Summary Of Our Daughters Ourselves By Stevie Cameron

For many centuries, women have been fighting for equality. While there has been much progress all over the world, we are far from reaching a truly equal society. Through the simplest acts such as speaking out or getting an education, women are still being reprimanded for their actions. Canada prides itself in being a progressive country, yet events of violence against women are still occurring. An example of this is the Montreal Massacre. In Stevie Cameron’s Our Daughters, Ourselves, she touches on the events of the massacre at École Polytechnique. On that day, Marc Lépine shot and killed fourteen women in a self-proclaimed attack against feminism. Our Daughters, Ourselves is an excellent work of rhetoric that effectively evokes sympathy from

The Montreal Massacre was not only a terrifying event for the women involved, but also for women all across Canada. She is able to convey that while growing up can be a thrilling experience, there will always be something or someone who can potentially destroy us. For the victims of the Massacre, as little girls they dreamed of getting an education and thriving in their chosen career. However, they often come across an obstacle that shatters their confidence. This is best exemplified near the end of the work, where Cameron states: “And now they are more scared than they were when they were little girls.” In this quotation, Cameron describes the innocence we have as kids. We are told that as we grow older, we will grow wiser. We are told that as we mature, we will see that there is less to be scared of in the world. However, the ignorance that we have as kids is what protects us. This can leave an unsettling feeling in the reader, especially if the readers have daughters themselves. There is a feeling of fear now installed in them, as they cannot help but relate the “little girls” to their own

From adolescence to adulthood, we are told the same things repeatedly. We are told to obey gender norms, to keep ourselves safe, and to conform to society’s standards of us all while trying to be seen as equals in men’s eyes. Cameron uses examples effectively in her work to convey this pressure to the reader. Halfway through her piece, she says: “But we still warn them: park close to the movie, get a deadbolt for your apartment, check your windows, tell your roommates where you are. Call me. Call me.” Throughout the piece, Cameron uses many everyday examples. When you first read them, they seem to be routine and normal. However, we do not really realize the intention behind our actions until it is put in this context. In this work, Cameron uses examples of how women are taught to keep themselves safe. Rather than telling men not to sexually harass women or discouraging their crude behavior, we are telling women to always take precaution when they go out. Essentially, we put sole responsibility on women for men’s