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9 to 5 x Labour Feminism with Zena Sharman
This week we are joined by the incomparable Zena Sharman (she/her). Zena is an essayist and non-fiction writer who is a fan and student of the film 9 to 5 (1980). If you don't know the movie, you almost certainly know the song of the same name written and performed by one of its stars, Dolly Parton. And if you don't know the song, you most definitely know the two other leads of the movie: Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda! And if you don't know them, well hell, we can't wait to introduce you!
In the episode, Hannah and Zena lead us through a history of the feminist labour organizing that directly led to the film's creation. They introduce us to Karen Nussbaum who co-founded an organization called 9to5 in the early 1970s. Nussbaum and Jane Fonda became friends and allies through anti-Vietnam war organizing and developed 9 to 5 (the film) in effort to surface the struggle of working women at the time.
Hannah then draws on work from historian Dorothy Sue Cobble who argues that contemporary disillusionment about feminism has a lot to do with historical amnesia about the actual diversity of feminist organizing. Hannah suggests that the 1980 screwball comedy 9 to 5, with its depiction of women from notably different backgrounds and with pointedly different gender presentations, might be exactly the feminist text we need in our present political moment. The conversation also touches on queer-coded characters in the story and the super queer team behind the film.
Come for the love of Dolly Parton and stay for the rich conversation about labour organizing, cultural consumption, moral purity and coalition building!
More Zena
Zena is the editor of several anthologies, including The Care We Dream Of: Liberatory & Transformative Approaches to LGBTQ+ Health and Lambda Literary Award-winning The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Health Care. You can buy her newest book, Staying Power (Arsenal Pulp Press), here! Full link: https://arsenalpulp.com/Books/S/Staying-Power
Related Episodes
Works Cited
Cobble, Dorothy Sue. The Other Women's Movement : Workplace Justice and Social Rights in Modern America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/sfu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=740297.
Scott, Katherine. “A timeline: The pandemic’s impact on women in the workforce.” Canada Centre for Policy Alternatives 2 July 2024. https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/a-timeline-the-pandemics-impact-on-women-in-the-workforce/.
Sharman, Zena. Staying Power: On Queerness, Inheritances, and the Families We Choose. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2026.
Support Material Girls
To learn more about the show, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca (you can also find transcripts here!). Want to support the podcast and our tiny, hard-working team? Check out all the content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Bonus episodes, bloopers, merch, watch-alongs, and more! Need a last minute gift for a friend or family member? You can gift a Patreon subscription at this link: https://www.patreon.com/ohwitchplease/gift!
Music Credits:
“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020
Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.
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Nirvana x The Culture Industry with Marshall Watson
58:04|Smells like the commodification of teen spirit! In this episode, we welcome beloved friend of the pod and returning guest Marshall Watson (he/him) to talk all about Nirvana and the grunge culture of the 90s.Together, Marcelle, Hannah, and Marshall dig into the anti-establishment ethos of Nirvana, the grunge genre as an act of musical resistance, and what happens once counter-culture becomes mainstream. To do this, they’ve obviously gotta dig into Adorno and Horkheimer’s theory of the culture industry (and talk a little bit about Reagan, which they only do when Marshall is here…).If your young adult years were soundtracked to Nevermind or you just love railing against the mainstream, you’re going to dig this episode.Related listening:Golden Girls x Sex Positivity with Marshall WatsonThe Craft x Feminist RageWorks Cited:Adorno, Theodore, and Max Horkheimer. 2019. “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception,” in Philosophers on Film from Bergson to Badiou: A Critical Reader, ed. Christopher Kul-Want (Columbia University Press, 2019), 80-96.“Bleach (Nirvana album).” Wikipedia. May 11 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_(Nirvana_album).“David Geffen.” Wikipedia. April 23 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Geffen.“Geffen Records.” Wikipedia. May 2, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geffen_Records.Scarborough, Joe. 2014. “Reagan: A Legacy of Optimism and Common Sense.” TIME. June 4, 2014. https://time.com/2815630/reagan-a-legacy-of-optimism-and-common-sense/.***To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Patreon is how we produce the show and pay our team!Material Girls is a show that makes sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Material Concerns: Baby on Board Pt. I
39:49|Gaby is behind the wheel doing producer duties this month and it gets as silly as you might expect with the resident wittle baby in charge!! In Part I, Hannah, Marcelle, and Gaby start with a check-in and then do some Consumer Retorts. Head over to Part II for Fixation Station and Oops All Oops!!We'll be back next week with a regular format episode!Support Material GirlsTo learn more about the show, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! (https://instagram.com/ohwitchplease!) Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca (https://ohwitchplease.ca/) (you can also find transcripts here!). You can gift a Patreon subscription at this link: https://www.patreon.com/ohwitchplease/gift!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020 Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Pixar x Affective Economics
01:01:02|When Hannah and Marcelle go to Disneyland, you can pretty much bank on them returning happier, out some cash, and deep in the throes of processing the experience! So what better return to the pod than an episode about Pixar and Henry Jenkins' theory of affective economics.Tune in for a conversation, led by Hannah, about CGI, John Lasseter, the impact of Pixar's first CGI feature Toy Story (1999), the fantasy of living outside of capitalism, and what Jenkins' theory of affective economics (Convergence Culture, 2006) can do to help us make sense of it all!Related ListeningDisney x PinkwashingAppendix: Fan Studies Revisited (Witch, Please)Works Cited“Computer Animation Production System.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Animation_Production_System. Visited on 28 April 2026. “John Lasseter.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lasseter. Visited on 28 April 2026. “Pixar.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixar. Visited on 28 April 2026. Sandlin, Jennifer A. and Julie Garlen Maudlin. “Disney’s pedagogies of pleasure and the eternal recurrence of whiteness.” Journal of Consumer Culture 17.2 (2017): 397-412. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1177/14695405156023. Music Credits:"Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Material Concerns: NPR's All Things Considered Pt. I | Ad-Free
29:21|This episode has nothing to do with NPR's All Things Considered, but that's the kind of cuckoo behavior you get when Coach invites resident wittle babies, Gaby and Zoe, on mic. Hannah and Marcelle are off having a Disney adventure and while they're away, the freaks will play! Part II is over on patreon.com/ohwitchplease!Support Material GirlsTo learn more about the show, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca (you can also find transcripts here!). Want to support the podcast and our tiny, hard-working team? Check out all the content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Bonus episodes, bloopers, merch, watch-alongs, and more! Need a last minute gift for a friend or family member? You can gift a Patreon subscription at this link: https://www.patreon.com/ohwitchplease/gift!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.
Pitty Party Preview: 9:00 PM
19:40|Well, folks…to quote Nurse Dana, Pitty Party’s (almost) over.Marcelle, Zoe, and Gaby chat all about the season two FINALE of the Pitt in this penultimate episode of Pitty Party! They dig into their general thoughts on the episode, how hot Dr. Al-Hashimi is, and ending as we begun: with Dr. Robby and a baby.We’ll be back next week for a mailbag bonus episode. Until then, thank you all so much for listening. <3Head to PATREON.COM/OHWITCHPLEASE for the full episode and the backlog!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Heated Rivalry x Canadiana with John Batt
01:09:32|Definitively our most Canadian conversation yet!In this episode of Material Girls, we once again take a look at Heated Rivalry — this time focusing on the Canadian-ness of the show. We were joined in February by sister of the pod, Hope Rehak, to think through the show's popularity as it relates to puritanism. This time around, we brought in John Batt (he/him), the brilliant mind behind the Instagram account @canada.gov.ca,* to help us think through the show as CanCon (Canadian content).Together, Marcelle, Hannah and John consider what it means for something "to be Canadian." They broach the myth of Canadian culture as a monolith and do a historical deep dive on The Massey Commission to get a better sense of how CanCon became institutionalized as a nationalist endeavor. If you like Canada Corner™ you'll love this episode about Canadiana with Canadian treasure, John Batt."This is a great episode for someone who recently got into hockey." - Gaby Iori, someone who recently got into hockey*If you don't know it already, go follow the account for curated stories from the obscure and often bizarre side of Canadian history and culture!Related ListeningHeated Rivalry x The Puritanical Eye with Hope RehakBook 4, Episode 2: The Nation State (from Witch, Please podcast)Trade Movies Podcast (clip mentioned by John Batt)Works Cited“Canadian Content.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Feb 8, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_content#:~:text=Current%20Canadian%20content%20percentages%20are,multicultural%20formats%20have%20lower%20percentages).“Canadiana.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Mar 29, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadiana.Litt, Paul. 1992. The Muses, the Masses, and the Massey Commission. University of Toronto Press.Morrison, Catherine. 2026. “Culture Minister Says Hockey Romance Heated Rivalry Is a Cancon Triumph.” CBC. January 15, 2026. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/heated-rivalry-cancon-triumph-9.7046368.“Peak Hockey Romance, Brought to You by Canadian Taxpayers.” 2023. Turbotax. 2023. https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/heated-rivalry-canadian-culture-funding?srsltid=AfmBOopyhhXtfaL9EN-cTEedVftFvXbkfs1oCdrNbNbWI_U1xD9embi3.Support Material GirlsTo learn more about the show, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca (you can also find transcripts here!). Want to support the podcast and our tiny, hard-working team? Check out all the content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Bonus episodes, bloopers, merch, watch-alongs, and more! Need a last minute gift for a friend or family member? You can gift a Patreon subscription at this link: https://www.patreon.com/ohwitchplease/gift!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.
Pitty Party Preview: 8:00 PM
30:25|Welcome back to Pitty Party! For the full episode head to Patreon.com/ohwitchplease!Gaby, Marcelle, and Zoe dig into the penultimate episode of season 2! In addition to discussing what’s going on with Dr. al-Hashimi and Robby’s relationship with Duke, they also spend some time debating different types of Canadian beers and consider who working at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center would be most likely to get you your SSRIs in a timely manner.See you next week for the FINALE!!! Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Material Concerns: Stolen Perfume & Ziplining Pt. I
34:33|Welcome back to Material Concerns! We talk perfumes, vapes and taking risks. Head to patreon.com/ohwitchplease now to join a tier that works for your budget and you will get PART II!Happy listening! We'll be back next week with a regular format episode!Subscribe to Hannah's new newsletter here: https://hannahs-haunts-and-hobbies.ghost.io/Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.
Pitty Party Preview: 7:00 PM
19:27|Welcome back to Pitty Party!Yes, the first five minutes of this episode are devoted to discussing hockey, and not even the gay kind! Sorry if you're not into that.Once we move past that, Gaby, Marcelle, and Zoe dig into Dr. Mohan's terrible hour, Robby's continued downward spiral, and the much-needed arrival of the hot shift (aka the night shift).We’ll be back next week to talk all about season 2, episode 14, 8:00 PM. Do we think there are gonna be beers in the park this season?? It's not looking likely.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.