Briarpatch articles from March 2008

Briarpatch archives from March 2008

Gender politics in theory & practice.(Letter from the Editor)
March 1, 2008... PLANNING AND PRODUCING THE GENDER ISSUE each year has to be one of the most challenging and most enjoyable parts of my job. Of course, Briarpatch always seeks to connect theory and practice in its coverage, but in my experience, there is no...

Won't get schooled again: feminist home-schoolers are creating new ways of living and learning.
March 1, 2008... I AM A FEMINIST. In fact, most people who know me would say that feminism informs practically everything I do: what I read, how I relate to people, what forms of political action I undertake--everything, some might say, except my decision to...

"Any Indian woman marrying any either than an Indian, shall cease to be Indian": Sharon McIvor's fight for gender equality in the Indian Act.
March 1, 2008... IN JUNE 2007, FOLLOWING generations of non-recognition, and 16 years of intensely personal battles with bureaucrats, governments, and the justice system, Sharon McIvor, a member of the Lower Nicola First Nation, successfully challenged sex...

Strange bedfellows: how feminism and porn get it on at the Feminist Porn Awards: an interview with Chanelle Gallant, founder of the Feminist Porn Awards.(Interview)
March 1, 2008... When I first learned of the Feminist Porn Awards, I wasn't surprised to discover that Good For Her was behind them. An independently owned and operated sex shop in Toronto, Good For Her's feminism is as explicit as its inventory, so it seemed...

What progress for Afghan women? The use and abuse of feminism to sell Canada's war in Afqhanistan.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FROM THE 1950s UNTIL THE END OF THE 1970s, a visit to major urban centres in Afghanistan would show a growing number of Afghan girls and women were pursuing education and careers, as well as beginning to enjoy many...

Warlords to the left of me, druglords to the right: Afghan member of Parliament Malalai Joya is stuck in the middle with Canada.(Interview)(Reprint)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MALALAI JOYA, 29, IS A POPULAR women's rights activist and an outspoken critic of the government of Hamid Karzai and the Northern Alliance. Elected in 2003 and 2005 as the youngest member of Afghanistan's parliament,...

Finding his better half: the Boy Code & the modern man: men's social conditioning takes a tremendous toll on not just their relationships, but also on their health. Those who want this to change, Calvin Sandborn argues, will have to come to terms with the concept of patriarchy--and with their own emotions.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With only one life to live, he cannot feel it. A chunk of his heart has been cut away. As he confronts life's inevitable shocks, he cannot feel his heart's response. He can conjure anger, but is blind to his own...

A heroine's herstory: the legacy of Harriet Tubman.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "We will be ourselves and free, or die in the attempt. Harriet Tubman was not our great-grandmother for nothing." ALICE WALKER, You CAN'T KEEP A GOOD WOMAN DOWN ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE progressive figures...

Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity.
March 1, 2008... Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity By Robert Jensen South End Press, 2007 IN GETTING OFF: Pornography and the End of Masculinity, Robert Jensen asks readers to look unflinchingly at contemporary, mainstream,...

Building Feminist Movements and Organizations Global Perspectives.(Book review)
March 1, 2008... Building Feminist Movements and Organizations Global Perspectives Edited by Lydia Alplzar Duran, Noel D. Payne and Anahi Russo Zed Books / Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID), 2007 MUCH RECENT WRITING on feminism...

Criminalizing the sex trade does sex workers no favours.(Parting Shots)
March 1, 2008... AT SOME POINT in one's life, every adult human being is valued for an isolated skill, talent, or personality trait--and compensated summarily. Most of the time, it's called "gainful employment." But if you happen to work in the sex industry,...

Preserving hope.(LUZ: Girl of The Knowing)(Cartoon)
March 1, 2008... Well, it's the dead of winter, but let's see if the farmers, market has food grown nearby... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] wow! Where'd all this come from?! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Excuse me, ma'am? Yes, dear. How can...