Canadian feminists are outraged. A Toronto woman, Betty Steele, has published a book critical of the Women’s Liberation Movement in Canada.

In The Feminist Takeover, she dares to suggest that men never deserved the feminist image of them as evil oppressors and male chauvinist pigs. That the housewife-mother  makes an inestimable contribution to our society. That our children yearn for both a mother and a father.

Subtitled “Patriarchy to Matriarchy in Two Decades,” Steele’s book outlines the rapid growth of the Woman’s Movement in Canada. It is, she says, “a revolution of great design, initiated and executed by some of the most brilliant and dedicated protagonists in history.” Already it has led to the entrenchment of militant women in every department of federal, provincial and municipal government across the country.

A journalist and former editor, Steele has produced an exceptionally clear presentation of a complex situation.

The most unjustified aspect of the Women’s Movement is the hate and vengeance that increasingly dominate the movement, says Steele. Among many pieces of evidence, she offers a quote from HERizons, a national feminist magazine, partially funded by government grants: “Women must achieve equality with men. But who wants equality with animals?”

Indeed, you do tend to believe in the bestiality of men when you constantly hear that one in ten is involved in wife-battering and child abuse. But Steele questions the validity of those figures. “Misconstruing facts has been a lethal weapon in the feminist revolution. Feminists can be most outrageous liars.”

Lies or not, feminists have convinced Canadian men and women alike, that men are responsible for the immeasurable evils of domination, oppression and abuse in the past. In all areas of our society, Steele notes, the resulting alienation of the sexes is producing another group of victims, thousands of unwillingly single young women who are, and will remain, unable to contact marriageable men.

Encouraged and enabled by government programmes, more and more women are flooding into all spheres of the labour force, where more and more receive preferential treatment. Blatant examples abound of women with little experience being catapulted into managerial positions over men with years of seniority, dedication and experience.

Canada has one of the highest wage costs in the world. Adapting the workplace to meet the demands of women, and otherwise accommodating them in the trades, often proves costly. And now, because of women’s insistence, we are beginning to add the immense costs of equal pay of work for equal value. Economists are shuddering.

It is one thing for government to lay those costs off on the tax payer, and another thing entirely for a private sector employer to get the money from somewhere else, Steele points out.

Marriages Suffer

Steele points to a strong link between the “accomplishments” of the Women’s Movement, and the increases of broken marriages.

In a beautifully sensitive passage describing traditional marriage, she writes “They endured with unselfishness on the part of one mate one week, and unselfishness on the part of the other mate the next week.”

Today unselfish service is equated with a fawning servitude that accepts and encourages oppression. Women putting the needs of others first, is an unacceptable stereotype.

Service is taboo? What an anomaly in a Judeo-Christian culture!

Our children may be the greatest victims of this revolution, Steele warns.

In an example of special concern to pro-lifers, she points to the connection between the phenomena of latchkey children and the increase in teen pregnancies.

“Teenagers these days don’t get pregnant in motels and cars at 10 o’clock at night. Sex happens at 3 o’clock in the afternoon while mom is away at work.

The Feminist Takeover is a highly readable little book, of great interest to both men and women.

Betty Steele does not use philosophical arguments to convince her readers. Nor does she resort to wild exaggeration, or sneering denunciation of Canadian feminists. The sheer weight of fact piled on fact is the convincing evidence that moves her readers to share her concerns.

The impact is somewhat like being confronted by the reality of a rapidly growing tumor. As with all cancers though, knowledge is the first step toward treatment and recovery. Cancer can be beaten!

A pro-family activist said of Betty Steele’s book, “The most useful thing we can do for Canadian women and Canadian families is to read it, and then get others to read it.”

I wholeheartedly agree.

Ask for The Feminist Takeover at your local bookstore. But don’t be surprised if you can’t get it there. I’m told that all copies that are brought in are quickly bought up by feminist groups and removed from circulation. If that should be the case in your area, order directly from the distributer.

The Feminist Takeover by Betty Steele. 192 pages. $9.95. Published by Tercet Publishers. Distributed by Irwin Publishers Publishing Inc., 180 West Beaver Creek Road, Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 1B4. (416) 731- 3838.

Doreen Beagan is a freelance writer living in Prince Edward Island.