Yesterday was the 80th anniversary of women in Canada being recognized as persons under the law (the law at that time being dictated by the British North America Act). This was as the result of a real struggle on the part of the group of women now known as the Famous Five. The state did not simply hand over this victory to women; it had to be fought for by a ballsy bunch of old broads.
It’s an important history lesson for all Canadians, especially Canadian women, to know about. But it does also need to be studied in conjunction with the darker side of Canadian women’s history, like Emily Murphy’s fondness for eugenics. She, Nellie McClung and Louise McKinney all agitated for the successful implementation of the Alberta Sexual Sterilization Act, which resulted in the sterilization of over 4,700 people deemed to be mentally disabled (and that includes, according to the Wikipedia entry, epileptics, alcoholics and prostitutes–plus sexual perverts, which one can only assume includes gay men).
This is a complicated aspect of Canadian history. The women who fought so boldly for the simple recognition of women as persons–persons!–really only had a certain segment of women in mind: those that matched their own white, middle-class demographic.
Adding to the mixed feelings is the story this week that saw the Famous Five becoming posthumous senators, long after they’re able to kick up any fuss in the Senate. But even if they could, whose interests would they be fighting for?
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Great catch, Sabine! I completely missed marking the date over on Slaw.ca, will have to rectify that.
Well done,
Connie