extracted text

Serving the womyn •s
community

•

Her/and Vo tee
Herland Spring
Retreat at Roman
Nose State Park
May 18-20, 2012
Do you have a case of SPRING FEVER? Has it been a
while since you spent an entire weekend RELAXING
and HAVING FUN with FRIENDS? Are you ready for
some AMAZING MUSIC , YUMMY FOOD, and the freedom
to DO WHATEVER YOU WANT for the weekend? Well,
we have just the event for you! The Herland Spring
Retreat will be at Roman Nose State Park (near
Watonga), Friday, May 18 to Sunday, May 20!
For those of you that have never been to a Herland
retreat, or those that can't remember the last retreat
they attended ... come on and have some fun! Whether
you come solo or with a group of friends, the weekend
is a perfect, affordable opportunity to meet new
friends,
catch up
with
old
friends,
explore
nature,
learn
something
new at a
workshop,
or simply
it
take
easy in an
incredibly supportive, women-only environment.
As usual, your registration includes lodging for both
nights, supper when you arrive Friday evening,
Saturday and Sunday scrumptious breakfasts, and our
famous potluck Saturday evening, the Saturday night
concert, campfires, and all activities planned
Our Saturday evening
throughout the weekend!
concert will feature the amazing ... AU l'fAllTElt! Ali

since 1983

has been a singer/songwriter for almost half of her
young life. She is a veteran in the national music scene,
having shared the stage with such acts as Dierks Bentley
and Miranda Lambert, and having shared festival billing
with the likes of The Flaming Lips, Leon Russell, Ben
Harper, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, and The Black Crowes.
You
can
check
her
out
for
yourself
at
www.aliharter.com.
Many of you know Sharlene as a mean (in an awesome
way!) harp (harmonica) player. But... bet you didn't
know she'll be leading a workshop entitled "How to
...........--..--=-------.,...,.....,,..-.....,..., Understand
and
Appreciate
your
Partner."
She'll
us
how
show
of
exploration
temperaments and
emotional
needs
- will lead to a
healthier, happier
relationship. Singles and couples are welcome alike.
Everyone can benefit from this session. Also - Christa
will be leading us in making our very own Goddess
Masks! There will also be a group going fly fishing,
dancing, campfires, and just about everything else
you'd expect from a Herland Retreat.
The Herland Retreat is whatever we make it. Let's
make it great!
Since we're only publishing The Voice quarterly, this is
the only notification ft registration form you'll
receive. The Registration Form is on Page 3. The
deadline for pre-registration (which really helps us to
know how much food to buy and how many awesome
women to expect) is Saturday, May 12th. After you send
us your registration form and check, we'll mail you a
packet which will include a map, more information
about the planned activities, and a list of what you'll
Do yourself a favor, and
want to bring with you.
register now while you're thinking about it! Even if you
don 't pre-register, we hope you'll still come and join in
the fun!

The Herland Voice is a publication of Herland Sister Resources, 2312 NW 39th, OKC , OK 73112. Our bookstore/lending library is
open Saturdays from 1·5 pm. Call us at (405) 521-9696 or email us at herland@herlandsisters.org . Visit us on the web at
www.herlandsisters.org.

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• Thursdays: Oklahomci City Youth Un ited, 6 pm, Vnitci ri- •
: cin Chmch
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: ~'PJr,,J,

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: Wednesday. A pr 4: Oklci homci 's 3rd A nnucil LG BT Equci l- :
• ity Dciy cit t he Ccipito l, Stcit e Ccipitol, 9 cim - 2 pm
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: Thursday. A pr 12: Louise ci nd Mci ry cit VCO Jci zz Leib

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Saturday. Apr 14: Poetry <1nd Potluck 4t Herl<ind, 5:30
pm
Satmday. A pr 14: Louise ci nd Mciry open for Emmci's
Revolution cit t he Blue Door

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: Friday. Apr 20: Lo uise ci nd M;iry cit Cookies n Cci rds in
• Normcin

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supper clubs
Ap ril 14-Potluck and Poetry at Herland. We have a
lot of talented poets in the area so come out and listen
to some at our April Supper Club. Potluck will start at
5:30 p.m . followed by poetry about 7 pm .
May 12-Supper Clu b and Scentsy Party at Hideaway
Pizza , 661 6 N West ern . Come find out what Scentsy is
and why so many people love it. Plus, a portion of any
sales will go to benefit Herland. (No obligation to buy
any products .) We ' ll be in the sunroom starti ng at 5:30
pm .
June 9-Stonew all Cookout and Concert at Herland .
We'll be at the Herland Retreat on Pride Weekend so
will not have our usual Pride Picnic. To make up for it,
we are going to commemorate St onewall (the beginning
of the modern gay rights movement) with a backyard
cookout and concert. Food starts at 5:30 pm and music
at 6:30 pm . Come hear you r favorites!

: Saturday. A pr 21: Oklci ho mci City's Wo tl dwide LG BT Civil :
• Rig hts Mci tch, stcirt ne<ir Bticktown Btewe ry, 11 <im-1 pm •

If you have a restaurant you would like to suggest for a
future Herland Supper Club , please email us at herland@herlandsisters.org. We would love to hear your
ideas .

: Wednesday. A pr 25: Lou ise cin d Mci ry cit A rts Festiva l 1
• pm

herland clean up day

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: Saturday. Apr 28: Herl<ind Cle<1n Vp D<iy, 9:30 <im-1 pm

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: Satmday. A pr 28: Circl e o( Friends, P<irtners, 5 pm

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: eMry

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: Saturday. May 12: Herl<ind Supper Club C:ind Scentsy P4r- :
• ty) 4t Hide<1w<1y Piz.z<L 6616 N. Western, 5:30 pm
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: a<9/}l\.~g 6!1'-A-4 ~,(},,JJ_

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: September: Herland Celebr4tion otTitle IX 40th An ni-

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• ve rs4 ry

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: May 18-20: Herl<1nd Spring Retre4t <1t Rom<1n Nose

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• May 18- 27: OKC Pride Wee k Activit ies- see
: okcpride.org

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Su nday. May 20: OKC Pride P.::ir<1de. Stepoff 6 pm
May 25- 27: Gre4t Pl4ins Rodeo <1t t he St4te F<1 irg rounds

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: ~e
• Saturday. June 9: Herl4nq Stonew4ll Cookout <1nq Con: cert with Live Music, 5:30 pm 4t Herl4nq

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Put on your work gloves and join us on Saturday, April
28, for a morning of
cleanup around Herland.
If it's raining , we ' ll be
i ndoors painting and fixing walls. If it' s dry,
we ' ll also be outdoors
weeding gardens and
trimming trees . We ' ll
start about 9:30 a.m.
and go till about 1 pm .
And , we'll fire up the
grill about noon . Please
come and help for any part of the morning!

pride week

1
okcpr1dei

Pride Week 2012: May 18·27

Proud. Strong. United.

Pride has been moved to our Herland Retreat weekend
this year but IF you are staying in town (and we hope
you don 't!) , the festival is on Saturday, May 18 on Sheridan Avenue (downtown). The parade will be Sunday,
May 19, with step-off at 6 pm . You can even go to the
Herland Retreat and still make it back in plenty of time
for the parade!

aids mastery workshops
Northern Lights Alternatives is offering AIDS mastery workshops in June and October 2012. The AIDS Mastery Workshop offers the opportunity to find ways of living well, of opening up new possibilities or rediscovering them. Exploring experiences, hopes and dreams offers a way to live differently empowering you to make positive .choices
about how to live life with HIV rather than being controlled by it. The result will be the opportunity to live a more
powerful life, make better choices and decisions and become part of a support group like no other. The workshop
has been life changing for some people.
There is no cost to participants for the three-day workshops held on Friday evening, all day Saturday, and all day
Sunday. Dinner is provided Friday and Saturday evening and breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Bilingual (Spanish) workshops are available. For more information, visit www.aidsmasteryokc.org.

---------------------------------------------------,
J::.
Herland Spring Retreat 2012 Registration
Roman Nose State Park, Watonga, OK May 18-20, 2012
Deadline for pre-registration is May 15th. Please return registration form and check
to: Herland Sister Resources, 2312 NW 39th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73112.

.....

~.-

A retreat packet with all information will be mailed to you.

Name(s): _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Address: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
City: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ State: _ _ _ Zip: _ _ _ __
Phone: _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Email:

Total Registration Fee

$_____ enclosed.

( ) I'm enclosing an additional
( ) I'm bringing

S

to help provide scholarships.

children (girls of all ages and boys under age 10 are welcome).

( ) I'm bringing ___ dogs that will be kept on leashes at all times and I and will sign a
waiver stating I am completely responsible for any injury or damage caused by my dog(s).
( ) I have a disability and need the following if possible:

Sliding Scale Registration Fee (for entire weekend)
Annual Income PER PERSON

( ) under $13,300 - $30

( ) All Day Saturday - $25 (includes Concert)

( ) $13,300-$30,000 - $45

( ) Saturday Night Concert Only - S10

( ) over $30,000 - $60

update on break-ins
Dear Herland Friends,
Thanks to all of you, we are recovering
from our rash of break-ins. We have
completed our steps to beef up security-including installing bars on the_._...__..._._
back and side windows and door and
installing new motion detector
lights. If you haven't seen our new
bars, we think you'll like them. Our
friend, heating and air guy, and security consultant-Scott Jones-painted them pink for us.
Thanks, Scott!
A special thanks goes out to all of you who have come
forward with extra donations to help us pay for these
much needed security measures. We appreciate all of
you!
And if some of you would still like to contribute to
this effort, we would be grateful for any donation,
large or small.
Herland is a nonprofit and your donations are deductible to the extent allowed by law. Our board/staff is
entirely volunteer and our annual operating budget is
approximately $11,000. This goes to pay for our newsletter, insurance, utilities, and to put on our monthly
and special events.
Please consider a donation, large or small, to Herland
this year.

coming t his f all-40th
anniversary celebration
of title IX
According to the Report Card on Gender Equity put out
by t he National Coalition for Women and Gi rls i n Education, before Title IX:
•

Female students were not allowed to take certain
courses, such as auto mechanics or criminal justice,
and male students couldn't t ake home ec.

•

Women faculty members were excluded from facu l ty clubs and encouraged to join faculty wives' clubs
instead.

•

After win ning two gold medals in the 1964 Olympics, swi mmer Don na de Varona could not get a
college swimming scholarship because for women
they did not exist.

•

Most medical and law schools limited the number of
women that could be admitted.

Title IX was the first comprehensive federal law t o prohibit sex discrimination against students and employees
of educational i nstitutions. It was passed by Congress
and sign ed int o law by Richa rd Nixon on July 1, 1972.
Herland will join with other organizat ions around the
cou ntry to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Title IX.
Watch fo r more news in upcoming newsletters about
our plans .

Sincerely,
The Herland Board

--------,
·------------------------Thank you for your support!
Name(s) ..................................................................................................................................................................... .
Street ........................................................................................................................................................................ .
City .................................................. State ......

Zip .............. .

Email Address ........................................................................................................................................... .
Herland is supported primarily by contributions from individuals. If all of our 800 readers would contribute just $15 a
year, that would help us tremendously toward meeting our newsletter costs, monthly utilities, insurance, and building
upkeep. Herland is a non-profit 501 (c)3 organization and exists solely through contributions and the efforts of our volunteers (we have no paid staff). Your contribution is deductible to the extent allowed by law. Please Contribute
Now!!
[
[
[
[

] Enclosed is a contribution for S ........... .
] Please save on postage and send only electronic version to my email address above.
] Please add me to the hardcopy mailing list for The Voice.
] Please change my address (new address above).

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

Older Lesbians Organizing for Change national gathering
July 19-22 in Boston
The 2012 National Gathering promises to deliver a grand old time for great Old Lesbians (you!) with a varied program conducted in elegant and comfortable quarters.
Our theme , "Bridges to Justice: 21st Century Activism," is a part of our response to an
impromptu meeting at the end of our 2010 Gathering. It was called to discuss how
OLOC could more effectively recognize ~nd challenge racism, classism , and other op pressions within OLOC as well as without. Since that meeting, the Steering Committee
has undertaken a number of steps in this direction .
OLOC is a national network of Old Lesbians over age 60 working to make life better for
Old Le,sbians through support networks and by confronting ageism in our communities
and our country using education and public discourse as primary tools. Visit www.oloc.org for more details .

IE.

..·. ·.... The
,r•~:

3rd Annual LGBT Equality Day at the Capitol

Wednesday, April 419:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m.
. . ·q.; >I·u'· ·a. · 1"'1ty
. . . , ; , Oklahoma State Capitol I 2300 N Lincoln I OKC

; ' :.•.• ., Networ~k
~" ''"""~' ~1 \\rff r:~•'li·'·"""·!i- 1f""!f'

Please join The Equality Network, Oklahoma GLBT PAC, HRC members and fair-minded
people from across Oklahoma for the 3rd Annual LGBT Equality Day at the Capitol.

Nothing shapes legislators' attitudes more than face-to-face contact with their constituents. We will schedule your
meetings with legislators and provide training on how to best interact with lawmakers and discuss LGBT issues in Oklahoma.
·
Our day will begin with a brief lobbying training session at 9:00 a.m. in Room 108. For more information, contact Laura
Belmonte at lbelmonte@theequalitynetwork.org or (918) 906-2134.

Oklahoma City's Worldwide LGBT Civil Rights March

I

Saturday, April 21
Bricktown Brewery, 11 am-1 pm
Equality for ALL peaceful march. We will all meet at 11 :00 a:m. and the march will commence at 12:00. The route is
going to be that we head East on E Sheridan Ave. to Joe Carter Ave. We will then head south to Johnny Bench Dr. and
when we reach Oklahoma Ave. we will head back north to our original destination. The March will last as long as momentum is there and depending on the numb.e r of people . Bring all your Peaceful Equality signs. Plan on wearing black
or purple shirts. Please visit www.letsreachonemillionpeople.com and http://thegaylyblogger.blogspot.com.

The Culture of a Nonprofit: Herland
Sister Resources
By Elizabeth G. Brown
Analyzing the culture of an organization provides a useful method for understanding its management practices and
learning about it strengths and weaknesses. For this exercise,
I've chosen Herland Sister Resources, a small nonprofit organization that has operated in Oklahoma City for almost 30 years.
I've taken part in Herland events since I moved to Oklahoma
City 10 years ago. Herland exists to "provide resources for the
women's community to strengthen, enricb, and support women,
and to promote a world free of prejudice, oppression and exploitation". Herland has always had a strong lesbian focus, but
all women are welcome. While Herland remains important to its
participants and board members, there's been a sense throughout the organization that it is no longer growing and thriving. I
decided to examine Herland's organizational culture for clues to
both its longevity and its apparent recent decline.
The group has no paid staff and is operated entirely by
volunteers. Strictly speaking, the group does not have members,
either, but its quarterly newsletter has a subscription list of
about 700 individuals and organizations (McGovern 2012). Herland also operates a lending library that is open every Saturday
afternoon and sponsors a variety of events.
Herland does not have particular slogans, but its stakeholders often use special language to convey their world view.
In addition to using nonsexist, non-oppressive language in spoken and written communication, Herlanders use words like
".herstory" (instead of "history"), and "she-roes" (instead of
"heroes") to create a worldview that honors and celebrates
women. The name of the organization itself was taken from the
title of an old utopian feminist novel that was rediscovered in
the 1970s (Gilman 1979).
A symbol is something that stands for something else.
Herland's symbols tie the group to larger feminist, lesbian, and
gay rights movements. These symbols include the women's
symbol, ( ~ ), the labrys, which is a double-headed axe that
symbolizes the moon and is often used to represent lesbian feminist community, and the rainbow flag, which is often used as a
symbol of the gay community. A rainbow flag is typically displayed outside the building when it is open for business. These
symbols are not unique to Herland, but that is precisely their
importance . They show that Herland is part of social movements
larger than itself.
Besides symbols, there are other objects that have
great importance to Herland. While symbols are abstract representations of a general concept, objects are specific, concrete
items that belong to the organization. Examples of these are
the feminist and lesbian books in the Herland library, old event

posters and photo albums that document Herland "herstory," and posters that celebrate
some of the group's "she-roes." These objects
demonstrate and document the mission of the
organization, and give Herlanders a sense of
common purpose and belonging.
A she-ro is a woman who exemplifies
Herland's mission and values of creating a
world that honors women and other living
things. These include prominent national and
Oklahoma figures such as Gloria Steinem, Alice
Walker, Ellen DeGeneres, Hillary Clinton, Clara
Luper, Wilma Mankiller, and Karen Silkwood.
Herland she-roes also include founders and early leaders of the organization such as Wahru
(Barbara Cleveland) and Margaret Cox. Herland's she-roes aren't only drawn from the
ranks of feminist and gay rights activists, but
from all movements for peace and social justice.
Herland almost never conducts ceremonies, but it does have a number of rituals. I am
defining a ritual as an event that is repeated
regularly and that serves to increase a sense of
belonging and dedication to the group. Herland's rituals include its monthly Supper Club,
which meets at a different local restaurant
each month, and its yearly Pride Picnic, usually
held during Oklahoma City's annual GLBT Pride
Celebration. Herland's most important rituals
are its twice-yearly retreats, held in May and
October at an Oklahoma state park. These are
weekend campouts that include campfires,
workshops, shared meals, a talent show, a Saturday-night concert, a raffle, and much informal camaraderie. Women make new friends and
discover new abilities within themselves. This
experience increases the self-confidence of the
participants and also their connection with Herland.
Tales of the happenings at past retreats
are examples of stories that Herlanders tell. In
this context, a story is an account of past
events that gives context and meaning to the
organization's past, present, and future. Before
Herland was founded, Oklahoma was a battleground state in the campaign to pass an Equal
Rights Amendment to the US Constitution that
would have protected women's rights. This effort failed in Oklahoma and the nation. The
founders of Herland were mostly women who
had been involved in this struggle. Thus, many

of Herland's most important stories have been stories
about the ERA campaign. Other important stories include those told about the founding of the organization
and the purchase and renovation of its building. Between the time of its founding and the middle 1990s,
Herland was very involved in social justice activism.
Some of the organization's stories are about demonstrations or conferences that group members took part in .
The organization's Web site tells the story of how Herland's Legal Defense and Education Fund helped to establish the right of lesbian and gay parents to retain custody of their children in Oklahoma (Herland Sister Resources 2008 b).
Herland 's specia l
language, symbols, objects,
she-roes, rituals, and stories
all play their part in maintaining the norms of the organization. Norms are the
shared values and aspirations
that give the organization its
reason for being. In trying to
create a just world without
oppression, Herland focuses
on empowering women, including lesbians, to take
their rightful place in the
world. Herland's entire culture places a high value on
egalitarianism, on giving
everyone a voice in decision
making and treating everyone equally.
This commitment to equality culminates in the
organization ' s management structure. Herland's board
of directors makes decisions by consensus, which means
that all board members must agree before a decision is
reached. This is not an easy process. Decision making
happens slowly, because it is possible for a single deter- ·
mined board member to block plans that have majority
support. The goal is to build strong commitment to decisions that have been made with everyone's consent.
New members of the board are recruited by existing members, and every participant in Herland is en couraged to apply. Leadership positions on the board
are rotated among those in the "sisterhood rotation ."
The disadvantage to this system is that an important
position might be held by someone without experience
or aptitude for that particular job. The advantage is
that this process trains new leaders and helps prevent

the organization from becoming too reliant on a
single strong individual.
Some members of the Herland community
have become disenchanted with this egalitarian decision making process, feeling that it is too difficult
and cumbersome. But this process persists, largely
because it is supported by all of the other elements
of Herland's culture . If the goal is to create an egalitarian world, it is important for the organization to
be a model of how this can happen.
Herland has been struggling _in the past few
years, but my observation
that this is not caused by
the decision-making process. I believe the difficulty is that most of Herland's stories come from
the early days of the organization. This means
that it is often difficult to
draw younger women to
participate, because they
don't relate to stories
that deal with events
that happened before
they were born . As Herland has changed from an
organization rooted in
activism to one that
mostly creates social
events, it has lost vigor
and focus. The wave of
legislation in the Oklahoma Legislature in 2011 and
2012 directed against women's reproductive freedom and right to choose abortion may prove to be a
blessing in disguise · for Herland. In this situation,
Herland may find a new inspiration for activism and
a source of both new stories and new members.

Herland Sister Resources

Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage

2312 NW 39th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73112

PAID
Oklahoma City, OK
Permit No . 861

Return Service Requested

Ginny Poindexter
Realtor

Sa nda lwood E'>' S a e;e
c

Direct
Office
Fax
E-mail

405.919.8443
405.948.7500
405.948.7502

322 East .!\lain Street
N onn an, OK 73069

ginnypoindexter@kw.com

+0 5-366-5 ,'\G E:.
h'bLLE R \VlLUA1\1S
5629 N. Classen Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73118

sand alwoodandsagc@att.net

Each office is independently owned and operated.

Sandy Ingraham, J.D., M.S.W.
Attorney-at-Law
Ingraham & Associates, PLLC
Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, Probate, Adoption, Contracts

Route 2, Box 369-B
McLoud, OK 74851

Tel. (405) 964-2072
Ingraham@mcloudteleco.com

Dr. Dawn Singleton, Ph.D.

~·· .01~ Licensed Professional Counselor
Licensed Marital & Family Therapist
SOOS N. Pennsylvania #204 OKC, OK
40S-232-3296

FREE HOUR CONSULTATION



Serving the womyn •s
community

•

Her/and Vo tee
Herland Spring
Retreat at Roman
Nose State Park
May 18-20, 2012
Do you have a case of SPRING FEVER? Has it been a
while since you spent an entire weekend RELAXING
and HAVING FUN with FRIENDS? Are you ready for
some AMAZING MUSIC , YUMMY FOOD, and the freedom
to DO WHATEVER YOU WANT for the weekend? Well,
we have just the event for you! The Herland Spring
Retreat will be at Roman Nose State Park (near
Watonga), Friday, May 18 to Sunday, May 20!
For those of you that have never been to a Herland
retreat, or those that can't remember the last retreat
they attended ... come on and have some fun! Whether
you come solo or with a group of friends, the weekend
is a perfect, affordable opportunity to meet new
friends,
catch up
with
old
friends,
explore
nature,
learn
something
new at a
workshop,
or simply
it
take
easy in an
incredibly supportive, women-only environment.
As usual, your registration includes lodging for both
nights, supper when you arrive Friday evening,
Saturday and Sunday scrumptious breakfasts, and our
famous potluck Saturday evening, the Saturday night
concert, campfires, and all activities planned
Our Saturday evening
throughout the weekend!
concert will feature the amazing ... AU l'fAllTElt! Ali

since 1983

has been a singer/songwriter for almost half of her
young life. She is a veteran in the national music scene,
having shared the stage with such acts as Dierks Bentley
and Miranda Lambert, and having shared festival billing
with the likes of The Flaming Lips, Leon Russell, Ben
Harper, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, and The Black Crowes.
You
can
check
her
out
for
yourself
at
www.aliharter.com.
Many of you know Sharlene as a mean (in an awesome
way!) harp (harmonica) player. But... bet you didn't
know she'll be leading a workshop entitled "How to
...........--..--=-------.,...,.....,,..-.....,..., Understand
and
Appreciate
your
Partner."
She'll
us
how
show
of
exploration
temperaments and
emotional
needs
- will lead to a
healthier, happier
relationship. Singles and couples are welcome alike.
Everyone can benefit from this session. Also - Christa
will be leading us in making our very own Goddess
Masks! There will also be a group going fly fishing,
dancing, campfires, and just about everything else
you'd expect from a Herland Retreat.
The Herland Retreat is whatever we make it. Let's
make it great!
Since we're only publishing The Voice quarterly, this is
the only notification ft registration form you'll
receive. The Registration Form is on Page 3. The
deadline for pre-registration (which really helps us to
know how much food to buy and how many awesome
women to expect) is Saturday, May 12th. After you send
us your registration form and check, we'll mail you a
packet which will include a map, more information
about the planned activities, and a list of what you'll
Do yourself a favor, and
want to bring with you.
register now while you're thinking about it! Even if you
don 't pre-register, we hope you'll still come and join in
the fun!

The Herland Voice is a publication of Herland Sister Resources, 2312 NW 39th, OKC , OK 73112. Our bookstore/lending library is
open Saturdays from 1·5 pm. Call us at (405) 521-9696 or email us at herland@herlandsisters.org . Visit us on the web at
www.herlandsisters.org.

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• Thursdays: Oklahomci City Youth Un ited, 6 pm, Vnitci ri- •
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: Wednesday. A pr 4: Oklci homci 's 3rd A nnucil LG BT Equci l- :
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: Thursday. A pr 12: Louise ci nd Mci ry cit VCO Jci zz Leib

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Saturday. Apr 14: Poetry <1nd Potluck 4t Herl<ind, 5:30
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Satmday. A pr 14: Louise ci nd Mciry open for Emmci's
Revolution cit t he Blue Door

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: Friday. Apr 20: Lo uise ci nd M;iry cit Cookies n Cci rds in
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supper clubs
Ap ril 14-Potluck and Poetry at Herland. We have a
lot of talented poets in the area so come out and listen
to some at our April Supper Club. Potluck will start at
5:30 p.m . followed by poetry about 7 pm .
May 12-Supper Clu b and Scentsy Party at Hideaway
Pizza , 661 6 N West ern . Come find out what Scentsy is
and why so many people love it. Plus, a portion of any
sales will go to benefit Herland. (No obligation to buy
any products .) We ' ll be in the sunroom starti ng at 5:30
pm .
June 9-Stonew all Cookout and Concert at Herland .
We'll be at the Herland Retreat on Pride Weekend so
will not have our usual Pride Picnic. To make up for it,
we are going to commemorate St onewall (the beginning
of the modern gay rights movement) with a backyard
cookout and concert. Food starts at 5:30 pm and music
at 6:30 pm . Come hear you r favorites!

: Saturday. A pr 21: Oklci ho mci City's Wo tl dwide LG BT Civil :
• Rig hts Mci tch, stcirt ne<ir Bticktown Btewe ry, 11 <im-1 pm •

If you have a restaurant you would like to suggest for a
future Herland Supper Club , please email us at herland@herlandsisters.org. We would love to hear your
ideas .

: Wednesday. A pr 25: Lou ise cin d Mci ry cit A rts Festiva l 1
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herland clean up day

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: Saturday. Apr 28: Herl<ind Cle<1n Vp D<iy, 9:30 <im-1 pm

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: Satmday. A pr 28: Circl e o( Friends, P<irtners, 5 pm

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: Saturday. May 12: Herl<ind Supper Club C:ind Scentsy P4r- :
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: September: Herland Celebr4tion otTitle IX 40th An ni-

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: May 18-20: Herl<1nd Spring Retre4t <1t Rom<1n Nose

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• May 18- 27: OKC Pride Wee k Activit ies- see
: okcpride.org

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Su nday. May 20: OKC Pride P.::ir<1de. Stepoff 6 pm
May 25- 27: Gre4t Pl4ins Rodeo <1t t he St4te F<1 irg rounds

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• Saturday. June 9: Herl4nq Stonew4ll Cookout <1nq Con: cert with Live Music, 5:30 pm 4t Herl4nq

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Put on your work gloves and join us on Saturday, April
28, for a morning of
cleanup around Herland.
If it's raining , we ' ll be
i ndoors painting and fixing walls. If it' s dry,
we ' ll also be outdoors
weeding gardens and
trimming trees . We ' ll
start about 9:30 a.m.
and go till about 1 pm .
And , we'll fire up the
grill about noon . Please
come and help for any part of the morning!

pride week

1
okcpr1dei

Pride Week 2012: May 18·27

Proud. Strong. United.

Pride has been moved to our Herland Retreat weekend
this year but IF you are staying in town (and we hope
you don 't!) , the festival is on Saturday, May 18 on Sheridan Avenue (downtown). The parade will be Sunday,
May 19, with step-off at 6 pm . You can even go to the
Herland Retreat and still make it back in plenty of time
for the parade!

aids mastery workshops
Northern Lights Alternatives is offering AIDS mastery workshops in June and October 2012. The AIDS Mastery Workshop offers the opportunity to find ways of living well, of opening up new possibilities or rediscovering them. Exploring experiences, hopes and dreams offers a way to live differently empowering you to make positive .choices
about how to live life with HIV rather than being controlled by it. The result will be the opportunity to live a more
powerful life, make better choices and decisions and become part of a support group like no other. The workshop
has been life changing for some people.
There is no cost to participants for the three-day workshops held on Friday evening, all day Saturday, and all day
Sunday. Dinner is provided Friday and Saturday evening and breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Bilingual (Spanish) workshops are available. For more information, visit www.aidsmasteryokc.org.

---------------------------------------------------,
J::.
Herland Spring Retreat 2012 Registration
Roman Nose State Park, Watonga, OK May 18-20, 2012
Deadline for pre-registration is May 15th. Please return registration form and check
to: Herland Sister Resources, 2312 NW 39th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73112.

.....

~.-

A retreat packet with all information will be mailed to you.

Name(s): _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Address: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
City: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ State: _ _ _ Zip: _ _ _ __
Phone: _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Email:

Total Registration Fee

$_____ enclosed.

( ) I'm enclosing an additional
( ) I'm bringing

S

to help provide scholarships.

children (girls of all ages and boys under age 10 are welcome).

( ) I'm bringing ___ dogs that will be kept on leashes at all times and I and will sign a
waiver stating I am completely responsible for any injury or damage caused by my dog(s).
( ) I have a disability and need the following if possible:

Sliding Scale Registration Fee (for entire weekend)
Annual Income PER PERSON

( ) under $13,300 - $30

( ) All Day Saturday - $25 (includes Concert)

( ) $13,300-$30,000 - $45

( ) Saturday Night Concert Only - S10

( ) over $30,000 - $60

update on break-ins
Dear Herland Friends,
Thanks to all of you, we are recovering
from our rash of break-ins. We have
completed our steps to beef up security-including installing bars on the_._...__..._._
back and side windows and door and
installing new motion detector
lights. If you haven't seen our new
bars, we think you'll like them. Our
friend, heating and air guy, and security consultant-Scott Jones-painted them pink for us.
Thanks, Scott!
A special thanks goes out to all of you who have come
forward with extra donations to help us pay for these
much needed security measures. We appreciate all of
you!
And if some of you would still like to contribute to
this effort, we would be grateful for any donation,
large or small.
Herland is a nonprofit and your donations are deductible to the extent allowed by law. Our board/staff is
entirely volunteer and our annual operating budget is
approximately $11,000. This goes to pay for our newsletter, insurance, utilities, and to put on our monthly
and special events.
Please consider a donation, large or small, to Herland
this year.

coming t his f all-40th
anniversary celebration
of title IX
According to the Report Card on Gender Equity put out
by t he National Coalition for Women and Gi rls i n Education, before Title IX:
•

Female students were not allowed to take certain
courses, such as auto mechanics or criminal justice,
and male students couldn't t ake home ec.

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Women faculty members were excluded from facu l ty clubs and encouraged to join faculty wives' clubs
instead.

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After win ning two gold medals in the 1964 Olympics, swi mmer Don na de Varona could not get a
college swimming scholarship because for women
they did not exist.

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Most medical and law schools limited the number of
women that could be admitted.

Title IX was the first comprehensive federal law t o prohibit sex discrimination against students and employees
of educational i nstitutions. It was passed by Congress
and sign ed int o law by Richa rd Nixon on July 1, 1972.
Herland will join with other organizat ions around the
cou ntry to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Title IX.
Watch fo r more news in upcoming newsletters about
our plans .

Sincerely,
The Herland Board

--------,
·------------------------Thank you for your support!
Name(s) ..................................................................................................................................................................... .
Street ........................................................................................................................................................................ .
City .................................................. State ......

Zip .............. .

Email Address ........................................................................................................................................... .
Herland is supported primarily by contributions from individuals. If all of our 800 readers would contribute just $15 a
year, that would help us tremendously toward meeting our newsletter costs, monthly utilities, insurance, and building
upkeep. Herland is a non-profit 501 (c)3 organization and exists solely through contributions and the efforts of our volunteers (we have no paid staff). Your contribution is deductible to the extent allowed by law. Please Contribute
Now!!
[
[
[
[

] Enclosed is a contribution for S ........... .
] Please save on postage and send only electronic version to my email address above.
] Please add me to the hardcopy mailing list for The Voice.
] Please change my address (new address above).

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

Older Lesbians Organizing for Change national gathering
July 19-22 in Boston
The 2012 National Gathering promises to deliver a grand old time for great Old Lesbians (you!) with a varied program conducted in elegant and comfortable quarters.
Our theme , "Bridges to Justice: 21st Century Activism," is a part of our response to an
impromptu meeting at the end of our 2010 Gathering. It was called to discuss how
OLOC could more effectively recognize ~nd challenge racism, classism , and other op pressions within OLOC as well as without. Since that meeting, the Steering Committee
has undertaken a number of steps in this direction .
OLOC is a national network of Old Lesbians over age 60 working to make life better for
Old Le,sbians through support networks and by confronting ageism in our communities
and our country using education and public discourse as primary tools. Visit www.oloc.org for more details .

IE.

..·. ·.... The
,r•~:

3rd Annual LGBT Equality Day at the Capitol

Wednesday, April 419:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m.
. . ·q.; >I·u'· ·a. · 1"'1ty
. . . , ; , Oklahoma State Capitol I 2300 N Lincoln I OKC

; ' :.•.• ., Networ~k
~" ''"""~' ~1 \\rff r:~•'li·'·"""·!i- 1f""!f'

Please join The Equality Network, Oklahoma GLBT PAC, HRC members and fair-minded
people from across Oklahoma for the 3rd Annual LGBT Equality Day at the Capitol.

Nothing shapes legislators' attitudes more than face-to-face contact with their constituents. We will schedule your
meetings with legislators and provide training on how to best interact with lawmakers and discuss LGBT issues in Oklahoma.
·
Our day will begin with a brief lobbying training session at 9:00 a.m. in Room 108. For more information, contact Laura
Belmonte at lbelmonte@theequalitynetwork.org or (918) 906-2134.

Oklahoma City's Worldwide LGBT Civil Rights March

I

Saturday, April 21
Bricktown Brewery, 11 am-1 pm
Equality for ALL peaceful march. We will all meet at 11 :00 a:m. and the march will commence at 12:00. The route is
going to be that we head East on E Sheridan Ave. to Joe Carter Ave. We will then head south to Johnny Bench Dr. and
when we reach Oklahoma Ave. we will head back north to our original destination. The March will last as long as momentum is there and depending on the numb.e r of people . Bring all your Peaceful Equality signs. Plan on wearing black
or purple shirts. Please visit www.letsreachonemillionpeople.com and http://thegaylyblogger.blogspot.com.

The Culture of a Nonprofit: Herland
Sister Resources
By Elizabeth G. Brown
Analyzing the culture of an organization provides a useful method for understanding its management practices and
learning about it strengths and weaknesses. For this exercise,
I've chosen Herland Sister Resources, a small nonprofit organization that has operated in Oklahoma City for almost 30 years.
I've taken part in Herland events since I moved to Oklahoma
City 10 years ago. Herland exists to "provide resources for the
women's community to strengthen, enricb, and support women,
and to promote a world free of prejudice, oppression and exploitation". Herland has always had a strong lesbian focus, but
all women are welcome. While Herland remains important to its
participants and board members, there's been a sense throughout the organization that it is no longer growing and thriving. I
decided to examine Herland's organizational culture for clues to
both its longevity and its apparent recent decline.
The group has no paid staff and is operated entirely by
volunteers. Strictly speaking, the group does not have members,
either, but its quarterly newsletter has a subscription list of
about 700 individuals and organizations (McGovern 2012). Herland also operates a lending library that is open every Saturday
afternoon and sponsors a variety of events.
Herland does not have particular slogans, but its stakeholders often use special language to convey their world view.
In addition to using nonsexist, non-oppressive language in spoken and written communication, Herlanders use words like
".herstory" (instead of "history"), and "she-roes" (instead of
"heroes") to create a worldview that honors and celebrates
women. The name of the organization itself was taken from the
title of an old utopian feminist novel that was rediscovered in
the 1970s (Gilman 1979).
A symbol is something that stands for something else.
Herland's symbols tie the group to larger feminist, lesbian, and
gay rights movements. These symbols include the women's
symbol, ( ~ ), the labrys, which is a double-headed axe that
symbolizes the moon and is often used to represent lesbian feminist community, and the rainbow flag, which is often used as a
symbol of the gay community. A rainbow flag is typically displayed outside the building when it is open for business. These
symbols are not unique to Herland, but that is precisely their
importance . They show that Herland is part of social movements
larger than itself.
Besides symbols, there are other objects that have
great importance to Herland. While symbols are abstract representations of a general concept, objects are specific, concrete
items that belong to the organization. Examples of these are
the feminist and lesbian books in the Herland library, old event

posters and photo albums that document Herland "herstory," and posters that celebrate
some of the group's "she-roes." These objects
demonstrate and document the mission of the
organization, and give Herlanders a sense of
common purpose and belonging.
A she-ro is a woman who exemplifies
Herland's mission and values of creating a
world that honors women and other living
things. These include prominent national and
Oklahoma figures such as Gloria Steinem, Alice
Walker, Ellen DeGeneres, Hillary Clinton, Clara
Luper, Wilma Mankiller, and Karen Silkwood.
Herland she-roes also include founders and early leaders of the organization such as Wahru
(Barbara Cleveland) and Margaret Cox. Herland's she-roes aren't only drawn from the
ranks of feminist and gay rights activists, but
from all movements for peace and social justice.
Herland almost never conducts ceremonies, but it does have a number of rituals. I am
defining a ritual as an event that is repeated
regularly and that serves to increase a sense of
belonging and dedication to the group. Herland's rituals include its monthly Supper Club,
which meets at a different local restaurant
each month, and its yearly Pride Picnic, usually
held during Oklahoma City's annual GLBT Pride
Celebration. Herland's most important rituals
are its twice-yearly retreats, held in May and
October at an Oklahoma state park. These are
weekend campouts that include campfires,
workshops, shared meals, a talent show, a Saturday-night concert, a raffle, and much informal camaraderie. Women make new friends and
discover new abilities within themselves. This
experience increases the self-confidence of the
participants and also their connection with Herland.
Tales of the happenings at past retreats
are examples of stories that Herlanders tell. In
this context, a story is an account of past
events that gives context and meaning to the
organization's past, present, and future. Before
Herland was founded, Oklahoma was a battleground state in the campaign to pass an Equal
Rights Amendment to the US Constitution that
would have protected women's rights. This effort failed in Oklahoma and the nation. The
founders of Herland were mostly women who
had been involved in this struggle. Thus, many

of Herland's most important stories have been stories
about the ERA campaign. Other important stories include those told about the founding of the organization
and the purchase and renovation of its building. Between the time of its founding and the middle 1990s,
Herland was very involved in social justice activism.
Some of the organization's stories are about demonstrations or conferences that group members took part in .
The organization's Web site tells the story of how Herland's Legal Defense and Education Fund helped to establish the right of lesbian and gay parents to retain custody of their children in Oklahoma (Herland Sister Resources 2008 b).
Herland 's specia l
language, symbols, objects,
she-roes, rituals, and stories
all play their part in maintaining the norms of the organization. Norms are the
shared values and aspirations
that give the organization its
reason for being. In trying to
create a just world without
oppression, Herland focuses
on empowering women, including lesbians, to take
their rightful place in the
world. Herland's entire culture places a high value on
egalitarianism, on giving
everyone a voice in decision
making and treating everyone equally.
This commitment to equality culminates in the
organization ' s management structure. Herland's board
of directors makes decisions by consensus, which means
that all board members must agree before a decision is
reached. This is not an easy process. Decision making
happens slowly, because it is possible for a single deter- ·
mined board member to block plans that have majority
support. The goal is to build strong commitment to decisions that have been made with everyone's consent.
New members of the board are recruited by existing members, and every participant in Herland is en couraged to apply. Leadership positions on the board
are rotated among those in the "sisterhood rotation ."
The disadvantage to this system is that an important
position might be held by someone without experience
or aptitude for that particular job. The advantage is
that this process trains new leaders and helps prevent

the organization from becoming too reliant on a
single strong individual.
Some members of the Herland community
have become disenchanted with this egalitarian decision making process, feeling that it is too difficult
and cumbersome. But this process persists, largely
because it is supported by all of the other elements
of Herland's culture . If the goal is to create an egalitarian world, it is important for the organization to
be a model of how this can happen.
Herland has been struggling _in the past few
years, but my observation
that this is not caused by
the decision-making process. I believe the difficulty is that most of Herland's stories come from
the early days of the organization. This means
that it is often difficult to
draw younger women to
participate, because they
don't relate to stories
that deal with events
that happened before
they were born . As Herland has changed from an
organization rooted in
activism to one that
mostly creates social
events, it has lost vigor
and focus. The wave of
legislation in the Oklahoma Legislature in 2011 and
2012 directed against women's reproductive freedom and right to choose abortion may prove to be a
blessing in disguise · for Herland. In this situation,
Herland may find a new inspiration for activism and
a source of both new stories and new members.

Herland Sister Resources

Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage

2312 NW 39th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73112

PAID
Oklahoma City, OK
Permit No . 861

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Sa nda lwood E'>' S a e;e
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Fax
E-mail

405.919.8443
405.948.7500
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322 East .!\lain Street
N onn an, OK 73069

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Each office is independently owned and operated.

Sandy Ingraham, J.D., M.S.W.
Attorney-at-Law
Ingraham & Associates, PLLC
Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, Probate, Adoption, Contracts

Route 2, Box 369-B
McLoud, OK 74851

Tel. (405) 964-2072
Ingraham@mcloudteleco.com

Dr. Dawn Singleton, Ph.D.

~·· .01~ Licensed Professional Counselor
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SOOS N. Pennsylvania #204 OKC, OK
40S-232-3296

FREE HOUR CONSULTATION