With the overturning of Roe v Wade in the US, what can we learn and relearn about the practice of abortion in Canada? 

Aimee Wall, the author of the Giller-longlisted novel We,Jane, about woman-led, unsanctioned abortion care in rural Newfoundland, joins us to explore the speculative, historical and very real realms of abortion in Canada. 

In the wake of changes made to the Instagram terms of use, making the platform inhospitable to those that work in sex, Smutburger wants to look to the past to understand what is happening in our present day virtual world. Does the present day crackdown mirror historical control in Canada? (Gay, lesbian and S/M pornography being stopped at the border on its way to Little Sisters and Glad Day comes to mind.) What sexual practices are most targeted historically? Who is adversely impacted by this censoring right now? And what ways are there, if any, around this policing? What outlets and platforms are supportive of sex workers and which ones are controlling?  Where can one find sexual freedom and safety in the public sphere? Smutburger has curated a night exploring the roots and flowering of sexual suppression and expression to find out what the current day crackdown says about our country.

For the second round of Smut, we are exploring the ever present influence of apps and computer interfaces on how we fuck in present day culture. What do these interfaces mean for femme expression of desire and the ability to announce it publicly and actively search it out? This night we will get our faces out from the glow of our phones and publicly explore the sex and tech landscape from the perspective of women, trans and non-binary people.

Does the erotic promise on the phone screen lead to sexual fulfillment? Or do these spaces merely recreate certain structural issues and uneven power dynamics in pursuing sex and connection? How can these virtual realms be used in a subsversive and queer manner? Is this the melding of sex and technology we all envisioned and hoped for in the future or has our experiment gone utterly wrong?