Janet Merlo Sparknotes

masculinity, authoritarianism and machismo to blossom as normal conduct, even today where gender equality is said to enforced. When Janet Merlo first entered the RCMP in 1991, many of these traditional norms and values were noticeably present and controlling the conduct of the entire organization, mostly against the odds of minorities like her because they are unable to adapt to the heterogeneous and masculine-ized ideals present in the culture. The main issues in Janet’s life seem to be a result of the paramilitaristic subculture that a few officers used against her. She was aware of the possible thresholds she would have to break to gain respect: work harder to earn it from her fellow officers simply because she is a woman. Instead, the
Janet was often afraid of her supervisors because of the frequent episodes of abuse from authority she was subjected to. Such as when talking with her superior about her pregnancy, trying to transfer out of the detachment or even to gain information regarding her own affairs within the organization. This non-symbiotic relationship is reinforced throughout the entire organization, especially in the early years of recruitment of women to the RCMP because the traditional authoritarian male was still highly coveted, and arguably still was late into her career where some of her fellow officers joined in the management’s fun to gain favour. However, it must also be considered that this type of secrecy is the glue that binds the solidarity of the police (Johnson, Todd and Subramanian 2005), particularly among those that fit the majority (white males). This type of selective loyalty in and of itself breeds potential for masking episodes of mistakes or misconduct (ibid). Merlo was highly affected by this exclusivity because her job relied on support from fellow officers, as training has continuously reinforced, and once she found it lacking, every thread of trust was destroyed. One particular instance that stands out is when Janet was faced with a possible transfer where she expressed that she “had enough of the harassment, the favouritism, and the games. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut anymore…I’d learned that speaking out…just led to nasty outcomes” (Merlo 139). Trying to voice her inequality and disrespect in an organization founded on respect led to snide acts against her, such as her pre-scheduled vacation being cancelled when her boss suddenly decided he did not want the detachment to be short-staffed, even though on many accounts she raised concerns about this without any support