Regardless, what I was curious about was the reason for this year’s winter Olympics in Sochi and the previous one held in Vancouver, BC in 2010 that highlighted the men’s Olympic hockey team, while downplaying the women’s. After all, the Canadian women’s hockey team had a great reputation and track record. Was it perhaps because the men’s final hockey games were at the end of both Olympics? Were they strategically positioned? Perhaps in order to downplay the Canadian female hockey team?
And, to add insult to injury, why were the Canadian men’s hockey needlessly splashed over the full front – back too – of the newspaper in addition to multiple pages? Not so for the female Olympic athletes! And the women had won – gold – in both Olympics! With the men’s team dominating the paper, the women received less than half a page of coverage and on the fourth page. Did anyone else notice that? Hmmm?
According to a female commentator in a recent Province newspaper, if the Olympians were made up entirely of females, Canada would actually have come in first place, with six gold medals, six silver, and one bronze. Contrast that with a men-only games and Canada would have ended up in fourth position! Hmmm…
In another recent Province article, at least one local man in the trades hires a number of females as he prefers them to men in terms of work: he finds that they work harder than men. A daughter is one of them. Hmmm…
Sometimes it seems like we take one step forward and two back. We have come a far way, at least in Western Society but we still have a long way to go when it comes to women, i.e., treating women as equals with respect. What will it take for that to happen?
This year’s theme is “inspiring change” that is, inspiring change for women. How can we, living in or as a dominantly patriarchal society contribute?
I forgot to mention that Lupita Nyongo was the seventh (7'th) black woman to win an Oscar! 75 years after the previous winner. Oh my!
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