CANADIAN MAGAZINE FOR WOMEN SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1975 $1.00 SYLVA GELBER page 14 FOCUS ON WOMEN ARTISTS a gallery, a toast, an analysis THE YWCA IN CANADA should it grant men the vote? CONTENTS Editor Sharon Batt Business Mary Alyce Heaton IN EVERY ISSUE Design Barbara Hartmann, Director letters 2 Art here and there 4 lona MacAllister letter from the editors 5 Audrey Watson both sides now: Women against Women Leslie Bella 6 Layout Alice Baumann-Rondez music: Rock Slide Survivors Beverley Ross 36 Naomi Loeb books: Housetraps Eloah F. Giacomelli 38 Diane Walton Soviet and Chinese Women Jennifer Bowerman 41 Photography Alice Baumann-Rondez film: The Passenger N'eema Lakin-Dainow 42 Diana Selsor Palling people in this issue 48 Fiction Karen Lawrence, Editor Candas Jane Dorsey FEATURES Helen Rosta Nonfiction Courting the YWCA Joyce McCart 8 Sharon Batt, Editor The Public and Private Sylva Gelber Marianne English. Mary Alyce Heaton Vivian Frankel and Georgina Wyman 14 Naomi Loeb Commentary: the name game Caryl Brandt 46 Public Relations Marylu Antonellt WOMEN IN THE ARTS Naomi Loeb Resource Planning guelph Kate O'Neil Marylu Antonelli they buried my father in 7 Sharon Batt photoessay Terri Terni 11 Mary Alyce Heaton Powerhouse Susan Poteet 17 Naomi Loeb Reflections Karen Wakal 22 Administrative Nancy Caskenette, Director A Toast to Women Artists Carol Brandt Lee Dombrowski Miriam Schapiro and Mira Schor 28 Diane Love Creative Genius: Unique to Men? Grethe Holmen 31 Dawn-Rae McLaren Margaret Sharon The Fraser River Donna Rae 32 Diane Walton Branching Out is published every two months by the New Women's Magazine cover photo of Sylva Gelber by Vivian Frankel Society, Emdonton, Alberta. Please send all correspondence to Box 4098, Edmonton, Alberta T6E 4T1. Submissions should be typed, double-spaced and accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope Adver­ © Copyright 1 975 by The New Women's Magazine Society, Edmonton, tising rates are available on request Editorial Alberta, Canada. All rights reserved. Unless used in a review, the office located at 8627-109 Street, Edmon­ reproduction or utilization of this work in any form, by any means, ton, phone (403) 433-4021. including photocopying, recording, information storage and retrieval systems, et cetera, is forbidden without the express permission of the Industrial Printing and Litho Ltd , Edmonton publisher. Second Class Mail Registration Number 351 7. Vol. II, No. 5 September/October 1975. Media Typesetting, Edmonton September/October 1 975 1 letters newspapers would have us believe that seeks to avoid the historic necessity to Sylva Gelber's U.N. delegation is first destroy the capitalist structure leading the women of the world down before socialism can be established. the path of moderation and away from Here I am not referring to Premier the propagandistic declarations of the David Barren's brand, as recently Third World women's representatives. described to his Campbell River Before we give our tacit assent to audience: "IT TAKES SOCIALISM TO Canada's activities at the Mexico City SAVE FREE ENTERPRISE." I am refer­ conference, we ought to look critically at ring to the lessonsto be drawn from the our government's approach to women's Chilean experience. Many NDP'ers problems as well as at its economic sincerely felt socialism had been won policies toward developing countries. through the electoral process, only to There is obvious hypocrisy involved in discover that unless a people are the "women's rights" stance taken by organized to defend their gains with Canada and the U.S. - both countries every means possible, Imperialism will which reap large profits from invest­ inevitably use every method at its ment in underdevelopment. disposal to regain control, as happened In considering these contradic­ on September 11, 1973 in Santiago. tions, we should also be aware of Within that context, therefore, we certain contradictions which exist in the can understand why Sweden's social North American women's movement. democracy - NOT socialism, continues Why, for instance, do so many feminists to function within its supportive continue to be engaged in small-scale capitalist system, while Cuba's socialist The recent IWY conference in discussion of sexuality and personal economy, following the seizure of Mexico City should provoke some problems, thus ironically perpetuating power from a capitalist government, discussion on what direction the one of the forms of women's traditional faces continued trade embargos. women of North America are moving in, passivity? Why do parts of the move­ It is to be hoped that Rosemary relative to the women of the rest of the ment (termed "radical") waste energy in Brown's future formulations about world and particularly the developing lobbying for Utopian, female-separatist socialism will derive from a more nations. solutions and promoting an irrational penetrating examination of history. When Third World women get and reactionary anti-male ideology together at such a conference and instead of working to build unity among Claire Culhane, Burnaby, B.C. denounce North American feminism as oppressed groups? And why in Canada a "defence of selfish vested interests of have women's groups allowed the western women ... not of true interest to government to move in and co-opt them, women in the Third World," I have I have just finished reading Both through piecemeal funding of selected, trouble concurring with Betty Friedan Sides Now, "Canada Day in South social service projects? and Bella Abzug that "manipulation by Africa", and while I sympathize totally Until we get these things sorted the male power structures" is the with Marianne English's outrage at out, our efforts to get ourselves organiz­ sinister force behind it all. I'm more finding out (again) that Canada has a ed will inevitably fail to reach the inclined to believe that there must have policy regarding the oppression of racial majority of women in matters affecting been a fair amount of manipulation by minorities that can only be called two- their real, daily lives. the Western women's delegations, who faced, I cannot agree with her sugges­ seem to have spent a great deal of tion that the Canadian government in its Anne McLean, Beachburg, Ontario conference time insisting that embassy, employ the higher priced "women's issues" should be con­ white help that is available. sidered separately from such economic In last issue's article "The Radical I feel the only moral thing Canada and political issues as imperialism, Tradition of Rosemary Brown," the can do (which is probably the last thing colonialism, fascism, and Zionism. plaudits are well earned and not to be Canada will do) is to hire blacks.... after Feminists in Canada may find it denied. all it IS their country and they ARE the disconcerting that the rhetoric and style However, when Sharon Batt refers most numerous ethnic population and, of struggle of women in other countries to Sweden as "a society in which being the least paid and most un­ do not mirror our own, and that "more socialism evolved through the electoral employed, they need the jobs the most. room at the top for women" is no process" and Cuba as "one that came to We should insist that, as much as popular rallying cry in countries where socialism through revolution," she is possible, the staff at the embassy be the masses of people are hungry and obviously drawing upon Rosemary's black (we might also, while we are at it, without political power. incomplete analysis. "To change the insist that more blacks be hired for some Perhaps we should seriously ex­ system and make it impossible to be of those nice jobs with our government amine the role played by our own poor," like Motherhood, poses no threat at home. And more native Indians. And "representatives" to the Mexico City when travelling the NDP road of social more women.) conference, particularly since the democracy. Having hired blacks in a federal government, and not the women But, apparently what is not being predominantly black country we should of Canada, picked the delegation. Our recognized is that social democracy then loudly demand that our embassy Branching Out pay them "five to ten times as much" as feeling that Rosemary is going to be my believe they are part of the growing is ordinarily paid to blacks in South political candidate in the future and I movement but I don't think we should Africa, putting them on equal financial would have liked a really thorough look pretend that they are strong supporters. footing with the white South African at her politics. She just seems so great - They do not have the strength to do what help which is available. a woman politician who isa socialist. I'd politically and philosophically they It might not be untoward to suggest like to know more about her previous know they should. that since these people will be working political commitments, how she feels When Mary Alyce asks if wearing with and for Canadians who are being about all sorts of issues, where her head makeup and having long polished paid a salary based on Canadian rates, is really at with respect to the women's fingernails invalidates her feminist they ought to be paid the same as it movement. I guess the article was principles I have to question whether would cost to hire Canadian workers. looking at these things but somehow she really has those principles or It won't happen, of course. Canada when I finished reading I wanted to whether it is not her politics that are doesn't have the guts required to tell know