“We cannot overthrow 8,000 years of male domination in 100 years of feminist struggles,” insists Janette Bertrand. We have certainly come closer to equality between men and women, but the fight is far from over, warns the woman who made it her life’s cause. On the verge of being a hundred years old, Janette knows full well that she will not have enough time to finish all the battles she has started.
“My grandsons, they are extraordinary. They have nothing to do with men of my generation. But the fact remains that it is their girlfriend who takes the children to daycare, who does most of the domestic chores… Women today have too much on their shoulders, and that needs to change,” he slips. -she in an interview given to Dutya few minutes before participating in a panel at the Montreal Book Fair.
A little earlier this week, the Salon announced the creation of a prize which will bear his name, and which aims to reward books “which use the power of words in favor of openness to others and inclusion “. A distinction that this author, long snubbed by the Quebec intelligentsia, fully savors. “It’s sweet revenge. I was looked down on so much. Especially after What a family. I went years without anyone calling me,” she points out with a little smile.
To end ageism
At 98 years old – “98 and a half”, as she likes to joke – Janette Bertrand has lost none of the outspokenness that has elevated her to the rank of popular icon with Speak for the sake of speaking And Love with a capital A, but which has always disturbed the most stuck-up minds. A true force of nature, Quebec’s most famous nonagenarian astonishes with her boundless energy, which almost defies science. No one is immortal, except maybe Janette, until proven otherwise.
Despite her little fingers curved by osteoarthritis, which sometimes makes her suffer torture, Janette Bertrand continues to write. She has also just recorded a series of interviews with inspiring elderly people which will be broadcast during the holiday season on ICI Première.
“Aging is still a taboo. We are always afraid of growing old. But if you don’t accept it, you are unhappy. And I think that for us to accept it, it’s important that older people have role models. Because the image we have of old age is very associated with death, especially since COVID. It is believed that all old people eventually go gaga. But this is not true. Alzheimer’s affects a minority of people. There are plenty of old people who still have things to say,” insists the woman who has just republished her autobiography, My life in three acts.
The “backlash”
Ageism, sexuality, toxic masculinity… Janette Bertrand continues today to tackle angry subjects, as she always has. And what particularly concerns her these days is this whole masculinist movement very popular on social networks in the wake of the American influencer Andrew Tate, known for his misogynistic positions.
Young men, who were born well after sexual liberation, today openly advocate a return to traditional values, relegating women to the roles of mothers and housewives. According to a recent Léger survey, 20% of Quebecers aged between 18 and 34, of all sexes combined, equate feminism with “a strategy to allow women to control society”. Barely 6% of those aged 55 and over think the same.
“I think there’s a backlash. My great-grandchildren tell me about the women at home. Free women still scare a lot of guys, even those who had a mother who was free,” observes Janette Bertrand with dismay.
Regrets
Janette Bertrand recognizes herself in this new generation of feminists who emerged in the wake of the #MeToo movement. They also probably recognize themselves in Janette. Léa Clermont-Dion devoted an entire documentary to her legacy last year, with Janette and daughters. In January, Radio-Canada will broadcast Janette Bertrand: on the verge of being a centenarian by director Geneviève Tremblay, which has been available since this week on ICI Tou.TV.
Over time, Janette became untouchable, which did not prevent some of her positions from dividing, even among feminists. Just think of his support in 2013 for the Marois government’s Charter of Values, which sought to prohibit the wearing of religious symbols for civil servants. In the middle of the electoral campaign the following year, she went so far as to assert at a PQ rally that a fundamentalist “danger” awaited Quebec. A highly criticized exit that Janette Bertrand regrets today.
“I regret having been too sincere, having said what I thought. I’m far too emotional to get involved in politics. All my life, I tried to change things, shake things up, but I still wanted to be loved. I didn’t want to provoke for the sake of provoking. I am not a polemicist, but what I am most certainly not is a politician,” she confides.
Secular, Janette Bertrand remains secular, that said, viscerally. The greatest victory for women in Quebec, she believes, is precisely having succeeded in freeing themselves from the Church. Everything that comes close to religion, she loathes. Even in the twilight of her life, she does not feel the need, unlike others, to reconnect with any form of spirituality. Janette Bertrand has come to terms with the idea: there is nothing after death.
“So much the better for those who believe in it. But what do you want? I do not believe it. This is why I have enjoyed life so much and why I continue to do so. Because I know that afterward, there will be nothing more,” reasons the almost centenarian with passion.