Elle Canada Caves to Bigots on Article Profiling Inspiring Women

Over the Labour Day weekend, Elle Canada attempted to quietly update an article on inspiring Canadian women they released earlier in August. The original article, headlined "These Eight Incredible Canadians Have Broken the Glass Ceiling," featured independent Ontario MPP Sarah Jama. Specifically, the piece highlighted her political commitment to the defense of Palestine and Palestinian people.

"No one walks the talk more than Ontario member of provincial parliament Sarah Jama. Since the conflict in Gaza began in October 2023, she has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and spoken in defence of the Palestinian people."

That celebration of tenacity and principled commitment was quietly changed some time on Saturday, August 31. Jama was completely erased from the article. The headline removed "Eight" and, initially, was not given any additional context. No updated note. No explanation. Nothing.

As Safia Aidid covered on Twitter (now officially known as X), there was a disclaimer soon added afterwards to explain the edit. Originally, it claimed the article was edited "for the safety of everyone involved," apparently, due to threats. Jama soon stated that she hadn't received any threats as a result, and the disclaimer was further updated to remove the author's byline, as "the writer had nothing to do with this decision."

It appears that, even though there was much uproar over this entire incompetent process, the editors at Elle felt it was necessary to include one MORE disclaimer to clear up why their post-publishing omission of Jama was done.

Disclaimer: (updated September 2)
This original article represents the opinions of a political personality but does not reflect the opinions of the publishers of ELLE Canada and its parent company, KO Media or any other ELLE affiliates. Following a number of concerning messages posted online and received by our magazine, the publisher chose to edit the original version of the article in order to protect everyone’s safety. Its byline was also removed. The original version of the article is still available in print, in our September issue.

Even though Elle made it clear that Jama's opinions were not those of the editors, they still have yet to reinsert the MPP into their article. Typically, this type of disclaimer would precede an opinion article. But Jama's profile was removed and an explanation was absent before it was forced by public pressure. Even so, in interviews and profiles with other figures, a disclaimer to this degree is rare. Jama was censored because she is pro-Palestine. It's as simple as that.

There are other holes in Elle's explanation. As many have pointed out, two of the women featured in the Elle piece, Fae Johnstone and Vivek Shraya, are trans. The article received a ridiculous amount of vitriol and hate for featuring them, yet they both remain in the article.

But this is no benevolent act. As Rachel Gilmore reported, the original article had "women" in the subheader of the article. Following this transphobic backlash, this was removed, leaving the headline completely disjointed. "Glass ceiling" is a term typically associated with women advancing in the workplace. Omitting "women" from the subheader makes the title clunky and awkward, as well.

So now Elle Canada has shown that they cave easily to push-back from reactionary elements online. However, this goes deeper than that. Since the article was edited in two separate and significant ways, and only explained itself (poorly) on one of them after major backlash, Elle and its editors have shown themselves to be completely incapable of being trusted.

This article and the editorial catastrophe surrounding it shows just how deeply societal bigotries penetrate in our news media ecosystem. The most stark example, of course, is removing Jama for her work spotlighting the genocide Israel is conducting in Palestine. However, the more insidious example of caving to anti-trans backlash without even a mention also must be called out.

In addition to our government's support of Israel, there's been a rise anti-trans legislation and sentiment across the country. The fact that Elle quietly edited out "women" in order to please the online bigots and still felt they could get away without mentioning it is not only journalistic malpractice, it's indicative of what the outlet finds acceptable.

Jama, Johnstone and Shraya deserve better than to have their achievements tied directly to the backlash their actions and existence generate. These are women who have pushed boundaries and taken a stand. They should be celebrated. Instead, Elle felt it best to downplay, or outright erase, their achievements. Not only do these women deserve better, we, as news consumers, deserve better, too.