Antigone Magazine

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2009-10-26T21:49:00.003-07:00

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2009-10-26T21:49:00.002-07:00

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2009-10-26T21:49:00.001-07:00

Farewell

2008-08-24T23:47:00.000-07:00

Well, we've had a great time here at blogspot this past year and a half. It's time to say goodbye because...

WE'VE MOVED! Check us out at our new home - antigonemagazine.wordpress.com

Yours truly,

Antigone Magazine

Dreams for Women - 15th week!

2008-08-16T13:13:00.001-07:00

div>Here is the 15th week of the Dreams for Women art project and I want to again thank the University of Toronto at Scarbourough for sending up the many postcards that they made at their International Women's Day Celebration. I want to particularly thank Jenna Hossack, who sent them in and was kind enough to make a donation to Antigone Magazine of $25!!! We appreciate it so much Jenna! The ladies at the University of Toronto at Scarborough totally rock! We'll be seeing more of their work in the coming weeks!

You gals have been doing such a fabulous job!

Thanks to all those who submitted... and keep it up... spread the word! I just wanted to remind readers that we currently only post postcards every second week! We're hoping to post them every week but we need your help! So get some friends together and make some postcards and send them in!

Seventh Week

Also, here's another link to the movies!

Antigone Magazine is launching a Feminist Postcard art project! We want to know what your Dreams for Women are.What are your own dreams for yourself, your friends, your sisters, your daughters? Paint, draw, write, sketch or decoupage your dreams on a postcard and send it to the address below:

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBc

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.

What is Antigone Magazine? We're a grassroots national magazine that works to encourage young women to get involved in politics in Canada. We work to empower young women to engage politically and civically and to actively take part in leadership roles.We are raising the money in order to help launch the Antigone Foundation, a national foundation that will encourage young women aged 10-30 to get politically and civically engaged. Help support Antigone as we help to make the dreams of young women come true!

Female senator told to "stick to making tea"

2008-08-13T04:41:00.000-07:00

Yup, that's correct. Liberal Nova Scotian MP Robert Thibault, in an article published in the Hill TImes, was quoted saying that Conservative Sen. Marjory LeBreton "should go back to making tea for Brian Mulroney and stay out of serious people's business."

Now this is not the first time the Honourable Robert Thibault has been accused of putting his foot in his mouth. Indeed, last week he was accused of making ageist comments. Apparently he alluded to the fact that his Conservative rival in his riding was too old for the job, saying that Greg Kerr, 60, is trying to enter politics at an age when people start considering their retirement plans. The spryer 49-year-old Thibault is being called upon by the Canadian Association of Retired Persons to withdraw his remarks, which he has so far refused to do.

Now here I have a confession to make: I'm just not that bothered by the latter remark. Maybe because I have yet to experience the horrors of ageism, compared to my wide experiences with sexism. Or maybe because questioning someone's age seems like a legitimate angle in political campaigning. Much like the Hillary Clinton ads asking 'who would you rather answer the red phone?' I think it's perfectly fine to ask 'do you want your MP to statistically be at higher risk for a variety of memory and physical impairments, not to mention the need for Early Bird dinners?' What I don't find fine is equating being an "idiot", as LeBreton is accused of being, with upsetting traditional gender roles.

Therefore: Am I an ageist? Am I only centered on political matters that pertain to me? Or am I willing to stand up and say that being politically correct means not being a bigot, but yes, it can go to far? I guess I'll get my answers by the amount of hate mail that enters my inbox...

Dreams for Women - 14th Week!!

2008-08-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here is the 13th week of the Dreams for Women art project and I want to thank the University of Toronto at Scarbourough for sending up the many postcards that they made at their International Women's Day Celebration. I want to particularly thank Jenna Hossack, who sent them in and was kind enough to make a donation to Antigone Magazine of $25!!! We appreciate it so much Jenna! The ladies at the University of Toronto at Scarborough totally rock! We'll be seeing more of their work in the coming weeks!

You gals have been doing such a fabulous job!

Sixth Week
Seventh Week
Eighth Week

Ninth Week

Tenth Week
Eleventh Week

Also, here's another link to the movies!

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBc

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.

Dreams for Women - We're back!!!

2008-07-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

We're back!!!! Sorry again for the absence and the length of the absence! I was home visiting family and as soon as I was back... I had family here to visit! Anyways, Dreams for Women is back to normal and will be coming to you every second Saturday. Here is the 13th week of the Dreams for Women art project and I just want to thank everyone for all the fabulous postcards that have been submitted so far. You gals have been doing such a fabulous job!

Seventh Week

Eighth Week

Ninth Week

Tenth Week

Eleventh Week

Also, here's another link to the movies!

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBc

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.

Sexism sells, but we're not buying it

2008-07-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

Media companies may think that sexism sells, but I'm not buying it! The Women's Media Center is calling on national broadcast news outlets (CNN, FNC, MSNBC and NBC) to "stop treating women as a joke; to stop using inherently gendered language as an insult or criticism; and to ensure that women's voices are present and accounted for in the national political dialogue." Tucker Carlson and Marc Rudov, shame on you. Do I see a 'Most In Need of Enlightenment' Award nomination in the future?

Sexism isn't a partisan issue.

Dreams for Women - On Hiatus...

2008-06-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Update: If you haven't figured it out yet... my mom's scanner doesn't work. Which means Dreams for Women is on hiatus until I return to Vancouver and to my lovely scanner on July 12th! We will have some great stuff for you then! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying your summer!

Sexual Assault Bingo and other fun games

2008-06-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

I have mixed feelings about one of my random internet finds: 'Sexual Assault Bingo'. Each square represents a different example of blaming the victim or justifying rape. Hypothetically, next time rape is mentioned and Mr. or Miss. Patriarchy throws out "It was two in the morning. What were you doing out?" or "This is going to destroy his [the perp's] family, you understand" pull out your bingo card and go to town.

I could never see anyone who has had to go through the excruciating process of dealing with their sexual assault or that of a loved one pulling out a game (though it would definitely make a wonderful visual cue to the unenlightened that what they're saying is trite and predictable). It seems like a subject that is too serious to mock with a game associated with Church halls and blue-tinted hair. However, as someone who has played 'Hipster Bingo' when at local concerts I know first hand how something so silly can call one's attention to the predictability of stereotypes in the media and subcultures. Isn't it sad when common threads emerge in worn-out conversations?

For instance, Andrea Rubenstein over at Official Shrub.com has a fun 'Geek Girl Stereotype Bingo'. She explains her game like this:

Basically the rules are that when you see a media article, blog post, or anything else talking about women in relation to a geeky hobby (gaming, technology, science, etc) you pull out this scorecard and mark down which points the article touches on.

The squares cover everything from "The colour choice(s) being attractive to women" and "Talks about weight loss". It definitely focuses your attention to the way women are portrayed and/or marketed to in the technological industry. Although I rarely read blogs or magazines about gaming or technology I do read such literary gems like People.com and US Weekly. And I'm sure some of you out there have your own niche subgenres that has some repetitive anti-feminist touches. So, Antigone Feminists, do you have any Bingos that you would like to share? Perhaps 'Weight Loss Surgery Article Bingo' or 'Young Starlette Interview Bingo' (which would definitely have the squares "she's so down to Earth!" and "fame hasn't changed her").

Dreams for Women

2008-06-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to apologize that there will be no Dreams for Women this Saturday. I am just back in Windsor, ON visiting family. I will be posting the next Dreams for Women next Saturday so long as my mother's scanner works! Take care and thanks for your support and submissions!

Dreams for Women Calendar Vote!!!

2008-05-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

Antigone Magazine will be creating a 2009 Dreams for Women Calendar set to launch in early September and which will be featuring postcards that YOU have contributed to our community art project! And so, we want YOU to be involved in choosing which postcards go into our calendar.

We've put together a shortlist and want you to vote for your favourite five postcards (you can do it in the comments). Also, scroll down to the end of the post and learn more about our calendar, how you can buy it promote it... or use it to fundraise for YOUR group!

Number 1

Number 2
Number 3
Number 4
Number 5

Number 6
Number 7
Number 8
Number 9
Number 10

Number 11
Number 12

Number 13

Number 14
Number 15

Number 16

Number 17
Number 18

The 2009 Dreams for Women Calendar will be coming out in late August 2008 and will cost $20 Canadian.

We will also be selling it in bulk at a discounted price so that other groups can use it for a fundraiser. So, anyone who buys more than 10 copies will pay only $10 per issue. You will then be able to resell it for $20 and raise money for your organization! Please let us know if you are interested in using the calendar as a fundraiser! You can e-mail us to reserve copies at antigonemagazine@hotmail.com.

Also, if your business or organization is interested in buying copies of the calendar to distribute to your clients or donors, please contact us with the number you would be interested in. We are currently ironing out bulk copies prices...

Dreams for Women - 12th Week!!

2008-05-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

Here is the 12th week of the Dreams for Women art project and I just want to thank everyone for all the fabulous postcards that have been submitted so far. You gals have been doing such a fabulous job!

Seventh Week

Eighth Week

Ninth Week

Tenth Week

Eleventh Week

Also, here's another link to the new movie!

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBc

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.

Antigone Foundation Founder Wins YWCA Women of Distinction Award

2008-05-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

The Antigone Foundation and Antigone Magazine would like to congratulate their founder, editor and Executive Director Amanda Reaume for winning the 2008 YWCA Young Woman of Distinction Award. The 25th Annual YWCA Vancouver Women of Distinction Awards were presented May 26, 2008 at The Westin Bayshore in Vancouver, BC. The Women of Distinction Awards honours inspiring women from across the Lower Mainland. The award recipient in each category has distinguished herself by contributing to the community and demonstrating exemplary leadership.

UBC graduate student Amanda Reaume was honoured by the award: “It is so gratifying to be recognized for the work that you do in the community and to be recognized for it by such a wonderful organization as the YWCA. The best part of receiving the award was being able to highlight the work the Antigone Foundation is doing.”

Antigone Magazine’s Associate Editor Kaitlin Blanchard congratulates Reaume, "Antigone Magazine and the Antigone Foundation would like to applaud Amanda Reaume on her award. Since the founding of Antigone Magazine in 2006, she has been an inspiring leader. We are thrilled that she has been recognized for her groundbreaking work.”

Reaume founded Antigone Magazine, a national semi-annual magazine about women, politics, women in politics and the politics of being a woman, in 2006. Under Amanda’s leadership, Antigone Magazine interviewed women like Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and former Prime Minister Kim Campbell. At only 23, Amanda is currently the volunteer executive director of the Antigone Foundation, a non-profit organization that she founded that works to encourage young women to get involved in politics. For more information about Antigone Magazine or to subscribe for only $12 see www.antigonemagazine.blogspot.com or e-mail antigonemagazine@hotmail.com.

The Young Woman of Distinction Award is presented to an exceptional young woman aged 18-25 who demonstrates leadership, maturity and compassion. Through her commitment to a cause or pursuit of a personal dream, this young woman has shown perseverance, innovation and a keen understanding of community issues. For more information about the YWCA Vancouver Women of Distinction Awards, visit www.ywcavan.org/distinction or contact Communications Coordinator Sondi Bruner at 604-895-5767 or sbruner@ywcavan.org.

###

If you would like to schedule an interview with Amanda Reaume, please contact her at antigonemagazine@hotmail.com.

To subscribe to Antigone Magazine:

Please send questions about subscriptions to antigonemagazine@hotmail.com or cheques (made out to Antigone Magazine) and the below form to

Antigone Magazine
C/O WILLA
Box61 - 6138 SUB Blvd
Vancouver,BC
V6T 1Z1

Please send in this info along with your subscription:

Name:

Address:

E-mail:

Phone:

Dreams for Women - Eleventh Week!

2008-05-17T00:34:00.001-07:00

Be sure to check out the info about the Dreams for Women Calendar below! Here is the 11th week of the Dreams for Women art project and I just want to thank everyone for all the fabulous postcards that have been submitted so far. You gals have been doing such a fabulous job! I especially want to thank Catherine Ross' Women's Studies class at the Vancouver School Board, who made many of the postcards this week. I did a presentation for them last week and it was so wonderful to meet the students and to make postcards with them.

Seventh Week

Eighth Week

Ninth Week

Tenth Week

Also, here's another link to the new movie!

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBC

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.

Does Gender Matter: Are Women Leaders Different?

2008-05-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone, we hope you're having a great Mother's Day and celebrating all the women in your life :)

In the meantime, watch former California State Senator Rebecca Morgan as she argues for greater representation for women in government, and discusses current barriers to women running for public office.

Check out the full panel of four women, including Morgan, who have either held elected office, studied women and leadership, worked as executive leaders or helped get women elected. They discuss how gender plays out in politics, particularly in the presidential race, via Fora.tv:
http://fora.tv/2008/03/11/Does_Gender_Matter_Are_Women_
Leaders_Different

Dreams for Women - Tenth Week!

2008-05-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

This postcard was submitted by one of our German readers and says: "I dream of a world in which no girl feels ugly or even not worthy of being loved just because she's single."

Here is the 10th official week of the Dreams for Women art project. I especially want to thank the Roosevelt University Feminist Majority members, who submitted a bunch of postcards this week and made a generous and much appreciated donation! Thanks to all those who submitted... and keep it up... spread the word! I just wanted to remind readers that we currently only post postcards every second week! We're hoping to post them every week but we need your help! So get some friends together and make some postcards and send them in!

First Week

Seventh Week

Eighth Week

Ninth Week

Also, here's another link to the new movie!

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBC

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.

Dreams for Women - Eighth Week!

2008-04-19T05:18:00.001-07:00

Here is the 9th official week of the Dreams for Women art project. I just wanted to remind readers that we currently only post postcards every second week! We're hoping to post them every week but we need your help! So get some friends together and make some postcards and send them in!

First Week

Seventh Week

Eighth Week

Also, here's another link to the new movie!

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBC

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.

CWVC Women's Campaign School!

2008-04-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

This is a fabulous school for those who are interested in learning more about campaigning. I recommend it very highly to you all!

Announcing the 2008 Women's Campaign School
May 30 – June 1, 2008
SFU Harbour Centre, Vancouver

Hosted by Canadian Women Voters Congress

New this year:
on-line registration with choice of payment (cheque or credit card)
campaign school schedule available on website
new web address www.womenscampaignschool.org
change of location to SFU downtown Vancouver

Cyndy Hill is the Coordinator of the 2008 Women's Campaign School. She can assist you with any further inquiries you may have at info@womenscampaignschool.org

Fees:
$535.00 + GST = $561.75 - Early Bird Deadline - April 25, 2008
$585.00 + GST = $614.25 - Regular Registration Deadline - April 26 to May 16, 2008

(Some bursaries are available for those requiring financial assistance.)

Padded Bras. For Children.

2008-04-15T00:03:00.000-07:00

Tesco, a UK brand, has come under scrutiny for advertising and producing a padded bra marked to the seven and eight-year-old age range. This is not the first time Tesco has gotten itself into hot water for sexualizing girls waaaaay too early. In 2006 it had to remove a pole dancing kit from toy shelves after being accused of "destroying children's innocence". Tesco, in defense of the bra, delivered the following statement: "It is a product designed for girls at that self-conscious age when they are just developing. It is designed to cover up, not flatter, and was developed after speaking to parents."

This brings to mind a couple of questions: what, exactly is being covered up? If you have teeny-tiny breasts the only way they would need covering is if you were to wear tight, shear shirts to begin with. Ohhhh... I guess the bra is supposed to go with the sexualized children's clothing sold one aisle over in Tesco. Moreover, who are these parents crying out to the brand to develop a padded bra for their children? A padded bra, I might add, that is not just padded, but designed to draw attention to and enhance a young girl's... nothing. Sounds like Tesco and Mama Lohan have been having some conversations.

I might be willing to buy the whole 'cover-up' excuse if it didn't have such weird implications; Jessica over at Feministing has said it, and I think it bears repeating: "If you need to cover up a [child's] non-breasts in order to feel like she's being 'discreet', there's something wrong with the way you look at [little] girls."

What are Your Dreams for Women?

2008-04-10T11:45:00.001-07:00

BC Women in Business Forum presented by TD Bank Financial Group

2008-04-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

BC Women in Business Forum presented by TD Bank Financial Group

Sponsors: Title Sponsor: TD Bank Financial Group. Speaker Series Sponsors: KPMG, National Post, Xerox, Business in Vancouver
Location: Hycroft,1489 McRae Avenue, Vancouver
Date & Time: April 24, 2008 11 15 A.M. - 2 30 P.M.

Join us for our 3rd BC Women in Business Forum. Hear from accomplished women leaders as they share their career paths, how they overcame challenges and obstacles, and find out their personal lessons learned. Network with other women in business. This event is part of our Women in Leadership Speaker Series held across Canada. Free lunch and Free admission.

Panel:
Mary O’Callaghan, Senior Principal in KPMG’s Advisory Practice
Linda Zanette, District Vice President, TD Bank Financial Group
Martine Normand, VP Human Resources, Xerox
Debra Hoggan, President, Business Design Group
Moderated by: Margot Micallef, CEO of Vista Broadcasting

11:15 am - 12:00 pm Registration for Panel, Lunch and Networking
• Free catered Luncheon/Networking
12:00 pm - 1:15 pm Panel Presentation
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Entrepreneurship Workshop, "So you want to be an entrepreneur" Presented by Heather Martin, Women's Enterprise Centre

Visit their site and register!

UBC SAC Oppurtunities

2008-04-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

There is a great opportunity for those of you who might be interested in getting more involved with the AMS! We are currently hiring commissioners for 2008-2009 SAC and FinCom. Here's your chance to see what goes on behind the scenes =D

The following positions are currently open:

SAC Vice Char
SAC Clubs Commissioner
SAC Bookings Commissioner
SAC Special Projects Commissioner
SAC Building and Facilities Commissioner
SAC Art Gallery Commissioner
Associate Vice President, Finance
Business Operations Coordinator, Finance Commission
Job descriptions and information on how to apply are located here: http://www.amsubc.ca/index.php/ams/opportunities_list/P0/

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE APRIL 11, 2008!!!

Dreams for Women - Week Eight!

2008-04-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here is the 8th official week of the Dreams for Women art project. Someone was asking the other day where the 8th week was... and I just wanted to remind readers that we currently only post postcards every second week! We're hoping to post them every week but we need your help! So get some friends together and make some postcards and send them in!

Third Week

Seventh Week

Also, here's another link to the movie!

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBC

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.

No Laughing Matter - Margaret Mitchell's Memoir

2008-04-04T23:21:00.001-07:00

Margaret Mitchell, MP for Vancouver East from 1979-1993 has published her memoirs in No Laughing Matter: Adventure, Activism & Politics.

The title of the book comes from Mitchell's own experience broaching the issue of marital abuse. As she writes, "On May 12th I rose in the House to raise the urgent need for government action on a serious and widespread issue. 'The parliamentary report on battered wives states that one in ten Canadian husbands beat their wives regularly,' I began. Before I could continue, an uproar of male shouts and laughter erupted, making it impossible for me to be heard. A nearby Tory joked, 'I don't beat my wife. Do you, George?' When the Speaker finally got order, I rose again in fury. 'Madam Speaker, I do not think this is a laughing matter. What action will the Minister responsible for the Status of Women undertake immediately at the federal level to protect battered women?'"

Having led an extraordinary life of political work, traveling and activism Mitchell's book is worth a look for anyone wanting to examine Canada's history or be inspired to create its future.

The book is published by Granville Island Publishing, 2007

Theories of Subjectivity: Art Project

2008-04-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

Students from WMST 328: THEORIES OF SUBJECTIVITY have
created wonderful and inspiring art projects (sculptures, masks,
paintings, quilts, music, and much more...).
Please come to WAGS (Women and Gender Studies Center) to have a look at them. Also, they will be on display at the Women's centre on April the 10th from 1:00-2:30.

Peace Girl!

2008-04-01T13:44:00.001-07:00

Peace Girl

A Fundraiser for Northern Uganda

Thursday, 10 April 2008 - 5:00pm

Liu Institute for Global Issues, Multipurpose Room

Co-sponsored by:
UBC's Centre for Women's and Gender Studies
Women's and Gender Studies Undergraduate Program
Department of Anthropology
Africa Awareness
International Relations Students Association
Liu Institute for Global Issues

Peace Girl is an action research and youth leadership initiative led
by a committed group of researchers, students and photographers.

As many conflict-affected countries transition to peace, girls forced
to become sexual slaves to rebels and military groups are left to
pick up the pieces. Many are stigmatized and forced to live alone.
Some brave girls refuse to believe this is what it means to be human.
They fight everyday for their rights and for that of their children
born of rape. Peace Girl supports them. Channelling funds to
grassroots peer support groups, it creates new opportunities for
young girls and women to take leadership roles in their communities.
Through life histories and creative communications, Peace Girl
documents their knowledge and experiences of war and identifies ways
to promote their reintegration in communities and leadership in
rebuilding their countries.

This fundraiser will feature an evening of photos, audiovisuals and
stories about girl soldiers in northern Uganda, with compelling
discussion by the project leaders.
The year 2008 will see resources directed to girls and women in
northern Uganda, where the civil war between the Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA) and Government of Uganda has resulted in the mass
abduction of tens of thousands of girls who are forced to become
combatants and sexual slaves.

This summer, UBC alumna Letha Victor has volunteered to travel to
Uganda and conduct ethnographic research with members of grassroots
associations, collecting life histories and insights into questions
about violence, war economies, justice and reconciliation, and
political leadership. The objective is to create a newspaper article
to raise awareness of the lives of former girl soldiers and to assess
the potential of develop methods for future research.

Can't make it? Find out how you can help by visiting us at
www.peacegirl.moonfruit.com

Dreams for Women - Seventh Week!

2008-03-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

Also, here's another link to the movie!

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBC

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.

Tell Mayor Sullivan Your Priorities -- Come to the Citizen Budget Forum

2008-03-19T13:22:00.001-07:00

Dear friend,

What kind of city do you want Vancouver to be? Will we see deep cuts to the
Parks Board, more shifting of the commercial tax base to residential taxpayers, or stepped-up investment in affordable housing to address our deepening homeless crisis?

Each year, the City of Vancouver holds a public consultation process for the upcoming civic budget. Think City wants to bring more people into this process so more Vancouverites can get informed and more citizens can be heard.

Think City and the University of British Columbia 's Political Science Department invite you to learn about, discuss and deliberate the 2008 City of Vancouver budget on the evening of March 19, 2008. HSBC Hall, UBC Robson Square , 7:00-9:30 pm, 800 Robson Street, Vancouver.

Space is limited so sign up today for this exciting evening of conversation:
http://thinkcity.ca/event_signup

Make sure your voice is heard, when city council decides the priorities for this year's budget!

Think City's survey and more information can be found at
www.thinkcity.dreamvancouver.ca
or contact us at
budget_talks@hotmail.com

Save the U-PASS program!!!!

2008-03-17T12:59:00.001-07:00

Students,

Do you like your U-Pass? Do you spend any time in the SUB?

Then listen up!

A referendum is coming at the end of March to save the U-Pass and renew the SUB. We are attempting to build a sustainable community by keeping the U-Pass and turning the most used and least sustainable building on campus (the SUB) into a model for others to follow. Here are the major issues:

1) The U-Pass: Translink has recently increased their fees and with that, the cost of the U-Pass. If we want to keep the U-Pass, we have to raise the fee by $1.75 per month. This is a pretty small increase and if it doesn’t pass, we will no longer have a U-Pass.
2) SUB Renew: As you can probably tell, the SUB building is old. It was built in the 1960s and has not meet the needs of students for the past ten years. This is the most used building on campus, yet student social space has gradually disappeared over the past ten years. We could be offering so many more services to students. We want to renew and expand this building to address the needs of current and future students.

If you are a UBC student, that means you are a member of the AMS, and thus, can vote in this referendum. Voting takes place online on WebVote at the student service centre: www.students.ubc.ca/ssc. The polls are open from March 25 – March 31. Don’t miss your chance to decide what happens on your campus.

For more information, check out the website: www.ams.ubc.ca

Vote! Vote! Vote! Quadra Vote!

2008-03-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

The By-elections are upon us and this is an especially important time for us UBCers... or shall I say Vancouver Quadra residents. While I still vote in my home riding of Windsor, Ontario, I'm sure there are many readers and UBC students who will be casting a ballot Monday. Remember to vote as the papers are making this out to be closer than originally thought! Here are links the candidates their homepages:

Joyce Murray - Liberal

Deborah Meredith - Conservative

Rebecca Coad - NDP

Dan Grice - Green

And for more info about all the candidates... check out recent articles about them...

The Georgia Straight

Vancouver Sun

The Province

Dreams for Women - Because I love you...

2008-03-15T10:22:00.001-07:00

Because I love you and got a whole bunch of great postcards in the mail this week, I'm posting some Dreams even though its not the right Saturday. If you guys keep them coming we'll start posting them every Saturday! Currently we post our Dreams for Women every second Saturday on the blog and here are the links to batches that we've already posted

Also, here's another link to the movie!

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBC

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.

Canada Must Do More For Women

2008-03-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

Robert Fox, the Executive Director of Oxfam Canada, writes a great op-ed in the Chronicle Herald about the need for Canada to make progress on women's gender equality. Here is just one short snippet... read the rest!

And there is much to be done in Canada itself. When Canada provides aid to governments in developing countries, the Canadian International Development Agency quite rightly demands that developing countries provide an analysis of how women and men will be affected by these funds. They realize the impact on women is likely to be different than it is for men.

Wouldn’t it be a good idea if that same lens were applied here in Canada to budgets at the federal, provincial and municipal levels? That, too, could be part of Canada’s contribution to women’s equality worldwide.

If women’s needs were taken into account in the budget process, Canada’s socio-economic landscape would be very different. Too often, government budgets are assumed to be a gender-neutral policy tool. But experience has shown that spending and tax cuts affect women and men differently based on the roles they play in society. A gender budget ensures the budget contributes to the broader societal goals of social justice, sharing the benefits and costs equitably.

If women’s needs were taken into account, there would be no question about privatizing health care; it would remain public and accessible to all. We would have a national child care program and greater support for affordable housing. Pay equity would be guaranteed and access to post-secondary training and education would be assured. Those accused of violence against women would be fully and fairly prosecuted and survivors of violence would receive the support and respect they need.

Just as we expect of the governments in the global South that receive Canadian aid, Canadians should demand that our governments commit to a budgetary process that addresses the needs of women.

UN Update... Day 6...

2008-03-12T07:51:00.001-07:00

So... we're back from the UN... but I want ot continue with posting Mira Hall's updates! Here we are with Day Six:

UN day 6: The poverty frame North and south versus rural and urbanI’m sorry that this too has been late in coming. I’m sure that everyone who has been actively reading can see me running out of steam as the days packed with information regarding lots of different issues overwhelm my brain. In addition there has been stress on the home front, but I’m encouraged to know that when some people let you down, others are waiting to help lift you back up!

On Friday I attended a workshop hosted by UNIFEM on Economic literacy. I had been looking forward to it all week, and there are subsequent workshops building on the same theme. What I was disappointed with however is that the “economic” literacy aspect is focused on macro economics and inter country treatment of poverty.This results in the problem of “Poverty” being framed in terms of “North-South” relationships between countries, and the problem of poverty facing many people in the developed countries is not discussed.

I believe that if Canada and Australia had a stronger presence here at the CSW the discussion could be different, and I would be hearing things more relevant to my life.After a conversation with an Aussie from the Staticians conference, I came to hear that Canada has a strong delegation present for that event and that they are being impressively progressive on issues such as “China” and “India,” but I don’t know what the conversations are dealing with, so I can’t go into that.

However it was worthy of mention because while other countries have been quite active in promoting what they are doing within their own countries to implement “Gender Budgeting” and achieving the Millennium Development Goal 3 “Empower women and promote equality between women and men” our Country (with the exception of the NGOs) has been mute on the subject.Also among the conversational buzz is the lack of indigenous people at this conference. Should there have been more of a presence I believe that the poverty gap between “rural and urban” would have had a stronger buzz here. The Australian Statician also commented that much like he found I was lamenting Canada’s silence on the issues surrounding aboriginal populations and the extreme poverty they face, Australia is (in his experience) the same. He described it as this two faced hypocrisy where our respective government point to all kinds of help that they are giving to outside countries, while they repeatedly ignore the plight of marginalized populations within their own.

Following the fairly irrelevant (but interesting) UNIFEM presentation, that mainly focused on Latin America, and problems with the IMF and the world bank, and how richer countries have been able to avoid them, I moved onto a workshop hosted by the American Women’s Medical Association. This workshop went over the effort of many Universities across the US to include women in non-traditional fields of medicine. They spoke about Mentors and the difference between male mentors (providing assistance to young female med students) which often came in the form of practical and technical aspects of medicine, to the femal mentors who seem to provide mentorship around lifestyle issues associated with different fields of medicine.

It was really nice to see, especially because after I left the workshop Hillary Clinton was spouting election promises like “Lets make University Affordable for all our citizens!” and brought me back to the fact that I wish fervently that I could finish my degree quickly, and immerse myself in study, but the economic barrier is simply too great. Muriel Smith, a former Deputy Premier out of Manitoba provided me (kindly) with economic literacy workbooks that I plan to use in the territory when I get back. I’ve noticed that they are very relevant to Manitoba specifically, but I’m sure that with help from Statistics Canada, I can kind of modify them to reflect Territorial reality, and that as a result it could provide women who participate in the workshops with an additional picture of how economic policy plays out in the different provinces.

Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria

2008-03-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

UBC's Critical Studies in Sexuality Program presents Susan Stryker (internationally recognized scholar of sexuality and gender) presents her movie "Screaming Queens".

March 26th @ 4pm
BUCH A 205, UBC Point Grey Campus

On a hot summer's night in 1966 in the city's Tenderloin district, a group of transgendered women and gay street-hustlers fought back for the first time in history against everyday police harassment. This was a dramatic turning point for the transgendered community and the beginning of a new human rights struggle that continues to this day.

Come, see the move, talk with Susan!

Recap! - Celebrating Int'l Women's Week

2008-03-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

Antigone Magazine celebrated International Women's Week by participating in two events:

March 8, 2008
BCIT Campus, Vancouver
"Women of the World Unite Against War and Poverty" Info Fair

February 25 - March 7, 2008
The UN, New York
52nd UN Commission on the Status of Women
"Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women"

Also included in the video are this week's Dreams for Women (UN Edition!) postcards, which were made by other participants at the UNCSW. See them in bigger resolution below!

Dreams for Women - UN Edition!

2008-03-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the Dreams for Women postcards that were made by other participants at the UN's 52nd meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women! The theme for the meeting was 'Financing Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment' and so many of them are related to economic and financing issues. Enjoy.

About Dreams for Women:

Antigone Magazine is launching a Feminist Postcard art project and fundraiser but instead of asking what your secrets are, we want to know what your Dreams for Women are.What are your own dreams for yourself, your friends, your sisters, your daughters? Paint, draw, write, sketch or decoupage your dreams on a postcard and send it to the address below:

Antigone Magazine
C/O WILLA UBC
Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program. We will be posting postcards every second Saturday starting in January on the blog!

We want submissions from all over the world - so forward this on! Post it on your blog! Or link to it!

Happy International Women's Day!

2008-03-08T17:04:00.001-08:00

We from Antigone hope you are having a great day celebrating! Thank you to everyone who caught us at BCIT's Info Fair. We hope you found your visit very informative and we hope to see you again soon!

~Antigone Staff

Dreams For Women

2008-03-07T22:35:00.000-08:00

Hi Antigone Readers,

Dreams for women will be postponed by one day this week to Sunday because our blogger in chief Amanda is currently on her way home from New York.
Please come and browse the blog on Sunday to see the latest batch of artwork from women all over the globe!

best,
Antigone Staff

Dreams for Women and Feministing!

2008-03-06T06:36:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say hello to those people who found this site from Feministing and thanks to Courtney for posting on it (she totally rocks). Please pass the information about our project on! We want our art project to include the dreams for women from all over the world!

We post our Dreams for Women every second Saturday on the blog and here are the links to batches that we've already posted

First Week

Second week

Third Week

Fourth Week

Also, here's another link to the movie!

And here's the details about our program:

Antigone Magazine is launching a Feminist Postcard art project and fundraiser but instead of asking what your secrets are, we want to know what your Dreams for Women are.What are your own dreams for yourself, your friends, your sisters, your daughters? Paint, draw, write, sketch or decoupage your dreams on a postcard and send it to the address below

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBC

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

With your postcard submission, we ask that you make a donation (if you can!) to Antigone Magazine for anywhere from $1 to $10. You can send your money along with your postcard or donate on our blog: http://www.antigonemagazine.blogspot.com/ . But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program. We will be posting postcards every second Saturday starting in January on the blog!

What is Antigone Magazine? We're a grassroots national magazine that works to encourage young women to get involved in politics in Canada. We work to empower young women to engage politically and civically and to actively take part in leadership roles.

We are raising the money in order to help launch the Antigone Foundation, a national foundation that will encourage young women aged 10-30 to get politically and civically engaged. Help support Antigone as we help to make the dreams of young women come true!We want submissions from all over the world - so forward this on! Post it on your blog! Or link to it!

ACCO presents "UnConference" - Spark the Dialogue! Speak Your Mind!

2008-03-06T01:06:00.000-08:00

March 6 - 7
Location: UBC, Upstairs SUB Room 207 and 209

Thursday, March 6

12:30pm to 1:50pm - ACSW 101 - "Who are Asian Canadians?" Illustrating Identity and Sports for Asian Canadians"

2:00pm to 3:20pm - ACSW 102 - "Ying, Yang, and Me!" The Complications and Implications of Interracial Dating and Interracial Families

3:30pm to 5:00pm – ACSW 116 – “Striking the Bamboo Ceiling” Asians in the North American workforce

Friday, March 7

12:00pm to 1:50pm - ACSW 202 - "Hey Asian Guy, Why So Angry?" A Look into Asian Stereotypes in Television and Film in Relation to the Feminization of Asian Males

2:00pm to 4:00pm - ACSW 212 - "Queer + Asian = ?" Difficulties and unique challenges of being Asian in the Queer Community and being Queer in the Asian Community.

All workshops are aimed at all people who have an interest in the Asian Community, regardless if they identify as straight, queer, homosexual, gay, lesbian, questioning, bisexual,trans, Asian, of Asian descent, part-Asian, or non-Asian! Admission is free.

For more information, please email info@ubcacco.com
Check out our website at http://www.ubcacco.com for further details!

The Asian Canadian Cultural Organization (ACCO) is a non-profit student collective dedicated to generating greater awareness of Pan-Asian Canadian issues through campus and community outreach.

Justin Trudeau on Campus Tomorrow

2008-03-05T20:36:00.001-08:00

Join the Young Liberals and - JUSTIN TRUDEAU -, Liberal Candidate in Papineau, for a youth rally and questions at Mahony and Sons at UBC, ONE DAY before Advance Polls open in the Vancouver Quadra Byelection!

JUSTIN TRUDEAU
2:30pm
Mahony and Sons (Pub) at UBC
Thursday March 6th, 2008

Bring your friends and fellow students!
Invite! Invite! Invite!

See you there!

RSVP to:
BraedenCaley@Hotmail.com and Mia.Taghizadeh@Gmail.com

Canada Lectures Kenya About Women in Politics?!?

2008-03-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

Really? Canada is trying to claim moral high ground in relation to women's representation in politics. This article reports on Canada's attempt to influence the Kenyan government to appoint more women to cabinet. Apparently, the last government only had 10% of women in cabinet and the current government has only 7% of women in parliament.

It seems like the Canadian government forgot only 21% of our parliamentarians are women and WE have a lot of work to do ourselves in encouraging women in politics!

Canada wants the coalition government to appoint more women to the Cabinet.
The country's High Commissioner, Mr Ross Hynes, yesterday said women deserve more than the seven per cent they constitute in Parliament.
"Let us hope it's better than the 10 per cent in the previous Government, considering the disproportionate way women and girls have suffered in the post-election crisis over the past two months," Hyness said.
He spoke while opening a workshop for girls at the Commission headquarters, Nairobi, ahead of the International Women Day on Saturday.
The diplomat said women's participation was crucial in resolving political crises.

Conservative Group tries to Influence Canadian Museum for Human Rights Mandate

2008-03-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

Oh, dear. It seems like Real Women Canada is at it again. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is holding a public consultation and they have asked their supporters to flood the site with right wing suggestions.

If they had their way... the main exhibit at the museum would be a debate about whether gay marriage was a human right. Or you know, the need for women to get back in the kitchen. Please join me in counteracting their menace by circulating the link to the survey far and wide among progressive circles.

The consultation process ends March 15th... so get on it! Here's the link: http://www.pch.gc.ca/pc-ch/consultations/mcdp-cmhr/index_e.cfm

And here's an excerpt from Real Women's hilarious press release! Emphasis mine...

This has raised concerns that the museum, with its left-wing Advisory Board, would be used as a powerful tool to champion the Liberal government’s interpretation of human rights, such as abortion rights, feminism, homosexuality, etc. with only some legitimate exhibits sprinkled here and there to give the museum the appearance of legitimacy.
Fortunately the Conservative government changed the Advisory Committee in October to include individuals, mostly business men and women, with no known bias on human rights issues.
It is important that as many of us as possible, with a conservative perspective, provide input into this Museum as it will remain a part of the Canadian culture for many years to come. We want it to reflect basic human rights, not the trendy rights contributed by recent court decisions

Tell Mayor Sullivan Your Priorities -- Come to the Citizen Budget Forum

2008-03-05T12:36:00.001-08:00

Hillary comes back

2008-03-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

She's still in the race!

Despite numerous media outlets virtually declaring Hillary's race to the Whitehouse over, Clinton came back Tuesday night and swept Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas.

And, despite Simon Cowell's advice, she didn't need to "cry again" to do it.

That's right, while some are calling her a "bitch," as Tina Fey said in her ringing SNL endorsement "bitches get things done!"

"Bitch is the new black!"

Day Five - How I wish I was Nordic - By Mira Hall

2008-03-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have been keeping tabs on my updates, I apologize for this one being late. I appreciate the interest that has been shown, and I am so happy to have been able to garner people’s interest in this experience. Yesterday, my fifth day was very full.

I started the day by attending a workshop/panel called “Going Dutch” a light hearted update on how the Dutch Government is working towards the goals set out in Beijing (the 4th World Women’s Conference.) Very seriously, however, was a discussion between the Dutch foreign minister and the executive director of HIVOS (the largest NGO in the Netherlands) around how and why the Dutch government funds its civil society. Both parties underlined the importance of critical evaluation within a society to creativity and responsiveness of the government. Without critical perspectives it would be very easy for any government to become complacent and out of touch with the needs of their people.

For instance, within Canada, it has been explained to me that no party really wants to run a campaign on access to affordable quality childcare because the problem is difficult to implement. Why would a candidate (with the exception of Jean Chretien) run an election on a promise that would be difficult or impossible to achieve? So then our politicians devise campaign strategies and frame election and general political promises around their own ideology that is influenced around what they believe they can get away with, while implementing the result of their ideology on the people of Canada.

Politicians end up painfully out of touch with their electorate, and Canadians have no organized or well funded lobbyists to strategically defend general interests. Canadian critical programs such as the Rick Mercer Report, This Hour Has 22 minutes, and the Royal Canadian Air Farce become our primary critical voices. (note these are all considered to be “comedy” programs.) In the end we have practical examples of Senators such as our own dear Senator Sibbeston, who instead of relaying the difficult and substandard living conditions of many Northerners, relay romanticized versions of little Indian villages who *choose* a lifestyle of trading natural resources for accommodation. Parliament then thinks “How quaint!” instead of “what an embarrassment to have Canadian citizens living in conditions comparable to underdeveloped countries!”

At any rate, I have digressed from the initial topic of the Netherlands. The Dutch Government believes that innovation and creativity is a direct result of diverse discussion, and in order to encourage a broad perspective in all areas of Dutch policy, they actively fund their “opposition.” And they fund them GENEROUSLY! The Dutch government just invested 60 million to NGO activity around women’s equality. Their primary concern was that the funding be distributed in such a way that was effective, comprehensive, and with the least amount of transactional cost possible. A

ctive accountability was also of prime importance to them, and fundees are required to include actions within their proposals and to account for the occurrence of the actions, and the results. This is something that is required of BOTH NGO and government projects. The Dutch government also recognizes the importance of core funding to organizations and provides multiyear funding in order to reduce insecurity, and patchwork initiatives, something that the Canadian government has dramatically stopped doing in recent years (ignoring the conservative extent it had been implemented in previous years.)

Okay. So then I went to *the only Canadian workshop* parallel event, organized by the group that brought me here- FAFIA, the Feminist Alliance For International Action. The workshop was on the gendered impact of Canadian Tax Policy. So the presenters were, Lynelle Anderson from the Canadian Childcare Advocacy Association, Kathleen Lahey who is an author and tax attorney, and Muriel Smith who is a former Deputy Premier from Manitoba who has a long history within the political arena and grass roots advocacy and education. The shocking news for me that emerged from this presentation is that we only actually have childcare for 20% of the population of children in Canada, excluding Quebec. And that the government has been actively involved in a long term plan to shift tax revenue from corporations to low income Canadians.

In Canada the tax shift is slowly occurring over many years, and therefore through governments headed by both Liberals and Conservatives. Currently Canadians whose income falls below 38 000$ bear approximately a 32% income tax burden, while corporations are found to bear around 5% tax burden. Corporations enjoy 1.9 billion each year in tax revenue. I totally expect to be challenged on this, not necessarily the numbers, but it occurs to me that because low income Canadians are more plentiful, doesn’t it create as much revenue as 5% on a big earner corporation? Well, I have to look into that further, however, this has impacted on our human development standing. We once enjoyed first place world wide for our rates of human development, and we have consistently fallen in our standing and are now in 18th place when compared to all other Nations.

The other thing that kind of shocked me was the comparative income between men and women. It should be common knowledge that comparatively, women make less money than men do in similar positions of work. I thought that the figure was “for every dollar a man makes, a woman earns 73 cents.” Unfortunately that is based on older data. CURRENTLY, *during peak earning years* for every dollar a man makes, a woman makes .67$, during other points of life (up until age 45 and after 65) a woman makes .38$. I definitely intend to read Kathleen’s assessments further, as this is an area (economics) that I am interested in.Where is the relevance?

Well, I’ve met many male non-northern residents that bemoan Affirmative action hiring practices. Actually I’ve met many female ones too. At any rate, because northerners are such a small population sometimes we see (personally) really inefficient people working for our government whereas without affirmative action and tenure protection, they would have been fired long ago due to their ineffectiveness. HOWEVER, when we look at WHERE our people are being hired, it adds a little bit to the story. How many female aboriginal women do we see in management positions in the government? Where are our female aboriginal workers hired at the mine sites (when they aren’t prevented from being hired at all by their family status?)

I don’t see any aboriginal females in government management positions. (There *might* be someone, but I don’t know who they are, so feel free to respond with an example if you have one) I only know a few ADMs and SAOs, but I can only think of one female, and no aboriginals. So where does affirmative action put people? Well from what I see, it puts them in secretarial positions, it puts them in front line positions (such as income support workers, or whatever they are currently calling themselves,) and it puts them in data entering, low level accounting, and janitorial positions. A

boriginal men seem to have things slightly better, however again, I am still not seeing many “P1s” in high level management. P2s are a little harder to place. At any rate, if we had a brave government, I believe that there would be more effort in determining the causes behind the “glass ceiling” and subsequently more effort put towards addressing those causes. Off the top of my head I would think that common sense solutions would be to increase basic amounts to Student Financial Assistance, increase the number of grants and scholarships available to students who are pursuing education that will benefit the Territory in the long term, and increase education accessibility.

I’m just guessing here, but I think going from living in Goa Haven all my life to attending University in Edmonton or Calgary might be a bit of a culture shock to me, a shock that would undermine the quality of education that I would be able to absorb. (I know that there have been efforts around this issue, such as the officer for northern students situated in Edmonton, but my experience as a Yellowknifer ells me that I should be able to access the education of my choice within my support network IN THE NORTH.) Why isn’t there more recognition and support for students who choose to be educated in the north? Is 700 dollars a month really an acceptable living allowance when in some communities milk is over 7$ a litre? Why is there no recognized support for the students who choose distance learning to remain home? (There are a minimum of 70 Athabasca University Students alone in Yellowknife right now.)

So that whole previous paragraph was a rant based on my assumption that northerners are blocked from high level management based on the presumption that they aren’t as educated, or the quality of their education isn’t as good as people coming up from the south.

Going back to the tax workshop, feminist groups are rightly concerned at the impact that income splitting will have on the economic dependence of women on men, that it favors legally married couples in the impact of taxation after separation and divorce over the Canadian stereotypical relationship that is common law. Taxation policy also favors workers the higher their income brackets goes. Essentially, from Lahey’s assessment what little public services we have are being provided off of the backs of the poor.This brings me back to understanding basic economic practice over misconceptions that Canadian and American Publics have embraced since the Cold War.

For ANY economy to survive (let alone thrive) aspects of BOTH capitalist and socialist economic practice must be included in overall policy. No current economy is simply a pure “capitalist” economy OR a pure “socialist” economy. Pure capitalism results in a wildly unstable economy swinging dramatically between inflationary periods and recessionary periods that can and have crippled societies (including our own. Both Canada and the US are not very far from the economic depression of the 1930s which was relieved by bringing in socialist measures to reestablish growth.) and we “know” that purely socialist systems result in gross inefficiency and insustainability, and a lack of innovation to bring technology forward.

So good economic practice is to ensure wealth redistribution to maintain minimum demand, have public access to education, health, and infrastructure in order to promote maximum production (defined by a production possibility curve.) At any rate this is getting really long, and I applaud anyone who has made it all the way through!

Mira Hall's Reports from the UNCSW! Part 4

2008-03-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

UN Day 4: Austrians choke at the amount I pay in day care.Today’s agenda included attending two debriefings, a panel on addressing violence against women hosted by the Nordic governments, and listening to my roommate squealing at unexpectedly getting to interview *the* Gloria Steinem.

I don’t have very much to report on today, maybe because I’m tired from the chaos and the walking. Maybe it’s because my hands are raw from washing my clothes in the bathtub. Maybe I’m just plain tired.

I’m so happy that my friends are reading this. I’m excited and it’s so nice to have my excitement shared. I’m rather saddened that there isn’t a bigger Canadian Government presence here. It seems that all the other nations are broadly represented, but the only one that is visually present from Canada is the NGOs. It’s been explained that because of the budget there was a travel ban issued because the budget was being released today however I don’t see why it would prevent the MPs sending their underlings.The Nordic countries put on an interesting panel.

They have a proactive approach to address violence against women in all stages of their people’s stages. It is included in early education in the form of implementing emotionally resiliency in daycares and schools. They have psychological counseling for perpetrators following violent acts. Sweden, I think, even has an entire University dedicated to the research of violence against women that includes a national hotline that does not show up on phone bills. They have medical clinics and all members of the justice department have handbooks that describe health based protocol relating to violence against women in order to help the justice department better investigate incidents.

I have a copy of the complete Swedish strategy that I intend to bring home. It would be nice to see something concrete happening in our community rather than perpetual wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth at our overwhelmingly high rate of violence against women. Actually that didn’t quite come out right. It would be even nicer if the family violence coalition could use this information to their advantage to solidify support for the work that they have already been doing.

Because I just happen to be a cheeky brat, and their panel left me nothing really learned, but also nothing to really complain about, I decided to throw out something really controversial to this panel of socially conscious countries. So I threw up my hand and asked if any of their research indicated higher levels of success with their current treatment programs than have been shown with previous methods of chemical and physical castration. *hee hee hee* I kind of did it soley to be a brat, but the backrounder is that castration combined with psychotherapy is empirically the most effective way of treating pedophilia.So there was an audible gasp from the crowd and the head of research at the University said that she wasn’t aware of any study that compared the success rates between the two treatment plans.

Of course immediately following her saying that, a Swedish woman behind me said that the state had indeed studied the matter and found that castrations with psycho therapy is indeed more effective that either on their own. (Castration on its own does not address the expression of power within the act of sexual violation.)

So anyways, I also attended a meeting on Muslim women in business. I heard about economic strategies used in Dubai, and micro loan projects out of the Sudan. It was interesting, but not very relevant to the North.I had coffee with the executive director of an NGO from Austria. She runs high quality subsidized daycare programs throughout the country. She choked on her coffee when I told her how much I pay for childcare.

On that note, did you know that Canada is even behind Mexico in their total investment of funds to daycare? The request from the Canadian people for quality accessible daycare is 25 years old, while our government is whittling away resources that could have been moved into providing a national day care strategy, the multinational people that I’m coming across here are choking. Even including the exchange rates I figure we’re paying some of the highest rates in the world.

A lack of accessible day care simply ignores the promise that the Canadian government has made to its own population and the other member states at the UN when it declared its supposed commitment to gender equality. Lack of affordable daycare does indeed provide a gender based barrier to women’s employment, and I’m sick to death of all of the governments dropping the ball on this issue.

Grr. I just found out that they took away the millennium fund for undergrads and added 20, 000 to funding for masters programs. Now the government will pay 50, 000$ for a masters student.

Anyways I hope everyone is doing well, And I look forward to getting a full debriefing on the budget

Mira Hall's Reports from the UNCSW! Part 3

2008-03-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

UN- Day 3: In a show of their commitment to gender equality financing, the World Bank fails to show upThis morning I attended the opening ceremony of the 52nd UNCSW (United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.) There were huge line ups starting very early in the morning outside the visitors entrance of the United Nations Building. A sharp contrast between two groups filling the line was obvious.

Granola styled free wheeling feminists, and conservatively stuffy business suits of primarily male representatives from all over the globe. I originally thought that the suit clad participants were government delegates for our commission, however I later learned (while sitting in the only indoor smoking area in New York City) that the others were staticians from all member states of the UN.

I had coffee with the head of the department of statistics from Jordan as well as the head from Croatia. The head from Jordan was extremely personable, waxing poetic about his Queen. He was very proud of her contribution to gender equality, and listed off five different government departments dedicated to the study and subsequent implementation of policy to promote Gender Equality in Jordan.

I was very impressed with the pride he showed and the interest he had in the UNCSW. He mentioned that he had even made a point of stopping in on our events to hear the speakers. Mister Croatia was friendly enough, but not very personable. He didn’t seem to have much use for small talk, and I on the other hand feel uncomfortable sitting at a two person table and not speaking to the person across from me. So that conversation was more limited, but he seemed very concerned with the effects of climate change that he had noticed in his area.

Getting back to the spirit of Jordan, however, the first panel that I witnessed was a special event on actions against violence against women. There was a panel of five people including the moderator. Within the panel, there were three men and two women. The focus of the panel seemed to surround the necessity of including men as allies in the fight against violence against women.

The first speaker was a young female who works in Haiti with the Commission of Women Victims for Victims. This is an anti rape movement that started following the second collapse of Haitian society (that resulted in militarization of the area.) The first speaker (I wish I could remember her name) talked about how rapists are rarely convicted in Haiti, and how sometimes a female victim of rape will be killed to restore her family’s honor. She spoke about a grand March of women clad in white dresses and black masks in one of their demonstrations which you can read about here:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/01/news/CB_GEN_Haiti_Rape_Victims.php

She also talked about the importance of the day to day peer support that women victims provide to each other following rape. I am personally very aware of our own local despair surrounding high rates of violence against women, and hearing her speak led me to dream of someday gathering all victims within the Territory to March to the Legislature. Following her presentation was Michael Coffman from the White Ribbon Campaign. That organization was formed following the Montreal Massacre and is Canadian based. They employ a variety of methods to try to redefine “manhood” to remove violence from acceptable behavior within the social norm.

All members of the White Ribbon Campaign have made a solemn pledge never to use an act of violence on a woman.Kevin Powell is a young black activist who tours the country giving lectures on using Hip Hop for social change, and analyzing the effects of White Patriarchy Models on the black community.

He opened his presentation with the recognition of two violent acts that he had committed against women in his younger days. He said that following the incidents he was challenged by women in his community on the behavior, and that since the incidents he has actively attended psychotherapy stating that engaging in violence against women is a mental illness.

He gave the audience 5 points that men need to stop the violence:1- Own the behavior, own the mistake2- Get help! If you engage in this behavior you NEED mental health help!3- Learn to listen to the voices of women4- Men *must* redefine manhood.5- Men HAVE to be allies to women.He spoke passionately about engaging young men on his tours with frank discussions with language that was relevant to who they are and what social framework they come from. It was really interesting and inspiring.

Next was a lawyer from India who spoke from his experience as a male child in a family of feminists. He supported what the other panelists had already said, and then went on to say that mentoring young men in anti violence so that they can then go forth into their communities and peer groups is essential. He also stressed that within the current social framework that men will more actively listen to other men. He also said that in order to move government support feminists must try to explain benefits of gender equality in terms of the economic as well as social benefits.

I was impressed with the speakers and I am looking forward to hearing back from northerners on how relevant they feel that these ideas are to the North. It did strike me, listening to Kevin Powell that northern kids, particularly aboriginal seem to identify strongly with hip hop and rap music. It also made me think of Herb Norwegian, the former chief who was all apologies for his behavior before a judge with the power to sentence him, but dismissive of it when his behavior impacted his economic benefit. I’m very glad that he was ousted, and I hope that he uses this time to think about the five actions outlined by Powell to seriously modify his behavior.
http://www.menstoppingviolence.org/News/news.php

Following this enlightening panel event, I was finally off to hear what the World Bank had to say about financing for gender equity. I’m a political economics student with Athabasca University. School is so expensive that I usually take one class at a time and will probably be in my late sixties by the time I finish my undergrad. However, in the meantime I try to soak up anything that is relevant to the discipline and have reaped the benefits of the grades that I see when I complete my courses (at a snail’s pace.)

At any rate, I was very excited. Seeing actual people that work for the world bank and hearing them speak on any issue would be akin to going to a rock concert for me. I was so happy to be given the opportunity to be breathing the same air in the same room as these powerhouse people who determine the economic fate of the world. I even ditched out of my smoke based networking in the café early, so that I could get a seat close to them. I arrived and others where there patiently waiting. I sat with a South African woman who develops policy for the government and idly chitchatted about our respective states of health care and education. Time ticked on and on.

Disapointingly, the World Bank Reps failed to come. I was very disappointed and was the last one in the room, long after everyone else had given up and left.In closing, it was a generally good day. I have lots of food for thought, and was even surprised by a South African nun who described a primary health clinic that she works in. It mirrored the work that happens at the Great Slave clinic, except for the fact that they have an early childhood education program and a nursing program in their clinic that teaches young South African women general care and hygiene, subsequently allowing them to go on in nursing or homecare, and other health based jobs. I suppose that we have medical and nursing students who come to our clinic. We have it in a way, but because their system standards are a bit lower, it’s more informal and therefore easier for local women to access.

Resisting the University: A Conference on Student activism and Social Change!

2008-03-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

Students for a Democratic Society, UBC is hosting
a "Resisting the University" conference March
3-7. Resisting the University is about resisting
the commodification and corporatization of
education, with an anti-militarization,
anti-gentrification and direct-action bent. Our
conference features many UBC professors, local
community activists and students. Our two
keynotes are: David Noble from York University
(Monday 12-2 a.m.) and Denis Rancourt from the
University of Ottawa (Friday, 3-5 p.m.). The
entire conference schedule is attached and also
available on our website
www.sdsubc.ca or facebook
group
http://ubc.facebook.com/event.php?eid=20667840135.

If you are interested in learning more about
issues that aren't addressed in the classroom but
pertain to you as students and members of
society, this week of resistance is for you!

The Paradox of Woman

2008-03-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hello Antigone Readers,

Not to interrupt Amanda's fantastic reports from New York, but rather to give her a day off from her hectic duties as delegate and blogger, I direct you to this article in this weekend's Globe and Mail.
The piece is, I think, one of the more nuanced treatments of Hillary Clinton's campaign efforts. It is also, thankfully, unwilling to write her off because of her s0-called "tearjerker." Since Clinton is not often emotional in public, the instant she becomes so she is immediately criticized for stage acting--something her competitors certainly needn't fear, particularly since it would be only too disaffecting for a male to cry on (inter)national television. I may be biased here--in fact, take this as a warning, I am biased--but I don't believe that Hillary's so-called performance in New Hampshire should a/effect her supporters' votes. I personally am inclined to trust Clinton before Obama. In most cases, when I watch them debate, while Clinton is not the picture of authenticity--indeed, she is often reserved and difficult to read--she is always clear and forthright. I would call her "sincere" without much hesitation. If she isn't comfortable with an idea, or can't make a promise, she simply will not address the issue--she will tell you what she will do, not what she might do. Listening to her, I don't feel like I'm being subjected to rhetoric at the expense of all else, which with Obama I sometimes experience.

What I appreciate about Sinclair's treatment of Clinton here is his exploration of the community in which she was raised and the ideal of "woman" she grew into. In order to compete, Clinton developed an iron-clad public persona, and certainly, I would suggest this served her well during her career as first lady.
Another thing the article illustrates well is Clinton's pursuit of her policy programs to the exclusion of all else. Sinclair observes that during her husband's tenure as president she pushed her health care reform bill to the displeasure of some democrats, causing an internal division in the party and allowing the republicans to take the house. While such an attitude is certainly not good for party unity, it is refreshing to see someone stick to their ideals: Mr. Dithers Hillary is not.

"She doesn't play the game — and I admire her for that — but it's hurt her," acknowledges Jo Luck, the head of Heifer International, a humanitarian aid organization whose eco-friendly office complex abuts the William J. Clinton Presidential Library on the banks of the Arkansas River. "She sees what's needed in the world and she does it. She's not running a popularity contest. She's never run a popularity contest."

...

One of the ironies in this contest is that when Ms. Clinton first plotted her candidacy, she doubtless viewed herself as the agent of change, a trailblazer in the mould of Ms. Ferraro who could make history by becoming the first woman to gain the presidency.

Instead, she encountered Mr. Obama, a charismatic and silver-tongued rival with a competing, and equally powerful, claim to history, which would put the first African American in the Oval Office. If he lacks her experience, he is also free of the burden of perceptions she has shouldered since her days in Washington.

"I wish she could come across as a little bit more of a 'bring us together' voice," Ms. McCoy says. "But she is a litigator — you can't change a leopard's spots. … And is that necessary? To really like our leaders?"

Another skilled Democrat, Bill Clinton, might say so. He famously remarked that Democrats prefer to fall in love with their candidates, while Republicans prefer to fall in line. Unfortunately for Hillary Clinton, his words appear to be ringing true.

So what do we say now of Clinton's flagging campaign? What does this mean for women's future in American politics? Is this a reflection of her personal "obstreperousness" (to use her word), or is is indicative of a larger distrust of female leadership as "soft." I would say it is probably a combination of both; Clinton has unfortunately come up against a silver-tongued, personable presidential hopeful whose claim to the office is equally as legitimate, if not historically more so, than her own--her timing could not be worse. However, it is unlikely we will see another woman candidate in the near future with credentials and experience akin to that of Mrs. Clinton's. Gaining the "hearts" of democrats may prove to be ultimately illusive for female candidates while the double edged sword of American media dissects the woman's public persona as inauthentic. The question is, who owns that stereotype in the first? Stereotypes don't make for good lovers...

Check out my review in the Vancouver Sun!

2008-03-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

My review of The Sexual Paradox: Extreme Men and Gifted Women by Susan Pinker was published in today's Vancouver Sun! Please feel free to check it out! The book cites biology as the reason for women's lack of success in the workplace. Let's just say... I respectfully disagreed.

I framed it around my experiences this week as a delegate to the UN's Commission on the Status of Women and included a quote from an interview that I did with THE Gloria Steinem. Here's an excerpt from the review:

Indeed, although she notes that men's career satisfaction is much lower than women's, she never suggests that men too should restructure their lives in order to achieve a better work/life balance or opt out of high-profile careers to spend more time with their children.

Aside from her mostly anecdotal accounts of women opting out of high-profile careers, it appears that there are, in fact, far more women still encountering the frustration of glass ceilings in these professions.

The real paradox is that a book like this, which reiterates tired generalizations about women and their biological capabilities, is being published now.

Mira Hall's Reports from the UNCSW! Part 2

2008-02-29T07:13:00.000-08:00

2nd Day at the UN!

As someone who is the end product of being “the eldest sibling” in my family, combined with a long time in restaurant management who has done facilitation in groups, I find it very hard to refrain from intervening when something obviously needs help. This brings me to the poor male who was designated to facilitate a working group to come up with a recommendation for government action.

First of all, a major bone of contention throughout the workshops was the number of men who were designated as facilitators. In any other circumstance, I wouldn’t have notice, and perhaps thought that the more hard-line feminists were being petty. *HOWEVER* the status of women, internationally, is dedicated to achieving women’s equality in a male dominated world. The whole thing is an act of women’s empowerment, to encourage women to achieve equality in all aspects of life, particularly in full economic participation and in political leadership. Facilitation is a very good way for a woman to practice empowerment. At any rate, I’m getting off track, so back to the story, there was this poor man facing a room full of UNCSW delegates who clearly felt that he had no business being there to facilitate a conversation about violence against women.

Beyond the obvious challenges, the man was fairly good natured and wanted to direct the conversation in productive ways, but he unfortunately didn’t guide the conversation in a way that made it clear to the participants what we were supposed to be doing, or what aspects we were supposed to be talking about, or what end result we were looking for.

Dangerously late into the workshop, we finally got to the point of democratically trying to construct the language of the recommendation. The guy was just repeating our suggestions back to us and pointing out when he thought we were being irrelevant. So I threw up my hand and suggested (innocently enough) that he should maybe write the draft phrase on the gigantic blackboard behind him, at which point he invited me to come up and do just that, and then the former facilitator/manager/big sister came out and *I CO-FACILITATED FOR THE UN NGO ORIENTATION WORKSHOP!!!!*

I totally commandeered the facilitation. It was innocent enough in its formation, however I just couldn’t help myself and I’m so happy that I couldn’t. A lot of participants came up to me after and thanked me, and praised the job that I did. The other FAFIA delegates even heard positive buzz about the incident. So what happened to the poor guy set up for failure? We sat together during the group presentations of the recommendations, and he also thanked me for my help.

So my second day has been elating. Beyond my shining moment in the workshops, the orientation for NGOs was full of great speakers with incredible observations about the roles of academia, governments, and people embroiled on the battle grounds. There has also been great discussions surrounding the role of education in ensuring that children grow up embracing the charter of human rights. (that subject could spin me off onto a long and probably boring ramble about my favorite philosopher, Antonio Gramsci) and to finish off the day I had a final orientation meeting with FAFIA to talk about my obligations beyond being here.

All the delegates have to have submitted a draft community action plan to be reported in final form by June 20th, and at that point we can submit the action plans to apply for funding of full implementation of the plans. I’m hoping to base my action plan on addressing the structural barriers that prevent women from full integration and participation in economic life. The Status of Women is already doing a great practical job of this in their Women’s training in Oil and Gas program. I will make a 2nd draft version after I return to Yellowknife and have time to consult with the wonderful people who have acted in a mentorship capacity for me (whether they be aware of it or not.) but in essence I would like to model a micro/macro basic understanding of economics workshops for women and girls based on the Health children, Healthy Communities manual developed by the United Nations Association of Canada.

A woman that is also with the FAFIA delegation has already done such a thing and has tools that I can use. She has already used a version in Northern Manitoba with the aboriginal populations there, and has had tremendous success.

I’m very excited because I believe that the structure of work in the Territories is a large component of our exceptionally high rates of violence against women. I know that I myself have had to seriously weigh the pros of being homeless with two children, against the cons of remaining in an abusive relationship. Thankfully I had great support to come out of that situation and am thriving now, however, for many women in the north (especially if they have children) are economically dependant on romantic partners. Our income support really does not provide enough to recipients in order to maintain their basic needs.

Again, my head is spinning with information and personal stories from well established activists from all over the world, so I’m sure that my writing is going off in a million directions with every train of thought that is currently cruising through my synapses!

Thank you to everyone who has read and commented on my previous note. I am hoping to update daily, and when I return there will be pictures available. I am hoping to meet with anyone who is interested to talk about what I’ve learned here and how I envision the economic awareness workshops with full and welcoming hopes that anyone who is interested helps me to shape how these workshops will play out.

In closing, I have been actively networking and talking about the socio-economic impacts of the Diamond Mines on the population that I work with, I have spoken about the lack of infrastructure in the Territory, and how it prevents our own mobility, as well as other peoples investments. I’ve talked about our challenges around University participation of residents from outlying communities. And I have talked a lot about my view of the barriers to the participation of women in meaningful employment at livable wages. I’ve also gotten into heated debates about the importance of “cultural relevance” being included in recommendations (ie: We believe that governments, national and local, should teach people in a culturally relevant way, from the earliest stages in life onward, that violence against women is unacceptable.) The debate mainly happened between me, CANADAIAN! And a woman from Jordan, and another woman from Halifax against an American woman and an English woman. They argued that some governments could use “cultural relevance” to excuse violence, while we were arguing that as the statement was written it couldn’t, that cultural relevance was in the way that the unacceptability was taught.

In the end it was a great exercise in how difficult it is for government to come to agreements on legislation, let alone draft them in a democratic and inclusive way.

Good Night!

Mira Hall's Reports from the UNCSW!

2008-02-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

I am such a terrible blogger! Especially since aside from my participation over the next two weeks at the UN's Commission on the Status of Women Meeting, I am also finishing up my first review for the Vancouver Sun (to be published this Saturday!). This leaves me with very little time to keep everyone informed on what's going on here at the UNCSW.

Luckily, my roommate, and friend (also my cuddlebunny, but that's another story) Mira Hall from the Northwest Territories has been extensively documenting her experience and has agreed to let me post it here. I will be writing a big post over the weekend to catch you up on everything I have experience, including my interview with Gloria Steinem but in the meantime, I think Mira's posts will fill you in on what's been going on! So here it is starting with Day One!

I have now arrived in New York. It has been a Harrowing journey, filled with tears, of joy, frustration anger, and from the pungent scent of myself after 48hours in the same clothes…. Traveling.
So, *last* Friday, the news came down that the Status of Women Canada had indeed provided the funding to send me to the United Nations for the 52nd Commission on the Status of Women. This news filled me with absolute excitement, mixed with absolute panic, after all, I didn’t even have a passport.
I immediately called the Inuvik Department of Health and let them know the deal, I NEEDED to get to Calgary with my birth certificate *and* marriage certificate ASAP in order to get a passport in order to get to the commission on time. I am karmically and emotionally indebted to Inuvik. They pulled the amazing and got the certificates printed that DAY. I am so impressed! I’m totally going to write the minister when I get home because they were so amazing and fast!
Then I needed to get the ID to Yellowknife fast, so I thought of everyone I could that lives in Inuvik that could physically go pick it up and bring it to the airport, but to no avail, so as a last resort I phoned Canadian North Cargo, who were also amazing, and even drove back after there was some confusion at the Vital statistics office.
Between IHD, and Canadian North Cargo I was overjoyed at how quickly (as in within a few hours) I had my ID. So the next step was to get to Calgary, I flew out early Wednesday morning, the day after the Senate Hearing, my brother picked me up and took me directly to the passport office, giving me a day to wait and pray to God that everything would come through.
Thankfully, Friday morning, just hours before my flight to Ottawa, on route to New York, I picked up my freshly issued passport, and busted my ass to get to the airport for my flight. I am on 48 hours of wakefulness and am currently and successfully in New York, thanks to the hard work and co-operation of a multitude of forces and have completed a successful and impressive first day!
The delegation that I am with is an impressive (a very impressive) group of women aged 22-67. The women that I am here with are entrenched in all levels of feminist reform in Canada. I drank wine today with an elderly Acadian woman who has worked on gender based economic development strategies everywhere from the Maritimes to South Korea, I’m working with another who has a PHD in economics and well over thirty years spent entrenched in advocating sustainable economic development *even the Northwest Territories!* I am also here with the publisher of “Antigone” magazine, a grassroots publication for political action, and the executive director of one of the most influential women’s shelter in downtown Toronto.
I am humbled by their presence and soaking up their every words as they speak and engage in economic and political analysis of the state of our country, and the other countries represented here. This is not benign philosophical discussion; this is the grassroots for action. This is the pre-negotiation strategizing. This is where we are preparing to determine what we are going stress during the commission. It is powerful and productive, engaging, and wonderful. I am so thankful to the Status of Women, and to FAFIA for providing me the opportunity to be here.

WAGS at UBC: International Women's Day Event

2008-02-27T18:38:00.000-08:00

WOMEN'S & GENDER STUDIES AT UBC: 35 YEARS OF CREATING COMMUNITIES OF
LEARNERS

HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

March 7, 2008, 3:00-6:00

Graduate Student Centre Penthouse, UBC

3:00-3:30 Introductions - Wendy Frisby (Chair, Women's & Gender Studies)
& Sheanthi DeSilva (President, Women's and Gender Studies Undergraduate
Association)

3:30 - 4:30 Undergraduate Women's and Gender Studies Research Panel -
Katherine Lyon, Saadia Rai, Amina Rai and Sheelah Ziajka

4:30-5:15 - Keynote Speaker - Dr. Yvonne Brown, Personal Reflections of
a Mother Teacher on Gender, "Race," Sexual Orientation, Disability and
Indigenous Struggles for Equality at UBC 1977-2007

5:15-6:00 - Reception & Retirement Celebration for Dr. Yvonne Brown -
Enjoy delicious food and help celebrate Dr. Yvonne Brown's retirement.

Children Welcome

US Bars Iran from Attending UN's Commission on the Status of Women

2008-02-24T20:42:00.000-08:00

Not a terribly big surprise, but it is still terrible. It appears that the US feels the necessity to bar an official delegation of women and government officials from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women's meeting in New York (see US bars Iran from attending UN event' )

A senior Iranian legislator says Washington has stonewalled attempts for experts to attend an international UN event in New York. Head of the Iranian Parliament's Committee for Women and Family Affairs Fatemeh Alia said a delegation has been primed to take part in the 52nd UN Commission on the Status of Women to be held in New York.
The US government, however, has failed to fulfill its duty to issue visas for the Iranian officials, she added. "This is not the first time Washington has resorted to stonewall tactics by refusing the issuance of visas for an Iranian delegation," Alia explained, adding that the US government had also prevented a visit by the head of the Iranian Parliament last year.
"This shows their tyrannical attitude," she maintained. The 52nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women will be held at the United Nations headquarters in New York from February 25th to March 7th.

Blogging from the UN's Commision on the Status of Women 52nd Meeting...

2008-02-24T19:06:00.000-08:00

So... I might not have mentioned anything to Antigone's loyal readers, but I was invited by FAFIA (the Canadian Alliance for International Action) to take part in its delegation to the United Nation's Commission on the Status of Women's 52nd meeting focusing on the priority theme of 'Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women'. I will thus be reporting from the UN's headquarters in New York over the next two weeks!

Today, we had Assistant Secretary-General Ms. Rachel Mayanja talk to us about the work that the UN has been doing through the Commission, through CEDAW (the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women) and through Unifem. As the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Mayanja posed the question that will be addressed at the Commission: "How can we close the gap between the policies the UN has adopted and what happens on the ground?"

The highlight of the day though was the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak! As an English student, I have read a lot of her theoretical work. It was great to hear from her and she had some interesting things to say... including:

As we quite correctly push for a higher body count of women in politics, we must understand that gender equality does not automatically follow. The oppressed become sub-oppressors very quickly.

Anyways, I hope you will enjoy the highlights! It should be an amazing experience!

Demystifying Intersex Seminar and Videos

2008-02-24T14:23:00.000-08:00

The Centre & Transgender Health Program/VCH present

Demystifying Intersex

An educational seminar on ‘intersex’
- open to lesbian, gay, bi, trans folks & allies

Includes screening of two videos:

‘One in 2000’, by Ajae Clearway
‘Is it a Boy or a Girl?’, by Phyllis Ward.

plus personal sharing by two local intersex folks

Wednesday, March 5th
6:30 – 9:00pm

200 – 1651 Commercial Dr. (at 1st Ave)
North Community Health Unit (accessible venue*)

Info: 604 684-5307

Free, registration not required

Please arrive on time for 6:30 start
*Elevator going up shuts at 7pm - no problem leaving the building by elevator

Dreams for Women - Week Four!

2008-02-23T06:27:00.000-08:00

This was submitted with the following message attached...

And don't forget to check out our new video:

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBC

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

We are raising the money in order to help launch the Antigone Foundation, a national foundation that will encourage young women aged 10-30 to get politically and civically engaged. Help support Antigone as we help to make the dreams of young women come true!We want submissions from all over the world - so forward this on! Post it on your blog! Or link to it!

The gender gap in politics

2008-02-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

Today's editorial in the Vancouver Sun features two noteworthy articles focusing on the gender gap in politics. Both Barbara Yaffe and Virginia Greene reminded me of an interview with Rosemary Speirs of Equal Voice, which I recently transcribed (and will be featured in our upcoming issue!). To get women into politics requires a flexbility from not only women who choose to become involved, but also from the realm of politics itself. Whether or not women have to be flexible is the question.

Greene recognizes that though the gender gap in the general Canadian workforce is closing, politics are still male-dominated and not a career choice for women, largely due to the barriers and 'differences' women face (for example, their role as primary caregivers versus long hours commuting to and from Ottawa). This is not to say, as Greene puts it, that women have to 'act' or adopt male qualities to succeed politically, but that

any future debate about how to increase the participation of women in politics must go beyond quota-setting and talk about the things that really keep women from moving in greater numbers in this direction.

Yaffe further notes that in a time when a woman is a leading contender for the US presidency and more and more women are voters, getting women into politics is still a "battle." Besides changing our societal attitudes towards and acceptance of female politicians, more formal initiatives are needed on behalf of government to ensure an equality of gender representation in the political arena.

Equal Voice argues, quite reasonably,

that it's healthy for young females to have political role models. More equality on legislative benches also translates into more representative government.

Powerful Voices: The Struggle for Women's Rights in the 21st Century

2008-02-19T22:09:00.001-08:00

A symposium for Women's Equality & Human Rights to Celebrate International Women's Day. Hosted by Oxfam and West Coast Leaf Women's Legal Education and Action Fund.

March 1, 2008
10am-5pm
SFU Harbour Centre

Tickets
General Admission $20
Seniors/students $10
Lunch and Childcare will be provided

Ignore your rights...and they'll go away

2008-02-19T14:54:00.000-08:00

In 1971, Sarah Weddington, along with Linda Coffee, argued the winning side of the landmark case Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States. Admist the backdrop of a US Supreme Court that is currently divided on the issue of abortion, Sarah recognizes and fears that Roe vs. Wade could be easily overturned. According to the Vancouver Sun, she always wonders whether younger women have any idea of what life was like back "then" and feels there is still a need for the pro-choice movement and the protection of women's rights. Indeed, I'm sure we all agree. Come listen to Sarah share her experience and insight at the Orpheum Theatre tonight!

Sarah Weddington
Unique Lives & Experiences
Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver BC
TONIGHT at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $31 to $70 at Ticketmaster

URGENT URGENT Oppose Bill C-484

2008-02-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

Please sign our Petition! / Veuillez signer notre pétition!

http://www.gopetition.com/online/16893.html

Oppose Bill C-484, the "Unborn Victims of Crime Act"
Rejeter la « Loi sur les enfants non encore nés victimes d’actes criminels » (Bill C-484)

A private member's bill called The "Unborn Victims of Crime Act" (C-484) has been introduced by Conservative MP Ken Epp (Edmonton Sherwood Park). It had its first hour of debate in Parliament on December 13, and is projected to come up for its second hour of debate on February 29, with a vote on March 5.

The text of the bill is here: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=3127600&file=4.

The bill would amend the Criminal Code to allow separate homicide charges to be laid in the death of a fetus when a pregnant woman is attacked. If passed, this bill would be an unconstitutional infringement on women’s rights, and would likely result in harms against pregnant women. It is a key step towards re-criminalizing abortion, but it could also criminalize pregnant women for behaviours perceived to harm their fetuses.

For more background info, see here: http://www.arcc-cdac.ca/action/unborn-victims-act.htm

Thank you! / Merci!

Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada
Vancouver, BC
www.arcc-cdac.ca

Send questions to :joycearthur@shaw.ca

Beyond Pink

2008-02-19T12:40:00.000-08:00

Beyond Pink 2008 - Personal & Professional Development Conference
Starts: Mar 28, 2008 at 9:00 AM
Ends: Mar 30, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Location: Sheraton Wall Centre

Info: This is your official invitation to Beyond Pink 2008, the premier conference of the Young Women in Business (YWiB) Network!

Beyond Pink is the first conference of its kind in Western Canada and will act as the launch event for YWiB in March 2008. This two-day event will focus on personal and professional development, and feature an interactive workshop series, extraordinary speaker and panel sessions, the Connect! Women in Business Tradeshow, a mentorship lunch, and a celebratory gala dinner. Our goal is that delegates will walk away from the weekend inspired with the knowledge, will, and skill to pursue their passions. Beyond Pink will appeal to ambitious, positive, and forward-thinking young women from all backgrounds and industries.

Register at ywib.ca.

Dreams for Women... THE MOVIE!!!

2008-02-16T20:50:00.000-08:00

The brilliant Kelly Lau, the project coordinator for Dreams for Women has made a fabulous video to promote the program. I thought I would share it with you! Distribute it widely!

New York Times... Why Women Politicians are Seen Differently

2008-02-14T09:46:00.001-08:00

Yes, I know! We here at Antigone have sort of sucked the last few weeks in regards to posting. That's because we've been working on some cool things that hopefully will come to pass in the next few weeks. But I thought that I should definitely blog today... especially since Kristof wrote an interesting article in the New York Times about discrimination that still faces women in politics. The most interesting part was where he cited studies that show how women and men are evaluated differently.

In one common experiment, the “Goldberg paradigm,” people are asked to evaluate a particular article or speech, supposedly by a man. Others are asked to evaluate the identical presentation, but from a woman. Typically, in countries all over the world, the very same words are rated higher coming from a man.
In particular, one lesson from this research is that promoting their own successes is a helpful strategy for ambitious men. But experiments have demonstrated that when women highlight their accomplishments, that’s a turn-off. And women seem even more offended by self-promoting females than men are.
This creates a huge challenge for ambitious women in politics or business: If they’re self-effacing, people find them unimpressive, but if they talk up their accomplishments, they come across as pushy braggarts.
The broader conundrum is that for women, but not for men, there is a tradeoff in qualities associated with top leadership. A woman can be perceived as competent or as likable, but not both.
“It’s an uphill struggle, to be judged both a good woman and a good leader,” said Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a Harvard Business School professor who is an expert on women in leadership. Professor Kanter added that a pioneer in a man’s world, like Hillary Rodham Clinton, also faces scrutiny on many more dimensions than a man — witness the public debate about Mrs. Clinton’s allegedly “thick ankles,” or the headlines last year about cleavage.

Dreams for Women - Week Three

2008-02-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

Antigone Magazine is launching a Feminist Postcard art project and fundraiser but instead of asking what your secrets are, we want to know what your Dreams for Women are.
What are your own dreams for yourself, your friends, your sisters, your daughters? Paint, draw, write, sketch or decoupage your dreams on a postcard and send it to the address below

Antigone Magazine
C/O WILLA UBC
Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6T 1Z1
OR
antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

Women's Spirituality Celebration

2008-02-06T22:21:00.000-08:00

Nurturing Spirit: Self~Community~Earth

Friday February 29th & Saturday March 1st

WSC Mission:

The WSC is organized, facilitated, and attended by women of all ages with diverse spiritual/religious lineages. Our intention is to nourish body, spirit, emotions and mind through contemplative and embodied spiritual practices, dialogue and the arts. Our desire is to generate dialogue, learn from one another and celebrate together to increase multi-faith awareness in an atmosphere of acceptance, compassion and respect.

Event Location : Canadian Memorial Church
Center for Peace
1825 West 16th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6J 2M3

Healing Touch/Energy Healing sessions will be offered during all break times. Come early to book.

WSC Sponsors: The Rag Magazine, St Georges Parish, Stongs, Starbucks, Terra Breads
A canvas Labyrinth (classical-chakra-vyuha type) and Meditation space will be available during the event.

Contact: ingrose@hotmail.com

Conservatives Sneak 'Equality' Back into Status of Women Mandate... or at least pretend to...

2008-02-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

It seems like the Conservative government is waffling on 'equality'. First, they take the word out of the Status of Women Canada's mandate and now they've quietly put it back in. Of course, they didn't change any of their altered funding requirements for their women's programs. Here are excerpts from the press release from the Liberal Party about the incident:

“Ms. Verner had the word ‘equality’ quietly added to the overarching goals of the Women’s Program and tried to suggest at committee that it applied across the board. When Liberal members asked the Minister to clarify why the so-called change is not in the funding guidelines section on the department’s website, she dodged questions. Later departmental officials confirmed that adding the word ‘equality’ was only symbolic and that ‘nothing had changed’.”

In September 2006, the Conservative government changed the terms and conditions of the Women’s Program at Status of Women Canada. The changes included removing “equality” from its mandate, which meant that women’s groups and organizations that do advocacy work were no longer eligible for federal funding as they had been in the past. The Women’s Program at Status of Women is the main vehicle to fund projects to promote equality for all women.

[...]

“This is insulting to Canadian women, but it’s more proof that the Conservative government is only prepared to pay lip service to the importance of equality and what it means to the Women’s Program and women’s groups,” said Ms. Minna.

Clinton edges out Obama

2008-02-05T22:43:00.000-08:00

Thanks in large part to an impressive turnout of female voters, Hillary Clinton eeked out a slight victory over Barack Obama on Super Tuesday.

Edging close to midnight pacific time, CNN projected a win in California, the delegate rich state, for Clinton.

Overall, "Hillary Clinton carried white voters over Barack Obama, 52 to 43 percent. Obama carried black voters 82 to 16 percent. Clinton won Latinos 61 to 37 percent, and Clinton carried Asians 68 percent to 30 percent," reports CNN.

Women made up a majority of voters overall on the biggest day of presidential primaries in the U.S.-- about 57 to 58%.

"According to early exit polls—and they're early, so the precise numbers could change—she is up among women in each of these states, and others, by at least 15 points," reports Slate magazine.

But the competition is tight and an epic battle in this landmark election year is looming.

It's not over yet," Clinton, who would become the country's first female president, told supporters Tuesday night in New York," according to Canwest news service. "Tonight, in record numbers, you voted not just to make history, but to remake America."

Learning Challenges for the "other" Student

2008-02-03T23:09:00.000-08:00

It's not easy being a Muslim female university student in the Arts and Social Sciences these days. I speak of those classes that among other things study the "other" through cultural productions from "there", circulated to North American markets, through various mediums such as, film.

So there I found myself,once again, sitting in a classroom, looking all Muslim, being a Muslim in Canada - one thinks it gets easier after twelve years- yet I sit there still, ready to watch Deepa Mehta's film "Fire" along with my classmates ... and, I was having some kind of reaction to the film. I wasn't happy.

I found myself having to work through yet another sign of resistance to something ... it's always some thing ... never clear, never named ... which happens so many times during my education, this time because of what I was seeing in this film.

So, to answer my body's "bat signal", and in order to do something about my negative feelings -- what were they? why? for what? -- I wrote an email to my professor. Wanna read it?

_____Dear P:

Here's what I was talking about earlier, your comments made me think.

After the film "Fire", during the discussion, you mention the columnist from " The Globe" who is against the flows of immigrants to Canada, because she fears these issues of "thirld world peoples" will "infiltrate" into Canada. You argue that the Indian family in the film is liberal minded, so one can imagine the issues of the film happening to an Indian family in Canada, or a white family or South Asian in which a family member "comes out of the closet".

Here's where I flipped out. Perhaps I misunderstood you, but what angered me is that, yes, these isssues of gender, sexuality, honor, religion, belonging, displacement --- can be transnational, global, and studied or imagined elsewhere, outside of India, but, there remain the individual gender issues at hand: what happens when an ideology like Lesbianism comes out in an Indian community anywhere in the world, and what counter-forces are created in turn on the rest of the women in that community?

As a woman, Muslim, and "thirld world" by enthnicity, I react when my professor opts to speak of the "political" side of this film, like its issues with colonialism, and doesn't even mention such a controversial and highly important thing such as the tension between women who "come out" and those who don't -- both belonging to the same category of Muslim Indian women living in India under the same sky, and are represented in film for audiences out here in Canada, including the academic classrooms. How do we come to understand women living under the same national, religious and state rules, and how do we uphold their diversity and complexity without lumping them all under one category of "poor Indian women oppressed by patriarchy"? --- and even worst, how does a Muslim student deal with it, when the question of gender and religion is not even raised in class after watching a film that is so obviously about gender and religion? How shitty a situation it is, when the film is discussed just from the angle of colonialism in India!

I was even expecting something along the lines of a discussion on the "proper" female behavior in relation to the national and patriarchal communities who feel the need to "morally discipline" these women. Remember that this "discipline" process leads to violent outcomes; remember that both men and women were violently protesting Mehta's film in India. I guess I was expecting more feminist criticism, alongside a conversation on the politics of neo-colonialism.

-------

... of course, the letter ends with a note of nice-ness, and a tinge of apology for being blunt.

Sex, Lies and Chocolate: Realities of Reproductive Health in BC

2008-02-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

Sponsored by UBC Medical Students for Choice:

Thursday Feb 7th, 2008
MSAC (corner of 12th and Heather)
7-9 p.m.
7-8 Silent auction, cash wine bat and appys
8-8:30 Guest Barb Hestrin, Senior Administrator
8:30-9 Q&A, Winner of silent auction announced

All are welcome

Proceeds go to UBC Med Student for Choice events such as guest speakers, travel, conferences for students

Crimson Cabaret

2008-01-28T11:42:00.000-08:00

Crimson Cabaret; Celebrating Creative Women

Don't miss the event of the winter season,

North Shore Women's Center annual fundraiser on Saturday, February 2nd, 2008!

Crimson Cabaret is a rare artistic collaboration that draws together a collection of acclaimed local performers.

This engaging evening will showcase the vibrancy of the creative female spirit from Taiko drumming, vocal ensemble and theatrical comedy to aerial performance, singer songwriters and a variety of stunning folk and modern dance.

An outstanding silent auction begins at 5 pm. Items include: original art, handcrafted jewelery, adventure trips, holistic healing, a lover's basket, hair and make-up products, a booklover's collection, a golf package, restaurant vouchers, a weekend getaway, and much more!

All proceeds will go toward continuing the North Shore Women's Centre's programs and services in 2008.

Dreams for Women - Second Week...

2008-01-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

Antigone Magazine is launching a Feminist Postcard art project and fundraiser but instead of asking what your secrets are, we want to know what your Dreams for Women are.

What are your own dreams for yourself, your friends, your sisters, your daughters? Paint, draw, write, sketch or decoupage your dreams on a postcard and send it to the address below

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBC

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

antigonemagazine@hotmail.com

Guerilla Grrls: Masked Avengers

2008-01-25T13:18:00.000-08:00

The Guerrilla Girls: Masked Avengers!

Friday, February 1st, 7:30pm

Art Historian Barbara Tyner, MA, delivers an illustrated talk on how the Guerrilla Girls have exposed sexism, racism and corruption in art, film, politics and pop culture with facts, humour and outrageous visuals. Since 1985, the GG’s have worked collectively and anonymously to produce posters, billboards, public actions, books and other projects bringing “fake fur and feminism to new frontiers.”

Fashionably wrong

2008-01-24T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hillary Clinton may have lost the vote of the fashionistas who follow Anna Wintour.

As Women's Wear Daily reports, Clinton was expected to appear in an issue of Vogue during the presidential race, but pulled out last minute over fears of sexualizing her campaign.

A Vogue spokesperson recently confirmed, "We were told by Ms. Clinton's camp that they were concerned if Clinton appeared in Vogue that she would appear too feminine."

But has this really jeopardized her chance at the White House? With the most popular woman in the world officially endorsing her competitor, Clinton may have already lost the support of the Oprah club.

Hillary is expected to bare the brunt of representing the every woman. Apparently, her camp thinks its better for her to appear more like Tracy Flick in Election than Elle Woods in Legally Blonde.

And Hillary is already being treated differently by pundits like Chris Matthews, reports Slate.com.

Would the fashion world react in the same way if Obama pulled out of a haute couture shoot? Or would they ever have expected him to appear in the first place?

Courting female voters, or any voters for that matter, is new terrain for the first female front runner in U.S. history.

Unlike male candidates who can rely on results of campaigns gone by for advice for how to run a campaign, for Clinton, there is no precedent for addressing "women's issues" that have been thrust upon her, such as infidelity, sexuality and navigating the world of high fashion.

Celebration of Morgentaler Decision

2008-01-23T15:53:00.000-08:00

Before and Beyond

Come celebrate the 20th anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision
that finally gave Canadian women true reproductive choice!

Monday, January 28, 2008, 6-10pm

SFU Harbour Centre, 515 W. Hastings St., Vancouver

Featuring: Reception, cash bar, speaker's panel, and new documentary film
"Henry"

Here is a poster with details:
http://www.prochoiceactionnetwork-canada.org/Morgentaler-Jan-28-08-flyer.pdf

For more info, contact jharthur@shaw.ca

See you at the event!

Mom, can a man ever be president?

2008-01-22T09:49:00.000-08:00

"Do you think a man could ever be president?" the little boy in Ireland asks his mother. All his life he has only seen women presidents, currently Mary McAleese."

I have to say that I love any article that starts like that! Not that I want young boys to feel like they are unable to hold political power but because it is so revolutionary to think of a place where female power is so naturalized. It also is quite indicative of how children respond to the modeling of roles and behaviors. Young women have a harder time imagining themselves in positions of power because they have few exterior models of women in those positions. I've quoted a couple of parts of the article below but you should really read the whole thing:

Joanne Sandler, deputy executive director for programmes at the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), tells this little anecdote to show that in some places it can be routine for women to be found in leadership roles. "In places like Ireland and Finland it is becoming less extraordinary to see a woman in power," says Sandler. And it is this kind of female power that could bring more women into leadership, she says. "When you see women in positions of power, in ministries, obviously the self-image of girls changes, and they envision themselves in those places. But that kind of change will take a very long time, though it has started," she adds. The change does not necessarily correspond to a nation's level of economic development.
There is not a relationship between more money and less gender discrimination," says Sandler. "Money and power have an influence in those women achieving power. But money alone doesn't explain it. "Look at the elections in Liberia. A woman who has education, a former employee of the World Bank and the U.N., with an impressive resume, against a man who had no high school education, a soccer player (George Weah). Imagine the opposite: against a man with Johnson-Sirleaf's background, would a woman with Weah's credentials be a serious contender? To be a contender for high level political office, women have to bring a lot of extra qualities in order to get into the race. They need the same things as a man, plus others." Ayesha Kajee, former researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs and board member of Supposedly developed societies which continue to operate under highly patriarchal and authoritarian family and leadership structures can on the other hand "institute policies that result in institutionalised and societal antipathy towards empowering women," Kajee says. "Women themselves in these societies are often tacitly complicit in the latter, because they have been socialised to think that access to power is undesirable, unfeminine or irreligious."
One of the main obstacles is the violence that women candidates face. Not only physical violence, but also how they are addressed, how they are reported on, which emanates from gender discrimination. And it is not confined to Africa." Women leaders are under a different kind of scrutiny, she says. "They are still a novelty because it is so unusual...But there is great expectation from Johnson-Sirleaf and (Chilean President Michelle) Bachelet, by women and by others. Do they receive a greater level of scrutiny than others? Is it fair?"

The Press of Trafficking

2008-01-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

In keeping with our coverage of the phenomenon of trafficking, I direct you to this article by Simon Houpt of the Globe and Mail. My title is both a pun on the immediacy and very urgent reality of trafficking in our society, and the way in which the media helps to foster this sleeping giant (now roused).

The pervasiveness of trafficking is only too evident throughout Houpt's discussion, because as he astutely observes, even the "health & Fitness" section of New York Magazine is littered with ads for spas whose hours are outside of the normal spa customer's regime.

Houpt's article chronicle's NOW's fight to pressure the major New York magazines to eliminate their sex-industry ads--a difficult fight indeed given the millions of dollars in revenue such ads provide to the magazines.

Nonetheless, over the past months various publications have made promises to withdraw these ads:

The sex seems to be disappearing from the city.

Over the last few months, advertisements for what are euphemistically referred to as "adult services" have been vanishing from New York's weekly newspapers and glossy magazines. In August, the alternative newsweekly New York Press announced it was dropping ads for escorts, models and "classy, sensual ladies." And just three weeks ago, New York magazine marked the new year by eliminating the small but lucrative Adult category in its back-of-the-book Marketplace section.

The moves by both publications came after pressure from a local chapter of the National Organization of Women as part of a campaign to raise awareness of human trafficking. NOW says trafficking isn't just an abstract event unfolding in some ruined paradise halfway around the globe. Citing a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice that JFK Airport is a major hub for trafficking, it notes that a number of brothels busted over the last couple of years in the city had been operating on the backs of illegal immigrants smuggled into the country and kept virtually enslaved. The ads, NOW insists, are an integral part of that illegal economy.

The organization's efforts led Governor Eliot Spitzer to pass statewide anti-trafficking legislation in June, emboldening NOW to begin targeting publications around town. "We try to make them understand how [yanking the ads] doesn't have to be a bad thing," Sonia Ossorio, the president of NOW NYC, told me last week. "If you have high-end retailers like Tiffany's, they don't want to be next to Hot Asian Honeys." NOW estimates the ads were worth about half a million dollars annually to New York, and perhaps twice that to The Village Voice.

New York was initially unmoved by NOW's aesthetic and moral arguments, telling the Times in a statement: "If ever the authorities bring evidence of illegal activity behind any of our ads to our attention, we will take immediate action to remove the ad - and the advertiser - from our magazine permanently." But in early November, two days before a threatened protest by NOW's sign-wielding masses outside New York's Madison Avenue offices, the magazine pre-emptively agreed to pull all such ads by Jan. 1.

Houpt further observes that perhaps the best places to start in the fight against trafficking via advertising are ethnic newspapers:

And if human trafficking is the target, the city's ethnic newspapers might be a better place to start. One brothel busted in March, 2006, where dozens of Korean women were being kept, had been advertising in The World Journal, the largest Mandarin-language paper in the country. "We're not able to monitor it as closely as we'd like," admitted Ossorio. "We need to find people who can help us read it."

Indeed, they do need help. Regardless of the fact that the sex industry does make some women money independent of exploitation and abuse (though I think this is debatable), rescuing those women who are trapped as objects of the sex trade requires that the entire industry come under attack since clearly the institution as it is does not define the boundaries between 'object' and objective... As Ossario observes: "I'm not trying to cause them any harm. But you can't separate trafficking from the sex industry, because trafficking is a part of the sex industry." Human trafficking is our reality and it should not be ignored...

Dreams for Women...

2008-01-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

Dreams for Women is still a biweekly event until we get enough postcards to justify doing it every week (hint, hint: send some in!). But I did want to geive you at least something this week, as well as, to thank those people who have featured Dreams for Women on their blogs.

Particular thanks to the german blog Madchenblog... who said some very flattering things about us.

Also, to Our bodies Ourselves, who also featured the project on their blog!

Here's the Dreams for Women info for those who haven't yet heard about the program!

Antigone Magazine is launching a Feminist Postcard art project and fundraiser but instead of asking what your secrets are, we want to know what your Dreams for Women are.

What are your own dreams for yourself, your friends, your sisters, your daughters? Paint, draw, write, sketch or decoupage your dreams on a postcard and send it to the address below

Antigone Magazine
C/O WILLA UBC
Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6T 1Z1

With your postcard submission, we ask that you make a donation (if you can!) to Antigone Magazine for anywhere from $1 to $10. You can send your money along with your postcard or donate on our blog: http://www.antigonemagazine.blogspot.com/ . But don't worry... if you don't have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program. We will be posting postcards every second Saturday starting in January on the blog!

What is Antigone Magazine? We're a grassroots national magazine that works to encourage young women to get involved in politics in Canada. We work to empower young women to engage politically and civically and to actively take part in leadership roles. We are raising the money in order to help launch the Antigone Foundation, a national foundation that will encourage young women aged 10-30 to get politically and civically engaged. Help support Antigone as we help to make the dreams of young women come true!

We want submissions from all over the world - so forward this on! Post it on your blog! Or link to it!

Why Women's & Gender Studies in High School?

2008-01-17T12:13:00.001-08:00

I remember spending the majority of my high school career unenlightened and absorbing the information given to me without question. As I moved into post-secondary education, I was introduced to the plethora of ideas and theories that outright contradicted what I understood to be “true” or essential. For me, one of these ideas was feminism. Feminism and women’s & gender studies was one among many subjects that redefined (and still is) my definition(s) of society. Why must high school students wait until they reach college or university to become exposed to not only feminist studies but other realms of innovative thought? These ideas should not be restricted to academia but instead taught at lower levels, especially in high school where one is first encouraged to supposedly develop critical thinking instead of absorbing information like a drone.

The Miss G Project seeks to establish an interdisciplinary approach by integrating Women’s & Gender Studies into the high school curriculum. Shannon Mills, a teacher in Ontario, recently taught a brand new Women’s Studies course at her high school:

A semester of ‘surfing the Third Wave’ of feminism alongside a diverse mix of adolescents—some timidly dipping their toes in the water, others eager to dive full force into the most challenging breakers—has served to strengthen my personal belief that a women’s studies course is essential for today’s teens. At a time when young women are bombarded with pornographic messages gone mainstream, in a society where raunch culture is cited as “the new feminism,” in a decade when even prominent feminists recognize that the women’s movement is experiencing a dangerous backlash, it is more important than ever to provide students with a curriculum which equips them with a sense of integrity, entitlement, and empowerment. (. . .)

I know all too well the frustration of attempting to establish a balanced gender perspective in the classroom, having revised my senior-level history course repeatedly over the last five years. It disappoints me to realize that the high school curriculum continues to reflect what one of my professors aptly termed the “add-women-and-stir methodology.” Women’s issues are still relegated to the sidebars of textbooks; women’s concerns continue to be presented as tangential topics within the bulk of the core curriculum. In my classroom, despite my best efforts, Michelangelo still eclipses Gentileschi, Napoleon continues to trump Wollstonecraft.

An entire semester devoted to the study of issues affecting women historically, politically, and globally gives teachers the rare chance to dig deeply into topics which the traditional curriculum only grazes. (Originally published in the OSSTF Update Vol. 33 No. 7, February 15, 2006.)

The course was received with much acclaim and praise from students. Male students also benefit from women’s studies—being a feminist doesn’t mean you have to be female. In fact, it takes a lot of courage. Perhaps if more students, female and male, have an opportunity to study Women’s Studies, they will begin to have a better understanding of the interlocking issues that encompass gender (and) politics and begin to voice their criticisms and concerns. To take an active interest in what’s happening in their communities, country and world is something we’d all like to achieve.

Human Trafficking in Canada... a Problem...

2008-01-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

Think human trafficking doesn't happen in Canada? Think again. It's a problem and one that won't get any better unless we take action on it and raise awareness about it. CTV writes about the break up of the Toronto trafficking ring...

A fourth Toronto-area man has been charged with bringing foreign women to the country to work as sex slaves.

He is one of seven people charged in a human trafficking ring that has brought a number of women from Eastern Europe to Canada with fake passports.

The suspects are accused of luring women to the country under the pretext they'd be working as models in Canada.

Police allege the women were held against their will when they arrived and were told they'd be working as escorts for the ringleaders of the operation.

Their duties included performing prostitution-related activities.

Officers from Toronto and York Regional Police searched numerous residences and arrested six people from the GTA on Thursday.

Toronto resident Artur Tomchin, 35, and Richmond Hill residents Andrei Khazarov, 39, and Daniel Leshinsky, 38, face several charges.

After police made the initial arrests, they located an additional victim who gave information leading to yet another suspect.

Volha Vassilievna Venar, a 35-year-old Toronto resident, was arrested on Sunday and charged with conspiracy, human trafficking, exploitation, procuring a person to become a prostitute and living off the avails of prostitution.

Dreams for Women - First Official Week!

2008-01-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

Antigone Magazine is launching a Feminist Postcard art project and fundraiser but instead of asking what your secrets are, we want to know what your Dreams for Women are.

What are your own dreams for yourself, your friends, your sisters, your daughters? Paint, draw, write, sketch or decoupage your dreams on a postcard and send it to the address below

Antigone Magazine

C/O WILLA UBC

Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard

Vancouver, BC, Canada

V6T 1Z1

What is Antigone Magazine? We're a grassroots national magazine that works to encourage young women to get involved in politics in Canada. We work to empower young women to engage politically and civically and to actively take part in leadership roles. We are raising the money in order to help launch the Antigone Foundation, a national foundation that will encourage young women aged 10-30 to get politically and civically engaged. Help support Antigone as we help to make the dreams of young women come true!

We want submissions from all over the world - so forward this on! Post it on your blog! Or link to it!

Shedding a tear for media coverage

2008-01-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

With the American presidential primary races heating up usually frosty January political coverage, some of the front runners, exhausted from months already spent campaigning, are showing signs of emotional melting.

Although they may prove to be some of the fiercest rivals in the race to the White House, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have shared at least one very personal thing -- public tears.

So why is it that Hillary's tears -- or lack thereof -- have attracted the most attention in the media?

She is the only female front runner in the history of U.S presidential politics.

Clinton bears a disproportionate burden in her campaign. She must find a balance that no man is expected to, between showing she is "human," and not appearing too "emotional."

After a misty-eyed answer at a campaign stop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire Monday, in which her voice cracked as she described her passion for politics, headlines shouting the news that "Hillary Wept," swept the nightly news, just a day before she usurped the New Hampshire primary from the night's expected victor, Barack Obama.

Network pundits dwelled on these tears as if they had single-handedly solved the Middle East peace crisis. Bloggers specualated on whether they were real. Perhaps most alarming is that many pundits overtly ascribe Hillary's victory in New Hampshire Tuesday with her public display of emotion.

As Emily Krone points out in a Daily Herald article, "it's unclear what Clinton's show of emotion says about her or her candidacy. But the media and public frenzy surrounding the display says something very definitive about American society, and persisting stereotypes about women and leadership."

Renowned feminist Gloria Stenheim recently wrote an Op-ed in the New York Times condemning the media for the double burden they place on the only female candidate in the race.

"What worries me is that [Obama] is seen as unifying by his race while she is seen as divisive by her sex," she says.

But there are more reasons to lament the media's coverage of the race between "the black man" and "the white woman." By casting candidates in racial and gender stereotypes, the media continues to frame the campaigns in terms of essentialist notions that have nothing to do with how either candidate might govern the most powerful country in the world.

Instead, American news outlets are perpetuating a divisive type of identity politics, forcing voters to draw allegiances based on one dimensional characteristics, and in turn, perpetuating a "dumbing down" of the electorate.

Toronto Star Launches Feminst Blog!!!!

2008-01-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Kudos to the Toronto Star and Antonia Zerbisias. Zerbisias, a Living columnist for the Star has launched a feminist blog called Broadsides!!! That's right, a mainstream media outlet has launched a FEMINIST Blog!!!!!! They don't even try to pussyfoot around it:

Antonia Zerbisias is back to blogging. The Star's Living section columnist launches Broadsides, her fearless, funny and feminist take on the man's world where women live. Join in as she kicks butt, including her own as she also blogs about her New Year's resolution to lose 45 pounds.

Wow. Amazing. I thought I would be dead before the mainstream media began giving time and resources to cover women's issues. And I'm 23. I do sincerely hope that it was the feminist part and not the weight loss part that sold them on the issue.

Regardless, In the last few days she has done a fabulous job and covered issues as far ranging as the Hillary Teargate 2008 (insert eye roll in the direction of all the misogynist this situation has brought out of the woodwork) and the sexism on the US Campaign trail. I have already found her to be an engaging, intelligent and interesting read and I recommend that you all read her blog regularly, comment and write letters to the management to show that these kind of voices ARE IMPORTANT!!!

Because not everyone thinks so... like this one guy who writes in response to her post on how ridiculous it was that america was commenting on Chelsea Clinton's looks when she was a 13 year old in the White House:

I know that looks are a sore point for you, being unattractive, but why do you hate men so much? Is it because none of them want you? Or are you just being overly emotional? Regardless, we won't have to hear about Chelsea for much longer since no American in their right mind would want a woman in the White House.

Well, the crazies were bound to come out right? But, I just want to voice my full and complete support for Zerbisias' blog and for more blogging and print coverage of women's issues in the print media in general. So, welcome Antonia (may I call you Antonia?) and may we enjoy your blogging and commentary for many years to come.

Oh, and main stream media - if you can't find anyone to write more articles about women and especially young women... please, call me. I've got an honours degree in English and plenty of clips.

Hillary Clinton and Sexism...

2008-01-08T23:59:00.001-08:00

Gloria Steinem wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Times and Hilary, Barack, Racism and Sexism and it's very interesting... and necessary for me to share it with you here.

THE woman in question became a lawyer after some years as a community organizer, married a corporate lawyer and is the mother of two little girls, ages 9 and 6. Herself the daughter of a white American mother and a black African father — in this race-conscious country, she is considered black — she served as a state legislator for eight years, and became an inspirational voice for national unity.

Be honest: Do you think this is the biography of someone who could be elected to the United States Senate? After less than one term there, do you believe she could be a viable candidate to head the most powerful nation on earth?

Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life, whether the question is who must be in the kitchen or who could be in the White House. This country is way down the list of countries electing women and, according to one study, it polarizes gender roles more than the average democracy.

If the lawyer described above had been just as charismatic but named, say, Achola Obama instead of Barack Obama, her goose would have been cooked long ago. Indeed, neither she nor Hillary Clinton could have used Mr. Obama’s public style — or Bill Clinton’s either — without being considered too emotional by Washington pundits.

I think that perceptions of competencies are indeed skewed and that gender is one of the most exclusionary factors. As the photo above shows... some lovely fellows attending a Clinton rally felt the need to remind her that women's proper place was to iron their shirts. Can we even begin to start imagining the outcry that would come if it had been a racist sign at an Obama campaign. Which is not to say that Obama has it 'easier' per se... but well... I'll defer to Steinem:

So why is the sex barrier not taken as seriously as the racial one? The reasons are as pervasive as the air we breathe: because sexism is still confused with nature as racism once was; because anything that affects males is seen as more serious than anything that affects “only” the female half of the human race; because children are still raised mostly by women (to put it mildly) so men especially tend to feel they are regressing to childhood when dealing with a powerful woman; because racism stereotyped black men as more “masculine” for so long that some white men find their presence to be masculinity-affirming (as long as there aren’t too many of them); and because there is still no “right” way to be a woman in public power without being considered a you-know-what.
But what worries me is that he is seen as unifying by his race while she is seen as divisive by her sex.
What worries me is that she is accused of “playing the gender card” when citing the old boys’ club, while he is seen as unifying by citing civil rights confrontations.
What worries me is that male Iowa voters were seen as gender-free when supporting their own, while female voters were seen as biased if they did and disloyal if they didn’t.
What worries me is that reporters ignore Mr. Obama’s dependence on the old — for instance, the frequent campaign comparisons to John F. Kennedy — while not challenging the slander that her progressive policies are part of the Washington status quo.

And these are relevant worries. If Clinton's campaign does anything, it will necessarily highlight a lot of ingrained biases that our society likes to refuse that it has.

Senator Clinton cries for the fate of America

2008-01-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

As Hillary marches confidently (or so it seems) to the Democratic convention the media coverage is immense, allowing for opportune quips and 30-second CNN cut-aways. What Hillary provided was not the usual take-no-prisoners rational speeches about her experience and view for America; no, Hillary gave America tears. Nice, big feminine slide-aways down her cheeks, just before the New Hampshire primary that she won tonight. The moment happened when she was surrounded by other women, and as The Wall Street Journal reports of the moment:

"It's not easy, it's not easy," Clinton said shaking her head. Her eyes began to get watery as she finished answering the question, "I couldn't do it if I didn't passionately believe it was the right thing to do. This is very personal for me. I have so many ideas for this country and I just don't want to see us fall backwards. It's about our country, it's about our kids' future," she said softly crying, her voice breaking. The group of 15 women sitting around a table at the Cafe Espresso nodded understandingly. Clinton continued, her voice still cracking: "We do it each one of us because we care about our country, but some of us are right and some of us are wrong, some of us are ready and some of us are not, some of us know what we'll do on day one and some of us don't," she said.

Although many news outlets are nodding in sympathy and sighing that Hillary is, after all, a human being, this reeks more of a set-up than a candid moment. Sure, maybe this campaign is something she is passionate about and the pressure is getting to her. But on the other hand, maybe this politically savvy woman who has been accused of taking whatever position the polls indicate she should take has realized the only way she will become the first woman president is if she plays up the woman part just as much as she has the president part. Just look at the speech: she talks about what she "feels", she tries to connect to listeners through her role as a mother, and she cries.

I will not personally vote in the American elections as I am a Canadian citizen, but I watch these proceedings closely as both a curious person and a feminist. I have long admired Ms. Clinton, and wish to see a woman president of the United States. However, I wonder if that fight will be fairly won, if there can be such a thing in politics, if she gets to the White House not because she's a ball-buster, but a bawler.

Benazir Bhutto Assasinated....

2007-12-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

It's a sad day for women in politics. Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated today by a suicide bomber. The Middle East's first female leader and one of the leaders on Antigone's current cover page, Bhuto was a powerful force in Pakistanian politics. She had just returned to the country from exile and had already been a target of attacks. Already, there is talk that her death is the result of neglect by the current Pakistanian administration to provide her with proper security to keep her safe. Fox News has a biography of the leader:

Pakistani politician became the first female leader of a Muslim nation in modern history. She served two terms as prime minister of Pakistan, from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996.

Bhutto was the daughter of the politician Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was the leader of Pakistan from 1971 until 1977. She was educated at Harvard University (B.A., 1973) and subsequently studied philosophy, political science and economics at the University of Oxford (B.A., 1977).

After her father's execution in 1979 during the rule of the military dictator Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, Bhutto became the titular head of her father's party, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), and endured frequent house arrest from 1979 to 1984.

In exile from 1984 to 1986, she returned to Pakistan after the lifting of martial law and soon became the foremost figure in the political opposition to Zia.
President Zia died in August 1988 in a mysterious plane crash, leaving a power vacuum at the center of Pakistani politics. In the ensuing elections, Bhutto's PPP won the single-largest bloc of seats in the National Assembly. She became prime minister on Dec. 1, 1988, heading a coalition government.

Holiday Vacation...

2007-12-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

There I go again taking off and not telling anyone where I have gotten to. Sorry for the lack of recent blog posts but I returned home to Windsor for the holidays and was absolutely delighted to spend time with my 7 month old niece... and the rest of my family. That is until I got the flu and was then quarantined from them all!

I'm on the mend and looking forward to leaving the house again... but I probably won't get a chance to post much here over the holidays. I'll be back as of the 7th of January! I hope you all have a great holiday season!

Olympics could lead to increase in human trafficking

2007-12-12T19:29:00.000-08:00

The Epoch Times has a fabulous article about how 2010 will likely translate into an increase in human trafficking in Vancouver. They talk about a recently released report by the Calgary based Future Group which suggests that the Olympics will simply exacerbate the problems that Vancouver is already experiencing relating to human trafficking. The worst part of this story? The fact that, try as I might, I can't find another news outlet that has covered this important story. So, let's do their job for them and pass it on!

Big sporting events such as the Olympics and the World Cup soccer tournament are known to generate an increase in prostitution, which in turn leads to a rise in human trafficking.

A recent report by the Calgary-based The Future Group, an anti-human trafficking NGO, said that during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, authorities implemented a wide range of actions to combat human trafficking during the event, with relative success.

The result was that, while there was an increase in prostitution, authorities did not detect a rise in human trafficking.

However, when Greece hosted the Olympics in 2004, the measures adopted were not as extensive as those in Germany, and a 95 percent increase in human trafficking was recorded for that year.

Human trafficking—the biggest money spinner for organized crime after drugs and firearms—has been steadily increasing in Canada and around the world.

Canada is apparently particularly bad for human trafficking, as is Vancouver:

Sabrina Sullivan, managing director of The Future Group, says the number of people being trafficked to or through Canada each year could be as high as 16,000.
In the international human trafficking trade, Canada serves as a destination country and a transit country. It is a source country as well, with Aboriginal women, mainly from Winnipeg or rural areas, being the most likely victims.

"Women from reserves are even being taken away and trafficked, either within the country or across borders," says Sullivan.

Globally and nationally, the majority of those trafficked are women and children, including boys, and many are forced into the sex trade. It is estimated that up to four million are sold world-wide into prostitution, slavery or marriage.

Vancouver was singled out in the U.S. State Department's 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report as being a destination city for trafficked persons from Asia. The report also stated that a "significant number" of victims, particularly South Korean females, transit Canada before being trafficked into the United States.

So what do we do about it? NOW's NYC chapter is currently tackingly this problem and is doing so with great energy and sophistication. They might make a good model for action in Vancouver:

Launched in the Fall of 2006, NOW-NYC's human trafficking campaign set out to get a state law that recognized trafficking as a crime, increase public education on this modern-day slavery, collect trafficking victims stories, access how state agencies are identifying, tracking and prioritizing this issue, and shed light on how the trafficking industry is a part of the local economy and identify the legitimate businesses that do business with traffickers.

It won’t be easy. Much like the Domestic Violence movement 25 years ago when this phenomenon didn’t have a name, much less cultural understanding, it will take the dedicated work of activists and the NOW-NYC team to raise awareness and convince legislator, law enforcement, prosecutors and the courts, this issue deserves to be a priority for civil rights.

Robert Pickton gets life... but is eligible for parole?

2007-12-12T09:06:00.000-08:00

Good news... well, kind of. Robert Pickton, who was convicted on Sunday of the murder of 6 women, has been sentenced to a life sentence without being eligible for parole for 25 years, apparently the mazimum sentence. Now, this is good because he could have been eligible after 10 years. Still, it seems a little odd that after MURDERING and being convicted of murdering six women there isn't an option in Canada for life imprisonment without eligibility for parole.

Of course, for Canada's most notorious serial killer, there are still 20 murder charges yet to be heard against him. Also, let's remember that the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, believing that the murders were not planned. How do you murder that many people and not plan it?

Anyways, the AP reports on the family's victim impact statements. They're heartbreaking:

The family members had cried and prosecutor Michael Petrie choked up as he read victim-impact statements at Tuesday's hearing. Prosecutors are pushing for a maximum 25 years in prison before Pickton can seek parole.
Staring directly at Pickton, Lynn Frey read a statement from her granddaughter Brittney, whose mother Marnie Frey, was among the victims. Part of Marnie Frey's jaw bone was found on Pickton's farm.
"Mr. Pickton, why did you hurt my real mother and those other women?" the teenager wrote. "I have to go through each day. I ask myself. 'What would it be like if my real mother were here?' Mr. Pickton, why did you do that?"
"When you took her from me, it was like ripping out my heart."
Karin Joesbury wrote that her daughter Andrea was a "lovely, creative girl who wound up in a freezer, cut into parts."
Rick Frey, Marnie's father, smiled as he left the courtroom.
"That's great, that's good, that's what we wanted," said Frey. "We didn't think we'd get that but, yeah, it's perfect."
Prosecutors had sought a first-degree murder conviction, but the jury found Pickton guilty of the lesser second-degree murder charges, finding that the killings were not planned.

Liberals Release New Policy for Women in their Pink Book

2007-12-11T06:04:00.000-08:00

The Federal Liberals took last week on Dec. 6th the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, to release the Liberal Women's Caucus' volume two of its Pink Book: A Policy Framework for Canada's future. The Toronto Star looks at the announcements:

Among the new policies announced were:

Amendments to the federal Divorce Act that would make it far more difficult for partners with a record of violence or abuse to have custody or access to their children;

Changes to the work-permit system to give overseas workers more freedom to change employers and still work in the country. At present, permits are granted for these 3,000 to 5,000 workers on the basis of the employers' permission, which "creates an unequal power dynamic." A "national housing strategy" that specifically focuses on women's difficulties in obtaining adequate and affordable housing;
More research into the problems raised by rural poverty, which can leave women more cut off from access to social assistance and proper health care and employment;
More resources for aboriginal women

In another section of the Star, the release of the Pink Book is seen more critically:

It doesn't help that the Liberals themselves don't have all that much credibility on women's poverty, work, security and safety considering their inaction on violence against women and femicide, their dithering throughout the '90s on daycare, their inattention to the concerns of sex workers who require better conditions in which to ply their let's-face-it-it's-always-going-to-have-a-market trade, the wage gap, how women have been penalized by the rules on collecting unemployment insurance, nausea ad nauseum.
[...]
Yet it's difficult to disagree with Harper when he accuses Dion of not committing to these Pink Book recommendations, which are, for the moment anyway, "policy proposals.''(Emphasis mine.)
The Liberals, you see, aren't exactly married to them.
So for now, these proposals are very pretty in pink.
But they should be set in stone.

The Death of the Glass Ceiling?

2007-12-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

In an article on The Globe and Mail website Margarent Wente puts forward what, to me, is an extremely inaccurate agument. Wente claims that the glass ceiling is no longer the problem faced by women--in fact to her it is part of the now fantasy of "the patriarchy."

Wente argues that women's equality and our gradual, but, according to her, current 'equality' of access and success in all the fields where men previously dominated means that the glass ceiling does not adequately explain women's inequality in the work world. I would disagree that women have "penetrated" all the bastions of Wente's imaginary patriarchy, politics being a case in point.

Furthermore, I don't know what kind of experience Wente has had in her own life, but I would disagree with her argument for women's willingness to 'trust' and compromise. In my experience, women, when placed in 'team' environments tend to compete with each other as much if not more than men. To me, this derives from the teachings of a patriarchy that has taught us to compete with each in order to gain their privileges and rewards--as defined by them. Wente's insecurity of Manhood is projected into the female world precisely because the patriarchy is not dead--and may never die...

Thus, it is important women inform themselves because our equality lies in our action. Reaching the top and choosing to leave is one matter, never aspiring to it because of complacency is an entirely different one.

While I can't contest her academic's findings, I find Wente's argument problematic on many counts, and will refrain from summarizing it here because I think it would become an extended analysis. I encourage you to read it. For me, it was highly provocative.

I agree that men do tend to aspire to the Alpha Male position; but, I don't think we can exclude women from aspiring to the same--although perhaps for different reasons. Women's quest for power is most often a quest to legislate their own equality, since more often than not, the other sex will not do it for them.

While Wente attempts to refrain from gender essentialism she does not succeed: indeed, the crux of her argument lies in the fact that, for women, taking chance is "reproductively stupid."
All those who feel like a womb please raise their hands.

It is high time women became the heroes of their own stories...

Women Around the World Beaten and Abused...

2007-12-07T10:44:00.001-08:00

Given that yesterday was a Day of Action and Remembrance for Violence Against Women and that we are currently in the middle of a UN world action campaign to end violence against women, I thought I would bring your attention to these articles and statistics about rape and abuse of women around the world, starting with our own country:

From Canada:

In the seven years between 2000 and 2006, the number of women killed by their partners and former partners was 500 -- more than 70 a year and five times as many as the total number of Canadian frontline military and police deaths in the same time.
Dec. 6 still matters because women in Canada still experience violence in appalling numbers. Not only are women killed in shocking numbers but tens of thousands more are battered and beaten, emotionally abused and sexually assaulted -- 100,000 women and their children use battered women's shelters every year in this country.

From Niger:

The news that 70 percent of women in parts of Niger find it normal that their husbands, fathers and brothers regularly beat, rape and humiliate them came as no surprise to human rights experts in Niger.
"Women here have been indoctrinated by their families, by religious officials, by society that this is a normal phenomenon," said Lisette Quesnel, a gender-based violence advisor with Oxfam in Niger, which produced the statistic from a survey of women in the remote Zinder region of eastern Niger in 2006.

The frequency of the crimes and the impunity granted to the attackers partly explain the broad social acceptance of it, activists say.
Rape is not illegal under Nigerien law and according to Oxfam it is "increasingly common" in the capital Niamey.
Beatings and mental and physical abuse are "frequently" part of life in a typical Nigerien polygamous family, Oxfam says.
And women are often made destitute overnight when their polygamous husbands throw them out on the street. Divorces are passed by judges without even hearing "one word" from the women involved.

From Iran's We Change coalition of women working to garner one million signatures to encourage their government to create more equitable laws for women.

Political party members! Parliament members! Artists! Athletes! Keyhan Newspaper! University Professors! Leftists! Conservatives! Government Supporters! Opposition groups! Gather around so I can tell you what happens to your sisters and mothers in the backrooms of their homes because of the law of Obligatory Sexual Obedience (Tamkin). I want to tell you that when your daughter was 9 months pregnant and her husband forcefully slept with her and she had to go to the hospital, she couldn’t tell you and she couldn’t tell the court because she had to be sexually obedient.

From Palestine:

Female victims of domestic violence here have little chance of escaping their situation or bringing the perpetrators to justice as they face a legal system stacked in favour of the accused. Moreover, many women who have been raped are killed by family members in "honour killings" for having "brought shame" to their family.
A Human Rights Watch report released last year said: "Palestinian women in violent or life-threatening marriages have two legal options available to them: pressing charges for spousal abuse or initiating a divorce on the basis of physical harm." However, "neither Jordanian nor Egyptian penal codes in force in the West Bank and Gaza recognise sexual violence within marriage," HRW said. -

From China

Domestic violence is widespread and on the rise in China, where complaints of abuse soared 70% last year, state media says, citing a women's advocacy group.The All China Women's Federation received 50 000 complaints last year, and the "number of cases (has increased) in recent years", the China Daily quoted Jiang Yu'e, head of the group's rights and interests department as saying.
"The increase indicates that domestic violence is widespread in China and women's awareness of safeguarding their rights and interests has been improved with reinforced publicity by relevant institutions," Jiang said. Women in rural areas, especially those who had gone to work in cities, were particularly susceptible.
"Female migrant workers are restricted in accessing legal assistance as they are constantly on the move," Jiang said. Rising domestic abuse had also resulted in more women "fighting violence with violence". A recent study of provincial prisons showed that about 46% of female inmates had been past victims of domestic abuse.
"Police and government agencies have begun to make joint efforts to address the problem," Jiang said. Police needed to do more to encourage women to speak out in China, where traditional ideas about keeping family problems private remained strong.

From Iraq

At least 27 women have died in so-called "honour killings" over the past four months in northern Kurdish Iraq. Aziz Mohammed, human rights minister in the Kurdish regional government, said 97 women had attempted to commit suicide by self-immolation during this time.The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq has regularly highlighted "honour killings" of Kurdish women as among Iraq's most severe human rights abuses.
Most of such crimes are reported as deaths due to accidental fires in the home.Aso Kamal, a 42-year-old British Kurdish Iraqi campaigner, says that from 1991 to 2007, 12 500 women were murdered for reasons of "honour" or committed suicide in the three Kurdish provinces of Iraq.
Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region runs its own affairs and has enjoyed relative peace and growing prosperity since the US invasion of March 2003, while Arab areas of Iraq have been plunged into sectarian warfare.Crimes against women continue despite campaigns by human rights activists and regular denounciation of the oppression by the three women ministers and 28 female MPs in the 111-member autonomous Kurdish parliament. - Sapa-AFP

From the United States

More than 300 000 children are being sexually exploited in the United States, according to a new study.Many of them end up in Atlanta, which authorities say has become a hub for prostitution. Many are lured into prostitution by pimps who exploit the fears and low self-esteem of young girls who often come from dysfunctional families.
Now Atlanta law enforcement intends to spur new efforts to crack down on child predators.Prosecutors have started to bring felony rather than misdemeanour charges against men who use child prostitutes, and a 52-bed centre for sexually exploited girls will open this year to help girls emerging from prostitution. - Reuters

From Singapore

More than half of those queried in Singapore believe family violence is a private affair that will eventually stop by itself. And experts have called for increased public education campaigns.Those interviewed represented 1 015 people of all races in the city-state between 18 and 64.
A third of the respondents still believed that most family violence will stop on its own and that an abused spouse had a duty to stay in a marriage for the sake of a young child. About one in five said physical violence was a part of married life. Ten percent said they would not report an abusive spouse to authorities. Violence against children and the elderly was seen as unacceptable by nine in 10. - Sapa-DPA

Ottawa Senators (and their wives) Support Pro-Life Charity...

2007-12-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

I have a huge problem with so-called 'Crisis Pregnancy Centres'. It's less what they're promoting than the fact that they're terribly deceptive. Young women who are experiencing a 'crisis' pregnancy need real counselling regarding their options and that's what many of them expect from a place that says it deals with 'Crisis pregnancies'... but in fact these organizations are pro-life and often very manipulative.

So, it also bothers me when an organization like the Ottawa Senator's wives organization, called Better Halves, raises money from unsuspecting hockey fans and then gives that money to a crisis pregnancy centre. Given the fact that the money donated is being matched by the Ottawa Senator's foundation as well, I find this even more problematic. Heather Mallick explains on Rabble.ca

The Better Halves are giving a third of the proceeds of this year's $50,000 Christmas Tree raffle to First Place Pregnancy Centre, an Ottawa anti-abortion group run by Pentecostal Christians.
Planned Parenthood told me it frequently talks to women who went to these apparently welcoming places for counselling on the three options — abortion, adoption and parenting. The group says women report feeling badly treated.

A Crisis Pregnancy Centre just opened up near where I live and everyday that I drive by it I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. I hate thinking of the young women who get ambushed there. But it is worse that just that. These organizations are often not just anti-abortion, they are anti-birth control.... as Heather Mallick finds out....

I had an initially cheerful phone interview with Sens Foundation president Dave Ready, who said the Better Halves, when asked to choose three charities, chose:
• First Place.• Kids Help Phone.• Harmony House (a women's shelter).
First Place was “in line with our mandate,” he said. “We did due diligence and checked that it's a charity.”
“You went to the website?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Did you check on the links?”
“No.”
We went through the First Place site links together. There's a standard disclaimer but First Place hopes we'll find them “helpful.” I told Ready that some of the news headlines appeared to be libellous, particularly the ones linking corporations that make birth control drugs to the Jewish Holocaust and one drug itself to Nazi death camps. Others were grotesque: “One baby in 30 left alive after medical abortion” turns out to be an absurd, unsubstantiated anonymous “news story” in a British entertainment magazine.
You're also guided to a donation page for the American Life League, a hardline group based outside Washington. There's a shop, admittedly very funny, that sells “Abortion is mean” T-shirts for two-year-olds.
They offer booklets explaining that abortion is wrong even in the case of incest. They tell members to scare away raped children outside abortion clinics. They call RU-486 “the anti-human pesticide.” They offer sample letters to the editor to send to outlets that employ, I imagine, columnists like me. One begins: “Planned Parenthood is not 'a good guy.'”
Ready gets more and more quiet as we track this. Soon he is desperate to get off the phone. He will not let me talk to a Better Half, who might well explain that she hadn't known that First Place is financed by the Bethel Pentecostal Church in Ottawa and its mission — declared on the Bethel website but nowhere on the First Place site — is not just anti-abortion but anti-birth control.

Carole Taylor is stepping down...

2007-12-05T08:07:00.000-08:00

BC Finance Minister Carole Taylor has unfortunately decided not to run for re-election in 2009! As one of the highest profile female members of the BC Liberals it is unfortunate that she will not be running again. But apparently there are rumors that she might be running for Vancouver's mayoral office. Sounds interesting...

VICTORIA - B.C. Finance Minister Carole Taylor, one of the provincial Liberal government's highest-profile members, has decided not to run for re-election in 2009.

Rumours she would make her exit from provincial politics after just one term had been rife for weeks when Taylor formally announced her decision Friday during her quarterly update of the province's books.

Premier Gordon Campbell stole some of the thunder in an telephone interview with The Canadian Press early Friday from Hong Kong, confirming Taylor had given him her decision last week, before he left on a trade mission to Asia.

"Someone of Carole Taylor's talents will be hard to replace," Campbell said of the woman he lured away from her job as chairwoman of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. to run in the 2005 election.

Taylor gave no specific reasons for deciding not to run again and deflected rumours she could be a candidate to be mayor of Vancouver, a post once held by her husband, Art Phillips.

"I'm getting calls and letters and meetings from people who wish that I would consider running for mayor," said Taylor, a former journalist and two-term Vancouver city councillor in the late 1980s. "I am saying to them in private what I am saying to you in public, which is at this point my only concentration is in trying to present a good budget."

She felt that she would remain as finance minister at least until that budget is introduced in February.

But Taylor added she would not be surprised to see Campbell do some rearranging to take a new cabinet into the election campaign scheduled for May 2009 under British Columbia's fixed-term regime.

Taylor also made it very clear she is not stepping down for so-called personal reasons.

"I would say it actually has nothing to do with it; I'm in a very good space personally," she revealed.

She said she catches up with her husband as he heads off to tennis or golf and her children are grown up and settled.

"I have time, and energy, to choose what I'd like to do next and I just simply haven't decided what that is yet," she said.

Taylor also played down suggestions her star status as a finance minister who had delivered multibillion-dollar surpluses and settled scores of B.C. public-sector contracts without mishap made her a natural to someday succeed Campbell as provincial Liberal leader.

Cool Feminist Art Project - Dreams for Women

2007-12-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

Antigone Magazine is launching a Feminist Postcard art project and fundraiser, inspired by http://www.postsecret.com/. But instead of asking what your secrets are, we want to know what your Dreams for Women are.

What are your own dreams for yourself, your friends, your sisters, your daughters? Paint, draw, write, sketch or decoupage your dreams on a postcard and send it to the address below

Antigone Magazine
C/O WILLA UBC
Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6T 1Z1

With your postcard submission, we ask that you make a donation to Antigone Magazine for anywhere from $1 to $10. You can send your money along with your postcard or donate on our blog: http://www.antigonemagazine.blogspot.com/ . We will be posting postcards every second Saturday starting in January on the blog!

We want submissions from all over the world - so forward this on! Post it on your blog! Or link to it!

Misogynistic Hatred for Hillary...

2007-11-29T11:21:00.000-08:00

If you dislike a male politician, then there is something wrong with that particular politician. If you dislike a female politician then you often find something lacking in the entire female sex. This article in the Seattle Times talks about misogynistic hatred for Hillary Rodham Clinton on the internet. I vomitted a little in my mouth reading this article.

Facebook, popular with high-school and college students, has dozens of anti-Hillary groups, many of which take great delight in heaping abuse on Clinton as a woman, imagining her reduced to a subservient role, and visiting violence upon her.
One is "Hillary Clinton: Stop Running for President and Make Me a Sandwich," with more than 23,000 members and 2,200 "wall posts."
Another Facebook group, more temperate in tone and with about 13,000 members, is "Life's a bitch, why vote for one? Anti-Hillary '08."
Is this merely some adolescent "guys gone wild" (most but by no means all Hillary haters are male)? The rank rituals of the rec room revealed for the whole world to see?
The proprietors of the Facebook group "Hillary Clinton Shouldn't Run for President, She Should Just Run the Dishes," with 2,159 members, offer a pre-emptive disclaimer to offended visitors.
Daniel Jussaume, a 20-year-old junior at the University of Southern Maine, was not among the creators of "Just Run the Dishes." After he joined, however, he volunteered to chair its "Feminist Liberal Complaint Dept."

Is it so surprising that this is being tolerated? Let's remember one of the most evocative moments in the presidential race so far...

At a campaign meeting in South Carolina, a woman of patrician bearing asked Arizona Sen. John McCain, "How do we beat the bitch?"
A surprised McCain laughed along with the rest of the small crowd.
"That's an excellent question," McCain said after regaining his stride. He proceeded to explain why he could beat Clinton.
Viewed nearly 1 million times on YouTube in the week afterward, "How Do We Beat the Bitch" has entered the lore of the 2008 campaign, but with barely a hint of soul-searching.
"Can you imagine if that woman had said, 'How do we beat the "n-word"?' " asked Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics.
For McCain, or at least for those who think the nation might have benefited by examining why that woman felt so free to say what she did so publicly, "it was a terrible missed opportunity," Walsh said.

Thoughts readers? How can we make people see their own misogyny in a culture that seems to have accepted it as normal and allowable?

Arab Women Face Barriers in Politics....

2007-11-28T08:39:00.001-08:00

Women around the world face barriers to participate in politics but the percentage of female participation is particularly low in the Middle East. The Daily Star from Lebanon has an interesting article that examines what women in that region have to deal with when entering political life. Here are the statistics:

The results of the recent elections in Morocco brought the debate on female political representation back into the political arena there. Only 34 women won seats in the legislature's lower chamber, compared to 35 in the previous elections, a mere 5 percent of all representatives.
In Turkey, women won 50 out of 550 seats in the Turkish Parliament. Although this is still only 9 percent of the total, it is an encouraging sign since the number of elected women more than doubled from the last parliamentary elections. This percentage of female representation is the second largest in the region after Iraq, where there are 70 women in the 275-member Iraqi Parliament.

These statistics are obviously terrible, but I think that the article is particularly insightful in its analysis of why this is the case:

Women are also often seen as less experienced in public affairs, and as a result, voters - both male and female - are less likely to vote for them. Consequently, women either refrain from running for political office or drop out early from a lack of local support. This usually helps explain why only a small number of female candidates run for public office. For example, of the 800 candidates in the October 27 Omani elections, only 25 were women.
In addition, there are other factors that serve as obstacles for women to run for political office. These include varying and often unsatisfactory levels of democracy, freedom of expression, pluralism, respect for diversity and open dialogue.