Burnaby's Tracy Fairfield has taken on a new image as "Miss February" to challenge stereotypes of what it means to be a female minister.
The 37-year-old reverend at Deer Lake United Church took part in a calendar fundraiser featuring her female colleagues from across the country.
"When people think of a minister, they think: heterosexual male," says Fairfield seated cross-legged on her living room couch, while her female partner soothes their new baby. "People forget we're moms, we have a care-giving role. They expect us to be softies when we can be assertive."
All of the women featured in the calendar are members of the United Church of Canada, and all wanted to challenge the stereotypes facing female reverends.
"We're supposed to be prim and proper but don't rock the boat," Fairfield says.
Fairfield, her partner and their new baby are featured on the February love-themed page of the calendar, along with another lesbian reverend couple.
Fairfield flips through the calendar, chock full of female ministers in their everyday, non-traditional lives. For example, Miss September is wearing camouflage and a grin, cradling her hunting rifle. Miss April, a reverend and scientist, smiles cheerily from behind a microscope with her lab coat on, while Miss January (Fairfield's favourite) is portrayed looking serene in a crowd of Occupy protesters.
"We're bold and we have a passion for social justice," Fairfield says.
Fairfield heard about The Calendar Revs project through Facebook, after Ottawa's Rev. Trisha Elliott had a perturbing experience with a photographer while having her portrait done for her church's wall of ministerial fame.
"Don't tilt your head to the side. You look like Jennifer Aniston. You have to look like a minister," she was told.
Elliott raised questions on Facebook about what a female minister was supposed to look like. Her colleagues shared tales of ministers asked to cut their hair shorter (long locks were apparently too sexy and therefore distracting), and young female ministers who became pregnant and noticed a change in their congregants' attitudes.
The women came up with The Calendar Revs idea, a self-admittedly cheeky confrontation of gender stereotypes.
So far, it's been a hit. The calendar has sold 800 copies and counting, and there are plans underway for a second edition.
"We did not expect it to be this big," Fairfield says.
Fairfield hopes the calendar leaves people with a better understanding of the women behind the pulpit.
"We're not just a Sunday person; we have a life," she says.
The calendars are $20, available by visiting www.calendarrevs.com. Proceeds go to the Malala Fund, which advocates for the rights of girls to go to school. The organization is led by Malala Yousafzai, a young Pakistani activist who survived a Taliban assassination attempt.
