About this blog


the yak occidental is the third feminist, Canadian blog by Emily Yakashiro.


Why is this blog called 'the yak occidental'?


The 'yak' is a nod to part of my last name, Yakashiro, which is Japanese in origin and mine.

Practically speaking, yaks are Asian animals so why not, and 'occidental' is to centre me as a person living in 'the West'. It's also a wry look back since I have so often been identified as oriental. 


About Emily




Based in East Van*, B.C., I was born and raised on Canada's west coast. I currently work in the animation industry where I hope to change our media landscape by working through a intersectional feminist lens.

 Though I've been in animation for 9+ years I have a background in non-profit work and have worked for the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival. Education-wise, I have an Arts degree from UBC Vancouver, where I studied religion and literature. 

 Before the yak occidental I have blogged on and off for over ten years, previously on The Closet Feminist, which offered a feminist perspective on fashion and clothing, and before that a personal style blog (I have deactivated these two previous blogs). 

 I identify as a feminist and mixed-race yonsei. I've been known to dabble in witchy magic, and am #childfreebychoice.

For fun I watch a shocking amount of CanCon for a woman my age--I swear some days I'm on CBC Gem more than Netflix. I like local travel, reading (especially books by women), and listening to music (no podcasts though, thx). I also greatly enjoy a good party (at least pre-COVID) which may come as a surprise given I'm a major introvert and homebody. My preferred drink is whisky on the rocks, though I also greatly enjoy sparkling white wine.

 I would like to recognize that as someone who is cis, thin, mixed race with light skin, and have a university education, I have an enormous amount of privilege and can pass safely in many spaces. 

*I also recognize that I live and blog on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) NationsAn acquaintance once reminded me that this means I am a visitor, not a guest. 

 You can learn more about land acknowledgements here or here. If you are Canadian especially, I strongly encourage you to read Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-Up Call by Arthur Manuel and Grand Chief Ronald M. Derrickson. 


Terminology Update: Womxn vs. Women

Up until and including March 1, 2021, I had been using "womxn" instead of "women" or "woman" on this blog. My intention was to take out the "men" in "women" and "womyn" felt a little too 2nd wave-y for me. However, I'm reading online that this term has fallen out of favour and is more often hurtful than helpful for a lot of folks, so I'll be removing its usage from this blog and my social media channels. Thanks for your patience!






Popular posts from this blog

9 Reasons Why Zack on Gilmore Girls is the Worst

Image
Of all the men in the Gilmore Girls world, I think Zack was the worst. Here's nine reasons why. I'm currently re-watching Gilmore girls for the umpteenth time, and once more I find myself loathing Zack in particular. Normally we all get caught up in Luke vs. Christopher, Dean vs. Jess vs. Logan, etc, but I think these debates distract viewers from realizing that Zack is the worst Significant Other of all the women in the show. I think the actor Todd Lowe does a great job portraying Zack, so my critique is def not his performance , my issue is the  character of Zack   who is sooo contemptible. In a way, Lowe's performance of Zack is all the more remarkable - when it comes to the Bad Men of Gilmore Girls, Zack rarely tops the list. I think it's because his many flaws are so *shrug* boys will be boys. As viewers I think we're meant to be distracted by the explosive incidents related to Logan's elitism, Mitchum's tyranny, Dean's cheating, Marty's obvio...
Read more

Omg She's Racist: A Closer Look at L.M. Montgomery's Work & Life

Image
They say to be critical of the media you love. I put this to the test with my undying love for L.M. Montgomery. In the past five-ish years, I have read and re-read many, many books by beloved Canadian author L.M. Montgomery (aka the woman who wrote the Anne of Green Gables series) including: Anne of Windy Poplars*  Anne’s House of Dreams*  Emily of New Moon  Emily Climbs Emily’s Quest  The Complete Journals of L.M. Montgomery 1889-1900 A Tangled Web  Pat of Silver Bush  Mistress Pat   Jane of Lantern Hill  Kilmeny of the Orchard  The Blue Castle I read/re-read the first three Anne books as a teen*. There are many things about Montgomery's (1874-1942) work that are significant and ground-breaking considering the era they were written in. Not to mention Montgomery herself being such a highly-successful author worldwide given she was both a woman and Canadian! Her work is unique and noteworthy for the followin...
Read more

Best of Helen Oyeyemi's "Peaces"

Image
Here is a selection of memorable quotes from Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi. Painting above: The Lovers by Leonora Carrington (c.1987) You run the romantic gauntlet for decades without knowing who exactly it is you're giving and taking such a battering in order to reach. You run the gauntlet without knowing whether the person whose favour you seek will even be there once you somehow put that path strewn with sensory confetti and emotional gore behind you. And then, by some stroke of fortune the gauntlet concludes, the person does exist after all, and you become that perpetually astonished lover from so many of the songs you used to find endlessly disingenuous. p.5 If you stuck out your tongue it would dance there, right at the top: the fizz of conditionality. p.7 I'm sure almost no one deludes themselves that all their ancestors were decent. Pick a vein, any vein: mud mixed with lightning that flows through, an unruly fusion of bad blood and good. p.16 And then there's the...
Read more