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HOW IT ALL BEGAN
THE HISTORY OF REAL WOMEN OF CANADA
We could think of no better explanation of REAL Women’s beginnings, our objectives (which remain the same today, only the volume of work has greatly increased!), and our choice of name, than that which was expressed in one of our very first issues of REALity. We have reprinted this part of REALity from the fall of 1984 issue. We think you will find it interesting!.
Reprint from Fall 1984
REALity Issue
Brief Biographical Sketch of
REAL Women of Canada
We began as a core group of four like-minded,
concerned women (Patricia Loughran, Jean Murphy, Gwen Landolt
and Grace Petrasek) meeting informally in February 1983 and
grew to a dozen other interested women to form a steering
committee. Our vision for REAL Women was to create a new path,
a new identity for Canadian women, who were pro-family and
pro-life in today’s society.
We wanted to establish an alternative voice
for women, such as ourselves, for whom the government-funded
Status of Women Councils, and the National Action Committee
on the Status of Women (NAC) do NOT speak. We decided to act
and became incorporated in the fall of 1983.
What Influenced Us
Two events influenced our formation as a
group of concerned women. The first was the grave recognition
that a small, but influential group of feminists had masterminded
the inclusion of several sections in the new Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, to be activated April 1985. This
legislation may be interpreted to give women rights, often
at the expense of others’ human rights in our society. As
well, court interpretation may adversely affect traditional
family values as we now know them. The second factor was the
suggestion made by MP Judy Erola, Minister responsible for
the Status of Women, in December of 1982, that women who stay
at home to care for their children should not receive tax
exemption on their husband’s income tax. The thinking behind
this was feminist we believed, as it fitted their ideology
that in order for a woman to be fulfilled, she must work outside
the home. In other words, staying home to nurture children
was not a recognized contribution to society, especially in
monetary terms, so a woman should not be tax-exempt. The subtle
implication was that such a mother was not contributing to
society and that her work was not of value and therefore she
should not be tax-exempt.
Our Name
The story of our name is a tale in itself.
In early meetings we kept referring to “the real women of
Canada” as wanting and needing this and that. Gradually, the
name began to stick and to slowly bond, although we fully
intended one day to find a proper and serious name. Time passed
and our meeting agendas became so busy that shortly before
our incorporation we faced a deadline find a new name or
else…Frantically, we searched, but were unable to find one
as slick and as catchy. Some of us liked it, aware of its
tongue-in-cheek characteristic, while others did not. Time
was the deciding factor. Media friends urged us to keep it,
predicting it to be “a winner”. We then decided that what
it lacked in class, we would give it in clout, by making the
word “Real” an acronym Realistic, Equal, Active, for
Life (R.E.A.L.). We think we have a winner all right,
since everyone smilingly remembers it, especially the media,
but for some reason the feminists are offended by it!
Besides, we ARE the real women of Canada,
the salt of the earth and the backbone of the country, working
unobtrusively whether in the home or outside, or both. We
make a priceless contribution to our country by holding it
together by our responsible attitudes, efforts and values,
which we are passing on to future generations.
Our Direction
Our direction is spelled out in our name
Realistic, Equal, Active, and for Life. Contrary to media
publicity, we did not set out to “get the feminists.”
Rather, we set out “to do our own thing,”
which is to look at critical issues in society today that
affect women and their families. We evaluate both positive
and negative implications as the basis on which we develop
our position papers. We found, when doing our research, that
we kept tripping over well-established feminist positions
and we were astounded at the degree to which their views dominated
the media and proposed legislation.
For example, the alarming statistics of marriage
and family breakdown during the past two decades are of deep
concern to us. Accordingly, we are looking at the family,
long recognized as the basis of a stable society, to see where
change is needed. We wish both to preserve those values, which
have served society well in the past, and to implement these
in the present to build a better and more stable future.
With these ideas in mind, we developed position
papers prior to our press conference on February 1, 1984,
on Marriage, Divorce, Day Care, Equal Pay for Work of Equal
Value, Affirmative Action, Pornography and Prostitution, Reproductive
Choice and Pension Reform.
Public Launching
On February 1, 1984 at the Royal York Hotel
in Toronto, the REAL Women of Canada was publicly launched
as our [Canada’s] new national women’s organization. We unveiled
our carefully researched position papers (above) and introduced
our provincial representatives from British Columbia (Margaret
Steacy), from Alberta (Joanne Lewicky and Sheena McLellan)
and from Quebec (Christianne Durand). We received stunning
media coverage from coast-to-coast, which included national,
provincial and local TV and radio and many newspaper articles
across Canada.
Our experienced speakers helped fill the
many speaking requests received after the press conference,
which to our delight are still continuing.
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