The Herland Voice : v.21: no.1(2003)
- Title
- The Herland Voice : v.21: no.1(2003)
- Description
- The Herland Voice is the monthly publication of Herland Sister Resources, a womanist organization with a strong lesbian focus based in Oklahoma City.
- Publisher
- en_US Herland Sister Resources
- Date Issued
- 2003-01
- 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
- 2017-09-02T17:01:01Z
- Date Available
- 2017-09-02T17:01:01Z
- Subject
- Oklahoma
- Type
- application/pdf
- extracted text
-
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January 2003
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Parade & Festivities
T
he annual Martin Luther King,
Jr. multicultural dialogue will be
·
held Sunday evening,
January 19, at Temple B'nai Israel,
4901 N. Pennsylvania. Pizza will be
served at 6:30 pm followed by the
program at 7:00pm. Dr. Eric Anthony
Joseph, Chaplain at Langston
University, will be the program's
featured speaker and a reception will
follow. The evening is free although
donations will be accepted.
Two marches are planned for
MQnday, January 20. The first is a
silent march, which steps off at 9:30
am from the Ralph Ellison Library, NE
23rd and Martin Luther King Boulevard.
This march will proceed to the State
H!stcr!ca! BuHd!~g at the Capito!
Complex for a bell ringing ceremony
with Governor Brad Henry at
11:00am.
The main parade lines up at Reno
and Lincoln in the Bricktown area at
noon. This parade steps off at 2 pm,
and proceeds to NE 2nd and Walnut.
If you would like to march with the
Hertand contingent and carry the banner, meet at Herland on Monday at
noon to carpool to Bricktown.
Herland Hikes
T
he Herland Hiking Group is
planning an overnight Winter
Wonderland Trip to the Wichita
Mountains National Wildlife Refuge,
near Lawton, on the weekend of
Saturday, February 22nd. The refuge
is home to bison, elk, deer, as well as
many other fauna Details about
lodging and camping facilities will
follow in next month's Voice or are
available by e- mailing the hike leader,
Jane Fenton, at fjane@okstate.edu.
And don't miss this month's hike at
Martin Nature Park, 5000 W. Memorial
on January 11, 10 am. Optional coffee
gathering at Panera's (Memorial &
Meridian) at 9:30 am.
Volume 21, Number 1
GLBT Town Hall Meeting
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Persons - and their families, friends and supporters in the Oklahoma City area will convene as "GayOKC.com Presents: The State of Our Community
- A Town Hall Meeting" at 7 pm, Monday, January 27, 2003 at Epworth United Methodist
Church, 1901 N. Douglas
Avenue, Oklahoma City. The
"town hall meeting" will consist
Herland Supper Club
of a review of the events in
Oklahoma City's GLBT
Saturday, January 11, 6:00 pm
Community in 2002 and a panel
at La Luna's Mexican Cafe
discussion of the impact of those
409
W. Reno in Oklahoma City
events on the Community.
followed by
The panel discussion will
feature representatives of a
Carpenter Square Theatre's
cross-section of Oklahoma City's
Romance in D at 8:00 pm
GLBT Community. Scheduled
at
Stage
Center, 400 W. Sheridan
panelists and guests currently
include Phillippe Beaudette and
Jim Craig - Church of the Open
Join the supper club this month for some great
Arms ministry team; Joann Bell Mexican food at La Luna's followed by Romance in D.
ACLU of Oklahoma P.xecutive
u ro..-.arrtic comedy. Show tickets are $12.50 and ;;.ay
director; Michael Coffman be purchased that evening or by calling the box office
recent graduate of Oklahoma
at
232-6500. Those wishing to carpool should meet at
Christian University; Jacqueline
Herland at 5:30 pm.
Gatewood - Womyn Of Color
(support group for Lesbian
African-Americans); Ginger
McGovern - Hertand Sister
New Year·s Day Celebration
Resources past chairperson;
Don't take any chances - start your year off with the
Mike Maus - counselor, The
best company around. Join the Herland folks for blackCenter; Tess Mandeville - pastor,
eyed peas, cornbread, and cabbage on New Year's Day
cathedral of Hope OKC; Rachel
from 2-4 pm. Bring a potluck dish for sharing or games.
Morse - GLBT caucus chair,
Young Democrats of America;
Joe Quigley - openly-gay OKC public school teacher; Phillip Roulain - OKC Two-Spirit Society
(support group for Gay & Lesbian Native-Americans); Heidi Ruster - carePoint executive
director; Paula Schonauer - writer for the Gayly Oklahoman, transgender activist, ordained
minister, Gulf War veteran, Oklahoma City police officer; Paul Thompson - Oklahoma Gay and
Lesbian Political caucus male co-chair; Jean Ann Van Krevelen - RAIN executive director; and
Billie Walsh - Central Oklahoma Transgender Alliance.
The "year in review" portion of the meeting will feature
actual participants of some of the events of the past
WEBSfTE OF THE MONTH
year. Audience members will also be invited to join in
www. nclrights. org
the discussion. Additional information about this event
is available on GayOKC.com at www.gayokc.com/
state2003.htm.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Womyn of Color Meeting
The next meeting will be Saturday, January 11, 2003. Details are uncertain as we go to press;
please email womynofcolor@gay.com or call 842-3464 or 947-7691 for more info.
www.herlandsiste-rs-.-org--------H-erl..,..aa...nd....,,.........,,Si.,....ster----Reso--ur-c-es-,-2--3--1--2---N.,....W-3--9-,-Old-a....,h-oma--City-,-OK--7-31_1_2------40-S---52_1_-9_69_6
Bookstore hours: S.turdltys 1-5 pm
Email: het1anclsisters@cox.net
I
Child Care Tax Credits
Don't Work
From Women'.S' £news
Most corporations decline available
state financial aid that would help
employees find and pay for child care,
according to a new review of state
child care tax credits. Twenty-eight
states offer tax credits to companies
that provide on-site child care or help
employees find or pay for off-site care.
The National Women's Law Center
reviewed 20 states and found that in
five states, no companies claimed the
credits and in 11 others fewer than six
did.
The law center argued that the
credits do not work because most
corporations pay little state tax to
begin with, and so tax breaks do not
operate as effective incentives. More
than 90 percent of companies in the
states studied did not have enough tax
liability to take full advantage of the
credit.
Most women with children--about 79
percent of women with children over
the age of 6 and 65 percent of women
with children under age 6--work
outside the home. Many of those
women are in need of paid childcare,
which is often expensive and difficult
to find, the report said.
The report's authors argue that the
tax credits, which were enacted in the
1980s and 1990s, take money away
from more effective childcare
assistance programs. This tax year will
be the first year that corporations may
claim a new federal tax credit for
assisting employees with childcare. No
data is available on the effectiveness of
the federal program, but the study
authors argue that up to 98 percent of
companies will not have sufficient tax
liability to take advantage of the
aedits.
No Nobel Prize
No women received Nobel prizes this
past month when the 2002 winners
were presented with their awards in
Sweden and Norway. Nine Swedish
women writers and academics issued a
public criticism of the Nobel prizes on
Tuesday, calling them "sexist,"
according to an article in the tabloid
Aftonbladet and an Associated Press
report. Since the awards were
instituted in 1901, 3 percent of the
prizes have been awarded to women,
according to the nine critics.
"But next year we will rejoice with
the rest of the world. If all Nobel Prize
winners this year are men 'by chance,'
next year we may have only female
prize winners, also 'just by chance'.
We are looking forward to that," the
women wrote in the Aftonbladet
article.
Keating Uncertain on "Moral Certainty" Principle
By William Martin, Professor ofReligion Emeritus, Oklahoma City University; Past President,
Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and Amnesty International Group 238, OKC
ith the recent execution of Ernest Carter, Jr., in Oklahoma, the moral bankruptcy of
Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating's "moral certainty" principle is now clear for the
entire world to see.
In his remarks before the National Press Club on June 22, 2001, Keating affirmed that "life is
precious," that "it is better that nine guilty people go free than one innocent man or woman be
convicted or executed," and that it is "essential" in capital cases to "raise [the] bar" of "proof
beyond a reasonable doubt" to an even higher standard of "moral certainty."
He cited the case of Philip DeWitt Smith, for whom the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, in
a rare rejection of the Oklahoma Attorney General's constantly repeated position that a jury
decision in a capital case should be the last word, had by majority vote recommended that a
death sentence be reduced to life without parole. "Of course," he said, "a person like that you
should commute."
On November 12, 2002, after reviewing the evidence about Ernest Carter, Jr., the Board, for
the first time In several decades for a capital case, voted unanimously for clemency. Comments
by Board members at the hearing and in their written report afterwards showed serious doubt
as to Carter's guilt. Their opinion was divided on only one point: should they recommend life
without parole to the governor or a lesser sentence that would permit parole after many years?
Given that choice, Governor Keating selected neither and decided instead that Ernest Carter
had to die. On Sunday, December 15, he informed Carter's attorneys that he was rejecting the
recommendation from the board, the majority of whom were his own appointees. "I am
confident," he informed the Associated Press, "that Carter committed this murder... " (Daily
Oklahoman, December 16, 2002). The AP reporter did not record any reference to moral
certainty or even to "proof beyond a reasonable doubt." Stunned supporters of Ernest Carter,
many of whom had assumed that Keating would honor the recommendation of his board,
had little time left before his scheduled execution date, December 17. But, as early as Sunday
night, faxes, e-mails, and calls were going in to the governor's office on Carter's behalf. On
Monday and Tuesday Govemo.- Keating, a Catholic, received requests to reconsider his decision
from the Catholic Archbishop of Oklahoma City, the Catholic bishop in Tulsa, and the United
Methodist bishop for Oklahoma, along with a steady stream of other appeals from around the
state, nation, and world.
Tuesday noon, December 17, about forty persons gathered for a press conference in the
capitol rotunda near the governor's office. They heard the executive director of the Oklahoma
Conference of Churches, representatives of various denominations, persons who had lost family
members by murder, and other spokespersons appeal for a change of heart or at least for a
stay of execution, which would transfer the final decision to a new governor.
At about 12:45, over half the group moved to the reception area at the governor's office, and
about twenty signed in, requesting to see him. Throughout the afternoon various persons
repeated the request. Two of the governor's aides came out and talked at length with the
waiting citizens, but the governor himself did not appear. At about ten minutes before 5:00, the
receptionist, who had courteously received the waiting group all afternoon, brought the
information that the governor had left for the day.
He had gone out another door.
At 6:14 p.m. on his execution day Ernest Carter died in the state prison at McAlester, with
protests and vigils going on outside the prison walls, in front of the governor's mansion in
Oklahoma City, and at various Catholic churches around the state. In Oklahoma the cause of
death that appears on the death certificates for persons exearted by the state is "homicide."
Carter is the fifty-sixth person to have been executed since 1990 in the state and the seventh
in 2002. Oklahoma led the nation with eighteen state-sponsored deaths last year. Since 1973,
102 persons in 25 states have been released from death row because of proof of innocence,
according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Oklahoma is "tied with Texas for third place
in the number of innocent people exonerated, behind Florida and Illinois," the director of the
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty recently noted. Carter's death greatly increases
a growing suspicion that some possibly innocent persons may have left the state prison in body
bags rather than by walking away.
In disrussion with the citizens who waited to see their governor, one of his assistants was
asked how she would define "moral certainty." She replied that she could not define it.
Apparently the reason for her uncertainty was in an office just down the hall.
W
The Music Scene
Saint Sybil Presents: Guest Feminists, Part IV
by Jill Gamer
Ian your Groundhog Day
(February 2) now at the Blue
Door to see the Bums Sisters.
They are three musically
talented sisters who sing gorgeous
hannonies together, and their songs
range from pop, country, gospel, rock
and R& B. Wow! How can you say
no? These aren't even all the sisters
either! There are two more they used
to sing with before making their
transition to a trio, and there are 12
siblings altogether! All three of the
sisters, Jeannie, Annie and Marie each
have a CD of their own in addition to
the CDs they have released together.
They write most of their own music but
occasionally pick songs by some great
songwriters. I only have one of their
CDs, Close to Home, although I don't
know why I just have one. rve had it
for several years but I regularly pull it
out and listen to it because it
alternates between songs so pretty
they make my heart soar and songs
that' are tough and inconquerable like
Steve Van Zandt's "I Am a Patriot".
The sisters have a sense of humor,
too. Their latest song that got some
airplay on their CD, Out of the Blue, _
was "God Made Woman." "He made a
big strong man to work the land, but
he wasn't having any fun, When God
made woman, He knew his work was
done." Close to Home has "New Kind
of Old Fashioned Girl" that in a
humorous way explores the struggle
between the old view of women and
the new reality.
The Bums Sisters have a few fairly
sentimental songs that are hard to
listen to too many times, but they're
nicely balanced by songs of
detennination and love songs that
don't sink into the mire of sickening
sweetness. Their voices together are
the highlight but they're so good that I
also look forward to hearing their solo
efforts.
In reading articles about them, many
people mentioned how wonderful they
are in concert. So please, plan on
February 2nd to make it t:o see the
Bums Sisters because I think it will be
a show not to be missed.
Plus, check out their web site at
www .bumssisters.com. They give a
nice plug to the Blue Door and Greg
Johnson in their latest newsletter. See
you at the Blue Door!
S
P
.
aint Sybil continues to offer her space to gentle souls seeking to define feminism. This
month there are two guest columnists.
By Tay Claff!'.
My definition of a feminist is a woman who understands that all women are at serious risk
during every hour of every day - and she speaks out for change. We're horrified by what's
happening to women in modem societies. I'm horrified by what's happening here where
women are also the objects of terrorism. Beatings, rape and murder are reported (sometimes).
But no changes have been made to protect women, except the law against stalking, when
enforced.
Meanwhile, don't take a walk after dark. Stay in, bolt the door, and get a peephole, a
deadbolt. Cover your windows, so no one can see in. Be wary of strangers. Stay in the light,
with other people. Don't be the last one out of the building or mall. Have the security guard
walk you to your car, look in the back. Go right home. It's not much better in daylight. Why
must we live this way, without freedom of movement? What crime have we committed to be
prisoners?
It's the mostly unpublicized acts of hostility toward women that we fail to understand. They
pervade our lives. There's sexual abuse, unwanted pregnancy, S.T.D.'s. Add degradation,
humiliation, minimalization, wage slavery, lack of benefits and exclusion from opportunity and
power. Exploitation is the lot of American women.
There is currently a craze for men's prayer organizations in defense of "family values".
Fascist religious organizations are a threat to women's freedom. "Let the man be the head of
the house" (and not beat his wife with too big a stick).
A feminist knows what's cooking - and that it's likely to be her.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
By Georgie Rasco-.
Quite simply, a feminist is someone who believes everyone has the right to be who they want
to be, not what someone else expects them t:o be. As a feminist, I believe I have the right to
pursue a career, stay home and raise a family, or anything in between, as long as it is what I
want t:o do and not what society has pre-destined for me and I support the right of all other
human beings to live their own lifestyle without fear of condemnation, even if it is different from
myowr:i.
A feminist believes -woman has just as much right to be making decisions in a bOardroom as
she does making the beds in her kids' bedrooms because she recognizes the victory comes in
choosing your own destiny.
A feminist has the right to be defined in more than 25 words!!
c
. •• .
.• •
a
•
.
..
With A Little Help From Our Friends
o all the women and men out there who have sent money for Herland plumbing,
newsletter support, and for general operating expenses, we send our heartfelt thanks.
And if you still have one of our little return envelopes lying around, Herland can always
use donations, large and small, for the newsletter and general expenses. Our
community includes women of all economic levels. Some women can't afford to contribute
financial support. So if you have given more than once, a special thanks goes to you on behalf
of those who can't.
Just how much money does it take to operate Herland? How many volunteer hours? And
what has Herland done with that time and money? Every penny donated to Herland goes for
building upkeep, utilities, newsletter and services. Volunteers donate the labor and a lot of
supplies. See the details in our annual report in next month's Voice.
Speaking of volunteers, t:o those of you who work a Saturday to keep the building accessible,
do repairs, lead a hike or staff an event, we give you our heartfelt thanks. Here is what your
support means: Besides providing social events, workshops, and concerts, you help us be there
to answer questions, make referrals, provide a safe space for lesbians and others to just be
themselves, meet, read, check out
books, or buy books and music.
We are contacted often by lesbians
The Voice is published by: Herland Sister Resources, Inc. 2312
just coming out, seeking support in
NW 39th, Oklahoma City, OK 73112. The Voice is offered as
this often-difficult and lengthy
an open forum for community discourse. Articles reflect the
opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Herland
process. What? You haven't
Sister Resources. Unsolicited articles and letters to the editor
volunteered and you want to? We
are welcomed and must be signed by the writer with full name
NEED you! Please leave us your
and address. Upon request, letters or articles may be printed
name and phone number on our
under a pseudonym or anonymously. Subscriptions to The
voice mail - 521-9696. From the
Voice are free upon request although a donation is requested
Herland Board, have a great 2003.
to meet publication and distribution costs.
T
Your Voice:
Letters to the Editor
Hello, Friends "'
I was just perusing the December
issue of the Herland Voice on-line and
noticed reference to one of my favorite
works, The Yellow Wallpaper.
Unfortunately, in seeking to give high
praise, you referred to it as Charlotte
Perkins Gilman's ... seminalfeminist
work. Gaak -- You of all publications,
using a word like this -- and to
describe a feminist work, at that!
Because we all make mistakes, and
in consideration of the fact that we
feminists all have the same goal
(pointing out and putting a stop to
sexism wherever it exists), I hope you
will permit me to tell you why I object
to using that word in place of a nongender-based compliment.
First and foremost, those of us who
communicate with words know that
language has power --and the more
subtle, ingrained, and taken-forgranted it is (e.g., he being considered
a "neutral" pronoun), the more
powerful and insidious it is. Because
our long-time language habits are so
ingrained, however, a lot of things slip
past even the most conscientious of
writers. Enter Rosalie Maggio: her
wonderful books (for Or)'X Press) about
this very topic began (I believe) with
The Nonsexist Wont Finder: a dictionary ofgender-free usage (1987),
continued with The Dictionary of
Bias-Free Usage: a guide to nondiscriminatory language (1991), and
blossomed into her 436-page 1997
publication, Talking About People: a
guide to fair and accurate language. In
addition to the books' offering words in
quick-to-use dictionary form, we are
treated to exceedingly well-thoughtout guidelines and arguments for
avoiding biased language in every
imaginable instance. These books are
instructive, and even great fun, to
read!
Now, back to seminal. Maggie's
latest book describes it this way:
"because 'seminar is the adjectival
form of 'semen,' than which nothing
could be more male, the use of the
word is not only sex-linked etymologically but the way it's been used
historically tends to underscore the
notion that only men have important,
'seminar ideas. Many people are
unaffected by these associations and
use the word in its functional sense of
originative. If you want alternatives
(continued page 5)
Soulforce Seeking Your Stories
S
oulforce in Oklahoma needs your stories! As part of our ongoing direct action in
Oklahoma, we are planning a leafleting campaign to rai~ awareness of spi~itual violence
against God' gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender children. The leaflet will be
structured In terms of a series of questions. Some of the questions are the sort that makes us
cringe when we hear them, because taking the questions seriously is itself a form of spiritual
violence. Examples Include the following:
Is homosexuality a sickness?
Is homosexuality a sin?
Is homosexuality a choice?
Are homosexuals child molesters?
Are gay and lesbian relationships as meaningful as heterosexual ones?
What is the gay lifestyle?
Is there a homosexual agenda?
Does the Bible condemn homosexuality?
Our intention is to "answer" these questions with personal stories - stories that reveal just
how hurtful it is to take these questions seriously. For example, imagine that instead of
answering the question, "Are homosexuals child molesters?" with statistics and evidence, the
question is answered with the story of a lesbian mother, herself molested as a child, who h~ to
constantly be afraid that when her children bring home friends she will be thought of by their
parents as a potential child molester. Perhaps the lesbian mother is even accused, falsely, just
because she is a lesbian. Or imagine answering the question, "Is homosexuality a sickness?"
with the first-hand account of someone who has endured the pointless and harmful effects of
conversion therapy. In each case, the story demonstrates the devastating impact that follows
from taking the question seriously.
.
Not all of the questions we may include in the leaflet are in themselves hurtful. Some are
serious questions that deserve a serious answer. Examples include the following:
How are God's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender children harassed and
discriminated against?
How have God's GLBT children struggled with and reconciled i:heir faith?
What is spiritual violence?
How can I help?
Again, however, we think that
these questions can best be
answered by personal stories stories that will speak to the heart
as much as to the head, that will
help to inspire empathy and move
others to take a stand against
spiritual violence.
We invite you to take a minute
to think about these questions. If
you have a personal story that
speaks to one (or more) of these
questions, please take the time to
share it with us. Concise personal
stories that come from the heart,
that relate your experience without
passing judgment on others, are
the most helpful. With your help,
this leaflet will be a powerful
witness against the false teachings
that are so damaging to us all.
In Love and Peace,
Soulforce in Oklahoma Leafleting
Committee
www .SoulforcelnOklahoma.org
Info@SoulforcelnOklahoma.org
918-452-2761
EVENTS AT A GLANCE
January
,... Wednesday. January 1: Black-eyed peas, cornbread,
cabbage, and games at Herland, 2-4 pm
.
,... Saturday. January 4: Louise and Mary at the Jazz Lab,
100 E 5th Street in Edmond, just off the Broadway
Extension, 8pm
,... Saturdav. January 11: Herland Hike at Martin Nature
Park, 5000 W. Memorial, 10 am
,... Saturday. January 11: Womyn of Color Meeting
,... Wednesday. Janyarv 15: Hertand Book Club (at
Herland), 7 pm
,... Saturday. January 18: Mary and Louise in benefit
concert at the First Unitarian Church, NW 13th and Dewey,
7-10 pm
,... Sunday, January 19: Herland Board Meeting, 4 pm
,... Monday. January 20: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Parade, E Reno and N Lincoln, stepoff at 2 pm
,... Wednesclavs: Rally for Peace with Iraq, NW 23rc1 and
Classen, 4-5 pm
,... Saturdays: Rally for Peace with Iraq, NW Expressway
and Penn, noon-1 pm
Fel7ruary
,... Saturday. February 22: Herland Winter Wonderland
Hike in Wichita Mountains
,... Saturday. February 22: Luncheon celebrating 60 years
of women's service In the Marine Corps. Details in next
month's Voice.
Letter to the Editor (continued)
National Organization Challenges Discriminatory Laws
consider genninal, genninative,
creative, original, inventive, innovative,
primary, primal, primordial, prototypal,
prototypical, exemplary, fresh, novel,
unprecedented, precedent-setting,
pivotal, first of its kind, initial, earliest,
unorthodox, nonconfonning, unconventional, rudimentary, inceptive, fundamental, source, productive, catalytic,
influential, far-reaching, potential,
possible, probably, likely, unrealized."
Lots to choose from, Grrls; we don't
need to keep using those boy-tenns!
Meanwhile, keep up your wonderful,
genninative, creative, original, inventive, innovative, exemplary, fresh,
novel, unprecedented, precedentsetting, pivotal, unorthodox, nonconfonning, unconventional, inceptive,
productive, catalytic, influential,
far-reaching (etc!), work!
Brava! Best wishes, one and all! Rena
he National Center for Lesbian .Rights (~CLR) - "is a progressive, feminist, multicultural
legal center devoted to advancing the rights and safety of lesbians and their families.
. . . ~ey are committed to creating a world in which all lesbians live freely, without fear of
d1scnmm_at1~n. N~LR also recognizes the oppression and marginalization of other groups in our
community mcludmg gay men, bisexuals and transgender individuals. Through direct litigation
and advocacy NCLR works to change discriminatory laws and to create new laws and policies
benefiting lesbians and other oppressed members of the queer community.
Since 19n NCLR has been at the forefront of historic litigation of lesbian child custody and
same-sex adoption cases. NCLR currently focuses on areas of child custody and visitation
adoption, alternative insemination, same-gender marriage, domestic partnership, immlgr~tion
and asylum, and youth. NCLR is national in scope. With the assistance of our network of
volu~teer attorneys, and the financial support of members in all fifty states, we serve thousands
of clients every year across the United States.
Attorney Kate Kendell is the Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights
(NCLR). Kendell claims that, "The current climate facing lesbians is a dangerous one. While we
are greater in number than ever before, so too are those opposed to our equality. Each stride
we make toward securing our civil rights spurs a hostile, and at times dangerous, response. The
best defense against such well organized and particularly well funded actions is systematic legal
challenges to change such discrimination." Some of their projects are:
moc responds: Uh-oh, my bad! I knew
it was wrong when I wrote it, and that
people would object - I didn't want to
use "ovarlal" and was too lazy to think
of dne of the many great words Rena
offered. Here's to non-sexist
language! Thanks, Rena, for keeping
us on <YJr toes.
•
Classifieds
•
•
Work Wanted: Hanclywoman looking for
extra work. Will barter for necessities.
can Laura at 664-7736.
For Sale: Select Comfort Queen Bed.
Only 3 months old. $800. can Ginger at
942-1535.
Website of Interest:
www.erubooks.com
This is a site for unusual books, and
it should be especially interesting for
the many of us who have our own
novels we're having a hard time getting published! Eru Books was founded
as an outlet for strong women's fiction
with an emphasis on the edgy, controversial, and progressive. They currently
publish suspense, thriller, and horror
novels. Subject matter varies but each
work in some way attempts to challenge readers to think critically and reexamine their own political, global, and
spiritual perceptions. They are not
your typical feminist press and like to
produce mainstream fiction that will
appeal to all women who believe a
woman's place Is wherever she wants
it to be."
T
•
•
•
Family Law Project. securing legal recognition of same-sex couples
(marriage rights, civil unions, domestic partner benefits, partnership protection
documents), and LGBT parents (child custody, second-parent adoption, guardianship,
pre-birth decrees, visitation, alternative insemination, child support);
Youth Project. providing legal representation, advocacy, infonnation and support on
behalf of LGBT youth who suffer discrimination or abuse In the mental health, child
welfare, criminal justice and education systems;
Immigration/Asylum Project. providing legal representation, support, assistance and
community education to LGBT immigrants, and advocating for equitable Immigration
and asylum laws and policies;
Elder Law Project. providing public education and workshops on issues of special
concern to LGBT elders, including Social Security, domestic partner benefits, estate
planning, and health issues;
Homophobia In Sports Project providing legal resources to LGBT college and
professional athletes, coaches, and sports personnel;
Transgender Law Project. a special project, funded by the Pride Law Fund's Tom Steel
Fell~wship, providing free legal advice to San Francisco's transgender community, and
seminars .for Bay Area lawyers on discrimination issues specific to transgender people.
National Center for Lesbian Rights have a legal advice and counseling phone line for
Their newsletter includes updates on lesbian rights and the NCLR court cases. They
can be contacted at www.NCLRights.org
mem~rs.
Thanks to our Official Plumbing & Building Repair Angels!
Victoria Falls Angels
Bridal Veil Falls Angels
Equal! at Lucent Technologies
Gail & Edie, Jan Reed, In honor of Mary Reynolds,
In honor of Theila Elliott, calico 626,
Elaine Barton, Mary Lane & Steven Davis,
Damron Women's Traveler,
Sally Blevins & Georgie Rasco
Anonymous (2)
Angel Falls Angels
Karen Lewis
Niagara Falls Angels
Diane Brandmiller, Barbara Hillyer,
Darnell Bacher Family, Jean Kelsey,
Jean's Plumbing, Ginger McGovern,
Gustav Friedrich & Erena Rae,
Dee Butler, Janet McHard,
Pat Reaves, A Fallen Angel,
Dan Hardt & Joe Kirk,
In honor of Paula Jo (Pepper) Leech,
Anonymous (4),
Allison Blanchard, M.D.
Turner Falls Angels
Larry & Juliane Littlefield, Diane E. Weaver,
5ue Hill, Margaret Cox, Lisa Thurman,
Suzanne Pharr, Jo L. Soske, Donna Roy,
Janis Heer, Amy Quate & Dana Townson,
In honor of Laura Oloate, Nancy Scott,
In honor of Katherine Moore,
La Rue St.arr & Deborah LaPrairie, .
Anonymous (5)
Herland Sister Resources
2312 NW 39t11 Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
NonProfit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oklahoma City, OK
Permit No. 861
Address Service Requested
REBECCA R. HOLT, Ph.D.
Tulia Irwin, M.D .. P.C.
Clinical Psychology
(405) 321-2148
Psychiatrist
Box 5119
Norman, OK 73070
Individuals - Couples
Family Therapy, Retreats
DOROTHY E. HEIM
Attorney at Law
(405) 691-4949
dheim033@yahoo.com
Call me with your legal questions:
estate planning
personal injury
contract issues
small business
Doctor's Park
500 East Robinson, Suite 600
Norman, OK 73071
(405) 321-3719
Young
And Oldn Adults
DEE BUTLER
Realtor Associate
ATEAM 495-8326
For all your Real Estate Needs
4521 NW 441h Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73122
405/524-2991 Home
405/202-2136 Cell
405/495-8325 Fax
-
··:·:·:··:::·:··:-:··=-··
.·.·.·,·.·.·.·,·,·;'.:·,·,·.·,·,·.·,·.·,·.·.·.·,·.·.·.·,·,·,·.·,·,·.·_,,.,,.,•,·.·.·.·.·,·,•_,,.,·.·.·.·.·o.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·,·,•.·,·.-,·.···•··················································•o.·.·,·.-.·.:.·,·.·.·.·.1•••'-'•'•'•'•'•'•",:.·,·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·,·.·.·.·.·,·.•.·.·.·.·...-...·.·.·,u .·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·o.·.·.;.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.:.·;.·,·.·" ·'•'•'•'•'•' •'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'" •'•'•"•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•' •'•'-' •' •'•' •'•'•'•'•'•'
January 2003
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Parade & Festivities
T
he annual Martin Luther King,
Jr. multicultural dialogue will be
·
held Sunday evening,
January 19, at Temple B'nai Israel,
4901 N. Pennsylvania. Pizza will be
served at 6:30 pm followed by the
program at 7:00pm. Dr. Eric Anthony
Joseph, Chaplain at Langston
University, will be the program's
featured speaker and a reception will
follow. The evening is free although
donations will be accepted.
Two marches are planned for
MQnday, January 20. The first is a
silent march, which steps off at 9:30
am from the Ralph Ellison Library, NE
23rd and Martin Luther King Boulevard.
This march will proceed to the State
H!stcr!ca! BuHd!~g at the Capito!
Complex for a bell ringing ceremony
with Governor Brad Henry at
11:00am.
The main parade lines up at Reno
and Lincoln in the Bricktown area at
noon. This parade steps off at 2 pm,
and proceeds to NE 2nd and Walnut.
If you would like to march with the
Hertand contingent and carry the banner, meet at Herland on Monday at
noon to carpool to Bricktown.
Herland Hikes
T
he Herland Hiking Group is
planning an overnight Winter
Wonderland Trip to the Wichita
Mountains National Wildlife Refuge,
near Lawton, on the weekend of
Saturday, February 22nd. The refuge
is home to bison, elk, deer, as well as
many other fauna Details about
lodging and camping facilities will
follow in next month's Voice or are
available by e- mailing the hike leader,
Jane Fenton, at fjane@okstate.edu.
And don't miss this month's hike at
Martin Nature Park, 5000 W. Memorial
on January 11, 10 am. Optional coffee
gathering at Panera's (Memorial &
Meridian) at 9:30 am.
Volume 21, Number 1
GLBT Town Hall Meeting
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Persons - and their families, friends and supporters in the Oklahoma City area will convene as "GayOKC.com Presents: The State of Our Community
- A Town Hall Meeting" at 7 pm, Monday, January 27, 2003 at Epworth United Methodist
Church, 1901 N. Douglas
Avenue, Oklahoma City. The
"town hall meeting" will consist
Herland Supper Club
of a review of the events in
Oklahoma City's GLBT
Saturday, January 11, 6:00 pm
Community in 2002 and a panel
at La Luna's Mexican Cafe
discussion of the impact of those
409
W. Reno in Oklahoma City
events on the Community.
followed by
The panel discussion will
feature representatives of a
Carpenter Square Theatre's
cross-section of Oklahoma City's
Romance in D at 8:00 pm
GLBT Community. Scheduled
at
Stage
Center, 400 W. Sheridan
panelists and guests currently
include Phillippe Beaudette and
Jim Craig - Church of the Open
Join the supper club this month for some great
Arms ministry team; Joann Bell Mexican food at La Luna's followed by Romance in D.
ACLU of Oklahoma P.xecutive
u ro..-.arrtic comedy. Show tickets are $12.50 and ;;.ay
director; Michael Coffman be purchased that evening or by calling the box office
recent graduate of Oklahoma
at
232-6500. Those wishing to carpool should meet at
Christian University; Jacqueline
Herland at 5:30 pm.
Gatewood - Womyn Of Color
(support group for Lesbian
African-Americans); Ginger
McGovern - Hertand Sister
New Year·s Day Celebration
Resources past chairperson;
Don't take any chances - start your year off with the
Mike Maus - counselor, The
best company around. Join the Herland folks for blackCenter; Tess Mandeville - pastor,
eyed peas, cornbread, and cabbage on New Year's Day
cathedral of Hope OKC; Rachel
from 2-4 pm. Bring a potluck dish for sharing or games.
Morse - GLBT caucus chair,
Young Democrats of America;
Joe Quigley - openly-gay OKC public school teacher; Phillip Roulain - OKC Two-Spirit Society
(support group for Gay & Lesbian Native-Americans); Heidi Ruster - carePoint executive
director; Paula Schonauer - writer for the Gayly Oklahoman, transgender activist, ordained
minister, Gulf War veteran, Oklahoma City police officer; Paul Thompson - Oklahoma Gay and
Lesbian Political caucus male co-chair; Jean Ann Van Krevelen - RAIN executive director; and
Billie Walsh - Central Oklahoma Transgender Alliance.
The "year in review" portion of the meeting will feature
actual participants of some of the events of the past
WEBSfTE OF THE MONTH
year. Audience members will also be invited to join in
www. nclrights. org
the discussion. Additional information about this event
is available on GayOKC.com at www.gayokc.com/
state2003.htm.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Womyn of Color Meeting
The next meeting will be Saturday, January 11, 2003. Details are uncertain as we go to press;
please email womynofcolor@gay.com or call 842-3464 or 947-7691 for more info.
www.herlandsiste-rs-.-org--------H-erl..,..aa...nd....,,.........,,Si.,....ster----Reso--ur-c-es-,-2--3--1--2---N.,....W-3--9-,-Old-a....,h-oma--City-,-OK--7-31_1_2------40-S---52_1_-9_69_6
Bookstore hours: S.turdltys 1-5 pm
Email: het1anclsisters@cox.net
I
Child Care Tax Credits
Don't Work
From Women'.S' £news
Most corporations decline available
state financial aid that would help
employees find and pay for child care,
according to a new review of state
child care tax credits. Twenty-eight
states offer tax credits to companies
that provide on-site child care or help
employees find or pay for off-site care.
The National Women's Law Center
reviewed 20 states and found that in
five states, no companies claimed the
credits and in 11 others fewer than six
did.
The law center argued that the
credits do not work because most
corporations pay little state tax to
begin with, and so tax breaks do not
operate as effective incentives. More
than 90 percent of companies in the
states studied did not have enough tax
liability to take full advantage of the
credit.
Most women with children--about 79
percent of women with children over
the age of 6 and 65 percent of women
with children under age 6--work
outside the home. Many of those
women are in need of paid childcare,
which is often expensive and difficult
to find, the report said.
The report's authors argue that the
tax credits, which were enacted in the
1980s and 1990s, take money away
from more effective childcare
assistance programs. This tax year will
be the first year that corporations may
claim a new federal tax credit for
assisting employees with childcare. No
data is available on the effectiveness of
the federal program, but the study
authors argue that up to 98 percent of
companies will not have sufficient tax
liability to take advantage of the
aedits.
No Nobel Prize
No women received Nobel prizes this
past month when the 2002 winners
were presented with their awards in
Sweden and Norway. Nine Swedish
women writers and academics issued a
public criticism of the Nobel prizes on
Tuesday, calling them "sexist,"
according to an article in the tabloid
Aftonbladet and an Associated Press
report. Since the awards were
instituted in 1901, 3 percent of the
prizes have been awarded to women,
according to the nine critics.
"But next year we will rejoice with
the rest of the world. If all Nobel Prize
winners this year are men 'by chance,'
next year we may have only female
prize winners, also 'just by chance'.
We are looking forward to that," the
women wrote in the Aftonbladet
article.
Keating Uncertain on "Moral Certainty" Principle
By William Martin, Professor ofReligion Emeritus, Oklahoma City University; Past President,
Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and Amnesty International Group 238, OKC
ith the recent execution of Ernest Carter, Jr., in Oklahoma, the moral bankruptcy of
Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating's "moral certainty" principle is now clear for the
entire world to see.
In his remarks before the National Press Club on June 22, 2001, Keating affirmed that "life is
precious," that "it is better that nine guilty people go free than one innocent man or woman be
convicted or executed," and that it is "essential" in capital cases to "raise [the] bar" of "proof
beyond a reasonable doubt" to an even higher standard of "moral certainty."
He cited the case of Philip DeWitt Smith, for whom the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, in
a rare rejection of the Oklahoma Attorney General's constantly repeated position that a jury
decision in a capital case should be the last word, had by majority vote recommended that a
death sentence be reduced to life without parole. "Of course," he said, "a person like that you
should commute."
On November 12, 2002, after reviewing the evidence about Ernest Carter, Jr., the Board, for
the first time In several decades for a capital case, voted unanimously for clemency. Comments
by Board members at the hearing and in their written report afterwards showed serious doubt
as to Carter's guilt. Their opinion was divided on only one point: should they recommend life
without parole to the governor or a lesser sentence that would permit parole after many years?
Given that choice, Governor Keating selected neither and decided instead that Ernest Carter
had to die. On Sunday, December 15, he informed Carter's attorneys that he was rejecting the
recommendation from the board, the majority of whom were his own appointees. "I am
confident," he informed the Associated Press, "that Carter committed this murder... " (Daily
Oklahoman, December 16, 2002). The AP reporter did not record any reference to moral
certainty or even to "proof beyond a reasonable doubt." Stunned supporters of Ernest Carter,
many of whom had assumed that Keating would honor the recommendation of his board,
had little time left before his scheduled execution date, December 17. But, as early as Sunday
night, faxes, e-mails, and calls were going in to the governor's office on Carter's behalf. On
Monday and Tuesday Govemo.- Keating, a Catholic, received requests to reconsider his decision
from the Catholic Archbishop of Oklahoma City, the Catholic bishop in Tulsa, and the United
Methodist bishop for Oklahoma, along with a steady stream of other appeals from around the
state, nation, and world.
Tuesday noon, December 17, about forty persons gathered for a press conference in the
capitol rotunda near the governor's office. They heard the executive director of the Oklahoma
Conference of Churches, representatives of various denominations, persons who had lost family
members by murder, and other spokespersons appeal for a change of heart or at least for a
stay of execution, which would transfer the final decision to a new governor.
At about 12:45, over half the group moved to the reception area at the governor's office, and
about twenty signed in, requesting to see him. Throughout the afternoon various persons
repeated the request. Two of the governor's aides came out and talked at length with the
waiting citizens, but the governor himself did not appear. At about ten minutes before 5:00, the
receptionist, who had courteously received the waiting group all afternoon, brought the
information that the governor had left for the day.
He had gone out another door.
At 6:14 p.m. on his execution day Ernest Carter died in the state prison at McAlester, with
protests and vigils going on outside the prison walls, in front of the governor's mansion in
Oklahoma City, and at various Catholic churches around the state. In Oklahoma the cause of
death that appears on the death certificates for persons exearted by the state is "homicide."
Carter is the fifty-sixth person to have been executed since 1990 in the state and the seventh
in 2002. Oklahoma led the nation with eighteen state-sponsored deaths last year. Since 1973,
102 persons in 25 states have been released from death row because of proof of innocence,
according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Oklahoma is "tied with Texas for third place
in the number of innocent people exonerated, behind Florida and Illinois," the director of the
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty recently noted. Carter's death greatly increases
a growing suspicion that some possibly innocent persons may have left the state prison in body
bags rather than by walking away.
In disrussion with the citizens who waited to see their governor, one of his assistants was
asked how she would define "moral certainty." She replied that she could not define it.
Apparently the reason for her uncertainty was in an office just down the hall.
W
The Music Scene
Saint Sybil Presents: Guest Feminists, Part IV
by Jill Gamer
Ian your Groundhog Day
(February 2) now at the Blue
Door to see the Bums Sisters.
They are three musically
talented sisters who sing gorgeous
hannonies together, and their songs
range from pop, country, gospel, rock
and R& B. Wow! How can you say
no? These aren't even all the sisters
either! There are two more they used
to sing with before making their
transition to a trio, and there are 12
siblings altogether! All three of the
sisters, Jeannie, Annie and Marie each
have a CD of their own in addition to
the CDs they have released together.
They write most of their own music but
occasionally pick songs by some great
songwriters. I only have one of their
CDs, Close to Home, although I don't
know why I just have one. rve had it
for several years but I regularly pull it
out and listen to it because it
alternates between songs so pretty
they make my heart soar and songs
that' are tough and inconquerable like
Steve Van Zandt's "I Am a Patriot".
The sisters have a sense of humor,
too. Their latest song that got some
airplay on their CD, Out of the Blue, _
was "God Made Woman." "He made a
big strong man to work the land, but
he wasn't having any fun, When God
made woman, He knew his work was
done." Close to Home has "New Kind
of Old Fashioned Girl" that in a
humorous way explores the struggle
between the old view of women and
the new reality.
The Bums Sisters have a few fairly
sentimental songs that are hard to
listen to too many times, but they're
nicely balanced by songs of
detennination and love songs that
don't sink into the mire of sickening
sweetness. Their voices together are
the highlight but they're so good that I
also look forward to hearing their solo
efforts.
In reading articles about them, many
people mentioned how wonderful they
are in concert. So please, plan on
February 2nd to make it t:o see the
Bums Sisters because I think it will be
a show not to be missed.
Plus, check out their web site at
www .bumssisters.com. They give a
nice plug to the Blue Door and Greg
Johnson in their latest newsletter. See
you at the Blue Door!
S
P
.
aint Sybil continues to offer her space to gentle souls seeking to define feminism. This
month there are two guest columnists.
By Tay Claff!'.
My definition of a feminist is a woman who understands that all women are at serious risk
during every hour of every day - and she speaks out for change. We're horrified by what's
happening to women in modem societies. I'm horrified by what's happening here where
women are also the objects of terrorism. Beatings, rape and murder are reported (sometimes).
But no changes have been made to protect women, except the law against stalking, when
enforced.
Meanwhile, don't take a walk after dark. Stay in, bolt the door, and get a peephole, a
deadbolt. Cover your windows, so no one can see in. Be wary of strangers. Stay in the light,
with other people. Don't be the last one out of the building or mall. Have the security guard
walk you to your car, look in the back. Go right home. It's not much better in daylight. Why
must we live this way, without freedom of movement? What crime have we committed to be
prisoners?
It's the mostly unpublicized acts of hostility toward women that we fail to understand. They
pervade our lives. There's sexual abuse, unwanted pregnancy, S.T.D.'s. Add degradation,
humiliation, minimalization, wage slavery, lack of benefits and exclusion from opportunity and
power. Exploitation is the lot of American women.
There is currently a craze for men's prayer organizations in defense of "family values".
Fascist religious organizations are a threat to women's freedom. "Let the man be the head of
the house" (and not beat his wife with too big a stick).
A feminist knows what's cooking - and that it's likely to be her.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
By Georgie Rasco-.
Quite simply, a feminist is someone who believes everyone has the right to be who they want
to be, not what someone else expects them t:o be. As a feminist, I believe I have the right to
pursue a career, stay home and raise a family, or anything in between, as long as it is what I
want t:o do and not what society has pre-destined for me and I support the right of all other
human beings to live their own lifestyle without fear of condemnation, even if it is different from
myowr:i.
A feminist believes -woman has just as much right to be making decisions in a bOardroom as
she does making the beds in her kids' bedrooms because she recognizes the victory comes in
choosing your own destiny.
A feminist has the right to be defined in more than 25 words!!
c
. •• .
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a
•
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..
With A Little Help From Our Friends
o all the women and men out there who have sent money for Herland plumbing,
newsletter support, and for general operating expenses, we send our heartfelt thanks.
And if you still have one of our little return envelopes lying around, Herland can always
use donations, large and small, for the newsletter and general expenses. Our
community includes women of all economic levels. Some women can't afford to contribute
financial support. So if you have given more than once, a special thanks goes to you on behalf
of those who can't.
Just how much money does it take to operate Herland? How many volunteer hours? And
what has Herland done with that time and money? Every penny donated to Herland goes for
building upkeep, utilities, newsletter and services. Volunteers donate the labor and a lot of
supplies. See the details in our annual report in next month's Voice.
Speaking of volunteers, t:o those of you who work a Saturday to keep the building accessible,
do repairs, lead a hike or staff an event, we give you our heartfelt thanks. Here is what your
support means: Besides providing social events, workshops, and concerts, you help us be there
to answer questions, make referrals, provide a safe space for lesbians and others to just be
themselves, meet, read, check out
books, or buy books and music.
We are contacted often by lesbians
The Voice is published by: Herland Sister Resources, Inc. 2312
just coming out, seeking support in
NW 39th, Oklahoma City, OK 73112. The Voice is offered as
this often-difficult and lengthy
an open forum for community discourse. Articles reflect the
opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Herland
process. What? You haven't
Sister Resources. Unsolicited articles and letters to the editor
volunteered and you want to? We
are welcomed and must be signed by the writer with full name
NEED you! Please leave us your
and address. Upon request, letters or articles may be printed
name and phone number on our
under a pseudonym or anonymously. Subscriptions to The
voice mail - 521-9696. From the
Voice are free upon request although a donation is requested
Herland Board, have a great 2003.
to meet publication and distribution costs.
T
Your Voice:
Letters to the Editor
Hello, Friends "'
I was just perusing the December
issue of the Herland Voice on-line and
noticed reference to one of my favorite
works, The Yellow Wallpaper.
Unfortunately, in seeking to give high
praise, you referred to it as Charlotte
Perkins Gilman's ... seminalfeminist
work. Gaak -- You of all publications,
using a word like this -- and to
describe a feminist work, at that!
Because we all make mistakes, and
in consideration of the fact that we
feminists all have the same goal
(pointing out and putting a stop to
sexism wherever it exists), I hope you
will permit me to tell you why I object
to using that word in place of a nongender-based compliment.
First and foremost, those of us who
communicate with words know that
language has power --and the more
subtle, ingrained, and taken-forgranted it is (e.g., he being considered
a "neutral" pronoun), the more
powerful and insidious it is. Because
our long-time language habits are so
ingrained, however, a lot of things slip
past even the most conscientious of
writers. Enter Rosalie Maggio: her
wonderful books (for Or)'X Press) about
this very topic began (I believe) with
The Nonsexist Wont Finder: a dictionary ofgender-free usage (1987),
continued with The Dictionary of
Bias-Free Usage: a guide to nondiscriminatory language (1991), and
blossomed into her 436-page 1997
publication, Talking About People: a
guide to fair and accurate language. In
addition to the books' offering words in
quick-to-use dictionary form, we are
treated to exceedingly well-thoughtout guidelines and arguments for
avoiding biased language in every
imaginable instance. These books are
instructive, and even great fun, to
read!
Now, back to seminal. Maggie's
latest book describes it this way:
"because 'seminar is the adjectival
form of 'semen,' than which nothing
could be more male, the use of the
word is not only sex-linked etymologically but the way it's been used
historically tends to underscore the
notion that only men have important,
'seminar ideas. Many people are
unaffected by these associations and
use the word in its functional sense of
originative. If you want alternatives
(continued page 5)
Soulforce Seeking Your Stories
S
oulforce in Oklahoma needs your stories! As part of our ongoing direct action in
Oklahoma, we are planning a leafleting campaign to rai~ awareness of spi~itual violence
against God' gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender children. The leaflet will be
structured In terms of a series of questions. Some of the questions are the sort that makes us
cringe when we hear them, because taking the questions seriously is itself a form of spiritual
violence. Examples Include the following:
Is homosexuality a sickness?
Is homosexuality a sin?
Is homosexuality a choice?
Are homosexuals child molesters?
Are gay and lesbian relationships as meaningful as heterosexual ones?
What is the gay lifestyle?
Is there a homosexual agenda?
Does the Bible condemn homosexuality?
Our intention is to "answer" these questions with personal stories - stories that reveal just
how hurtful it is to take these questions seriously. For example, imagine that instead of
answering the question, "Are homosexuals child molesters?" with statistics and evidence, the
question is answered with the story of a lesbian mother, herself molested as a child, who h~ to
constantly be afraid that when her children bring home friends she will be thought of by their
parents as a potential child molester. Perhaps the lesbian mother is even accused, falsely, just
because she is a lesbian. Or imagine answering the question, "Is homosexuality a sickness?"
with the first-hand account of someone who has endured the pointless and harmful effects of
conversion therapy. In each case, the story demonstrates the devastating impact that follows
from taking the question seriously.
.
Not all of the questions we may include in the leaflet are in themselves hurtful. Some are
serious questions that deserve a serious answer. Examples include the following:
How are God's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender children harassed and
discriminated against?
How have God's GLBT children struggled with and reconciled i:heir faith?
What is spiritual violence?
How can I help?
Again, however, we think that
these questions can best be
answered by personal stories stories that will speak to the heart
as much as to the head, that will
help to inspire empathy and move
others to take a stand against
spiritual violence.
We invite you to take a minute
to think about these questions. If
you have a personal story that
speaks to one (or more) of these
questions, please take the time to
share it with us. Concise personal
stories that come from the heart,
that relate your experience without
passing judgment on others, are
the most helpful. With your help,
this leaflet will be a powerful
witness against the false teachings
that are so damaging to us all.
In Love and Peace,
Soulforce in Oklahoma Leafleting
Committee
www .SoulforcelnOklahoma.org
Info@SoulforcelnOklahoma.org
918-452-2761
EVENTS AT A GLANCE
January
,... Wednesday. January 1: Black-eyed peas, cornbread,
cabbage, and games at Herland, 2-4 pm
.
,... Saturday. January 4: Louise and Mary at the Jazz Lab,
100 E 5th Street in Edmond, just off the Broadway
Extension, 8pm
,... Saturdav. January 11: Herland Hike at Martin Nature
Park, 5000 W. Memorial, 10 am
,... Saturday. January 11: Womyn of Color Meeting
,... Wednesday. Janyarv 15: Hertand Book Club (at
Herland), 7 pm
,... Saturday. January 18: Mary and Louise in benefit
concert at the First Unitarian Church, NW 13th and Dewey,
7-10 pm
,... Sunday, January 19: Herland Board Meeting, 4 pm
,... Monday. January 20: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Parade, E Reno and N Lincoln, stepoff at 2 pm
,... Wednesclavs: Rally for Peace with Iraq, NW 23rc1 and
Classen, 4-5 pm
,... Saturdays: Rally for Peace with Iraq, NW Expressway
and Penn, noon-1 pm
Fel7ruary
,... Saturday. February 22: Herland Winter Wonderland
Hike in Wichita Mountains
,... Saturday. February 22: Luncheon celebrating 60 years
of women's service In the Marine Corps. Details in next
month's Voice.
Letter to the Editor (continued)
National Organization Challenges Discriminatory Laws
consider genninal, genninative,
creative, original, inventive, innovative,
primary, primal, primordial, prototypal,
prototypical, exemplary, fresh, novel,
unprecedented, precedent-setting,
pivotal, first of its kind, initial, earliest,
unorthodox, nonconfonning, unconventional, rudimentary, inceptive, fundamental, source, productive, catalytic,
influential, far-reaching, potential,
possible, probably, likely, unrealized."
Lots to choose from, Grrls; we don't
need to keep using those boy-tenns!
Meanwhile, keep up your wonderful,
genninative, creative, original, inventive, innovative, exemplary, fresh,
novel, unprecedented, precedentsetting, pivotal, unorthodox, nonconfonning, unconventional, inceptive,
productive, catalytic, influential,
far-reaching (etc!), work!
Brava! Best wishes, one and all! Rena
he National Center for Lesbian .Rights (~CLR) - "is a progressive, feminist, multicultural
legal center devoted to advancing the rights and safety of lesbians and their families.
. . . ~ey are committed to creating a world in which all lesbians live freely, without fear of
d1scnmm_at1~n. N~LR also recognizes the oppression and marginalization of other groups in our
community mcludmg gay men, bisexuals and transgender individuals. Through direct litigation
and advocacy NCLR works to change discriminatory laws and to create new laws and policies
benefiting lesbians and other oppressed members of the queer community.
Since 19n NCLR has been at the forefront of historic litigation of lesbian child custody and
same-sex adoption cases. NCLR currently focuses on areas of child custody and visitation
adoption, alternative insemination, same-gender marriage, domestic partnership, immlgr~tion
and asylum, and youth. NCLR is national in scope. With the assistance of our network of
volu~teer attorneys, and the financial support of members in all fifty states, we serve thousands
of clients every year across the United States.
Attorney Kate Kendell is the Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights
(NCLR). Kendell claims that, "The current climate facing lesbians is a dangerous one. While we
are greater in number than ever before, so too are those opposed to our equality. Each stride
we make toward securing our civil rights spurs a hostile, and at times dangerous, response. The
best defense against such well organized and particularly well funded actions is systematic legal
challenges to change such discrimination." Some of their projects are:
moc responds: Uh-oh, my bad! I knew
it was wrong when I wrote it, and that
people would object - I didn't want to
use "ovarlal" and was too lazy to think
of dne of the many great words Rena
offered. Here's to non-sexist
language! Thanks, Rena, for keeping
us on <YJr toes.
•
Classifieds
•
•
Work Wanted: Hanclywoman looking for
extra work. Will barter for necessities.
can Laura at 664-7736.
For Sale: Select Comfort Queen Bed.
Only 3 months old. $800. can Ginger at
942-1535.
Website of Interest:
www.erubooks.com
This is a site for unusual books, and
it should be especially interesting for
the many of us who have our own
novels we're having a hard time getting published! Eru Books was founded
as an outlet for strong women's fiction
with an emphasis on the edgy, controversial, and progressive. They currently
publish suspense, thriller, and horror
novels. Subject matter varies but each
work in some way attempts to challenge readers to think critically and reexamine their own political, global, and
spiritual perceptions. They are not
your typical feminist press and like to
produce mainstream fiction that will
appeal to all women who believe a
woman's place Is wherever she wants
it to be."
T
•
•
•
Family Law Project. securing legal recognition of same-sex couples
(marriage rights, civil unions, domestic partner benefits, partnership protection
documents), and LGBT parents (child custody, second-parent adoption, guardianship,
pre-birth decrees, visitation, alternative insemination, child support);
Youth Project. providing legal representation, advocacy, infonnation and support on
behalf of LGBT youth who suffer discrimination or abuse In the mental health, child
welfare, criminal justice and education systems;
Immigration/Asylum Project. providing legal representation, support, assistance and
community education to LGBT immigrants, and advocating for equitable Immigration
and asylum laws and policies;
Elder Law Project. providing public education and workshops on issues of special
concern to LGBT elders, including Social Security, domestic partner benefits, estate
planning, and health issues;
Homophobia In Sports Project providing legal resources to LGBT college and
professional athletes, coaches, and sports personnel;
Transgender Law Project. a special project, funded by the Pride Law Fund's Tom Steel
Fell~wship, providing free legal advice to San Francisco's transgender community, and
seminars .for Bay Area lawyers on discrimination issues specific to transgender people.
National Center for Lesbian Rights have a legal advice and counseling phone line for
Their newsletter includes updates on lesbian rights and the NCLR court cases. They
can be contacted at www.NCLRights.org
mem~rs.
Thanks to our Official Plumbing & Building Repair Angels!
Victoria Falls Angels
Bridal Veil Falls Angels
Equal! at Lucent Technologies
Gail & Edie, Jan Reed, In honor of Mary Reynolds,
In honor of Theila Elliott, calico 626,
Elaine Barton, Mary Lane & Steven Davis,
Damron Women's Traveler,
Sally Blevins & Georgie Rasco
Anonymous (2)
Angel Falls Angels
Karen Lewis
Niagara Falls Angels
Diane Brandmiller, Barbara Hillyer,
Darnell Bacher Family, Jean Kelsey,
Jean's Plumbing, Ginger McGovern,
Gustav Friedrich & Erena Rae,
Dee Butler, Janet McHard,
Pat Reaves, A Fallen Angel,
Dan Hardt & Joe Kirk,
In honor of Paula Jo (Pepper) Leech,
Anonymous (4),
Allison Blanchard, M.D.
Turner Falls Angels
Larry & Juliane Littlefield, Diane E. Weaver,
5ue Hill, Margaret Cox, Lisa Thurman,
Suzanne Pharr, Jo L. Soske, Donna Roy,
Janis Heer, Amy Quate & Dana Townson,
In honor of Laura Oloate, Nancy Scott,
In honor of Katherine Moore,
La Rue St.arr & Deborah LaPrairie, .
Anonymous (5)
Herland Sister Resources
2312 NW 39t11 Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
NonProfit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oklahoma City, OK
Permit No. 861
Address Service Requested
REBECCA R. HOLT, Ph.D.
Tulia Irwin, M.D .. P.C.
Clinical Psychology
(405) 321-2148
Psychiatrist
Box 5119
Norman, OK 73070
Individuals - Couples
Family Therapy, Retreats
DOROTHY E. HEIM
Attorney at Law
(405) 691-4949
dheim033@yahoo.com
Call me with your legal questions:
estate planning
personal injury
contract issues
small business
Doctor's Park
500 East Robinson, Suite 600
Norman, OK 73071
(405) 321-3719
Young
And Oldn Adults
DEE BUTLER
Realtor Associate
ATEAM 495-8326
For all your Real Estate Needs
4521 NW 441h Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73122
405/524-2991 Home
405/202-2136 Cell
405/495-8325 Fax
-
··:·:·:··:::·:··:-:··=-··
.·.·.·,·.·.·.·,·,·;'.:·,·,·.·,·,·.·,·.·,·.·.·.·,·.·.·.·,·,·,·.·,·,·.·_,,.,,.,•,·.·.·.·.·,·,•_,,.,·.·.·.·.·o.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·,·,•.·,·.-,·.···•··················································•o.·.·,·.-.·.:.·,·.·.·.·.1•••'-'•'•'•'•'•'•",:.·,·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·,·.·.·.·.·,·.•.·.·.·.·...-...·.·.·,u .·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·o.·.·.;.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.:.·;.·,·.·" ·'•'•'•'•'•' •'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'" •'•'•"•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•'•' •'•'-' •' •'•' •'•'•'•'•'•'
January 2003
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Parade & Festivities
T
he annual Martin Luther King,
Jr. multicultural dialogue will be
·
held Sunday evening,
January 19, at Temple B'nai Israel,
4901 N. Pennsylvania. Pizza will be
served at 6:30 pm followed by the
program at 7:00pm. Dr. Eric Anthony
Joseph, Chaplain at Langston
University, will be the program's
featured speaker and a reception will
follow. The evening is free although
donations will be accepted.
Two marches are planned for
MQnday, January 20. The first is a
silent march, which steps off at 9:30
am from the Ralph Ellison Library, NE
23rd and Martin Luther King Boulevard.
This march will proceed to the State
H!stcr!ca! BuHd!~g at the Capito!
Complex for a bell ringing ceremony
with Governor Brad Henry at
11:00am.
The main parade lines up at Reno
and Lincoln in the Bricktown area at
noon. This parade steps off at 2 pm,
and proceeds to NE 2nd and Walnut.
If you would like to march with the
Hertand contingent and carry the banner, meet at Herland on Monday at
noon to carpool to Bricktown.
Herland Hikes
T
he Herland Hiking Group is
planning an overnight Winter
Wonderland Trip to the Wichita
Mountains National Wildlife Refuge,
near Lawton, on the weekend of
Saturday, February 22nd. The refuge
is home to bison, elk, deer, as well as
many other fauna Details about
lodging and camping facilities will
follow in next month's Voice or are
available by e- mailing the hike leader,
Jane Fenton, at fjane@okstate.edu.
And don't miss this month's hike at
Martin Nature Park, 5000 W. Memorial
on January 11, 10 am. Optional coffee
gathering at Panera's (Memorial &
Meridian) at 9:30 am.
Volume 21, Number 1
GLBT Town Hall Meeting
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Persons - and their families, friends and supporters in the Oklahoma City area will convene as "GayOKC.com Presents: The State of Our Community
- A Town Hall Meeting" at 7 pm, Monday, January 27, 2003 at Epworth United Methodist
Church, 1901 N. Douglas
Avenue, Oklahoma City. The
"town hall meeting" will consist
Herland Supper Club
of a review of the events in
Oklahoma City's GLBT
Saturday, January 11, 6:00 pm
Community in 2002 and a panel
at La Luna's Mexican Cafe
discussion of the impact of those
409
W. Reno in Oklahoma City
events on the Community.
followed by
The panel discussion will
feature representatives of a
Carpenter Square Theatre's
cross-section of Oklahoma City's
Romance in D at 8:00 pm
GLBT Community. Scheduled
at
Stage
Center, 400 W. Sheridan
panelists and guests currently
include Phillippe Beaudette and
Jim Craig - Church of the Open
Join the supper club this month for some great
Arms ministry team; Joann Bell Mexican food at La Luna's followed by Romance in D.
ACLU of Oklahoma P.xecutive
u ro..-.arrtic comedy. Show tickets are $12.50 and ;;.ay
director; Michael Coffman be purchased that evening or by calling the box office
recent graduate of Oklahoma
at
232-6500. Those wishing to carpool should meet at
Christian University; Jacqueline
Herland at 5:30 pm.
Gatewood - Womyn Of Color
(support group for Lesbian
African-Americans); Ginger
McGovern - Hertand Sister
New Year·s Day Celebration
Resources past chairperson;
Don't take any chances - start your year off with the
Mike Maus - counselor, The
best company around. Join the Herland folks for blackCenter; Tess Mandeville - pastor,
eyed peas, cornbread, and cabbage on New Year's Day
cathedral of Hope OKC; Rachel
from 2-4 pm. Bring a potluck dish for sharing or games.
Morse - GLBT caucus chair,
Young Democrats of America;
Joe Quigley - openly-gay OKC public school teacher; Phillip Roulain - OKC Two-Spirit Society
(support group for Gay & Lesbian Native-Americans); Heidi Ruster - carePoint executive
director; Paula Schonauer - writer for the Gayly Oklahoman, transgender activist, ordained
minister, Gulf War veteran, Oklahoma City police officer; Paul Thompson - Oklahoma Gay and
Lesbian Political caucus male co-chair; Jean Ann Van Krevelen - RAIN executive director; and
Billie Walsh - Central Oklahoma Transgender Alliance.
The "year in review" portion of the meeting will feature
actual participants of some of the events of the past
WEBSfTE OF THE MONTH
year. Audience members will also be invited to join in
www. nclrights. org
the discussion. Additional information about this event
is available on GayOKC.com at www.gayokc.com/
state2003.htm.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Womyn of Color Meeting
The next meeting will be Saturday, January 11, 2003. Details are uncertain as we go to press;
please email womynofcolor@gay.com or call 842-3464 or 947-7691 for more info.
www.herlandsiste-rs-.-org--------H-erl..,..aa...nd....,,.........,,Si.,....ster----Reso--ur-c-es-,-2--3--1--2---N.,....W-3--9-,-Old-a....,h-oma--City-,-OK--7-31_1_2------40-S---52_1_-9_69_6
Bookstore hours: S.turdltys 1-5 pm
Email: het1anclsisters@cox.net
I
Child Care Tax Credits
Don't Work
From Women'.S' £news
Most corporations decline available
state financial aid that would help
employees find and pay for child care,
according to a new review of state
child care tax credits. Twenty-eight
states offer tax credits to companies
that provide on-site child care or help
employees find or pay for off-site care.
The National Women's Law Center
reviewed 20 states and found that in
five states, no companies claimed the
credits and in 11 others fewer than six
did.
The law center argued that the
credits do not work because most
corporations pay little state tax to
begin with, and so tax breaks do not
operate as effective incentives. More
than 90 percent of companies in the
states studied did not have enough tax
liability to take full advantage of the
credit.
Most women with children--about 79
percent of women with children over
the age of 6 and 65 percent of women
with children under age 6--work
outside the home. Many of those
women are in need of paid childcare,
which is often expensive and difficult
to find, the report said.
The report's authors argue that the
tax credits, which were enacted in the
1980s and 1990s, take money away
from more effective childcare
assistance programs. This tax year will
be the first year that corporations may
claim a new federal tax credit for
assisting employees with childcare. No
data is available on the effectiveness of
the federal program, but the study
authors argue that up to 98 percent of
companies will not have sufficient tax
liability to take advantage of the
aedits.
No Nobel Prize
No women received Nobel prizes this
past month when the 2002 winners
were presented with their awards in
Sweden and Norway. Nine Swedish
women writers and academics issued a
public criticism of the Nobel prizes on
Tuesday, calling them "sexist,"
according to an article in the tabloid
Aftonbladet and an Associated Press
report. Since the awards were
instituted in 1901, 3 percent of the
prizes have been awarded to women,
according to the nine critics.
"But next year we will rejoice with
the rest of the world. If all Nobel Prize
winners this year are men 'by chance,'
next year we may have only female
prize winners, also 'just by chance'.
We are looking forward to that," the
women wrote in the Aftonbladet
article.
Keating Uncertain on "Moral Certainty" Principle
By William Martin, Professor ofReligion Emeritus, Oklahoma City University; Past President,
Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and Amnesty International Group 238, OKC
ith the recent execution of Ernest Carter, Jr., in Oklahoma, the moral bankruptcy of
Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating's "moral certainty" principle is now clear for the
entire world to see.
In his remarks before the National Press Club on June 22, 2001, Keating affirmed that "life is
precious," that "it is better that nine guilty people go free than one innocent man or woman be
convicted or executed," and that it is "essential" in capital cases to "raise [the] bar" of "proof
beyond a reasonable doubt" to an even higher standard of "moral certainty."
He cited the case of Philip DeWitt Smith, for whom the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, in
a rare rejection of the Oklahoma Attorney General's constantly repeated position that a jury
decision in a capital case should be the last word, had by majority vote recommended that a
death sentence be reduced to life without parole. "Of course," he said, "a person like that you
should commute."
On November 12, 2002, after reviewing the evidence about Ernest Carter, Jr., the Board, for
the first time In several decades for a capital case, voted unanimously for clemency. Comments
by Board members at the hearing and in their written report afterwards showed serious doubt
as to Carter's guilt. Their opinion was divided on only one point: should they recommend life
without parole to the governor or a lesser sentence that would permit parole after many years?
Given that choice, Governor Keating selected neither and decided instead that Ernest Carter
had to die. On Sunday, December 15, he informed Carter's attorneys that he was rejecting the
recommendation from the board, the majority of whom were his own appointees. "I am
confident," he informed the Associated Press, "that Carter committed this murder... " (Daily
Oklahoman, December 16, 2002). The AP reporter did not record any reference to moral
certainty or even to "proof beyond a reasonable doubt." Stunned supporters of Ernest Carter,
many of whom had assumed that Keating would honor the recommendation of his board,
had little time left before his scheduled execution date, December 17. But, as early as Sunday
night, faxes, e-mails, and calls were going in to the governor's office on Carter's behalf. On
Monday and Tuesday Govemo.- Keating, a Catholic, received requests to reconsider his decision
from the Catholic Archbishop of Oklahoma City, the Catholic bishop in Tulsa, and the United
Methodist bishop for Oklahoma, along with a steady stream of other appeals from around the
state, nation, and world.
Tuesday noon, December 17, about forty persons gathered for a press conference in the
capitol rotunda near the governor's office. They heard the executive director of the Oklahoma
Conference of Churches, representatives of various denominations, persons who had lost family
members by murder, and other spokespersons appeal for a change of heart or at least for a
stay of execution, which would transfer the final decision to a new governor.
At about 12:45, over half the group moved to the reception area at the governor's office, and
about twenty signed in, requesting to see him. Throughout the afternoon various persons
repeated the request. Two of the governor's aides came out and talked at length with the
waiting citizens, but the governor himself did not appear. At about ten minutes before 5:00, the
receptionist, who had courteously received the waiting group all afternoon, brought the
information that the governor had left for the day.
He had gone out another door.
At 6:14 p.m. on his execution day Ernest Carter died in the state prison at McAlester, with
protests and vigils going on outside the prison walls, in front of the governor's mansion in
Oklahoma City, and at various Catholic churches around the state. In Oklahoma the cause of
death that appears on the death certificates for persons exearted by the state is "homicide."
Carter is the fifty-sixth person to have been executed since 1990 in the state and the seventh
in 2002. Oklahoma led the nation with eighteen state-sponsored deaths last year. Since 1973,
102 persons in 25 states have been released from death row because of proof of innocence,
according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Oklahoma is "tied with Texas for third place
in the number of innocent people exonerated, behind Florida and Illinois," the director of the
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty recently noted. Carter's death greatly increases
a growing suspicion that some possibly innocent persons may have left the state prison in body
bags rather than by walking away.
In disrussion with the citizens who waited to see their governor, one of his assistants was
asked how she would define "moral certainty." She replied that she could not define it.
Apparently the reason for her uncertainty was in an office just down the hall.
W
The Music Scene
Saint Sybil Presents: Guest Feminists, Part IV
by Jill Gamer
Ian your Groundhog Day
(February 2) now at the Blue
Door to see the Bums Sisters.
They are three musically
talented sisters who sing gorgeous
hannonies together, and their songs
range from pop, country, gospel, rock
and R& B. Wow! How can you say
no? These aren't even all the sisters
either! There are two more they used
to sing with before making their
transition to a trio, and there are 12
siblings altogether! All three of the
sisters, Jeannie, Annie and Marie each
have a CD of their own in addition to
the CDs they have released together.
They write most of their own music but
occasionally pick songs by some great
songwriters. I only have one of their
CDs, Close to Home, although I don't
know why I just have one. rve had it
for several years but I regularly pull it
out and listen to it because it
alternates between songs so pretty
they make my heart soar and songs
that' are tough and inconquerable like
Steve Van Zandt's "I Am a Patriot".
The sisters have a sense of humor,
too. Their latest song that got some
airplay on their CD, Out of the Blue, _
was "God Made Woman." "He made a
big strong man to work the land, but
he wasn't having any fun, When God
made woman, He knew his work was
done." Close to Home has "New Kind
of Old Fashioned Girl" that in a
humorous way explores the struggle
between the old view of women and
the new reality.
The Bums Sisters have a few fairly
sentimental songs that are hard to
listen to too many times, but they're
nicely balanced by songs of
detennination and love songs that
don't sink into the mire of sickening
sweetness. Their voices together are
the highlight but they're so good that I
also look forward to hearing their solo
efforts.
In reading articles about them, many
people mentioned how wonderful they
are in concert. So please, plan on
February 2nd to make it t:o see the
Bums Sisters because I think it will be
a show not to be missed.
Plus, check out their web site at
www .bumssisters.com. They give a
nice plug to the Blue Door and Greg
Johnson in their latest newsletter. See
you at the Blue Door!
S
P
.
aint Sybil continues to offer her space to gentle souls seeking to define feminism. This
month there are two guest columnists.
By Tay Claff!'.
My definition of a feminist is a woman who understands that all women are at serious risk
during every hour of every day - and she speaks out for change. We're horrified by what's
happening to women in modem societies. I'm horrified by what's happening here where
women are also the objects of terrorism. Beatings, rape and murder are reported (sometimes).
But no changes have been made to protect women, except the law against stalking, when
enforced.
Meanwhile, don't take a walk after dark. Stay in, bolt the door, and get a peephole, a
deadbolt. Cover your windows, so no one can see in. Be wary of strangers. Stay in the light,
with other people. Don't be the last one out of the building or mall. Have the security guard
walk you to your car, look in the back. Go right home. It's not much better in daylight. Why
must we live this way, without freedom of movement? What crime have we committed to be
prisoners?
It's the mostly unpublicized acts of hostility toward women that we fail to understand. They
pervade our lives. There's sexual abuse, unwanted pregnancy, S.T.D.'s. Add degradation,
humiliation, minimalization, wage slavery, lack of benefits and exclusion from opportunity and
power. Exploitation is the lot of American women.
There is currently a craze for men's prayer organizations in defense of "family values".
Fascist religious organizations are a threat to women's freedom. "Let the man be the head of
the house" (and not beat his wife with too big a stick).
A feminist knows what's cooking - and that it's likely to be her.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
By Georgie Rasco-.
Quite simply, a feminist is someone who believes everyone has the right to be who they want
to be, not what someone else expects them t:o be. As a feminist, I believe I have the right to
pursue a career, stay home and raise a family, or anything in between, as long as it is what I
want t:o do and not what society has pre-destined for me and I support the right of all other
human beings to live their own lifestyle without fear of condemnation, even if it is different from
myowr:i.
A feminist believes -woman has just as much right to be making decisions in a bOardroom as
she does making the beds in her kids' bedrooms because she recognizes the victory comes in
choosing your own destiny.
A feminist has the right to be defined in more than 25 words!!
c
. •• .
.• •
a
•
.
..
With A Little Help From Our Friends
o all the women and men out there who have sent money for Herland plumbing,
newsletter support, and for general operating expenses, we send our heartfelt thanks.
And if you still have one of our little return envelopes lying around, Herland can always
use donations, large and small, for the newsletter and general expenses. Our
community includes women of all economic levels. Some women can't afford to contribute
financial support. So if you have given more than once, a special thanks goes to you on behalf
of those who can't.
Just how much money does it take to operate Herland? How many volunteer hours? And
what has Herland done with that time and money? Every penny donated to Herland goes for
building upkeep, utilities, newsletter and services. Volunteers donate the labor and a lot of
supplies. See the details in our annual report in next month's Voice.
Speaking of volunteers, t:o those of you who work a Saturday to keep the building accessible,
do repairs, lead a hike or staff an event, we give you our heartfelt thanks. Here is what your
support means: Besides providing social events, workshops, and concerts, you help us be there
to answer questions, make referrals, provide a safe space for lesbians and others to just be
themselves, meet, read, check out
books, or buy books and music.
We are contacted often by lesbians
The Voice is published by: Herland Sister Resources, Inc. 2312
just coming out, seeking support in
NW 39th, Oklahoma City, OK 73112. The Voice is offered as
this often-difficult and lengthy
an open forum for community discourse. Articles reflect the
opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Herland
process. What? You haven't
Sister Resources. Unsolicited articles and letters to the editor
volunteered and you want to? We
are welcomed and must be signed by the writer with full name
NEED you! Please leave us your
and address. Upon request, letters or articles may be printed
name and phone number on our
under a pseudonym or anonymously. Subscriptions to The
voice mail - 521-9696. From the
Voice are free upon request although a donation is requested
Herland Board, have a great 2003.
to meet publication and distribution costs.
T
Your Voice:
Letters to the Editor
Hello, Friends "'
I was just perusing the December
issue of the Herland Voice on-line and
noticed reference to one of my favorite
works, The Yellow Wallpaper.
Unfortunately, in seeking to give high
praise, you referred to it as Charlotte
Perkins Gilman's ... seminalfeminist
work. Gaak -- You of all publications,
using a word like this -- and to
describe a feminist work, at that!
Because we all make mistakes, and
in consideration of the fact that we
feminists all have the same goal
(pointing out and putting a stop to
sexism wherever it exists), I hope you
will permit me to tell you why I object
to using that word in place of a nongender-based compliment.
First and foremost, those of us who
communicate with words know that
language has power --and the more
subtle, ingrained, and taken-forgranted it is (e.g., he being considered
a "neutral" pronoun), the more
powerful and insidious it is. Because
our long-time language habits are so
ingrained, however, a lot of things slip
past even the most conscientious of
writers. Enter Rosalie Maggio: her
wonderful books (for Or)'X Press) about
this very topic began (I believe) with
The Nonsexist Wont Finder: a dictionary ofgender-free usage (1987),
continued with The Dictionary of
Bias-Free Usage: a guide to nondiscriminatory language (1991), and
blossomed into her 436-page 1997
publication, Talking About People: a
guide to fair and accurate language. In
addition to the books' offering words in
quick-to-use dictionary form, we are
treated to exceedingly well-thoughtout guidelines and arguments for
avoiding biased language in every
imaginable instance. These books are
instructive, and even great fun, to
read!
Now, back to seminal. Maggie's
latest book describes it this way:
"because 'seminar is the adjectival
form of 'semen,' than which nothing
could be more male, the use of the
word is not only sex-linked etymologically but the way it's been used
historically tends to underscore the
notion that only men have important,
'seminar ideas. Many people are
unaffected by these associations and
use the word in its functional sense of
originative. If you want alternatives
(continued page 5)
Soulforce Seeking Your Stories
S
oulforce in Oklahoma needs your stories! As part of our ongoing direct action in
Oklahoma, we are planning a leafleting campaign to rai~ awareness of spi~itual violence
against God' gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender children. The leaflet will be
structured In terms of a series of questions. Some of the questions are the sort that makes us
cringe when we hear them, because taking the questions seriously is itself a form of spiritual
violence. Examples Include the following:
Is homosexuality a sickness?
Is homosexuality a sin?
Is homosexuality a choice?
Are homosexuals child molesters?
Are gay and lesbian relationships as meaningful as heterosexual ones?
What is the gay lifestyle?
Is there a homosexual agenda?
Does the Bible condemn homosexuality?
Our intention is to "answer" these questions with personal stories - stories that reveal just
how hurtful it is to take these questions seriously. For example, imagine that instead of
answering the question, "Are homosexuals child molesters?" with statistics and evidence, the
question is answered with the story of a lesbian mother, herself molested as a child, who h~ to
constantly be afraid that when her children bring home friends she will be thought of by their
parents as a potential child molester. Perhaps the lesbian mother is even accused, falsely, just
because she is a lesbian. Or imagine answering the question, "Is homosexuality a sickness?"
with the first-hand account of someone who has endured the pointless and harmful effects of
conversion therapy. In each case, the story demonstrates the devastating impact that follows
from taking the question seriously.
.
Not all of the questions we may include in the leaflet are in themselves hurtful. Some are
serious questions that deserve a serious answer. Examples include the following:
How are God's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender children harassed and
discriminated against?
How have God's GLBT children struggled with and reconciled i:heir faith?
What is spiritual violence?
How can I help?
Again, however, we think that
these questions can best be
answered by personal stories stories that will speak to the heart
as much as to the head, that will
help to inspire empathy and move
others to take a stand against
spiritual violence.
We invite you to take a minute
to think about these questions. If
you have a personal story that
speaks to one (or more) of these
questions, please take the time to
share it with us. Concise personal
stories that come from the heart,
that relate your experience without
passing judgment on others, are
the most helpful. With your help,
this leaflet will be a powerful
witness against the false teachings
that are so damaging to us all.
In Love and Peace,
Soulforce in Oklahoma Leafleting
Committee
www .SoulforcelnOklahoma.org
Info@SoulforcelnOklahoma.org
918-452-2761
EVENTS AT A GLANCE
January
,... Wednesday. January 1: Black-eyed peas, cornbread,
cabbage, and games at Herland, 2-4 pm
.
,... Saturday. January 4: Louise and Mary at the Jazz Lab,
100 E 5th Street in Edmond, just off the Broadway
Extension, 8pm
,... Saturdav. January 11: Herland Hike at Martin Nature
Park, 5000 W. Memorial, 10 am
,... Saturday. January 11: Womyn of Color Meeting
,... Wednesday. Janyarv 15: Hertand Book Club (at
Herland), 7 pm
,... Saturday. January 18: Mary and Louise in benefit
concert at the First Unitarian Church, NW 13th and Dewey,
7-10 pm
,... Sunday, January 19: Herland Board Meeting, 4 pm
,... Monday. January 20: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Parade, E Reno and N Lincoln, stepoff at 2 pm
,... Wednesclavs: Rally for Peace with Iraq, NW 23rc1 and
Classen, 4-5 pm
,... Saturdays: Rally for Peace with Iraq, NW Expressway
and Penn, noon-1 pm
Fel7ruary
,... Saturday. February 22: Herland Winter Wonderland
Hike in Wichita Mountains
,... Saturday. February 22: Luncheon celebrating 60 years
of women's service In the Marine Corps. Details in next
month's Voice.
Letter to the Editor (continued)
National Organization Challenges Discriminatory Laws
consider genninal, genninative,
creative, original, inventive, innovative,
primary, primal, primordial, prototypal,
prototypical, exemplary, fresh, novel,
unprecedented, precedent-setting,
pivotal, first of its kind, initial, earliest,
unorthodox, nonconfonning, unconventional, rudimentary, inceptive, fundamental, source, productive, catalytic,
influential, far-reaching, potential,
possible, probably, likely, unrealized."
Lots to choose from, Grrls; we don't
need to keep using those boy-tenns!
Meanwhile, keep up your wonderful,
genninative, creative, original, inventive, innovative, exemplary, fresh,
novel, unprecedented, precedentsetting, pivotal, unorthodox, nonconfonning, unconventional, inceptive,
productive, catalytic, influential,
far-reaching (etc!), work!
Brava! Best wishes, one and all! Rena
he National Center for Lesbian .Rights (~CLR) - "is a progressive, feminist, multicultural
legal center devoted to advancing the rights and safety of lesbians and their families.
. . . ~ey are committed to creating a world in which all lesbians live freely, without fear of
d1scnmm_at1~n. N~LR also recognizes the oppression and marginalization of other groups in our
community mcludmg gay men, bisexuals and transgender individuals. Through direct litigation
and advocacy NCLR works to change discriminatory laws and to create new laws and policies
benefiting lesbians and other oppressed members of the queer community.
Since 19n NCLR has been at the forefront of historic litigation of lesbian child custody and
same-sex adoption cases. NCLR currently focuses on areas of child custody and visitation
adoption, alternative insemination, same-gender marriage, domestic partnership, immlgr~tion
and asylum, and youth. NCLR is national in scope. With the assistance of our network of
volu~teer attorneys, and the financial support of members in all fifty states, we serve thousands
of clients every year across the United States.
Attorney Kate Kendell is the Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights
(NCLR). Kendell claims that, "The current climate facing lesbians is a dangerous one. While we
are greater in number than ever before, so too are those opposed to our equality. Each stride
we make toward securing our civil rights spurs a hostile, and at times dangerous, response. The
best defense against such well organized and particularly well funded actions is systematic legal
challenges to change such discrimination." Some of their projects are:
moc responds: Uh-oh, my bad! I knew
it was wrong when I wrote it, and that
people would object - I didn't want to
use "ovarlal" and was too lazy to think
of dne of the many great words Rena
offered. Here's to non-sexist
language! Thanks, Rena, for keeping
us on <YJr toes.
•
Classifieds
•
•
Work Wanted: Hanclywoman looking for
extra work. Will barter for necessities.
can Laura at 664-7736.
For Sale: Select Comfort Queen Bed.
Only 3 months old. $800. can Ginger at
942-1535.
Website of Interest:
www.erubooks.com
This is a site for unusual books, and
it should be especially interesting for
the many of us who have our own
novels we're having a hard time getting published! Eru Books was founded
as an outlet for strong women's fiction
with an emphasis on the edgy, controversial, and progressive. They currently
publish suspense, thriller, and horror
novels. Subject matter varies but each
work in some way attempts to challenge readers to think critically and reexamine their own political, global, and
spiritual perceptions. They are not
your typical feminist press and like to
produce mainstream fiction that will
appeal to all women who believe a
woman's place Is wherever she wants
it to be."
T
•
•
•
Family Law Project. securing legal recognition of same-sex couples
(marriage rights, civil unions, domestic partner benefits, partnership protection
documents), and LGBT parents (child custody, second-parent adoption, guardianship,
pre-birth decrees, visitation, alternative insemination, child support);
Youth Project. providing legal representation, advocacy, infonnation and support on
behalf of LGBT youth who suffer discrimination or abuse In the mental health, child
welfare, criminal justice and education systems;
Immigration/Asylum Project. providing legal representation, support, assistance and
community education to LGBT immigrants, and advocating for equitable Immigration
and asylum laws and policies;
Elder Law Project. providing public education and workshops on issues of special
concern to LGBT elders, including Social Security, domestic partner benefits, estate
planning, and health issues;
Homophobia In Sports Project providing legal resources to LGBT college and
professional athletes, coaches, and sports personnel;
Transgender Law Project. a special project, funded by the Pride Law Fund's Tom Steel
Fell~wship, providing free legal advice to San Francisco's transgender community, and
seminars .for Bay Area lawyers on discrimination issues specific to transgender people.
National Center for Lesbian Rights have a legal advice and counseling phone line for
Their newsletter includes updates on lesbian rights and the NCLR court cases. They
can be contacted at www.NCLRights.org
mem~rs.
Thanks to our Official Plumbing & Building Repair Angels!
Victoria Falls Angels
Bridal Veil Falls Angels
Equal! at Lucent Technologies
Gail & Edie, Jan Reed, In honor of Mary Reynolds,
In honor of Theila Elliott, calico 626,
Elaine Barton, Mary Lane & Steven Davis,
Damron Women's Traveler,
Sally Blevins & Georgie Rasco
Anonymous (2)
Angel Falls Angels
Karen Lewis
Niagara Falls Angels
Diane Brandmiller, Barbara Hillyer,
Darnell Bacher Family, Jean Kelsey,
Jean's Plumbing, Ginger McGovern,
Gustav Friedrich & Erena Rae,
Dee Butler, Janet McHard,
Pat Reaves, A Fallen Angel,
Dan Hardt & Joe Kirk,
In honor of Paula Jo (Pepper) Leech,
Anonymous (4),
Allison Blanchard, M.D.
Turner Falls Angels
Larry & Juliane Littlefield, Diane E. Weaver,
5ue Hill, Margaret Cox, Lisa Thurman,
Suzanne Pharr, Jo L. Soske, Donna Roy,
Janis Heer, Amy Quate & Dana Townson,
In honor of Laura Oloate, Nancy Scott,
In honor of Katherine Moore,
La Rue St.arr & Deborah LaPrairie, .
Anonymous (5)
Herland Sister Resources
2312 NW 39t11 Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
NonProfit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oklahoma City, OK
Permit No. 861
Address Service Requested
REBECCA R. HOLT, Ph.D.
Tulia Irwin, M.D .. P.C.
Clinical Psychology
(405) 321-2148
Psychiatrist
Box 5119
Norman, OK 73070
Individuals - Couples
Family Therapy, Retreats
DOROTHY E. HEIM
Attorney at Law
(405) 691-4949
dheim033@yahoo.com
Call me with your legal questions:
estate planning
personal injury
contract issues
small business
Doctor's Park
500 East Robinson, Suite 600
Norman, OK 73071
(405) 321-3719
Young
And Oldn Adults
DEE BUTLER
Realtor Associate
ATEAM 495-8326
For all your Real Estate Needs
4521 NW 441h Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73122
405/524-2991 Home
405/202-2136 Cell
405/495-8325 Fax
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