Let’s start with a couple universal truths shall we? Beyoncé’s All The Single Ladies is genius and government is very complicated and extremely patriarchal. And sure, are we slowly and I mean slowly, moving towards more representation and a democracy that considers the rights of those that are not white and male? Sure. But not without public struggle where we are still subjected to two very old white men debating on a world stage over who might be better at golf. BOYS - NO ONE CARES. Tuck your egos back into your loose fruit of the looms and worry about the fact that stripping away healthcare for women means more dead babies. My only dream in life is to moderate an election debate just once because obviously they’d never let me do it again. Where are the voices of women and why are we still asking this question? Also, when is Beyoncé running for President?
Recently I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Sophie Grégoire Trudeau who recently released her first book Closer Together about creating connection and its correlation with mental health. It’s a necessary book and the entire time I was reading it I kept thinking: “Why am I only getting to know you now, you are absolutely fabulous and I’m so annoyed.”
As I attempted to try and focus on how I needed to breathe more because apparently that’s something we are supposed to be doing (thanks Sophie) I kept thinking how bored this smart woman might have been in Ottawa. For almost 10 long years she had no official title, no platform and no staff. And sure, this is where a whole group of people will say but she was not an elected position why should she? And this is where I will remind you that the Governor General is chosen by the Queen or King, who I’m sure thinks of Canada maybe once a year. And the spouse of The GG has the title of “His Excellency”. Yes, world outside of Canada, our Governor General is a woman. Mary Simon is the first indigenous woman to ever hold this office which is a big deal and no, the Monarch does not get credit for that.
When Justin Trudeau was elected as Prime Minister in 2015 it was world news that his appointed cabinet was 50% women. This was huge. I don’t care how much he may annoy you or you think he’s inauthentic, he did something massive. At this time the world watched Sophie Grégoire Trudeau by his side attending every single official engagement. Of course! We want that and kind of expect that, but HOW DARE WE. Sure, I’ll support my husband at his work functions as he’ll support me at mine but no one is about to ask me to set aside my personal goals for a decade of photo ops.
The First Lady in the United States also sits within a bit of a grey area but at the same time has been recognized through the years as an important role. Jill Biden has a staff of eleven people and a title. Michelle Obama was incredibly important in this position. After listening to Sophie on my podcast How Dare You with Allana Harkin a friend said, “Well maybe she didn’t want that? I get YOU wanted it for her Allana but are you sure that’s what she wanted?” And listen, I get it. I’m very much a recognize women and pay women kind of person and that’s only because people still don’t recognize and pay women. I just can’t help but notice that once she left her marriage and unofficial duties that she released a GREAT BOOK and now has the freedom to move through the world with her own goals. Talk about being able to breathe.
I was curious about other opinions on this so I decided to run a poll on instagram because that’s where everything official happens now a days. The vote was overwhelming for the role of First Lady/Man/Person being recognized. And you all get that we are still just talking about women.
I’m being equal opportunity in my polling but the reality is that there has never been a First Man, not even when Kim Campbell was Prime Minister for 4 months. You have to love how many Canadians think we can’t say we’ve not had a female PM because we had one for 4 months when Brian Mulroney resigned after he saddled us all with the GST (for Non-Canadians that’s a 13% extra tax gift from the Conservative Party). Kim Campbell was put in an impossible position on the heels of one man and her party failing. Thanks guys!
You don’t have to believe that the spouse of the PM or President should be officially recognized. That is your democratic right. But maybe there’s a missed opportunity here? After reading Closer Together I thought how this was exactly the message we needed to hear through the pandemic (I see the irony in the title considering we were told to be six feet apart). And really, if the position of the spouse of the Prime Minister was a man would we be having the same conversation? I think I just heard the patriarchy muffle a laugh.
So shout out to Sophie Grégoire Trudeau on Canada Day. Thank you and I see you.
xo Allana
Alrighty. Give it to me in the comments. And for anyone who is curious, I’m not being party specific. Listen to the podcast to get the full picture.
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Queen of Heart Beats:
Buy Sophie Grégoire’s book at your local bookstore. I loved it. The audio book version was also excellent and honestly, It was nice to hear her voice. Please comment with your favorite bookstore in the comments. Long live the books!
I launched a podcast and we are rolling out episodes this summer. It’s called How Dare You with Allana Harkin and produced by Glory Media. Listen to the first episode here with my dear friend Samantha Bee or wherever you get your podcasts
Last Thursday’s presidential debate was horrifying. And although Joe Biden did not come off as the strongest opponent I am amazed how all the press was ALL about him. WHY WAS DONALD TRUMP EVEN THERE? Republicans, my God, COME ON. I swear at this point he could turn into Satan in front of everyone’s eyes and no one would bat an eye. I will write more about the election here and will be talking about it frequently leading up to the election. How fun?
LET’S GO SUMMER!