Forthcoming July 2023 (Canadian Scholars Press)
The Canadian Public Health Association (2020) defines public health as “… the organized effort of society to keep people healthy and prevent injury, illness and premature death. It is a combination of programs, services and policies that protect and promote the health of all Canadians.”. But one must ask, who is considered ‘people’ within this definition? Why is it that Black, Indigenous, women of colour, refugee, immigrant, neurodiverse, two-spirit, non-binary, trans women and/or gender diverse, and/or other marginalized/oppressed women in Canada lack programming, services and policies that protect and promote their health? With the rise of COVID-19, coupled with Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s movements (to name a few), it is safe to say that public health education, policy and programming within Canada is a direct reflection of what this country’s origins are built upon - colonization and patriarchy.
The goal of the Public Health Feminisms edited collection is to begin conversations within and beyond the classroom of how patriarchy and colonialism are embedded in public health services, policies, and programming. By giving space to those who have been silenced and ignored, Public Health Feminisms provides an analytical tool that aims to explore and understand the intersections of gender, race, sexuality, class, age, and ability, while revealing how public health is embedded in patriarchal and colonial understandings of what it means to ‘protect and promote the health of all Canadians’.