the king of mansplania
(I wrote this post on January 14, 2021 and originally published it on a newsletter platform I am no longer using for my writing.
Today, July 8th, 2021, the Premier announced a cabinet “shuffle”. In this shuffle he split up the Ministry of Multiculturalism and Status of Women into three sub categories all under one main Minister. And yes, you guessed it, this new minister is a man, with an associate minister who is another handmaiden of the patriarchy within the UCP, who will of course do all the work and then have a mediocre white man take all the credit. I mean - the misogyny within this party and this premier knows no bounds. All of this comes on the heels of an announcement to roll back wages for Alberta Nurses. My curiosity is waning about this man - he is who he keeps showing us he is, a small-minded, misogynistic, power hungry, narcissistic, mediocre-white-man. Put the in YOUR twitter Bio Mr. Premier!)
I watched Jason Kenney, the Premier of Alberta do a FB live session the other night.
I know, I know, you are all wondering why on earth I would subject myself willingly to this, but I have my reasons. One being, as the saying goes, “know thine enemy’, but more than that, (and probably because of the three times I’ve watched Season One of Ted Lasso), I want to be more of the curious person, and not the judgemental one, as Walt Whitman said and as Ted Lasso does. So I am curious about this premier, about what motivates him, about how he sees himself and his role, and about how he sees Albertans.
I’ve written to him many times since he became Premier of Alberta and asked to meet in person and I’ve been politely declined every time. His FB live sessions are the closest thing to having a “conversation” with him, (even if it is one-sided and the questions he answers are hand-picked by his staff). And so I watch. Not all the time, I am not a total glutton for punishment, but when I do, I try to watch with a curious mind, the judgmental part pushed back for the moment.
What I saw the other night, was a man whom I think really does wants to connect with people on some level, but also, a man who doesn’t think anyone is at HIS level. This is where he falters and loses folks all along the political spectrum. He really does think he is the smartest man in the room. ON ALL TOPICS.
For example, the other night he spent a good five minutes during the hour-long FB live to explain how pension plans work. Not answering the original question, asked by a woman I must add, but giving an in-depth “lesson” about pension plans and then telling public sector workers how grateful they should be to tax-payers who “pay” for their pension plans. And then of course, apologizes in his ‘every man’ kind of way, for “going into that so much”.
Twenty minutes later in the live, he was asked (by another woman) about open-pit coal mining in Southern Alberta. He went on to give a short history lesson on the 140-years of coal-mining in Alberta, and once again explained how public sector folks rely on the taxed wealth from private resource industries including coal mining. He then proceeded to explain the difference between metallurgical versus thermal coal mining and gave a further lesson about how if we live in the world that has steel, then we need to live in a world with coal mining. And once finished, again apologized for going on so long on the topic.
The thing is, I don’t believe he is sorry for going on so long. I think this is part strategy to avoid directly answering a question and also part, “look how smart I am” self-agrandizing. We’ve seen him do this time and time again - remember the COVID modelling press conference in the summer? Jason Kenney wants people to think that he is capital S smart! That only he knows how the world works, and therefore only he knows what is best for everyone. I also think the level of internalized misogyny he has is clearly demonstrated here in how he dismissed both of the above questions from women as being, 1) a misunderstanding of how pension plans work, and 2) that environmental groups MUST be sending her information that is false to get money from her. He did not make these intelligence judgements for any of the questions asked by men.
My conclusion is not a hard one to make: Jason Kenney is no Ted Lasso. He is not curious in the least. Which to me is a strange thing for someone who so desperately wants to be seen as the smartest guy in the room.
Do you know what actual smart people are? Very, very, CURIOUS. They look at and try to understand things from all perspectives, they listen more than they talk, they ask people questions. From what I can tell, Jason Kenney does not do any of that. He wants you to believe that he has everything all figured out, and because of that, he will judge everything and everyone and reject any perspective that does not fit within the framework of his knowledge base.
I believe this is the real reason he often says he “rejects the premise of the question”, to reporters and journalists who ask him tough questions. If an honest answer does not fit within his very defined and limited perspective, it’s not that he won’t answer the question, I truly think he CAN’T answer it. Furthermore, to defer in any real sense to someone else who would have MORE knowledge than him in a given room/situation, would be a defeat, an embarrassment, and an acknowledgment of his lack. Therefore he OVER explains, he attempts to show us just how smart he is, even when/especially when no one has asked him to. Dare I say it, he MANsplains to everyone. All the time.
I am not sure what this realization will do for me going forward or if I am right in my assessment. I still find it very hard to see Jason Kenney as a likeable and trustworthy Premier, let alone a fellow human being. But like I said, I am trying to channel my inner Lasso-Way and be more curious and less judgmental. I guess if I could just ask Mr. Kenney some questions face to face, the first one might be, “Mr. Premier, why aren’t you even just a little bit curious about the people of Alberta who didn’t vote for you?”
Because we deserve a Premier as well.
I’d love to know your thoughts on this as well. Let me know in the comments.
Take care,
N~
everything always changes
The only constant in a woman’s life is how much she changes. With time, with life events, with love - of self and for others. I think about this phenomenon of change often. Of how much women evolve over a lifetime. Physically, mentally, and emotionally; and how this dictates our relationships with both our own bodies and the world we live in.
In less than 3 months, I will be 49 years old.
That number looks strange to me. It’s not the age of the person looking back at me in the mirror. She is 27, or 32, …maybe 38. Definitely not almost 50.
And yet, the truth is what it is.
There are changes happening once again to my body, I can feel them coming. I glance down at my fingers typing right now and I see glimpses of my mother’s and grandmother's hands. I walk naked past a mirror and see more dimpled cellulite on my legs and bottom, and the increasing softness of my midriff and breasts. Some days it feels like I am teetering madly on the edge of this time in my life, between welcoming these changes with wide open arms, and fighting them off with every fibre of my being.
Most days though I feel gratitude. I am thankful for the abilities that still exist for me and my body. I am grateful for every inch of this body - even the few more that have made me their home over the past couple of years. I am grateful for the man who still looks at me with both love and lust in his eyes after 20 years of witnessing all of these changes, and the children who still manage to fit and find solace in the softness of my arms.
I know that right now, today, I am stronger than I have ever been - both physically and mentally. Age, experience, and half of this life living with a chronic disease have made me an expert in my body and listening to the subtle cues and signs she gives me indicating her needs. Needs that I no longer ignore while I am taking care of everyone else’s. She is fed when she is hungry, touched when she is desired, moved when she feels stagnant.
I no longer say mean things about or to my body, or list off the things I would change about her. I no longer buy into the cult of youth that women are force-fed incessantly by media and culture, and I remind myself that the only gaze that matters is my own.
I do keep a tally of all the amazing things my body has done - growing life within her, birthing said lives, knitting herself back together after multiple surgeries, and all that she continues to allow me to do. I celebrate all that we have gone through in our time together and make bucket lists for our future adventures. And again, I am reminded of how much I do actually and truly love her.
Me.
Of how much I love me.
Right now. In this version of my body.
N~
I participated in a photoshoot with Deanna Slusar of Moss and Moon Photography here in Edmonton a few weeks ago. It’s a series called #MillworkWomen and she asked us to write a few words about womanhood and body image. This was my contribution. Check out her work on Instagram - it’s beautiful and witchy and lovely in so many ways!
(This post was written on October 10, 2020, I am republishing it here as part of the transfer of my posts from the newsletter platform I am no longer using. I am getting closer to the big 5-0 and still feel all of this and then some! )
introverting my way to connection
My kids always find it funny that I consider myself an introvert. I guess I can’t blame them, I am a very friendly introvert. I talk to strangers, I stop to talk to any and all neighbours that walk by or that we see on our walks. It takes me forever to leave a party because I have to see everyone individually to say goodbye (I may be an introvert, but I am not RUDE). And in a crowded situation, I admit, sometimes I do like to be the centre of attention. Or at least be the one making people either laugh or think. Can one be a passionate extroverted introvert?
I am also painfully shy, and I really, really like my house and not wearing a bra. So, as the kids say, the struggle is real…
I believe I suffer from a form of FOMO where I want to be invited to all the things, but then I don’t actually want to go to them. Or if I do, I just want to be a fly on the wall and find the other FOMO/shy fly there and sit in a corner and watch all the people. Not in a judge-y way, just in an appreciation of people doing people-y things way. I really do LOVE people watching. I’ll make up stories about the strangers around me in my head. Are they on a date? Do they really want to be here? What are they really thinking? Where did they get those amazing shoes?
The pandemic has been both easy and hard for me. At this point, and depending on a few different factors, this back and forth feeling is on a weekly (or sometimes daily) rotation. I am used to working from home. I have been doing it in some form or another for more than 13 years. The difference this time is that everyone else in my household has been “working from home” too and this increase is people/square foot/time at home ratio has really messed with my flow! I haven’t spent more than an hour alone, in my house, with my own damn thoughts, since March 15th, 2020 and it is starting to show.
forever expressing myself in mug form
I know I am not taking care of my own needs at this time and its becoming very apparent that if I don’t do so VERY SOON, I am not the only one who will suffer. Twice in the last week, I’ve gotten so irrationally angry that I have almost blacked out with rage. Both times, I remember how I got to the point, but it’s as if a line was crossed and then I wasn’t in control of my actions or words. Both times I recovered almost immediately and was horrified with myself.
I’ve alluded to this change in my coping abilities a few times with my husband and his response so far has been, “let’s go for a walk”. And while I appreciate a little change of scenery and his efforts to remove me from a situation, I know I need something more. My friends think I need to get away for 24-48 hours and they may be right. The problem is, I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to take off and be unavailable to the people who rely on me. I mean, I left the house for a few hours to go to a friend’s to watch the Folk Fest Documentary the other night and within minutes my daughter texted me to ask me what TV show she should watch. And yes, her father was in the room next to her and not 5 blocks away. {sigh}
Maybe I’ve done this to myself. I’ve made myself so indispensable to them that a simple decision can not be made without me. Maybe this is even more reason for me to take off and let them figure some shit out. I love my family to bits, but I don’t think the level of co-dependence that is growing is healthy for any of us. They can’t make decisions without me and I can’t leave because they can’t make decisions without me. It’s a vicious cycle and not one conducive to raising capable young human beings!
Okay, that’s it, I really do have to get away. The people watching situation is getting rather stale in this house and/or walking around my block, and my own mental health is suffering. 48 hours, a cabin in the woods, a large charcuterie board and a bottle of wine. This is not too much to ask for.
And really, that is what being an introvert ACTUALLY means. It’s not someone who is shy and doesn’t want to socialize, its someone who needs time alone to recover from too much people-ing, too much doing, too much labour - be it emotional or physical. I think after 5 months, I can take a couple of days just for me and my brain and my heart and fill them up again.
Maybe some of you reading this are feeling like I am. I hope in some way you can find a way to fill your tanks BEFORE you too are panicking and running on fumes. Trust me, that is no way to live.
Take care my friends,
N~
{This post was written on August 20, 2020, five months into the pandemic. It was originally published on a newsletter platform I am no longer using (see previous post). Everything I’ve written here is all still true - if not more so, more than a year into this dumb pandaexpress - and I am starting to feel the need for a recharge/fuel up alone in that cabin in the woods again.}
we are all connected: for good and bad
I friend and I were DMing on instagram today about the amount of people who we know who are flouting the rules set out by our health authorities to keep everyone safe and healthy during the pandemic.
She was wondering at what point do you CALL IN your loved ones or people you know for their behaviour and try to help them understand why, at this crucial point in the pandemic, finding loop holes or making decisions that could have devastating effects on others, is just not cool.
After our online convo, I went and did some research about the Spanish Flu and came across this information about the waves of that particular pandemic…
“The Spanish flu was the most severe pandemic of the 20th century and, in terms of total numbers of deaths, among the most devastating in human history. Outbreaks occurred in every inhabited part of the world, including islands in the South Pacific. The second and third waves claimed the most lives, with about half the deaths occurring among 20- to 40-year-olds, an unusual mortality age pattern for influenza.”
Our current Covid 19 Pandemic is behaving pretty much exactly along these lines - we are entering our third wave and many of those infected and being hospitalized at this point are in the under 60 age group. This is in sharp contrast to the first wave when we saw many hospitalizations and deaths in the 75+ age groups. And as cruel and heartless as this sounds, in countries and provinces (yes, I AM talking about Alberta here) that didn’t strive for a #COVIDZERO strategy, many governments and health officials, and thus the general public, were able to justify this because these folks had already lived long-ish enough lives. (I mean, I guess so, but as someone with parents and inlaws and friends in their 70’s - Ummm NO!)
But now? Now that we are in our third wave of THIS pandemic and the virus had gotten smarter and more virulent and transformed itself into the Varients of Concern, we are seeing more and more younger folks in hospital and ICUs. I don’t know what the stats are now, but in late 2020, the survival rates of Covid patients in ICU was about 60%. THAT IS NOT HARD MATH FOLKS. 4/10 PEOPLE ADMITTED TO ICU WITH COVID DIED.
We are currently in a race of vaccines versus variants and in some countries this is an easier win for the vaccines, and in others, the variants are lapping us and we are very unlikely to catch up before they wreak havoc on our health care systems (AGAIN) and our collective ability, mentally, physically and financially to “get through this together”.
In a society where people are valued over profit and it is understood that without people there would be no economy to profit off of, we would be protecting our citizens from any and all kinds of ruin. We would financially support businesses that needed to shut down for the greater good of the community, we would vaccinate those whom we rely on to help the rest of us fulfill our basic needs of food/shelter/education/health, and we would communicate clearly with everyone our GOAL to eradicate the virus, and until the goal was met (or we got as close as possible), restrictive measures would be maintained.
I think of restrictive measures/lockdowns and a Covid Zero strategy like this - Everyone is your teenage child and THE WIFI PASSWORD WILL BE WITHHELD UNTIL EVERYONE’S ROOMS ARE CLEANED AND ALL CHORES ARE DONE!
Unfortunately, we don’t live in that kind of society here in Alberta (and in other places in the world). We have NEVER had a lockdown in the real sense of the word and we are never going to have one according to our Premier, because, “freedoms” or something, something, charter rights, blah, blah, blah…
Jason Kenney openly admitted at the #COVID19 update this past week, that our province is RELYING ON THE SACRIFICES OF THE PEOPLE BEING COMPLIANT WITH THE RULES TO COMPENSATE FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT. What he failed to add is many of the people who are not being compliant are the very people who voted for him and put him in the office he occupies. To publicly condemn them at this point is tantamount to political suicide.
And so here we are. In the third wave of this pandemic, NOT in a lockdown, with some restrictions to regular life for an indefinite amount of time, no substantial support for businesses having to shut down, and no REAL GOAL to collectively strive for.
I don’t know about you, but this multi-layer “hopeless on top of hopeless on top of more hopelessness” sandwich is the worst thing I’ve ever tasted!
Especially when we can look across the room (world) and see others (New Zealand, Vietnam, Taiwan) eating multi-course meals with all of their friends and families and enjoying a life we vaguely remember as “normal”.
~~~
Back to the conversation with my friend this morning. What can we do about this? How can we positively influence our immediate or extended spheres to help us ALL catch up to the variants in this foot race? We are in a situation where NO ONE in our government has the spine to stand up, be the GROWN UP in the room and actually turn off the WIFI and keep it off until everyone’s proverbial rooms are clean.
So it is up to us.
Up to us to stay home, stay masked, stay out of homes that are not our own and/or not have people over to our homes for gatherings, yes - even family. I haven’t stepped foot inside another person’s home in over a year. If for some reason someone does have to come into your home - for repairs or the like, everyone wears a mask and the windows are opened and extra hand sanitizer is on hand and at the ready.
Shop for the necessities, but be smart about it. Shopping is not a family affair anymore. Shop with a list and be strategic, and for god’s sake, FOLLOW THE DAMN ARROWS IN THE STORES. If you can, order online and do curbside pick-up for as much of your shopping as possible.
You don't want to cook? Fine. But there is no NEED to be eating or drinking at a restaurant, and yes, that means the patios too. Order your food and drinks from your favourite local restaurant and TAKE THEM HOME. Make your own patio/balcony the best it’s ever been and have a safe patio party with you and whomever lives with you (or your designated two people if you live alone).
Please consider the following chart if you are thinking about ignoring the restrictions and measures in place and are deciding that your need for something is greater than those of the community-at-large. This is what happens when folks don’t follow the public health measures in place.
I know everyone has different risk tolerance, different living/work/school/co-parenting situations, and an acceptance of a certain amount of personal risk within all of that and an understanding within co-horts. My line in the sand is when people are making decisions that can potentially impact a larger group fo people, many of whom don’t get a say in this level of risky behaviour.
I think of it like consent.
If I am going to get a haircut, there is consent between me and my hairstylist. We’ve both decided that this appointment is an acceptable risk and we agree to each take measures to mitigate the risk as much as possible. If my sister and her kids are going to come over for a backyard visit, then there is consent and an understanding between us that everyone will either keep the 6 foot distance from each other and/or wear a mask during the visit. There will be no food sharing and no one will be going into the house (*Unless for a quick pee and even then, everyone remains masked and gets hand sanitized before and after.) Everyone understands the rules and agrees to them and we can still have a nice visit.
Things get murky when there are groups of people and there is not the same level of understanding or consent between strangers. This is why larger gatherings are not allowed, even within families. This is why stores and churches have limited capacity numbers. When we do have to go out into this Pandemic World right now, we have to do so with this understanding of CONSENT between ourselves and the essential businesses we need to frequent. We need to consider our own health and wellbeing, as well as that of every single person we interact with in the greater community.
I thing everyone is getting tired of hearing the “we are all in this together” line from our political leaders. That line feels like it has lost all meaning at this point.
I think a better message is that WE ARE ALL CONNECTED. For good and for bad.
We are all connected and it’s because of these connections that we have community spread of this deadly infection. Our only option now is to severely limit our physical connections to each other for a time. We have to do this in order to actually take better care of each other. This is the right thing to do right now. This is the hard thing to do.
And we have to keep talking to ALL our people and our connections with love and compassion and bring them into the fold of doing what is necessary to keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible.
Because dammit, I want the FREAKING WIFI PASSWORD BACK!
THIS IS MY “COME ON, SMARTEN UP PEOPLE “ FACE!
N~
in the mountains
I am meant to live in the mountains
to breathe air that is thin and crisp
to feel the earth and it’s millennia under me
under the sure-footedness of my Capricorn being
I see the snow white goats scaling the cliffs of the mountains
and feel the urge to stop driving and join them
for am I not one of them?
In the mountains
my lungs fill easily and hungrily
I look for longer and higher trails to explore
In the city, it’s hard to catch my breath
a constant fear of falling on uneven concrete sidewalks
Logically, this should not be
I have metal hips and knees
flat easy surfaces ought to be my comfort zone
but on the uncertain terrain of mountain trails
I am more confident and nimble
moving from one spot to the next
trusting my legs and the steps they take
In the mountains
I am connected to an energy that is bigger than me
I am the goat scaling inclines that defy gravity
with an ease and grace I don’t have anywhere else
When trekking the forests and trails of My mountains
invisible tethers connect me to everything
the trees, the rocks, the streams, the animals
all of it letting me know
somehow
We’ve Got You
When I leave, the tethers stretch
I feel them pulling and a sadness fills my whole being
but deep within I know
they can only stretch so far
before they tighten to their limits and draw me back
back to my sure footing
back to my easy breathing
back where I belong
in the mountains
♡
N~
where does one write and publish these days?
March 19, 2021
UPDATE : In light of new information that I have found out about the inner workings of Substack and how they have set up their payment systems and WHO they pay with the proceeds of these, I have decided to remove my posts from Substack and recommit myself to this here blog.
The TL;DR version is that Substack has been using the money it collects from it’s less popular writers, many of whom are from the Trans part of the LGBTQ2IA+ community, and then paying some more mainstream writers who have a long history of transphobic and problematic views, large sums of money (advances) to come and write on their platform. NOT COOL SUBSTACK!
You can read more about it here from @sadydoyle. I also have to thank my online friend @britnidlc for first alerting me to this TERF-y fuckery!
I doubt they will miss me and my 30 something subscribers, but I will not have my name associated with a platform that harms people with their policies.
SUBSCRIBE HERE INSTEAD, RIGHT ON MY BLOG (JUST THERE DOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE) FOR MY POSTS TO COME TO YOU IN YOUR INBOX!
Online Writing and the medium in which we do it is always changing.
Forums, and blogs, and micro-blogs, and long captions, and twitter threads…
And now, The Newsletter™.
In the past, a newsletter was something you got from your community league or the Gap or your financial consultant, but nowadays, The Newsletter™ is the new self-publishing medium for many a writer. Accomplished journalists and writers across the globe have seen a giant change in the writing and publishing world. Steady jobs are not what they used to be, and the endless hustle for virality on social-media is killing writing vibes all over the place. Many have opted to move to a form of paid or subscription-based newsletter format to have direct access to the people who appreciate and actually want to read their work and not have to rely on the whims and deadlines of editors and newsrooms.
Substack is the newest and shiniest of these formats, and you guessed it, I too have succumbed to this new wave of where to write and have created a Substack Newsletter for Natasha Writes Things. I will not be making this a paid subscription at this time, but I do know that many writers are using this as their sole source of income and I highly recommend you support your faves if you can.
I must admit that writing/publishing during the Pandemic hasn’t been an easy thing for me - even though EVERYONE and their dog says it the year to write YOUR GREAT NOVEL!
HA!
Publishing any of my writing has definitely been in the background for me throughout much of the past year (as noted by the last entry on this blog at the BEGINNING of the pandemic), but I did take many a course to improve my writing during the pandemic and am now armed with many new tools and inspiration for the new year.
So please, if you want to join me and continue to read my writing, subscribe to my Substack newsletter. My goal is one newsletter a week. It will likely be a mix of a weekly check in with my readers, commentary on world and/or local news and events, and some personal essays as well.
Here is an excerpt from my last entry :
“The only constant in a woman’s life is how much she changes. With time, with life events, with love - of self and for others. I think about this phenomenon of change often. Of how much women evolve over a lifetime. Physically, mentally, and emotionally; and how this dictates our relationships with both our own bodies and the world we live in.”
I do hope you’ll join me (and subscribe).
Here is to a much happier, healthier, and hope and writing-filled 2021.
Yours in words and images and stories,
N~
Welcome to My (new-ish) Corner of the Internet.
I’m writing from Day 4 (or 5) of Social Isolation/Distancing during the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020.
I am currently at home all day with an 11 year old and a 13 year old.
I work from home most of the time, so this does not feel like a big deal for me (yet). But these tween/teens just want to eat all day long and are always on a device and when I say enough, then they are bored every 10 minutes and I refuse to be a short order cook and their sole source of entertainment ideas during this time. (I swear, it’s like they are toddlers again - without the naps!)
Also, it’s almost 3 PM here and I just told them it might be time to have some lunch.
How is it going for everyone else? Share your social isolation/”stay the eff at home” survival tips and tricks with all of us in the comments!
In the meantime, I do have a couple of announcements:
1 - As you may have noticed, the name of my blog has changed. It’s no longer The Stay at Home Feminist. I mean, yes, I still stay home quite a bit and yes, of course I am and always will be a feminist, I just felt like it was time to be ME online. So…. this blog is now called Natasha Chiam Writes.
2 - Also, about a year ago I started a consulting business. I have been doing social media consulting and management for a handful of clients, as well as some web and copy writing, and a bit of personal styling as well. I am finally making the business officially official with its own dedicated website. You can now find Natasha Chiam Consulting at NatashaChiam.Works. (A big thank you and shout out to Elan Morgan for all her work designing both of my sites to reflect all these changes!)
I know the next few weeks and maybe months are going to be hard. But just remember, we survived the #zombiemom years and that shit made us resilient AF! WE CAN DO THIS. Also, never before have I been happier to have this little corner of the internet to be able to communicate with so many people all over the world. We need to keep all these lines of communication and connection open and flowing now more than ever. I know it’s not the same as IRL, but remember how many friendships and relationships we’ve forged through these platforms alone and how many great ways we can connect now that we didn’t have 10 years ago… Hello, NETFLIX Party anyone??
It has suddenly gotten eerily quiet around here, so I’d better go see what’s up. Here’s hoping my kids have discovered napping again…
Take care my friends,
XOXO,
N~
Political {parity} is so VERY PERSONAL (and partisan)!
PARITY in politics.
That’s the goal: to get as many women in the seats as men. To make parity a non-issue and just the way it is supposed to be. 50% of the population = 50% of the representation.
Last night in our city, a wonderful organization had an event to encourage more women to run for our municipal election in 2021. Disclaimer: I did not attend this event. I currently have no intentions of running for public office (seriously - a deep dive into any of my SM feeds and you will see why), but I am a staunch supporter and champion of the women who do intend to run. I’ve worked in the background on campaigns before and I will again.
The keynote speaker at the event last night was Leela Aheer. She is the Minister of Culture, Mulitculturalism and the Status of Women for the Alberta UCP Government. A government that on the regular, for the past eight months they’ve been in office has continued to make life more difficult for women in our province.
Here are just a few examples of what the current Government of Alberta has done that primarily impacts women in this province:
Discontinuation of the $25 a day childcare pilot program.
Cutting AISH and Income Support payments and also changing the date that these are delivered. Did you know that most people who require income support are single parents, the majority of whom are women?
Cuts and lays offs to nursing jobs - again, primarily women.
And just this week, deciding what medical procedures are “of limited clinical value”and targeting tubal ligations and breast reductions in particular.
It is not a great time to be a woman of limited means in this province.
Quite a few of my friends were at the above event and I was happy to see them there. It gives me hope for the future when strong women stand up for what they believe in and make the moves to do the hard things. And then I saw one particular quote from Minister Aheer’s speech was being tweeted over and over.
“Parity isn’t Partisan”
HA!
I mean. Okay, I get the thought behind this statement, we want those running to have parity, the representation to have parity, but also - ummmm, WHAT?
Maybe in municipal elections there exists a certain luxury of being non-partisan and running on your own merits and values, but PUL-EASE, UCP Minister for the Status of Women, who has been noticeably silent on the many issues facing Alberta women with the policies and legislation being brought forward by YOUR government…. DO NOT FEED US THAT LINE OF BULLSHIT.
Parity is ABSOLUTELY partisan if you are nothing but a mouthpiece for the patriarchy and can’t even see the writing on the wall in front of you. Parity is partisan when you constantly look the other way when your government is actively and negatively impacting the lives and livelihoods of women who are your constituents and whom you claim to represent.
My fellow WOMEN, we can not be the TOKEN feminists of the patriarchy. We can not claim we want parity in politics and then continue to support the policies that keep women “in their place”. We can’t demand parity, get the spot on the team and then play by the rules of the old boys club. We have to change those rules. And doing so will ruffle some pretty established feathers. PARTISAN feathers.
The truth is, it is going to take some very multi-partisan legislation to actually get parity quotas on our constitutional books and blast open the doors for more women in politics. The case for forced quotas is made in this article from 2018 about political gender parity In Quebec… (I’m particularly tickled by the tweet they quoted)
“The insistence that we let things naturally progress prompted a viewer to tweet, “No one is against merit. But believing that gender parity is just going to happen in politics, is tantamount to believing that oil companies will self-regulate for the environment’s protection.” Touché!
That tweet, however, is the truth right there. Women are sitting here patiently waiting for the rules to change so they, too, can also equally play by them, when the rules were initially put in place by men. It’s not going to happen because the game was rigged from the get-go. Despite progress, the old boy’s club is alive and well and continues to benefit men in many unseen ways. Those pretending to protect the merit of the current status quo are making the grave mistake of assuming that those currently in power only got there because of their competence. What if privilege and connections and systemic sexism had a little to do with it too? Parity laws aren’t there to reward or promote incompetent women, they are there to ensure that competent women aren’t pushed aside because the old boy’s network has made sure they won’t be allowed to get in. Gender parity in politics won’t facilitate mediocrity; it will protect against it. ”
I truly believe that gender parity in politics is essential to our future and I hope that I live long enough to see it in my lifetime. I also believe that until we are willing to dismantle the system that currently exists and have the political and PERSONAL will to elect people who will do that from the inside, we are going to keep hearing from these ‘mouthpieces of the patriarchy’ and continue to see the issues that face women be the targets of “conservatism”.
I’ll leave you with some words from my fellow Twitter politico and also ask that in the future, when we ask for (DEMAND) parity in politics, we also ask for some HONESTY as well.
Go forth and run for office my friends - I’ll work on your campaigns with you! And remember… the personal is political (and yes, partisan in our current day and age).
XOXO,
N~