As a busy single mother, Shirin Tobie-Paul spends limited time on the internet. But that limited time was enough for her to stumble upon numerous hate groups targeting single mothers.
“I had never seen that much hate towards single moms before,” she said.
Tobie-Paul said single mothers are called everything under the sun in these Facebook and Instagram hate groups. She recalls reading comments calling single mothers underserving and second-hand.
However she took a positive approach to the cruel comments, using them as fuel to write her piece, The New Scarlet Letter, part of the Women of Courage exhibition.
The exhibition was created by CultureLink, a settlement and community organization that provides services and support for newcomers to Canada.
The exhibition, on tour in the city until June 4, is a culmination of artistic expressions by racialized immigrant women surrounding the personal experiences they’ve faced and overcome in Canada.
The remaining exhibits will be at the Scarborough Museum, Gibson House Museum, and Montgomery’s Inn.
About 20 years ago, Tobie-Paul, then 21, was a newcomer to Canada, arriving for her nanny job during the cold month of January from St. Lucia.
“My employees picked me up from the airport with jackets and everything,” she said.
One day in 2017, she took her children to Evelyn Gregory Toronto Public Library where she spotted a flyer on the bulletin board for the Writers Collective of Canada (WCC).
Tobie-Paul joined as a writer and facilitator to occupy her time while she waited for her children.
Little did she know, these writing workshops would become personal therapy sessions and be the crux of her healing journey.
“I used every week as counselling, free therapy,” she said. “It was good because I liked to hide, but this was a way of not hiding, healing and cheering.”
WCC introduced Tobie-Paul to the Women of Courage exhibition, where she wrote her piece.
The New Scarlet Letter is about the victories and difficulties of being a single mother, and offers visitors 10 service tips to support single mothers.
Tobie-Paul said the exhibit resonated with visitors, allowing them to understand how storytelling can heal people.
Carmen Gao also spoke about her own experiences emigrating to Canada.
Gao remembers being an aspiring journalist in China when she was 22.
She was front and centre at Tiananmen Square in 1989, fighting for free speech, a free press and democracy.
Fast forward to the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gao saw the same aspiration for human rights in her daughter Benita.
Gao remembered Benita calling her crying and feeling bad for her classmates in China who wanted to practice art. They weren’t able to connect with people or nature because of China’s zero-COVID policy at the time.
“I was 22 and in Tiananmen Square, and she was 22, worried about the future of humanity,” she said.
This was reflected in Gao’s art piece “22” displayed at the exhibit, a hand-painted rowing paddle resembling three generations of her family.
The top illustrates Gao at 22. The middle is left blank to represent her father, who she said was her family’s source of strength. The bottom depicts her daughter when she was 22, with green hair, dancing and performing at an Alexander Wang fashion show.
Gao also has a video presentation of her husband participating in Toronto’s Pride parade.
She said when their son opened up about his sexuality, her husband struggled for years to accept him due to negative cultural stigma.
“He would say, maybe this is just a dream,” she said.
Today, her husband fully embraces and supports their son. Gao chose to display this milestone to help other immigrant children and parents dealing with similar situations.
Gao said she was moved by hearing visitors connect to her story.
“These two ladies saw the video and told me how grateful they are,” she said. “They told me they are lesbians, and their family back home cannot accept them.
“But seeing my video, they felt empowered.”
Tobie-Paul and Gao came to Canada for a better life, yet they were faced with overcoming generational stereotypes.
Through the Women of Courage exhibition, they were able to document and display their challenges and victories.
Their art pieces demonstrate the strength, courage and patience they had while battling new difficulties in a new country.
The exhibition gave them the voice to connect with other immigrant women who may be trying to break similar generational stereotypes.
According to Statistics Canada, immigrant women make up 47.3 per cent of Toronto’s female population.
Within this 47.3 per cent, many may be struggling with their own battles, like Tobie-Paul and Gao. Projects like the Women of Courage exhibition offer these women a place to build a community, connect and voice personal experiences.