Presumptuous assumptions
FEMINISM APPARENTLY REMAINS a touchy subject for many Canadians. Discussion surrounding gender equality and sexism is too often silenced or shut down, either for fear of coming off as stereotypical, or else because stereotypes end up taking over conversation.
Unfortunately, in the case of recent commentary in the National Post, the latter has threatened to turn people off intelligent discussion altogether.
In light of women’s studies courses “disappearing at many universities,” the editors took it upon themselves to detail exactly what they think of such a program in the Jan. 26 editorial in the Post. According to them, “the radical feminism behind these courses has done untold damage to families, our court systems, labour laws, constitutional freedoms, and even the ordinary relations between men and women.” Even better, “women’s studies courses have taught that all women—or nearly all—are victims and nearly all men are victimizers.” In the Post’s view, such programs are ultimately “angry, divisive, and dubious.”
Hold on: has a national newspaper painted the entire situation with the same, unnecessarily negative, misinformed brush?
The Post is claiming that women’s studies programs are spreading factual inaccuracies and causing damage, when in fact their editorial board is doing the exact same thing.
Have editors at the Post taken a women’s studies class recently? Many staff at the Fulcrum have been privileged enough to have studied the subject at the University of Ottawa. Our Institute of Women’s Studies is indeed an underpromoted department that deserves more attention for its fantastic professors, who inspire thoughtful discussion and debate. The Fulcrum supports the idea of achieving gender equality through understanding past and current struggles that both genders have faced, which is precisely what women’s studies—potentially better-named gender studies—courses aim to illustrate.
It would be ignorant to assume that equality in its perfect form currently exists; there is still work to be done to achieve balance in our society. Does that work involve completely favouring one gender over another? No. Because both women and men face struggles and barriers every day—something that women’s and gender studies professors and researchers study and shed light on at post-secondary institutions across the country.
We are confident in the inclusiveness and the intelligence of the University of Ottawa community and would hope a decision to abolish such a program—or promote any uninformed and slanderous debate—would never occur on this campus.
editor@thefulcrum.ca
