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Tyee Poll: Are Women Held to a Double Standard in Canadian Politics?

Weeks before Alberta swears in the most women MLAs of any Canadian government, pundits have scoured many of the newly-elected politicians' social media feeds for signs of inappropriate behaviour. NDP MLA for Calgary-Bow Deborah Drever drew criticism last week for appearing as a victim of violence on a heavy metal album cover (the title: "Fear of Attack") and posing beside a marijuana leaf-decorated t-shirt.

Vancouver parks board candidate Trish Kelly sparked similar controversy last November and was forced to resign after her sex-positive advocacy work surfaced. At the time, Tyee commentator Jarrah Hodge suggested a sexist double standard allows "boys to be boys" before entering political office, and humiliates women for the same expressions of youth or sexuality.

Canadian Parliament lags behind countries like Honduras, Turkmenistan and Croatia on gender equality. So tell us…