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Kinesis
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Special Collections Serial /august 1989 A new epidemic? Kinesis welcomes volunteers to work on all aspects of the paper. Call us at 255- 5499. Our next News Group is Thurs. Aug. 3, at 1:30 pm at Kinesis, #301-1720 Grant St. All women welcome even if you don't have experience. PRODUCTION THIS ISSUE: Marsha Arbour, Joanne Ar- nott, Gwen Bird, Donna Butorac, Suzanne Cook, Donna Dykeman, Sylvia Fuller, Kim Irving, Suzanne Jay, Leslie Komori, Sonia Marino, Allisa McDonald, Nancy Pollak, Noreen Shanahan, Esther Shannon, Elizabeth Shefrin, Erin Soros, Bonnie Waterstone FRONT COVER: Photo by Chris Poellein EDITORIAL BOARD: Marsha Arbour, Gwen Bird, Nancy Pollak, Noreen Shanahan, Esther Shannon, Michele Valiquette. CIRCULATION AND DISTRIBUTION: Gwen Bird, Cat L'Hirondelle, Esther Shannon ADVERTISING: Marsha Arbour OFFICE: Cat L'Hirondelle, Esther Shannon Kinesis Is published 10 times a year by the Vancouver Status of Women. Its objectives are to be a non-sectarian feminist voice for women and work actively for social change, specifically combatting sexism, racism, homophobia and imperialism. Views expressed in Kinesis are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect VSW policy. All unsigned material is the responsibility of the Kinesis Editorial Board. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions to Kinesis are $17.50 per year or what you can afford. Membership in the Vancouver Status of Women is $25.50 or what you can afford/includes subscription to Kinesis. SUBMISSIONS: All submissions are welcome. We reserve the right to edit and submis- n does not guarantee publication. All submissions should be typed double spaced and must be signed and include n address and phone number. Please note Kinesis does not accept poetry or fiction contributions. For material to be returned, a SASE must be included. Editorial guidelines are available on request. ADVERTISING: For information about display advertising rates, please contact Kinesis. For information about classifieds, please see the classified page in this issue. DEADLINE: For features and reviews the 10th of the month preceding publication; news copy, 15th; letters and Bulletin Board listings 18th. Display advertising: camera ready, 18th; design required, 12th. Kinesis is a member of the Canadian Periodical Publishers Association and is indexed in the Alternative Press Index. Kinesis is produced on an IBM PC using PC TeX and an in-house laser printer. Additional laser printing by East- side Data Graphics. Camera work by Northwest Graphics. Printing by Web Press Graph- Zenaida Uy brings news of Aquino's Philippines—and the news isn't good 12 Stella Chiweshe breaks musical ground in Zimbabwe 19 INSIDE Striking for health—and healthy pay 3 Elderly women hit hard 3 Young women tired of ageist attitudes 5 Press Gang—union maids, at last 5 Indian Homemakers^-J^ealth, wholeness threatened. 6 EAT "We're dealing with an epidemic" 7 by Joni Miller Class, poverty and issues of power 9 by Marusia Bociurkiw Chile: how to destroy a health care system 11 by Isobel McDonald By virtue of her sex, by virtue of her class 12 as told to Cecilia Diocson ARTS/ c> On a video coach bound for Delhi 15 by Dorothy Kidd Speaking of feminism and painting 16 by Susan Leibik Rebel Girls: moving into the spotlight 17 by Jennifer Babcock Reclaiming forgotten ways of knowing 18 by Lin Patfield by Rfqmtfs /ement Matters 2 What's News? ... .. 8 >y Donna Butorac Making Waves 19 by Laurie E. Nerman In Other Worlds 20 by Melanie Conn Letters 21 Bulletin Board 22 compiled by Donna Dykeman Second class mail #6426 ISSN 0317-9095 CORRESPONDENCE: Kinesis, Vancouver Status Women, 301-1720 Grant St Vancouver, B.C. V5L 2Y6 of KINESIS Movement Matters /ement atters listings information Movement Matters is designed to be a [network of news, updates and informa- of special interest to the women's sment. Submissions to Movement Mat- should, be no mote than 500 words, i, doable-spaced on eight and a half by eleven paper. Submissions may be edited for, length. Deadline is the 18th of the month preceding publication. Going their separate ways The Women's Skills Development Society, better known as WomenSkills, is in the process of formalizing the separation of its three working groups, a move designed to enable the groups to pursue goals more effectively. If the WomenSkills membership consents to this friendly separation at the upcoming Annual General Meeting (July 17th), WomenSkills will cease to exist. The three working groups, now formed into distinct societies, are the Westcoast Womenfutures Community Economic Development Society (#206, 33 E. Broadway, Vancouver, V5T 1V4, Tel. 874-1777); Women and Work Research and Education Society (4340 Carson St., Burnaby, B.C. V5J 2X9, Tel. 430-3919 (Microtech) and 430-0458 (Clerical Workers' Health and Safety))-, and The Learning Resources Group (#1 2445 E. Hastings St., Vancouver, Teh 251-7476. For more information about the groups' range of projects and activities, contact the Burnaby address (above) for the latest issue of the WomenSkills newsletter. Popular education in Nicaragua The Nicaragua Collection is a newly released set of publications that examines Nicaragua's use of popular education methods throughout its entire educational system—an experiment that deserves worldwide attention and support. In Nicaragua, education is seen as a key element in the development of democracy, helping ensure that the revolution remains in the hands of the Nicaraguan people. The building of a new society requires a constant search for creative responses to the ever-changing social, political and economic needs of the country. Popular education strives to teach people how to participate in the decision-making that affects their Uves. The Nicaragua Collection is for those concerned with broad educational issues, with the relationship between education $ Press Gang Printers 603 Powell Street Vancouver, B.C. V6A 1H2 253-1224 and democracy, with women's pivotal role in social change, and with the Nicaraguan revolution in particular. One of the four booklets in the set is The Moon Also Has Her Own Light, an account of "the struggle to build a women's consciousness among Nicaraguan farm workers." The Collection is published by the Par- ; ticipatory Research Group and the ICAE ? Women's Program. For ordering information write to PRG, 394 Euclid Ave., Suite 308, Toronto, Ont. M6G 2S9 Festival time in Kootenays Come and join the women of the Kootenays at their annual Women's Festival, Aug. 12 and 13, at the beautiful Valican Whole in the Slocan Valley, B.C. Festivities start with a Friday night bonfire, followed by two days of theatre, music, dancing, workshops, good eats, poetry and lots of children's activities. Workshops reflect this year's festival theme, "The Forbidden festival," and include Feminism and Leadership, Body Image, Reclaiming Our Playfulness, Homophobia and Broadening Our Base. An arts and crafts bazaar, camping, swimming and sunshine are guaranteed. Admission is $35 including all meals (bring a side dish to the Sat. barbecue). An hour's work commitment is asked for; no women will be turned away for inability to pay. Women wishing to reserve display space at the bazaar or to perform at Sunday's Stage should register before August 1. Contact the Women's Festival Cmtte., Nelson Women's Centre, 601 D Front St., Nelson B.C. V1L 4B6 or call 352-9916. Calling Black women playwrights Sister Vision: Black Women and Women of Colour Press is calling for submissions from Black women playwrights in Canada for Black Stage Women, the first anthology of its kind in this country. One act and full-length plays, and dramatized prose/poetry are welcome. Both new and previously produced scripts, as well as works-in-progress will be considered. Information about previous/proposed production dates or projected completion dates should be included. Send submissions by Aug. 31, 1989 to Black Stage Women, c/o Sister Vision Press, PO Box 217, Stn. E, Toronto, Ont. M6H 4E2. For women who have miscarried Shattered Dreams is a Canadian newsletter aimed at women who have experienced single or multiple pregnancy losses. Published by Ontarian Cathy McDiarmid, who has had five miscarriages, Shattered Dreams is attempting to bridge the information and support gap among the countless women who miscarry each year, and SUPPORT VOUR LOCAL WOMEN'S PRESS Maureen McEvoy ba ma (Cand.) Counselling Psychology 732-3227 Areas of expertise: sexual abuse, relationships, sexuality, depression, ACOA Inside Kinesis by Nancy Pollak The letter came early in June. "Dear Tapestry subscriber," it began. "The Tapestry Collective is sorry to inform you that due to funding difficulties, we are unable to pubUsh the Spring issue of our journal." Tapestry, a newsletter published by the Vernon and District Women's Centre, is the news source—and outlet—for feminists in the Okanagan. Why the difficulty publishing? As their letter explains, "Tapestry no longer receives any part of the Women's Centre grant from the Secretary of State [Women's Program] ..." Why talk about Tapestry in the "Inside Kinesis" column? Well, we're always distressed at the news—heard so often these days—that a sister publication is being silenced simply because the bills can't be paid. And we are particularly alarmed when the economic crunch comes from the Women's Program, the body that funds our publisher, the Vancouver Status of Women. As we reported last issue, VSW has been dealt a 15 percent funding cut from the Women's Program. This month, we have been informed—informally—that the cut will be targeted at the Kinesis editor's salary. In the upcoming weeks and months, we will be enlisting your support—as readers, subscribers and contributors—to resist this attack on English-speaking Canada's most comprehensive feminist newspaper. Meanwhile, life around the paper goes on. We have set a date for our 4th Annual Out- of-town Retreat: Oct. 13-15. Any woman interested in finding out about femimst journalism (and Kinesis in particular) is encouraged to attend this weekend of workshops and fun. Details are being hammered out and we'U have a full report next issue; for now, mark your calendar. Our Open House and raffle in June were a success (thanks for coming, everyone). We'd also Uke to thank the raffle prize contributors: Custom Colour, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Janet Bristeir, Kiss who receive Uttle information or support from the medical establishment. Shattered Dreams carries book reviews, research updates, stories and poems, and maintains a resource Ust. For subscription information write: Born To Love, 21 Potsdam Rd., Unit 61, Downsview, Ont. M3N 1N3 or call (416) 663-7143. "No Place To Go" Forum The Tenants Rights Coalition in Vancouver is sponsoring a community forum & TeU, and SFU Writing and PubUsh- ing Program—and Horizon Distributors for goodies. Thanks also to everyone who sold and bought tickets, and helped organize the event. In the last few months, Kinesis has had plenty of comings and goings, and the trend continues. This month, we say goodbye to Donna Butorac who is San Fransisco- bound. Between painting houses and other paying gigs, Donna has been a steady presence at Kinesis, writing What's News and other material, proof reading, pasting-up— and cracking us up. We'U miss you, Donna: skiUs and laughs and aU. We say goodbye also to Allisa McDonald whose leave from the Editorial Board turned into a full-fledged fareweU this month. Allisa has been, among other things, our volunteer computer whiz and all-round thinker: a woman who always gave careful consideration to the many issues facing this community paper. You'U be missed, Allisa. A couple of vital Kinesis positions found new blood this month. Donna Dykeman has taken on the volunteer task of compiling BuUetin Board, a job that depends both on her thoroughness (and she is thorough) and you, dear reader (another reminder to get notices in by the 18th). Welcome, Donna, to the world of knowing what's happening when and why. Joanne Arnott has been hired as our new Advertising Coordinator, a commission job that is Ukely to become increasingly important to our survival. Joanne brings lots of energy and interest to this job, and we're reaUy pleased to have caught her eye. FinaUy, we have a big goodbye for Marsha Arbour who is retiring from her two Kinesis jobs, Production Coordinator and Advertising Coordinator. Marsha has made a tremendous contribution to both roles, wrestUng workable systems out of (relative) chaos so that the rest of us could breathe a Uttle easier, knowing some parts of the paper were really taken care of. For almost two years, women volunteering for hands-on work at Kinesis have met with Marsha in the production room, finding in her a skiUed trainer and a warm coworker. Marsha created a production space where an adventurous newcomer could have a page aU to herself, and where a more hesitant volunteer was assured of plenty of instruction and encouragement. Marsha is looking forward to joining the ranks of the essential volunteers, Ulustrat- ing a story, designing a page. We're looking forward to that, too. Thanks for everything, Marsha, on strategies for affordable housing on Saturday, July 8th. Individuals who are concerned about—or directly affected by—the housing crisis are encouraged to attend, as are groups who have endorsed the housing program, "A Way Out Of The Crisis" The CoaUtion is hoping to stimulate community discussion on actions to save affordable housing and ways to encourage the creation of new affordable housing. There is no need to pre-register for the forum which starts at 9:30 am with a screening of the video The Right To Fight, at the CoaUtion offices, 2250 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. Tel: 255-3009 for information. L VANCOUVER WOMEN'S BOOKSTORE 315 Cambie Street Vancouver, B.C. V6B 2N4 (604) 684-0523 Hours: Monday- Saturday ^ A Corrections Our apologies to Victoria Status of Women Action Group (SWAG). Comments attributed to staffperson Marianne Alto ("Services in peril" June, 1989) were incomplete and out of context. Any difficulty this may have caused SWAG is regretted. In a photo accompanying "Farmworkers hit hard by U.L cutbacks" (June, 1989), the language on the demonstrators' placards was Punjabi, not Hindi. I\INLSIS July/Aug. 89 /////////////////////^^^^^ //////////////////^^^^^ News Nurses, HEU Striking for health—and healthy pay by Nancy Pollak With public opinion solidly behind them and picket-Une morale soaring, B.C. nurses have been asked by their union to approve a contact that falls far short of their original demands. As Kinesis goes to press on June 27, nurses are studying the negotiated settlement which came after a two and a half week strike, the first province-wide job action by nurses fed up with low pay and chronic staff shortages. "We're not in a very good mood about what we've seen of the agreement," reported a nurse at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). She also expressed concern about nurses returning to work before voting on the proposal, a condition of the settlement. Voting wUl occur no earlier than July 6th. At present, nurses are honouring the picket Unes of the striking Hospital Employees Union (HEU). Another condition of the proposed settlement was that nurses no longer wear signs declaring their own strike. There is also concern that, if HEU's strike ends before the vote on the 6th, aU nurses wUl return to work—making a resumption of their own strike extremely difficult. Excepting a first year "attraction and retention bonus" of 6.5 percent, the proposed monetary settlement is very close to the Hospital Labour Relations Association's (HLRA) opening offer. Nurses, anxious for a contract that would offer incentives to people to enter—and remain— in the nursing field, don't beheve these increases wUl do the trick. British Columbia suffers from a weU-documented shortage of nurses, largely attributable to the province's refusal to fund the health care system—in particular, wages—at a level competitive with other job markets. The proposed contract isn't the only flak the union leadership has caught this strike. Nurses at St. Paul's Hospital heard rumours that HEU and the B.C. Federation of Labour, unhappy with the number of nurses stiU working on "essential services," threatened to declare the strike an information picket only. Such a declaration would have meant there was no picket Une to honour. While the figures varied from hospital to hospital, the majority of nurses remained on the job during the strike, providing services they agreed upon with management. IronicaUy, providing essential services underscored the seriousness of the nursing shortage. At St. Paul's, one nurse estimated 90 percent of nurses were stiU on the job. Another RN, Zaitun Jiwa, described how she and one other nurse care for 29 patients at night on a Rehab and Medical ward— even before the strike. A nurse for ten years, Jiwa has worked in Alberta and Newfoundland where, she says, "there's better pay, better benefits, better working conditions." The HEU strike, now moving to centre stage, involves 25,000 workers—mainly women. At issue are low wages, pay equity and staffing levels. Please see Nurses pg 4 *^te Housing crisis Elderly women hit hard Irene Ludlan, a member of SAD (Seniors Against Demolition), demonstrates in late June against the recent loss of her Kerrisdale home. by Noreen Shanahan Let's put a face on Vancouver's housing crisis. An eighty-five year old woman, Uving in a three story walk-up in Kerrisdale, has paid her monthly rent the last 25 years—an estimated $50,000. A couple of months ago, she was told to get out. The buUding was sold and plans to demolish are now in the works. Soon her home wUl be rubble, then a hole in the ground, then it'll sprout into a luxury condominium. This woman is real although she wishes to remain anonymous. She and one other elderly woman neighbour are the only tenants remaining in the Kerrisdale buUding; remaining not as a form of protest, but because they have nowhere to go. Roneen Marcoux was recently hired by Vancouver's city hall as researcher/relocation person. Her job—and she's the only one doing it—is to house 'displaced tenants.' On the job for less than two months, Marcoux is already aware of 500 units being demolished, which she calls the tip of the iceberg. "Typically, three story walkups with 25 units are coming down. We're losing half the density and gaining three times the height (with condo construction). What this means is a 100 percent loss of affordable rental accommodation." Those hardest hit are elderly women, women already paying 50 percent or more of their income on rent. She says re-housing these women at comparable rents in their neighbourhoods is almost im- lossible. Attempting to help one woman, Marcoux tried for several hours to reach one landlord about a suite advertised at $525. "After I was finaUy able to speak with him, he said he'd had 50 calls already and it was "first come first serve." "But the woman I was trying to help re-house is seventy-five; too old to stand in Une for several hours." These women are told to leave their homes and neighbourhoods, often at risk to their emotional and physical health. "It brings up different emotions buUding in me," says Suzanne Pearson, recently evicted from her Kerrisdale home after ten years. "I feel anger and hurt because it just brings up everything else, just pushed and pushed out of one apartment, pushed out of another apartment. Always some reason I'm pushed, I feel so used and abused." Pearson has gone as far afield as Richmond looking for a new home, and finds rents double what she used to—and is able to—pay. Being forced to move "takes the starch right out of me," says Pearson. "I feel debiUtated to the point where my muscles are weak. I'm going to have to cut back— whether it be food or shoes or clothes—because I'm needing a roof over my head." Both Marcoux and Pearson, and presumably several hundred other tenants, are angry at the lack of response from Vancouver city hall to the housing crisis. According to Marcoux, hiring only herself to serve the needs of so large and desperate a community is next to useless. She's already received calls from 30 buUd- ings slated for demolition. Furthermore, she was given a zero operating budget, no money for advertising her service (she presently walks around the streets and leaflets buUdings), and no money to actually help people move. "They have to cover moving expenses themselves, and many of these women have no savings and not enough to cover damage deposits. AU the money—including increased rent—has to come out of an income of about $800 a month." Marcoux's relocation services are city-wide, and she often gets referrals from city haU's social planning and health department. She tells of the time spent with one woman who isn't capable of looking for a place on her own and has no famUy to help her. "This eviction has thrown her right off balance. I've spent hours and hours going to her place, helping her fiU application forms, writing letters to her landlord..." What she'd Uke to see is a freeze on demolition ("of perfectly sound, fine, older apartment buUdings") untU tenants are protected. What Suzanne Pearson would Uke to see is "A massive movement Uke in China, against our city government and province. "Kids are hungry, single mothers aren't getting a decent place to Uve, old women are being thrown out just Uke an old shoe. We should blare aU through the different streets and shout from the rooftops ..." VSW's AGM The Vancouver Status of Women wUl hold its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, September 6 at 7:30 pm at our premises: Suite #301-1720 Grant St., Vancouver. For more information caU 255- 5511. 1\INESIS July/Aug. 89 Across B.C. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX^ Dorothy Restall—neighbourly, strong by Nora D. Randall Many people in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver were deeply saddened when Dorothy Restall was kUled in a car accident on June 2. Everyone who met her remembered her and she remembered everybody. She knew her neighbours, she knew what was going on in the municipaUty, she knew what was going on in Russia and China and she cared about aU of it. During the NDP government (1972-75), Dorothy was hired as a secretary in the controversial Research and Development Department of the Ministry of Education. Within six weeks, the stories had spread through the entire civU service in Victoria that there was a "secretary" over in R & D who was sitting in on poUcy meetings and voting on decisions along with the "professionals." Also, she would not make coffee. When the department head and researchers were summarily fired, Dorothy saved the files with a piece of secretarial theatre which has already become so legendary there are at least three versions of the story. Dorothy moved with the researchers to Vancouver and quickly became known at the school board buUding. Everyday on the way to her office she passed the typing pools wearing what she wore to her secretarial job—work boots, blue jeans and flannel shirts. Sometimes she wore a Mao hat with a red star too. She started talking to the secretaries about having more say in their jobs. When they had evening meetings in homes, Dorothy would leave the men meeting in the Uv- ingroom and go into the kitchen where the women were sitting with the kids. She'd say, I'd rather be in here talking to you. Then she'd take over looking after the kids so the women could get out of the kitchen. When the Vancouver School Board job was closed down Dorothy moved with the researchers again to the Legal Services Commission. There she succeeded in helping organize the office workers into the Service, Office and RetaU Workers Union of Canada (SORWUC). In one of the eulogies at her funeral, Dorothy was remembered for her love of women and chUdren. She had Uved in a women's collective house and helped out a lot at the New School, an alternative school for grade school kids. Kids loved Dorothy and vice versa, though she would never admit it. She took kids on camping trips, fishing trips, trips to the corner store, whatever seemed to be needed at the time. Kids could hang out with Dorothy. After the School Board job, Dorothy moved to Whonnock with Sue Moore and they started farming. At first goats, chickens and organic vegetables, later they added pigs and turkeys. Dorothy loved the farm. Whatever needed to be done, she learned how to do it and did it. Dorothy didn't just raise pigs. Each one had a name, she could tell them apart. Dorothy helped Sue raise her two boys and they also took in foster chUdren including an eighteen month old battered baby who Dorothy cared for in her offhandedly fierce way. They moved to a larger farm in Mission and started to buUd a new house. Not everyone would take as New era their first buUding project a 1,500 square foot, three story house, but Dorothy did. Dorothy would tackle anything. Besides farm work, Dorothy went to work as a cook at the BUly Miner Pub in Haney. She got the job by teUing the owner she cooked in the Navy. Soon she became known as the place to go for a hamburger and advice on what to do with your animals. She joined the BUly Miner dart team and won trophies. Sue says, "Her elbow got a workout at the pub: she flipped hamburgers, Ufted pints and threw darts." In another eulogy Dorothy was remembered for her neighbourU- ness and her strength. Once a neighbour called her to ask if she'd bring her tractor over and help him get his tractor out of the mud. Dorothy drove over and took a look at her neighbour's tractor. Then she went over and put her arms under the front end of his tractor. She picked it up and moved it out of the mud. Her funeral brought together her conservative famUy, leftists, feminists, lesbians, farmers, and pub people at least for an afternoon. As Bernie from the pub said, "My god, she looked after our every individual need and catered to our whims. She'd remember aU of the things we forgot, and sort out aU our problems, and then, without batting an eye, she'd look right at us and say, 'TeU someone who Pay equity at City Hall by Pat Davitt and Judy Lynne In early June, the Women's Committee of the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Program presented a pay equity brief to Vancouver City Council's Finance and Priorities Committee caUing for immediate action to equaUze the entry level salaries of Clerk Typist II (a clerical classification within the city) and Labourer I. At present, the male-dominated labourer classification starts at over $3/hr higher than the female- dominated clerical job. The brief also called for the eUmination of increment steps— the stages through which employees must advance before getting the fuU salary for their classification of work. It presently takes anywhere from four to five years to make this full salary; pay equity activists advocate that full salary be achieved after a normal probation period, usuaUy of several months. As weU the brief recommended the implementation of any other useful strategy to move towards pay equity. The pay equity brief was prepared by the EEO Women's Committee, which is made up of representatives of various employee groups within the city: Vancouver Municipal and Regional Employee's Union (VMREU)— inside workers; CUPE-1004—outside workers; B.C. Nurse's Union (BCNU)—nurses; CUPE-391— library; city excluded staff—i.e., not unionized; and Ubrary excluded staff. Women have been working on the issue of eUminating the discriminatory wage gap between female and male workers for as long as we've been in the paid labour force. More recently, we've struggled with a number of ways of having women's work recognized with a fair wage. There have been many definitions, including equal pay for equal work, equal pay for work of equal value, and now pay equity. Moreover, there are different ways of trying to resolve the sit uation, most commonly by setting up a system-wide, years long, job evaluation study. In such studies, the ingredients that make up a job—education level, skiUs required, responsibiU- ties, level of difficulty, etc.—are exhaustively documented in an effort to determine which jobs are of equal "value." These job comparison systems can be—and are—purchased from the same management consultant firms which reinforce the work place structures and norms that created pay inequities in the first An eight year job evaluation in Washington State produced exactly this result at great cost in time, energy and money. The Finance Committee, which includes every CouncU member, voted to accept the brief. A majority on CouncU acknowledged that clerical work has been histori- caUy and systematicaUy undervalued, and accepted the idea that poUtical solutions must be sought to correct such wide-spread and deep-seated inequities. The Finance Committee recommendations, which also include di- We hope we won't have to wait too long. We'd like the money now. place. So aside from being time- consuming and forcing women to wait yet again for studies to be completed before maybe getting a fair wage, they also reflect the historical biases which undervalue women's work. A simple solution to wage inequities is to identify the wage gap between predominantly male jobs and predominantly female jobs. Then the two jobs are pegged at the same entry rate (base rate equaUzation) and the wage gap is closed, without loss of pay to presently higher paid workers. Clerical workers should move up proportionately, untU senior secretaries are roughly equivalent to trades rates. Nurses from page 3 Because HEU is supplying a minimal level of essential service workers as a strategy for accelerating negotiations, hospital employees have suffered higher wage losses than nurses during the nurses'—and now their own— strike. Relations on the picket Unes have been supportive. The pay equity issue for HEU is classical. Women workers are concentrated in the lower paying jobs—and the pay is low. Even under the HLRA's current rections to the City Manager to assess the city's progress on pay equity and to prepare a brief for the provincial government requesting legislative action, go to a regular CouncU meeting for debate and final vote, just as Kinesis goes to press, June 27th. Whatever happens, we are entering a new era in the move to pay equity in Vancouver. Other municipalities are anticipating the potential impact. Private sector employers will be trying to derail the process, whUe the clerical workers cheer it on. We hope we won't have to wait too long. We'd Uke the money now. proposal, Clerk l's—almost aU women—would stay 16 percent below the poverty Une. HEU is proposing a pay equity clause that would establish a nondiscriminatory base rate of pay at the "cleaner" (a male- dominated job) rate of $1879/month. PhyUis McDiarmid, a lab worker at St. Paul's, reports that the top wage for her trade (phlebotomy— drawing blood) is $11.60/hr. "Most of us are female in the lab ... I don't know many men who would work for that amount. I used to drive a dump truck and I made more money." KINESIS July/Aug.£ Across B.C. Press Gang Union maids, at last by Bonnie Waterstone When the phone call finally came through to Press Gang at the beginning of June, the women working there burst into song. "There once was a union maid" reverberated off the colourful posters on the walls of this PoweU Street print shop. Press Gang had officially joined the Communication Workers of America (CWA). The women at the 15 year-old, feminist, worker-controlled collective had been thinking about unionizing for a long time. Press Gang Printers has always supported union struggles. "Being a union shop more accurately reflects who we are," says Jane Mac- Dermot. "Our social commitment and our concern for our working conditions go together with being in a union." The effects of unionization on Press Gang? MacDermot expects the work, the wages and the staff to increase. Business has already increased. Many of Press Gang's customers are labour groups, or are affiU- ated with labour. With the union label—the "bug"—on their printing these groups won't be penalized for using Press Gang. They can now have Press Gang material distributed by labour groups, can take them to labour- sponsored workshops and so on. The first printers' unions Press Gang approached couldn't understand why these workers wanted to be unionized. From the point of view of protecting workers from adversarial management, the women at Press Gang had already won control of their working conditions for themselves: what more did they need? As co-operative businesses became more common, the time for unionization seemed right. The chief stumbUng block to joining a union was the low salary rate at Press Gang. To overcome that, the women calculated a dollar value for their generous benefits and time off. They also made a commitment to bring their wages up to a reasonable level. "It's important to us to work collectively, but it's also not okay to pay starvation wages," stated MacDermot. Printing was one of the very first trades to become unionized and aU printing unions are international. MacDermot is not certain about the number of women participating in the CWA, although the recent changes in the typographical industry have aUowed more women to enter this trade in recent years. Telephone workers are also part of CWA. Press Gang belongs to Local 226, but as yet there have been no union meetings to attend. To create their first union contract, the women blended some standard elements of a union contract with an existing contract they had drawn up among themselves years ago. This "collective" contract laid out such things as holiday, sick leave, and wage increase provisions. Some standard union Sixteen Years of Keeping Our Books The Vancouver Women's Bookstore and Centre is having another birthday— their sixteenth, to be exact—making them one of the oldest volunteer-run feminist bookstores in North America (possibly the oldest: no one really knows for sure.) Two of the founding members still work on the collective. To celebrate, the store is having a "15 Percent Off Everything" sale on July 22. Find them at 315 Cambie Street in Vancouver. Sheila Gilhooly (in front) and Gayle Robinson at the press wording was changed to more accurately reflect what they actually do at Press Gang, and letters of agreement were added to the end. Two new positions, a managers' representative and a workers' representative, were created. "We already perform those two functions," MacDermot said. "We're aU managers here and we're aU workers here." The two positions wUl be rotating. Unionized co-operatives aren't common in the West but there are some in eastern Canada and in the U.S., according to MacDermot. Other unionized co-operatives have apparently had heated discussions between their management rep and their workers' rep, even though these positions rotate. The discussions in the collective about the union contract were useful in focussing on the way Press Gang actually works. Certain aspects of the workplace which the workers had never dealt with before, such as seniority rights, were clarified. "We're much happier being a union shop. It goes together with our beUefs. In practical terms we think it wUl be a real benefit. The better our wages are, the more women can afford to work here," said MacDermot. Young women tired of ageist attitudes by Sylvia Fuller The long term success of any social movement Ues in its abiUty to win the minds and hearts of the youth. Obvious as this statement may be, it is a maxim that feminists are in danger of being too busy to heed. A quick analysis of the composition of most Vancouver area feminist groups reveals very few women under 25 actively involved in the movement. Even WAVAW (Women Against Violence Against Women) which recruits in university and coUege Women's Studies courses boasts only five women who are under 25 out of the 31 women involved in the organization. One reason for the lack of participation by younger women may be simple apathy and/or ignorance. The fact that most social institutions now pay Up-service to equality glosses over the ongoing and deeply entrenched sexism of our society, and reinforces the popular image of feminists as dissatisfied man-haters. Raising the consciousness of young women so that they are aware of the barriers that stiU stand in their way may be time consuming and frustrating, but it is necessary in order to safeguard the victories feminists have won and to pave the way for the eventual eUmination of aU gender inequaU- ties. Yet apathy and ignorance cannot entirely account for the dearth of young blood in the feminist movement. Ageist attitudes among feminist themselves can just as effectively : participation. CoUeen, a young woman involved in WAVAW, says that whUe her experience there has been very good, other femimst groups have not been so welcoming. She admitted to frequently feehng as ii she had to "prove myself to women who stressed their own experience with condescending statements such as "weU, I have been in the movement since 1969." Young women are accepted only if they act as if they are 40. "You have to fit yourself to their ways," CoUeen remarks, as youthful energy is associated with flighti- ness. Unfortunately, CoUeen's experiences are not unique. Krista found similar ageist attitudes in Unlearning Racism workshops and the Women of Colour group. "I was always the youngest woman there, so people just assumed I was a lot older than I was," said Krista. "When they found out I was 18 I was reaUy looked on as a Uttle kid ... Being young doesn't mean that I can't think. I can and I deserve to be heard and noticed and taken account ot" Feminists cannot afford to alienate young women, but must make a conscious effort to be accessible. Greeting young women with a smUe and directing them to a desk to Uck envelopes is not enough. Remember, someone new to the movement faced with a roomful of older women may feel rather intimidated and ignorant; encourage their participation in discussions and be open to their ideas. Please see Ageist page 6 KINESIS Julv Across B.C. Indian Homemakers Health and wholeness threatened by inequality by Suzanne Cook Promoting Native Women's WeUbeing: The Circle of Healing" was the theme of the Indian Homemakers Association's (HfA) annual conference in June. Some 50 women from Native reserves and communities around the province attended the Vancouver conference which presented speakers and workshops on the prevention of cancer and infectious diseases, PMS, menopause, pregnancy, suicide, sexual abuse and addictions. The IHA beUeves that Native women in B.C. do not receive adequate health care from federal or provincial agencies. The average Native woman does not just walk into her doctor's office and ask for her yearly pap smear test. Nor does she receive pre- and post-natal care or birth control information. The IHA membership beUeves this is due to the insensitivity and general lack of understanding of government agencies to Native women's needs. Native women who Uve on reserves do not have access to the information and services needed for good health care; Native women who Uve in cities find existing health care services intimidating because they are predominantly male, white, middle class and impersonal. The IHA and it's membership are trying to change this by increasing the awareness of Native women, government agencies and the public as to the problems with the existing health care system. At the conference, one speaker noted that attaining a balance between the spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual is what it takes for overaU weUbeing. IHA president Rose CharUe beUeves one of the greatest threats to this balance is the apprehension of Native chUdren by provincial authorities. Of concern are the number of chUdren apprehended (one in three chUdren apprehended in B.C. are Native) and the provincial government's inabiUty to provide services untU after a chUd is apprehended (untU then the cluld is under federal jurisdiction). A representative from the Provincial Ministry of Health acknowledged that, whUe provincial medical services are avaUable to Native people as long as they are registered with the medical services plan, some Native women don't avaU themselves of provincial facilities for fear of their chUd being apprehended when they ask for services. PoUution of B.C.'s waterways was a major concern of women attending the conference. Mary Pius from the Shelly Reserve, 13 miles from Prince George, told how after visiting her doctor for stomach problems— which he could not explain—she had her drinking water tested. Mary was told her water was extremely contaminated and advised not to drink it, but could not find out the nature of the contamination. Government representatives were asked by Rose CharUe to look into making medical services more accessible to Native people by providing readily avaUable transportation to remote areas. Currently, walking or hitchhiking are how most Native people get Women shine at diamond by Diane Dupuis The fourth annual Vancouver women's baseball tournament took place on the June 17 weekend. Eight teams participated in two divisions: A Division teams play in leagues around the city, whUe the B Division teams are less competitive and more recreational. The DeadUes and the Steppers made it to the B Division Final. The DeadUes had only played one game as a team before Saturday, whUe the Steppers have been playing or practicing weekly since spring. Although the DeadUes won, Jackie, the Steppers' right fielder playing for the first time in 21 years, said "they exceeded their expectations." There was one casualty in the final. Cindy, the Steppers' catcher, and EvangeUne, the DeadUes' third-base person, colhded at third. Although EvangeUne was taken to emergency, the injury was not serious. In the Division A final, the Breakers—a league team—beat out the Commercial Drivers, an up-and-coming league team. The tournament provided the opportunity for women to compete in a supportive environment as aU women played regardless of abiUty. Less emphasis was placed on competition and more on having fun. Tammy, a DeadUes player, said it was "a good clean tournament and lots of fun. The tournament showed how hearty women are to be over 21 and play in the rain." . KINESIS _ "" Bev Julian, a healer from the Matsqui from their reserve to the nearest doctor, a situation Rose Charlie described as unacceptable. Sometimes seeing the doctor also involves camping outside, since there may be no money for accommodation. The IHA beUeves a mobUe health care service traveUing throughout B.C. reserves offering x-rays, mammograms, birth control, pregnancy monitoring and information would contribute to improved health among Native women. Funds for initiatives Uke this are nonexistent at this time. Rose talked about her concern that Native people are "watering down" their powers through dealing with the province in the area of health. It is the federal government's responsibihty to provide adequate health care to Status Indians, and Rose beUeves these Native people should not have to involve themselves with provincial and, in some cases, municipal governments—as weU as federal officials—to try and attain adequate health care. Several speakers discussed the impor- Ageist from page 5 Ageism is an issue that has not really been considered within the women's movement. Most of the groups I spoke to had never questioned why there were so few young women among them, nor did they see this as a problem. The Women's Research Centre explained that it has no young women on its research committees because it recruits members from within the estabUshed women's network. It may seem easier to work with women who already have experience with feminist issues but whUe this approach ensures competent committees, it also reinforces an "in- EpidemiC from page 7 row," ChUton explained. Group members say that any arrangements they make are prefaced with "If I'm weU, I'U be there." "We need weU people to work with us," Vida says. "We need advocates." One of the difficulties has been in getting any medical recognition or help. "Doctors who do recognize it [beheve that their patients are UI] are flooded" says Vida. "Several have closed their practices [to M.E. sufferers] because otherwise they would be dealing with nothing else." In the U.S., where over 200 support groups exist, funding for medical research is just starting. Canadian researchers, she says "need to get interested." The support group also wants to focus on education. They say that sufferers need tance of settUng land claims and recognizing aboriginal title. Carole Dawson, a Native social worker, stated that "untU this is settled Natives are not equal to other people in the province and cannot be healthy and whole untU equal." Attending the conference as the keynote -speaker was Bev Juhan, a "hands on" healer from the Matsqui Reserve. Bev related how a year ago she was asked to resign from her federal government position as community Health Representative for nine ChiUiwack area bands because she was using half of her 24 hour on-call time for healing. Bev has studied acupressure, acupuncture and nutrition and now spends her time traveUing around Canada responding to requests for help through her healing powers. The provincial minister for Native Affairs and Kim CampbeU, federal Associate Minister for Indian Affairs, were invited to the conference, but were unable to attend. CampbeU promised to meet with the IHA at a later date. group" mentality. Groups such as the Research Centre might do weU to take a leaf from Media Watch's chapter—one organization whose members do include a sizeable number of younger women—and recruit in University Women's Studies classes. Students are no strangers to research and would bring new energy and ideas to the group. H feminism is to survive and gain strength, it must make room for aU women, regardless of class, colour or age. A closed community of self-righteous converts can only proceed so far. Only in opening the doors to new people and new ideas can the women's movement continue to grow and flourish. medical and legal help. People who are too sick to work need help to get on welfare and disabUity payments. At this point, because M.E. is not an"official" disease, doctors are unwiUing to label it as a permanent disability. Pauline ChUton remains optimistic about the prospect for a cure. "There has to be a cure," she says. "There are several places I have yet to go. I have to get weU." The Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Group (MEG) can be contacted at 688- 0544- Meetings are twice a month at the Victorian Order of Nurses, 1645 W. 10th. In the next issue of Kinesis we will feature an in-depth report on the growing epidemic. s/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyys //////////////////^^^^^ Across Canada "We're dealing with an epidemic" by Joni Miller A few photocopied handouts brought 17 new members to the last meeting of MEG (myalgic encephalomyeUtis group), a support group for sufferers of the disease that has been called everything from the yuppie flu to Chronic Epstein-Barr Syndrome. One U.S. researcher predicts that in the next several years, 12 million Americans wUl be afflicted. "What we're dealing with is an epidemic," says Essence Vida, a member of MEG. The disease—or syndrome—is characterized by extreme fatigue, muscle weakness, body aches, headaches, dizziness, fevers, confusion, frequent infections and depression. Medical scientists have yet to discover what it is exactly, and most doctors don't acknowledge that it exists. There is no test, and no cure. It may be contagious, but no one knows how it is transmitted. Sufferers, who are mostly women, have often been told that it is aU in their heads. "If you don't get weU in six months, they send you to a shrink," says Vida. Many people have been sick for years. The disease got the label "yuppie flu" because of its association with high-achieving professional people. "ActuaUy, we think it cuts across all socio-economic Unes," says Vida, "it's just that poor people have a harder time being heard." Pauline ChUton used to regularly swim a mile at a time. Five years ago she got what seemed to be a flu—only it didn't go away. She complained of chronic, extreme fatigue and problems concentrating. "At your age— [56]—what do you expect," she was told. No one took her very seriously untU she collapsed on the floor. "When you've been healthy aU your Ufe, you expect to be healthy," she says. Before she was struck with the debiUtat- ing Ulness that left her unable to type, speU, read long sentences or find her way around, Lea Safran was studying for a university degree. She used to cycle, perform with a folk dance group, swim, run, do yoga and was learning baUet. Now, some days she is too exhausted to get out of bed. Forty-one years old, Lea has been sick for a year and a half. Essence Vida was working as a teacher in Toronto when she encountered a flu-Uke Ulness that left her flat on her back for seven months. She went from doctor to doctor and was investigated for everything from bowel cancer to tuberculosis. A naturopath finaUy told her it might be the poUution in Toronto. After moving to Vancouver, she experienced a year of good health and then mysteriously the symptoms returned. She began to experience low level fevers, muscle aches and a fatigue that just wouldn't quit. But worst of aU was the mental disorientation. "I get lost in my own neighbourhood," she says. "I would gladly have my arm cut off in exchange for this disease. Then I'd just have one disabihty." These women are aU members of MEG. To hear them detaU the destruction of their Uves is chUUng. "We try to keep it [the group] upbeat," Vida says. "We use a lot of humour. We joke about having 'horizontal' parties. "People alone with this go through bloody heU," says ChUton. In her case, a supportive husband and friends have been an enormous help, but she wanted to reach out to other sufferers. The first step was to contact a group in Port Coquitlam that was already organized. From there, she got the phone numbers of a couple of other people and began a Vancouver chapter. At the beginning of the meetings, each person gets five minutes to talk about how their Ufe is going and what new things they've tried. In the absence of a cure, almost anything is worth trying. "I have a neighbour who does aU the health food stuff," ChUton says, "but she's no better than I am. I tried to wUl myself out of this. Believe me, I can't wUl myself out of this." ChUton says that one of the most difficult aspects of the disease is that there are few outward signs. "It's hard to be UI when you look weU," she says. It is characteristic for victims to suffer many ups and downs— feehng weU for days, weeks, even months— and then suddenly crashing. At its most acute, it may be aU one can do to get out of bed once a day to perhaps shower and eat. Formerly active people are left with endless amounts of time and no way to fill it. Even during periods of relative weUness, muscle weakness can attack without warning. ChUton describes being in the middle of a swimming pool when her muscles collapsed. "I managed to make it to the other side," she says, but the incident left her frightened. "AIDS gets aU the attention because no one is actually dying of what I've got, but this disease robs you of your Ufe." The accompanying depression is described as "a greyness descending on your Ufe. It's awful. I was never a depressive person—before." The women also describe personality changes—irritabiUty and aggravation. "It makes you want to stay in the house and stay away from others." Some people have lost friends who were unable to accept or beheve what was happening to them. Also, friendships take time and energy—energy that sufferers no longer have. "Doing something today means that there's something I won't be doing tomor- Please see Epidemic page 6 Validating positive images of women by Terri Hamazaki Let's not rock the boat once we're there, otherwise we'U jeopardize our positions, said keynote speaker and CBC radio broadcaster Lucie McNeUl last month from stately Hycroft Manor, site of Media Watch's second annual Awards of Merit ceremony. A national non-profit organization dedicated to improving the images of women in the mass media, Media Watch's Annual General Meeting coincided with the ceremony which publicly acknowledges the progress made by Canadian advertisers, producers and broadcasters in their depiction of women and girls. Celebrating Ten Years of Revolution The tenth anniversary of Nicaragua's revolution will be celebrated at La Quena's Fiesta, an annual event that brings together activists of all ages for a full day of music, food and political high spirits. Entertainers this year include the Raging Grannies (pictured above at last year's event), Kin Lalat of Guatemala, Maori singer Mahinaaringi Tocker and many others. Proceeds from the event (people are asked to purchase a $3/$5 button) will go to La Quena Coffee House and Tools For Peace, which ships supplies to Nicaragua to rebuild the country. Fiesta this year is July 23 at Grandview Park, 1200 Commercial Drive, and runs from 12 noon to 7:30 pm. The awards recognize those who have validated positive images of women in the media, said Suzanne Strutt, Media Watch's executive director. Winners were selected by a jury representing academic, professional and community interests after a national caU for nominations was published in women's journals, Strutt said. Radio-Canada, CBC's French-language network, won honours in television drama for their weekly series, Dames de coeur. which addressed such topics as lesbianism and reproductive issues. Northern Native Broadcasting Yukon was one of three honoured recipients in the category of television pubUc affairs for their Profile of Margaret Joe ( a Yukon MLA) from their program Nedaa. Second honours in this category went to Radio-Canada for their monthly series Actuel, which treats subjects related to the status of women. The third award went to local independent filmmakers Annie O'Donoghue and Juhe Warren for their film about women athletes, Closing the Gap, which debuted on CBC's Canadian Reflections. In television advertising, BC Tel's ad nicknamed "Sushi" won for its commercial portrayal of, in Media Watch's words, a genuine woman: one who is an active, caring, social being with wrinkles and celluUte. For radio, the network Reseau des Ap- palaches (CFDA, VictoriaviUe) won for their aU-women produced series Tant de femmes which addressed such issues as violence against women. And finally, awards named after pioneer broadcaster Dodi Robb—who apparently did rock the boat—went to two women who by achievement and example contribute to the promotion of the status and image of women. They were Gertrude J. Robinson, director of McGUl University's Graduate Program in Communications and author of several submissions to the CRTC about the representation of women in the media, and to Barbara Janes, who heads the National Film Board's Pacific Centre and whose film credits include, Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief. "With an event Uke this, we're actively working towards raising our profile and celebrating our integration into local women's communities," said Strutt. A mostly female audience of 125 were on hand to support their efforts. KINESIS ^^^S^5^ Across Canada WHAT' S NEWS? by Donna Butorac More U.S. bombers over Canada An arrangement between Canada and the U.S. wUl aUow the U.S. Air Force to conduct mass, low level training runs over the Canadian Northwest. The U.S. wants to send as many as 25 bomber aircraft at a time along two 1,300 kUometre tracks in the North West Territories, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, at altitudes as low as 100 metres. The simulated attacks of B-l, B-52 and F-lll bombers are strongly opposed by many northern Native groups who fear that hunters, trappers and wUdlife wUl be disturbed. "This whole issue is as controversial as the low level flights that the Innu are op posed to in Labrador," says Ethel Blondin, a Slavey Indian and Liberal MP for Western Arctic. "The North is becoming a miUtary playground." According to the miUtary head of Northern Command,YeUowknife, the exercises are designed to enhance the capabiUties of North American Aerospace Defence (NO- RAD)."The fellow driving the bombers would get to fly over terrain similar to the opponent's, and in aU UkeUhood, the aircraft would not be seen because they wUl be flying away from buUt-up areas," said Brig. General Paddy O'DonneU. Stephen Kakfwi, the NWT's Deputy Government Leader and Minister of Aboriginal Rights, thinks it unUkely the federal government would ever impose such flights on southern Canadians. "What they're doing is planning miUtary exercises where they think there is going to be the least amount of controversy." The U.S. proposes a maximum of four one-day bomber exercises a year on the two western routes, one of which wUl involve more than 15 bombers. Source: Globe and Mail Opposition to midwifery Quebec physicians have renewed their opposition to the granting of legal status to midwives, claiming that a genuine perinatal poUcy was needed and should be given priority for funding before recognizing a new profession. Dr Augustin Roy, president of the Corporation ProfessionneUe des medecins du Quebec (CPmQ), says "it would be scandalous to recognize midwives before we deal with women giving birth in poverty." L'AUiance des sage-femmes, which represents 200 Quebec midwives, questions why the physicians' corporation has done httle in the past to assist low income women, and now decides they must become a priority. According to midwife Marie-Paul Lanthier, the corporation's stance is one more way of resisting the legalization of midwifery. L'AUiance beUeves that government- funded midwifery projects for poor women would not interfere with the CPmQ's priority. "Midwives spend more time with women discussing nutrition, exercise, relaxation and alternative remedies," says Lanthier, "as weU as offering psychological and social support. Since we go to the woman's home for appointments, we gain an understanding of her miUeu, and we are able to involve her partner and/or family. These factors would Ukely ensure a healthier pregnancy and baby for low income women." Source: Healthsharing Protesting Native education cuts Native Indian groups are continuing to protest the reduction in federal government financing of Native education by camping near the ParUament buUdings in Ottawa. Among the protesters is a 25-yeax old Micmac woman, Katani Julian, who says a university education is her only hope of getting off weUare. JuUan is from the Eskasoni reserve in Cape Breton where unemployment among Native people is very high. JuUan is one of a large group of Native people who say reductions in a federal financing program for Native students wUl cut them out of a chance to attend university and condemn them to a Ufe on social assistance. Native students say moves by the federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development would eUminate a $65/ week aUowance for chUd care and a $50/ week transportation subsidy, making it impossible for many to go to university. "I've been on welfare for a long time," says JuUan, "and I'm trying desperately to get off it so I can make a good hfe for my daughter." Source: Globe and Mail Birthing centres for Ontario The Ontario government has announced financing for three birthing centres for women with low-risk pregnancies who wish to dehver their babies outside of hospital. Elinor Caplan, Ontario Health Minister, said the centres would be operated by private organizations in the community. Costs wUl be covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan. "Hospitals wUl always be an important source of care for mothers and babies, especiaUy in high-risk births," said Caplan, "but it is important * ■» explore alternative kinds of care for uncompUcated births." In order for the centres to go ahead, the province must first pass a law permitting such freestanding health facihties. In fulfillment of last year's Throne Speech promise to improve health care for mothers and babies before, during and after birth, the Ontario government wUl also spend about $1.5m annually on pUot projects designed to reduce the number of premature births among low-income and teenage mothers. Another $600,000 wUl be spent on providing home helpers for new mothers and those with premature or multiple births. Source: Globe and Mail Suing over language training Two immigrant women are suing the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission claiming its subsidized language training program discriminates against women. Although more men than women can speak at least one of Canada's official languages, the language training programs are said to favour the needs of men over those of women. One of the plaintiffs, Emma MoUna, who emigrated from Ecuador in 1975, said she was told by the Canada Employment Centre (CEC) that she could get a sewing job without any language training, yet she was never asked if she wanted to be a sewing machine operator. After suffering much humUiation in the workplace due to her inabiUty to communicate in EngUsh, MoUna again asked CEC whether she would qualify for subsidized language training. She was told that because she had found a job without it, she did not qualify. Sonia Casas, who arrived from ChUe in 1981, suffered similar treatment at the hands of CEC. Although her husband was accepted to the subsidized language training program, Casas was refused on the grounds that "she did not require EngUsh to find employment." Another reason given was that she was the "accompanying dependent of the head of a family." After working as a labourer in a textUe factory for six months at minimum wage, Casas was laid off. On re-applying for the subsidized language training program, she was told by CEC that her "lack of fluency had not prevented her from finding work." Backing the two women's court challenge are the Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples, LEAF and a coalition of seventy organizations. Source: Globe and Mail Welfare study reveals racism A study conducted by a welfare field worker in Metro Toronto has found that women of colour are three to six times more Ukely than others to have their famUy benefits payments reduced, and that the amounts deducted are greater for them. Kathleen Lawrence, who conducted the study, reported that of 311 mothers with dependent chUdren, 17 had benefits reduced under Regulation 8, which requires that recipients establish that they have no other means of support. (For single mothers with chUdren, this usuaUy means proving that support cannot be obtained from the chUd's father.) About 70 percent of the women who received deductions in Lawrence's study group were women of colour although, as a group, these women made up less than one- third of the total. The average deduction was $62 a month for women of colour, compared to $44 for white women. Carmencita Hernandez, chairperson of the Coalition of Visible Minority Women, notes that many women are not told their benefits are being cut or that they have the right to appeal such decisions. On the basis of Lawrence's report, the Ontario Human Rights Commission has been asked to investigate this discrimination. John Sweeney, Minister of Community and Social Services, disclaims the charges of racial discrimination, stating that Regulation 8 has been applied inappropriately to aU family benefits recipients. He said that changes were being made to ensure that caseworkers and supervisors have less individual discretion to decide whose benefits wUl be cut. Also, new training programs are being put into place so that staff wUl treat social assistance recipients from varying cultural backgrounds with greater sensitivity. Source: Globe and Mail Inquiry probes murder cover-up The Manitoba Aboriginal justice inquiry began formal hearings in June to investigate the cover-up of the brutal murder of Helen Betty Osborne, a teenage Cree Indian who was raped, then stabbed to death with a screwdriver in 1971. Although four local white men were known to have been present at the scene of the murder, no one was arrested untU sixteen years after the kiUing. After trial, only one of the four was convicted of the crime. Another confessed to a sheriff in 1977, but the sheriff did not tell the RCMP untU 1986. The two member provincial inquiry empowered to investigate the "acts and omissions" of anyone who may have shielded the murder suspects. It wUl also try to decide whether racial prejudice was a factor in the poUce investigation of Osborne's murder. The Winnipeg PoUce Association tried to block the inquiry by obtaining a court order to halt it, but it has since been revived by a Legislative bUl. Native groups in Manitoba demanded an inquiry into Aboriginal justice in early 1988, after Indian leader J.J.Harper was kiUed by poUce. While expressing guarded optimism a- bout the latest phase of the inquiry, The Pas Indian Band Chief Oscar Lathlin also predicted that many people wUl simply ignore the findings. "There are some deep- rooted problems in the justice system," he said. "They'U [pohce] go to great lengths to try to stop the inquiry." Source: Globe and Mail KINESIS July/Aug. 89 Across Canada Class, poverty and issues of power by Marusia Bociurkiw Feeling a bit Uke TV detectives, we had cased the joint the night before. The Toronto City Wetfare office was on the eighth floor. It would be open on Saturday—though the elevators seemed rather smaU. The march across the Square would be easy enough, but what to do when we got to City HaU? Four years earUer, striking Eaton's workers had led the International Women's Day March and, in a spontaneous show of solidarity, the entire march had de- toured into Eaton's. We took this as our inspiration. We went to City Hall with our eviction notice for the Metro Toronto Housing Authority (MTHA) and our pink slip for the Welfare Administration. We got to the doors and the security guard said, 'What're ya doin here?' women; an ongoing "housing crisis" (two vacancies in 1,000); a large and diverse women's community (some 30-40 women's organizations), and a yearly women's march that attracts an average 8,000 people, buUt by a coahtion that represent a majority of these organizations and from which poor women are completely absent. Class and race have always been the two orphan daughters of feminist practice, thrown the scraps of energy left over from the "larger" struggles. And yet, whUe extremely belated discussion about racism—initiated by women of colour— begins to transform the white, middle-class dominated women's movement in Toronto, poverty remains an invisible element in the complex grid of theory, practice and culture which create a movement. Poverty and race are inseparable, ■ poverty being one of the most insidi-; ous by-products of racism. Why do they get separated out? Why is the mention. of poverty or race such a divisive issue We said, 'We have some things to deliver!' She said, 'You can't come in!' ... We went in anyways and went to the central foyer and did our action. Must've been about 20 people there ... We made a circle, left our things, Anne and Joyce led the MTHA prayer [a mock prayer satirizing conditions in public housing]. It was deathly quiet—just us, and a couple of security guards. Then we went back to find the march that left us! -Ruth The organizers of the Toronto 1989 IWD parade—with poverty as their chosen theme—had not allowed 5,000 marchers to stop at City Hall in support of this planned action by poor women and poverty activists. "When we reached City Hall, the march decided to go on without us ... I felt very angry, because yet again, I feel sold out by a movement that is so concerned with mass actions, and has no concerns for the individuals in the mass. They want to mobilize the working class and the poor but they don't seem to respect us." -Sandra An Invisible Element This is an inside story, told against a Toronto setting, where the conditions of feminist organizing have their own peculiar contradictions: a provincial budget that actuaUy raised (to a stiU inadequate level) shelter subsidies and weUare rates; thirty-five thousand homeless, many of them abused among feminists? Should poor women even bother with feminism? What's the best strategy: autonomous, or paraUel organizing? Or a politics of kick-ass confrontation ? Four months after IWD 1989, two months into one of the scariest federal budgets in recent history and with many other battles to wage, these are the questions which preoccupy a group of poor women and anti-poverty activists who have continued to meet since the City Hall fiasco. What I find amazing is ... how much you still have to define poverty, give the statistics, and analyze it ... Poverty is always having to justify your existence. I don't know too many rich people who have to explain why they live the way they do. -Carolann Two days before IWD, some women at a community centre got together to make banners. Most of them were women who had never been to—or heard of—IWD before. One of their banners read: "Poor women have no choice." The slogan makes an apt critique of the legalistic 'equal rights' bias of much of contemporary Canadian feminism. "Choice" has been an important slogan for the reproductive rights movement. It's worked weU in the courts and in the media. It's taken the emphasis away from the stereotype of angry, baby-hating feminists and replaced it with a positive vision of women making their own choices about their bodies. It's also wonderfuUy inclusive, referring to the whole range of alternative medi- cal practices for women: midwifery, feminist therapies and woman-centered healthcare, as weU as choices in sexual orientation and reproduction. It's no secret, however, that most of these choices are only available to middle and upper income women. The state fails to provide adequately for the health of women who raise children on their own. Poverty becomes an assault on autonomous sexuality and, very often, celibacy becomes the price of that autonomy. Choice is not part of the picture here. Politics Cost Money Another clearly-held assumption of feminist practice is the notion of seU-determination, of organization around an oppression. When, at the evaluations after IWD, the anti-poverty contingent complained about its ousting from the march, it was criticized for being "disorganized." Organizing—and being organized—are skiUs that aU good femimsts learn early on. It's a smaU matter to get word out quickly , about an action or a meeting: members with access to computers, xerox machines and even fax's can make flyers; phone calls can be done, if need be, on office time, and answering machines wUl take care of the rest. It's taken for granted that everyone wUl have the bus fare, bicycle or car to get to the event, and the cash for beers afterwards. None of this makes it easy to organize, it just makes it possible. But this, in itself can be a luxury. Like pleasure, politics costs money. Poor people are collectively starved of One of their banners read: "Poor women have no choice." political resources and support. The cult of self-help, usually visited upon poor people, actually belongs to ... institutions of organized communities and classes. The very fact of unemployment cuts the wageless off from the resources of the waged working class and its labour movement. -Beatrix CampbeU Wigan Pier Revisited The inadequacy of our definitions, and therefore of our understanding of class difference gives rise to these false assumptions. H the words don't exist to describe something, it can become invisible and this, in turn, helps to maintain the Ulusion of general weU-being. A basic Marxist definition of class would make a primary distinction between those who own capital and those who don't, or between those who employ and those who work for a Uving. This puts most of us in the same boat, a claim even the most diehard socialist feminist would be reluctant to make. And yet, there has been Uttle to replace old-fashioned Marxist theory. Class is also a culture—and culture doesn't always coincide neatly with economic theory. The culture of poverty is a visible and oppressed culture, lacking easy entry into feminist language and social space. Marlene Nourbese PhiUp, in her article "Women and Theft" (Fuse), identifies the u. traditional distinction between labour and j work as the lynchpin of conflict between J poor and middle class women. "Class" gets defined as "working class" within feminism. WhUe important support work by feminists in Toronto has occurred during pivotal strikes (eg., Radio Shack, Mini-Skools, McGregor Socks, Eaton's), no such work has been done around poor women's issues, although ample opportunities have existed. According to PhiUp, those who produce objects are recognized as worthy of support (workers) whUe those who do work that doesn't seem to produce anything (labourers) are ignored. Under the general rubric of labour we can include cooking, cleaning, general caretaking—all of which are indispensable to living. Despite its essential quality, however, or probably because of it, every attempt has been made to keep this type of work and those that did it—women and slaves—hidden away from public life. -Marlene Nourbese Philip IronicaUy, the only middle class feminist women who might have any contact with poverty issues or with poor women would be those who work in social services. This presents a vexing contradiction, making the differences between classes something it may not be in the best interests of these feminists to resolve. Poor women are these women's "chents," and their jobs depend on them. Unnamed Power Structures And finally, there are issues of power. This is where things get murky. As pressure from the state increases—to give up, to con- servatize, to shut up, to close down, to dwindle away—pressure grows within the structures of feminism. The consolidation of power happens subtly and is almost always justified by poUtics. These unnamed power structures—who sets the agenda, who gets the information between meetings, who makes the five-year plan—do much to maintain racism and classism. These structures also succeed in eliminating difference: the pressure to be in a position of power becomes the pressure to think Uke everyone else and this, rather than frank discussion, becomes how' we "buUd" analysis. The ehmination of those who bear the brunt of women's oppression from whatever discussion does occur plays neatly into the hands of the state particularly since it's poor women who could provide some of the most clear-headed assessments of how the state reaUy does intervene in women's Uves. Please see Class page 10 KINESIS Ju.y/Aug. 89 International HI China—up against a hopeless regime by Vera Ritt Despite near-saturation coverage of recent events in China by mainstream media, httle has been said about what student protesters have meant by "democracy," who the protesters are—and what role women have played in the demonstrations. From visual evidence, we know that women were present in Tiananmen Square, the Beijing plaza where, for seven remarkable weeks, miUions of Chinese students sent a message to their government to open up, to talk. We have learned that a major student leader was Chai Ling, a 23-year old woman whose moving description of the June 3— 4 massacre in the square was smuggled out to Hong Kong on a half-hour voice cassette, then transmitted back to mainland China on short-wave radio. At this time, there are unconfirmed rumours that Chai Ling has sought refuge in the AustraUan embassy in Beijing. In an effort to find out more about the protests in China, Kinesis made contact with a mainland Chinese university student who has been foUowing events in her homeland with great concern. For reasons of personal safety—Chinese students in Canada have been harassed by Chinese embassy officials, and fear for the safety of their fam- Uies back home—she chose the pseudonym Jenny Jhang. WhUe Jhang had no specific information about women protesters, she offered a profile of the students as "young—not seniors, but first or second year ... At the beginning, they were arts students, but later students from aU disciplines." The youthfulness of the students was a key factor in their wUUngness to demonstrate. On the one hand, they are unmarried and without chUdren. "FamUy ties are very strong in China and people fear their chUdren will be punished," says Jhang. On the other hand, arts students in Beijing have been exposed to "western" ideas about democracy, ideas imported along with the trade and technology exchanges of the 70's and 80's. Jhang beUeves the influence of those ideas is real, but also cited economic discomfort as a major factor in bringing "inteUectuals"—the teachers, doctors, engi- Class from page 9 Poverty is the struggle to survive on an income that rises half as quickly as the inflation rate ... Poverty is 78,000 families depending on food banks to get them through the month. Poverty is the loss of human dignity and respect for its victims ... Poverty is the thing nightmares are made of. Poverty is not, however, synonymous with ignorance, or the inability to articulate. -Carolann The beginnings of a strategy to include poor women into feminist organizing would have to begin with poUtical wUl—something many of us are not certain exists. Whether the wiU is there or not, poor women are organizing and demanding to be heard. Poor women have much to gain from an affiance with feminism, given the male-dominated nature of anti-poverty organizing. And feminists wUl benefit from a more dialectical process, in which we take seriously, and look closely at, our areas of difference. If nothing else, it could take femimst organizing out of some stagnant waters. ... Women are being attacked from all angles for all sorts of reasons. It's neers and other professionals—into the pro- democracy movement. "In the early 80's, the economic situation was improving and people didn't feel it necessary to change the poUtical system," says Jhang. "But in the last two years, inflation has been running at 20—30 percent and the hving standard has decreased for many ... "Professionals suffer the most because they earn a salary. That's why the students are worried [because they are future pro- have limitless power. There is no opposition party, no freedom of speech or press. You can't complain publicly." The corruption of government officials- made aU the more galling by inflation—is a prime complaint. Jhang described how officials and famUy members get stocks of sought-after consumer goods from state factories and seU them at a tidy profit on Ulegal markets. The example Jhang cited was colour tv's. Jhang explained that workers aren't as affected by inflation since they receive productivity bonuses. When asked about the stance of workers and farmers towards the student movement, Jhang felt that "ordinary people in China don't yet understand the Unk between democracy and daUy Ufe." For a few days of the Tiananmen Square occupation, minions of workers—young workers, says Jhang—joined the students. "But when they would try to participate, the factory leaders would say 'I won't give you any pay if you don't work.' " As for the farmers, Jhang says "their Uves are stUl pretty hard and democracy is a luxury thing after you have enough to eat ... their only news source is from the government and they beUeve what the government says. It is difficult to expect their support." What the students mean by "democracy," says Jhang, can best be understood by grasping just how unaccountable the Chinese ruUng eUte is. "Now, the leaders really important that we all get together and support each other, find ways to network so we don't duplicate actions but instead strengthen one another' action ... We can really use the power and potential of the women's movement... -Jo Discussion and debate wiU only be effective if based on a nuts-and-bolts strategy of community outreach, caucus structure (autonomy of, and leadership by, the most oppressed) and responsible consultation. This means a complete overhaul of many of our feminist processes which have turned inward over the years. The context for coahtion poUtics has altered greatly since the 70's when coahtion strategies became popularized within the women's movement. It's clear that the strategies have not changed swiftly enough with the times. Change wUl be painful, because re-buUding also requires a certain amount of buUdozing. The question of who wUl have the courage to storm the doors and who wUl have the courage to stand aside, remains—as yet—unresolved. Thanks to poverty activists Ruth Mott, Sandra Laing, Carolann Wright and Jo Grey for their words, and to Nomi Wall for her documentation of them. In early June, students transmitted facsimile messages from Beijing to Hong Kong— and then to Vancouver. On the ideological level, Jhang said the students recognize "the idea of communism is good, but now [in China] it's a dictatorship." As for perceptions of "western democracy," Jhang described how "before we came to stay, we thought everything here was wonderful... "Some young students think we should import the total American model. The more mature leaders in China don't think hke that. We know we couldn't do that, that the western model is not that perfect. We're not as naive as that." There has never been anything Uke this democracy movement before in China, said Jhang. "Unhke the Cultural Revolution, this came from the bottom of the people. It lasted long enough to be recognized in aU the big cities." The students were surprised the government cracked down on them with such brutality. Jhang beUeves there is a long education process ahead. "Educating people about democratic ideas is the most important next step, in particular Unking those ideas to daily hfe. [We have to show people how] freedom of the press, for example, wUl lessen the government's power, which wUl reduce the corruption and then inflation wUl diminish. H we give feedback to the government, we can get what we want. "It won't be easy. It wUl take a long time." As a parting message to Kinesis readers, Jhang wanted it understood that Chinese students in Canada who are currently applying for refugee status are doing so with regret. "After the crackdown, we realized the current [Chinese] regime is hopeless. It feels useless for us to return to China now ... we can do more if we stay. If we get Canadian citizenship, we can't be arrested if we return to China. "We love our country. We are always proud of our people." Nigeria Breaking down secrecy by Hannah Edemikpong A recent study published in Nigeria's most popular daily The National Concord has revealed that 60 percent of Nigerians are UUterate—60 million Nigerians. In a survey on attitudes towards female genital mutilation conducted this year by our Women's Centre in Eket, Nigeria, it was revealed that, of the 100 women interviewed, the 55 women who favoured continuation were UUterate. They were the ardent traditionaUsts who had wUlingly been circumcised and would be wUUng to see their daughters circumcised. Only 10 educated women (primary education) favoured continuation of the practice, but without compulsion. The remaining 35 respondents with college or university education favoured stopping the practice. They expressed shock at what happened to them on the day of circumcision. "It was not what they expected," they said. Five respondents said they have suffered severe bleeding and re-current urinary tract infection and four respondents said their sexual feehngs have diminished. The 35 respondents promised never to allow their daughters to be subjected to such operations. The 55 UUterate women who responded in favour of female genital mutilation appeared to have resigned themselves to the fate which the society had decreed for them and said they would not aUow their male chUdren or relatives to marry uncircumcised women because such women are unclean and oversexed. On the whole, the survey reveals that, because of family background or gender discrimination, no educational opportunities were given to the respondents who favoured continuation of the practice. The respondents were ignorant of sex education so there is no opportunity to teach or show the women the implications of the practice to their health. Moreover, sex talk is taboo in most African societies and sex is never to be discussed even with one's own husband. Women's ignorance about themselves and their rights has therefore been greatly exploited by their mensfolk who use the situation to dominate them. This is extended to other fields Uke poUtics where women are denied equal opportunities with men. This is why we consider our present educational campaign against female genital mutilation and other traditional practices that endanger the Uves of women as a first step of revolutionizing our society, creating an awareness and educating women about their bodies and sex so that they must start freeing themselves from ignorance, fear and mental servitude. We do not beUeve in legislation as a means of changing people's minds. The practice of female genital mutilation emanates from the minds of people and it is there that we talk to. Those women who know the health hazards of female circumcision are joining us in the education of their sisters as evident in the protest march by the Nurses and Midwives Association against the practice in the Western Nigerian town of Akure on AprU 6, 1989. Only with the involvement of women themselves can programs and plans for eradication succeed. Since secrecy surrounds the operation and has been maintained amongst those who practice it in order to protect the custom, it is necessary to expose the practice and educate the community. To support our campaign send your donation or inquiry to: Hannah Edemikpong, Women's Centre, Box 185, Eket, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, West Africa 0l\lr>bbl b July/Aug. 89 INTERNATIONAL How to destroy a health care system Patricia TaUoni has seen ChUe's health care system go from one of the finest in Latin America to one which effectively serves only 20 percent of the population— the richest 20 percent. As president of the CoUege of Nurses of ChUe and long time health care critic and activist, she and other nurses have received death threats from clandestine groups in ChUe. The death threats began in 1987, soon after nurses spoke out against what they regarded as unsafe patient care. Despite the potential danger, TaUoni stated at the time that, "We are being asked to attend the greatest number of patients in the smallest time possible ... No one appears concerned about the quality of attention but it matters to us. The threats wiU not stop us." TaUoni was in Vancouver recently as part of a cross-Canada tour sponsored by OXFAM-Canada and the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses Union. She met with Chile and privatization by Isobel McDonald The first step was to make drastic cuts in personnel... a variety of nurses' groups, members of the ChUean community and solidarity groups, and toured UBC hospital and the Everywoman's Health Centre. TaUoni describes ChUe's health care system today as "seriously dUapidated." Following the coup in 1973, TaUoni says, government emphasis has been to privatize health care services and support a free enterprise system. Poor people with high health risks are sent to inferior pubUc sector-funded facUities and only those with high incomes have access to modern medical care in private sector facUities. Although health care needs have increased dramaticaUy, government spending for health care has decreased by 20 percent since 1970. No money goes into prevention services and the incidence of easily preventable diseases such as hepatitis, typhoid and malnutrition has increased. The only area where the state has increased funding is to support programs to lower the infant mortaUty rate (IMR). The IMR is internationally accepted as an index of the general health of a population and the ChUean government wants to have acceptable statistics. All this is particularly tragic because, prior to the Pinochet dictatorship, ChUe had a weU-developed and advanced health care system, comparable to Canada's. Health, considered a right for aU, was jointly sponsored by the state, the employers and the workers. An extensive national public health system focussed on health promotion, care and rehabUitation, occupational health and safety and economic protection for workers and their families. In at least one way, ChUe's public health system was more advanced than what Canadians have now. The current "achieving health for aU" movement just now gaining momentum in Canada is a strategy which seeks to increase citizen participation in health care poUcy decisions at the community level. Prior to 1973, ChUean citizens participated in creating health care policy through community councils and neighbourhood organizations. TaUoni has watched the demise of this health care system and explained the steps the regime took to institute a "free enterprise system of health," or health care for profit, not people. The first step was to make drastic cuts in personnel, freeze the salaries of health care workers and demand greater productivity at the expense of quality. Nurses' salaries now are about $250 a month, below the poverty Une. Doctors make more, of course, but those in government cUnics make significantly less than those in private hospitals. As a result, private companies now have the responsibUity for workers' health coverage, forcing workers to use private clinics on a fee-for-service basis. Municipal clinics and hospitals that were once state controUed were handed over to private corporations. There are now seven major private hospitals in ChUe. There is no need for more, because those who would use the services can't afford them. Another legal change took place with the enactment of the Health Care Law. The government's mandate was changed so that services which used to be universaUy guar- CARIBBEAN \SALifiAGOSiSLMD$ ..; ... ,/c> • ': " ^> JO* b ^. ■ "-.-'. '■:£> .. &. . % J A typical nurse is responsible for 100 beds or five wards, as compared to one nurse for every eight beds in Canada. Patients wait months for appointments to receive the operation or examination they sometimes urgently need. Patients in pubhc hospitals must provide their own bandages and sometimes even Unen. The first legal measures to dismantle the health care system occurred in 1979. The most important health institution in the public sector had been the National Health Service (NHS), serving about 70 percent of ChUeans, including workers, their famihes and the poor. The NHS was replaced by 27 Health services, each controUed by government appointed officials. These new agencies work autonomously to determine fee structures, pohcy and private contracts. anteed are now Umited or have been ehm- inated completely. For example, whUe detection of prevalent diseases is supposed to be covered under the program, their treatment—along with Ulnesses of pregnant women and chUdren under six—must be paid for by the patient. Prior to 1973, ChUe also had legislation to help the pubUc make informed decisions when buying pharmaceutical products. The Ministry of Health required aU pharmacies to post a waU chart describing common Ulnesses and the generic name of the drug recommended for treatment. This was called the National Formula. This practice was stopped because it was determined to be "anti-free enterprise." People who cannot afford a physician or a chnic now go directly to the pharmacist, running the risk of being sold products thai fit the pharmacist's business needs or an allegiance to a certain suppUer. Between 1973 and 1981, the CoUege of Nurses was run by leaders designated by the miUtary regime. It was impossible for grassroots and critical nurses to participate in the CoUege. With huge cuts in funding to the health system and rapid privatization, working conditions for nurses declined sharply. For the first eight years after the coup, nurses had no organized voice. They were spoken for. In 1986, the CoUege elected Patricia Tal- loni and a progressive slate dedicated to restoring democratic representation and an activist program. They speak out not only to defend social rights and a return to democracy, but also to defend the rights of patients and their unmet needs. They work hand-in-hand with other professionals in coahtions. They are seen as a powerful force and are subjected to repressive measures by the Pinochet regime. Many, including famUy members, continue to be harassed, threatened and monitored. The CoUege represents 60 percent of ChUe's nurses and faces several obstacles in recruiting nurses to join. First, nurses are not required to be a member in order to practice. This poses problems for monitoring the quality of nursing care and in uniting nurses in one organization with common goals and concerns to lobby the government. Secondly, many nurses cannot afford the fees. It costs 560 pesos a month ($2) out of a poverty wage of $250 a month to be a member. Nor can the CoUege afford to provide its members with benefits and education at this point. And there are, of course, nurses who won't join the organization out of fear of government reprisals. (Nurses) defend the rights of patients and their unmet needs. Canadian nurses across Canada ha chance to meet with TaUoni and discuss common concerns. Both the B.C. Nurses Union and the Hospital Employees Union have spoken out strongly against privatizing any aspect of Canada's health care system. TaUoni described a system that operates with the goal of maximizing profit, not attending to the health needs of a nation. The Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses Union has established Unks with the CoUege of Nurses in ChUe. A representative from the NLNU traveUed to ChUe in November, 1987, as part of an OXFAM labour delegation. The group returned with the goal of developing ongoing Unks of solidarity between unionists of both countries, including financial assistance to worthwhUe projects. The NLNU responded by funding a project and developing its relationship with the College. Their sponsorship of TaUoni's visit is the first project of its kind from the Canadian nursing community and other provincial organizations are now considering initiating partnership relationships. More information about linkages anc partnerships to support local and international development is available from the OXFAM Global Health Project. Phone (604) 738-2116 or write 2524 Cypress St., Vancouver, B.C. V6J SN2. KINESIS July/Aug Women in the Philippines By virtue of her sex, by virtue of her class as told to Cecilia Diocson Zenaida Uy is a professor of Sociology and Anthropology at San Carlos University in Central Philippines, and General Secretary of BA YAN, the largest grassroots alliance in the Philippines today. Invited to Vancouver by the B. C. Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Professor Uy, or Zeny Uy as she is popularly known has been advised by friends in the Philippine? not to return home yet because of -threats to her life by right wing death squads. Zeny Uy: I represent the Alyansang Makabayan or BAYAN—which means New Patriotic AlUance. BAYAN is a federation of more than 2,000 grassroots organizations of peasants, workers, tribal minorities, fisherfolks, women, students, out-of-school youth, religious and other church people, artists, technologists, scientists, teachers and other professionals and medical practitioners. We have chapters in almost aU provinces and have about 3 million individual members. As a federation of grassroots organizations, we are bound together by the principles of nationalism which means anti-foreign domination, unity amidst diversity, people's welfare and development, people's democracy and finally, international solidarity. Cecilia: Amnesty International and other human rights bodies have criticized the human rights record of the Aquino government. Could you comment on this and its impact on women? Zeny Uy: The president herself said her government would be the exact opposite of Marcos. Yet if we make a performance audit of the present government's human rights record, it is not just bloody, but it is worse than that of Marcos. For the year of 1988 alone, 141 people were declared missing. We also have a total of 784 torture victims; 73 cases of frustrated massacres and massacres outside ManUa; and two cases of massacres and frustrated massacres in ManUa and the suburbs—totalhng 196 kUled and 118 wounded. Then, we have a total of 33 heved that women in the countryside should not just occupy themselves with reproductive processes because this is a process common to the animal kingdom. She caUed on women to go beyond this and organize themselves and be potent forces in transforming Phihppine society—to make it truly just and more humane and progressive. For this, she was kUled. And in the island of Cebu where I come from, holy week of 1987 there was this young female organizer of rural farming women. She was killed by the Tadtads or death squads—rehgious fanatics who carry 18-inch bolos or machetes. Her dismembered body was dumped in a dried weU near her parents home. For one week every night, members of the death squad would shout up in the hUl to let the people in the vaUey below hear that before they kUled this woman, they had abused her. This is the horrible picture of our women in the PhiUppines especially those who are actively organizing people and mobilizing them for self-reUance and action. Cecilia: There is a vibrant women's movement in the Philippines today. How does it relate to the Filipino people 's struggle for national Uberation ? Zeny Uy: The ongoing struggle of the Filipino people for justice, freedom and democracy has always been constituted by men and women together. The women's movement has been an integral part of the overall people's movement for social change. And yet, very recently, the women's movement itself has been focusing prominent attention to specific women concerns: issues that have to do with reproduction and development of the female gender. The continuing objectification and commodifica- tion of the female body have to be frontally faced—putting and end to double oppression and exploitation by virtue of her sex and by virtue of her class. There is also a growing appreciation that the FiUpino woman who leaves our country suffers additional exploitation simply because she comes from a Third World country. The record of Cory Aquino is bloody because her framework of government is based on total war policy. cases of frustrated "salvaging" (summary execution) victims; 249 victims of summary executions and a total of 2882 arrested persons. The record of Cory Aquino is bloody because her framework of government is based on total war poUcy. This is in consonance with the theory of Low Intensity Conflict. And this is felt not only in the PhiUppines but in aU Third World countries that are asserting their right to seU-determination and therefore are waging a national and democratic revolutionary movement. In a classic war, chUdren and women are spared because it is a battle between armed combatants. But in the total war policy of President Aquino, women—including pregnant ones—and chUdren are no longer spared. We have a case for example, of a pregnant woman in the island of Panay. She was eight months pregnant and yet she was kUled by the armed vigUantes—her unborn fetus kUled in the process. The only distinction of this pregnant woman is that she was an organizer. She be- In the PhiUppines, there is a coaUtion of women's groups called GABRIELA: the General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equahty, Leadership and Action. Since it has earned international recognition as the legitimate women's coaUtion in the country, I am pleased to let you know that most of the groups making up GABRIELA are members of BAYAN. Semi-feudal, Semi-colonial GABRIELA has specific programs that are intended to harness the potential of women. A semi-feudal, semi-colonial society Uke the PhiUppines maintains a system which continues to dominate women. GABRIELA works to establish a system where the male-female relationship would be based on equahty and respect for each other. In effect, as the national and democratic struggle tries to empower the FiUpino people as a whole, it is equaUy important to empower women within this context. GABRIELA, as a coaUtion, comprises more than a hundred organizations throughout the country. Cecilia: Are there other women's groups besides GABRIELA that are actively involved in the national and democratic struggle of the Filipino people? Zeny Uy: What I have discussed so far is what we technicaUy caU the legal left. BAYAN and aU the federations that make it up are part of the legal left. Zenaida Uy There is an important women's underground group called MAKIBAKA— UteraUy translated as Free Association of New Women. The issue of landlessness, injustice and domination is an issue of Ufe and death and these women, Uke their male counterparts, have taken upon themselves the necessity of fighting the status quo through armed struggle. They beUeve it is only through this approach that society can be changed. For them, the Uberation of the FiUpino woman can only be facUitated when PhiUp- pine society has succeeded in freeing itself from foreign and feudal control. It is about time that this dedicated group of women be appreciated as a necessary component of the Uberation movement. Cecilia: What is the government's attitude towards the export of women domestics ? Zeny Uy: A few months ago President Aquino went to Hong Kong and met with the FiUpino domestics. Since a good percentage of our gross national income comes from the income of our overseas domestic workers and nannies, she saluted aU the domestics in Hong Kong as the modern heroes of the country. And yet we know that these domestics undergo terrible exploitation not just because they are women, not just because they are daughters of landless farmers and workers and urban poor and even average middle class families, but because they come from the Third World. Cecilia: How extensive is the sex- trade, especiaUy mail order brides and child prostitution, and how does the Aquino government deal with these problems? Zeny Uy: I have data showing there are about 30,000 chUd prostitutes, predominantly found around miUtary bases and around tourist belts of ManUa, The youngest age recorded is seven years old. As we look into the overaU human rights situation in the country, the Uves of our chUdren are cut short through the process of militarization. As you leave the mUita- rized areas and go to urban centers, you see the dehumanization of our chUdren through chUd prostitution. No God-loving, freedom- loving citizen anywhere would aUow her own chUdren to continue in such a state of hopelessness and exploitation. Trafficking in women, maU order brides, chUd prostitution, tourism which manipulates chUdren and women should be ended. Trafficking in Women It is revolting to know that the PhiUppines has the notoriety of being a great source of chUd prostitutes throughout Asia. The phenomenon of maU order brides basically revolves around the countries of Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany and other countries in Europe. We are alarmed that the same phenomenon has now attracted males in North America. There is an increasing number of agencies that cater to this system of exploitation of FiUpino women. And the trafficking in women is a scandal condoned by the present regime of Cory Aquino. It is equaUy important to context the phenomenon of the brain drain and the brawn drain in the country. So much poverty and so much hopelessness have pushed people to leave to look for greener pastures, only to end up exploited. Even the very human process of courtship and marriage is eroded because women just end up as maU order brides. We know of cases where brides are maltreated and exploited. The First or Second World husband has for himself a Ufetime slave to cook for and serve him and offer him sex anytime he wants. We would Uke to put an end to this. The framework of the women's movement is for the emancipation of women from aU forms of economic and pohtical discrimination, from sex objectification and commod- ification, from sexual violence and abuse, and from the neglect and denial of their health and reproductive rights. Cecilia: Do you see any parallels between women's struggles here and in the Philippines ? Zeny Uy: The paraUels are definitely observable. But given distinct socio-cultural and historical pasts, the degree and methods of addressing the problems are different. The problem in the PhiUppines is basically one of immediate survival from poverty. Since society is semi-feudal and semi-colonial, only a total social transformation can guarantee women their rightful place and equahty with men. Women's Uberation can be assured only within the context of our struggle for national freedom and democracy. Canada meanwlule, is relatively affluent. Many of the major issues revolve around equal representation in ParUament, problems Uke chUd pregnancy and single parenthood, and issues Uke AIDS and other social diseases. While poverty among women is an issue here, it may not be as massive a problem as in the Philippines. But as I go around North America, I am generaUy struck by the fact that, within the whole area of household or domestic problems, it is the woman who tries to make both ends meets. When you speak about the poor sector of society, we find that whether it is in the First or the Third World, the women are visibly the poorest. It is sad because these are supposed to be the perpetuators of the human race. They make possible the continuation of the human race and yet, ironically, they are powerless. They cannot decide what is good for themselves and they cannot decide what they should do to develop themselves as human beings. Therefore it is equaUy important for the women's movement aU over the world to assert that basic right of women—as women—for self-determination. Women of the world—Caucasian or brown or from the First or the Third World—should hnk arms to push for their basic issues and to achieve a world where women can develop freely as human beings. Cecilia: What are the major planks of the national democratic agenda that your group is espousing? Zeny Uy: After the ratification of the constitution under Aquino, we presented what we call the nationalist alternative for Phihppine development. Firstly, this is anchored on an authentic agrarian reform program given the fact that the key problem in the country internally is the landlessness of the peasants. This program for authentic land reform focuses on free distribution of lands to the landless farmers. Firstly, we wUl concentrate on idle lands owned by government. These should be given free to the landless farmers. Secondly, lands which were acquired by Marcos and his cronies immoraUy should be Thirdly, we would Uke to see the development of a very strong Phihppine entrepreneurial class. Because we do have nationalist businessmen. What they need is just government assistance. And finally, in so far as foreign businesses are concerned, we would Uke to see them contributing to the development of the country. The government should control their profit-making, especiaUy repatriation of profits out of the country. Also, workers should get their fair share of wages. These four things we call a system of mixed economy. This is the alternative we are proposing in BAYAN. The present economy is export-oriented, import-dependent, debt-dependent and aid-dependent. All this dependency from outside has led us to a debt trap and we would Uke to put an end to this. And aU these years have shown that these foreign loans and foreign aids have not contributed to the benefit of the average person that makes up the grassroots of Phihppine society. We also have to look into the system of government. Just Uke its predecessor, It is revolting to know that the Philippines has the notoriety of being a great source of child prostitutes throughout Asia. given to the landless farmers free. Thirdly, idle lands foreclosed by government banks should be given to the farmers free. And finally, huge landholdings owned just by a few famihes or individuals should be bought by the government at current price, leaving just enough hectarage for the owners for their needs and for their chUdren. These lands should be given to landless farmers free of charge. BAYAN beUeves in the free distribution of these lands to the tillers. This is based on our study and analysis that aU farmers who are tenants and their parents and great great grandparents before them, have long paid for the land they are tiffing. This authentic land reform wUl lead to increased productivity, make the farmer self- reliant and therefore, generate surplus. But this would require comprehensive technical and financial assistance. To do this, affordable assistance from the government should be made avaUable so that the farmers can really be motivated to make their farm lots productive. A Mixed Economy But this is only one side of the picture. What about the working sector? The present economy is predominantly controUed by multinationals and foreign agribusinesses. We strongly propose a na- tionahst industriaUzation program where basic industries such as food processing, garment manufacturing, communication, transportation, drugs industry, chemicals and other basic industries be run by government. Thus, they become main source of service to the people rather than private profits. Secondly, we propose more promotion of and assistance for co-operatives—whether it's farmers' co-operatives, consumer cooperatives, credit co-operatives or bank cooperatives. This co-operative system has been found to be very functional in other societies. the present government is controlled by the landed few. What we have aU these years is an ehtist form of democracy. We are proposing what we call a democratic coaUtion government. The basic sectors of Phihppine society— the farmers, workers, fisherfolks, tribal minorities, women, students, out of school youth, and others—be given a voice in the government pohcy and decision-making concerns. We call this a democratic coaUtion government of peoples making up PhiUppines society. It wUl be a departure from the ehtist form of democracy where only the few decide for the majority. Land reform for example, has never been implemented for the benefit of the peasants because a congress dominated by landlords wUl never pass a bUl which wUl reduce their wealth and therefore destroy the basic source of their control. What about the miUtary? The present armed forces of the Phihppines has been formed during the colonial period by the U.S. to divide and conquer the people. Hence, the framework has always been anti-people and pro-landlord. We would hke to reform by forming instead a citizen's army of the people. Cecilia: Is there any other message you would like to convey to the people of Canada? Zeny Uy: Oh, yes. Thank you for the chance to talk about the Phihppines and the struggle of our people. Although the PhiUppines is halfway across the world, I realize that Canada and the PhiUppines are not apart from each other. The Pacific Ocean that separates them, in fact, connects the PhiUppines and Canada. Therefore our quest for one green world and one blue sea and our struggle for unity with humankind and unity with the environment is very reachable. Together we can make the world a better place to Uve. 19I<JNESIS Arts Careening from one adventure to another by Joni Miller GLORY DAYS by Rosie Scott Seattle: Seal Press, 1988 Glory Day is a (seU-described) fat, aging artist with one Downs syndrome daughter— Rina, who Uves with her—and one teenage son—Johnny, who does not. Both chUdren are by different husbands. Both husbands are cruel and useless. Glory Uves among the down-and-out in Auckland, New Zealand. Her world is populated with bikers, junkies, punk artists and smaU-time "crims." Her paintings are saturated with seedy violence. She's working on a series caUed "Senseless Violets"—aU about corpses. Rich people buy her art. For love and money she sings part-time in a rock and roU band at a bar caUed Main- street. It is here that she runs into a teenage junkie zonked out from an overdose and decides to rescue her. WhUe walking the young woman around the night streets in an attempt to snap her out of it, Glory runs into Grace, a transsexual prostitute. Grace persuades Glory that the girl is in serious trouble, and they high- taU it up to an emergency hospital. The next day, when Glory gets word that the teenager is dead, her troubles really begin. The plot runs fast after that. First the pohce come. Then the ex-husbands begin showing up—one Uve, one dead. Glory careens from one adventure to another, usuaUy driving too fast in a car that barely holds together. She worries about money and when she's going to finish the paintings she's committed to produce for an upcoming gaUery showing. When things get rough, her daughter Rina plays Bruce Springsteen fuU blast. Glory drinks beer in the morning to cope and sometimes wakes up in chair instead of her bed. Her agent, Nigel, usuaUy shows up just when things are out of control. Then there's Roxy—a beautiful, spaced- out model who's been working for Glory. "The first time I met her I knew she was poison. She'd eat you ahve," advises Moe, one of the "next doors." Could Roxy be connected to the bizarre series of events that are unfolding? You'U have to read the book to find out, because I'm not going to tell you. Rosie Scott has a keen eye for uncomfortable situations, and there are plenty of them in this book. Glory often manages to be in the wrong place at the wrong time—like the afternoon she stops in for a beer with Grace in one of those uptown fancy lounges. Although she insists on doing things her own way, she maintains a running inner dialogue of insecurity. At any moment, she fears her whole Ufe wUl come tumbUng down around her ears. Possibly my only complaint about the book is that Glory spends just a Uttle too much time worrying. Glory Days is part of the Seal Press's "International Women's Crime" series. It's a roUicking good read. Go out and buy it. Rosie Scott should be encouraged. More mag than book by Frances J. Wasserlein THE SISTERHOOD: The Inside Story of the Women's Movement and the Leaders Who Made It Happen by Marcia Cohen New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1988 $14.95 For those who Uke to read magazines, this is a perfect book. It's longer than a magazine, to be sure, but it has the same kind of feel. You can read around in it, flip from place to place, and look at the pictures. And if you have a special place in your heart for People or Vanity Fair and are interested in information about Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Germaine Greer and Kate MUlett, then this is a book for you. You'U find out about what they wore to everything, and what everyone else thought about how they looked. You'U find out about their fights with each other, and their fights with other women who challenged them. But you won't find out much about their poUtics, about what they thought. You'U read Cohen's sensationalized versions of their Uves, you wUl not get a sense of these women as whole people. And you won't be able to figure out why Cohen wrote the book. In the end you'U probably decide that she did it because she figured the 60's nostalgia wave could hold up a journalistic account of what the media thought was happening with the beginning of the Women's Liberation Movement. And she could seU it. It's certainly true that Steinem, Friedan, MUlett and Greer were in the pubUc eye and that reading about them may have led women to investigate the Women's Liberation Movement. It's also true that aU over the continent, not just in New York, a mass movement was buUding. The thing is that a book hke this one could be written about any women who were activists in the early WLM, or today for that matter. Would it serve any useful purpose? I think not. There is an "inside story" for every woman who's ever been born. The Women's Liberation Movement is, however, a social movement, and the stories of individuals are not the point: what the movement does, and how it came to those ac tions is. In order for us to understand our movement, in order to know the history, we don't need information on Gloria Steinem's dress size or her lovers. We do need to understand how decisions are and were taken. We need to know what the consequences of those decisions were. In other words, we need to study our poUtics. There's something mUdly disgusting about the current commoditization of the 60's. What does it say about society that seUing the media-created images of 20 years ago is profitable? I think the main problem with books of this kind is that they trivialize the poUtics and the passionate desire for revolutionary change which drives activists. Cohen's book, and others Uke it, are intended to make "interesting reading" and high profits. Such books do not aim to help change the world, or even your mind. For considerably more conscious accounts read Judith Hole and Ellen Levine's book, Rebirth of Feminism (1972), or Todd GitUn's The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage (1988). Don't encourage the publication of any more books Uke Cohen's The Sisterhood. Don't buy this book. Do typos turn you into a raging monster? K. There is a vocation for you - proofreading Kinesis. , Please call AINESIS Arts ///////////////////////^^^^^ Indian women and film On a video coach bound for Delhi by Dorothy Kidd We are just leaving Jaipur when I notice the red fort sprawUng down the hUlside. It dominates what is otherwise flat desert landscape for mUes around. Images of Rajput courts of maharanis and maharajahs float me back to the women's studies conference the previous week at the University of Rajasthan. The talk there had been about the distinctive Indian face of feminism, with many arguing for ways to reclaim positive female images from the numerous epics and mythological accounts of earlier periods. A more modern set of myths shatters my reverie. I am on a video coach bound for Delhi and the conductor has puUed curtains across the windows. As he switches on the monitor at the front of the bus I realize I am sitting right underneath the speakers. I try frantically to stuff my ears to keep out the violent blaring from this latest Bombay flick. India has the largest commercial film industry in the world and it's hard to escape. The same song I am hstening to now had already kept me awake one night. A month before it had been played over and over again at the wedding across the street. It's a catchy tune, and since then I had often found it in my subconscious, reinforced by other loudspeakers in the markets or sung by kids in the back lanes. Now I am watching the video version. With western instrumentation, it is sung cabaret-style by a woman in very western dress (read: short skirt, shoulderless top, not what Indian women normally wear). My curiousity at seeing the song, static and aU, draws me in untU the visual violence begins. The film was punctuated with fights between the men and a Utany of whip lashings, slappings and acid burnings against the women. I feel trapped. It's not hke on a plane where you have a choice of whether to get headphones and hear Rambo or CUnt Eastwood. I can't get away from the sound, but I can shut my eyes. As I draw my knees up I hunch on the back of my seat and try to replace those victim images with ones of women fighting back ... Striking Chords, Immediately We were sitting in a most famihar spot, amidst boxes of books from aU over the world. Some were being reshelved, others were being coUected to take to a women's cultural festival. I was interviewing women from Vimochana, the Forum for Women's Rights in Bangalore, in southern India. They share a meeting centre with Streelekha, the only women's bookstore in India, in the back of the Blumoon Theatre, around the corner from Bangalore's main drag, Mahatma Gandhi Road. Between phone calls, book packing, conversations with other visitors and numerous cups of tea, Madhu Bushan and Donna Fer- nandes told me about their group's focus on personal and structural violence against women. One of the ways they respond is through organizing legal and pohce help and, that afternoon, they were getting ready to visit a woman in prison who was being held for murdering her husband. I had read about their other focus in an article Madhu wrote for the 1986 Third World Women's FUm Festival, held in nearby Hyderabad. Vimochana see themselves as "creating pubUc debate and consciousness-raising through seminars, demonstrations, street theatre, publications, posters and films." Film has become increasingly important for them. PrimarUy a group of middle class poUtical activists, they began in the early 1980's by showing films to working class women in the urban slums. It was a way to discuss and organize protest around issues such as dowry and other marital problems, as weU as the lack of basic services such as water and housing. The women viewers connected easily with the issue-oriented films. Films about women on strike "struck immediate chords as they themselves were in a strike situation," wrote Madhu. A TamU film on the issue of water inspired the women to take out a demonstration carrying empty water pots to the local municipality. "However, when attempts were made to discuss or critically look at sexist ideology in films, very different perceptions emerged." For example, some women Uked one commercial film which features a rape scene, whUe others were very critical of the end ing of a film where the woman leaves home. The Vimochana women felt a need to look at these different ways of seeing women on the screen and of the impact the film industry has on women's role in Indian society. Since 1981 they have held an annual film festival showing both commercial and progressive feature films. WhUe some of the original audiences of working class women continue to come, the festival primarily attracts critics, directors and students, as weU as other middle class people. For the first few years, the discussions after the screenings centred on the negative ways that women were portrayed. Last year, the theme was women's strength. From what I understand from Madhu's article, this switch came from a recognition that there was no correct way to interpret women in film, and that it was more important to appreciate the specifics of where women were coming from and how they expressed their dissent. This meant re-evaluating the diverse ways that women's strength is ex- She told me of the questions they had considered: "What have been the definitions of strength related to women? How do the directors conceptualize a strong woman? Is it saying that, for example, in a tense famUy situation, a strong woman is one who walks out of the house, or is it one who stays inside and transforms the situation?" It sounds a lot hke the conversations at the women's studies conference in Rajasthan. "In Indian culture, we have certain very positive dimensions related to womankind which are used as basic principles even in our phUosophy and culture," said Madhu. "You have the female principle which has been a very pivotal principle in Indian culture. It has become perverted over the years, but nevertheless you have images Uke, say durga and kah, female goddesses." Culturally Rooted Myths "So we see," continued Madhu, "even in cinema, that a lot of the images which are related to strong women are based on these kind of myths. We wanted to see how these culturaUy rooted myths have been used. They have been used both positively and negatively. "So we got films Uke Devi by Satya- jit Ray. On the one hand, she was raised to the level of a devi [female goddess] and worshipped. On the other hand, that same woman's womanly feehngs were totaUy ignored. She was so projected as a goddess that her more humane quaUties were subsumed. "Then we had other kinds of films where it was used far more positively, even the same devi myth. It became much more of a principle for the reconstruction of human kind, of how it could become a basic principle for restructuring the world ..." The previous year the festival looked at how women's issues were being popularized in films. Madhu told me that women's issues have become the "in" thing in film and television and in numerous government pubU- cations. As in North America, women's issues have become commerciaUy viable, with a spate of films showing dowry deaths and rape. "But these kind of films," said Madhu, "Uke say a film on rape—a very sociaUy relevant kind of subject—what they were in effect doing was exploiting the whole subject and exploiting even the woman there. So they'd show a rape scene and it was not so much looking at rape as a traumatic experience for the woman but ultimately it just became a spectacle for the audience. So [we wanted] to look at this phenomenon, how the commercial cinema was taking-over these issues." The Vimochana festival has not only shown commercial films, but has also shown many so-called progressive or art films about women, made by both women and men directors. The seminars afterwards have been unsparing in their criticism of these, as participants discuss whether such films provide any alternative ways of presenting and of viewing women. Through the most gruesome scenes of the video on the coach, I feel comforted by these memories. I remember too that we in Vancouver may get a chance to see some of these women's films from India at the upcoming Third World and Women of Colour Film Festival (In Visible Colours) this October. This is the first part of a two-part article on women's film and video in India. KINESIS, .^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ARTS At the VAG Speaking of feminism and painting by Susan Leibik Feminism, painting and history are realms that have "interesting, complex, and paradoxical" relationships, according to Griselda PoUock, a professor of art history at the University of Leeds, England. PoUock spoke in Vancouver recently, at a weU-attended lecture sponsored by the Vancouver Art GaUery. Her talk took the form of a mock panel discussion where feminism held the central position: history was to the left ("I'm a Marxist," she explained), and painting she positioned "unfortunately," to the right. PoUock herself assumed aU these roles throughout, raising issues and questions from each forum, often quoting from other writers. The tone and strategy of her lecture was one of questioning and investigation; indeed, she sees feminism as a force which "transgresses, troubles, and poUticizes the domain of painting." PoUock began with the issue of images as cultural artifacts; they caU into play not only "what we see, but how we see," and give evidence of social and pohtical manipulation. Feminism poses questions of sexual difference—in art-making and art- viewing—and seeks to point out how these differences are encoded in culture. Showing a sUde of a painting by 19th century French artist H. Matisse, PoUock reviewed some of the ways in which feminist analysis can reveal cultural and pohtical implications. The Matisse work shows "no obvious gender reference," yet PoUock pointed to the "organized codings" within. The picture shows a male artist in a studio, painting a female model. Assumptions of gender are buUt into the work; the figures embody "purpose and passivity": the upright, active, male artist, and the supine female model. Stated simply, "men look, women appear." The active, male gaze is one that is promoted throughout art history and popular culture. Photographs of American painters Helen Frankenthaler and Jackson PoUock revealed both artists working on the floor, pouring paint on large canvases. The images of the artists were used to raise questions of difference hinged on gender, both in the artwork and in the gestures and stances of the painters themselves. (As weU as how photographers chose to portray them.) Jackson PoUock's "slashing, throwing of paint, his macho gyrations and painted tracks," have been seen as "definably masculine" and his work was Uonized in heroic terms. By contrast, Frankenthaler's physical stance is one of containment and calm, holding her body in close as she paints. De- Your CltftbM "P£5!6,NfAKz yjJ AVAJLABLs AT; OCfWttfB**? \» *W ok: I VMCdwsr 11804: 16l<JNESlS scriptions of her work caU up notions of "fluidity and lyricism." By investigating even the physical postures of the artists, PoUock pointed to attempts to devise a language in which these factors can be described and validated, citing French femimst theory, with its notion of the body as "signifier"—something which inscribes itself onto the work. PoUock noted that, in 1950's, consideration of gender in Frankenthaler's work was non-existent. In the critical writing of that time, "sexual difference has been cauterized, and cannot be spoken about." PoUock identified two modes utUized by women as image-makers to deal with problems of female representation. One method emphasizes affirmation: the positive identity of women depicted in artwork. The other expresses a "refusal of meaning," as seen in some non-representational work backed by French semiotics theory. This deconstructive stance does pose some dangers for women. PoUock observed that a position of "de-affirmation" of identity, as expressed in "the abohtion of author, the death of subject," cannot reaUy work for women. She contended that "women are not burdened by too much self, or ego, or cognito," and therefore do not need more methods of self-negation. Her remarks on history reiterated questions of social construction of gender and the "discourse of tolerance," a method of social control where differences of age, class, race, and sexual orientation are not acknowledged or accepted, but rather held against a supposed norm. Specific conditions of women's hves have been-ignored or marginalized, and traditions of art history reflect this. Looking at work by 19th century British women painters who worked in the mainstream tradition, PoUock spoke of the "constructed femininity" of the Victorians. A meticulously painted image of a beautiful, but dead woman Ulustrates the going concerns of the day. PoUock touched upon attitudes of art- making in the post-modern era, and spoke of feminism's role in the "disruption and de-affirmation" of mainstream structures. Feminism brings awareness of social processes of representation, in both viewing and creating visual works. She sees the female subject as viewer and "producer, respondent, and participant" in image making. Asking, "how can we be positioned as subjects of our desire?", she looked towards works that "dis-affirm" the dominant culture, and at the same time speak as "affirmations of ourselves." PoUock's talk was from an academic perspective and the lecture often veered into the dense, dry terrain that is a hazard of her trade. Many of the ideas she put forth could have been expressed in simpler, more vital terms. The places where history, painting and feminism inform each other covers a complicated territory, and one that beckons exploration. HopefuUy, the academics won't be the only ones who venture there. Private parkland: 15 acres provide two separate creekside cabins and camping. Easy mainland ferry access. EMILY'S PLACE Box 220, Coombs, B.C. VOJ1 1MO (604) 248-5410 Griselda Pollock Is it a language worth learning'* Feminism, Painting and History— with soaring heart I went to hear famed art historian and writer Dr. Griselda Pollock speak to a packed audience, the first of a series of special lectures sponsored by the Vancouver Art GaUery in June. Pollock opened with an interesting piece of theatre in which she arranged to play the parts of three people discussing the three aspects of her talk. And then, for approximately the next three hours, she proceeded to say practically nothing. Her presentation seemed confused, redundant, incomprehensible. What little she managed to convey came across as shockingly old news. It was a personal triumph for me to stay awake— many didn't. I left frustrated and paranoid that there was something terribly wrong with my mind—J couldn't "get" ta# Let the Healing Begin . Shirlayne's Personalized Service Includes: - Retreats for Women Only ■ Therapeutic Body & Mind Techniques ■ Home Cooked Meals - Comfortable. Safe. Laving Setting - Cozy Fireside & Bedroom ■ Nature & Ocean Nearby -Yoga. Workshops -Tai Chi Chih LAYNE HEALING CENTRE 133 Spinnaker Drive C 14. RR1 Mariner's Way Mayne Island, B.C. V0N2J0 1-604-539-5888 Luckily I met up with several women, all of whom confirmed my perceptions. Many were academics but none was familiar with the heavily theoretical vocabulary of "The New Criticism." So, in affect, we were lost in terms of language. But is it a language worth learning? Does it actually express new ideas or is it a system of invented codes of cloaking old concepts ? Like the empress' clothes, it appears to be gobbly gook strung together to conceal the absence of real critique, strong statement about art work. Pollock made no attempt to communicate to anyone other than, I imagine, a smaller insular group. She was barely coherent as either feminist, art analyst, or the marxist she claimed to be. Instead of leaving stimulated and with a renewed sense of connection, I left feeling exhausted and alienated. I am not anti-intellectual, nor do I believe in talking "down" to the lowest common denominator. But there are ways to express ideas articulately so that more than a handful of people can understand them. There's a reaction brewing to the gibberish art criticism Pollock represents. Let's hope it's a progressive commitment to opening up communication and creating badly needed dialogue about art. -Renee Rodin CROSSLAND CONSULTING* Personal Management Services for Artists Arts Organizations * FIRST CONSULT* By Appointment Onfy Arts /^^^^^^^^^^%^^?^ Rebel Girls: moving into the spotlight by Jennifer Babcock High atop the Vancouver Art GaUery in a smaU room on the east side something unusual is happening. It's video art. Feminist video art, as a matter of fact. Video can be tough because the format is so famihar—it looks Uke tv. But instead of the shck, air-brushed constructions of beauty and perfection we're used to seeing on tv you'U see famiUar people. People Uke your friends or family or maybe even yourself. Are you ready for this? Us on tv? You'U see the working class, Native women, single mothers, and even—I better whisper— feminists and lesbians. Right there in the Vancouver Art GaUery. It's Rebel Girlsl Representing Ourselves In the 1960's, video equipment that was portable and relatively inexpensive came on the market. Very Uttle training was needed to get satisfactory results and those results were immediate. Canadian women took the opportunity to represent themselves— to take a medium with Uttle or no history and give it their own history, their own tradition. Women in Quebec especially had the chance to make tapes that were Canadian not American, female not male, and French not Enghsh. Women's hves are represented, recorded with an air of authority, realism, and truth that rivals the male regime on tv. Rebel Girls consists of 32 video tapes by women from across Canada including 10 tapes from Quebec. The show samples work done over the last 14 years and comes from women with varying levels of experience in the medium. Sixteen hours of video may seem a httle intimidating but it's been divided into seven easy-to-view parts of approximately two hours each: The Body PoUtic; Requiem for Romance; The Personal is PoUtical; Memory; Mythology; Desire; and She Works Hard For Her Money. Some of the work comes from performance or installation; some is scripted drama and some is documentary. The pacing is different. There isn't a car chase every seven seconds but you'U get used to that. The French tapes have no subtitles and, unfortunately, I'm another Western anglophone. Femmes de Reve and Histoire Infame are quite clear without the text but longer pieces hke Quebecoiserient are lost without an understanding of the testimonials. VisuaUy the French tapes are beautiful—romantic, multUayered, and very weU produced. The rich texture of Les Tatouages de La Memoire and Histoire Infame works especially weU with the themes of history, mythology and memory. Reclaiming Our Bodies Women's bodies are used, abused and fetishized everywhere we look. Tapes in The Body Pohtic attempt to reclaim our bodies and our images. Delicate Issue and Birthday Suit: Scars and Defects fetishize to an extreme and rebuild meaning. Both works show women's bodies examined clinically with a close-up macro lens. Kate Craig's voice over tells us "this is as close as you can get; you can't get any closer" as the camera explores every texture and orifice. Lisa Steele's body parts don't conjure up images of new sports cars or vacationing at Club Med as she describes yet another chUdhood accident that has left her 'imperfect.' Lorna Boschman's Scars contains horrendous testimony by people who release their anger and frustration on their own bodies. The body continues to be the battle site. Hot Chicks on TV, by Elizabeth Vander Zagg Having been brought up on tv, I must confess that I consume narratives more eas- Uy than experimental works. Because of this, the Requiem for Romance segment moves smoothly. Manufacture Romance and Relative Activities imitate soap operas and harlequin romance novels. Easy to swaUow since pre-packaged romance has always been aimed at the female audience. From Anne Ramsden's script: "Sometimes I can't beUeve how naive you are." "What do you mean 'naive' ?" The last two tapes in the program Sugar Daddy and The Gloria Tapes both have exceUent performances. Ardele Lister is incredible playing her father's mistress an unusual story. Strong Documentaries AU the documentary work is strong and incredibly important as a recorded version of history that would otherwise be nonexistent. The Fleck Women reminds us that it was only ten years ago that the factory workers were striking for a wage increase from $2.85 to $3.80/hr. No SmaU Change paints a different picture of the T.Eaton Company than what we've seen in their ads, and Concerned Aboriginal Women allows Native women to speak for themselves about their hves. These three tapes Ulustrate again where the power is and how the usual mediums are controlled by those powers. These works echo recent events in Beijing—a large group of people demonstrating peacefuUy for human rights, an unreasonable show of force against them, and a distorted view of the demonstrators put out by the dominant media. The Last Screening Room: A Valentine laments the end of culture—artists and rain have been outlawed. This piece romanticizes the role of artists as storyteUers, as makers and protectors of culture. Judging by the audiences I witnessed at the art gallery and the Uneups I saw for Star Trek V, someone else is forming our culture. Lisa Steele and Kim Tomczak explore their Utopian fantasy in Working the Double Shift. The government votes itself out in favour of full cultural representation; aU those white, heterosexual, upper class males replaced by peaceniks, gays, artists, etc. makes for an entertaining tape. Hormone Warzone is hUarious—a woman is confronted by a number of characters fuU of helpful suggestions on how to control her fertility. A man can go to the moon to play golf but there is still no safe, effective birth control and she's baffled. Aren't we aU? Pure Virtue documents Tanya Man, performance as Elizabeth I; a very clever and funny monologue on the power of sex in relationships. Decency and sexuahty conflict in Playing With Fire which foUows the relationship between two women one of whom has no social memory, no sexual memory, no shame. Heroics: Definitions and As A Wife Has A Car are interview tapes, actual 688-6138 women relating actual events. Their matter of fact renditions of bravery and endurance are a pleasure to witness. Uncelebrated strengths and triumphs are documented at last in many of these videos. Women's hves and activities have been hidden and this technology aUows them to move into the spotUght. Here are the representations you never see in advertising, tv or in mainstream theatres. If you've been let down by mainstream media, if you're tired of trying to identify with Susan Dey and Meryl Streep, the Rebel Girls is the show for you. Watching these tapes is comfortable and famihar, encouraging and occasionaUy inspiring. The exhibition runs until August 21—timetables and catalogues are available at the admissions desk. Don't forget: Thursday nights are free and video starts at 6 pm. 311 W.HASTINGS ST Over 250 periodicals Drop by & check out what women are doing U elsewhere £/ O SPARTACUS UPRISING BREADS BAKEDY Oat bran cookies and muffins are wheat and dairy free Sourdough pumpernickel yeast free 1697 Venables Street Vancouver 254-5635 rt of CRS Workers' Co-op KINESIS, ^^5i^^^^^^^^^^^ Arts Reclaiming forgotten ways of knowing by Lin Patfield For thousands of years prior to the rise of major patriarchal reUgions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism, cultures in virtuaUy every location throughout the world had some form of goddess worship. Archeo- logical evidence uncovered in China, Great Britain, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa, the South Pacific Islands, India, North America, Japan and many areas in Europe strongly indicates that goddess worshipping societies, far from being anomahes, were widespread. Why haven't we heard? How did this information get overlooked? According to EngUsh author Merlin Stone, part of the explanation is that, typ- icaUy, invading nomadic cultures would impose the names of their gods onto the scriptures and shrines of the more peaceful agricultural goddess worshipping societies, after conquering their people and destroying most of their art. What httle evidence remained, untU recently, was dismissed by archaeologists and historians,as puzzhng but isolated instances, and therefore considered unimportant. Thanks to women Uke Stone, whose persistence and years of painstaking research has pieced together so much of what had been suppressed and forgotten, we are now starting to understand how pervasive goddess reverence was. It has been almost 15 years since Stone published her book When God Was A Woman and, since that time, more women are becoming aware of the importance of remembering the forgotten past, our heritage as women. The last 10 to 15 years has seen a revival or "reclamation" of the ancient goddess rehgion. More and more books are being written, art work and plays are being done, indeed, women throughout the world (and some men) once again are reclaiming the image of goddess as a spiritual source of nurturing and guidance. "AU I wanted to do, basically, was say 'let's at least know that this had happened in the past so that we'd know that we weren't second class citizens and it wasn't the divine plan that women be subservient to men, as the Genesis story would have it.' I had no idea what it was going to start," said Stone at a talk in Vancouver in June. It is unfortunate that Christianity (in particular) has turned many feminists away from rehgion. Women's spirituality is an extremely important part of our psyches and the possibilities for sharing that experience with other women in creative rituals are exciting. Stone points out that "it is very much a part of this entire reclamation in women's spirituaUty, of the forgotten ways of knowing, of the ways that have been put down and trivialized in our society: our intuition, paying attention to Uttle synchronicities, dreams, signs ... We are opening up areas that have really been spoken of in negative ways and realizing that there is aU kinds of information and wisdom in these ways. "It's a rehonouring of this way of knowing." Rubymusic, Women Do This Everyday, & Vancouver Extract present Benefit Dance for Everywoman's Health Centre AMANDA HUGHES THE NYETZ THE DOTS THURSDAY JULY 6 8 PM The Commodore 870 Granville St. Tix: Advance $10; Door $12. All Ticketmaster locations. Info & Charge 280-4444. Also Black Swan, Highlife, Zulu, Track, Ariel Books, and Women's Bookstore. COOP B.C. Coalition of Abortion Clinics. All Welcome. 18KINESIS While acknowledging that the goddess may mean something different to each of us, Stone envisions her as energy, as process, as the flux and flow of Life. She emphasizes the importance of appreciating Life as change. "Perceiving everything as flux and flow is different from seeing everything as static," said Stone. "Death and Ulness are part of the ongoing cycle, part of the continual changing. When we learn to more and more trust the changes, we find them easier to accept. Life is a continual transition, we must trust in the process of Life." While energy can hardly be assigned a gender, for many centuries we have been taught that men, not women or even the more inclusive 'humans', were made in the image of a divine creator. Stone beUeves that women need time to regain their strength, by revisioning their spiritual roots in feminine terms. There are so many male heroic images, women need images that remind us—and teach our daughters—that being strong and sure and powerful are equaUy a part of the feminine psyche. Artemis was Greek goddess of the Hunt, and the warrior goddess Athena, during wartime, presided over bat- IfcECkWOMANBI 15-ftREPRoNt Afcr 5~NDifl--Gifts MS MOVEXL^ " across -fte sfree-t-To |i31if COMMERCIAL DK. Display Advertising: Ask us about discounts. Phone 255-5499 tie strategy. Archeological evidence suggests that historical women of this era were great hunters and warriors too. Stone emphasized that, whUe reimagin- ing the goddess in this way can be invaluable to women on a personal and psychological level, goddess reverence has an important global and ecological significance as weU. HistoricaUy, within women's spirituality, there has been the understanding tha\ nature is sacred. "Nature is not something we use anc stomp on but it is the goddess. As we are part of the goddess, nature is part of the goddess and aU that is around us—the oceans and rivers and trees and mountains and the animals, and aU the races—aU o Ufe is sacred ... "When we start thinking of nature a* cred, we realize that dumping chemicals in the rivers or spewing radiation out, and the various things that are being done are not only poUution, but they are blasphemy, i: you truly understand the sanctity of aU nature." Stone feels that in reclaiming our heritage, and trusting our selves, trusting our intuition, our excitement, our perceptions our judgement and opinions ... and by not letting anyone talk us out of it, we regain the strength to speak out. "Women aU over the world are picking up on these ideas. Consciousness is being raisec by this kind of thinking, and perhaps—anc its almost hke a race—we're going to win Instead of being poisoned out of our planet or being blown out of our planet, there might be a chance to save it, and to really understand that the planet is our home, the planet is part of the goddess." Stone cautions that goddess reverence not be turned into a cult, and not to become rigid about it, as has happened with Christianity. Rather, that it be a way of perceiving, a means of effecting—positively— the flux and flow of hfe that we are aU a pari of. She also cautions women not to faU for goddess "gurus" or "priestesses," or anyone trying to tell you that they have more of a "direct Une" to the goddess than anyone else because "we are ah important, so importan1. that we can actually change the future." In this reawakening of women's spiritual ity, by joining and directing goddess energy,! by hstening to "goddess as guidess," Stone beUeves we can find ways to do what we can to redirect the flow in a positive, more life-nourishing direction, towards a more cooperative world and existence. Thanks to Lina, Maggie, and Doe for their comments. Arts /////////////////////^^^^^ Sounds of courage and conviction After years as a session drummer, Real- Life Story is her first album as a leader. The music is a departure from the more mainstream jazz she played in the past. Carrington is a brUUant composer and when she performs her own work she soars. The album is also highhghted by her coUabora- tions with composer and keyboardist Patricia Rushen. by Laurie E. Nerman Welcome to Making Waves, a music column which will run every other issue. I will be covering all aspects of women's music, as well as addressing the political and topical through interviews, reviews and tons of information. Expect the serious to the light-hearted. Victoria-based, I produce a radio show on women and music, serve as a music consultant and write about women's music. I am particularly interested in independent music produced internationally and domestically. As a lesbian feminist I have definite opinions about the limiting sound of most traditional women's and lesbian music—but that's for a future column. I hope to challenge and inform you about all kinds of music, whether it be current or past. I believe good music by women is good music, and we need to walk away from the popular belief that all music is disposable after an arbitrary period of time. Comments, suggestions or any questions about the information you read are most welcome, c/o Kinesis. So let's open up our eyes and ears—happy reading and listening. —L.N. Summer is when I begin my annual record inventory process. My collection spans over a 20-year labour of love, so the task is often slow and long. I take a lot of Ustening breaks and am often reminded of some of my favourite albums. The foUowing three women share the qualities of courage and conviction within their varying sounds. Anna Domino is not a household name in her native Canada, although she is recognized as an important musician in Belgium (her second home) and Japan. domij na ttomino Stella Chiweshe This Time is a rare album, working flawlessly on multi-levels. Its power Ues in the speak-sing quality of Domino's voice and the contrast of musical sound which ranges from the lyrical to the sparse. On her previous E.P.'s there is such fuU orchestration one senses her singing as an apology. After years of being told by male producers that her sound was too small, Anna Domino has found her own voice and sound, and is hstening strictly to herself today. Most of these songs are about love without embeUishment and it is clear that the lyrics arise from the music with an emotional and thematic charge. The mood is contrasting: ranging over anger, resignation and personal empowerment. One senses that what is left out of each song is as important as what the Ustener is given—evocative imagery that is both dense and visual. In the surreal piece "Lake" (my favourite) she states: "In the sky/pale and empty/no wind ever blows/and the flowers of dreams/ slip by as I go." Entering Domino's world is Uke entering a dream-world with two feet on the ground, and recognizing ourselves in the process. HopefuUy we wUl recognize her importance as weU. Brilliant Composer Terri Lyne Carrington has been playing drums most of her hfe within a male- dominated field that has great difficulty accepting a woman jazz drummer. Despite the odds and obstacles, she cut her first album at the age of 16 and has not looked back. Included are two tracks which feature Carrington on vocals. Her voice is solid yet doesn't reach the depth and passion of her instrumental work. All of the pieces verge on the experimental side yet are easily accessible to the hstener, as there is a soft and relaxing mood throughout. She said recently, whUe discussing the problems of sexism in her Ufe, "The bottom Une is the music, nothing else should matter." Fortunately, this album matters. SteUa Chiweshe began her musical career in 1966 within a tradition that had previously been reserved for men in her native Zimbabwe. Her mastery of the complex mbira is legendary there. The mbira is a thumb piano with metal keys fixed to a wooden sound-board which is then wedged into a calabash (gourd) resonator. Various articles are attached which produce buzzing when the keys are plucked. She was told that a woman playing this instrument showed no respect for tradition. She admits that the physical playing of the mbira is painful—it is a painful instrument to pluck—but not to play is more painful. During Zimbabwe's colonial period, the mbira was banned from pubhc performance because of its spiritual roots. Says Chiweshe, "Before Independence, you weren't aUowed to play mbira on stage ... because the missionaries were saying if you do these things, it's Satan's work, it's uncivi- Uzed, you will go to heU." Mbira music honours the souls of ancestors and the music is played for these spirits. Today SteUa Chiweshe is an important recording artist with over 20 singles to her credit. Ambuya? is her first album avaUable to western audiences. Most of the songs resonate with an infectious beat and feature her artistry as a musician and singer. With its evocative blend of instruments, "Mu- gomba" is haunting in its depth of tone and sound. The songs encompass her spiritual be- Uefs as weU as the compeUing tales of the hberation struggle of Zimbabwe. "Sarura Wako," one of my favourites, translates into "Choose Yours." It is about choosing the one who is wearing the symbol of a great person, and its sound is upbeat, celebratory and danceable. This highly inspirational album reflects Chiweshe's conviction during periods of deep pohtical and personal struggle. Like Domino and Carrington, she has translated her personal vision into transformative and positive music. What more could we ask for? Discography THIS TIME Anna Domino Giant Records, 1987 P.O. Box 570 RockviUe Centre New York 11571 REAL-LIFE STORY Terri Lyne Carrington Polygram Records, 1989 AMBUYA? SteUa Chiweshe GlobeStyle Records, 1987 48-50 Steele Rd., London NW10 7AS Airfare Vancouver-Grand Rapids, Mich. Return $526.00 Including tax. Deposit of $200.00 immediate Balance July 1, 1989. Medical insurance $9.00 extra depart: August 8, 1989 return: August 14, 1989 Soto 14th Michigan Womyn's Music Festival 1 989 Airheart CO-OPERATIVE TRAVEL CENTRE Worker Owned & Operated 2149 Commercial Drive Vancouver (604)251-2282 Bus. Hours: 9:30 to 5:30 Mo-Fr KJlNbSIS July/Aug. 89 .**ms*ss**s*s*s***s^ws^^\ ARTS /N^O>YK* Great beach book has Vancouver setting by Melanie Conn Summer weekends are aU the sweeter when there's a shelf of new science fiction to choose from. This spring, several titles came out in paperback and are avaUable at local bookstores and public Ubraries. THE SARSEN WITCH by Eileen Kernaghan New York: Ace Books, 1989 $4.75 A few years ago I interviewed Eileen Kernaghan, a Burnaby writer. I had read her first two books, Journey to Aprilioth and Songs from the Drowned Lands, and had been struck by her knack for creating characters who Uve and breathe on the page. I was delighted to find that Kernaghan displays the same magic in Sarsen Witch. A kind of sequel to the earlier books, Sarsen Witch reflects the author's fascination with EngUsh prehistory and the talent of the geomancer to locate the earth's energy fields and mobUize them against destructive chaos. The witch of the title is Naeri, a young woman who embodies the struggle for survival of the Mother's people in the aftermath of the warUke horsemen who have conquered the land. From the first page, as she "sets a pot of barleymeal and water over the hot coals, and stirs in a duck egg from the morning's forage," the reader is swept into Naeri's hfe. Sights, smeUs and tastes are vividly served up as we enter the horsemen's camp with the young woman and visit the hidden communities of The People where the ancient ways are preserved. One of the pleasures of Kernaghan's books is her ability to present magic as a hands-on aspect of people's Uves. In Sarsen Witch, the story is so weU-grounded in character and setting that Naeri's exploration of her remarkable birthgift to communicate with the earth and with the sarsen-stones never seems mysterious. The book ends with Naeri on the road, hopefuUy to another adventure we can look forward to reading. AN ALIEN LIGHT by Nancy Kress New York: Avon Books, 1989 $4.25 This second novel by Nancy Kress is a perfect example of science fiction as a genre for exploring complex and contemporary issues from a unique perspective. The action takes place on an unnamed planet overhung with purple skies and populated by warring human communities. Menacing, carnivorous vegetation and rapid cycles of extreme cold and bhstering heat make the environment inhospitable even to its most hardy inhabitants. In this tough setting the reader encounters Ayrys, just exiled from her city. An artist and a victim of pohtical censorship, Ayrys is a weU- developed character who held my interest and admiration throughout the book. Ayrys' only hope for security from the hostUe landscape is to enter the Gray WaU, rumoured to be a source of remarkable weapons. It doesn't give too much away to say that the WaU turns out to be an enormous laboratory—an entire city, in fact— called F'row, established by the Ged, a technologically advanced ahen race who are studying the nature of human interaction and potential. There's a lot to observe as the members of various communities assemble in F'row and are forced to co-exist despite their traditional enmity. Bloody confrontations soon develop between the highly regimented, warrior Jellites and the much more casual and anarchistic Delysians. Despite the violence, Ayrys and one or two others become fascinated with the scientific information made avaUable to them by the Ged. As the story unfolds, the lure of technology becomes an obsession, threatening to blinker the humans to the motivations of their captors. Using her intuition to complement her intellect, Ayrys manages to stay centred in the midst of this classic conflict, providing, one could say, a feminist perspective on the situation. A sub-plot explores the enormous difficulty of establishing intimacy between cul tures, particularly around gender-related differences. The Delysians Uve a Ufestyle that aUows same-sex and heterosexual relationships, serial monogamy and single- parenthood. Within the rigid Jellite culture, sister-warriors love one another, having sex with men only to procreate; Jellite men are "serviced" by female prostitutes. In the F'row melting-pot, the unimaginable happens and Ayrys, a Delysian, becomes lovers with a Jellite man. Ultimately, though, she has to accept "the size of the abyss between them and the dark currents at the bottom." This is a long book with lots of action and Nancy Kress manages to keep it moving and thought-provoking untU the end. I'm on the lookout now for her first novel, The Prince of Morning Bells. I've often recommended it as an introduction to women's SF. But there's a whole new batch of Vonda Mclntyre books now. She's the best-seUing author of the Star Trek series, and if you've read any of the Trek books (or seen the movies), you know the style: lots of chatty dialogue, entertaining references to famihar issues and a concentration on relationships. Starfarer foUows suit, although it's an adventure story aU on its own. Mclntyre is a Seattle resident and this book was definitely written with her Canadian friends and fans in mind. Reading it is a Uttle Uke watching a movie filmed in Vancouver and identifying various locations. Starfarer is an unarmed spaceship preparing for interstellar exploration. Its multi- ifil ACE.0-44»-75052-4-[$*.75CANAOAl-$lSOaS. r SSRSENITCH Eileen kernaghan / \- /-it t Award-Winmng-Author of JOURNEY TO * ;.;-■ '"/'' S ,<;• "•'• L ti APRUJOfH and SONGS FROM THE :',. "'(■■■■•*::'>%&. . ^>r- DROWNEDLANDS & ;':'4" --'*'< Thesinofngof •; the stone? Hired- her into battled With the darkest L of magics...,' STARFARER by Vonda Mclntyre New York: Ace Books, 1989 $5.25 I've been a fan of Vonda Mclntyre for years. Her 1974 noveUa Dreamsnake, about a woman healer, is one of my aU-time favourites. For depth of character and simple, beautiful writing, it's unsurpassed and iCte^^fema^> ^£JeAiUi4^y |^...y/\ kmow,, Pvf> ... So MET IMES^H fwHEAj WE'RE1 OUT CAMP/MG AAJP ll p S^RKoOA/i>t> gy au_ THiS 6EAi/Tyj| I A^P TKAMQ\JiLtT-fy X pEeu L.\K£ «| ' X'M A&ovT 1 o HAVE SoM£ KIND * I OF UNIQUE REUGlOOS fi'xpeft.iE^ce:' MIGHT, Soppy... t^ESLi WM -k racial, international scientific crew is headed by Victoria MacKenzie, a determined and colourful woman whose home is Vancouver. On one level, Victoria's character is a kind of cartoon Canadian: her speech is peppered with "eh's", she gets teased for saying "oot" and "aboot" and she loves visiting her grandmother on Vancouver Island. The plot, which hinges on outwitting the U.S. hawks who want to use Starfarer to dominate the rest of the world, aUows Victoria to speculate gloomily that her government is sure to go along with the Americans. (There are several other Canadian references, but you'U enjoy finding them yourself.) In this book, Mclntyre continues to plore her interest in whales, a focus of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. One of the characters in Starfarer, J.D. Sauvage, is an "ahen contact expert" with a deep affinity for orcas. A long section of the book concerns J.D.'s decision about whether to make a Ufe-long commitment to the sea-dweUers or to become part of the steUar exploration. The evocative depiction of J.D.'s experience with the orcas and with the altered humans who protect them reminded me of Mcln- tyre's earlier writing. Starfarer is an entertaining read—a great beach book! .KINESIS yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy /////////////////M^^^ /////////////////////^^^^^ LETTERS More Rape Relief comment Kinesis: The attacks, over time, on Vancouver Rape ReUef (VRR) raise fundamental questions. In the article "Rape ReUef Centre under attack" pubUshed in the Vancouver Sun, AprU 6, the accusations made against Rape ReUef are essentiaUy about being too poUtical and indoctrinating women. Like VRR, we beUeve that men's violence against women is the result of a patriarchal society, a society based on the power of men and the oppression of women. This analysis, different from what we've been taught, is at the origin of the centres against sexual assault in Quebec and Canada. Consequently, we beheve that the support and the services we offer women must reflect our vision. We beUeve it is a priority to show this to women. Women must have the possibiUty of becoming conscious that sexual assaults are not isolated acts which they have in any way contributed to, but a manifestation of cultural acts. Neither men nor poUce, medical, justice or poUtical authorities are in a hurry to recognize the breadth, the causes, the consequences of sexual assault against women, and the threat to daily Ufe of aU women. The treatment of abused women by institutions is the object of numerous criticisms. Concerning the judiciary system, it unfortunately carries the same values. It does bring a kind of protection and security to women. But we know that these effects are very relative. And most of all, we do not forget that we cannot impose on individual women the responsibihty to change institutions and mentalities. If, for aU these reasons, Vancouver Rape Relief is accused of being poUtical, you should do the same for Quebec centres against rape. We too consider this poUtical view is fundamental in the fight against sexual assault. Also, we consider Rape Relief to be an extremely dynamic group and an incontestable leader in the Quebecois and Canadian movement against rape. The choices, orientations and analysis of Rape Relief inspire a deep respect on our part. We have a clear impression that it is fundamentally different views about rape and about services to women that are at the root of the accusations against Rape Relief. We hope that the debate on this issue wUl continue. Diane Lemieux for the Quebec Coalition of Sexual Assault Centres, and Regional Representative for the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres Sherbrooke, P.Q. Even more R.R. comment Kinesis: To the Vancouver Sun: Karen GaUagher is right about something—women do have a right to know so that they can make informed choices. The article "Rape Relief under attack" omits a great deal of information. Women have a right to know that Rape Relief offers a woman counselUng, support, her choice of options (the courts are not the only one) and an opportunity to work for social change if she chooses. They also offer shelter, food, and clothing—free if necessary. Women have a right to know that it is not an accident that one woman in four is raped—nor is it a genetic defect on the part of men—nor is it her fault. It does have something to do with the way this culture is organized. It is extremely important that women know that we can do something about rape and the conditions that encourage it. Changes have been made in the court system (although it is stUl not ideal) as a result of pressure from women's groups— Rape Relief among others. Women have a right to know that they can stay in Rape Relief's Transition House for as long as they need—whereas the government places restrictions on government funded shelters. Women have a right to know that there are other feminist organizations that support Rape ReUef's work—a fact that the reporter did not see fit to divulge. Many women have gained much from their contact with Rape Relief—again a fact that the reporter did not see fit to investigate. Women should be happy that enough women over the years have cared enough and worked hard enough so that there is a shelter in Vancouver that is not beholden to anyone and can therefore offer service to a woman based on her needs. H the Sun is to do articles on the women's movement, it would have more integrity if it assigned a reporter who was not so obviously biased and who would dig deeper to do justice to some difficult and complex questions about how to best support both individual women and the cause of women in general. Producing a biased, sensationalized story on one women's group puts us aU unnecessarily further behind in our work to create a world that is safe for us aU. Bet CeciU, Jiwan Fischman, Kathy Atkins, Pam HaU, Karen Jackson, Ann Bradbury, Sage DeBeUe, Danielle Bourassa, Sandy Goundry, Mary Brooks, Ann Burrows, Kim Nightingale, Karen Kjonhcka, Lea Dawson, EUen Woodsworth, Suzanne Perreault, Nym Hughes, Karen TuUy, Carol NeUsen, Sherie Hethrington, Joanne Beatty, Maureen MiUs, Yvonne Johnson, Fredricka Staiger Vancouver Lesbians and spousal benefits Kinesis: We were very interested to see the article "Lesbians: Organizing for spousal benefits" (May 1989). Like the participants in the Vancouver meeting reported, we feel that the "spousal status" strategy is necessarUy a Umited one and does Uttle to challenge the institutionalization of the "family" structure in our society. Nevertheless, it is difficult to ignore the financial rip-off and the blatant disrespect of the heterosexual majority who, through our governments and legal system, issue edicts that only their own relationships merit the social benefits and protections for which we aU pay. According to the article, two routes for obtaining spousal coverage were discussed at the meeting—grievance procedures and court challenges. We think it is important that collective bargaining as weU, be given some serious consideration. The use of a grievance procedure presupposes a collective bargaining environment. But the procedure itself is only useful if your contract already contains language which offers a reasonable chance of success. Most do not. Through collective bargaining you can change the language and make it say exactly what you want it to say. Homophobia, of course, can erect as effective a barrier to successful collective bargaining as it can to successful grievances or court chaUenges. First one's bargaining unit must be convinced and then the employer. StiU, it costs a lot less to try—both in time and in money. And even an unsuccessful attempt can be an invaluable vehicle for consciousness raising as the process necessarUy involves many people on both sides of the table. Unhke court chaUenges, contract proposals are not bound by precedent and can be submitted in thousands of workplaces across the country, whenever negotiations are pending. An unsuccessful attempt in one place or in one round of bargaining does not prevent or even seriously prejudice another run at it elsewhere or later. CoUective bargaining, of course, cannot be utilized to change legislated benefits. However, once insured benefits for same sex couples become common in union contracts, market pressure wiU dictate changes in nonunion employment contracts, in insurance company poUcies and the Uke. The changing "norm," as weU as the integration of many insured benefits with pubhc benefits wUl result in legislation changing to accommodate the new "norm," as it changed to accommodate the common law heterosexual couples. Pressing this issue through both grievance procedures and court chaUenges is, of course, extremely important. However, legal challenges wUl be greatly assisted by a changing societal norm reflected in union contracts. The more common freely negotiated same sex spousal benefits have become by the time the test case gets to the Supreme Court of Canada, the more hkely that case is to succeed. In Solidarity, Nancy Rosenberg, Margaret Evans, Ottawa, Ont. Birth parents and adoption Kinesis: I would greatly appreciate you publishing my letter as I feel that other women ought to be informed of potential violation of their rights within private adoption, even where government legislated. Recently I became aware that existing laws governing individuals who hold a government Ucence to practice private adoptions in Ontario are insufficient to protect the rights of biological parents who elect to rehnquish their chUdren. I was led to examine the relevant legislation within the (Cluld and FamUy Services Act) after I gave up my biological chUd for adoption in 1987 through the executive director of the oldest and largest private adoption agency in Ontario. Several months after the baby's placement I discovered, as a result of reading an article in the Toronto Star, that the baby's father and myself had been misled about the options at the Toronto Metro ChUdren's Aid Society (CAS) and had valuable information withheld from us about the agency we dealt with for approximately seven months. SpecificaUy, we requested to be as involved as possible in the selection of adoptive parents. We were told that at the CAS the social workers do the matching, whereas at the agency we dealt with we could specify the characteristics of the adoptive parents. We were informed that we would be presented with two or three couples who were the closest match to our criteria, I was asked if one criterion was essential (which is easUy met by many couples). I specified that it was. In the next meeting we were presented with two couples: the first couple met the criterion; the other did not. Months after the placement, the newspaper article revealed that the CAS had been permitting biological parents to specify criteria of the adoptive parents and had been providing the option of the biological and adoptive parents meeting for the previous three years. Upon investigation, I learned that the agency we dealt with had begun such meetings even before the CAS. As a result of us meeting with the director, in which he had considerable difficulty answering our questions, we brought our concerns to the attention of the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services and the Ontario CoUege of Certified Social Workers. The CoUege recently found the agency's director to be "guilty of incompetence" but decided not to publish this finding and requested that the baby's father and I keep this information confidential. In our opinion, our objective of providing greater protection of birthparents who place tremendous trust in adoption workers has not been realized. Two MPPs, Mr. Rick Ferraro of Guelph, and Mr. Richard Johnston of Scarborough West support my efforts. I would greatly appreciate your readers taking a few minutes to express their views to Kinesis and to The Honourable John Sweeney, Minister of Community and Social Services, 6th Floor, Hepburn Block, 80 Grosvenor St., Toronto, Ont. M7A 1E9. CCEC Credit Union The Credit Union for Cooperatives, Community businesses and the non-profit sector. • Preferred Rate Loans for societies and cooperatives. • Operating Loans • Mortgages. • Term Deposits. • Chequing Accounts. • and other banking services. "Keeping our money working in our community" 33 EAST BROADWAY VANCOUVER, B.C. V5T 1V4 MON. & WED. 11 am-5 pm FRIDAY 1 pm-7 pm 876-2123 KINESIS BULLETIN BOARD Read this AU Ustings must be received no later than the 18th of the month preceding pubhcation. Listings are Umited to 75 words and should include a contact name and telephone number for any clarification that may be required. Listings should be typed or neatly handwritten, double-spaced on 8 | by 11 paper. Listings wiU not be accepted over the telephone. Groups, organizations and individuals eligible for free space in the BuUetin Board must be, or have, non-profit objectives. Other free notices wUl be items of general pubUc interest and wUl appear at the discretion of Kinesis. Classified are $6 for the first 75 words or portion thereof, $2 for each additional 25 words or portion thereof. Deadline for classifieds is the 18th of the month preceding pubhcation. Kinesis wUl not accept classifieds over the telephone. AU classifieds must be prepaid. For Bulletin Board submissions send copy to Kinesis Attn: BuUetin Board, 301- 1720 Grant Street, Vancouver, B.C. V5L 2Y6. For more information call 255-5499. EVENT SIE VENT SHWORKSHOPS MAHINAARINGI TOCKER Mahinaaringi Tocker will give her last performance before heading off to perform at the Michigan Women's Festival, then home to Aotearoa, N.Z. La Quena, Tues. July 25, 8 pm. Tix $3-$5 GALLERIE ANNUAL SHOW To celebrate the second Gallerie Annual featuring 17 B.C. women artists. Show runs July 11-29 at the Van. Community Arts Council, 837 Davie St. Opening night festivities July 11, 7-9 pm A ONE NIGHT STAND Women artists—the Passionists—present their second show, "A One Night Stand," at Heritage Hall, 3102 Main St., on July 11, 3-11 pm. Paintings, sculpture, and ceramics express women's ability to survive as artists EVENTS LA QUENA FIESTA Music, food, and fun in Grandview Park, 1200 Commercial Dr. July 23, noon-7:30 pm. Buttons $3/$5 support La Quena and Tools for Peace. For info, call 251- 6626 or 879-7216 ANARCHIST POSTER SHOW International exhibit with posters going as far back as 1886, at Pitt Galleries, 36 Powell St. Show runs from Aug. 7-25, benefit with rebel music, poetry on Aug. 5511 (between 1-5, Mon.-Thurs.) for 18, 8 pm. Proceeds to Open Road anar- more info chist newsjournal. For info call 681-6740 VSW AGM VSW's Annual General Meeting will be held Sept 6, 7:30 pm at our offices, #301-1720 Grant St. All members are asked to attend. Call 255- OlU T R presents THE FIRST ANNUAL LESBIAN & GAY FILM FESTIVAL AUG. 4-7, 1989 at Pacific Cinematheque 1131 Howe St. Shows at 7:30 pm & 9:30 pm with midnight shows on Fri. & Sat. $5 per screening $25 for a festival pass (.50 initial membership fee) Programs available at: VIDEOMATICA VANCOUVER EAST CINEMA OCTOPUS BOOKS EAST LITTLE SISTERS and THE RIDGE LESBIAN ETHICS Spend an evening at the Vancouver Lesbian Connection (VLC), 876 Commercial Dr., with author Sarah Hoagland. July 8, 8-10 pm, tix $2-$5, pay at the door EVERYWOMAN'S BENEFIT Amanda Hughes, the Nyetz and the Dots perform a benefit for Everywoman's Health Centre, July 6 at the Commodore, tix $10. For more info call Co-op Radio 684-8494 GAY /LESBIAN PRIDE WEEK The Vancouver Gay/Lesbian Pride Festival takes place July 28-Aug. 7. The Pride Parade is Mon. Aug. 7, starting at noon in Ceperley Beach parking lot, Stanley Park. For more info call 731-0104 VLC SUMMER DANCE Dance at the Capri Hall, 3925 Fraser St., July 28, 8 pm. Wheelchair accessible, childcare provided. Tix $4-$6, available at VLC, Ariel Books, Women's Bookstore. For more info call 254-8458 ROCK AGAINST PRISONS Free outdoor concert for National Prison Justice Day, Aug. 13, 3-8 pm. Crab Beach, foot of Main St., live bands, speakers, info booths. Kids welcome, limited access but help available KINESIS RETREAT Planning is underway for our annual weekend retreat: workshops, discussions and plain fun for experienced and would- be Kinesis volunteers. Oct. 13-15. A great way to get involved. Call 255-5499 for info SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN'S DAY Will be observed in Vancouver on Aug. 12 in the evening. Activities include a dance, speakers and much more. Childcare provided. All welcome. Exact time and location TBA. For more info (after July 4) call Nancy at 255-5499 POWELL STREET FESTIVAL 13th Annual celebration of Japanese Canadian history, arts and culture. Featuring music, dance, drums, martial arts, and food. Aug. 5-6, at Oppenheimer Park, 400-block Powell, noon-7 pm. For more info 682-4335 WOMEN'S STUDIES COURSES Women's Studies at Simon Fraser University is offering the following courses in Fall 1989: Issues in Women's Health and Health Care (Susan Penfold, Harbour Centre, Evening; Mary Madsen, Burnaby Campus, Evening); Perspectives on Women—An Introduction to Women's Studies (Mary Lynn Stewart, Burnaby Campus Day; Maggie Benston, Distance Education); Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Jyoti Sanghera, Burnaby Campus, Evening); Women in Canada, 1600- 1920 (Frances Wasserlein, Burnaby Campus, Day); Female Roles in Contemporary Society (Meredith Kimball, Burnaby Campus, Day); Women and Film (Jackie Levitin, Burnaby Campus, Day); Women and the Media (Lynne Hissey, Harbour Centre, Evening and Kwantlen College, Evening); Canadian Women and Economic Policy (Marjorie Cohen, Burnaby Campus, Day); Women and Contemporary Canadian Literature (Patricia Matson, Harbour Centre, Day; Michele Valiquette, Burnaby Campus, Evening). For further info call 291-3593 WOMEN'S STUDIES Langara Women's Studies Program will sponsor two courses in the Fall '89 term: "More Than Money: Economic Development as if Women Mattered," and "Good Girls/Bad Girls: Exploring Women's Reality." Both are credit courses with university transfer. No prerequisites needed. Register at Langara, 100 W. 49th Ave. Aug. 31 or Sept 1. For more info call 324-5379 WOMEN'S INTENSIVE The Fifth Annual Women's Intensive: Three weeks of Transformational Movement for women only. Aug. 7-25 Mon.- Fri., 6-10 pm. Cost: $400. Move with other women to embrace your vulnerability and your power. Step into your body and your life! For more info, contact the Institute for Transformational Movement, 1607-13th Ave., Seattle, WA, 98122, phone 329-8680 GRO UPS FACILITATOR TRAINING Battered Women's Support Services will offer group facilitator/peer counsellor training in Sept. Call 734-1574 for an application form. Application deadline is Fri. Aug. 25 COMING OUT GROUP The next VLC coming-out group will start in Sept. Call 254-8458 for more info XINESIS yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy //////////////////^^^^^^ /////////////////////^^^^^ BULLETIN BOARD GROUP SICLASSIFIED SINGLE MOTHER'S GROUPS YWCA sponsored group has room for new members. The group meets for emotional and practical support every Wed., 6-8 pm. Childcare provided. Call Beverley at 876- 4827 for info. Moms who parent solo will meet for 12 Mon. nights, 7-9 pm at Little Mtn. Neighbourhood House, 3981 Main St. Group starts July 3, childcare available. Register now by calling 879-7104 The Kinesis news group meets monthly to plan for the upcoming issue. Next meeting is Aug. 3, 1:30 pm at the Kinesis office, 301-1720 Grant St. If you are interested in writing for Kinesis, come to the news group meeting. If you can't make the meeting, call 255-5499 to find out how you can get involved. No experience is necessary KINESIS EDITORIAL BOARD The Kinesis Editorial Board meets every month to discuss upcoming issues and ongoing planning for the paper. Kinesis readers and women interested in getting involved in the paper are welcome to attend. Next meeting Aug. 9 7:30 pm at Kinesis, 301-1720 Grant St. For more info call 255-5499 HEALTH COLLECTIVE The Van. Women's Health Collective will be holding training sessions for new volunteers in Oct. If interested call 255-8285 TENANTS RIGHTS CLINIC The Tenants Rights Coalition will be offering free legal advice and information every Sat., 9 am-12 noon at 191 Alexander St. AIDS VANCOUVER Volunteers needed to work on the hotline. If you have a fixed availability one day a week, please call 687-AIDS REDEYE WANTS YOU The Sat. morning arts and public affairs show on Co-op Radio needs your help, whether it's once a week or once a month. For more info, call Jane at 255-8173 INT'L LESBIAN WEEK The ILW organizing committee will meet Sun. July 9 & 23, 7:30 pm, 1009 Salsbury Dr. (upstairs). All lesbians welcome. For more info call 874-8567 CLASS F E SPACE NEEDED Be richly rewarded and greatly appreciated! Shiatsu practitioner seeks workspace. Could be an attic, a room, a shared office, a funky storefront... Must be dirt cheap and in the Commercial Dr. area. Please call Astarte 251-5409 KEEP ME BUSY JULY 11th Why? Cos' July 11 is the day that all money made from Shiatsu appointments goes directly to VLC. That's right! Here's a chance to indulge yourself guilt-free. So if you've been curious about Shiatsu but haven't "got around to it," do it now. Call for an appointment. Astarte—251-5409 PRESS GANG IS HIRING We are a feminist, anti-capitalist, union print shop, in operation since 1974. We will be hiring a full-time production person in Aug. or Sept. 1989. Deadline for applications is Aug. 1. Experienced press operator preferred but we will accept applications from persons experienced in related areas. We are also willing to train. Experience working collectively is an asset. Phone 253-1224 for more info or send resume to 603 Powell St., Vancouver, B.C. V6A 1H2 PERFORMING ARTS MANAGER Katari Taiko, the Japanese drumming group, seeks a Performing Arts Mgr. Part- time, 20 hrs./wk at $10/hr for 6 months, with possibility of full-time employment. Send resume to 720 W. 19th Ave., Van., B.C. V5Z 1X2 or call 251-3908 or 876- 7358 ATTENTION GARDENERS Single disabled woman is in need of fresh fruit and vegetables. Any donations greatly appreciated. Contact 872-0555 ATTENDANT REQUIRED Single disabled woman requires attendant for the Van. Folk Festival July 14-16. Free admission in exchange for attending. Patience necessary. Contact 872-0555 GOLDEN THREADS A contact publication for lesbians over 50 and women who love older women. Canada and U.S. Confidential, warm, reliable. For free info send self-addressed envelope (U.S. residents please stamp it). Sample copy mailed discreetly. $5 (U.S.) Golden Threads, PO Box 3177, Burlington VT, 05401. OFFICE FOR RENT Office for rent with the Van. Women's Health Collective. Quiet, non-smoking. Use of office equipment including computer and printer negotiable. Short term rental okay. $200/month or negotiable. Phone Shelley at 255-8284 or drop by. Suite 302-1720 Grant St. SOFA BED WANTED Looking to buy used futon sofa-bed which I'll pick up. Needed by Aug. 1. Call Terrie at 321-0575 or 266-5533 Potting oui-or- X) VfiMCOUVEf? f0Vf: -pE5T" ^geaBflSg^ pcaMCNii&£> The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt—a stitched tribute to those who have died—ends its national tour in Vancouver. From July 12—16, quilt panels will be displayed in three locations: the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Robson Square Exhibition space and the rotunda of the Pacific Centre Mall. Hours of the displays vary, so contact the individual venues. ALCHERINGA Have you showered under the stars after a sauna on a clear summer night or snuggled with your honey by candlelight in a meditation out house? Perhaps it's time to visit ALCHERINGA, a quaint and private housekeeping cabin for women on Salt Spring Island. Summer rates are $40 single, $50 double, with a two night minimum through August. Call Phyllis at 537- 4315 for info and reservations (evenings are best) CHARLES SQUARE CO-OP Charles Square, a 36 unit housing co-op in East Van has an open waiting list for 1, 2, and 3 BR units. Rents are $460, $570 and $705 with $1,000 share purchase (financing can be arranged). Near park and community centre; meetings run by consensus. To get on waiting list, send SASE to Membership Ctee., 1555 Charles St., Van. V5L 2T2 WOMEN'S MUSIC FESTIVAL Looking for 4-5 women, motivated and committed to organizing an ongoing, annual Womyn's Festival in the lower mainland—to come together and create a womyn's community for 3-4 days a year where we work, play and celebrate together. (Meanwhile, it's possible to get an indoor event organized for this year.) Skills needed: business, including financial planning, budgeting, fundraising, knowledge of music industry contacts, and a desire for this to happen. Call Pat 253-7189 WELLS BOOK GROUP Autobiographies, biographies, books by and about women. Adams, Barrett- Browning, Brontes, Carr, Dinesen,- Davis, Farraro, Earhart, Freidan, Gonne, Greene, Hickok, Joplin, Laurence, Mandela, Mil- lett, Roosevelt, Rhys, Roy, Sackville- West, Stein, Suyin, Steineim, Wilson, Wolfe ... are just a few of the books for sale. We also sell Arctic and Sea materials. To order write: Diane Wells, The Wells Book Group, 958 Page Ave., Victoria, B.C. V9B 2M6. Women Booksellers ACUPRESSURE-REIKI Give yourself the gift of loving healing energy with an Acupressure or Reiki session to relax and balance your body and mind. I also use stress management techniques and applied meditation as appropriate. Independent distributor for Pure Life products—nutritional maintenance program, colon cleansers, yeast-aid programs, skin care and herbal remedies available. Call Sarah L'Estrange 734-2950 for more info COVER ALL PAINTING Specializing in residential interior and exterior decorating with a personal touch. Roller and brush painting, staining, wall papering. All our work is guaranteed, quality and clean. For a free estimate give us a dingle: Charlotte Paquette or Barbara Sarahan 874-9310 f CARDS #-{ VRECORDS f^\(SpoTViNG m&oiwa t)in> vS/«kM»i*A BeRNrlA^o AT y^GnlGftN WOMEN'S F&TMi.. m?im IS FUNU. DOyouTnlr^ THOSE MEN CAMPING 6KIDE uc,wru DRJNK. all Jwf\ 6eeR JM owe pfiv? jjOKTttfcS^AcH, EVBtfTrttNfc WASSEALfeP IN PMSTiC /IN* ilSHkb HAS £A*f> TM IT' 1146 Commercial # 253-0913 KINESIS July/Auq, LIBRARY PROCESSING CENTRE - SERIALS 2206 EAST MALL, U.B.C. VANCOUVER , V6T 1Z8 INV-E 9004 Published 10 times a year by Vancouver Status of Women #301-1720 Grant St, Vancouver, B.C. V5L 2Y6 □ VSW Membership-$25.50 (or what you can afford)-includes Kinesis subscription □ Kinesis subscription only - $17.50 □ Sustainers - $75 □ Institutions - $45 □ New □ Here's my cheque □ Renewal □ Bill me □ Gift subscription for a friend 8 E Address c 8 #
Preceding title: Vancouver Status of Women. Newsletter. Date of publication: 1974-2001. Frequency: Monthly.
Periodicals
Newspapers
HQ1101.V24 N49
English
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Vancouver : Vancouver Status of Women
Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from the Digitization Centre: digitization.centre@ubc.ca
Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. HQ1101.V24 N49
Women--Social and moral questions
Feminism--Periodicals
Text