If You Can't Stand the Political Heat, Get Out of the Political Kitchen, Sweetie

A political "newbie" who helped organize Justin Trudeau's "Ladies Night" is distressed to learn that politics ain't for sissies:

The evite circulated for a month with nothing but positive response. And then, a tweet went out from a female Conservative Minister accusing our event of being ‘patronizing’. 

More tweets followed accusing our event of being sexist and offensive. Suddenly, our event was dubbed “Ladies Night” and “ladies” had somehow become a dirty word.  

Women used our hashtag (#askjustin) to mockingly ask Justin Trudeau such questions as: “My mascara is clumping, what should I do?” 

A polemic developed that characterized the event – an event that was designed FOR women, BY women – as a gathering of giggly school girls gushing over Justin’s looks.  

References to pastel colours, pink cosmos and Sex-in-the-City abounded. 

One particularly disturbing and high profile Op-Ed offered a storyline wherein the event was portrayed as a one-night stand from which women would wake up feeling used. 

I and my co-organizers defended the event in the media. Ironically and sadly, the federal minister who started the firestorm of criticism refused a televised debate. She opted instead to be interviewed separately, so she could safely deliver her partisan talking points in a controlled environment. Instead of debating other women publicly, she opted not to give the women on our committee the opportunity to respond one-on-one. 

As a newbie on this ‘scene’, it’s been an incredibly eye opening experience for me. The criticism has included cheap shots and manufactured issues, driven by an aggressive, Conservative partisan agenda...

An aggressive Conservative partisan agenda--oh, my! Time to loosen her stays and get out the smelling salts to try to revive the poor dear.



"If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?"