My Life as a Dame The Personal and Political Writings of Christina McCall

by McCall, Christina; Clarkson, Stephen; Wachtel, Eleanor

• ISBN13: 9780887848209
• ISBN10: 0887848206
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-03-01
• Publisher: House of Anansi Press

Summary

My Life as a Dame recovers the voice of one of Canada's most gifted and masterly writers: legendary journalist and feminist icon Christina McCall. For the first time ever, the best of McCall's articles and essays have been collected in one definitive volume, alongside never-before-published excerpts from her unfinished memoirs. Covering topics from the Alberta oil boom to the rise of divorce rates in Canada to in-depth profiles of the Ottawa establishment, McCall's clear-eyed observations are not only laced with insight, humour, and compassion, but continue to inform our modern age. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 1
Introduction	p. 5
The Journalist's Journey	p. 11
My Life as a Dame: Chapter 1	p. 15
My Life as a Dame: Chapter 2	p. 37
The Prospector in the Pink Penthouse	p. 44
The New Machismo	p. 54
Mag Cult: The Opiate of the Faddists	p. 62
Lapping It Up	p. 66
Canadian Society: The Low and the High	p. 75
Springhill: The Town That Won't Give Up	p. 81
The New Power in the New West	p. 89
The Long Ordeal of William Wilder	p. 101
Canadian Cities: Let's Cherish Their Safety While We May	p. 114
Politics and Pornography: The Yonge Street Cleanup	p. 120
Requiem for the High Life	p. 129
Cathedral of Chic	p. 136
Feminist in Arms	p. 151
Strong Women Who Could Endure	p. 155
Some Awkward Truths the Royal Commission Missed	p. 162
Down with Alimony	p. 167
The Split Syndrome	p. 172
In Ottawa, Women Are Either Babes or Blobs	p. 176
Women and Political Power: What's Holding Us Back?	p. 182
The Drama of Politics	p. 193
The Unlikely Gladiators: Pearson and Diefenbaker Remembered	p. 201
The End of an Era	p. 215
What Was Important About The Gordon Commission	p. 222
How Mel Watkins Brought Socialism to the NDP	p. 228
Growing Up Reluctantly	p. 238
The 10 Percent Solution: Canada's Colonial Neurosis	p. 249
The Unquiet American	p. 253
De Gaulle's Gaffe Was a Pivotal Point for Canada	p. 261
Learning French Is No Longer a Courtesy in Ottawa	p. 266
Ten Years: From the Quiet Revolution to the Apprehended Insurrection	p. 271
Bridging the Great Canadian Divide	p. 276
Our Heroes on the Russian Front	p. 280
The Exotic Mindscape of Pierre Trudeau	p. 294
Bowing Out: John Turner's Resignation	p. 308
Jim Coutts and the Politics of Manipulation	p. 313
Endpiece	p. 341
What Won't Appear in My Next Paradise	p. 345
After Words	p. 349
Index	p. 363
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