This is what I sent to CBC this morning. I noticed typos after I sent it, of course. I tried to check it over before.

What I really do want to know is - who is in our jails if not people who commit serious crimes causing harm to the public? Who is in jail and why? Is there any kind of survey or something like that about people in jail and the reason given for them being there?

If you know of someone in jail in Ontario, or Canada, do you know the charge they were given - the charge which caused them to be in jail? I'd like to know if most of the people in jail are there for withholding money from the government (in one form or another) or minor seeming things like breaking peace bonds with the police?

It seems to me that real criminals are not in jail - so who is in jail? I know jails are supposedly housing a lot of people - what are they arrested/ jailed for?

I myself know of a pedophile who has never been charged. (Please don't assume I'm a crackpot and stop reading here). A woman who threatened to murder my Mother and myself, never charged. A man who set fires on our property (last month), was charged later only because he returned - breaking a peace bond with the police. Not for the fires he set, the items he stole (with the police standing there hearing him complain that he wasn't able to fit more stolen property into his bags at the time).

So, if the people who break laws regarding harm to the public are not in jail. Who is? My Father (many years ago) had the Mounties turn up at our door to arrest him for not paying income tax. They would have taken him away if my Mother had not been able to pay most/all of what he owed that day. He would have been in jail for money owed to the government.

Regarding the child molesting, its not a rumour, all the evidence was plainly available and given to the police by my sister who was his wife at the time. But, instead of charging him, or even investigating, the police politely asked if he would like them to destroy the evidence or give it to him. The evidence were his own hand written journal which had specific about the child he molested, another woman he raped, and bestiality with a dog. I am not writing to you about this directly. I've given up on that. At the time I wrote to the Police Ombudsman and reporters too. I am only including this as an example of people who are -not- in jail.

I don't know if I will hear from anyone there at CBC. But, could you at least let me know where I can find information about people in jail and why they are there? I would like to know for myself at least. I am feeling immensely discouraged about the government, courts/ police and the news media. I'd like to understand something about all of it. There must be some kind of logic to it all somewhere. I wrote to Protect Ontario about the man who set the fires, stole, trespassed but its been two weeks and I've heard nothing back. I hoped I would, but I'm not surprised. I really feel that ordinary tax payers are being left out to dry but they want us to keep voting, paying, all of that.

I love Canada, I write about Canadian history. I feel really let down by all of this and I'd like to understand why its happening. I don't know, something! Thank you for reading, I hope someone at least does read this. I'm not a crackpot, trouble makers, whatever else. Just a woman looking after her Mother and trying to keep a roof over our heads without being harmed by others.

Sorry for a long note. I'm a writer, not so much of a talker. (I'm not including files. I have the police report if its of any use).

That's what I wrote. I don't expect to hear back from anyone. I really don't think any one cares. Unless it happens to yourself or your immediate family there is no reason to get involved, or care. But, I've stopped voting in elections. I'd rather read a book, do something that matters in some small way, for myself. None of them get my vote.

• She her disappear
• to man made stereotypes
• Identity gone

There is an ad for an insurance company, here in Canada. I see it almost everyday, if I have the TV on. The ad shows a cartoon drawing of a family: man, something and child. There is no definite woman. But the man is certainly a male. The child is certainly a child. What could have been the woman, possibly the Mother, is ambiguous in order to be either gender, gender neutral, faceless, token, either/or.

The child is just a child, smaller but more boy looking than anything to make it seem like a girl. The man is not neutral - it/he is taller, muscular, physically a male for sure with facial hair to make it clear. The other is less tall, short hair, sexless clothing, no facial hair, no breasts, no figure, no gender.

Every time I see that ad I feel women are being lost, replaced, forgotten, pushed aside. I am sad but too weary of the fight to feel angry - most of the time. What will the world do when there are no human women/ females? Will they go after female animals next? Does that seem so far fetched?

This whole thing seems like something out of science fiction to me. After all the years to fight for rights - now to be denied even an identity. Didn't see that one coming. It still seems like extreme fiction but... its happening every day.

When there are no women, men and children will die, age out and disappear. Are women becoming a rare species? Or just nothing at all. Something found in an encyclopedia or history. Its very discouraging from my view as a woman, born female, still female. In England you can choose to be identified as a biological woman, but not as a woman. Woman is gender free, gender misplaced.

I'll tell you a story, once upon a time there was man, woman and child. That's where the story ends.

As a writing exercise:

Make a copy of all the dialogue you have written for one character, just one. Without making more than a few cosmetic changes, rewrite your whole story around just that dialogue. How different can you make it and what do you find yourself adding that could/should have been in your original story?