The Herland Voice : v.9: no.12(1992)
- Title
- The Herland Voice : v.9: no.12(1992)
- 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
- 1992-12
- Rights
- All rights reserved by Herland Sister Resources. Contact UCO Archives & Special Collections for the permission policy on the use, reproduction or distribution of these materials.
- Is Part Of
- Herland Voice
- Creator
- Herland Sister Resources
- Date
- 2017-09-02T17:03:05Z
- Date Available
- 2017-09-02T17:03:05Z
- Subject
- Oklahoma
- Type
- application/pdf
- extracted text
-
OKLAHOMANS . OBSERVE
WORLD
Al DS
CONCERNED Aeou:r PRIVACY
DAY
AND EQUAL PROTECTION
On December 1st, World AIDS Day, a coalition of AIDS
service organizations will sponsor a candlelight program and
march to the Governor's mansion. The purpose of this event is to
remember the loved ones we have lost to AIDS and to protest the
decision of Governor Walters and DHS Head, Terry Childers, to
cut off the life-savings drugs of 250 Oklahomans with AIDS.
The event will begin at 5 :30 P.M . on the south steps of the
state capitol. There will be a brief program with music and
speakers. Those gathered will then fonn a procession and march
to the Governor's mansion.
All Oklahomans who are concerned about this issue are
invited to attend. Parents, grandparents, friends, church care
teams, and other loved ones are expected to be represented in the
gathering. This will be a peaceful, reverent protest by many
individuals and groups. Sponsoring organizations include:
ACT-UP Oklahoma City, Herland Sister Resources, RAIN (Regional AIDS Interfaith Network), Other Options, Oklahoma City
Area HIV/AIDS Coalition, and Triangle Association.
Scheduled speakers include: Stephen Hardway, ACT-UP
Oklahoma City; Mary Catherine Smothermon, Executive Director of RAIN; and Cookie Arbuckle of Other Options.
As of November 1, 1992, federal money provided by Title
II of the Ryan White Care Act for the state drug program for
persons living with AIDS ran out .. This program provided lifesaving drugs for persons living with AIDS. These drugs (AZT,
DDI, Bactrim and others) are the only known treatment for
effectively battling the AIDS virus.
The shortfall in funds from the Ryan White Act has been left
up to the individual states to deal with. Terry Childers of DHS
and Governor Walters are refusing to find the additional monies
needed within their budgets. Their decision will kill people .
It would take only $250,000 to save the lives of about 250
people -- $1,000 per life.
The World Health Organization has designated December
I st as World AIDS Day. It has become an annual event to
acknowledge the devastation this epidemic is wreaking all over
the world. Over 500,000 cases of AIDS have been reported
worldwide with over 325,000 deaths. Over 160,000 people in
the United States have died and at least 1.5 million United States
citizens carry the HIV virus. In Oklahoma over 742 people have
O
died and an estimated 7,000 people carry the HIV virus.
SILENCE
Volume 9 Number l J
DEATH
GooD NEws FoR THOSE
The Supreme Court of Kentucky has ruled (Kentucky v.
Wasson, 1992) that the Kentucky statute criminalizing deviant
sexual intercourse between consenting adults of the same sex is
a violation of that state's constitutional rights to privacy and
equal protection. Shirley Wiegand, one of the original litigating
attorneys in that case, now lives in Oklahoma. Professor Wiegand
teaches at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Congratulations Professor Wiegand!!
Is it time to tackle Oklahoma's regre;,sive sodomy law?
Comment directly to Herland Sister Resources, ATIN: Jean,
2312 N.W. 39 Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73112 or leave a
message at (405)521-9696.
0
FAMIL y COOK/N
1
Family Cookin ', the cook book benefi tting the Herland Legal
Defense Fund, will be officially offered for sale at a cookbook
tasting dinner on Sunday, December 6 from 5 to 7 P.M. The
cookbook features our favorite recipes and artwork by Michelle
Dillehay. Cookbooks will be available for purchase for only
$7.00.
Dinner, highlighed by the tastiest Family Cookin 'receipes,
is included in the $2 cover charge. Every one there will also get
the opportunity to sample the unique "Blender Blues" and even
take the recipe to try at home .
The child custody case which the Legal Defense fund is
supporting is pending further action by the Oklahoma Supreme
Court. The next action of the Court will be a decision as to
whether the case should be heard by the State Supreme Court or
heard by a lower appellate court.
Support for this case has come from all over the United
States. The Lambda Legal Defense fund is assisting and preparing an amicus brief. Other support has come from the Lesbian
Mothers Defense Fund, The Gay Fathers of Los Angeles, the
Lesbian Coalition of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, other organizations,
and many women and men across the country. Many contributions have come from lesbian/gay parents and too often the letters
tell similar stories of children denied their families.
We still need your help to win this battle. Legal costs
continue to mount. Please consider helping us to make Oklahoma
safer for lesbian and gay parents. Contributions can be sent to:
LegalDefenseFund,Herland, 2312 NW 39,0KC,OK 73112. 0
Herland Sister Resources
2312 N.W. 39, OKC, OK 73112
ST. SYBIL
Sybil Ludington, Matron Saint of First Ladies and other Forgotten
women, is an occasional contributor to this space.
Dear St. Sybil,
Where you are, are you glad the elections are over? We are, I'll tell
you.
Wearily,
Hattie Nuff
Dear Hattie,
Well now, where I am, we pretty well hang out anywhere wdwant
on the time/space/reality continuum, so if we get bored or distressed
with something somewhere, we just move on along. However, if we had
to spend our time in the fall 1992 USA, we would be so glad that the
elections are over that we would make up a top Thirteen (we're pretty
witchy here) List of reasons why:
Thirteen:
Twelve:
Eleven:
Ten:
Nine:
Eight:
Seven:
Six:
Five:
Four:
Three:
Two:
One:
A 7,934% rise in the truthfulness index on Earth.
Seeing George Bush have to go live in Houston.
Seeing Bill Clinton so happy (I'm sorry, but you've got
to be pretty hard-hearted not to like that boy).
Seeing Admiral Stockdale so happy.(" " " " " " "
" " " " " " " " too.)
Getting to watch Hillary redefine "First Lady" job.
Getting to watch Al redefine VP job.
Getting to watch Chelsea grow up - what a honey.
Not having to watch Danny grow up any more.
Not having to monitor Rush Limbaugh anymore.
Marilyn so furious.
Nice that Ross Perot can return to home planet Zrx Vkls
and entertain the ZrxVklspods for awhile.
Lots of good jobs for good Democrats.
A Pro-Choice, Sax-Playing, Pot-Smoking War Protester
in the White House; it's just too delicious .
Dear St. Sybil,
I was really happy whey I heard that the Church ofEngland decided
to begin ordaining women. But I understand that some people, even
some women, are leaving the church in protest. For instance, I read
about a woman named Ann Widdecombe, who is a member of Parliament - I would have thought that she would have wanted to see women
achieve parity in all areas, but no, she's leaving the church in disgust:
and she's not the only one. What's going on? What's wrong with people?
What does it mean?
Yours in confusion,
Olin A Muddle
Dear Olin,
What it means is that sexism is a deep polluted river seeping into
the aquifer of our planet's soul, sparing no one its foul carcinogenic,
teterogeniceffect. It means thatTheGreatCreatorwas once (is now and
always will be) female, giver of life, nurturer of earth and soul,
comforter and chastiser; and that the effort it takes to deny this anp. to
tum religion topsy-turvy is so great that many people must subjugate
their br 'ies, their souls and their reason to it.
It means that while the Chinese no longer bind the feet of women
into a ti ny painful deformity, women and their souls in England today
do not ~ , re as well.
I don'tknow about Ann Widdecombe's family life growing up, but
I will wager my eternity that the binding of her soul began there, with
cloths of inequality and oil of phony privilege. And I know that school,
2
3erland Voice, November, 1992
and sunday school, and books, and readers, and math workbooks, and
movies and comics and radio shows and television, and speeches and
speakers and teachers, newspapers and advertising and bad science and
worse religion , laid successive layers of self-hate and constriction on
her soul; until the prospect of a being similar to herself, to a person of
her own gender, to a woman, ascending to a holy and exalted position,
is repellent to her.
Weep for Ann Widdecombe, my dear. It would be as painful for
her soul to unfold as it ever was for a woman to unbind her feet.
Sorrowfully,
Sybil
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
URGENT ACTION ALERT
Two teenage Mayan sisters were abducted in Guatemala City,
October 19, three days after the announcement of Rigoberta Menchu's
receiving the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. Cristina and Matea Par are
members of "The New Dawn," an indigenous umbrella organization,
and had come to Guatemala City from Solola to participate in public
events surrounding the 500th memorial of Columbus' landing and
Nobel Prize Announcement.
Amnesty International has been told that shortly after the sisters
left the offices of"The New Dawn" they were approached by a man and
two women wearing western-style clothes who admired their indigenous dress and engaged them in conversation. Suddenly the three
grabbed the sisters, dragged them by the hair, and brandished weapons.
They told Cristina and Ma tea that they had seen them at the October 17
march for Rigoberta Menchu, and began to beat tl1eteenagers and to strip
off their clothes, saying that their indigenous dress demonstrated that
they were guerrillas.
The naked girls managed to escape and were helped by witnesses
of the incident who gave them clothes. The girls reported that their
assailants had threatened to kill them.
AI is concerned that tl1e manner in which the attack was carried out
may indicate that members of the Guatemalan security forces or those
working with them may have been responsible. AI has documented
many cases where armed men in plain clothes carry out similar acts of
violence against people considered to be political opponents of the
government. In many cases, such assailants verbally link Rigoberta
Menchu and other indigenous leaders with the anned opposition .
In the days following the 500th memorial of Columbus landing in
tllis hemisphere and the announcement October 16 ofRigoberta Menchu
receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, tile offices of three different popular
organizations in Guatemala City, including the Mothers of the Dead and
Disappeared, were bombed. Al is concerned for the security of all those
associated with Rigoberta Menchu, and particularly the leaders and
members of popular organizations and indigenous groups.
AI hopes that people will write personal letters of concern to U.S.
0
Senators, Washington, D.C. 20510.
2109 S. Air Depot
Midwest City, OK 73110
(405) 737-0496
AIR DEPOT ANIMAL HOS PIT AL
Call for Appointment
JOY HUSKA, D.V.M.
MORTGAGE PAYOFF NEARS
With 1993 just around the corner, Herland is preparing for the final
payment on the building mortgage. With the generous support of the
members of our community -- near and far, we will make that payment.
Special thanks go to all those listed below who have pledged/donated $200
or more. Those names with a star have paid their pledge in full . If you
haven't contributed yet, there's still time. All contributors of $200 or more
will be honored on a permanent plaque to be displayed at Herland.
Jon Soskefc
Tommy & Dianna-CC-CC
Sarah L Oakes-CC
Dorothy Alexander
Pat Reaves-CC
Jo Soskefc
Barbara Neas & David Miller-CC
Joni Darnell
Jean Kelsey-CC
Barbara Hillyer-CC
Barbara Cleveland
Terry Cocon
Kathy Conroy-CC
Karen Lewis
Sally Nostrantfc
Ginger McGovern
Rhonda Smith
Anonymous
Pat Colognesi & Beverly McGuginfc Billie & Susan-ct
In Honor of Stephen Hardway-ct
Margaret Cox-CC
In Honor of SunShine Schilling-CC
Kris Marek
Alice & Charlotte-CC
Marian Hulsey
Wanda Chapman-CC
Abigal Keegan
Dottie Painter
Shatzy Watson-CC
Gail Garloch & Edie Schneeberger-CC Laura Choate-CC
Cecily Welter-Mullen-CC
Carol Schnepperfc
Kelly Morgan & Julie Carr
Friends of the Porthole-CC
Jill Burroughs & Peggy Johnson
Raphella Sohier
Buster the Retreat Dog-CC
In Memory ofKath:rine Moore-CC
Cathy Colvard & Beverly Gardner
Dr. Joan Webb & Susan Blake-CC
Carolyn Cox & E . Dianna Escoto
Marilyn Sebek
Jessica Soske in Memory of David Chrispellu
Marge Delaney in Memory of Chris Delaney-CC
HOLIDAY BLUES?
Many people have a rough time during the extended holiday period
from Thanksgiving through New Year's . Being away from family - or
the opposite, being overwhelmed by them; a recent death - or a long-ago
one still keenly felt; a new move, a loss of friends, a divorce, geographical distance, illness - almost everyone has a bad time of it one year or
another.
As a way of helping, and to provide an alternative to the bars or to
the loneliness of staying home alone, Herland will be open on Saturday
evenings throughout December; from the regular closing hour of 6 pm
until 9 pm. Corne and join us for a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and
a game of cards or Clue or Trivial Pursuit or whatever sounds like fun
to you. We have some games, feel free to bring others . We expect there
will be some cribbage and spades games going on, maybe an impromptu
tournament or two ... Bring a snack if you feel like it.
And actually, even if you're having a great holiday season, come
by anyway - it'll be a pleasant way to spend a cold winter's evening.
Come now, what masques, what dances shall we have,
to wear away this long age of three hollrs
between o!lr after-supper and our bedtime?
Where is our usual manager of mirth?
What revels are in hand? Is there no play
to ease the ang!lish of a tortL1Ting hour?
"A Midsurruners Night Dream", W . Shakespeare D
HERLAND
MANY NEW BOOKS -MYSTERIES, EROTICA, CLASSICS, FEMINllST THEORY, AND MORE...
199 3
CALENDARS
TAPES, CDs, AND V1DEos
K.D. LANG, HOLLY NEAR, THE INDIGO ORS, WHOOPI, AND MORE...
OFT SHOP W ITH LOCAL WOMEN'S ARTS AND CRAFTS
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
Herland Voice, November,
1992
3
MENSTRUAL MAGIC
by Debon-h Fox
Many anthropologists concur that Shamanism was originally a
female practice, and that it was linked to the moon and therefore
menstrual cults. The College of Hera, Thesmophoria , the Eleusinian
Mysteries, the Katamenia, the Oracles and possibly the Diblylline
colleges all had to do with woman's wisdom and menstruation.
Women's menstruation, entrained to or in natural rhythm (from
natural light) with the phases of the moon, set the schedule for Sabbaths
(which literally means "Goddess" and signifies woman-things)[ I ]. The
first calendar was a lunar, menstrual calendar.
Contemporary Yurok women say: "According to the old menstrual
laws, a woman should isolate herself during the flow because this is a
time when she is at the height of her powers. Such time should not be
wasted in mundane and social distractions, nor in concern with the
opposite sex . Rather all of one's energies should be applied in concentrated meditation on the nature of one's life, to find out the purpose of
your life. It is a time for the accumulation of spiritualenergy ..." [2]. This
is why women isolated themselves at menstruation, not because they
were dirty, as we are told by some male anthropologists, or impure, as
we are told by the patriarchal fathers.
Our menstruation is an evolutionary force; it is the female species
who has led evolution; our menstrual cycle evolved the human from
animal. "1be evolutionary change from estrus cycle to menstrual cycle
implies that sexual libido became available for something other than the
perpetuation of the species by the reproduction of offspring. That
'something other' is the enhancement of life produced by shared sexual
experience between individuals. An act of sex became this, rather than
simple impregnation of the female. From the appearance of the menstrual cycle therefore dates all the evolutionary developments which
have been seen as specifically human: viz., the development of mentality, symbolism, (a 'mental child' is a symbolic child), recognition and
valuing of the individual and social organization." [3]
Women's bodies mirror the cyclic nature of life; of the heaven's
(especially the moon's), the earth's and Nature's as well as the mystery
of creation. This is magical. All religion is about Creation as Monica
Sjoo and Barbar.a More have pointed out. "All formulations of religion
and philosophy are built upon the woman's capability not only of giving
physical life but with it of evolving and enhancing mental life also.
Woman is the true educator, because she has direct experience of
undividCd existence ...Woman imparts spiritual knowledge, which is
also physical knowledge, or carnal knowledge, by bearing the child and
forming the home into the eternal patterns--the home and thehearth being
the origin of all temples and churches--by sexual initiation, and by a
privileged access to cosmic rhythm, 'because of their natural menstrual
body cafondar".[4] We are ... "the interpreters of these cosmic rhythms
to human society, which is alienated without them"[5]. "Woman
partakes of immortal being, because she bleeds and still lives."[6]
"From the earliest human cultures, the mysterious magic of creation was thought to reside in the blood women gave forth in apparent
harmony with the moon, and which was sometimes retained in the womb
to 'coagulate' into a baby. Men regarded this blood with holy dread, as
the life-essence, inextricably shed without pain, wholly foreign to male
experience." [7] And thus: "because menstrual blood occupied a central
position in matriarchal theologies, and was already sacer -- holydreadful -- patriarchal ascetic thinkers showed almost hysterical fear of
it."[8]
Menstruation draws a woman inward, creates spontaneous trance
states (is mind-altering), heightens creativity, sharpens psychological
insights and perceptions, causes revelations, clarifies any confusion
that may have arisen earlier in the cycle, heightens sexuality, increases
4
Herland Voice, November,
1992
dreaming and psychic ability. "Sometimes the world may seem like an
overwhehning rush of colors, sounds , and other sensations. Thought
processes become instinctive, seem to be experienced physically. The
split between self and the physical environment disappears." [9]
Woman is by nature a Shaman; menstruation is a sacred power.
Ancient women utilized this time for self-discovery, creative vis ualization , sexual/spiritual ecstasy, prophesy, prophetic dreaming, healing,
working magic (i.e. spell-casting, weather-work), creativity, fine-tuning psychic ability, self-knowledge and transformation, that benefitted
herself as well as all humanity. It has been said that a woman's power
grows with the moon and comes and goes with it. [I 0] To be conscious
of our cyclic natures is wise.
Groups of women and priestesses, menstruating synchronistically
were a power house of body-prayer. " ..evidence that at some time in the
past women lived in the kind of kinship proximity that enabled them to
synchronize their menstrual periods. This menstrual synchronism
according to social anthropologist Chris Knight, beat out a great cultural
pulse, the two peaks of which were the surges of energy produced by
ovulation on the one hand, and menstruation on the other. This is the beat
which underlies the establishment of human society. Women ensured
that this would happen by ritual means ."(! I]
Male psychologists have neglected women's inner language of the
psyche -- it is up to us to rediscover it. Though we may not experience
our menstruations as powerful reservoirs of magic and wisdom today,
it is only because we have been conditioned against ourselves (PMS
studies by women show that women who have a positive picture of
menstruation do not have negative PMS/depression), and robbed of our
colleges, rites, and tradition knowledge passed from woman to woman
and do not understand our menstruations. We can relearn it because it
has never left us . Simply observing our cycles gets us back in tune with
our body's wisdom. Wben we are menstruating the door to the unconscious is wide open and fertile for psychic seeding -- it is an excellent
time to sow affinnations of personal growth, abilities, goals, desires,
world peace, positive visions/daydreams and to study our night dreams
for the wisdom brought up from our deepest selves. It is a great time for
experimenting with various meditations, art forms, rituals, and to create
ritual objects or sacred art. Our menstruation renews us and is likened
to "the moment of truth." Menstrual blood is honnone rich and ancient
women walked in the freshly seeded fields while menstruating to ensure
a good harvest. Try mixing your garden seeds with your menstrual
blood before planting them. Dab your forehead/third eye with it before
meditating or studying. Paint your lucky chann or amulet with it, by
doing so you affirm yourself to your deepest self. Start a menstruating
women's circle for visualization, prayer and healing. Befriend your
blood, it contains the magical life force within it.
Liberating ourselves from the taboos placed upon our menstruation by patriarchy (a highly effective instrument for controlling and
denigrating women), opens up to us a wealth of female wisdom, power
and pride. Menopausal women retain their wise blood, a subject for
another article.
Notes 1-6from The Wise Wound-Myths, Realities and Meanings
of Menstruation by Penelope Shuttle and Peter Redgrave. Notes 7 and
8 from The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara
G. Walker. Note9 from Judith Higginbottom in The Wise Wound. For
further readJi1g see Dragon time by Lusia Francia and Lifting the Curse
of Menstruation, A Feminist Appraisal of the Influence of Menstruation
on Women's Lives edited by Sharon Golub, PhD.
0
DEMANDS OF THE
1993
MARCH FINALIZED
The seven major demands of the 1993 March on Washington for
Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation were presented by the
Executive Committee at the National Steering Committee (NSC) meeting held in Denver on October 3 and 4.
At the May meeting in Dallas, the NSC gave input to the Platform
Conunittee which drafted 55 support items which were then approved
by the entire NSC . At the conclusion of that meeting the Executive
Committee was given the task to write the seven major demands. The
final version, presented to the National Steering Committee in Denver,
was approved by acclamation.
"The finalized march demands bring focus and priority to the
platform" according to Scout, a National Co-Chair forthe March. "The
demands prioritize our fight for civil rights, access to health care,
recognition of our family relationships, our rightful inclusion in educational systems as well as our commitment to fight racism and sexism.
This document is one behind which our community can continue the
massive organizing already under way to bring our message to DC."
PLATFORM OF THE
1993
MARCH ON WASHINGTON
FOR LESBIAN, GAv, AND 81 EauAL R1GHTS AND
LIBERATION
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendermovementrecognizes that
our quest for social justice ftmdamentally links us to the stniggles
against racism and sexism, class bias, economic injustice and religious
intolerance. We must realize if one of 11s is oppressed we all are
oppressed. The diversity of our movement requires and compels 11s to
stand in opposition to all forms of oppression that diminish the quality
oflife for all people. We will be vigilant in our determination to rid our
movement and our society of all fom1s of oppression and exploitation,
so that all of us can develop to our full h11man potential without regard
to race, religion, sex11al orientation/identification, identity, gender and
gender expression, ability, age or class.
1. We demand passage of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
civil rights bill and an end to discrimination by state and federal
governments including the military; repeal of all sodomy laws and other
laws that criminalize private sexual expression between consenting
adults.
2. We demand massive increase in funding for AIDS education,
research, and patient care; universal access to health care including
alternative therapies; and an end to sexism in medical research and
health care.
3. We demand legislation to prevent discrimination against Lesbians,
Gays, Bisexuals and Transgendered people in the areas of family
diversity, custody, adoption and foster care and that the definition of
family includes the full diversity of all family structures .
4. We demand full and equal inclusion of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals
and Transgendered people in the educational system, and inclusion of
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender studies in multicultural curricula.
5. We demand the right to reproductive freedom and choice, to control
our own bodies, and an end to sexist discrimination.
6. We demand an end to racial and ethnic discrimination in all forms.
7. We demand an end to discrimination and violent oppression based
on actual or perceived sexual orientation/identification, race, religion,
identity, sex and gender expression, disability, age, class, AIDS/HN
infection.
D
SURGE IN LESBIAN GAY
POLITICAL PROGRESS
Election Year '92, already an .unprecedented period for gay and
lesbian political visibility, culminated in election results that community leaders say will have a profound affect on gay and lesbian issues
in the future.
Gay leaders point to several key outcomes as indicators of a surge
in gay political progress: the presidential election of Bill Clinton, who
supported responsible AIDS policies and gay civil rights measures; the
defeat of anti-gay initiatives in Oregon (57-43 percent) and Portland,
Maine (57-43 percent); the election of pro-gay candidates to the U.S.
Congress, such as Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois and Barbara Boxer
of California; and the victory of several openly gay candidates, including U. S. Reps. Gerry Studds and Barney Frank, and state legislators
Karen Clark and Allan Spear (MN), and Glen Maxey (TX), among
others.
At the same time, troublesome losses in this election year and the
previous Congress point out the long road still ahead. In Colorado, an
initiative sponsored by the Evangelical Far Right passed 54-46 percent,
prohibiting protections against anti-gay discrimination . In Tampa,
Florida, a one-year-old gay rights law was overturned by referendum,
58 -42.
On the whole, most gay men and lesbians are celebrating the
national election outcomes with a sense that a historic moment in the gay
movement has been reached.
D
CANADIAN ANTI-GAY/LESBIAN
POLICY OVERTURNED
The anti-gay and lesbian policy of the Canadian armed forces was
overturned following a federal court ruling on October 2 7. The repeal
of the policy came after the military agreed to pay $100 ,000 to former
Air Force Lieutenant Michelle Douglas, who was discharged from the
service in 1989 after coming out as a lesbian.
The Canadian federal defense department admitted in court that its
controversial policy infringes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(CRF) of Canada, and would be immediately rescinded.
The U.S. Armed Forces anti-gay policy has resulted in 15,919 gay
and lesbian servicemembers being discharged between 1980 and 1990
alone, according to a GAO study. The study revealed that American
taxpayers paid $493 , 195 ,968 to rep lace those discharged
servicemembers . President-elect Clinton has vowed to overturn the
policy .
D
Office Hours By Appointment
Debra K. Brownin& R Ph., D. D.S.
Compri!hens ivi! Dental Cau
5009 N.
Suitt! 103
Pennsylvania,
( 405) 84J-J28J
Olt.laho·m a City. OK 7 JI I 2
Herland Voice, November,
1992
5
I Walk In The History
Of My People
There are women locked in my joints
for refusing to speak to the police
My red blood full of those
arre~ted
in flight
shot
My tendons stretched brittle with anger
do (twflook like white roots ofpeace
In my marrow are hungry faces
who live on land the whites don't want
In mymarrow women who walk 5 miles every day for water
InmymarrowtreswollenhandsofmypeopleVlfxJarenotallowed
to hunt
to move
to be
In the scars ofmy knees you can see
children tom from their families
bludgeoned into government schools
You can see through the pins in my bones
that we a.re prisoners of a long war
My knee is so badly wounded no one will look at it
The pus of the past oozes from every pore
This infection has gone on for at least 300 yea.rs
Our sacred beliefs have been ma.de into pencils
gas stations
names of cities
My knee is wounded so badly that I limp constantly
Anger is my crutch I hold myselfupright with it
My knee is wounded
see
How I Am Still Walking
--Chrystos
(reprinted with permission from Not Vanishing published by
press gang publishers, 1988)
Crooning
A soft old song for every lesbian who wants
to go home
again & can't
with her woman Jover in her a.n11s
holding hands in the streets
simple in our love
that they twist so No lies
Not "cousins"
not "best friends" not "room1nates"
No second bedrooms for show no pretend boyfriends
no custody cases no hidden mouths no grim smiles
at queerjokes on the job you 'd lose
if they knew
Go Home
with joy & strength
go home be received instead of tolerated
No anguished mothers afraid of father's response or
neighbors' gossip or grandma's heart condition
Go home to a clean welcome mat
a double bed
no questions accusations or expectations
I croon an old soft song for us
rocking down to a kind place we won't see in our lives
fighting for it
even when we 're drunk in bars
because we
can 't go home
Crooning for us my heart split
--- Chrystos
PubUshed by: Herland Sister Resources, Inc., 2312 N.W. 39th,
Oklahoma Cit)', Oklahotna 73112
Newsletter Committee: Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Pat
Reaves
Circulation: 1000
Chrystos is a Native American, born in 1946 and raised in
San Francisco. A political activist and speaker, as well as an
artist and writer, she is self educated. Her tireless momentum is
directed at a better undersanding of how colonialism, genocide,
class and gender affect the lives of women and Native people.
Chrystos will present two readings of her work in Oklahoma
City to benefit the Herland Legal Defense Fund on January 22
and 24 and will present a poetry workshop on January 23 (call
521-9696 for information. She will be recogniz.ed at Oklahoma
State University as the Agie Debo Scholar on January 27, 1993. D
Advertising Rates:
Busine5s card $15.00; 1/4 page $35.00:
1/2 page $60.00: full page $100.00
The Voice is offered as an open forum for community discuor~e.
Signed articles reflect the opinions of theauthor.a~d not n~essar1ly
those of Herland Sister Resources. Unsohc1ted articles and
letters to the editor are welcomed and must be signed by the writer
with full name and address. Upon request, letters or articles may
be printed under a pseudonym.
Subscriptions to The Voice are free upon reques t.
The Voice is printed on recycled paper.
6
Herland Voice, November,
1992
Herland invites ou to -
An Evening with
MAWUS/ MODUPE
7:30 P.M.
Friday, December 11
The Hotel Bohemia
2805 N. McKinley
$3.00 suggested donation
Songs ~ Dance ~ Drumming
Mawusi Invites her audience to celebrate and rejoice in the traditions
of the Sene Gambia West Africa, Afro Caribbean and AfricanAmerican Dance Theatre Styles.
Mawusl travels and performs with the Nubian Theatre Company on
the National Black Arts Touring Circuit.
She Is the Artistic Director for the Griot Project, an OKC organization
dedicated to the perpetuation-preservation of the oral tradition and
folkways of African and African-American Gulture. The Griot Project
repetolre consists of an array of dances, stories, drum rhythms and
songs from the African American diaspora.
Mawusl has been dancing over twenty years and has studied with
such notable artists as Bernice Johnson's Theater for the Performing
Arts; Otis Sallld, the choreographer for Fame; and Babb Olantunjl of
the African Heritage Center In Harlem. As a choreographer she has
created works for Western Dance Troupe, Blac Moves Too..• , Into
Afrika, Inner City Dance, and Uhuru Dance Co.
Late~ ...
LESBIAN AND GAY FILM FESTIVAL
From Ow- Rural Sister
I'm sorry I did not make it to the Retreat. Eventually I will and
maybe even have a friend to go with!
Not only have I found some women friends, but also a feminist, an
unabashed feminist... and we are becoming fast friends. I went to a
"Tupperware" Party and then gave one, and lo: my Woman's Consciousness Raising group was formecl! We are doing away with the
Tupperware "decoy" now and one of the women is going to give the" 1st
Annual Radical Wom~n's Christmas Party!" My prayers to the Goddess have certainly been answered. The Goddess is alive, magic is afoot!
I'm settling down now, back to . studying, writing, etc., and will
have another article for The Voice soon. I'm reading If Women Counted
- A New Feminist Economics, by Marilyn Waring - dry, but a very
important work
Hurrah for Bill & Hillary - now let's make them hold to their
promises! It's greatthatCongressis beginning to look like the American
people.
More later,
Love,
Deborah
The following is a copy of a letter sent to the Daily Disappointment:
they have not printed it:
Dear Editor:
Shame, Shame, Shame. Concerning the article, "Welfare Moms
Blamed for Cut in AIDS Funding" by Mick Hinton, October 8th; will
you stop at nothing in your attempts to divide people?
Nearly seventy people attended the demonstration and heard three
speakers outside the Capitol discuss why the AIDS drug reimbursement
program should and must be funded . Atthe same time three people with
AIDS were arrested inside the Capitol. One of those three people, when
asked where the money would come from, offered several opinions
including welfare reform.
The headline and three of the first four paragraphs of the article deal
with this one statement to the near exclusion of all other remarks made
by those arrested and those speaking outside. This is a total distortion
of the action that day.
ACT-UP does not blame anyone except Governor Walters and
Terry Childers. ACT-UP does not believe that people with AIDS should
benefit at the expense of others who need public assistance.
Where will the money come from? That is the Governor's prob !em.
If the governor does not find a way to fund this program people will get
sicker faster, they will have to quit work sooner. they will spend more
time in the hospital, and they will die' If the Governor cannot find
$250,000 to help save the lives of 250 Oklahomans he needs to rethi nk
his priorities. And if the Oklahoman cannot do a better job covering the
news then you should stop the presses.
Stephen Hardway .
Quality with that Personal Touch T•
December 2 - 6, 1992, the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance is
sponsoring a five day film festival which will offer 14 feature film
presentations of 35mm & 16mm films, wide screen video and slide
presentations. Admission prices for all programs will be $3 .50 with the
exception of the special Saturday afternoon guest presentation and two
late night films on Friday and Saturday night which will be $5 each.
Film festival passes for all 14 presentations will be available for
purchase prior to the festival at a cost of only $25 each.
"We are very proud of our film selections. We will be presenting
films which have never been seen before in the Dallas Metroplex, and
.one of the films will make it's U.S. debut here," Paula Matthies, the
Festival Director. Some of the films may only appeal to lesbians, some
only to gay men, and many will appeal to both lesbians and gay men of
all ages and ethnic backgrounds.
The Dallas Gay and Lesbian Community Center, located at 2701
Reagan Street at Brown, will be converted into a theater for this year's
festival, with full concessions including popcorn, soft drinks, candy,
beer and wine. All funds raised from the film festival will benefit the
Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance.
Individuals , businesses, and organizations are being asked to
sponsor a film or one of the 14 different programs to help raise money
to cover the festival expenses. Sponsors, advertisers, and volunteers to
help with the festival are encouraged to call Paula at 214/406-9123.
Major attractions and film highlights include "Non, Je Ne Regrette
Rien" (No, I have no regrets); the newest film by Award-winning
producer Marlon Riggs. Through music, poetry and at times, chilling
self-disclosure, five black gay men speak of their individual confrontation with AIDS . Also, "November Moon", a passionate and poignant
love story and romantic drama about a German Jew named Noveniber
and her lover Feria!, a French woman who must hide her from the Nazis.
Also, "Cross -Sexing the Narrative: lesbian subtext in music videos". Canadian filmmaker, writer, and critic Marusia Bociurkiw will
appear in person to give a 90-minute video and slide presentation of clips
from music videos by Madonna, k.d. Lang, Annie Lennox, Salt 'n
Peppa, Michelle Shocked, and others. Discover fantasy space, hidden
meanings and imagined identities that have a special allure for lesbians.
The music video allows perfonners to play with power, cross-dressing,
gender roles, and to transgress sexual identities. (Gay men and lesbians
will both enjoy this presentation .
Saturday night brings "two and a half hours of side-splitting
comedy. satire. parody, burlesque and laughter; a mixture of gay men
and lesbian films."
D
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
A - WOMAN
Ooo Joss
RENT -
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~·~·~·~·fld/~
Ink Well 1P1finting, Inc.
6051 N. Brookline, Suite 128
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
(405) 842-2021
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't.eflMt/~. ~·
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943-4070
Hc:rland Voice, November, 1992
7
IN
CONCERT
Start 1993 off right with a once-in-a-lifetime concert of Oklahoma's finest women musicians.
Herland Sister Resources presents Donna D., Peggy Johnson, and Miss Brown to You in
concert at the Civic Center Little Theater, Saturday, January 2 at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are only
$8.00 and are on sale at Her land. Tickets will be available at the door for $10.00 -- but don't
wait because the theater only seats 390 .
Don·naD . is oneofHerland 's favorite performers and has played for many Herlandfunctions.
Her down-to-earth style and humor are always a hit whether performing old standards or her
delightful original songs .
Peggy Johnson is a we!! known singer/songwriter in the Oklahoma City area. She has
performed at clubs, coffeehouses, and concerts in OKC and Norman since 1984 and has
contributed greatly to the folk music scene. More recently, she has taken her music on the road
to the National Women's Music Festival, Mountain Moving Coffeehouse in Chicago, the New South
Showcase in Atlanta, and the 1992 National Women's Studies Conference.. Peggy frequently
lends her music to good causes
ranging from teachers rallying for
better education to Take Back The Night Rallies, and the Lesbian/Gay Pride Parade. She
has two recordings, Tii11e to Do It and Lost Wax Tra1i1s.
·
Miss Brown to You is a group equally at home in jazz or rhythm and blues. They
appeared at the 1991 and 1992 Lone Star Music Festival and play frequently at OKC
venues. They will come to this concert fresh from the recording studio where they are
making their first album. Collectively and as individuals they are respected musicians.
Terri Hoersh, the bass player, began herprofessionalmusic career playing in the pop/
rock clubs of Chicago in the late Seventies. She has journeyed all over the country and
traversed many musical styles, having toured extensively in adult contemporary and
country bands. After settling in Oklahoma City four years ago, Terri has branched out
into straight-ahead jazz, but always brings a bluesy interpretation to the bands sound -a solid style that has become her stock in trade.
Elyse Angelo (drmruner) has long been in the vanguard of OKC music . She was
the first female drum major at Northwest Classen High School and studied percussion
with noted professor K. Dean Walker at Oklahoma City University. Elyse has played and
toured with several rock'n'roll bands in the Oklahoma City area.
No style of music is out of Louise Dick 's (keyboards) range. Influenced by her father,
a jazz pianist, she began playing piano as a child . She studied classical and jazz piano
in college. Louise has appeared with many groups on the local scene, most notably reggae groups the Street People and the Whale and the Flea, and
Latin/jazz group Los Gringos. She is well known among Oklahoma City musicians for her phenomenal keyboard interpretations in music ranging from
folk to jazz and back again, and she also plays guitar with Miss Brown to You.
Mary Reynolds (vocalist) sang her first song at the tender age of eighteen months. After studying voice with world-famous teacher and perfonner
Carol Brice, she began a long apprenticeship playing in country and rock bands. In the early 1980' s she performed extensively on the Greenwich Village
front and also appeared for a time in the Bay Area. Returning to Oklahoma City in 1985, Mary founded the popular vocal group Sisters of Swing. Mary's
vocal ability has a reputation in Oklahoma City; she was voted Best Female Vocalist in the Gazette Reader's Poll three years running. Mary also plays
guitar and saxophone with Miss Brown to You.
C9Aaflemor--------------------------~
"No More Masks: Writing Poetry", A poetry writing workshop for women will be taught by Elizabeth Sargent during the intersession at O.U. The
workshop will meet 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, January 6-8. One credit hour in womens studies is available. For telephone enrolhnent or information
call the OU Intersession Office at 325-5101.
Are you now, or have you ever been, in a relationship with a woman 15 years or more younger or older than yourself? Personal narratives and
photographs sought for anthology on intergenerational relationships between lesbians. Send us submissions by 12/30/92 and SASE for guidelines
to Pat Rutherford/Stacy Saetta, 3060 Porter Street #31, Soquel, CA 95073.
The Undress Code for Women . .. The Sands Casino in Atlantic City is accused in a lawsuit of discriminating against women by forcing cocktail
waitresses to wear sexy clothes while letting male waiters dress comfortably. The Equal Employment Opportunity Conunission in Philadelphi a.
which filed on behalf of Anna Grimes, says it's the first case of its kind brought against a casino. Grimes, who still works at the Sands, says she
was forced to be scantily dressed and wear 5 inch heels that hurt her feet. Men may wear tuxedos and sneakers or other low shoes. (From On
the Issues, Winter, 1992.)
-
OKLAHOMANS . OBSERVE
WORLD
Al DS
CONCERNED Aeou:r PRIVACY
DAY
AND EQUAL PROTECTION
On December 1st, World AIDS Day, a coalition of AIDS
service organizations will sponsor a candlelight program and
march to the Governor's mansion. The purpose of this event is to
remember the loved ones we have lost to AIDS and to protest the
decision of Governor Walters and DHS Head, Terry Childers, to
cut off the life-savings drugs of 250 Oklahomans with AIDS.
The event will begin at 5 :30 P.M . on the south steps of the
state capitol. There will be a brief program with music and
speakers. Those gathered will then fonn a procession and march
to the Governor's mansion.
All Oklahomans who are concerned about this issue are
invited to attend. Parents, grandparents, friends, church care
teams, and other loved ones are expected to be represented in the
gathering. This will be a peaceful, reverent protest by many
individuals and groups. Sponsoring organizations include:
ACT-UP Oklahoma City, Herland Sister Resources, RAIN (Regional AIDS Interfaith Network), Other Options, Oklahoma City
Area HIV/AIDS Coalition, and Triangle Association.
Scheduled speakers include: Stephen Hardway, ACT-UP
Oklahoma City; Mary Catherine Smothermon, Executive Director of RAIN; and Cookie Arbuckle of Other Options.
As of November 1, 1992, federal money provided by Title
II of the Ryan White Care Act for the state drug program for
persons living with AIDS ran out .. This program provided lifesaving drugs for persons living with AIDS. These drugs (AZT,
DDI, Bactrim and others) are the only known treatment for
effectively battling the AIDS virus.
The shortfall in funds from the Ryan White Act has been left
up to the individual states to deal with. Terry Childers of DHS
and Governor Walters are refusing to find the additional monies
needed within their budgets. Their decision will kill people .
It would take only $250,000 to save the lives of about 250
people -- $1,000 per life.
The World Health Organization has designated December
I st as World AIDS Day. It has become an annual event to
acknowledge the devastation this epidemic is wreaking all over
the world. Over 500,000 cases of AIDS have been reported
worldwide with over 325,000 deaths. Over 160,000 people in
the United States have died and at least 1.5 million United States
citizens carry the HIV virus. In Oklahoma over 742 people have
O
died and an estimated 7,000 people carry the HIV virus.
SILENCE
Volume 9 Number l J
DEATH
GooD NEws FoR THOSE
The Supreme Court of Kentucky has ruled (Kentucky v.
Wasson, 1992) that the Kentucky statute criminalizing deviant
sexual intercourse between consenting adults of the same sex is
a violation of that state's constitutional rights to privacy and
equal protection. Shirley Wiegand, one of the original litigating
attorneys in that case, now lives in Oklahoma. Professor Wiegand
teaches at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Congratulations Professor Wiegand!!
Is it time to tackle Oklahoma's regre;,sive sodomy law?
Comment directly to Herland Sister Resources, ATIN: Jean,
2312 N.W. 39 Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73112 or leave a
message at (405)521-9696.
0
FAMIL y COOK/N
1
Family Cookin ', the cook book benefi tting the Herland Legal
Defense Fund, will be officially offered for sale at a cookbook
tasting dinner on Sunday, December 6 from 5 to 7 P.M. The
cookbook features our favorite recipes and artwork by Michelle
Dillehay. Cookbooks will be available for purchase for only
$7.00.
Dinner, highlighed by the tastiest Family Cookin 'receipes,
is included in the $2 cover charge. Every one there will also get
the opportunity to sample the unique "Blender Blues" and even
take the recipe to try at home .
The child custody case which the Legal Defense fund is
supporting is pending further action by the Oklahoma Supreme
Court. The next action of the Court will be a decision as to
whether the case should be heard by the State Supreme Court or
heard by a lower appellate court.
Support for this case has come from all over the United
States. The Lambda Legal Defense fund is assisting and preparing an amicus brief. Other support has come from the Lesbian
Mothers Defense Fund, The Gay Fathers of Los Angeles, the
Lesbian Coalition of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, other organizations,
and many women and men across the country. Many contributions have come from lesbian/gay parents and too often the letters
tell similar stories of children denied their families.
We still need your help to win this battle. Legal costs
continue to mount. Please consider helping us to make Oklahoma
safer for lesbian and gay parents. Contributions can be sent to:
LegalDefenseFund,Herland, 2312 NW 39,0KC,OK 73112. 0
Herland Sister Resources
2312 N.W. 39, OKC, OK 73112
ST. SYBIL
Sybil Ludington, Matron Saint of First Ladies and other Forgotten
women, is an occasional contributor to this space.
Dear St. Sybil,
Where you are, are you glad the elections are over? We are, I'll tell
you.
Wearily,
Hattie Nuff
Dear Hattie,
Well now, where I am, we pretty well hang out anywhere wdwant
on the time/space/reality continuum, so if we get bored or distressed
with something somewhere, we just move on along. However, if we had
to spend our time in the fall 1992 USA, we would be so glad that the
elections are over that we would make up a top Thirteen (we're pretty
witchy here) List of reasons why:
Thirteen:
Twelve:
Eleven:
Ten:
Nine:
Eight:
Seven:
Six:
Five:
Four:
Three:
Two:
One:
A 7,934% rise in the truthfulness index on Earth.
Seeing George Bush have to go live in Houston.
Seeing Bill Clinton so happy (I'm sorry, but you've got
to be pretty hard-hearted not to like that boy).
Seeing Admiral Stockdale so happy.(" " " " " " "
" " " " " " " " too.)
Getting to watch Hillary redefine "First Lady" job.
Getting to watch Al redefine VP job.
Getting to watch Chelsea grow up - what a honey.
Not having to watch Danny grow up any more.
Not having to monitor Rush Limbaugh anymore.
Marilyn so furious.
Nice that Ross Perot can return to home planet Zrx Vkls
and entertain the ZrxVklspods for awhile.
Lots of good jobs for good Democrats.
A Pro-Choice, Sax-Playing, Pot-Smoking War Protester
in the White House; it's just too delicious .
Dear St. Sybil,
I was really happy whey I heard that the Church ofEngland decided
to begin ordaining women. But I understand that some people, even
some women, are leaving the church in protest. For instance, I read
about a woman named Ann Widdecombe, who is a member of Parliament - I would have thought that she would have wanted to see women
achieve parity in all areas, but no, she's leaving the church in disgust:
and she's not the only one. What's going on? What's wrong with people?
What does it mean?
Yours in confusion,
Olin A Muddle
Dear Olin,
What it means is that sexism is a deep polluted river seeping into
the aquifer of our planet's soul, sparing no one its foul carcinogenic,
teterogeniceffect. It means thatTheGreatCreatorwas once (is now and
always will be) female, giver of life, nurturer of earth and soul,
comforter and chastiser; and that the effort it takes to deny this anp. to
tum religion topsy-turvy is so great that many people must subjugate
their br 'ies, their souls and their reason to it.
It means that while the Chinese no longer bind the feet of women
into a ti ny painful deformity, women and their souls in England today
do not ~ , re as well.
I don'tknow about Ann Widdecombe's family life growing up, but
I will wager my eternity that the binding of her soul began there, with
cloths of inequality and oil of phony privilege. And I know that school,
2
3erland Voice, November, 1992
and sunday school, and books, and readers, and math workbooks, and
movies and comics and radio shows and television, and speeches and
speakers and teachers, newspapers and advertising and bad science and
worse religion , laid successive layers of self-hate and constriction on
her soul; until the prospect of a being similar to herself, to a person of
her own gender, to a woman, ascending to a holy and exalted position,
is repellent to her.
Weep for Ann Widdecombe, my dear. It would be as painful for
her soul to unfold as it ever was for a woman to unbind her feet.
Sorrowfully,
Sybil
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
URGENT ACTION ALERT
Two teenage Mayan sisters were abducted in Guatemala City,
October 19, three days after the announcement of Rigoberta Menchu's
receiving the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. Cristina and Matea Par are
members of "The New Dawn," an indigenous umbrella organization,
and had come to Guatemala City from Solola to participate in public
events surrounding the 500th memorial of Columbus' landing and
Nobel Prize Announcement.
Amnesty International has been told that shortly after the sisters
left the offices of"The New Dawn" they were approached by a man and
two women wearing western-style clothes who admired their indigenous dress and engaged them in conversation. Suddenly the three
grabbed the sisters, dragged them by the hair, and brandished weapons.
They told Cristina and Ma tea that they had seen them at the October 17
march for Rigoberta Menchu, and began to beat tl1eteenagers and to strip
off their clothes, saying that their indigenous dress demonstrated that
they were guerrillas.
The naked girls managed to escape and were helped by witnesses
of the incident who gave them clothes. The girls reported that their
assailants had threatened to kill them.
AI is concerned that tl1e manner in which the attack was carried out
may indicate that members of the Guatemalan security forces or those
working with them may have been responsible. AI has documented
many cases where armed men in plain clothes carry out similar acts of
violence against people considered to be political opponents of the
government. In many cases, such assailants verbally link Rigoberta
Menchu and other indigenous leaders with the anned opposition .
In the days following the 500th memorial of Columbus landing in
tllis hemisphere and the announcement October 16 ofRigoberta Menchu
receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, tile offices of three different popular
organizations in Guatemala City, including the Mothers of the Dead and
Disappeared, were bombed. Al is concerned for the security of all those
associated with Rigoberta Menchu, and particularly the leaders and
members of popular organizations and indigenous groups.
AI hopes that people will write personal letters of concern to U.S.
0
Senators, Washington, D.C. 20510.
2109 S. Air Depot
Midwest City, OK 73110
(405) 737-0496
AIR DEPOT ANIMAL HOS PIT AL
Call for Appointment
JOY HUSKA, D.V.M.
MORTGAGE PAYOFF NEARS
With 1993 just around the corner, Herland is preparing for the final
payment on the building mortgage. With the generous support of the
members of our community -- near and far, we will make that payment.
Special thanks go to all those listed below who have pledged/donated $200
or more. Those names with a star have paid their pledge in full . If you
haven't contributed yet, there's still time. All contributors of $200 or more
will be honored on a permanent plaque to be displayed at Herland.
Jon Soskefc
Tommy & Dianna-CC-CC
Sarah L Oakes-CC
Dorothy Alexander
Pat Reaves-CC
Jo Soskefc
Barbara Neas & David Miller-CC
Joni Darnell
Jean Kelsey-CC
Barbara Hillyer-CC
Barbara Cleveland
Terry Cocon
Kathy Conroy-CC
Karen Lewis
Sally Nostrantfc
Ginger McGovern
Rhonda Smith
Anonymous
Pat Colognesi & Beverly McGuginfc Billie & Susan-ct
In Honor of Stephen Hardway-ct
Margaret Cox-CC
In Honor of SunShine Schilling-CC
Kris Marek
Alice & Charlotte-CC
Marian Hulsey
Wanda Chapman-CC
Abigal Keegan
Dottie Painter
Shatzy Watson-CC
Gail Garloch & Edie Schneeberger-CC Laura Choate-CC
Cecily Welter-Mullen-CC
Carol Schnepperfc
Kelly Morgan & Julie Carr
Friends of the Porthole-CC
Jill Burroughs & Peggy Johnson
Raphella Sohier
Buster the Retreat Dog-CC
In Memory ofKath:rine Moore-CC
Cathy Colvard & Beverly Gardner
Dr. Joan Webb & Susan Blake-CC
Carolyn Cox & E . Dianna Escoto
Marilyn Sebek
Jessica Soske in Memory of David Chrispellu
Marge Delaney in Memory of Chris Delaney-CC
HOLIDAY BLUES?
Many people have a rough time during the extended holiday period
from Thanksgiving through New Year's . Being away from family - or
the opposite, being overwhelmed by them; a recent death - or a long-ago
one still keenly felt; a new move, a loss of friends, a divorce, geographical distance, illness - almost everyone has a bad time of it one year or
another.
As a way of helping, and to provide an alternative to the bars or to
the loneliness of staying home alone, Herland will be open on Saturday
evenings throughout December; from the regular closing hour of 6 pm
until 9 pm. Corne and join us for a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and
a game of cards or Clue or Trivial Pursuit or whatever sounds like fun
to you. We have some games, feel free to bring others . We expect there
will be some cribbage and spades games going on, maybe an impromptu
tournament or two ... Bring a snack if you feel like it.
And actually, even if you're having a great holiday season, come
by anyway - it'll be a pleasant way to spend a cold winter's evening.
Come now, what masques, what dances shall we have,
to wear away this long age of three hollrs
between o!lr after-supper and our bedtime?
Where is our usual manager of mirth?
What revels are in hand? Is there no play
to ease the ang!lish of a tortL1Ting hour?
"A Midsurruners Night Dream", W . Shakespeare D
HERLAND
MANY NEW BOOKS -MYSTERIES, EROTICA, CLASSICS, FEMINllST THEORY, AND MORE...
199 3
CALENDARS
TAPES, CDs, AND V1DEos
K.D. LANG, HOLLY NEAR, THE INDIGO ORS, WHOOPI, AND MORE...
OFT SHOP W ITH LOCAL WOMEN'S ARTS AND CRAFTS
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
Herland Voice, November,
1992
3
MENSTRUAL MAGIC
by Debon-h Fox
Many anthropologists concur that Shamanism was originally a
female practice, and that it was linked to the moon and therefore
menstrual cults. The College of Hera, Thesmophoria , the Eleusinian
Mysteries, the Katamenia, the Oracles and possibly the Diblylline
colleges all had to do with woman's wisdom and menstruation.
Women's menstruation, entrained to or in natural rhythm (from
natural light) with the phases of the moon, set the schedule for Sabbaths
(which literally means "Goddess" and signifies woman-things)[ I ]. The
first calendar was a lunar, menstrual calendar.
Contemporary Yurok women say: "According to the old menstrual
laws, a woman should isolate herself during the flow because this is a
time when she is at the height of her powers. Such time should not be
wasted in mundane and social distractions, nor in concern with the
opposite sex . Rather all of one's energies should be applied in concentrated meditation on the nature of one's life, to find out the purpose of
your life. It is a time for the accumulation of spiritualenergy ..." [2]. This
is why women isolated themselves at menstruation, not because they
were dirty, as we are told by some male anthropologists, or impure, as
we are told by the patriarchal fathers.
Our menstruation is an evolutionary force; it is the female species
who has led evolution; our menstrual cycle evolved the human from
animal. "1be evolutionary change from estrus cycle to menstrual cycle
implies that sexual libido became available for something other than the
perpetuation of the species by the reproduction of offspring. That
'something other' is the enhancement of life produced by shared sexual
experience between individuals. An act of sex became this, rather than
simple impregnation of the female. From the appearance of the menstrual cycle therefore dates all the evolutionary developments which
have been seen as specifically human: viz., the development of mentality, symbolism, (a 'mental child' is a symbolic child), recognition and
valuing of the individual and social organization." [3]
Women's bodies mirror the cyclic nature of life; of the heaven's
(especially the moon's), the earth's and Nature's as well as the mystery
of creation. This is magical. All religion is about Creation as Monica
Sjoo and Barbar.a More have pointed out. "All formulations of religion
and philosophy are built upon the woman's capability not only of giving
physical life but with it of evolving and enhancing mental life also.
Woman is the true educator, because she has direct experience of
undividCd existence ...Woman imparts spiritual knowledge, which is
also physical knowledge, or carnal knowledge, by bearing the child and
forming the home into the eternal patterns--the home and thehearth being
the origin of all temples and churches--by sexual initiation, and by a
privileged access to cosmic rhythm, 'because of their natural menstrual
body cafondar".[4] We are ... "the interpreters of these cosmic rhythms
to human society, which is alienated without them"[5]. "Woman
partakes of immortal being, because she bleeds and still lives."[6]
"From the earliest human cultures, the mysterious magic of creation was thought to reside in the blood women gave forth in apparent
harmony with the moon, and which was sometimes retained in the womb
to 'coagulate' into a baby. Men regarded this blood with holy dread, as
the life-essence, inextricably shed without pain, wholly foreign to male
experience." [7] And thus: "because menstrual blood occupied a central
position in matriarchal theologies, and was already sacer -- holydreadful -- patriarchal ascetic thinkers showed almost hysterical fear of
it."[8]
Menstruation draws a woman inward, creates spontaneous trance
states (is mind-altering), heightens creativity, sharpens psychological
insights and perceptions, causes revelations, clarifies any confusion
that may have arisen earlier in the cycle, heightens sexuality, increases
4
Herland Voice, November,
1992
dreaming and psychic ability. "Sometimes the world may seem like an
overwhehning rush of colors, sounds , and other sensations. Thought
processes become instinctive, seem to be experienced physically. The
split between self and the physical environment disappears." [9]
Woman is by nature a Shaman; menstruation is a sacred power.
Ancient women utilized this time for self-discovery, creative vis ualization , sexual/spiritual ecstasy, prophesy, prophetic dreaming, healing,
working magic (i.e. spell-casting, weather-work), creativity, fine-tuning psychic ability, self-knowledge and transformation, that benefitted
herself as well as all humanity. It has been said that a woman's power
grows with the moon and comes and goes with it. [I 0] To be conscious
of our cyclic natures is wise.
Groups of women and priestesses, menstruating synchronistically
were a power house of body-prayer. " ..evidence that at some time in the
past women lived in the kind of kinship proximity that enabled them to
synchronize their menstrual periods. This menstrual synchronism
according to social anthropologist Chris Knight, beat out a great cultural
pulse, the two peaks of which were the surges of energy produced by
ovulation on the one hand, and menstruation on the other. This is the beat
which underlies the establishment of human society. Women ensured
that this would happen by ritual means ."(! I]
Male psychologists have neglected women's inner language of the
psyche -- it is up to us to rediscover it. Though we may not experience
our menstruations as powerful reservoirs of magic and wisdom today,
it is only because we have been conditioned against ourselves (PMS
studies by women show that women who have a positive picture of
menstruation do not have negative PMS/depression), and robbed of our
colleges, rites, and tradition knowledge passed from woman to woman
and do not understand our menstruations. We can relearn it because it
has never left us . Simply observing our cycles gets us back in tune with
our body's wisdom. Wben we are menstruating the door to the unconscious is wide open and fertile for psychic seeding -- it is an excellent
time to sow affinnations of personal growth, abilities, goals, desires,
world peace, positive visions/daydreams and to study our night dreams
for the wisdom brought up from our deepest selves. It is a great time for
experimenting with various meditations, art forms, rituals, and to create
ritual objects or sacred art. Our menstruation renews us and is likened
to "the moment of truth." Menstrual blood is honnone rich and ancient
women walked in the freshly seeded fields while menstruating to ensure
a good harvest. Try mixing your garden seeds with your menstrual
blood before planting them. Dab your forehead/third eye with it before
meditating or studying. Paint your lucky chann or amulet with it, by
doing so you affirm yourself to your deepest self. Start a menstruating
women's circle for visualization, prayer and healing. Befriend your
blood, it contains the magical life force within it.
Liberating ourselves from the taboos placed upon our menstruation by patriarchy (a highly effective instrument for controlling and
denigrating women), opens up to us a wealth of female wisdom, power
and pride. Menopausal women retain their wise blood, a subject for
another article.
Notes 1-6from The Wise Wound-Myths, Realities and Meanings
of Menstruation by Penelope Shuttle and Peter Redgrave. Notes 7 and
8 from The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara
G. Walker. Note9 from Judith Higginbottom in The Wise Wound. For
further readJi1g see Dragon time by Lusia Francia and Lifting the Curse
of Menstruation, A Feminist Appraisal of the Influence of Menstruation
on Women's Lives edited by Sharon Golub, PhD.
0
DEMANDS OF THE
1993
MARCH FINALIZED
The seven major demands of the 1993 March on Washington for
Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation were presented by the
Executive Committee at the National Steering Committee (NSC) meeting held in Denver on October 3 and 4.
At the May meeting in Dallas, the NSC gave input to the Platform
Conunittee which drafted 55 support items which were then approved
by the entire NSC . At the conclusion of that meeting the Executive
Committee was given the task to write the seven major demands. The
final version, presented to the National Steering Committee in Denver,
was approved by acclamation.
"The finalized march demands bring focus and priority to the
platform" according to Scout, a National Co-Chair forthe March. "The
demands prioritize our fight for civil rights, access to health care,
recognition of our family relationships, our rightful inclusion in educational systems as well as our commitment to fight racism and sexism.
This document is one behind which our community can continue the
massive organizing already under way to bring our message to DC."
PLATFORM OF THE
1993
MARCH ON WASHINGTON
FOR LESBIAN, GAv, AND 81 EauAL R1GHTS AND
LIBERATION
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendermovementrecognizes that
our quest for social justice ftmdamentally links us to the stniggles
against racism and sexism, class bias, economic injustice and religious
intolerance. We must realize if one of 11s is oppressed we all are
oppressed. The diversity of our movement requires and compels 11s to
stand in opposition to all forms of oppression that diminish the quality
oflife for all people. We will be vigilant in our determination to rid our
movement and our society of all fom1s of oppression and exploitation,
so that all of us can develop to our full h11man potential without regard
to race, religion, sex11al orientation/identification, identity, gender and
gender expression, ability, age or class.
1. We demand passage of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
civil rights bill and an end to discrimination by state and federal
governments including the military; repeal of all sodomy laws and other
laws that criminalize private sexual expression between consenting
adults.
2. We demand massive increase in funding for AIDS education,
research, and patient care; universal access to health care including
alternative therapies; and an end to sexism in medical research and
health care.
3. We demand legislation to prevent discrimination against Lesbians,
Gays, Bisexuals and Transgendered people in the areas of family
diversity, custody, adoption and foster care and that the definition of
family includes the full diversity of all family structures .
4. We demand full and equal inclusion of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals
and Transgendered people in the educational system, and inclusion of
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender studies in multicultural curricula.
5. We demand the right to reproductive freedom and choice, to control
our own bodies, and an end to sexist discrimination.
6. We demand an end to racial and ethnic discrimination in all forms.
7. We demand an end to discrimination and violent oppression based
on actual or perceived sexual orientation/identification, race, religion,
identity, sex and gender expression, disability, age, class, AIDS/HN
infection.
D
SURGE IN LESBIAN GAY
POLITICAL PROGRESS
Election Year '92, already an .unprecedented period for gay and
lesbian political visibility, culminated in election results that community leaders say will have a profound affect on gay and lesbian issues
in the future.
Gay leaders point to several key outcomes as indicators of a surge
in gay political progress: the presidential election of Bill Clinton, who
supported responsible AIDS policies and gay civil rights measures; the
defeat of anti-gay initiatives in Oregon (57-43 percent) and Portland,
Maine (57-43 percent); the election of pro-gay candidates to the U.S.
Congress, such as Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois and Barbara Boxer
of California; and the victory of several openly gay candidates, including U. S. Reps. Gerry Studds and Barney Frank, and state legislators
Karen Clark and Allan Spear (MN), and Glen Maxey (TX), among
others.
At the same time, troublesome losses in this election year and the
previous Congress point out the long road still ahead. In Colorado, an
initiative sponsored by the Evangelical Far Right passed 54-46 percent,
prohibiting protections against anti-gay discrimination . In Tampa,
Florida, a one-year-old gay rights law was overturned by referendum,
58 -42.
On the whole, most gay men and lesbians are celebrating the
national election outcomes with a sense that a historic moment in the gay
movement has been reached.
D
CANADIAN ANTI-GAY/LESBIAN
POLICY OVERTURNED
The anti-gay and lesbian policy of the Canadian armed forces was
overturned following a federal court ruling on October 2 7. The repeal
of the policy came after the military agreed to pay $100 ,000 to former
Air Force Lieutenant Michelle Douglas, who was discharged from the
service in 1989 after coming out as a lesbian.
The Canadian federal defense department admitted in court that its
controversial policy infringes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(CRF) of Canada, and would be immediately rescinded.
The U.S. Armed Forces anti-gay policy has resulted in 15,919 gay
and lesbian servicemembers being discharged between 1980 and 1990
alone, according to a GAO study. The study revealed that American
taxpayers paid $493 , 195 ,968 to rep lace those discharged
servicemembers . President-elect Clinton has vowed to overturn the
policy .
D
Office Hours By Appointment
Debra K. Brownin& R Ph., D. D.S.
Compri!hens ivi! Dental Cau
5009 N.
Suitt! 103
Pennsylvania,
( 405) 84J-J28J
Olt.laho·m a City. OK 7 JI I 2
Herland Voice, November,
1992
5
I Walk In The History
Of My People
There are women locked in my joints
for refusing to speak to the police
My red blood full of those
arre~ted
in flight
shot
My tendons stretched brittle with anger
do (twflook like white roots ofpeace
In my marrow are hungry faces
who live on land the whites don't want
In mymarrow women who walk 5 miles every day for water
InmymarrowtreswollenhandsofmypeopleVlfxJarenotallowed
to hunt
to move
to be
In the scars ofmy knees you can see
children tom from their families
bludgeoned into government schools
You can see through the pins in my bones
that we a.re prisoners of a long war
My knee is so badly wounded no one will look at it
The pus of the past oozes from every pore
This infection has gone on for at least 300 yea.rs
Our sacred beliefs have been ma.de into pencils
gas stations
names of cities
My knee is wounded so badly that I limp constantly
Anger is my crutch I hold myselfupright with it
My knee is wounded
see
How I Am Still Walking
--Chrystos
(reprinted with permission from Not Vanishing published by
press gang publishers, 1988)
Crooning
A soft old song for every lesbian who wants
to go home
again & can't
with her woman Jover in her a.n11s
holding hands in the streets
simple in our love
that they twist so No lies
Not "cousins"
not "best friends" not "room1nates"
No second bedrooms for show no pretend boyfriends
no custody cases no hidden mouths no grim smiles
at queerjokes on the job you 'd lose
if they knew
Go Home
with joy & strength
go home be received instead of tolerated
No anguished mothers afraid of father's response or
neighbors' gossip or grandma's heart condition
Go home to a clean welcome mat
a double bed
no questions accusations or expectations
I croon an old soft song for us
rocking down to a kind place we won't see in our lives
fighting for it
even when we 're drunk in bars
because we
can 't go home
Crooning for us my heart split
--- Chrystos
PubUshed by: Herland Sister Resources, Inc., 2312 N.W. 39th,
Oklahoma Cit)', Oklahotna 73112
Newsletter Committee: Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Pat
Reaves
Circulation: 1000
Chrystos is a Native American, born in 1946 and raised in
San Francisco. A political activist and speaker, as well as an
artist and writer, she is self educated. Her tireless momentum is
directed at a better undersanding of how colonialism, genocide,
class and gender affect the lives of women and Native people.
Chrystos will present two readings of her work in Oklahoma
City to benefit the Herland Legal Defense Fund on January 22
and 24 and will present a poetry workshop on January 23 (call
521-9696 for information. She will be recogniz.ed at Oklahoma
State University as the Agie Debo Scholar on January 27, 1993. D
Advertising Rates:
Busine5s card $15.00; 1/4 page $35.00:
1/2 page $60.00: full page $100.00
The Voice is offered as an open forum for community discuor~e.
Signed articles reflect the opinions of theauthor.a~d not n~essar1ly
those of Herland Sister Resources. Unsohc1ted articles and
letters to the editor are welcomed and must be signed by the writer
with full name and address. Upon request, letters or articles may
be printed under a pseudonym.
Subscriptions to The Voice are free upon reques t.
The Voice is printed on recycled paper.
6
Herland Voice, November,
1992
Herland invites ou to -
An Evening with
MAWUS/ MODUPE
7:30 P.M.
Friday, December 11
The Hotel Bohemia
2805 N. McKinley
$3.00 suggested donation
Songs ~ Dance ~ Drumming
Mawusi Invites her audience to celebrate and rejoice in the traditions
of the Sene Gambia West Africa, Afro Caribbean and AfricanAmerican Dance Theatre Styles.
Mawusl travels and performs with the Nubian Theatre Company on
the National Black Arts Touring Circuit.
She Is the Artistic Director for the Griot Project, an OKC organization
dedicated to the perpetuation-preservation of the oral tradition and
folkways of African and African-American Gulture. The Griot Project
repetolre consists of an array of dances, stories, drum rhythms and
songs from the African American diaspora.
Mawusl has been dancing over twenty years and has studied with
such notable artists as Bernice Johnson's Theater for the Performing
Arts; Otis Sallld, the choreographer for Fame; and Babb Olantunjl of
the African Heritage Center In Harlem. As a choreographer she has
created works for Western Dance Troupe, Blac Moves Too..• , Into
Afrika, Inner City Dance, and Uhuru Dance Co.
Late~ ...
LESBIAN AND GAY FILM FESTIVAL
From Ow- Rural Sister
I'm sorry I did not make it to the Retreat. Eventually I will and
maybe even have a friend to go with!
Not only have I found some women friends, but also a feminist, an
unabashed feminist... and we are becoming fast friends. I went to a
"Tupperware" Party and then gave one, and lo: my Woman's Consciousness Raising group was formecl! We are doing away with the
Tupperware "decoy" now and one of the women is going to give the" 1st
Annual Radical Wom~n's Christmas Party!" My prayers to the Goddess have certainly been answered. The Goddess is alive, magic is afoot!
I'm settling down now, back to . studying, writing, etc., and will
have another article for The Voice soon. I'm reading If Women Counted
- A New Feminist Economics, by Marilyn Waring - dry, but a very
important work
Hurrah for Bill & Hillary - now let's make them hold to their
promises! It's greatthatCongressis beginning to look like the American
people.
More later,
Love,
Deborah
The following is a copy of a letter sent to the Daily Disappointment:
they have not printed it:
Dear Editor:
Shame, Shame, Shame. Concerning the article, "Welfare Moms
Blamed for Cut in AIDS Funding" by Mick Hinton, October 8th; will
you stop at nothing in your attempts to divide people?
Nearly seventy people attended the demonstration and heard three
speakers outside the Capitol discuss why the AIDS drug reimbursement
program should and must be funded . Atthe same time three people with
AIDS were arrested inside the Capitol. One of those three people, when
asked where the money would come from, offered several opinions
including welfare reform.
The headline and three of the first four paragraphs of the article deal
with this one statement to the near exclusion of all other remarks made
by those arrested and those speaking outside. This is a total distortion
of the action that day.
ACT-UP does not blame anyone except Governor Walters and
Terry Childers. ACT-UP does not believe that people with AIDS should
benefit at the expense of others who need public assistance.
Where will the money come from? That is the Governor's prob !em.
If the governor does not find a way to fund this program people will get
sicker faster, they will have to quit work sooner. they will spend more
time in the hospital, and they will die' If the Governor cannot find
$250,000 to help save the lives of 250 Oklahomans he needs to rethi nk
his priorities. And if the Oklahoman cannot do a better job covering the
news then you should stop the presses.
Stephen Hardway .
Quality with that Personal Touch T•
December 2 - 6, 1992, the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance is
sponsoring a five day film festival which will offer 14 feature film
presentations of 35mm & 16mm films, wide screen video and slide
presentations. Admission prices for all programs will be $3 .50 with the
exception of the special Saturday afternoon guest presentation and two
late night films on Friday and Saturday night which will be $5 each.
Film festival passes for all 14 presentations will be available for
purchase prior to the festival at a cost of only $25 each.
"We are very proud of our film selections. We will be presenting
films which have never been seen before in the Dallas Metroplex, and
.one of the films will make it's U.S. debut here," Paula Matthies, the
Festival Director. Some of the films may only appeal to lesbians, some
only to gay men, and many will appeal to both lesbians and gay men of
all ages and ethnic backgrounds.
The Dallas Gay and Lesbian Community Center, located at 2701
Reagan Street at Brown, will be converted into a theater for this year's
festival, with full concessions including popcorn, soft drinks, candy,
beer and wine. All funds raised from the film festival will benefit the
Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance.
Individuals , businesses, and organizations are being asked to
sponsor a film or one of the 14 different programs to help raise money
to cover the festival expenses. Sponsors, advertisers, and volunteers to
help with the festival are encouraged to call Paula at 214/406-9123.
Major attractions and film highlights include "Non, Je Ne Regrette
Rien" (No, I have no regrets); the newest film by Award-winning
producer Marlon Riggs. Through music, poetry and at times, chilling
self-disclosure, five black gay men speak of their individual confrontation with AIDS . Also, "November Moon", a passionate and poignant
love story and romantic drama about a German Jew named Noveniber
and her lover Feria!, a French woman who must hide her from the Nazis.
Also, "Cross -Sexing the Narrative: lesbian subtext in music videos". Canadian filmmaker, writer, and critic Marusia Bociurkiw will
appear in person to give a 90-minute video and slide presentation of clips
from music videos by Madonna, k.d. Lang, Annie Lennox, Salt 'n
Peppa, Michelle Shocked, and others. Discover fantasy space, hidden
meanings and imagined identities that have a special allure for lesbians.
The music video allows perfonners to play with power, cross-dressing,
gender roles, and to transgress sexual identities. (Gay men and lesbians
will both enjoy this presentation .
Saturday night brings "two and a half hours of side-splitting
comedy. satire. parody, burlesque and laughter; a mixture of gay men
and lesbian films."
D
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
A - WOMAN
Ooo Joss
RENT -
e~ '14" dan't 4we,
tiHt€, ta
""?
&a ...
~·~·~·~·fld/~
Ink Well 1P1finting, Inc.
6051 N. Brookline, Suite 128
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
(405) 842-2021
~·
m614.'% altta
't.eflMt/~. ~·
~.134~4~.
943-4070
Hc:rland Voice, November, 1992
7
IN
CONCERT
Start 1993 off right with a once-in-a-lifetime concert of Oklahoma's finest women musicians.
Herland Sister Resources presents Donna D., Peggy Johnson, and Miss Brown to You in
concert at the Civic Center Little Theater, Saturday, January 2 at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are only
$8.00 and are on sale at Her land. Tickets will be available at the door for $10.00 -- but don't
wait because the theater only seats 390 .
Don·naD . is oneofHerland 's favorite performers and has played for many Herlandfunctions.
Her down-to-earth style and humor are always a hit whether performing old standards or her
delightful original songs .
Peggy Johnson is a we!! known singer/songwriter in the Oklahoma City area. She has
performed at clubs, coffeehouses, and concerts in OKC and Norman since 1984 and has
contributed greatly to the folk music scene. More recently, she has taken her music on the road
to the National Women's Music Festival, Mountain Moving Coffeehouse in Chicago, the New South
Showcase in Atlanta, and the 1992 National Women's Studies Conference.. Peggy frequently
lends her music to good causes
ranging from teachers rallying for
better education to Take Back The Night Rallies, and the Lesbian/Gay Pride Parade. She
has two recordings, Tii11e to Do It and Lost Wax Tra1i1s.
·
Miss Brown to You is a group equally at home in jazz or rhythm and blues. They
appeared at the 1991 and 1992 Lone Star Music Festival and play frequently at OKC
venues. They will come to this concert fresh from the recording studio where they are
making their first album. Collectively and as individuals they are respected musicians.
Terri Hoersh, the bass player, began herprofessionalmusic career playing in the pop/
rock clubs of Chicago in the late Seventies. She has journeyed all over the country and
traversed many musical styles, having toured extensively in adult contemporary and
country bands. After settling in Oklahoma City four years ago, Terri has branched out
into straight-ahead jazz, but always brings a bluesy interpretation to the bands sound -a solid style that has become her stock in trade.
Elyse Angelo (drmruner) has long been in the vanguard of OKC music . She was
the first female drum major at Northwest Classen High School and studied percussion
with noted professor K. Dean Walker at Oklahoma City University. Elyse has played and
toured with several rock'n'roll bands in the Oklahoma City area.
No style of music is out of Louise Dick 's (keyboards) range. Influenced by her father,
a jazz pianist, she began playing piano as a child . She studied classical and jazz piano
in college. Louise has appeared with many groups on the local scene, most notably reggae groups the Street People and the Whale and the Flea, and
Latin/jazz group Los Gringos. She is well known among Oklahoma City musicians for her phenomenal keyboard interpretations in music ranging from
folk to jazz and back again, and she also plays guitar with Miss Brown to You.
Mary Reynolds (vocalist) sang her first song at the tender age of eighteen months. After studying voice with world-famous teacher and perfonner
Carol Brice, she began a long apprenticeship playing in country and rock bands. In the early 1980' s she performed extensively on the Greenwich Village
front and also appeared for a time in the Bay Area. Returning to Oklahoma City in 1985, Mary founded the popular vocal group Sisters of Swing. Mary's
vocal ability has a reputation in Oklahoma City; she was voted Best Female Vocalist in the Gazette Reader's Poll three years running. Mary also plays
guitar and saxophone with Miss Brown to You.
C9Aaflemor--------------------------~
"No More Masks: Writing Poetry", A poetry writing workshop for women will be taught by Elizabeth Sargent during the intersession at O.U. The
workshop will meet 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, January 6-8. One credit hour in womens studies is available. For telephone enrolhnent or information
call the OU Intersession Office at 325-5101.
Are you now, or have you ever been, in a relationship with a woman 15 years or more younger or older than yourself? Personal narratives and
photographs sought for anthology on intergenerational relationships between lesbians. Send us submissions by 12/30/92 and SASE for guidelines
to Pat Rutherford/Stacy Saetta, 3060 Porter Street #31, Soquel, CA 95073.
The Undress Code for Women . .. The Sands Casino in Atlantic City is accused in a lawsuit of discriminating against women by forcing cocktail
waitresses to wear sexy clothes while letting male waiters dress comfortably. The Equal Employment Opportunity Conunission in Philadelphi a.
which filed on behalf of Anna Grimes, says it's the first case of its kind brought against a casino. Grimes, who still works at the Sands, says she
was forced to be scantily dressed and wear 5 inch heels that hurt her feet. Men may wear tuxedos and sneakers or other low shoes. (From On
the Issues, Winter, 1992.)
-
OKLAHOMANS . OBSERVE
WORLD
Al DS
CONCERNED Aeou:r PRIVACY
DAY
AND EQUAL PROTECTION
On December 1st, World AIDS Day, a coalition of AIDS
service organizations will sponsor a candlelight program and
march to the Governor's mansion. The purpose of this event is to
remember the loved ones we have lost to AIDS and to protest the
decision of Governor Walters and DHS Head, Terry Childers, to
cut off the life-savings drugs of 250 Oklahomans with AIDS.
The event will begin at 5 :30 P.M . on the south steps of the
state capitol. There will be a brief program with music and
speakers. Those gathered will then fonn a procession and march
to the Governor's mansion.
All Oklahomans who are concerned about this issue are
invited to attend. Parents, grandparents, friends, church care
teams, and other loved ones are expected to be represented in the
gathering. This will be a peaceful, reverent protest by many
individuals and groups. Sponsoring organizations include:
ACT-UP Oklahoma City, Herland Sister Resources, RAIN (Regional AIDS Interfaith Network), Other Options, Oklahoma City
Area HIV/AIDS Coalition, and Triangle Association.
Scheduled speakers include: Stephen Hardway, ACT-UP
Oklahoma City; Mary Catherine Smothermon, Executive Director of RAIN; and Cookie Arbuckle of Other Options.
As of November 1, 1992, federal money provided by Title
II of the Ryan White Care Act for the state drug program for
persons living with AIDS ran out .. This program provided lifesaving drugs for persons living with AIDS. These drugs (AZT,
DDI, Bactrim and others) are the only known treatment for
effectively battling the AIDS virus.
The shortfall in funds from the Ryan White Act has been left
up to the individual states to deal with. Terry Childers of DHS
and Governor Walters are refusing to find the additional monies
needed within their budgets. Their decision will kill people .
It would take only $250,000 to save the lives of about 250
people -- $1,000 per life.
The World Health Organization has designated December
I st as World AIDS Day. It has become an annual event to
acknowledge the devastation this epidemic is wreaking all over
the world. Over 500,000 cases of AIDS have been reported
worldwide with over 325,000 deaths. Over 160,000 people in
the United States have died and at least 1.5 million United States
citizens carry the HIV virus. In Oklahoma over 742 people have
O
died and an estimated 7,000 people carry the HIV virus.
SILENCE
Volume 9 Number l J
DEATH
GooD NEws FoR THOSE
The Supreme Court of Kentucky has ruled (Kentucky v.
Wasson, 1992) that the Kentucky statute criminalizing deviant
sexual intercourse between consenting adults of the same sex is
a violation of that state's constitutional rights to privacy and
equal protection. Shirley Wiegand, one of the original litigating
attorneys in that case, now lives in Oklahoma. Professor Wiegand
teaches at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Congratulations Professor Wiegand!!
Is it time to tackle Oklahoma's regre;,sive sodomy law?
Comment directly to Herland Sister Resources, ATIN: Jean,
2312 N.W. 39 Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73112 or leave a
message at (405)521-9696.
0
FAMIL y COOK/N
1
Family Cookin ', the cook book benefi tting the Herland Legal
Defense Fund, will be officially offered for sale at a cookbook
tasting dinner on Sunday, December 6 from 5 to 7 P.M. The
cookbook features our favorite recipes and artwork by Michelle
Dillehay. Cookbooks will be available for purchase for only
$7.00.
Dinner, highlighed by the tastiest Family Cookin 'receipes,
is included in the $2 cover charge. Every one there will also get
the opportunity to sample the unique "Blender Blues" and even
take the recipe to try at home .
The child custody case which the Legal Defense fund is
supporting is pending further action by the Oklahoma Supreme
Court. The next action of the Court will be a decision as to
whether the case should be heard by the State Supreme Court or
heard by a lower appellate court.
Support for this case has come from all over the United
States. The Lambda Legal Defense fund is assisting and preparing an amicus brief. Other support has come from the Lesbian
Mothers Defense Fund, The Gay Fathers of Los Angeles, the
Lesbian Coalition of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, other organizations,
and many women and men across the country. Many contributions have come from lesbian/gay parents and too often the letters
tell similar stories of children denied their families.
We still need your help to win this battle. Legal costs
continue to mount. Please consider helping us to make Oklahoma
safer for lesbian and gay parents. Contributions can be sent to:
LegalDefenseFund,Herland, 2312 NW 39,0KC,OK 73112. 0
Herland Sister Resources
2312 N.W. 39, OKC, OK 73112
ST. SYBIL
Sybil Ludington, Matron Saint of First Ladies and other Forgotten
women, is an occasional contributor to this space.
Dear St. Sybil,
Where you are, are you glad the elections are over? We are, I'll tell
you.
Wearily,
Hattie Nuff
Dear Hattie,
Well now, where I am, we pretty well hang out anywhere wdwant
on the time/space/reality continuum, so if we get bored or distressed
with something somewhere, we just move on along. However, if we had
to spend our time in the fall 1992 USA, we would be so glad that the
elections are over that we would make up a top Thirteen (we're pretty
witchy here) List of reasons why:
Thirteen:
Twelve:
Eleven:
Ten:
Nine:
Eight:
Seven:
Six:
Five:
Four:
Three:
Two:
One:
A 7,934% rise in the truthfulness index on Earth.
Seeing George Bush have to go live in Houston.
Seeing Bill Clinton so happy (I'm sorry, but you've got
to be pretty hard-hearted not to like that boy).
Seeing Admiral Stockdale so happy.(" " " " " " "
" " " " " " " " too.)
Getting to watch Hillary redefine "First Lady" job.
Getting to watch Al redefine VP job.
Getting to watch Chelsea grow up - what a honey.
Not having to watch Danny grow up any more.
Not having to monitor Rush Limbaugh anymore.
Marilyn so furious.
Nice that Ross Perot can return to home planet Zrx Vkls
and entertain the ZrxVklspods for awhile.
Lots of good jobs for good Democrats.
A Pro-Choice, Sax-Playing, Pot-Smoking War Protester
in the White House; it's just too delicious .
Dear St. Sybil,
I was really happy whey I heard that the Church ofEngland decided
to begin ordaining women. But I understand that some people, even
some women, are leaving the church in protest. For instance, I read
about a woman named Ann Widdecombe, who is a member of Parliament - I would have thought that she would have wanted to see women
achieve parity in all areas, but no, she's leaving the church in disgust:
and she's not the only one. What's going on? What's wrong with people?
What does it mean?
Yours in confusion,
Olin A Muddle
Dear Olin,
What it means is that sexism is a deep polluted river seeping into
the aquifer of our planet's soul, sparing no one its foul carcinogenic,
teterogeniceffect. It means thatTheGreatCreatorwas once (is now and
always will be) female, giver of life, nurturer of earth and soul,
comforter and chastiser; and that the effort it takes to deny this anp. to
tum religion topsy-turvy is so great that many people must subjugate
their br 'ies, their souls and their reason to it.
It means that while the Chinese no longer bind the feet of women
into a ti ny painful deformity, women and their souls in England today
do not ~ , re as well.
I don'tknow about Ann Widdecombe's family life growing up, but
I will wager my eternity that the binding of her soul began there, with
cloths of inequality and oil of phony privilege. And I know that school,
2
3erland Voice, November, 1992
and sunday school, and books, and readers, and math workbooks, and
movies and comics and radio shows and television, and speeches and
speakers and teachers, newspapers and advertising and bad science and
worse religion , laid successive layers of self-hate and constriction on
her soul; until the prospect of a being similar to herself, to a person of
her own gender, to a woman, ascending to a holy and exalted position,
is repellent to her.
Weep for Ann Widdecombe, my dear. It would be as painful for
her soul to unfold as it ever was for a woman to unbind her feet.
Sorrowfully,
Sybil
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
URGENT ACTION ALERT
Two teenage Mayan sisters were abducted in Guatemala City,
October 19, three days after the announcement of Rigoberta Menchu's
receiving the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. Cristina and Matea Par are
members of "The New Dawn," an indigenous umbrella organization,
and had come to Guatemala City from Solola to participate in public
events surrounding the 500th memorial of Columbus' landing and
Nobel Prize Announcement.
Amnesty International has been told that shortly after the sisters
left the offices of"The New Dawn" they were approached by a man and
two women wearing western-style clothes who admired their indigenous dress and engaged them in conversation. Suddenly the three
grabbed the sisters, dragged them by the hair, and brandished weapons.
They told Cristina and Ma tea that they had seen them at the October 17
march for Rigoberta Menchu, and began to beat tl1eteenagers and to strip
off their clothes, saying that their indigenous dress demonstrated that
they were guerrillas.
The naked girls managed to escape and were helped by witnesses
of the incident who gave them clothes. The girls reported that their
assailants had threatened to kill them.
AI is concerned that tl1e manner in which the attack was carried out
may indicate that members of the Guatemalan security forces or those
working with them may have been responsible. AI has documented
many cases where armed men in plain clothes carry out similar acts of
violence against people considered to be political opponents of the
government. In many cases, such assailants verbally link Rigoberta
Menchu and other indigenous leaders with the anned opposition .
In the days following the 500th memorial of Columbus landing in
tllis hemisphere and the announcement October 16 ofRigoberta Menchu
receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, tile offices of three different popular
organizations in Guatemala City, including the Mothers of the Dead and
Disappeared, were bombed. Al is concerned for the security of all those
associated with Rigoberta Menchu, and particularly the leaders and
members of popular organizations and indigenous groups.
AI hopes that people will write personal letters of concern to U.S.
0
Senators, Washington, D.C. 20510.
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Midwest City, OK 73110
(405) 737-0496
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JOY HUSKA, D.V.M.
MORTGAGE PAYOFF NEARS
With 1993 just around the corner, Herland is preparing for the final
payment on the building mortgage. With the generous support of the
members of our community -- near and far, we will make that payment.
Special thanks go to all those listed below who have pledged/donated $200
or more. Those names with a star have paid their pledge in full . If you
haven't contributed yet, there's still time. All contributors of $200 or more
will be honored on a permanent plaque to be displayed at Herland.
Jon Soskefc
Tommy & Dianna-CC-CC
Sarah L Oakes-CC
Dorothy Alexander
Pat Reaves-CC
Jo Soskefc
Barbara Neas & David Miller-CC
Joni Darnell
Jean Kelsey-CC
Barbara Hillyer-CC
Barbara Cleveland
Terry Cocon
Kathy Conroy-CC
Karen Lewis
Sally Nostrantfc
Ginger McGovern
Rhonda Smith
Anonymous
Pat Colognesi & Beverly McGuginfc Billie & Susan-ct
In Honor of Stephen Hardway-ct
Margaret Cox-CC
In Honor of SunShine Schilling-CC
Kris Marek
Alice & Charlotte-CC
Marian Hulsey
Wanda Chapman-CC
Abigal Keegan
Dottie Painter
Shatzy Watson-CC
Gail Garloch & Edie Schneeberger-CC Laura Choate-CC
Cecily Welter-Mullen-CC
Carol Schnepperfc
Kelly Morgan & Julie Carr
Friends of the Porthole-CC
Jill Burroughs & Peggy Johnson
Raphella Sohier
Buster the Retreat Dog-CC
In Memory ofKath:rine Moore-CC
Cathy Colvard & Beverly Gardner
Dr. Joan Webb & Susan Blake-CC
Carolyn Cox & E . Dianna Escoto
Marilyn Sebek
Jessica Soske in Memory of David Chrispellu
Marge Delaney in Memory of Chris Delaney-CC
HOLIDAY BLUES?
Many people have a rough time during the extended holiday period
from Thanksgiving through New Year's . Being away from family - or
the opposite, being overwhelmed by them; a recent death - or a long-ago
one still keenly felt; a new move, a loss of friends, a divorce, geographical distance, illness - almost everyone has a bad time of it one year or
another.
As a way of helping, and to provide an alternative to the bars or to
the loneliness of staying home alone, Herland will be open on Saturday
evenings throughout December; from the regular closing hour of 6 pm
until 9 pm. Corne and join us for a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and
a game of cards or Clue or Trivial Pursuit or whatever sounds like fun
to you. We have some games, feel free to bring others . We expect there
will be some cribbage and spades games going on, maybe an impromptu
tournament or two ... Bring a snack if you feel like it.
And actually, even if you're having a great holiday season, come
by anyway - it'll be a pleasant way to spend a cold winter's evening.
Come now, what masques, what dances shall we have,
to wear away this long age of three hollrs
between o!lr after-supper and our bedtime?
Where is our usual manager of mirth?
What revels are in hand? Is there no play
to ease the ang!lish of a tortL1Ting hour?
"A Midsurruners Night Dream", W . Shakespeare D
HERLAND
MANY NEW BOOKS -MYSTERIES, EROTICA, CLASSICS, FEMINllST THEORY, AND MORE...
199 3
CALENDARS
TAPES, CDs, AND V1DEos
K.D. LANG, HOLLY NEAR, THE INDIGO ORS, WHOOPI, AND MORE...
OFT SHOP W ITH LOCAL WOMEN'S ARTS AND CRAFTS
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
Herland Voice, November,
1992
3
MENSTRUAL MAGIC
by Debon-h Fox
Many anthropologists concur that Shamanism was originally a
female practice, and that it was linked to the moon and therefore
menstrual cults. The College of Hera, Thesmophoria , the Eleusinian
Mysteries, the Katamenia, the Oracles and possibly the Diblylline
colleges all had to do with woman's wisdom and menstruation.
Women's menstruation, entrained to or in natural rhythm (from
natural light) with the phases of the moon, set the schedule for Sabbaths
(which literally means "Goddess" and signifies woman-things)[ I ]. The
first calendar was a lunar, menstrual calendar.
Contemporary Yurok women say: "According to the old menstrual
laws, a woman should isolate herself during the flow because this is a
time when she is at the height of her powers. Such time should not be
wasted in mundane and social distractions, nor in concern with the
opposite sex . Rather all of one's energies should be applied in concentrated meditation on the nature of one's life, to find out the purpose of
your life. It is a time for the accumulation of spiritualenergy ..." [2]. This
is why women isolated themselves at menstruation, not because they
were dirty, as we are told by some male anthropologists, or impure, as
we are told by the patriarchal fathers.
Our menstruation is an evolutionary force; it is the female species
who has led evolution; our menstrual cycle evolved the human from
animal. "1be evolutionary change from estrus cycle to menstrual cycle
implies that sexual libido became available for something other than the
perpetuation of the species by the reproduction of offspring. That
'something other' is the enhancement of life produced by shared sexual
experience between individuals. An act of sex became this, rather than
simple impregnation of the female. From the appearance of the menstrual cycle therefore dates all the evolutionary developments which
have been seen as specifically human: viz., the development of mentality, symbolism, (a 'mental child' is a symbolic child), recognition and
valuing of the individual and social organization." [3]
Women's bodies mirror the cyclic nature of life; of the heaven's
(especially the moon's), the earth's and Nature's as well as the mystery
of creation. This is magical. All religion is about Creation as Monica
Sjoo and Barbar.a More have pointed out. "All formulations of religion
and philosophy are built upon the woman's capability not only of giving
physical life but with it of evolving and enhancing mental life also.
Woman is the true educator, because she has direct experience of
undividCd existence ...Woman imparts spiritual knowledge, which is
also physical knowledge, or carnal knowledge, by bearing the child and
forming the home into the eternal patterns--the home and thehearth being
the origin of all temples and churches--by sexual initiation, and by a
privileged access to cosmic rhythm, 'because of their natural menstrual
body cafondar".[4] We are ... "the interpreters of these cosmic rhythms
to human society, which is alienated without them"[5]. "Woman
partakes of immortal being, because she bleeds and still lives."[6]
"From the earliest human cultures, the mysterious magic of creation was thought to reside in the blood women gave forth in apparent
harmony with the moon, and which was sometimes retained in the womb
to 'coagulate' into a baby. Men regarded this blood with holy dread, as
the life-essence, inextricably shed without pain, wholly foreign to male
experience." [7] And thus: "because menstrual blood occupied a central
position in matriarchal theologies, and was already sacer -- holydreadful -- patriarchal ascetic thinkers showed almost hysterical fear of
it."[8]
Menstruation draws a woman inward, creates spontaneous trance
states (is mind-altering), heightens creativity, sharpens psychological
insights and perceptions, causes revelations, clarifies any confusion
that may have arisen earlier in the cycle, heightens sexuality, increases
4
Herland Voice, November,
1992
dreaming and psychic ability. "Sometimes the world may seem like an
overwhehning rush of colors, sounds , and other sensations. Thought
processes become instinctive, seem to be experienced physically. The
split between self and the physical environment disappears." [9]
Woman is by nature a Shaman; menstruation is a sacred power.
Ancient women utilized this time for self-discovery, creative vis ualization , sexual/spiritual ecstasy, prophesy, prophetic dreaming, healing,
working magic (i.e. spell-casting, weather-work), creativity, fine-tuning psychic ability, self-knowledge and transformation, that benefitted
herself as well as all humanity. It has been said that a woman's power
grows with the moon and comes and goes with it. [I 0] To be conscious
of our cyclic natures is wise.
Groups of women and priestesses, menstruating synchronistically
were a power house of body-prayer. " ..evidence that at some time in the
past women lived in the kind of kinship proximity that enabled them to
synchronize their menstrual periods. This menstrual synchronism
according to social anthropologist Chris Knight, beat out a great cultural
pulse, the two peaks of which were the surges of energy produced by
ovulation on the one hand, and menstruation on the other. This is the beat
which underlies the establishment of human society. Women ensured
that this would happen by ritual means ."(! I]
Male psychologists have neglected women's inner language of the
psyche -- it is up to us to rediscover it. Though we may not experience
our menstruations as powerful reservoirs of magic and wisdom today,
it is only because we have been conditioned against ourselves (PMS
studies by women show that women who have a positive picture of
menstruation do not have negative PMS/depression), and robbed of our
colleges, rites, and tradition knowledge passed from woman to woman
and do not understand our menstruations. We can relearn it because it
has never left us . Simply observing our cycles gets us back in tune with
our body's wisdom. Wben we are menstruating the door to the unconscious is wide open and fertile for psychic seeding -- it is an excellent
time to sow affinnations of personal growth, abilities, goals, desires,
world peace, positive visions/daydreams and to study our night dreams
for the wisdom brought up from our deepest selves. It is a great time for
experimenting with various meditations, art forms, rituals, and to create
ritual objects or sacred art. Our menstruation renews us and is likened
to "the moment of truth." Menstrual blood is honnone rich and ancient
women walked in the freshly seeded fields while menstruating to ensure
a good harvest. Try mixing your garden seeds with your menstrual
blood before planting them. Dab your forehead/third eye with it before
meditating or studying. Paint your lucky chann or amulet with it, by
doing so you affirm yourself to your deepest self. Start a menstruating
women's circle for visualization, prayer and healing. Befriend your
blood, it contains the magical life force within it.
Liberating ourselves from the taboos placed upon our menstruation by patriarchy (a highly effective instrument for controlling and
denigrating women), opens up to us a wealth of female wisdom, power
and pride. Menopausal women retain their wise blood, a subject for
another article.
Notes 1-6from The Wise Wound-Myths, Realities and Meanings
of Menstruation by Penelope Shuttle and Peter Redgrave. Notes 7 and
8 from The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara
G. Walker. Note9 from Judith Higginbottom in The Wise Wound. For
further readJi1g see Dragon time by Lusia Francia and Lifting the Curse
of Menstruation, A Feminist Appraisal of the Influence of Menstruation
on Women's Lives edited by Sharon Golub, PhD.
0
DEMANDS OF THE
1993
MARCH FINALIZED
The seven major demands of the 1993 March on Washington for
Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation were presented by the
Executive Committee at the National Steering Committee (NSC) meeting held in Denver on October 3 and 4.
At the May meeting in Dallas, the NSC gave input to the Platform
Conunittee which drafted 55 support items which were then approved
by the entire NSC . At the conclusion of that meeting the Executive
Committee was given the task to write the seven major demands. The
final version, presented to the National Steering Committee in Denver,
was approved by acclamation.
"The finalized march demands bring focus and priority to the
platform" according to Scout, a National Co-Chair forthe March. "The
demands prioritize our fight for civil rights, access to health care,
recognition of our family relationships, our rightful inclusion in educational systems as well as our commitment to fight racism and sexism.
This document is one behind which our community can continue the
massive organizing already under way to bring our message to DC."
PLATFORM OF THE
1993
MARCH ON WASHINGTON
FOR LESBIAN, GAv, AND 81 EauAL R1GHTS AND
LIBERATION
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendermovementrecognizes that
our quest for social justice ftmdamentally links us to the stniggles
against racism and sexism, class bias, economic injustice and religious
intolerance. We must realize if one of 11s is oppressed we all are
oppressed. The diversity of our movement requires and compels 11s to
stand in opposition to all forms of oppression that diminish the quality
oflife for all people. We will be vigilant in our determination to rid our
movement and our society of all fom1s of oppression and exploitation,
so that all of us can develop to our full h11man potential without regard
to race, religion, sex11al orientation/identification, identity, gender and
gender expression, ability, age or class.
1. We demand passage of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
civil rights bill and an end to discrimination by state and federal
governments including the military; repeal of all sodomy laws and other
laws that criminalize private sexual expression between consenting
adults.
2. We demand massive increase in funding for AIDS education,
research, and patient care; universal access to health care including
alternative therapies; and an end to sexism in medical research and
health care.
3. We demand legislation to prevent discrimination against Lesbians,
Gays, Bisexuals and Transgendered people in the areas of family
diversity, custody, adoption and foster care and that the definition of
family includes the full diversity of all family structures .
4. We demand full and equal inclusion of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals
and Transgendered people in the educational system, and inclusion of
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender studies in multicultural curricula.
5. We demand the right to reproductive freedom and choice, to control
our own bodies, and an end to sexist discrimination.
6. We demand an end to racial and ethnic discrimination in all forms.
7. We demand an end to discrimination and violent oppression based
on actual or perceived sexual orientation/identification, race, religion,
identity, sex and gender expression, disability, age, class, AIDS/HN
infection.
D
SURGE IN LESBIAN GAY
POLITICAL PROGRESS
Election Year '92, already an .unprecedented period for gay and
lesbian political visibility, culminated in election results that community leaders say will have a profound affect on gay and lesbian issues
in the future.
Gay leaders point to several key outcomes as indicators of a surge
in gay political progress: the presidential election of Bill Clinton, who
supported responsible AIDS policies and gay civil rights measures; the
defeat of anti-gay initiatives in Oregon (57-43 percent) and Portland,
Maine (57-43 percent); the election of pro-gay candidates to the U.S.
Congress, such as Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois and Barbara Boxer
of California; and the victory of several openly gay candidates, including U. S. Reps. Gerry Studds and Barney Frank, and state legislators
Karen Clark and Allan Spear (MN), and Glen Maxey (TX), among
others.
At the same time, troublesome losses in this election year and the
previous Congress point out the long road still ahead. In Colorado, an
initiative sponsored by the Evangelical Far Right passed 54-46 percent,
prohibiting protections against anti-gay discrimination . In Tampa,
Florida, a one-year-old gay rights law was overturned by referendum,
58 -42.
On the whole, most gay men and lesbians are celebrating the
national election outcomes with a sense that a historic moment in the gay
movement has been reached.
D
CANADIAN ANTI-GAY/LESBIAN
POLICY OVERTURNED
The anti-gay and lesbian policy of the Canadian armed forces was
overturned following a federal court ruling on October 2 7. The repeal
of the policy came after the military agreed to pay $100 ,000 to former
Air Force Lieutenant Michelle Douglas, who was discharged from the
service in 1989 after coming out as a lesbian.
The Canadian federal defense department admitted in court that its
controversial policy infringes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(CRF) of Canada, and would be immediately rescinded.
The U.S. Armed Forces anti-gay policy has resulted in 15,919 gay
and lesbian servicemembers being discharged between 1980 and 1990
alone, according to a GAO study. The study revealed that American
taxpayers paid $493 , 195 ,968 to rep lace those discharged
servicemembers . President-elect Clinton has vowed to overturn the
policy .
D
Office Hours By Appointment
Debra K. Brownin& R Ph., D. D.S.
Compri!hens ivi! Dental Cau
5009 N.
Suitt! 103
Pennsylvania,
( 405) 84J-J28J
Olt.laho·m a City. OK 7 JI I 2
Herland Voice, November,
1992
5
I Walk In The History
Of My People
There are women locked in my joints
for refusing to speak to the police
My red blood full of those
arre~ted
in flight
shot
My tendons stretched brittle with anger
do (twflook like white roots ofpeace
In my marrow are hungry faces
who live on land the whites don't want
In mymarrow women who walk 5 miles every day for water
InmymarrowtreswollenhandsofmypeopleVlfxJarenotallowed
to hunt
to move
to be
In the scars ofmy knees you can see
children tom from their families
bludgeoned into government schools
You can see through the pins in my bones
that we a.re prisoners of a long war
My knee is so badly wounded no one will look at it
The pus of the past oozes from every pore
This infection has gone on for at least 300 yea.rs
Our sacred beliefs have been ma.de into pencils
gas stations
names of cities
My knee is wounded so badly that I limp constantly
Anger is my crutch I hold myselfupright with it
My knee is wounded
see
How I Am Still Walking
--Chrystos
(reprinted with permission from Not Vanishing published by
press gang publishers, 1988)
Crooning
A soft old song for every lesbian who wants
to go home
again & can't
with her woman Jover in her a.n11s
holding hands in the streets
simple in our love
that they twist so No lies
Not "cousins"
not "best friends" not "room1nates"
No second bedrooms for show no pretend boyfriends
no custody cases no hidden mouths no grim smiles
at queerjokes on the job you 'd lose
if they knew
Go Home
with joy & strength
go home be received instead of tolerated
No anguished mothers afraid of father's response or
neighbors' gossip or grandma's heart condition
Go home to a clean welcome mat
a double bed
no questions accusations or expectations
I croon an old soft song for us
rocking down to a kind place we won't see in our lives
fighting for it
even when we 're drunk in bars
because we
can 't go home
Crooning for us my heart split
--- Chrystos
PubUshed by: Herland Sister Resources, Inc., 2312 N.W. 39th,
Oklahoma Cit)', Oklahotna 73112
Newsletter Committee: Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Pat
Reaves
Circulation: 1000
Chrystos is a Native American, born in 1946 and raised in
San Francisco. A political activist and speaker, as well as an
artist and writer, she is self educated. Her tireless momentum is
directed at a better undersanding of how colonialism, genocide,
class and gender affect the lives of women and Native people.
Chrystos will present two readings of her work in Oklahoma
City to benefit the Herland Legal Defense Fund on January 22
and 24 and will present a poetry workshop on January 23 (call
521-9696 for information. She will be recogniz.ed at Oklahoma
State University as the Agie Debo Scholar on January 27, 1993. D
Advertising Rates:
Busine5s card $15.00; 1/4 page $35.00:
1/2 page $60.00: full page $100.00
The Voice is offered as an open forum for community discuor~e.
Signed articles reflect the opinions of theauthor.a~d not n~essar1ly
those of Herland Sister Resources. Unsohc1ted articles and
letters to the editor are welcomed and must be signed by the writer
with full name and address. Upon request, letters or articles may
be printed under a pseudonym.
Subscriptions to The Voice are free upon reques t.
The Voice is printed on recycled paper.
6
Herland Voice, November,
1992
Herland invites ou to -
An Evening with
MAWUS/ MODUPE
7:30 P.M.
Friday, December 11
The Hotel Bohemia
2805 N. McKinley
$3.00 suggested donation
Songs ~ Dance ~ Drumming
Mawusi Invites her audience to celebrate and rejoice in the traditions
of the Sene Gambia West Africa, Afro Caribbean and AfricanAmerican Dance Theatre Styles.
Mawusl travels and performs with the Nubian Theatre Company on
the National Black Arts Touring Circuit.
She Is the Artistic Director for the Griot Project, an OKC organization
dedicated to the perpetuation-preservation of the oral tradition and
folkways of African and African-American Gulture. The Griot Project
repetolre consists of an array of dances, stories, drum rhythms and
songs from the African American diaspora.
Mawusl has been dancing over twenty years and has studied with
such notable artists as Bernice Johnson's Theater for the Performing
Arts; Otis Sallld, the choreographer for Fame; and Babb Olantunjl of
the African Heritage Center In Harlem. As a choreographer she has
created works for Western Dance Troupe, Blac Moves Too..• , Into
Afrika, Inner City Dance, and Uhuru Dance Co.
Late~ ...
LESBIAN AND GAY FILM FESTIVAL
From Ow- Rural Sister
I'm sorry I did not make it to the Retreat. Eventually I will and
maybe even have a friend to go with!
Not only have I found some women friends, but also a feminist, an
unabashed feminist... and we are becoming fast friends. I went to a
"Tupperware" Party and then gave one, and lo: my Woman's Consciousness Raising group was formecl! We are doing away with the
Tupperware "decoy" now and one of the women is going to give the" 1st
Annual Radical Wom~n's Christmas Party!" My prayers to the Goddess have certainly been answered. The Goddess is alive, magic is afoot!
I'm settling down now, back to . studying, writing, etc., and will
have another article for The Voice soon. I'm reading If Women Counted
- A New Feminist Economics, by Marilyn Waring - dry, but a very
important work
Hurrah for Bill & Hillary - now let's make them hold to their
promises! It's greatthatCongressis beginning to look like the American
people.
More later,
Love,
Deborah
The following is a copy of a letter sent to the Daily Disappointment:
they have not printed it:
Dear Editor:
Shame, Shame, Shame. Concerning the article, "Welfare Moms
Blamed for Cut in AIDS Funding" by Mick Hinton, October 8th; will
you stop at nothing in your attempts to divide people?
Nearly seventy people attended the demonstration and heard three
speakers outside the Capitol discuss why the AIDS drug reimbursement
program should and must be funded . Atthe same time three people with
AIDS were arrested inside the Capitol. One of those three people, when
asked where the money would come from, offered several opinions
including welfare reform.
The headline and three of the first four paragraphs of the article deal
with this one statement to the near exclusion of all other remarks made
by those arrested and those speaking outside. This is a total distortion
of the action that day.
ACT-UP does not blame anyone except Governor Walters and
Terry Childers. ACT-UP does not believe that people with AIDS should
benefit at the expense of others who need public assistance.
Where will the money come from? That is the Governor's prob !em.
If the governor does not find a way to fund this program people will get
sicker faster, they will have to quit work sooner. they will spend more
time in the hospital, and they will die' If the Governor cannot find
$250,000 to help save the lives of 250 Oklahomans he needs to rethi nk
his priorities. And if the Oklahoman cannot do a better job covering the
news then you should stop the presses.
Stephen Hardway .
Quality with that Personal Touch T•
December 2 - 6, 1992, the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance is
sponsoring a five day film festival which will offer 14 feature film
presentations of 35mm & 16mm films, wide screen video and slide
presentations. Admission prices for all programs will be $3 .50 with the
exception of the special Saturday afternoon guest presentation and two
late night films on Friday and Saturday night which will be $5 each.
Film festival passes for all 14 presentations will be available for
purchase prior to the festival at a cost of only $25 each.
"We are very proud of our film selections. We will be presenting
films which have never been seen before in the Dallas Metroplex, and
.one of the films will make it's U.S. debut here," Paula Matthies, the
Festival Director. Some of the films may only appeal to lesbians, some
only to gay men, and many will appeal to both lesbians and gay men of
all ages and ethnic backgrounds.
The Dallas Gay and Lesbian Community Center, located at 2701
Reagan Street at Brown, will be converted into a theater for this year's
festival, with full concessions including popcorn, soft drinks, candy,
beer and wine. All funds raised from the film festival will benefit the
Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance.
Individuals , businesses, and organizations are being asked to
sponsor a film or one of the 14 different programs to help raise money
to cover the festival expenses. Sponsors, advertisers, and volunteers to
help with the festival are encouraged to call Paula at 214/406-9123.
Major attractions and film highlights include "Non, Je Ne Regrette
Rien" (No, I have no regrets); the newest film by Award-winning
producer Marlon Riggs. Through music, poetry and at times, chilling
self-disclosure, five black gay men speak of their individual confrontation with AIDS . Also, "November Moon", a passionate and poignant
love story and romantic drama about a German Jew named Noveniber
and her lover Feria!, a French woman who must hide her from the Nazis.
Also, "Cross -Sexing the Narrative: lesbian subtext in music videos". Canadian filmmaker, writer, and critic Marusia Bociurkiw will
appear in person to give a 90-minute video and slide presentation of clips
from music videos by Madonna, k.d. Lang, Annie Lennox, Salt 'n
Peppa, Michelle Shocked, and others. Discover fantasy space, hidden
meanings and imagined identities that have a special allure for lesbians.
The music video allows perfonners to play with power, cross-dressing,
gender roles, and to transgress sexual identities. (Gay men and lesbians
will both enjoy this presentation .
Saturday night brings "two and a half hours of side-splitting
comedy. satire. parody, burlesque and laughter; a mixture of gay men
and lesbian films."
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Oklahoma City, OK 73112
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Hc:rland Voice, November, 1992
7
IN
CONCERT
Start 1993 off right with a once-in-a-lifetime concert of Oklahoma's finest women musicians.
Herland Sister Resources presents Donna D., Peggy Johnson, and Miss Brown to You in
concert at the Civic Center Little Theater, Saturday, January 2 at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are only
$8.00 and are on sale at Her land. Tickets will be available at the door for $10.00 -- but don't
wait because the theater only seats 390 .
Don·naD . is oneofHerland 's favorite performers and has played for many Herlandfunctions.
Her down-to-earth style and humor are always a hit whether performing old standards or her
delightful original songs .
Peggy Johnson is a we!! known singer/songwriter in the Oklahoma City area. She has
performed at clubs, coffeehouses, and concerts in OKC and Norman since 1984 and has
contributed greatly to the folk music scene. More recently, she has taken her music on the road
to the National Women's Music Festival, Mountain Moving Coffeehouse in Chicago, the New South
Showcase in Atlanta, and the 1992 National Women's Studies Conference.. Peggy frequently
lends her music to good causes
ranging from teachers rallying for
better education to Take Back The Night Rallies, and the Lesbian/Gay Pride Parade. She
has two recordings, Tii11e to Do It and Lost Wax Tra1i1s.
·
Miss Brown to You is a group equally at home in jazz or rhythm and blues. They
appeared at the 1991 and 1992 Lone Star Music Festival and play frequently at OKC
venues. They will come to this concert fresh from the recording studio where they are
making their first album. Collectively and as individuals they are respected musicians.
Terri Hoersh, the bass player, began herprofessionalmusic career playing in the pop/
rock clubs of Chicago in the late Seventies. She has journeyed all over the country and
traversed many musical styles, having toured extensively in adult contemporary and
country bands. After settling in Oklahoma City four years ago, Terri has branched out
into straight-ahead jazz, but always brings a bluesy interpretation to the bands sound -a solid style that has become her stock in trade.
Elyse Angelo (drmruner) has long been in the vanguard of OKC music . She was
the first female drum major at Northwest Classen High School and studied percussion
with noted professor K. Dean Walker at Oklahoma City University. Elyse has played and
toured with several rock'n'roll bands in the Oklahoma City area.
No style of music is out of Louise Dick 's (keyboards) range. Influenced by her father,
a jazz pianist, she began playing piano as a child . She studied classical and jazz piano
in college. Louise has appeared with many groups on the local scene, most notably reggae groups the Street People and the Whale and the Flea, and
Latin/jazz group Los Gringos. She is well known among Oklahoma City musicians for her phenomenal keyboard interpretations in music ranging from
folk to jazz and back again, and she also plays guitar with Miss Brown to You.
Mary Reynolds (vocalist) sang her first song at the tender age of eighteen months. After studying voice with world-famous teacher and perfonner
Carol Brice, she began a long apprenticeship playing in country and rock bands. In the early 1980' s she performed extensively on the Greenwich Village
front and also appeared for a time in the Bay Area. Returning to Oklahoma City in 1985, Mary founded the popular vocal group Sisters of Swing. Mary's
vocal ability has a reputation in Oklahoma City; she was voted Best Female Vocalist in the Gazette Reader's Poll three years running. Mary also plays
guitar and saxophone with Miss Brown to You.
C9Aaflemor--------------------------~
"No More Masks: Writing Poetry", A poetry writing workshop for women will be taught by Elizabeth Sargent during the intersession at O.U. The
workshop will meet 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, January 6-8. One credit hour in womens studies is available. For telephone enrolhnent or information
call the OU Intersession Office at 325-5101.
Are you now, or have you ever been, in a relationship with a woman 15 years or more younger or older than yourself? Personal narratives and
photographs sought for anthology on intergenerational relationships between lesbians. Send us submissions by 12/30/92 and SASE for guidelines
to Pat Rutherford/Stacy Saetta, 3060 Porter Street #31, Soquel, CA 95073.
The Undress Code for Women . .. The Sands Casino in Atlantic City is accused in a lawsuit of discriminating against women by forcing cocktail
waitresses to wear sexy clothes while letting male waiters dress comfortably. The Equal Employment Opportunity Conunission in Philadelphi a.
which filed on behalf of Anna Grimes, says it's the first case of its kind brought against a casino. Grimes, who still works at the Sands, says she
was forced to be scantily dressed and wear 5 inch heels that hurt her feet. Men may wear tuxedos and sneakers or other low shoes. (From On
the Issues, Winter, 1992.)
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