The fall/winter issue of BCAA's magazine arrived the other day. On the cover, a gorgeous blanket pattern by Musqueam artist Debra Sparrow and the words "The Push for Progress" tucked into it.
On first glance, it appears the magazine has returned from its vacation in the monocultural 1950s to join the world we know today. Leading off the issue are two articles: "The Push for Progress," where "[f]our community leaders talk social change," and "How to Be a Better Ally," where those who travel the privileged path are told that "[s]upporting marginalized communities is easer than you think."
Some time in the unarchived 1990s I remember reading a newspaper story of a BCAA member who spent hours trying to get BCAA to address her as "Ms", not "Miss", and the lengths BCAA went to keep this from happening, without saying why. The inference here is that BCAA likes to maintain the illusion of the un-"Mrs"''ed woman -- this "Miss" -- as defenceless, and therefore in greater need of their service.
The member of our household who took out the BCAA membership is a woman who has never answered to Miss in her life. If BCAA truly wants to be "Progress"-ive, they might offer the "Ms" option to its members, or better yet, do away with gendered addresses altogether. The arrival of BCAA in an emergency is not a knight in shining armour, nor are those waiting for their trucks damsels in distress.
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