Feminism and Justin Trudeau #CdnPoli
By Flora Habbab, CanadianMomEh.com
The words feminist or feminism are sometimes perceived either as empowering or intimidating. It depends on who you ask. Yet, feminism is not something to be feared, but something to be embraced, as Prime Minister Trudeau pointed out at a recent panel discussion. Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the annual World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss contemporary business patterns as well as diversity in Canada. While there, the Canadian Prime Minister also participated in a session on gender equality, along with Melinda Gates and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Topics discussed included important issues such as pay equity, empowerment for women, more women in politics, and how men and women need to embrace feminism.
Teaching children about gender equality is, in my opinion, a key step towards addressing these needs. And it starts at home. Household chores, for example, are rarely assigned equally between girls and boys, as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg pointed out. Having the boys and girls of a household work together—and equally—on household chores would not only enforce a team/family spirit, but also expand their skill set, and improve their self- reliance as adults. Who says a boy can’t learn to cook? And why shouldn’t we teach a teenage girl to change a tire? Equality can be achieved that way, for starters.
Another way is to educate boys in particular about feminism. Prime Minister Trudeau mentioned how his wife Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau took him aside a few months ago and reminded him to not only teach his daughter about empowerment for women, but to teach his sons to be feminists, like their father, and how to treat women. If we teach our young boys to treat women with respect and kindness, at an early age, maybe—just maybe—there would be fewer violent crimes committed against women. Maybe young men wouldn’t feel the need to display “macho” behaviour to boost their self-esteem. And maybe young women would have even more self-confidence to think for themselves and achieve greater things. It’s time to think outside the box. Feminism is not another dirty F-word!
Prime Minister Trudeau has been demonstrating his feminist views since he unveiled his gender-balanced cabinet on November 4, 2015, when he was sworn in. The glass ceiling—in parliament at least—has been broken. Our Prime Minister is perhaps the most influential public figure to declare himself a feminist, but he’s not the only male public figure to be a self-declared feminist. Actors Mark Ruffalo and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have also ‘come out’ as male feminists. This rise in male feminism is a sign that there is a shift in the movement. Like our Prime Minister said: “We shouldn’t be afraid to use the word feminist. Men and women should use it to describe themselves whenever they want.” It’s a sign of hope that the times are changing and we are inching closer to achieving gender equality and women are no longer alone in this fight for equality. After all, it’s 2016.
