Learning Community

Impolite Society: A Romance & Revolutionary Practice Learning Guild

Where passion mixes with politics, and love is entwined with liberation.

Deepen your equity and social justice knowledge in ways that you simply couldn’t on your own.

Join us as we dive into the world of inclusive, expansive romance and learn how to solve for one of the foundational assumptions that perpetuate oppression:

The Behind Closed Doors Effect

This Effect claims that any abuses of power that happen in private (aka “behind closed doors”) - be it in the bedroom, a classroom, a boardroom, a staff room, etc. - have absolutely nothing to do with how power operates in the wider world.

Through a carefully curated set of bi-monthly readings that focus primarily on the stories of Black and other racialized women, we centre our attention and analysis on one of the deepest, most intimate relationships a person can have.

Our weekly engagement questions, informal book chats, and monthly discussions help us to elucidate and strategize for the fact that what happens “behind closed doors” is directly linked to what happens outside of them.

Click here to read our FAQ

Founding Member Testimonials

“I have loved engaging with revolutionary thoughts through reading romance! By day I work with/around a lot of heavy equity-related topics, but by night I get to read - and think about them - in different and fun ways. Dominique brings to Impolite Society well-written books that I wouldn't have found without her guidance - and without the Society I wouldn't be having these conversations in these ways! So glad to have found this group. :)"

- Willow A., equity professional
"This is so SO much more than a book club. Impolite Society offers an engaging way to challenge your thoughts around DEI - in the workplace, in society, and your role in that... yes, there's some discomfort in that but there's definitely some amazing growth. As someone that manages people, it's offered me a safe space to think about how I'm creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and included. Dominique is brilliant and thoughtful, always prepared with questions and discussion points to create interesting conversation. If you like deep and thoughtful conversations, if you're interested in challenging yourself to grow, and you want to read some cool romance books (hand-selected by a romance novel expert), then you will love it here. "

- Laura B., small business owner
"Dominique has built a fabulous community of readers, romantics, and revolutionaries! Through engaging with affairs of the heart, we explore the intersections of passion and purpose in the fictional texts and in our own lives. Living a life and doing work dedicated to empathy and social justice can be both fulfilling and exhausting. Impolite Society is at once inspiring and restorative, an amazing blend of imagination, insight, and irreverence, and I’m loving every minute of it!

- Adam G., equity professional

Inside Impolite Society

Our community is built on the Mighty Networks platform, which is kind of like a website and a discussion forum all rolled into one:

Image description:

A screenshot of the "Impolite Society” Mighty Networks platform. The image displays the “Global Feed” view in the centre, which is a post about The Takedown, the Society’s book for February & March. The main menu for the Society is on the left-hand side. It has three main sections: The Parlour; The Salon; and The Tea Room. On the right-had side is a list of calendar events for the Society’s upcoming meetings.

Here’s what you’ll get in each section of the Society:

The Parlour

General information about the selected books and themes; calendar invites for our meetings and other events (such as movie nights!); and a record of our Community Agreements.

The Salon

Short, sometimes silly, and occasionally snarky questions from the Host that connect what’s happening in the book to your professional and/or personal lives. This section is also where discussion prompts for our meetings are shared.

NEW! The Salon also now has a space for members to post their own questions. These can be about the book, the characters, our monthly themes, or anything else that you feel is related to romance and revolutionary practice.

The Tea Room

For everyone who loves words and the way they make you feel, this section is for you! Put all your favourite quotes, descriptions, one-liners, and clapbacks here, and geek out over them with the other word nerds in our community.

Join Impolite Society

Click the link below to register for just $49 CAD / month. All new members get their first month free!