Briarpatch articles from March 2007

Briarpatch archives from March 2007

We're making some changes ...
March 1, 2007... YOU may have noticed some changes on the organizational end of Briarpatch recently. Here's a peek at what's been going on behind the scenes to make Briarpatch go (and hopefully grow!). Many of you will have recently received some extra mail...

Advertising and editorial freedom.(Letters to the Editor)(Editorial)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... As a newcomer to the magazine, I am both surprised and pleased to find that you are asking your readers what we think of your... predicament, shall we call it, regarding the folks who withdrew their advertising in your magazine because of how...

Turn up the rhetoric.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... I am a very respectful admirer of Dr. Helen Caldicott, so my criticism of madam's understated "Nuclear power is not the answer" (February 2007) is in support of her sane, clear-eyed thesis that nuclear power amounts to the ultimate poison that...

As close to heaven as I expect I'll ever get.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... Glad to see an interview in Briarpatch with Utah Phillips, one of my musical heroes ("Making a Living, Not a Killing," December 2006/January 2007). Thirty of so years ago I heard "Starlight on the Rails" on the CBC and asked Michael Taylor of...

From ciudad Juarez to Fort Qu'Appelle: families of missing women unite across borders to seek answers.
March 1, 2007... CLUTCHING A MUG OF COFFEE, Gwenda Yuzicappi retreats from the cold outside. There's a spark in her eyes. Her long brown hair is pulled back, and the pink sweater she wears complements the flush in her cheeks from the biting winter wind. Her...

Why feminism isn't for everybody: "any of you fellas mind if I smash patriarchy?".
March 1, 2007... FEMINISM IS FOR EVERYBODY, THE mantra goes. This slogan, inspired by bell hooks' book of the same name, is widely used to envision a feminist movement that is open to all people and that, in theory, recognizes the real diversity among feminists...

Feminism 3.1: does the third wave need an upgrade?(Cover story)
March 1, 2007... You make me want to You make me want to You make me want to Crochet. --KATHLEEN HANNA SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE a cartoon version of a Third Wave Feminist[TM]. I've got my knitting, my Peaches CDs, a bedside table full...

Test your F.Q.: a sexism self-exam for men.(feminist quotient)
March 1, 2007... "Feminists long for men to heal. Those of us whose lives continue to be bound up with men want to see them become whole. We dream of a world full of men who could be passionate lovers, grounded in their own bodies, capable of profound loves and...

Yesterday's men: lost opportunities in ending violence against women.
March 1, 2007... Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass T.S. ELIOT, "THE HOLLOW MEN" In spite of more than 30 years of intervention and education strategies designed to end violence...

10 straight questions: learning about the heterosexuals among us.(PUBLIC AWARENESS MATERIAL FROM THE MINISTRY OF HOMONORMATIVITY)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Let's face it: there are lots of heterosexuals out there! Why not take a few moments to learn a little more about them? Next time you meet a heterosexual at a party, at a check-out line, or in an elevator, you should ask them a few of these...

Queer internationalism: radical sexual diversity from south to north.
March 1, 2007... AS A QUEER ACTIVIST, I HAVE experienced firsthand frustrations with the limited political analyses of mainstream Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) movements within Canada and internationally. So when a friend of mine passed me...

Body work: extreme adventures on the cutting edge of gender theory: these underground, illegal operations seek to reconfigure female and male bodies in ways that make society squirm, challenging our most deeply held traditional notions of beauty and gender.
March 1, 2007... IT ALL BEGAN WHEN Jeremy boarded a plane to attend an event that remains shrouded in secrecy. "I don't know if you've ever seen the movie Fight Club, but this convention runs under basically the same rules: it's one that you don't name or...

Bitchfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine.
March 1, 2007... Bitchfest Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler, editors Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006 FOR THE PAST DECADE, Bitch Magazine, "a feminist response to pop culture," has been on the...

Making Space for Aboriginal Feminism.
March 1, 2007... Making Space for Aboriginal Feminism Joyce Green, editor Fernwood, 2007 (forthcoming) Making Space for Aboriginal Feminista is a lively, important, and cutting-edge collection of essays that demonstrates the depth, scope and political...

Antonia.(Movie review)
March 1, 2007... Antonia Directed by Tata Amaral Coracao da Selva, 2006 IN MUCH OF THE WORLD, when a woman steps outside the home to do anything other than the daily shopping--when she declares herself free to pursue her own dream--she becomes a radical....

Status of women vs. the status quo: conservative cuts seek to silence those seeking "equality".(Parting Shots)
March 1, 2007... STATUS OF WOMEN CANADA is still reeling from the cuts handed down by the Conservative Government last fall. A small-budget agency dedicated to furthering women's equality, Status of Women was responsible for conducting research for government...