extracted text

do~HERLAND ~
September, 1993

ICE

SONGS FOR THE
UNSUNG
by Joanne Forman

Sarah Bagley, Mehitabel Eastman, Kate Mullaney, Mary
Harris Jones, Elizabeth Morgan, Leonora O'Reilly, Leonora
Barry, Mary Kenney, Margaret Dreier Robins, Agnes Nestor,
Jane Street, Mildred Rankin, Elizabeth Christman, Rose
Schneiderman, Ernestine Rose, Anne Burlak, Moranda Smith,
Molly Jackson, Ella Reeve Bloor, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn,
Emma Tenayuca, Rose Pesotta, Addie Wyatt, Delores Huerta.
Who are all these women?
The only woman among these unsung heroines that most
people are likely ever to have heard ofis Mary Harris ''Mother' '
Jones, the dynamic rebel and indefatigable co-founder of the
I.WW, the Wobblies, who lived to be one hundred years old, and
fought for justice for working people to the very end.
But all the above were also labor organizers, hardly
conforming to the crude notion of labor union leaders as
unshaven, bullet-headed, cigar-smoking boys in the back room.
As "women hold up half the sky" and do considerably more
than half of the domestic labor, so they have always been
involved in labor outside the home, whether in field, factory,
store or office. "Should women work?" has always been a
moot point for most women.
Women participated, in the United States, in labor ' 'turnouts'' in the shoe manufacturing town of Lynn, Massachusetts
as early as 1828, parading under the banner ''American Ladies
Will Not Be Slaves.''
The participation and leadership of women take on new
urgency as living and working conditions erode, and those
"lucky" enough to have jobs face yet another round of speedup.
We think it will hearten all working people to know that women
have participated in labor organizing since at least the 1840s,
when people asked anxiously if Sarah Bagley, a New England
mill ' 'girl' ' would lose her ''delicacy' ' if she spoke before the
Massachusetts legislature in favor of that newfangled notion,
the ten-hour day. (She did, but that legislation was not passed
until well after the Civil War.)
Besides the white factory women, there were about another
million and a half women who labored in chains until the Civil
War: the black women of the slave south. Though capable of
thousands and thousands of daily acts of struggle, leadership
and heroism, black women (and men) were only too long
excluded from the labor movement. It was not until our own
era that Addie Wyatt, who is very much alive, became one of
the founders of the Coalition of Labor Union Women.
(continued on page 4)

Volume 10 Number 9

.R ETREAT WITH ALIX DOBKIN
Herland is proud to bring internationally acclaimed singer/
songwriter/activist Alix Dobkin to its Fall 93 Retreat at Lake
Murray in Ardmore, September 25 , 1993.
"A funny woman full of passion about the lesbian community, she is also passionate, angry, sensitive, articulate, intelligent, responsible and a delight to listen to live."
A political activist and folk singer from an early age, Dobkin
never opted for the security of mainstream American popular
culture. In 1973 she leapt off the edge by openly singing about her
love for women and releasing what is thought to be the first-ever
blatantly lesbian album, Lavender Jane I.nves Women. In so doing,
she helped fuel a cultural revolution.
Having Alix atLake Murray will offer Retreat goers a unique
opportunity to talk and share with her. WhenHerland brought Alix
to Oklahoma City in 1990, women of the community were treated
to much more than a concert - at Alix' s request a group of the
extended Herland family joined her for a potluck and ''rap
session" that included laughter, tears and coming out stories.
As Common Ground of Buffalo, New York, said, "Dobkin is
one performer who never disappoints ... equal parts humor, stories,
beautifully crafted and executed music and political rap ... she
gathers the pieces of our women' s movement's struggle and knits
them together, makes the connections, presents the whole picture."
In addition to "Lavender Jane, "Alix's albums include "living With
Lesbians," "These Women/Never Been Better," "YahooAustralia, "and
"I.nve and Politics."
0

Berland Sister Resources

2312 N.W. 39, OKC, OK 73112

Sr. Svs1L
Sybil Ludington, unsung heroine of the American Revolution,
is an occasional contributor to this space.
Dear St. Sybil,
Back when I used to read the morning paper every day,
before I cancelled my subscription to The Daily Disappointment for refusing to run the comic strip with the gay comingout theme, I went around mad all day, just furious at their
attitude and their editorials; but as the day wore on I would
eventually mellow out. Since I have been relying on television
for my news, I am pretty calm during the day, but depressed as
all get out every night. What's the solution for me, Sybil? - I
·
have to know what's going on in the world.
Pitifully,
Scylla N. Charybdis
Dear Scylla,
Well, first of all, give up the evening news, right away.
How anyone can sleep at night after watching all of those stories
of mayhem, betrayal, and brutality is more than I can comprehend, and you shouldn't subject yourself to it. As Cicero said
some years before your day: ' 'If we are forced, at every hour,
to watch or listen to horrible events, this constant stream of
ghastly impressions will deprive even the most delicate among
us of all respect for humanity.''
Secondly, take the following list of questions and every
morning find out if:
1. there are any new wars or cease/fires around the world;
2. there are any disasters in the local area you could help with;
3. anyone who you might give afigabouthasrecentlydied; (Oh
my god, not Generalissimo Franco!);
4. anything great (or particularly awful) has come out of city,
state or federal government recently; (Oh my god, you mean
we' ve got a woman on the Supreme Court? Two women? Well
all riiiiiight!);
5. anyone interesting has been outed recently.
This is all the daily update you really need. True, you will
be at some risk of meeting a friend for lunch and discovering
that the restaurant you chose burned to the ground since you
were there last; but better an occasional surprise than reading
a newspaper you despise (and that despises you) - by the way,
there are papers you can get from nearby cities that pretty well
answer the above questions; also, if you are willing to lose your
snobbish attitude you could try reading the national newspaper,
the McNews. It ain't much, but it beats the Daily Dis all to
pieces.
Best wishes for a serene disposition night and day,
Sybil

Dear Jess,
I'll tell you, Hon, I think the debate is scary as all get out.
Why should it matter whether it's your choice or your genes
that get the credit for you being gay? Who on earth cares what
causes people's behavior, unless they are looking for ways to
stop it or alter it? (People talk about what causes baldness, or cancer
or impotence, not beauty and sexiness and love!) If the hard-core
crazies ever reach power, and they think that homosexuality is a
choice, that it is learned behavior, they will feel justified in
punishing those who are ' 'willfully' ' gay. If they think that it is an
inherited trait like eye color, they will feel equally smug and
justified in out-selecting for that trait - in blocking the birth of
people with the "gay gene" .
So my advice to you is to refuse to engage in any discussion
of the "causes" of homosexuality. There is only danger, no
benefit, in such a dialogue.
Love,
Sybil
0

FIGHTING FOR OUR RIGHTS
The fight for lesbian and gay rights is intensifying in
Oklahoma. Focus on the Family conducted a one day Community Impact Seminar in Tulsa early this year. A similar seminar
is scheduled for Oklahoma City in October. These seminars
proved successful in the passage of Amendment 2, which called
for taking away equal rights for gays and lesbians in Colorado.
In any fight it is important to know the enemy and to
develop a strategy that ensures victory. Simply Equal chapters
around the state and Berland are co-sponsoring a two day
Fighting For Our Rights conference in Oklahoma City on
October 22 and 23.
The workshop will emphasize two tracks: MediaandGrassroots
Organizing. Workshops slated for the conference, at press time,
were: Media 101: Basics of effective press relations; The Right
Wing-- Know your enemy; Introduction to opposition research;
Media 201: Advanced tactics for press relations; Introduction to
Grassroots organizing, and Organizing Communities of Color.
Presenters for the workshop include three seasoned veterans in the fight against the right-wing. Robert Bray is the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's (NGLTF) Fight the
Right Media Director. Scott Nakagawa is the NGLTF' s Fight
the Right Organizing Director. Suzanne Pharr is a lecturer and
community organizer with the Women' s Project.
Mark your calendar for these important dates and be
watching the next issue of the Berland Voice for complete
details and registration information.
0

Herland Presents
Dear St. Sybil,
What do you think of the current controversy over nature
vs . nurture - the debate over whether it is sexual preference or
sexual orientation - whether we choose to be gay and lesbian
or are born lesbigay?
Your old pal and buddy,
Jess W ondrin
2

Herland Voice

September, 1993

Cris Williamson and Tret Fure
In Concert
8 P.M., November 18
Civic Center Little Theatre
Proceeds benefit the HSR Legal Defense Fund
Tickets go on sale September 18 at Herland

September
1993

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Historic Dates in September : September 2, 1869,
Esther Morris , 1st female Justice of the Peace
in Wyoming (or anywhere?) held a teaparty asking
citizens to work for women ' s suffrage . September
13, 1663, slaves and indentured servants conspired
in the first recorded attempted slave revolt , in
Gloucester County, Virginia .

5

7

6

\\lednesday Thursday

1

Friday

Sat.urday

2

3

4

9

10; """""""""""""
(·.' .:•: :;~w

11

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Happy
Birthday
LILY TOMLI N
Born 1939

8

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JOH NSO N

9 pm
Craleful Bean
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LABOR
DAY

12

13

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Ga y Day
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MarE1aret
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8:45 pm
La Baeuelle

1883 - 1966

20

19

21

22

23

HERL AND
Board
Meeline
All

HERL AND
RETREAT
beelns. at
Lake Murray

4:30

~ elcome

26

24

27

28

29

30

Herland
Rel real

25
ALIX DOBKIN
in Concert
•l the
HER LA ND
RETREAT

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WHAT'S LovE GoT To
Do WITH IT?

because at the end of the performance, the -mixed audience is
moved to tears and comes away with a better appreciation, if not
understanding, of the multifaceted aspects of the social construction of homosexuality. However, a nagging question
remains: is this what finding a genetic cause for homosexuality
will bring? Will gayness be construed as another genetic
disease?
On the other hand, the political advocate in me recognizes
the potential usefulness of the recent findings in our struggle to
have ourci vii rights affirmed. One ruse the right-wing has used
to great effect is that sexual orientation is a "lifestyle" and thus
when lesbians and gays ask for anti-discrimination protection,
society is actually being asked to regard certain· 'behavior'· as
protected. ''Special rights,'' in other words, are being sought,
not ''civil rights.'' So, if we can present evidence to show that
sexual orientation is as ''natural'' as gender and race--let's set
aside for the moment the fact that gender and race are both
socially constructed--then civil rights protection is warranted.
We shall see.
But it is the romantic in me that is most vexed out. I agree
with Carter Heyward when she writes that, ''such terms as
'sexual orientation,' 'sexual preference,' and even 'sexuality'
are ... vapid proximations of the real thing--the experience of
touching one another physically, emotionally, and spiritually
in such a way that we come together."
I don't want this core of my being, that I love women, to
be blurred. To the scientists and activists, I implore them to
ground their analysis and their rhetoric in this foundational
question: ''What's Love Got to Do with It?'' Genetic disposition does not-- should not--displace the choices I make with my
mind, my soul, and my body. I am a lesbian not because I am
a prisoner of my biology, but because I find the power of
mutuality only with other women.
0

by Vivien Ng

It's all in the genes--sexual orientation, that is. There has
been in recent years a mad rush to identify biological causes for
homosexuality. First, there was the much-analyzed finding of
Simon LeVay, which suggested that an undersized hypothalamus might be a cause for male homosexuality. Lesbians were
left out of that flawed study. More recently, two separate
research teams announced with much fanfare--did the mainstream press have a field day, again--that certain genes might
contribute to homosexuality (male, again). According to one of
the studies, the suspect genes are found on the ''X'' chromosome--that is, the chromosome that is passed on by the mother
to her son. (Guilt-tripping Mom again?)
I have mixed feelings about these developments. The
historian in me is extremely wary of such attempts (however
well-intentioned they may be) to ''naturalize'' sexual orientation. I am worried that the other side of the coin may be
"medicalization" of homosexuality, and we know from the
past what that had wrought.
In August, I saw a provocative play at Washington, DC's
Kennedy Center, ''Twilight of the Golds,'' which may serve as
a cautionary tale of sorts. At the heart of the play is this moral
question: if the fetus in my womb tests "positive" for male
homosexuality, shall I carry it to term or, knowing how difficult
life is for gay people, abort it? In this scenario, homosexuality
is viewed/treated as another congenital ''condition.'' This play
is pro-choice and gay-positive, and it works as didactic theater

·------------------------------------------·
:
I

Herland Sister Resources 1993 FALL
SEPTEMBER 24-26

I

I
:

RETREAT FOR WoMEN

I

LAKE MURRAY STATE PARK
Please choose the registration fee most appropriate for you based on
these suggested guidelines. On-site registration will be $60 and with
no exceptions. The deadline for pre-registration is September 20,
1993 . Registration is non-refundable after September 22.

I
I

The Lake Murray Group Camp does not allow pets. Please make
other arrangements for yours.

Complete and return the pre-registration form to Herland, 2312
N.W. 39, Oklahoma City, OK 73112.

I Name

:A?dre_s_s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I City:

I
I
I
I

Registration fee enclosed : _$15

Phone

-~~~~~~~~~~~-

State _ __
_$25

_$35

_$60

_

Zip _ _ _ _ __

I need a scholarship to attend.

_I'm enclosing an additional$ ___ to provide retreat scholarships .
_I'm bringing _ _ children . (Girls of all ages and boys under 10 are welcome at the retreat)
I would like to ride with someone .
_I can help provide rides to the retreat.

·------------------------------------------·
Her/and Voice

September, 1993

3

SONGS FOR THE UNSUNG
(continued from page t)

Latinas were concentrated, until our era, mostly in the
West and Southwest, and that region was industrialized later
than the eastern region of the nation. As almost universally the
case with women's efforts, it was not thought important to note
them, and this was even more the case with "minority"
women. One of the few for whom any information at all exists
is Emma Tenayuca, the Texan who participated in a 1933 cigar
maker's strike, but was most active in that seminal area of
Western and Southwestern labor organizing : agriculture. In
1938, she led six thousand mainly Mexican-American women
employed as pecan shellers for $2.50 a week. She went on to
become active in the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing
and Allied Workers of America.
Today's outstanding Latina organizer is the indefatigable
Dolores Huerta, former vice-president of the United
Farmworkers Union, and perhaps the only person on earth more
energetic than the late Cesar Chavez.
Asian women, for many decades excluded from the United
States by immigration law, now form (with their Puerto Rican
sisters) a relatively new underclass of sweatshop workers in
non-union garment shops.
Nor were Native American women exactly lying around
eating bonbons all this time. They are part and parcel of the
female labor force.

... courage, humor and plain spunk were
bountiful.
Space forbids more than the most cursory introduction to
the history of these unsung sisters, but as one delves into the
details of their lives, one learns that courage, humor and plain
spunk were bountiful.
Undoubtedly the most colorful of all was Mary Harris
"Mother Jones. Sweet-faced, impeccably clad in rustling
widow's black with a touch ofladylike white lace, white-haired
and tiny, she was' 'not afraid of the devil.'' For example, when
confined to a dark cellar in Walsenberg during a Colorado
miner's strike, she passed the time by fending off the rats with
her shoe. Confronted by thugs in Pennsylvania's tough
Monengahela Valley, she whipped out from under her crisp
little gingham apron a .38 special and invited them to withdraw.
They did.
Hauled up before a judge during a West Virginia miner's
fight, she called him a scab to his face. Told she must address
him as "Your Honor," she snapped, "Well, I can't call him
'Your Honor' until I know how honorable he is. I took an oath
to tell the truth."
Her meager possessions wrapped in a black shawl, -- "I
like to travel light" -- she crisscrossed the country again and
again. She sometimes passed herself off as a peddler, with an
appropriate stock of pins, needles and threads. In Alabama, she
told a befuddled military sentry that she was "going to a
missionary meeting to knit mittens for the heathen in Africa.''

4

Her/and Voice

September, 1993

While one can laugh at this saucy tartar, there are no smiles
when one contemplates the short life of Ella May Wiggins, shot
in the head during a textile strike in North Carolina, and laid in
her grave before she was thirty. Her crime? Like "Aunt"
Molly Jackson, she not only struggled, she had the temerity to
write songs -- a dangerous and effective weapon. Unsung and
unremarked, many other women, too, shared the dangers and
hardships of the men, being beaten, jailed, insulted -- and
injuredin all the ways with which women are only too familiar.
One of the outstanding figures of the great era of CIO
organizing in the 1930s was Rose Pesotta, a Russian immigrant
who was heavily involved in the great sitdown strikes in the big
Midwest factories. A quick thinker with a ready tongue, she had
an answer for a boss who suggested that, rather than aiming for
a general strike, it would be better to call strikes in individual
shops, one by one.
"An excellent idea," she snapped. "We'll do it. On
Monday we'll call our first strike -- in your shop."
Pesotta was also sterling in dealing with some of the
prejudices and blindnesses of working people -- she never made
the mistake of thinking that they were perfect. •• Sister Pesotta,' '
said one woman," you simply can't trust these Jews." Despite
her Italian sounding name, Pesotta was Jewish. But she took the
time to make the woman think, ··you know that Leonitti, a
manager who betrayed you, prides himself on being a good
Catholic. Would you advise me to say that it was because he
was a Catholic that he betrayed your cause?"
Many labor organizers who were women were given
traditional "feminine'' jobs such as organizing commissary for
strikers -- but organizing three meals a day for thousands of
workers and their families was not such a soft touch. Women
were also crucial in organizing other women -- the wives,
mothers, sisters and girlfriends of male strikers. They were
crucial in the hard-fought Akron rubber workers strike, where
few actual employees were women, and in the historic sitdown
in Flint, Michigan, which organized the auto industry.

Women are bound to be a key part of a
new wave of organizing.
Except in agriculture, where all the old ghastly conditions
and brutalities only too often still prevail, the heavy industriiil
organizing era is over, and unlikely ever to return. The task now
is to organize in the ever-increasing service and office sector.
Handed the lemon of temp, part-time and "flex-time" -- all
work without benefits -- and faced with the double shift of the
paying job and the non-paying job of housework and childcare,
women are bound to be a key part of anew wave of organizing.
The immediate task is to gain benefits for all work and to halt
the brutal speedup. The longer task is to realize that all the
victories, all the gains, all the concessions for which working
people fought, bled and died over the past century and a half
have been very rapidly eroded, since 1945, and particularly
since 1981. For what the boss can give, the boss can take away,
and the only ultimate answer is for working people to own their
jobs and their places for work. That will not come in a day, but
the time to begin is always now.
0

Published by: Herland Sister Resources, Inc. 2312 N.W.
39th, Oklahoma City, OK 73112
Newsletter Committee: Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Vivien
Ng, Pat Reaves
Circulation: 11 00
Advertising Rates: Business card $15; 1/4 page $35 ;
1/2 page $60; full page $1 00
The Voice is offered as an open forum for community discourse. Articles reflect the opinions of the author and not
necessarily those of Herland Sister Resources. Unsolicited
articles and letters to the editor are welcomed and must be
signed by the writer with fu ll name and address. Upon
request, letters or articles may be printed under a pseudonym
or anonymously.

Subscriptions to The Voice are free upon request .
The Voice is printed on recycled paper.

LONE STAR WoMEN's Music
FESTIVAL
Now in its fourth year, the Lone Star Women's Music
Festival is bigger and better than ever. Producers Bonnie
Moore and Kathy Mills are gearing up to welcome an estimate
1,000 women to this year's event.
The festival talces place from October 1 to 3 on the banks
of the Guadalupe river near New Braunfels, 30 miles south of
Austin. While the emphasis is on local and regional talent, a
glance at this year's program shows upwards of 25 acts.
Included too, are such internationally known legends as Alix
Dobkin and powerful folk-blues singer Odetta. ·'We have the
widest variety of music of any women's music festival -everything from rock to cajun,'' says Moore.
The three nights of music kick off with a Friday program
hosted by Alabama comedian MatinaBevis and including such
local favorites as singer/songwriter Diana Jones and the conjunto
sounds of the Texana Dames.
Saturday, hosted by the popular and funny RobynE. from
New Orleans, sees, among others, the "brainy beauteous and
somewhat bawdy'' BETTY take the stage, as well as
"vulvacentric" Girls in the Nose and full-tilt rock band Power
Snatch.
Sunday's lineup includes three Austin institutions-- Nancy
Scott, Sara Elizabeth Campbell and Emily Kaitz -- and winds
up with a Denton, Texas band whose name somehow seems to
capture the spirit of the entire weekend: Lyndzi Wildheart and
the Amazon Range Riders!
Volunteers are needed to help run the festival. "It takes a
lot of women to make this happen, ' ' said Moore. ·'We need
women in technical positions, to drive shuttles, to cook meals
... and we've lost our old contact list, so call even if you worked
in previous years.' '
For more information on tickets and volunteering, call
(512) 929-0002.
D

ALLISON JosEPH To V1s 1r OSU
Allison Joseph, winner of the John C. Zacharis First Book
Awardforherpoetry collection What Keeps Us Here, will give
a poetry reading at Oklahoma State University on Friday,
October 1, 1993. The reading, which is free and open to the
public, will be at 8 pm in the Student Union Theater. Following
the reading, Ms. Joseph will sign copies of her book at an
Autograph Party in the French Lounge, 270 Student Union.
Prior to the reading Ms. Joseph will speak at a dinner
honoring recipients of the Southern Heights Youth Scholarship. The dinner is at 5:30 p.m. in the Oklahoma Room of the
Best Western of Stillwater, 600 E. Mc Elroy. Tickets are $8.50,
and the public is encouraged to attend. Send an SASE and a
check earmarked for "Allison Joseph Banquet" and payable to
"United Ministry ofOSU", 823 W. University, Stillwater, OK
74074. Phone 405-377-9174.
Allison Joseph was born in London, England, in 1967 to
parents of Caribbean heritage. She grew up in Toronto and the
Bronx, and studied at Kenyon College and Indiana University.
She was the first undergraduate student since Robert Lowell to
be published in The Kenyon Review. In the last four years her
poems have appeared in over fifty magazines, including OSU' s
Cimmaron Review. She has been awarded an Academy of
American Poets Prize, a Ruth Lilly Fellowship, and an Associated Wdting Programs Intro Journals Prize. Her book was the
first winner of Ampersand Press' s Women Poets Series Competition.
D

SUMMIT
DRY CLEANERS
GRAND OPENING
Mention This Ad,
Receive One Shirt
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5848 N .W. 50th
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HERLAND & OGLPC PRESENT

HARVEST MOON BALL
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1993
8:00 P.M. - MIDNIGHT
N.W 13th & Dewey
(Unitarian Church)

$5/person
Festive Formal Frocks (or not!)
CASH BAR
Tickets available in advance from
Her/and board members or call 524-2131
Tickets will also be available at the door.

HerlandVoice

September, 1993

5

WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY,
BY THE PRESIDENT
STATES

OF

OF

1993

THE UNITED

AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION
On August 26, 1993, we celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the
Constitution. In declaring that the right to vote shall not be
denied or abridged on account of sex, the Nineteenth Amend-.
ment guaranteed for women the most cherished prerogative of
American citizenship.
Since America was founded, women have demonstrated an active interest in shaping the practice of democratic
government. But it was not until the passage of the Nineteenth
Amendment that women's myriad contributions to the social,
cultural, and economic life of our Nation began to receive the
full acknowledgment they deserved. As women's voices
continue to gain strength in the political arena, female elected
officials at every level of government bring crucial insight to
the decision-making process.
The struggle for true equality among the sexes has not
been limited to the public sphere. Broadening the franchise
fundamentally changed our understanding of equal opportunity, helping to encourage shared responsibility in the home
and personal growth in the work place. Today, more and more
women are leading the way through advancements in law,
science, business, and the arts. As we approach the 21st
century, women's unfailing strength and wisdom remain integral to ensuring the lasting prosperity of our Nation.
Each year, we observe August 26 as "Women's
Equality Day," to honor the infinite sacrifices and contributions that women have made to the United States. On this
occasiQn. we reaffirm ournational commitment to the distinctly
American promise of guaranteed equality for all our people. 0

2109 S. Air Depot
Midwest City, OK 73110

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Her/and Voice

by Ulith Lynn

In the morning
I tum to you
Your hand strokes my cheek
and I tum to your breast
I suck your nipp!e and am comforted.
I think of how years ago
you awoke with a baby by your side
here where I lie now
you stroked her cheek
and she turned to you
took your nipple in her small pink mouth
sucked and was comforted.

I think of this
I can see this because years ago
I did the same.
I also awoke with a hungry baby
beside me
I also stroked her cheek
until she turned to me
took my nipple in her mouth
sucked and was comforted.
We both take it for granted that
two mothers together
\ve know these ordinary things
But, oh my love, I tell you
knowing these things together
is NO ordinary thing.

WOMEN PRISONERS

JOY HUSKA, D.V.M.

w n in 9,

MOTHERS IN THE
MORNING

(405)737-0496

Air Depot Animal Hospital
Call for Appointment

Two

September, 1993

The publication of Women Prisoners: A Forgotten Population has been announced by Praeger, of Westport, Connecticut. Edited by Beverly R. Fletcher, of the University of
Oklahoma, Dreama Moon, of the University of Arizona, and
Lynda Dixon Shaver oflndiana University, the book, based on
a longitudinal study of women incarcerated in Oklahoma,
covers a variety of issues relating to female offenders.
Because previous research has failed to address the problems of imprisoned women from a holistic point of view, two
unique features of this book are its recognition of the importance of women researching women and its multidisciplinary,
multiethnic approach. Beverly Fletcher, an African-American,
Dreama Moon, an Anglo, and Lynda Shaver, a Cherokee
woman, co-principal investigators and editors of this research,
D
-are themselves symbolic of the diversity of this work.

ABORTION FUNDING:
SoME W1Ns, SoME Losses
Debate about federal funding of abortion services surfaced
several times during the annual appropriations process. Both
pro-choice and anti-choice advocates see these actions as
important precedents for the treatment of abortion services in
the health care reform package Congress will consider this fall.
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
Since 1983, coverage for abortions under the Federal
Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) has been banned,
except when the woman's life is in danger. Over 300 private
plans are offered to federal employees under FEHBP. On June
22, the House passed its version of the Treasury-Postal-General
Government appropriations bill without the FEHBP restriction.
When the bill reached the Senate in July, Senator Don
Nickles (R-Oklahoma) offered an amendment to ban coverage
of abortions except in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment
of the woman. Insurance coverage for abortions could be
offered only through a separate rider with the premium paid
entirely by the employee. Sen. Barbara Mikulski successfully
blocked the amendment at the subcommittee level and on the
Senate floor.
With both versions of the Treasury-Postal appropriations
bill free of restrictive language, abortion coverage will be
restored in health plans offered to federal employees, beginning
October 1, 1993.

...

..,-..~==-

t.-~~~~

,..-~.

Medicaid abortions for poor women:
The restriction against the use offederal Medicaid funds to
pay for abortions for poor women, commonly known as the
''Hyde Amendment,'' has been in effect since 1977. Retaining
this restriction on Medicaid was the major goal of abortion
opponents this year.
After heated debate and procedural maneuvering, the
House voted 255-178 on June 30 to approve a modified Hyde
amendment. Federal Medicaid funds may not be used to pay for
abortions except in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment.
The Senate is expected to begin consideration of the LaborHHS appropriations bill in September.
Other abortion restrictions:
The District of Columbia and the Commerce, State, Justice
appropriations bills passed the House and Senate without
restrictive abortion amendments. The D.C. government has
been banned since 1988 from using local funds to pay for
Medicaid abortions . Women in federal prisons also have been
denied abortions since 1986. There was little debate concerning
abortion funding during consideration of these bills, although
abortion opponents mounted an unsuccessful effort to defeat
final passage of the D.C. spending bill over this issue.
The restriction on paying for abortions for Peace Corps
volunteers was also left in place by the House. The Senate is
expected to take up the Foreign Operations appropriations bill
in the fall.
0
From: Update On Women and Family Issues In Congre ss .

•.......

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vr" Women's Music,:11liiii¥ol
fourth annual women's retreat)'

October 1, 2, and

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1

September, 1993

7

r-----------,
II

Dykes To Watch Out For

ULLETIN llOARD

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:rusrDo...ir-nNs•1r.

I

Coming Out Stories:

The October
Voice will celebrate National Coming
Out Day by publishing your coming out
stories. We invite you to submit a short
account of how/when you first recognized yourself as a lesbian/bisexual or
told others about your lifestyle. Recognizing that coming out is an ongoing
process, The Voice will publish stories
without the full name of the author on
request.

MEAN, \,IOIJ/.D 5::>i"EoN£
PL.EASE: £l<nAIW1b l'\E:

WHAl5 SO REVOLU1lotJARY

crushed

A!IOUfNEWSWEEK mu.JG
US WHAT WE:DO IN BE:D?

©1993 BYALISOll BECHDEL

L£S~1AN5 ARE f<E1'1AC1N6SJEPA£RO&ICS IN
IHf. DEPRl\VED CE;)5l'lf C1" MAIN5~ ~icAV

_

CUL.TUIT..! LL"IM£ n.u YA, WE: DID•tr KNOW WHEN
>JE fJAD ITGooD! MOVll/6 INVISIBLY, BEtwG ON/HE:
Ol!fSIDE-- TI1AT5 WH£R£0liJ; REAL,SU8vt;RSll/l
FOWER LIES! R'IGHl, 1fiEA?

Y'KNOW, >'DU'R£ AB50WTELY 11.iG.HT.'
SAAT"fERJNG "TliE M)'(ft rnAT LESBIANS A~·,Rl'AL PEOPL!; 15 OUR. 51116L£ f"IOff £FFECfil/E
Ta>L IN COUtiTD<lrJG TliE RA"1PANIHol"<>PltJBIA
AND MIW,yNY I~ JOCJ£T"Y1t>PAY.

Lesbian Only Counseling group.
Wednesday evenings. Call Jo L.Soske,
M.Ed/MHR/NCADC/NCC/LPC at 3645708.

Julianne Malveaux, Ph.D., economist,

I

writer and syndicated columnist, has
been named keynote speaker for the
second annual Women Mean Business
Conference to be held September 20 at
the Marriott Hotel in Oklahoma City.
Ms. Malveaux writes a newspaper column that appears regularly in over 20
newspapers, including the Oklahoma
Women's Front Page News. She provides commentary on socio-political
issues on TV and radio programs such
as CNN and "To the Contrary."

I

Spinsters Ink is seeking feminist writ-

LE/ ME GIVE YOU A rR1EllOLY
TIP, (LAA.IC£ . D()tf 6Ef'TOO

HUNG UP 01/ llf.EPING A "T1Gli1
5cH£Dl/IL f011.11H:~ ti£Xl,5AY,
!;IGH,.EN >'E:AR.l OR. .)O.

.jJAcK A/ MADWIMMIN • • •

CHAN~P HER. Posmor.J So
FA51 ON l!SBIAN V151BIL.IT)' OUT
TH!'Re, fTuoU>lffS1iE'PG€7WHIP-

:1HZ, /VIO

l.A5H. SHE HAS IT BAD R>R. YoU,"fHEA.

Vo1cE WELCOMES DYKES TO WATCH OuT FoR!
Beginning with this issue, The Voice will include this nationally-known cartoon strip
featuring lesbian characters. We are very pleased to be bring you this always funny and revealing
cartoon.
The Voice is provided free to anyone who asks for a subscription. Each month, 1300 copies
are distributed by mail in Oklahoma and nation-wide and in community centers and bars in the
Oklahoma City area.
We need your help to continue this service. Production and mailing of one issue of The
Voice costs about $460 and takes at least 80 woman-hours of volunteer labor. Advertising helps
to meet the costs but doesn't completely pay for production of The Voice . Herland relies on
contributions to meet these regular expenses.
If you enjoy reading The Voice each month, please consider making a contribution of $10
or more to help meet the costs of publication. Send your contribution to Herland Voice, 2312
N.W. 39th, Oklahoma City, OK 73112. We'll promise to keep working to bring you a variety of
information about the Oklahoma women's community andotherit=s of interest.
0

ing by women of color in the form of
full-length novels or non-fiction work.
Submit to Spinsters Ink, P. 0. Box
300170 Dept C, Minneapolis, MN 55403
or call 612-377-0287.

Women and Bereavement: Compiling writings that reflect the real-life
spectrum of emotions and experiences
of those facing bereavement - a term that
includes not only loss of cherished ones
but also loss of oneself to disability and
the collective loss of patients and clients
by health professionals . Submissions may
include personal essays,j ournal excerpts
and black and white photographs. Submit to Laurie Jones Neighbors, P. 0.
Box 2021 , Monterey, CA 93942-2021
Correction: The correct address for
Judy Chicago' s Through The Flower is
P. 0. Box 8138, Santa Fe, New Mexico
87504.
$100 Poetry Prize for the Sue Saniel
ElkindPoetryContest. Submissions must
be postmarked by November l, 1993. For
information write "Kalliope," Sue Saniel
Elkind Poetry Contest, FCCJ, 3939
Roosevelt Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32205 . . )
\..

-----------



do~HERLAND ~
September, 1993

ICE

SONGS FOR THE
UNSUNG
by Joanne Forman

Sarah Bagley, Mehitabel Eastman, Kate Mullaney, Mary
Harris Jones, Elizabeth Morgan, Leonora O'Reilly, Leonora
Barry, Mary Kenney, Margaret Dreier Robins, Agnes Nestor,
Jane Street, Mildred Rankin, Elizabeth Christman, Rose
Schneiderman, Ernestine Rose, Anne Burlak, Moranda Smith,
Molly Jackson, Ella Reeve Bloor, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn,
Emma Tenayuca, Rose Pesotta, Addie Wyatt, Delores Huerta.
Who are all these women?
The only woman among these unsung heroines that most
people are likely ever to have heard ofis Mary Harris ''Mother' '
Jones, the dynamic rebel and indefatigable co-founder of the
I.WW, the Wobblies, who lived to be one hundred years old, and
fought for justice for working people to the very end.
But all the above were also labor organizers, hardly
conforming to the crude notion of labor union leaders as
unshaven, bullet-headed, cigar-smoking boys in the back room.
As "women hold up half the sky" and do considerably more
than half of the domestic labor, so they have always been
involved in labor outside the home, whether in field, factory,
store or office. "Should women work?" has always been a
moot point for most women.
Women participated, in the United States, in labor ' 'turnouts'' in the shoe manufacturing town of Lynn, Massachusetts
as early as 1828, parading under the banner ''American Ladies
Will Not Be Slaves.''
The participation and leadership of women take on new
urgency as living and working conditions erode, and those
"lucky" enough to have jobs face yet another round of speedup.
We think it will hearten all working people to know that women
have participated in labor organizing since at least the 1840s,
when people asked anxiously if Sarah Bagley, a New England
mill ' 'girl' ' would lose her ''delicacy' ' if she spoke before the
Massachusetts legislature in favor of that newfangled notion,
the ten-hour day. (She did, but that legislation was not passed
until well after the Civil War.)
Besides the white factory women, there were about another
million and a half women who labored in chains until the Civil
War: the black women of the slave south. Though capable of
thousands and thousands of daily acts of struggle, leadership
and heroism, black women (and men) were only too long
excluded from the labor movement. It was not until our own
era that Addie Wyatt, who is very much alive, became one of
the founders of the Coalition of Labor Union Women.
(continued on page 4)

Volume 10 Number 9

.R ETREAT WITH ALIX DOBKIN
Herland is proud to bring internationally acclaimed singer/
songwriter/activist Alix Dobkin to its Fall 93 Retreat at Lake
Murray in Ardmore, September 25 , 1993.
"A funny woman full of passion about the lesbian community, she is also passionate, angry, sensitive, articulate, intelligent, responsible and a delight to listen to live."
A political activist and folk singer from an early age, Dobkin
never opted for the security of mainstream American popular
culture. In 1973 she leapt off the edge by openly singing about her
love for women and releasing what is thought to be the first-ever
blatantly lesbian album, Lavender Jane I.nves Women. In so doing,
she helped fuel a cultural revolution.
Having Alix atLake Murray will offer Retreat goers a unique
opportunity to talk and share with her. WhenHerland brought Alix
to Oklahoma City in 1990, women of the community were treated
to much more than a concert - at Alix' s request a group of the
extended Herland family joined her for a potluck and ''rap
session" that included laughter, tears and coming out stories.
As Common Ground of Buffalo, New York, said, "Dobkin is
one performer who never disappoints ... equal parts humor, stories,
beautifully crafted and executed music and political rap ... she
gathers the pieces of our women' s movement's struggle and knits
them together, makes the connections, presents the whole picture."
In addition to "Lavender Jane, "Alix's albums include "living With
Lesbians," "These Women/Never Been Better," "YahooAustralia, "and
"I.nve and Politics."
0

Berland Sister Resources

2312 N.W. 39, OKC, OK 73112

Sr. Svs1L
Sybil Ludington, unsung heroine of the American Revolution,
is an occasional contributor to this space.
Dear St. Sybil,
Back when I used to read the morning paper every day,
before I cancelled my subscription to The Daily Disappointment for refusing to run the comic strip with the gay comingout theme, I went around mad all day, just furious at their
attitude and their editorials; but as the day wore on I would
eventually mellow out. Since I have been relying on television
for my news, I am pretty calm during the day, but depressed as
all get out every night. What's the solution for me, Sybil? - I
·
have to know what's going on in the world.
Pitifully,
Scylla N. Charybdis
Dear Scylla,
Well, first of all, give up the evening news, right away.
How anyone can sleep at night after watching all of those stories
of mayhem, betrayal, and brutality is more than I can comprehend, and you shouldn't subject yourself to it. As Cicero said
some years before your day: ' 'If we are forced, at every hour,
to watch or listen to horrible events, this constant stream of
ghastly impressions will deprive even the most delicate among
us of all respect for humanity.''
Secondly, take the following list of questions and every
morning find out if:
1. there are any new wars or cease/fires around the world;
2. there are any disasters in the local area you could help with;
3. anyone who you might give afigabouthasrecentlydied; (Oh
my god, not Generalissimo Franco!);
4. anything great (or particularly awful) has come out of city,
state or federal government recently; (Oh my god, you mean
we' ve got a woman on the Supreme Court? Two women? Well
all riiiiiight!);
5. anyone interesting has been outed recently.
This is all the daily update you really need. True, you will
be at some risk of meeting a friend for lunch and discovering
that the restaurant you chose burned to the ground since you
were there last; but better an occasional surprise than reading
a newspaper you despise (and that despises you) - by the way,
there are papers you can get from nearby cities that pretty well
answer the above questions; also, if you are willing to lose your
snobbish attitude you could try reading the national newspaper,
the McNews. It ain't much, but it beats the Daily Dis all to
pieces.
Best wishes for a serene disposition night and day,
Sybil

Dear Jess,
I'll tell you, Hon, I think the debate is scary as all get out.
Why should it matter whether it's your choice or your genes
that get the credit for you being gay? Who on earth cares what
causes people's behavior, unless they are looking for ways to
stop it or alter it? (People talk about what causes baldness, or cancer
or impotence, not beauty and sexiness and love!) If the hard-core
crazies ever reach power, and they think that homosexuality is a
choice, that it is learned behavior, they will feel justified in
punishing those who are ' 'willfully' ' gay. If they think that it is an
inherited trait like eye color, they will feel equally smug and
justified in out-selecting for that trait - in blocking the birth of
people with the "gay gene" .
So my advice to you is to refuse to engage in any discussion
of the "causes" of homosexuality. There is only danger, no
benefit, in such a dialogue.
Love,
Sybil
0

FIGHTING FOR OUR RIGHTS
The fight for lesbian and gay rights is intensifying in
Oklahoma. Focus on the Family conducted a one day Community Impact Seminar in Tulsa early this year. A similar seminar
is scheduled for Oklahoma City in October. These seminars
proved successful in the passage of Amendment 2, which called
for taking away equal rights for gays and lesbians in Colorado.
In any fight it is important to know the enemy and to
develop a strategy that ensures victory. Simply Equal chapters
around the state and Berland are co-sponsoring a two day
Fighting For Our Rights conference in Oklahoma City on
October 22 and 23.
The workshop will emphasize two tracks: MediaandGrassroots
Organizing. Workshops slated for the conference, at press time,
were: Media 101: Basics of effective press relations; The Right
Wing-- Know your enemy; Introduction to opposition research;
Media 201: Advanced tactics for press relations; Introduction to
Grassroots organizing, and Organizing Communities of Color.
Presenters for the workshop include three seasoned veterans in the fight against the right-wing. Robert Bray is the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's (NGLTF) Fight the
Right Media Director. Scott Nakagawa is the NGLTF' s Fight
the Right Organizing Director. Suzanne Pharr is a lecturer and
community organizer with the Women' s Project.
Mark your calendar for these important dates and be
watching the next issue of the Berland Voice for complete
details and registration information.
0

Herland Presents
Dear St. Sybil,
What do you think of the current controversy over nature
vs . nurture - the debate over whether it is sexual preference or
sexual orientation - whether we choose to be gay and lesbian
or are born lesbigay?
Your old pal and buddy,
Jess W ondrin
2

Herland Voice

September, 1993

Cris Williamson and Tret Fure
In Concert
8 P.M., November 18
Civic Center Little Theatre
Proceeds benefit the HSR Legal Defense Fund
Tickets go on sale September 18 at Herland

September
1993

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Historic Dates in September : September 2, 1869,
Esther Morris , 1st female Justice of the Peace
in Wyoming (or anywhere?) held a teaparty asking
citizens to work for women ' s suffrage . September
13, 1663, slaves and indentured servants conspired
in the first recorded attempted slave revolt , in
Gloucester County, Virginia .

5

7

6

\\lednesday Thursday

1

Friday

Sat.urday

2

3

4

9

10; """""""""""""
(·.' .:•: :;~w

11

•

Happy
Birthday
LILY TOMLI N
Born 1939

8

llf:,,.,'

J

..._.P.EGG)',

JOH NSO N

9 pm
Craleful Bean
iO\.h & Walke r

LABOR
DAY

12

13

15

16

18.-._

17

) ('.'j.:<: :,:~1-):.

~ ,1:, ~J

Ga y Day
at
Frontier
Cily

PEG'GY

JOH NSO N

MarE1aret
Saneer

8:45 pm
La Baeuelle

1883 - 1966

20

19

21

22

23

HERL AND
Board
Meeline
All

HERL AND
RETREAT
beelns. at
Lake Murray

4:30

~ elcome

26

24

27

28

29

30

Herland
Rel real

25
ALIX DOBKIN
in Concert
•l the
HER LA ND
RETREAT

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chock-full-of-news Herland Voice
are brought to you each month
gratis; if you would like to help
offset the cost of this effort ,
please consider a one-time donation
or a monthly pledge of any amount
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WHAT'S LovE GoT To
Do WITH IT?

because at the end of the performance, the -mixed audience is
moved to tears and comes away with a better appreciation, if not
understanding, of the multifaceted aspects of the social construction of homosexuality. However, a nagging question
remains: is this what finding a genetic cause for homosexuality
will bring? Will gayness be construed as another genetic
disease?
On the other hand, the political advocate in me recognizes
the potential usefulness of the recent findings in our struggle to
have ourci vii rights affirmed. One ruse the right-wing has used
to great effect is that sexual orientation is a "lifestyle" and thus
when lesbians and gays ask for anti-discrimination protection,
society is actually being asked to regard certain· 'behavior'· as
protected. ''Special rights,'' in other words, are being sought,
not ''civil rights.'' So, if we can present evidence to show that
sexual orientation is as ''natural'' as gender and race--let's set
aside for the moment the fact that gender and race are both
socially constructed--then civil rights protection is warranted.
We shall see.
But it is the romantic in me that is most vexed out. I agree
with Carter Heyward when she writes that, ''such terms as
'sexual orientation,' 'sexual preference,' and even 'sexuality'
are ... vapid proximations of the real thing--the experience of
touching one another physically, emotionally, and spiritually
in such a way that we come together."
I don't want this core of my being, that I love women, to
be blurred. To the scientists and activists, I implore them to
ground their analysis and their rhetoric in this foundational
question: ''What's Love Got to Do with It?'' Genetic disposition does not-- should not--displace the choices I make with my
mind, my soul, and my body. I am a lesbian not because I am
a prisoner of my biology, but because I find the power of
mutuality only with other women.
0

by Vivien Ng

It's all in the genes--sexual orientation, that is. There has
been in recent years a mad rush to identify biological causes for
homosexuality. First, there was the much-analyzed finding of
Simon LeVay, which suggested that an undersized hypothalamus might be a cause for male homosexuality. Lesbians were
left out of that flawed study. More recently, two separate
research teams announced with much fanfare--did the mainstream press have a field day, again--that certain genes might
contribute to homosexuality (male, again). According to one of
the studies, the suspect genes are found on the ''X'' chromosome--that is, the chromosome that is passed on by the mother
to her son. (Guilt-tripping Mom again?)
I have mixed feelings about these developments. The
historian in me is extremely wary of such attempts (however
well-intentioned they may be) to ''naturalize'' sexual orientation. I am worried that the other side of the coin may be
"medicalization" of homosexuality, and we know from the
past what that had wrought.
In August, I saw a provocative play at Washington, DC's
Kennedy Center, ''Twilight of the Golds,'' which may serve as
a cautionary tale of sorts. At the heart of the play is this moral
question: if the fetus in my womb tests "positive" for male
homosexuality, shall I carry it to term or, knowing how difficult
life is for gay people, abort it? In this scenario, homosexuality
is viewed/treated as another congenital ''condition.'' This play
is pro-choice and gay-positive, and it works as didactic theater

·------------------------------------------·
:
I

Herland Sister Resources 1993 FALL
SEPTEMBER 24-26

I

I
:

RETREAT FOR WoMEN

I

LAKE MURRAY STATE PARK
Please choose the registration fee most appropriate for you based on
these suggested guidelines. On-site registration will be $60 and with
no exceptions. The deadline for pre-registration is September 20,
1993 . Registration is non-refundable after September 22.

I
I

The Lake Murray Group Camp does not allow pets. Please make
other arrangements for yours.

Complete and return the pre-registration form to Herland, 2312
N.W. 39, Oklahoma City, OK 73112.

I Name

:A?dre_s_s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I City:

I
I
I
I

Registration fee enclosed : _$15

Phone

-~~~~~~~~~~~-

State _ __
_$25

_$35

_$60

_

Zip _ _ _ _ __

I need a scholarship to attend.

_I'm enclosing an additional$ ___ to provide retreat scholarships .
_I'm bringing _ _ children . (Girls of all ages and boys under 10 are welcome at the retreat)
I would like to ride with someone .
_I can help provide rides to the retreat.

·------------------------------------------·
Her/and Voice

September, 1993

3

SONGS FOR THE UNSUNG
(continued from page t)

Latinas were concentrated, until our era, mostly in the
West and Southwest, and that region was industrialized later
than the eastern region of the nation. As almost universally the
case with women's efforts, it was not thought important to note
them, and this was even more the case with "minority"
women. One of the few for whom any information at all exists
is Emma Tenayuca, the Texan who participated in a 1933 cigar
maker's strike, but was most active in that seminal area of
Western and Southwestern labor organizing : agriculture. In
1938, she led six thousand mainly Mexican-American women
employed as pecan shellers for $2.50 a week. She went on to
become active in the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing
and Allied Workers of America.
Today's outstanding Latina organizer is the indefatigable
Dolores Huerta, former vice-president of the United
Farmworkers Union, and perhaps the only person on earth more
energetic than the late Cesar Chavez.
Asian women, for many decades excluded from the United
States by immigration law, now form (with their Puerto Rican
sisters) a relatively new underclass of sweatshop workers in
non-union garment shops.
Nor were Native American women exactly lying around
eating bonbons all this time. They are part and parcel of the
female labor force.

... courage, humor and plain spunk were
bountiful.
Space forbids more than the most cursory introduction to
the history of these unsung sisters, but as one delves into the
details of their lives, one learns that courage, humor and plain
spunk were bountiful.
Undoubtedly the most colorful of all was Mary Harris
"Mother Jones. Sweet-faced, impeccably clad in rustling
widow's black with a touch ofladylike white lace, white-haired
and tiny, she was' 'not afraid of the devil.'' For example, when
confined to a dark cellar in Walsenberg during a Colorado
miner's strike, she passed the time by fending off the rats with
her shoe. Confronted by thugs in Pennsylvania's tough
Monengahela Valley, she whipped out from under her crisp
little gingham apron a .38 special and invited them to withdraw.
They did.
Hauled up before a judge during a West Virginia miner's
fight, she called him a scab to his face. Told she must address
him as "Your Honor," she snapped, "Well, I can't call him
'Your Honor' until I know how honorable he is. I took an oath
to tell the truth."
Her meager possessions wrapped in a black shawl, -- "I
like to travel light" -- she crisscrossed the country again and
again. She sometimes passed herself off as a peddler, with an
appropriate stock of pins, needles and threads. In Alabama, she
told a befuddled military sentry that she was "going to a
missionary meeting to knit mittens for the heathen in Africa.''

4

Her/and Voice

September, 1993

While one can laugh at this saucy tartar, there are no smiles
when one contemplates the short life of Ella May Wiggins, shot
in the head during a textile strike in North Carolina, and laid in
her grave before she was thirty. Her crime? Like "Aunt"
Molly Jackson, she not only struggled, she had the temerity to
write songs -- a dangerous and effective weapon. Unsung and
unremarked, many other women, too, shared the dangers and
hardships of the men, being beaten, jailed, insulted -- and
injuredin all the ways with which women are only too familiar.
One of the outstanding figures of the great era of CIO
organizing in the 1930s was Rose Pesotta, a Russian immigrant
who was heavily involved in the great sitdown strikes in the big
Midwest factories. A quick thinker with a ready tongue, she had
an answer for a boss who suggested that, rather than aiming for
a general strike, it would be better to call strikes in individual
shops, one by one.
"An excellent idea," she snapped. "We'll do it. On
Monday we'll call our first strike -- in your shop."
Pesotta was also sterling in dealing with some of the
prejudices and blindnesses of working people -- she never made
the mistake of thinking that they were perfect. •• Sister Pesotta,' '
said one woman," you simply can't trust these Jews." Despite
her Italian sounding name, Pesotta was Jewish. But she took the
time to make the woman think, ··you know that Leonitti, a
manager who betrayed you, prides himself on being a good
Catholic. Would you advise me to say that it was because he
was a Catholic that he betrayed your cause?"
Many labor organizers who were women were given
traditional "feminine'' jobs such as organizing commissary for
strikers -- but organizing three meals a day for thousands of
workers and their families was not such a soft touch. Women
were also crucial in organizing other women -- the wives,
mothers, sisters and girlfriends of male strikers. They were
crucial in the hard-fought Akron rubber workers strike, where
few actual employees were women, and in the historic sitdown
in Flint, Michigan, which organized the auto industry.

Women are bound to be a key part of a
new wave of organizing.
Except in agriculture, where all the old ghastly conditions
and brutalities only too often still prevail, the heavy industriiil
organizing era is over, and unlikely ever to return. The task now
is to organize in the ever-increasing service and office sector.
Handed the lemon of temp, part-time and "flex-time" -- all
work without benefits -- and faced with the double shift of the
paying job and the non-paying job of housework and childcare,
women are bound to be a key part of anew wave of organizing.
The immediate task is to gain benefits for all work and to halt
the brutal speedup. The longer task is to realize that all the
victories, all the gains, all the concessions for which working
people fought, bled and died over the past century and a half
have been very rapidly eroded, since 1945, and particularly
since 1981. For what the boss can give, the boss can take away,
and the only ultimate answer is for working people to own their
jobs and their places for work. That will not come in a day, but
the time to begin is always now.
0

Published by: Herland Sister Resources, Inc. 2312 N.W.
39th, Oklahoma City, OK 73112
Newsletter Committee: Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Vivien
Ng, Pat Reaves
Circulation: 11 00
Advertising Rates: Business card $15; 1/4 page $35 ;
1/2 page $60; full page $1 00
The Voice is offered as an open forum for community discourse. Articles reflect the opinions of the author and not
necessarily those of Herland Sister Resources. Unsolicited
articles and letters to the editor are welcomed and must be
signed by the writer with fu ll name and address. Upon
request, letters or articles may be printed under a pseudonym
or anonymously.

Subscriptions to The Voice are free upon request .
The Voice is printed on recycled paper.

LONE STAR WoMEN's Music
FESTIVAL
Now in its fourth year, the Lone Star Women's Music
Festival is bigger and better than ever. Producers Bonnie
Moore and Kathy Mills are gearing up to welcome an estimate
1,000 women to this year's event.
The festival talces place from October 1 to 3 on the banks
of the Guadalupe river near New Braunfels, 30 miles south of
Austin. While the emphasis is on local and regional talent, a
glance at this year's program shows upwards of 25 acts.
Included too, are such internationally known legends as Alix
Dobkin and powerful folk-blues singer Odetta. ·'We have the
widest variety of music of any women's music festival -everything from rock to cajun,'' says Moore.
The three nights of music kick off with a Friday program
hosted by Alabama comedian MatinaBevis and including such
local favorites as singer/songwriter Diana Jones and the conjunto
sounds of the Texana Dames.
Saturday, hosted by the popular and funny RobynE. from
New Orleans, sees, among others, the "brainy beauteous and
somewhat bawdy'' BETTY take the stage, as well as
"vulvacentric" Girls in the Nose and full-tilt rock band Power
Snatch.
Sunday's lineup includes three Austin institutions-- Nancy
Scott, Sara Elizabeth Campbell and Emily Kaitz -- and winds
up with a Denton, Texas band whose name somehow seems to
capture the spirit of the entire weekend: Lyndzi Wildheart and
the Amazon Range Riders!
Volunteers are needed to help run the festival. "It takes a
lot of women to make this happen, ' ' said Moore. ·'We need
women in technical positions, to drive shuttles, to cook meals
... and we've lost our old contact list, so call even if you worked
in previous years.' '
For more information on tickets and volunteering, call
(512) 929-0002.
D

ALLISON JosEPH To V1s 1r OSU
Allison Joseph, winner of the John C. Zacharis First Book
Awardforherpoetry collection What Keeps Us Here, will give
a poetry reading at Oklahoma State University on Friday,
October 1, 1993. The reading, which is free and open to the
public, will be at 8 pm in the Student Union Theater. Following
the reading, Ms. Joseph will sign copies of her book at an
Autograph Party in the French Lounge, 270 Student Union.
Prior to the reading Ms. Joseph will speak at a dinner
honoring recipients of the Southern Heights Youth Scholarship. The dinner is at 5:30 p.m. in the Oklahoma Room of the
Best Western of Stillwater, 600 E. Mc Elroy. Tickets are $8.50,
and the public is encouraged to attend. Send an SASE and a
check earmarked for "Allison Joseph Banquet" and payable to
"United Ministry ofOSU", 823 W. University, Stillwater, OK
74074. Phone 405-377-9174.
Allison Joseph was born in London, England, in 1967 to
parents of Caribbean heritage. She grew up in Toronto and the
Bronx, and studied at Kenyon College and Indiana University.
She was the first undergraduate student since Robert Lowell to
be published in The Kenyon Review. In the last four years her
poems have appeared in over fifty magazines, including OSU' s
Cimmaron Review. She has been awarded an Academy of
American Poets Prize, a Ruth Lilly Fellowship, and an Associated Wdting Programs Intro Journals Prize. Her book was the
first winner of Ampersand Press' s Women Poets Series Competition.
D

SUMMIT
DRY CLEANERS
GRAND OPENING
Mention This Ad,
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787-3639

HERLAND & OGLPC PRESENT

HARVEST MOON BALL
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1993
8:00 P.M. - MIDNIGHT
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(Unitarian Church)

$5/person
Festive Formal Frocks (or not!)
CASH BAR
Tickets available in advance from
Her/and board members or call 524-2131
Tickets will also be available at the door.

HerlandVoice

September, 1993

5

WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY,
BY THE PRESIDENT
STATES

OF

OF

1993

THE UNITED

AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION
On August 26, 1993, we celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the
Constitution. In declaring that the right to vote shall not be
denied or abridged on account of sex, the Nineteenth Amend-.
ment guaranteed for women the most cherished prerogative of
American citizenship.
Since America was founded, women have demonstrated an active interest in shaping the practice of democratic
government. But it was not until the passage of the Nineteenth
Amendment that women's myriad contributions to the social,
cultural, and economic life of our Nation began to receive the
full acknowledgment they deserved. As women's voices
continue to gain strength in the political arena, female elected
officials at every level of government bring crucial insight to
the decision-making process.
The struggle for true equality among the sexes has not
been limited to the public sphere. Broadening the franchise
fundamentally changed our understanding of equal opportunity, helping to encourage shared responsibility in the home
and personal growth in the work place. Today, more and more
women are leading the way through advancements in law,
science, business, and the arts. As we approach the 21st
century, women's unfailing strength and wisdom remain integral to ensuring the lasting prosperity of our Nation.
Each year, we observe August 26 as "Women's
Equality Day," to honor the infinite sacrifices and contributions that women have made to the United States. On this
occasiQn. we reaffirm ournational commitment to the distinctly
American promise of guaranteed equality for all our people. 0

2109 S. Air Depot
Midwest City, OK 73110

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fJ:Jrntaf (!a.« (o< tfi. £nti« 'Ja.mdy
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Her/and Voice

by Ulith Lynn

In the morning
I tum to you
Your hand strokes my cheek
and I tum to your breast
I suck your nipp!e and am comforted.
I think of how years ago
you awoke with a baby by your side
here where I lie now
you stroked her cheek
and she turned to you
took your nipple in her small pink mouth
sucked and was comforted.

I think of this
I can see this because years ago
I did the same.
I also awoke with a hungry baby
beside me
I also stroked her cheek
until she turned to me
took my nipple in her mouth
sucked and was comforted.
We both take it for granted that
two mothers together
\ve know these ordinary things
But, oh my love, I tell you
knowing these things together
is NO ordinary thing.

WOMEN PRISONERS

JOY HUSKA, D.V.M.

w n in 9,

MOTHERS IN THE
MORNING

(405)737-0496

Air Depot Animal Hospital
Call for Appointment

Two

September, 1993

The publication of Women Prisoners: A Forgotten Population has been announced by Praeger, of Westport, Connecticut. Edited by Beverly R. Fletcher, of the University of
Oklahoma, Dreama Moon, of the University of Arizona, and
Lynda Dixon Shaver oflndiana University, the book, based on
a longitudinal study of women incarcerated in Oklahoma,
covers a variety of issues relating to female offenders.
Because previous research has failed to address the problems of imprisoned women from a holistic point of view, two
unique features of this book are its recognition of the importance of women researching women and its multidisciplinary,
multiethnic approach. Beverly Fletcher, an African-American,
Dreama Moon, an Anglo, and Lynda Shaver, a Cherokee
woman, co-principal investigators and editors of this research,
D
-are themselves symbolic of the diversity of this work.

ABORTION FUNDING:
SoME W1Ns, SoME Losses
Debate about federal funding of abortion services surfaced
several times during the annual appropriations process. Both
pro-choice and anti-choice advocates see these actions as
important precedents for the treatment of abortion services in
the health care reform package Congress will consider this fall.
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
Since 1983, coverage for abortions under the Federal
Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) has been banned,
except when the woman's life is in danger. Over 300 private
plans are offered to federal employees under FEHBP. On June
22, the House passed its version of the Treasury-Postal-General
Government appropriations bill without the FEHBP restriction.
When the bill reached the Senate in July, Senator Don
Nickles (R-Oklahoma) offered an amendment to ban coverage
of abortions except in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment
of the woman. Insurance coverage for abortions could be
offered only through a separate rider with the premium paid
entirely by the employee. Sen. Barbara Mikulski successfully
blocked the amendment at the subcommittee level and on the
Senate floor.
With both versions of the Treasury-Postal appropriations
bill free of restrictive language, abortion coverage will be
restored in health plans offered to federal employees, beginning
October 1, 1993.

...

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Medicaid abortions for poor women:
The restriction against the use offederal Medicaid funds to
pay for abortions for poor women, commonly known as the
''Hyde Amendment,'' has been in effect since 1977. Retaining
this restriction on Medicaid was the major goal of abortion
opponents this year.
After heated debate and procedural maneuvering, the
House voted 255-178 on June 30 to approve a modified Hyde
amendment. Federal Medicaid funds may not be used to pay for
abortions except in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment.
The Senate is expected to begin consideration of the LaborHHS appropriations bill in September.
Other abortion restrictions:
The District of Columbia and the Commerce, State, Justice
appropriations bills passed the House and Senate without
restrictive abortion amendments. The D.C. government has
been banned since 1988 from using local funds to pay for
Medicaid abortions . Women in federal prisons also have been
denied abortions since 1986. There was little debate concerning
abortion funding during consideration of these bills, although
abortion opponents mounted an unsuccessful effort to defeat
final passage of the D.C. spending bill over this issue.
The restriction on paying for abortions for Peace Corps
volunteers was also left in place by the House. The Senate is
expected to take up the Foreign Operations appropriations bill
in the fall.
0
From: Update On Women and Family Issues In Congre ss .

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fourth annual women's retreat)'

October 1, 2, and

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1

September, 1993

7

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II

Dykes To Watch Out For

ULLETIN llOARD

I

:rusrDo...ir-nNs•1r.

I

Coming Out Stories:

The October
Voice will celebrate National Coming
Out Day by publishing your coming out
stories. We invite you to submit a short
account of how/when you first recognized yourself as a lesbian/bisexual or
told others about your lifestyle. Recognizing that coming out is an ongoing
process, The Voice will publish stories
without the full name of the author on
request.

MEAN, \,IOIJ/.D 5::>i"EoN£
PL.EASE: £l<nAIW1b l'\E:

WHAl5 SO REVOLU1lotJARY

crushed

A!IOUfNEWSWEEK mu.JG
US WHAT WE:DO IN BE:D?

©1993 BYALISOll BECHDEL

L£S~1AN5 ARE f<E1'1AC1N6SJEPA£RO&ICS IN
IHf. DEPRl\VED CE;)5l'lf C1" MAIN5~ ~icAV

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CUL.TUIT..! LL"IM£ n.u YA, WE: DID•tr KNOW WHEN
>JE fJAD ITGooD! MOVll/6 INVISIBLY, BEtwG ON/HE:
Ol!fSIDE-- TI1AT5 WH£R£0liJ; REAL,SU8vt;RSll/l
FOWER LIES! R'IGHl, 1fiEA?

Y'KNOW, >'DU'R£ AB50WTELY 11.iG.HT.'
SAAT"fERJNG "TliE M)'(ft rnAT LESBIANS A~·,Rl'AL PEOPL!; 15 OUR. 51116L£ f"IOff £FFECfil/E
Ta>L IN COUtiTD<lrJG TliE RA"1PANIHol"<>PltJBIA
AND MIW,yNY I~ JOCJ£T"Y1t>PAY.

Lesbian Only Counseling group.
Wednesday evenings. Call Jo L.Soske,
M.Ed/MHR/NCADC/NCC/LPC at 3645708.

Julianne Malveaux, Ph.D., economist,

I

writer and syndicated columnist, has
been named keynote speaker for the
second annual Women Mean Business
Conference to be held September 20 at
the Marriott Hotel in Oklahoma City.
Ms. Malveaux writes a newspaper column that appears regularly in over 20
newspapers, including the Oklahoma
Women's Front Page News. She provides commentary on socio-political
issues on TV and radio programs such
as CNN and "To the Contrary."

I

Spinsters Ink is seeking feminist writ-

LE/ ME GIVE YOU A rR1EllOLY
TIP, (LAA.IC£ . D()tf 6Ef'TOO

HUNG UP 01/ llf.EPING A "T1Gli1
5cH£Dl/IL f011.11H:~ ti£Xl,5AY,
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FA51 ON l!SBIAN V151BIL.IT)' OUT
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Vo1cE WELCOMES DYKES TO WATCH OuT FoR!
Beginning with this issue, The Voice will include this nationally-known cartoon strip
featuring lesbian characters. We are very pleased to be bring you this always funny and revealing
cartoon.
The Voice is provided free to anyone who asks for a subscription. Each month, 1300 copies
are distributed by mail in Oklahoma and nation-wide and in community centers and bars in the
Oklahoma City area.
We need your help to continue this service. Production and mailing of one issue of The
Voice costs about $460 and takes at least 80 woman-hours of volunteer labor. Advertising helps
to meet the costs but doesn't completely pay for production of The Voice . Herland relies on
contributions to meet these regular expenses.
If you enjoy reading The Voice each month, please consider making a contribution of $10
or more to help meet the costs of publication. Send your contribution to Herland Voice, 2312
N.W. 39th, Oklahoma City, OK 73112. We'll promise to keep working to bring you a variety of
information about the Oklahoma women's community andotherit=s of interest.
0

ing by women of color in the form of
full-length novels or non-fiction work.
Submit to Spinsters Ink, P. 0. Box
300170 Dept C, Minneapolis, MN 55403
or call 612-377-0287.

Women and Bereavement: Compiling writings that reflect the real-life
spectrum of emotions and experiences
of those facing bereavement - a term that
includes not only loss of cherished ones
but also loss of oneself to disability and
the collective loss of patients and clients
by health professionals . Submissions may
include personal essays,j ournal excerpts
and black and white photographs. Submit to Laurie Jones Neighbors, P. 0.
Box 2021 , Monterey, CA 93942-2021
Correction: The correct address for
Judy Chicago' s Through The Flower is
P. 0. Box 8138, Santa Fe, New Mexico
87504.
$100 Poetry Prize for the Sue Saniel
ElkindPoetryContest. Submissions must
be postmarked by November l, 1993. For
information write "Kalliope," Sue Saniel
Elkind Poetry Contest, FCCJ, 3939
Roosevelt Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32205 . . )
\..

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