Greetings readers,
Being a socially awkward person, introductions are rarely a natural or comfortable process for me. However, since I love to meet new people and put myself in new situations, introductions have become a necessity in my life. Therefore, the more practice I get with introductions the better. And considering I am new to you and you to me, and considering you will be seeing my column here on a regular basis, an introduction becomes essential. So as the snow comes teeming down, and I sit in my living room eating chocolate mint fudge, drinking tea, and watching a Bollywood film, I introduce myself to you.

Since my identity informs my research interests as well as my writing, let’s begin with the basics of who I am. My name, as you may already know, is Sobia Ali and I am currently a PhD candidate in Applied Social Psychology.  My research interests, explained to provide context for my writing and not to bore you (hopefully), revolve around the experiences of ethnic minorities, specifically South Asians, because, as most psychology students, I study what is relevant to my own life in an attempt to learn more about myself.  Additionally, I’m a proud east coast Canadian of Pakistani descent transplanted to Ontario. My perspectives therefore reflect these three aspects of my identity—small town, ethnic minority woman now exposed to the diversity of experience and thought in a larger centre.

But how is this relevant to my column? Well, you can expect to see hints of all these identities in my columns. You see, other than academia, my writing experience has consisted of writing for blogs which deal with race and religion issues. Having written for blogs such as Muslimah Media Watch and Muslim Lookout, along with the occasional post on altmuslimah and Racialicious, my focus of writing has been the critical analysis of images of Muslims and ethnic minorities in media and pop culture. Being a Muslim and an ethnic minority myself, I recognize the weight our portrayals in the media carry in shaping perceptions and stereotypes. Through my writing, my hope has always been to weaken the impact  stereotyping has by highlighting the problems associated with such portrayals—problems which very often are so subtle they elude us.

Making an attempt to write from an anti-oppressionist perspective, I hope to bring a critical analysis of race and culture to my columns, both from the Canadian and international arena. How, where, and why are ethnic minorities being represented, presented, discussed, and by whom? Are there other ways to view and interpret such things? However, in a serious effort to avoid depression and discouragement (because from past experience I’ve learned that focusing on negatives all the time can lead to some serious burn-out!), I will also focus on positive stories from within Canada and around the world. So rest assured readers.

Now,  it is important for me to clarify that I, as a woman of colour, do not and cannot purport to write from the perspective of all people of colour, nor of international people. I am, after all, Canadian born and raised. My perspective is limited because my lived experience is specific to Canada. I will simply make a humble attempt to express my views on various happenings related to international issues as well as Canadian ones and will invite you to share yours as well.

Now that you know a little more about what to expect from me I hope you will be willing to engage in a dialogue with me with each column. As many of you will know, feedback and discussion becomes a refreshing part of writing. Engaging with various views and opinions of our writing makes us not only more informed writers but we also become better writers. So please share, even if you vehemently disagree with me.

Thank you for reading and I look forward to “chatting” with you.

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