. Paxton and

We Should Be Alarmed That Our Children Are Not More Alarmed Read More »

Was Reagan’s Trademark Smile The First Sign of Alzheimer’s?

Until his death, former U.S. president Ronald Reagan was the world’s most famous Alzheimer’s sufferer. “I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life,” he wrote in his poignant farewell message to Americans when he was first diagnosed at 83. The acknowledgment marked the formal onset of his long,

Was Reagan’s Trademark Smile The First Sign of Alzheimer’s? Read More »

What You Should Do When Your Kids Are Bickering

When our two grown-up sons were in elementary school, my wife and I despaired of their ever getting along. Bickering, insults, mutual recrimination and, at times, physical altercations were the order of the day. The seemingly incessant squabbling went on for years. Our older son in particular appeared determined to make his brother’s life utterly

What You Should Do When Your Kids Are Bickering Read More »

Why I No longer Believe Babies Should Cry Themselves to Sleep

‘Some of our friends see us as weak parents because we haven’t Ferberized our children,” says my niece Rachel Maté, a 33-year-old Vancouver lawyer and mother of two. ” ‘You’re letting your baby control your lives,’ they argue. But it would break my heart to let my baby cry without comforting her.” Named after Dr.

Why I No longer Believe Babies Should Cry Themselves to Sleep Read More »

A Letter to Canada’s Minister of Disease?

Dear Rona Ambrose, As a member of the federal government, you are currently titled Canada’s Health Minister. I question the accuracy of that nomenclature. You have recently taken it upon yourself to void a decision by Health Canada, the public agency granted the task of supervising health practices in this country.

A Letter to Canada’s Minister of Disease? Read More »