Advertisement
  • Newsletters
  • Subscribe
Living

68% of Canadian women don't call themselves a feminist

Twitter reacts to this surprising stat from our This is 40(ish) survey.
By Sarah Boesveld

Of all the prying questions we put to Canadian women in our This is 40ish survey, "Do you consider yourself a feminist?" may have been the thorniest. When we reported today that the majority of 1,000 women polled — a full 68 percent — said they do not call themselves a feminist, Twitter lit up with people surprised and even a bit upset by the result.

Whether or not a Canadian woman identifies as a feminist also strongly depends on where they live, our survey data found.

When Chatelaine asked 40-odd women the question on camera last month, many struggled with the word itself, not necessarily the ideas feminism espouses. (Watch the video above.)

So we put the question out to Twitter. And here's what you had to say:

Advertisement

So does feminism have a branding problem? We asked Twitter's, Kirstine Stewart.

What do we do to change that?

Gloria Steinem — the grande dame of feminism herself — responded to the Chatelaine survey results on a visit to Toronto earlier this week. “Carefully nurtured stereotypes [are]: Feminists have no sense of humour, they’re anti-men, they’re anti-sex. It’s all bullshit,” she said.

Perhaps the most heartening response came from the son of one of the women who participated in our This is 40ish video shoot last month.

Advertisement

"Just watched this video with my kids," Jacki Yovanoff wrote on Facebook. "My 8-year-old son said "I'm a feminist!"

Related: Exclusive survey! This is 40(ish) Does feminism have a branding problem?

The very best of Chatelaine straight to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Copy link
The cover of the Chatelaine Summer 2025 issue, featuring a pink drink with a paper straw.

Subscribe to Chatelaine!

In our Summer 2025 issue, we get real about what sex is like after 40. Plus, living together after divorce, our favourite beauty products of the year and 17 incredibly summery recipes, from ceviche to sour cherry cobbler.