One of my favorite pastimes over a number of years was producing and co-directing musical productions in both Huntsville and Bracebridge. I think in total we did about 12 shows, all sponsored by Rotary. We did everything from Gilbert and Sullivan to more modern Broadway productions such as Oklahoma, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof and Hello Dolly, to name a few. We had a lot of fun.
I especially enjoyed Fiddler on the Roof. Every musical production has a story from which we can learn as well as enjoy and Fiddler was exceptional in that regard.
A day or two ago, I was sadly reminded of a theme in Fiddler where Tevye, the male principal, was challenged a number of times in terms of his traditions and beliefs. With a sense of humour which was critical to his story, he gradually loosened up and gave in to various pleas for change from some of his five daughters.
But there came a time when his middle daughter wanted to marry an individual outside of Tevye’s faith. He simply could not go that far. He said, “If I bend that far, I will break.”
I found myself in that position last week watching an Olympic women’s boxing match between Imane Khelif from Algeria and Angela Carini from Italy. The fight lasted 46 seconds before Carini quit the match in frustration, saying, “I have never been hit that hard.”
The allegation is that Imane Khelif, although now a woman, has biological male attributes. She/he recently failed a gender test by the International Boxing Association who found him to be male. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did no gender testing and really didn’t give a damn.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni echoed the thought of many others when she called out the Paris Olympics for allowing Khelif to compete in a women’s boxing match. “At these levels of testosterone, this is not a fair competition. Athletes with masculine attributes should not be authorized in women’s competitions.”
It doesn’t matter to me whether Khelif is trans or not or whether her male chromosomes relate to other circumstances. That is her business. What does matter to me, and what is the breaking point for me, is that any individual who is biologically male in any manner should not be permitted to participate in women’s sports activities. I simply cannot bend that far.
I am not homophobic, although I await those who will say that I am. I believe that the vast majority of people do not choose their sexuality. I believe we are wired the way we come, and every individual should be respected for who they really are and be allowed to freely express themselves.
Notwithstanding the difficulties of controlling it, however advanced we may be when recognizing the importance of people expressing their sexuality based on who they believe they really are, it is my belief that we have to find a way of keeping people with male chromosomes and testosterone out of female sport and athletic activities. It’s just not right. It is a step too far, and it crosses a line that should not be crossed.
Indeed, to me, allowing it to occur is not only disrespectful to women but also just one more indicator that still, in the world we live in today, as avant-garde as some would believe we are, women still struggle for equality and respect.
There are still glass ceilings in our society. When a woman breaks through, it becomes news. It shouldn’t be like that. If it were an equal exercise, it would be no more newsworthy for women to break through the glass ceiling than it would be for men. In fact, there would be no glass ceilings.
A recent editorial in a major newspaper predicted that the deciding factor in the American presidential debate would be abortion. Why? What about the economy, climate change, and international peace? That is the business of government.
However one may feel about abortion, it is my view that it is a personal matter, not a matter for the government to control. Pierre Trudeau, whatever one may think of him, got it right when he said that the government had no place in the bedrooms of the nation.
The bottom line for me is that women have the same right to control their bodies as men. Whether or not I might agree with those decisions is academic. It is none of my business, and it certainly should not be the business of government.
Hard as it may be to believe, women in Canada still have issues successfully competing with men in the workforce. That, too, is just not right.
For the many years I was in business, when interviewing candidates for a position, if a male and female were equally qualified, I would quite likely hire the woman. That was not altruistic of me. It was good business, as over the years, at least in my line of work, I learned that women work harder than men. Perhaps it was that glass ceiling thing, but nevertheless, it was there. Consequently, in my view, there is no excuse for women to be paid less than men when doing the same job.
Then, there is the whole issue of domestic and sexual violence. J.D Vance, who could be the next Vice-President of the United States, a staunch anti-abortionist, described pregnancies caused by rape or incest as an “Inconvenience.” Wow!
And in Ontario, these kinds of attacks have increased substantially over the last decade or so. Meanwhile, our bail and parole system here is such that many of these alleged offenders are still out on the street. What kind of protection for women is that?
Finally, there was an emergency meeting of a parliamentary committee last week in Ottawa to deal with violence against women. At least two witnesses, both survivors of domestic abuse and both with important stories to tell about their own experience with this issue were effectively silenced by Liberal and NDP members of the committee. They were shut down, and they walked out of the meeting both in protest and in tears.
So, how far have we really come when dealing with issues that relate specifically to women? I started thinking about some of these issues again as I was watching the Olympics, especially the boxing competition. We have a long way to go.
Watching someone with male attributes beating the hell out of a young girl and sanctioned by the IOC was a wake-up call for me.
Old white male that I may be, that was still the last straw.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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