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CBC gives a nod to the “F Word” with doc

By TO411 staff writer Daisy Maclean

“I’ve never been able to figure out precisely what feminism means. I only know I’m accused of being a feminist whenever I express opinions that differentiate me from being a doormat.” ~ Rebecca West, 1913

This year (March 8, 2011), is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and to mark the occasion, CBC Television’s The Doc Zone gives a little nod to the “F Word.” The F Word: Who Wants To Be a Feminist? directs a sharp eye at the history and state of feminism today: its stigma and the miles still left to go before it rests.

Narrated by Ann-Marie MacDonald, the 40-minute doc features interviews with popular feminist icons Germaine Greer, famous feminist provocateur and author of The Female Eunuch; Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth; Susan Faludi, author of Backlash: the Undeclared War Against American Women; and Amy Richards, author of FeministA: Young Women, Feminism and the Future, founder of Third Wave Foundation and Feminist.com.

Today, more than half of all North American University students are women, make up half the work force and have more choices than ever. So, why are women still marching? Aren’t women enjoying more freedom now than any other time in history? What more could feminists want? Don’t women have everything?

Not if you look at the stats. According to the UN, women make up 53% of the world’s population, but they own only 1% of the world’s wealth. Women hold up half the sky, but in Canada they are only holding 11% of the seats on corporate boards and 21% of the seats in Parliament. In the workplace, women hold half the jobs, but are taking home 20% less pay then men.

In fact, the position of women in Canada has been systematically eroded over the past decade. Everything from women’s shelters to sexual assault crisis centers and emergency housing rooms have been de-funded by the current government. According to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report (an assessment of how well countries divide their resources between men and women in areas like health care, employment and political representation) Canada ranked 7th in 2005, but only five years later it’s now ranked 20th, behind Sri Lanka, Latvia, and the U.S.

In an interview, co-writer Judy Holm said that this documentary has inspired her to take a closer look at where women stand in the male-dominated film industry. Today women make up only 8% of the film writers in the industry. “I get very frustrated with organizations like WIFT [Women in Film and Television – an organization for women whose job board shows mainly secretarial and admin work]. I’m not quite sure why they don’t do more,” she said. “We spend all our time training young women to become part of the industry but very little time trying to improve the visibility of women who are already in the industry. Now that I feel much more politicized since making this film, I’m going to spend some time looking into how I can help with that.”

According to McNamara, this film is a bit of a call to arms, “During the course of making this film we did ‘straw polls’ with women across the country over the past year and encountered a lot of women who have a problem with the “F-Word.”  So this kick-started our investigation of the past and present goals of feminism, and how these affect women in the real world. Along the way we were privileged to meet amazing women who have devoted their lives to the cause of gender equality. Did Feminism change things for the better? Of course. Is there unfinished business? Without a doubt.”

The F Word: Who Wants To Be a Feminist?, directed by Michael McNamara and produced by Judy Holm, will have its world broadcast premiere on CBC Television’s The Doc Zone on Thursday, March 3 at 9:00 pm and 9:30 pm (NT).

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Front Page, Industry News

CBC gives a nod to the “F Word” with doc

By TO411 staff writer Daisy Maclean

“I’ve never been able to figure out precisely what feminism means. I only know I’m accused of being a feminist whenever I express opinions that differentiate me from being a doormat.” ~ Rebecca West, 1913

This year (March 8, 2011), is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and to mark the occasion, CBC Television’s The Doc Zone gives a little nod to the “F Word.” The F Word: Who Wants To Be a Feminist? directs a sharp eye at the history and state of feminism today: its stigma and the miles still left to go before it rests.

Narrated by Ann-Marie MacDonald, the 40-minute doc features interviews with popular feminist icons Germaine Greer, famous feminist provocateur and author of The Female Eunuch; Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth; Susan Faludi, author of Backlash: the Undeclared War Against American Women; and Amy Richards, author of FeministA: Young Women, Feminism and the Future, founder of Third Wave Foundation and Feminist.com.

Today, more than half of all North American University students are women, make up half the work force and have more choices than ever. So, why are women still marching? Aren’t women enjoying more freedom now than any other time in history? What more could feminists want? Don’t women have everything?

Not if you look at the stats. According to the UN, women make up 53% of the world’s population, but they own only 1% of the world’s wealth. Women hold up half the sky, but in Canada they are only holding 11% of the seats on corporate boards and 21% of the seats in Parliament. In the workplace, women hold half the jobs, but are taking home 20% less pay then men.

In fact, the position of women in Canada has been systematically eroded over the past decade. Everything from women’s shelters to sexual assault crisis centers and emergency housing rooms have been de-funded by the current government. According to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report (an assessment of how well countries divide their resources between men and women in areas like health care, employment and political representation) Canada ranked 7th in 2005, but only five years later it’s now ranked 20th, behind Sri Lanka, Latvia, and the U.S.

In an interview, co-writer Judy Holm said that this documentary has inspired her to take a closer look at where women stand in the male-dominated film industry. Today women make up only 8% of the film writers in the industry. “I get very frustrated with organizations like WIFT [Women in Film and Television – an organization for women whose job board shows mainly secretarial and admin work]. I’m not quite sure why they don’t do more,” she said. “We spend all our time training young women to become part of the industry but very little time trying to improve the visibility of women who are already in the industry. Now that I feel much more politicized since making this film, I’m going to spend some time looking into how I can help with that.”

According to McNamara, this film is a bit of a call to arms, “During the course of making this film we did ‘straw polls’ with women across the country over the past year and encountered a lot of women who have a problem with the “F-Word.”  So this kick-started our investigation of the past and present goals of feminism, and how these affect women in the real world. Along the way we were privileged to meet amazing women who have devoted their lives to the cause of gender equality. Did Feminism change things for the better? Of course. Is there unfinished business? Without a doubt.”

The F Word: Who Wants To Be a Feminist?, directed by Michael McNamara and produced by Judy Holm, will have its world broadcast premiere on CBC Television’s The Doc Zone on Thursday, March 3 at 9:00 pm and 9:30 pm (NT).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Front Page, Industry News

CBC gives a nod to the “F Word” with doc

By TO411 staff writer Daisy Maclean

“I’ve never been able to figure out precisely what feminism means. I only know I’m accused of being a feminist whenever I express opinions that differentiate me from being a doormat.” ~ Rebecca West, 1913

This year (March 8, 2011), is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and to mark the occasion, CBC Television’s The Doc Zone gives a little nod to the “F Word.” The F Word: Who Wants To Be a Feminist? directs a sharp eye at the history and state of feminism today: its stigma and the miles still left to go before it rests.

Narrated by Ann-Marie MacDonald, the 40-minute doc features interviews with popular feminist icons Germaine Greer, famous feminist provocateur and author of The Female Eunuch; Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth; Susan Faludi, author of Backlash: the Undeclared War Against American Women; and Amy Richards, author of FeministA: Young Women, Feminism and the Future, founder of Third Wave Foundation and Feminist.com.

Today, more than half of all North American University students are women, make up half the work force and have more choices than ever. So, why are women still marching? Aren’t women enjoying more freedom now than any other time in history? What more could feminists want? Don’t women have everything?

Not if you look at the stats. According to the UN, women make up 53% of the world’s population, but they own only 1% of the world’s wealth. Women hold up half the sky, but in Canada they are only holding 11% of the seats on corporate boards and 21% of the seats in Parliament. In the workplace, women hold half the jobs, but are taking home 20% less pay then men.

In fact, the position of women in Canada has been systematically eroded over the past decade. Everything from women’s shelters to sexual assault crisis centers and emergency housing rooms have been de-funded by the current government. According to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report (an assessment of how well countries divide their resources between men and women in areas like health care, employment and political representation) Canada ranked 7th in 2005, but only five years later it’s now ranked 20th, behind Sri Lanka, Latvia, and the U.S.

In an interview, co-writer Judy Holm said that this documentary has inspired her to take a closer look at where women stand in the male-dominated film industry. Today women make up only 8% of the film writers in the industry. “I get very frustrated with organizations like WIFT [Women in Film and Television – an organization for women whose job board shows mainly secretarial and admin work]. I’m not quite sure why they don’t do more,” she said. “We spend all our time training young women to become part of the industry but very little time trying to improve the visibility of women who are already in the industry. Now that I feel much more politicized since making this film, I’m going to spend some time looking into how I can help with that.”

According to McNamara, this film is a bit of a call to arms, “During the course of making this film we did ‘straw polls’ with women across the country over the past year and encountered a lot of women who have a problem with the “F-Word.”  So this kick-started our investigation of the past and present goals of feminism, and how these affect women in the real world. Along the way we were privileged to meet amazing women who have devoted their lives to the cause of gender equality. Did Feminism change things for the better? Of course. Is there unfinished business? Without a doubt.”

The F Word: Who Wants To Be a Feminist?, directed by Michael McNamara and produced by Judy Holm, will have its world broadcast premiere on CBC Television’s The Doc Zone on Thursday, March 3 at 9:00 pm and 9:30 pm (NT).

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Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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