The oppression of women in Canada

That Canadian women do not suffer as much as women elsewhere in world is not something to brag about. I am happy we are not stoned or forced to wear shrouds but we are not liberated. Women continue to be oppressed in Canada.

This is as good an article as any to kick things off.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soraya-chemaly/10-everyday-sexisms-and-wha...

Research shows that most people don't see sexism even when it's right in front of their noses.

"Women endorse sexist beliefs, at least in part, because they do not attend to subtle, aggregate forms of sexism in their personal lives," wrote Julia C. Becker and Janet K. Swim, the authors of this study about the invisibility of sexism. "Many men not only lack attention to such incidents but also are less likely to perceive sexist incidents as being discriminatory and potentially harmful for women."

How do you think about and respond to these 10 examples?

Here is another example of the oppression of women in Canada.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2014/08/11/cultural_sensitivit...

Canada is a tolerant country; we usually go out of our way to make visitors welcome. But the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) went way too far when it reportedly told female border guards at Pearson airport to step aside so a group of Hindu priests could avoid all contact with women.

According to CBC News, the five visiting priests made their request because they are “sadhus,” whose religious beliefs require them to avoid women — and the agency acquiesced.

This is an outrageous decision. Cultural beliefs and sensitivities must be respected, but they don’t trump human rights in Canada. This didn’t involve body searches, simply routine questioning. The female guards were upset and offended, and rightly so.

We do need a hierarchy of rights in which human rights trump religious rights.

Bacchus wrote:

Yup as far as prison guards, cops, border guards you should not be allowed to 'change' the lineup regardless of the reason, religion, modesty, for strip earch etc.

I believe strip searches are already same sex based on the common nature of violence perpetrated by men on women. This was not a strip search.

This is the result of oppression:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/08/21/zoe-zebra-sex-marathon_n_5698142...

A Gatineau, Que.-based porn actress is planning to have sex with 25 men in a single night in order to pay for breast implants.

Zoé Zebra, 22, is set to take part in a so-called "Boule-O-Thon" on Sept. 5.

A Quebec porn producer plans to film the evening and will pay for Zebra's operation in return, said radio station 1310 News.

The event has drawn the ire of Gatineau mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin, who called it "shameful." Le Droit reports that the city is looking for ways to stop the "Boule-O-Thon" from taking place.

.......

Admission to the "Boule-O-Thon" is $15, including masks and condoms.

Zebra said she made the decision to do this herself, and will follow through on it.

Indeed, AD4X spokesman André Grenier told Le Journal de Quebec that Zebra is under contract and she'll have to pay a fee if she cancels.

This is not merely objectifying, it is oppressive.

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/trending/archives/2014/09/20140903-...

Edmonton's Lingerie Fighting Championships has signed on Model Behavior host Karmen Moon, who will make her debut in November for LFC20.

There seems to be some very basic lack of comprehension of elementary feminist principles and the harms of sexism.

Little boys get to dream of growing up to be fighters. Little girls must dream of becoming sexy fighters because if they don't have the sexy they are worthless.

lagatta wrote:

Well, actually I think boys dreaming about being fighters in the ring obeys a sexist stereotype about men, and very often is seen as a way out of class and racial oppression. Yes, there is another "layer" of sexism in terms of lingerie wrestling and football.

Yes it does, but it reinforces their power and supremacy in other words the partriarchy. Women exhibiting strength must be put back in their proper place as primarily objects for the sexual gratification of men.

It would be really great if men or men's rights groups started rejecting the sea of violence they embrace but so far women have had little success in discouraging men from violence.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/12/16/dalhousie-investigating-deeply-d...

Dalhousie University is investigating what it describes as “deeply disturbing” comments posted online about female students in the Halifax school’s faculty of dentistry.....

In one post, the Facebook page members were polled and asked, “Who would you hate f–k?” and were given two names to vote on, the CBC said.

In another post, a woman was shown in a bikini with the caption “Bang until stress is relieved or unconscious (girl).”

There were also multiple references to women and chloroform on the website.

The group had at least 12 members and the CBC said it is not naming them at this time.

Florizone says the school has postponed remaining fourth-year exams in the faculty of dentistry and will reschedule them in January, citing anxiety that has caused been among students.

How can young men still not know that this is unacceptable. This is rape culture.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/isabelle-cote/restorative-justice-is-a-_b_6...

While the comments on that Facebook group were highly disturbing, the response of President Richard Florizone is equally troubling. In fact, it was announced last night that the University will proceed with a restorative justice process. While some may think it might be an appropriate response to join together both parties in order to come to a mutual agreement on an appropriate punishment, in this particular case -- and in all cases of violence against women -- this route is likely to favour the perpetrators and disappoint or further victimize the female victims. In fact, restorative justice is a depiction of rape culture, where those incidents are not perceived as significant enough to ensure proper punishment.

Restorative justice and violence against women

Imagine for a moment that you have been the target of rape jokes among your classmates, and that you will have to face those same men and discuss the situation with them. Those men who have been writing about "hate fucking" you. Those men who have discuss how penises should be used to convert women into useful member of society. Those men who most likely have a higher than average IQ, who got admitted into a prestigious school and who are supposed to be the future leaders of tomorrow. Those men are smart enough to know that they can always hire one of the best lawyers if things don't go their way.

Given that some women reported in the media that they do not feel comfortable alongside those men on campus, why would they suddenly feel comfortable in a room discussing rape threats that were made against them? Even though it was reported in the media that female students who were targeted by the misogynistic comments chose to go through the process of restorative justice, how much pressure did they feel in order to agree to this procedure? It may or may not have been a legitimate choice on their part, but given that the university is very likely to want to preserve its reputation, to which extent was this decision theirs to make?

...

Furthermore, how is it that restorative justice is never thought about when it comes to robbery, drug dealing or fraud, but we somehow find it an interesting alternative when it comes to violence against women? Most likely, it's because we assume that the consequences, i.e. loss of money or goods are important enough to make sure that the issue is dealt with in the criminal justice system, but maybe women are not important enough in our society. In this case, we indirectly ask those female students to forgive by agreeing to go through a restorative justice process. This course of action only contributes to maintaining the privileges of those male students. It provides a snapshot of our society which goes to great lengths to preserves the supremacy of men and the subordination of women.

.....

As citizens, a few questions remain to be asked. Do we want those men to graduate? Do we want those men to be in a position of authority with their patients, dental assistants, receptionists? Do we feel comfortable knowing our children or a woman we love is under anesthetics in the care of one of those male dentists?

Personally, I would rather have my teeth falling out than having to spend one minute alone in an office with them. I just wish that Richard Florizone could understand this.

The instant this story came out there were expressions of concern for the men's careers and the investment they had made in school.