Thread: I was walking quickly down Queen St this afternoon. Out of nowhere a lady grabbed my atigi (parka) and said “oh what a beautiful coat”. I am averse to non-consensual or surprising unwanted physical contact. I said “don’t touch me” in a calm voice and kept walking.
— tanya tagaq (@tagaq) December 16, 2019
- Inuk throat singer/author Tagaq was approached by a white woman in downtown Toronto who tried to intiate a conversation by grabbing her arm
- She told the woman not to touch her
- The woman's daughter then followed her into a restaurant and screamed at her
- Tagaq said that she is frequently harassed and touched by white women
- Entitlement towards her body is part of the reason she no longer greets fans after performances
- Tagaq also reiterated what should be common knowledge for social interactions and said that no one should touch her without asking first and people should respect her right to say no
We walked into Terroni’s and grabbed a seat at the bar. A few minutes later this woman’s daughter (late 40’s early 50’s) comes in and confronts me loudly. She had her finger in my face telling me how rude I was and her mom was just an old lady. She was red in the face.
— tanya tagaq (@tagaq) December 16, 2019
She walks out telling me I’m a terrible person and gives me the finger. The sad thing is this: we are used to it. I was dressed well. I was calm. The only thing I did wrong was to have a boundary. I am used to having unwanted touch by white women. It’s been consistent.
— tanya tagaq (@tagaq) December 16, 2019
So they wanted to grab me and invade my personal space re: ownership of my body.
— tanya tagaq (@tagaq) December 16, 2019
They demanded my time re: I should stop and talk about my jacket on a busy city street.
They became angry at my boundary re: I am lesser and must be polite when my boundaries are crossed.
And then they fucking assumed they could come in and reprimand me like a child in front of a whole restaurant. There is no way I could demand respect for myself or be anyone “important”. This is consistent. It happens in so many ways.
— tanya tagaq (@tagaq) December 16, 2019
This is one of the reasons I don’t come out and sign merch after shows anymore. The unwanted touch. @Laakkuluk remember when we had to hold that woman scream crying with white guilt?
— tanya tagaq (@tagaq) December 16, 2019
MY BODY IS MINE. MY SPACE IS MINE. I HAVE A RIGHT TO NOT BE TOUCHED. I DO NOT BELING TO YOU. MY CULTURE DOES NIT BELONG TO YOU. I AM YIUR EQUAL.
— tanya tagaq (@tagaq) December 16, 2019
To be clear: I get compliments on my coat all the time. If I am not in a rush I am happy to smile and talk about how my mom made it. Often people ASK me “can I touch it?”, and I happy say yes and we smile and I leave. SUDDEN UNWARRANTED PHYSICAL TOUCH is different.
— tanya tagaq (@tagaq) December 17, 2019
I am saying no to unwanted touch with clear power because there were times we were not allowed to say no. Don’t be the person that wants the right to touch my body without asking.
— tanya tagaq (@tagaq) December 17, 2019
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