The poster above, which I first saw when former Parliament Hill Liberal staffer Ben Parsons brought it to my attention on Twitter, is from the BC NDP.
It advertises a political fundraiser to be held this March. In fact, the B.C. NDP have been holding this annual event since 2003. Here’s the poster from the 2013 version. Over at the event’s 2013 Facebook page, it quite clearly says that this event was held to celebrate “International Women’s Day.”
Do New Democrats in B.C. deserve the same censure that came raining down recently on Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals for the way a Liberal fundraiser was marketed in Toronto? Now I realize this is the provincial NDP but here’s federal New Democrat Niki Ashton, her party’s Status of Women critics, delivering a Member’s Statement (also known as an SO31) lambasting the Liberals.
Naturally, some Liberals might wonder if if Ashton agrees that the marketing of the BC NDP event is “patronizing” to women.
@davidakin @diamondisinger I look forward to indignant SO31’s on Monday, condemning the sexism of the NDP.
— Ben Parsons (@bfaparsons) November 17, 2013
@diamondisinger @jordanowens I certainly would like to know what @MeganLeslieMP @MichelleRempel have to say. Sexist NDP fundraiser?
— Patricia Sorbara (@psorbara99) November 17, 2013
https://twitter.com/jordanowens/status/401896507240374272
Give poor young Ben Parsons a break, as two short years from now the poor little fellow will be looking for a job. Let the liberals huff & puff for now, because once they realize that the Canadian public aren’t going to fawn over Just Trudeau, they’ll have much more to concern themselves with than political correctness….ie; finding a new party to support.
Apples and oranges. The issue with the Liberal fundraiser wasn’t that it was a women’s event but in the sexist and patronizing nature of the advertising. This event is a fun comedy night fundraiser and not asking a candidate for prime minister what is his favourite virtue.
The objection to Trudeau’s fundraising was because the marketing objectified him. “Ladies, come and find out what Justin is really like”. Yuck. First they are women, not ladies. And second to market him a party leader like an eharmony ad is just plain backward. The NDP fundraiser is about women having fun. We can do that, without having some Chippendale entertainment. Sorry but the comparison just doesn’t work.
Missing the point. It’s not that women get together it’s the sexist “ladies tell Justin your virtue” invitation. As the person said above, apples & oranges.
Nice try, Ben. Not comparable unless the BC NDPers can (really) get to know whoever the new leader is now?
It is so cute how Libs rise to defend their current anointed one.
Plenty of sexist stereotypes in the NDP flyer–“diva tickets”, “kick up your heels”, martinis. Hardly apples and oranges. There is a word to describe this–starts with an H, ends with Y and it isn’t “hillarity”.
While it may be a fair point that the font and colour schemes of the two invitations have some similarities, there are two substantive differences:
1) The BC NDP event is hosted by two (or three) elected female MLAs whereas the federal Libera event was hosted by JT. That mean the optics (which is largely what this is about) are just different.
2) Nowhere in the provincial event does it imply that the questions burning on women’s minds is what a (male) politician’s “virtues” are. I know the Liberal event was organized by women, but anyone who doesn’t see this as a bit patronizing is blatantly partisan.