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Pauline Rankin’s Sexualities and National Identities: Re-imagining Queer Nationalism focuses on the historical priorities of the Canadian government as well as society to re-examine the relationship between national identities and sexual minorities in the country today. Rankin’s focus looks predominantly at the role of women and the construction of their place within national discourse and queer nationalism, given a feminist analysis. The national identities found in Canada have always revolved around the regulation of the sexual preferences and practices of Canadians because it reflects a desire to understand what citizens are up to, even when it goes beyond the bounds of what is considered to be of public interest. As said by Pierre Trudeau, the “state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation” (Rankin 176); however, it was not until long after his comment that the state began to take a much more relaxed view of sexuality. Living in a society where politics are based on differing opinions (177), it is difficult to believe that LGBTQ advancements were and often still continue to be...
In Vicki L. Eaklor’s Queer America, the experiences of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people in the years since the 1970s gay liberation movement are described as a time of transformation and growth. The antigay movement, threatened, now more than ever, created numerous challenges and obstacles that are still prevalent today. Many of the important changes made associated with the movement were introduced through queer and queer allied individuals and groups involved in politics. Small victories such as the revision of the anti discrimination statement to include “sexual orientation”, new propositions regarding the Equal Rights Amendment and legalized abortion, were met in turn with growing animosity and resistance from individuals and groups opposed to liberal and
Before World War I, equality for woman and men were very unfair. Woman weren’t even legally “persons”; they weren’t allowed to join parliament or the senate because they weren’t legally “persons”, therefore these jobs were occupied by men only. During World War I and World War II, many men had left for war, thus meaning there were many job openings that needed to be occupied as soon as possible, women then began to take on stereotypical male jobs which men thought women couldn’t do or couldn’t do as well. Women showed their capabilities and realized they shouldn’t be considered less than men. In retaliation of not being considered “persons”, women decided to take action. The famous five brought the persons case upon the supreme court of Canada in 1927, which was finally determined by Judicial Council of Britain's Privy Council in 1929. The “persons” case involved women not legally being “persons”. After the famous five won the case, women were legally considered “persons” then women began to join important jobs such as members of parliament and the senate. Along with becoming “persons”, women were beginning to get their right to vote in provinces slowly. In 1916, four provinces gave women the right to vote provincially and, finally, in 1940, the last province (Quebec) gave women the right to vote provincially. Later, in World War II, there was another change in
The contentious little book titled Women, Power, Politics maintains politics to be devalued, acknowledging the fact that only few people do vote, and women are unable to achieve within the realm of Canadian politics. Sylvia Bashevkin, the author of the book argues that Canadians have a profound unease with women in positions of political authority, what she calls the "women plus power equals discomfort" equation. She evaluates a range of barriers faced by women who enter politics, including the media's biased role of representing the private lives of women in politics, and she wonders why citizens find politics is underrepresented in Canada compared to Belgium. In clear, accessible terms, Bashevkin explains her ideas on how to eliminate “low voters turn-out,” “devaluation of politics,” "gender schemas," and "media framing.” She outlines some compelling solutions to address the stalemate facing women in Canadian politics which are; contesting media portrayals, changing the rule of the game, improving legislative quotas, electoral reform, movement renewals, and so on. This response paper would addresses the reality of a political mainstream, actions which should be taken against the oppressive elements of reality, and the awareness it brings through economic, social, and political environment.
Sexuality in Canada has been a huge battle for women, especially in the 1990's. Instead of sexuality being a personal issue to some people, it became a huge political problem for the whole country. There were issues involved equality rights for the lesbian community and the rights for same sex couples to get married. In both the United States and Canada, a majority of people see sexuality as negative, instead of positive. Although, most people have learned to just accept it. They both feel the need to educate people on making the right choices no matter what they race, gender, or sexuality is. Researchers are trying to promote these issues in a positive manner by the sharing of the knowledge of that in terms of a woman's attitude or behavior, they are going to feel and think in different ways than the others. Everyone is their own person, and we instead of trying to change their sexuality, we should just accept it.
In an effort to legitimize all subcategories of sexuality considered deviant of heterosexual normatively, queer theory acknowledges nontraditional sexual identities by rejecting the rigid notion of stabilized sexuality. It shares the ideals of gender theory, applying to sexuality the idea that gender is a performative adherence to capitalist structures that inform society of what it means to be male, female, gay, and straight. An individual’s conformity to sexual or gendered expectations indicates both perpetration and victimization of the systemic oppression laid down by patriarchal foundations in the interest of maintaining power within a small group of people. Seeking to deconstruct the absolute nature of binary opposition, queer theory highlights and celebrates literary examples of gray areas specifically regarding sexual orientation, and questions those which solidify heterosexuality as the “norm”, and anything outside of it as the “other”.
“Honey, you’re not a person, now get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich!” If a husband were to say these words to his wife today, he would likely receive a well-deserved smack to the face. It is not until recently that Canadian women have received their status as people and obtained equal rights as men. Women were excluded from an academic education and received a lesser pay than their male counter parts. With the many hardships women had to face, women were considered the “slave of slaves” (Women’s Rights). In the past century, women have fought for their rights, transitioning women from the point of being a piece of property to “holding twenty-five percent of senior positions in Canada” (More women in top senior positions: Report). The Married Women’s Property Act, World War I, The Person’s Case, and Canadian Human Rights Act have gained Canadian women their rights.
In Canada’s democratic government, voting is a powerful way for citizens to communicate their values. The leader who is chosen reflects the power of the Canadians’ values. Thus, to the government, every vote matters, assuring Canadians that their opinions matter. Today, Canada recognizes voting as a fundamental right for all of their citizens. The Canadian Charter of Rights effectively protects this right of all Canadians, even minorities, through section 3. “Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or a large legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein”. This ensures equality for vote to all Canadians. Equality is to allow all Canadians equal opportunity, even if they are of different race, religion, gender and etcetera. However, in the past, this fundamental right has not always been accessible to all. In fact, voting was considered a privilege where citizens had to qualify to have the ability to vote. The rules were so strict that only eleven percent of the past population of Canada could have voted, compared to today’s seventy-eight percent. Many of these rules of who could vote and who could not were very unjust. This was especially seen in minority groups who did not have the franchise, the right to vote.. In this essay, it will be seen that the inequalities to vote made racial exclusions, religious exclusions and gender exclusions more pronounced. It will be seen that the government treated certain races with intentional discrimination creating a lack of an opportunity to vote. As well, the government showed prejudice to certain religious groups, denying these groups their ability to vote. And, finally, it will be seen that views against women aided ...
For Canada to become a fully mature nation, it needs equality among both genders, women’s rights should be equal to men’s rights. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Canadian women were subordinate to Canadian men, not only in politics, but in most aspects of living. Most men believed that women were not able to accomplish anything a man could, or be wise enough to vote. In 1914, Manitoba Premier Sir Rodmond Roblin said that “the majority of women are emotional, and if given the franchise would be a menace rather than an aid." (Women Get The Vote ) Seeing that this man was in an authoritative position, his statement was an example of a typical and common viewpoint at the time. Many men agreed with him, and Canadian society did not legally allow women all the rights men had. Women made up a majority of the Canadian population, yet they did not have the right to vote, which made Canada an immature society at this time. By 1914...
Throughout history an idea that has been used to combat the fight for women’s rights is the idea of universalism. This idea, as Joan Scott presents in her work Universalism and the History of Feminism, was based on the concept that being an individual was celebrated and everyone was allowed to be their own valued individual in society. Many people would say that feminism is engulfed in universalism just on the definition of the word, Scott would disagree. Scott redefines what the “individual” is and how women’s attempt to become an “individual” creates the paradox of feminist speech. Author Marilyn Frye redefines some common words in her essay, “Willful Virgin or Do You have to Be a Lesbian to Be a Feminist,” in order to challenge the paradox of feminist speech and universal individual rights that Scott argues inherently leaves out women.
In our study of women across cultures, and women empowerment it is imperative to include not just heterosexual women but lesbian and bisexual women as well, due to the fact that it integrates a sense of multiculturalism that inputs and values multiple perspectives of women experiences. In the fight for women’s equality heterosexual feminists have often overlooked lesbian and bisexual women, because of the negative connotations that have emerged, that deem all feminists lesbians, and haters of men. This is also frequent due to the fact that homophobia and heterosexism are often used to combat feminism, causing heterosexual women to resent the association of lesbians with feminists. In the specific context of the United States, lesbian feminism has created a foundation for women who like other women, to take a powerful stand and contend against patriarchal traditions. From the workplace, to marketplace, lesbians and bisexual women face daily discrimination and unacceptance, due to the incomprehensibility of people to understand and tolerate their specific way of life. In the paper I plan to discuss, the origins of lesbian movements in the United States. Secondly, talk about the oppositions towards lesbians and feminists to live non-heterosexual lives, due to factors such as compulsory heterosexuality, and heteropatriarchy. Third, I will entail the consequences of society’s perversion towards lesbian and bisexual women, forcing them to hide, known a lesbian and bisexual invisibility. Lastly I will touch upon the responses lesbians in America have disclosed as a means to normalize lesbianism and reduce its negative stereotypes, as well as mention grass root organizations that have been created to fight against the inequality present i...
In relation to how sexual minorities like lesbians are marginalized by the power elite in society, Judith Butler explains the politicization of sexuality through the performance of sexual identity by constantly rearticulating and re-establishing heterosexuality as the norm. Ironically, the term “heterosexual” cannot claim authority as ...
As well Canada has faced similar problems long before the existence of film in the form of the colonial gaze, with attempts from both Britain and France to take what Canada had to offer and make it its own. In the film Away From Her (2006) Sarah Polley recognizes this problem that the gaze has on both the identity of women and Canada in film, and tries to express these problems by foregrounding the gaze to show it in a way that is unusual. This essay looks to explore the various ways that Polley uses the gaze in order to explore national and feminine identity, and argues that feminine and Canadian national identity face similar obstacles regarding the male gaze.
In Canada, polygamy is depicted as being against Canadian values and not being coherent with Canada’s national identity (Sweet, 2013). Section 293 reinforces the restrictions on religious practices to ensure they are within the boundaries of Canadian values (Sweet, 2013). It...
Regrettably, in the respect of victimization, there are many groups of minorities that become victims to society’s cruel intentions. For example, the elderly, or people with disabilities, foster care children and people who identify as LGBTQ, with the many. For those who don’t know LGBTQ stands for the following; lesbians, gay, bisexual, transsexual and people who are questioning their sexuality. As much as society has grown over the years there are still quite a few people who are bothered by the sexual orientation of these individuals. The truth is that being straight, gay, lesbian, etc does not change the rights of a person and does not change them from being a human being just like anyone else. Everyone should be treated equal no matter their sexual orientation, race or religion.
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.