SEX, SEXISM AND CANADIAN POLITICS ...
Many women have reacted to the sexist comments aimed at Belinda Stronach - and
all Canadian women - last week by sending a comment to the Advisory Council. We
invite you to read and to also react publicly.

Reaction to Belinda Stronach's move to the Liberal Party, May 17, 2005:
Stephen Harper: "I've never really noticed complexity to be Belinda's strong
point."
Lorne Gunter, National Post blog: "A streetwalker from Aurora"
Bob Runciman (Conservative MPP): She's sort of defined herself as something of
a dipstick - an attractive one, but still a dipstick.
Tony Abbott (Conservative MLA): "Political harlot." "She's a little rich girl
who is basically whoring herself out to the Liberals."
Rex Murphy, CBC The National: "And as far as understanding how complicated
this country is, on the brain power front, as between these two blondes, and I
know it's a close call, I'm going to go with Harper. I don't then buy that it's
fear of separatism or a low opinion of Stephen Harper's intellect that brought
Ms. Stronach to the press room yesterday. These were merely the garments she
chose to wear for the occasion. Every coming out must have its costume, and fear
of separatism as a shawl of convenience is surely less drab than horror over
Gomery. ..."
Maurice Vellacott (Conservative MP - Sask.): "Prostituting yourself, that's
right."
Global TV reporter: Paul Martin had a big date last night and he got lucky.
Christie Blatchford, Globe and Mail: If Stronach's action "isn't politically
slatternly behaviour, what on Earth is? ... She was selling, Mr. Martin was
buying."
Various cartoonists: Stronach as an unfaithful lover, cheating with the Prime
Minister; as a prostitute leaning on a car with the prime minister behind the
wheel. "Climb in?" Martin asks.
Monte Solberg (Conservative MP - Alta): "It's a woman's perogative to change
her mind, and I support her right to do that. But it's also her perogative to
use her mind, which I would also support.
Andrew Coyne, National Post: "Oh, Belinda, when you stared into the mirror in
the morning, wondering if you could go through with it - knowing that you would,
but liking yourself a little better for the struggle - you must have felt a
certain thrill. I've grown up, you thought. This is what grown-ups do; it's what
players do. You put away childish notions of honour and loyalty, and you do what
you have to do, and that's all there is to it. It's nothing personal. It's just
business."

Reaction to the above sexist remarks:
Margaret Ann Blaney, N.B. minister responsible for the status of women: "I
think it's awful, just awful. To reduce it to sexist remarks. It's tough enough
as it is to get women interested in politics. When you see comments like that
it's not surprising that women would say, 'why would I?'"
Heather MacIvor, Univ. of Windsor, author of Women and Politics in Canada:
People who use words like whore to describe a female politician "should not be
in elective office". "What outrages people's sense of decency and fair play
about these reactions to Belinda is precisely that she is being spoken of in
such a demeaning and stereotyped way that all women - and I don't think this is
just manufactured Liberal outrage - who hear that are going to say, 'My god! You
want me to go back to the kitchen?' "
John Buchanan, Saint John Airport chief executive officer: The reaction is
"sexist to the extreme. It demonstrates to anybody who is unsure ... that
females in a leadership role are perceived and treated in a much different
manner than their male counterparts".
N.B. Advisory Council on the Status of Women: the comments are overly harsh,
especially considering Belinda Stronach is far from the first politician to
cross the floor. Sexism is not seen as seriously as racism or other forms of
bigotry in Canadian society. The offending politicians are not being punished
for their sexist statements.
Letter to the editor, Globe & Mail, Jennifer Mustapha - "Someone should tell
Stronach she needs to age 20 years and gain 20 pounds for anyone to take her
seriously. No amount of business savvy, political sway or years of service will
detract from the fact that in the world we live in, it appears that we women are
still divided into Pretty Girls and Other Girls. And frankly, neither group
seems very free to deviate from the roles that they are expected to undertake.
Until this state of affairs changes, why should any woman seriously believe that
the world sees her as a real, honest-to-goodness, multifaceted person, instead
of just belonging to one of these restrictive categories?"
Beverly Best, email to NB ACSW - "...Violence against women (even verbal) is
something which should not be tolerated at any level especially in and within
our Canadian government. ... No matter how hard or how much money you put into
educating our male society to reduce violence against women; all is lost if we
allow comments made towards Ms Stronach to go unchecked and without public
outcry! Women, no matter who they are, what type of work they do ... deserve to
be treated with respect and dignity. ..."

Send your reaction to:

Stephen Harper FAX: (613) 947-0310 ; [email protected] ; House of Commons,
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Monte Solberg FAX: (613) 992-6181 ; [email protected] ; House of Commons,
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Maurice Vellacott FAX (613) 992-3085 ; [email protected] ; House of
Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
N.B. Conservative MP's:
Rob Moore, Fundy Royal, FAX (613) 995-4286 ; [email protected]
Greg Thompson, NB Southwest, FAX: (613) 995-5226 ; [email protected]
Belinda Stronach FAX: (613) 992-9407 ; [email protected] ; House of
Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Letters to the editor of Telegraph Journal, Daily Gleaner or Moncton Times &
Transcript : www.canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=CONTACT04
Letters to the editor of the Globe and Mail: [email protected]
Letters to the editor of the National Post:
www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/info/contactus/mailto.html?name=Letters&SUBJECT=Letter%20To%20The%20Editor
To Rex Murphy at the National: [email protected]

Copy the Advisory Council: FAX 444-4318; [email protected]; 236 King St.,
Fredericton, N.B. E3B 1E2.

Rosella Melanson
Executive Director, New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women
Directrice générale, Conseil consultatif sur la condition de la femme au
Nouveau-Brunswick
506 444-4101 ; 1-800-332-3087
fax 506 444-4318
236, rue King St. Fredericton, N.B. E3B 1E2
www.acswcccf.nb.ca ; [email protected]

I think the point is that Stronoch is being attacked for stepping outside of her prescribed gender role. She should not be in politics. She should have a TV talk show like Martha Stewart or something.

A friend of mine once ran for the NDP. In an interview, she remarked that politics is still an old boys' club, where she was treated "like a child holding up a finger painting."

A major part of the issue is that women are not viewed in the same political limelight as men. Women constantly have to defend themselves and their actions, whereas men's skills, experience, aptitudes, PHYSICAL APPEARANCE are rarely called into question in the mainstream media. Men's involvement in politics is not even a question, it's a given.

Many studies have been conducted on the mainstream media's portrayal of female politicians as shriekers, with shrill voices. Women cannot "cockfight," unlike men, they simply bitch, or get their panties all in a knot.

quote:

---

Coyne's remarks are still laden with paternalist overtones, speaking of Stronoch like she's a child.

---

That might be true, but its still not sexist. He talks like that to most people, male or female that he feels has transgressed (from what little Ive read of him)

Even applied to male politicians, or a party, when it is said to have "prostituted" itself, there's a problem: the use of the term as a pejorative perpetuates the demonization of a vulnerable and often exploited class of women.

The Global TV reporter's lame joke is to me an even clearer case of sexism, as is Rex Murphy's decision to bring up the category "blondes," even if he disguises what he's doing by applying it to Harper as well. Has anyone ever told blond jokes about Harper before?

So yes, I think there is obvious sexism in a lot of the knee-jerk reactions to what Stronach did last week, as to just about anything she has done in public life.

My problem, and I think that it is a problem that a lot of feminists have with Stronach, is that she has arguably made her sexuality a public issue. It is hard to read her history and not conclude that she -- and probably even more so her powerful male mentors -- have been happy to trade on both her family wealth and connections and on her looks, as long as public reaction to the latter especially was positive.

Sorry, but that gives me some trouble. She is maybe not such a clear case as, eg, Barbara Amiel, who has crowed in public about her talents as a "courtesan" to powerful men, but some women seem to want to have it both ways, and I'm not sure that that is helpful to women generally.

As a totally inane aside, is Harper actually blonde? I thought he had brown hair ...

[ 25 May 2005: Message edited by: GJJ ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GJJ:
wasn't her website something like belinda.ca or belinda.com ...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by pogge:

Belinda.ca. It still is.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by pogge:

Belinda.ca. It still is.

---

Edit to add : Possibly not work safe.

[ 25 May 2005: Message edited by: James ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by pogge:

Belinda.ca. It still is.

---

Notice there are now no speeches, press releases or anything. My guess, and it's just a guess that they were all there just a few short weeks ago. My guess, and it's just a guess they all ran down the Liberals and praised the Conservatives.
Wonder why they aren't there anymore?

A person of such high principle wouldn't remove them surely.

[ 25 May 2005: Message edited by: Left J.A.B. ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Left J.A.B.:

A person of such high principle wouldn't remove them surely.
[ 25 May 2005: Message edited by: Left J.A.B. ]

---