by Ginette Petitpas-Taylor
Barbie. *****. Baby. Bitch. Prostitute.
Name-calling? Just another day at work for some women, including some female politicians in Legislatures. Such comments are disparaging and sexist, no matter where they are said, at home, in the office or the Legislature.
Canadian men's White Ribbon campaign to end violence against women has an arresting poster that asks, "Did you ever notice that the worst thing you can call a man is a woman?"
[FONT=Tahoma,Arial,Sans Serif]Guys usually do apologize — if "Who, me?" counts as an apology.[/FONT]
Well, politicians haven't decided yet what is the worst thing you can call their female colleagues.
Female politicians are also called weathergirl, dipstick, ****. Anything but equals.
Listen to the language of the legislatures: "Go back in the kitchen where you came from." "Stick to your knitting." "Pour me another tequila, Sheila, and lay down and love me again."
Just so many colourful ways used to say "No Girls Allowed."
Even female Premiers get it: "The nicest thing about a lady who says no, it's always a pleasure when they change their mind, and I am sure that our premier is going to change her mind on this important issue," said the Yukon MLA — before apologizing. Because the guys usually do apologize, if "Who me?" counts for an apology.
As Minister Roly MacIntyre, who called MLA Margaret-Ann Blaney "Barbie" this week, later said, "Sometimes those things happen. It's happened before and it will probably happen again — hopefully not with me."
Fair warning to women and anybody else who is "different" from the traditional New Brunswick politician?
That's no way to run a province.
My advice to those responsible for this Legislature is the same as to any other employer with women in a non-traditional workplace where discrimination, harassment or bullying rear their head. You should have expected it and you must prevent it.
"Send the message that such behaviour will not be tolerated, if for no other than reason than because it is unproductive. Commit to providing a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. It is the employer's responsibility to prevent a poisoned work environment. Failure to take appropriate action may result in disciplinary measures being imposed on the manager as well as the offending person."
I am quoting from the provincial government's own workplace harassment policy for employees.
We at the Advisory Council on the Status of Women became familiar with that and similar policies recently as we were researching workplace bullying. The report from our focus groups held around the province with female victims of workplace bullying was sobering. Women reported bullying of astonishing viciousness, and spoke frequently of lack of action by management or worse, of bullying as management.
Name-calling in politics is one problem. Sexist — or racist — name-calling is another.
Sexist name-calling is a way of calling attention to the fact that women are different, of sending the message that women are inferior to men by their very nature. As political scientist Joanna Everitt of UNB in Saint John has said, the focus on women's sexuality presents them as distracting forces in government and diminishes their credibility as effective politicians.
During the first round of attacks on Belinda Stronach, someone commented that Stronach 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, we women are still divided into Pretty Girls and Other Girls. And frankly, neither group seems 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, multifaceted person?"
Those who occupy a "man's" job or are assertive are the preferred targets of gender harassment, as a recent Canadian study showed. Women in male-dominated workplaces are dismissed and disrespected if they are feminine, but scorned and disliked if they are masculine. When women who are outspoken at work are harassed, but outspoken male colleagues and less assertive female colleagues are not, then that reinforces women's subordinate status and reinforces stereotypes. Policies should focus on creating respectful work environments.
Sexist comments explain somewhat the fact that women's representation, especially in New Brunswick, is stuck at such low levels.
When we heard this week again of the sexist comment in the New Brunswick Legislature, several things came to mind. That women who could be in politics will remember this and give it as a reason to shy away from a political career.
That our efforts to reduce violence against women are wasted if such sexist comments go unchecked.
That every parent of a daughter must be disappointed that, if she chooses a non-traditional profession including politics, parental pride will be shared with fear for what awaits her. To rephrase a bumper sticker aimed at violent men, "You love your daughter. You want to give her the world. Start by treating all women with respect."
Sarah Hale said in 1832, probably with a different meaning than we read into it today, that she considered every attempt to induce women to participate in the public duties of government as injurious to their best interests and derogatory to their character.
I prefer Edna Ferber's comment, 100 years later, that if politics are too dirty for women to take part in, there's something wrong with politics.
Ginette Petitpas-Taylor, of Moncton, is Chairperson of the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women.
Related addresses:
Barbie. *****. Baby. Bitch. Prostitute.
Name-calling? Just another day at work for some women, including some female politicians in Legislatures. Such comments are disparaging and sexist, no matter where they are said, at home, in the office or the Legislature.
Canadian men's White Ribbon campaign to end violence against women has an arresting poster that asks, "Did you ever notice that the worst thing you can call a man is a woman?"
Well, politicians haven't decided yet what is the worst thing you can call their female colleagues.
Female politicians are also called weathergirl, dipstick, ****. Anything but equals.
Listen to the language of the legislatures: "Go back in the kitchen where you came from." "Stick to your knitting." "Pour me another tequila, Sheila, and lay down and love me again."
Just so many colourful ways used to say "No Girls Allowed."
Even female Premiers get it: "The nicest thing about a lady who says no, it's always a pleasure when they change their mind, and I am sure that our premier is going to change her mind on this important issue," said the Yukon MLA — before apologizing. Because the guys usually do apologize, if "Who me?" counts for an apology.
As Minister Roly MacIntyre, who called MLA Margaret-Ann Blaney "Barbie" this week, later said, "Sometimes those things happen. It's happened before and it will probably happen again — hopefully not with me."
Fair warning to women and anybody else who is "different" from the traditional New Brunswick politician?
That's no way to run a province.
My advice to those responsible for this Legislature is the same as to any other employer with women in a non-traditional workplace where discrimination, harassment or bullying rear their head. You should have expected it and you must prevent it.
"Send the message that such behaviour will not be tolerated, if for no other than reason than because it is unproductive. Commit to providing a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. It is the employer's responsibility to prevent a poisoned work environment. Failure to take appropriate action may result in disciplinary measures being imposed on the manager as well as the offending person."
I am quoting from the provincial government's own workplace harassment policy for employees.
We at the Advisory Council on the Status of Women became familiar with that and similar policies recently as we were researching workplace bullying. The report from our focus groups held around the province with female victims of workplace bullying was sobering. Women reported bullying of astonishing viciousness, and spoke frequently of lack of action by management or worse, of bullying as management.
Name-calling in politics is one problem. Sexist — or racist — name-calling is another.
Sexist name-calling is a way of calling attention to the fact that women are different, of sending the message that women are inferior to men by their very nature. As political scientist Joanna Everitt of UNB in Saint John has said, the focus on women's sexuality presents them as distracting forces in government and diminishes their credibility as effective politicians.
During the first round of attacks on Belinda Stronach, someone commented that Stronach 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, we women are still divided into Pretty Girls and Other Girls. And frankly, neither group seems 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, multifaceted person?"
Those who occupy a "man's" job or are assertive are the preferred targets of gender harassment, as a recent Canadian study showed. Women in male-dominated workplaces are dismissed and disrespected if they are feminine, but scorned and disliked if they are masculine. When women who are outspoken at work are harassed, but outspoken male colleagues and less assertive female colleagues are not, then that reinforces women's subordinate status and reinforces stereotypes. Policies should focus on creating respectful work environments.
Sexist comments explain somewhat the fact that women's representation, especially in New Brunswick, is stuck at such low levels.
When we heard this week again of the sexist comment in the New Brunswick Legislature, several things came to mind. That women who could be in politics will remember this and give it as a reason to shy away from a political career.
That our efforts to reduce violence against women are wasted if such sexist comments go unchecked.
That every parent of a daughter must be disappointed that, if she chooses a non-traditional profession including politics, parental pride will be shared with fear for what awaits her. To rephrase a bumper sticker aimed at violent men, "You love your daughter. You want to give her the world. Start by treating all women with respect."
Sarah Hale said in 1832, probably with a different meaning than we read into it today, that she considered every attempt to induce women to participate in the public duties of government as injurious to their best interests and derogatory to their character.
I prefer Edna Ferber's comment, 100 years later, that if politics are too dirty for women to take part in, there's something wrong with politics.
Ginette Petitpas-Taylor, of Moncton, is Chairperson of the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women.
Related addresses:
I've only dated one man stupid enough to call me a bad name...
