Narrating the Nation of Palestine by Nuzhat Abbas

SPEC O IAL FFER FOR CONFER DE ENCE LEGATES See inside for details WOMEN’S NEWS & FEMINIST VIEWS • Spring 2003 • Vol. 16 No.4 • Canada $5.95/US $5.95

NARRATINGNARRATING THETHE NATIONNATION OFOF PALESTINEPALESTINE AN INTERVIEW WITH NAHLA ABDO WHYWHY DODO LESBIANSLESBIANS BATTER?BATTER? JANICE RISTOCK WANTS TO KNOW THETHE HEARTHEART DOESDOES NOTNOT BENDBEND A CONVERSATION WITH MAKEDA SILVERA

NAC NAC. Who’s There? Lisa B. Rundle: Marshalling in the Third Wave Made in Canada Pump up the Volume: Veda Hille, Afua Cooper, Jorane table of contents SPRING 2003 / VOLUME 16 NO. 4

FEATURES NARRATING THE NATION 18 OF PALESTINE Arab feminist Nahla Abdo has written extensively about women and military confrontation and is the founder of a gender research unit within a mental health program in Gaza. A sociology professor at Carleton University, Ms Abdo talks to Herizons about the PLO, Israel, Palestinian women and about her upcoming book, Sexuality, Citizenship and the Nation State: Experiences of Palestinian Women. by Nuzhat Abbas IN CONVERSATION WITH 23 MAKEDA SILVERA Toronto author Makeda Silvera discusses motherhood, poverty, colonialism and the creative process with author Elizabeth Ruth. “I’ve always questioned the imperial culture’s view of motherhood: mothers are virtuous, mothers are asexual…” by Elizabeth Ruth WHY DO LESBIANS Page 26: Janice Ristock 26 BATTER? A decade ago, Janice Ristock and some colleagues produced a booklet on violence in lesbian relation- NEWS ships. Now the Winnipeg researcher has written a groundbreaking book on the issue. VILLAGERS JOIN CAMPAIGN by Helen Fallding 6 AGAINST FGM A Senegalese women’s organization called Tostan, which means ‘breakthrough’ in the Wolof language, ARTS & LIT sponsors education programs that have influenced the decision of 708 villages to make public declara- CAN LIT tions to abandon the generations-old practice of 32 FICTION female genital mutilation. Includes Salt fish Girl by Larissa Lai, Love and Other by Nirit Ben-Ari Ruins by Karen X. Tulchinsky, Bad Date by Liz Brady.

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 Editor: Penni Mitchell Fulfillment and Financial Manager: Phil Koch Board of Directors: Ghislaine Alleyne, Alissa Brandt, WELL- Penni Mitchell, Aurelie Mogan, Valerie Regehr Editorial Advisory Committee: Wendy Abendschoen, 33 VERSED Gio Guzzi, Alissa Brandt A new section on Canadian feminist poetry, Advertising Sales: Penni Mitchell (204) 774-6225 written by Rachel Zolf. Design: inkubator.ca Web Mistress: CAN LIT Rachel Thompson/SlatternMuse Retail Inquiries: Disticor (905) 619-6565 34 NON-FICTION Proofreading: Gerri Thorsteinson, Kelli Wagner, Phil Koch Includes Resist!, art expressions inspired by the Cover Photo: Rawi Hage Quebec City Summit of the Americas in 2001; Fences and Windows by Naomi Klein; Flint and HERIZONS is published 4 times per year by Herizons Inc. Feather, The Life and Times of E. Pauline Johnson, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. One-year subscription price: $25.96 in Canada (includes GST). Two-year Tekahionwake by Charlotte Gray; and Lesbian subscriptions are $41.92 in Canada. Subscriptions to US National Parks and Services Field Guide to North addresses are $29.99 Canadian funds or $25.96 in US America: Flora, Fauna and Survival Skills by funds. International subscriptions are $32.99. Cheques or money orders are payable to: HERIZONS, PO Box 128, Ranger Shawna Dempsey and Ranger Lorri Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA R3C 2G1. Ph (204) 774- Millan. 6225; Fax (204) 786-8038. [email protected] or [email protected] http://www.herizons.ca COLUMNS HERIZONS is indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index. HERIZONS is available on CD-ROM through Micromedia Ltd., 20 Victoria St. Toronto, ON M5C 2N8. GST FIRST WORD #R131089187. ISSN 0711-7485. BY PENNI MITCHELL 5 The purpose of HERIZONS is to empower women; to inspire It’s a boy! hope and foster a state of wellness that enriches women’s lives; to build awareness of issues as they affect women; to BEYOND THE BOX promote the strength, wisdom and creativity of women; to broaden the boundaries of feminism to include building 15 BY LISA RUNDLE coalitions and support among other marginalized people; to Marshalling in the Third Wave foster peace and ecological awareness; and to expand the influence of feminist principles in the world. HERIZONS COLE’S NOTES aims to reflect a feminist philosophy that is diverse, 31 BY SUSAN G. COLE understandable and relevant to women’s daily lives. Views expressed in HERIZONS are those of the writers and The Action on Jackson do not necessarily reflect HERIZONS’ editorial policy. No material may be reprinted without permission. Submissions INTERSECTIONS and queries will be returned if accompanied by a stamped, 44 BY LAILA MALIK self-addressed envelope. Due to limited resources, HERIZONS does not accept poetry or fiction submissions. Chauvinism No Grounds for War We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publication Assistance ON THE EDGE Program (PAP) and the Canada Magazine Fund of the 48 BY LYN COCKBURN Department of Canadian Heritage toward our mailing and Permission to be Pissed project costs. Canada Post Agreement #40008866 PAP Registration #07944.

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 1 Order Herizons Issues You Missed

Fall 1998 Fall 2000 Fall 2001 Make Room Sister, The Next Why Women are On the March: An interview with visual artist Generation’s Here; The Truth Naomi Klein; Judy Rebick and Wanda Koop; Can a Trans- about Your Clitoris; Women Shelagh Day: Why Are Women So gendered Person be One of With Disabilities: Role Models Poor (If Canada’s Such a great ‘Us’?; Natural Treatment for in Film and TV. Place to Live?) Fibroids by Dr. Carolyn DeMarco.

Winter 1999 Winter 2001 Winter 2002 Natural Remedies & Women; Jane Siberry in Profile; Are The Speech that Shook the Crimes Against Comfort Women; Periods Passé?; All the Rage: Country: Sunera Thobani’s Women and Drumming; Blaming Hormones; 5 Unedited Address; Canada’s Ailing Health Dangerous Hysterectomy Carol Shields on Becoming a Protection Branch. Myths. Writer; Sexual Harassment.

Spring 1999 Spring 2001 Spring 2002 An interview with Will Women Save the Earth? A Where Do We Stand? The Charter singer/songwriter Bif Naked; The Special Guide to Environmental of Rights Turns 20; Why We Must Breast Cancer Gene, Just the tip Issues and Eco-women; Satire: End Colonialism; What Women are of the iceberg?; Repetitive The Surrendered Doormat. saying about Restorative Justice; Strain Injury & Women Workers. Women in Ancient History

Summer 1999 Summer 2001 Summer 2002 Relationships Revisited: What really happened at the Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair; Embracing Alternative Quebec Summit?; The All-Girl, Why Feminists Love Buffy; Did Weddings; Feminist Mothers On-Line Revolution; Interviews: Bridget Jones Really Liberate Raising Sons; Is it ‘Bi Sex’ or Evelyn Lau, Deb Ellis and Anita Us? just ‘My Sex?’ Rau Badami.

Fall 1999 Dionnne Brand—an interview with one of Canada’s best- BACK ISSUES ORDER FORM loved feminist authors; Taking Aim at Toxic Tampons; Un- Yes, I would like to stock up my resource centre, coffee table or waiting room with Back Germaine Thoughts on Greer Issues of Herizons. I have enclosed $5 each (or $10 for 3) plus $2 postage and handling Winter 2000 for my order. Chick Lit: The Next Gen of Send me the following issues: Canadian Women Authors Make Fall 1998 Winter 1999 Spring 1999 Summer 1999 Fall 1999 it Big; Feminist Advertising?; Winter 2000 Summer 2000 Fall 2000 Winter 2001 Spring 2001 Ethical Investments Summer 2001 Fall 2001 Winter 2002 Spring 2002 Summer 2002

Mail this form with your Name: Summer 2000 cheque to: The Courage to Seek Justice; Address: Back Issues Herizons The Queen of Queer TV; Where City/Town: PO Box 128, are Your Women?-How Native Winnipeg, MB Women’s Power Disappeared; Province: Postal Code: Canada R3C 2G1 Filming in Colour. the letters FALL READING

DEAR WOMEN I want to tell you about a mat- inequalities, the government ter that I raised in the House took Kelly Lesiuk’s case to this past November regarding court on appeal. the heroic struggle of Kelly Women make up 70 percent Lesiuk to end the discrimina- of the part-time work force and tory provisions of Canada’s carry most of the responsibili- employment insurance ty for raising children. The regime toward women and decision recognized the jug- part-time workers. gling act of working mothers Kelly Lesiuk was a part- and indicated that they should time nurse who was unable to not be penalized. It is shock- claim EI benefits because she ing that the government would fell 33 hours short of the be determined to keep the qualifying time she needed. lowest-paid part-time working Without EI assistance, she women from accessing finan- had to return to work six cial support in time of need. weeks after having her second Why should women in child by Cesarean section. Canada have to resort to court She and her family had to deplete their savings and cases to gain legal access to employment insurance? borrow money. She launched a charter challenge to There is a $43 billion EI surplus that was collected for the Employment Insurance Act and won. the direct benefit of unemployed workers. Yet only 38 The judge stated, “In my view, the eligibility percent are eligible to qualify. requirements demean the essential human dignity of The government is demanding that women juggle women who predominate in the part-time labour with one hand tied behind their backs. Let’s call on force because they must work for longer periods than the government to remove the barriers it has put in full-time workers in order to demonstrate their place that discriminate against women and part-time labour force attachment.” workers. Incredibly, instead of immediately introducing Judy Wasylycia-Leis, MP changes to EI eligibility requirements to correct the NDP Status of Women Critic

Phone MOVING? 1-888-408-0028 Name: Don’t miss an issue. Fax New address: (204) 786-8038 Email [email protected] City/Town: Mail PO Box 128 Province: Winnipeg, MB Postal Code: Canada R3C 2G1

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You’ll be making a monthly contribution to Jennifer Beeman Esther Fyk Tara Sketchley Leslie Belloc-Pinder Karen Galler Heather McDonald Lynn Sloane ensure Herizons, a non-profit organization, can con- Sharron Bertchilde Lee Gauthier Selma McGorman Angela Smith Susan Genge Margaret McHugh tinue to meet publishing costs. Kimberley Bewick Muriel Smith Lynne Bingham Sonja Greckol Debra McIntyre Thorin Smith destad Your contribution will be transferred from your Judith Blackwell Paula Greenwood Mary McKim Connie Spataro Lorraine Gregson Nancy McKinnell account on the first of each month. Best of all, your Candice Bodnaruk Penelope Squires Pat Bonell Virginia Grinevitch Margaret McKinnon Sylvia Spring t Herizons subscription will never expire as long as Pamela Booker Joanne Grout Ivy McNiven Marie Sternberg /Dovona West Marilou McPhedran Genevieve Guindon Ursula Stetter you are a Sustaining Subscriber! 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IT’S A BOY! Following the December departure of Alissa Brandt, Here! Here! who took a post in the office of the Manitoba minister The review is expected to help put women’s issues of health, Herizons hired Phil Koch to head up the ful- back on the federal agenda. And not a moment too fillment department (circulation services) and man- soon. Human rights expert Shelagh Day documented age the books. Phil, Herizons first male staffer, brings the impact of the structural changes to women two plenty of publishing experience to the part-time years ago in Herizons, “How Come Women are so Poor position. A publisher of Tart, a glossy, alternative arts if Canada is Such a Great Place to Live?” and culture magazine published in Winnipeg, Phil is With Prime Minister Jean Chretien set to retire, also the photographer for our interview with Janice there are signs that he is set to mend some of the Ristock on page 26. damage done to Canada’s social programs. And it’s More firsts. With this issue, Herizons welcomes two nice to see Mr. Chretien’s liberal leanings shining new regular columnists: Lisa Rundle, editor at rab- through on his opposition to a US-led war in Iraq and ble.ca and Montreal activist and writer Laila Malik his support for social programs at home. who brings a focus on diversity, race and their inter- In February, Ottawa announced plans to spend sections with culture and politics. We’re also intro- $900 million over the next five years on “affordable, ducing ‘Well-versed,’ a new poetry spotlight in our quality regulated early learning and child care.” Arts and Lit section, written by poet Rachel Zolf. That’s right, Ottawa got all the buzzwords correct. We’re thrilled to have these new additions to Herizons! True, it amounts to less than $20 million a year and As we go to press, there is more good news on the the provinces have to agree to funnel it to quality, horizon! The United Nations Committee on the affordable, regulated care (a euphemism intended to Elimination of Discrimination Against Women exclude private day care without saying so), but it’s a (CEDAW) said in a new review that social service cuts step towards the national day care program that’s and a lack of progress in key legal areas have made been on women’s social agenda for 30 years. women poorer. Under funding agreement changes announced by “Committee members were particularly appalled Finance Minister John Manley, early childhood edu- by the percentage of single mothers (54 percent), cation and daycare transfers will now actually have to Aboriginal women (43 percent) and women who are spent on early childhood education and daycare. recent immigrants (48 percent) who are living in Under previous loosey-goosey funding agreements poverty,” as Margot Young of the Feminist Alliance (which, the UN committee criticized), provinces for International Action reports. could divert childhood development and day care Here is the good news. The committee recom- money into related projects if they desired. mends that Canada take action to improve day care, On a final note, all those postcards you sent in to public housing, equality rights litigation and crisis Ottawa from the last issue of Herizons got results! Janice shelters. It criticized the fact that Aboriginal women Eisenhauer of Women for Women Afghanistan got in living on reserves do not automatically have the same touch to say that Defence Minister John McCallum’s marital property rights as non-Aboriginal women announcement that 3,000 Canadian peacekeepers will and suggests that Ottawa grant permanent resident be deployed to the UN’s international security effort is status to domestic workers and eliminate the stipula- good news “for those of us struggling to support recon- tion that they live in their employer’s household. struction and rehabilitation for Afghan women.”

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 5 nellie news grams OPEN BOOK ON GAY PARENTS Villagers Join Canada’s highest court rejected Campaigns the BC Surrey School Board’s Against FGM attempt to ban by Nirit Ben-Ari three books depicting same- Villagers across Africa are now sex parents from openly discussing and debating the the classroom: Belinda’s Bouquet, generations-old practice of female Asha’s Mums and One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dads, Blue Dads. By a genital mutilation (FGM), once a 7-2 majority, the Supreme Court taboo topic. And increasingly, they referred the question of whether the are giving up the practice. books should be approved for use in British Columbia classrooms back to Joined by local leaders, parliamentari- A woman reads a booklet, titled “Excision: A ans and UN officials, residents of 10 Practice to Abandon,” during a class run by Tostan the board to be made according to in the village of Keur Simbara, Senegal. The village “the broad principles of tolerance Senegalese villages in Némanding, near of Malicounda Bambara became the first village in the Gambian border, held a ceremony in Senegal to ban FGM in 1997. Since then, many vil- and non-sectarianism underlying lages have followed its lead. Women’s education The School Act.” late October where they indicated that efforts have the support of Senegalese President Abdou Diouf, who has instructed Parliament to “This is an unequivocal victory for they soon plan to abandon the practice. draft a law banning the practice. Photo by Robert all Canadians, in that it affirms the The ceremony followed a year long Grossman, UNICEF right of children to a bias-free cur- program in which villagers learned riculum that teaches the values of about human rights and women’s over the soil in preparation for plant- equality, tolerance and respect for health, especially the risks and dan- ing.” Usually, participants come to the diversity,” said John Fisher, gers of FGM, known also as female cir- decision to abandon the practice on Executive Director of Equality for cumcision and excision and, more their own. Gays and Lesbians Everywhere recently, as female genital cutting. (EGALE). Behind the effort was a Senegalese HEALTH IMPLICATIONS The Court recognized that children non-governmental organization called Around the world, an estimated two benefit from learning respect for Tostan, which means ‘breakthrough’ in million girls are subjected to genital those who are different. In the words the Wolof language. Following similar cutting each year, despite the serious of Supreme Court Chief Justice education programs run by the organ- health risks. In sub-Saharan Africa, Beverley McLachlin, “tolerance is ization, and with assistance from the practice is prevalent in 28 coun- always age-appropriate.” UNICEF, 708 Senegalese villages have tries. The women and girls who under- made public declarations abandoning go the procedure often experience MARCH LIVES ON FGM. Together, they represent 13 per bleeding, infection, infertility and dif- A Score for cent of the population in Senegal that ficulties during childbirth that con- Women’s Voices, had observed the practice. tribute to maternal mortality. The a feature-docu- People are not instructed to stop the practice diminishes women’s sexual mentary on the practice, according to Tostan Director pleasure and may cause pain during World March of Molly Melching, but instead are taught intercourse. It can cause psychological Women 2000, is about human rights and the practice’s trauma, both directly from the cutting now available in English from the health risks. Tostan calls this phase of and by seeing sisters, daughters and the program kobi, which in the granddaughters undergo the same Mandinka language means, “to turn ordeal. It also reinforces women’s tra-

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ditionally subordinate roles in society. been there,” says Agnes McAnthony, National Film Board. The film, Only a few countries have banned coordinator of an FGM eradication directed by Sophie Bissonnette FGM by law: Burkina Faso, the Central campaign in Kenya that brings togeth- with the collaboration of five other African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, er 67 organizations. “If you eat rice all filmmakers, features women who Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, your life and I come and tell you there mobilized to end violence against Senegal, Tanzania and Togo. In Nigeria, is something wrong with your rice, will women and poverty in 20 coun- it is prohibited under federal law and in you stop?” tries, a turning point in the emer- Sudan, only the most severe forms are And yet, according to Fatoumata gence of global solidarity among banned. In Kenya, a presidential decla- Siré Diakite, “There is no culture and women. ration has denounced the practice, and no tradition which is not changing.” For more information log on: in one case a Kenyan father received an “Tradition is not an end in itself,” http://www.onf.ca/partition- injunction to not have his daughters adds Molly Melching. “Traditions are voixfemmes undergo FGM. But changing the law has to help people to be closer together in its limitations. Even in these countries, harmony and peace. Tradition that WELFARE HARMS the practice remains widespread. harms and kills and that does not pro- WELFARE mote women’s and girl’s health does After hearing evidence that her BREAKING THE SILENCE not achieve the goal of harmony, house arrest for welfare fraud in Despite suffering, few women speak peace and well-being for all members Sudbury contributed to her death, a out against FGM. According to of our community.” coroner’s inquest into the death of Fatoumata Siré Diakite of the Many believe that girls who do not Kim Rogers recommended that Association for the Advancement and undergo the ritual are impure and Ontario re-examine its welfare rates Rights of Malian Women, dialogue on have a lower social status and annually and end its policy of the issue is key. reduced chances of getting married. imposing a lifetime ban on welfare “The fact that men are now talking Therefore, despite the pain involved, benefits from anyone caught about FGM is a success, because the many girls are willing to go through ‘cheating’ welfare. So far, 15 cities issue is related to women’s sexuality, with it. According to Agnes have echoed the demand. and it is not easy for men to talk McAnthony, education programs Found guilty of receiving welfare about it in our country. To have a vil- empower girls as well as dispel myths. and student loans while she attend- lage chief sitting and talking about In Mali, some believe that a baby ed college, Rogers, late in her preg- FGM with women in the same room is a delivered by an uncut woman will die. nancy, was sentenced to house big change,” she says. “We tell them that in Timbuktu, in arrest in a tiny Sudbury apartment. Melching recalls a man in the pro- Morocco, in France, people do not On August 11, 2001, her body was dis- gram whose daughter had died, sup- practice FGM, but are still delivering covered after a sizzling heat wave posedly from tetanus. After learning babies,” says Diakite, who received sent temperatures soaring to more how germs are transmitted, he real- death threats while lobbying to outlaw than 40C. ized his daughter died from the FGM FGM in Mali. “People then say that The inquest ruled her death a sui- operation. He went back to his com- they practice FGM in order to be good cide, but that didn’t stop the panel munity and told others to stop the Muslims. We tell them that in Mecca from recommending an annual practice, citing the example of his (where Muslims go for the holy pil- review of welfare rates, saying that daughter’s death. In Burkina Faso, an grimage of the hajj), women do not allowances for housing and basic excision hotline receives about 30 undergo FGM.” needs should be based on actual calls a month. Although FGM is not mentioned in costs within a particular community the Koran, some groups promote FGM or region. The Ontario government CULTURE EVOLVES as part of Islamic tradition. Partly has not indicated whether it will Changing age-old practices is diffi- because of the pressure of such follow the recommendations. cult. “FGM is so ingrained in the way of groups, the law ultimately did not life, it is like eating rice. It has always pass. “The Islamic groups that oppose

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 7 nelliegrams

EUROPEAN WOMEN the elimination of FGM are still Imam Demba Diawara, who toured SAY NO TO WAR active,” says Diakite, “but they are Bambara villages near Joal to empha- The European getting weak because there are imams size that abandoning FGM would not Women’s Lobby, who say that the Koran does not say risk the prestige of their daughters. representing over that a woman has to be cut.” During a ceremony in Némanding, 3,000 women’s Senegalese parliamentarians commit- DIFFERENT STRATEGIES, ONE GOAL ted themselves to help improve Respect the UN groups in Europe, Charter: women condemned the Language must be chosen carefully. women’s health. oppressive regime of Saddam Some women’s organizations have There are numerous strategies Hussein at a recent conference, but argued that “female genital toward eliminating FGM. In Kenya, says a war is not the solution. mutilation” is demeaning because it organizers promote an alternative rite Echoing similar statements from implies parents are “mutilators.” The of passage, for girls aged 12-13 years. women around the world, the lobby word “cutting” is more neutral, they In Mali, efforts involve lobbying, edu- says that a war would be a disaster say. But some maintain that a cating the women practitioners and for the women, men and children of negative connotation is useful in teaching them skills to earn a living. Iraq who are already suffering order to deliver a message that the Information is also spread through because of the embargo. The UN practice is harmful. Official UN local radio to reduce the public Charter must be respected as the documents use the term “female demand for excision. basis for coexistence in peace, the genital mutilation,” while some UN “Legislation is important,” Maria group says, noting that modern agencies, such as the UN Population Gabriela De Vitta, UNICEF advisor on warfare disproportionately affects Fund, use both. harmful traditional practices, told civilian populations, especially They all agree that enlisting the Africa Recovery. “But the community women and children. Furthermore, support of opinion leaders is instru- has to want it. To have a different rite violence against women and girls in mental. In Burkina Faso, the Minister of passage is a good strategy, and so conflict and post-conflict situa- of Social Action, Mariam Lamizana, are the literacy programs for women. tions is extreme, systematic and has publicly supported ending FGM. In But the most important thing is par- widespread, a culture of militariza- Senegal, Tostan’s campaign was sup- ticipation.” tion that disempowers women. ported by Moslem spiritual leader Africa Recovery A war against Iraq would likely have a devastating impact on people across the Middle East and neighbouring regions. Pressure from WOMEN’S STUDIES the U.S. to wage war against Iraq AT ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY not only prevents other solutions from emerging, but undermines the ANYWHERE, ANYTIME existing UN mechanisms for uphold- Independent study with open admission ing human rights and strengthening Online and distance learning women’s rights. Athabasca University, Canada's Open University, is dedicated to the removal of At a recent meeting, European barriers that restrict access to, and women called for: success in, university-level studies and • The rejection of unilateral sup- to increasing equality of educational port of US policy by any country in opportunity for adult learners worldwide 1-800-788-9041 the European region; www.athabascau.ca/wmst/links.php • EU member states to bring their influence to bear and to press Iraq to accept political solutions

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and to accept fully the mandate NAC NAC. Who’s There? of the UN inspectors; by Samra Habib • EU member states to ensure the implementation of all commit- (TORONTO) For the last three decades, eral meeting next October, where the ments in UN Security Council res- the National Action Committee on the organization will reshape its structure olution 1325 on women’s role in Status of Women has been a powerful and examine its advocacy role. A new conflict resolution and sustain- and visible umbrella organization for president will also be announced. able peace. the Canadian feminist movement. “Part of the restructuring includes a Source: European Women’s Lobby, During the last two years, however, sustainability plan—we will be looking Brussels the organization has been less pub- at other sources of funding to ensure licly visible as it regroups and begins the sustainability of the organiza- EQUAL RITES the process of rebuilding from within. tion,” Abou-Dib says. In Canada, a parliamentary committee on same-sex marriage is NAC’s last president, Denise Andrea Importantly, NAC has focussed on holding hearings to solicit public Campbell, resigned in 2001, a few debt reduction during the last two opinions on the best course of weeks after her position was years and has decreased its deficit. A action for Canada. announced, partly as a result of NAC’s lack of funds prevented NAC from Belgium became the second financial difficulties. All but one of its holding its annual policy meeting for country to grant same-sex couples members were laid off in 2002. the last two years. equal marriage rights on January 31, According to Mariam Abou-Dib, a Judy Rebick, a former president of 2002, following the Netherlands, member of NAC’s executive commit- NAC, wrote in Elm Street that “NAC, which passed a law allowing same- tee, reports of NAC’s demise are over- divided by internal struggles, seemed sex couples to marry and adopt exaggerated. unable to adjust to the new political children in April 2001. Several other “It’s easy to claim the death of climate and concentrated all its ener- European countries have given gays NAC, if you don’t see it. NAC is still gy on fighting the federal govern- partnership rights just short of there. But [we] still need financial ment’s funding cuts to women’s those enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. support and political support.” groups. It lost its battle.” In an unpublished interview with Campbell believes that all organi- SAY ‘OUI’ TO BABIES Herizons just before her resignation, zations require “system mainte- Social programs spawn results. The Campbell discussed plans to strength- nance.” She told Herizons in a recent fertility rate for women in France en NAC. “In the last few years, the interview that despite NAC’s past has increased, to 1.9. Part of the regional structure hasn’t been as successes, “some of the unhealthy increase is attributed to the fact strong as it needs to be,” she said. personal and personality dynamics that the state classifies a couple Campbell also expressed a desire to that plague other movements and with three or more children as a expand. “A lot of it is about creating a organizations– issues related to “famille nombreuse,” a status that climate where young women feel much power, acceptance, oppression—have opens the door to increased bene- more at home in NAC and don’t feel also plagued NAC.” fits. Although the higher birth rate like it’s an older women’s thing.” The future direction of NAC will means that nursery and primary Abou-Dib adds that the lack of become clear during the next several schools now find themselves hav- national co-ordination among NAC months. However, one thing remains ing to cope with far greater classroom numbers than expected, the members had a negative impact on unchanged. As Abou-Dib says, “There right-wing government says it has the organization’s visibility. She is no denying the need for a national no plans to cut back on social anticipates that NAC will be on the women’s advocacy organization.” benefits to persuade couples to road to recovery after its annual gen- with files from Mirah Kirshner

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have fewer children. Family Minister Christian Jacob said recently, “Of course the state must step in and help. The more children that are born, the better it is for our pension system and for our economy in general.” Source: AVIVA MOUNTING OPPOSITION The European Union is pressuring the monastic communities that make up Mount Athos, north of Greece, to lift their ban on women. Mount Athos is a tourist attraction, but half of the potential visitors— the female half— are automatically Orlando Books owner Jackie Dumas built a community of support over the years. Photo by Shani Mootoo barred by a law that goes back to 1060 CE. The rules imposed by monks at the 20 monasteries in the area vio- Orlando Community late the universally recognized prin- ciple of gender equality. No Rallies Support workers, visitors or people doing by Kelly Korpesio business or living in the region can be women. Images of women, with (EDMONTON) In 1995, Edmonton’s inaccurate labelling of Orlando as a the exception of icons of the Virgin Whyte Avenue looked a lot different. primarily lesbian bookstore. Mary, are also prohibited. (Even Running through the Old Strathcona “It was a lesbian feminist space female animals—we’re not making district, it provided walk-by traffic that was inclusive of other groups,” this up—are shunned.) with a plethora of small independent explains Dumas. Orlando carried Populated by just over 2,000 stores, including the newly opened books on a variety of subject matter, monks, the communities are looking women’s bookstore, Orlando. including popular and niche markets. spiffier than usual after being It was a one-of-a-kind alternative A significant factor was that in refurbished with EU funds. Thanks to resource, providing new and used lit- recent years, Edmonton’s Whyte the EU’s generosity, most of the erature on a variety of progressive Avenue had been going through a monasteries now have plumbing, topics. Orlando’s owner Jackie Dumas corporate face lift. As yuppification electricity and shiny new balconies. often brought Canadian authors to occurred, many small businesses According to Anna Karamanour, read in Edmonton, including, among were forced to move from the popular member of the European Parliament others, Shani Mootoo and Nicole area of town. After changing loca- and chairperson of the Committee Brossard. Despite her promotional tions in 1999 due to a rent increase, of Women’s Rights and Equal efforts, however, traffic through Dumas says the business never really Opportunities, “This decision was Orlando Books was limited and the recovered. taken a thousand years ago, during store closed in November. “The last 18 months had been slow the dark Medieval Ages in Europe There were a number of reasons that for everyone on Whyte Avenue,” she and reflects the social conditions of influenced the closure, including the explains.

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Then Chapters moved in, armed that era, when women did not have with mass marketing techniques access either to education, or to that made it tough, if not impossi- Fans Slay the arts and public life.” ble, for competing bookstores to survive. Dumas explains that many Network CHOCOHOLICS UNITE! independent bookstores “try to by Penni Mitchell PMS-ing? Eat your chocolate. head off the Chapters (SUNNYDALE) An on- Researchers have confirmed that invasion…but simply throw in the line lobby of former chocolate is a good source of mag- towel, burned out after years of Buffy the Vampire nesium, potassium, copper and cal- living on the meagre financial pro- Slayer fans is biting cium. That’s right. It also has ceeds of ideals and love of work.” back after the deci- healthy amounts of flavonoids— The love of her work did not go sion to kill off lesbian phytochemicals that protect unnoticed. When Dumas finally character Tara shortly against heart disease and other ill- decided to close the doors of after a sex scene with her lover, Willow. nesses. Don’t take our word for it. Orlando Books in November 2002, According to Fans of Willow and Tara, This women-friendly news comes a surprise fundraiser drew 250 Buffy’s cult fandom shrank from five courtesy of The Journal of the people and raised $5,000 for a million viewers last February to about 3.5 American Dietetic Association. payment to the Orlando Books’ million viewers for recent new episodes. bank loan. “Once a TV show based on female Long-time customer and U of empowerment and cutting-edge in its DUTCH DOUBLES UP Alberta professor Lise Gotell positive depiction of lesbians, Buffy ON SUPPORT ordered her course books through the Vampire Slayer has reversed its In a show of support to women’s Orlando. message,” according to Fans of Willow rights and reproductive health serv- “I have never lived anywhere and Tara spokeswoman Willow ices, the Dutch government pledged that did not have a feminist book- Rosenberg. an additional $2.5 million to the store. I think we need to be very “Now, not only is the heroine United Nations Population Fund, in worried about the shrinking viabil- romancing her abusive and her addition to its regular 2002 pledge. ity of feminist bookstores,” she attempted rapist boyfriend, but they The total Dutch contribution rises to says. also killed off half of TV’s first long- almost $55 million and makes the Orlando provided a space where term lesbian couple.” Netherlands the Population Fund’s Gotell could send her students to Fans of Willow and Tara have vowed top donor for this year. Fund see the “depth” and “breadth” of to fight the forces of evil and give fans Executive Director Thoraya Obaid feminist perspectives, literally what they want. To make themselves said, “This additional support will shelved on the walls. Ever the heard by the network UPN and Mutant enhance our efforts to save optimist, Dumas sees hope in a Enemy Productions (makers of Buffy), women’s lives by providing them younger generation potentially they’ve taken out ads in Television with access to family planning serv- reclaiming the book industry with Without Pity (www.televisionwithoutpi- ices, medical care during pregnancy their own independent businesses. ty.com). The website is a mega hit both and childbirth, and emergency She emphasizes the business with those who make and with those obstetric care.” potential that exists online. who watch TV. Tens of thousands of The US administration announced For now, Dumas has nestled her- viewers go online each day to discuss last July that it would withhold $34 self in the independently owned the latest episode of their favorite million that had previously been Audrey’s Books, where she has shows with other viewers, while televi- appropriated by Congress to the established an Orlando Books sion writers and producers check the Fund—based on erroneous claims Corner, that specializes in feminist boards to see how their shows were that the Fund supports coercive titles. received. abortions in China. The decision was

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 11

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Child Soldiers Key to made despite recommendations by a State Department fact-finding Rebuilding Sri Lanka team to release the funds. by Lasanda Kurukulasuriya Many of the 130 donor countries supporting the Population Fund (COLOMBO) Despite repeated assur- the details, dates of birth, etcetera. have stepped forward with addi- ances made to representatives of the We have no interest in bluffing any- tional funding, including $2.5 mil- UN, Amnesty International and the body. These are the hard facts.” lion from Canada, $1.6 million from Scandinavian peace monitors in Sri From the Ceasefire Agreement of Belgium, $700,000 from Denmark, Lanka, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil February 2002 to January 31, 2003, $2 million from Finland, $400,000 Eelam (LTTE) continue to recruit monitors investigated and confirmed from Germany, $200,000 from New child soldiers. 368 cases of child recruitment and are Zealand, $2.2 million from Sweden “There was an explosion of com- working on another 333 complaints. and $4.7 million from Britain, for a plaints again in January and lots in Exact figures are impossible to deter- total of $18.7 million. February,” according to Hagrup mine, but sources familiar with the Haukland, chief of staff and deputy ground situation in the North and PM: TUNE IN TO head of the peace-monitoring mission. East, such as the Tamil watchdog He says cases are reported from all six group University Teachers for Human OTTAWA HILLS 70125 The Public Service of the monitors’ offices in the country’s Rights estimates there are thousands Alliance of North and East. “Child recruitment is of child soldiers. A spokesman for Sri Canada (PSAC) still on. They have not stopped it.” Lanka’s President Chandrika local 70125, which However, at the fifth session of Kumaratunga alleged that Tigers have represents women peace talks held in Berlin in February, kidnapped over 10,000 children. at the the Tamil Tigers claimed to have At the Berlin talks, the Sri Lanka Department of Foreign Affairs and stopped child recruitment, saying they government and LTTE agreed that International Trade, has called on were committed to a joint program UNICEF would play a crucial role in the Prime Minister Jean Chretien to inter- with UNICEF for the return of child sol- rehabilitation of child soldiers. vene to ensure more women reach diers to their families. UNICEF’s Executive Director Carol the upper ranks of the department. This is the first time human rights Bellamy, on a three-day visit to Sri Women form the majority of the and the demobilization of child sol- Lanka in January, said she was 1,600 workers in the department but diers have figured in peace talks encouraged by the LTTE’s commit- are underrepresented at the high- between the government of Sri Lanka ment, nothing that UNICEF had assist- ranking levels. There is one woman and the LTTE. The peace process was ed in securing the release of 350 child among the six ministers and parlia- launched after a Norwegian-brokered soldiers since November 2001. mentary secretaries in the depart- truce was declared last year. The Tigers UNICEF is expected to be involved in ment; there are no women at the have been fighting for a separate state a joint plan to assist released children deputy ministerial level and two of ‘Tamil Eelam’ in the North and East return to their families. It would women out of eight assistant of Sri Lanka for 19 years. An entire gen- include the setting up of ‘transit cen- deputy ministers. eration of children there has grown up ters’ to provide schooling, vocational The Office of the Prime Minister is in an environment of war. training, health care and psychosocial required to review all ministerial Referring to a list of 350 names of support while their families are and senior level appointments at children submitted by the peace mon- traced. While help is desperately the Department. Under the itors, Tigers’ chief negotiator Anton needed, critics stress that children Employment Equity Act, the Prime Balasingham claimed that the cases who have been severely traumatized Minister is responsible for ensuring had been looked into and that the by combat will not be helped if LTTE that barriers to the advancement of majority were not under 18. controls the centres. women in the workplace, including To this, Haukland replied, “He can “It is now fairly well established state as much as he wants. We have that the psychological trauma of

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organizational culture, are elimi- combat, especially in childhood, broke out in sudden violent out- nated. often leads to the specific condi- bursts at the slightest thing.” tion of post-traumatic stress disor- Despite the clear need for rehabil- POLES BACK CHOICE der or PTSD,” according to a recent itation for former child soldiers, such There is growing support for a relax- study of 19 former child soldiers. efforts are expected to be hampered ation of Poland’s anti-abortion law, [“Conscription of Children in Armed by the severe lack of trained psychi- which ranks, along with Ireland’s, as Conflict—A Form of Child Abuse. A atrists and psychologists. the strictest in Europe. Study of 19 Former Child Soldiers’” “The number of people in the “The shameful law by Harendra de Silva, Chris Hobbs country with specialized knowledge has only negative and Helga Hanks, in Child Abuse in the area of rehabilitation of child consequences,” Review Vol. 10: 125-134 (2001)] soldiers is less than 10,” says Izabela Jaruga- The following case cited in the Harendra de Silva, head of the Nowacka, the Child Abuse Review study illus- National Child Protection Authority. minister responsi- trates the problem: “He joined the There are only 20 government psy- Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka ble for gender militants at the age of 11. He was chiatrists to deal with all forms of equality, told a conference to mark given extensive training and taught mental illness. the 10th anniversary of the adoption that those who do not support the “A counsellor could perhaps be of the law. Polish law permits abor- struggle are his enemies and trained in a few months or a year. tion only in cases of rape or incest, should be killed. He was shown But at least one counsellor would be where the fetus is deformed, or where videos of killed women and chil- required per school, and there are the mother’s health is in danger. dren and told that his enemies 10,000 schools,” says de Silva. Between 80,000 and 200,000 back- have done this. He felt no remorse At an upcoming Japanese confer- street abortions are performed every when he described how he held a ence in June, millions of dollars is year in Poland. Only 134 legal abor- child by the legs and bashed the expected to be pledged by the tions were performed in 2000. head against the wall until the international community to aid Sri In the 2001 general election, the brain matter came out, of how he Lanka’s reconstruction effort. party promised to liberalize the law. enjoyed the mother’s screams and Policy makers must be convinced of Some members of the Democratic how he hacked them to death the importance of investing in child Left Alliance party—Poland’s ruling later. He said they deserved to die. rehabilitation. “People like to party—have now called for a nation- He partook in four village mas- invest in visible things, like build- al referendum on abortion. The gov- sacres. When inactive he felt bored ings, roads, power supply, or food. ernment has reportedly backed and restless. He longed to go into Psychosocial rehabilitation is not down because the Roman Catholic villages and brutally kill people. seen. So even on the part of donors, Church has promised to back The sight of blood obsessed him. the commitment is limited,” says de Poland’s membership in the He became easily irritable and Silva. European Union on the condition that the abortion law remains intact. A poll last year showed 49 RABBLE ROUSER OF THE MONTH percent of Poles wanted the abor- “Every time I hear a government criticized for tion law relaxed, despite the fact being ‘tax and spend,’ I yell out loud, ‘What that 90 percent of the country’s cit- the fuck you think government is supposed to izens are Catholic. do?’ Let’s talk about how much is going where, Sources: Agence France-Presse, and when, and duct tape Alliance Leader Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Stephen Harper’s mouth shut.” – ‘Flowers by Report Irene’ talking on babble, rabble.ca’s on-line discussion group, during the Budget Speech in February.

14 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS beyond the box BY LISA RUNDLE

MARSHALLING IN THE THIRD WAVE I once found myself in a meeting with distinct non- We were playing with what’s private and what’s feminists running the show. (Shocking, I know.) It public, and with domesticity. We showed the vibrator was a story meeting for a national magazine. A feature breaking out of its traditional role—it stirred the had been pitched on the third wave. Of feminism, potatoes, it lay in the cutlery drawer. We made that is. “The what?” All heads swivelled toward the vibrator cozies. Our subversive message about resident feminist expert—the one busily scribbling women’s sexuality and traditional gender roles was the minutes. met with enthusiasm. The mainstream media lapped “What’s the difference between these waves of it up—such an unexpected response to your average feminism anyway?” asked the editor-in-charge. I feminist event. looked up blankly. It was the first time I’d been asked But wait. Could it be that the medium was a question other than, “When’s the coffee coming?” conveying another message? Like, say, that young It was my big chance, and I knew it. I would be feminists will take pictures of themselves with articulate. I wouldn’t say, “Um.” vibrators—woohoo! Artist and fat activist Allyson “Well,” I said. “First wave: the vote.” Slow nods. Mitchell exposes this problem with the highly “Second wave: bra-burning.” Nods again. “Third consumable way that third wave feminism makes it wave...” pause, scanning brain for word. “Third wave: into the media when she asks of feminism, “How’s a vibrators!” Nods, smiles. This third wave thing might big, fat, hairy dyke supposed to fit in that?” Good make a great magazine piece after all. question. Judging by mainstream media, third wave Sure I left a lasting impression, but I’ve been thinking feminists are cute, white, stylish, urban women. And about my choice of symbols ever since. In some ways it that’s different from what Cosmo’s pushing, how? was right on. Third wavers are fun. They prize humour This isn’t the first time a feminist symbol has been and energy, and shun the pressure of perfectionism. used to trivialize instead of mobilize. That bra burning They’re the ones at the peace march carrying signs I mentioned in the meeting? It never happened. But that say: “My Bush Would Make a Better President.” that didn’t stop it from becoming The Symbol of For a while, Bust—the magazine incarnation of third second wave feminism, used for good and for evil. wave feminism—was a veritable vibrator index: best Though we pride ourselves on being media-savvy, brands, virtues of, possible addiction to. third wave women still can’t control how feminist And it was addictive. To the thousands of girls politics are conveyed in the media. There is still an raised on the backlash or depressed by how little had uncontrollable gap between what we are trying to do changed, it was a tantalizing intro to feminist politics, and what we are perceived to be doing. (It’s a lesson with homework that was fun—and political. And, the that came sharply into focus for me one day as I mainstream media lapped it up. marched topless down Yonge Street in Toronto’s Around the time of that magazine meeting, I was Dyke March only to find myself being photographed finishing a photography project with a friend, called by male onlookers.) “The Daily Grind: A Day in the Life of One Very Red And what we are trying to do is combine diverse Vibrator.” The photos portrayed me performing struggles of diverse women and social justice everyday household tasks accompanied by a movements, rework a downer of a feminist profile vibrator. It wasn’t very sexy, but it wasn’t meant to and carry our vibrators proudly as we strive for be—for us, the vibe was a symbol of feminism and greater and greater heights of political satisfaction. that’s how we used it. From our artists’ statement: Who cares what the medium says, it’s the message “Over 100 years ago, the vibrator was used by that’s important. doctors to treat hysteria and frigidity in women; Lisa B. Rundle is editor of rabble.ca and a co-editor of Turbo today, women prefer to treat themselves…”. Chicks: Talking Young Feminisms (Sumach Press).

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 15 body wise by Kathleen O’Grady Medicating Passion When public relations firms team up the age of 18, in order to capitalize on with pharmaceutical profiteers, a viagra-style ‘cure’. BLACK BOX women are all too often their But just a little digging by WARNING FOR favourite target audience, and the Moynihan demonstrates that the 43 creation of a new disease (and its percent statistic, widely used by ESTROGEN Warnings continue to roll in over overpriced pharmaceutical cure), de pharmaceutical reps and echoed in hormone replacement therapy rigueur. Remember premenstrual major media articles, is not based on (HRT, estrogen plus a progestin) dysphoric disorder (PMDD) – solid research at all, but an since the Women’s Health basically PMS on overdrive — targeted exploratory survey of only 1,500 Initiative study in July 2002 at perimenopausal women? PR firms women who were asked to answer found that the risks associated teamed up with Eli Lilly, the makers of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to whether they had ever with long-term HRT use, such as Prozac, and repackaged their money- experienced any of 7 problems, such breast cancer and heart disease, maker as Sarafem (fluoexetine), the as lack of desire or difficulties with outweigh the health benefits. touted pharmaceutical cure for lubrication, for more than a 2 month Now the US Food and Drug PMDD, just as the patent on the period. If a woman said yes to just 1 Administration has ordered that pricey Prozac expired. of the 7 questions, she was said to all drugs containing estrogen or Well now, according to Ray have FSD. estrogen and progestin for use Moynihan in the British Medical Leading sex researchers claim that by menopausal women must Journal, marketeers are at it again, this latest PR-driven ‘research’ include a warning on the drug this time with so-called female sexual undermines the seriousness of FSD, label highlighting the possible dysfunction (FSD). According to which likely affects only a small increased risks for breast Moynihan, pharmaceutical companies fraction of the female population cancer, heart attacks, stroke have overstated the prevalence of this who do require medical attention and blood clots for women disorder, sponsoring research that and intervention. taking the medication. inflates the rate of those suffering BMJ 2003;326:45-47 (4 January); It is no wonder that sales of FSD to 43 percent of all women over BMJ 2003;326:120 (18 January). Prempro, the most common HRT formulation in the US, have Feminine Forever No More dropped by 50 percent, while Another serious caution on estrogen an increased risk of breast cancer. Wyeth, the manufacturer of products comes from the latest US Not everyone on these estrogen- Prempro, has witnessed their federal government’s Annual Report on based medications will get cancer, share price plummet. Similarly, Carcinogens, which officially lists which is why these medications are a recent survey in Canada found steroidal estrogens, routinely used in still widely available for use in that more than 44 percent of estrogen replacement therapy and oral Canada and the US. But it does mean Canadian women have contraceptives, as a known cancer that individual health risks and abandoned HRT, with another 32 causing agent. Extensive studies have benefits need to be carefully percent saying they plan to demonstrated that estrogen therapy assessed with a health practitioner discontinue HRT in the near increases the risk of endometrial whenever estrogen is involved. future. Health Canada is cancer, and possibly breast cancer, Sources: FDA website www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/ expected to revise its while estrogen-based oral 2003/NEW00863.html; http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/ news/10thrc.html; http://www.cwhn.ca/resources/ comprehensive document on contraceptives may be associated with menopause/hrtglance.html; NYT Jan. 9, 2003; Globe and menopause and treatment options shortly, to be available Kathleen O’Grady is director of communications at the at: http://www.hc- Canadian Women’s Health Network. Bodywise is researched, sc.gc.ca/english/iyh/medical/e written and provided by the CWHN, a non-profit source of health information that brings together 1,400 women’s strogen.html. health organizations. Check it out at www.cwhn.ca .

16 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS WOMEN UNITE! Joss Maclennan Design CEP 91/CLC Art by M. Laville

SISTERHOOD SOLIDARITÉ www.caw.ca Nahla Abdo: Narrating the Nation of Palestine by Nuzhat Abbas

Nahla Abdo is an Arab feminist and a professor of sociology at Carleton University. Her work on women and the state in the Middle East, with special focus on Palestinian women, includes her recent book, Women and the Politics of Military Confrontation: Palestinian and Israeli Gendered Narratives of Dislocation (co-edited with Ronit Lentin, Berghahn Books, 2002), and Sexuality, Citizenship and the Nation State: Experiences of Palestinian Women. (Syracuse University Press, forthcoming). She helped establish the Women’s Studies Institute at Birzeit University and is the founder of the Gender Research Unit at the Women’s Empowerment Project/Gaza Community Mental Health Program. Photo by Rawi Hage

Herizons: As a scholar and a writer, what do you see as the nomena of Intifadas (Palestinian uprisings) in 1987, role of intellectuals and writers in the making of Palestine? and the current one that began in 2000, as a form of Nahla: Intellectuals, writers, poets, scholars and public speech. Both events demonstrate a particular academics are part of the recording of the culture, stage in the history of Palestinians, necessitated by history and existence of communities, nationalities the urge to take that history, culture and the materi- and groups of people. They put together the histo- ality of the people out in public, in the face of powers ries—imagined or real—of all people. that have been trying to erase it. Palestinians, like other peoples who have experienced settler, colonial and military occupation and Is the intellectual also someone who could criticize this have lost the material treasure of their culture and dream of ‘the nation’? You conduct research on refugee identity, are very much in need of the written word women and help them articulate their histories. How do that can travel all over and tell their story. Mahmoud you manage this tension between the role of the critic and Darwish keeps bringing this up in his poetry. the person who helps articulate these voices? Intellectuals and writers have a large part to play in Abdo: Your question has two different levels. One is keeping the dream alive and representing the com- the need to write the dream and publicize it, the need munity and the nation for the whole world to see. to narrate the nation. On the other hand, you have the Much of our culture, which was based on the land, on role of the critic, who presents the nation to a certain how people conducted their lives, their economic and extent, as a necessary articulation for the building of social experiences, ended up being held in oral cul- the community. At the same time, the critic attempts ture. This oral culture was largely transmitted not to forget the different contradictions and con- through women, particularly through refugee women flicts and contestations that are embedded in an ide- from one generation to the next. ology like that of the nation. To a certain extent, you can also explain the phe- Some of my academic work has been critical in the

18 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS We have a country of words. Speak, speak so I can put my road on the stone of a stone. We have a country of words. Speak, speak so we may know the end of this travel. —Mahmoud Darwish, from “We Travel Like Other People”

be missing is the whole issue of what exactly is the kind of nation-state we are looking for, the kind of community we are addressing. What happens under crises (like the current Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza) is that the enemy is so atrocious and the danger so immediate that this helps in suppress- ing these internal contradictions, turning the nation into an imaginary reality that is not necessarily just or equal. The Israeli army attacks do not distinguish between poor and rich, between women and men and children, or between Muslims or Christians. These ‘blind’ attacks create a generalized feeling that expresses itself in a similarly ‘blind’ response. And there is Yasser Arafat, and the Palestinian National Authority that he heads. The Authority has sense that, while it highlights the importance of the major problems in its structure, performance and issue of the nation, it also seeks to unmask the con- vision and there have always been allegations of cor- cept. In other words, Palestinians need to see where ruption and nepotism since the very beginning of its the notion of the nation goes wrong. For me, this establishment in 1994. notion goes wrong when it veils some major relations Amid the frustrations of the national leadership—the within the community. It goes wrong in not defining enemy from within—and the Israeli occupier—the very clearly the contradictions in class terms that are enemy from without—the only way to say ‘enough suf- in every community. It masks the power relations fering’ and ‘enough humiliation’ was through speaking within every community. So you have many factors in up and resisting, thus the Intifada of September 2000. this so-called ‘community’—issues of gender and The response from the Israeli government, espe- sexuality, issues of class, even ethnic diversity. These cially since Ariel Sharon became president, instead get masked within the concept of nationality and of crystallizing the voices against the internal rule, nation-state and the community as a whole. ended up making Palestinians concerned over- For the critical intellectual, I think it is her ethical whelmingly with the ‘external enemy’ only. The responsibility to not just express the nation as an painful result of this has been the suppression of all identity that needs to be materialized, but also as an these different voices. identity whose essence is one of contradiction, con- Suicide bombs were historically associated with flict and contestation. These differences need to be Hamas and at the beginning, most Palestinians were mapped out if we are to build a democratic communi- against bombings in Israel. Intellectuals, writers and ty and equitable society. many ordinary people were against violence that tar- We get all kinds of support for Palestine, or the geted ordinary civilians. This is a human position. Palestinian State, or independence, or self-determi- This must be differentiated from the Intifada and nation. All of these terms are there, but what seems to from armed resistance within the Occupied

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 19 Territories, which are legitimate forms of resistance. With ripe economic and political conditions at the Hamas has been seen by many Palestinians—and time—high unemployment, absence of clear leader- particularly women—as a politicizing of Islam with an ship—Hamas began to infiltrate refugee camps, built adverse social impact on women. It was not seen as a schools, healthcare and daycare centres, and provid- political move that was going to be helpful or positive ed employment to some of the unemployed. The in building civil society. Many women were against combination of people’s frustration and desperation, Hamas because their dream had been to build a secu- along with their provision of vitally needed services, lar state and not a state that would suppress women in and the appeal for religion at such difficult times, the name of religion. made Hamas appear as a viable, if not popular force. Hamas, to a large extent, was a creation of Israel, in The issue of Palestinian violence must be clearly a way similar to Taliban being largely a product of the contextualized—much of the world seems to have his- US. The Israeli State supported Hamas at the very torical amnesia when it comes to Palestinians using beginning and used it, especially during the first violence against the Israeli military occupation. Intifada, as a counterbalance or preventative rod to Violence as a form of resistance to settler colonialism the secular Palestine Liberation Organization strong- is not historically new, nor is it an illegitimate force of hold in the Occupied Territories. resistance. Violence as a form of resistance against Unfortunately, after the second year of the first fundamentally violent forms of rule such as colonial- Intifada, Hamas began to muster more support ism and occupation has historically been validated and among disparate Palestinians. While Hamas has internationally acknowledged in various examples, declared an open-public strategy of resistance to including the Algerian and South African struggles. Israeli occupation, its fundamental social vision has always been one of oppression towards women. Many Do you think that Israel’s current invasion of the West Palestinian women, for the first time, began to expe- Bank is directly linked to the US ‘War on Terrorism’ or do rience forced veilings and were pushed back into the you think it would have happened anyway? domestic-private domain. Abdo: It would have happened regardless. The

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20 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS Intifada started in December 2000. However, gender equity and social justice. This optimism has September 11, 2001 and the rhetoric of U.S. President dwindled in the past two years. As Islah Jad (a lectur- George Bush made it easy for Ariel Sharon to respond, er at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank) relayed to ‘Well, you bomb Afghanistan, you kill innocent people, me, ‘These days, women have shelved all of their you drop thousands of bombs because you are defend- projects for development, for social and legal change ing yourself from terrorism. Palestinians are terrorists and now have to rebuild all that has been destroyed.’ and we are defending ourselves from them. You cannot It would be somewhat preposterous on our part as tell us not to do this because we have always supported intellectuals or academics to say that Palestinian your campaign against terrorism.’ Ariel Sharon has women can leave everything and think only about compared Yasser Arafat to Osama Bin Laden. (Tanya their suppression by their own men or culture. This is Rinehart, Hanan Ashrawi and others have written the very same orientalist line we, anti-racist femi- extensively on this issue.) nists, have fought for so long! Theoretically, you cannot do one struggle while ignoring the other ones. I A young Palestinian woman recently asked you about the still uphold this line of thought, but at the same time, problems of gender and nationalism and referred to the in practical life, there seem to be certain priorities, experiences of Algerian women after independence. How whether academics or theoreticians like it or not. The do you see this issue being worked out in Palestine under priority for most Palestinians now is to feed, shelter, conditions as they are right now? secure one’s safety and the safety of little ones and Abdo: The Palestine economy has been devastated. ensure that their children can afford schooling and Institutions have been destroyed and the infrastruc- are guaranteed safe movement. ture has been largely ruined. All the ministries have been destroyed. The problem, as I see it, is that What do you think of groups like Women in Black in Israel Palestinians have been turned back 15 to 20 years and and similar groups in Canada? have to restore basic life conditions as a pre-condi- Abdo: The women in groups like Women in Black and tion for the re-building of civil society. The reports of Bat Shalom (the Daughter of Peace) in Israel and women and men fixing the roads in Ramallah after its abroad are brave souls. These groups are particularly devastation is an encouraging sign in the midst of strong because they combine the feminist struggle utter destruction. Equally encouraging are neigh- with the struggle for justice as Jews. bourhood projects established by women to help There is a special weight to the power of being families restore their households. Jewish and telling the whole world, ‘Not in my name.’ Many women, prior to the recent attacks, were at This message has been raised all over the world, the stage where they had raised a lot of fuss about especially in the major demonstration in Tel Aviv in employment laws and Sharia laws, which were seen as June 2001. Many of their friends and family have discriminating against women. They were putting gone through the Holocaust and they don’t want a together recommendations and new resolutions to be holocaust perpetrated towards the Palestinian peo- passed by the Palestine Legislative Council. Now, ple. It is not a slight sentence. It means ‘No more with the US and Israel meddling in the form of genocide against others, and not by us,’ Jews. These Palestinian future authority, I doubt the possibility of brave voices are telling the Israeli government, having free, transparent and democratic elections. “Enough! You do not represent or speak for us!” A deep sense of frustration and hopelessness Fundamentally, the conflict is not a Jewish/Arab appears to be gripping many women and men. A conflict or a Palestinian/Jewish conflict. It is defi- question like, ‘Is feminism possible in the context of nitely not a Muslim/Jewish conflict. The conflict is nationalist struggle?’ which was intensely debated by between occupied and occupier, between colonizer Palestinian women in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and colonized, although the Israeli government tries now seems a far-fetched goal. to present the conflict as Arab and Muslim fanatics I was very optimistic about the struggle and against the survival of the Jews. achievements of Palestinian women around issues of Using the terms ‘Jewish’ and ‘the State’ inter-

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 21 changeably is dangerous. It intends to block the Jews and Palestinians to live as equal citizens. No minds of so many Jews and non-Jews all over the ‘Jewish’ state, No ‘Muslim’ state and no ‘Christian’ world by equating Zionism*—which is racist in its state! Such a solution can gradually take care of the ideology, policies and practices—with all individual whole problem of religious fanaticism, Jewish or Jews. Criticizing the state of Israel is as legitimate as Muslim. It guarantees refugees the right to return criticizing any other state. It must not be equated with (there are five million Palestinian refugees all over anti-Semitism. the world), ends occupation and colonialism, and The struggle for Palestine in the 21st century is a eliminates racism against Palestinian citizens of struggle against settler colonialism: it is a struggle for Israel. This solution also guarantees a democratic justice and freedom. Yes, the Holocaust was perpe- entity for Jews of different ethnic backgrounds. trated against many peoples, including the Jews, but Finally, we must teach a new generation a respect the perpetrators were not the Palestinians. for democracy, of respecting themselves and respect- Remember that genocidal policies against the ing others at the same time, and every sector of reli- Palestinians have been committed since the Nakba of gion, nationality and gender. 1948, which resulted in the forced expulsion of about *The term Zionism, coined in 1893 by Nathan Birnbaum, is loosely defined as 80 percent of the Palestinians from their homeland. support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, known in ancient ‘Transfer’ is genocide. Cultural genocide (as scholar time as the Land of Israel. Thus, while for many Jews it came to represent Jewish nationalism, for Palestinians it was and remained a settler-colonial Raphael Lemkin defined it) is also genocide. movement based on their ruination.

Are there ways of envisioning a future state that address Log on the needs of all Palestinians? Women in Black (Feminist anti-war group)-Israel: Abdo: Right now, the negotiable solution appears to be www.geocities.com/EndTheOccupation two sovereign states living next to each other. Women in Black Victoria: Depending on what is in the package—i.e., the right of www.victoria.tc.ca/~tirdad//WIB/events.htm return to Palestinian refugees, ending the Israeli occupation and the dismantling of all settlements in Bat Shalom (Israeli Feminist organization): www.batshalom.org the Occupied Territories—such a solution can serve as a step in the right direction. However, the vision for an Ta’ayush (Arab/Jewish organization): independent Palestinian state, which is weak, unvi- www.taayush.org able, dependent and perhaps de-militarized, living Jews Against the Occupation: beside one of the most powerful military countries in www.jewsagainsttheoccupation.org the world, is not an equitable or viable solution. My vision towards a viable solution is based on the Not in My Name: creation of one secular democratic country for all www.nimn.org

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22 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS In Conversation with Makeda Silvera by Elizabeth Ruth

Makeda Silvera is the author of two collections of short stories, Her Head a Village (1994) and Remembering G. (1990). She also edited The Other Woman: Women of Colour in Contemporary Canadian Literature (1994) and the groundbreaking Piece of My Heart: A Lesbian of Colour Anthology (1991). Born in Jamaica, Silvera has lived in Canada for most of her life. Her collection of oral stories by Caribbean domestic workers, Silenced (1984) has been reprinted 10 times. In 2002, her first novel, The Heart Does Not Bend, was published by Random House.

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 23 Herizons: Let’s begin by hearing how you would describe wants her mother’s love, which she never gets. The The Heart Does Not Bend. cycle does repeat itself as Molly follows somewhat in Makeda: The book is about family loyalty, betrayal her mother’s footsteps…pregnant at a young and the redemptive power of love. It’s also about age…goes away for education, leaves child with mother-daughter relationships—explosive with its grandmother…finds a lover (in her case a female fears, joys, frustrations and love. lover) and gives her heart to that lover. But the grandmother’s heart stays with her blood. Molly begins The trinity of daughter-mother-grandmother is at the slowly to understand struggle, to understand the ter- heart of your novel and you deal with the trials and com- ror of poverty, especially when she returns to the plexities of that so well. The narrator, Molly, is closer to Island with her grandmother and can understand why her grandmother than to her mother. She often takes her her mother fled. I like to look at this issue within a grandmother’s side against her mother. But then, once larger socio-political context because I believe that she becomes a mother, she finds that the cycle has repeat- poverty, colonialism and racism have much to do with ed—only she is on the receiving end of a daughter’s scorn. the cycle and the disjointed relations with mother- Can you talk about this dynamic? daughter-grandmother triangles. ÃSilvera: I’ve always found the mother-daughter relationship profoundly interesting. Molly is closer to You’ve presented more than one version of “mother.” Mother her grandmother, but this is the woman who raised is not static, certainly not Betty Crocker. There is the matri- her, who was there for all those important ‘firsts.’ As arch of the family, the absent mother, the young mother, the the book progresses, we see that Molly desperately straight mother, the lesbian mother. Also, the mothers are

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24 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS sexual beings, including the grandmother. How has your I’m a Caribbean-born Jamaican, with all the stereo- status as a mother affected what you’ve written? types. These factors are intricately linked to who I am Silvera: I’ve always questioned and challenged the and occupy a large place in my work. imperial culture’s view of motherhood: mothers are virtuous, mothers are asexual. Where I grew up, I saw One very interesting strand in the book is the way in which many faces of motherhood and I did experience the you deal with the role of men in the family, especially that absentee mother. I didn’t consciously set out to rep- of father. Can you say more? resent different versions, but obviously it manifested Silvera: This issue of women treating boys like God’s itself on the pages. The Betty Crocker mother was not gift and girls like maid servants is as old as time itself, a part of my early childhood experience. I didn’t see and is a staple in many a households in many cultures. many of them, and the ones that I saw I found terribly I suppose in cultures such as the one in my novel, boring. When I became a mother, I was very clear that women do rely heavily on men—the brothers, the I wasn’t going to give up my right as a sexual being. In lovers, the sons, to some extent even the absentee or my novel, the grandmother was reaching her 50th part-time fathers. As women we’re socialized to place year and she was sexual. And why shouldn’t she be? less value on relationships with mothers, daughters, What I find really interesting is the fact that she didn’t aunts, sisters, even though we love them. We take hide this from her granddaughter. It was just a part of these relations for granted and add more legitimacy life as was the cooking and baking and their weekly to being the sister or the mother or the lover of a man. sojourn to the movies. In the book, Maria knows the danger and she still repeats the cycle with her grandson; she raises a Yes, all the female characters in this story are strong, well macho man. developed, allowed to have their humanity and linked through the generations. Was there a conscious attempt at Where do you see fact and fiction meeting in your story? writing feminism into fiction? Silvera: I like to think that one of my gifts as a writer is Silvera: I didn’t consciously write feminism into the to bring to the table the lives of ordinary people, how- novel, but I’m sure my experience in the world and ever they live. I find it comforting to work from a place my consciousness as a feminist had much to do with of ‘know,’ a place of political, cultural and social rele- the strength of the women characters. If feminism is vance. So real life does reflect in my work and I select defined as having the same rights and power as men, the bits I want to use. For example, Molly is a young les- then these women are not feminists. But if their fem- bian mother in the book, and she’s a bit that I took inism can be defined within the context of measured from real life and moulded into fiction. I wanted to strength, vulnerable at times, and an engagement in show the sexual intimacy of women and the friendship struggle to keep human dignity, then the characters and love that goes beyond sex. But my creative work is indeed possess feminist sensibilities. not an imitation of life. The characters in the book are I am a feminist, but I would hesitate to define imaginary, fragments of both real and invented. myself as a feminist fiction writer. My fiction is not Fiction is fiction. I really do believe that all fiction, an attempt to champion a cause. If it does, then it’s not including my own, is about telling a story, made-up deliberate. It’s about me keeping sane, my attempt to things, controlling and manipulating characters. understand things around me, make some sense of them. It’s about unlocking pain and anger and giving The Heart Does Not Bend is a substantial piece of fic- them ’nuff respect. One also hopes that there’s some tion. How long did it take you to write it? What was the shared understanding of the human experience that process like? readers can relate to. Of course I am a woman living Silvera: This novel took two years to write. Some in a patriarchal society. I am black living in a racist society and a lesbian living in a homophobic society. … continued on page 44

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 25 Why do Lesbians Batter? An Interview with Janice Ristock by Helen Fallding

Many feminists believe that lesbians who engage in violent behaviour attack their female partners in the same ways that heterosexual men do. Others, trying to preserve a utopian vision of female love, may believe the dynamic is entirely different. Janice Ristock wants the feminist and lesbian communities to let go of simple theories in order to face the complex realities of violence in lesbian relationships. The University of Manitoba women’s studies professor is one of the first researchers to extensively interview lesbians who have suffered abuse and the women who work with them as therapists or shelter staff. Her book, No More Secrets: Violence in Lesbian Relationships, was published by Routledge in 2002.

Herizons: A decade ago, you and a couple of colleagues tion and invisibility for lesbian couples. Or contexts put together a booklet on abuse in lesbian relationships where women had experienced a lifetime of violence that Health Canada still distributes. What do you know and poverty and where this experience was just one now that you didn’t know then? piece. Or contexts of drugs and alcohol. Ristock: I think that booklet is still a useful resource, but the way we wrote it was to rely on a lot of informa- What unique weapons do lesbians have at their disposal tion and research that feminists generated for vio- for hurting or controlling their partners? lence in heterosexual relationships. Ristock: The tools of homophobia are unique We assumed that there was one main experience of weapons. A number of women talked about the ways domestic violence that’s applicable to all women— their partners would threaten to reveal their sexual one reaction to being victimized and one mindset of identity to their employers or family. Even if they were perpetrators. ‘out,’ their abusive partners could start questioning What I learned through doing research is that not their sexuality—you know, ‘You’re not really a lesbian.’ all violence in lesbian and heterosexual relationships The other thing that lesbians have is gender—the is the same. I began to look more at the contexts sur- fact that it is a relationship involving two women. rounding abusive relationships—contexts like isola- Many of the women I talked to were so shocked that

26 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS Janice Ristock: Services are put in this terrible position of trying to determine which partner they should believe. Photo by Phil Koch. another woman could be violent towards them… their very first relationship with another woman. many of them went through experiences of excusing, There were a few women I interviewed from one minimizing or ignoring behaviour from their part- community who were talking about the same perpe- ners because they didn’t think that would add up to trator. It sounded as if that woman specifically looked their partners being violent. for and found women who were just coming out. Also, some women who are abusive go to women’s There’s a particular kind of vulnerability when you’re services and present themselves as victims. So serv- looking for somebody to kind of introduce you to the ices are put in this terrible position of trying to deter- lesbian community. mine which partner they should believe. And a There is some prevention work that could be done in woman who has been victimized feels crazy—she coming-out groups or discussions about becoming a les- sometimes begins to doubt herself. bian. Violence and abuse can occur between two women. We have to remind women that they have the right to be in What do women starting their first lesbian relationship violence-free relationships and they should trust any need to know? feelings they have about behaviour or comments being Ristock: I think it is significant that more than half inappropriate. If they’re unsure, they should talk to the women I interviewed talked about abuse within somebody else and check out those feelings.

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 27 How should friends or other support people respond where example, when people are breaking up, hurtful things are it appears both women in a couple have been physically or often said, but these are not necessarily part of a pattern emotionally abusive? of disrespectful, exploitative treatment. Ristock: It’s very difficult to go into those situations thinking that what you have to do is determine who is How should women’s services change their response to being victimized and who is being abusive. lesbians in violent relationships? Sometimes it’s just very muddled because sometimes Ristock: I think that they need to broaden their vic- victims act out in violent ways themselves. tim-only mandate and offer services to women who Rather than stepping back and saying “Forget it, I are abusive as well. While there would be concerns can’t figure this out,” it’s more important to still be about safety, I think those are concerns that can be present. addressed. Men and women both use some services I think that if you see somebody who is engaging in for heterosexual couples, but counsellors talk to each abusive behaviour, you should challenge that. If you other about when clients will be in the building. see somebody who is hurting, you can offer your sup- Victim-only mandates mean that one of service port and listen to that person. There are other things providers’ main jobs becomes screening who is being you can do in terms of just offering some resources. victimized and tossing out the person who is being You can make some suggestions about where they abusive—only being prepared to hear a certain kind of might be able to go where they can talk to somebody story of victimization. From my research, that seems to else who can take the time and who has the skills to center the experiences of white, middle-class women. figure out the dynamics in the relationship and Broadening mandates to work with those who respond appropriately. engage in abusive behaviour can teach us about the layerings of privilege and oppression and the limits Do you think the lesbian community has a tendency to of simplistic binaries. It helps push mainstream fem- trivialize abuse by using the term too loosely? inist organizations to look harder at issues of racism Ristock: There are two problems—there’s both the ten- and classism. For example, we can better address dency to not name violence when we see it and at the same complexities such as both partners using physical time there’s the tendency to use the term “abuse” very violence, or an interracial couple where one woman is loosely and uncritically, when instead we should be talk- physically abusive and the other is emotionally abu- ing about ‘bad behaviour,’ ‘meanness’ or ‘rudeness.’ For sive through her use of racist attacks.

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28 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS Are there lessons from your research that would help fem- tively the same size and same strength, so fear isn’t inists respond more appropriately to violence in hetero- necessarily the same immediate reaction, often shock sexual relationships? is a common reaction. I think it is important to Ristock: Feminists need to ask the same set of criti- understand those differences, which may seem sub- cally reflective questions that I’m raising about les- tle, but in fact do affect how abusive dynamics devel- bian domestic violence in the field of heterosexual op and are sustained. Finally, not all abusive domestic violence. That’s a field where a great deal of relationships necessarily include a dynamic of con- important work has been done, and at the same time, trolling through fear. It may be the more common we also have to stop and ask, ‘Whose voices and whose dynamic and the one we have heard the most about, stories are heard when we talk about domestic vio- but for some women fear is not what they would iden- lence?’ ‘Whose stories are not heard?’ ‘Who benefits tify as part of the abuse. We have to be able to hear from how we currently respond to heterosexual those stories of abuse as well. domestic violence and who might be left out of those responses?’ What do we still not know about lesbian relationship If we address those questions, then we look at some violence? of the different contexts and different experiences of Ristock: We still don’t know about prevalence. We also violence in heterosexual couples that I don’t think know very little about women who are abusive. Most of we’ve talked about in enough detail. the research has focused on women who’ve been vic- For example, there’s still a tendency for most of the timized. It’s important to talk to women who are perpe- analysis and services to be focused on middle-class, trators and who engage in abusive behaviour if we want white women. Service providers almost expect to hear to stop it. And we still don’t know what responses are a certain script from victims about how they should the most effective for lesbians. We know that most les- talk about their stories. Either women learn how to bians tend not to go to the police, use the criminal jus- present their story in that way or they might be tice system or go to shelters. Because lesbians are not denied services. For example, a poor woman with often welcomed, remain invisible, or are treated in street experience who might have experienced a lot of homophobic and heterosexist ways, they don’t feel that violence in her life, who has fought back, who is feel- these are safe places. I think we have to look at other ing angry, might not be heard as a victim. I also think ways of responding and not assume that social services that service providers may not have been fully able to are always the way to go. deal with cases that involve emotional abuse. We still need women-only services—there is still a What other ways of responding? strong pattern of male violence against women that’s Ristock: There’s a lot of work that can be done within very different from women’s violence towards lesbian communities—to raise the issue within com- women. And we need feminist services that under- munity forums, to talk about healthy relationships, to stand those differences. talk about ways to support people who are in relationships. For example, an innovative program in the Aren’t there lesbians who hit or threaten for the same rea- U.S. works with friendship circles to raise awareness sons that many men batter—to control their partners about the signs of relationship violence, ways to through fear?” intervene, offer support and sometimes mediate in a Ristock: Yes. Lesbians often control their partners situation. through fear. The fear is perhaps most extreme in cases where the abuser is larger, stronger, has more What are the most controversial aspects of your research? financial power and social status, as is often the case Ristock: Some women talked about being victimized in heterosexual relationships. When two women are and then something shifted in their relationships. in an abusive relationship, both partners can be rela- They spoke of reaching a point where they had had

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 29 enough and they moved from responding in self- violence against women as an issue. That’s a concern defence to initiating violence and trying to hurt their I share. partners. Other women who had been abused in one When we’re talking about male violence against relationship, then became abusive in their next rela- women, we’re talking about a context in which the per- tionship, said that they were so focussed on never vasive sexism in our society supports male power and being controlled by anyone again. Those examples are control over women. When we’re talking about rela- a direct challenge to the way feminists have talked tionship violence involving two women, we’re talking about victims and perpetrators and kept that binary about a differently gendered dynamic and a different for understanding male violence against women. context where the social power structure of men over I’ve also been critical of how some services have women is not a factor. Other social power structures taken on the power-and-control model—which has such as poverty or homophobia, for example, might be been helpful for understanding heterosexual rela- much more relevant factors. It is not that poverty or tionships—and in my view have over-applied that to other structures of domination are not ever factors in lesbian relationships in a way that really doesn’t help heterosexual relationship violence; it is just that sex- to understand complex power dynamics. ism is very likely to be a key factor. While women might be united in their experiences of violence, we also have What do critics think could be dangerous about those ideas? to really see and understand how all women are not the Ristock: If we start to look at some of the complexities same and be prepared to talk about those complexities and break down this dichotomy between victim and and come up with different responses to them. perpetrator, the danger is that perpetrators won’t be Ultimately, I think that will make feminism and the held accountable for violence. The greater fear is that movement to end all forms of violence stronger this kind of thinking will shift over to heterosexual rather than weaker. relationships and we’ll no longer be naming male Helen Fallding is a Winnipeg journalist.

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30 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS cole’s notes BY SUSAN G. COLE

THE ACTION ON JACKSON Have we gone too far? Are we so hyper-alert to sexu- protectors. Okay, he’s not great dad material and he al abuse that we assume an adult who wants to share takes the protection thing a little too far. He makes his toys with kids must be molesting them? his kids wear masks—he doesn’t want them to be rec- I asked myself this question as I watched Michael ognized for fear they’ll be kidnapped. At the same Jackson being strafed in the wake of his televised time, he escorts them to public places and seems interview last month. British journalist Martin wholly oblivious to how his children will be affected Bashir got 80 hours with Jackson and spent much of by the crush—a word used advisedly here—of fans. He his time berating the pathetic pop star about his rela- has still obviously not sorted out the difference tionship with children. And though lately I’ve heard between good adulation and bad adulation and about 10 jokes a day made at Michael Jackson’s thrives on both. But as a mother who might not make expense, it’s Bashir who sounds ridiculous bashing the grade in some books just because she’s a lesbian, away at the fact that Jackson has boys staying over at I’m not going to judge how some parents protect their his house. kids, either. “A 44- year-old adult in bed with an eight-year-old Jackson spent his childhood—if you could call it boy?” Bashir keeps carping. And I’m thinking, ‘Wait that—in a recording studio and never got to be a kid. a sec, when friends leave their kids with us, they often Now, he is in his Peter Pan pixie mode, with his young wind up in the big bed.’ playmates. I can’t say for sure whether he has molested And no, I’m not one of those people who is into anyone. It’s just that he seems to be a sexless, desper- kid-glove treatment for artistic geniuses whether ate, emotionally stunted creature with a deep connec- they’re rock stars or Pablo Picasso. I’m disgusted by tion to kids. He says he sees God in their eyes. Clearly, Woody Allen and the hypocrites in Hollywood who he is a troubled person. But a pedophile? And I can’t continue to celebrate him and his movies even as he help wondering if Jackson weren’t so effeminate, so... lives with his ex-lover’s adopted daughter. Speaking trans-looking, if he would be getting such a hard time. of Hollywood, I’m delighted that director Roman Considering the way the networks have profited Polanski can’t enter the US after fleeing the country from Jackson’s pain, you can see why Jackson settled following his conviction for drugging and sexually out of court with the family of the 12-year-old who assaulting a 13-year-old girl. accused Jackson of sexual abuse. Why, if he has mil- I just don’t see evidence that Michael Jackson is the lions of dollars, wouldn’t he spend some and defend monster Bashir thinks he is. And I don’t think it’s himself against the charges and avoid months and excusable for adults to abuse kids just because they were months of tabloid targetting and a situation in which themselves damaged early on in life, as Jackson surely he can feed just the kind of media frenzy Bashir set was. You can see it in his mangled face, an obsession off with his interview? he’s had ever since he suffered from teenaged acne and Jackson is, in his relationship to his children and since the days his father and manager Joe mocked him his youthful visitors to Neverland, fulfilling his own for his big nose. His father is a man who, Jackson’s sis- needs—but what parent (teacher, daycare worker) ter LeToya says, sexually abused her, and who Michael isn’t on some level? says whipped him—literally—into tip-top performance Bottom line: we don’t know the final score on shape. All those plastic surgeries to put away the face Michael Jackson. But it’s out of line to assume that he of a victim. isn’t playing by the rules because he looks queer and An emotionally damaged person doesn’t automati- gives children a place to play. cally wind up messing up others. In fact, people who Susan G. Cole is Entertainment Editor at Toronto’s Now were wounded as kids can turn into their fiercest magazine.

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 31 arts lit SPRING READING

SALT FISH GIRL world gone to hell, and redeems it all with comedic timing and Nomi is doubtlessly by Larissa Lai the possibility of immaculately conceived one of the most endearing characters in Thomas Allen Publisher, 2002 girl babies. This novel is hope in the all of lesbian literature. She’s a heroic Review by T.L. Cowan midst of despair; rejuvenation amidst anti-hero ever-butch, noble, but conflict- rejection; and a feminist global politics ed and unsure, with a goofy sense of What does it take to within a story of romance, family love, humour and an irresistible vulnerability. be a good person in a missed chances and crisis. Just like our Nomi’s a nice Jewish girl with a leather corrupt world? Is lives, only different. jacket who dreams of being a badass, but there hope for T.L. Cowan is a writer and spoken word artist she’s much too kind-hearted and easy- redemption after you who lives in Edmonton. going to pull it off. Her friends tell her have disappointed what to do. Her family tells her what to everyone who loves do. And you can bet that Julie is going to, you? Can you go home LOVE AND OTHER RUINS too... if they ever manage to get together. again? Do you want to? Miranda Ching, by Karen X. Tulchinsky What happens among the ruins? Life the heroine of Larissa Lai’s second novel, Polestar, An Imprint of Raincoast happens. Relatives get sick, families come Salt Fish Girl, grapples with these ques- Books, 2002 together, lovers fight, friends rally and tions throughout the centuries of her Review by Joy Parks Nomi and Julie get through that first din- ever-changing, ageless life. I say heroine Great characters tell ner with Nomi’s mom and step-dad. here, but wonder if anti-heroine might great stories. In Love Tulchinsky has a way of making it all seem not be a better way to describe this prodi- and Other Ruins, so familiar and comfortable and just plain gal daughter. She makes mistakes—big Tulchinsky’s sequel to wonderful that readers will turn the last ones, and lots of them. In fact, there is a Love Ruins Everything, page hoping this isn’t the last we’ve seen kind of nightmarish quality to Salt Fish we catch up with of Nomi Rabinovitch. Girl that some may find off-putting. I did, Nomi Rabinovitch Joy Parks is a contributor to Girlfriend mag- until I realized that a dystopic vision of and spend a year with azine (San Francisco) and Sojourner the not-so-distant future was perhaps her, from the spring (Boston). She lives in Ottawa. exactly what Lai had in mind. of 1999 to the eve of the new millennium. Salt Fish Girl has a ringing quality of Originally from Toronto, Nomi is living activist fiction. And I don’t mean this in a in San Francisco, working under the table BAD DATE bad way. Lai’s social consciousness comes in a neighbourhood dyke bar, still shaky by Liz Brady Second Story Press, 2001 through in this novel in the form of plot. from being dumped for a guy by her ex. There is the issue of genetically modified But she’s healed enough to be enjoying all Review by Andrea Adair food, clones as lovers and guerilla the angst and excitement of a long-dis- Laced with quick wit activists and an exploitive shoe empire— tance love affair with the lovely, spirited and gory descriptions, things that don’t seem so futurist to any- Julie Sakamoto, a woman she met on her Bad Date is a fun who- one who has had their brain turned on in last trip home. A second story is told by dunit that is more recent decades. But this isn’t a Doomsday Nomi’s cousin Henry, a strong, funny and successful at chal- book. This is the creative, lyrical voice of optimistic gay man infected with HIV, lenging perceptions an activist. Or, maybe, the activist voice of who is involved in an undercover exposé than posing a complex a storyteller. The relationships are visual- to reveal the real source of the AIDS virus. puzzler. ly and vividly rendered, with sensual Henry is a wonderfully rich and fully Jane Yeats is a lovemaking, heart-breaking deception, drawn character whose insight into the Harley-driving, beer-drinking, Doc and an inclination toward forgiveness. gay community and refusal to be a victim Marten-wearing feminist sleuth who dis- Like Lai’s first novel, When Fox is a are wonderfully reaffirming. covers she isn’t quite as tolerant and Thousand, the characters in Salt Fish Girl While the plot is sound, the best reason accepting of other lifestyles as she thinks. move back and forth from age to age, from to read Love and Other Ruins is for the At first, readers laugh along with jokes human to not human, without much of a characters. Nomi’s completely wacky but about the prostitute next door and the wrinkle in style. Lai weaves politics and totally believable extended family is por- tribulations that Jane has with her. But love together with ghastly images of a trayed with compassion and brilliant Brady doesn’t just write off the prostitute

32 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS well-versed BY RACHEL ZOLF

The most interesting poetry coming befits Warland’s beautiful, layered transforms the lyric and poetic ghaz- out of women’s communities today yet compact poetic narrative, “there al, making words “emerge in a body takes on familiar feminist tropes are no words for where my mother of love / to be dispersed.” from slant perspectives. went.” We are left with “her hands You’ll find Betsy Warland, in her last hand hold.” Trish Salah in her ninth book, Transsexual Bent on Writing: Bloodroot: Tracing writer Trish Contemporary the Untelling of Salah traces a Queer Tales, a lit- Motherloss, mines complicated path erary anthology the difficult ter- over her re- that looks at gen- rain of the moth- membered body der, sexuality and race through a lens er/daughter in her poetry just slightly askew. Edited by author relationship – “is a mother never?”– debut, Wanting in Elizabeth Ruth (10 Good Seconds of made more complicated by her Arabic. Declaring “a poetics of a con- Silence), Bent is culled from the mother’s illness and impending scious partiality of being,” this ClitLit queer reading series in death – “there is no story without accomplished book questions con- Toronto, which Ruth started in 1998 mother.” venient notions of identity while and ran to May 2002. The ample white space on the page demonstrating an easy Bent contains a mixture of well- matches the breadth of Warland’s agility with language, theory and known and unknown writers demon- spiritual commitment to give herself form. strating a range of writing quality, as over to being with her mother on her Salah exposes the fantasy of meta- befitting the workshop character of journey toward death. “I laboured in morphosis, “this uncertain work of the reading series. Look for some earnest to relinquish my need that making in breaking.” Her writing interesting work by Margaret she open her heart to mothering me. inhabits a liminal space “of being a Christakos, Anurima Banerji, Nalo I gave myself to birthing her.” place and its erasure.” Though “the Hopkinson, Caitlin Fisher, Maureen One may not choose the same path body never does cease to matter,” Hynes, Zoe Whittall, Sina Queryas, as Warland to reach peace within a Salah writes through a multiple iden- Marguerite and Salah! fraught mother/daughter relation- tity, politicized across the borders of Toronto poet Rachel Zolf’s second book, ship, but the clear purity of her race, class and sex. Sex appears in all MASQUE, will be published this fall by words – her full and open heart – its nuances and multiplicity – desire Mercury Press. demand consideration. In the end, as rushes through her lines as Salah

as the dead body in the mystery. The dead women on the street face from bad dates As Jane comes to some conclusions about body is given a name, a life and a history to police harassment, readers are prostitution (Brady raises issues about right from the beginning. reminded that every woman has a story. policing and the justice system as well), “Just yesterday her big bleached hair, As Lenore Tootoossis, an aboriginal who readers are pulled to similar conclusions. bold make-up, sprayed-on miniskirt and fled sexual abuse from her stepfather, There are moments of humour in Bad fuck-me stiletto heels had advertised her illustrates, often the story is similar. “A lot Date and there are moments of sorrow. I in-no-way-respectable but in-your-face of girls think they’re ending the abuse cycle felt my own warm surroundings juxtaposed vulgarity. This morning she was smaller when they started demanding to be paid for against the lives of the women within Bad than I remembered, her wan form almost what was taken from them in childhood.” Date. The story at times is just too real. shrinking into the damp soil. I wished for This by no means suggests Brady sim- Bad Date is a good mystery. Action- a blanket to cover her.” plifies or even attempts to sum up the packed and fast moving with just enough Throughout the novel, the lives of lives of sex trade workers. But she’s done moments of danger thrown in to keep you prostitutes are fleshed out. From the reli- her research. She describes life on the reading. Although the mystery was a little gious fundamentalists who see sex trade street, or the stroll, so well that often it easy to solve, the challenges in other areas workers simply as whores, to the violence feels like non-fiction. make up for it.

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 33 WHIPSTOCK of supporting female characters whose by Barb Howard presence adds an unusual charm to the 2XW¶Q$ERXW7UDYHO,QF NeWest Press, 2001 story and helps make it convincing. First we '2(6127&+$5*(6(59,&()((6 meet Flo, Nellie’s eccentric, foul-mouthed RQ:HVWMHW-HWVJR7DQJR=LS&DQMHW Review by Bev Greenberg mother who works as a landsman for a rival DQG6N\VHUYLFH Barb Howard’s first oil company. Other characters, such as the novel pokes fun at the Alberta oil indus- impeccably manicured Sauerkraut and a try in a rollicking tale neighbour called Bitumen, are intrigued replete with a quirky and dumbfounded by Nellie’s burgeoning cast of characters and condition. However, the most unique char- an unconventional acter is the grandmother, a doodlebug who $PHPEHURIWKH,QWHUQDWLRQDO claims to divine oil wells with her uterus. *D\DQG/HVELDQ7UDYHO$VVRFLDWLRQ plot. Told in an understated voice, Though long dead, the woman still manages the story contains elements of magic to contact Nellie by email. realism achieved by the juxtaposition of Howard incorporates provocative tid- the absurd with the mundane. This tech- bits about the old woman’s earlier nique not only captures the reader’s escapades, including her experiences on attention, but also helps to deliver an the job and her romantic relationships. absorbing and entertaining satire. Throughout the novel, the author takes Set in Calgary, the story involves jabs at the petroleum industry and its limited female presence. Nellie’s preg- ²2VERUQH6W60F.LP&RXUW\DUG Nellie, a spunky cafeteria worker at an oil :LQQLSHJ0DQLWRED5/< company. New on the job, she is asked to nancy is especially fraught with meaning; SKWROOIUHH ID[HPDLORDW#PWVQHW go on an oil rig tour. During that occa- in fact, it is the only means by which the sion, mysterious forces compel Nellie to heroine can successfully infiltrate a climb a 30-foot oil derrick, and the expe- male-dominated field that takes itself rience leaves her convinced that she is very seriously. (In the first throes of pregnant. From that point on, the reader labour, Nellie’s body dislodges a variety follows the main character over the next of oil exploration equipment.) As this three years to discover her fate. unlikely story unfolds, readers will find it Along the way, the writer introduces a set hard to put the book down. Non Fiction TIGER GIRL (HU NU) only for the narrator and her milieu, but by Lien Chao they must also function as aha! moments TSAR, 2001 (in Oprah-speak) for the readers. Lien Chao’s Tiger Girl (Hu Nu) offers a linear Review by Mridula Nath Chakraborty narrative of Mao Tse-Tung’s Cultural The creative memoir Revolution as seen through the eyes of is a strange genre: Hu Nu. Though infused with a sense of historically particular immediacy, the memoir fails to rise yet generalized, above the direct surface level effect of its selectively fictional momentous sweep. Chao hints at the yet purporting to be social, emotional and psychological costs real. Given that it of the Revolution as she experiences her recreates significant own coming-of-age in a turbulent time, moments in the life but the narrative does not offer any of the narrator/writer, a successful mem- sophisticated understanding of how his- oir needs to be much more than a mere tory regards its subjects. Perhaps this is re-telling of events. exactly what Chao set out to do: offer an The events need to have meaning, not insight into the life of the singular and

34 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS separate individual when confronted with and a Métis, Pauline Johnson’s solitary FENCES OF ENCLOSURE an ideological juggernaut that transforms life and the disconnection that came WINDOWS OF all social meaning. However, the charac- from not fitting into either the white or OPPORTUNITY ters that live in the world of the Tiger Girl the red world was ultimately tragic. More by Naomi Klein remain as anonymous and flat as W.H. tragic was her death from breast cancer Random House of Canada, 2002 Auden’s The Unknown Citizen. Where in 1914, at the age of 52. Review by Carly Stasko Auden underscores the poignant empti- Grey’s biography makes it clear that ness of statistical modernity, Chao leaves while Pauline Johnson was proud of her Naomi Klein’s first the reader wishing for a more nuanced Mohawk ancestry, she needed her light book No Logo was connection between Hu Nu’s life and the skin and polite social skills (learned at the published 1999, at events that shape her entire generation. foot of a proper British mother) to around the same time that the World Trade The motivations and investments of the impress the 90 percent of Canadians who Organization (WTO) characters are never sketched out; rather, have no Aboriginal blood. talks were shut down they remain cloudy and indistinct like Pauline Johnson was a complex woman in Seattle by mass the illustrator Peng Ma’s etchings that who lived life grandly. She created and protesting. It quickly became a handbook intersperse the tale. The narrative’s performed a unique stage act for almost for the growing global democracy move- strength lies in the information it pro- 20 years in small towns all across Canada ment (otherwise called the anti-global- vides about the place of the Cultural and for upper crust audiences in Ottawa ization movement) as well as a bestseller Revolution in the imaginary of modern and London, England. Her fame was translated into numerous languages. In China, and would definitely be useful to based on her very identity as a mixed- the following two years, Klein found her the uninformed and the uninitiated. blood woman of colour. At a time when presence and perspective in high demand Chao asserts in the Author’s Notes that “Indians” were neither respected nor around the world at different protests and the “creative memoir is a kind of life encouraged to take part in mainstream summits. During these travels, she wrote writing.” Her narrative leaves us craving Canadian life, Pauline Johnson rose to her second book, a well-researched col- for more life than writing. prominence with intelligent, proud, and lection of articles and speeches appropri- Mridula Nath Chakraborty continues to pro- often humourous performances that were ately called Fences and Windows, crastinate on her graduate schoolwork by inspired by the reflection she saw in her Dispatches from the Front lines of the writing reviews. mirror every day. Globalization Debate. At least two other authors have written Klein describes it as a collection of FLINT & FEATHER biographies of Pauline Johnson. But this “postcards from dramatic moments in THE LIFE AND TIMES OF new treatment by Ottawa author Charlotte time, a record of the first chapter in a E. PAULINE JOHNSON, Gray succeeds in telling the story of her very old and recurring story, the one subject’s life in a more holistic and dra- about people pushing against the barriers TEKAHIONWAKE matic way than other works. Gray lives up that try to contain them, opening up win- by Charlotte Gray to the subtitle of her book (the life and HarperFlamingoCanada, 2002 dows, breathing deeply, tasting free- times of E. Pauline Johnson) by providing dom.” In these postcards, she Review by Debra Isabel Huron readers with binoculars into the past. I demystifies global economics and con- In a new biography was thrilled with Gray’s descriptions of nects different issues, ranging from the about the Aboriginal the canoeing craze that overtook prison industry and indigenous land poet, writer and Canadians in the late 1800s, and found struggles to the selling of America by top recitalist Pauline details of Johnson’s cross-continental marketing executives who’ve been hired Johnson, author train travels to be very entertaining. by the White House. Charlotte Gray paints When a biographer loves her subject, Funds raised from the sale of this a vivid picture of the the result is a book that sings. In this case, book go toward grants for grassroots challenges faced by a Gray uses the raw material of Pauline activists around the world. Klein is a prominent Métis woman who was well- Johnson’s life to create a rich ballad that unique journalist, one who is not afraid loved all across Canada in the late 1800s will resonate with all Canadian women of to express her own opinions and to iden- and early part of the 20th century. mixed blood who, like Pauline Johnson, tify with the movements she writes This tale of Johnson’s life will touch straddle two worlds. about. “The way I see it,” says Klein, “I the hearts of all women of mixed Debra Isabel Huron is an Ottawa writer and am part of a network of movements that Aboriginal blood. Although she had a editor, and member of the Ontario Métis is fighting not against globalization but public persona unusual for both a woman Aboriginal Association. for deeper and more responsive democ-

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 35 racies, locally, nationally and interna- “I’ve always thought it unique perspective and political analysis. tionally.” She provides both a valued cri- was a mistake to get a To Starhawk, the World Trade Centre tow- tique of this movement as well as an reputation for ers were the Titanic of our day and their optimistic perspective that other worlds courage,” Starhawk downfall proved that our technologies and are possible. muses in her new economics are unsustainable. Fences and Windows was written to be book, Webs of Power, Starhawk renamed the anti-globalization read and shared and talked about and “on the grounds that movement the “global justice movement.” carried around in your bag. It is a book if you acted bravely She lays out the global justice vision in five that begs you to write in the margins, once, people would expect you to act short paragraphs: favour locally rooted and and highlight relevant quotes because courageously again, and you might be accountable enterprises; protect the com- it’s filled with stories, insights, shocking having an off day.” mons, such as water; give workers their statistics, inspiring anecdotes and Courageous or not, Starhawk sure due; take responsibility for one another; refreshing critiques. It’s small, it’s smart sounds determined. After 30 years as a and give people a voice in decisions that and it’s jammed with information and trainer in non-violent activism, she writes, affect them, including economic decisions. ideas that inspire hope and motivate “I went to Seattle reluctantly [and] ...found For those new to the global justice action. myself galvanized into a new level of politi- movement, Webs of Power offers a readable Carly Stasko is a Toronto activist and writer. cal activity.” Since then, Starhawk’s life has primer. Starhawk spells out how global revolved around organizing opposition to capitalism threatens the environment, global capitalism in its bid to become a social diversity, workers’ safety, economic WEBS OF POWER: supranational pseudo-government. and democratic equality, and compassion. NOTES FROM THE The first half of Webs of Power includes As a pagan, anarchist and feminist, GLOBAL UPRISING on-the-spot narratives from demonstra- Starhawk sees oppression of women as by Starhawk tions in Seattle, Prague, Quebec City, the basis for other forms of oppression. New Society Publishers, 2002 Brazil, Genoa and Washington DC. “All forms of hierarchy are supported by Review by Penney Kome The second half features Starhawk’s the power men wield over women.”

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36 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS For longtime activists, Starhawk’s decided to expose the diverse and fluid Do you believe that “Visions” section offers food for thought. reality of how Muslim women in Canada heterosexuality defies She tackles tough subjects such as building a live out their religious identities. the laws of nature? diverse movement, developing strategies for From a queer, first-generation South Agree that the fragile end times, and rethinking non-violence. Asian activist in her 20s to a resettled lesbian ecosystem In a section likely to become contro- Somali refugee, from a Catholic convert, demands protection versial, she deconstructs Gandhi and to Islam, to an Iranian Muslim convert to and stewardship? Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophies, Judaism, Aversion and Desire offers a Want to achieve a and suggests that global justice must seek cross-section of the perspectives of 16 fuller, more reward- a “third road”—namely, direct action—to Muslim women from a range of ages, ing experience in the lesbian wilds? achieve its goals. racial and cultural communities, socio- If you’ve answered “yes” to these three Best known before Seattle as a leading economic classes and sexual orientations. simple questions, then you’re likely a light in women’s spirituality, Starhawk Grounding her questions in the specific candidate for membership in the Lesbian (born Mirian Samos) is author or co- experiences and day-to-day realities of National Parks and Services. Which author of eight previous books, mainly her participants, Khan places her analysis means you could soon be enjoying a fun- non-fiction. Webs of Power is polished, within a postmodern framework, and filled future of education, research and personal and persuasive writing, flavours it with her own personal and recruitment as a Lesbian Ranger. sparkling with touches of humour. This is political insights and preoccupations. So how do you get started? How do you a must-read for everyone who cares about The academic language and theory of learn to identify, observe and protect all the state of the world. Aversion and Desire may compromise its Sapphic life forms in their natural envi- Penney Kome is a Calgary writer and regular immediate ability to reach a wide popula- ronment? How do you develop the skills Herizons contributor. tion of diasporic Muslim women who are you need to probe the ins and outs of les- frustrated daily by the very ideological trap bian wildlife? Or gain the confidence to recruit new members and share with AVERSION AND DESIRE: Khan identifies. On the other hand, as the first systematic analysis and documenta- them the pleasures of taking to the bush MUSLIM FEMALE tion of Muslim women’s perspectives in with gay abandon? IDENTITY IN THE Canada, the book drives a landmark wedge Start with the Lesbian National Parks and DIASPORA into the enduring myth of the Muslim Services Field Guide to North America. You’ll by Shahnaz Khan woman. Depending on how it is seized and discover the necessity of this essential service dedicated to protecting, sustaining Women’s Press, 2002 driven by others, that wedge could finally and increasing lesbian wildlife. Be advised, Review by Laila Malik mark a space for Muslim feminists in this group gives more than simple lip serv- Canada who refuse to disavow either their When George Bush ice to lesbian ecology concerns. You’ll be religious identity or their gender politics. Sr. launched the Gulf inspired by the helpful information (i.e., As diasporic Muslim women contend War in 1991, Shahnaz never carry excessive baggage) and by the with the fallout of a renewed round of Khan was caught group’s dedication to ensuring that all les- Western military aggression against the between a rock and a bians have the survival skills they need to Middle East, the need for such a space is hard place. live with a spirit of gaiety, in what the LNPS greater than ever. As a Muslim woman calls the “lesbian-eat-lesbian” world. Laila Malik is a Montreal writer and activist and academic in Rangers Dempsey and Millan also offer and Herizons’ newest columnist. Canada, she was called upon to defend Islam up their own considerable hands-on against political misinformation. At the experience, exploring the mating rituals same time, the prevailing demonization of LESBIAN NATIONAL and social habits of an abundance of all things Muslim made it virtually impossi- PARKS AND SERVICES female creatures. And you’ll learn the role ble for her to speak critically without being FIELD GUIDE TO NORTH you can play as a full-time Lesbian Ranger manipulated so as to legitimate racist atti- or a member of the reserve, the manual tudes and actions. She found herself forced AMERICA: FLORA, skills, lifelong training and discipline this between colluding in an orientalist attack on FAUNA AND SURVIVAL vocation demands, plus the pleasures of a Islam, or a monolithic defense of it. SKILLS wrinkle-free poly-cotton uniform and Khan refused to choose. Wanting by Ranger Shawna Dempsey and fulfilling one’s duty to lesbian wildlife instead to crack open a space from which Ranger Lorri Millan and the sisterhood of the force. she and others could speak and act as Pedlar Press, 2002 If you feel the call of the lesbian wild, Muslim feminists on their own terms, she Review by Ranger Joy Parks perhaps it’s time you took your natural

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 37 desires seriously and considered becom- exposes the very real and tangible agenda of approaches to juvenile justice might differ ing a lesbian ranger. If so, this is the book moral censure that drives the criminaliza- only by degree, if at all, a similar review of on lesbiancraft you need to approach life tion and institutionalization processes. the francophone policies, reports and in the bush with confidence. Those who pass up this book because decisions pertaining to young criminalized they believe its title signals an ethnocen- women would no doubt only enhance and GIRL TROUBLE: FEMALE tric exploration of the criminalization of echo Sangster’s analysis. Girl Trouble is def- DELINQUENCY IN young Anglo-Canadian women will miss a initely a must read! ENGLISH CANADA very detailed analysis. This book focuses Kim Pate is executive director of the by Joan Sangster on the intersection and interplay of class, Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Between the Lines, 2002 race and gender and the manner in which Societies in Ottawa. Review by Kim Pate they inform and drive the development and operation of the juvenile justice sys- Joan Sangster’s history MEDITATIONS ON tem, from policing, prosecuting, sentenc- of the criminalization EVERYTHING UNDER ing and community integration (or lack of young women by the thereof) of young women and girls. I par- THE SUN: THE DANCE Anglo-Canadian juve- OF IMAGINATION, nile justice machine ticularly enjoyed the sections entitled provides an excellent “The Dance of Power” and “Gender, INTUITION AND overview of the contex- Colonialism, and Criminalization,” in MINDFULNESS tual basis of current which she dissects the impact of the fric- by Margo Adair New Society Publishers, 2001 youth justice issues. In tion occasioned by differences in class, addition to exploding the mythology that has race and gender, between those who Review by R.J. Stevenson worked to vilify and victimize young women monitor, judge and control and those who In her book and girls, Girl Trouble goes a long way toward are watched, judged and controlled. Meditations on decoding the current masquerade of con- In short, this book provides many well- Everything Under the temporary models of power and control. researched and compelling examples of the Sun: The Dance of Like the young women who are both the manner in which young women’s criminal- Imagination, Intuition subjects and objects of juvenile regimes, ity has been constructed as a means of and Mindfulness, this author does not buy into the benevolent reaffirming and protecting the social Margo Adair has care rhetoric that typifies so much of the- norms and mores of the dominant, patri- established a compre- lanuage used by youth justice system. archal middle class in English Canada. hensive volume intended for all students, Sangster also provides an admirable intro- Conversely, her descriptions of the man- from beginner to advanced. She describes duction to the dominant theoretical and ner in which young women have resisted it how meditative practice can facilitate ideological underpinnings of crime and are wonderfully refreshing. While many inner growth and healing while practiced delinquency. By so doing, she skillfully would contend that the Franco-Canadian in accordance with one’s comfort level. There is an impressive amount of material in these pages—skillfully and thorough- ly, the author details the mental and practical components of applied meditative practice. For example, the chapter “The Anatomy of Consciousness” describes the holistic nature of the mind. Some themes explored are transforming negativity, alter- ing self-defeating beliefs, the importance of proper breathing, and understanding the psychic process. Combined, awareness of these factors assists in creating a foundation for contemplative practice. Adair specifically outlines the ways visu- alizations are used. The greater part of her book consists of original meditations that are numbered and fully indexed—they are well written and even interesting to read

38 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS on their own. For specific imagery and images of each artist’s work alongside a This is an excellent book, whether you meditations, the book includes a variety of handful of paragraphs detailing their life are an activist or interested in why people subjects relevant to many complex spiritual and passions. This distillation of infor- protest. Thinking people will be happy to issues, including relationships and our mation by no means makes for a defini- see that this is one of the rare occasions place in a changing world: designed for use tive work. It offers glimpses into the lives when citizen accounts, ideas and analyses individually or in combination, Adair also of the women profiled, and gives art fans a have been accurately published—in context suggests which passages may be used starting point from which to research and in their entirety. And for those of you together for an enhanced exercise. those they may be unfamiliar with. (like me) who missed the protest, RESIST! “When you reside in the awareness of Art history class staples like Judy Chicago, brings you the live heat of what happened. the sacred, you are in your creative self- Cindy Sherman, Meret Oppenheim, Georgia The collection is divided into five sec- restoring centre from which you can do O’Keefe, Barbara Hepworth and Eva Hesse tions, beginning with statements of your inner work… this is the place where are represented, as are popular women like demands, concluding with reflections on you commune with the creative and heal- Carolee Schneemann, Orlan, Jenny Holzer, resistance in general. The contributors ing energies intrinsic to life itself.” This Barbara Kruger, Laurie Anderson and range from journalists to activists, many verse from the meditation “Relaxing into Yoko Ono; and that still leaves 80 other of them Ontarians. the Reverent” invites the reader to jour- women whose work is illustrated. The myriad personal accounts vividly ney inward–in this regard, the respectful Unfortunately, the work of prominent capture the sounds, scenes, thoughts and assistance offered by Meditations on Canadian women is not well represented emotions of the events, making the reader Everything Under the Sun is welcome. by this book. Two in particular, Janet feel like an eyewitness. Cardiff and Diana Thorneycroft, would To know that the crisis involved the largest WOMEN ARTISTS IN THE have been welcome additions to the line- police deployment in history and that the city 20TH AND 21ST up, as would several of their Canadian was blockaded by a three-metre-high steel contemporaries currently making names link fence is disconcerting enough, but to see CENTURY for themselves in the art world. the photographic documentations—cops Edited by Uta Grosenick Because art history is often told shoulder-to-shoulder masked in riot gear, Taschen, 2002 chronologically, with time spent dis- activists in T-shirts and jeans seated lotus- Review by Anna Lazowski cussing the work of women overshadowed Female artists are by the ratio of men working at the same slowly carving out a time, this book is a valuable resource for name for themselves any student or art enthusiast. It’s hard to CASHING IN ON in mainstream popular go wrong with slick art books crammed PAY EQUITY? culture and beginning full of glossy photos, and this one from Supermarket to feature prominently Taschen is no exception. Restructuring and in contemporary film – Anna Lazowski is a radio producer at CBC’s largely due to the work of female actors, Definitely Not the Opera in Winnipeg. Gender Equality musicians and directors. Salma Hayek both by Jan Kainer stars in and was the driving force behind the recently released biopic on Frida Kahlo, RESIST! which not only tells the story of this promi- by Jen Chang, Bethany Or, et al “Oh the stories I could tell Fernwood Publishing, 2001 nent Mexican painter, but was directed by about working the till in a Julie Taymor, a theatre director with a back- Review by Rupinder Sohal supermarket. I’ll be first in ground in painting and sculpture. What happened in line to buy my copy!” When the life of Jackson Pollock was Quebec City during DR. KRISTA SCOTT-DIXON, translated to film in Ed Harris’s 2000 flick hyper-powered deal- PROFESSOR, YORK UNIVERSITY Pollock, Marcia Gay Harden won an Oscar making around the for Best Supporting Actress as Lee Krasner, world’s largest trade $24.95 288 pgs Appendices * a painter who was also Pollock’s wife. With agreement? RESIST!, a Notes * Bibliography * Index Hollywood beginning to acknowledge the collection of personal strengths and successes of female artists, it accounts, poems, photographs and analy- SUMACH PRESS ses of the events that took place during seems that Women Artists in the 20th and [email protected] the Summit of the Americas in 2001, 21st Century is perfectly timed. www.sumachpress.com addresses the cognitive gap created by a Both Kahlo and Krasner are featured in 416-531-6250 the book, which generally pairs several biased corporate media.

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 39 pose on the concrete, armed with nothing Ann Eyerman spent influence on office work. However, the but placards and Boulevard René-Levesque most of her working introduction of new technologies—both engulfed in tear gas—is eerie. All the more life as an office work- hardware and software—is too often not so because it did happen. er. Frustrated by the accompanied by sufficient training for The major lack in RESIST! is that while lack of power she and office workers. She argues that as tech- the big power summit was about enforcing a colleagues felt in their nology advances, it is office workers’ treaty, RESIST! chose to centre almost solely work environments, competency with those technologies on the immediate street dynamic between she eventually left the specifically, rather than skills like typing, cop and protestor. Thus, to gain a deeper workplace and pursued a Master’s organization and filing that become most critical understanding of the impacts on degree—out of which this book was born. valued in the workplace, placing many women, health, indigenous peoples, youth Women in the Office, Transitions in a older women in disadvantaged positions. and the environment, RESIST! is best sup- Global Economy looks at the shift in women Eyerman concludes with suggestions on plemented with other readings. office workers’ roles as organizational and how to counteract some of these negative Nonetheless, RESIST! is powerful technological changes enter their work effects, such as the potential of unions and because, while it depicts events that environments. Many of the changes are a the labour movement to protect the rights of revealed themselves in a Canadian city, reflection of larger shifts in the workforce office workers. She also points to the value of they are events that are clearly incompati- towards a more global economy. Eyerman peer groups and presents examples of pro- ble with democratic governance. incorporates the stories of 12 Canadian fessional associations in Canada and the US. Rupinder Sohal is a Vancouver writer and women office workers into a larger analysis One could easily make the case that activist. of the structural changes that office envi- office workers—secretaries, typing pools, ronments have experienced during the clerical staff and temps—have always been past few decades. Those changes include undervalued. Eyerman’s work brings these WOMEN IN THE OFFICE, the introduction of flex time, remote/home women into public discourse and places TRANSITIONS IN A workers and general office restructuring. A their stories in a context of the larger GLOBAL ECONOMY great deal of attention is devoted to shifts taking place in the North American by Ann Eyerman changes brought about by technology. economy, is extremely valuable. Women’s Press, 2002 The introduction of desktop computers Emira Mears is a partner in Raised Eyebrow Review by Emira Mears has had a very direct and far-reaching Web Studio.

Ani DiFranco has never shied from pursuing new musical directions. On her new album, Evolve, the Little Folksinger continues to grow, incorporating a wide spectrum of sounds and ideas with the restless energy of a born innovator.

In stores March 11, 2003

40 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS arts lit AUDITORIUM MUSIC Veda Hille Festival Distribution, 2002 Review by Anna Lazowski JORANE Ten years after her Live first album was Tacca, 2002 released, Veda Hille Review by Anna Lazowski decided it was time With two studio albums for a look back. under her belt, Quebec- With seven based cellist and vocal- releases under her belt, she took the ist Jorane released Live opportunity to select songs from her in 2002. Recorded at catalogue and put together a live album. Montreal’s Spectrum Hille recorded two Vancouver shows Cabaret during last summer’s Jazz Festival, with her six-year-old band and released the disc showcases Jorane’s vocal talents and Auditorium, in May 2002. It was a ability to create lush soundscapes with a chance for Hille to see how her work handful of instruments. had grown over the years. “I chose songs Jorane has yet to break into the English that have changed substantially for the market in Canada, but may still follow in record and I included some songs that Hille: Seven releases. Photo by Henri Robideau. the footsteps of Celine Dion or Mitsou. may have been overlooked a little bit. Francophone singers often have to release Often, my favourite song on an album is antly surprised. I had no idea what all-English albums in order to crack mar- one of the obscure ones.” Not surpris- we’d get and I was prepared to manip- kets outside of Quebec, but Jorane hasn’t ing for a vocalist often described as ulate it beyond belief but once we got it limited herself to either English or eclectic, original and poetic. I listened to it and it was one of the French. Instead, Live features songs per- Hille began studying piano at six and easiest records I’ve ever made.” formed in both official languages and an continued formal training until she With more than a decade’s worth of imaginary one that sounds like a combi- was 19. She never considered music as experience in the music business nation of the two with a lot of extra vowels. a career option until she was in art behind her, Hille was candid about her The moody atmosphere that Jorane is school. At that point, she took the own need for evolution. “I feel like it’s able to create and translate with this live skills she had picked up and applied time to make some big change in the recording is sure to appeal to fans of them to her music. “I think the act of way I work. A 10-year anniversary Loreena McKennitt, Christine Fellows and creation is very similar. It’s just a forces you to feel like something’s Tori Amos. There are extensive instrumen- choice of creation and medium. I have ending and something’s beginning.” tal breaks that let the sound quality shine a natural predilection to music but it’s To that end, she has applied to teach through and the understated instrumenta- the act of making whatever you’re best lyric writing at the University of British tion is often reminiscent of a film score. at. It could be cooking.” Columbia and plans to cut back on her Jorane and her players are able to build On Auditorium, Hille not only revis- tour schedule after wrapping up her tension, offsetting a quiet musical back- its her own compositions, but she latest recording project in Montreal. drop against the occasional erratic break. includes a gorgeous cover of Hanns Though her plans for creative evolu- And the vocals change with the nature Eisler and Bertolt Brecht’s “The Ballad tion don’t seem to include slowing of each song. “Pour Gabrielle” finds of Marie Sanders.” Originals like down, Hille seems more than happy to Jorane pacing herself with the music in “Plants” from 2001’s Field Study and explore her creative impulses, no mat- her mysterious invented language, while “Birdsong,” which was commissioned ter what form they take. She credits on “Groove” she steps up to out-wail the by Vancouver’s Songbird Project, sit that openness to her experiences from instruments in English and French. alongside Hille’s renditions of tunes by childhood. “I’m proud to have been While live albums rarely are the best Meryn Cadell and Lavinda Bond. raised feminist and look forward to the way to discover a new artist, Jorane’s Live Taking on a live recording, Hille says age of humanism, however far away truly explores this singer’s ability to treat she was a little nervous about the final that may be. I’m just glad I was raised her voice like any other instrument in product. “In the end I was very pleas- to be able to do or say anything.” the band.

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 41 WORLDS OF FIRE for ambivalence toward racially biased Afua Cooper never loses sight of her (IN MOTION) police forces and courts that are harassing— vision for human liberation and retribu- Afua Cooper and all too frequently murdering or incar- tion for past and ongoing abuses. Though Women’s Revolutions Per Minute cerating—a substantially disproportionate short in duration, each of its 26 minutes (www.wrpm.net) number of black youth and men. will stimulate and nourish your senses for “Africa Wailin” proudly acknowledges the some time to come. The riveting and cele- Review by Sheila Nopper resilience of African culture in its Caribbean bratory poem/songs on Worlds of Fire are a Afua Cooper was one diasporic transformations and the preva- vigilant reminder of our collective histo- of the early propo- lence of love and unity among black people ry—and the potential of the human spirit nents of dub poetry in the ongoing struggle against racism and to find and express love and beauty in the who, in the 1980s, white supremacy. “Memories Have Tongue” midst of such hatred and ugliness. helped to establish (also the title of one of Afua’s poetry books) Watch for an in-depth interview with Afua the genre as an art lovingly honours her granny’s life while Cooper in Herizons. form in this country. With her long- “The Child is Alive” respectfully pays tribute awaited and independently produced to Nanny, Jamaica’s legendary freedom debut CD, Worlds of Fire (In Motion), Afua fighter, as well as to the wisdom that women STELLA CHIWESHE offers a potent mix of provocative poetry have shared for many generations. Talking Mbira: supported by a solid reggae foundation. “Negro Cemeteries” confronts the Spirits of Liberation Piranha Musik Production, 2002 She wastes no time mincing words when audaciously insensitive arrogance of exposing hypocrisies. “I don’t care if your developers who want to turn cemeteries Review by Sheila Nopper nanny was black,” she defiantly asserts in into “golf courses, recreational parks and “Mbira has the the dance track of the same name, “and you shopping malls” with a powerful portrayal rhythm of life,” Stella ate grits for breakfast every mornin’/and of how “ancestors are rollin’ ovah” to Chiweshe told me. “It you knew a black girl in high school/and offer their guidance. Undoubtedly, these takes you to the she was nice.” She confronts such lame dis- “skulls with rattlin’ teeth recitin’ litanies source, to the roots of claimers of racism as “white guilt” excuses of ancient woes” will be heard. the human being.

42 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS And it goes deeper.” The revered Mbira her best recording to date. tures great versions of favourites such as Queen of Zimbabwe was one of the first Radio broadcaster and writer Sheila Nopper “Dilate,” “Imagine That” and “My I.Q.” female musicians to form her own band recently returned to Canada to live on These tunes stand out by virtue of being in her country in the early 80s. Seeking Denman Island, BC. tightly presented and not subject to over- to improve the conditions of other wrought jam sessions. female musicians there, in 1993 she RENDER This indulgence extends beyond the creative sphere and into the political realm. founded (and has continued to direct) Ani Difranco Mother Earth Trust—Network of Female Righteous Babe Records, 2002 While it is undeniable that Difranco is a Artists in Zimbabwe. powerful feminist force in music and that Reviewed by Cindy Filipenko Her new CD, Talking Mbira: Spirits of Buffalo-based Righteous Babe Records is a Liberation, includes several vibrant dance Ani DiFranco’s pre- model of community economic develop- miere foray into film- tracks as well as a captivating a cappella ment, Ani Difranco is not the first person making proves that as call-and-response tune, but it is the tra- to have ever attained a social conscience. a filmmaker she ditional songs that provide the deepest A segment of the film that illustrates makes a great singer. spiritual connection. “Ndabaiwa,” (I this political arrogance has Ani discussing Righteous Babe Survived) is an extended meditative her views on capital punishment with a Records cinematic acoustic version of “Kassahwa” from her defense attorney from Atlanta. Instead of debut Render, tries to 1994 live recording, Shungu. The sooth- enlightening points of view, what we get is be both concert film and documentary, yet ing multi-layered melodies of the instru- predictable rhetoric. never fully succeeds as either music enter- mental “Ndangariro” (Memories) opens Equally tedious is a segment devoted to tainment or behind-the-scenes document. and closes with Stella’s heartfelt ululating Righteous Babe act Bitch ’N Animal With casual disregard to visual wails of tribute to the spirit of her late (Eternally Hard) almost getting shut down in coherency, the film employs a multitude brother who gave her the song in a dream South Carolina because Animal dares to bare of pretentious styles from unnecessary her breasts in concert. There’s nothing new three days after he passed on into the black and white shots to seizure-inducing, here, just more banal ‘radical’ indignation. spiritual world. grainy, hand-held camera montages. However, if you want to sing a long with With “Musandifungise” (Don’t Remind These stylistic annoyances obscure what Ani, this might be the only place to do so Me) Stella recalls the difficult period when should be the focus of the DVD: to show- as it’s not allowed in concert. Difranco traditional instruments were banned in case DiFranco’s abilities as a singer/song- actually stops mid-song to ask the audi- Zimbabwe. The song begins with a slow writer and highlight a decade-long career ence to let her go solo. Unbelievable. lament of alternating vocals between Stella as a thriving independent musician. Maybe it’s time the L’il Folksinger and an unidentified male singer. It then Comprised of footage derived from renamed herself and her label, Self- smoothly segues into an uplifting dance DiFranco’s 2001 U.S. tours, Render fea- Righteous Babe. rhythm—as if in celebration of the spiritual resilience of the people to overcome PHOTO such repressive forces—with Stella com- : manding the lead vocals for some time STEELE KEVIN before slowing down again to repeat the first portion of the song. “Tapera” (We Are Perishing), which comments on crises such as AIDS, volca- noes, floods, bombings and hunger, is a compelling interweave of mbira bass tones, interspersed with the sorrowful harmonious refrain sung by a male cho- rus. It arouses a profound sense of loss and ominous foreboding while offering a sense of spiritual grounding and potential. It’s been five years since Stella Chiweshe Call 604.681.9161 released The Healing Tree (Herizons, Fall Email [email protected] 1998), a ‘best of’ compilation selected GEIST Website www.geist.com from her previous four CDs. Yet Talking Mbira: Spirits of Liberation is undoubtedly THE CANADIAN MAGAZINE OF IDEAS AND CULTURE

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 43 and actually begin to believe that you might be a fraud. … continued from page 25 I have to say, writing is hard work. During those peri- days I’d write every day or I might not write for a ods, I told myself that there was always tomorrow. week and then work 14 hours in a single day. But really, when I think back, I’d been carrying bits and You’ve been writing and editing and anthologizing for a pieces of the story for four years prior to the actual long time. Can you give the readers some idea of the work writing. The characters were in and out of my head. you’ve done with Sister Vision? Some remained and found themselves a permanent Silvera: I co-founded Sister Vision Press in 1985 place in the book and others visited and then left. (with Stephanie Martin). We started without cash, When I started, my intention was to work in stan- without investments or investors, without an official dard English and I did that for a great deal of the address. We started with files tucked away in a card- book, for many months, but there were stubborn board box. Over the years, armed with volunteers, we characters like Maria, who refused to co-operate. produced many titles. Piece of My Heart: A Lesbian of Frustrated, I put the work away for a time and when Colour Anthology was the first collection in North I came back to it, I at once knew what language she America to bring together the writing of lesbians of wanted to speak. Once I understood that, she stayed colour from Canada and the US. Miscegenation Blues: with me all the way. Voices of Mixed Race Women, was the first collection by My schedule was erratic. Some days, at the end of mixed race women published in North America. many hours, I’d have one or two pages to show for it. Quite a number of our books are mainstays in univer- My emotions sometimes went to the extreme. I might sities. We remain the first and only women of colour be ecstatic because the writing went well, but the next press in Canada. day could spell disaster with not a word on the page. When we established Sister Vision, our writings That’s the point when you doubt yourself as a writer were not the kind that publishers wanted to publish.

44 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS We were tired of being invisible and of being exclud- your own work and try to self-promote it. Somehow it ed by the dominant literary community, the alterna- doesn’t feel great. It’s tiring. I wanted someone else tive and the women’s presses. In 1982, a powerful to look after me, and as a writer in my own right, I anthology was published by Gloria T. Hull and wanted the experience and challenge of being edited Patricia Bell, All The Women Are White, All The Men Are and promoted by another house. My publisher, Press Black, But Some of Us Are Brave. That collection Gang, was first offered The Heart Does Not Bend, and changed my life. It was like, ‘Hey, there are women like many women’s presses, they went under. I out there who are thinking just like me!’ That gave us offered the book to Random House. They loved it and that extra push to form Sister Vision. In addition to wanted to publish it. being the co-founder, I held the positions of editorial and rights director. I also packed boxes, proofread, What has happened since publication and what are you hauled books across town and across the country to working on now? book fairs, swept and cleaned the office. Answered Silvera: The Heart Does Not Bend has had many the phone. You name it. favourable reviews. It is just out in paperback, which is great, especially for people who can’t afford the With this novel you made a leap from smaller presses to a hard cover. I am currently working on a new novel large house, Random House. Why did you choose to give about a young, beautiful, illegal immigrant and her your book to Random House as opposed to Sister Vision? nomadic life across borders…. Silvera: I published my first collection of short sto- Makedea Silvera’s novel, The Heart Does Not Bend ries with Sister Vision in 1990. In 1994, I made the (Random House) is available at a bookstore near you. decision that any other fiction I wrote would find Elizabeth Ruth’s latest novel is Ten Good Seconds of another home and that’s why I published Her Head a Silence (reviewed in Herizons Summer 2002 issue). Find Village with Press Gang. It’s very difficult to publish out more about her at www.elizabethruth.com.

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46 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS on the edge BY LYN COCKBURN

PERMISSION TO BE PISSED I am annoyed. Irked. Put out. OK, wait a minute. I think I’m doing quite well here with my irkedness. Could it be true that too many women have trouble Dammit, let’s try this one—Annika Sorenstam. She expressing anger? And I’m one of them? is about to become the first woman permitted to play Surely not. in the PGA Tour’s Colonial golf tournament in May. Let’s try this again. Now before I get even more umbraged about the I am angry. I am irked. I am enraged. idea that in the year 2003, women are still magnani- Not bad. I’m almost there. mously being “permitted” and “allowed” to play with I AM REALLY PISSED. There, I feel I’m getting the boys, I’d like to point out how much I loathe golf. somewhere. Almost as much as I hate curling. And just where might that be? Glad you care But back to Annika. My initial delight at her playing enough to ask. in the PGA was tempered only a little by a radio poll I am pissed at the way women are treated in sports, titled, “Should Annika Sorenstam be permitted to is where. Not in 1903, 1933, 1953, 1993, but still... play in the PGA?” Permitted? Dear goddess. My today. 2003. ovaries hurt. Back about 1917, “permitted” and Let me, in full outraged rant, elucidate. “allowed” had considerable relevance. Women did I was already umbraged at Stupid-Head down in not have the vote, and finally, after much controversy Augusta, Georgia who insists women will not putt over whether doing so would harm their ability to their way into the Augusta National Golf Course while bear children (maybe that was horseback riding— he is still president of the club. Sure, Hootie Johnson whatever), they were “permitted” to do so. And at can’t live forever and the truth is, we’ll outlast him, some point they were “allowed” into medical schools. the game of golf will go on and so will the world. But all of that was in another century. Nonetheless, it is galling that Hootie is still in a posi- This, for all the Neanderthals out there, is 2003. tion of power. And please note that some of today’s Cro-Magnons And I was one froth away from foaming at the are quite young. Like Tiger Woods, for example, who, mouth over the “Wait until the first time Hayley commenting on Sorenstam’s playing in the PGA said, Wickenheiser takes a hit and collapses,” song sung by “I think it’s great she’s playing, but ... it will only be so many men. great for women’s golf if she plays well.” Wickenheiser is of course the Canadian Olympic The Tiger burbled on, “I think if she goes out there hockey star now playing for the Salamat team in and posts two high scores, I think it’s going to be Finland, where she has indeed taken some hits, hap- more detrimental than it’s going to be good.” pily won most of her face-offs, scored a couple of In other words, if she blows it, she’ll blow it for all goals, not collapsed and seems to be doing just fine, women and if she doesn’t make the cut, then it’s thank you. going to be harder than ever for women to play with I did, however, manage a snicker when a sports the boys. writer for one of our national newspapers referred to Did I mention I am pissed by this whole sports and Hayley as a “hockey starlet.” women thing? It was a very small snicker. You don’t suppose it’s a metaphor for a ton of other Actually, I kicked all the tires on my lovely blue boys clubs? Beetle before I snickered. They needed kicking Like politics and business and ... because there was a small ton of frozen snow glued to Surely not. each one of them. Felt good. Lyn Cockburn is Editorial Page Editor at The Winnipeg Sun.

HERIZONS SPRING 2003 47 intersections BY LAILA MALIK

CHAUVINISM NO GROUND FOR WAR In 1972, Iraq nationalized the Iraq Petroleum Company. left of Iraqi infrastructure. US and UK companies lost their three-quarter At this year’s World Social Forum in Porto Allegre, share in the production of the world’s second-largest feminist and women’s groups and networks devel- proven oil reserves. oped a Feminist Peace Statement against the war. And Iraqi women went to work. Other women’s anti-war petitions and statements “In the context of rapid economic expansion,” have come from the Women’s International League explains Dr. Nadje Al Ali, social anthropologist at the for Peace and Freedom, Women’s Peace Vigil, Women Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of United for Peace, Women Building Peace ACT and the Exeter, “The Iraqi government actively sought out Arab Women’s Declaration to Stop the War on Iraq. women to incorporate them into the labour force.” Most of these declarations have focused on how fur- The Iraqi government included a decree stipulating ther aggression against Iraq will impact women as mem- that all university graduates would automatically be bers of the larger Iraqi society. This point is important. employed regardless of gender. Nurseries and kinder- Inasmuch as women are central to the social fabric of any gartens were state-funded and the government provid- nation, any war is always war against women. ed free public transportation to and from school and But a feminist analysis needs to go deeper, particu- work. The national legal code was reformed to prohibit larly as the US government once again twists feminist sex discrimination and sexual harassment in the work- rhetoric to build support for military intervention in place. Other reforms aimed to create gender parity in the region. For many Muslim feminists, the spectre voting, divorce, taxes and land ownership. The govern- of Afghanistan looms threateningly on the horizon. ment funnelled large amounts of money into social pro- The rise of religious conservatism or chauvinism in grams like health care and education for women. By Iraq is only the most obvious of those concerns. More 1982, the membership of the General Federation of hidden is the extent to which the continuation of a Iraqi Women (GFIW) had reached 200,000, with 18 real or perceived complicity between Western bully- national branches around the country. ing and Western feminism in the international arena The dictatorial and oppressive nature of the Iraqi will undermine years of trying to build just and equi- regime prohibited the emergence of an independent table global feminist alliances. women’s or feminist movement. Nonetheless, women Iraq is not Afghanistan. Their differences are wor- were among the most educated in the region. thy of feminist investigation. But they have both been But the 1991 Gulf War and 12 years of UN sanctions directly shaped by years of US imperialist interven- have destroyed the private and public social support tion. And imperialist intervention has not, and will systems of Iraqi women. The Iraqi government has never benefit the majority of third world women. responded to the sanction-driven economic crisis by A failure to forge a loud and strong anti-imperialist pushing women back out of the workplace. feminism will confirm the longstanding popular per- Widespread impoverishment has driven up polygamy, ception among many Muslim women that at best, domestic violence, divorce, female-headed house- feminism is utterly irrelevant to anyone outside an holds, prostitution and religious conservatism. elite group. According to a recent UN estimate, another war If building global solidarity is still on the feminist could result in the outbreak of epidemic disease. In agenda, Western feminists must block imperialism addition to direct civilian deaths, it will create the from the source. need for emergency shelter for 3.6 million Iraqis, With or without UN approval. and force 900,000 to flee to neighbouring countries. Laila Malik is a research associate at the McGill Centre for Another two million are likely to become internal Research and Teaching on Women in Montreal and a new refugees. In other words, it will decimate what little is Herizons columnist.

48 SPRING 2003 HERIZONS The latest in progressive feminist Conference CDs now on sale research, writing and practical Plenaries and Workshops are fully listed on CASAC's experience. website (www.casac.ca) and can be ordered online or by mailing the form below.

In October 2001, CAEFS & CASAC hosted the legendary For online orders go to www.casac.ca, click on English or Français, Women's Resistance Conference: From Victimization to then CD Order Form from the Post Conference News Section. Criminalization. It was a huge success and a pivotal moment in the Or fill out the form below and mail to CASAC: women's movement. Most of the conference has been captured 77 East 20th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V5V 1L7 and is now available on compact disk and MP3. Plenaries Quantity It is clear from the many requests for CDs and MP3s that many 1. Locating this conference in the World in 2001 $30 ______Canadians and individuals internationally are extremely interested in 2. Can law deliver for all women? $30 ______3. Strategies for Social Change $30 ______following our progress on women's equality issues. 4. Restorative Justice $30 ______5. The Service/Advocacy Debate $30 ______The Women's Resistance Conference featured workshop and ple- 6. Policing in Canada $40 ______nary discussions by a wide range of women including: 7. The Law and Order Agenda $30 ______8. Women’s inprosonment $30 ______9. Complete Set of Plenaries $240 ______- Victimized and criminalized women and girls, including women who had been sexually victimized. Women and girls who had been Workshops - $25 Each controlled by violent men in their families, women forced to defend Indicate CD number according to the workshop list available online at www.casac.ca themselves violently and young women labeled as violent CD No. Quantity Total ______- Women who are disproportionately disadvantaged economi- ______cally, socially, politically and legally ______- Women and girls who are subject to systemic violence ______

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