Verdun’s borough mayor says one local newspaper has gone too far after it published a sexist caricature of her. The Quebec-based Nuns’ Island Journal published the caricature of Céline-Audrey Beauregard. Beauregard posted it on her Facebook page on Monday. “Don’t attack me or my body; this is a line not to cross,” she said. The drawing shows her on a skateboard with the words, “even big kids can use the pump track” written in French and English on the side. It’s in reference to the still-under-construction pump track in Adrien-D.-Archambault Park on Nuns’ Island. The project was the centre of community debate, dividing local residents. She posted a video on Monday, denouncing the sexualization of women’s bodies, and invited others to do the same. Beauregard’s colleague, Coun. Sterling Downey, spoke about the issue at last week’s Verdun borough meeting. “This portrayal is not only shocking, but it’s absolutely 100 per cent unacceptable,” he said. “Let us ask a simple question: if I had been the subject this illustration, would it have focused on sexual aspects of my body? The answer is clearly ‘no!’” Beauregard said the caricature is a blatant reminder of why women don’t want to get into politics in the modern day. “We don’t get the same treatment, and, unfortunately, we get attacked on how we look, how we dress, our body and not our ideas, our projects, our gains for society in general,” she said. Her fellow municipal politician agreed. “Rather than focusing on her ideas, her decisions, or her responsibilities, the image draws attention to her physical appearance and sexualizes parts of her body,“ said Downey. While running for borough mayor, she said she tried to recruit women but often got rejected. “I approached so many women, and the first reflex was that I don’t think it’s for me, it’s a lot of pressure,” she said. The Nuns’ Island Journal did not respond to a request for comment from CTV News. The Verdun borough said it is preparing a letter asking the newspaper to apologize in the coming days.
