Do you think I’m exaggerating when I say that white, straight, physically fit males are on the way out of our media culture system? That their productions are far from being priorities for our institutions?

However, we have recently received further evidence of this.

INTERSECTIONALITY

On June 22, the CRTC renewed Radio-Canada’s licenses for the next five years and imposed new requirements.

The organization requires: “A fixed share of independent programming spend for programs produced by Indigenous Peoples, Official Language Minorities (OLMCs), Raised Canadians, Canadians with disabilities, and Canadians who identify with the LGBTQ2 community.”

That means producers are chosen based on what’s going on in their bedroom, their physical ability, language, skin color, or ethnicity (native or non-native).

And that’s not all.

The CRTC calls for: “A ‘Women’s Intersectionality Credit’ to encourage spending on productions produced by Indigenous Peoples, people of color, people with disabilities and people who self-identify as an LGBTQ2 community and who also identify themselves as women .

In other words, in TV and radio bingo, you score more points if you’re a woman (sorry if you self-identify as a woman) in addition to points if you’re Innu, Senegalese, paraplegic, or non-binary queer (sorry if you self-identify as non-binary queer).

But if you were born in the body of a red-headed Shawinigan man, if you’ve slept with the same woman for 20 years, and have two arms and two legs, go down the list.

When you are told that you only have to “identify” as a member of a minority to benefit from preferential treatment, don’t you think that opens the door for a great deal of “self-identification”?

ENGLISH/FRANCE

On the subject of CRTC… You know that in a radio column that mentioned the book’s title four times, the Commission demanded a public apology from Radio-Canada for “lack of respect and sensitivity.” White niggers of America. You also know that Radio-Canada apologized but appealed the decision.

But you may not know that on August 4th, all CBC employees received an email from Nicholas Davis, Executive Director of Equity and Inclusion. Mr. Davis, who is black, claims that there is no context that allows the word “n” to be used.

He then adds: “When colleagues or members of the public tell us that using that word is harmful, out of simple respect for our colleagues and the public, we must listen to them and do better. And under no circumstances should we appeal any CRTC decision on that word.”

On the French side (Radio-Canada) we are concerned about the disruption of the CRTC. On the Anglo side (CBC), a director assures that there is no need to appeal.

Did you say two solitudes?