HOW EMPOWERMENT CITIZENS SAY SEXUAL NO FRACKING HARASSMENT CAN HELP AND THERCMP STOP RAPE WAY

WOMEN’S NEWS & FEMINIST VIEWS | Summer 2012 | Vol. 26 No. 1

CHOICECHOICE FEMINISMFEMINISM HOW OUR RALLYING CRY GOT CO-OPTED (AND WHY WE NEED TO TAKE IT BACK)

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Publications Mail Agreement No. 40008866; CAW Full Summer-12.indd 1 12-06-20 7:11 PM SUMMER 2012 / VOLUME 26 NO. 1 news FEDERAL RULES LEAVE MANY WITHOUT STATUS . . . 6 by Alexandra Paul

“I” IS FOR INFIDEL ...... 7 by Irene D’Souza

PHILIPPINE ACTIVISTS CALL ON CANADA...... 10 by Alex Philipe

MADELEINE PARENT PASSES ...... 11 by Noreen Shanahan CITIZENS SAY NO FRACKING WAY...... 13 by Julia Asop 13 features MOUNTING PRESSURE AND THE RCMP ...... 16 Reports of sexual harassment within the RCMP have reached epidemic proportions, some say, and complaints have gone ignored for years. What will it take before perpetrators are held accountable? by Barbara D. Janusz

CHOICE : HOW OUR RALLYING CRY WAS STOLEN (AND WHY WE NEED TO TAKE IT BACK) . . . . .20 The word choice is one of the founding philosophical 16 underpinnings of the fight for reproductive rights and of the modern . But today its meaning has been skewed in a way that strips the word of political meaning. by Meghan Murphy

THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE ...... 24 Women are inundated with conflicting messages about sexual pleasure, making it tough to create empowering, sex-positive spaces and discussions. Yet it is precisely such constructs that enhance women’s safety and esteem, experts say. by Renee Bondy

A STATEMENT ABOUT MEN ...... 30 Interview with JD Samson by Brittany Shoot

DRAWING INSPIRATION ...... 32 Comic Artist Willow Dawson by Hilary Barlow 24 HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 1 CAW Full Summer-12.indd 1 12-06-20 7:11 PM VOLUME 26 NO. 1

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2 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS letters

THE CASE FOR FORGIVENESS from the offender does make forgiving easier, but it is As an academic who has been studying not necessary. the topic of interpersonal forgiveness Arenofsky also questions whether forgiveness can be for almost 25 years, I would like to empowering for women if it involves “sweeping aside one’s rage.” The answer to this question is that forgiveness does not respond to Janice Arenofsky’s article, involve sweeping aside one’s anger and rage. In fact, anger “Swept Up in Forgiveness” (Herizons, is the second unit in the 20-unit process model developed Summer 2011). by psychologist Robert Enright, a professor of educational Arenofsky’s article includes several psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co- misconceptions of what it means to forgive and what is founder of the International Forgiveness Institute. involved in the forgiveness process. Without offering any According to forgiveness proponents, before one can definition of the term, Arenofsky paints a negative and inac- forgive, one has to get angry about the offense and express curate view of forgiveness, which, in turn, could deter women that anger in a healthy way. Anger is a natural and normal from exploring the healing power of forgiveness. emotion after being deeply hurt. As a therapist and educator, The first misconception presented by Arenofsky is the I help women recognize that anger is an important signal that idea that many people are trapped into forgiveness. I don’t something is wrong and teach them how to express their believe this is true. Deciding to forgive is an individual anger in healthy ways. decision that one makes after knowing what is involved in Some people criticize forgiveness because they think that the process, and after being educated about what forgive- advocating forgiveness leads to further abuse. Safety is the ness is and is not. first and most important consideration. Thus, a battered Forgiveness can be defined as a willingness to abandon would not be encouraged to forgive her ex-husband one’s right to resentment, negative judgment and indifferent until she is safe and removed from the abusive environment. behaviour toward one who unjustly injured us, while foster- When a woman chooses to forgive, she makes the decision ing the undeserved qualities of compassion, generosity and herself, from a position of safety, knowing that forgiving is even love toward him or her. Notice that one has a right to not the same as reconciliation. feel resentment, and that the offender does not deserve com- Research supports forgiveness therapy as an effective passion and generosity based on their actions. Forgiveness form of treatment for those who have endured deep hurts. can also be more simply defined as a decrease in negative Forgiveness is a complicated word that is oftentimes thoughts, feelings, and behaviours toward an offender and misunderstood by individuals in the general population perhaps, over time, a gradual increase in more positive as well as academics. thoughts, feelings and sometimes, behaviours. I wrote this letter to describe how forgiveness can be Arenofsky also asks if it is possible to forgive someone healing for women who have been deeply, personally and in the absence of an apology. I believe the answer to this unfairly hurt. Forgiveness is an individual choice and, as question is yes. If you don’t allow yourself to forgive until such, critics need to recognize that a woman’s choice to you receive an apology from your offender, you may be genuinely forgive is just that—her choice—and always reinjuring yourself, in that you cannot let go of your anger needs to be respected. and heal until you receive an apology or admittance of wrongdoing from your offender. Unfortunately, this does SUZANNE FREEDMAN, PH.D. not always occur. Of course, an apology or repentance Associate Professor, University of Northern Iowa

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HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 3 Is your wish list for a better world too daunting? With the support of thousands of Canadians, Inter Pares is already doing all these things and much, much more. For over thirty years, we have built alliances with citizen movements around the world to work for peace and social justice. Help us bring about the change you seek. Donate now at www.interpares.ca/change

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4 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS Soundings EVELYN C. WHITE

AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER

“‘Women of Color’ have rarely had the opportunity to write wanton. Rap lyrics and music videos awash with demeaning about their love affairs.” portraits of black women affirm licentious perceptions of us The line is from an Alice Walker poem of the same title, in the public eye. found in her poetry collection Her Blue Body Everything We To be sure, the fact that I was cast as a sexual predator has Know, and has reverberated with me in the aftermath of the kept me silent for 40 years about my first lesbian relationship, death of Whitney Houston. which began when I was a sophomore in college. My lover was Like many black lesbians, I’d long suspected that Houston a dimpled, Latin language scholar whose physician father held had a romantic relationship with Robyn Crawford, the woman enormous power in his New England town. One day, having she’d met at age 16 and who later became her influential per- noticed his daughter wearing a silver bracelet bearing a Latin sonal assistant. Indeed, I was deeply moved by “The Widow,” inscription, I asked if she’d help me study for an impending a piece by black and openly gay New Yorker writer Hilton Als Latin exam. At the time, I was poised to fail a course then that was published on his blog shortly after Houston’s death. routinely recommended for aspiring writers. “In the early 1980s, one sometimes saw Crawford in [New My sexual desire blossomed over Latin declension. We soon York lesbian clubs] where women of color then gathered,” became intimate, and the passion was marked by a tender in- Als wrote. “In those small … worlds, everyone knew what nocence that still stirs my heart. But our sweet love was also everyone else did, and with whom, and Crawford was often scarred by the guilt that one day prompted my lover to phone spoken of in the same breath as the lovely Houston … a per- her parents and confess that she’d become sexually involved with force closeted superstar who had to make a living because she a black woman. Trembling, she informed me that her father knew gay didn’t pay.… As Houston’s fame increased … she had threatened to have me (read: the perverted perpetrator) drove a wedge between the world she and Crawford inhabited expelled from school if the relationship continued. She assured together, becoming a martyr to heterosexuality.” him that it would not. Crawford, who stopped working for Houston after the As the daughter of a machinist who was attending college singer’s marriage to Bobby Brown, spoke publicly for the first on scholarship, I was heartbroken but prepared to sacrifice my time about their relationship in an interview posted on Esquire true love for the sake of my future. In an era that predated queer magazine’s website. “When people left her or were told to activism, I understood (fully) that “gay didn’t pay.” leave, they could never believe that Whitney would never call After a short hiatus, however, my lover began making late- them—but she never did,” Crawford said. “I think she felt that night visits to my room. Our desire was dampened by fear, but if she admitted any feeling of sadness or weakness she would we began lovemaking anew, and S. would dutifully phone her crumble.… She knew I was never going to be disloyal to her. parents to tell them about her “dates” with college boys. This I was never going to betray her.” happened until my graduation two years later. A journalist recalled meeting the pair in London before they Subsequently, she married a man. And, in a scenario that parted ways: “They held hands in the … car like teenage sweet- mirrors Houston’s purported break with Crawford, my lover hearts. Clearly more than just friends, they were a gorgeous relegated our romance to the realm of non compos mentis (not couple. … To see their love was infectious and uplifting.” being of sound mind). As for me, however, I’ll always cherish the This brings me back to Walker’s poem and the barriers black love that ushered me to become the proud lesbian I am today. women face in speaking honestly (if at all) about their intimate Here’s hoping that Walker’s poem will inspire Robyn lives. I believe the ultimately self-negating stance is tied to Crawford to give full voice to her relationship with a woman long-standing stereotypical images of black women as sexually with whom she shared one moment in time. 

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 5 nelliegrams GIRLS GET BOOST FEDERAL RULES LEAVE The Canadian Women’s Foundation MANY WITHOUT STATUS received a legacy gift of $14 million from the celebrated BY ALEXANDRA PAUL music composer and Order of Canada member Ann Southam, who passed status Indians. The federal policy states that away a year ago at age 73. It’s the status fathers must sign their children’s birth largest single donation a Canadian certificates before Ottawa will approve the women’s organization has received children’s registration as status Indians. from an individual. Status, which makes an individual a mem- “It will take the Canadian Women’s ber of a First Nation, is the only way Ottawa Foundation work to a new level,” says will recognize individual treaty rights. Those Beverley Wybrow, president and CEO rights can include housing, education and of the foundation. some medical benefits as well as hunting, Southam’s gift is being used to cre- gathering and fishing rights. ate the Ann Southam Empowerment The problem is that many fathers can’t or Fund, an endowment to help make the won’t sign the certificates, according Lynn foundation permanent. The donation Gehl, an Ontario Algonquin woman who is will also be used to double the size entitled to status but can’t get it because of of the foundation’s Girls’ Fund, a pro- the paternity trap. Gehl has signed up 600 gram Southam helped found in 2006. men and women like her on her Facebook “There is so much pressure on girls site, Unknown and Unstated Paternity, in her today and they lose ground as they search for justice. reach adolescence,” Southam said in Gehl says she applied for status under Bill a 2007 interview. “My dream is to get to C-31, which restored status to women after them before that and give them every Lynn Gehl applied for Indian status under Bill C-31 and Sandra Lovelace won an Indian Act discrimin- when the paternity trap disqualified her, she turned to chance in the world to succeed.” the courts. ation case in 1985. When the paternity trap Southam was involved with the disqualified her, Gehl turned to the courts. The foundation for 12 years as a donor, (WINNIPEG) Aboriginal women are fighting a Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed Gehl’s first volunteer, and a spokesperson on federal policy that denies tens of thousands court action against the paternity trap, saying behalf of strategic philanthropy bene- of Aboriginal children Indian status because her cause had been brought in the wrong form fiting women and girls. “And don’t their fathers failed to sign their birth certifi- to the wrong court. Gehl filed a Charter chal- forget,” she often said, “when women cates. Others only receive partial status—their lenge in the Ontario Superior Court in 2002. have power, girls can dream!’ Indian status benefits cannot be passed down That second case is just now reaching the to their children. Critics say the policy is a form trial stage. It’s a legal journey she had to con- HEALTHY WOMEN of discrimination tied to paternity rights. vince herself she needed to take, she said. IN VOGUE “It is most definitely discrimination, “I watched what Sharon McIvor went Vogue magazine an- and the reason why is that it only impacts through and how disappointed she was, and nounced in May that it indigenous women,” says Pam Palmater, I wondered, what am I doing?” Gehl said. would no longer work with models author of Beyond Blood and Rethinking McIvor is the B.C. woman who won a 2010 who are too thin or too young. Indigenous Identity. To make matters worse, court case against Indian Act discrimination The editors of Vogue made a pact Palmater says the policy isn’t a historical that disqualifies grandchildren of women to employ healthier-looking models. relic developed during an age when women who lost status by marrying non-natives but In a statement, the editors agreed were granted few official rights. grants it to grandchildren of men with status. to “not knowingly work with models “This was a policy that was introduced “Then I remember—most people don’t under the age of 16 or who appear to after the Charter of Rights and Freedoms know the government is eliminating status have an eating disorder.” was enacted. It was only created after 1985, Indians through these unknown, unstated The move was applauded by for- after we enacted the Charter, and that’s par- and unrecognized paternity policies. And mer model Sara Ziff, who founded ticularly concerning to me.” it’s mostly young women who are the most The Model Alliance to improve the More than 50,000 children were identified vulnerable,”Gehl says. working conditions for models and to as either deprived of status or granted only Nearly half—45 percent—of children lobby the industry to take better care partial status under the paternity policy be- born to status mothers under age 15 fall into of its own. tween 1985 and 1999, according to the 2005 this legal limbo. “For Vogue to commit to no longer study Indian Registration, Unrecognized They’re single mothers, often at the bot- using models under the age of 16 and Unstated Paternity funded by Status tom of the socio-economic ladder, with little marks an evolution in the industry,” of Women Canada. Some children have education and fewer prospects. Worse, Ziff said. “We hope other maga- Aboriginal fathers with status who aren’t many are victims themselves, Gehl says. zines and fashion brands will follow listed on birth certificates. This disquali- “A lot of people think it’s the mother’s Vogue’s impressive lead.” fies the children from being registered as fault that the father’s not signing [the birth

6 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS certificate], but sometimes the fathers can’t but Ottawa refused to recognize it because nelliegrams sign, and sometimes the fathers won’t sign,” her father hadn’t signed it. Simard says her Gehl says. father has not been part of her life, and she Fashion organizations in Italy and “These young mothers are the ones who was reluctant to look him up. Yet she didn’t Spain banned catwalk models who are the most vulnerable. They’re pregnant want to give up her status rights, either. fall below a certain body mass index because of rape, sexual experimenta- “There are ways around it,” Simard level, and earlier this year the Israeli tion, gang rape, sexual slavery and incest. offers. Ottawa will register eligible ap- government passed a law banning There’s a lot of reasons,” Gehl says. plicants if they find a status Indian who the use of models who are too thin. At the same time, a significant percentage is willing to vouch for their paternity. The The Council of Fashion Designers of of women from their teens to their mid-30s other way is to amend the birth certificate America adopted a voluntary initiative also bear children who cannot claim status after the fact and have an adopted father in 2007 that specifies minimum age or can’t pass status on to their children for or stepfather sign paternity, as long as they requirements and work conditions. any number of other reasons. are status Indians. Colleen Simard ran into the roadblock Manitoba allows residents to amend WOMAN TO HEAD when she applied to reclaim her Indian their birth certificates, but regulations vary INTERNATIONAL status. She discovered that her father’s by province.  CRIMINAL COURT name was printed in her birth certificate, —Reprinted from the Winnipeg Free Press Fatou Bensouda, a lawyer and former attorney general of Gambia, is the new chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the tribunal responsible for investigating the world’s most grave atrocities. Bensouda has vowed to intensify “I” IS FOR INFIDEL efforts to bring rapists to justice dur- ing her nine-year term. The court BY IRENE D’SOUZA opened its doors in 2002. Bensouda takes over from Luis Moreno-Ocampo Kathy Gannon’s website is illuminating. On alphabet using the phrases “I is for Infidel,” of Argentina in June. it is a photograph in which an oil lamp il- “J is for Jihad” and “K is for Kalashnikov,” Having served as deputy prosecu- luminates the Canadian journalist’s laptop Gannon is critical of the West’s involvement tor of the court since 2004, Bensouda computer. The image signifies the incon- in the region, particularly the impact of that faces a number of cases involving gruity of the reality that is Afghanistan and involvement upon civilians. war crimes or crimes against human- alludes to the challenges faced by Gannon, Gannon delves into the history of the ity, including genocide, mass rape who first arrived in Afghanistan in 1986 to Pakistani army, exposing the rise of the and sexual slavery. pursue her dream of becoming a foreign Islamists, and she provides a discourse on Supporters of the court hope the correspondent. the extremism that is threatening and stran- election of an African prosecutor will Since then, Gannon’s perseverance and gling Pakistan’s civil society. reduce criticism of the court within insightful reportage have made her an From the Soviet invasion to the mujahe- Africa, where some view it a neocol- internationally renowned and respected deen, and from the Taliban to the Karzai-led onial tool in the hands of the West journalist. Her awards include a National government, Gannon has provided concise because all of its cases to date have Newspaper Award (Canada) in 2011, the and insightful analysis of the collateral involved African countries. However, in International Women’s Media Foundation damage and sheds light on its devastating four of the court’s cases (those involv- Courage in Journalism Award in 2002 and consequences for Afghan civilians. ing the Democratic Republic of Congo, an Edward R. Murrow Fellowship at the U.S. the Central African Republic, Uganda Council on Foreign Relations in 2003. Gannon HERIZONS: Fear, war and repression are like and Ivory Coast) the governments of is currently living in Pakistan, where she threads woven into the fabric of Afghan life. the countries involved called in the works for the Associated Press as regional Are there new threads being woven into the court. In two other cases (involving correspondent for Afghanistan and Pakistan. fabric of contemporary Afghanistan, specifi- Sudan and Libya) the United Nations The Pulitzer Prize nominee documents the cally for women? Security Council initiated proceedings. tragedy that is Afghanistan, a country whose KATHY GANNON: There are, sadly, few freedom fighters, once hailed by the U.S., new threads being woven into the fabric of RESISTANCE suddenly became the West’s arch enemies. Afghan society for men or for women. The IS HEALTHY Her 2006 book, I is for Infidel: From Holy War fact is that when the Taliban were ousted, We’ve long known to Holy Terror, confirmed Gannon as one of the international community turned to war- that resistance is the most formidable critics of the West’s role lords. They partnered with them, they used healthy for democratic develop- in Afghanistan. them and actually handed them the coun- ment and oppressed minorities. Now The book provides a road map that try while they turned their attention to Iraq. there is a growing body of evidence guides readers through a vortex of brutal- The result has been—not surprising to that senior women who do forms of ity sanctioned by world powers whose most Afghans, who were familiar with their resistance training, including weight- own hidden agendas are often overlooked. rule that was characterized by violence and lifting, can slow a decline towards Beginning with the title, taken from the U.S.- dementia, a study involving B.C. re- printed school books that taught the English (Continued on page 9) searchers has announced.

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8 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS (Continued from page 7) corruption between 1992 and 1996 (before Education for all should be the goal, and the nelliegrams the Taliban rose to power)—that the country discussion should be with women and for has fallen into a state of insecurity, corrup- women, not about the Taliban and the West’s They suggest a six-month strength tion and general lawlessness. outrage. training program that involved women Laws have been passed in recent months with mild cognitive impairment can im- that have compromised women’s rights. The When you speak to women in Afghanistan prove their attention, problem-solving repressive behaviour toward women was and Pakistan, do they interpret sharia law as and decision-making brain functions. not an invention of the Taliban, but the result Westerners do—as a set of family laws that In the study, 86 women between 70 of tribal traditions and culture. In the 11 mirror traditional patriarchal attitudes and and 80 years of age were placed in years since the collapse of the Taliban there which ultimately undermine equality? one of three exercise groups for twice- has been no real progress on laying the KATHY GANNON: They do not view sharia weekly training in one of the following: foundation for sustainable institutions that law as such, but they do understand that resistance training (lifting weights) to can provide justice and law and order. there is no one interpretation or practice of build muscle strength, walking out- sharia law, whether in Saudi Arabia or else- doors to improve aerobic strength or I have the impression that you are no where where it is enforced. basic balance and toning training. longer outraged at the Taliban. Yet the After six months, the strength gender apartheid espoused by the Taliban Your article describing the new weapon of training group showed significant is every feminist’s nightmare. Am I missing Islamist extremism—”The forced conversion cognitive improvement compared something? of Pakistani minorities”— is heartbreaking to those in the balance and toning KATHY GANNON: I am not outraged at any- because women are used as pawns. Yet classes, the researchers said in an one. The gender apartheid, as you put it, is the world powers who are now allied with article published in the April edition of not specific to the Taliban, and it is not for Pakistan are not outraged. Do you believe a the Archives of Internal Medicine. feminists to have nightmares. It is better to try failure to think through the consequences is “What our results show is that re- to understand and know tribal traditions, cul- leading towards yet another tragedy? sistance training can indeed improve tural restrictions that affect women—not just KATHY GANNON: I think that women are used both your cognitive performance under the Taliban but throughout the region, as pawns in all conflicts and by most religious and your brain function,” said Teresa including in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. radicals, regardless of religion. Again, I don’t Liu-Ambrose, a professor in physi- The West attributes everything to the Taliban, think that attacking Pakistan is the way to go, cal therapy who led the study at the which does a tremendous disservice to wom- and outrage is usually overused in the West. University of British Columbia. en, who, regardless of who is in power, must It is generally hypocritical, as we tend to see Resistance training has many ben- fight against the tribal traditions and cultural the faults in every other society and actions efits. It can increase (or slow down restrictions that continue to occur. and not so much in our own. the loss of) muscle mass and it can Also, I am distressed that it is about increase (or slow the loss of) bone mass and increase joint flexibility. It feminism. It should be about humanism. (Continued on page 10) can also improve cognitive function.

RESISTANCE HELPS BREAST HEALTH, TOO In contrast to clinical guidelines for breast cancer patients, which often advise against upper body exercise, a Philadelphia study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that weightlifting reduces the potential for lymphede- ma among breast cancer patients by 50 percent. In the study, women with no signs of lymphedema were broken into two groups. One group received a gym membership and 13 weeks of supervised resistance training with weights; the other followed more traditional post-surgical guidelines. The incidence of lymphedema was 11 percent in the weight training group compared to 17 percent in the other group. Lymphedema is a blockage of the lymph vessels that drain fluid from Kathy Gannon has provided a concise and insightful analysis of the collateral damage of foreign intervention upon tissues throughout the body and that Afghan civilians. (Photo: Dimitri Messinis) allow immune cells to travel where

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 9 (Continued from page 9) nelliegrams I think that, yes, women are used as the Afghan army is up against. I am in good they are needed. Lymphedema in- pawns; yes, it is outrageous, regardless of physical shape. Mentally, I keep an open volves a swelling due to a blockage who and what religion practises this. mind, think about the individual soldier and try to get their story. of the lymph passages. A common How do you prepare yourself, mentally, psy- reason for lymphatic obstruction is chologically and physically, to be embedded What do you most miss about Canada when the removal of a number of lymph with the Afghan army? living abroad? nodes during surgery to remove breast cancer. KATHY GANNON: I prepare myself by read- KATHY GANNON: I miss a lot of things about ing and understanding as best I can what Canada, but what I miss most is my family.  COFFEE PERKS GREAT FOR WOMEN Good news in May suggested that frequent coffee drinkers have a lower risk of acquiring a variety of 2005, I was abducted by the military, held diseases that lead to death com- ACTIVISTS incommunicado for 12 days, brought from pared with people who drink little camp to camp,” she said. “I was not given or no coffee. But what wasn’t as benefit of a counsel and I was tortured…. widely reported was the gender dif- CALL ON they undressed me and sexually molested ference in the health and longevity me. And my case is only a microcosm of of coffee drinkers. what is happening in the Philippines.” The coffee habits of more than CANADA In June 2012, the Philippines will undergo 400,000 men and women aged 50 to a United Nations Universal Periodic Review 71 were followed for 14 years. While BY ALEX PHILIPE (UPR). The country’s human rights record coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant will be under examination and member that increases heart rate and blood (OTTAWA) In April, three human rights de- states, including Canada, have the opportu- pressure, coffee also contains hun- fenders who were recently imprisoned in nity to recommend remedial action. dreds of compounds and antioxidants the Philippines testified before the Commons The delegation reminded the subcom- that confer health benefits. subcommittee on international human rights mittee of the two nations’ historical and While coffee drinking lowered the in an effort to urge Canada to stem the hu- modern ties and urged Canada to press risk of dying among men by about man rights violations against activists in the Philippines to end extrajudicial killings, 10 percent, the results were actu- their country. release political prisoners, and re-engage in ally 50 percent higher for women, Angelina Bisuña Ipong, who was released peace talks with rebel groups. who had a 15 percent lower risk of in 2011 after all charges were dropped, re- According to Philippines-based human dying. The life-extenders drank from counted her experience to the committee. rights watchdog Karapatan, there have two to six or more cups of coffee a “On March 8, International Women’s Day been over 1,250 political assassinations day. Interestingly, the association between coffee and a lower risk of death was similar whether the cof- fee drinker consumed caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, suggesting that it isn’t caffeine but other ingredients that produce the measured benefits.

V STANDS FOR VULVA What is most remarkable is that a feminist zine devoted—and I mean devoted—to acknowledging the power of the vulva and vagina has never existed before. 1234V is not only one of the hottest zines around, it’s as politically rambunctious as it is fabulously women-focused. 1234V.ca, the zine’s website, is perhaps the most accessible way to behold this self-empowerment centre of shared exploration and knowledge. 1234V is also, emphatically, a person- A delegation of human rights defenders arrives on Parliament Hill to address the Commons subcommittee on interna- al protest against outsiders getting tional human rights. Left to right are Bishop Reuel Marigza, the general secretary of the United Church of the in to exploit the vulva—greedy Philippines, Angelina Bisuña Ipong and Dr. Merry Clamor. (Photo: Alex Philipe)

10 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS nelliegrams (including 153 women) since 2001 and 347 counter-terrorism capacity-building of the political prisoners (including 28 women) government of the Philippines. corporations, misogynistic pornog- are still imprisoned. The delegation complained about the raphers, fashion dictators and just “They said we were making bombs,” use of armed civilian militias by Canadian those who aren’t invited. testified former prisoner Dr. Merry Clamor. mining companies operating in the country On the website, you’ll find tips on “But what we were doing was conducting as well as the Canadian military’s human self-care, loads of bold videos on [health] training. We were giving support to rights training of the armed forces of the protests by the growing movement the mothers [of rural communities] so that Philippines. In the Philippines, they said, against the pornification of women’s even though they may not be [able to afford] 30 percent of the land mass has been signed vulvas and humorous essays. a doctor or health centres … they can still over to mining and exploration. Canada is And—bonus—1234V lives in the take care of their children.” second only to Australia in terms of foreign- same city as Herizons—Winnipeg. Clamor reported physical, psychological owned mining operations in the country. The vulvic periodical is the brain- and sexual torture during her imprison- According to Amnesty International, child of Sarah Michaelson and ment. She recounted how her family was human rights training for the Philippines’ Jo Snyder. Snyder’s background threatened as part of authorities’ bid to force armed forces focuses more on how to avoid includes publishing Shameless her to confess to being a terrorist. Clamor investigation than it does on how to avoid magazine, a female youth magazine and her 42 companions (23 of whom were violations. The August 2010 Armed Forces aimed at smart, strong, sassy young women, including two who were pregnant) of the Philippines Human Rights Handbook women and trans youth. The duo weathered the storm. After 10 months—and cautions, “It is imperative that soldiers has published a handful of issues of two births—they were released. are conversant with the HR [human rights] 1234V, and regular posts appear on “They’re having people detained for no standards in order to survive the ordeals of the website. Be forewarned: You will good reason, and people who are trying to investigation in cases when he becomes want to share these posts with your do the right thing seem to be the ones be- involved in an HR violation.” female friends ing abused by this particular government,” “The situation continues to be rather Releases of new editions of 1234V observed MP Wayne Marston, NDP human bleak,” according to Bishop Reuel Marigza, are regularly accompanied by public rights critic and vice-chair of the subcom- the general secretary of the United Church readings at the popular Winnipeg mittee on international human rights. of the Philippines. “There are already 68 ex- nightspot Lo Pub and followed by a Clamor laments her country’s brain trajudically killed, there are 81 new political dance party delivered by Michaelson, drain that results from poverty and human prisoners, there have been reports of torture a.k.a. Mama Cutsworth, one of rights violations. as well as abduction,” Marigza noted, under Winnipeg’s top DJs. “We have so many Filipinos that come the year-and-a-half-old regime of current to work here in Canada as caregivers and President Benigno Aquino III, who came to BUILD nurses.… Then those health workers that power in June 2010. INCLUSIVITY remain, like us—this is what they do.” “It would be a very good thing if the sub- The Danish toy- The Philippines is currently the number committee … paid a visit to the Philippines,” maker Lego thought they got it right one source country for migrants to Canada, observed Irwin Cotler, Liberal justice and last Christmas when the firm intro- and bilateral trade between the two coun- human rights critic and vice-chair of the duced its Lego Friends line designed tries amounts to approximately $1.5 billion subcommittee on international human rights. to appeal to girls. annually. As well, Canada gives $25 mil- “This has not gotten the attention that it But the pink-laden brick kits that lion in aid and development funding to the warrants … a broader, public appreciation offered up settings like a beauty Philippines. Canadian military and police … in government and in Parliament so that salon and slim, attractive toy girl provide training and are involved in the we can act on this.”  characters didn’t go over with 50,000- plus people who signed a petition against the new line. This is the kind of gender stereotyp- said she was a Russian spy, smuggled in on a ing that promotes body dissatisfaction submarine off the Gaspé coast. in girls, according to Carolyn Costin, MADELEINE In her later years, when Parent was no an eating disorders specialist in longer able to walk a picket line, she was an Malibu, California. The International PARENT “armchair radical” who signed petitions and Association of Eating Disorder lent wise counsel from her living room. Professionals said in a statement that Madeleine Parent was a trail-blazing labour the toys were “devoid of imagination PASSES organizer and social activist who played an and promote overt forms of .” enormous role in the Quebec and Canadian They send girls a message “that being BY NOREEN SHANAHAN labour and women’s movements. She died in pretty is more important than who you March in Montreal at the age of 93. are or what you can do,” according to During her seven decades of activism, In the 1940s, Parent was arrested five the organization. Madeleine Parent was called a communist, times for labour activities, and she spent The good news is that the toy- a witch, a traitor, a feminist pioneer, a charis- several months in jail. She was charged, maker is open to hearing how it can matic labour leader and a mother of Quebec’s market its brand of building toys to Quiet Revolution. Some of her detractors even (Continued on page 12) girls. It met with the two women who

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 11 (Continued from page 11) nelliegrams “They wanted to show that there was something unnatural and strange about led the petition to hear their views re- a woman who was fighting for workers,” garding possible Lego improvements. said Parent. Bailey Shoemaker Richards and Later, Parent was a founder and then Stephanie Cole launched the cam- secretary-treasurer of a Canadian textile paign against Lego on the Change. workers union, Canadian Chemical and org website. The young women are Textile Workers. Parent went on to become members of SPARK, a U.S. organiza- a key figure in the monumental shift within tion working against the sexualization the labour movement from American-led to of girls and women in the media. Canadian-led unions in the 1950s and ’60s. SPARK asked Facebook friends to Later, she and her second husband, Kent remind Lego of its 1981 ad that fea- Madeleine Parent started her career organizing textile Rowley, helped establish the Confederation tured a young girl wearing jeans and workers in Quebec. of Canadian Unions in 1969 in support of an a T-shirt along with a traditional Lego independent Canadian labour movement structure she’d built. The tagline read, convicted and eventually acquitted of free of American influence. “What it is is beautiful.” charges of seditious conspiracy under Parent also led a series of strikes in The petition urges Lego, whose Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis’ infa- Ontario, including one at Toronto’s Puretex construction toys encourage the mous padlock law for her role in organizing Knitting Mill in 1979 that was prompted by development of spatial and math- textile workers in the 1940s. The padlock law management’s introduction of electronic ematical skills, to include more girls was a measure used by Duplessis to quell surveillance in the workplace, including in its regular ad campaigns and social and political unrest under the guise of cameras positioned outside washrooms. The more girl characters in all Lego stamping out communism in Quebec, start- strikers were successful in their bid to have sets, rather than segregating them in ing in 1937. the cameras removed. pink ghettos. Born into a liberal middle-class fran- “Madeleine is our collective con- Colby College education professor cophone family in 1918, Parent’s political science,” wrote Françoise David in a Lyn Mikel Brown was also offended awakening came when she attended by the busty toys, whose role-playing boarding school at the Ville Maria con- collection of essays called Madeleine includes working on their tan. vent in Quebec. Parent was appalled by Parent: Activist. “An indefatigable mili- According to Lego spokesperson the working conditions of the convent’s tant, she has been and is part of every Michael McNally, the girly Lego servants, where young girls from the coun- struggle,” David wrote. packages were popular with a ma- tryside spent hours on their knees, scraping Parent was also a founder of the jority of girls on which they were grime from tiles, and were forbidden from National Committee on the Status of tested. Educators like Brown say toy speaking with students. Women (NAC), where she worked manufacturers have a greater social After graduating from McGill University as a staunch advocate for Aboriginal, responsibility not to reinforce pre- in 1941, a year after women in Quebec got immigrant and working women. In existing sexual stereotypes or to play the provincial vote, Parent went to work as 1972, she worked in support of Mary upon young female children’s fixation an organizer for the United Textile Workers Two-Axe Early, a Mohawk woman with sexual attractiveness. of America. Parent had been mentored from Quebec whose efforts eventu- by another famous Quebec trade union ally led to Bill C-31, which reduced HUFF OVER MUFFS activist, Lea Roback, 15 years her senior. discrimination against native women in Feminists in London, One of Parent’s most celebrated victories the Indian Act. U.K., recently held a was leading a 6,000-strong strike against Running parallel with her work in the Muff March to protest Dominion Textile in the cotton mills of labour movement was Parent’s work the rising popularity of cosmetic sur- Valleyfield and Montreal. with women in an impressive range geries aimed to give them “designer “The conditions were really very bad.... of areas, including the right to vote, vaginas.” Organized by the women’s A large number of the women and children abortion rights, pay equity, and work rights group UK Feminista, marchers would get between 18 and 25 cents an in support of aboriginal, immigrant and carried signs that read, “Keep your hour,” Parent recalled in a 1980 CBC inter- racialized women. Parent was also in- mitts off our muffs” and “There’s view. “The police would fire on the strikers strumental in popularizing the demand nothing finer than my vagina!” with tear gas. The strikers responded and, in for pay equity in Canada. More than 100 demonstrators order to respond to such an instance, they “She not only set the agenda for the is- protested on Harley Street, the area actually tore up the pavement and fired back sues of the day,” wrote Lynn Kaye and Lynn known for its cosmetic surgery of- stones and bits of pavement.” McDonald in Madeleine Parent: An Activist, fices. The event ended with a “muff Duplessis went after Parent with guns “she also taught political content, analytical dance” in which protesters, including a-blazing, calling her “Dame Vladimir, skills, organizational tactics and lobbying to performance artists, sported deco- alias Vladimar Bjarnason,” referring to her younger women.” rative and rainbow-coloured pubic then-husband’s Russian-sounding name, Recalling her time with Parent at NAC wigs, known as merkins. in an effort to paint her as a red. After hav- meetings, rabble.ca founder Judy Rebick U.K. Feminista director Kat Banyard ing her charged with sedition, Duplessis wrote, “She was fierce, courageous and said the purpose of the march was to reportedly had Parent arrested three times determined. Somehow I don’t think we will thwart the rise of cosmetic surgeries in a week. see the like of her again.” 

12 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS nelliegrams

CITIZENS SAY, like labiaplasties (which decrease the size of the labia by cutting away part of it) as well as to protest a porni- NO FRACKING WAY fied beauty standard that pressures women to shave, tighten and trim BY JULIA ASOP their genitals. The pressure stems from the mainstreaming of the pornography industry, in which female actors commonly remove all of their pubic hair. “The industry is preferring its performers to look more like prepu- bescent girls,” says Banyard. “It’s time to fight back.” According to Muff March organiz- ers, the U.K. cosmetic surgery firm Harley Medical Group received over 5,000 cosmetic gynecology inquiries. Sixty-five percent of the queries were for labial reduction, while the rest involved vaginal tighten- ing and reshaping. According to an article in the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, pro- cedures like labiaplasty can damage nerve endings, leading to impaired sexual function. The Atlantic Monthly recently published an article that highlighted a growing trend for a procedure called the Barbie, in which the entire labia minora are cut off. Other procedures include tightening the vagina opening and a surgical procedure that reat- In Poland, Romania, the U.S, France and Canada, protests are mounting against fracking, a process that involves taches the hymen. injecting water, sand and chemicals to extract trapped gas, threatens to contaminate water and harm the environ- ment. This girl holds a sign at a recent Quebec protest. (Photo: Canadian Press/Graham Hughes) Meanwhile, a march protesting the designer vulva trend was held in Kitchener, Ontario, last winter. Led (FRANCE) At a town hall meeting in Saint- water, a process known as fracking, pose a by students from a sexuality, mar- Marcel-lès-Sauzet, France, a sixtyish threat to drinking water and wildlife. riage and family program, protesters woman asks, “What size knife should Two years ago, European energy compa- marched in front of Kitchener City I bring?” nies signed contracts with French Ecology Hall to challenge the increase in The knife she’s inquiring about is intended Minister Jean Louis Booloo granting them genital cosmetic surgery performed for the tires of an expected gas company the right to begin surveying or mining for on women in Canada. truck. Should one of the trucks arrive on her between three and five years. At the time, Toni Serafini, associate professor cobblestone streets, this petite, chic citizen is little to no public consultation was held in the of psychology and sexuality, marriage ready and willing to put her body on the line. affected areas. Most citizens learned of the and family at St. Jerome’s University, Human chains and tire-slashing are being federal government’s sign-off on their land one of the University of Waterloo’s discussed in this group of concerned citizens. six months after the fact, when the ecological colleges, believes women can be Saint-Marcel-lès-Sauzet lies in the Rhône- party Ecologie les Verts and environmental shamed into having their labia altered Alpes region of France, just 290 km from the organizations began holding informational if they don’t know what normal labia yachts of Saint-Tropez. The region’s two main sessions to spread awareness. look like. Young girls, she says, un- industries are tourism and agriculture. In the Each information session showed a like boys, don’t see the genitalia of summer, the village overflows with retired clip of Josh Fox’s Gasland, an American other females often, so they may not couples who come to sample the fine wine documentary that details the disastrous understand that every woman’s gen- and traditional picadon cheese for which the environmental and health effects of shale itals look different. Serafini says if all region is famed. Both the tourists and the wine gas extraction. Horizontal hydraulic frac- teens see are airbrushed or surgically that draws them are currently facing a new turing (known as fracking) is designed to or cosmetically altered porn actors’ threat—shale gas drilling. Opponents worry genitalia, they may come to believe that drilling techniques using chemical-laced (Continued on page 14) their own vulvas are abnormal. 

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 13 (Continued from page 13) exploit small pockets of natural gas using As the resistance movement grew, Paris development of expanded pipelines that a combination of water pressure, sand and began to sit up and take notice. Prominent will move oilsands bitumen and shale gas proprietary chemicals to release the gas by environmental activist and politician José through ecologically sensitive areas of B.C. fracturing the shale. The process uses be- Bové joined the fight, and a bloc of may- to the coast for export. An Aboriginal-led tween 80 and 300 different chemicals. The ors and department heads from affected movement against the Enbridge Northern danger lies in the chemicals that are used. regions began to petition parliament on Gateway pipeline and the Kinder Morgan Improper disposal of chemicals or cracking their citizens’ behalf. Last April, the French Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which wells can lead to contaminated water sup- government extended a moratorium on the would facilitate shale gas expansion, plies, leaving residents with undrinkable shale gas contracts and the ecology minis- continues to grow. The Transpacifi c Trails tap water. ter who signed the contracts stepped down. pipeline would transport fracked natural After the contracts came to light, citizens In October, France announced the annul- gas extracted from the Horn River Basin to quickly organized collectifs—informal activ- ment of shale gas contracts. France elected the Kitimat, B.C., port for export. According ist groups—for each region. The collectifs a new president in May, Francois Hollande, to environmental groups and the Council placed pressure on municipal and national and National Assembly elections in June will of Canadians, these pipelines pose signifi - politicians to repeal the contracts and ban help determine the future of fracking cant threats to ecologically sensitive lands fracking through day-long demonstrations, in France. and waters as well as to people’s health petitions and poster campaigns. Eighteen In Canada, meanwhile, citizen outrage and livelihoods. thousand protesters came out to the fi rst at shale gas extraction has been similar. Chief Jackie Thomas of the Saik’uz First demonstration in the Ardèche region, a The Quebec government has been keen to Nation stated her position. “I have news staggering show of support for a town of determine its opportunities for shale gas for you, Mr. Harper. You’re never going to just 3,000. exploitation in the large Utica shale deposit achieve your dream of pushing pipelines Odette Henri, 52, is the head organizer of along the south shore of the St. Lawrence through our rivers and lands. We will be the the Saint-Marcel collectif. She circulated a River between Montreal and Lévis. However, wall that Enbridge cannot break through.” petition and rallied other concerned citizens when a Quebec committee looking at shale Back in France, meanwhile, citizens ex- to attend local council meetings, convincing gas exploration held a series of public infor- change phone numbers for a watch group the mayor to pass a law banning the use mation sessions, none of the 500 participants in case another gas company truck rolls up of local water for shale gas extraction and supported the industry or the committee in in the centre of town. The woman beside me placing a weight limitation that effectively charge of the government’s strategic environ- leans over and whispers in my ear, “They prohibited any trucks needed for extraction mental assessment on shale gas. never back down, so neither do we.”  or construction from using local roadways. The Harper government is pushing the —With files from Penni Mitchell

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14 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS Cole’s Notes BY SUSAN G. COLE

BROADLY SPEAKING

Every once in a while, a reader tells me that she got to know me in the upcoming federal election. You can press a button to through the pages of Broadside, the monthly feminist magazine get that information now, but you couldn’t do that in 1978. published in Toronto between 1978 and 1988. Those were the All of the work, except for that done by Broadside’s editor, days, she invariably says. Phil Masters, who received a pittance, was done voluntarily. The Well, we’re bringing those days back. A group of former collective met two times a week and worked on production both Broadside collective members has brought the publication’s days of one weekend monthly—it was a major commitment. 200 issues into the digital world at broadsidefeminist.com. And the result was astounding. At a time when there were Why should a living history of the Canadian women’s galore—liberal feminists, lesbian feminists equal- movement during a very crucial decade turn yellow and ity feminists, socialist feminists, cultural feminists, and many sit crumbling in someone’s basement—and a few women’s more—you couldn’t really put a label on Broadside. Most of the centres and archives—when every page could be available collective members called themselves radical feminists (though, online and searchable? over the years, identities shifted and grew) and the content of The online project had a sense of urgency from the start. In Broadside reflected that. fact, the idea was hatched at a small memorial for children’s Looking through the Broadside issues, you can see an entire writer Beverly Allenson, a Broadside collective member who decade flash before your eyes. All of the issues feminism pur- recently passed away. We realized that we’d lost three collective sued are there, from reproductive choice to economic equality, members and that there’d come a time when everyone involved feminist law reform efforts and articles on emerging artists, would fade away, along with the memory of Broadside. So a the nascent Nightwood Theatre and filmmakers like Lizzie group of us, including Eve Zaremba, Donna Gollan, Phil Borden. Even our internal battles—over racism and sexuality, Masters, Lisa Freedman, Amanda Hale, myself and long-time for example—were examined. Exposing those conflicts really supporter Ottie Lockey, started meeting. pissed some people off, but we believed that difference is what It’s amazing how you can settle back into old patterns. The made our movement vibrant and rich. collective didn’t reinvent itself; it just went back to its familiar Though we engaged in the initiative of putting Broadside ways. Just as we did when we were cranking out the paper, each online to honour the past, we’re just as anxious to secure femi- member committed to a task and then followed through, using nism’s future. By making Broadside available unvarnished—we whatever resources we had available. haven’t touched a line of text or improved a single photo—a We’ve put the newspaper online out of respect for the past, new generation of feminists can get intimate knowledge of the a time when publishing involved a very different process than vital and effective movement the newspaper chronicles. We it does now. In those days, we made a newspaper using what hope this energizes younger women who haven’t had much now seem like Flintstonian techniques, cutting and waxing of a lifeline to this country’s . copy and pasting galleys onto cardboard flats—cutting and We also want to engage those women who remember pasting copy from typewriters for that matter. Broadside, or at least the period of time during which Broadside There was no such thing as Google for fact-checking and published. If you have photos, memories, comments or anything spell-check. And how did we manage to list every feminist else, go to broadsidefeminist.com, look back on all 200 of our event happening in Toronto? In Broadside’s second issue, we issues and join the conversation. ran a roster featuring every woman who was running for office Happy broadsiding. 

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 15 RCMP Corporal Catherine Galliford believes the RCMP should be more accountable for the treatment of its employees. She is suing the RCMP. (Photo: Chuck Stoody/CP) MOUNTING BY BARBARA D. JANUSZ RESSURE PSEXUAL HARASSMENT WITHIN THE RCMP

16 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS efore hitting the beat, Phil Esterhaus, the fictional that the receipt of settlement monies does not constitute an staff sergeant on the ’80s television series Hill Street admission of liability or wrongdoing on the part of the defend- B Blues, was in the habit of reminding his staff to “Be ant. It is also standard that a release prohibits the plaintiff from careful out there.” Today, if Esterhaus was scripted to oversee disclosing the details of the settlement. While a class action female Mounties, he’d be advising them to be careful “in settlement spares an already traumatized plaintiff from having there”—that is, inside the detachment, particularly around to confront her employer in court, it may also fail to provide the water cooler and photocopy machine. plaintiffs with a significant measure of closure. Indeed, RCMP Corporal Catherine Galliford, one of more An alternative to suing under a class action suit is lodging than 100 female RCMP officers who say they were sexually a complaint of sexual harassment with the Canadian Human harassed by male co-workers, still wonders, “What was it with Rights Commission. In light of the fact that the RCMP remains the photocopy machine that every time I used it he’d be there?” under the umbrella of the federal civil service, however, and Once a poster child for the RCMP, Galliford was the RCMP given the pursuit of internal disciplinary proceedings against media spokesperson for the Air India bombings and, more female RCMP officers who have reported harassment, it is recently, spoke for the RCMP on the Robert Pickton murder understandable that harassed Mounties have opted to consult investigation. She is wise to the trail-blazing role she assumed with lawyers, with whom their communications are protected on these high-profile criminal investigations and proceed- by solicitor-client privilege. ings. The families of the victims of the Air India bombings After allegedly being coerced into sex with her supervisor, and those of Pickton’s victims wanted answers, and so, too, RCMP officer Susan Gastaldo complained to her supervisor’s did the public. As an RCMP boss. Not only was her complaint spokesperson, Galliford conveyed ignored, but she was subjected to a softer, humbler side of policing. “The RCMP have a well- disciplinary proceedings for violat- “I have a strong sense of who I am written policy, but they have ing the RCMP’s non-fraternization as a woman,” she says, in spite of policy that prohibits members from the macho culture of police work. chosen not to act.” having a sexual relationship with Galliford’s background in —lawyer Walter Kostecki co-workers. While Gastraldo’s journalism and communications supervisor was also cited for con- positioned her to be hand- duct unbecoming, Gastaldo was picked by the RCMP’s upper brass to help restore confidence unsuccessful in convincing the disciplinary hearing members in an institution that no longer had a high level of trust in the that she did not consent to sex. community it served. Gastaldo’s lawyer, Walter Kosteckyi, has commenced a civil On medical leave since 2007, Galliford has commenced a suit against both the alleged harasser and the RCMP on lawsuit against the RCMP, alleging a breach of her employ- Gastaldo’s behalf. He believes a court may be more likely to ment contract for the RCMP’s failure to provide her with rule in Gastaldo’s favour on the issue of consent—not only a safe work environment. The sexual harassment she claims because of the two officers’ disparity in rank, but also on the she endured was not an isolated experience. Since being basis that Gastaldo was suffering from an anxiety order. sworn in as an officer in 1991, she says the psychological Referring to the recent floodgate of sexual harassment al- and sexual harassment she endured was relentless. And she legations against the RCMP, Kosteckyi believes “there needs to is not alone. Nearly 150 female officers across Canada have be a public inquiry.” The Canada Labour Code requires feder- retained legal counsel to pursue civil claims against the ally regulated employers such as the RCMP to frame a policy RCMP for sexual harassment. statement on sexual harassment, including how harassment A group of these women has applied to have the lawsuits certi- complaints can be brought to the attention of the employer. fied as a class action, a lengthy process that is launched by a group “The RCMP,” Kosteckyi says, “have a well-written policy, of people who have similar claims against the same defendant. but they have chosen not to act.” By combining similar claims under one lawsuit, the plaintiffs When asked whether any members of the RCMP have been are relieved of the burden of individually financing their claims. charged with sexual assault under the Criminal Code, Kostecky The downside of class action suits is that they are almost answers, “Not to my knowledge.” But in the next breath he invariably settled out of court and, unlike a lawsuit resolved referred me to a CBC Fifth Estate episode called “Behind the by a court delivering a judgment, there is no judicial preced- Line: An investigation into allegations of sexual harassment ent that provides a benchmark for such cases. As part of the at the RCMP.” Broadcast on December 9, 2011, it includes settlement, plaintiffs are required to sign a document releasing interviews with Calgary RCMP officers Victoria Cliffe and the defendant from further liability, and an acknowledgement Krista Carle, as well as two other female Mounties who claim

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 17 they were sexually assaulted in separate incidents by the same that rewards cronyism and sycophants. In this atmosphere, good sergeant. Cliffe and Carle reported the incidents to the Calgary policepersons—especially females—are discounted.” Police Service Sex Crimes Unit but the Crown Prosecutors Webster believes the core values of authoritarianism and Office decided against laying criminal charges. After years of solidarity “make it difficult for a female to speak out when pressing the RCMP’s upper management to take action, the she has been abused. To break rank and to speak out against officers told the Fifth Estate they endured a backlash in the an abuser causes dissonance for her. She is behaving in a way form of internal disciplinary hearings in addition to further that is inconsistent with [those] core beliefs.” harassment. Eventually, an independent prosecutor was as- It can be much easier, Webster says, for female officers to signed to conduct an internal review, and in 2007 the cases were change their way of thinking—for example, to justify, rational- settled and the parties agreed not to disclose the terms of the ize, minimize or ignore the behaviour—than to stand up and settlement. The sergeant involved received a reprimand, was make a complaint. In many instances, abused female Mounties docked a day’s pay and was ordered to undergo counselling. simply quit, resulting in a rate of attrition for women officers Police psychologist Mike Webster specializes in crisis man- that is as much as twice that of male officers. agement. With over 30 years of experience working with An inability to reconcile a belief in a traditional masculine law enforcement organizations to resolve conflicts within workplace with the federal government’s policy to hire women the ranks—his experience ranges from employee assistance and minorities is believed to have contributed to a backlash programs to acting as a consultant in crises such as hostage- in the form of bullying, sexual harassment and the “tagging” takings—Webster is familiar with the culture of the RCMP. of female members of the force. Tagging occurs when male “Working for the RCMP can make you sick,” Webster believes. members target a female officer and compete among themselves “Senior management has been accountable to no one for decades. to overcome her resistance to having sex with one of them. They have created a toxic workplace, high levels of stress and Criminologist Michael Boudreau of St. Thomas University a culture of fear in which females do not do well. The RCMP believes that, “as a police force, the RCMP is in need of serious today,” he adds, “is characterized by mismanagement, poor em- reform. There appears to be systemic harassment.” Boudreau adds ployee communications and a dysfunctional promotion process that while many individuals within the RCMP have changed,

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18 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS the culture has not. Thirty-eight years since the first women On January 27, 2012, the RCMP issued a formal apology were sworn in to the ranks of the RCMP, Boudreau points out to the families of the missing women. “These types of public that women “are facing obstacles and barriers in promotion.” His apologies are rare, both for the RCMP and for the police in view of the women Mounties suing the RCMP is that “they are general,” says Boudreau. “One could argue that this apology courageous because they are going against a juggernaut.” is too little, too late for the victims. Moreover, the timing is The RCMP’s authoritarian culture makes difficult for victims to somewhat suspicious; issuing an apology while the public challenge intimidation tactics. Galliford says she was mystified by inquiry into the missing women case is ongoing could be seen a hazing to which she says she was subjected after transferring to as an attempt by the RCMP to deflect any criticism that may the Richmond, B.C., detachment from North Vancouver in 1997. be laid against them in the inquiry’s final report.” “For the first three months, none of the other officers spoke From a public relations point of view, the RCMP’s public with me,” she claims. She further alleges that she was forced to apology may be intended to counter criticism that the organ- respond to 911 dispatches without cover by another officer—a ization has been indifferent to the women who went missing practice that is contrary to RCMP policy. Not long after the in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and to the women from alleged hazing incident, Galliford was promoted to the media its own workforce who have had their reports of sexual harass- team charged with deflecting criticism levelled at the RCMP for ment ignored. pepper-spraying demonstrators at the Asia-Pacific Economic Like Gastaldo, Cliffe and Carle, Galliford turned to her Conference in Vancouver in 1997. employee assistance program in 2006, after her health began Galliford’s rising profile as an RCMP media spokesperson to fail. Confiding to counsellors that she was drinking in ex- came at a time when the Mounties desperately needed to deflect cess, she was referred on two separate occasions for treatment public criticism over their ability for substance abuse. Unfortunately, to investigate complicated, high- that treatment did little to address profile criminal cases in a timely “They have created a toxic Galliford’s post-traumatic stress manner. As the RCMP in B.C. workplace, high levels of stress disorder, a condition she says led to came under increasing fire for her to being placed on stress leave. dragging its heels on the Robert and a culture of fear.” Webster characterizes the Pickton investigation, Galliford —psychologist Mike Webster RCMP policy that keeps employees says the harassment she experi- like Galliford on medical leave for enced also heated up. years as “bizarre.” He believes that While the number of women disappearing from Vancouver’s if a union was certified to represent aggrieved RCMP officers, Downtown Eastside continued to rise, Galliford also began to not only the Mounties but the public at large would be better wonder why the Major Crimes Unit of the RCMP had not served. Kosteckyi is also of the view that a union is necessary applied for a warrant to search the Port Coquitlam pig farm of to address the RCMP’s long-standing sexist, bullying culture. suspect Robert Pickton. The missing women’s investigation was He believes civilian oversight of the RCMP complaints process also complicated by jurisdictional issues. Vancouver’s Downtown is also long overdue. Eastside, lies within the jurisdiction of the Vancouver Police Since the reports of harassment were made public, the department, while the Pickton farm is located in Coquitlam RCMP has contracted with Battered Women’s Support and is policed by the RCMP. Services of Vancouver to operate a national hotline to coun- The issue of why it took so long for police to arrest Pickton sel and provide legal referrals for RCMP officers who have has become the focus of the Missing Women Commission of experienced sexual harassment. Inquiry. At least a dozen women were murdered between the After Galliford blew the whistle, Prime Minister Stephen time Pickton first became a person of interest in 1998 and his Harper appointed a new RCMP police commissioner, Robert arrest on murder charges in February 2002. Originally charged Paulson. A veteran Mountie with a track record of being tough with 26 murders, Pickton was convicted on six counts of second on organized crime, Paulson has vowed to get to the root of the degree murder in 2007. The Crown prosecutor’s office decided sexual harassment complaints. In June, Parliament tabled the against prosecuting him on the remaining 20 charges. While the Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Vancouver Police Department has come under fire for failing Act, which proposes to establish a civilian investigation body to protect vulnerable women from the Downtown Eastside for the RCMP and to expand management’s authority to disci- community, including sex-trade workers, a harsher spotlight pline wayward officers. Only time will tell, however, whether has been cast on the RCMP, which, since the convening of this top-down remedy will be effective in ensuring that sexual the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, has also been harassment is addressed so that women Mounties have a safe fingered as a breeding ground for sexual harassment. and functional work environment. 

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 19 20 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS CHOICE HOW OUR RALLYING CRY GOT CO-OPTED AND WHY WE NEED TO TAKE IT BACK FEMINISM

BY MEGHAN MURPHY

ave you noticed that a lot of conversations education, abuse or the reality of living in a culture about female empowerment today seem to that objectifies women’s bodies—are neatly erased. No H be stuck in a discourse of choice that makes one is forcing her to be there, choice feminism says. If it difficult to challenge—well, anything at all? men will pay, why not take the cash? Falling somewhere between and The decision made by Slutwalk DC organizers to the American dream, choice feminism is the new hold a fundraiser for an event last year in a strip club reigning queen of empowerment discourse. In contrast invoked this notion of choice feminism. Many feminists to political philosophies that explore the ways in which balked at the idea of using a strip club for a seemingly structural inequality limits freedom, choice feminism oppositional cause. However, the organizers responded tells us that every individual is free to choose and that in a statement on their Tumblr page stating, “This is choice is empowering, no matter what the choice a non-judgmental movement that embraces all choices actually is. a woman wishes to make.” Really? Since when is non- The result is that the term choice is now employed judgmental the descriptor of a movement based on in feminist debates about everything from the sex achieving collective freedom from oppression and industry to marriage and makeup. Choice feminism exploitation? What if the choices being made perpetuate dictates that any time a woman makes a choice it is an patriarchal ideas? act of feminism. Part of the problem is that all of the well-intentioned Because a woman chooses to work in a strip club, talk about female empowerment in the third wave has for example, the factors that could affect her choice to left many of us fearful of falling into the much-criticized

Illustration: Michele Buchanan do this work—which may include class, colonialism, realm of “victim feminism.” Maybe, for some, the

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 21 empowerment message of choice is simply a reflection prostitution as a personal choice frames it as an of a sense of entitlement to all the world has to offer. empowerment exercise and, in so doing, erases the Perhaps, too, , commonly seen as being context of male domination and female exploitation focused on individualism and on reform rather than in which it typically occurs. on structural change, is as far as some are willing to The rise of choice feminism could either be go. Perhaps some think it is the best they can hope for. interpreted as a significant weakness of the movement Whatever its origins, choice feminism has co-opted or simply as the effect of postmodernism on feminist feminist language in a way that takes the political out theory and women’s studies, an aspect of feminist of the personal. It’s all about whatever makes you feel thought that is often criticized for being too vague and good—right now! offering little in terms of action. Either way, choice We need to reclaim the word choice. After all, it is feminism is not furthering debate, but stifling it. one of the founding philosophical underpinnings of Choice is far more complex than adherents of choice the modern feminist movement and the slogan in the feminism make it out to be. For example, while our fight for reproductive rights. Choice is the embodiment freedom to make choices enhances our ability to feel of the political demand for abortion. Historically, it personally empowered, many of the choices we make was a liberating concept that represented women’s do not help anyone but ourselves. One woman’s pole- freedom and autonomy—not only in terms of their dancing class might be another’s sole method of reproductive decisions, but also in more public aspects obtaining an income. of life and society. Having the right to choose an Heaping this decontextualized notion of choice upon abortion allows many women to feel they have a the often very limited decisions made by women who measure of control over their bodies and their lives. are disadvantaged erases the structural inequities that This particular use of choice rhetoric was not without feminism would normally set out to change. As problems, however, since more privileged women feminists, we need to remember that, in this world, always had greater access to reproductive choices one person’s freedom often comes at the expense of compared to more marginalized women. Today, though, another’s. This includes the West’s exploitation of choice is no longer a rallying cry for change. Instead, developing countries as well as issues of class and choice has become a gag used to stifle debate. privilege right here at home. The birth control pill, Denise Thompson wrote about the problem of later hailed as a huge leap towards women’s liberation, individualism as a foundation for feminist action in was tested on underpriviledged women in Puerto Rico her book Today. She argues that before it was allowed to be sold on the North American “if domination is desired, it cannot be challenged market. White middle-class women’s choices have and opposed.” So, for example, if sex worker is framed always taken priority over the choices of more as an individual choice, the system of prostitution marginalized women. can be dissociated from the idea of systematic or And yet, who am I to tell another woman that she gendered oppression. If prostitution is only a personal isn’t empowered or that she isn’t really making her life choice, it need not have anything to do with choices freely? As one of the founders of Slutwalk . It becomes a private issue rather than a Toronto, who appeared in a debate to defend her public one. And yet, as we all know, private choices reclaimation of the word slut in 2010, said: “For me don’t provide the basis for a movement. Viewing to call myself whatever language I want if I find it

“Choice feminism has co-opted feminist language in a way that takes the political out of the personal.”

22 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS “As feminists, we need to remember that, in this world, one person’s freedom often comes at the expense of another’s.”

empowering, for somebody else to say that that’s here is that if we make a decision to objectify ourselves, not a right choice, when this is my choice, I find then we can’t be exploited because we made that choice. that problematic.” We can make sexism fun if we choose it. In fact, we can If we consider the objections that have been heard make sexism disappear if we choose it. by some women of colour—such as a statement by Beyond simply choosing objectification, women Black Women’s Blueprint that read, “We do not have are told that if they are compensated, sexism can be the privilege or the space to call ourselves ‘slut’ all the more empowering. Capitalism, partnered with without validating the already historically entrenched media and neo-liberalism, tells us that all we need to ideology and recurring messages about what and do is to get paid in order for something to become a who the Black woman is”—the idea of feminist act. Famous burlesque dancer Dita von Teese the word slut under the guise of choice may not be asked, “How can it be disempowering when I’m up so radical after all. there for seven minutes and I’ve just made $20,000? For me, it comes down to whether one person’s I feel pretty powerful.” choice to play with objectification may actually have Not only does von Teese ignore the fact that most an impact on other women. Feminism isn’t simply women who are paid to take their clothes off do not doing whatever we want, whenever we want, without earn that amount of money, but there is also the fact considering how our actions impact others. that receiving payment does not negate objectification. If choice is going to continue to be a valuable part Undeniably, choice is fundamental to feminism. of feminist discourse and a foundation for activism, But that does not mean that every choice we make we need to start thinking of it in collective, rather than is a feminist one. Choice, and the feminist context individualistic, terms. within which the slogan was born, has been Individual autonomy and empowerment has been de-politicized. Hey, we’re so free and empowered eagerly taken on by mainstream media as an all-too- that we don’t even need the feminist movement easy way to sell products. Choose to buy whatever you anymore! See how dangerously easy it is to manipulate like—it’s empowering! Whether it’s a new vacuum this rhetoric into something that actually limits cleaner or Virginia Slims cigarettes, it’s all a choice choice for women? and, by extention, all feminist. I want real choices. I want to change the system Sexist media has also caught on to this trend. This within which those choices are made, not just use kind of language is used to justify the objectification the language of choice to benefit or to comfort me. of women’s bodies. Look at the way choice is presented I want liberation from the forces that lead women in the show Girls Gone Wild, which has been discussed into strip clubs, stilettos and Girls Gone Wild. I want at length by American feminists Ariel Levy and Karen collective empowerment, not temporary empowerment C. Pitcher. The messages of these videos are that a) for only a few. I don’t want fake choices designed by this is fun, b) everyone is participating through their the very mechanisms that oppressed women in the own free will and c) this kind of behaviour is inevitable. first place.  One Girls Gone Wild participant is quoted in Levy’s Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Meghan Murphy is a freelance writer, a host and producer Culture saying, “It’s not like we’re creating this.... This of The F Word radio show, and the editor of www. is happening whether we’re here or not. Our founder feminisms.org. She has a master’s degree in women’s studies was just smart enough to capitalize on it.” The message and lives in Vancouver.

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 23 the leasure rinciple HOW SEXUAL EMPOWERMENT CAN DISRUPT A RAPE CULTURE P BY RENEE BONDY emember that old Herbal Essence shampoo com- portrayals of women in pop culture and porn all but mercial, the one with the woman in the shower? obliterate the possibility for unadulterated images of R Maybe, like me, you were unconvinced that lath- women’s solo sexual pleasure. ering your hair with aromatic shampoo could bring you In North America, women are inundated with conflict- to a moaning, gasping, squealing orgasm, as the television ing messages about sexual pleasure, and it can be tough ad suggested. Here was another example of women’s to find empowering, sex-positive spaces and discussions. sexuality being used to sell a product—a sure-fire way to On one hand, the tenet “good girls don’t” continues to heighten women’s sex appeal! Impulsively, the self-righ- be strongly endorsed. Abstinence-based sex-ed programs teous feminist in me added that brand to my list of and the purity balls and pledges popular among the boycotted products. Christian right in the U.S. are just a few ways this mes- However, the more I saw the commercial, the more I sage is promulgated. On the other hand, popular films, appreciated it. After all, the intensely perfumed shampoo music and magazines advance hyper-sexualized (and wasn’t marketed to men, and here was a woman, alone hetero-normative) images of very young women, exploit- in her shower, rocking one intense orgasm! Perhaps there ing and demeaning them as sexual objects. From Rihanna was something positive in this portrayal, after all. videos to Cosmo, such images abound in pop media. I was inspired to watch for more examples of women’s As a feminist, I firmly believe that a woman’s sexual sexual pleasure in popular culture. It didn’t take long to empowerment can actually empower her in other aspects realize that media representations of women engaged in of her life as well. So, how, you ask, might the personal sexual enjoyment without a partner, for reasons other experience of sexual pleasure strengthen women in their than the gratification of a male spectator, were few and political struggles? far between. In recent years, a woman-centred retail sex industry, Maybe this isn’t surprising. Together, strong social feminist popular literature and scholarly research have taboos around masturbation and distorted, misogynous each made meaningful contributions to the discussion

24 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS of sexual pleasure, taking ideas about women’s sexuality beyond the dichotomous extremes of abstinence versus exploitation. Whether it’s a favourite sex shop or online retailer, a book or a college or university classroom, women today have unprecedented access to practical information about sex that goes way beyond what students used to learn in health class. Most importantly, this trend has informed new research and discussion on the connections between sexual empowerment and women’s ability to resist sexual assault. Where might women begin their quest for sex-positive information that legitimizes their desire for sexual plea- sure? Well, in an ideal world, such inquiry would be initiated between and among women, with mothers and mentors leading the way. “On my 18th birthday, my mom pulled me into the living room to give me a gift,” recalls Krystin, a Vancouver Island University student in her late 20s, “a light pink vibrator and a book on female orgasm and sexuality.” The book was Rebecca Chalker’s The Clitoral Truth, which explains in detail the workings of the vast system that is the clitoris and its 18 parts. While initially surprised, Krystin was deeply moved by her mother’s rationale. “She refused to have her daughters go through life knowing only how to pleasure a man and not themselves.” Chalker wrote The Clitoral Truth because she believed too many women thought the “clitoris is this teeny pea- sized bump and that women’s sexual response is not as powerful as men’s.” If they understood how all of the parts of the clitoris work together to produce orgasms, she hoped they would be better able to explore and en- hance their sexual response. Good For Her founder Carlyle Jansen, shown here with a product designed to Krystin says her mother’s gesture continues to affect strengthen the user’s pubococcygeus muslces, has conducted over a thousand her in countless positive ways. On a personal level, she workshops on sex and relationships for youth, older adults and sex therapists. says, it was a revelation to her that women “experience many different forms of pleasure in so many ways it was [with our] school work: We call it ‘procrasterbation.’ It’s like discovering new flavours of ice cream.” funny and serious all in one.” When entering into sexual relationships in early adult- While not all of us are lucky enough to have a mother hood, Krystin says, “I didn’t feel like I needed reassurance like Krystin’s, or a sex-positive mentor or peer group, from just any Joe Blow. I own my sexuality.” there are plenty of other resources women can access. Although some of her peers are reluctant to talk openly When Carlyle Jansen founded Good For Her, a Toronto- about sex, Krystin’s self-assurance and her sense of hu- based women’s sex shop, in 1997, she wanted to fill what mour help to open communication. she saw as a pressing need in women’s lives. Today, Good “There isn’t a lot of talk surrounding female sexual For Her and its online presence are going strong, provid- pleasure,” she says. “I think women have a long way to ing quality sex workshops, books, DVDs and toys for go with that. There are only a few of my friends who feel women. Jansen offers insights about the positive changes empowered and are comfortable. A friend of mine and the retail sex industry has both encouraged and embraced I have an inside joke about the way we procrastinate in the past decade.

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 25 age and body type. (See “Ethical Pornography,” by Tina Vasquez, Herizons Spring 2012.) But access to woman-friendly and environmentally responsible products is just the beginning. Whether through businesses like Good For Her or through inde- pendent facilitators, women are attending sexuality workshops in growing numbers. Some attendees are reticent at first. Jansen observes that “people assume that sex is natural. They say: What is there to learn? You just do it! Thinking about sex as a skill is foreign.” Given that most workshop attendees are between 30 and 60, it seems that it takes women a while to seek out information. “You can have a lot of sex and not know how to talk about it, and not know your body,” Jansen offers. At Good For Her, workshop topics are developed based on customer demand. Current offerings include Role Play Bootcamp, Anal Play, Learning to Orgasm and Lesbian Sex 101. Giving Great Head is the most popular workshop. To me, this raises the red flag that many women put their male partners’ pleasure ahead of their own. But, on the positive side, attending any workshop is a start. While workshops have come a long way over the years, not everyone is comfortable in a group setting. So it is no surprise that many women find popular literature a prime source of information and inspiration. Feminist magazines fit the bill for some, and those marketed to young women are especially attuned to what their target demographic wants to know about sex. The Canadian magazine Shameless, which bills itself as “your regular dose of fresh feminism for girls and trans youth,” fre- quently publishes sex-positive articles. South of the border, Bust offers a monthly advice column by sexologist

Social psychologist Charlene Senn, a professor at the University of Windsor, Betty Dodson (author of the popular bestseller Sex for says that a Yes means Yes approach is effective for sexual assault prevention. One) and sex educator Carlin Ross. Bust also runs a (Photo: Kevin Kavanaugh) regular short story column, unabashedly titled “The One-handed Read,” tapping in to women’s desire for “Products have radically changed,” says Jansen, largely steamy feminist erotica. because manufacturers recognized that women have In the past decade, women’s sexual pleasure has been purchasing power. Toys are now marketed specifically a hot topic in the publishing world, and countless titles to women, notes Jansen, a facilitator of more than a are readily available. From the aforementioned Dodson thousand workshops on sex and relationships for youth, to well-known Canadian Sue Johansen, how-to advice older adults, and sex therapists. They are “more elegant abounds. Having access to solid information about and have a better sense of function … and the quality sexuality is a great first step for women who want to has improved.” learn more about their sexuality and take charge of their Even erotic filmmakers have stepped it up to meet sexual pleasure. women’s demands for feminist porn made by women for Probably the most significant trend in feminist writing women, with more diverse representations of women about sexuality in recent years is the attention paid to based on factors including ethnicity, sexual orientation, the lived experiences of sex-positivity and its effects on

26 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS women, both individually and collectively. Yes Means Yes: in their lifetimes, and that one in four women in university Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape, will experience rape or attempted rape before they com- by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valente (Seal Press, 2009), plete their education (often by an acquaintance or date), typifies this sub-genre. and disheartened by the fact that programs attempting Inverting the anti-rape aphorism No means No, to change the behaviour of male perpetrators are largely Friedman, Valente and other writers in the collection ineffectual, Senn set out to develop new approaches to advocate a Yes means Yes approach, one that embraces rape resistance. women’s sexual pleasure and advocates politicization Supported by a research grant from the Canadian based in sexual empowerment. An antidote to the victim- Institutes of Health Research, Senn leads a team of blaming so common in discourses about rape, a Yes means researchers in an ongoing five-year study involving the Yes approach acknowledges the ways in which “suppress- implementation and evaluation of a sexual assault resis- ing female sexual agency is a key element in rape culture, tance training program for students at the University of and therefore how fostering genuine female sexual au- Calgary, the University of Guelph and the University tonomy is necessary in fighting back against it,” explain of Windsor. The program has two key components. Friedman and Valente. First, in three group sessions, young women are taught While Friedman, Valente and other like-minded young strategies to prevent sexual assault, such as risk assess- feminists have experienced some backlash against their ment and self-defence; second, participants attend a views, they are finding increasing support in both activ- sexuality and relationships session designed to increase ism and feminist research. SlutWalk participants across young women’s awareness of their own sexual desires North America take a Yes means and relationship needs. Yes approach to the streets in The preliminary results of order to undermine rape culture. “You can have a lot of Senn’s study are promising: Natasha Sanders-Kay, an orga- Those students who attended the nizer of Vancouver’s SlutWalk, sex and not know how sexuality and relationships ses- was drawn to the cause because to talk about it, and not sion were faster than their it addresses the issue of violence know your body.” counterparts who attended the against women and acknowl- three strategies sessions alone in edges their sexual empowerment. —Carlyle Jansen, identifying risks and were more “A lot of activist efforts don’t founder Good for Her. likely to indicate that they would make the connection between try to leave a situation where an the two,” Sanders-Kay notes. assault could occur. In short, “SlutWalk aims to create a safe environment for people knowing what they want from sex, being in touch with to perform their gender and sexuality without blame or their bodies and desires, makes women more able to shame.” quickly claim what they want and reject what they don’t. While critics argue that the effort to reclaim the word Senn stresses that speed is an important factor because slut involves turning a blind eye to its violent and mi- it is usually easier for women to get away or resist in the sogynous legacy, other women feel that SlutWalk is a earlier stages of a sexual assault or an attempted sexual way for women to attack the very concept of the slut. assault. This seemingly simple effect has profound im- Sanders-Kay believes, “We’re all impacted by victim plications. Senn projects that, if implemented successfully, blaming and sex-shaming,” and some women who are the program used in her research could result in a 30-to- empowered in their sexuality can take back the word and 50-percent reduction in the number of sexual assaults on use their individual and collective power to affect change. university campuses. New research confirms that sexual empowerment and Whether women explore the dynamics of sexual combating rape culture go hand in hand. Social psycholo- pleasure for self-pleasure’s sake, to enhance their sexual gist Charlene Senn, a professor at the University of experiences with a partner, or for the purposes of per- Windsor, conducts innovative research on violence against sonal safety or political empowerment, the issue of women. Her results confirm that a Yes means Yes ap- female sexual pleasure as defined and redefined by in- proach is effective. Alarmed by the statistics that report dividual women is a reminder that the personal remains that more than one in six women will be sexually assaulted as political as ever. 

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 27 Help Build a Sustainable

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Herizons PAC Ad-Sum12.indd 1 12-06-22 2:38 PM Herizons PAC Ad-Sum12.indd 2 12-06-22 2:38 PM Michael O’Neill (left) and JD Samson of the band Men sing about lesbian adoption and a wartime economy.

a TATEMENT S BY BRITTANY SHOOT about MEN

hen feminist electroclash trailblazers Le Tigre other acts—most notably Christina Aguilera—their indefinite disbanded in 2006, fans wondered what might rise break gave them a chance to pursue side projects. Samson W from their synthpunk ashes. For the better part of and Fateman reunited in 2007 to begin working on a band the aughts, the band’s founding members, Kathleen Hanna they eventually dubbed Men. Pretty soon, the humble col- (formerly of Bikini Kill) and Johanna Fateman, rocked out laboration had become a full-scale artists’ collective, drawing alongside resident DJ and producer JD Samson. Alongside her in other musicians and artists to participate in radically work with Le Tigre, Samson was also known for her dance transformative dance music that was often performed wearing troupe Dykes Can Dance, as well as for her gender-bending elaborate costumes. These days, the band’s constantly shifting moustache and alternative pin-up calendar projects that featured lineup features Samson, guitarist Michael O’Neill and drum- photos of her riding around the United States in an RV. mer Lee Free. Though not currently on tour, Fateman still Though members of Le Tigre also wrote for and produced writes lyrics with Samson.

30 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS HERIZONS: What do you mean when you talk about the “radical potential of dance music?” JD SAMPSON: There is an opportunity to create a safe en- vironment for all kinds of people to move their bodies, sweat and use their brains at the same time. We feel that both dance music and pop music—as genres that are accessible to the mainstream—are aching for something new, for something real, for radical content and for people to test the boundaries of those genres.

Even when you’re singing about depressing topics, your music sounds like one big house party. How do you stay optimistic about the potential for social change when it comes to women’s and queer rights? JD SAMPSON: Part of what I think is important about this project is not preaching to the converted, or being didactic at all. I think we are reality-checking our listeners. On Talk About Body in particular, I think we spent a lot of energy feeling depressed about our environment, our finances and our war-torn existences. But instead of trying to change the world by some kind of self-congratulatory rage, we really wanted to state the truth and let the audience do what they will. Setting it to dance music is an interesting juxtaposition because it makes anthems feel almost more real. We connect in our collective disconnects, and I feel happy to create that kind of space, because it can be depressing and happy at the same time—just like life.

While on tour, you’ve been stopped at an immigration checkpoint because the guard thought the gender listed on your passport was incorrect. How do you handle those kinds of assumptions? JD SAMPSON: Oh gosh. That happens to me often. It’s really stressful, to be honest. I usually just want people to ignore me or not to make a big deal about my gender. It is much easier for me to pass—easier on my emotions. I’m kind of sensitive, and I like to keep to myself in public situations like that. The other day it happened again, and I had already missed two flights, so I honestly got really upset and said, “Please don’t. Not now. I’m a woman. Just let me go now.” And [the border official] was so shocked. I just stopped talking, and eventually she laughed and I walked away. What else can you do, really?

On their impressively catchy first full-length release, Talk About How do you organize a band that also functions as an artistic col- Body, the band’s pop, dance and disco influences are apparent on lective? How do you decide when new people will join? every track. Their frenetic cover of the Joan Armatrading folk JD SAMPSON: The collective idea exists so that people can song “My Family” once again redefines the concept of who can feel free to come and go in either the writing process or the be considered a partner, lover or friend. This spring, Men released live performance, so that they can do what they need to do, their second EP, Next, and played several U.S. shows in support and I think it works well so that no one feels like they are of the Occupy movement. Pop music might seem like an odd being forced into anything and everyone can exercise their way to inspire social change, but Men’s powerful anthems are own personal art careers. We have visions for the project, and bolstered by progressive, provocative lyrics about lesbian adoption, they change all the time. We will constantly be shifting, as sex toys, communal living and the wartime economy. far as I know. I think that’s what keeps it fresh for us and for While on tour with Men, JD Samson spoke to Herizons. the audience. 

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 31 Drawing Inspiration BY HILARY BARLOW COMIC ARTIST WILLOW DAWSON

Graphic novel illustrator and cartoonist Willow Dawson portrays passion and politics with her pen drawings and illustrations.

32 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS istorical heroines pepper the work of Willow Dawson, a Toronto-based cartoonist and illustra- H tor who studied illustration at the Ontario College of Art and Design. The protagonists in her books are often young women and girls taking on non-traditional roles in a male-dominated world. In 2005, Dawson was commissioned to create comic strips for Deepa Mehta’s documentary Let’s Talk About It, a film about domestic violence with a special highlight on immigrant families. In collaboration with Emily Pohl-Weary, Dawson created Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate, and in 2008 she worked with Susan Hughes to create No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure, a col- lection of stories about historical women who masqueraded as men. Her most recent graphic novel, Hyena in Petticoats: The Story of Suffragette Nellie McClung, was published in November 2011 by Penguin Books. Herizons caught up with Dawson to discuss her current and upcoming projects, and gender in the graphic novel industry.

HERIZONS: When did you first get involved with the comics scene? WILLOW DAWSON: I started making ’zines in the early 90s. My first comic came out in 2003. My father is an artist so I grew up making art in all different kinds of media. I thought I was going to be a sculptor when I grew up. I had no idea I’d be making comics.

Comics/graphic novels are still often thought of as a male-dominated medium. Has it changed since you’ve become part of the field? WILLOW DAWSON: It has been changing since before I became involved in comics, and it hasn’t stopped yet. I teach a course called Creating Comics and Graphic Novels at the University of Toronto, and every semester, the number of women signing up steadily increases.

How does gender play a role when you’re creating comics? WILLOW DAWSON: Most of my work is non-fiction. So if I’m working on a subject about tomboys, then the girls in that story will be a little more boyish than girlie. If the person is or was born one sex, then grew up and realized they were not that sex at all, then that will come out in the work, too. And likewise, ABOVE No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom if the story is about a boy who turned into a macho man or a and Adventure © 2008 Susan Hughes. Illustrations © 2008 Willow Dawson. girl who grew up to be super-girlie, that would filter in, too. BELOW Lila Ecco’s Do-It-Yourself Comics Club © 2010 Willow Dawson; No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure What can you tell us about your recent projects? © 2008 Susan Hughes. Illustrations © 2008 Willow Dawson. WILLOW DAWSON: My graphic novel Hyena in Petticoats: The Story of Suffragette Nellie McClung with Penguin Books is I’m really interested in the work between you and your collaborators/ out now. I illustrated The Big Green Book of the Big Blue Sea, a co-authors in works like No Girls Allowed. What is the process science book by Helaine Becker, was published in April 2012 you go through together? through Kids Can Press. And I just toured Prince Edward Island WILLOW DAWSON: In regards to collaborations, I am usu- this spring with TD Children’s Book Week, which was exciting. ally approached by other people and my job is clearly laid out

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 33 by the fact that I‘m the illustrator. I am given a script, which Satrapi; and Mariko Tamaki, author of the graphic novel Skim. I break down into thumbnails—tiny, undefi ned images where My studio mates and my dear friend Dylan Williams from I am simply mapping things out. These are tidied up into Sparkplug Comics, who passed away last year, are also influences. pencils and submitted for review. After approval, I proceed to Do you think there are some things graphic novels can accomplish the inks, and then the book is lettered. All discussion between that other genres cannot in terms of how they reach readers or how the author and illustrator is handled by the editor. they tell stories? I prefer working with less-detailed scripts and more-fl exible authors so that I have lots of freedom to add to the story being WILLOW DAWSON: First, comics are a great literacy tool. told. When I was researching No Girls Allowed, I found that I Readers who are overwhelmed by large blocks of text and those was getting really inspired by bits of information and facts about dealing with various reading challenges might fi nd it easier to the various time periods, cultures, locations. Susan Hughes [the approach a book with a mix of pictures and words. We have writer] and our editor were very open to me suggesting revisions entered a visual era, and I think it’s really important for institu- to the script and adding elements into the background imagery. tions of learning—schools, libraries, etcetera—to accept the fact All three of us inspired each other through the process. that there are other forms of literacy besides words. Words are very important, but imagery, especially sequential imagery, can What kind of responses have you gotten from readers? help people understand better what the words on the page mean. I love to hear how my stories have inspired or touched people. In this way, comics are also useful for translation. I imagine that, It’s what keeps me writing. I love the script-writing process centuries from now, even if all humanity were annihilated, if some when I receive feedback from my peers, agent and editors. This sentient creature came across a library, vaulted deep underground, stage is essential, and I almost always fi nd the criticism inspiring. this would be the case. In order to properly understand the dif- ferent communities and cultures, the meaning of the words on What are some of your inspirations for your work? Influences? the page would have to be unlocked. And the key to that would WILLOW DAWSON: The woods, the ocean, Eastern come in the form of the accompanying illustrations. Comic books European folk art, fairy tales, science. In terms of influences, my could potentially be the Rosetta stones of the future. father, Clif Dawson, is the biggest. Others include Marguerite In regards to the experience of reading comics, the great magic Abouet, a graphic novelist most famous for her series Aya; of the medium lies in what Scott McCloud calls closure—where Cuban-American painter Edel Rodriguez; Evelyn Lau, author the reader closes the gap between panels themselves, creating of Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid; Persepolis author Marjane a seamless visual experience in their head. 

Hyena in Petticoats: The Story of Suffragette Nellie McClung © 2011 Willow Dawson. Illustrations copyright © 2011 Willow Dawson.

34 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS 2

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36 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS Body Politic BY JOANNA CHIU

BIRTH CONTROL AND ABORTION UNDER ATTACK

As a Canadian following the health coverage debate on birth the leadership of Joyce Arthur, has helped lead the campaign control in the U.S., I was astounded at the theatrics. Replete to raise awareness and organize opposition to motion 312. with crusading priests and radio host Rush Limbaugh call- “We won’t sit back and relax,” vows Arthur. “We will maintain ing Georgetown University student Sandra Fluke a “slut” for the pressure to keep these issues front and centre.” testifying in support of birth control health coverage, the war As demonstrated by the erosion of access to abortion in the on women south of the border seemed more dramatic than U.S. since Roe vs. Wade, having abortion rights on the books anything going on in Canada. doesn’t mean governments will not backtrack. The reopen- But even though abortion has been legal since 1969, and ing of debate in Parliament on whether fetuses should have though Canada is one of the few countries in the world with no personhood status means anti-choice activists have already legal restrictions on abortion, women’s reproductive rights are gained an inch. Luckily, since the vast majority of Canadians being insidiously attacked. In 2008, a bill that sought criminal support abortion access, the key for pro-choice advocates is penalties up to life in prison for anyone who caused the death just to make sure the public becomes aware of any threats to of a fetus passed through two readings in Parliament before their reproductive rights. being voted down. Feminist bloggers such as Bernadette Wagner of The Regina And now, pro-life politicians tried again to reopen the abor- Mom blog and contributors at the Dammit Janet! blog, were tion debate at a time when a Conservative majority sits in the instrumental in educating the public about motion 312. They House. On April 26, motion 312 was debated in Parliament. developed easy ways for people to get involved, such as signing The private member’s bill, proposed by Conservative MP petitions and sending postcards to MPs. Stephen Woodworth, calls for a re-examination of whether And Canadian advocates put on some theatrics of our own. fetuses should be included in the Criminal Code definition of The day before the first debate on motion 312, the Radical a “human being.” If fetuses were granted personhood status, Handmaids, a pro-choice group dressed in red robes and white this could lead to the recriminalization of abortion. caps, rallied on Parliament Hill. Playing off Margaret Atwood’s In the first round of debate, members of Parliament crushed dystopian novel A Handmaid’s Tale, a story in which fertile Woodworth’s weak arguments. Gordon O’Connor, Conservative women are used as reproductive slaves, the Radical Handmaids party whip, told Woodworth that ‘‘society has moved on and I captured the attention of Canadians in a fun and fresh way. do not believe this proposal should proceed.” “Yes, what we’re doing is absurd, but it points out the ab- After watching the debate, I felt very optimistic that the mo- surdity of pushing reproductive rights back to the 1960s,” said tion would be rejected. But what remains worrying is that this Radical Handmaid co-founder Julie Lalonde. debate occurred despite strong opposition from the majority It’s been a rough couple of years for social justice activists, of Canadians. Hundreds of thousands of people have signed and the Radical Handmaids have found a way to energize petitions opposing motion 312. Pro-choice Canadians, who people. Radical Handmaid demonstrations have already hap- make up the majority of the country, as shown in poll after pened across the country. poll, report feeling surprised that they still need to speak up to A solid victory for pro-choice Canadians can make a strong defend reproductive rights. As one popular protest sign read, statement in favour of women’s rights and against their erosion. “I can’t believe I’m still protesting this shit.” Be sure to remind your MP today that you support women’s Yet pro-choice advocates won’t slow down anytime soon. continued access to legal abortion and expect them to vote The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), under against motions like 312. 

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 37 arts culture MUSIC

Lindi Ortega’s sound is reminiscent of Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn.

LINDI ORTEGA been done wrong, who’s done some wrong tunes here reinforce the idea that troubles LITTLE RED BOOTS and who is not afraid to sing about it. shared are troubles halved. Recommended. Last Gang Records Defined alternately as alt-country or neo- rockabilly, Ortega’s sound is reminiscent REVIEW BY CINDY FILIPENKO RAE SPOON of the artists produced by country legend Named in honour of her favourite footwear, I CAN’T KEEP ALL OF OUR SECRETS Owen Bradley in the early ’60s—icons like Saved By Radio Lindi Ortega’s debut CD, Little Red Boots, is a Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn. heaping helping of hurtin’ songs done right. However, Ortega’s voice has more in com- REVIEW BY ANNA LAZOWSKI The Toronto-based singer-songwriter has a mon with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, There are a lot of interesting elements that writing style that hearkens back to the days two of American country’s most esteemed make up a Rae Spoon record. Most remarked- when it was the twang that gave a country singer-songwriters. upon is the fact that Spoon is a transgendered song authenticity. One caveat: Ortega’s searing lyrics can get artist. However, the most intriguing element is Among the best of the dozen songs that a little heavy, as in “Together we will burn and Spoon’s ability to bridge incredibly evocative, make up Little Red Boots are the weepers we will drown and I will spend all night flirting poetic lyrics with electronic music. After all, “Dying of a Broken Heart,” “Little Lie” and with suicide,” on the track “All of My Friends.” he started off in Calgary as a folk artist before “So Sad,” a trio of nuanced portraits of That said, the overall tone of Little Red Boots relocating to Montreal and delving into a new romantic despair. Ortega’s a woman who’s is hopeful. Like the best country songs, the musical style.

38 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS arts culture MUSIC

Over time, Spoon’s experience with musi- and the producer on the record was her and folk. On her new CD, Rebel Baby, she cians who worked with computers opened new boyfriend, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. crosses genres with incredible grace. The up a new way to make music, a skill he’s Vernon’s influence is felt in the layered tex- result is a surprisingly coherent collection spent the last few albums honing. But, de- tures on this disc, moving Edwards further that showcases these talents and allows spite the upbeat, danceable tone of tracks from her roots in alt-country as she digs her to show off a little more with a couple of like “Crash Landing,” “I Can’t Keep All of down into the cycle of emotions that result cabaret-structured tunes (“Twisted by Life” Our Secrets” and “Ocean Blue,” some of from a lost love. is the standout) countrified with the addition the songs on the album were inspired by the Although she mines a range of emotional of fiddles and banjos. death of a close friend. And this is where territory, Edwards does kick off the album Pacek’s more mainstream folk-pop work that disparity that Spoon hits so well really with the radio-friendly “Empty Threat,” be- is good but errs on the side of being too shines, blending opposing emotions and fore diving a little darker for “Chameleon/ reminiscent of female artists who were a genres of music in an unexpected and often Comedian.” She also explores themes of mainstay of ’90s adult contemporary radio. seamless manner. longing for something that wasn’t there With its sure and steady folk guitar lead, Unless you really listen to what’s going on on “Soft Place to Land” and takes half the “These Days” could easily be a “Sunny lyrically, you might mistake elements of this blame for a relationship’s failure in “House Came Home”-era Shawn Colvin song: disc for a dance-pop album. Nonetheless, Full of Empty Rooms.” The order of the “Get out of my head/ Lay this heavy down/ Spoon does show a softer side on tracks like songs is interesting, because it could have Kindly loosen your grip/ And get out of my “When I Said There Was an End to Love I followed a linear map of the unravelling of town.” Likewise, “Back to the Middle,” a Was Lying.” the relationship, culminating with her com- down-tempo examination of living a lonely, I find Spoon’s albums best listened to in ing out the other side; instead it follows the frightened life could have been at home on short bursts, or woven into playlists on an ups and downs that naturally occur in any a Mary Chapin Carpenter disc. The type of iPod. That’s because some of the effects relationship. flat production that was a hallmark of start to feel intrusive, like those on “Are Swinging from hopeful (“Change the unplugged era mars both of these You Jealous of the Dead” and “London the Sheets”) to feeling let down (“Pink lovely songs. Destroyer.” It’s on these tracks that the Champagne”) and back again, the disc If either of these tunes sounded like it had blending of styles is less successful, and ping-pongs through a wide range of emo- been produced in the 21st century, chances I find myself listening to the effect, being tions. If listening to this album will teach are she’d have a hit. transported out of the musical realm Spoon you anything, it’s to be very careful of dat- The production on Rebel Baby’s coun- has created. ing a songwriter ... unless you don’t mind try tunes is far better and complements the intimate details of your relationship Pacek’s pleasant alto. “A Girl Gets By,” KATHLEEN EDWARDS winding up on iPods all over the place. with its slide guitar and solid bass line, is VOYAGEUR a throwback to a time when new country MapleMusic MARTA PACEK didn’t exist. Likewise, the Americana- REVIEW BY ANNA LAZOWSKI REBEL BABY infused “Over to Your Side” belongs to It must have been an unusual position Wildflower Music another time, where artists like Neko Case for Kathleen Edwards to find herself in. REVIEW BY CINDY FILIPENKO and Carolyn Mark prefer to live. Hopefully, She wrote the tracks for her latest album, Aussie singer-songwriter Marta Pacek Pacek decides to move into that neigh- Voyageur, after her marriage ended, straddles the line between alt-country bourhood, too. 

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 39 arts culture SUMMER READING

down by such politics, she finds the best anti- dote is lime juice made with extra sugar—one for herself and one for the houseboy. The strengths of this novel are its plot, its remarkably perceptive characterizations, its impenitent emotionality and its omnipresent sense of hope. Freeman’s style of writing is surprisingly nuanced for the work of a newbie. Sensitive, spontaneous and percep- tive, Freeman’s words beautifully contain the longings, the hopes and the thrills that come looking for our protagonists. It is her portrayal of mothers, in a complete range of emotional diversity, that was the highpoint of this text for me. The unabashed and unapologetic search THE RED ROAD things which make life a little bit more fun for a better life, the defiant confidence in TINA BISWAS and comfy?’” taking on the world single-handedly and Zuuban Books Biswas’s tone is a bit uneven, and she the mature acceptance of responsibility REVIEW BY NIRANJANA IYER can sound wildly academic. Her phrase for all the consequences of one’s actions Amolik Dey is committed to social justice, and “Deracinated by Mr. and Mrs. Brown’s adop- make this story a welcome breath of free- 1960s India offers him a hyper-abundance of tion of him, Amolik, on the cusp of manhood, spirited feminism. causes, for caste and class oppression exac- felt a part of his identity had been appropri- A Disobedient Girl is an intriguing study of erbate the failure of the state to provide for ated...” pulled me right out of the narrative. the psyches of two women who believe in its neediest. A schoolteacher in a village near But this a minor plaint—we need stories like possibilities and fight the fetters of society Calcutta, India, Amolik includes low-caste The Red Road that look beyond reflecting with their sheer strength of will. students (untouchables) in his classroom and legitimizing the concerns of the popular and sacrifices personal comfort and career mass of book buyers, stories that give a voice THE WATERMAN’S DAUGHTER advancement to defy the upper-caste land- to those in the grey margins of shining India. EMMA-RUBY SACHS owners. The catch? He never consults his The Naxalite movement splintered under the McClelland and Stewart family about his decision. thrust of its militancy a few decades ago, but REVIEW BY IRENE D’SOUZA British author Tina Biswas opens her novel Amolik’s struggle is still being played out all The Waterman’s Daughter is set against the with a description of Amolik’s wife Kumari over India. The message is as urgent as ever. beautiful and brutal backdrop of contempo- giving birth to their son, setting the stage for rary Johannesburg, South Africa. The story the primacy of Kumari’s identity as wife and A DISOBEDIENT GIRL opens with the nonchalant shooting of a mother. Kumari wants Amolik to concentrate RU FREEMAN dog, while a young girl, Nomsulwa, attempts Penguin on the straightforward business of livelihood to impress her cousin Mira. Fast-forward and family but is silenced by his intellectual REVIEW BY ANJANA BALAKRISHNAN to Nomsulwa’s adulthood in post-apartheid assertiveness and her own powerlessness as The characters Latha and Biso weave South Africa. The cousins’ experiences are a non-earner. their stories into alternate chapters in Sri still grounded in the reality of an unforgiving Amolik joins the Naxalites, an Indian Lankan author Ru Freeman’s debut novel, A society that discriminates on the bases of group that adopted violence, including mur- Disobedient Girl. Freeman, an activist and race and economics. der, to achieve its goal of equality, and as he journalist, has written an engaging account The cousins belong to a Soweto-based becomes increasingly radicalized, he rejects of two women’s lives. community group intent on sabotaging the all material advancement. As always, it’s Latha, a maid who, while growing up, corrupt government’s plans of privatizing the women who must pay while men wage their was thick friends with Thara, the daughter water supply. The group orchestrates a raid on wars. In India, a little money can mark the of the house, is now denied the luxuries the freshly laid water pipes with military preci- difference between a life with or without Thara enjoys. Biso is a protective mother of sion, while a career policewoman, Zembe dignity, translating into running water, elec- three who is fleeing her abusive marriage in Afrika, turns a blind eye to their stealthy activi- tricity and the cessation of dependence on search of a new life. It is the women’s faith ties. Their alliance is brought to a halt when a broken-down public infrastructure. Kumari in the bounty of life that unites them through Canadian water company executive is found feels “as if by the simple act of wanting, by the pages of this novel. murdered in their black township. measuring her life by what she (and not the Freeman captures the conscience of a When the distraught Claire Matthews whole world) had and didn’t have, she had maid with incredible sensitivity. The invisible arrives from Toronto to unravel the mystery fallen to greed…, had therefore failed to status that has been awarded to maids seems of her father’s violent end, Afrika, who is in understand the real meaning and purpose of to make them objects of servitude with “no charge of the investigation, demands that life. She wanted to ask him, ‘Amu, is it really name, no past, no future, no desire or need.” Nomsulwa distract Claire from interfering so bad to want things? Not luxuries, but just Hilariously, though, when Latha is bogged with the police probe. The plot and action

40 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS arts culture SUMMER READING lines are thus connected. Emma Ruby-Sachs is a competent writer with a talent for describing landscape, and her South African characters are fully de- veloped and three-dimensional. It is Claire who comes across as a whiny and ignorant white woman whose misconceptions of South Africa and its people, as well as her naïveté about the toll of excessive corporate greed, are far-fetched. So, too, is the lack of forensic knowledge among Johannesburg’s finest. At times, these lapses make for a challenging and disjointed read. The female protagonists move the story forward. Claire and Nomsulwa form a hu- man bond that defies the social codes of South Africa. As the lurid details of the lesbian couple at the heart of the group. The how this narrow representation of traffick- murder become disturbing and riveting, young women are targeted by the King, a ing problematically informs public policies, however, the ending offers no solace—just dirty cop with a hate-on for street kids. The namely the Ameri-centric Trafficking Victims continued despair. King does everything in his power to break Protection Act (TVPA). Mahdavi also explains Ferret and Oreo, mind, body and spirit. And how this narrow view has negative conse- THE DIRT CHRONICLES he nearly succeeds. quences in places like the Middle East. KRISTYN DUNNION Author Dunnion is also a performance According to Madhavi, one of the most Arsenal Pulp Press artist and musician. A proclivity towards negative effects of the TVPA is that it treats REVIEW BY SYLVIA SANTIAGO drama is most evident in the Ferret and Oreo all migrant sex workers as trafficking victims. Kristyn Dunnion’s Dirt Chronicles begins stories. Shades darker in tone than the ear- The problem with this right-wing approach, with the entertaining story “Migrant.” The lier tales, these are also satisfying to read. as aptly outlined in Gridlock, is that migrant story features Larry, a reluctant adult who Dunnion is a master at creating engaging sex workers are denied their right to exer- is disenchanted with his job at a mini-golf characters and telling their tales. cise autonomy in choosing their sector of course and with life in general in “Ass Crack, employment. Based on the socio-political un- Ontario.” Leaving work one Sunday, he GRIDLOCK derpinnings of the TVPA, migrant sex workers sees a line of Mexican field labourers bik- Labor, Migration, and Human often are subject to “rescue, rehabilitation ing home. A young man in a Black Sabbath Traffi cking in Dubai and reintegration” against their wills. T-shirt catches Larry’s eye, and he drives PARDIS MAHDAVI Another strong critique developed in alongside to give the teen an earful of the Stanford University Press Gridlock regards how the discourse of hu- band’s “Iron Man” blaring from his stereo: REVIEW BY KATIE PALMER man trafficking disproportionately focuses “The kid belted out the chorus and I joined Public interest in human trafficking is at an on the “boogeyman.” Madhavi boldly argues in. We were heavy metal brothers, separated all-time high. Books, movies, magazines that, rather than focusing on the micro ac- at birth. Behind me some jackass honked…. and documentaries on the topic abound. As tors who help facilitate trafficking, more Can’t even have a quality rock-and-roll mo- someone familiar with most of them, I can as- attention (and resources!) should be given ment with a stranger, for Chrissakes.” sure you that anthropologist Pardis Madhavi’s to the larger socio-political factors that Larry eventually befriends the young man, most recent book, Gridlock: Labor, Migration, render men and women vulnerable to labour Geraldo. As he learns more about Geraldo’s and Human Trafficking in Dubai, offers new exploitation in the first place. Without doubt, circumstances, he decides to rescue him insights, relevant to both academic and policy Gridlock is an exceptional book. from an almost certainly dismal future. circles, in an accessible language. “Migrant” and “Two Ton,” stories in Her most significant contribution with HOME FREE which the narrators discover facets of their the book is that she dispels the narrow and The Myth of the Empty Nest sexuality, are the brightest of the bunch. The highly gendered representation that human MARNI JACKSON chronicles are described as interrelated sto- trafficking involves only women and youth Thomas Allen Publishers ries, yet these two are only tenuously linked who are kidnapped and sold into the sex REVIEW BY CONNIE JESKE CRANE to the rest. The majority of the tales follow industry. Madhavi’s empirical research, “I went to my doctor the other day and ran the misadventures of a group of street kids in undertaken in Dubai, shows that victims of into a friend who was in the waiting room Toronto. For a time, they form a community in trafficking include a range of both women with her 28-year-old daughter, keeping her a derelict factory: “better than living on the and men, including those forced into pros- company. That made me feel better for hav- street, getting beat on and hassled and eating titution as well as agricultural labourers, ing just mailed an asthma puffer to Montreal rape for breakfast,” says the character Ferret. construction workers and domestic workers. for my coughing 25-year-old son.” While several characters are given at- Not only does she widen our understand- Award-winning journalist Marni Jackson’s tention, the focus is on Ferret and Oreo, a ing of who is trafficked, she also lays out second book on motherhood is peppered

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42 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS arts culture SUMMER READING with rueful admissions about her “chronic” motherhood and of trying to let go. An avowed feminist, Jackson examines how her trail-blazing cohort of boomers spawned a generation that, while possibly more con- nected to their parents, is slower to launch. “Twenty percent of North American children between the ages of 18 and 29 still live with their families.... Yet this is slightly embarrass- ing terrain for parents,” she writes. “We don’t like to consider how our over-parenting may have contributed to this. Or is a long incuba- tion period simply the new face of family?” Jackson’s take on the boomerang generation is an up-past-midnight page- turner—not something you expect from a parenting book. Another great strength groups of women in Israel: Palestinian and agendas, its racialized “others” and the in- here is context. Jackson contrasts her par- Mizrahi (Jews who originate from Arab stitutions that determine their lived realities, ents’ humble origins and her freewheeling lands, otherwise known as Arab Jews). with the structures of women’s oppression ’70s childhood with the current intensive Abdo provides a historical analysis, noting and the institutionalized forms of colonial, parenting and examines how feminism, the that Palestinians associated their commu- racist and neo-liberal agendas. economy and government policies factor in. nity “not as an imaginary construct called a people or a nation located outside of their Whenever you think Jackson is merely VOICES OF THE WOMEN’S relating the personal (“I was a textbook inten- historical materiality, but as an expression of HEALTH MOVEMENT sive mother. I couldn’t bear to ‘Ferberize’ my their material connectedness to the land or EDITED BY BARBARA SEAMAN AND son.”) she follows with a wallop of political territory called Palestine.” Though the focus is on these largest de- LAURA ELDRIDGE context: “Somehow, we have gone from ig- Seven Stories Press noring the enormous sacrifices women made mographic blocks, Abdo acknowledges the REVIEW BY ABBY LIPPMAN for their children in the past to valorizing a plurality of women in Israel, which includes The two-volume set Voices of the Women’s new and subtly sacrificial model of mother- Druze, Bedouins, Christians and Muslims as Health Movement is cause for celebration hood that, ironically, might not be helping our well as Ethiopians, Russians and immigrant labourers, where Philippine and Romanian and reflection. Edited by science journalist kids.” What could temper modern parental workers predominate. As such, the strati- and women’s health activist Barbara angst, says Jackson, is “recognition and sup- fications in Israel are marked and great, Seaman, who died in 2008, and reproductive port in a concrete way, from governments and with Ashkenazi (European) Jewish women health expert Laura Eldridge, this collection the economy, for the job of raising children.” of course occupying the highest socio-eco- comprises a diverse set of articles written As a nascent motherhood movement nomic strata of privilege and state support. by more than 200 contributors. struggles to articulate its agenda, Jackson’s Women in Israel is an analysis of the The multiple entries on salient issues in is an important voice highlighting the broader under-classed, racialized and gendered women’s health will undoubtedly make these issues in a personal, relatable vein. It’s warts- subjects of Israel’s state policies. These are books a treasured resource for activists still and-all but hopeful. As Jackson works to let subjects—as in systematically and systemi- promoting societies that value and protect her son go, you notice he’s intent on doing the cally subjected by and through Zionism’s the health of women. The focus is on the same. When she wrote this book he told her: colonial and nationalist purposes. These are work of advocates in the U.S., and many “You can’t be mothering in the writing.” subjects—as in constructed dichotomies of contributors are household names, including racialization, enmities and essentialist iden- Susan Brownmiller, Angela Davis, Barbara WOMEN IN ISRAEL tities, both of Arabs and of Jews. And these Ehrenreich, Germaine Greer, Shulamith Race, Gender and Citizenship are subjects—created in a material process Firestone, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Gloria NAHLA ABDO of domination, be it geographic, economic or Steinem and Rebecca Walker. Zed Books by the state’s apparatus of education distri- Canadians will find not only echoes of work REVIEW BY B.H. YAEL bution and imposed labour market forces. done in our own country but also inspiration Nahla Abdo launched her recent book, Abdo focuses on the comparative mark- for work yet to be done. Addressing this unfin- Women in Israel: Race, Gender and ers of economic citizenship and women’s ished work is ever more important, given the Citizenship, at Beit Zaytoun in Toronto. As she lived realities. What she achieves, through a mean-spirited, neo-liberal, marketplace-domi- said at the launch, “The juice of the book is in feminist lens, in Women in Israel is a complex nated policies and practices of the Harper the details, and the details are in the book.” weave that connects the relational practices government in Canada, including its recent Not just a turn of phrase, this statement that are systematized and produced with and decision to eliminate the Women’s Health addresses Abdo’s materialist approach to by the conceptual and material practices Contribution Program. how she addresses very specific lived ex- of power. She connects the dots between Voices of the Women’s Health Movement periences of the two largest demographic Israel’s Zionist, expansionist and colonial covers the past and the present, underlining

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 43 arts culture SUMMER READING the persistence of women’s health against women and gun control. concerns. Articles written espe- Readers will realize quickly that cially for the book are interspersed Landsberg’s greatest strength in with reprints of foundational writ- writing about the women’s revolu- ings on topics that touch on female tion extends beyond her superior health staples such as abortion, and largely accessible writing menopause, birth control, orgasm, skills. Landsberg actively partici- pregnancy and motherhood. pated in shaping the revolution by Included, too, are chapters on more joining picketers, protesters and recent concerns such as body im- lobbyists, and these activist en- age, STIs, chronic illness, LBT gagements earned her credibility health, women in sports, violence as a feminist journalist. and rape and end-of-life issues. Writing the Revolution is more I’m not sure there’s any other than just a historical collection place where one can find, within of newspaper articles on the the same covers, Fanny Burney’s women’s movement in Canada. For 1811 letter to her sister about her mastec- Chicago, Faiman returned to Winnipeg to starters, Landsberg provides commentary on tomy, Barbara Seaman’s classic “A Pill for become a prominent obstetrician who at- the articles presented in the book. Her witty, Men” and an interview with Byllye Avery, tended more than 5,000 births. intellectual and grounded voice is highly who created the National Black Women’s It was in Chicago that Fainman witnessed, apparent and consistent throughout. In ad- Health Project in the U.S. And this is to se- first-hand, the pain and suffering caused by dition, she animates the newspaper articles lect only three of the 100 or so entries in the self-induced abortions.“Many women were by shedding light on how she had—and, in 11 chapters of volume one. Volume two is no brought into Emergency, sometimes near some cases, continues to have—personal less rich or tempting, and includes contribu- death either from hemorrhaging or septic connections with the various subjects. Many tions from Canadian feminist health shock from acute infections.” This heavily times, women contacted Landsberg to ask advocates Sharon Batt and Anne Rochon influenced him to favour legal abortions per- that she pen articles on their experiences of Ford, as well as several others who make formed by doctors in safe conditions. Long gendered injustices. behind-the-scenes contributions. before the famous 1973 Roe v. Wade case, One drawback of the book is its organi- In case it’s not already apparent, these which legalized first-term abortions in the U.S., zational structure. At times, the ordering of two volumes are must-haves for all who Chicago had become a legendary pro-choice the columns, which is not chronological, is want to understand how women’s health centre and was home to the Jane Collective, a bit choppy and leaves the reader slightly issues have evolved over the past century which campaigned to reform restrictive U.S. confused. Regardless, Writing the Revolution and want to read about those who contrib- abortion laws. University of Manitoba law remains an enlightening and inspiring read. uted to this movement. professor Roland Penner has added a valuable Indeed, the book is an important text for legal summary. the younger generations of feminists who THEY SHOOT DOCTORS, Ultimately, this memoir is about a doctor might be more likely to take the right to DON’T THEY? who strongly, yet quietly upheld the right to abortion or the passing of sexual harass- JACK FAINMAN AND ROLAND PENNER choice for women and nearly paid the ulti- ment laws for granted. At the same time, Great Plains Publishing mate price for his beliefs: A car belonging the book, and particularly the added com- REVIEW BY LISA SHAW to American anti-abortion extremist James mentary, serves as a reminder that despite In 1997, I was mortified to hear on CBC Kopp was reportedly seen at the Canadian the incredible advancements made by the that a Winnipeg doctor had been shot by a border the night of the shooting. While he was women’s movement we still have a long sniper in his home as he watched TV. The never charged in connection with Fainman’s way to go before we fully achieve society- shooting of Jack Fainman was the third shooting, Kopp was convicted of shooting wide equality. in a series of assassination attempts on abortionist Bernard Slepian in New York. Canadian doctors who performed legal OUTSIDE THE BOX abortions. The previous two were Garson WRITING THE REVOLUTION The Life and Legacy of Writer Romalis in Vancouver in 1994 and Hugh MICHELLE LANDSBERG Mona Gould, the Grandmother Short in Ancaster, Ontario, in 1995. Second Story Press I Thought I Knew They Shoot Doctors Don’t They? by REVIEW BY KATIE PALMER MARIA MEINDL Fainman with Roland Penner, is a memoir Michele Landsberg, the award-winning McGill-Queen’s University Press that starts with that fateful night in Winnipeg pioneer in feminist reporting, has put to- REVIEW BY NOREEN SHANAHAN but reveals so much more. Faiman pays gether a collection of carefully selected Mona Gould was a prolific poet, broadcaster respect to his Jewish immigrant parents, articles she wrote for the Toronto Star be- and journalist who profoundly touched the his upbringing in the North End of Winnipeg, tween 1978 and 2003. It’s called Writing the lives of thousands of women, especially his marriage to his beloved Fagie and their Revolution, and the most prevalent issues those who lost husbands, brothers and sons family. After working as a physician in small- documented in the book include sex work, in World War II. Her poem “This Was My town Ontario and training as a specialist in women’s reproductive rights, violence Brother,” about her brother’s tragic death

44 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS arts culture SUMMER READING at Dieppe, France, lived a long while in “Dust was everywhere. At the end of surprises about herself. It’s a good read; at people’s minds and memories back in the each day I ceremoniously gathered a pile times it’s a great read. But the best writing is 1940s and ’50s. of dust from one counter in the study carrel Meindl’s, not Gould’s. Sometimes she moved readers; at other with a wet paper towel, swept it onto my “In a half hour period I might keep times she entertained them. She held the hand and threw it in the garbage.” company with the menopausal widow, the mic out toward the Andrew Sisters in front In the process, Meindl discovers their spirited child, the housewife craving erotic of Toronto’s iconic Honest Ed’s department similar struggles as women eking out fragile adventures ... crowded with characters and store. She interviewed Eleanor Roosevelt, livings as freelance writers, hitting similar scenes from the past, overlaying whatever Louis Armstrong and Irving Layton. On a visit snags and pits, but succumbing to them was happening in the here and now.” to England, she discussed sculpture with quite differently: Gould with a tumbler of As an archivist, Meindl gives Mona, Henry Moore. Johnny Walker, blood red lips and tips, and a woman seemingly forgotten. Gould was born in 1908 and died in 1999. outrageous hats; Meindl with sobriety, pink She also shows us Mona’s struggles as She left behind 38 boxes of papers and a lips and (thank god!) feminism. an independent female Canadian writer. beleaguered granddaughter to make sense Meindl is masterful at exposing the Meanwhile, she entertains us with both the of them. In Outside the Box, Maria Meindl many Monas dumped inside these boxes. pleasures and the “why bothers?” of luxuri- discusses archiving Gould’s life. Meanwhile, she comes up with some ating in another woman’s lettered past.  poetrysnapshot

made of the world may be as entertaining clear-eyed daughter, the post-industrial, and glossy as a picture book (once post-disaster, post-urbanized and -global- seemed), but it doesn’t offer much in the ized child of the given world. way of real hope or consolation. Pigeon is about home, and about the Instead, “Echoes are close at hand, as distance between anywhere and home. in/ a can.” The poem “Song for the Song of Originally a native of rural Saskatchewan, the Aviary” continues with a description of Solie now resides in urban Toronto. To an a colony of cormorants: “Plastic tassels extent, this work is about the distance be- hang./ Beyond: an expanse, a mesh sky, tween the rural and the urban, and the shit/ of the raucous. […] decades of the unencroachable distance between the pent, the bent-/ necked. Maybe they’re past and present (and future). A PAGE FROM THE happy./ Fish in dishes, paste smeared in a In the long poem “Four Factories,” she WONDERS OF LIFE tray,/ a shallow basin, mini-hills…” outlines this ominous vein: “Altec, ON EARTH This is a book about wonder the way a Softcom, Norcan, Cancore,/ subsidiaries STEPHANIE BOLSTER taxidermied bird could be about the wonder crawling onto the farmland./ Employees Brick Books of the bird itself. Maybe it’s wonder, or some- are legion, transient,/ and union, turning thing grimmer. Maybe it’s wonder at the what happened before we existed/ into PIGEON persistence and ceaselessness of human something we can use, at capacity/ day KAREN SOLIE activity, “the steamer [that] forges,” the un- and night. As we sleep, they build our fu- Anansi dying desire for more of the “stuffed stuff.” ture./ Which, as the signs say, belongs to REVIEW BY MARIIANNE MAYS The collection yields insights in off-kil- all of us, is now.” Stephanie Bolster’s poetry is always a sort ter, uneasy ways. Half-repetitions feel “Many things were good/ while they of wonder. Her fourth book is titled after The almost like memories; doors lead to other lasted,” she continues darkly in her poem Wonders of Life on Earth, from 1960, a semi- doors; there are murky glimpses—deflec- “Migration.” anthropological, glossy picture book tions, crushed glass, the “tricky crimson” Solie’s writing is fearless and her thinking published by Time-Life that could be a prop and windows of the red-light district, unsa- lightning-sharp, but it’s the humour that lends on the set of Mad Men. It’s apropos, given voury performances (inside and out), a deep sense of compassion to all of it. In that Bolster is addressing different kinds of trained seals, shut eyes—rainbows appear “Wager” she writes, “Off-season brings rain containment of the natural world. Her book’s in oil slicks and the spilled, polluted guts of and new life/ to old habits. Whatever it is that epigraph is taken from Walter Benjamin’s a plover; “heaven upon the waters” is a we’re doing, we can’t help/ wanting to.” Arcades Project: “At the entrance to the shallow reflection. The poem ends with an image of some- arcade, a mailbox: a last opportunity to There are brief moments of something one driving ahead of you for 45 minutes make some sign to the world one is leaving.” else: “The giant tree frog [that] croaks its with a left turn signal flashing, “through Or the world we are leaving for future diapason in the boughs.” Meanwhile, his jurisdiction of few exits,/ as if the generations—Bolster’s primary concern in “Only in blackness does the great horned hope of a left is all he’s got now/ in his this book. The award-winning poet is de- owl/ soar silently through dim arcades.” one chance on this earth.” And maybe, cidedly (and uncharacteristically) unlyrical If Bolster is a sort of flaneur of the waste- for him, for the moment, it is. Or it seemed here: The cluttered arcade humans have land, Karen Solie, in her book Pigeon, is the that way, at the time. 

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 45 arts culture FILM

In Sleeping Beauty, Emily Browning (left) plays Lucy in a cinematic nightmare.

SLEEPING BEAUTY What makes this film intriguing is that The effect is hypnotic and yet, in some Directed by Julia Leigh Leigh’s creepy tone is seamless. This not strange way, it captures the nuance of a girl only demonstrates the incredible control in her early 20s navigating the strangeness REVIEW BY MAUREEN MEDVED of the Australian director, but it resonates of a world that responds with outraged con- As with the Sleeping Beauty of mythic lore, the within the film’s detached dream-turned- fusion in the face of her youthful sexuality, next best thing to killing someone as a testa- nightmare world, where, with every turn responding to that beauty with the awe and ment to their beauty is to put them to sleep. and nuance, one asks: Seriously? Is this rage, the confusion and powerlessness of a “You are very beautiful, very talented. really happening? The nightmare includes child denied a toy. Lucy is smart. She’s going We are going to make you more beautiful, everything from women being asked to to use that sexuality to make a lot of money more talented.” So says Clara, played by match their lipstick colours to their labia, being drugged so that clients can exploit her Rachel Blake, the madam of the brothel for to a poor girl burning large sums of money while she sleeps. the wealthy octogenarians in Julia Leigh’s for kicks. I was riveted until the climax, when film Sleeping Beauty. The words are spoken To carry the detachment idea further, I thought: What, over already? The end to Lucy, played by Emily Browning, who has the entire world of this film responds to left me less than satisfied, but that’s the perfect doll features and body, big, glassy beauty through a series of strange juxta- point. Julia Leigh, the brilliant author of eyes and protruding, pouty lips. positions. These include one-night stands, The Hunter, a novel (recently adapted for Creepier words have not been spoken on the pickups, and the things people say in screen) that hypnotizes through the tone of the screen since the treatment of pre-ado- conversation that only make sense when language and pacing, knows how to end a lescent schoolgirls in Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s you’re stoned—but you’re not stoned; the story. I believe here she knowingly resists 2004 film Innocence. Indeed, the entire effect world is stoned. Then, all this is juxtaposed the principles of traditional structure. Is this of Sleeping Beauty is creepy, since it mirrors against the mediocrities of life: losing an a dream or real? exactly how our society treats beauty, espe- apartment, bussing tables, running copies Answer: Sometimes, with certain life ex- cially in the case of young women. “There is in an office, being the recipient of a series periences, dream and reality do blur, and it is room for promotion,” the madam goes on to of experimental endoscopies. The mean- that tenuous line that ultimately makes them say. Promotion to what? Sleeping and being ing is not lost on the audience: One way so powerful. The ending of Sleeping Beauty humiliated and degraded by men old enough or another, this woman constantly has long is one of those experiences. Leigh captures it to be her grandfather? tubes shoved down her throat. with a shuddering discomfort. 

46 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS arts culture FILM

In We Need To Talk About Kevin, director Lynne Ramsay hits the audience repeatedly with a script that demonstrates visual creativity.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN on the dance between the characters, so film is about storytelling as much as it’s about Directed by Lynne Ramsay that we can understand the motivation be- motif building. The motifs need to rise out of hind the various lines of conflict that exist in REVIEW BY MAUREEN MEDVED the story organically. Symbolism takes pre- this complex tale. Unfortunately, the father in We Need to Talk About Kevin deals with a cedence here. Ramsay’s scenes are highly the film is barely present, a kind of clueless, woman’s ambivalence about motherhood creative, but in a self-conscious way. It’s the affable clown who doesn’t understand why and raises the question, does that ambiva- characters, and their relationships to each his wife is having what he considers unfair lence impact the child? other, and the conflicts subtle and overt, that issue with their—for lack of a better word— As so often happens with adaptation from advance a story, not motifs. This is where the precocious son. page to screen, however, what worked for novel is exemplary. We care about the char- By contrast, in the novel, so incremental is the novel does not necessarily deliver on the acters even if we don’t care for them. We see the character development that we know it’s screen. In the screen version, director Lynne them live, breathe, interact, each movement because Eva can see what Franklin cannot Ramsay hits the audience repeatedly with advancing towards a harrowing inevitability. bear to see, possibly because, between the Attachment theories of motherhood a script that demonstrates visual creativity, two of them, she alone has a finger touching aside, the novel isn’t clear as to whether but lacks the nuance and dramatic build of the shadow side of the human experience. In the mother’s reticence is the reason for the the novel. Even though the film, starring Tilda the novel, the son plays the parents against son’s sociopathology. Shriver leaves it as a Swinton as the notorious Eva Khatchadourian one another, causing intense disharmony in question, as she ought. Ramsay’s adapta- and John C. Reilly as her husband, Franklin, the marriage. tion comes to the same conclusion as the is perfectly cast, and even though I loved the Finally, the fact that the son’s sociopa- novel, but by the time I got to the end, the novel and admire Ramsay’s previous work, thology is never adequately addressed I found myself, to my amazement, looking at or seen by anyone other than the mother result was to make me run away from the my watch during the film. has tragic consequences for everyone in memory of this unpleasant and difficult In the novel, author Lionel Shriver pits a the story. To pull this off dramatically is an film. With the novel, I didn’t want to know brilliant but sociopathic child against a high- exceptionally tall order. Delivering on such the characters any more than I did. ly intelligent, attenuated and anxious mother. a strong premise requires no shortcuts in Still, I couldn’t help contemplating, and Nothing is more dramatically potent than narrative, a dedication to the nuance of discussing, and being saddened by and in a conflict between equally matched oppo- character and an adherence to the prin- awe of their dilemmas. When dealing with nents. But what if one opponent challenges ciples of dramatic writing. difficult material, the job of the artist isn’t to the rule that mothers must have unwavering The camera work, editing and choice of alienate us so that we push the characters love for their children? Such is the promise shots are imaginative. But imagination does away, but rather is to give us room and time of high drama. not compensate for story when the story is to know those people so that we can, in a In the case of the film, Ramsay doesn’t essentially a traditionally dramatic one. Art state of compassion, hold them close to us focus on the slow, highly nuanced build, or at the expense of story doesn’t work, since and suffer with them. 

HERIZONS SUMMER 2012 47 On the Edge BY LYN COCKBURN

DEBATE ABORTED

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Despite the At least he refrained from discussing the possibility of hir- many opinions on this matter, the right answer is: the same ing detectives to keep an eye on Meg, who is still in the early number of fetuses that the pro-lifers insist are persons from stages of pregnancy. the moment a woman says, honey, you want to fuck right now, Kitchener Steve is not alone in his quest for personhood for right here on the ping-pong table, move the net a bit, willya. Canadian fetuses. He has a vocal supporter in Brad Trost, MP And, he, sort of like in those Ikea ads, sweeps bats, balls, nets for Saskatoon-Humboldt, who, the moment our Steve who off the table, which soon collapses, sending them both to the is PM got his majority, announced happily that the pro-life floor, where he breaks both legs and lies there screaming in Conservative base had most certainly influenced the outcome. pain, but not before he sends a zillion wiggly ones off on a Trost opined ominously that Harper had best pay attention date with her egg things. to that base, and he will no doubt be voting in favour of his Admittedly, that’s a long answer, but in the Internet age it is buddy’s bill. Note that our Steve the PM vowed to make only ever more important to be precise, given the misunderstandings his cabinet toe the line (to vote against it) while the rest of his that can arise over something as simple as ROMFAL (Rolling party could vote as they wish. on my fat ass laughing). And so we come to April 26, when Steve Woodworth rose Anyway, that couple, let’s call them Meg and Ian, is now in the House to make an impassioned plea for the creation of with fetus, and Stephen Woodworth wants it protected, es- a committee to discuss when life begins. His voice quivering pecially from Meg. Who is this Woodworth dude? He’s the with emotion, not to mention sanctimony, he sounded more Conservative MP from Kitchener Centre who introduced a like a televangelist than an MP. It was embarrassing. There private member’s bill asking the House of Commons first to will evidently be another hour of debate sometime in June, debate and then, if the bill passes, to form a committee to discuss or perhaps not until the fall, and after that comes the vote when life begins. Because, according to Woodworth, Canada on the bill. provides no protection for its unborn children and, moreover, If I wanted to be nice about this debate, I’d cite the joke about he says, 72 to 74 percent of Canadians want such protection. the Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi and a Presbyterian discuss- The exact number of math classes Woodworth skipped in high ing when life begins. The priest said, “It begins at conception.” school is unknown, but it was quite high. The Presbyterian said, “It begins at birth”, and the Rabbi said, Note that the other Steve, the one who is PM, took action “Life begins when your children leave home.” immediately, saying, why no, he couldn’t possibly have stopped But I have no intention of being nice, because this so-called Woodworth from promoting his bill because Canada is, after debate always evolves into a nasty shouting match about abor- all, a democracy, a statement that came as a surprise to some tion, in which words like murderer are slung about with the of us. However, said our Steve who is PM, we will not revisit same kind of enthusiasm that accompanies a fist fight in the the issue of abortion while I am the prime minister, and I will seventh game of the Stanley Cup finals. be voting against this motion. So I’d rather go with Whoopi Goldberg’s solution. One To be fair to the Kitchener Steve, he said all along that his night, during a stand-up performance, a gentleman in the bill is meant only to introduce debate, that nobody should be audience loudly heckled her for her well known pro-choice afraid of a debate and, no, this was not a back door means of stance. Goldberg ignored him for a while, but he just got reintroducing the topic of abortion into Parliament. He said louder. Finally, she walked to the edge of the stage, pointed all that right up until he admitted during a radio interview at him and said, “If you’re against abortion, get your gun and that well, yes, this was really about abortion. shoot your dick off!” 

48 SUMMER 2012 HERIZONS PSAC Full Spring-12.indd 1 12-03-12 1:16 PM CUPE Full Summer-12.indd 1 12-06-20 6:53 PM