Letter to Local Newspaper: Pointing out Ethnocentric Anti-Feminist "Writers"

I sat down for lunch today and opened my city's less popular newspaper called the Sun...a few pages in I found an article called "Why do we fund the bra burners" and it upset me so much that I had to write in and debunk this white dude's argument (which was horribly flawed as you will see)

By the way, this newspaper is male-run, i have never seen a woman columnist. Also, they have a daily page set up for soft-core porn, with barely legal women in bikinis. They are called "sunshine girls" and they dress in barely anything and some dude writes what she likes to do...it's usually something dude-centric like "sports" so that men will read it and go "oh she's sexy and likes what i do!"

Anyway,

This is what the dude wrote:

The Quebec’s Women Federation (QWF) had to withdraw parts of a very controversial ad last week in preparation for this week’s World March of Women.

The group that pretends it’s representing Quebec’s women ran a video in which a woman, acting as the mother of a Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan, says: “If I had known that in giving them life I was going to supply cannon fodder, maybe I wouldn’t have had any children.”

This is only the latest controversy to hit this radical organization.

Founded in the ’60s, the QWF’s objective and raison d’etre was to reduce the inequities between men and women. At the time, it was a noble cause. Women were earning just a bit more than half what men made.

Today, they earn more than 87% of what men make — and more than 93% for younger women or those who have a university degree.

QWF had to find other fights.

In 1994, Francoise David became president of the group. That is the great takeover. The QWF became a more and more radical, ideological, left-leaning group.

Today, David is heading a radical left-wing party with one seat in the National Assembly in Quebec City. Quebec solidaire (QS), as the party is called, would make the NDP look like moderate centrists.

QWF has become nothing less than the feminist wing of QS. A fringe that only has 500 members, mainly activists in downtown Montreal.

So how on earth could an organization that pretends to be representing women’s rights oppose an intervention — no matter if it is militarily or not — in Afghanistan? Have they forgotten the atrocities women faced during the Taliban era? Do they know Canadians are currently helping millions of young girls go to school, work and rediscover their dignity as human beings?

QWF is always in a hurry to denounce cleavage or a mini-skirt worn by an emancipated and free woman, while refusing to condemn a truly evil tool of submission as the veil, the niqab or the burka.

QWF even defends the right to wear the Islamic veil in the Quebec public service. Furthermore, they promote the boycott of the only state in the Middle East where women and men are equal, Israel.

On all sorts of issues, the political position defended by those feminists has nothing to do with women and everything to do with ideology.

As an example, QWF is openly promoting Quebec’s independence, even if women are less inclined than men to support this option. Actually if it wasn’t for women, Quebec would already be a sovereign state since a majority of men voted Yes in 1995.

Those who favour a united Canada only have women to thank.

And, believe it or not, QWF is spreading its propaganda with your tax dollars.

Since 1983, Status of Women Canada gave more than $3.2 million to the QWF. This year alone, the federal government gave them a subsidy of $240,000.

This subsidizing of political activism needs to stop. Minister for Status of Women Rona Ambrose needs to tell those radical feminists the party is over.

These bra burners can have all the extreme and crazy ideas they want. They just need to stop talking in the name of all Quebec women and stop being funded by Canadian taxpayers.

http://www.calgarysun.com/comment/columnists/eric_duhaime/2010/10/13/15681911.html

And here is my response letter which i just sent in to the newspaper (i really doubt they'll publish it, who wants to hear from an angry woman, right? not these conservative dudes!)

On “Why do we fund the Bra Burners”,

I was offended after reading your article titled “Why do we fund these bra burners?” The comments made about feminists in Quebec were completely ridiculous, particularly the comments about the burqa being "evil". For Canadians to ban a piece of clothing is oppressive in itself, especially since so many people have no idea what the practice actually represents for many women in various cultures.

The burqa was not originally an Islamic tradition, the veiling practices date back centuries and they were used as a symbol of status. For example, Mohammad's wives wore them to represent their place of status; this practice was not put in the Qur'an, despite popular belief. The wearing of the burqa is a source of empowerment for many women worldwide, for white Canadians (not to mention white men with white privilege) to claim it is "evil" is incredibly ethnocentric. To actually ban something that many women do choose to wear is a violation of basic human rights. If more people did their research, they would know that although in many countries under specific Islamic law women are forced to wear the veil, many more actually choose to wear it.

You made a comparison of showing cleavage when you described the activities of the QWF, referring to them in a way that suggests you believe they are on some moral crusade. To believe that your culture is correct and not oppressive to women is to be blind to women’s reality world-wide. Banning the burqa is about attempting to control other cultures as well as racism, plain and simple. To believe that the east is harming women and the world is not is to suggest that our struggle in Canada is somehow over and done with. For a white male in your place of power to criticize a group of women is exactly why we still need feminist movements.

You get a voice because of your privilege in society – the QWF need one, so the government and tax payers help out, that’s how a society is run. They need a voice, too. Women who have full agency to wear the veil also need a voice, and they sure don’t need your voice telling them what is “evil” or not. Also, as for your comments on the pay issue in Canada, I’m curious where you got those findings.

Not only are your findings incorrect, but they are downright obscene. A recent study was just published by World Economic Forum found that “On average, the estimated earned income for Canadian women is $28,315 compared with $40,000 for men.”

Link Here: http://www.570news.com/radio/570news/article/114307--women-still-earning-less

Your statistics suggest a huge gap but with women in the lead. If you were to look world-wide at this issue, you would understand that the majority (at this is a huge majority) of the world’s poor are women and children. Women face struggles in Canada still because of people like you who decide to spread false information and attempt to devalue women’s movements in Canada. I would appreciate if you could attempt to educate yourself on what feminism is, and what our reality as women is like.

Sincerely,

Bra Burning Feminist