“If there was a time period you could go back to, what would it be?”
I often hear this question being thrown around. At face value, it seems somewhat harmless, however, when you take a closer look at the way different groups of people were treated in past periods it becomes almost insensitive.
I am intrigued by this notion of going back to our past. We hear this with Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” and Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole’s “Take Back Canada”. It begs the question, which period of time was America great? Was it the 1600’s when slaves were being brought to America where they were brutalized and suffered horrific treatments?
Was it during the 1920s when about 42% of the population in America was living under the poverty line?
The 1920s get romanticized because of books like The Great Gatsby but it totally neglects to share the stories of those in marginalized groups. I mean sure, Gatsby had a great time during the 1920s, he was rich, a man, and white. But this is definitely not the story of so many and others that hope to ‘travel back’ to this time period also wouldn’t be living as he did.
Was it during the 1950s when people couldn’t be openly part of the LGBTQ+ community?
I hear people mentioning things like rollerblading and milkshakes when talking about why they would enjoy living during this time. Yet, in 2020 we have better roller rinks and diners where milkshakes are served.
In Canada during the 1960s Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes, commonly known as the ‘Sixties Scoop’.
It’s not that I don’t think we should look back to our past and see the positive things that have happened, like Viola Desmond who challenged racial issues back in the 1940s, things like this should be talked about. However, to romanticize these time periods would be disrespectful to the many people that had to suffer through these different time periods.
To me, it seems that “Take Back Canada” isn’t a slogan for everyone. For someone who is a cis-gendered, heterosexual male, what ‘oppression’ does one need to be liberated from and who’s rights are being sacrificed in exchange for turning back the clock?
Even as recent as 2018 there are still Indigenous women who are forced into being sterilized, this isn’t something new. This procedure is happening to women after labour or immediately postpartum.
“If there was a time period you could go back to, what would it be?”
This ‘quirky’ question does nothing but highlights the severe differences in equality that different marginalized groups received throughout the years. It shows me the lack of critical reflection for our countries past and its acts of racism, genocide, and colonialism.
For me, each time period I would be working harder to stay alive as a Black woman and be less worried about what kinds of outfits I’d be excited to wear. Because as we often see, fashion never dies, and fashion brands are always bringing back vintage fashion.
Once again, it brings the question of in what time period is the most vulnerable amongst us safe? Because it wasn’t 50 years ago, and it definitely isn’t today.
So, as much as many of you would like to take a stroll down memory lane to a time period that seems more pleasurable, I’ll take my milkshake in 2020 and work towards a future where everyone gets treated with respect and dignity.