Hypocrisy, jealousy, tell me what this is, as I can't tell.

My article about the poster that caused such controversy has some feminists up in arms today.

Here is the Moto Internationale Poster that has caused so many women motorcyclists who belong to the Facebook group, Women Riders Council of Canada to loose their minds and some to call BMW to complain and put the dealership Moto Internationale in the hot seat.

I have to say that I do not understand the women who think that a poster of a chick in a bikini, posing for a charity bike wash, clearly marketing to the male demographic is objectification of the female person and somehow a horrible thing for female riders to have to witness.

The majority of the population in the world is attracted to the opposite gender.  If an advertiser uses a pretty girl to attract the of the attention of the male population they are marketing to, then he's marketing to his target. It's not about offending you.

Here is the definition of advertising according to Merriam-Webster:

1: the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements

I don't think bashing that pretty little girl in the bikini bike wash poster, the dealer for trying to market to men or the brand for allowing their motorcycle to be near a female in a bikini is fair treatment to any of them.

The poster you are looking at may or may not be of an airbrushed female of the human species, or it might actually be an artists rendering of a female. Either way, if there was a woman who modelled for that poster, she probably got paid good money. She probably has another job, is a girlfriend or wife, a student or a lawyer - we have no idea from one photo, one poster.  Everything about the woman in the poster is an ASSUMPTION, other than she is slender and dark haired.

The advertising however is clearly targeted to the heterosexual male rider.

It's clearly not targeting the female rider.  

Is that what is wrong with the poster?  The female feels left out?

My article about Debunking the Sisterhood Myth in Motorcycling has caused so much hateful vitriol I don't even know where to start, here is one such comment, a sample if you will:

"The article was remanent of the 1960s, to be honest, in a culture where women were conditioned to compete against each other and their sense of self worth and value was placed on their looks. Accusing others of being jealous, stating that being cat-called by strangers on the street offers some sort of empowerment perpetuates the rape culture that exists today (and really, always has been). The men you are referring to believe it is their right to whistle at, cat-call with lewd statements, and dictate how we should receive their attention and is everything but empowering. When women truly support, include and empower each other, we will have a sisterhood. Lead by example and you will attract like-minded women. We should not be bashing each other, regardless of our opinions. We should be respectfully agreeing to disagree. The author of the article behaved no different than a mysoginist man who just talks over women - we disagree - big deal. There's no need to bash everyone who didn't agree with you."

Wow is all I can say. Frankly being compared to a misogynist has me shaking my head.  To have someone make claims that I "stating that being cat-called by strangers on the street offers some sort of empowerment perpetuates the rape culture that exists today"

If you are going to quote me, then do so properly, here is what I actually said:
If you have ever walked a little taller when a construction worker wolf whistled at you, if you ever sucked your gut in a bit, cause that someone special was looking your way, if you have ever changed clothes ten times before going out on a date, if you have ever put on that special pair of shoes because you were told they made your legs look sexy, then don't be a hypocrite."

To the gal who wrote that diatribe: You couldn't disagree with my opinion until I had written it so how could I be bashing everyone who didn't agree with me?  Moreover, you bashed me in your comments..."We should not be bashing each other, regardless of our opinions. We should be respectfully agreeing to disagree. The author of the article behaved no different than a mysoginist man who just talks over women".  

About the only sentence in the whole article these women seemed to grab on to was the one where I said that "If the 20 something in the bikini offends your old, jealous flabby arse, then don't look at the poster or the chick, don't attend the event, move on - get over yourself."....and OH MY GAWD I am a villain of epic proportions because I dared to call some of these gals out for being jealous and hypocritical.

I am like a misogynist I guess because I believe that:

1) We should all feel comfortable in our own skin - no matter our shape or size. (If you are concerned a young woman thinks her body is her only worth, become a big sister)

2) We should all be taught that our appearance is not equal to our self worth or our WHOLE worth.

3) We should all be teaching our female children what their whole self worth is comprised of.

4) We all should know the difference between advertising and targeted marketing (marketing to male, female, LGBTQ and Family demographics all require a different mindset), and that objectification is NOT the goal of advertising - Awareness is.

 Why do you have to choose to be offended, because you realize its a choice, right?  

If this man was on the poster offering to wash your bike, for those ladies who are into men, how would you ladies feel?  

Would men be inclined to attend?

Probably not unless they are in to men - gay/bisexual.

Should men be offended by a poster like this?

Do you think this male model is being objectified?

Would this be appropriate marketing in 2017?

I bet a good number of over weight, out of shape males with self esteem issues would have something to say about the topic, but because they are men with self esteem issues, they won't tell you how they feel, because they know they will never win, because they have been raise to believe that they are men, therefore wrong.  

The strong males of the species won't give a crap. 

The gay/bixexual men are drooling.

As I say in my previous article:

Self worth/esteem is a HUMAN issue.

QUIT MAKING IT GENDER DRIVEN.

Three Years Old

I find the Niqab, the Hijab, and the Burka to be disturbing items of clothing for what they represent, but I don't go around slamming women who dress that way. The same with those cultures and faiths, like the Hutterites, the Mennonites and the Amish, where the women dress like they are stuck in the 19th century, they seem happy.  I don't agree with these cultures & ideologies, they aren't for me, but if they are happy, I say live and let live.

I am VERY disappointed that these women who took me to task for voicing my viewpoint and calling out the jealousy that I believe is at the root of their vehemence - not one of them, would address the little girl dressed up for a beauty pageant at 3 years old, looking like she's ready for a date...that's TEACHING OBJECTIFICATION - that's teaching your daughter her body/appearance is her primary worth.  The article from the Daily Mail in the UK shows a few more photos and shares the fact that this mother spent a fortune every month to keep her daughter competition ready at 3 years old.

I was told by a women from the Women Riders Council of Canada a part of the MCC and funded by the MMIC to find my own tribe, that there are many kinds of sisterhood.

Let's have an honest and fair debate here:

What are your thoughts on these calendars and the reasons behind them - the Ladies Calendar:

the Men's Calendar:

Tell me what's wrong with these calendars?  

They both are for charity. 

They both "sell" sexuality/appeal.

They both clearly show hard working firefighters who know their self worth...

If you can find something offensive, objectifying or demeaning here, then tell me what it is?

Have a fantastic day, and if you are blessed enough to be riding today, please ride like everyone around you is blind and cannot see you.

Belt Drive Betty,

Editor & Rider

How the Fort McMurray Wildfire Changed My Life

Today marks one year ago that I along with two other ladies, drove up to the City of Fort McMurray which had been evacuated. 88,000 people fled their homes. This was a ghost town save for the Firefighters and other first responders.

During that evacuation Deputy Fire Chief Cranley Ryan's daughter and her friend were killed in a horrific vehicle crash. Mercifully, for a city about to loose so much, these two young and promising lives were the only lives lost.

However, every life touched by the Beast, would remain forever changed.

There are numerous documentaries, numerous stories being told.

Mine is just one of many.

Like millions of horrified Canadians, I watched the Beast threaten Fort Mac and force an evacuation of epic proportion on May 3rd, 2016.

On May 4th I heard Fire Chief Darby Allen say his men and women were exhausted and hungry and my heart was called to go feed people.

Lynda Klouth and Jessica Kappel journeyed with me up there, Jessie to stay and fight fires, Lynda left to go and get more supplies and I stayed to feed people.
I am grateful for the journey that took me to Fort McMurray.

It taught me so much about myself and others. In most cases my faith in human nature was restored.

Some of the memories from Fort Mac are painful, like watching a fire fighter trying to look after his swollen and blistered feet, blisters on the soles over an inch think and yet, when his captain called, he jammed his feet back in his boot and off he went...watching men and women who were so exhausted they were trembling, sleeping on the hard ground, the floor - literally dropping out of sheer exhaustion. Being interrogated by the police three times and on Mother's Day of all days...

Some of the memories are sweet, tender and heartwarming like the little girl who recognized fire fighter Jessica Kappel and ran up to her to thank her.  Or the Edmonton Fire Department taking over the cooking of Breakfast on Mother's Day along with Jeremy Hall, making sure all moms and ladies got a special breakfast thanks to the Pine Haven Hutterite Colony and their farm fresh eggs and homemade sausage.  Another sweet moment is when Keltie May Nicole replaced my stolen "Sparky" dog with one out of her team's Fire rig.

Yes the Beast stole a lot in those days, but actually, I think in someways it gave back far more....
It gave me back faith in humanity, in myself and it has changed how I view tragedy.

For those who are interested, see is a list of the articles I wrote - my diary if you will:

Part One:
http://beltdrivebetty.blogspot.ca/2016/05/my-time-in-fort-mcmurray-part-one.html

Part Two: http://beltdrivebetty.blogspot.ca/2016/05/my-time-in-fort-mcmurray-part-2.html

Part Three: http://beltdrivebetty.blogspot.ca/2016/05/my-time-in-fort-mcmurray-part-3.html




Part 4: http://beltdrivebetty.blogspot.ca/2016/05/my-time-in-fort-mcmurray-part-4.html

Part 5: http://beltdrivebetty.blogspot.ca/2016/05/my-time-in-fort-mac-part-5-truck-woes.html

Part 6: http://beltdrivebetty.blogspot.ca/2016/05/my-time-in-fort-mac-part-6-nicole-from.html

Part 7: http://beltdrivebetty.blogspot.ca/2016/05/my-time-in-fort-mcmurray-part-7-justin.html

Part 8: http://beltdrivebetty.blogspot.ca/2016/06/my-time-in-fort-mac-part-8-love-letters.html

Glenn Chaulk - Syncrude Fire

Until next time, I am Belt Drive Betty, Editor & Rider and one GRATEFUL human being!

Ride Safe....

My Time in Fort Mac - Part 6 - Nicoll from Leduc City Fire Saves the Day!

Jim from Leduc Fire gifted me a stuffed
Dalmatian Firehouse Dog "Lucky"

In the last instalment of My Time in Fort Mac, I left off with having had my stuffed Dalmatian firehouse dog, "Lucky", gifted to me by Jim of the Leduc Fire Department, absconded with.

I have no idea where he went, who took him, or if they felt they needed him more than I, all I knew was he was gone and Brittany and Becca hadn't seen anything.

Now I am not one to normally cry.

Get mad yes - tell some one where to go and how to get there - sadly, I still do that sometimes...

But for me to actually cry, well it means I have been either been wounded to the core or moved beyond words.

Jim's gesture and that of his fire crew meant a lot to me.

This was the second time I had something taken from me while on Mac Island and I felt pretty violated. (The first time involved a homeless man taking smokes out of my duffle bag and me catching him.)

Late on Sunday afternoon, Keltie-May Nicoll from Leduc Fire and I were talking and I told her that someone had taken "Lucky", about 40 minutes later she sought me out with a replacement.   She had me in tears.
We hugged and I thanked her from the bottom of my heart.  Nicole took a whole lot of sting out of the day - she literally saved the day!

There were some little red bags that could be used as backpacks kicking around and so I grabbed one, put "Lucky" in to and never let him out of my reach for the rest of my time in Fort Mac...

This had been a very discouraging Mother's Day. It had started out well, but from the time I discovered "Lucky" was missing to the time I walked out of Fort Mac at 10 pm that night, it was pretty much a "shit day".

You see, I was interviewed by an RCMP officer regarding two young men who had taken items out of the Marks Work Warhorse  and Canadian Tire stores on I think it was Thursday and Friday. These young men tried to tell the police that they got their orders from me.  As I explained to the Officer, I didn't ask them to get me anything. The only man who got supplies for me was a man named Mitch who was accompanied by the Assistant Manager of the Sobey's & Safeway stores on many a trip and  he would come to me and ask if I needed anything.

A little while later, this same officer comes back to get a recorded statement.

And a little while later another interview over these same young guys, this time with both a male and female RCMP officer. Again it was a recorded interview.

By this third interview I was pretty upset.

These two young guys had a little pick up with a small trailer they were towing behind and they had been working their butts off. They had hauled fire extinguishers, cases of bottled water, they had rescued animals and just seemed to be helping all over the place.  We never really got to know each other as they'd come in to our area, drop off whatever was meant for our station, then doodle off to drop other items off.

I am not sure what business they went into the first time, or with whom but they told me they had gone with a police officer and a firefighter had gone and gotten gloves, flashlights, safety glasses and other items that apparently the fire teams were looking for on Thursday night.  The next morning they had gotten coveralls, tee shirts, vests, socks...and dumped them on the sidewalk infant of my station which I was not very happy about and so they went about the task of sorting them and making sense of things instead of this huge heap of stuff.

Well apparently these two young guys had just decided on their own to go and get these things.
When the RCMP arrested them, they tried to blame myself and another person for ordering them to go get these items.

I was pissed for a number of reasons.  Number one, while I may have a "let's git er done attitude", I would NEVER ORDER anyone to go take supplies unless I had permission from an owner or someone in charge at the command centre.  I was here to feed people, to purchase the supplies like tobacco, moleskin, foot powder and air masks that could not be had in town at that time and to coordinate donated food and personal stuff - period.

Thursday night about 2 am before more supplies came in.

In fact, I had several people call me, give me their addresses, tell me about their freezers filled with meats etc and give me the codes to get into their houses and permission to do so.  I never acted on those offers.

I was upset at tax payers money being wasted on this entire ordeal. Three times of being interviewed over the exact same incident was getting old.

These young folks weren't taking items for themselves - they were doing their best to help out. The stuff they did take went straight to first responders who truly needed these things.

Clothes neatly folded and piles for
fire crews to grab what they needed

We, at that time, were in a state of emergency.

Theses two young fellas were not looting for personal gain. They didn't take TV's or anything like that, they took things sox and safety glasses and flash lights, vests and coveralls.

I feel bad for these kids, but I was pissed too that they tried to blame me for directing them when I hadn't.  None the less, these kids were, I believe, very sincere in their desire to help.

I get that the RCMP had to do their job, the incidences had to be reported for insurance etc., but I felt that three times was over the top.

It's one of those double edged swords, none of these officers were anything but polite and apologetic, telling me each time that they had been tasked with doing these interviews.

I get it, but I didn't like it much.

Kimmy & Tony's Trailer

Kimmy and Tony, some friends of mine from Provost, had brought up a trailer earlier in the day and we got it all set up. They had the fridge stocked, sleeping bags and pillows and supplies for the first responders - OH and they had brought some movies!

Well - the plan was, we gals would have a girls night. There were four beds, and Lynda and I would leave in the morning as Lynda was on her way down with my car to pick me up.  I needed to be in Two Hills for Tuesday Night as this wonderful small town north of Fort Saskatchewan had just won our inaugural "Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community Contest", and I had meeting with the community leaders and a presentation of a trophy and some road signs to make.

Well wouldn't you know it, my request to have Lynda drive in for the night to take me home in the morning was turned down.  As was the request for the Tim Horton's van and some masseuses who were willing to come up and provide some therapeutic massages to firefighters for free.

It appears that the reason for so many things being turned down and so many things about the Mac Island staging area changing in "feel" was due to Task Force 2 moving in, in advance of the Premier's visit.

I was tired, I was feeling pretty abused and all I wanted was a good night's sleep.

But that wasn't to happen.

I asked the guys at AEMA how I was going to get out to the highway to meet Lynda, my ride out and was told that there was nothing they could do to help me.

Feeling defeated, I headed back to the Suncor Centre and the gymnasium that was the gathering place for those eating from the BBQ and ran into a friendly face. Holly from Mobster Towing.

I explained my predicament and she agreed to give me a ride to the Anzac check stop but that is as far as she was allowed to go and we had to go now cause she was on her break. I had left my cooler and Lynda's big blanket and sleeping bag behind with Brittany and Becca, I folded up the other blankets and put them in a box for someone else to use.

 I said good bye to girls and grabbed my two duffle bags and walked out to Holly's tow truck.

It was about 10 PM when I got to Anzac and it was 11 pm before Lynda made it to me.
In the meantime I sat in a car with some young people who were waiting to get in to rescue animals.
I was thankful because it was some cold out.

When Lynda arrived, I hopped in the driver's seat and we drove as far as Wandering River and I climbed in the backseat and had about a four hour snooze and then headed home, Lynda was curled up in the passenger seat with the seat warmer on.

While I was driving to Wandering River, I got a text. It was from Brittany telling me that I could get a ride out in the morning but that was all AEMA could offer me.  I thanked them but explained that "I had already left, remember, I had said goodbye?" From then on I had zero communications with Brittany & Becca, which concerned me but I stayed in communication with Jeremy daily so I could help coordinate supplies.  I never thought to ask Jeremy who was now using Kimmy and Tony's trailer if he had picked up my cooler and Lynda's king sized blanket and sleeping bag.  I guess I should have because now these three items are also gone.  Oh well, it's just stuff and obviously someone needed it more than we did.

The whole drive home I had this plan formulating in my head to help first responders in the future.
I drove Lynda crazy talking it out I am sure.

Up by Sucker creek First Nations, an enormous mountain cat went bounding across the road.
Both Lynda and I were awestruck at his size. He was obviously fleeing the fires, and it was only two big leaps and he was across the highway and one leap and he was in the bush.  He was magnificent.

I was so happy to get home mid-day on Monday, May 9th. I lent Lynda my car for the afternoon so she could get some things done as her truck was in being fixed. My hubby had to go to work at 2:30 pm and so I ended up having a long soak in the tub and then hit the hay, sleeping for about 12 hours straight through.

I was happy to sit at my desk on Tuesday morning, May 10th making out paycheques for my contractors with my two guardians looking over me...

Sarge and Lucky....My two buddies - my reminders of some very special people in my life and some very special friendships.

Thank you Keltie-May Nicoll from Leduc City Fire Department for saving the day, that one small act of kindness got me through a really, really crappy day!



Belt Drive Betty,
Editor & Rider