Herizons articles from June 2006

Herizons archives from June 2006

Correction.(Correction notice)
June 22, 2006... In the Spring 2006 issue, we incorrectly identified the writer of the review of Eve Ensler's book, The Good Body, as Lisa Foad. In fact, Megan Butcher wrote the review. Apologies to Megan!

Horacek.(Cartoon)
June 22, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Real on steroids.(REAL Women of Canada)
June 22, 2006... There are homosexuals dominating entire departments in the federal civil service who see their role as promoting the agenda of the left. As if that weren't bad enough, the Court Challenges Program, established to usher Charter cases through...

Migrant worker champion honoured.(Irene Fernandez, Right Livelihood Award)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... Irene Fernandez, a teacher by training, was jailed for spreading false news following the publication of a report she authored on the harassment of migrant labourers in Malaysia. Now, the feminist activist from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has won...

Women top Olympic medals.(Canada Winter Olympics team)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... Women or women's teams won 15 out of Canada's 24 Olympic medals (62.5 percent) at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Winnipeg speed skater Cindy Klassen made history when she took five medals in speed...

Ad brews up storm.(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... Saying it was unaware of a sexist advertisement run to promote its beer in the newspaper the Onion, Moosehead Brewery issued an apology and pulled the ad, which stated: "The average woman speaks 10,000 words in a day. Roughly 9,950 too many."...

Friedan chapter closes.(Betty Friedan )(Obituary)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... Betty Friedan passed away on February 4, her 85th birthday. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Her 1963 book, The Feminine Mystique, with its exploration of "the problem that has no name," is a feminist classic that helped give rise to the...

Senior gets senior post.(Paulette Senior, chief executive officer, Young Women's Christian Associations)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... The YWCA, Canada's oldest and largest women's multi-service organization, has a new chief executive officer, Paulette Senior. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During the federal election campaign, Senior was a vocal advocate on issues...

Mary Walsh look out.(Femme Fiscale criticize Manitoba budget)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... Femme Fiscale made her first public appearance at the Manitoba legislature on budget day in March. Manitoba's own superhero sported platform-for-action boots specially designed to stamp out inequality and donned a tool belt full of women's...

Flora's fawned over.(Flora MacDonald, 2006 Eve Award for Advancing Women in Politics )(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... Flora MacDonald, one-time Progressive Conservative party leadership candidate, received the 2006 Eve Award for Advancing Women in Politics at a Toronto ceremony in March. The former secretary of state for external affairs was a Member of...

Venezuelan housewives get pay.(nelliegrams)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... In February, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez announced that, in recognition for their work in the home, the country's poorest housewives would receive a monthly income equivalent that is 80 percent of the minimum wage--roughly $180. He also...

F-word swears by feminism.(F-word, feminist magazine )(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... The F-word, a new feminist magazine for teens and youth, has launched its first issue, which carries interviews with comedian Margaret Cho, Gloria Steinem and Alix Olson. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You can log on to www.thef-wordzine.com...

Mallick's spin on Globe exit.(Heather Mallick, Globe and Mail )(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... Ever wonder what happened to your favourite Globe and Mail columnist? This is what Heather Mallick had to say about her departure from the Globe: "Being the only lefty feminist and the only person who ever cracked a joke in the Globe was...

Equipped for cyberspace.(B.C. Rural Women's Network's Online Safety Toolkit to save women from violence)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... The B.C. Rural Women's Network developed an Online Safety Toolkit. It was created to help reduce the rise in violence faced by women via the Internet and to help decrease the vulnerability of Internet users--in particular marginalized rural...

NAC NAC?(National Action Committee on the Status of Women)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... As we go to press, women's equality-seeking organizations are preparing to meet in Toronto to discuss whether the National Action Committee on the Status of Women will be revived or replaced with a new national organization for Canadian...

Mothers launch book on disappeared.(La Rebellion de las Madres, The Rebellion of the Mothers)
June 22, 2006... (BUENOS AIRES) Thirty years ago, a military junta led by army commanders Jorge Rafael Videla, Orlando Ramon Agosti and Emilio E. Massera seized power in Argentina and plunged the country into a regime of terror. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Blogging busts out for women.(news)
June 22, 2006... Though technology and computers are often seen as a men's realm, blogs are fast becoming a powerful organizing tool for women. Fifty-five percent of bloggers are women, according to blogher.com, a blog that encourages women bloggers...

Girls got game.(Eve's Quest, trivia game)
June 22, 2006... Just when you thought board games were packed with too much information on male historical figures and sports trivia about men, along comes Eve's Quest, a fabulous trivia game by and about women! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Joanna...

Feminist Refusenik wins victory in Israel.(Idan Chalili, refused to enlist in military service)
June 22, 2006... (JERUSALEM) A young woman who refused to enlist in the Israeli army because it went against her feminist beliefs won an exemption from duty and stirred a nationwide debate on mandatory military service. Idan Chalili was the first woman to...

Code blue alert!(Canadian Child Care Advocacy Association)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... Led by the Canadian Child Care Advocacy Association, a new coalition has launched to stop the Harper government from backpedalling on provincial/territorial child-care agreements signed in 2005. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has vowed to...

No sweat. Shop somewhere else.(Campaign Update)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... Factory workers in China producing goods for Wal-Mart consumers receive less than three dollars per day. In Bangladesh, they make even less--three to 17 cents per hour. The vast majority of this near-slave labour force is female. Women...

Dominos fall on women.(Campaign Update)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... Domino's Pizza founder Thomas S. Monaghan is bankrolling a new town in Florida that he intends to be governed according to strict Roman Catholic principles that include no abortion or birth control. The pizza magnate claims that his...

Media mirror distorts.(Campaign Update)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... According to an international media survey, 79 percent of experts quoted in the news media around the world are men while a mere 21 percent are women. For the third year, the Global Media Monitoring Project analyzed television, radio and...

Stop the Iraq War.(Campaign Update)
June 22, 2006... On International Women's Day while the U.S. Congress was considering the Bush administration's request for $70 billion more for the Iraq War, American and Iraqi women were walking arm-in-arm, chanting, "Money for health care and education,...

Britain backs abortion.
June 22, 2006... Britain has defied U.S. President George Bush's "gag rule" on abortion in February, pledging money for safe abortion services to organizations in developing countries that have been cut off from U.S. funding. The global gag rule, as it...

New Brunswick should do the same.(Campaign Update)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... Pro-choice advocates are petitioning newly-appointed federal Health Minister Tony Clement to pressure the N.B. government to pay for abortions at the Morgentaler Clinic. New Brunswick is only province in Canada, with the exception of P.E.I.,...

South Dakota is even worse.(law makes abortion a felony)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... A new South Dakota law makes abortion a felony, with no exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the mother. The law bans nearly all abortions in the state, a measure that is the most sweeping ban approved by a state in more than a...

Strange bedfellows.(pro-life politicians)(Brief article)
June 22, 2006... According to the Campaign Life Coalition, nine pro-life Members of Parliament are among Prime Minister Stephen Harper's 26 cabinet ministers--one third of his cabinet. Identified as pro-life are Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Agriculture...

The politics of hope.
June 22, 2006... The world can be a very bad place. Or, to attribute culpability where culpability is due, the people in the world can be. From scales too large to comprehend, to those so tiny they're able to pierce the most vulnerable reaches of the heart,...

Lesbian liability.
June 22, 2006... It's 2006. Rosie's cruises are going gangbusters and The L Word is raking in television viewers. So you'd think that lesbians would feel a little easier about coming out these days. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Not so. At the launch of an...

Michele Landsberg: where the women are.
June 22, 2006... Hearts sank in 2003 when Michele Landsberg retired from her post as columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. A fearless advocate for women's rights, Landsberg wrote for 25 years on issues ranging from sexual...

The plight of Afghan women for security and democracy.
June 22, 2006... The southern province of Kandahar in Afghanistan has a reputation of mystery and legend. The small, dusty and dry city of the same name is often portrayed through images of stern-looking bearded men donning the traditional Kandahari turban,...

Hooked on art: Nancy Edell pulls the rug out from traditional forms.
June 22, 2006... In 1993 and 1994, the work of artist Nancy Edell was featured in 11 exhibitions at 16 venues across North America, Europe and Asia. Imagine! Alberta, Ontario, Colorado, Massachusetts, Japan, Scotland and beyond. The exhibition...

Contrary Mary: queen of comedy stands up for the disenfranchised.(Mary Walsh)(Interview)
June 22, 2006... HERIZONS: When you got your honorary doctorate at Memorial University back in 2000, St. John's historian Shane O'Dea said: "Ms. Walsh has an agenda of speaking for the marginalia, those people consigned by power elites to burial in the...

Turn up the heat.(Richmond firefighters)
June 22, 2006... First question: What do you do with male firefighters who sneak underage girls into the fire hall to engage in group sex? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answer: You promote them, of course. After, of course, engaging in a massive cover-up....

Aerial.(Sound recording review)
June 22, 2006... AREIAL Kate Bush EMI, 2005 In a career that has spanned more than 25 years, Kate Bush has released a scant eight albums. Aerial marks her first release in 12 years. The virtual disappearance of the woman many consider one of...

Angels and Thieves.(Sound recording review)
June 22, 2006... ANGELS & THIEVES Dala UNIVERSAL, 2005 Just when you thought it was safe to wear a decorative scarf without feeling compelled to do a Stevie Nicks imitation, here comes Dala. And, weirdly, it's not all that annoying. Dala, at...

No, I Never.(Sound recording review)
June 22, 2006... NO, I NEVER Ndidi Onukwulu JERICHO BEACH MUSIC, 2005 I would like to see Ndidi Onukwulu gain a higher profile accompanied by radio play just to hear DJ's pronounce her name! Once you've got it, in-DEE-DEE on-NOO-kwoo-loo is a...

Loose End.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... LOOSE END Ivan E. Coyote ARSENAL PULP PRESS, 2005 I don't know about you, but I spend a lot of my time in this world feeling at odds with most everyone and everything. For example, I don't understand why my video store has...

Ticknor.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... TICKNOR Sheila Heti HOUSE OF ANANSI, 2005 As an avid fan of Sheila Heti's highly acclaimed 2001 collection of sparkling Middle Stories, I expected to be wowed by Ticknor, a novel at just a breath over 100 pages. ...

Ladykiller.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... LADYKILLER Charlotte Gill THOMAS ALLEN, 2005 Reading Charlotte Gill's delicious collection of stories, Ladykiller, offers the same voyeuristic rush as watching bungee jumping. Even if you'd never actually jump, it's thrilling to...

When I Was Young and In My Prime.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... WHEN I WAS YOUNG & IN MY PRIME Alayna Munce NIGHTWOOD EDITIONS, 2005 Alayna Munce's debut novel, When I Was Young & In My Prime, is a powerful, poignant and elegiac book, a last defiant stand against the insidious pull of...

Too Weird for Ziggy.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... TOO WEIRD FOR ZIGGY Sylvie Simmons GROVE/ATLANTIC 2004 Too Weird for Ziggy is not your usual collection of rock 'n'roll tales. Many of the stories have a fantastical edge to them--cautionary tales disguised as titillating,...

The Nettle Spinner.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 22, 2006... THE NETTLE SPINNER Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer GOOSE LANE EDITIONS, 2005 The Nettle Spinner starts with Alma returning to the woods of Northern Ontario, alone and pregnant. Her intentions are twofold: to await the arrival of her baby...

Saving Rome.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... SAVING ROME MEGAN K. WILLIAMS SECOND STORY PRESS, 2006 In one word, Saving Rome is wonderful. From the brilliant mind of Megan K. Williams comes a first short story collection created with the perfect balance of interesting...

Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... RECOVERING THE SACRED: THE POWER OF NAMING AND CLAIMING Winona LaDuke BETWEEN THE LINES PRESS, 2005 Two-time U.S. Green Party vice-presidential candidate Winona LaDuke has produced a solid new collection of essays in Recovering...

In Your Face: The Culture of Beauty and You.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... IN YOUR FACE: THE CULTURE OF BEAUTY AND YOU Shari Graydon ANNICK PRESS, 2005 The new book from Shari Graydon, media literacy activist and former president of Media Watch, has rightly been called The Beauty Myth for kids. Written...

Consuming Sustainability: Critical Social Analyses of Ecological Change.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... CONSUMING SUSTAINABILITY: CRITICAL SOCIAL ANALYSES OF ECOLOGICAL CHANGE Editors Debra Davidson and Kierstin Hatt FERNWOOD PUBLISHING, 2005 People are starling to wonder if we're going to be around for much longer, and, if so,...

Between Friends: A Year in Letters.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... BETWEEN FRIENDS: A YEAR IN LETTERS Oonagh Berry and Helen Levine SECOND STORY PRESS, 2005 "I am grateful to have found a friend who needs to share, write, explode, weep and struggle," writes 78-year-old Helen Levine in her...

The Curious Feminist: Searching for Women in a New Age of Empire.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... THE CURIOUS FEMINIST: SEARCHING FOR WOMEN IN A NEW AGE OF EMPIRE Cynthia Enloe UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS, 2004 The Curious Feminist is a compelling work by feminist scholar Cynthia Enloe. In this energetic collection,...

Madeleine Parent: Activist.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... MADELEINE PARENT: ACTIVIST Translated and edited by Andree Levesque SUMACH PRESS, 2005 Madeleine Parent is an iconic figure in the history of the labour and women's movements in Canada. As a student activist at McGill University...

Eating the Wedding Gifts: Lean Years after Marriage Break-Up.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 22, 2006... EATING THE WEDDING GIFTS: LEAN YEARS AFTER MARRIAGE BREAK-UP Barbara Murphy J. GORDON SHILLINGFORD PUBLISHING, 2005 Almost 20 years have passed, but I can still recall the emotional impact of a 1987 NFB documentary on the topic...

Visual Habits: Nuns, Feminism and American Postwar Popular Culture.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 22, 2006... VISUAL HABITS: NUNS, FEMINISM AND AMERICAN POSTWAR POPULAR CULTURE Rebecca Sullivan UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS, 2005 The post-war period was a time that ushered in many changes, and it proffered many arresting images in that...

The Feminine Mystique.(Book review)
June 22, 2006... THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE Betty Friedan PUBLISHER, 1963 Writer, feminist and social psychologist Betty Friedan was one of the mothers of modern feminism. She helped establish the National Organization for Women in 1966 and was its...

Moolaade.(Movie review)
June 22, 2006... MOOLAADE Directed by Ousane Sembene NEW YORKER FILMS, 2005 Moolaade means sanctuary. It's also the title of a film by renowned African director Ousane Sembene. Moolaade is about female circumcision and it is a great film,...

The terror of democracy.(Manuel Rozental, Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca)
June 22, 2006... When Manuel Rozental got home one night, friends told him two strange men had been asking questions about him. In a close-knit indigenous community in southwestern Colombia, ringed by soldiers, right-wing paramilitaries and left-wing...

What to do at a lesbian potluck.
June 22, 2006... A couple of nights ago at a party that was dying a predictable and yet horrible death, the evening was saved when the hostess's best friend piped in with a suggestion worthy of a second beer and another pizza. "Let's tell blow job stories,"...