The Herland Voice : v.8: no.12(1991)
- Title
- The Herland Voice : v.8: no.12(1991)
- Description
- The Herland Voice is the monthly publication of Herland Sister Resources, a womanist organization with a strong lesbian focus based in Oklahoma City.
- Date Issued
- 1991-12
- Rights
- All rights reserved by Herland Sister Resources. Contact UCO Archives & Special Collections for the permission policy on the use, reproduction or distribution of these materials.
- Is Part Of
- Herland Voice
- Creator
- Herland Sister Resources
- Date
- 2017-09-02T17:02:53Z
- Date Available
- 2017-09-02T17:02:53Z
- Subject
- Oklahoma
- Type
- application/pdf
- extracted text
-
DECEMBER 1991
"PLANNED PARENTHOOD'S 75TH
ANNIVERSARY" OR THE OK CHOICE
by Judith Rycroft
I knew something must be done to rescue those women who were voiceless. Someone had to express with white hot
intensity the conviction that they must be empowered to decide for themselves.
Margaret Sanger, 1879-1966, Founder, Planned Parenthood
On October 24, Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma (PPCO) celebrated 75 years of Family Planning. "The Oklahoma
Choice" meeting held at Lincoln Plaza Hotel was not a symposium of women's rights. It was, rather, an affirmation of the right of
women to reproductive self-choice.
Margaret Sanger Lampe, the featured speaker atPPCO's-54th Annual Meeting, recalled some of her famous grandmother's triumphs
and hardships. In the early 1900's, Margaret Sanger defied convention and legal restr~ints by saying that parenthood could-and
should- be planned. Both revered and reviled, she was jailed nine times for her efforts and blessed by women who received the
contraceptives she smuggled into the United States from Europe.
From pulpits Mrs. Sanger was denounced as a "lascivious monster" who murdered children; her British hosts found her "softvoiced, gentle-mannered, altogether charming."
How much has changed in these 75 years? Outside Lincoln Plaza, picketers carried signs saying "stop killing babies," Inside, at the
dinner, two soft-voiced, gentle-mannered, altogether charming women reiterated Margaret Sanger's message: "No woman can call
herself free ... until she can choose whether or not to be a mother."
Sarah Weddington, the second speaker, is the attorney from Texas who successfully defended Roe vs. Wade in the Supreme Court.
"As I watched the ... Thomas Hearings," she said, "I felt I was watching the sands of time running out on Roe vs. Wade."
She feels that the more conservative view now prevailing in the Supreme Court will overturn Roe vs. Wade within the next two years.
"It then becomes our responsibility to make it live again so that every
woman has the opportunity to choose, every mother is a willing mother,
and every child is a wanted child."
These 75 years of family planning in America have provided a formu la
but no guarantee. As Margaret Sanger wrote,
Though many disputed barricades have been leaped, you can never sit back,
smugly content, believing that victory is forever yours; there is always the threat
of its being snatched from you. All freedom must be safeguarded and held." •
REPORT ON THE SPEAK-OUT
The Perfect Gift
When planing the "Speakout Out-Take Action-On Sexual Harassment" held November 18, 1991, Herland and the other sponsoring
organizations made a conscious decision to allow and encourage the
meeting to take its own shape and direction according to the participants;
and so it did.
Personal recollections of being sexually harassed on the job, and the
meaning of harass ment and its demeaning aspects were the topic at the
start of the meeting; but it soon became evident that the group gathered at
the Neighborhood Services Organization building on that dreary wet
evening had in mind the bigger issue of women 's rights in general, and in
particu lar the backlash to feminism which has occurred in this country,
and which continues daily to strip us of our rights, opportunity, dignity,
and all too often, o ur lives.
We left with two commitments: one, to meet again at the same location
at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, D ecember 10; and secondly, to gather at the
State Cap itol on the evening of the day that Roe vs. Wade is overturned,
to vent our frustration and our outrage, and to let our state legislature
know that we will not tol erate the outlawing of abortion in our state. •
VO LUME 8 NUMBER 12
•
HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES
•
~lal<e ~'our
2312 N.W. 39th , OKC, OK 73112
own
•
(405) 521-9696
:~•. ~b:BIL :ft
With the new year approaching, I am looking for a motto
to live by; you know, something to help me improve both
myself and maybe the world, and to help me maintain
constancy in my philosophy and actions. I'll appreciate any
guidance you can give me. C ould yoti tell me, for instance,
what motto you live by?
Thanking you in advance,
Ima Tryon
Dear Ima,
I can't really say that I "live" by a motto; more by the grace of
grace; but some good mottos that come to mind are:
• Speak softly, and carry chocolate chip cookies; or
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and
remember: it's your turn; or
• My country, right its wrongs; or
• The early bird sure missed a good party last night;
And my all time favorite, though it's very demanding:
Reverence for all who live, even Republicans.
Did I help? good luck anyway,
Sybil
*
*
Dear St. Sybil,
Do you have a holiday shopping list this year? Am I on it?
Avariciously,
Hope Full
Dear Hope.
I'm glad you asked. Yes. No. For your information, here's my
list to date (still unfinished).
• Justice Thomas: A tiny red flag to hang from the end of his
Pinocchio nose to alert people near him not to bump into it.
• Professor Anita Hill: Whatever she wants.
• Senator David Boren: Just what he deserves.
• State Representative Leonard Sullivan: A $10,000 gift certificate to the hospital of his choice so he can have his brain (if they
can find it) surgically removed from his posterior. Talk about
microsurgery!
• Earvin Johnson: M.o re of the same joyful magic that made the
whole world love him in good times and want to wrap their
arms around him in bad times.
• George Bush: A good long look at a history book of the future .
(I know, this sounds really mean, but it's the only thing I can
think of that might make him change his principle-impoverished
ways.
• Governor David Walters : A gift certificate for five free visits to
an Ethichiropractor, to straighten out that debilitating little
quirk in his character.
• Oliver North: A good unabridged dictionary, so that he can
learn the difference between "completely exonerated" and
"dodging the bullet on a technicality."
• Senator Alan Simpson: Eternal life - well, think about it; if he
died where could we bury him without creating a mammoth
toxic waste site?
• Lokocoxco: Bring Co back to town.
• The World: More PC, not less.
And Goddess bless you every one.
Sybil
Ink Well Vvinttng
942-5693
20% Off On Nevv Orders
BOYCOTT GREEN GIANT
4
"The Green Giant w~rkers are the future of
~ · free trade," says Mike Kostyal, who has
helped organize a nationwide boycott in
behalf of 300 workers from Watsonville,
California. Grand Met-Pillsbury-Green
Giant, which also owns Burger King and
Haagen Dazs, has laid off a large part of the workforce in
Watsonville- mostly middle-aged women who had worked at the
plant for an average of fourteen years.
The company is shifting production to lrapuato, Mexico, where
it pays workers starvation wages of about $4.25 a day and dumps
untreated waste into the local water supply.
"We want to make Grand Met-Green Giant a model of what
fair trade should be instead of an example of what free trade is,''
says Kostyal. Displaced workers' demands include three years'
medical insurance, retraining, a guaranteed living wage for the
Mexican TTUUJ.uiladora workers who have replaced them, and
attention to the havoc wreaked on the environment as the
company moves production across the border.
A video featuring the workers in Watsonville and lrapuato,
Dirty Business-Food Exports to the U.S., won the best short
documentary award at the Environmental Film Festival in Santa
Monica this year, and is available for $35 from Migrant Media
Productions, ( 408) 728-8949. Workers hope to put pressure on
the company by publicizing its abuses and by encouraging
Americans to boycott all Grand Met products.
•
MUSICIANS WANTED
We're looking for rhythm and lead electric guitar and keyboard
players. Please call 943-2056.
NEED TO TALK?
NEED COMMUNITY INFORMATION?
CALL
44 7 ·GAYS
The Gay & Lesbian
HELPLINE
Hours: 8 p.m. - 12 a.m. Thursday - Monday
Volunteers Needed: Leave a message with
a current volunteer if you are interested.
2
HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
BOOK CORNER
5. Neve r consider ramping your home or office because yo u
"do n't know any women in chairs ."
The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans and
Other Stories; by Johnny Valentine, Illus. by
Lynette Schmidt
6. Assume that a lesbian with a disability needs / wants your help .
(We couldn' t possibly manage to open a d oor without a
concerned citizen like yo urself holding it open and blocking o ur
passage in the process).
Ages 7-9, younger for reading aloud. Alyson Press' latest title in
its series of books aimed at children of lesbian and gay parents
dispenses with the apologist, didac tic tone to tell stories that
might actually be of interest to children , rather than their parents.
This generously illustrated volume contains five short stories set
in a mythical kingdom threatened by dragons, ogres, and corrupt
mo narchs . The first four stories feature children as archetypal
heroes, bravely striving to right wrongs, protect the kingdom, or
find fame and fortune. The gay and lesbian parents of these
youthful heroes are presented matter-of-factly as secondary
characters, but they stay in the background while their children
set out on their heroic quests. Only in the final story does sexual
preference become an issue when an arrogant young duke is left in
charge of the kingdom while the king and queen are away on royal
busines. Heady with power, he begins to make a series of
ridiculous proclamations : first, he outlaws jellybeans, then,
books, and finally, families without one mother and one father.
The protagonists of the four previous stories come together to
figure out a solution, and they are more than equal to the task.
The author's wry, breezy style, evident throughout the book, is
particularly strong in the final story. Many alternative families and
progressive parents will be delighted to find this collection on
library shelves.
7. Use the terms : differently abled, handicapped, crippled , or
physically challenged to mask the reality of disability.
8. Hold a~ event in a space that has an accessible entrance but also
segregated seating and inaccessible bathrooms.
9. Look the other way or stare at a dyke with a disability .
10. Pull your child away from a person with a visible disability or
prevent them from asking you or the lesbian with a disability
questions . (Yes, we really do hear all those parental SHHHHHs).
11. Deny your attraction to a lesbian with a disability. Better yet,
never allow yourself to integrate with dykes with disabilities, and
prevent the possibility of ever having to be friends or lovers
with us.
12 . As_sume that all of us are not very intelligent or that we're deaf
or hard of hearing. Do you know how many times people have
talked. baby talk to me in very lo ud voices?
13. Treat us with kid gloves.
14. In your mind, treat us all like Easter Seals Poster Children.
A Stone Gone Mad; by Jacquelyn Holt Park
15. Put us in one of two categories: Pitiful Crip, or Super Crip.
In spite of being a little confused at the beginning of the novel, I
really enjoyed this book. "A Stone Gone Mad" takes a look at the
price of honesty with friends and family in a time when lesbianism
was viewed as a disgusting disease. The cost of being yourself was
ostracism. In this novel Emily courageously battles herself and
society to live the life she finds to be so natural to her, and she still
manae:es to maintain some true friendships .
16. Participate in behaviors or activities that exclude or segr_ega~e
lesbians with disabilities.
. . .
Do \,jOl.-tr l1oli~a\1 sl1oppittg at Hcrlatt~!
Goo~ books. fl.-ttt crafts. great bl.-t\,jS.
25 WAYS TO OPPRESS A
LESBIAN WITH A DISABILITY
by Mary Frances Platt
This piece is meant to be used as a tool for able-bodied lesbians
to begin to acknowledge, confront, and work through their own
ableism. The author suggests that women meet in small groups
and use each numbered "Way to Oppress a Lesbian With a
Disability" as a discussion catalyst.
··
1. Call her " honey" or "sweetie" when you're not ih an intimate
relationship with her.
1 7. Don't challenge your sisters on their ableist remarks, production of inaccessible culture, attendance at ·inaccessible events,
performing in spaces that exclude disabled dykes, etc.
18. Help to creat inaccessible culture.
19. Pity and condecension in all its many, varied, and insidious
forms.
20 . Push, pull, or otherwise manipulate a disabled dyke's chair,
crutches, etc. without being asked to ..
21. Assume that a lesbian in a wheelchair cannot/ does not
transfer into regular chairs. (Yes, Virginia, it is irritating when you
automatically remove the seating chair away from the restaurant
table .. . if we want it moved we'll let you know.)
'
22 . Wear perfumes or bring your animals to public lesbian
gatherings so that women with Environmental Illness cannot
attend, or will have to leave because they have become sick from
all those scents and Rover's dander.
23. Take out your anger /fear of your own mortality or s~ccepti
bility to becoming disabled on us.
3. See her as totally non-sexual.
24. Assume _that a lesbian with ~ non-visible disability is "not
really sick," or "not really disabled" (Disabled lesbians come in
all forms of disability .. . from mobility impaired to diabetic, to
chronically ill to mentally disabled, etc'. )
4. Use the word blind to connotate ignorance, stupidity or fear.
As in " the blind leading the blind," "blind rage," etc.
25. Disregard and invalidate this piece as the rantings of an angry
disabled dyke who only wants to alienate her able-bodied sisters.
2. Touch her chair in an intimate fashion when you're not
inte~ding intimacy.
HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
3
RECLAIMING OUR LIVES Answering The Call Of the Wild
by Deborah Fox
Do you believe that Peace begets Peace, that war can only create
more war? If so, and if this idea is true, then it follows that
oppression begets oppression and Liberation begets · Liberation.
Would you agree that you cannot change other people, that you can
only change yourself? Would it not then follow that women cannot
change patriarchy by trying to change patriarchy? That by seeking
outside ourselves for change we give away our power to effect
change?
If so, then give me one good reason women should depend
upon men-their System, politics, institutions, et al, to change.
Give me one good reason we could or should depend upon men to
hand us our birthright of Freedom. One good reason we ought to get
men's permission to terminate a pregnancy. I suppose one good
reason to get men's permission to have an abortion is that we could
end up in jail (the bullies!), but what if we had a women's
underground where we could have safe abortions by female experts!
If we seek men's permission aren't we validating the idea that women
are infantile dependents of men?
The "man's world," female denigration, male ideology and men's
fabrication of what constitutes "true" reality and superior government have been so deeply ingrained within our psyches that we often
do their devious work for them by oppressing ourselves, as well a
blindly accepting as "true" what we are told by "professionals" and
"authorities," without even realizing it. If our minds and hearts are
not free, how can we do freedom? The superimposed "reality" of
men has become a mass of subliminal message that we are
bombarded with daily. "Women who are willing to make the
Journey of Becoming must indeed recognize the fact of Possession by
the structures of evil and by the controllers and legitimators of these
structures." (Mary Daly) Our first, most important and rewarding
challenge, then, is inner liberation, unbinding the spell of patriarchy.
"The process of exorcism, of peeling off the layers of mindbinding
and cosmetics, is movement past the patriarchally imposed sense of
reality and identity. This demystification process, a-mazing The
Lies, is ecstasy." (M. Daly). ,
By liberating ourSelves/retrieving the Soul the Father stole, we
begin reclaiming our lives . I believe this will propel us to Blaze Our
Own Trails/create a new reality. Of women's dilemma Virginia
Woolf, in her book Three Guineas, writes: "Behind us lies the
patriarchal system; the private house, with its nullity, its immorality,
its hypocrisy, its servility. Before us lies the public world, the
professional system, with its possessiveness, its jealousy, its
pugnacity, its greed. The one shuts us up like slaves in a harem; the
other forces us to circle, like caterpillars head to tail, round and
round the mulberry tree, the sacred tree, of property. It is a choice of
evils. Each is bad."
To create a new choice involves diving into the sea of possibility,
and following the currents of our heart's desires-those currents/
dreams we usually stifle because we are too occupied by the business
of the patriarchy, circling round the mulberry tree. To free ourselves
from this mind-numbing merry-go-round and blaze our own trails,
we must be daring and willing to take risks. Many times we might
want to run back to familiarity/conventionalism like dogs with our
tails tucked. But it is the Wolf in us that is our origin/ality. lt is our
Wildness/Untamedness that seeks and craves freedom. It is our
Wildnature that birthed the first cultures, and it is our Wildnature ·
that WILL birth a new culture . We must learn to trust our Wild
Nature/ ourSelves.
Though I do not believe in land ownership, I think women should
pool resources to buy up as much land as we can to protect it and
4
HERLAND VO ICE, DECEMBER 1991
also to have place to birth our new reility/world, places to continue
building communities that reflect women's values and women's way
in the world.
Quitting the capitalist/consumer rat trap is necessary if we want
to stop destroying the Earth as well as be free. Every time we buy
into capitalism's hands, we enforce the chains that keep us slaves of
the workworld. Bigger, better homes/mortgages, new cars/bigger
loans, etc. If we buy used merchandise we help the environment, if
we buy less expensive homes/land,. we own it sooner and thus free
our time or our funds. We can lower our cost ofliving. I also believe
that putting our resources into the "male-mastered" (Mary Daly)
system to effect change is a waste. I believe it would be far more
profitable for us if instead we funded women's education in the
trades our new world needs. "The vehicles of our voyages may be
any creative enterprises that further women's process. The point is
that they should be governed by the Witch within [the independent,
wisewoman, healer, philosopher, counselor, teacher ] -the Hag
within" (M. Daly).
The bottom line is; if we don't do freedom now, maybe we never
will. For me it's like the idea of the "retirement plan;" and I don't
want to wait till I'm almost dead to live. I want a new world and I
want it now. "Women's world never left this planet. It is still here,
right under our noses. We recreate it as we learn to see it and to live
in it." (Sonia Johnson, Wildfire, Igniting The She/Volution). Let's
birth the world we so deeply desire and, like raindrops on a pond,
our personal lives' example will ripple outward, to ever widening
circles, eventually engulfing the entire pond.
By the powers bestowed upon Woman, our WILL be done. So
mote it be!
•
Strong Woman
Strong woman
6and across her head
not 6inding
6lack hair
long
nowing 6ackward
steele 6/ue eyes ·
staring ahead
past
cities full of
6/inded crowds
pale pink lips
full
chin up
shoulders straight
holding slings
with stones
6reasts
round and strong
so~ muscled arms
purple shield
against her stomach
loin cloth
prolrding
tomorrow's children
strong muscled thighs
knees of steele
feet solid
upon Mother Sarth.
She sits
eyes closed
in meditation
fingers al her knees
6ent
6eet crossed
She lays
softly
upon a 6ed
of leaves
green and Grown
and red
with her lover
legs intertwined
6reasts
touching slightly
sleep
She rises
oval purple
egg of knowledge
smirk
in funds
upon her lips
cupped
6etween her 6reasts
al phallic worship
Rising
on the morn
Strong woman
Alpha and Omega.
© 1988 C.~. Ulilson
'
THE ASTON MASSAGE
z
RHON DA L SM ITH
P rac titi o n e r
'
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: : : : : :.~~ : : : : : : : : : : ~'i< : : : : : : : : : :~ : : : : : : : : : : :~~ : : : : : : : : : : :4' :::::
(405) 942- 4 7.+8
(40 5) 524 -2958
:: :~
t :: : Open
•
.
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.....
NOW ALSO OFFERING MOVEMENT COACHING
HERLAND
PARENTS AND FRIENDS
OF LESBIANS AND GAYS
(P·FLAG) MAKES
STATEMENT TO
RELIGIOUS RIGHT
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays left their tenth annual
co nvention o utraged by homo phobic harassment from the
religious right; empo wered by new tools for fighting heterosexism
in schools, churches, and institutions that work with youth; and
determined to step up their efforts to advocate for their lesbian,
gay and bisexual family members.
So-called Christians claiming to promote "traditional family
values " harassed conventio n organizers for months preceding the
co nventio n, picketed outside the hotel, and invaded the privacy of
o ne family by pressuring their teenaged lesbian daughter to use
prayer to change her sexual orientation and using Parents FLAG
envelopes to slip religious tracts and literature under the door of
her hotel room.
" Those Bible Nazis who accuse us of recruiting and promoting
lifestyles ought to take the planks out of their own eyes before
casting stones at us and our children," said Wiggsy Siversten, San
Jose (CA) college professo r , counselor, and C hair of the P-FLAG
T ask Fo rce o n Gay and Lesbian Teens. "This is one child who will
no t become a Bobby Griffith suicide statistic. We and her brother
and parents are here to embrace her and assure her that we love
her just the way she is."
Presenting P-FLAG's three new Issue Papers on gay and lesbian
teens, national President Paulette Goodman stated, "Our Respect
All Youth project is no w bringing the issue of gay and lesbian teen
suicide to the fore. It is a tragedy that some parents find out their
child is gay after an attempt at suicide. It is our firm will to stem
the untimely loss of these young lives."
Past President of Parents FLAG, Elinor Kirby Lewallen, who is
a gay leader of the Methodist denomination, stated, "According
to statistics, one family in four includes a member who is lesbian,
gay, or bisexual. So how can it be anti-family to embrace these
children of God with values of love, support, and respect for their
integrity? Isn't that what family values are about? The implication
that our children need to change is to me a cruel hoax. I have seen
so much damage from such hellish confusion that I say it is heresy
to ask God to change what God has created."
•
·~~
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SPECIALIZING IN SAFE TOUCH FOR INCEST SURVIVORS
House
Saturday
Dec ember 7
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Do \101-ir l1oli~al1 sl1oppittg at Hcrlatt~!
Goo~ books. fl-itt crafts. great bii\1S.
KEEP THE VOICE COMING
The monthly cost for printing and mailing The Voice is
approximately $500. If you enjoy reading The Voice each
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D Please add me to the mailing list for The Voice
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HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
5
~~---LESBIAN ONLY THERAPY GROUP. Wednesday evenings.
Call Jo Soske. M.Ed/ MHR/CAC at 364-5708 .. ..
ENCODINGS
Volume Two, No. One
WOMEN WRITING WOMEN'S LIVES:
a sampling of new poetry.
DO YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING Saturday and Sunday,
December 7 and 8. On Saturday, shop THREE different open
houses: Herland's new consignment Gift Shop, with crafts & art by
local artisans (and ofcourse our books & tapes!). At Herland, 10 - 6
p.m.; refreshments, including homemade fudge & cookies &
brownies, oh my!
Then swing by the Benedictine Peace House at 2912 N.
Robinson, for their Christmas Open House Show & Sale, 10 a.m.
-5 p.m. And then there's the "First Annual Christmas Bizarre
Bazaar" at the Crown Heights Professional Center, 1010 N.W.
45th, OKC (entrance in rear).
And Finally: on Sunday, bring socks & t-shirts & undies &
anything else that would look good tie-dyed; bring it where? To
Herland, where Susan will have her supplies set up and help you
turn your dull drab things into dazzling works of art! Great
Christmas & Hannukah presents. $5 for supplies and Susan's
help .. ..
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for a new journal for Women
healing from Childhood Sexual Abuse. This journal will be a place
for women to share our stories, poems, thoughts, drawings, ideas,
theories, survival tips, and resources for our healing work. Send
submissions to : A. Lubovna, 925 Victoria Drive, Apt. 3,
Vancouver, BC V5L 4Gl, Canada ....
WOMEN OF COLOR ISSUE of Sinister Wisdom; seeking
submissions of poetry, stories, artwork, photographs, etc. All
contributors to Issue #4 7 must identify as Lesbians of Color.
Submit written work on 8Yz x 11 white paper, one side only,
double-spaced. At top of title page, give name, full address, day and
evening phone (including area code), and title of piece. Number
each page and put name and title at top of each page. If you want
your work returned, include SASE with sufficient postage. Work
will not be returned without adequate postage and appropriate
containers. Submissions considered in any language. Please include
English transh\tiOI' if possible for editorial purposes. Deadline
February 11, 1992. Send submissions to: Sinister Wisdom, P.O.
Box 3252, Berkeley, CA 94703 ....
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
WANTED by women from all walks of life for the book Sexual
Harassment: Women Speak Out, to be published early 1992. Send
submissions to Taylor / Sumrall c/ o The Crossing Pr~ss, Box 1048,
Freedom CA 95019. Deadline December 14, 1991 (hurry!).
· Include SASE & one line bio statement including occupation, and a
signed permission statement to edit and publish ....
SOONER SCRIBES . OF OKLAHOMA provides education,
training and organizational experience for anyone interested in the
· art of calligraphy. Meetings of the group are held on the 4th
Monday of each month. Membership includes monthy and biannual newsletters and reduced enrollment fees for workshops
sponsored by the organization. Contact Sooner Scribes at
405 / 842-1262 .. . .
YOU CAN HELP make the holidays brighter for a child whose
parent has AIDS. Without help many of these children will receive
no gifts and may not have another Christmas with their parent. If
you'd like to donate a gift nr crafts supplies call SunShine at
· Southeast Area Health Center, 632-6888 .
6
HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
Artwork
by Kanti R. Campagna
AT YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE, OR WRITE:
UAUD: A Women's Press
P.O. Box 6793, Houston, TX 77265-6793
$4.50/copy
ELECTION 1991 PRODUCES MAJOR
VICTORIES FOR LESBIAN AND GAY
COMMUNITY
Washington, DC-The elections of November 7, 1991 produced
major advances for lesbian and gay Americans, according to the
Human Rights Campaign Fund, the nation's largest lesbian and
gay organization. The Campaign Fund was an early and strong
supporter of Pennsylvania Senator Harris Wofford, whose comefrom-behind victory against former U.S. Attorney General
Richard Thornburgh attracted nationwide attention.
"We are very pleased with the election returns," notes Tim
Mcfeeley, Campaign Fund Executive Director. "These election
victories clearly show the electorate is willing to support our
community when we have the resources to counter the lies our
opponents spread about us."
"Our most significant victory was Senator Wofford's landslide
election," Mcfeeley stated. Wofford overcame a 40 point lead in
the polls to ·hold his position in the US Senate. "As Attorney
General, Dick Thornburgh blocked a vital change in the U.S.
immigration policy which would have allowed people with AIDS
to enter the country . He stood in the way of public health experts
and put politics above the best interest of the country. We hope
his defeat sends a clear message that elections will be lost when
candidates play politics with AIDS," Mcfeeley stated.
In other e,lectoral victories of importance to the lesbian and gay
community, a San Francisco ballot measure to overturn the city's
domestic partnership statute was turned down, and St. Paul's
lesbian and gay righ~ ordinance survived a repeal effort.
In addition, two openly gay and lesbian candidates were elected
to major offices. New York gay activist, Tom Duane was elected to
the New York City Council, while across the country Sherri
Harris became the first openly lesbian elected African American
official with her election to the Seattle City Council. Fifty-five
openly lesbian and gay Americans currently hold elected office in
the United States, the highest number in history.
•
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City, OK 73112
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Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Pat Reaves
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Sister Resources. Unsolicited articles and letters to the editor are welcomed
and must be signed by the writer with full name and address. Upon request,
letters or articles may be printed under a pseudonym.
Subscriptions to The Voice are free upon request.
The Voice is printed on recyc led paper.
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Equality of Rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Mondav"
Sunda~i
2
Rosa Parks
arrested in
Montgomer:y ,
1955
t\
~
~
-\~·
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
6
4
.s
3
Frida~'
7oPEN
J'
~· (D~~~r
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9
CoOA Meetini;I,
7:00 p .m.
/:Ji
Ern1·1y
Dickenson
TIE - DYE
at Herlancl
I - 5 p .m.
17 HERLAND
"MIRACLE
ON ~'39TH
STREET"
Oasis
Christmas
Carnival
8:30 p.m
at Ani;iles
18
Heeting
4:'.30
Bill of*Righls
Ratified, 1791
23
111ss
12
BROWN
Coyote Club
*
!ti
PEGGY
JOHNSON
Poets, 8 - il
19
2
20
HISS BRO\ilN
TO YOV
al
BROlmJ
TO YOU
at the
CoOa Heeting,
7:00 p.m.
27
28
*
26
~1SS
liberty Oru1:1
in Norman
$ ·3 cover Celebrate
the Solst..ic.e
TRIPLES
24
911111 - f am ,_
$·2 cover .r"'-
CoOA MeeUni:s.
7:00 p.m. ·
OISCVSSION
GROUP:
Tonipht's
Topic:
Fighting lhe
Holiday· Blues.
7 p.m.
Board
22
11
10
*
SEVENTH
GRADE
BRIC AOE
6:30 p.ni.
16
id
C) - j
'{~1 ·~~
1.S
10 - 6
*
J-J· PEGGY
JOHNSON
Coyote Glub...J,
f8 ·3 0 - f886
...l,_11..,'
. '· :' 'lliO
HOUSE
at HERLANO
HAPPY
HANNllKAH
8
Saturday
THE SISTERS
29
30
*
CoOA Meeun1:1.
7:00 p.m.
OF SWING
al the
Coyote Club
$2 Cover
'
MERRY
CHRISTMAS
;;t
..I'
:31
NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY at Herland; Potluck & Games Galore; 7 - 10 pm.
AND: OPENING NIGHT - NEW YEAR'S EVE party in Downtown OKC;
Hear: PEGGY JOHNSON at the County Courthouse (Yes!)
And:
MISS BROWN TO YOU at the Hightower _Building Check the Gazette for perforniance times for Peggy & Miss Brown .. .
(&: Super Fireworks to celebrate the New Year, at Kerr Park, at Midnight.
Silent Vigil for peace in Central America.
On the steps of the Federal Building, NW 4th & Robin.son, OKC; each Wednesday at Noon.
HERLi\ND SISTER RESOURCES, INC.
2312 N.\\I. 39t.h St.reet.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73if2
405/ 521-9696
. 9pen Saturda~1 s 10 - 6, Sunda~·s 1 - 6
NonP rofi t Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oklahoma City. Okla.
Permit No. 861
2312 N. W. 39th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED
-
DECEMBER 1991
"PLANNED PARENTHOOD'S 75TH
ANNIVERSARY" OR THE OK CHOICE
by Judith Rycroft
I knew something must be done to rescue those women who were voiceless. Someone had to express with white hot
intensity the conviction that they must be empowered to decide for themselves.
Margaret Sanger, 1879-1966, Founder, Planned Parenthood
On October 24, Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma (PPCO) celebrated 75 years of Family Planning. "The Oklahoma
Choice" meeting held at Lincoln Plaza Hotel was not a symposium of women's rights. It was, rather, an affirmation of the right of
women to reproductive self-choice.
Margaret Sanger Lampe, the featured speaker atPPCO's-54th Annual Meeting, recalled some of her famous grandmother's triumphs
and hardships. In the early 1900's, Margaret Sanger defied convention and legal restr~ints by saying that parenthood could-and
should- be planned. Both revered and reviled, she was jailed nine times for her efforts and blessed by women who received the
contraceptives she smuggled into the United States from Europe.
From pulpits Mrs. Sanger was denounced as a "lascivious monster" who murdered children; her British hosts found her "softvoiced, gentle-mannered, altogether charming."
How much has changed in these 75 years? Outside Lincoln Plaza, picketers carried signs saying "stop killing babies," Inside, at the
dinner, two soft-voiced, gentle-mannered, altogether charming women reiterated Margaret Sanger's message: "No woman can call
herself free ... until she can choose whether or not to be a mother."
Sarah Weddington, the second speaker, is the attorney from Texas who successfully defended Roe vs. Wade in the Supreme Court.
"As I watched the ... Thomas Hearings," she said, "I felt I was watching the sands of time running out on Roe vs. Wade."
She feels that the more conservative view now prevailing in the Supreme Court will overturn Roe vs. Wade within the next two years.
"It then becomes our responsibility to make it live again so that every
woman has the opportunity to choose, every mother is a willing mother,
and every child is a wanted child."
These 75 years of family planning in America have provided a formu la
but no guarantee. As Margaret Sanger wrote,
Though many disputed barricades have been leaped, you can never sit back,
smugly content, believing that victory is forever yours; there is always the threat
of its being snatched from you. All freedom must be safeguarded and held." •
REPORT ON THE SPEAK-OUT
The Perfect Gift
When planing the "Speakout Out-Take Action-On Sexual Harassment" held November 18, 1991, Herland and the other sponsoring
organizations made a conscious decision to allow and encourage the
meeting to take its own shape and direction according to the participants;
and so it did.
Personal recollections of being sexually harassed on the job, and the
meaning of harass ment and its demeaning aspects were the topic at the
start of the meeting; but it soon became evident that the group gathered at
the Neighborhood Services Organization building on that dreary wet
evening had in mind the bigger issue of women 's rights in general, and in
particu lar the backlash to feminism which has occurred in this country,
and which continues daily to strip us of our rights, opportunity, dignity,
and all too often, o ur lives.
We left with two commitments: one, to meet again at the same location
at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, D ecember 10; and secondly, to gather at the
State Cap itol on the evening of the day that Roe vs. Wade is overturned,
to vent our frustration and our outrage, and to let our state legislature
know that we will not tol erate the outlawing of abortion in our state. •
VO LUME 8 NUMBER 12
•
HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES
•
~lal<e ~'our
2312 N.W. 39th , OKC, OK 73112
own
•
(405) 521-9696
:~•. ~b:BIL :ft
With the new year approaching, I am looking for a motto
to live by; you know, something to help me improve both
myself and maybe the world, and to help me maintain
constancy in my philosophy and actions. I'll appreciate any
guidance you can give me. C ould yoti tell me, for instance,
what motto you live by?
Thanking you in advance,
Ima Tryon
Dear Ima,
I can't really say that I "live" by a motto; more by the grace of
grace; but some good mottos that come to mind are:
• Speak softly, and carry chocolate chip cookies; or
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and
remember: it's your turn; or
• My country, right its wrongs; or
• The early bird sure missed a good party last night;
And my all time favorite, though it's very demanding:
Reverence for all who live, even Republicans.
Did I help? good luck anyway,
Sybil
*
*
Dear St. Sybil,
Do you have a holiday shopping list this year? Am I on it?
Avariciously,
Hope Full
Dear Hope.
I'm glad you asked. Yes. No. For your information, here's my
list to date (still unfinished).
• Justice Thomas: A tiny red flag to hang from the end of his
Pinocchio nose to alert people near him not to bump into it.
• Professor Anita Hill: Whatever she wants.
• Senator David Boren: Just what he deserves.
• State Representative Leonard Sullivan: A $10,000 gift certificate to the hospital of his choice so he can have his brain (if they
can find it) surgically removed from his posterior. Talk about
microsurgery!
• Earvin Johnson: M.o re of the same joyful magic that made the
whole world love him in good times and want to wrap their
arms around him in bad times.
• George Bush: A good long look at a history book of the future .
(I know, this sounds really mean, but it's the only thing I can
think of that might make him change his principle-impoverished
ways.
• Governor David Walters : A gift certificate for five free visits to
an Ethichiropractor, to straighten out that debilitating little
quirk in his character.
• Oliver North: A good unabridged dictionary, so that he can
learn the difference between "completely exonerated" and
"dodging the bullet on a technicality."
• Senator Alan Simpson: Eternal life - well, think about it; if he
died where could we bury him without creating a mammoth
toxic waste site?
• Lokocoxco: Bring Co back to town.
• The World: More PC, not less.
And Goddess bless you every one.
Sybil
Ink Well Vvinttng
942-5693
20% Off On Nevv Orders
BOYCOTT GREEN GIANT
4
"The Green Giant w~rkers are the future of
~ · free trade," says Mike Kostyal, who has
helped organize a nationwide boycott in
behalf of 300 workers from Watsonville,
California. Grand Met-Pillsbury-Green
Giant, which also owns Burger King and
Haagen Dazs, has laid off a large part of the workforce in
Watsonville- mostly middle-aged women who had worked at the
plant for an average of fourteen years.
The company is shifting production to lrapuato, Mexico, where
it pays workers starvation wages of about $4.25 a day and dumps
untreated waste into the local water supply.
"We want to make Grand Met-Green Giant a model of what
fair trade should be instead of an example of what free trade is,''
says Kostyal. Displaced workers' demands include three years'
medical insurance, retraining, a guaranteed living wage for the
Mexican TTUUJ.uiladora workers who have replaced them, and
attention to the havoc wreaked on the environment as the
company moves production across the border.
A video featuring the workers in Watsonville and lrapuato,
Dirty Business-Food Exports to the U.S., won the best short
documentary award at the Environmental Film Festival in Santa
Monica this year, and is available for $35 from Migrant Media
Productions, ( 408) 728-8949. Workers hope to put pressure on
the company by publicizing its abuses and by encouraging
Americans to boycott all Grand Met products.
•
MUSICIANS WANTED
We're looking for rhythm and lead electric guitar and keyboard
players. Please call 943-2056.
NEED TO TALK?
NEED COMMUNITY INFORMATION?
CALL
44 7 ·GAYS
The Gay & Lesbian
HELPLINE
Hours: 8 p.m. - 12 a.m. Thursday - Monday
Volunteers Needed: Leave a message with
a current volunteer if you are interested.
2
HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
BOOK CORNER
5. Neve r consider ramping your home or office because yo u
"do n't know any women in chairs ."
The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans and
Other Stories; by Johnny Valentine, Illus. by
Lynette Schmidt
6. Assume that a lesbian with a disability needs / wants your help .
(We couldn' t possibly manage to open a d oor without a
concerned citizen like yo urself holding it open and blocking o ur
passage in the process).
Ages 7-9, younger for reading aloud. Alyson Press' latest title in
its series of books aimed at children of lesbian and gay parents
dispenses with the apologist, didac tic tone to tell stories that
might actually be of interest to children , rather than their parents.
This generously illustrated volume contains five short stories set
in a mythical kingdom threatened by dragons, ogres, and corrupt
mo narchs . The first four stories feature children as archetypal
heroes, bravely striving to right wrongs, protect the kingdom, or
find fame and fortune. The gay and lesbian parents of these
youthful heroes are presented matter-of-factly as secondary
characters, but they stay in the background while their children
set out on their heroic quests. Only in the final story does sexual
preference become an issue when an arrogant young duke is left in
charge of the kingdom while the king and queen are away on royal
busines. Heady with power, he begins to make a series of
ridiculous proclamations : first, he outlaws jellybeans, then,
books, and finally, families without one mother and one father.
The protagonists of the four previous stories come together to
figure out a solution, and they are more than equal to the task.
The author's wry, breezy style, evident throughout the book, is
particularly strong in the final story. Many alternative families and
progressive parents will be delighted to find this collection on
library shelves.
7. Use the terms : differently abled, handicapped, crippled , or
physically challenged to mask the reality of disability.
8. Hold a~ event in a space that has an accessible entrance but also
segregated seating and inaccessible bathrooms.
9. Look the other way or stare at a dyke with a disability .
10. Pull your child away from a person with a visible disability or
prevent them from asking you or the lesbian with a disability
questions . (Yes, we really do hear all those parental SHHHHHs).
11. Deny your attraction to a lesbian with a disability. Better yet,
never allow yourself to integrate with dykes with disabilities, and
prevent the possibility of ever having to be friends or lovers
with us.
12 . As_sume that all of us are not very intelligent or that we're deaf
or hard of hearing. Do you know how many times people have
talked. baby talk to me in very lo ud voices?
13. Treat us with kid gloves.
14. In your mind, treat us all like Easter Seals Poster Children.
A Stone Gone Mad; by Jacquelyn Holt Park
15. Put us in one of two categories: Pitiful Crip, or Super Crip.
In spite of being a little confused at the beginning of the novel, I
really enjoyed this book. "A Stone Gone Mad" takes a look at the
price of honesty with friends and family in a time when lesbianism
was viewed as a disgusting disease. The cost of being yourself was
ostracism. In this novel Emily courageously battles herself and
society to live the life she finds to be so natural to her, and she still
manae:es to maintain some true friendships .
16. Participate in behaviors or activities that exclude or segr_ega~e
lesbians with disabilities.
. . .
Do \,jOl.-tr l1oli~a\1 sl1oppittg at Hcrlatt~!
Goo~ books. fl.-ttt crafts. great bl.-t\,jS.
25 WAYS TO OPPRESS A
LESBIAN WITH A DISABILITY
by Mary Frances Platt
This piece is meant to be used as a tool for able-bodied lesbians
to begin to acknowledge, confront, and work through their own
ableism. The author suggests that women meet in small groups
and use each numbered "Way to Oppress a Lesbian With a
Disability" as a discussion catalyst.
··
1. Call her " honey" or "sweetie" when you're not ih an intimate
relationship with her.
1 7. Don't challenge your sisters on their ableist remarks, production of inaccessible culture, attendance at ·inaccessible events,
performing in spaces that exclude disabled dykes, etc.
18. Help to creat inaccessible culture.
19. Pity and condecension in all its many, varied, and insidious
forms.
20 . Push, pull, or otherwise manipulate a disabled dyke's chair,
crutches, etc. without being asked to ..
21. Assume that a lesbian in a wheelchair cannot/ does not
transfer into regular chairs. (Yes, Virginia, it is irritating when you
automatically remove the seating chair away from the restaurant
table .. . if we want it moved we'll let you know.)
'
22 . Wear perfumes or bring your animals to public lesbian
gatherings so that women with Environmental Illness cannot
attend, or will have to leave because they have become sick from
all those scents and Rover's dander.
23. Take out your anger /fear of your own mortality or s~ccepti
bility to becoming disabled on us.
3. See her as totally non-sexual.
24. Assume _that a lesbian with ~ non-visible disability is "not
really sick," or "not really disabled" (Disabled lesbians come in
all forms of disability .. . from mobility impaired to diabetic, to
chronically ill to mentally disabled, etc'. )
4. Use the word blind to connotate ignorance, stupidity or fear.
As in " the blind leading the blind," "blind rage," etc.
25. Disregard and invalidate this piece as the rantings of an angry
disabled dyke who only wants to alienate her able-bodied sisters.
2. Touch her chair in an intimate fashion when you're not
inte~ding intimacy.
HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
3
RECLAIMING OUR LIVES Answering The Call Of the Wild
by Deborah Fox
Do you believe that Peace begets Peace, that war can only create
more war? If so, and if this idea is true, then it follows that
oppression begets oppression and Liberation begets · Liberation.
Would you agree that you cannot change other people, that you can
only change yourself? Would it not then follow that women cannot
change patriarchy by trying to change patriarchy? That by seeking
outside ourselves for change we give away our power to effect
change?
If so, then give me one good reason women should depend
upon men-their System, politics, institutions, et al, to change.
Give me one good reason we could or should depend upon men to
hand us our birthright of Freedom. One good reason we ought to get
men's permission to terminate a pregnancy. I suppose one good
reason to get men's permission to have an abortion is that we could
end up in jail (the bullies!), but what if we had a women's
underground where we could have safe abortions by female experts!
If we seek men's permission aren't we validating the idea that women
are infantile dependents of men?
The "man's world," female denigration, male ideology and men's
fabrication of what constitutes "true" reality and superior government have been so deeply ingrained within our psyches that we often
do their devious work for them by oppressing ourselves, as well a
blindly accepting as "true" what we are told by "professionals" and
"authorities," without even realizing it. If our minds and hearts are
not free, how can we do freedom? The superimposed "reality" of
men has become a mass of subliminal message that we are
bombarded with daily. "Women who are willing to make the
Journey of Becoming must indeed recognize the fact of Possession by
the structures of evil and by the controllers and legitimators of these
structures." (Mary Daly) Our first, most important and rewarding
challenge, then, is inner liberation, unbinding the spell of patriarchy.
"The process of exorcism, of peeling off the layers of mindbinding
and cosmetics, is movement past the patriarchally imposed sense of
reality and identity. This demystification process, a-mazing The
Lies, is ecstasy." (M. Daly). ,
By liberating ourSelves/retrieving the Soul the Father stole, we
begin reclaiming our lives . I believe this will propel us to Blaze Our
Own Trails/create a new reality. Of women's dilemma Virginia
Woolf, in her book Three Guineas, writes: "Behind us lies the
patriarchal system; the private house, with its nullity, its immorality,
its hypocrisy, its servility. Before us lies the public world, the
professional system, with its possessiveness, its jealousy, its
pugnacity, its greed. The one shuts us up like slaves in a harem; the
other forces us to circle, like caterpillars head to tail, round and
round the mulberry tree, the sacred tree, of property. It is a choice of
evils. Each is bad."
To create a new choice involves diving into the sea of possibility,
and following the currents of our heart's desires-those currents/
dreams we usually stifle because we are too occupied by the business
of the patriarchy, circling round the mulberry tree. To free ourselves
from this mind-numbing merry-go-round and blaze our own trails,
we must be daring and willing to take risks. Many times we might
want to run back to familiarity/conventionalism like dogs with our
tails tucked. But it is the Wolf in us that is our origin/ality. lt is our
Wildness/Untamedness that seeks and craves freedom. It is our
Wildnature that birthed the first cultures, and it is our Wildnature ·
that WILL birth a new culture . We must learn to trust our Wild
Nature/ ourSelves.
Though I do not believe in land ownership, I think women should
pool resources to buy up as much land as we can to protect it and
4
HERLAND VO ICE, DECEMBER 1991
also to have place to birth our new reility/world, places to continue
building communities that reflect women's values and women's way
in the world.
Quitting the capitalist/consumer rat trap is necessary if we want
to stop destroying the Earth as well as be free. Every time we buy
into capitalism's hands, we enforce the chains that keep us slaves of
the workworld. Bigger, better homes/mortgages, new cars/bigger
loans, etc. If we buy used merchandise we help the environment, if
we buy less expensive homes/land,. we own it sooner and thus free
our time or our funds. We can lower our cost ofliving. I also believe
that putting our resources into the "male-mastered" (Mary Daly)
system to effect change is a waste. I believe it would be far more
profitable for us if instead we funded women's education in the
trades our new world needs. "The vehicles of our voyages may be
any creative enterprises that further women's process. The point is
that they should be governed by the Witch within [the independent,
wisewoman, healer, philosopher, counselor, teacher ] -the Hag
within" (M. Daly).
The bottom line is; if we don't do freedom now, maybe we never
will. For me it's like the idea of the "retirement plan;" and I don't
want to wait till I'm almost dead to live. I want a new world and I
want it now. "Women's world never left this planet. It is still here,
right under our noses. We recreate it as we learn to see it and to live
in it." (Sonia Johnson, Wildfire, Igniting The She/Volution). Let's
birth the world we so deeply desire and, like raindrops on a pond,
our personal lives' example will ripple outward, to ever widening
circles, eventually engulfing the entire pond.
By the powers bestowed upon Woman, our WILL be done. So
mote it be!
•
Strong Woman
Strong woman
6and across her head
not 6inding
6lack hair
long
nowing 6ackward
steele 6/ue eyes ·
staring ahead
past
cities full of
6/inded crowds
pale pink lips
full
chin up
shoulders straight
holding slings
with stones
6reasts
round and strong
so~ muscled arms
purple shield
against her stomach
loin cloth
prolrding
tomorrow's children
strong muscled thighs
knees of steele
feet solid
upon Mother Sarth.
She sits
eyes closed
in meditation
fingers al her knees
6ent
6eet crossed
She lays
softly
upon a 6ed
of leaves
green and Grown
and red
with her lover
legs intertwined
6reasts
touching slightly
sleep
She rises
oval purple
egg of knowledge
smirk
in funds
upon her lips
cupped
6etween her 6reasts
al phallic worship
Rising
on the morn
Strong woman
Alpha and Omega.
© 1988 C.~. Ulilson
'
THE ASTON MASSAGE
z
RHON DA L SM ITH
P rac titi o n e r
'
'
'
~~i·~m·~~·~~~~i
./;,
: : : : : :.~~ : : : : : : : : : : ~'i< : : : : : : : : : :~ : : : : : : : : : : :~~ : : : : : : : : : : :4' :::::
(405) 942- 4 7.+8
(40 5) 524 -2958
:: :~
t :: : Open
•
.
' '
i
.....
NOW ALSO OFFERING MOVEMENT COACHING
HERLAND
PARENTS AND FRIENDS
OF LESBIANS AND GAYS
(P·FLAG) MAKES
STATEMENT TO
RELIGIOUS RIGHT
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays left their tenth annual
co nvention o utraged by homo phobic harassment from the
religious right; empo wered by new tools for fighting heterosexism
in schools, churches, and institutions that work with youth; and
determined to step up their efforts to advocate for their lesbian,
gay and bisexual family members.
So-called Christians claiming to promote "traditional family
values " harassed conventio n organizers for months preceding the
co nventio n, picketed outside the hotel, and invaded the privacy of
o ne family by pressuring their teenaged lesbian daughter to use
prayer to change her sexual orientation and using Parents FLAG
envelopes to slip religious tracts and literature under the door of
her hotel room.
" Those Bible Nazis who accuse us of recruiting and promoting
lifestyles ought to take the planks out of their own eyes before
casting stones at us and our children," said Wiggsy Siversten, San
Jose (CA) college professo r , counselor, and C hair of the P-FLAG
T ask Fo rce o n Gay and Lesbian Teens. "This is one child who will
no t become a Bobby Griffith suicide statistic. We and her brother
and parents are here to embrace her and assure her that we love
her just the way she is."
Presenting P-FLAG's three new Issue Papers on gay and lesbian
teens, national President Paulette Goodman stated, "Our Respect
All Youth project is no w bringing the issue of gay and lesbian teen
suicide to the fore. It is a tragedy that some parents find out their
child is gay after an attempt at suicide. It is our firm will to stem
the untimely loss of these young lives."
Past President of Parents FLAG, Elinor Kirby Lewallen, who is
a gay leader of the Methodist denomination, stated, "According
to statistics, one family in four includes a member who is lesbian,
gay, or bisexual. So how can it be anti-family to embrace these
children of God with values of love, support, and respect for their
integrity? Isn't that what family values are about? The implication
that our children need to change is to me a cruel hoax. I have seen
so much damage from such hellish confusion that I say it is heresy
to ask God to change what God has created."
•
·~~
:: ::::4:::::
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SPECIALIZING IN SAFE TOUCH FOR INCEST SURVIVORS
House
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Dec ember 7
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Great Gifts
by lo cal arti s ans
····· ~·\tJ
~· · ···· ··
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:::::}1: :::::::::A·': ::::::::: 4·: ::::::::::4·: ::::::::::4' : : : : :
Do \101-ir l1oli~al1 sl1oppittg at Hcrlatt~!
Goo~ books. fl-itt crafts. great bii\1S.
KEEP THE VOICE COMING
The monthly cost for printing and mailing The Voice is
approximately $500. If you enjoy reading The Voice each
month, please consider making a donation to help cover
these costs.
D Please add me to the mailing list for The Voice
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HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
5
~~---LESBIAN ONLY THERAPY GROUP. Wednesday evenings.
Call Jo Soske. M.Ed/ MHR/CAC at 364-5708 .. ..
ENCODINGS
Volume Two, No. One
WOMEN WRITING WOMEN'S LIVES:
a sampling of new poetry.
DO YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING Saturday and Sunday,
December 7 and 8. On Saturday, shop THREE different open
houses: Herland's new consignment Gift Shop, with crafts & art by
local artisans (and ofcourse our books & tapes!). At Herland, 10 - 6
p.m.; refreshments, including homemade fudge & cookies &
brownies, oh my!
Then swing by the Benedictine Peace House at 2912 N.
Robinson, for their Christmas Open House Show & Sale, 10 a.m.
-5 p.m. And then there's the "First Annual Christmas Bizarre
Bazaar" at the Crown Heights Professional Center, 1010 N.W.
45th, OKC (entrance in rear).
And Finally: on Sunday, bring socks & t-shirts & undies &
anything else that would look good tie-dyed; bring it where? To
Herland, where Susan will have her supplies set up and help you
turn your dull drab things into dazzling works of art! Great
Christmas & Hannukah presents. $5 for supplies and Susan's
help .. ..
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for a new journal for Women
healing from Childhood Sexual Abuse. This journal will be a place
for women to share our stories, poems, thoughts, drawings, ideas,
theories, survival tips, and resources for our healing work. Send
submissions to : A. Lubovna, 925 Victoria Drive, Apt. 3,
Vancouver, BC V5L 4Gl, Canada ....
WOMEN OF COLOR ISSUE of Sinister Wisdom; seeking
submissions of poetry, stories, artwork, photographs, etc. All
contributors to Issue #4 7 must identify as Lesbians of Color.
Submit written work on 8Yz x 11 white paper, one side only,
double-spaced. At top of title page, give name, full address, day and
evening phone (including area code), and title of piece. Number
each page and put name and title at top of each page. If you want
your work returned, include SASE with sufficient postage. Work
will not be returned without adequate postage and appropriate
containers. Submissions considered in any language. Please include
English transh\tiOI' if possible for editorial purposes. Deadline
February 11, 1992. Send submissions to: Sinister Wisdom, P.O.
Box 3252, Berkeley, CA 94703 ....
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
WANTED by women from all walks of life for the book Sexual
Harassment: Women Speak Out, to be published early 1992. Send
submissions to Taylor / Sumrall c/ o The Crossing Pr~ss, Box 1048,
Freedom CA 95019. Deadline December 14, 1991 (hurry!).
· Include SASE & one line bio statement including occupation, and a
signed permission statement to edit and publish ....
SOONER SCRIBES . OF OKLAHOMA provides education,
training and organizational experience for anyone interested in the
· art of calligraphy. Meetings of the group are held on the 4th
Monday of each month. Membership includes monthy and biannual newsletters and reduced enrollment fees for workshops
sponsored by the organization. Contact Sooner Scribes at
405 / 842-1262 .. . .
YOU CAN HELP make the holidays brighter for a child whose
parent has AIDS. Without help many of these children will receive
no gifts and may not have another Christmas with their parent. If
you'd like to donate a gift nr crafts supplies call SunShine at
· Southeast Area Health Center, 632-6888 .
6
HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
Artwork
by Kanti R. Campagna
AT YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE, OR WRITE:
UAUD: A Women's Press
P.O. Box 6793, Houston, TX 77265-6793
$4.50/copy
ELECTION 1991 PRODUCES MAJOR
VICTORIES FOR LESBIAN AND GAY
COMMUNITY
Washington, DC-The elections of November 7, 1991 produced
major advances for lesbian and gay Americans, according to the
Human Rights Campaign Fund, the nation's largest lesbian and
gay organization. The Campaign Fund was an early and strong
supporter of Pennsylvania Senator Harris Wofford, whose comefrom-behind victory against former U.S. Attorney General
Richard Thornburgh attracted nationwide attention.
"We are very pleased with the election returns," notes Tim
Mcfeeley, Campaign Fund Executive Director. "These election
victories clearly show the electorate is willing to support our
community when we have the resources to counter the lies our
opponents spread about us."
"Our most significant victory was Senator Wofford's landslide
election," Mcfeeley stated. Wofford overcame a 40 point lead in
the polls to ·hold his position in the US Senate. "As Attorney
General, Dick Thornburgh blocked a vital change in the U.S.
immigration policy which would have allowed people with AIDS
to enter the country . He stood in the way of public health experts
and put politics above the best interest of the country. We hope
his defeat sends a clear message that elections will be lost when
candidates play politics with AIDS," Mcfeeley stated.
In other e,lectoral victories of importance to the lesbian and gay
community, a San Francisco ballot measure to overturn the city's
domestic partnership statute was turned down, and St. Paul's
lesbian and gay righ~ ordinance survived a repeal effort.
In addition, two openly gay and lesbian candidates were elected
to major offices. New York gay activist, Tom Duane was elected to
the New York City Council, while across the country Sherri
Harris became the first openly lesbian elected African American
official with her election to the Seattle City Council. Fifty-five
openly lesbian and gay Americans currently hold elected office in
the United States, the highest number in history.
•
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Equality of Rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Mondav"
Sunda~i
2
Rosa Parks
arrested in
Montgomer:y ,
1955
t\
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~
-\~·
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
6
4
.s
3
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7oPEN
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9
CoOA Meetini;I,
7:00 p .m.
/:Ji
Ern1·1y
Dickenson
TIE - DYE
at Herlancl
I - 5 p .m.
17 HERLAND
"MIRACLE
ON ~'39TH
STREET"
Oasis
Christmas
Carnival
8:30 p.m
at Ani;iles
18
Heeting
4:'.30
Bill of*Righls
Ratified, 1791
23
111ss
12
BROWN
Coyote Club
*
!ti
PEGGY
JOHNSON
Poets, 8 - il
19
2
20
HISS BRO\ilN
TO YOV
al
BROlmJ
TO YOU
at the
CoOa Heeting,
7:00 p.m.
27
28
*
26
~1SS
liberty Oru1:1
in Norman
$ ·3 cover Celebrate
the Solst..ic.e
TRIPLES
24
911111 - f am ,_
$·2 cover .r"'-
CoOA MeeUni:s.
7:00 p.m. ·
OISCVSSION
GROUP:
Tonipht's
Topic:
Fighting lhe
Holiday· Blues.
7 p.m.
Board
22
11
10
*
SEVENTH
GRADE
BRIC AOE
6:30 p.ni.
16
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'{~1 ·~~
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10 - 6
*
J-J· PEGGY
JOHNSON
Coyote Glub...J,
f8 ·3 0 - f886
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. '· :' 'lliO
HOUSE
at HERLANO
HAPPY
HANNllKAH
8
Saturday
THE SISTERS
29
30
*
CoOA Meeun1:1.
7:00 p.m.
OF SWING
al the
Coyote Club
$2 Cover
'
MERRY
CHRISTMAS
;;t
..I'
:31
NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY at Herland; Potluck & Games Galore; 7 - 10 pm.
AND: OPENING NIGHT - NEW YEAR'S EVE party in Downtown OKC;
Hear: PEGGY JOHNSON at the County Courthouse (Yes!)
And:
MISS BROWN TO YOU at the Hightower _Building Check the Gazette for perforniance times for Peggy & Miss Brown .. .
(&: Super Fireworks to celebrate the New Year, at Kerr Park, at Midnight.
Silent Vigil for peace in Central America.
On the steps of the Federal Building, NW 4th & Robin.son, OKC; each Wednesday at Noon.
HERLi\ND SISTER RESOURCES, INC.
2312 N.\\I. 39t.h St.reet.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73if2
405/ 521-9696
. 9pen Saturda~1 s 10 - 6, Sunda~·s 1 - 6
NonP rofi t Org.
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PAID
Oklahoma City. Okla.
Permit No. 861
2312 N. W. 39th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
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DECEMBER 1991
"PLANNED PARENTHOOD'S 75TH
ANNIVERSARY" OR THE OK CHOICE
by Judith Rycroft
I knew something must be done to rescue those women who were voiceless. Someone had to express with white hot
intensity the conviction that they must be empowered to decide for themselves.
Margaret Sanger, 1879-1966, Founder, Planned Parenthood
On October 24, Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma (PPCO) celebrated 75 years of Family Planning. "The Oklahoma
Choice" meeting held at Lincoln Plaza Hotel was not a symposium of women's rights. It was, rather, an affirmation of the right of
women to reproductive self-choice.
Margaret Sanger Lampe, the featured speaker atPPCO's-54th Annual Meeting, recalled some of her famous grandmother's triumphs
and hardships. In the early 1900's, Margaret Sanger defied convention and legal restr~ints by saying that parenthood could-and
should- be planned. Both revered and reviled, she was jailed nine times for her efforts and blessed by women who received the
contraceptives she smuggled into the United States from Europe.
From pulpits Mrs. Sanger was denounced as a "lascivious monster" who murdered children; her British hosts found her "softvoiced, gentle-mannered, altogether charming."
How much has changed in these 75 years? Outside Lincoln Plaza, picketers carried signs saying "stop killing babies," Inside, at the
dinner, two soft-voiced, gentle-mannered, altogether charming women reiterated Margaret Sanger's message: "No woman can call
herself free ... until she can choose whether or not to be a mother."
Sarah Weddington, the second speaker, is the attorney from Texas who successfully defended Roe vs. Wade in the Supreme Court.
"As I watched the ... Thomas Hearings," she said, "I felt I was watching the sands of time running out on Roe vs. Wade."
She feels that the more conservative view now prevailing in the Supreme Court will overturn Roe vs. Wade within the next two years.
"It then becomes our responsibility to make it live again so that every
woman has the opportunity to choose, every mother is a willing mother,
and every child is a wanted child."
These 75 years of family planning in America have provided a formu la
but no guarantee. As Margaret Sanger wrote,
Though many disputed barricades have been leaped, you can never sit back,
smugly content, believing that victory is forever yours; there is always the threat
of its being snatched from you. All freedom must be safeguarded and held." •
REPORT ON THE SPEAK-OUT
The Perfect Gift
When planing the "Speakout Out-Take Action-On Sexual Harassment" held November 18, 1991, Herland and the other sponsoring
organizations made a conscious decision to allow and encourage the
meeting to take its own shape and direction according to the participants;
and so it did.
Personal recollections of being sexually harassed on the job, and the
meaning of harass ment and its demeaning aspects were the topic at the
start of the meeting; but it soon became evident that the group gathered at
the Neighborhood Services Organization building on that dreary wet
evening had in mind the bigger issue of women 's rights in general, and in
particu lar the backlash to feminism which has occurred in this country,
and which continues daily to strip us of our rights, opportunity, dignity,
and all too often, o ur lives.
We left with two commitments: one, to meet again at the same location
at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, D ecember 10; and secondly, to gather at the
State Cap itol on the evening of the day that Roe vs. Wade is overturned,
to vent our frustration and our outrage, and to let our state legislature
know that we will not tol erate the outlawing of abortion in our state. •
VO LUME 8 NUMBER 12
•
HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES
•
~lal<e ~'our
2312 N.W. 39th , OKC, OK 73112
own
•
(405) 521-9696
:~•. ~b:BIL :ft
With the new year approaching, I am looking for a motto
to live by; you know, something to help me improve both
myself and maybe the world, and to help me maintain
constancy in my philosophy and actions. I'll appreciate any
guidance you can give me. C ould yoti tell me, for instance,
what motto you live by?
Thanking you in advance,
Ima Tryon
Dear Ima,
I can't really say that I "live" by a motto; more by the grace of
grace; but some good mottos that come to mind are:
• Speak softly, and carry chocolate chip cookies; or
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and
remember: it's your turn; or
• My country, right its wrongs; or
• The early bird sure missed a good party last night;
And my all time favorite, though it's very demanding:
Reverence for all who live, even Republicans.
Did I help? good luck anyway,
Sybil
*
*
Dear St. Sybil,
Do you have a holiday shopping list this year? Am I on it?
Avariciously,
Hope Full
Dear Hope.
I'm glad you asked. Yes. No. For your information, here's my
list to date (still unfinished).
• Justice Thomas: A tiny red flag to hang from the end of his
Pinocchio nose to alert people near him not to bump into it.
• Professor Anita Hill: Whatever she wants.
• Senator David Boren: Just what he deserves.
• State Representative Leonard Sullivan: A $10,000 gift certificate to the hospital of his choice so he can have his brain (if they
can find it) surgically removed from his posterior. Talk about
microsurgery!
• Earvin Johnson: M.o re of the same joyful magic that made the
whole world love him in good times and want to wrap their
arms around him in bad times.
• George Bush: A good long look at a history book of the future .
(I know, this sounds really mean, but it's the only thing I can
think of that might make him change his principle-impoverished
ways.
• Governor David Walters : A gift certificate for five free visits to
an Ethichiropractor, to straighten out that debilitating little
quirk in his character.
• Oliver North: A good unabridged dictionary, so that he can
learn the difference between "completely exonerated" and
"dodging the bullet on a technicality."
• Senator Alan Simpson: Eternal life - well, think about it; if he
died where could we bury him without creating a mammoth
toxic waste site?
• Lokocoxco: Bring Co back to town.
• The World: More PC, not less.
And Goddess bless you every one.
Sybil
Ink Well Vvinttng
942-5693
20% Off On Nevv Orders
BOYCOTT GREEN GIANT
4
"The Green Giant w~rkers are the future of
~ · free trade," says Mike Kostyal, who has
helped organize a nationwide boycott in
behalf of 300 workers from Watsonville,
California. Grand Met-Pillsbury-Green
Giant, which also owns Burger King and
Haagen Dazs, has laid off a large part of the workforce in
Watsonville- mostly middle-aged women who had worked at the
plant for an average of fourteen years.
The company is shifting production to lrapuato, Mexico, where
it pays workers starvation wages of about $4.25 a day and dumps
untreated waste into the local water supply.
"We want to make Grand Met-Green Giant a model of what
fair trade should be instead of an example of what free trade is,''
says Kostyal. Displaced workers' demands include three years'
medical insurance, retraining, a guaranteed living wage for the
Mexican TTUUJ.uiladora workers who have replaced them, and
attention to the havoc wreaked on the environment as the
company moves production across the border.
A video featuring the workers in Watsonville and lrapuato,
Dirty Business-Food Exports to the U.S., won the best short
documentary award at the Environmental Film Festival in Santa
Monica this year, and is available for $35 from Migrant Media
Productions, ( 408) 728-8949. Workers hope to put pressure on
the company by publicizing its abuses and by encouraging
Americans to boycott all Grand Met products.
•
MUSICIANS WANTED
We're looking for rhythm and lead electric guitar and keyboard
players. Please call 943-2056.
NEED TO TALK?
NEED COMMUNITY INFORMATION?
CALL
44 7 ·GAYS
The Gay & Lesbian
HELPLINE
Hours: 8 p.m. - 12 a.m. Thursday - Monday
Volunteers Needed: Leave a message with
a current volunteer if you are interested.
2
HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
BOOK CORNER
5. Neve r consider ramping your home or office because yo u
"do n't know any women in chairs ."
The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans and
Other Stories; by Johnny Valentine, Illus. by
Lynette Schmidt
6. Assume that a lesbian with a disability needs / wants your help .
(We couldn' t possibly manage to open a d oor without a
concerned citizen like yo urself holding it open and blocking o ur
passage in the process).
Ages 7-9, younger for reading aloud. Alyson Press' latest title in
its series of books aimed at children of lesbian and gay parents
dispenses with the apologist, didac tic tone to tell stories that
might actually be of interest to children , rather than their parents.
This generously illustrated volume contains five short stories set
in a mythical kingdom threatened by dragons, ogres, and corrupt
mo narchs . The first four stories feature children as archetypal
heroes, bravely striving to right wrongs, protect the kingdom, or
find fame and fortune. The gay and lesbian parents of these
youthful heroes are presented matter-of-factly as secondary
characters, but they stay in the background while their children
set out on their heroic quests. Only in the final story does sexual
preference become an issue when an arrogant young duke is left in
charge of the kingdom while the king and queen are away on royal
busines. Heady with power, he begins to make a series of
ridiculous proclamations : first, he outlaws jellybeans, then,
books, and finally, families without one mother and one father.
The protagonists of the four previous stories come together to
figure out a solution, and they are more than equal to the task.
The author's wry, breezy style, evident throughout the book, is
particularly strong in the final story. Many alternative families and
progressive parents will be delighted to find this collection on
library shelves.
7. Use the terms : differently abled, handicapped, crippled , or
physically challenged to mask the reality of disability.
8. Hold a~ event in a space that has an accessible entrance but also
segregated seating and inaccessible bathrooms.
9. Look the other way or stare at a dyke with a disability .
10. Pull your child away from a person with a visible disability or
prevent them from asking you or the lesbian with a disability
questions . (Yes, we really do hear all those parental SHHHHHs).
11. Deny your attraction to a lesbian with a disability. Better yet,
never allow yourself to integrate with dykes with disabilities, and
prevent the possibility of ever having to be friends or lovers
with us.
12 . As_sume that all of us are not very intelligent or that we're deaf
or hard of hearing. Do you know how many times people have
talked. baby talk to me in very lo ud voices?
13. Treat us with kid gloves.
14. In your mind, treat us all like Easter Seals Poster Children.
A Stone Gone Mad; by Jacquelyn Holt Park
15. Put us in one of two categories: Pitiful Crip, or Super Crip.
In spite of being a little confused at the beginning of the novel, I
really enjoyed this book. "A Stone Gone Mad" takes a look at the
price of honesty with friends and family in a time when lesbianism
was viewed as a disgusting disease. The cost of being yourself was
ostracism. In this novel Emily courageously battles herself and
society to live the life she finds to be so natural to her, and she still
manae:es to maintain some true friendships .
16. Participate in behaviors or activities that exclude or segr_ega~e
lesbians with disabilities.
. . .
Do \,jOl.-tr l1oli~a\1 sl1oppittg at Hcrlatt~!
Goo~ books. fl.-ttt crafts. great bl.-t\,jS.
25 WAYS TO OPPRESS A
LESBIAN WITH A DISABILITY
by Mary Frances Platt
This piece is meant to be used as a tool for able-bodied lesbians
to begin to acknowledge, confront, and work through their own
ableism. The author suggests that women meet in small groups
and use each numbered "Way to Oppress a Lesbian With a
Disability" as a discussion catalyst.
··
1. Call her " honey" or "sweetie" when you're not ih an intimate
relationship with her.
1 7. Don't challenge your sisters on their ableist remarks, production of inaccessible culture, attendance at ·inaccessible events,
performing in spaces that exclude disabled dykes, etc.
18. Help to creat inaccessible culture.
19. Pity and condecension in all its many, varied, and insidious
forms.
20 . Push, pull, or otherwise manipulate a disabled dyke's chair,
crutches, etc. without being asked to ..
21. Assume that a lesbian in a wheelchair cannot/ does not
transfer into regular chairs. (Yes, Virginia, it is irritating when you
automatically remove the seating chair away from the restaurant
table .. . if we want it moved we'll let you know.)
'
22 . Wear perfumes or bring your animals to public lesbian
gatherings so that women with Environmental Illness cannot
attend, or will have to leave because they have become sick from
all those scents and Rover's dander.
23. Take out your anger /fear of your own mortality or s~ccepti
bility to becoming disabled on us.
3. See her as totally non-sexual.
24. Assume _that a lesbian with ~ non-visible disability is "not
really sick," or "not really disabled" (Disabled lesbians come in
all forms of disability .. . from mobility impaired to diabetic, to
chronically ill to mentally disabled, etc'. )
4. Use the word blind to connotate ignorance, stupidity or fear.
As in " the blind leading the blind," "blind rage," etc.
25. Disregard and invalidate this piece as the rantings of an angry
disabled dyke who only wants to alienate her able-bodied sisters.
2. Touch her chair in an intimate fashion when you're not
inte~ding intimacy.
HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
3
RECLAIMING OUR LIVES Answering The Call Of the Wild
by Deborah Fox
Do you believe that Peace begets Peace, that war can only create
more war? If so, and if this idea is true, then it follows that
oppression begets oppression and Liberation begets · Liberation.
Would you agree that you cannot change other people, that you can
only change yourself? Would it not then follow that women cannot
change patriarchy by trying to change patriarchy? That by seeking
outside ourselves for change we give away our power to effect
change?
If so, then give me one good reason women should depend
upon men-their System, politics, institutions, et al, to change.
Give me one good reason we could or should depend upon men to
hand us our birthright of Freedom. One good reason we ought to get
men's permission to terminate a pregnancy. I suppose one good
reason to get men's permission to have an abortion is that we could
end up in jail (the bullies!), but what if we had a women's
underground where we could have safe abortions by female experts!
If we seek men's permission aren't we validating the idea that women
are infantile dependents of men?
The "man's world," female denigration, male ideology and men's
fabrication of what constitutes "true" reality and superior government have been so deeply ingrained within our psyches that we often
do their devious work for them by oppressing ourselves, as well a
blindly accepting as "true" what we are told by "professionals" and
"authorities," without even realizing it. If our minds and hearts are
not free, how can we do freedom? The superimposed "reality" of
men has become a mass of subliminal message that we are
bombarded with daily. "Women who are willing to make the
Journey of Becoming must indeed recognize the fact of Possession by
the structures of evil and by the controllers and legitimators of these
structures." (Mary Daly) Our first, most important and rewarding
challenge, then, is inner liberation, unbinding the spell of patriarchy.
"The process of exorcism, of peeling off the layers of mindbinding
and cosmetics, is movement past the patriarchally imposed sense of
reality and identity. This demystification process, a-mazing The
Lies, is ecstasy." (M. Daly). ,
By liberating ourSelves/retrieving the Soul the Father stole, we
begin reclaiming our lives . I believe this will propel us to Blaze Our
Own Trails/create a new reality. Of women's dilemma Virginia
Woolf, in her book Three Guineas, writes: "Behind us lies the
patriarchal system; the private house, with its nullity, its immorality,
its hypocrisy, its servility. Before us lies the public world, the
professional system, with its possessiveness, its jealousy, its
pugnacity, its greed. The one shuts us up like slaves in a harem; the
other forces us to circle, like caterpillars head to tail, round and
round the mulberry tree, the sacred tree, of property. It is a choice of
evils. Each is bad."
To create a new choice involves diving into the sea of possibility,
and following the currents of our heart's desires-those currents/
dreams we usually stifle because we are too occupied by the business
of the patriarchy, circling round the mulberry tree. To free ourselves
from this mind-numbing merry-go-round and blaze our own trails,
we must be daring and willing to take risks. Many times we might
want to run back to familiarity/conventionalism like dogs with our
tails tucked. But it is the Wolf in us that is our origin/ality. lt is our
Wildness/Untamedness that seeks and craves freedom. It is our
Wildnature that birthed the first cultures, and it is our Wildnature ·
that WILL birth a new culture . We must learn to trust our Wild
Nature/ ourSelves.
Though I do not believe in land ownership, I think women should
pool resources to buy up as much land as we can to protect it and
4
HERLAND VO ICE, DECEMBER 1991
also to have place to birth our new reility/world, places to continue
building communities that reflect women's values and women's way
in the world.
Quitting the capitalist/consumer rat trap is necessary if we want
to stop destroying the Earth as well as be free. Every time we buy
into capitalism's hands, we enforce the chains that keep us slaves of
the workworld. Bigger, better homes/mortgages, new cars/bigger
loans, etc. If we buy used merchandise we help the environment, if
we buy less expensive homes/land,. we own it sooner and thus free
our time or our funds. We can lower our cost ofliving. I also believe
that putting our resources into the "male-mastered" (Mary Daly)
system to effect change is a waste. I believe it would be far more
profitable for us if instead we funded women's education in the
trades our new world needs. "The vehicles of our voyages may be
any creative enterprises that further women's process. The point is
that they should be governed by the Witch within [the independent,
wisewoman, healer, philosopher, counselor, teacher ] -the Hag
within" (M. Daly).
The bottom line is; if we don't do freedom now, maybe we never
will. For me it's like the idea of the "retirement plan;" and I don't
want to wait till I'm almost dead to live. I want a new world and I
want it now. "Women's world never left this planet. It is still here,
right under our noses. We recreate it as we learn to see it and to live
in it." (Sonia Johnson, Wildfire, Igniting The She/Volution). Let's
birth the world we so deeply desire and, like raindrops on a pond,
our personal lives' example will ripple outward, to ever widening
circles, eventually engulfing the entire pond.
By the powers bestowed upon Woman, our WILL be done. So
mote it be!
•
Strong Woman
Strong woman
6and across her head
not 6inding
6lack hair
long
nowing 6ackward
steele 6/ue eyes ·
staring ahead
past
cities full of
6/inded crowds
pale pink lips
full
chin up
shoulders straight
holding slings
with stones
6reasts
round and strong
so~ muscled arms
purple shield
against her stomach
loin cloth
prolrding
tomorrow's children
strong muscled thighs
knees of steele
feet solid
upon Mother Sarth.
She sits
eyes closed
in meditation
fingers al her knees
6ent
6eet crossed
She lays
softly
upon a 6ed
of leaves
green and Grown
and red
with her lover
legs intertwined
6reasts
touching slightly
sleep
She rises
oval purple
egg of knowledge
smirk
in funds
upon her lips
cupped
6etween her 6reasts
al phallic worship
Rising
on the morn
Strong woman
Alpha and Omega.
© 1988 C.~. Ulilson
'
THE ASTON MASSAGE
z
RHON DA L SM ITH
P rac titi o n e r
'
'
'
~~i·~m·~~·~~~~i
./;,
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(405) 942- 4 7.+8
(40 5) 524 -2958
:: :~
t :: : Open
•
.
' '
i
.....
NOW ALSO OFFERING MOVEMENT COACHING
HERLAND
PARENTS AND FRIENDS
OF LESBIANS AND GAYS
(P·FLAG) MAKES
STATEMENT TO
RELIGIOUS RIGHT
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays left their tenth annual
co nvention o utraged by homo phobic harassment from the
religious right; empo wered by new tools for fighting heterosexism
in schools, churches, and institutions that work with youth; and
determined to step up their efforts to advocate for their lesbian,
gay and bisexual family members.
So-called Christians claiming to promote "traditional family
values " harassed conventio n organizers for months preceding the
co nventio n, picketed outside the hotel, and invaded the privacy of
o ne family by pressuring their teenaged lesbian daughter to use
prayer to change her sexual orientation and using Parents FLAG
envelopes to slip religious tracts and literature under the door of
her hotel room.
" Those Bible Nazis who accuse us of recruiting and promoting
lifestyles ought to take the planks out of their own eyes before
casting stones at us and our children," said Wiggsy Siversten, San
Jose (CA) college professo r , counselor, and C hair of the P-FLAG
T ask Fo rce o n Gay and Lesbian Teens. "This is one child who will
no t become a Bobby Griffith suicide statistic. We and her brother
and parents are here to embrace her and assure her that we love
her just the way she is."
Presenting P-FLAG's three new Issue Papers on gay and lesbian
teens, national President Paulette Goodman stated, "Our Respect
All Youth project is no w bringing the issue of gay and lesbian teen
suicide to the fore. It is a tragedy that some parents find out their
child is gay after an attempt at suicide. It is our firm will to stem
the untimely loss of these young lives."
Past President of Parents FLAG, Elinor Kirby Lewallen, who is
a gay leader of the Methodist denomination, stated, "According
to statistics, one family in four includes a member who is lesbian,
gay, or bisexual. So how can it be anti-family to embrace these
children of God with values of love, support, and respect for their
integrity? Isn't that what family values are about? The implication
that our children need to change is to me a cruel hoax. I have seen
so much damage from such hellish confusion that I say it is heresy
to ask God to change what God has created."
•
·~~
:: ::::4:::::
:::~
~v · : : :
•
al
:::: ::4:::: :
SPECIALIZING IN SAFE TOUCH FOR INCEST SURVIVORS
House
Saturday
Dec ember 7
... .' ' . #;
m
::::::0<:::::
i~~
: :: : ::4': ::::
·~~ c~::~~i: ::in ·~~
::::::4::::: inauQuralinQ our
new::: : ::~: · ·
: ::~ : ::
:::?ti):::
GIFT SH OP
··::: :~f::..
Great Gifts
by lo cal arti s ans
····· ~·\tJ
~· · ···· ··
***
+. .g m
+.' ..Om
': '..
Re fr es hm ents
** *
01-awinp for a Sp ecial Pr i ze
:~li<: '
'
:::(ti) .:::: ?tti:::;·?ii i
..
+.Om
· :: :0;.: ....
·· ·~~ · ··
- o~m
. '' ::h · ' . ' .
+. ~·
'
: :A:?ti i ::: .~: ?\1li
+. om +om • o m ~ . o m ~ oi ~
:::::}1: :::::::::A·': ::::::::: 4·: ::::::::::4·: ::::::::::4' : : : : :
Do \101-ir l1oli~al1 sl1oppittg at Hcrlatt~!
Goo~ books. fl-itt crafts. great bii\1S.
KEEP THE VOICE COMING
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HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
5
~~---LESBIAN ONLY THERAPY GROUP. Wednesday evenings.
Call Jo Soske. M.Ed/ MHR/CAC at 364-5708 .. ..
ENCODINGS
Volume Two, No. One
WOMEN WRITING WOMEN'S LIVES:
a sampling of new poetry.
DO YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING Saturday and Sunday,
December 7 and 8. On Saturday, shop THREE different open
houses: Herland's new consignment Gift Shop, with crafts & art by
local artisans (and ofcourse our books & tapes!). At Herland, 10 - 6
p.m.; refreshments, including homemade fudge & cookies &
brownies, oh my!
Then swing by the Benedictine Peace House at 2912 N.
Robinson, for their Christmas Open House Show & Sale, 10 a.m.
-5 p.m. And then there's the "First Annual Christmas Bizarre
Bazaar" at the Crown Heights Professional Center, 1010 N.W.
45th, OKC (entrance in rear).
And Finally: on Sunday, bring socks & t-shirts & undies &
anything else that would look good tie-dyed; bring it where? To
Herland, where Susan will have her supplies set up and help you
turn your dull drab things into dazzling works of art! Great
Christmas & Hannukah presents. $5 for supplies and Susan's
help .. ..
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for a new journal for Women
healing from Childhood Sexual Abuse. This journal will be a place
for women to share our stories, poems, thoughts, drawings, ideas,
theories, survival tips, and resources for our healing work. Send
submissions to : A. Lubovna, 925 Victoria Drive, Apt. 3,
Vancouver, BC V5L 4Gl, Canada ....
WOMEN OF COLOR ISSUE of Sinister Wisdom; seeking
submissions of poetry, stories, artwork, photographs, etc. All
contributors to Issue #4 7 must identify as Lesbians of Color.
Submit written work on 8Yz x 11 white paper, one side only,
double-spaced. At top of title page, give name, full address, day and
evening phone (including area code), and title of piece. Number
each page and put name and title at top of each page. If you want
your work returned, include SASE with sufficient postage. Work
will not be returned without adequate postage and appropriate
containers. Submissions considered in any language. Please include
English transh\tiOI' if possible for editorial purposes. Deadline
February 11, 1992. Send submissions to: Sinister Wisdom, P.O.
Box 3252, Berkeley, CA 94703 ....
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
WANTED by women from all walks of life for the book Sexual
Harassment: Women Speak Out, to be published early 1992. Send
submissions to Taylor / Sumrall c/ o The Crossing Pr~ss, Box 1048,
Freedom CA 95019. Deadline December 14, 1991 (hurry!).
· Include SASE & one line bio statement including occupation, and a
signed permission statement to edit and publish ....
SOONER SCRIBES . OF OKLAHOMA provides education,
training and organizational experience for anyone interested in the
· art of calligraphy. Meetings of the group are held on the 4th
Monday of each month. Membership includes monthy and biannual newsletters and reduced enrollment fees for workshops
sponsored by the organization. Contact Sooner Scribes at
405 / 842-1262 .. . .
YOU CAN HELP make the holidays brighter for a child whose
parent has AIDS. Without help many of these children will receive
no gifts and may not have another Christmas with their parent. If
you'd like to donate a gift nr crafts supplies call SunShine at
· Southeast Area Health Center, 632-6888 .
6
HERLAND VOICE, DECEMBER 1991
Artwork
by Kanti R. Campagna
AT YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE, OR WRITE:
UAUD: A Women's Press
P.O. Box 6793, Houston, TX 77265-6793
$4.50/copy
ELECTION 1991 PRODUCES MAJOR
VICTORIES FOR LESBIAN AND GAY
COMMUNITY
Washington, DC-The elections of November 7, 1991 produced
major advances for lesbian and gay Americans, according to the
Human Rights Campaign Fund, the nation's largest lesbian and
gay organization. The Campaign Fund was an early and strong
supporter of Pennsylvania Senator Harris Wofford, whose comefrom-behind victory against former U.S. Attorney General
Richard Thornburgh attracted nationwide attention.
"We are very pleased with the election returns," notes Tim
Mcfeeley, Campaign Fund Executive Director. "These election
victories clearly show the electorate is willing to support our
community when we have the resources to counter the lies our
opponents spread about us."
"Our most significant victory was Senator Wofford's landslide
election," Mcfeeley stated. Wofford overcame a 40 point lead in
the polls to ·hold his position in the US Senate. "As Attorney
General, Dick Thornburgh blocked a vital change in the U.S.
immigration policy which would have allowed people with AIDS
to enter the country . He stood in the way of public health experts
and put politics above the best interest of the country. We hope
his defeat sends a clear message that elections will be lost when
candidates play politics with AIDS," Mcfeeley stated.
In other e,lectoral victories of importance to the lesbian and gay
community, a San Francisco ballot measure to overturn the city's
domestic partnership statute was turned down, and St. Paul's
lesbian and gay righ~ ordinance survived a repeal effort.
In addition, two openly gay and lesbian candidates were elected
to major offices. New York gay activist, Tom Duane was elected to
the New York City Council, while across the country Sherri
Harris became the first openly lesbian elected African American
official with her election to the Seattle City Council. Fifty-five
openly lesbian and gay Americans currently hold elected office in
the United States, the highest number in history.
•
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Mondav"
Sunda~i
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t\
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Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
6
4
.s
3
Frida~'
7oPEN
J'
~· (D~~~r
',~L
9
CoOA Meetini;I,
7:00 p .m.
/:Ji
Ern1·1y
Dickenson
TIE - DYE
at Herlancl
I - 5 p .m.
17 HERLAND
"MIRACLE
ON ~'39TH
STREET"
Oasis
Christmas
Carnival
8:30 p.m
at Ani;iles
18
Heeting
4:'.30
Bill of*Righls
Ratified, 1791
23
111ss
12
BROWN
Coyote Club
*
!ti
PEGGY
JOHNSON
Poets, 8 - il
19
2
20
HISS BRO\ilN
TO YOV
al
BROlmJ
TO YOU
at the
CoOa Heeting,
7:00 p.m.
27
28
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liberty Oru1:1
in Norman
$ ·3 cover Celebrate
the Solst..ic.e
TRIPLES
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$·2 cover .r"'-
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GROUP:
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Topic:
Fighting lhe
Holiday· Blues.
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Board
22
11
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SEVENTH
GRADE
BRIC AOE
6:30 p.ni.
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id
C) - j
'{~1 ·~~
1.S
10 - 6
*
J-J· PEGGY
JOHNSON
Coyote Glub...J,
f8 ·3 0 - f886
...l,_11..,'
. '· :' 'lliO
HOUSE
at HERLANO
HAPPY
HANNllKAH
8
Saturday
THE SISTERS
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OF SWING
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Coyote Club
$2 Cover
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MERRY
CHRISTMAS
;;t
..I'
:31
NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY at Herland; Potluck & Games Galore; 7 - 10 pm.
AND: OPENING NIGHT - NEW YEAR'S EVE party in Downtown OKC;
Hear: PEGGY JOHNSON at the County Courthouse (Yes!)
And:
MISS BROWN TO YOU at the Hightower _Building Check the Gazette for perforniance times for Peggy & Miss Brown .. .
(&: Super Fireworks to celebrate the New Year, at Kerr Park, at Midnight.
Silent Vigil for peace in Central America.
On the steps of the Federal Building, NW 4th & Robin.son, OKC; each Wednesday at Noon.
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