My Life as a Dame: The Personal and Political Writings of Christina McCall Book

Foreword Eleanor Wachtel 1

Introduction 5

Part 1 The Journalist's Journey 11

1 My Life as a Dame: Chapter 1 15

2 My Life as a Dame: Chapter 2 37

3 The Prospector in the Pink Penthouse 44

4 The New Machismo 54

5 Mag Cult: The Opiate of the Faddists 62

6 Lapping It Up 66

Part 2 Canadian Society: The Low and the High 75

7 Springhill: The Town That Won't Give Up 81

8 The New Power in the New West 89

9 The Long Ordeal of William Wilder 101

10 Canadian Cities: Let's Cherish Their Safety While We May 114

11 Politics and Pornography: The Yonge Street Cleanup 120

12 Requiem for the High Life 129

13 Cathedral of Chic 136

Part 3 Feminist in Arms 151

14 Strong Women Who Could Endure 155

15 Some Awkward Truths the Royal Commission Missed 162

16 Down with Alimony 167

17 The Split Syndrome 172

18 In Ottawa, Women Are Either Babes or Blobs 176

19 Women and Political Power: What's Holding Us Back? 182

Part 4 The Drama of Politics 193

20 The Unlikely Gladiators: Pearson and Diefenbaker Remembered 201

21 The End of an Era 215

22 What Was Important About The Gordon Commission 222

23 How Mel Watkins Brought Socialism to the NDP 228

24 Growing Up Reluctantly 238

25 The 10 Percent Solution: Canada's Colonial Neurosis 249

26 The Unquiet American 253

27 De Gaulle's Gaffe Was a Pivotal Point for Canada 261

28 Learning French Is No Longer a Courtesy in Ottawa 266

29 Ten Years: From the Quiet Revolution to the Apprehended Insurrection 271

30 Bridging the Great Canadian Divide 276

31 Our Heroes on the Russian Front 280

32 The Exotic Mindscape of Pierre Trudeau 294

33 Bowing Out: John Turner'sResignation 308

34 Jim Coutts and the Politics of Manipulation 313

Endpiece 341

35 What Won't Appear in My Next Paradise 345

After Words 349

Index 363