Volume 6, Number 2 November 1984 $1.50
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Volume 6, number 2 November 1984 $1.50 m UBRAkY Festival of Festivals - La Femme de l'hôtel, see STORY PAGE 8. INSIDE iROADf FEATURES MOVEMENT MATTERS: Read ARTS INSPIRING MOVES: Margie about the Toronto Library strike, Gillis's recent dance performance, Australian feminists and ANZAC FAMILY DOC-UMENT: Sharon New Dreams, inspires a new FEMINISM AT THE Day, the Robichaud case, the Pollock's latest play DOC, about approach to the body's FESTIVAL: Broadside provides a Queen's Women's Centre video a maritime doctor's family, has movements. Gillis is a brilliant, rundown on films at Toronto's on pornography, and more. an autobiographical base and a independent dancer who Festival of Festivals which are Page 7. universal appeal. Pollock's father, transcends the theatricality of relevant to women: from a a maritime doctor, and Ev, the much modern dance, and who feminist caper to a documentary play's Doc, are both work- goes beyond convention. on Dr. Morgentaler; from the GORGEOUS GEORGE: With obsessed patriarchs, but both Reviewed by Janis Runge. lives of teenage girls to that of a androgynous role models around, Pollock and her counterpart, Page 12. nightclub singer. Page 8. like Boy George and Michael played by Clare Coulter, are feisty Jackson, is gender-bending an females who survive. Reviewed by CHOICE REVISITED: Feminists influential aspect of the music Amanda Hale. Page 11. MIST ICAL MATRIARCHY: [ must review our position on •••••••••••••••••HI scene? Not according to Susan Marion Zimmer Bradley's major abortion and on reproductive Cole, who contends that the work, Mists of Avalon, details the choice, and not be afraid of the Parachute Club's political struggle of the ancient matriarchal consequences of opening up the messages are far more important. $ i4 "î èfi t religion against the rising debate to question ambivalences. Page 3. patriarchal Christianity in the An excerpt from Kathleen iJ: 1 1 ! i 1 time of Arthur and the Knights of McDonnell's new book, Not an the Round Table. Though from ; Easy Choice. Page 4. COMMENT m the women's point of view, the myths Ire so entrenched, says NEWS BOYS (IN) BLUE? Anne reviewer Anne Chapman, that Cameron comments on an Bradley doesn't fully succeed in PEACE PROCESS: The debate interesting double standard. telling the story anew. Page 13. concerning feminism and the When women protest against the peace movement continues: violent effects of pornography, women as earth mothers we're called hysterical and nurturing the world vs. women as unrealistic. What's a little fantasy, OTHER BOOKS: Carroll Klein angry activists fighting a complex after all? But when a police reviews The Women's Press system. Amanda Hale reports on officer is killed by a boy whose anthology of short stories, a conference on "Women and favourite movie is violent, all of a OUTSIDE BROADSIDE: Don't Baker's Dozen, page 12; Betsy Education for Peace and Non• sudden the effects of film are miss this month's calendar of Nuse reviews poetry collections by violence," held at OISE in dangerous. Movement Comment, Toronto women's events for Rosalind McPhee, Marilyn Krysl Toronto. Page 6. Page 7. November, 1984. Page 15. and Penny Kemp, page 14. page-two 'e what the community is prepared to tolerate' ' S/M Off the Shelf in operation here, and, once again, the group High Holidays most affected by the arbitrary imposition of Broadside: this standard has absolutely no control over Broadside: its wayward application. The process of making decisions for a feminist As owners of an alternative art gallery, we We are members of a group of Lesbians who bookstore is often difficult and fraught with are all too aware of the power of Mary Brown met at the Lesbian Sexuality Conference last many political-considerations. To define who and her scissor-happy gang. The issue of cen• June and have been meeting monthly to eval• uate the role of Judaism in our lives. our customers are and how we can best meet sorship is as complex as the society that il their needs is much more complicated than it fected by community response. As a feminist thrives in. Straight women such as yourselves It seems that in recent years Jewish Lesbians might appear. One would think that when bookstore it is our responsibility to consider must understand that every decision in favour have been forced to resort to writing letters ordering books our guiding criteria is simple: your opinions regarding our position. How• of arbitrary censorship is a decision in favour annually to protest the scheduling of signifi• cant lesbian events on Jewish High Holidays. if it is a feminist book, carry it; if it is anti- ever, the ability of those of us at the front desk of the censors, the police and the state. As feminist or anti-woman, don't carry it. This to effectively respond to your verbal com• such, your actions push us back one step fur• This year the Debutante Ball was held on general rule serves us well 90% of the time. ments is limited. The best vehicle for your ther from finding out who the hell we really are Kol Nidre Night - the single holiest night of Recently new material that is best described ideas is a letter so that all of us will have the op• the year for all Jews. Whether out of in• advertence or not, the result reflects a lack of as lesbian pro-sadomasochistic has arrived at portunity to consider them. Please address Anna Marie Smith respect for the diversity of our community. our store. After reviewing this material care• any correspondence to: The Toronto Women's Ruthann Tucker fully, we found it to be anti-feminist, anti- Bookstore, 73 Harbord St., Toronto, On• Sparkes Gallery There are at least five Jewish holidays that woman, anti-semitic and racist. The material tario, M5S 1G4. Toronto many of us choose to observe and to make a often utilizes traditional pornographic format personal priority - two nights of Rosh Hashannah, one of Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre), in that it stereotypes women as enjoying vio• The Toronto Women's Bookstore Words on WITZ and two nights of Passover. lence and degradation and perpetuates an in• Toronto We would ask, then, that in future a calen• dustry that exploits all women. This tendency Broadside: brought home to us the fact that not every Broadside: dar marking Jewish holidays be consulted idea thought by a feminist is indeed a feminist prior to the scheduling of any events in the As author of the WITZ article (October 1984), women's community. idea. We, as a bookstore, will not promote the The following was a letter sent to the Toronto I would like to reiterate several points that commercialized exploitation of women. We Women's Bookstore, with copies sent to perhaps were not made very clear. Certainly it Lois Heitner, Karen Tully, and Judy Stanleigh currently feel that the material that we have Broadside, The Body Politic and Rites. was the intention of my article to attract new on behalf of been asked to carry fits into this category. members to WITZ, as that will ensure the The Jewish Lesbian Discussion Group Decisions made in this store are not carved We recently attended an excellent slide dynamic necessary for new learning - the Toronto in stone. Our process is continuous and is af- show on lesbian sexuality compiled by Cyndra very purpose of the group. But equally so, my MacDowell and sponsored by the Lesbian intention was to propose to the community and Gay Academic Society at the University the model of a seminar discussion group. of Toronto. During this presentation, a Perhaps other groups similar to WITZ could woman mentioned that your store would not be formed, tailored to the interest of those Broadside: llllB carry, display or even order a whole range of who would initiate and coordinate such groups magazines on lesbian sexuality. Needless to (ie, gay only, men only, creative writing only, I received a publication which was inserted in EDITORIAL say, this comment sparked a heated discus• dance only - the list could go on). It is our sion of your alleged policy. hope that these groups could then network the Canadian Travel Press last week. This is a Editor, Philinda Mastéfs As the only women's bookstore in Toronto, with ours. This would guarantee us - and newspaper which is distributed to the travel Advertising/Circulation, it is simply inconceivable to us that such a these other groups - the further opportunity industry in order to inform us of recent Donna Gollan policy could ever exist. Given that your les• to express ourselves and enjoy the thoughts of changes, new resorts and airline information. Distribution, Susan Cole bian section is already extremely limited, this others in a congenial environment. The staff at Travel Cuts sees countless development certainly indicates to us your brochures which arrive from the wholesalers Books, Eve Zaremba every day. The brochure for "Eden II," how• opinion of your rather substantial lesbian Vera Tarman Calendar, Catherine Maunsell ever, was a shock to us all. We all found it clientele. Toronto We were labouring under the impression that distasteful, exploitive and totally uninfor- - EDITORIAL COLLECTIVE: the first principle of feminism was the notion Broadside: mative about the resort it is supposedly pro• moting. There are nine female agents in our Susan G. Cole of self-determination. When we are not given the freedom to select images of ourselves, office and we were all shocked by the explicit Donna Gollan I have participated in the WITZ process since (even when they are produced by other les• its inception in 1981, and have enjoyed the nature of the photos in the brochure.