Culture & Entertainment
Michele Landsberg, did I ever tell you you’re my hero?
Culture & Entertainment
Michele Landsberg, did I ever tell you you’re my hero?
This is a good time to be a girl in Canada. There’s a whole generation of young women that will grow up having played in leagues of their own, doing what they want with their lives and with legal rights that some of us could hardly have believed possible a generation ago. The feminist movement began with in the late 19th century as a push for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, eventually securing the right to vote for all women in Britain by 1928. But the arc of the Women's Liberation Movement happened between the 1960s and the 1980s. [caption id="attachment_6473" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Michele Landsberg’s new book, Writing the Revolution"]
[/caption] Michele Landsberg is one of our country's best-known feminists and activists. As the
Toronto Star's “woman columnist,” she wrote more than 3,000 columns from 1978 to 2003. In her new book,
Writing the Revolution, she takes the best ones and reflects on what she got right, what she got wrong, and what was happening behind the scenes. It's a fascinating read that put recent history into perspective for me. All I know is that she got a lot right. She advocated for causes like the right to abortion, better childcare programs, same-sex marriage and ending the war in Iraq, but she also put her personal life – her issues and experiences – from becoming a mother to surviving breast cancer out there, too. Surprising, enlightening and funny, her writing reminds us of how far women’s rights have come over the past 40 years and how far they still have to go. She spoke for the many women who couldn't. And she continues to inspire women today, celebrating the rise of events like SlutWalk, the Toronto-born protest against the myth that women invite rape and sexual assault, which has since become a global movement. One of my favourite lines in her book is Michele's response to those say that feminism is dead. “Feminism dead? They said that from the beginning, and they were always wrong: Feminism is a passion for justice and equality, and that cannot die.” Thanks, Michele, for your passion. It made my life, and the lives of many other women a better place. What about you – do you think feminism is still alive?
[/caption] Michele Landsberg is one of our country's best-known feminists and activists. As the
Toronto Star's “woman columnist,” she wrote more than 3,000 columns from 1978 to 2003. In her new book,
Writing the Revolution, she takes the best ones and reflects on what she got right, what she got wrong, and what was happening behind the scenes. It's a fascinating read that put recent history into perspective for me. All I know is that she got a lot right. She advocated for causes like the right to abortion, better childcare programs, same-sex marriage and ending the war in Iraq, but she also put her personal life – her issues and experiences – from becoming a mother to surviving breast cancer out there, too. Surprising, enlightening and funny, her writing reminds us of how far women’s rights have come over the past 40 years and how far they still have to go. She spoke for the many women who couldn't. And she continues to inspire women today, celebrating the rise of events like SlutWalk, the Toronto-born protest against the myth that women invite rape and sexual assault, which has since become a global movement. One of my favourite lines in her book is Michele's response to those say that feminism is dead. “Feminism dead? They said that from the beginning, and they were always wrong: Feminism is a passion for justice and equality, and that cannot die.” Thanks, Michele, for your passion. It made my life, and the lives of many other women a better place. What about you – do you think feminism is still alive?
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