extracted text

FEBRUARY, 1991

HSR ADOPTS THREE·
YEAR PLAN
The women of the Herland Board met on October 6, 1990 to begin the process
of developing a mission statement and a three-year plan for Herland. With the able
assistance of Kerry Lobel, we discussed Herland's mission and goals. The process
was completed with the formal adoption of the Herland Sister Resources Mission
Statement at the December Board meeting.
.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE THREE YEAR PLAN:
Physical Facility:
Renovate the building to include painting the inside and outside, handicap
accessibility, a complete kitchen and new roof.
Resource Center:
Expand the stock available for purchase. Expand hours of operation of the
Resource Center. Complete cataloging of the library. Add periodicals and books to
the library.
Programming:
Hold 2 retreats each year. Hold 3 additional women's music concerts each year.
Hold 6 coffeehouses with music or poetry each year. Conduct monthly discussion
groups .
Newsletter:
Publish 12 issues annually with a focus for each issue. Increase circulation. Begin
using recycled paper.
Fundraisin.g; Raise $24,300 for 1991 operating expenses. Raise $35,000 to pay
off building mortgage by January 1, 1993.

HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES MISSION
STATEMENT (Who We Are And What We're About)
Herland Sister Resources envisions and strives toward a world in which all
women live free from oppression.
Herland supports and includes all women who experience opression. Lesbians as
a group have a deep experience of the general oppressive climate of this world.
Although Herland is not restricted to lesbians, we have a strong lesbian focus. We
are a womanist organization, supporting women in their journey toward selfdefinition and self-determinination, and recognizing that each woman has her own
pace of growth and enlightenment.
Herland is a non-profit volunteer organization. We publish a newsletter, operate
a bookstore and lending library, and provide musical and cultural events for
education and entertainment. We offer a safe place for women to meet and
exchange ideas, feelings, hopes and fears and to learn about themselves and each
other.
The only requirement for involvement in Herland is a desire for women to be
free of the restraints of oppression.
VOLU M E 8 NUMBER 2

•

HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES

•

WOMANIST
1. From womanish (Opp. of "girlish," i.e. frivolous, irresponsible,
not serious.) A black feminist or
feminist of color. From the black
folk expression of mothers to female children, "You acting womanish," i.e., like a woman. Usually
referring to outrageous, audacious,
courageous, or willful behavior.
Wanting to know more and in
greater depth than is considered
"good" for one. Interested in doing
grown-up things. Acting grown up.
Being grown up. Interchangeable
with another black folk expression:
"You trying to be grown." Responsible. In charge. Serious. 2. Also: A
woman who loves other women,
sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women's culture,
women' emotional flexibility (val- ues tears as natural counter-balance
of laughter), and women's strength.
Sometimes loves individual men,
sexually .and/or nonsexually. Committed to survival and wholeness of
entire people, male and female. Not
a separatist, except periodically, for
health. Traditionally universalist, as
in: "Mama, why are we brown,
pink, and yellow, and our cousins
are white, beige, and black?" Answer: "Well, you know the colored
race is just like a flower garden, with
every color flower represented."
Traditionally capable, as in: "Mama,
I'm walking to Canada and I'm
taking you and a bunch of other
slaves with me." Reply: "It wouldn't
be the first time." 3. Loves music.
Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves
the spirit. Loves love and food and
roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the
Folk. Loves herself. Regardless. 4.
Womanist is to feminist as purple to
lavender.
From In Search of Our Mother's Gardens:
Womanise Prose by Alice Walker (1983, Harcourt, Brace Javanovich).

2312 N.W. 39th, OKC, OK 73112

•

(405) 521-9696

BOOK

REVIEW

FIRE IN THE
RAIN ... SINGER IN
THE STORM
The autobiography of singer-songwriter
Holly Near
"The world is a challenging lover,
and I am helplessly in love," writes
Holly Near in her eagerly awaited
autobiography, Fire in the Rain . . . Singer
in the Storm. Here is the story of Holly
Near's journey from football princess
to political and social activist, from
movie and television actress to a chanteuse who fills Carnegie Hall and brings
the audience to its feet .
Honored as a woman of the year on
the cover of Ms. Magazine, profiled in
the New York Times, People, the Los
Angeles Times and many other major
publications, singer-songwriter Holly
Near is first of all known as one of the
driving forces in women's and political
music. She takes us through her childhood in rural northern California; her
Hqllywood and TV career, which included roles in the move Slaughterhouse
Five and the Broadway musical Hair;
her political activism, developed during
the Viemam War; her friendships and
affairs with men and women; her role in
women's music and the founding of her
own record label, Redwood Records;
and the forging of her unique personal
m{isic style.
In this winning autobiography, Holly
Near not only reveals her professional
triumphs and setbacks, but also her personal side, her politics and ideas, so that
at last we can fully understand this
remarkable musician and performer.
Fire m the Rain ... Singer in the Storm
is available at Herland, 2312 N.W. 39th
St., Oklahoma City, as are many other
titles of interest to women.
•

2

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

MINNIE BRUCE PRATT AT OU
Lesbian poet Minnie Bruce Pratt
will be speaking about "Sin and
Poetry" at the University of Oklahoma March 1st. Her latest book
Crime Against Nature (Firebrand
Books 1990) won the 1989 Lamont
Poetry Selection by the Academy
of American Poets, an award given
annually by the Academy to one
poet's second full-length book of
poems. The book explores the experience of the loss of custody of
her two sons when she came out as
a lesbian, and the relationship she
has had over the years with her
sons. In 1990, Pratt also was
awarded a Creative Writing Fellowship in Poetry by the National
Endowment of the Arts.
Before Crime Against Nature,
Pratt published two books of
poetry, The Sound of One Fork
(Night Heron Press), and We Say
We Love Each Other (Spinsters/
Aunt Lute). For five years she was a
member of the collective that
edited Feminary: A Feminist Journal
for the South, Emphasizing Lesbian
PHOTO BY JEB
Visions. Her poems and essays have
appeared in various magazines and anthologies, including The American Voice, Conditions,
The Coming Out Stories, Frontiers, Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time, KION, Ms., New
Engl.and Review/Greadloaf Quarterly, Ploughshares, Sinister Wisdom, and Southern Exposure.
Together with Elly Bulkin and Barbara Smith, she co-authored Yours in Struggle: Three
Feminist Perspectives on Anti-Seminsm and Racism (Firebrand Books).
Pratt currently lives in Washington D.C., and teaches Women's Studies part-time at the
University of Maryland at College Park. She is completing a volume of collected essays,
tentatively titled Rebellion, and a fourth book of poetry, Walking Back up Depot Street.
Pratt's visit is being sponsored by the OU Gay/Lesbian/ Bisexual Alliance, English
Forum, Women's Studies Student Association, and Speaker's Bureau. The talk will be at
7:30 p.m. in room 123 of the Microbiology building {tall building west of stadium). For
•
more information call 360-8723 or 325-4452.

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK
APPEARING IN ARKANSAS!
Saturday, February 23, 1991, 8:00 p.m.
in the VALR Theatre Auditorium, Little Rock, Arkansas
Sponsored for Black History Month by
The Women's Project•Black Community Developers• VALR Black Forum
Sweet Honey in the Rock, a five-woman a cappella group from Washington, D.C.
equipped only with a handful of percussion instruments, merges the traditional sounds of
Africa with the voices and experiences of African-Americans, women and other oppressed
people. They have an uncanny ability to weave a spell of peace and magic around audiences
of thousands of people. In 1989, they toured Japan, Austria, the United Kingdom and
Europe, and had a 1990 African tour. The group performs to sell-out crowds all over the
United States. In 1985 they facilitated the production of a cultural festival to close the U .N.
Decade for Women Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Their most recent record release, "Live
at Carnegie Hall," includes the 1988 Grammy-nominated song, "Emergency."
Tickets for the concert are $12. A small number of reserved, stage front tickets are
available for $25. Call 5011372-5113 for ticket information.

WIMMIN'S NIGHT
AT D/I

Need to
Talk?
Want
Community
Information?

The Gay & Lesbian

HELPLINE
Hours:

7 p.m. - 1 a.m.
Wednesday - Monday

(405) 842-GAVS

DIGNITY /INTEGRITY is a support
group for lesbian and gay Catholics and
Episcopalians their friends and supporters.
You do not have to be lesgay, or belong to a
church to visit or become a member.
Tuesday, February 12th has been designated as WIMMIN'S NIGHT. See our
separate ad in this issue for time and place.
Two women guest speakers have been
invited: Shirley Hunter and Sister Gail or
JoAnn of Loaves & Fishes.
It is our hope that many of our sisters
will join us to worship in an inclusive
language liturgy, make new friends, and
enjoy our speakers as they address women's
issues, and the changing roles of women in
the Church. Please join us in friendship,
faith, and refreshments. You might find
something you've been missing.
•

BENEDICTINE PEACE
HOUSE SPONSORS
SPEAKER
John Swomley, Professor Emeritus in
Social Ethics at St. Paul's School of
Theology in Kansas City, Missouri, will
speak on "Moral Crises in U.S. Foreign
Policy" at St. Luke's United Methodist
Church, 222 N.W. 15th Street, Oklahoma
City; on Friday, February 8, 1991; at 7:30
p.m. in Fellowship Hall.
Professor Swomley is the author of
Liberation Ethics and Americ.an Empire, and
edits "Facts for Action," bulletin of the
Kansas City Fellowship of Reconciliation.
A student of national and international
politics, Swomley challenges audiences to
examine global events in the context of
ethics. Professor Swomley's talk is sponsored by the Benedictine Peace House,
405 - 524-5577.
•

DO YOU ENJOY RECEIVING
THE VOICE EVERY MONTH?
If the Voice is important to you please use the form below and the enclosed envelope to send a
contribution to support its publication and distribution.
The Voice is published entirely with volunteer labor, but we still must pay for printing and
mailing. It costs Berland about 50 cents to get your copy to you each month.
Your contribution of at least $6 will cover the costs of your subscription. Please consider
including a little extra to help provide the Voice to others.
Thank you.

YES. I am sending a contribution to Herland to help keep our Voice in the mail.
D $6

D $100

0 $75

D $50

0 $25

D $15

0 Other_ _ _ _ __ _

NAM E~------------------- PHONE~---------

ADDRESS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
CITY/STATE/ZIP _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

HSR FEBRUARY 1991 3

ST. SYBIL

LEITER TO THE EDITOR

The spirit of Sybil Ludington, teenage heroine of the American Revolution and Matron
Saint of the forgotten woman, is an occasional contributor to these pages:

Dear Herland Sisters;

Dear St. Sybil:
What makes you think you're so all-fired smart and know everything?
Sincerely,
Ima Skeptick
Dear Ima,
Oh, my dear, I don't think that I'm so all-fired smart and know it all, at all! I'm still
learning all the time; and of course as long as you keep developing and spiffing up your
language, we will always have that to learn. What I have begun to comprehend in my last
200 years is how things work and mesh together; and what we here develop best of all is a
sort of Cosmic what you would call Shit Detector.
The war in the Persian Gulf, for instance. We here have no earthly idea what George
Bush's real motivation was in going to war rather than trying to resolve the situation
peacefully; why did Bush adopt a tone and vocabulary which absolutely assured that
Saddam Hussein would not compromise an inch? Why Bush's intrasigence, his bullying
attitude?
We do know, however, some of the things you are not there for: Kuwait's oil, for instance.
It is true that Kuwait has wonderful oil reserves, but the fact is that less than 5% of your oil
comes from Iraq and Kuwait. You all there in Oklahoma and the other oil-producing US
states have so much oil that your government has put the brakes on your own exploration
and production. Protecting democracy in the Mid East? I don't think so. Kuwait is a
wholly-owned family enterprise, a constitutional monarchy.
Or are we fighting because oflraq's potential nuclear capability? That is indeed a very bad
thought; Saddam with "the bomb" is certainly scary, as is the thought of Thatcher, Reagan
or Bush with it; or of China, Israel, France and South Africa with it; (and almost as scary as
Harry Truman with it). The United States has watched many other countries develop
nuclear capability, and watched them aggress against others countries without demur;
what is different here?
All in all it is hard to differentiate between your president's ever-changing list of
Reasons Why We Are In The Gulf from one of David Letterman's Top Ten lists. My
speculations have been running along these lines:

Happy New Year to all of you associated
with putting out this wonderful newsletter. I
don't know many people on the East Coast
that get it, but I am one of the lucky ones who
do. It was initially introduced to me by a
Black woman, who is a Chemist. She was
attending the university and working on her
Ph.D. I've always been very glad she put me
on your mailing list, although I've only heard
from her on one other occasion. If you know
who she is, please extend my thanks to her.
I came into a small inheritance in 1990. It
isn't much, but I would like to share it with
you. I don't know as yet, how much I will
have to pay on this in taxes, so enclosed, you
will find a small contribution. I might be able
to send more after the tax person cometh.
Although, I hate to see my tax money invested
in death and destructon and other things
beyond my control.
Thanks a million for keeping me well
informed and entertained. I hope I have a
chance to meet some of you at the Atlanta,
GA Conference April 24 - 28th 1991.

In Peace/Si;terhood
Luvenia Pinson
PUBLISHED BY: Her/and Sister
Resources, Inc. 2312 NW 39th,
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE:
Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Pat
Reaves

ST. SYBIL'S TOP TEN REASONS FOR BUSH SENDING U.S. TROOPS TO THE GULF

CIRCULATION: 750

10.
9.
8.
7.
6.

5.
4.
3.
2.

1.

It got Neil Bush's name off the front pages.
It got the whole S&L crisis off the front pages.
New feminist slogan in America to be "To Hell with the ERA, please just let us drive today!"
Gives the VP an opportunity to make inspiring speech to troops about Vietnam days.
Keeps all of your money safely going to the big defense contracts rather than to a wimpy
"Peace Dividend," where it could build decent roads and bridges and schools and nursing
homes and affordable medical treatment ...
Shows American women just how lucky they really are.
Brilliant plot to scare nation and world half to death, then declare PEACE and have entire
world adore him and elect him King of the World by acclamation.
Got the upcoming banking scandal off the front page.
Nothing much else going on last August.
Just wanted to kick a little ass.

Actually, we were all hoping that it was indeed #4, a brillian plot to rise in the all-important
popularity poll and be handily reelected in '92; and that he would mercifully stop short of actual
war. So much for wishful thinking.
As I write this, four days after the bombing began and ten days or more before the newsletter
comes out, it seems to me that it still could be stopped soon. There has been to date relatively little
loss of life; surely reasonable people can agree to pause and communicate and negotiate peace for
the world; or, surely reasonable people can persuade the world's unreasonable leaders to pause and
communicate and make peace. That is the one hope we can hold onto; and that is your work to do.
With a sore but ever-hopeful heart,
I remain,
Your friend and co-conspirator for peace,
Sybil
4

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

•

GENERAL INFO: (405) 521-9696 (leave
message)
I

SUBSCRIPTIONS to the Her/and Voice
are free upon request.

DISPLAY ADS:
business card or 1/10 page ...
1/4 page . ........ .. .... . .
1/2 page .................
full page ........... .. ... .. .

$ 15.00
$ 35.00
$ 60.00
$100.00

CLASSIFIED ADS:
first 10 words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.50
each additional word ............ $ .10
DISCOUNTS: available on advance prepaid
orders only
1 - 3 months order .............. none
4 - 6 months .. .... .... . ....... 10%
7 - 9 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%
10 -12 months ....•.•. .. .. ...... 20%
PLEASE NOTE: There will be a minimal
charge for typesetting done to any
advertising.

Leave message at HSR
(521-WYMN) to place an ad.

HERLAND BOARD
ENDORSES THE
NATIONAL LESBIAN
CONFERENCE
by Karen Lewis
Berland Sister Resources has oficially
endorsed the National Lesbian Conference
and made a donation of support to the
NLC - Gulf Region.
As Berland is a women's collective with
a strong lesbian focus, which "has a desire
for women to be free of the restraints of
oppression," it is fitting and appropriate
for Berland to give its endorsement and
support to an event which endeavors to
foster understanding and sensitivity among
the diverse populations within the national
lesbian community.
While Herland and women as a whole
work "toward a world in which all women
are free of oppression," this national conference works to alleviate the oppression
which exists within our own lesbian world.
For, if we as a community cannot sensitize
ourselves to our own oppression of each
other, we cannot hope to even envision a
world free of oppression toward women.
The organizers of the NLC recognize the
oppressive behaviors which exist among
our own: racism, ageism, classism, and
ableism, to name a few. The conference is
providing a vehicle through which diverse
groups may come together, listen to each
other , learn from each other, have fun
together, and gain new insight and understanding of ourselves, so that we may
alleviate some of the oppression which
prevents us from becoming the powerful
force for positive societal change which we
have the potential to be.
As the Gulf Region Coordinator for the
National Lesbian Conference, I commend
the Berland Board of Directors for voting
to endorse and support the NLC, thereby
taking a step "toward a world in which all
women are free of oppression."
•

ENCODINGS
Volume I, No. 2
New Poetry and Artwork by
Women in Houston
Leslie Lopez, Carol Snyder,
Cathy Stern, Sharon Stewart,
Monica Vaughan, Fabian Worsham
At your favorite bookstore, or write:
LIAUD: A Women's Press
P.O. Box 6793
Houston, TX 77265-6793.

$4.50/copy

RACISM ALIVE & WELL-GLOBALLY

I

I

I

Many people today refuse to acknowledge that racism exists, whether in their own hearts,
or in the hearts of others, or in the job and housing markets, or wherever. It is hard to
understand this denial of such an obvious force-look around the job, school and neighborhood, and its effects are blatant. The following editorial, which appeared in "The Nation"
in its January 7 /14, 1991 issue, gives an example of racism at the highest reaches of
government, and illustrates its immense and devastating consequences.

REDLINING A BLACK BANK
Two dispatches from the banking crisis, a month apart: On November 9 Harlem's Freedom
National Bank, the only black-owned commercial bank in New York City, was closed by federal
regulators after suffering continued losses on outstanding loans. Usually the Feds place failing
banks in conservatorship for up to a year prior to liquidation, during which time they encourage
depositors with accounts above the $100, 000 level to move their money to safer havens. In Freedom's
case, such kindness was not in the cards. A group of New York businessmen even pulled together
about $6 million to resuscitate the bank, but their efforts were stymied by what Crain's New York
Business called the "Intransigence" of federal regulators.
The appalling result: Dozens of charities and nonprofits that had kepc their money with the bank
as an expression of community solidarity were shocked to learn that millions of dollars would not be
returned to them. When the news emerged that this would lead to drastic cuts in programs providing
day care, foster care, housing, and aid to crime victims and the elderly, the Feds announced that large
depositors would be covered at 50 cents to the dollar.
Fast-forward to December 13. The Treasury announced that it had been depositing more than $1
billion in tax receipts as well as operating cash-all uninsured-in the troubled Bank of New
England in an effort to shore it up. Evidently some banks are "too big to fail" (cf. Continental
Illinois) and thus deserve special treatment. Others, presumably, are too small to matter. Freedom
National Bank was a mere fraction of the size of the $23 billion Bank of New England. But in the
context of the capital-starved micro-economy of Harlem, Freedom also was too big to fail.
• • • AND PERSONALLY
On a personal level, when white women confront our own racism, we should remember
the old saw: if we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem. If we are content
(let alone eager) to live in a white-flight neighborhood and send our kids to an all-white
school; if we only tell a racist joke if it is "really really funny" and no one will think we mean it
anyway; and if we never wonder why there are no people of color at our parties, or our
church or wherever; then we are not trying, and we are part of the problem.
•

1991 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Gulf Coast Women's Festival; March 28 - 31
GCWF, 250 Cowan Rd., Gulfport, MS 39507 (Information available at Berland)
National Lesbian Conference; April 24 - 28; Atlanta, GA
NLC, P.O. Box 1999; Decatur, GA (Information available at Her!and)
Wiminfest '91; May 24- 26; Albuquerque, NM
Wiminfest; 301 Solano St. N.E.; Albuquerque, NM 87108
National Women's Music Festival; May 30 - June 2; Bloomington, IN
NWMF; P.O. Box 1427; Indianapolis, IN 49206
East Coast Lesbians Festival; June 20 - 23; Lake Front Camp on NY IPA border
ECLF; 132 Montague St., Box 274; Brooklyn, NY 11201
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival; August 14 - 18; Hart, MI
WWTMC; Box 22; Walhalla, MI 49458
West Coast Women's Music & Comedy Fest; Labor Day weekend; Northern CA
Robin Tyler Prod.; 15843 Chase St.; Sepulveda, CA 91343

And for a really good time .•.
Herland Spring Retreat; Late May
Herland Fall Retreat; Late September or October
Watch the Voice for details.

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

5

MEDITATION
FOR THE NLC
Lesbian sisters, activists, movers and
shakers, warriors, lovers dreamers,
healers:
I come to be with you as agents of change,
I bring my energy, my voice, my hopes, my
dreams. I come to add to the fruits of
our labor, not to scatter them aside.
While we are together, I will not
subordinate my needs, because my needs
are important.
But I will subordinate my desires to the
desires of the group so that we may
move forward together.
I place my heart before you and ask you to
regard it with care.
I see your heart before me and I promise to
treat it with care.
Let us now focus our gifts on our common
ideals:
Our uniquenesses
Our desire to share our uniqueness
Our absolute right to be together
Diversity - Solidarity - Empowerment

UPDATE ON
ELIZABETH
MORGAN CASE
Elizabeth Morgan, who spent more than
two years in jail for contempt of court for
refusing to reveal the whereabouts of her
daughter Hilary Foretich, has been given
custody of the 8 -year-old Hilary by a New
Zealand judge. Dr. Morgan has alleged that
Hilary's father, Eric Foretich, sexually
abused Hilary from the time she was two
years old; and when ordered by the District
of Columbia courts to surrender Hilary for
visitations with her father, Dr. Morgan
chose to go to jail instead, and her parents
fled with Hilary into hiding in New
Zealand.
Eric Foretich has been barred from
visiting his daughter "in the immediate
future." Instead, he will receive a photograph of Hilary every six months, as well as
reports on her health and school work;
eventually he will be allowed to mail her
gifts and cards.
•
info from OOB, Jan 1991

Ginny Real (9-1-90)

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY
RECOGNIZES DOMESTIC PARTNERS
Firemen's Insurance Company of Washington, D.C., one of America's oldest business
firms, has become the first insurance company in the nation to file a Homeowners policy
change that recognizes domestic partners. By redefining who is insured, the new
endorsement extends to domestic partners the automatic coverage rights enjoyed by
spouses and relatives of Homeowners policyholders.
Chartered in 1837, Firemen's Insurance Company is the only property and casualty
insurance company headquartered in the District of Columbia. With a rating of A+ year
after year by A.M., the company has grown and prospered by serving the community,
and today insures more dwellings in Washington than any other insurance carrier.
Firemen's offers Homeowners coverage to apartments renters and the owners of
dwellings and condos in D.C. and the states of Maryland and Virginia.
According to Carl Blundell, CPCU, a company underwriting manager who created the
new endorsement, "this Homeowners policy change will extend automatic coverage to
anyone with whom an insured has a close, committed personal relationship that
involves sharing household responsibilities and owning property together. Automatic
coverage applies after an insured has established such a relationship and lived with their
domestic partner continuously for at least 6 months."
"The public will no longer confuse us with Firemans Fund or any other insurance
company." says Firemen's new president, Dick Andrews. "We will have the first
Homeowners policy in the insurance industry that will serve the diverse and changing
lifestyles of today's society without sacrificing the privacy needs of the individual."
Mr. Andrews advises that Fireman's, unlike other insurance companies, will no longer
require that the name of an insured's domestic partner be disclosed and appear on the
Homeowners policy in order for the partner to be included for coverage. "Because our
new endorsement eliminates the need for such notification, unmarried insureds and their
domestic partners will have the privacy choices and coverage rights enjoyed by married
couples."
Firemen's Insurance Company plans to begin attaching the new endorsement to all
Homeowners policies it issues beginning in early 1991.
•
6

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

IMAGES OF
OURSELVES
The December 1990 issue of Esquire
Magazine featured a double-cover of the
actress Michelle Pfeiffer, looking breathtakingly beautiful, with the caption "What
Michelle Pfeiffer Needs ... Is Absolutely
Nothing."
The caption was evidently fudging on
the truth just a little: Harper Magazine's
January 1991 issue has published a copy
of the bill which the photographer for
that cover submitted to Esquire for retouching of the photos. The $1,525.00
bill covers work including "Clean up
complexion, soften eye lines, soften smile
line, add color to lips, trim chin, remove
neck lines, soften line under ear lobe, add
blush to cheek, clean up neck line ...
adjust color and add hair on top of
head . . . add forehead to create better
line ... soften neck muscle a bit, and
soften neck line . . . ."
It is enough to make a person think:
think of the time, energy, money and
heartbreak which so many women put
into efforts to live up to an ideal which is
false in the first place; and to wonder:
How many women who get breast implants do so in an attempt to please men
by looking more like the models in
Playboy and other similar publications
(models who themselves have implants in
order to get better-paying modeling jobs)?
How many middle-aged women worry
themselves sick and hold themselves less
than worthy, because they look so much
older than actresses and other "celebrities" their age - actresses who have spent
thousands of dollars and countless hours
at the plastic surgeon's?
How many billions of dollars do women
spend on lipstick and hair coloring and
vanishing cream? How else could that
money be spent?
How man.y billions of hours do women
put into trying to "improve" their outward personal appearance? How else
could that time be spent? Was Nature too
ignorant to make women look all right as
is? Is the male sex drive so low it really
needs such artifice to turn it on?
Is there a connection between the
falling off .i n academic achievement by
adolescent girls and the pressure that
begins on them at that age to live up to an
impossible standard of beauty?
Should we be angry about all this?
Should we try to change it? How do we
start?
•

PRO-CHOICE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. The Oklahoma Choice Legal Defense Fund is urgently seeking
volunteers during the month of February 1991. The CLDF is checking over 100,000 signatures on the anti-choice
petition filed last fall; they are confident, judging from the number of invalid signatures they have found to date, that it
will be possible to have the entire petition declared invalid, and jettisoned. The work fovolves checking the signatures on
the petition against voter-registration rolls; it is slow, tedious work, but the potential for success is significant. The
deadline for challenging the sufficiency of the petition is near the end of February. If this petition can be stopped now,
we will save thousands of hours of work and hundred of thousands of dollars later. If you can help, please call Larry
Wood at 405-528 -1119 ..... .

COMPUTER SERVICES. There are two computer services for lesbians and gays that can be accessed for a low,
negotiable fee. They are computer bulletin boards, and through them one can access feminist libraries, get health info,
contact lesbian and gay-owned businesses, read periodicals, play games, etc. Harbor Bytes BBS (HBBBS) carries lesbian
and gay newspapers on-line, among other things. Call 3,01-235-6753. GLIB (Gay & L.esbian Information Service) based
in DC, is run by the Community Educational Services Foundation, P.O. Box 636, Arlfogton, VA 22216; their voice
phone is 703-379-4568, and their modem is 703 -573-4542. (info from OOB, Jan 1991) . .... .

A GATHERING of Young Lesbian Separatists and Our Radical Feminist Lesbian Friends in Our Teens and
Twenties will meet the weekend of March 23 - 24, '91 in Chicago, Illinois. The gathering is part of the ongoing
networking between a new generation of dykes making radical choices. We will be able to connect, imagine, create,
desire, believe in our power to face the confusion, isolation, fear and hate to come through strong, clear and together.
Dykes of many colors and cultures are already involved in the networking. More information will be provided about
accessibility. Sliding scale registration as low as $0. As part of our commitment to violence-free spaces, lesbian batterers
ands/mare not welcome. Write to Waxing Crescent, 2825 North Laramie Apt. 2N, Chicago, IL 60651-5028 USA for
more info about the gathering, upcoming events and projects and just to let us know you're out there! .....

Writings and drawings by survivors of childhood sexual, physical or ritual abuse are being collected for an
anthology about the spiritual after-effects of such abuse. Any work submitted should include an indication of your age,
gender, religious belief, affiliation and background. For more information write: Elizabeth R. Lewis, P.O. Box 2196,
Boston, MA 02106. Include your phone number and times you can be reached and she will call you ..... .

Herland needs you! Herland has volunteer opportunities available for women who want to staff the store, help
maintain the building, work on the newsletter -or work on event and concert production. Call us at 521-9696 ..... .

Chain of Life, a feminist adoption reform and child welfare newsletter, is available from J. Baer, P.O. Box 8081,
Berkeley, CA 94707. The newsletter offers information and inspiration for adoptees, birthmothers, therapists, and their
friends ..... .

Among the varied magazines and journals available for your perusal at Herland are copies of "The Oklahoma
State Worker," journal of the Communications Workers of America, Local 6086, Oklahoma State Workers Union.
The Nov-Dec 1990 issue contains a nice photo of current Sister Three Pat Reaves speaking at the "Health Care for All"
rally last fall, and a synopsis of her remarks ..... .

Found in HSR's mailbox: "Hi, we are two lesbian-feminists from Mass. passing through on route to California. Sorry
to miss you-Courage in Oklahoma City! Keep up the good work. Feminism Lives!"
•

HSRFEBRUARY1991 7

Edwina V. Johnson, D.D.S.
"Catering to Cowards needing Tender Care"
in Comprehensive Dentistry

Kay Killgore, M.Ed.

5009 North Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 103
(405) 840-5410

Woman to Woman Counseling

Night & Sunday practice by appt. only
Emergencies wekome

1010 N.W. 45th
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118
(405) 524-1062

Insurance accepted

~usie

~outhwell, M. Ed.
HELEN HOLGATE

COUNSELOR

Certified Alcoholism & Drug Abuse
Counselor

2912 N. Claaaen, Suite 102.- - - - - - .
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73106...__ _
Telephone: (405) 556-4105

Comprehensive Dental Care

Sam L. Nicolosi, D.V.M.

Debra K. Browning, R.Ph, D.D.S.

NICOLOSI ANIMAL HOSPITAL
4015 N.W. 23rd
Oklahoma City

Office Hours By Appointment

by Appointment
Phone (405) 947- 5545

5009 N. Pennsylvania, Suite 103
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
(405) 843-3281

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

TREAT YOURSELF TO THE "TOUCH OF GOLD."

848-5429

Treat your special someone, too, tor $10 off her Massage!

ooucli of Qold
HEALTHFUL • STRESS RELIEVING MASSAGE
Special
discounts
available
to all
Herlarul
readers!

SHIRLEY M. HUNTER, M. Ed.

6y

Melanie ~· McKiddy
MASSAGE THERAPIST
360-6945

"Portable"
massage
table
available
for your

LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR

Emphasis on the problems of gay people.
PENN PARK OFFICE COMPLEX e SUITE 102
5009 N. PENNSYLVANIA e OKLAHOMA CITY, OK73112

convenieru.:e.

WIMM IN'S NIGHT
TUESDAY, FEB. 12th at 7 P.M.

* Inclusive Language Liturgy.
** Twom
Refreshments and Social
Women Guest Speakers

Lowest Prices On
Unique Crystal Jewelry,
Books and Prints
1011 N.W. 43rd St.
Oklahoma City, Ok 73118

DREXEL SQ. APARTMENTS - 4254 N. DREXEL

DIGNITY/INTEGRITY of OKC
(405) 557-0903

INFO. 636 - 4388

Directions 942-0168



FEBRUARY, 1991

HSR ADOPTS THREE·
YEAR PLAN
The women of the Herland Board met on October 6, 1990 to begin the process
of developing a mission statement and a three-year plan for Herland. With the able
assistance of Kerry Lobel, we discussed Herland's mission and goals. The process
was completed with the formal adoption of the Herland Sister Resources Mission
Statement at the December Board meeting.
.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE THREE YEAR PLAN:
Physical Facility:
Renovate the building to include painting the inside and outside, handicap
accessibility, a complete kitchen and new roof.
Resource Center:
Expand the stock available for purchase. Expand hours of operation of the
Resource Center. Complete cataloging of the library. Add periodicals and books to
the library.
Programming:
Hold 2 retreats each year. Hold 3 additional women's music concerts each year.
Hold 6 coffeehouses with music or poetry each year. Conduct monthly discussion
groups .
Newsletter:
Publish 12 issues annually with a focus for each issue. Increase circulation. Begin
using recycled paper.
Fundraisin.g; Raise $24,300 for 1991 operating expenses. Raise $35,000 to pay
off building mortgage by January 1, 1993.

HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES MISSION
STATEMENT (Who We Are And What We're About)
Herland Sister Resources envisions and strives toward a world in which all
women live free from oppression.
Herland supports and includes all women who experience opression. Lesbians as
a group have a deep experience of the general oppressive climate of this world.
Although Herland is not restricted to lesbians, we have a strong lesbian focus. We
are a womanist organization, supporting women in their journey toward selfdefinition and self-determinination, and recognizing that each woman has her own
pace of growth and enlightenment.
Herland is a non-profit volunteer organization. We publish a newsletter, operate
a bookstore and lending library, and provide musical and cultural events for
education and entertainment. We offer a safe place for women to meet and
exchange ideas, feelings, hopes and fears and to learn about themselves and each
other.
The only requirement for involvement in Herland is a desire for women to be
free of the restraints of oppression.
VOLU M E 8 NUMBER 2

•

HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES

•

WOMANIST
1. From womanish (Opp. of "girlish," i.e. frivolous, irresponsible,
not serious.) A black feminist or
feminist of color. From the black
folk expression of mothers to female children, "You acting womanish," i.e., like a woman. Usually
referring to outrageous, audacious,
courageous, or willful behavior.
Wanting to know more and in
greater depth than is considered
"good" for one. Interested in doing
grown-up things. Acting grown up.
Being grown up. Interchangeable
with another black folk expression:
"You trying to be grown." Responsible. In charge. Serious. 2. Also: A
woman who loves other women,
sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women's culture,
women' emotional flexibility (val- ues tears as natural counter-balance
of laughter), and women's strength.
Sometimes loves individual men,
sexually .and/or nonsexually. Committed to survival and wholeness of
entire people, male and female. Not
a separatist, except periodically, for
health. Traditionally universalist, as
in: "Mama, why are we brown,
pink, and yellow, and our cousins
are white, beige, and black?" Answer: "Well, you know the colored
race is just like a flower garden, with
every color flower represented."
Traditionally capable, as in: "Mama,
I'm walking to Canada and I'm
taking you and a bunch of other
slaves with me." Reply: "It wouldn't
be the first time." 3. Loves music.
Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves
the spirit. Loves love and food and
roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the
Folk. Loves herself. Regardless. 4.
Womanist is to feminist as purple to
lavender.
From In Search of Our Mother's Gardens:
Womanise Prose by Alice Walker (1983, Harcourt, Brace Javanovich).

2312 N.W. 39th, OKC, OK 73112

•

(405) 521-9696

BOOK

REVIEW

FIRE IN THE
RAIN ... SINGER IN
THE STORM
The autobiography of singer-songwriter
Holly Near
"The world is a challenging lover,
and I am helplessly in love," writes
Holly Near in her eagerly awaited
autobiography, Fire in the Rain . . . Singer
in the Storm. Here is the story of Holly
Near's journey from football princess
to political and social activist, from
movie and television actress to a chanteuse who fills Carnegie Hall and brings
the audience to its feet .
Honored as a woman of the year on
the cover of Ms. Magazine, profiled in
the New York Times, People, the Los
Angeles Times and many other major
publications, singer-songwriter Holly
Near is first of all known as one of the
driving forces in women's and political
music. She takes us through her childhood in rural northern California; her
Hqllywood and TV career, which included roles in the move Slaughterhouse
Five and the Broadway musical Hair;
her political activism, developed during
the Viemam War; her friendships and
affairs with men and women; her role in
women's music and the founding of her
own record label, Redwood Records;
and the forging of her unique personal
m{isic style.
In this winning autobiography, Holly
Near not only reveals her professional
triumphs and setbacks, but also her personal side, her politics and ideas, so that
at last we can fully understand this
remarkable musician and performer.
Fire m the Rain ... Singer in the Storm
is available at Herland, 2312 N.W. 39th
St., Oklahoma City, as are many other
titles of interest to women.
•

2

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

MINNIE BRUCE PRATT AT OU
Lesbian poet Minnie Bruce Pratt
will be speaking about "Sin and
Poetry" at the University of Oklahoma March 1st. Her latest book
Crime Against Nature (Firebrand
Books 1990) won the 1989 Lamont
Poetry Selection by the Academy
of American Poets, an award given
annually by the Academy to one
poet's second full-length book of
poems. The book explores the experience of the loss of custody of
her two sons when she came out as
a lesbian, and the relationship she
has had over the years with her
sons. In 1990, Pratt also was
awarded a Creative Writing Fellowship in Poetry by the National
Endowment of the Arts.
Before Crime Against Nature,
Pratt published two books of
poetry, The Sound of One Fork
(Night Heron Press), and We Say
We Love Each Other (Spinsters/
Aunt Lute). For five years she was a
member of the collective that
edited Feminary: A Feminist Journal
for the South, Emphasizing Lesbian
PHOTO BY JEB
Visions. Her poems and essays have
appeared in various magazines and anthologies, including The American Voice, Conditions,
The Coming Out Stories, Frontiers, Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time, KION, Ms., New
Engl.and Review/Greadloaf Quarterly, Ploughshares, Sinister Wisdom, and Southern Exposure.
Together with Elly Bulkin and Barbara Smith, she co-authored Yours in Struggle: Three
Feminist Perspectives on Anti-Seminsm and Racism (Firebrand Books).
Pratt currently lives in Washington D.C., and teaches Women's Studies part-time at the
University of Maryland at College Park. She is completing a volume of collected essays,
tentatively titled Rebellion, and a fourth book of poetry, Walking Back up Depot Street.
Pratt's visit is being sponsored by the OU Gay/Lesbian/ Bisexual Alliance, English
Forum, Women's Studies Student Association, and Speaker's Bureau. The talk will be at
7:30 p.m. in room 123 of the Microbiology building {tall building west of stadium). For
•
more information call 360-8723 or 325-4452.

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK
APPEARING IN ARKANSAS!
Saturday, February 23, 1991, 8:00 p.m.
in the VALR Theatre Auditorium, Little Rock, Arkansas
Sponsored for Black History Month by
The Women's Project•Black Community Developers• VALR Black Forum
Sweet Honey in the Rock, a five-woman a cappella group from Washington, D.C.
equipped only with a handful of percussion instruments, merges the traditional sounds of
Africa with the voices and experiences of African-Americans, women and other oppressed
people. They have an uncanny ability to weave a spell of peace and magic around audiences
of thousands of people. In 1989, they toured Japan, Austria, the United Kingdom and
Europe, and had a 1990 African tour. The group performs to sell-out crowds all over the
United States. In 1985 they facilitated the production of a cultural festival to close the U .N.
Decade for Women Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Their most recent record release, "Live
at Carnegie Hall," includes the 1988 Grammy-nominated song, "Emergency."
Tickets for the concert are $12. A small number of reserved, stage front tickets are
available for $25. Call 5011372-5113 for ticket information.

WIMMIN'S NIGHT
AT D/I

Need to
Talk?
Want
Community
Information?

The Gay & Lesbian

HELPLINE
Hours:

7 p.m. - 1 a.m.
Wednesday - Monday

(405) 842-GAVS

DIGNITY /INTEGRITY is a support
group for lesbian and gay Catholics and
Episcopalians their friends and supporters.
You do not have to be lesgay, or belong to a
church to visit or become a member.
Tuesday, February 12th has been designated as WIMMIN'S NIGHT. See our
separate ad in this issue for time and place.
Two women guest speakers have been
invited: Shirley Hunter and Sister Gail or
JoAnn of Loaves & Fishes.
It is our hope that many of our sisters
will join us to worship in an inclusive
language liturgy, make new friends, and
enjoy our speakers as they address women's
issues, and the changing roles of women in
the Church. Please join us in friendship,
faith, and refreshments. You might find
something you've been missing.
•

BENEDICTINE PEACE
HOUSE SPONSORS
SPEAKER
John Swomley, Professor Emeritus in
Social Ethics at St. Paul's School of
Theology in Kansas City, Missouri, will
speak on "Moral Crises in U.S. Foreign
Policy" at St. Luke's United Methodist
Church, 222 N.W. 15th Street, Oklahoma
City; on Friday, February 8, 1991; at 7:30
p.m. in Fellowship Hall.
Professor Swomley is the author of
Liberation Ethics and Americ.an Empire, and
edits "Facts for Action," bulletin of the
Kansas City Fellowship of Reconciliation.
A student of national and international
politics, Swomley challenges audiences to
examine global events in the context of
ethics. Professor Swomley's talk is sponsored by the Benedictine Peace House,
405 - 524-5577.
•

DO YOU ENJOY RECEIVING
THE VOICE EVERY MONTH?
If the Voice is important to you please use the form below and the enclosed envelope to send a
contribution to support its publication and distribution.
The Voice is published entirely with volunteer labor, but we still must pay for printing and
mailing. It costs Berland about 50 cents to get your copy to you each month.
Your contribution of at least $6 will cover the costs of your subscription. Please consider
including a little extra to help provide the Voice to others.
Thank you.

YES. I am sending a contribution to Herland to help keep our Voice in the mail.
D $6

D $100

0 $75

D $50

0 $25

D $15

0 Other_ _ _ _ __ _

NAM E~------------------- PHONE~---------

ADDRESS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
CITY/STATE/ZIP _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

HSR FEBRUARY 1991 3

ST. SYBIL

LEITER TO THE EDITOR

The spirit of Sybil Ludington, teenage heroine of the American Revolution and Matron
Saint of the forgotten woman, is an occasional contributor to these pages:

Dear Herland Sisters;

Dear St. Sybil:
What makes you think you're so all-fired smart and know everything?
Sincerely,
Ima Skeptick
Dear Ima,
Oh, my dear, I don't think that I'm so all-fired smart and know it all, at all! I'm still
learning all the time; and of course as long as you keep developing and spiffing up your
language, we will always have that to learn. What I have begun to comprehend in my last
200 years is how things work and mesh together; and what we here develop best of all is a
sort of Cosmic what you would call Shit Detector.
The war in the Persian Gulf, for instance. We here have no earthly idea what George
Bush's real motivation was in going to war rather than trying to resolve the situation
peacefully; why did Bush adopt a tone and vocabulary which absolutely assured that
Saddam Hussein would not compromise an inch? Why Bush's intrasigence, his bullying
attitude?
We do know, however, some of the things you are not there for: Kuwait's oil, for instance.
It is true that Kuwait has wonderful oil reserves, but the fact is that less than 5% of your oil
comes from Iraq and Kuwait. You all there in Oklahoma and the other oil-producing US
states have so much oil that your government has put the brakes on your own exploration
and production. Protecting democracy in the Mid East? I don't think so. Kuwait is a
wholly-owned family enterprise, a constitutional monarchy.
Or are we fighting because oflraq's potential nuclear capability? That is indeed a very bad
thought; Saddam with "the bomb" is certainly scary, as is the thought of Thatcher, Reagan
or Bush with it; or of China, Israel, France and South Africa with it; (and almost as scary as
Harry Truman with it). The United States has watched many other countries develop
nuclear capability, and watched them aggress against others countries without demur;
what is different here?
All in all it is hard to differentiate between your president's ever-changing list of
Reasons Why We Are In The Gulf from one of David Letterman's Top Ten lists. My
speculations have been running along these lines:

Happy New Year to all of you associated
with putting out this wonderful newsletter. I
don't know many people on the East Coast
that get it, but I am one of the lucky ones who
do. It was initially introduced to me by a
Black woman, who is a Chemist. She was
attending the university and working on her
Ph.D. I've always been very glad she put me
on your mailing list, although I've only heard
from her on one other occasion. If you know
who she is, please extend my thanks to her.
I came into a small inheritance in 1990. It
isn't much, but I would like to share it with
you. I don't know as yet, how much I will
have to pay on this in taxes, so enclosed, you
will find a small contribution. I might be able
to send more after the tax person cometh.
Although, I hate to see my tax money invested
in death and destructon and other things
beyond my control.
Thanks a million for keeping me well
informed and entertained. I hope I have a
chance to meet some of you at the Atlanta,
GA Conference April 24 - 28th 1991.

In Peace/Si;terhood
Luvenia Pinson
PUBLISHED BY: Her/and Sister
Resources, Inc. 2312 NW 39th,
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE:
Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Pat
Reaves

ST. SYBIL'S TOP TEN REASONS FOR BUSH SENDING U.S. TROOPS TO THE GULF

CIRCULATION: 750

10.
9.
8.
7.
6.

5.
4.
3.
2.

1.

It got Neil Bush's name off the front pages.
It got the whole S&L crisis off the front pages.
New feminist slogan in America to be "To Hell with the ERA, please just let us drive today!"
Gives the VP an opportunity to make inspiring speech to troops about Vietnam days.
Keeps all of your money safely going to the big defense contracts rather than to a wimpy
"Peace Dividend," where it could build decent roads and bridges and schools and nursing
homes and affordable medical treatment ...
Shows American women just how lucky they really are.
Brilliant plot to scare nation and world half to death, then declare PEACE and have entire
world adore him and elect him King of the World by acclamation.
Got the upcoming banking scandal off the front page.
Nothing much else going on last August.
Just wanted to kick a little ass.

Actually, we were all hoping that it was indeed #4, a brillian plot to rise in the all-important
popularity poll and be handily reelected in '92; and that he would mercifully stop short of actual
war. So much for wishful thinking.
As I write this, four days after the bombing began and ten days or more before the newsletter
comes out, it seems to me that it still could be stopped soon. There has been to date relatively little
loss of life; surely reasonable people can agree to pause and communicate and negotiate peace for
the world; or, surely reasonable people can persuade the world's unreasonable leaders to pause and
communicate and make peace. That is the one hope we can hold onto; and that is your work to do.
With a sore but ever-hopeful heart,
I remain,
Your friend and co-conspirator for peace,
Sybil
4

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

•

GENERAL INFO: (405) 521-9696 (leave
message)
I

SUBSCRIPTIONS to the Her/and Voice
are free upon request.

DISPLAY ADS:
business card or 1/10 page ...
1/4 page . ........ .. .... . .
1/2 page .................
full page ........... .. ... .. .

$ 15.00
$ 35.00
$ 60.00
$100.00

CLASSIFIED ADS:
first 10 words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.50
each additional word ............ $ .10
DISCOUNTS: available on advance prepaid
orders only
1 - 3 months order .............. none
4 - 6 months .. .... .... . ....... 10%
7 - 9 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%
10 -12 months ....•.•. .. .. ...... 20%
PLEASE NOTE: There will be a minimal
charge for typesetting done to any
advertising.

Leave message at HSR
(521-WYMN) to place an ad.

HERLAND BOARD
ENDORSES THE
NATIONAL LESBIAN
CONFERENCE
by Karen Lewis
Berland Sister Resources has oficially
endorsed the National Lesbian Conference
and made a donation of support to the
NLC - Gulf Region.
As Berland is a women's collective with
a strong lesbian focus, which "has a desire
for women to be free of the restraints of
oppression," it is fitting and appropriate
for Berland to give its endorsement and
support to an event which endeavors to
foster understanding and sensitivity among
the diverse populations within the national
lesbian community.
While Herland and women as a whole
work "toward a world in which all women
are free of oppression," this national conference works to alleviate the oppression
which exists within our own lesbian world.
For, if we as a community cannot sensitize
ourselves to our own oppression of each
other, we cannot hope to even envision a
world free of oppression toward women.
The organizers of the NLC recognize the
oppressive behaviors which exist among
our own: racism, ageism, classism, and
ableism, to name a few. The conference is
providing a vehicle through which diverse
groups may come together, listen to each
other , learn from each other, have fun
together, and gain new insight and understanding of ourselves, so that we may
alleviate some of the oppression which
prevents us from becoming the powerful
force for positive societal change which we
have the potential to be.
As the Gulf Region Coordinator for the
National Lesbian Conference, I commend
the Berland Board of Directors for voting
to endorse and support the NLC, thereby
taking a step "toward a world in which all
women are free of oppression."
•

ENCODINGS
Volume I, No. 2
New Poetry and Artwork by
Women in Houston
Leslie Lopez, Carol Snyder,
Cathy Stern, Sharon Stewart,
Monica Vaughan, Fabian Worsham
At your favorite bookstore, or write:
LIAUD: A Women's Press
P.O. Box 6793
Houston, TX 77265-6793.

$4.50/copy

RACISM ALIVE & WELL-GLOBALLY

I

I

I

Many people today refuse to acknowledge that racism exists, whether in their own hearts,
or in the hearts of others, or in the job and housing markets, or wherever. It is hard to
understand this denial of such an obvious force-look around the job, school and neighborhood, and its effects are blatant. The following editorial, which appeared in "The Nation"
in its January 7 /14, 1991 issue, gives an example of racism at the highest reaches of
government, and illustrates its immense and devastating consequences.

REDLINING A BLACK BANK
Two dispatches from the banking crisis, a month apart: On November 9 Harlem's Freedom
National Bank, the only black-owned commercial bank in New York City, was closed by federal
regulators after suffering continued losses on outstanding loans. Usually the Feds place failing
banks in conservatorship for up to a year prior to liquidation, during which time they encourage
depositors with accounts above the $100, 000 level to move their money to safer havens. In Freedom's
case, such kindness was not in the cards. A group of New York businessmen even pulled together
about $6 million to resuscitate the bank, but their efforts were stymied by what Crain's New York
Business called the "Intransigence" of federal regulators.
The appalling result: Dozens of charities and nonprofits that had kepc their money with the bank
as an expression of community solidarity were shocked to learn that millions of dollars would not be
returned to them. When the news emerged that this would lead to drastic cuts in programs providing
day care, foster care, housing, and aid to crime victims and the elderly, the Feds announced that large
depositors would be covered at 50 cents to the dollar.
Fast-forward to December 13. The Treasury announced that it had been depositing more than $1
billion in tax receipts as well as operating cash-all uninsured-in the troubled Bank of New
England in an effort to shore it up. Evidently some banks are "too big to fail" (cf. Continental
Illinois) and thus deserve special treatment. Others, presumably, are too small to matter. Freedom
National Bank was a mere fraction of the size of the $23 billion Bank of New England. But in the
context of the capital-starved micro-economy of Harlem, Freedom also was too big to fail.
• • • AND PERSONALLY
On a personal level, when white women confront our own racism, we should remember
the old saw: if we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem. If we are content
(let alone eager) to live in a white-flight neighborhood and send our kids to an all-white
school; if we only tell a racist joke if it is "really really funny" and no one will think we mean it
anyway; and if we never wonder why there are no people of color at our parties, or our
church or wherever; then we are not trying, and we are part of the problem.
•

1991 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Gulf Coast Women's Festival; March 28 - 31
GCWF, 250 Cowan Rd., Gulfport, MS 39507 (Information available at Berland)
National Lesbian Conference; April 24 - 28; Atlanta, GA
NLC, P.O. Box 1999; Decatur, GA (Information available at Her!and)
Wiminfest '91; May 24- 26; Albuquerque, NM
Wiminfest; 301 Solano St. N.E.; Albuquerque, NM 87108
National Women's Music Festival; May 30 - June 2; Bloomington, IN
NWMF; P.O. Box 1427; Indianapolis, IN 49206
East Coast Lesbians Festival; June 20 - 23; Lake Front Camp on NY IPA border
ECLF; 132 Montague St., Box 274; Brooklyn, NY 11201
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival; August 14 - 18; Hart, MI
WWTMC; Box 22; Walhalla, MI 49458
West Coast Women's Music & Comedy Fest; Labor Day weekend; Northern CA
Robin Tyler Prod.; 15843 Chase St.; Sepulveda, CA 91343

And for a really good time .•.
Herland Spring Retreat; Late May
Herland Fall Retreat; Late September or October
Watch the Voice for details.

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

5

MEDITATION
FOR THE NLC
Lesbian sisters, activists, movers and
shakers, warriors, lovers dreamers,
healers:
I come to be with you as agents of change,
I bring my energy, my voice, my hopes, my
dreams. I come to add to the fruits of
our labor, not to scatter them aside.
While we are together, I will not
subordinate my needs, because my needs
are important.
But I will subordinate my desires to the
desires of the group so that we may
move forward together.
I place my heart before you and ask you to
regard it with care.
I see your heart before me and I promise to
treat it with care.
Let us now focus our gifts on our common
ideals:
Our uniquenesses
Our desire to share our uniqueness
Our absolute right to be together
Diversity - Solidarity - Empowerment

UPDATE ON
ELIZABETH
MORGAN CASE
Elizabeth Morgan, who spent more than
two years in jail for contempt of court for
refusing to reveal the whereabouts of her
daughter Hilary Foretich, has been given
custody of the 8 -year-old Hilary by a New
Zealand judge. Dr. Morgan has alleged that
Hilary's father, Eric Foretich, sexually
abused Hilary from the time she was two
years old; and when ordered by the District
of Columbia courts to surrender Hilary for
visitations with her father, Dr. Morgan
chose to go to jail instead, and her parents
fled with Hilary into hiding in New
Zealand.
Eric Foretich has been barred from
visiting his daughter "in the immediate
future." Instead, he will receive a photograph of Hilary every six months, as well as
reports on her health and school work;
eventually he will be allowed to mail her
gifts and cards.
•
info from OOB, Jan 1991

Ginny Real (9-1-90)

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY
RECOGNIZES DOMESTIC PARTNERS
Firemen's Insurance Company of Washington, D.C., one of America's oldest business
firms, has become the first insurance company in the nation to file a Homeowners policy
change that recognizes domestic partners. By redefining who is insured, the new
endorsement extends to domestic partners the automatic coverage rights enjoyed by
spouses and relatives of Homeowners policyholders.
Chartered in 1837, Firemen's Insurance Company is the only property and casualty
insurance company headquartered in the District of Columbia. With a rating of A+ year
after year by A.M., the company has grown and prospered by serving the community,
and today insures more dwellings in Washington than any other insurance carrier.
Firemen's offers Homeowners coverage to apartments renters and the owners of
dwellings and condos in D.C. and the states of Maryland and Virginia.
According to Carl Blundell, CPCU, a company underwriting manager who created the
new endorsement, "this Homeowners policy change will extend automatic coverage to
anyone with whom an insured has a close, committed personal relationship that
involves sharing household responsibilities and owning property together. Automatic
coverage applies after an insured has established such a relationship and lived with their
domestic partner continuously for at least 6 months."
"The public will no longer confuse us with Firemans Fund or any other insurance
company." says Firemen's new president, Dick Andrews. "We will have the first
Homeowners policy in the insurance industry that will serve the diverse and changing
lifestyles of today's society without sacrificing the privacy needs of the individual."
Mr. Andrews advises that Fireman's, unlike other insurance companies, will no longer
require that the name of an insured's domestic partner be disclosed and appear on the
Homeowners policy in order for the partner to be included for coverage. "Because our
new endorsement eliminates the need for such notification, unmarried insureds and their
domestic partners will have the privacy choices and coverage rights enjoyed by married
couples."
Firemen's Insurance Company plans to begin attaching the new endorsement to all
Homeowners policies it issues beginning in early 1991.
•
6

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

IMAGES OF
OURSELVES
The December 1990 issue of Esquire
Magazine featured a double-cover of the
actress Michelle Pfeiffer, looking breathtakingly beautiful, with the caption "What
Michelle Pfeiffer Needs ... Is Absolutely
Nothing."
The caption was evidently fudging on
the truth just a little: Harper Magazine's
January 1991 issue has published a copy
of the bill which the photographer for
that cover submitted to Esquire for retouching of the photos. The $1,525.00
bill covers work including "Clean up
complexion, soften eye lines, soften smile
line, add color to lips, trim chin, remove
neck lines, soften line under ear lobe, add
blush to cheek, clean up neck line ...
adjust color and add hair on top of
head . . . add forehead to create better
line ... soften neck muscle a bit, and
soften neck line . . . ."
It is enough to make a person think:
think of the time, energy, money and
heartbreak which so many women put
into efforts to live up to an ideal which is
false in the first place; and to wonder:
How many women who get breast implants do so in an attempt to please men
by looking more like the models in
Playboy and other similar publications
(models who themselves have implants in
order to get better-paying modeling jobs)?
How many middle-aged women worry
themselves sick and hold themselves less
than worthy, because they look so much
older than actresses and other "celebrities" their age - actresses who have spent
thousands of dollars and countless hours
at the plastic surgeon's?
How many billions of dollars do women
spend on lipstick and hair coloring and
vanishing cream? How else could that
money be spent?
How man.y billions of hours do women
put into trying to "improve" their outward personal appearance? How else
could that time be spent? Was Nature too
ignorant to make women look all right as
is? Is the male sex drive so low it really
needs such artifice to turn it on?
Is there a connection between the
falling off .i n academic achievement by
adolescent girls and the pressure that
begins on them at that age to live up to an
impossible standard of beauty?
Should we be angry about all this?
Should we try to change it? How do we
start?
•

PRO-CHOICE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. The Oklahoma Choice Legal Defense Fund is urgently seeking
volunteers during the month of February 1991. The CLDF is checking over 100,000 signatures on the anti-choice
petition filed last fall; they are confident, judging from the number of invalid signatures they have found to date, that it
will be possible to have the entire petition declared invalid, and jettisoned. The work fovolves checking the signatures on
the petition against voter-registration rolls; it is slow, tedious work, but the potential for success is significant. The
deadline for challenging the sufficiency of the petition is near the end of February. If this petition can be stopped now,
we will save thousands of hours of work and hundred of thousands of dollars later. If you can help, please call Larry
Wood at 405-528 -1119 ..... .

COMPUTER SERVICES. There are two computer services for lesbians and gays that can be accessed for a low,
negotiable fee. They are computer bulletin boards, and through them one can access feminist libraries, get health info,
contact lesbian and gay-owned businesses, read periodicals, play games, etc. Harbor Bytes BBS (HBBBS) carries lesbian
and gay newspapers on-line, among other things. Call 3,01-235-6753. GLIB (Gay & L.esbian Information Service) based
in DC, is run by the Community Educational Services Foundation, P.O. Box 636, Arlfogton, VA 22216; their voice
phone is 703-379-4568, and their modem is 703 -573-4542. (info from OOB, Jan 1991) . .... .

A GATHERING of Young Lesbian Separatists and Our Radical Feminist Lesbian Friends in Our Teens and
Twenties will meet the weekend of March 23 - 24, '91 in Chicago, Illinois. The gathering is part of the ongoing
networking between a new generation of dykes making radical choices. We will be able to connect, imagine, create,
desire, believe in our power to face the confusion, isolation, fear and hate to come through strong, clear and together.
Dykes of many colors and cultures are already involved in the networking. More information will be provided about
accessibility. Sliding scale registration as low as $0. As part of our commitment to violence-free spaces, lesbian batterers
ands/mare not welcome. Write to Waxing Crescent, 2825 North Laramie Apt. 2N, Chicago, IL 60651-5028 USA for
more info about the gathering, upcoming events and projects and just to let us know you're out there! .....

Writings and drawings by survivors of childhood sexual, physical or ritual abuse are being collected for an
anthology about the spiritual after-effects of such abuse. Any work submitted should include an indication of your age,
gender, religious belief, affiliation and background. For more information write: Elizabeth R. Lewis, P.O. Box 2196,
Boston, MA 02106. Include your phone number and times you can be reached and she will call you ..... .

Herland needs you! Herland has volunteer opportunities available for women who want to staff the store, help
maintain the building, work on the newsletter -or work on event and concert production. Call us at 521-9696 ..... .

Chain of Life, a feminist adoption reform and child welfare newsletter, is available from J. Baer, P.O. Box 8081,
Berkeley, CA 94707. The newsletter offers information and inspiration for adoptees, birthmothers, therapists, and their
friends ..... .

Among the varied magazines and journals available for your perusal at Herland are copies of "The Oklahoma
State Worker," journal of the Communications Workers of America, Local 6086, Oklahoma State Workers Union.
The Nov-Dec 1990 issue contains a nice photo of current Sister Three Pat Reaves speaking at the "Health Care for All"
rally last fall, and a synopsis of her remarks ..... .

Found in HSR's mailbox: "Hi, we are two lesbian-feminists from Mass. passing through on route to California. Sorry
to miss you-Courage in Oklahoma City! Keep up the good work. Feminism Lives!"
•

HSRFEBRUARY1991 7

Edwina V. Johnson, D.D.S.
"Catering to Cowards needing Tender Care"
in Comprehensive Dentistry

Kay Killgore, M.Ed.

5009 North Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 103
(405) 840-5410

Woman to Woman Counseling

Night & Sunday practice by appt. only
Emergencies wekome

1010 N.W. 45th
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118
(405) 524-1062

Insurance accepted

~usie

~outhwell, M. Ed.
HELEN HOLGATE

COUNSELOR

Certified Alcoholism & Drug Abuse
Counselor

2912 N. Claaaen, Suite 102.- - - - - - .
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73106...__ _
Telephone: (405) 556-4105

Comprehensive Dental Care

Sam L. Nicolosi, D.V.M.

Debra K. Browning, R.Ph, D.D.S.

NICOLOSI ANIMAL HOSPITAL
4015 N.W. 23rd
Oklahoma City

Office Hours By Appointment

by Appointment
Phone (405) 947- 5545

5009 N. Pennsylvania, Suite 103
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
(405) 843-3281

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

TREAT YOURSELF TO THE "TOUCH OF GOLD."

848-5429

Treat your special someone, too, tor $10 off her Massage!

ooucli of Qold
HEALTHFUL • STRESS RELIEVING MASSAGE
Special
discounts
available
to all
Herlarul
readers!

SHIRLEY M. HUNTER, M. Ed.

6y

Melanie ~· McKiddy
MASSAGE THERAPIST
360-6945

"Portable"
massage
table
available
for your

LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR

Emphasis on the problems of gay people.
PENN PARK OFFICE COMPLEX e SUITE 102
5009 N. PENNSYLVANIA e OKLAHOMA CITY, OK73112

convenieru.:e.

WIMM IN'S NIGHT
TUESDAY, FEB. 12th at 7 P.M.

* Inclusive Language Liturgy.
** Twom
Refreshments and Social
Women Guest Speakers

Lowest Prices On
Unique Crystal Jewelry,
Books and Prints
1011 N.W. 43rd St.
Oklahoma City, Ok 73118

DREXEL SQ. APARTMENTS - 4254 N. DREXEL

DIGNITY/INTEGRITY of OKC
(405) 557-0903

INFO. 636 - 4388

Directions 942-0168



FEBRUARY, 1991

HSR ADOPTS THREE·
YEAR PLAN
The women of the Herland Board met on October 6, 1990 to begin the process
of developing a mission statement and a three-year plan for Herland. With the able
assistance of Kerry Lobel, we discussed Herland's mission and goals. The process
was completed with the formal adoption of the Herland Sister Resources Mission
Statement at the December Board meeting.
.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE THREE YEAR PLAN:
Physical Facility:
Renovate the building to include painting the inside and outside, handicap
accessibility, a complete kitchen and new roof.
Resource Center:
Expand the stock available for purchase. Expand hours of operation of the
Resource Center. Complete cataloging of the library. Add periodicals and books to
the library.
Programming:
Hold 2 retreats each year. Hold 3 additional women's music concerts each year.
Hold 6 coffeehouses with music or poetry each year. Conduct monthly discussion
groups .
Newsletter:
Publish 12 issues annually with a focus for each issue. Increase circulation. Begin
using recycled paper.
Fundraisin.g; Raise $24,300 for 1991 operating expenses. Raise $35,000 to pay
off building mortgage by January 1, 1993.

HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES MISSION
STATEMENT (Who We Are And What We're About)
Herland Sister Resources envisions and strives toward a world in which all
women live free from oppression.
Herland supports and includes all women who experience opression. Lesbians as
a group have a deep experience of the general oppressive climate of this world.
Although Herland is not restricted to lesbians, we have a strong lesbian focus. We
are a womanist organization, supporting women in their journey toward selfdefinition and self-determinination, and recognizing that each woman has her own
pace of growth and enlightenment.
Herland is a non-profit volunteer organization. We publish a newsletter, operate
a bookstore and lending library, and provide musical and cultural events for
education and entertainment. We offer a safe place for women to meet and
exchange ideas, feelings, hopes and fears and to learn about themselves and each
other.
The only requirement for involvement in Herland is a desire for women to be
free of the restraints of oppression.
VOLU M E 8 NUMBER 2

•

HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES

•

WOMANIST
1. From womanish (Opp. of "girlish," i.e. frivolous, irresponsible,
not serious.) A black feminist or
feminist of color. From the black
folk expression of mothers to female children, "You acting womanish," i.e., like a woman. Usually
referring to outrageous, audacious,
courageous, or willful behavior.
Wanting to know more and in
greater depth than is considered
"good" for one. Interested in doing
grown-up things. Acting grown up.
Being grown up. Interchangeable
with another black folk expression:
"You trying to be grown." Responsible. In charge. Serious. 2. Also: A
woman who loves other women,
sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women's culture,
women' emotional flexibility (val- ues tears as natural counter-balance
of laughter), and women's strength.
Sometimes loves individual men,
sexually .and/or nonsexually. Committed to survival and wholeness of
entire people, male and female. Not
a separatist, except periodically, for
health. Traditionally universalist, as
in: "Mama, why are we brown,
pink, and yellow, and our cousins
are white, beige, and black?" Answer: "Well, you know the colored
race is just like a flower garden, with
every color flower represented."
Traditionally capable, as in: "Mama,
I'm walking to Canada and I'm
taking you and a bunch of other
slaves with me." Reply: "It wouldn't
be the first time." 3. Loves music.
Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves
the spirit. Loves love and food and
roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the
Folk. Loves herself. Regardless. 4.
Womanist is to feminist as purple to
lavender.
From In Search of Our Mother's Gardens:
Womanise Prose by Alice Walker (1983, Harcourt, Brace Javanovich).

2312 N.W. 39th, OKC, OK 73112

•

(405) 521-9696

BOOK

REVIEW

FIRE IN THE
RAIN ... SINGER IN
THE STORM
The autobiography of singer-songwriter
Holly Near
"The world is a challenging lover,
and I am helplessly in love," writes
Holly Near in her eagerly awaited
autobiography, Fire in the Rain . . . Singer
in the Storm. Here is the story of Holly
Near's journey from football princess
to political and social activist, from
movie and television actress to a chanteuse who fills Carnegie Hall and brings
the audience to its feet .
Honored as a woman of the year on
the cover of Ms. Magazine, profiled in
the New York Times, People, the Los
Angeles Times and many other major
publications, singer-songwriter Holly
Near is first of all known as one of the
driving forces in women's and political
music. She takes us through her childhood in rural northern California; her
Hqllywood and TV career, which included roles in the move Slaughterhouse
Five and the Broadway musical Hair;
her political activism, developed during
the Viemam War; her friendships and
affairs with men and women; her role in
women's music and the founding of her
own record label, Redwood Records;
and the forging of her unique personal
m{isic style.
In this winning autobiography, Holly
Near not only reveals her professional
triumphs and setbacks, but also her personal side, her politics and ideas, so that
at last we can fully understand this
remarkable musician and performer.
Fire m the Rain ... Singer in the Storm
is available at Herland, 2312 N.W. 39th
St., Oklahoma City, as are many other
titles of interest to women.
•

2

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

MINNIE BRUCE PRATT AT OU
Lesbian poet Minnie Bruce Pratt
will be speaking about "Sin and
Poetry" at the University of Oklahoma March 1st. Her latest book
Crime Against Nature (Firebrand
Books 1990) won the 1989 Lamont
Poetry Selection by the Academy
of American Poets, an award given
annually by the Academy to one
poet's second full-length book of
poems. The book explores the experience of the loss of custody of
her two sons when she came out as
a lesbian, and the relationship she
has had over the years with her
sons. In 1990, Pratt also was
awarded a Creative Writing Fellowship in Poetry by the National
Endowment of the Arts.
Before Crime Against Nature,
Pratt published two books of
poetry, The Sound of One Fork
(Night Heron Press), and We Say
We Love Each Other (Spinsters/
Aunt Lute). For five years she was a
member of the collective that
edited Feminary: A Feminist Journal
for the South, Emphasizing Lesbian
PHOTO BY JEB
Visions. Her poems and essays have
appeared in various magazines and anthologies, including The American Voice, Conditions,
The Coming Out Stories, Frontiers, Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time, KION, Ms., New
Engl.and Review/Greadloaf Quarterly, Ploughshares, Sinister Wisdom, and Southern Exposure.
Together with Elly Bulkin and Barbara Smith, she co-authored Yours in Struggle: Three
Feminist Perspectives on Anti-Seminsm and Racism (Firebrand Books).
Pratt currently lives in Washington D.C., and teaches Women's Studies part-time at the
University of Maryland at College Park. She is completing a volume of collected essays,
tentatively titled Rebellion, and a fourth book of poetry, Walking Back up Depot Street.
Pratt's visit is being sponsored by the OU Gay/Lesbian/ Bisexual Alliance, English
Forum, Women's Studies Student Association, and Speaker's Bureau. The talk will be at
7:30 p.m. in room 123 of the Microbiology building {tall building west of stadium). For
•
more information call 360-8723 or 325-4452.

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK
APPEARING IN ARKANSAS!
Saturday, February 23, 1991, 8:00 p.m.
in the VALR Theatre Auditorium, Little Rock, Arkansas
Sponsored for Black History Month by
The Women's Project•Black Community Developers• VALR Black Forum
Sweet Honey in the Rock, a five-woman a cappella group from Washington, D.C.
equipped only with a handful of percussion instruments, merges the traditional sounds of
Africa with the voices and experiences of African-Americans, women and other oppressed
people. They have an uncanny ability to weave a spell of peace and magic around audiences
of thousands of people. In 1989, they toured Japan, Austria, the United Kingdom and
Europe, and had a 1990 African tour. The group performs to sell-out crowds all over the
United States. In 1985 they facilitated the production of a cultural festival to close the U .N.
Decade for Women Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Their most recent record release, "Live
at Carnegie Hall," includes the 1988 Grammy-nominated song, "Emergency."
Tickets for the concert are $12. A small number of reserved, stage front tickets are
available for $25. Call 5011372-5113 for ticket information.

WIMMIN'S NIGHT
AT D/I

Need to
Talk?
Want
Community
Information?

The Gay & Lesbian

HELPLINE
Hours:

7 p.m. - 1 a.m.
Wednesday - Monday

(405) 842-GAVS

DIGNITY /INTEGRITY is a support
group for lesbian and gay Catholics and
Episcopalians their friends and supporters.
You do not have to be lesgay, or belong to a
church to visit or become a member.
Tuesday, February 12th has been designated as WIMMIN'S NIGHT. See our
separate ad in this issue for time and place.
Two women guest speakers have been
invited: Shirley Hunter and Sister Gail or
JoAnn of Loaves & Fishes.
It is our hope that many of our sisters
will join us to worship in an inclusive
language liturgy, make new friends, and
enjoy our speakers as they address women's
issues, and the changing roles of women in
the Church. Please join us in friendship,
faith, and refreshments. You might find
something you've been missing.
•

BENEDICTINE PEACE
HOUSE SPONSORS
SPEAKER
John Swomley, Professor Emeritus in
Social Ethics at St. Paul's School of
Theology in Kansas City, Missouri, will
speak on "Moral Crises in U.S. Foreign
Policy" at St. Luke's United Methodist
Church, 222 N.W. 15th Street, Oklahoma
City; on Friday, February 8, 1991; at 7:30
p.m. in Fellowship Hall.
Professor Swomley is the author of
Liberation Ethics and Americ.an Empire, and
edits "Facts for Action," bulletin of the
Kansas City Fellowship of Reconciliation.
A student of national and international
politics, Swomley challenges audiences to
examine global events in the context of
ethics. Professor Swomley's talk is sponsored by the Benedictine Peace House,
405 - 524-5577.
•

DO YOU ENJOY RECEIVING
THE VOICE EVERY MONTH?
If the Voice is important to you please use the form below and the enclosed envelope to send a
contribution to support its publication and distribution.
The Voice is published entirely with volunteer labor, but we still must pay for printing and
mailing. It costs Berland about 50 cents to get your copy to you each month.
Your contribution of at least $6 will cover the costs of your subscription. Please consider
including a little extra to help provide the Voice to others.
Thank you.

YES. I am sending a contribution to Herland to help keep our Voice in the mail.
D $6

D $100

0 $75

D $50

0 $25

D $15

0 Other_ _ _ _ __ _

NAM E~------------------- PHONE~---------

ADDRESS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
CITY/STATE/ZIP _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

HSR FEBRUARY 1991 3

ST. SYBIL

LEITER TO THE EDITOR

The spirit of Sybil Ludington, teenage heroine of the American Revolution and Matron
Saint of the forgotten woman, is an occasional contributor to these pages:

Dear Herland Sisters;

Dear St. Sybil:
What makes you think you're so all-fired smart and know everything?
Sincerely,
Ima Skeptick
Dear Ima,
Oh, my dear, I don't think that I'm so all-fired smart and know it all, at all! I'm still
learning all the time; and of course as long as you keep developing and spiffing up your
language, we will always have that to learn. What I have begun to comprehend in my last
200 years is how things work and mesh together; and what we here develop best of all is a
sort of Cosmic what you would call Shit Detector.
The war in the Persian Gulf, for instance. We here have no earthly idea what George
Bush's real motivation was in going to war rather than trying to resolve the situation
peacefully; why did Bush adopt a tone and vocabulary which absolutely assured that
Saddam Hussein would not compromise an inch? Why Bush's intrasigence, his bullying
attitude?
We do know, however, some of the things you are not there for: Kuwait's oil, for instance.
It is true that Kuwait has wonderful oil reserves, but the fact is that less than 5% of your oil
comes from Iraq and Kuwait. You all there in Oklahoma and the other oil-producing US
states have so much oil that your government has put the brakes on your own exploration
and production. Protecting democracy in the Mid East? I don't think so. Kuwait is a
wholly-owned family enterprise, a constitutional monarchy.
Or are we fighting because oflraq's potential nuclear capability? That is indeed a very bad
thought; Saddam with "the bomb" is certainly scary, as is the thought of Thatcher, Reagan
or Bush with it; or of China, Israel, France and South Africa with it; (and almost as scary as
Harry Truman with it). The United States has watched many other countries develop
nuclear capability, and watched them aggress against others countries without demur;
what is different here?
All in all it is hard to differentiate between your president's ever-changing list of
Reasons Why We Are In The Gulf from one of David Letterman's Top Ten lists. My
speculations have been running along these lines:

Happy New Year to all of you associated
with putting out this wonderful newsletter. I
don't know many people on the East Coast
that get it, but I am one of the lucky ones who
do. It was initially introduced to me by a
Black woman, who is a Chemist. She was
attending the university and working on her
Ph.D. I've always been very glad she put me
on your mailing list, although I've only heard
from her on one other occasion. If you know
who she is, please extend my thanks to her.
I came into a small inheritance in 1990. It
isn't much, but I would like to share it with
you. I don't know as yet, how much I will
have to pay on this in taxes, so enclosed, you
will find a small contribution. I might be able
to send more after the tax person cometh.
Although, I hate to see my tax money invested
in death and destructon and other things
beyond my control.
Thanks a million for keeping me well
informed and entertained. I hope I have a
chance to meet some of you at the Atlanta,
GA Conference April 24 - 28th 1991.

In Peace/Si;terhood
Luvenia Pinson
PUBLISHED BY: Her/and Sister
Resources, Inc. 2312 NW 39th,
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE:
Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Pat
Reaves

ST. SYBIL'S TOP TEN REASONS FOR BUSH SENDING U.S. TROOPS TO THE GULF

CIRCULATION: 750

10.
9.
8.
7.
6.

5.
4.
3.
2.

1.

It got Neil Bush's name off the front pages.
It got the whole S&L crisis off the front pages.
New feminist slogan in America to be "To Hell with the ERA, please just let us drive today!"
Gives the VP an opportunity to make inspiring speech to troops about Vietnam days.
Keeps all of your money safely going to the big defense contracts rather than to a wimpy
"Peace Dividend," where it could build decent roads and bridges and schools and nursing
homes and affordable medical treatment ...
Shows American women just how lucky they really are.
Brilliant plot to scare nation and world half to death, then declare PEACE and have entire
world adore him and elect him King of the World by acclamation.
Got the upcoming banking scandal off the front page.
Nothing much else going on last August.
Just wanted to kick a little ass.

Actually, we were all hoping that it was indeed #4, a brillian plot to rise in the all-important
popularity poll and be handily reelected in '92; and that he would mercifully stop short of actual
war. So much for wishful thinking.
As I write this, four days after the bombing began and ten days or more before the newsletter
comes out, it seems to me that it still could be stopped soon. There has been to date relatively little
loss of life; surely reasonable people can agree to pause and communicate and negotiate peace for
the world; or, surely reasonable people can persuade the world's unreasonable leaders to pause and
communicate and make peace. That is the one hope we can hold onto; and that is your work to do.
With a sore but ever-hopeful heart,
I remain,
Your friend and co-conspirator for peace,
Sybil
4

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

•

GENERAL INFO: (405) 521-9696 (leave
message)
I

SUBSCRIPTIONS to the Her/and Voice
are free upon request.

DISPLAY ADS:
business card or 1/10 page ...
1/4 page . ........ .. .... . .
1/2 page .................
full page ........... .. ... .. .

$ 15.00
$ 35.00
$ 60.00
$100.00

CLASSIFIED ADS:
first 10 words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.50
each additional word ............ $ .10
DISCOUNTS: available on advance prepaid
orders only
1 - 3 months order .............. none
4 - 6 months .. .... .... . ....... 10%
7 - 9 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%
10 -12 months ....•.•. .. .. ...... 20%
PLEASE NOTE: There will be a minimal
charge for typesetting done to any
advertising.

Leave message at HSR
(521-WYMN) to place an ad.

HERLAND BOARD
ENDORSES THE
NATIONAL LESBIAN
CONFERENCE
by Karen Lewis
Berland Sister Resources has oficially
endorsed the National Lesbian Conference
and made a donation of support to the
NLC - Gulf Region.
As Berland is a women's collective with
a strong lesbian focus, which "has a desire
for women to be free of the restraints of
oppression," it is fitting and appropriate
for Berland to give its endorsement and
support to an event which endeavors to
foster understanding and sensitivity among
the diverse populations within the national
lesbian community.
While Herland and women as a whole
work "toward a world in which all women
are free of oppression," this national conference works to alleviate the oppression
which exists within our own lesbian world.
For, if we as a community cannot sensitize
ourselves to our own oppression of each
other, we cannot hope to even envision a
world free of oppression toward women.
The organizers of the NLC recognize the
oppressive behaviors which exist among
our own: racism, ageism, classism, and
ableism, to name a few. The conference is
providing a vehicle through which diverse
groups may come together, listen to each
other , learn from each other, have fun
together, and gain new insight and understanding of ourselves, so that we may
alleviate some of the oppression which
prevents us from becoming the powerful
force for positive societal change which we
have the potential to be.
As the Gulf Region Coordinator for the
National Lesbian Conference, I commend
the Berland Board of Directors for voting
to endorse and support the NLC, thereby
taking a step "toward a world in which all
women are free of oppression."
•

ENCODINGS
Volume I, No. 2
New Poetry and Artwork by
Women in Houston
Leslie Lopez, Carol Snyder,
Cathy Stern, Sharon Stewart,
Monica Vaughan, Fabian Worsham
At your favorite bookstore, or write:
LIAUD: A Women's Press
P.O. Box 6793
Houston, TX 77265-6793.

$4.50/copy

RACISM ALIVE & WELL-GLOBALLY

I

I

I

Many people today refuse to acknowledge that racism exists, whether in their own hearts,
or in the hearts of others, or in the job and housing markets, or wherever. It is hard to
understand this denial of such an obvious force-look around the job, school and neighborhood, and its effects are blatant. The following editorial, which appeared in "The Nation"
in its January 7 /14, 1991 issue, gives an example of racism at the highest reaches of
government, and illustrates its immense and devastating consequences.

REDLINING A BLACK BANK
Two dispatches from the banking crisis, a month apart: On November 9 Harlem's Freedom
National Bank, the only black-owned commercial bank in New York City, was closed by federal
regulators after suffering continued losses on outstanding loans. Usually the Feds place failing
banks in conservatorship for up to a year prior to liquidation, during which time they encourage
depositors with accounts above the $100, 000 level to move their money to safer havens. In Freedom's
case, such kindness was not in the cards. A group of New York businessmen even pulled together
about $6 million to resuscitate the bank, but their efforts were stymied by what Crain's New York
Business called the "Intransigence" of federal regulators.
The appalling result: Dozens of charities and nonprofits that had kepc their money with the bank
as an expression of community solidarity were shocked to learn that millions of dollars would not be
returned to them. When the news emerged that this would lead to drastic cuts in programs providing
day care, foster care, housing, and aid to crime victims and the elderly, the Feds announced that large
depositors would be covered at 50 cents to the dollar.
Fast-forward to December 13. The Treasury announced that it had been depositing more than $1
billion in tax receipts as well as operating cash-all uninsured-in the troubled Bank of New
England in an effort to shore it up. Evidently some banks are "too big to fail" (cf. Continental
Illinois) and thus deserve special treatment. Others, presumably, are too small to matter. Freedom
National Bank was a mere fraction of the size of the $23 billion Bank of New England. But in the
context of the capital-starved micro-economy of Harlem, Freedom also was too big to fail.
• • • AND PERSONALLY
On a personal level, when white women confront our own racism, we should remember
the old saw: if we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem. If we are content
(let alone eager) to live in a white-flight neighborhood and send our kids to an all-white
school; if we only tell a racist joke if it is "really really funny" and no one will think we mean it
anyway; and if we never wonder why there are no people of color at our parties, or our
church or wherever; then we are not trying, and we are part of the problem.
•

1991 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Gulf Coast Women's Festival; March 28 - 31
GCWF, 250 Cowan Rd., Gulfport, MS 39507 (Information available at Berland)
National Lesbian Conference; April 24 - 28; Atlanta, GA
NLC, P.O. Box 1999; Decatur, GA (Information available at Her!and)
Wiminfest '91; May 24- 26; Albuquerque, NM
Wiminfest; 301 Solano St. N.E.; Albuquerque, NM 87108
National Women's Music Festival; May 30 - June 2; Bloomington, IN
NWMF; P.O. Box 1427; Indianapolis, IN 49206
East Coast Lesbians Festival; June 20 - 23; Lake Front Camp on NY IPA border
ECLF; 132 Montague St., Box 274; Brooklyn, NY 11201
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival; August 14 - 18; Hart, MI
WWTMC; Box 22; Walhalla, MI 49458
West Coast Women's Music & Comedy Fest; Labor Day weekend; Northern CA
Robin Tyler Prod.; 15843 Chase St.; Sepulveda, CA 91343

And for a really good time .•.
Herland Spring Retreat; Late May
Herland Fall Retreat; Late September or October
Watch the Voice for details.

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

5

MEDITATION
FOR THE NLC
Lesbian sisters, activists, movers and
shakers, warriors, lovers dreamers,
healers:
I come to be with you as agents of change,
I bring my energy, my voice, my hopes, my
dreams. I come to add to the fruits of
our labor, not to scatter them aside.
While we are together, I will not
subordinate my needs, because my needs
are important.
But I will subordinate my desires to the
desires of the group so that we may
move forward together.
I place my heart before you and ask you to
regard it with care.
I see your heart before me and I promise to
treat it with care.
Let us now focus our gifts on our common
ideals:
Our uniquenesses
Our desire to share our uniqueness
Our absolute right to be together
Diversity - Solidarity - Empowerment

UPDATE ON
ELIZABETH
MORGAN CASE
Elizabeth Morgan, who spent more than
two years in jail for contempt of court for
refusing to reveal the whereabouts of her
daughter Hilary Foretich, has been given
custody of the 8 -year-old Hilary by a New
Zealand judge. Dr. Morgan has alleged that
Hilary's father, Eric Foretich, sexually
abused Hilary from the time she was two
years old; and when ordered by the District
of Columbia courts to surrender Hilary for
visitations with her father, Dr. Morgan
chose to go to jail instead, and her parents
fled with Hilary into hiding in New
Zealand.
Eric Foretich has been barred from
visiting his daughter "in the immediate
future." Instead, he will receive a photograph of Hilary every six months, as well as
reports on her health and school work;
eventually he will be allowed to mail her
gifts and cards.
•
info from OOB, Jan 1991

Ginny Real (9-1-90)

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY
RECOGNIZES DOMESTIC PARTNERS
Firemen's Insurance Company of Washington, D.C., one of America's oldest business
firms, has become the first insurance company in the nation to file a Homeowners policy
change that recognizes domestic partners. By redefining who is insured, the new
endorsement extends to domestic partners the automatic coverage rights enjoyed by
spouses and relatives of Homeowners policyholders.
Chartered in 1837, Firemen's Insurance Company is the only property and casualty
insurance company headquartered in the District of Columbia. With a rating of A+ year
after year by A.M., the company has grown and prospered by serving the community,
and today insures more dwellings in Washington than any other insurance carrier.
Firemen's offers Homeowners coverage to apartments renters and the owners of
dwellings and condos in D.C. and the states of Maryland and Virginia.
According to Carl Blundell, CPCU, a company underwriting manager who created the
new endorsement, "this Homeowners policy change will extend automatic coverage to
anyone with whom an insured has a close, committed personal relationship that
involves sharing household responsibilities and owning property together. Automatic
coverage applies after an insured has established such a relationship and lived with their
domestic partner continuously for at least 6 months."
"The public will no longer confuse us with Firemans Fund or any other insurance
company." says Firemen's new president, Dick Andrews. "We will have the first
Homeowners policy in the insurance industry that will serve the diverse and changing
lifestyles of today's society without sacrificing the privacy needs of the individual."
Mr. Andrews advises that Fireman's, unlike other insurance companies, will no longer
require that the name of an insured's domestic partner be disclosed and appear on the
Homeowners policy in order for the partner to be included for coverage. "Because our
new endorsement eliminates the need for such notification, unmarried insureds and their
domestic partners will have the privacy choices and coverage rights enjoyed by married
couples."
Firemen's Insurance Company plans to begin attaching the new endorsement to all
Homeowners policies it issues beginning in early 1991.
•
6

HSR FEBRUARY 1991

IMAGES OF
OURSELVES
The December 1990 issue of Esquire
Magazine featured a double-cover of the
actress Michelle Pfeiffer, looking breathtakingly beautiful, with the caption "What
Michelle Pfeiffer Needs ... Is Absolutely
Nothing."
The caption was evidently fudging on
the truth just a little: Harper Magazine's
January 1991 issue has published a copy
of the bill which the photographer for
that cover submitted to Esquire for retouching of the photos. The $1,525.00
bill covers work including "Clean up
complexion, soften eye lines, soften smile
line, add color to lips, trim chin, remove
neck lines, soften line under ear lobe, add
blush to cheek, clean up neck line ...
adjust color and add hair on top of
head . . . add forehead to create better
line ... soften neck muscle a bit, and
soften neck line . . . ."
It is enough to make a person think:
think of the time, energy, money and
heartbreak which so many women put
into efforts to live up to an ideal which is
false in the first place; and to wonder:
How many women who get breast implants do so in an attempt to please men
by looking more like the models in
Playboy and other similar publications
(models who themselves have implants in
order to get better-paying modeling jobs)?
How many middle-aged women worry
themselves sick and hold themselves less
than worthy, because they look so much
older than actresses and other "celebrities" their age - actresses who have spent
thousands of dollars and countless hours
at the plastic surgeon's?
How many billions of dollars do women
spend on lipstick and hair coloring and
vanishing cream? How else could that
money be spent?
How man.y billions of hours do women
put into trying to "improve" their outward personal appearance? How else
could that time be spent? Was Nature too
ignorant to make women look all right as
is? Is the male sex drive so low it really
needs such artifice to turn it on?
Is there a connection between the
falling off .i n academic achievement by
adolescent girls and the pressure that
begins on them at that age to live up to an
impossible standard of beauty?
Should we be angry about all this?
Should we try to change it? How do we
start?
•

PRO-CHOICE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. The Oklahoma Choice Legal Defense Fund is urgently seeking
volunteers during the month of February 1991. The CLDF is checking over 100,000 signatures on the anti-choice
petition filed last fall; they are confident, judging from the number of invalid signatures they have found to date, that it
will be possible to have the entire petition declared invalid, and jettisoned. The work fovolves checking the signatures on
the petition against voter-registration rolls; it is slow, tedious work, but the potential for success is significant. The
deadline for challenging the sufficiency of the petition is near the end of February. If this petition can be stopped now,
we will save thousands of hours of work and hundred of thousands of dollars later. If you can help, please call Larry
Wood at 405-528 -1119 ..... .

COMPUTER SERVICES. There are two computer services for lesbians and gays that can be accessed for a low,
negotiable fee. They are computer bulletin boards, and through them one can access feminist libraries, get health info,
contact lesbian and gay-owned businesses, read periodicals, play games, etc. Harbor Bytes BBS (HBBBS) carries lesbian
and gay newspapers on-line, among other things. Call 3,01-235-6753. GLIB (Gay & L.esbian Information Service) based
in DC, is run by the Community Educational Services Foundation, P.O. Box 636, Arlfogton, VA 22216; their voice
phone is 703-379-4568, and their modem is 703 -573-4542. (info from OOB, Jan 1991) . .... .

A GATHERING of Young Lesbian Separatists and Our Radical Feminist Lesbian Friends in Our Teens and
Twenties will meet the weekend of March 23 - 24, '91 in Chicago, Illinois. The gathering is part of the ongoing
networking between a new generation of dykes making radical choices. We will be able to connect, imagine, create,
desire, believe in our power to face the confusion, isolation, fear and hate to come through strong, clear and together.
Dykes of many colors and cultures are already involved in the networking. More information will be provided about
accessibility. Sliding scale registration as low as $0. As part of our commitment to violence-free spaces, lesbian batterers
ands/mare not welcome. Write to Waxing Crescent, 2825 North Laramie Apt. 2N, Chicago, IL 60651-5028 USA for
more info about the gathering, upcoming events and projects and just to let us know you're out there! .....

Writings and drawings by survivors of childhood sexual, physical or ritual abuse are being collected for an
anthology about the spiritual after-effects of such abuse. Any work submitted should include an indication of your age,
gender, religious belief, affiliation and background. For more information write: Elizabeth R. Lewis, P.O. Box 2196,
Boston, MA 02106. Include your phone number and times you can be reached and she will call you ..... .

Herland needs you! Herland has volunteer opportunities available for women who want to staff the store, help
maintain the building, work on the newsletter -or work on event and concert production. Call us at 521-9696 ..... .

Chain of Life, a feminist adoption reform and child welfare newsletter, is available from J. Baer, P.O. Box 8081,
Berkeley, CA 94707. The newsletter offers information and inspiration for adoptees, birthmothers, therapists, and their
friends ..... .

Among the varied magazines and journals available for your perusal at Herland are copies of "The Oklahoma
State Worker," journal of the Communications Workers of America, Local 6086, Oklahoma State Workers Union.
The Nov-Dec 1990 issue contains a nice photo of current Sister Three Pat Reaves speaking at the "Health Care for All"
rally last fall, and a synopsis of her remarks ..... .

Found in HSR's mailbox: "Hi, we are two lesbian-feminists from Mass. passing through on route to California. Sorry
to miss you-Courage in Oklahoma City! Keep up the good work. Feminism Lives!"
•

HSRFEBRUARY1991 7

Edwina V. Johnson, D.D.S.
"Catering to Cowards needing Tender Care"
in Comprehensive Dentistry

Kay Killgore, M.Ed.

5009 North Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 103
(405) 840-5410

Woman to Woman Counseling

Night & Sunday practice by appt. only
Emergencies wekome

1010 N.W. 45th
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118
(405) 524-1062

Insurance accepted

~usie

~outhwell, M. Ed.
HELEN HOLGATE

COUNSELOR

Certified Alcoholism & Drug Abuse
Counselor

2912 N. Claaaen, Suite 102.- - - - - - .
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73106...__ _
Telephone: (405) 556-4105

Comprehensive Dental Care

Sam L. Nicolosi, D.V.M.

Debra K. Browning, R.Ph, D.D.S.

NICOLOSI ANIMAL HOSPITAL
4015 N.W. 23rd
Oklahoma City

Office Hours By Appointment

by Appointment
Phone (405) 947- 5545

5009 N. Pennsylvania, Suite 103
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
(405) 843-3281

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

TREAT YOURSELF TO THE "TOUCH OF GOLD."

848-5429

Treat your special someone, too, tor $10 off her Massage!

ooucli of Qold
HEALTHFUL • STRESS RELIEVING MASSAGE
Special
discounts
available
to all
Herlarul
readers!

SHIRLEY M. HUNTER, M. Ed.

6y

Melanie ~· McKiddy
MASSAGE THERAPIST
360-6945

"Portable"
massage
table
available
for your

LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR

Emphasis on the problems of gay people.
PENN PARK OFFICE COMPLEX e SUITE 102
5009 N. PENNSYLVANIA e OKLAHOMA CITY, OK73112

convenieru.:e.

WIMM IN'S NIGHT
TUESDAY, FEB. 12th at 7 P.M.

* Inclusive Language Liturgy.
** Twom
Refreshments and Social
Women Guest Speakers

Lowest Prices On
Unique Crystal Jewelry,
Books and Prints
1011 N.W. 43rd St.
Oklahoma City, Ok 73118

DREXEL SQ. APARTMENTS - 4254 N. DREXEL

DIGNITY/INTEGRITY of OKC
(405) 557-0903

INFO. 636 - 4388

Directions 942-0168