Welcome to The Audacity

Tan'si. Kinanaskomitino'wo'w. My name is Robyn Bourgeois, and welcome to The Audacity.

This blog is a space where I engage audaciously with the world around me. As the dictionary definition above makes clear, this means confidently sharing bold ideas that challenge conventional thinking and social norms. In fact, my intent is to change the world by changing how we think about it.

Topics will vary because, as my intellectual playground, this space will reflect whatever is on my mind at any one time, whether that be politics, music, parenting or a social media post. No topic is off limits, and I reserve the right to move at the speed of inspiration.

While topics may vary, one thing that will remain constant about The Audacity is its commitment to social justice. This blog is committed to advancing social change through crucial conversations about power, privilege, accountability, domination and violence. Will I always get it right? Probably not, but that's the point - The Audacity is a space of collective learning through brave conversations, and I'm just as much a student of life as anyone else.

Another constant is a commitment to trauma-informed practice. Like many of you, I am a survivor of multiple forms of violence, and empathy, compassion and kindness serve as driving forces in my life. This doesn't mean that I'll shy away from hard discussions; instead, it means I will tread carefully. That being said, hate has no home here at The Audacity, and I won't hesitate to take decisive action to destroy it.

Now that you know a bit about what to expect from The Audacity, I suppose I should tell you a little about me, your mistress of mayhem. Formally, I am Dr. Robyn Bourgeois, Ph.D, an associate professor in Women's and Gender Studies at a Canadian university in southern Ontario. But I am so much more than this. I am nehiyaw iskwew (a Cree woman) of mixed Cree and settler (Scottish/English/French) ancestry. I am an artist who dabbles in music, mixed media visual arts, and creative writing. Some of my favourite things include Halloween, live music (especially Queens of the Stone Age), cooking, beaches, horror movies, and reading. I am a single mother of three kids, currently aged 8, 12, and 13. I am also a practicing yogi working to complete my 200-hour yoga teacher training.

Anyhow, thanks for reading this introduction. I hope you will stick around and enjoy this ride with me!

Kinanaskomitino'wo'w

Robyn