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Party Talk: Assessing the Feminist Rhetoric of Women Leadership Candidates in Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

Sylvia Bashevkin
Sylvia Bashevkin*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
*
Sylvia Bashevkin, Department of Political Science, 15 King's College Circle, suite 165, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaM5S 3H7; sbashevk@yahoo.com.
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Abstract

Abstract. This study examines public statements by female candidates for the leadership of major federal parties in the period 1975–2006, with reference to the conceptual literature on political representation. Was the willingness of women politicians to voice feminist rhetoric more closely related to extra-parliamentary dynamics, notably the changing fortunes of feminist and antifeminist movements, or to parliamentary factors, including the ideological as well as competitive circumstances of their parties? The empirical discussion suggests feminist content was particularly strong in the language of Rosemary Brown for the NDP in 1975, Kim Campbell for the PCs in 1993 and Martha Hall Findlay for the Liberals in 2006. Overall results point toward the utility of a two-pronged perspective that merges a parliamentary view that centre-left through centre-right parties, as well as those in an opposition or weak governing position, were more likely sites of feminist discourse than hard right and firmly competitive parties, with a movement-focused approach that explains the diminished use of representational rhetoric during this period, even in relatively hospitable parties, with reference to the declining legitimacy of organized feminism. Unlike in the US, women candidates in right parties in Canada did not use their campaigns as vehicles for voicing strong antifeminist positions.

Résumé. Cette étude survole la littérature conceptuelle sur la représentation politique et examine ainsi les déclarations publiques faites par les candidates lors des courses à la direction des principaux partis politiques fédéraux pendant la période allant de 1975 à 2006. La volonté des politiciennes d'exprimer la rhétorique féministe était-elle davantage apparentée à la dynamique extra-parlementaire, notamment la force des mouvements féministes et antiféministes, ou plutôt aux facteurs parlementaires comme l'idéologie et la compétitivité de leur parti? La discussion empirique suggère que le contenu féministe était particulièrement important dans le vocabulaire utilisé par Rosemary Brown pour le NPD en 1975, par Kim Campbell pour le PPC en 1993 et par Martha Hall Findlay pour le PLC en 2006. Les résultats indiquent qu'il est utile, pour ce type d'étude, de considérer une fusion des deux approches. La première est une perspective parlementaire, qui suggère que les partis se situant sur le spectre politique entre le centre-gauche et le centre-droit, de même que ceux qui se trouvent dans une position d'opposition ou de gouvernement faible ou minoritaire, sont les plus réceptifs aux discours féministes. La deuxième approche (movement-focused) porte son attention sur les mouvements sociaux pour expliquer la diminution de l'utilisation de la rhétorique représentationnelle pendant cette période, et ce, même dans les partis relativement réceptifs au féminisme organisé. Contrairement à la situation aux États-Unis, les candidates à la direction des partis de droite au Canada n'ont pas utilisé la course à l'investiture de leur parti comme tremplin pour exprimer de fortes positions antiféministes.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 345 - 362
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2009, © Sylvia Bashevkin 2009. Not for quotation or citation without permission.

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