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SEPTEMBER 1990 BROADSHEET 1 Ecently I Went to See “The Handmaid’S Tale”, a Film Based Those That Emerged in the Early 70S

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SEPTEMBER 1990 BROADSHEET 1 Ecently I Went to See “The Handmaid’S Tale”, a Film Based Those That Emerged in the Early 70S a secret shared - overcoming bulimia 1 8 1 a place to go refuge from family violence books, bucks and broads the third women’s book festival filmmaking poetry IF YOU'VE ’ COLLECTED MORE THAN STCOBWEBS OVER WINTER, > 1ETO HA^/EA CLEARANCE! Contribute to BROAD Sp rin g 15 September at the Ponsonby Community Centre 20 Ponsonby Tee, Auckland 8.00 am - 12.00 noon ALITY, BETTER BARGAINS, \ . BETTER BE THERE I athy (09)6293 094 or yusan 602 759 You can have your cake and eat it too! So we can all celebrate BROADSHEET’S eighteen years of publishing, we have a gift for you: Subscribe to Broadsheet for one year before the end of September and we’ll give you the previous six issues of 1990. Arts ft Beach Culture ft Ngahuia Te Awekotuku ft Motherhood Re-Designing Women ft Shutting Out Students ft Housework the Feminine ft Lesbian Ethics ft Kaitiaki O Manukau ft Pain the Treaty ft Caesarians ft Mana Tiriti ft Sabbage Blows Farming Feminist ft Political Spirits and much more ! That’s 16 issues of BROADSHEET’S gutsy journalism for the same price that you would pay for 10! Post the coupon now and we can all enjoy ‘‘Many Happy Returns”. YES ! Please list me as a subscriber and send me six previous 1990 issues of BROADSHEET fre e . ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Name ....................................................................................................... ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Address ............................................................................................. 1 yr $50 □ 2 yr $95 □ 3yr$140D In NZ FREEPOST NO 1 2 SY ST. BROADSHEET PO visa □ bankcard □ cheque □ Box 56 1 <47 AK card No. □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ expiry date □ □ Broadsheet Hepetema publication date: 1 septemb e r 1990 number 181 2 herspective, 3 letters, 4 fronting up 5 broadcast reclaim the night, a roof of our own, y is for young, equity, rights in law, 1975 revisited, immigration, film making, our right to learn. 13 a secret shared bulimia Anonymous 15a place to go refuge Pat Rosier 20 exorcise your vote election paralysis Pat Kipping 27 books, bucks and broads 3rd book test Pat Rosier 30 poetry in motion selections Lisa Sabbage 32 sabbage blows 33 arts points and barbs, mihi edwards, everything but the girl, yay Charlie gray’s, renēe, robin flower and libby mclaren, living with cancer, women and money, listing 39 what’s new, 40 classified cover: poster Robyn Kahukiwa NEXT MONTH bell hooks Hokianga women Policy is made by the Broadsheet collective : Helen Courtney, Cathy Hall, Lisa Howard-Smith, Pat Kipping, Claire-Louise McCurdy, Pat Rosier, Lisa Sabbage Shirley Tamihana Athina Tsoulis, Lewis Williams. Main areas of responsibility are: ADVERTISING: Lisa Howard-Smith EDITORIAL: Pat Kipping, Pat Rosier FINANCES: Cathv Hall PRODUCTION • Helen ’ Courtney SUBSCRIPTIONS: Edith Gorringe. THANKS TO : Liz Caughey for proofreading. BROADSHEET is on file at the Women’s Collection Special Dept, Northwestern University Library, Evanston, Illinois 60201, USA. SUBSCRIPTION $50 for 10 issues. Overseas surface $62. Overseas air : Europe $107, America / Asia $90, Australia / South Pacific $71. Electronic pagination by Paradigm. Thanks to the Print Centre for use of the camera. Printed by Rodney and Waitemata Times, Warkworth. ISSN 01 10-8603. Registered at the GPO as a magazine. Published by Broadsheet Magazine Ltd, PO Box 56 147, Auckland.. Registered office: 476 Mt Eden Rd, Auckland. Phone (09) 608 535. SEPTEMBER 1990 BROADSHEET 1 ecently I went to see “The Handmaid’s Tale”, a film based those that emerged in the early 70s. Our lives and expecta­ on the book of the same name by Margaret Atwood. It tions no longer mirror those of our mothers. Women my age Rscared me shitless. The future it projected seemed all too have grown up with easier access to contraception, safe legal possible. Women were classed according to whether they abortion services, equal pay, women’s refuges and female were fertile or not and sent out to homes as breeders, lesbians entry into male professions such as medicine and law. Many were accused of gender treachery, black people were shipped of us haven’t been through the joys and struggles of being off to homelands in toxic waste areas, and the Bible was married with small children. We have grown up with mass quoted to justify all. unemployment, cuts to health and welfare spending and the The worldwide swing towards conservatism/fundamental- proliferation of free market economy ideology. ism has been well documented. Its influence is not too hard All the changes feminists have achieved are important but to see right here in this country. Some recent examples I can let’s face it, the revolution isn’t over yet. How much have think of include a National MP stating outright on a televi­ things really changed for Maori women, for working class sion programme that lesbian and gay couples are not fit to be women? As we move towards a movement which is more parents, the continual harassment by Operation Rescue of and more merely a lifestyle statement, it seems to be becom­ women going to abortion clinics, and the on-going backlash ing more entrenched in the values of the middle classes. against the Cartwright Report leading up to and following We’re the ones who like to read our children non-sexist the second Metro article. books, send them off to alternative preschools, get the nanny The images from “The Handmaid’s Tale” also spring to and the housecleaner in so we can go back to paid work mind when I think of the garbage I have read of late about again. the “post feminist” 90s we are heading into. Did you know I think the basic problem is that feminism has always had that perfumes are being made which have a more feminine an image problem. Through no fault of our own, of course, fragrance to reflect this change? (Because of course, femi­ it’s just that we have to deal with sexist newspapers and nists aren’t feminine.) Have you noticed the new marketing other media. Being a feminist isn’t terribly glamorous, I ploy of using the family unit (that is - you, him, and the mean who wants to belong to a group of women who are baby) to advertise products which were previously aimed at portrayed as fat, ugly, unhappy, humourless, irrational, emo­ single people? What the powers that be are trying to suggest tional, biased and can’t get themselves a man or worse, don’t is that feminism is a spent force; we have achieved every­ want one? thing that was set out to be done, and we can settle back in to I think what we need is some good PR work. How about a our traditional values. It’s nice to know isn’t it? I mean, all of billboard over the Parnell Railway Bridge with an ecstatic us women out here working on women’s health, pay equity, woman declaring “I’ll never forget the day I discovered fem­ childcare, lesbian rights - we’ve really got it all wrong! inism!” This woman would, of course, be wearing more that What concerns me about this is that I don’t see younger her bra and knickers. We could make signs to hang in our car women flocking to the feminist cause in droves, and I worry windows which read “Feminist on Board”. that they have been conned by the propaganda. Where are the We’ve certainly got to do something if we want to encour­ women’s consciousness raising groups, support groups, age women to proudly proclaim their feminist beliefs, so that women’s conventions, women’s liberation meetings? in another 15 years time, the revolution might be over. I’m 25 and regularly find myself among women who are Ruth Henderson works at Fertility Action in Auckland. older than me when I’m part of anything “feminist”. I often wish that there were more women my own age in the move­ ment as the issues for young women today are different to CONTRIBUTIONS: Articles and illustrations should be sent with SASE enclosed and remain the property of the contributor. Permission must be sought from Broadsheet and from the contributor before any item is reprinted. LETTERS: The Broadsheet collective may not agree with views expressed in letters. Some letters are edited in consultation with the writer. We do not publish personal attacks. Letters from men are published at the discretion of the collective. Letters that are addressed to the collective or the editor are assumed to be intended for publication. Please indicate clearly if they are not. ADVERTISING: All copy and artwork is subject to approval. The collective reserves the right to cancel any advertisement. We do not advertise cigarette or alcohol products. We ask readers to let advertisers know you saw their product in Broadsheet. 2 BROADSHEET SEPTEMBER 1990 peoples has been led by their own poets, the right of equality of access to free and story tellers and playwrights. Foremost safe abortions, including access to free and among them is Oogeroo Noonuccal (Kath professional counselling. Walker) whose first volume of poetry was Phil McNeale published in 1964 at the height of her Women’s rep on NLP Council political involvement in Queensland. While not the first of her people to appear SCRATCHING THE SURFACE in print and draw attention to the plight of In April this year women writers of the IT’S GETTING BETTER IN OZ Aboriginal peoples, she is the most popu­ Waikato district were lucky to have Dr I was surprised in what was otherwise a larly read. However, in her wake there Cathie Dunsford run a “Writing Ourselves lively and enjoyable interview have come numerous others. Most recent­ Whole” residential weekend at Raglan.
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