The Herland Voice : v.10: no.2(1993)
- Title
- The Herland Voice : v.10: no.2(1993)
- Description
- The Herland Voice is the monthly publication of Herland Sister Resources, a womanist organization with a strong lesbian focus based in Oklahoma City.
- Date Issued
- 1993-02
- 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
- 2017-09-02T17:03:07Z
- Date Available
- 2017-09-02T17:03:07Z
- Subject
- Oklahoma
- Type
- application/pdf
- extracted text
-
February, 199 3
OKLAHOMA
CONSIDERS
ANTI-LESBIAN/GAY
REFLECTION'S,,
ON
THE ,CIVIL R1.G HTS
'M ov.EM .E NT
AMENDMENT
With the introduction of HJR 1005, Oklahoma joined the
ranks of states considering enacting laws against the protection of
the civil rights oflesbian/gays. HJR 1005 would create a proposed
amendement to the Oklahoma State Constitution sirniliar to the
Amendment 2 which recently was passed in Colorado. This bill
was introduced by Representative Grover Campbell of Owasso.
It calls for a referendum to be sent to the people that would
read: ''Neither the State of Oklahoma, through any of its branches
or departments, nor any of its agencies, political subdivisions,
municipalities, counties or school districts, shall.enact, adopt or
enforce any statute, rule, regulation, ordinance or policy whereby
homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or
relationships shall constitute or otherwise be the basis ofor entitle
any person or class ofpersons to have or claim any minority status,
quota preferences, protected status or claim of discrimination.··
The Oklahoma Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus is leading
efforts to defeat the measure in the state legislature. If passed by
both the State House of Representatives and the State Senate, a
state-wide vote would be required for the proposal to become law.
Conservative organizations in at least 12 or 13 states have
announced plans to pursue Colorado-style anti-lesbian/gay initiatives this year or next, according to the National Gay & Lesbian
Task Force Policy Institute Activist Alert, January 1993. With the
aid of the Oregon Citizens Alliance and Colorado for Family
Values, the groups responsible for last year' s antic gay referenda in
those states, "family values" groups are targeting Michigan,
Minnesota, California, Maine, Georgia, and again in Oregon.
NGLTF has initiated a Fight the Right campaign to coordinate
efforts in providing technical, organizing and media assistance to
lesbian and gay activists and their supporters battling the proposed
initiatives. Scot Nakagawa, an organizer on the successful "No on
9" campaign in Oregon, has joined the N(JLTF staff as their Fight
the Right organizer.
_ NGLTF will also update the Fight the Right organizing
manual in March, with tips on how to battle the Far Right in your
local community. For assistance and to update NGLTf on right~
~ing orgruiizing in your area, contact Scot Nakagawa, NGLTF,
522SW 5th Ave, Suite 1375, Portland, OR 97294; 503/221-0115.
For a copy of the Fight the Right manual, contact NGLTF Public
Information Manager Robin Kane at NGLTF.
D
By A Member of the Crowd
I met and talked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! It
was the summer before my senior year in high school; a most
exciting, exhilarating time.
_
Every year the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People, NAACP, held a national convention. In
1962, the convention was held in Atlanta, Georgia. That year,
the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council--of which I was an
active member--made the sojourn to Atlanta.
Just two years before while watching the news on television one evening, I saw a report about a group of young Negro
children who had been refused service at a local lunch counter.
I don't know why it caught my attention, but I remember
thinking that I must join them. My mother was not as excited
about this activity as I was. On the other hand, my father, who
was an active member of the Oklahoma City Branch of the
NAACP, thought that it was an excellent idea.
(continued on page 9)
H_ERLAf\JD
proudly presents
KAREN WILLIAMS
Renowned Comedian
Sunday, April 4, 1993
2 p.m.
Civic Center Little Theater
You saw her at our Retreat,
you read her column in Outlines,
she's a headliner at the
Michigan Festival
Save the Date!
Volume 10 Number 2
Herland Sister Resources
2312 NW. 39, OKC, OK 73112
Sr. Sve1L
Dear St. Sybil, .·
I'm sorry, but I just don't know what we need Black History
month for. We don'thave WhiteHistory month, do we? It's not like
the country is racist anymore; and for sure Herland isn't racist, and
neither am I.
Sincerely,
Haven't Got a Clue
Dear Clueless,
Let me just guess here, a wild guess: you're not black, are you?
White as the day is long, you are, or you couldn't ask that question.
Your inability to recognize the need for. a Black History Month is
proof in itself that you are totally ignorant of the existence of black
history; of the contributions made to our society by individual
African-Americans as well, of course, as by the unpaid labor of
millions. You don't know that civilizations flourished in .. black"
Africa prior to its colonization -If you did surely you would welcome
the opportunity to learn a . little about them. Green wood Avenue
means nothing to you, even though you are from Oklahoma, home of
the USA's only - until Philadelphia, when a Mayor went berserk aerial bombing of its own citizens. Any idea what I'm talking about?
That's because all of American History up until day before yesterday
was written for, by and about white men. Every day is white (male)
history month.
· And as far as denying the existence of racism, if your own
observation doesn't reveal to you its pervasiveness ·in all aspects of
our culture, take it on faith; take the word and perception of people
like Shirley Chisholm, Alice Walker, Barbara Jordan, Chrystos,
June Jordan, and Clara Luper. Denial of their reality is racist.
As far as Herland and its otherwise wonderful women being
racist, You're right, you ' re not actively racist. You are wonderful
women. But if you are bothered when you look around at Herland
events and see all white faces; if you feel deprived because Herland
is not more culturally diverse; if you wish you could see more of the
wonderful women of color you know in the community, and the ones
you don ' t know yet; if you realize that inaction by members of a
privileged class pf\rpetuates that privilege- what are you doing about
it? Herland is a haven to many women, and if it is not a haven to
women of color, then you are doing something wrong - and failing
to do some things that are right. You have a lot of work still to do;
so do it.
And by the way, get ready; next month is Women's History
Month. Are you going to make a case to Sybil Ludington that we
don't need that either?
he has caused, to show him that his attitude is the fountainhead of
every sin committed against women; I want a God to ask Rev. Keely,
How Could You Be So Stupid, How Could You Be So Evil? And 1
want Keely to live eternally, forever and forever, in abject repentance, with the knowledge and presence of God's anger and reproach.
I also think I may want to send him a prettily wrapped package full
of manure ...
Well, thanks, Sybil, I feel a little better now. I'm much calmer
and my stomach doesn't hurt as much anymore either. Hate isn't
good for the body or the soul, is it?
·
Enraged but Exhausted.
Yoseffa
Dear Yo,
No it's not. and I'm glad to help.
Affectionately.
Sybil
Editor ·s note: Rev. Keely was instrumental in having a woman (Billy
Graham's daughter) removed from the speaking agenda at the
Baptist General Convention Evangelism Conference because messages from a woman would open the door to preaching by women.
which he believes is against the Bible's teaching. He is reportedly
proud that he interrupted and silenced a woman speaker at a Baptist
youth conference last year when she asked the audience to tum to
selected Scriptures and began to discuss them .
D
VIDEO NIGHT AT HERLAND
Friday, February 12, at 8:00 p.m. we will have coffee and
cookies and, of course, popcorn and anything you care to bring , as we
resume Herland;s monthly Video Nights.
·.. Goddess Remembered" is a one-hour documentary about
early goddess-worshipping cultures and the growing contemporary
women ' s spirituality movement. This stunning and poetic documentary is a salute to 35,000 years of· 'pre-history ,' ' to the solid values
of ancestors only recently remembered, and to our ancient goddessworshipping religions.
''Goddess Remembered'' reveals forgotten cultures - taking us
to the caves of paleolithic France, the subterranean temples of
neolithic Malta, the mysterious earthw9rks of ancient Britain. and
the sun-drenched places of Delphi and of Crete.
Directed l:iy Donna Read and pro'duced by Margaret Pettigrew
and Studio D, National Film Board of Canada, .. Goddess Remembered'' is part one of the ·'Women and Spirituality' · series. ·'The
Burning Times' ' . tl1e story of the witch craze that swept through
Europe only a few hundred years ago, will be Herland' s March
'Video Night' selection.
D
Yours,
SybiJ
Dear St. Sybil,
Please help me, my heart is full of anger and hate. I want to take
Rev. Wayne Keely and slap him silly . I want to hurt him. I want to
tie him down and tell him the truth until he hears it and screams from
the knowledge of his own evil stupidity. I want him to suffer. I want
him to know how evil and ignorant and ungodly he is and see the
suffering he causes by it. I want him to recognize himself for the
obscene festering pimple on a warthog's ass tlbelieve him to be. I
want his remorse to be an unbearable pain in his gut, rupturing his
heart and brain with its intensity. I want to weep for the pain he
inflicts. My agnostic soul yearns for a God to show him the suffering
2 Her/and Voice February, 1993
£109 5. Air Depot
Midwest City, OK 7311 o
(405)737-0496
Air Depot Animal Hospital
Call for Appointment
JOY HVSKA, D.V.M
IDENTITY POLITICS
by Vivien Ng
[Author's note: 1994 marks the 2)th anniversary of the Stonewall
Riots. A number of events are being planned to mark the occasion
in New York City, including Gay Games 1994, International Lesbicm
and Gay Pride Parade, and the Stonewall History Project, a multisite multi-media exhibit. SHP is a collaborative effort of the
Br;oklyn Historical Society, New York Historical Society, New York
Public Library, and the Centerfor Lesbian and Gay Studies, CUNY.
From almost its very inception, the history project has been in the
vortex of a storm ofcontroversy, and charges of elitism, exclusionism,
and male chauvinism have been hurled at the curator and members
ofthe planning committee. Most recently, an essay in the publication
COLORLife cast doubt on the participating institutions, including
members of the planning committee. I felt that some of the accusations were unfair and decided to write the following essay in
response.]
That I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for
Lesbian and Gay Studies at CUNY is really quite bizarre; after all,
I live and work in Oklahoma and my only previous connection with
CUNY was a year' s stint at Hunter College as a Rockefeller "fellow." But I received a call from an Asian-American gay man on the
CUNY staff shortly after CLAGS was officially approved by the
Board of Trustees in April 1991 . We talked about a number of issues,
including the Miss Saigon outrage and CLAGS. He said we needed
to ensure an Asian presence on the board and asked if I could help
identify potential candidates. I was absolutely the worst person to be
of any help because I was such an outsider in the New York lesbian
and gay community, but I offered to call the one (and at that time the
only) Asian lesbian I knew. She said no, an unequivocal no.
My pragmatism is a product of 1 O+ years of living
in Oklahoma, where the lesbian and gay community
is tiny and often mute. In this crucible was forged
the reflex to work with all sorts of people, to work
across difference, even to work across animosity.
I eventually said yes. For a number of reasons : naivete,
pragmatism, idealism, to name only three. I came out in the midl 970s in a most unproblematic way--I happened to look across the
seminar table one day and fell in love. Just like that, no soul
searching, no denying, nothing. This seamless transition from
straight to gay accounted for my naivete, because my lack of
reflection meant also a lack of awareness of the complexities of
lesbian and gay identities . Even though I have since become more
"seasoned," I have not completely lost my early naivete, and I am
now paying for it. My pragmatism is a product of IO+ years ofli ving
in Oklahoma, where the 1 esbian and gay community is tiny and often
mute. In this crucible was forged the reflex to work with all sorts of
people, to work across difference, even to work across animosity.
The passionate discussions I had with a number of lesbians at Hunter
College, about whether there should be separate lesbian studies and
gay studies or combined lesbian and gay studies, are a luxury we do
not have here. My idealism stems from my fundamental belief in the
innate goodness of human nature, which is very Chinese. Also, it
comes from being an academic in this anti-intellectual society,
working so hard for so little material reward. My ivory tower
existence has not inoculated me against the ravages of "real life"
experience, but I have been spared the daily ordeal of caring for the
sick and needy in a climate of growing intolerance. Thus, it has been
easy for me to maintain a rosy outlook on life and to continue to
believe in the basic goodness of all people.
My idealism stems from my fundamental belief in
the innate goodness of human nature, which is very
Chinese.
Even in m y most naive moments, however, I am very much
aware of tokenism. I know for certain that every discussion of gender
and racial/ethnic parity I have participated in has been laced with the
poison of tokenism. I am sure that many cynics regard me as a token.
But I am not a token, because I have not allowed myself to be used
this way. Oklahoma has made me very good at this. Regarding my
involvement in the Stonewall History Project, I volunteered to be one
of the CLAGS representatives to SHP, because I have a keen interest
in ensuring a fair Asian representation in the outcome. As I told the
participants at the planning conference, when one of my great
grandfathers returned to China after decades of working in the U.S .,
he built himself a separate dwelling on the family compound, where
he reportedly spent all his time in the company of young men. Was
he gay? Were there others like him in Chinatown? What about the
women? Shouldn't their history be explored? Yes, yes, yes. But I
cannot do this alone, and my phone calls for help from the Asian
lesbian community have not been returned. There has not even been
the effort to tell me directly to get lost. Have I already been rendered
suspect by a community that knows very little about me? Do the y
expect the worst of me? Has my participation in CLAGS and SHP
made me categorically persona non grata?
Identity politics did not have much resonance for me until two
years ago, whe n I had the chance to escape the isolation of Oklahoma _
to live one year in New York City. I used to think of myself as just
"me," a perennial outsider in the land of cowboys and rednecks.
Although I posted a lambda sign on my door six or seven years ago,
I did not always wear my lesbian identity on my sleeve. As for being
Asian, I was never at home in the Asian community here because of
their heterosexism and therefore seldom identified with them and
their interests .
Hunter College changed everything for me. The very first day,
I was introduced to everyone as ' ·the famous lesbian scholar.''
Stamped and delivered. How did they know? They figured that out
from my essay, •'Homosexuality and the State in Late Imperial
China,'' that appeared in Martin Duberman' s Hidden from History:
Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past. I enjoyed my year at Hunter.
I thrived. I had wonderful discussions with lesbian students and
Asian students at the college. I forged my own distinct identity as a
lesbian and an Asian-American that year. Lesbian and ChineseAmerican, in that order. For the first time in my adult life I was proud
of being Chinese. When I joined the CLAGS board, I did so as a
Chinese-American lesbian.
I still have a lot to learn about identity politics. I do know that
as long as I remain in Oklahoma, away from the more "natural"
environment of New York City, I will always be an outsider--in
Oklahoma as a lesbian Asian; in New York as a somewhat suspect
Chinese-American lesbian. It's okay, because Audre Lorde has
taught me well how to have a fulfilling life as a sister outsider. D
Her/and Voice February, 1993
3
& AIDS
NATIONAL BLACK GAY AND
WOMEN
LES BI AN C ONFERENC E
Finally, after years of protest by activists that the official
definition of AIDS discriminated against women by excluding the
opportuni stic diseases which affect only women, the Centers for
Disease Control have agreed to adopt an expanded definition of
AIDS. This definition is particularly important because persons
living with HIV are not eligible for many medical , financial , and
other services until they have a diagnosis of AIDS. With the previous
limited AIDS definition, many women with HIV never met the
criteria for AIDS and never became eligible for many needed
services even though the disease ultimately took their lives.
The expanded definition adopted January 1 of this year added an
estimated 40,000 Americans infected with HIV to the status of fullblown AIDS. The broader definition, which includes cervical cancer,
pulmonary tuberculosis and recurrent pneumonia, will bring AIDS
services to many more women than were previously eligible. Additionally, a large boost in the number of cases will come from the
addition of a fourth indicator - a lowered level of the CD4 immune
cells (or T-cells) to 200 per cubic milliliter of blood. The CDC
expects the policy will increase the national caseload by about 75
percent in 1993, frm an average of about 50,000 annually to 90,000
new cases in 1993.
CJ
The 6th National Black Gay and Lesbian Conference and
Institutes will take place February 11-15 at the Hilton Hotel in Long
Beach, California. This year's theme, "Black Lesbians and Gays:
Building Bridges, Making Connections, " will focus on the inherent
need to bridge the gaps that separate us around issues of gender, race
and sexual orientation.
Noted speakers for the 1993 conference include Angela Davis
and Bell Hooks. This year Davis, who spoke at the 2nd annual
conference will deliver the Opening Plenary keynote. Davis is
internationally known for her contributions to issues on racial
equality, women's rights and world peace. A political activist since
her teenage years in Birmingham, Alabama, Davis has been a Ii ving
witness fo the major struggles of our time -- as a student, teacher,
writer, scholar and organizer. Bell Hooks, a noted feminist scholar,
will be featured at the Closing Ceremony of the conference. Hooks
is currently a professor at Oberlin College in the Department of
English and Women's Studies. Her book, Ain't I a Woman,
published in 1981, was named one of the "20 most influential
women's books of the last 20 years" in a Publishers Weekly poll in
May, 1992.
Each year the Conference recognizes African-American Lesbians and Gay men who have made positive contributions to the
African-American and Gay community. Brandy Moore of San
Francisco will receive the Bayard Rustin Award which is given
annually to a Black Lesbian or Gay man who has advanced the
interest of the Black Lesbian and Gay community through the
political process. The United Lesbians of African Heritage will
receive the Harriet Tubman Award which is given annually to an
organization which has made significant contributions to the welCJ
fare of Black Lesbians and Gays.
TOGETHER PROUD AND STRONG
Shock-T Music has announced the release of Together Proud
and Strong, the official anthem for the 1993 March on Washington
for Lesbian, Gay & Bi Equal Rights and Liberation which will take
place in Washington, D.C. on April 25, 1993.
Early in 1992, the Executive Committee for the 1993 March on
Washington invited Lynn Thomas to write an official anthem. After
writing the music, Lynn traveled around the country with a 24-track
master, enlisting the help of other lesbian and gay performers. The
anthem slowly built in scope and the final product has sixty-two
artists singing on it. This is the first time that a march of this
magnitude has had an official anthem.
Together Proud and Strong is available exclusively from ShockTMusic, P.O.Box54, Perkasie,PA 18944, (215)705-0615.
CJ
HERLAND LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has not yet announced whether
it will decide the child custody case which Herland is supporting.
The mother's attorney has requested that they hear oral arguements
in order to allow the more information to be put before the court.
Action is anticipated by April, 1993.
The Herland Legal Defense Fund Committee is continuing to
raise funds to help with the legal expenses of this important case. If
you would like to be a part join us at Her land on Feb . 8 at 6: 30 P.M .
Notes of support and encouragement for the moms can be sent in
care of Herland, 2312 NW39, OKC 73112.
CJ
4 Her/and Voice February, 1993
UPDATE
Books By and About AfricanAmerican Women
Available At Herland
Betsy Brown, Ntozake Shange
Jazz, Tonil\1orrison
Killing Color, Charlotte Watson Sherman
Possessing the Secret of Joy, Alice Walker
Feminist Theory: From .Margin to Center, Bell
Hooks
Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking
Black, Bell Hooks
This Bridge Called My Back
Observe Black History Month
Educate Yourself!
Ink 'Well Vvinting, Inc.
is pleased to announce
ouv expansion and velocation to
JBvookline Office pavk
605 / Vl. JBrnokline, Suite 128
Oklahoma f9ity, Oklahoma 73112
40S-842-2021
OKLAHOMA LEGISLATION OF
FIGHTING -TO CONSENSUS
IN TEREST
by MOC
Oklahoma legislators have prefiled several bills of interest to
women and gays and lesbians, including, as usual, attacks on
reproductive freedom.
HB1207 authored by Representative Billy Mitchell, HB1413
by Representative Joan Greenwood and HB1212 authored by
Represntative Roach all would require notification of parents before
a woman under age 18 could have an abortion. HB1168 by Rep. Ray
Vaughn details the informed consent which would be required of all
women twenty-four hours before an abortion could be performed.
These requirements include an explanation of the physical characteristics of the fetus and an offer to show the woman a photograph or
model of a fetus at the same stage of development. The consent must
also include information about specific physical, psychological and
social risks of abortion.
Bills to regulate the disposal of fetal tissue include HB1192 by
Representative Webb and HB1193 by Representative Ray Vaughn ..
Both bills would require that "remains of an unborn human being be
disposed of by cremation, burial, or release to the family. HB1192
would also require reporting of all abortions to a central state agency.
Poor Oklahomans who consent to sterilization would receive a
cash payment of $2,000 if Representative Bill Smith's bill HB1503
becomes law . Funds for the grants would be raised through a tax on
soft drinks.
Representative Tim Pope has introduced House Bill 1026,
which would add language to a section of the statutes dealing with
education. Following the current instruction .that " [Students] also
must learn about cultures and environments - their own and those of
others with whom they share the earth" is Pope's proposed new
language: ''Provided however, students shall not be taught that
homosexuality is a natural lifestyle.''
HB 1507, introduced by Bill Graves, would be a new section of
law and would read as follows: ''In any publk ·school in this state
in which sex education is a part of the school curriculum,. students
shall be taught that having sexual relations outside of a heterosexual
marriage is wrong and immoral and that in the absence of a marriage
relationship, a person should abstain from engaging in any sexual
activity with any other person of the same or opposite gend.er.
Students also shall be taught that sexual relations outside of a
heterosexual marriage may place such student in danger of contracting sexually transmitted diseases which may be harmful to the
student's health and may in some cases cause death" .
HB 1435, introduced by Webb, would add the following language to a section of the State Education and Employees Group
Insurance Plan: ''Beginning July 1,1993, the specifications for the
Health Insurance Plan shall not provide coverage for persons who
have tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
unless the Board is specifically directed by the Oklahoma Legislature to provide such coverage.' '
Not all of the pending legislation attacks women. Representative Bill Settle has introduced HB1020 which would make raping
one's spouse a crime. HB1102 would require the arrest of an abuser
when police are called to a domestic violence case.
The Oklahoma legislature will officially convene February 2.
To obtain copies of these bills call the State Senate at (405)524-0126
To contact state representives call (405)521-2711. State Senators
may be contacted at (405)524-0126.
[J
When I first became a Herland Board member nearly a decade
ago, I was impressed and pleased to see that decisions made at one
meeting were implemented or at least begun by the next. It was
almost mysterious -- this was not something I often saw in other
organizations .
I was also much impressed by the spirited emotional and
intellectual ·give-and-take. Having grown up in a family which
frequently equated conflict with lack or withholding of love, I was
amazed, even frightened, and finally delighted, at the strenuous,
ardent disagreements - all right, the fighting - among people who
managed to remain friends throughout it all.
Recently I invited a friend to come to a Herland Board meeting,
so that she could see what great meetings we have. Oh ·my. We put
on a humdinger for her; whereas we actually do have some meetings
w'ith little controversy, the one T'wanda came to involved three
major issues controversial in feminist/lesbian organizations -- separatism; inclusive, non-classist pricing of events; and s/m. I thought
it was wonderful, exhausting .but .e xhilarating . T'wanda agreed, it
was exhausting.
Conversely, I recently represented Herland on a committee
planning an annual city-wide event. The weekly meetings were
short, pleasant, a.n d we planned a very nice program. The program
we planned went nearly without a hitch . The program we did not
plan, however, which was imposed upon us by some power from
above, a power invisible and unknown to me and others, was
dreadful. Some woman somehow managed to appear three times in
the events of the day . She spoke, she read poems, she sang, and there
was nothing harmonious about any of it; she insulted half of the
participating organizations, and bored or distressed everyone within
earshot.
Well, other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, it was a nice program; and
I'm sure I' 11 serve on the committee again next year, but I'll be wary
and try to extract certain commitments. · And as for Herland meetings? If they don't kick me off the Board, T ll probably be enjoying
- and trusting - their meetings for another ten years. Consider
yourselves warned.
(All woineh are invited io attend and participate in Herland meetings. The Herland Board meets the third Sunday of each month at
4: 30 p.m. at Herland. The next meeting will be Sunday, February 21.
[J
Come see for yourself what they are all about.)
l.JeDI 31 To
[/;>/
b31 . . .3575
For Valentines Day and that special woman.:._
lavender rose bud vases with special sparkle
$8.50, roses, blooming plants, tropicals.
Metro Delivery
Her/and Voice February, 1993
5
NOTE-BURNING CELEBRATION!
6 Her/and Voice February, 1993
February
1 9 9 3
A great month for birthdays: Elizabeth Blackwell, February 3, 1821 - 1910; first American
f emale MD ; Abraham Lincoln and fiery abolitionist and newspaperman Frederick Douglass,
February 12; W.E .B. DuBois , educator and author , February 23 , 1868 - 1963 ; and three
wonder f ul women authors, Edna St . Vincent Millay, Gertrude Stein and Alice Walker .
~o n d ay
Su nd ay
1
Friday L Saturday
\\lednesday Thursday
6
5 MARY
3 Birthdays: 4 Mary
REYNOLDS
Elizabeth
PEGGY
j;
Reynolds c.k
Tuesd a y
2
•
Blackwell &
Gert . Stein
CC NOW. 7t:1 rn.
Norman Public
Library
&
To rn Paxton
In a Benefi t
fDr REST~
8 pm
·
SlaeeCenler
10
11
et
7
~erland
Leeal
Defense Fund
MeetinE'
6:30 pm
'
..
G&L Political
Caucus, at
Oasis , 7pm
14
1
~rederick
Doui;llass
1817 - t895
.
CoDA . 7 pm
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to
ALICE WALKER
born in 1944
16
Board
Meetine
4:30• p.rn .
..
et
.f
Jimmy
La Fave
Sprn
HotelBohemia
·"·~~~~·
..
St. \lincent
Millay
1892 - 1950
'
13
Sweetheart
Dance
in Wichita
\l lDEOS at
Herland, 8 pm
17
18
19
CoDA . 7 pm
Brownell
Anthony
1820 - 1906
J
JOH NSON ·•
at
LaBaeuelle's
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Espresso)
CoDA , 7 pm
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15.
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22. 23.
Birtffd·a y
to
ROSA PARKS
born in 1913
21
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Hotel
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B t:1rn
24
25
26
WRC Forum
~ : 30 pm
2
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DAY
al Herland
fO am - ???
Paint, saw .
hammer. pour
co ncrete,
fix lhe old
place up.
27
CoDA, 7 pm
W.E.B.
DuBois
1868 - 1963
28
Do~ H~rland wants to know : Didn ' t Maya Angelou just about knock your socks off· with her reading of her powerful ,
stirring new poem at the Inaugural ? Nice to have a president with the vision to include her so prominently in the
day. The Doc also likes what BC had to say about Hillary's new role : "It ' s my job, it 's my duty to the American
people, t o take advantage of the most talented people I can find .. . and I would be derelict in my duty if I didn 't
use her in some major way ... "
Silent Vigil for peace in Central America . On the steps of the
Federal Building, NW 4th & Robinson, OKC ; each Wednesday at Noon .
HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES
2312 N\\I 39th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
405/ 521-9696
Hours: Saturdays lO - 6. Sundays I - 6
NonProfit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oklahoma City, Okla.
2312 N.W. 39th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED
Permit No. 861
I
THANKS TO ALL THESE
WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO
MADE IT POSSIBLE!
Alice & Charlotte
Kevan Kiser
Abigail Keegan
Kris Lund
ACT-UP OKC
Kris Marek
Anonymous
Laura Choate
Barbara Cleveland
Margaret Cox
Barbara Hillyer
In Memory of
Chris Delaney
Barbara Neas &
David Miller
Margy Dillon
Billie Hensley
Marquetta Morris
Buster the Retreat Dog
The McMow Sisters
Carol Schnepper
In Memory of
Katherine Moore
Cecily Welter-Mullen
Charlotte Berryman
In Memory of Kim Alexander
In Honor of
SunShine Schillings
In Honor of
Stephen Hardway
Dottie Painter
Marilyn Sebek
HERLAND SISTER RESOURC E S MISSION
Herland Sister Resources envisions and strives toward a world
in which all women live free from oppression.
Herland supports and includes all women who experience
oppression. Lesbians as a group have a deep experience of the
general oppressive climate of this world. Although Herland is not
restricted to lesbians, we have a strong lesbian focus. We are a
womanist organization, supporting women in their journey toward
self-definition and self-determination, and recognizing that each
woman has her own pace of growth and enlightenment.
Herland is a non-profit volunteer organization. We publish a
newsletter, operate a bookstore and lending library, and provide
musical and cultural events for education and entertainment. We
offer a safe place for women to meet and exchange ideas, feelings,
hopes and fears and to learn about themselves and each other.
The only requirement for involvement in Herland is a desire for
women to be free of the restraints of oppression.
HSR
REPORT--1992
A NNUAL
In.cmne
Ad. Sales
$
Building Rent
$
Consignment Sales$
$
Donations
Events
$
Foundations
$
Interest Income
$
$
Retreat
Sales
$
Other Income
$
TOTAL INCOME $
525
750
227
2, 159
1,5 83
6,000
338
5,368
6,050
406
23,846
Diana Faulkner
Marian Hulsey
Edwina Johnson
P.K. Floyd
Friends of the Porthole
Gail Garloch &
Edie Schneeberger
Pat Colognesi &
Beverly McGugin
Designated Income
Building Fund
$14,421
Legal Defense Fund $ 5,037
Pat Reaves
Ginger McGovern
In Honor of
Mary Reynolds &
Peggy Johnson
In Honor of
Mammy & Aunt Sara
Porthole Checks &
Denim Cloggers
280
25
378
3,116
103
614
776
17
1,033
20
149
3,317
271
1,297
1,300
230
3,075
161
746
605
772
$ 20,962
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
Raphel/a Sohier
Sally Nostrant
Sarah Oakes
Jean Kelsey
Shatzy Watson
Jill Burroughs &
Peggy Johnson
Expenses
Advertising
Bank Charge
Building Maint.
Books
Booth/Regs. Fees
Consignment
Cookbook
Fund-raising
Insurance
Library
Magazines
Newsletter
Other Expenses
Postage
Programs/Events
Property Tax
Retreat
Misc. Stock
Tapes/CDs
Telephone
Utilities
TOTAL
Sherry Boggs
Published by: Herland Sister Resources, Inc. 23 12 N.W.
39th, Oklahoma City, OK 73112
Newsletter Committee : Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Pat
Reaves
..
In Memory of
David Chrispell
Susan Bumgarner
Circulatio n: 1000
Jo Soske
In Memory of
Grandma Scharlach
Advertis ing Rates : Business card $15; 1/4 page $35; 1/2
page $60; full page $100
Dr. Joan Webb &
Susan Blake
Tommy Thomas
The Voice is offered as an open forum for community discourse.
Articles reflect the opinions of the author and not necessarily
those of Herland Sisler Resources. Unsolicited articles and
letters to the editor are welcomed and must be signed by the
writer with full name and address: Upon request, letters or
articles may be printed under a pseudonym or anonymously.
. ..:
T. K. Williams
Joni Darnell
Wanda Chapman
Jon Soske
Rhonda Smith
Kathy Conroy
Marilyn Best & Theila Elliott
··::-;.
Subscriptions to The Voice are free upon request.
Her/and Voice February, 1993
7
L
Battering
the walls
down between us
leaves us standing
naked in the rubble
shards of shattered history
pierce soft souls, then
~ery step we take toward
embrace ... empowering
leaves ti mark in bloQ~.
Judith Rycroft
DONNA BECHTEL SPEAKS AT
HERLAND RECEIVES GRANT
TheASTRAEA National Lesbian Action Foundation has awarded
Herland a $1000 grant to be applied to the retirement of the Herland
mortgage. The ASTRAEA Foundation is the first nationwide lesbian
foundation. They fund projects that actively work to eliminate all
forms of oppression based on sexual orientation, race, age, sex,
economic exploitation, physical and mental ability, antisemitism
D
and all other factors that affect lesbians in the United States.
LESBIAN FESTIVALS,
YWCA
Donna Bechtel, speaking at the YWCA in January on the topic
of incarcerated battered women, recounted her experiences as a
battered woman and as a woman in prison. She told the group the
overwhelming majority of women in prison have been battered. She
said in a survey done at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center,
Oklahoma's maximum security facility for women, over seventy
percent of the women reported they had been battered.
She criticized law enforcement for their lack of response to
domestic violence and called for the passage of laws requiring police
to arrest abusers in spouse abuse situations. Ms. Bechtel said
inadequate police protection for battered women often leads to the
death of one of the couple. She cited national statistics that 30% of
women who are murdered are killed by their spouse or other
domestic partner.
Ms Bechtel was released from Mabel Bassett Correctional
Center, Oklahoma's maximum security prison for women, in October, 1992 after serving eight years. She had been convicted of first
degree murder in the slaying of her abusive husband and sentenced
to life in prison. In her first trial, the judge would not permit
consideration of the abuse she suffered from Ken Bechtel to be
entered into evidence. She appealed her conviction and won a new
trial after two years in prison.
Oklahoma County District Attorney, Bob Macy, again charged
her with first degree murder:. Even though at that time most states
(31) allowed expert testimony on the "Battered Women's Syndrome", Judge Richard Free.m an did not allow such testimony in the
second trial and she was convicted a second time and again given a
life sentence.
In the second appeal the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
agreed that the judge had denied her a fair trial by refusing to allow
expert testimony on the "Battered Women's Syndrome" and over, turned her conviction. District Attorney Macy chose to charge her
again but this time did agree to a plea bargain. Donna pied guilty to
manslaughter in exchange for a fourteen year prison sentence. She
was credited with the eight years she had already served and released
from prison in October, 1992.
..
In 1992, the Oklahoma State Legislature passed a bill authored
by Representative Jeff Hamilton of Midwest City which specifically
allows the Battered Women's Syndrome to be admitted as evidence
in a trial of a battered woman . The public attention focused on Donna
Bechtel's case had a significant role in the passage of this legislation.D
1993
"Silent Pre-Fest," American Sign Language Intensives for
Lesbians, will begin three days prior to each of the Lesbians'
Festivals this year. This groundbreaking program has gained international attention in the feminist press, and is being hailed as an
important cultural bridge. It is' an immersion into the language and
culture, and is taught by professional Deaf Lesbian instructors.
The Second Annual West Coast Lesbians' Festival will take
place on Memorial Day Weekend, 1993, in a private camp in the hills
of Santa Barbara. Performers and presenters include Carolyn Gage
and two full length Lesbian theatre performances, Maxine Feldman,
Sue Fink, Melanie DeMore, Rashida Oji, Gwen Avery, Pam Hall,
Arisika Razak with readings and workshops by Barbara Macdonald,
Cynthia Rich, A votcja and Mothertongue Readers Theatre, and
others. Camping, cabins, pool, entertainment and workshops throughout the long weekend.
The first-ever Lesbian Festival in Hawaii, Hawaii Fest, will
happen on the Island of Oahu on Thanksgiving Weekend . Maxine
Feldman, Sue Fink and a host of Hawaiian based Lesbian performers.
writers and presenters.
For more information about the ASL Intensives, WCLF and
Hawaii Fest contact Particular Productions, 279 Lester Avenue,
Oakland CA 94606; 904/826-0410.
The Fifth Annual East Coast Lesbians' Festival will take place
on Labor Day Weekend, 2 112 hours north of NYC in the mountains.
Lake, cabins & camping in a 200 acre camp ... indoor theatre, outdoor
stages .... with Edwina Lee Tyler, Alix Dobkin, Maxine Feldman, Sue
Fink, Pam Hall, Carolyn Gage, The Lesbian Lounge Lizards, The
Five Lesbian Brothers & more ... music, comedy, and readings all
day, Theatre, Films and dancing all night! Particular Productions,
2854 Coastal Hwy.,# 7, St. Augustine FL 32095; 904/826-0410.0
Now Open with New Owners!
2124 N.W 39, OKC
Special Valentine's Day Candlelight Dinner
Open
Tuesday - Saturday 5 P.M. -- 3 A.M
Sunday 10A.M. -- 3 A.M.
Sunday Brunch 10 A.M.
8 Her/and Voice February, 1993
Reflections on the Civil Rights Movement
(continued from page 1)
I joined the NAACP Youth Council right away . It consisted of children ranging in age from elementary school to
college. There were also a number of adult advisors. We met
every Monday night during the school year, and daily during
the summer. Actually, during the summer months while many
white children were enjoying swimming, skating, picnicking and
going to Springlake Amusement Park, members of the youth council
spent our time praying, planning, singing Freedom Songs, and
mostly sitting-in. The' 'sit-ins'' as they were called, represented our
non-violent efforts to obtain recognition as human beings . We
simply wanted to eat a hamburger or have a coke after we finished
shopping at various stores in downtown Oklahoma City. There were
lunch counters at Katz Drug Store, H. L. Greens $.05 & $.10,Bishops
Restaurant, Cravens Cafeteria, Veasey' s Drug and John A. Browns .
These were all places where Negroes spent money. Many of us even
had charge cards at John A. Browns, but our money was not good at
the cafeteria. (Brown's also had rest rooms marked "white only "
and "colored" . The imprint of letters on the door marked "colored'' remained even after the paint had been removed .)
My participation in the sit-in movement was a major experience
in my life. As a result, I learned a lot about people, including me. The
movement included people from various ethnic, religious, social and
economical backgrounds. Many of those who participated had great
strength, patience, vision and wisdom. They were business people,
doctors, teachers, politicians, attorneys, janitors, theologians, domestic workers and movie stars. I have many memories about those
years, some painful and some precious.
I remember...
**Standing in line with a group of other Negro children, waiting
for entrance into Bishop's Restaurant. The restaurant's management
locked the entrance door so that we could not enter. The door wou ld
be unlocked as white patrons came up and then quickly locked behind
them as they entered so that we could not get in. And the door wou ld
have to be unlocked again to let them out. On this particular day, a
man escorting a chimp dressed in a western outfit moved through our
line and went to the restaurant's door. The door was unlocked for
Marilyn Best
M. Coleen Woody
BEST&WOODY
Attorneys At Law
1443 N.W. 48th
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73 11 8
(405) 843-1745
General Practice
Wills Probate Personal Injury
Adoptions Contracts Divorce
him and the chimp. The chimp even growled & swung at a couple of
us children as it entered the restaurant with the man. Draw your own
conclusion.
** Sitting at the counter of a small luncheonette waiting to order
a soft drink. There were about eight or ten of us. When the few white
customers left, an employee of the establishment locked us in. Some
of us were frightened. The employees began to call us names and one
to.ok a large pot of hot grease from the grill area and threatened to
pour it on some of us. We just sang Freedom songs and waited.
Finally, one of the sit-in attorneys and a couple of other adults came
to our rescue. Somehow the employees were •'encouraged'' to
unlock the door and let us out. This seemed like a very long
afternoon!
**Sitting-in outside the entrance to Cravens Cafeteria as white
customers walked over us to get into the establishment. Some of
them had to balance themselves on our bodies to pass by. We were
arrested that day . Some of us were carried off in paddy wagons;
others rode in the back seat of police cars. That's where I rode. It
was scary watching policemen armed with rifles atop buildings
along main street. They protected the police officers who drove us
to jail. I must say that the police department treated us OK,
especially compared to what was done to our counterparts in other
parts of the country. We did not suffer dogs, water hoses and
beatings. Thank God! Basically, when we were taken down to the
police station, the officers got our names , told us we should not be
disturbing the peace and called our parents. Some of our parents
were already at the station because they were sitting-in too.
**Clara Luper. She was very strict. We were all conscious of
"acceptable" behavior. And, we had to speak correctly . We could
not say words such as "ah" and "ain't" and we could not split verbs;
and we had to be able to speak well in public-- in front of adults, the
press, at church, on the radio, wherever. She.also would drill us about
Negro history. We were enlightened about the contributions made
by Negroes throughout the history of America. It was amazing to see
the younger children--agesA, 5, and 6--answer so many questions
about history and speak so eloquently. We still need that!
** Riding the bus to Atlanta in 1962 and all of the fun we
had ... being away from home, seeing the country, finding nonsegregated places to eat and learning about our responsibility for
making the world a better place. I remember how in awe I was of
Atlanta. There were so many Negroes; and they had big houses with
huge, landscaped back yards. And many, many businesses . We went
to a famous restaurant one evening for dinner. That's where I met Dr.
Ki ng. I went over to his booth and asked him to sign my high school
year book. He was so friendly. He told me that I should have the
gentleman sitting next to him in the booth sign my book, too. So, of
course, I did. It wasn' t until the bus ride home that I realized the
person Dr. King had sign my book was James H. Meredith, the Negro
who integrated 'Ole Miss- -the University of Mississippi. That year
book is one of my most precious possessions . And the memory of my
personal meeting with Dr. King always warms my heart.
More than thirty years have gone by since that trip to Atlanta in
1962. It doesn't seem so long ago, though, because colored people/
Negroes/blacks are still fighting/striving/working to be treated as
human beings in many parts of the world/America/Oklahoma City .
We still sing "We Shall Overcome". We still march . We still
dream!
(J
Herland Voice February, 1993
9
Mv
AWAKENING TO THE
GODDESS
by Deborah Fox
I was raised Catholic. First, second, third, fifth, sixth and
seventh grade I spent in Catholic Schools. I was a philosophically
minded child and deeply spiritual.
Sometime during my teens I read about religion being the
''opiate of the people'' and about people using religion as a ··crutch
to limp through life upon''. This disturbed me deeply; I didn't want
my spirituality to be a crutch. I began speculating atheism but soon
realized that Nature, the earth and all of the cosmos was proof enough
of God for me.
All my life I had questioned the dogma of Christianity. At thirty
when I gave birth to my
son I questioned the idea
that this little angel was a
sinner that needed to be
purified by baptism. I
looked upon that little
face and knew it was blasphemy to call him a sinner (I have never had him
baptized). I felt a disappointing emptiness in the
Catholic religion.
Then I found the
Goddess.
Finding the Goddess
was both liberating and
devastating. Devastating
because my spiritual
foundation shattered. I
have always felt an innate spirituality, but it had
been entrenched in Christian tradition and symbols. Now, with evidence
of the Goddess before me
it became clear to me that both God and Goddess were human
concepts. Perhaps nothing more. Authority was placed in the pope,
in priests and nuns. Now I was faced with reclaiming that authority
as my own, creating my own definitions of spirituality, and rebuilding my spiritual foundation. I was overwhelmed. I had never owned
such power before. And I was enraged that the Goddess's imagery
had been withheld from me and that all that had been done "in God' s
name'' was simply a ploy used to justify and sanctify what men do.
My perceptions of the world and the nature oflife were stripped
down to the barest thread - stripped of all color except black and
white. The world was in the hands of men, greed, the neurotically
excessive rich and my life was insignificant. This was the world I
was born into and it did not belong to me. I felt I was suspended,
floating in an abyss. I had no anchor, no ground upon which to stand.
Two visions came back to me from my past; one, from childhood, of a light within me that waxed and waned with my life's
experiences, the second vision : outer space, a· 'boomerang'' shaped
galaxy (or several galaxies) white light stars -- with dancing colored
lights at one far end and the message that the colored lights at the far
tip was' 'reality as I knew it'' - the rest of this boomerang of galaxies
I intuitively understood to be a greater mystery.
IO Her/and Voice February, 1993
I began to study about the Goddess and Her religion. I read
books on history and pre-history of ancient cultures that worshipped
a female deity and the laws and customs of those societies (the story
of human life and religious practice from the real beginning, which
is not taught in our educational system) , archaeology, anthropology.
feminism and feminist politi cs. I felt that, as Charlene Spretnak so
aptly put it: "patriarchal religion has failed, and failed with disas trous effects on humans and on the Earth, at perceiving and communing with "the higher powers" in a constructive and life-affirming
way." (The Politics of Women's Spirituality, ed. C. Spretnak) And
I joined my sisters in a commitment to social change and the
evolution of postpatriarchal spirituality.
I followed my deep craving for Nature and moved out into the
country. I listened to the flowing creek and was quieted, I embraced
the trees and felt protected, I was humbled by Spring storms and
empowered by the night sky. I melted into Nature and realized that
I am not separate from HER -- that I never tru ly was nor ever could
be. Nature taught me about life, death and renewal. In the darkness
came the light, it grew each night that I knelt before Her and prayed.
Simple things, really. And so I've come to begin to build a new
spiritual foundation, piece by piece, little by little. The Goddess is
central to me (maybe women should pray to the Goddess and men
pray to the God), Her symbols speak to my inner knowingness. She
enriches me and I enrich Her. She is becoming in me and I in Her.
I am Goddess, thou art Goddess. She is all women, all creation, earth,
moon , and stars. SHE is all that has been , all that is, all that will ever
l:l
be and we are all ONE.
GLAAD NOTES
ti
Garth Brooks new album, The Chase, includes a rousing song
titled· 'We Shall Be Free'' which makes it clear we' II be unshackled
only· ' when we 're free to love anyone we choose'' -- a lineGarth says
is meant to include same-sex couples. (The same song also addresses
racism and other inhumanities.)
In a Newsweek interview Brooks said, "I don't know where
someone gets off telling human beings they can have some rights and
not others .. .To penalize someone for being homosexual, I don ' t think
that's our place.
If you'd like to give him a pat on the back [he's gotten plenty of
criticism in the OKC media] write: Garth Brooks, c/o Liberty
Records, 3322 West End Ave., Nashville, Tenn 37203 .
ti
Whoopi Goldberg deserves praise not only for campaigning
against Colorado's anti-gay initiative, but for using her new syndicated talkshow to dispel stereotypes and promote inclusion.
Guests on The Whoopi Goldberg Show are asked questions that
would send Arsenio or Jay into fits! In a poignant interview, Elton
John told Whoopi about being gay, his sham marriage and ho w he
finally found true love with a nice man.
Elizabeth Taylor, asked about Hollywood homophobia, said
"Without homosexuals there wouldn ' t be this town ... You take
homosexual input out and there is no Hollywood.
Whoopi got k.d . lang to talk extensively about why she decided
to come out in The Advocate.
Tell Whoopi how important it is to keep lesbian and gay issues
upfront: The Whoopi Goldberg Show, c/o The Lippin Group, 230
Park Ave., Suite 550 New York, NY 10169.
Reprinted from The Glaad Bulletin with permission.
l:l
RIOT GRRRLS
No MORE GAG RuLE!
Are you a Riot Grrrl? Are there any Riot Grrrls in Oklahoma.
or have they not filtered in from the Coast yet? No alb um s by Riot
Grrrl bands - Fugazi, Bikini Kill, Hole, Mecca Normal or Some
Velvet Sidewalk appear to be avai lable at local music stores.
Not that Riot Grrrls are all about music; but no movements
flourish without music, nor, according to Gandhi, without newsletters - and the Riot Grrrls have the '90's equivalent of newsletter5
aplenty, in the form of 'Zines - xeroxed magazines linking grrrls
across the country . The Grrrls write them, produce and share them.
According to Lauren Spencer, writing in the Washington Post.
Riot Grrrls are a "new, rocking breed of feminist..., drug free.
sartorially flexible and vegetarian-inclined, ... with an aggressive,
do-it-yourself punk ethic". Their zines contain "missives on
divorce, lovelessness, boy trouble, abuse and other variations of
suburban angst, as well as where to buy cool guitars, how to make
vegan burritos and holistic toothpaste, and the location of the next
pro-choice rally."
President Clinton waited just two days, until the 20th anniversary of Roe V . Wade, to issue four directives which will save
thousands of women's Ii ves worldwide. as well as bring hope for a
cure for persons with Parkinson's disease, diabetes, breast cancer,
.ind many other illnesses. The directives overturn the gag rule
forbidding health workers at agencies receiving federal funds from
discussing abortion with clients, both here and abroad (the Mexico
City accord); overturn the ban on abortions performed in military
hospitals : overt urn the ban on the use of fetal tissue for research; and
directs the FDA to investigate the safety of RU486, as it would any
other drug , and the possibility of testing and manufacturing it in this
country. A kinder gentler nation at last.
BECAUSE every time we pick up a pen, or an
instrument, or get anything done, we are creating
the revolution. We are the revolution .
NOMINATIONS
A manifesto written by 20 year old Washington D.C. Riot Grrrl
Erika Reinstein proclaims:
''Because we girls want to create mediums that speak to US. We
are tired _o fboy band after boy band, boy zine after boy zine, boy p11 nk
after boy punk after boy. BECAUSE I can't smile when my girlfriends are dying inside. We are dying i11side, a11d we never e\·en
touch each other, we are supposed to hate each other.... BECAUSE
we are being divided by our labels and philosophies, and we need to
accept and support each other as girls, acknowledging our different
approaches to life and accepting all of them as valid. BECAUSE we
need to acknowledge that our blood is being spilt, that right now a
girl is being raped or battered and itmight be me or you or your mom
or the girl you sat next to on the bus last Tuesday and she might be
dead by the time you finish reading this .... BECAUSE a safe place
needs to be created for girls where we can open our eyes a11d reach
out to each other without being threatened by this sexist society and
our day -today shit. BECAUSE every time we pick up a pen, or an
instrument, or get anything done, we are creating the revolution. We
are the revolution.''
Herland hopes to be on a few zines' mailing list soon. Stop by
for an update on the revolution .
(J
LAMBDA LITERARY
Lambda Book Report has opened nominations for the Fifth
Annual Lambda Literary Awards . The "Lammys," recognizing
excellence in gay and lesbian writing and publishing, will be
presented during a gala banquet in Miami, Florida, on Friday, May
28. 1993, during the American Booksellers Association Convention.
The public is invited to nominate their favorite gay and lesbian
books of 1992 in several categories. including Lesbian or Gay
Men ' s: Fiction. Non-fiction, Anthologies, Mystery. Humor, Science
Fiction/Fantasy. Poetry and Childre~/Young Ad.ult, for the increasing number of gay and lesbian related books aimed at young readers.
Books must have a 1992 copyright date in order to be eligible
and must have been published in the United States . . Nominating
ballots must be returned to Lambda Book Report office by February
10. Send the completed ballot to: Lambda Literary Awards, 1625
c;:on'nes:ticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009-1013; or Fax your
vote to 202/462-7257.
Cl
r-~-----------------,
I
' 'Women Can Change the World' ' is the title of the forum to be
held by the Women's Resource Center of Norman on February 24.
1993, in the ballroom of the Oklahoma Memorial Union at 6:30 p.m.
The featured speakers for the forum include Anita Hill. OU law
professor, and nurse/attorney Sharon Parker. These women will
provide the forum with new insights and direction into how women
can change the world through the legal, educational and he alth care
arenas.
The celebration will begin with a reception honoring WRC
volunteers at 6: 30, followed by the annual membership meeting. The
cost is $10 for members and $20 for non-members .
(J
Ballot for the 1992 Lammys
I Gay Men's
I Fi::tiai
Lesbian
I Fidial
Auh:r
---------
Autu- .
I Gay Men's
--------Auticr_ _ _ _ _ _ __
Anth:tlges
Lesbian
NonFicticn
Lesbian &
WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTER FORUM
A WARDS
Aum
---------
G~y
Humor
Lesbian
Author
Mysfely
Author
Gay Men's
Mysfely
Lesbian SF/
Fantasy
Gay Men's SF/
Fantasy
Lesbian
Poetry
Gay Men's
Poetry
Children'sNA
Books
GIL Small Press
Book
Author
Author
Author
Author
Author
Author
Author
.J
L----
Her/and Voice February, 1993
11
II tJ1.. 1.. 1r1, 1N II ct 11111t
Mary Reynolds and Tom Paxton in Concert Thursday, February 4, at 7: 30 p.m.; Stage
Center, 400 W. Sheridan. Tickets are $12.50
at all Rainbow.Records or send check/money
order to First Unitarian Church, 600 NW 13th,
OKC 73103. Proceeds benefit Healing Hands,
Jesus House, REST; and Travellers.' Aid.
Peggy Johnson will be singing at La Baguette
323 W. Boyd, February 6, 8 -- 11 :30 p.m. The
Espresso Cafe in Norman has been sold and
renamed La Baguette.
National Businesswomen' sLeadership Association presents a series of one-day workshops on Powerful Communication Skills
for Women; in Oklaho~a and Texas on various dates between february 4 and March 10.
In Oklahoma City the workshop will be held
March 9, 1993, at MetroTech Business Center, 1900 Springlake Drive. Cost of the workshop is $69. To register or for more information call 1-800-258-7246. ·
12th Annual Amnesty International USA
Southern Regional Conference, February
19 -21 in Tulsa, at the Doubletree Hotel
Downtown; 'Rights of Indigenous Peoples in
the Americas'; Workshops and Displays on
Native American Art, " Disappearances",
Guatemala, Hopeful Signs, Women's Rights,
Children's Rights, Gay and Lesbian Activism, and more; for information call 405/8425356.
.
Lesbian only counseling group, Wednesday
eve_nings. Contact Jo Soske, M.ED, MHR,
NCADC, NCC at 364-5708.
Women Wit h Women With Children -- If
you are a parent or a partner to a parent and
w?uld like to join us for a Sunday afternoon
Get It Together session call us at 942-4331. .
We have set a date for Sunday, February 21 at
2P .M.-- 4P.M. (or??) . Bring the kids and lets
have fun!
Music-Music-Music for the not quite an ama'teur - budding musician - or just like to sing.
Play or listen -- or just visit. Sunday 2/28 9424331 PJ & Larue's Place.
The Women's Project Annual Retreat will
be held April 2, 3, & 4th at Lake Ft. Smith
State Park near Fort Smith. Arkansas. For
information contact The Women's Project.
2224 S. Main, Little Rock, AR 72206 .
WdshingtonDC·
APRIL 25, I993
Don't forget the Lesbian Celebration's Valentine Dance Saturday February 13 from
7p.m. to midnight, at the Century II Expo Hall
in Wichita. OKC' sown Miss Brown To You
will furnish music. Tickets are $8 in advance
or $10 at the door. For information call 316/
264-7034. If you are interested in carpooling
from the OKC area call Laura at 943-4870.
Dear Survivor, We are compiling an anthology of writings composed by survivors of
rape and sexual abuse. We need your help in
speaking the truth. "This is a personal,
political and necessary movement toward a
freedom we owe to ourselves and t~ future
generations. Sexual assault thrives in silence
it violates at a level most people can't fathom'.
Only survivors can communicate it. We intend this book to be a compilation of our
voices protesting the brutality of sexual violence in our society.· 'We will accept personal
stories, letters, poetry, artwork and computer
graphics. Telephone 4021783-2288 or 402/
474-3148. Please send su_bmissions to: Anthology; c/o bite of the apple, P. 0 Box 81724,
Lincoln, NE 68501~1724.
$:1mmm
co:~c:§:
DON'T MISS
THISONE!
Interested in going to THE MARCH
with a Herland group? Leave a message ~or rat at Herland (521 -9696). If
there is enough interest we might charter a bus or rent vans as a group.
Workday at Berland, Saturday. Feb. '.!O
lOA.M. If you are good with a hammer. saw,
or broom or just want to be a part of making
Herland a more plesant space come join us as
we finish making the building accessible and
remodel the front room. It's sure to be lots of
fun!
The 15th National Lesbian and Gay Health
Conference & 11th Annual AIDS/HIV Forum is scheduled for July 21-25 , 1993 in
Houston, Texas. The conference ·theme is
"From Grassroots to the National Health Care
Agenda: Taking Care of Each Other" . To
receive the preliminary program including
conference registration information write:
NLGHF Registration, c/o The George Washington University Medical Center, Office of
Continuing Medical Education, 2300 K Street,
NW, Washington, DC 20037.
Old Lesbians Organizing for Social Change,
the nationwide group headed by the Old Lesbian Organizing Committee, has put together
a remarkable consciousness raising handbook
to .help old lesbians (60 and over) come to
grips with the issues ofageism in our society.
This book is a Facilitator's Handbook to be
used in community. It outlines nine sessions
to help women, old women, old lesbians look
at the ways in which they are oppressed by
family, professionals and strangers,.as well as
the ways in which they often oppress themselves by "internalized ageism." For anyone
interested in addressing these neglected issues, this Handbook is an important resource.
For those of us who are old lesbians. this
Handbook is a primary organizing tool. To
order the Facilitator 's Handbook on Confronting Ageism, Consciousness Raising for
Lesbians 60 and Over send $10 (includes
postage to: OLOC, P.O. Box 980422, Houston, TX 77098 .
Hurricane Alice, a feminist quarterly, seeks
essays, reviews. poems, short stories. personal experience Uournal or memoir) and art
work on the theµie "Women in Politics. ' '
They are hoping for stories aboµt the way
women work together and how they work with
male colleagues; eager to hear ab~ut the extent to which they still experience discrimination; and would like to know.the ways women
solve or feel swamped by the supposed conflict between work and personal life. Deadline for submissions , Feb 28, 1993; reports
within six weeks. Length. 3,000 words maximum. Payment in issues. Send to Hurricane
Alke. 207 Lind Hall, 207 Church Street, S.E.
Minneapolis , MN 55455
: ::: s : ::: ::
:C:::
-
February, 199 3
OKLAHOMA
CONSIDERS
ANTI-LESBIAN/GAY
REFLECTION'S,,
ON
THE ,CIVIL R1.G HTS
'M ov.EM .E NT
AMENDMENT
With the introduction of HJR 1005, Oklahoma joined the
ranks of states considering enacting laws against the protection of
the civil rights oflesbian/gays. HJR 1005 would create a proposed
amendement to the Oklahoma State Constitution sirniliar to the
Amendment 2 which recently was passed in Colorado. This bill
was introduced by Representative Grover Campbell of Owasso.
It calls for a referendum to be sent to the people that would
read: ''Neither the State of Oklahoma, through any of its branches
or departments, nor any of its agencies, political subdivisions,
municipalities, counties or school districts, shall.enact, adopt or
enforce any statute, rule, regulation, ordinance or policy whereby
homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or
relationships shall constitute or otherwise be the basis ofor entitle
any person or class ofpersons to have or claim any minority status,
quota preferences, protected status or claim of discrimination.··
The Oklahoma Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus is leading
efforts to defeat the measure in the state legislature. If passed by
both the State House of Representatives and the State Senate, a
state-wide vote would be required for the proposal to become law.
Conservative organizations in at least 12 or 13 states have
announced plans to pursue Colorado-style anti-lesbian/gay initiatives this year or next, according to the National Gay & Lesbian
Task Force Policy Institute Activist Alert, January 1993. With the
aid of the Oregon Citizens Alliance and Colorado for Family
Values, the groups responsible for last year' s antic gay referenda in
those states, "family values" groups are targeting Michigan,
Minnesota, California, Maine, Georgia, and again in Oregon.
NGLTF has initiated a Fight the Right campaign to coordinate
efforts in providing technical, organizing and media assistance to
lesbian and gay activists and their supporters battling the proposed
initiatives. Scot Nakagawa, an organizer on the successful "No on
9" campaign in Oregon, has joined the N(JLTF staff as their Fight
the Right organizer.
_ NGLTF will also update the Fight the Right organizing
manual in March, with tips on how to battle the Far Right in your
local community. For assistance and to update NGLTf on right~
~ing orgruiizing in your area, contact Scot Nakagawa, NGLTF,
522SW 5th Ave, Suite 1375, Portland, OR 97294; 503/221-0115.
For a copy of the Fight the Right manual, contact NGLTF Public
Information Manager Robin Kane at NGLTF.
D
By A Member of the Crowd
I met and talked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! It
was the summer before my senior year in high school; a most
exciting, exhilarating time.
_
Every year the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People, NAACP, held a national convention. In
1962, the convention was held in Atlanta, Georgia. That year,
the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council--of which I was an
active member--made the sojourn to Atlanta.
Just two years before while watching the news on television one evening, I saw a report about a group of young Negro
children who had been refused service at a local lunch counter.
I don't know why it caught my attention, but I remember
thinking that I must join them. My mother was not as excited
about this activity as I was. On the other hand, my father, who
was an active member of the Oklahoma City Branch of the
NAACP, thought that it was an excellent idea.
(continued on page 9)
H_ERLAf\JD
proudly presents
KAREN WILLIAMS
Renowned Comedian
Sunday, April 4, 1993
2 p.m.
Civic Center Little Theater
You saw her at our Retreat,
you read her column in Outlines,
she's a headliner at the
Michigan Festival
Save the Date!
Volume 10 Number 2
Herland Sister Resources
2312 NW. 39, OKC, OK 73112
Sr. Sve1L
Dear St. Sybil, .·
I'm sorry, but I just don't know what we need Black History
month for. We don'thave WhiteHistory month, do we? It's not like
the country is racist anymore; and for sure Herland isn't racist, and
neither am I.
Sincerely,
Haven't Got a Clue
Dear Clueless,
Let me just guess here, a wild guess: you're not black, are you?
White as the day is long, you are, or you couldn't ask that question.
Your inability to recognize the need for. a Black History Month is
proof in itself that you are totally ignorant of the existence of black
history; of the contributions made to our society by individual
African-Americans as well, of course, as by the unpaid labor of
millions. You don't know that civilizations flourished in .. black"
Africa prior to its colonization -If you did surely you would welcome
the opportunity to learn a . little about them. Green wood Avenue
means nothing to you, even though you are from Oklahoma, home of
the USA's only - until Philadelphia, when a Mayor went berserk aerial bombing of its own citizens. Any idea what I'm talking about?
That's because all of American History up until day before yesterday
was written for, by and about white men. Every day is white (male)
history month.
· And as far as denying the existence of racism, if your own
observation doesn't reveal to you its pervasiveness ·in all aspects of
our culture, take it on faith; take the word and perception of people
like Shirley Chisholm, Alice Walker, Barbara Jordan, Chrystos,
June Jordan, and Clara Luper. Denial of their reality is racist.
As far as Herland and its otherwise wonderful women being
racist, You're right, you ' re not actively racist. You are wonderful
women. But if you are bothered when you look around at Herland
events and see all white faces; if you feel deprived because Herland
is not more culturally diverse; if you wish you could see more of the
wonderful women of color you know in the community, and the ones
you don ' t know yet; if you realize that inaction by members of a
privileged class pf\rpetuates that privilege- what are you doing about
it? Herland is a haven to many women, and if it is not a haven to
women of color, then you are doing something wrong - and failing
to do some things that are right. You have a lot of work still to do;
so do it.
And by the way, get ready; next month is Women's History
Month. Are you going to make a case to Sybil Ludington that we
don't need that either?
he has caused, to show him that his attitude is the fountainhead of
every sin committed against women; I want a God to ask Rev. Keely,
How Could You Be So Stupid, How Could You Be So Evil? And 1
want Keely to live eternally, forever and forever, in abject repentance, with the knowledge and presence of God's anger and reproach.
I also think I may want to send him a prettily wrapped package full
of manure ...
Well, thanks, Sybil, I feel a little better now. I'm much calmer
and my stomach doesn't hurt as much anymore either. Hate isn't
good for the body or the soul, is it?
·
Enraged but Exhausted.
Yoseffa
Dear Yo,
No it's not. and I'm glad to help.
Affectionately.
Sybil
Editor ·s note: Rev. Keely was instrumental in having a woman (Billy
Graham's daughter) removed from the speaking agenda at the
Baptist General Convention Evangelism Conference because messages from a woman would open the door to preaching by women.
which he believes is against the Bible's teaching. He is reportedly
proud that he interrupted and silenced a woman speaker at a Baptist
youth conference last year when she asked the audience to tum to
selected Scriptures and began to discuss them .
D
VIDEO NIGHT AT HERLAND
Friday, February 12, at 8:00 p.m. we will have coffee and
cookies and, of course, popcorn and anything you care to bring , as we
resume Herland;s monthly Video Nights.
·.. Goddess Remembered" is a one-hour documentary about
early goddess-worshipping cultures and the growing contemporary
women ' s spirituality movement. This stunning and poetic documentary is a salute to 35,000 years of· 'pre-history ,' ' to the solid values
of ancestors only recently remembered, and to our ancient goddessworshipping religions.
''Goddess Remembered'' reveals forgotten cultures - taking us
to the caves of paleolithic France, the subterranean temples of
neolithic Malta, the mysterious earthw9rks of ancient Britain. and
the sun-drenched places of Delphi and of Crete.
Directed l:iy Donna Read and pro'duced by Margaret Pettigrew
and Studio D, National Film Board of Canada, .. Goddess Remembered'' is part one of the ·'Women and Spirituality' · series. ·'The
Burning Times' ' . tl1e story of the witch craze that swept through
Europe only a few hundred years ago, will be Herland' s March
'Video Night' selection.
D
Yours,
SybiJ
Dear St. Sybil,
Please help me, my heart is full of anger and hate. I want to take
Rev. Wayne Keely and slap him silly . I want to hurt him. I want to
tie him down and tell him the truth until he hears it and screams from
the knowledge of his own evil stupidity. I want him to suffer. I want
him to know how evil and ignorant and ungodly he is and see the
suffering he causes by it. I want him to recognize himself for the
obscene festering pimple on a warthog's ass tlbelieve him to be. I
want his remorse to be an unbearable pain in his gut, rupturing his
heart and brain with its intensity. I want to weep for the pain he
inflicts. My agnostic soul yearns for a God to show him the suffering
2 Her/and Voice February, 1993
£109 5. Air Depot
Midwest City, OK 7311 o
(405)737-0496
Air Depot Animal Hospital
Call for Appointment
JOY HVSKA, D.V.M
IDENTITY POLITICS
by Vivien Ng
[Author's note: 1994 marks the 2)th anniversary of the Stonewall
Riots. A number of events are being planned to mark the occasion
in New York City, including Gay Games 1994, International Lesbicm
and Gay Pride Parade, and the Stonewall History Project, a multisite multi-media exhibit. SHP is a collaborative effort of the
Br;oklyn Historical Society, New York Historical Society, New York
Public Library, and the Centerfor Lesbian and Gay Studies, CUNY.
From almost its very inception, the history project has been in the
vortex of a storm ofcontroversy, and charges of elitism, exclusionism,
and male chauvinism have been hurled at the curator and members
ofthe planning committee. Most recently, an essay in the publication
COLORLife cast doubt on the participating institutions, including
members of the planning committee. I felt that some of the accusations were unfair and decided to write the following essay in
response.]
That I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for
Lesbian and Gay Studies at CUNY is really quite bizarre; after all,
I live and work in Oklahoma and my only previous connection with
CUNY was a year' s stint at Hunter College as a Rockefeller "fellow." But I received a call from an Asian-American gay man on the
CUNY staff shortly after CLAGS was officially approved by the
Board of Trustees in April 1991 . We talked about a number of issues,
including the Miss Saigon outrage and CLAGS. He said we needed
to ensure an Asian presence on the board and asked if I could help
identify potential candidates. I was absolutely the worst person to be
of any help because I was such an outsider in the New York lesbian
and gay community, but I offered to call the one (and at that time the
only) Asian lesbian I knew. She said no, an unequivocal no.
My pragmatism is a product of 1 O+ years of living
in Oklahoma, where the lesbian and gay community
is tiny and often mute. In this crucible was forged
the reflex to work with all sorts of people, to work
across difference, even to work across animosity.
I eventually said yes. For a number of reasons : naivete,
pragmatism, idealism, to name only three. I came out in the midl 970s in a most unproblematic way--I happened to look across the
seminar table one day and fell in love. Just like that, no soul
searching, no denying, nothing. This seamless transition from
straight to gay accounted for my naivete, because my lack of
reflection meant also a lack of awareness of the complexities of
lesbian and gay identities . Even though I have since become more
"seasoned," I have not completely lost my early naivete, and I am
now paying for it. My pragmatism is a product of IO+ years ofli ving
in Oklahoma, where the 1 esbian and gay community is tiny and often
mute. In this crucible was forged the reflex to work with all sorts of
people, to work across difference, even to work across animosity.
The passionate discussions I had with a number of lesbians at Hunter
College, about whether there should be separate lesbian studies and
gay studies or combined lesbian and gay studies, are a luxury we do
not have here. My idealism stems from my fundamental belief in the
innate goodness of human nature, which is very Chinese. Also, it
comes from being an academic in this anti-intellectual society,
working so hard for so little material reward. My ivory tower
existence has not inoculated me against the ravages of "real life"
experience, but I have been spared the daily ordeal of caring for the
sick and needy in a climate of growing intolerance. Thus, it has been
easy for me to maintain a rosy outlook on life and to continue to
believe in the basic goodness of all people.
My idealism stems from my fundamental belief in
the innate goodness of human nature, which is very
Chinese.
Even in m y most naive moments, however, I am very much
aware of tokenism. I know for certain that every discussion of gender
and racial/ethnic parity I have participated in has been laced with the
poison of tokenism. I am sure that many cynics regard me as a token.
But I am not a token, because I have not allowed myself to be used
this way. Oklahoma has made me very good at this. Regarding my
involvement in the Stonewall History Project, I volunteered to be one
of the CLAGS representatives to SHP, because I have a keen interest
in ensuring a fair Asian representation in the outcome. As I told the
participants at the planning conference, when one of my great
grandfathers returned to China after decades of working in the U.S .,
he built himself a separate dwelling on the family compound, where
he reportedly spent all his time in the company of young men. Was
he gay? Were there others like him in Chinatown? What about the
women? Shouldn't their history be explored? Yes, yes, yes. But I
cannot do this alone, and my phone calls for help from the Asian
lesbian community have not been returned. There has not even been
the effort to tell me directly to get lost. Have I already been rendered
suspect by a community that knows very little about me? Do the y
expect the worst of me? Has my participation in CLAGS and SHP
made me categorically persona non grata?
Identity politics did not have much resonance for me until two
years ago, whe n I had the chance to escape the isolation of Oklahoma _
to live one year in New York City. I used to think of myself as just
"me," a perennial outsider in the land of cowboys and rednecks.
Although I posted a lambda sign on my door six or seven years ago,
I did not always wear my lesbian identity on my sleeve. As for being
Asian, I was never at home in the Asian community here because of
their heterosexism and therefore seldom identified with them and
their interests .
Hunter College changed everything for me. The very first day,
I was introduced to everyone as ' ·the famous lesbian scholar.''
Stamped and delivered. How did they know? They figured that out
from my essay, •'Homosexuality and the State in Late Imperial
China,'' that appeared in Martin Duberman' s Hidden from History:
Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past. I enjoyed my year at Hunter.
I thrived. I had wonderful discussions with lesbian students and
Asian students at the college. I forged my own distinct identity as a
lesbian and an Asian-American that year. Lesbian and ChineseAmerican, in that order. For the first time in my adult life I was proud
of being Chinese. When I joined the CLAGS board, I did so as a
Chinese-American lesbian.
I still have a lot to learn about identity politics. I do know that
as long as I remain in Oklahoma, away from the more "natural"
environment of New York City, I will always be an outsider--in
Oklahoma as a lesbian Asian; in New York as a somewhat suspect
Chinese-American lesbian. It's okay, because Audre Lorde has
taught me well how to have a fulfilling life as a sister outsider. D
Her/and Voice February, 1993
3
& AIDS
NATIONAL BLACK GAY AND
WOMEN
LES BI AN C ONFERENC E
Finally, after years of protest by activists that the official
definition of AIDS discriminated against women by excluding the
opportuni stic diseases which affect only women, the Centers for
Disease Control have agreed to adopt an expanded definition of
AIDS. This definition is particularly important because persons
living with HIV are not eligible for many medical , financial , and
other services until they have a diagnosis of AIDS. With the previous
limited AIDS definition, many women with HIV never met the
criteria for AIDS and never became eligible for many needed
services even though the disease ultimately took their lives.
The expanded definition adopted January 1 of this year added an
estimated 40,000 Americans infected with HIV to the status of fullblown AIDS. The broader definition, which includes cervical cancer,
pulmonary tuberculosis and recurrent pneumonia, will bring AIDS
services to many more women than were previously eligible. Additionally, a large boost in the number of cases will come from the
addition of a fourth indicator - a lowered level of the CD4 immune
cells (or T-cells) to 200 per cubic milliliter of blood. The CDC
expects the policy will increase the national caseload by about 75
percent in 1993, frm an average of about 50,000 annually to 90,000
new cases in 1993.
CJ
The 6th National Black Gay and Lesbian Conference and
Institutes will take place February 11-15 at the Hilton Hotel in Long
Beach, California. This year's theme, "Black Lesbians and Gays:
Building Bridges, Making Connections, " will focus on the inherent
need to bridge the gaps that separate us around issues of gender, race
and sexual orientation.
Noted speakers for the 1993 conference include Angela Davis
and Bell Hooks. This year Davis, who spoke at the 2nd annual
conference will deliver the Opening Plenary keynote. Davis is
internationally known for her contributions to issues on racial
equality, women's rights and world peace. A political activist since
her teenage years in Birmingham, Alabama, Davis has been a Ii ving
witness fo the major struggles of our time -- as a student, teacher,
writer, scholar and organizer. Bell Hooks, a noted feminist scholar,
will be featured at the Closing Ceremony of the conference. Hooks
is currently a professor at Oberlin College in the Department of
English and Women's Studies. Her book, Ain't I a Woman,
published in 1981, was named one of the "20 most influential
women's books of the last 20 years" in a Publishers Weekly poll in
May, 1992.
Each year the Conference recognizes African-American Lesbians and Gay men who have made positive contributions to the
African-American and Gay community. Brandy Moore of San
Francisco will receive the Bayard Rustin Award which is given
annually to a Black Lesbian or Gay man who has advanced the
interest of the Black Lesbian and Gay community through the
political process. The United Lesbians of African Heritage will
receive the Harriet Tubman Award which is given annually to an
organization which has made significant contributions to the welCJ
fare of Black Lesbians and Gays.
TOGETHER PROUD AND STRONG
Shock-T Music has announced the release of Together Proud
and Strong, the official anthem for the 1993 March on Washington
for Lesbian, Gay & Bi Equal Rights and Liberation which will take
place in Washington, D.C. on April 25, 1993.
Early in 1992, the Executive Committee for the 1993 March on
Washington invited Lynn Thomas to write an official anthem. After
writing the music, Lynn traveled around the country with a 24-track
master, enlisting the help of other lesbian and gay performers. The
anthem slowly built in scope and the final product has sixty-two
artists singing on it. This is the first time that a march of this
magnitude has had an official anthem.
Together Proud and Strong is available exclusively from ShockTMusic, P.O.Box54, Perkasie,PA 18944, (215)705-0615.
CJ
HERLAND LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has not yet announced whether
it will decide the child custody case which Herland is supporting.
The mother's attorney has requested that they hear oral arguements
in order to allow the more information to be put before the court.
Action is anticipated by April, 1993.
The Herland Legal Defense Fund Committee is continuing to
raise funds to help with the legal expenses of this important case. If
you would like to be a part join us at Her land on Feb . 8 at 6: 30 P.M .
Notes of support and encouragement for the moms can be sent in
care of Herland, 2312 NW39, OKC 73112.
CJ
4 Her/and Voice February, 1993
UPDATE
Books By and About AfricanAmerican Women
Available At Herland
Betsy Brown, Ntozake Shange
Jazz, Tonil\1orrison
Killing Color, Charlotte Watson Sherman
Possessing the Secret of Joy, Alice Walker
Feminist Theory: From .Margin to Center, Bell
Hooks
Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking
Black, Bell Hooks
This Bridge Called My Back
Observe Black History Month
Educate Yourself!
Ink 'Well Vvinting, Inc.
is pleased to announce
ouv expansion and velocation to
JBvookline Office pavk
605 / Vl. JBrnokline, Suite 128
Oklahoma f9ity, Oklahoma 73112
40S-842-2021
OKLAHOMA LEGISLATION OF
FIGHTING -TO CONSENSUS
IN TEREST
by MOC
Oklahoma legislators have prefiled several bills of interest to
women and gays and lesbians, including, as usual, attacks on
reproductive freedom.
HB1207 authored by Representative Billy Mitchell, HB1413
by Representative Joan Greenwood and HB1212 authored by
Represntative Roach all would require notification of parents before
a woman under age 18 could have an abortion. HB1168 by Rep. Ray
Vaughn details the informed consent which would be required of all
women twenty-four hours before an abortion could be performed.
These requirements include an explanation of the physical characteristics of the fetus and an offer to show the woman a photograph or
model of a fetus at the same stage of development. The consent must
also include information about specific physical, psychological and
social risks of abortion.
Bills to regulate the disposal of fetal tissue include HB1192 by
Representative Webb and HB1193 by Representative Ray Vaughn ..
Both bills would require that "remains of an unborn human being be
disposed of by cremation, burial, or release to the family. HB1192
would also require reporting of all abortions to a central state agency.
Poor Oklahomans who consent to sterilization would receive a
cash payment of $2,000 if Representative Bill Smith's bill HB1503
becomes law . Funds for the grants would be raised through a tax on
soft drinks.
Representative Tim Pope has introduced House Bill 1026,
which would add language to a section of the statutes dealing with
education. Following the current instruction .that " [Students] also
must learn about cultures and environments - their own and those of
others with whom they share the earth" is Pope's proposed new
language: ''Provided however, students shall not be taught that
homosexuality is a natural lifestyle.''
HB 1507, introduced by Bill Graves, would be a new section of
law and would read as follows: ''In any publk ·school in this state
in which sex education is a part of the school curriculum,. students
shall be taught that having sexual relations outside of a heterosexual
marriage is wrong and immoral and that in the absence of a marriage
relationship, a person should abstain from engaging in any sexual
activity with any other person of the same or opposite gend.er.
Students also shall be taught that sexual relations outside of a
heterosexual marriage may place such student in danger of contracting sexually transmitted diseases which may be harmful to the
student's health and may in some cases cause death" .
HB 1435, introduced by Webb, would add the following language to a section of the State Education and Employees Group
Insurance Plan: ''Beginning July 1,1993, the specifications for the
Health Insurance Plan shall not provide coverage for persons who
have tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
unless the Board is specifically directed by the Oklahoma Legislature to provide such coverage.' '
Not all of the pending legislation attacks women. Representative Bill Settle has introduced HB1020 which would make raping
one's spouse a crime. HB1102 would require the arrest of an abuser
when police are called to a domestic violence case.
The Oklahoma legislature will officially convene February 2.
To obtain copies of these bills call the State Senate at (405)524-0126
To contact state representives call (405)521-2711. State Senators
may be contacted at (405)524-0126.
[J
When I first became a Herland Board member nearly a decade
ago, I was impressed and pleased to see that decisions made at one
meeting were implemented or at least begun by the next. It was
almost mysterious -- this was not something I often saw in other
organizations .
I was also much impressed by the spirited emotional and
intellectual ·give-and-take. Having grown up in a family which
frequently equated conflict with lack or withholding of love, I was
amazed, even frightened, and finally delighted, at the strenuous,
ardent disagreements - all right, the fighting - among people who
managed to remain friends throughout it all.
Recently I invited a friend to come to a Herland Board meeting,
so that she could see what great meetings we have. Oh ·my. We put
on a humdinger for her; whereas we actually do have some meetings
w'ith little controversy, the one T'wanda came to involved three
major issues controversial in feminist/lesbian organizations -- separatism; inclusive, non-classist pricing of events; and s/m. I thought
it was wonderful, exhausting .but .e xhilarating . T'wanda agreed, it
was exhausting.
Conversely, I recently represented Herland on a committee
planning an annual city-wide event. The weekly meetings were
short, pleasant, a.n d we planned a very nice program. The program
we planned went nearly without a hitch . The program we did not
plan, however, which was imposed upon us by some power from
above, a power invisible and unknown to me and others, was
dreadful. Some woman somehow managed to appear three times in
the events of the day . She spoke, she read poems, she sang, and there
was nothing harmonious about any of it; she insulted half of the
participating organizations, and bored or distressed everyone within
earshot.
Well, other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, it was a nice program; and
I'm sure I' 11 serve on the committee again next year, but I'll be wary
and try to extract certain commitments. · And as for Herland meetings? If they don't kick me off the Board, T ll probably be enjoying
- and trusting - their meetings for another ten years. Consider
yourselves warned.
(All woineh are invited io attend and participate in Herland meetings. The Herland Board meets the third Sunday of each month at
4: 30 p.m. at Herland. The next meeting will be Sunday, February 21.
[J
Come see for yourself what they are all about.)
l.JeDI 31 To
[/;>/
b31 . . .3575
For Valentines Day and that special woman.:._
lavender rose bud vases with special sparkle
$8.50, roses, blooming plants, tropicals.
Metro Delivery
Her/and Voice February, 1993
5
NOTE-BURNING CELEBRATION!
6 Her/and Voice February, 1993
February
1 9 9 3
A great month for birthdays: Elizabeth Blackwell, February 3, 1821 - 1910; first American
f emale MD ; Abraham Lincoln and fiery abolitionist and newspaperman Frederick Douglass,
February 12; W.E .B. DuBois , educator and author , February 23 , 1868 - 1963 ; and three
wonder f ul women authors, Edna St . Vincent Millay, Gertrude Stein and Alice Walker .
~o n d ay
Su nd ay
1
Friday L Saturday
\\lednesday Thursday
6
5 MARY
3 Birthdays: 4 Mary
REYNOLDS
Elizabeth
PEGGY
j;
Reynolds c.k
Tuesd a y
2
•
Blackwell &
Gert . Stein
CC NOW. 7t:1 rn.
Norman Public
Library
&
To rn Paxton
In a Benefi t
fDr REST~
8 pm
·
SlaeeCenler
10
11
et
7
~erland
Leeal
Defense Fund
MeetinE'
6:30 pm
'
..
G&L Political
Caucus, at
Oasis , 7pm
14
1
~rederick
Doui;llass
1817 - t895
.
CoDA . 7 pm
Birth-d·a y
to
ALICE WALKER
born in 1944
16
Board
Meetine
4:30• p.rn .
..
et
.f
Jimmy
La Fave
Sprn
HotelBohemia
·"·~~~~·
..
St. \lincent
Millay
1892 - 1950
'
13
Sweetheart
Dance
in Wichita
\l lDEOS at
Herland, 8 pm
17
18
19
CoDA . 7 pm
Brownell
Anthony
1820 - 1906
J
JOH NSON ·•
at
LaBaeuelle's
CThe Old Cafe
Espresso)
CoDA , 7 pm
·"~,a - ~py~
15.
•
22. 23.
Birtffd·a y
to
ROSA PARKS
born in 1913
21
g.
al the
Hotel
Bohemia}
B t:1rn
24
25
26
WRC Forum
~ : 30 pm
2
~oRK
DAY
al Herland
fO am - ???
Paint, saw .
hammer. pour
co ncrete,
fix lhe old
place up.
27
CoDA, 7 pm
W.E.B.
DuBois
1868 - 1963
28
Do~ H~rland wants to know : Didn ' t Maya Angelou just about knock your socks off· with her reading of her powerful ,
stirring new poem at the Inaugural ? Nice to have a president with the vision to include her so prominently in the
day. The Doc also likes what BC had to say about Hillary's new role : "It ' s my job, it 's my duty to the American
people, t o take advantage of the most talented people I can find .. . and I would be derelict in my duty if I didn 't
use her in some major way ... "
Silent Vigil for peace in Central America . On the steps of the
Federal Building, NW 4th & Robinson, OKC ; each Wednesday at Noon .
HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES
2312 N\\I 39th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
405/ 521-9696
Hours: Saturdays lO - 6. Sundays I - 6
NonProfit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oklahoma City, Okla.
2312 N.W. 39th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED
Permit No. 861
I
THANKS TO ALL THESE
WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO
MADE IT POSSIBLE!
Alice & Charlotte
Kevan Kiser
Abigail Keegan
Kris Lund
ACT-UP OKC
Kris Marek
Anonymous
Laura Choate
Barbara Cleveland
Margaret Cox
Barbara Hillyer
In Memory of
Chris Delaney
Barbara Neas &
David Miller
Margy Dillon
Billie Hensley
Marquetta Morris
Buster the Retreat Dog
The McMow Sisters
Carol Schnepper
In Memory of
Katherine Moore
Cecily Welter-Mullen
Charlotte Berryman
In Memory of Kim Alexander
In Honor of
SunShine Schillings
In Honor of
Stephen Hardway
Dottie Painter
Marilyn Sebek
HERLAND SISTER RESOURC E S MISSION
Herland Sister Resources envisions and strives toward a world
in which all women live free from oppression.
Herland supports and includes all women who experience
oppression. Lesbians as a group have a deep experience of the
general oppressive climate of this world. Although Herland is not
restricted to lesbians, we have a strong lesbian focus. We are a
womanist organization, supporting women in their journey toward
self-definition and self-determination, and recognizing that each
woman has her own pace of growth and enlightenment.
Herland is a non-profit volunteer organization. We publish a
newsletter, operate a bookstore and lending library, and provide
musical and cultural events for education and entertainment. We
offer a safe place for women to meet and exchange ideas, feelings,
hopes and fears and to learn about themselves and each other.
The only requirement for involvement in Herland is a desire for
women to be free of the restraints of oppression.
HSR
REPORT--1992
A NNUAL
In.cmne
Ad. Sales
$
Building Rent
$
Consignment Sales$
$
Donations
Events
$
Foundations
$
Interest Income
$
$
Retreat
Sales
$
Other Income
$
TOTAL INCOME $
525
750
227
2, 159
1,5 83
6,000
338
5,368
6,050
406
23,846
Diana Faulkner
Marian Hulsey
Edwina Johnson
P.K. Floyd
Friends of the Porthole
Gail Garloch &
Edie Schneeberger
Pat Colognesi &
Beverly McGugin
Designated Income
Building Fund
$14,421
Legal Defense Fund $ 5,037
Pat Reaves
Ginger McGovern
In Honor of
Mary Reynolds &
Peggy Johnson
In Honor of
Mammy & Aunt Sara
Porthole Checks &
Denim Cloggers
280
25
378
3,116
103
614
776
17
1,033
20
149
3,317
271
1,297
1,300
230
3,075
161
746
605
772
$ 20,962
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
Raphel/a Sohier
Sally Nostrant
Sarah Oakes
Jean Kelsey
Shatzy Watson
Jill Burroughs &
Peggy Johnson
Expenses
Advertising
Bank Charge
Building Maint.
Books
Booth/Regs. Fees
Consignment
Cookbook
Fund-raising
Insurance
Library
Magazines
Newsletter
Other Expenses
Postage
Programs/Events
Property Tax
Retreat
Misc. Stock
Tapes/CDs
Telephone
Utilities
TOTAL
Sherry Boggs
Published by: Herland Sister Resources, Inc. 23 12 N.W.
39th, Oklahoma City, OK 73112
Newsletter Committee : Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Pat
Reaves
..
In Memory of
David Chrispell
Susan Bumgarner
Circulatio n: 1000
Jo Soske
In Memory of
Grandma Scharlach
Advertis ing Rates : Business card $15; 1/4 page $35; 1/2
page $60; full page $100
Dr. Joan Webb &
Susan Blake
Tommy Thomas
The Voice is offered as an open forum for community discourse.
Articles reflect the opinions of the author and not necessarily
those of Herland Sisler Resources. Unsolicited articles and
letters to the editor are welcomed and must be signed by the
writer with full name and address: Upon request, letters or
articles may be printed under a pseudonym or anonymously.
. ..:
T. K. Williams
Joni Darnell
Wanda Chapman
Jon Soske
Rhonda Smith
Kathy Conroy
Marilyn Best & Theila Elliott
··::-;.
Subscriptions to The Voice are free upon request.
Her/and Voice February, 1993
7
L
Battering
the walls
down between us
leaves us standing
naked in the rubble
shards of shattered history
pierce soft souls, then
~ery step we take toward
embrace ... empowering
leaves ti mark in bloQ~.
Judith Rycroft
DONNA BECHTEL SPEAKS AT
HERLAND RECEIVES GRANT
TheASTRAEA National Lesbian Action Foundation has awarded
Herland a $1000 grant to be applied to the retirement of the Herland
mortgage. The ASTRAEA Foundation is the first nationwide lesbian
foundation. They fund projects that actively work to eliminate all
forms of oppression based on sexual orientation, race, age, sex,
economic exploitation, physical and mental ability, antisemitism
D
and all other factors that affect lesbians in the United States.
LESBIAN FESTIVALS,
YWCA
Donna Bechtel, speaking at the YWCA in January on the topic
of incarcerated battered women, recounted her experiences as a
battered woman and as a woman in prison. She told the group the
overwhelming majority of women in prison have been battered. She
said in a survey done at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center,
Oklahoma's maximum security facility for women, over seventy
percent of the women reported they had been battered.
She criticized law enforcement for their lack of response to
domestic violence and called for the passage of laws requiring police
to arrest abusers in spouse abuse situations. Ms. Bechtel said
inadequate police protection for battered women often leads to the
death of one of the couple. She cited national statistics that 30% of
women who are murdered are killed by their spouse or other
domestic partner.
Ms Bechtel was released from Mabel Bassett Correctional
Center, Oklahoma's maximum security prison for women, in October, 1992 after serving eight years. She had been convicted of first
degree murder in the slaying of her abusive husband and sentenced
to life in prison. In her first trial, the judge would not permit
consideration of the abuse she suffered from Ken Bechtel to be
entered into evidence. She appealed her conviction and won a new
trial after two years in prison.
Oklahoma County District Attorney, Bob Macy, again charged
her with first degree murder:. Even though at that time most states
(31) allowed expert testimony on the "Battered Women's Syndrome", Judge Richard Free.m an did not allow such testimony in the
second trial and she was convicted a second time and again given a
life sentence.
In the second appeal the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
agreed that the judge had denied her a fair trial by refusing to allow
expert testimony on the "Battered Women's Syndrome" and over, turned her conviction. District Attorney Macy chose to charge her
again but this time did agree to a plea bargain. Donna pied guilty to
manslaughter in exchange for a fourteen year prison sentence. She
was credited with the eight years she had already served and released
from prison in October, 1992.
..
In 1992, the Oklahoma State Legislature passed a bill authored
by Representative Jeff Hamilton of Midwest City which specifically
allows the Battered Women's Syndrome to be admitted as evidence
in a trial of a battered woman . The public attention focused on Donna
Bechtel's case had a significant role in the passage of this legislation.D
1993
"Silent Pre-Fest," American Sign Language Intensives for
Lesbians, will begin three days prior to each of the Lesbians'
Festivals this year. This groundbreaking program has gained international attention in the feminist press, and is being hailed as an
important cultural bridge. It is' an immersion into the language and
culture, and is taught by professional Deaf Lesbian instructors.
The Second Annual West Coast Lesbians' Festival will take
place on Memorial Day Weekend, 1993, in a private camp in the hills
of Santa Barbara. Performers and presenters include Carolyn Gage
and two full length Lesbian theatre performances, Maxine Feldman,
Sue Fink, Melanie DeMore, Rashida Oji, Gwen Avery, Pam Hall,
Arisika Razak with readings and workshops by Barbara Macdonald,
Cynthia Rich, A votcja and Mothertongue Readers Theatre, and
others. Camping, cabins, pool, entertainment and workshops throughout the long weekend.
The first-ever Lesbian Festival in Hawaii, Hawaii Fest, will
happen on the Island of Oahu on Thanksgiving Weekend . Maxine
Feldman, Sue Fink and a host of Hawaiian based Lesbian performers.
writers and presenters.
For more information about the ASL Intensives, WCLF and
Hawaii Fest contact Particular Productions, 279 Lester Avenue,
Oakland CA 94606; 904/826-0410.
The Fifth Annual East Coast Lesbians' Festival will take place
on Labor Day Weekend, 2 112 hours north of NYC in the mountains.
Lake, cabins & camping in a 200 acre camp ... indoor theatre, outdoor
stages .... with Edwina Lee Tyler, Alix Dobkin, Maxine Feldman, Sue
Fink, Pam Hall, Carolyn Gage, The Lesbian Lounge Lizards, The
Five Lesbian Brothers & more ... music, comedy, and readings all
day, Theatre, Films and dancing all night! Particular Productions,
2854 Coastal Hwy.,# 7, St. Augustine FL 32095; 904/826-0410.0
Now Open with New Owners!
2124 N.W 39, OKC
Special Valentine's Day Candlelight Dinner
Open
Tuesday - Saturday 5 P.M. -- 3 A.M
Sunday 10A.M. -- 3 A.M.
Sunday Brunch 10 A.M.
8 Her/and Voice February, 1993
Reflections on the Civil Rights Movement
(continued from page 1)
I joined the NAACP Youth Council right away . It consisted of children ranging in age from elementary school to
college. There were also a number of adult advisors. We met
every Monday night during the school year, and daily during
the summer. Actually, during the summer months while many
white children were enjoying swimming, skating, picnicking and
going to Springlake Amusement Park, members of the youth council
spent our time praying, planning, singing Freedom Songs, and
mostly sitting-in. The' 'sit-ins'' as they were called, represented our
non-violent efforts to obtain recognition as human beings . We
simply wanted to eat a hamburger or have a coke after we finished
shopping at various stores in downtown Oklahoma City. There were
lunch counters at Katz Drug Store, H. L. Greens $.05 & $.10,Bishops
Restaurant, Cravens Cafeteria, Veasey' s Drug and John A. Browns .
These were all places where Negroes spent money. Many of us even
had charge cards at John A. Browns, but our money was not good at
the cafeteria. (Brown's also had rest rooms marked "white only "
and "colored" . The imprint of letters on the door marked "colored'' remained even after the paint had been removed .)
My participation in the sit-in movement was a major experience
in my life. As a result, I learned a lot about people, including me. The
movement included people from various ethnic, religious, social and
economical backgrounds. Many of those who participated had great
strength, patience, vision and wisdom. They were business people,
doctors, teachers, politicians, attorneys, janitors, theologians, domestic workers and movie stars. I have many memories about those
years, some painful and some precious.
I remember...
**Standing in line with a group of other Negro children, waiting
for entrance into Bishop's Restaurant. The restaurant's management
locked the entrance door so that we could not enter. The door wou ld
be unlocked as white patrons came up and then quickly locked behind
them as they entered so that we could not get in. And the door wou ld
have to be unlocked again to let them out. On this particular day, a
man escorting a chimp dressed in a western outfit moved through our
line and went to the restaurant's door. The door was unlocked for
Marilyn Best
M. Coleen Woody
BEST&WOODY
Attorneys At Law
1443 N.W. 48th
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73 11 8
(405) 843-1745
General Practice
Wills Probate Personal Injury
Adoptions Contracts Divorce
him and the chimp. The chimp even growled & swung at a couple of
us children as it entered the restaurant with the man. Draw your own
conclusion.
** Sitting at the counter of a small luncheonette waiting to order
a soft drink. There were about eight or ten of us. When the few white
customers left, an employee of the establishment locked us in. Some
of us were frightened. The employees began to call us names and one
to.ok a large pot of hot grease from the grill area and threatened to
pour it on some of us. We just sang Freedom songs and waited.
Finally, one of the sit-in attorneys and a couple of other adults came
to our rescue. Somehow the employees were •'encouraged'' to
unlock the door and let us out. This seemed like a very long
afternoon!
**Sitting-in outside the entrance to Cravens Cafeteria as white
customers walked over us to get into the establishment. Some of
them had to balance themselves on our bodies to pass by. We were
arrested that day . Some of us were carried off in paddy wagons;
others rode in the back seat of police cars. That's where I rode. It
was scary watching policemen armed with rifles atop buildings
along main street. They protected the police officers who drove us
to jail. I must say that the police department treated us OK,
especially compared to what was done to our counterparts in other
parts of the country. We did not suffer dogs, water hoses and
beatings. Thank God! Basically, when we were taken down to the
police station, the officers got our names , told us we should not be
disturbing the peace and called our parents. Some of our parents
were already at the station because they were sitting-in too.
**Clara Luper. She was very strict. We were all conscious of
"acceptable" behavior. And, we had to speak correctly . We could
not say words such as "ah" and "ain't" and we could not split verbs;
and we had to be able to speak well in public-- in front of adults, the
press, at church, on the radio, wherever. She.also would drill us about
Negro history. We were enlightened about the contributions made
by Negroes throughout the history of America. It was amazing to see
the younger children--agesA, 5, and 6--answer so many questions
about history and speak so eloquently. We still need that!
** Riding the bus to Atlanta in 1962 and all of the fun we
had ... being away from home, seeing the country, finding nonsegregated places to eat and learning about our responsibility for
making the world a better place. I remember how in awe I was of
Atlanta. There were so many Negroes; and they had big houses with
huge, landscaped back yards. And many, many businesses . We went
to a famous restaurant one evening for dinner. That's where I met Dr.
Ki ng. I went over to his booth and asked him to sign my high school
year book. He was so friendly. He told me that I should have the
gentleman sitting next to him in the booth sign my book, too. So, of
course, I did. It wasn' t until the bus ride home that I realized the
person Dr. King had sign my book was James H. Meredith, the Negro
who integrated 'Ole Miss- -the University of Mississippi. That year
book is one of my most precious possessions . And the memory of my
personal meeting with Dr. King always warms my heart.
More than thirty years have gone by since that trip to Atlanta in
1962. It doesn't seem so long ago, though, because colored people/
Negroes/blacks are still fighting/striving/working to be treated as
human beings in many parts of the world/America/Oklahoma City .
We still sing "We Shall Overcome". We still march . We still
dream!
(J
Herland Voice February, 1993
9
Mv
AWAKENING TO THE
GODDESS
by Deborah Fox
I was raised Catholic. First, second, third, fifth, sixth and
seventh grade I spent in Catholic Schools. I was a philosophically
minded child and deeply spiritual.
Sometime during my teens I read about religion being the
''opiate of the people'' and about people using religion as a ··crutch
to limp through life upon''. This disturbed me deeply; I didn't want
my spirituality to be a crutch. I began speculating atheism but soon
realized that Nature, the earth and all of the cosmos was proof enough
of God for me.
All my life I had questioned the dogma of Christianity. At thirty
when I gave birth to my
son I questioned the idea
that this little angel was a
sinner that needed to be
purified by baptism. I
looked upon that little
face and knew it was blasphemy to call him a sinner (I have never had him
baptized). I felt a disappointing emptiness in the
Catholic religion.
Then I found the
Goddess.
Finding the Goddess
was both liberating and
devastating. Devastating
because my spiritual
foundation shattered. I
have always felt an innate spirituality, but it had
been entrenched in Christian tradition and symbols. Now, with evidence
of the Goddess before me
it became clear to me that both God and Goddess were human
concepts. Perhaps nothing more. Authority was placed in the pope,
in priests and nuns. Now I was faced with reclaiming that authority
as my own, creating my own definitions of spirituality, and rebuilding my spiritual foundation. I was overwhelmed. I had never owned
such power before. And I was enraged that the Goddess's imagery
had been withheld from me and that all that had been done "in God' s
name'' was simply a ploy used to justify and sanctify what men do.
My perceptions of the world and the nature oflife were stripped
down to the barest thread - stripped of all color except black and
white. The world was in the hands of men, greed, the neurotically
excessive rich and my life was insignificant. This was the world I
was born into and it did not belong to me. I felt I was suspended,
floating in an abyss. I had no anchor, no ground upon which to stand.
Two visions came back to me from my past; one, from childhood, of a light within me that waxed and waned with my life's
experiences, the second vision : outer space, a· 'boomerang'' shaped
galaxy (or several galaxies) white light stars -- with dancing colored
lights at one far end and the message that the colored lights at the far
tip was' 'reality as I knew it'' - the rest of this boomerang of galaxies
I intuitively understood to be a greater mystery.
IO Her/and Voice February, 1993
I began to study about the Goddess and Her religion. I read
books on history and pre-history of ancient cultures that worshipped
a female deity and the laws and customs of those societies (the story
of human life and religious practice from the real beginning, which
is not taught in our educational system) , archaeology, anthropology.
feminism and feminist politi cs. I felt that, as Charlene Spretnak so
aptly put it: "patriarchal religion has failed, and failed with disas trous effects on humans and on the Earth, at perceiving and communing with "the higher powers" in a constructive and life-affirming
way." (The Politics of Women's Spirituality, ed. C. Spretnak) And
I joined my sisters in a commitment to social change and the
evolution of postpatriarchal spirituality.
I followed my deep craving for Nature and moved out into the
country. I listened to the flowing creek and was quieted, I embraced
the trees and felt protected, I was humbled by Spring storms and
empowered by the night sky. I melted into Nature and realized that
I am not separate from HER -- that I never tru ly was nor ever could
be. Nature taught me about life, death and renewal. In the darkness
came the light, it grew each night that I knelt before Her and prayed.
Simple things, really. And so I've come to begin to build a new
spiritual foundation, piece by piece, little by little. The Goddess is
central to me (maybe women should pray to the Goddess and men
pray to the God), Her symbols speak to my inner knowingness. She
enriches me and I enrich Her. She is becoming in me and I in Her.
I am Goddess, thou art Goddess. She is all women, all creation, earth,
moon , and stars. SHE is all that has been , all that is, all that will ever
l:l
be and we are all ONE.
GLAAD NOTES
ti
Garth Brooks new album, The Chase, includes a rousing song
titled· 'We Shall Be Free'' which makes it clear we' II be unshackled
only· ' when we 're free to love anyone we choose'' -- a lineGarth says
is meant to include same-sex couples. (The same song also addresses
racism and other inhumanities.)
In a Newsweek interview Brooks said, "I don't know where
someone gets off telling human beings they can have some rights and
not others .. .To penalize someone for being homosexual, I don ' t think
that's our place.
If you'd like to give him a pat on the back [he's gotten plenty of
criticism in the OKC media] write: Garth Brooks, c/o Liberty
Records, 3322 West End Ave., Nashville, Tenn 37203 .
ti
Whoopi Goldberg deserves praise not only for campaigning
against Colorado's anti-gay initiative, but for using her new syndicated talkshow to dispel stereotypes and promote inclusion.
Guests on The Whoopi Goldberg Show are asked questions that
would send Arsenio or Jay into fits! In a poignant interview, Elton
John told Whoopi about being gay, his sham marriage and ho w he
finally found true love with a nice man.
Elizabeth Taylor, asked about Hollywood homophobia, said
"Without homosexuals there wouldn ' t be this town ... You take
homosexual input out and there is no Hollywood.
Whoopi got k.d . lang to talk extensively about why she decided
to come out in The Advocate.
Tell Whoopi how important it is to keep lesbian and gay issues
upfront: The Whoopi Goldberg Show, c/o The Lippin Group, 230
Park Ave., Suite 550 New York, NY 10169.
Reprinted from The Glaad Bulletin with permission.
l:l
RIOT GRRRLS
No MORE GAG RuLE!
Are you a Riot Grrrl? Are there any Riot Grrrls in Oklahoma.
or have they not filtered in from the Coast yet? No alb um s by Riot
Grrrl bands - Fugazi, Bikini Kill, Hole, Mecca Normal or Some
Velvet Sidewalk appear to be avai lable at local music stores.
Not that Riot Grrrls are all about music; but no movements
flourish without music, nor, according to Gandhi, without newsletters - and the Riot Grrrls have the '90's equivalent of newsletter5
aplenty, in the form of 'Zines - xeroxed magazines linking grrrls
across the country . The Grrrls write them, produce and share them.
According to Lauren Spencer, writing in the Washington Post.
Riot Grrrls are a "new, rocking breed of feminist..., drug free.
sartorially flexible and vegetarian-inclined, ... with an aggressive,
do-it-yourself punk ethic". Their zines contain "missives on
divorce, lovelessness, boy trouble, abuse and other variations of
suburban angst, as well as where to buy cool guitars, how to make
vegan burritos and holistic toothpaste, and the location of the next
pro-choice rally."
President Clinton waited just two days, until the 20th anniversary of Roe V . Wade, to issue four directives which will save
thousands of women's Ii ves worldwide. as well as bring hope for a
cure for persons with Parkinson's disease, diabetes, breast cancer,
.ind many other illnesses. The directives overturn the gag rule
forbidding health workers at agencies receiving federal funds from
discussing abortion with clients, both here and abroad (the Mexico
City accord); overturn the ban on abortions performed in military
hospitals : overt urn the ban on the use of fetal tissue for research; and
directs the FDA to investigate the safety of RU486, as it would any
other drug , and the possibility of testing and manufacturing it in this
country. A kinder gentler nation at last.
BECAUSE every time we pick up a pen, or an
instrument, or get anything done, we are creating
the revolution. We are the revolution .
NOMINATIONS
A manifesto written by 20 year old Washington D.C. Riot Grrrl
Erika Reinstein proclaims:
''Because we girls want to create mediums that speak to US. We
are tired _o fboy band after boy band, boy zine after boy zine, boy p11 nk
after boy punk after boy. BECAUSE I can't smile when my girlfriends are dying inside. We are dying i11side, a11d we never e\·en
touch each other, we are supposed to hate each other.... BECAUSE
we are being divided by our labels and philosophies, and we need to
accept and support each other as girls, acknowledging our different
approaches to life and accepting all of them as valid. BECAUSE we
need to acknowledge that our blood is being spilt, that right now a
girl is being raped or battered and itmight be me or you or your mom
or the girl you sat next to on the bus last Tuesday and she might be
dead by the time you finish reading this .... BECAUSE a safe place
needs to be created for girls where we can open our eyes a11d reach
out to each other without being threatened by this sexist society and
our day -today shit. BECAUSE every time we pick up a pen, or an
instrument, or get anything done, we are creating the revolution. We
are the revolution.''
Herland hopes to be on a few zines' mailing list soon. Stop by
for an update on the revolution .
(J
LAMBDA LITERARY
Lambda Book Report has opened nominations for the Fifth
Annual Lambda Literary Awards . The "Lammys," recognizing
excellence in gay and lesbian writing and publishing, will be
presented during a gala banquet in Miami, Florida, on Friday, May
28. 1993, during the American Booksellers Association Convention.
The public is invited to nominate their favorite gay and lesbian
books of 1992 in several categories. including Lesbian or Gay
Men ' s: Fiction. Non-fiction, Anthologies, Mystery. Humor, Science
Fiction/Fantasy. Poetry and Childre~/Young Ad.ult, for the increasing number of gay and lesbian related books aimed at young readers.
Books must have a 1992 copyright date in order to be eligible
and must have been published in the United States . . Nominating
ballots must be returned to Lambda Book Report office by February
10. Send the completed ballot to: Lambda Literary Awards, 1625
c;:on'nes:ticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009-1013; or Fax your
vote to 202/462-7257.
Cl
r-~-----------------,
I
' 'Women Can Change the World' ' is the title of the forum to be
held by the Women's Resource Center of Norman on February 24.
1993, in the ballroom of the Oklahoma Memorial Union at 6:30 p.m.
The featured speakers for the forum include Anita Hill. OU law
professor, and nurse/attorney Sharon Parker. These women will
provide the forum with new insights and direction into how women
can change the world through the legal, educational and he alth care
arenas.
The celebration will begin with a reception honoring WRC
volunteers at 6: 30, followed by the annual membership meeting. The
cost is $10 for members and $20 for non-members .
(J
Ballot for the 1992 Lammys
I Gay Men's
I Fi::tiai
Lesbian
I Fidial
Auh:r
---------
Autu- .
I Gay Men's
--------Auticr_ _ _ _ _ _ __
Anth:tlges
Lesbian
NonFicticn
Lesbian &
WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTER FORUM
A WARDS
Aum
---------
G~y
Humor
Lesbian
Author
Mysfely
Author
Gay Men's
Mysfely
Lesbian SF/
Fantasy
Gay Men's SF/
Fantasy
Lesbian
Poetry
Gay Men's
Poetry
Children'sNA
Books
GIL Small Press
Book
Author
Author
Author
Author
Author
Author
Author
.J
L----
Her/and Voice February, 1993
11
II tJ1.. 1.. 1r1, 1N II ct 11111t
Mary Reynolds and Tom Paxton in Concert Thursday, February 4, at 7: 30 p.m.; Stage
Center, 400 W. Sheridan. Tickets are $12.50
at all Rainbow.Records or send check/money
order to First Unitarian Church, 600 NW 13th,
OKC 73103. Proceeds benefit Healing Hands,
Jesus House, REST; and Travellers.' Aid.
Peggy Johnson will be singing at La Baguette
323 W. Boyd, February 6, 8 -- 11 :30 p.m. The
Espresso Cafe in Norman has been sold and
renamed La Baguette.
National Businesswomen' sLeadership Association presents a series of one-day workshops on Powerful Communication Skills
for Women; in Oklaho~a and Texas on various dates between february 4 and March 10.
In Oklahoma City the workshop will be held
March 9, 1993, at MetroTech Business Center, 1900 Springlake Drive. Cost of the workshop is $69. To register or for more information call 1-800-258-7246. ·
12th Annual Amnesty International USA
Southern Regional Conference, February
19 -21 in Tulsa, at the Doubletree Hotel
Downtown; 'Rights of Indigenous Peoples in
the Americas'; Workshops and Displays on
Native American Art, " Disappearances",
Guatemala, Hopeful Signs, Women's Rights,
Children's Rights, Gay and Lesbian Activism, and more; for information call 405/8425356.
.
Lesbian only counseling group, Wednesday
eve_nings. Contact Jo Soske, M.ED, MHR,
NCADC, NCC at 364-5708.
Women Wit h Women With Children -- If
you are a parent or a partner to a parent and
w?uld like to join us for a Sunday afternoon
Get It Together session call us at 942-4331. .
We have set a date for Sunday, February 21 at
2P .M.-- 4P.M. (or??) . Bring the kids and lets
have fun!
Music-Music-Music for the not quite an ama'teur - budding musician - or just like to sing.
Play or listen -- or just visit. Sunday 2/28 9424331 PJ & Larue's Place.
The Women's Project Annual Retreat will
be held April 2, 3, & 4th at Lake Ft. Smith
State Park near Fort Smith. Arkansas. For
information contact The Women's Project.
2224 S. Main, Little Rock, AR 72206 .
WdshingtonDC·
APRIL 25, I993
Don't forget the Lesbian Celebration's Valentine Dance Saturday February 13 from
7p.m. to midnight, at the Century II Expo Hall
in Wichita. OKC' sown Miss Brown To You
will furnish music. Tickets are $8 in advance
or $10 at the door. For information call 316/
264-7034. If you are interested in carpooling
from the OKC area call Laura at 943-4870.
Dear Survivor, We are compiling an anthology of writings composed by survivors of
rape and sexual abuse. We need your help in
speaking the truth. "This is a personal,
political and necessary movement toward a
freedom we owe to ourselves and t~ future
generations. Sexual assault thrives in silence
it violates at a level most people can't fathom'.
Only survivors can communicate it. We intend this book to be a compilation of our
voices protesting the brutality of sexual violence in our society.· 'We will accept personal
stories, letters, poetry, artwork and computer
graphics. Telephone 4021783-2288 or 402/
474-3148. Please send su_bmissions to: Anthology; c/o bite of the apple, P. 0 Box 81724,
Lincoln, NE 68501~1724.
$:1mmm
co:~c:§:
DON'T MISS
THISONE!
Interested in going to THE MARCH
with a Herland group? Leave a message ~or rat at Herland (521 -9696). If
there is enough interest we might charter a bus or rent vans as a group.
Workday at Berland, Saturday. Feb. '.!O
lOA.M. If you are good with a hammer. saw,
or broom or just want to be a part of making
Herland a more plesant space come join us as
we finish making the building accessible and
remodel the front room. It's sure to be lots of
fun!
The 15th National Lesbian and Gay Health
Conference & 11th Annual AIDS/HIV Forum is scheduled for July 21-25 , 1993 in
Houston, Texas. The conference ·theme is
"From Grassroots to the National Health Care
Agenda: Taking Care of Each Other" . To
receive the preliminary program including
conference registration information write:
NLGHF Registration, c/o The George Washington University Medical Center, Office of
Continuing Medical Education, 2300 K Street,
NW, Washington, DC 20037.
Old Lesbians Organizing for Social Change,
the nationwide group headed by the Old Lesbian Organizing Committee, has put together
a remarkable consciousness raising handbook
to .help old lesbians (60 and over) come to
grips with the issues ofageism in our society.
This book is a Facilitator's Handbook to be
used in community. It outlines nine sessions
to help women, old women, old lesbians look
at the ways in which they are oppressed by
family, professionals and strangers,.as well as
the ways in which they often oppress themselves by "internalized ageism." For anyone
interested in addressing these neglected issues, this Handbook is an important resource.
For those of us who are old lesbians. this
Handbook is a primary organizing tool. To
order the Facilitator 's Handbook on Confronting Ageism, Consciousness Raising for
Lesbians 60 and Over send $10 (includes
postage to: OLOC, P.O. Box 980422, Houston, TX 77098 .
Hurricane Alice, a feminist quarterly, seeks
essays, reviews. poems, short stories. personal experience Uournal or memoir) and art
work on the theµie "Women in Politics. ' '
They are hoping for stories aboµt the way
women work together and how they work with
male colleagues; eager to hear ab~ut the extent to which they still experience discrimination; and would like to know.the ways women
solve or feel swamped by the supposed conflict between work and personal life. Deadline for submissions , Feb 28, 1993; reports
within six weeks. Length. 3,000 words maximum. Payment in issues. Send to Hurricane
Alke. 207 Lind Hall, 207 Church Street, S.E.
Minneapolis , MN 55455
: ::: s : ::: ::
:C:::
-
February, 199 3
OKLAHOMA
CONSIDERS
ANTI-LESBIAN/GAY
REFLECTION'S,,
ON
THE ,CIVIL R1.G HTS
'M ov.EM .E NT
AMENDMENT
With the introduction of HJR 1005, Oklahoma joined the
ranks of states considering enacting laws against the protection of
the civil rights oflesbian/gays. HJR 1005 would create a proposed
amendement to the Oklahoma State Constitution sirniliar to the
Amendment 2 which recently was passed in Colorado. This bill
was introduced by Representative Grover Campbell of Owasso.
It calls for a referendum to be sent to the people that would
read: ''Neither the State of Oklahoma, through any of its branches
or departments, nor any of its agencies, political subdivisions,
municipalities, counties or school districts, shall.enact, adopt or
enforce any statute, rule, regulation, ordinance or policy whereby
homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or
relationships shall constitute or otherwise be the basis ofor entitle
any person or class ofpersons to have or claim any minority status,
quota preferences, protected status or claim of discrimination.··
The Oklahoma Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus is leading
efforts to defeat the measure in the state legislature. If passed by
both the State House of Representatives and the State Senate, a
state-wide vote would be required for the proposal to become law.
Conservative organizations in at least 12 or 13 states have
announced plans to pursue Colorado-style anti-lesbian/gay initiatives this year or next, according to the National Gay & Lesbian
Task Force Policy Institute Activist Alert, January 1993. With the
aid of the Oregon Citizens Alliance and Colorado for Family
Values, the groups responsible for last year' s antic gay referenda in
those states, "family values" groups are targeting Michigan,
Minnesota, California, Maine, Georgia, and again in Oregon.
NGLTF has initiated a Fight the Right campaign to coordinate
efforts in providing technical, organizing and media assistance to
lesbian and gay activists and their supporters battling the proposed
initiatives. Scot Nakagawa, an organizer on the successful "No on
9" campaign in Oregon, has joined the N(JLTF staff as their Fight
the Right organizer.
_ NGLTF will also update the Fight the Right organizing
manual in March, with tips on how to battle the Far Right in your
local community. For assistance and to update NGLTf on right~
~ing orgruiizing in your area, contact Scot Nakagawa, NGLTF,
522SW 5th Ave, Suite 1375, Portland, OR 97294; 503/221-0115.
For a copy of the Fight the Right manual, contact NGLTF Public
Information Manager Robin Kane at NGLTF.
D
By A Member of the Crowd
I met and talked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! It
was the summer before my senior year in high school; a most
exciting, exhilarating time.
_
Every year the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People, NAACP, held a national convention. In
1962, the convention was held in Atlanta, Georgia. That year,
the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council--of which I was an
active member--made the sojourn to Atlanta.
Just two years before while watching the news on television one evening, I saw a report about a group of young Negro
children who had been refused service at a local lunch counter.
I don't know why it caught my attention, but I remember
thinking that I must join them. My mother was not as excited
about this activity as I was. On the other hand, my father, who
was an active member of the Oklahoma City Branch of the
NAACP, thought that it was an excellent idea.
(continued on page 9)
H_ERLAf\JD
proudly presents
KAREN WILLIAMS
Renowned Comedian
Sunday, April 4, 1993
2 p.m.
Civic Center Little Theater
You saw her at our Retreat,
you read her column in Outlines,
she's a headliner at the
Michigan Festival
Save the Date!
Volume 10 Number 2
Herland Sister Resources
2312 NW. 39, OKC, OK 73112
Sr. Sve1L
Dear St. Sybil, .·
I'm sorry, but I just don't know what we need Black History
month for. We don'thave WhiteHistory month, do we? It's not like
the country is racist anymore; and for sure Herland isn't racist, and
neither am I.
Sincerely,
Haven't Got a Clue
Dear Clueless,
Let me just guess here, a wild guess: you're not black, are you?
White as the day is long, you are, or you couldn't ask that question.
Your inability to recognize the need for. a Black History Month is
proof in itself that you are totally ignorant of the existence of black
history; of the contributions made to our society by individual
African-Americans as well, of course, as by the unpaid labor of
millions. You don't know that civilizations flourished in .. black"
Africa prior to its colonization -If you did surely you would welcome
the opportunity to learn a . little about them. Green wood Avenue
means nothing to you, even though you are from Oklahoma, home of
the USA's only - until Philadelphia, when a Mayor went berserk aerial bombing of its own citizens. Any idea what I'm talking about?
That's because all of American History up until day before yesterday
was written for, by and about white men. Every day is white (male)
history month.
· And as far as denying the existence of racism, if your own
observation doesn't reveal to you its pervasiveness ·in all aspects of
our culture, take it on faith; take the word and perception of people
like Shirley Chisholm, Alice Walker, Barbara Jordan, Chrystos,
June Jordan, and Clara Luper. Denial of their reality is racist.
As far as Herland and its otherwise wonderful women being
racist, You're right, you ' re not actively racist. You are wonderful
women. But if you are bothered when you look around at Herland
events and see all white faces; if you feel deprived because Herland
is not more culturally diverse; if you wish you could see more of the
wonderful women of color you know in the community, and the ones
you don ' t know yet; if you realize that inaction by members of a
privileged class pf\rpetuates that privilege- what are you doing about
it? Herland is a haven to many women, and if it is not a haven to
women of color, then you are doing something wrong - and failing
to do some things that are right. You have a lot of work still to do;
so do it.
And by the way, get ready; next month is Women's History
Month. Are you going to make a case to Sybil Ludington that we
don't need that either?
he has caused, to show him that his attitude is the fountainhead of
every sin committed against women; I want a God to ask Rev. Keely,
How Could You Be So Stupid, How Could You Be So Evil? And 1
want Keely to live eternally, forever and forever, in abject repentance, with the knowledge and presence of God's anger and reproach.
I also think I may want to send him a prettily wrapped package full
of manure ...
Well, thanks, Sybil, I feel a little better now. I'm much calmer
and my stomach doesn't hurt as much anymore either. Hate isn't
good for the body or the soul, is it?
·
Enraged but Exhausted.
Yoseffa
Dear Yo,
No it's not. and I'm glad to help.
Affectionately.
Sybil
Editor ·s note: Rev. Keely was instrumental in having a woman (Billy
Graham's daughter) removed from the speaking agenda at the
Baptist General Convention Evangelism Conference because messages from a woman would open the door to preaching by women.
which he believes is against the Bible's teaching. He is reportedly
proud that he interrupted and silenced a woman speaker at a Baptist
youth conference last year when she asked the audience to tum to
selected Scriptures and began to discuss them .
D
VIDEO NIGHT AT HERLAND
Friday, February 12, at 8:00 p.m. we will have coffee and
cookies and, of course, popcorn and anything you care to bring , as we
resume Herland;s monthly Video Nights.
·.. Goddess Remembered" is a one-hour documentary about
early goddess-worshipping cultures and the growing contemporary
women ' s spirituality movement. This stunning and poetic documentary is a salute to 35,000 years of· 'pre-history ,' ' to the solid values
of ancestors only recently remembered, and to our ancient goddessworshipping religions.
''Goddess Remembered'' reveals forgotten cultures - taking us
to the caves of paleolithic France, the subterranean temples of
neolithic Malta, the mysterious earthw9rks of ancient Britain. and
the sun-drenched places of Delphi and of Crete.
Directed l:iy Donna Read and pro'duced by Margaret Pettigrew
and Studio D, National Film Board of Canada, .. Goddess Remembered'' is part one of the ·'Women and Spirituality' · series. ·'The
Burning Times' ' . tl1e story of the witch craze that swept through
Europe only a few hundred years ago, will be Herland' s March
'Video Night' selection.
D
Yours,
SybiJ
Dear St. Sybil,
Please help me, my heart is full of anger and hate. I want to take
Rev. Wayne Keely and slap him silly . I want to hurt him. I want to
tie him down and tell him the truth until he hears it and screams from
the knowledge of his own evil stupidity. I want him to suffer. I want
him to know how evil and ignorant and ungodly he is and see the
suffering he causes by it. I want him to recognize himself for the
obscene festering pimple on a warthog's ass tlbelieve him to be. I
want his remorse to be an unbearable pain in his gut, rupturing his
heart and brain with its intensity. I want to weep for the pain he
inflicts. My agnostic soul yearns for a God to show him the suffering
2 Her/and Voice February, 1993
£109 5. Air Depot
Midwest City, OK 7311 o
(405)737-0496
Air Depot Animal Hospital
Call for Appointment
JOY HVSKA, D.V.M
IDENTITY POLITICS
by Vivien Ng
[Author's note: 1994 marks the 2)th anniversary of the Stonewall
Riots. A number of events are being planned to mark the occasion
in New York City, including Gay Games 1994, International Lesbicm
and Gay Pride Parade, and the Stonewall History Project, a multisite multi-media exhibit. SHP is a collaborative effort of the
Br;oklyn Historical Society, New York Historical Society, New York
Public Library, and the Centerfor Lesbian and Gay Studies, CUNY.
From almost its very inception, the history project has been in the
vortex of a storm ofcontroversy, and charges of elitism, exclusionism,
and male chauvinism have been hurled at the curator and members
ofthe planning committee. Most recently, an essay in the publication
COLORLife cast doubt on the participating institutions, including
members of the planning committee. I felt that some of the accusations were unfair and decided to write the following essay in
response.]
That I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for
Lesbian and Gay Studies at CUNY is really quite bizarre; after all,
I live and work in Oklahoma and my only previous connection with
CUNY was a year' s stint at Hunter College as a Rockefeller "fellow." But I received a call from an Asian-American gay man on the
CUNY staff shortly after CLAGS was officially approved by the
Board of Trustees in April 1991 . We talked about a number of issues,
including the Miss Saigon outrage and CLAGS. He said we needed
to ensure an Asian presence on the board and asked if I could help
identify potential candidates. I was absolutely the worst person to be
of any help because I was such an outsider in the New York lesbian
and gay community, but I offered to call the one (and at that time the
only) Asian lesbian I knew. She said no, an unequivocal no.
My pragmatism is a product of 1 O+ years of living
in Oklahoma, where the lesbian and gay community
is tiny and often mute. In this crucible was forged
the reflex to work with all sorts of people, to work
across difference, even to work across animosity.
I eventually said yes. For a number of reasons : naivete,
pragmatism, idealism, to name only three. I came out in the midl 970s in a most unproblematic way--I happened to look across the
seminar table one day and fell in love. Just like that, no soul
searching, no denying, nothing. This seamless transition from
straight to gay accounted for my naivete, because my lack of
reflection meant also a lack of awareness of the complexities of
lesbian and gay identities . Even though I have since become more
"seasoned," I have not completely lost my early naivete, and I am
now paying for it. My pragmatism is a product of IO+ years ofli ving
in Oklahoma, where the 1 esbian and gay community is tiny and often
mute. In this crucible was forged the reflex to work with all sorts of
people, to work across difference, even to work across animosity.
The passionate discussions I had with a number of lesbians at Hunter
College, about whether there should be separate lesbian studies and
gay studies or combined lesbian and gay studies, are a luxury we do
not have here. My idealism stems from my fundamental belief in the
innate goodness of human nature, which is very Chinese. Also, it
comes from being an academic in this anti-intellectual society,
working so hard for so little material reward. My ivory tower
existence has not inoculated me against the ravages of "real life"
experience, but I have been spared the daily ordeal of caring for the
sick and needy in a climate of growing intolerance. Thus, it has been
easy for me to maintain a rosy outlook on life and to continue to
believe in the basic goodness of all people.
My idealism stems from my fundamental belief in
the innate goodness of human nature, which is very
Chinese.
Even in m y most naive moments, however, I am very much
aware of tokenism. I know for certain that every discussion of gender
and racial/ethnic parity I have participated in has been laced with the
poison of tokenism. I am sure that many cynics regard me as a token.
But I am not a token, because I have not allowed myself to be used
this way. Oklahoma has made me very good at this. Regarding my
involvement in the Stonewall History Project, I volunteered to be one
of the CLAGS representatives to SHP, because I have a keen interest
in ensuring a fair Asian representation in the outcome. As I told the
participants at the planning conference, when one of my great
grandfathers returned to China after decades of working in the U.S .,
he built himself a separate dwelling on the family compound, where
he reportedly spent all his time in the company of young men. Was
he gay? Were there others like him in Chinatown? What about the
women? Shouldn't their history be explored? Yes, yes, yes. But I
cannot do this alone, and my phone calls for help from the Asian
lesbian community have not been returned. There has not even been
the effort to tell me directly to get lost. Have I already been rendered
suspect by a community that knows very little about me? Do the y
expect the worst of me? Has my participation in CLAGS and SHP
made me categorically persona non grata?
Identity politics did not have much resonance for me until two
years ago, whe n I had the chance to escape the isolation of Oklahoma _
to live one year in New York City. I used to think of myself as just
"me," a perennial outsider in the land of cowboys and rednecks.
Although I posted a lambda sign on my door six or seven years ago,
I did not always wear my lesbian identity on my sleeve. As for being
Asian, I was never at home in the Asian community here because of
their heterosexism and therefore seldom identified with them and
their interests .
Hunter College changed everything for me. The very first day,
I was introduced to everyone as ' ·the famous lesbian scholar.''
Stamped and delivered. How did they know? They figured that out
from my essay, •'Homosexuality and the State in Late Imperial
China,'' that appeared in Martin Duberman' s Hidden from History:
Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past. I enjoyed my year at Hunter.
I thrived. I had wonderful discussions with lesbian students and
Asian students at the college. I forged my own distinct identity as a
lesbian and an Asian-American that year. Lesbian and ChineseAmerican, in that order. For the first time in my adult life I was proud
of being Chinese. When I joined the CLAGS board, I did so as a
Chinese-American lesbian.
I still have a lot to learn about identity politics. I do know that
as long as I remain in Oklahoma, away from the more "natural"
environment of New York City, I will always be an outsider--in
Oklahoma as a lesbian Asian; in New York as a somewhat suspect
Chinese-American lesbian. It's okay, because Audre Lorde has
taught me well how to have a fulfilling life as a sister outsider. D
Her/and Voice February, 1993
3
& AIDS
NATIONAL BLACK GAY AND
WOMEN
LES BI AN C ONFERENC E
Finally, after years of protest by activists that the official
definition of AIDS discriminated against women by excluding the
opportuni stic diseases which affect only women, the Centers for
Disease Control have agreed to adopt an expanded definition of
AIDS. This definition is particularly important because persons
living with HIV are not eligible for many medical , financial , and
other services until they have a diagnosis of AIDS. With the previous
limited AIDS definition, many women with HIV never met the
criteria for AIDS and never became eligible for many needed
services even though the disease ultimately took their lives.
The expanded definition adopted January 1 of this year added an
estimated 40,000 Americans infected with HIV to the status of fullblown AIDS. The broader definition, which includes cervical cancer,
pulmonary tuberculosis and recurrent pneumonia, will bring AIDS
services to many more women than were previously eligible. Additionally, a large boost in the number of cases will come from the
addition of a fourth indicator - a lowered level of the CD4 immune
cells (or T-cells) to 200 per cubic milliliter of blood. The CDC
expects the policy will increase the national caseload by about 75
percent in 1993, frm an average of about 50,000 annually to 90,000
new cases in 1993.
CJ
The 6th National Black Gay and Lesbian Conference and
Institutes will take place February 11-15 at the Hilton Hotel in Long
Beach, California. This year's theme, "Black Lesbians and Gays:
Building Bridges, Making Connections, " will focus on the inherent
need to bridge the gaps that separate us around issues of gender, race
and sexual orientation.
Noted speakers for the 1993 conference include Angela Davis
and Bell Hooks. This year Davis, who spoke at the 2nd annual
conference will deliver the Opening Plenary keynote. Davis is
internationally known for her contributions to issues on racial
equality, women's rights and world peace. A political activist since
her teenage years in Birmingham, Alabama, Davis has been a Ii ving
witness fo the major struggles of our time -- as a student, teacher,
writer, scholar and organizer. Bell Hooks, a noted feminist scholar,
will be featured at the Closing Ceremony of the conference. Hooks
is currently a professor at Oberlin College in the Department of
English and Women's Studies. Her book, Ain't I a Woman,
published in 1981, was named one of the "20 most influential
women's books of the last 20 years" in a Publishers Weekly poll in
May, 1992.
Each year the Conference recognizes African-American Lesbians and Gay men who have made positive contributions to the
African-American and Gay community. Brandy Moore of San
Francisco will receive the Bayard Rustin Award which is given
annually to a Black Lesbian or Gay man who has advanced the
interest of the Black Lesbian and Gay community through the
political process. The United Lesbians of African Heritage will
receive the Harriet Tubman Award which is given annually to an
organization which has made significant contributions to the welCJ
fare of Black Lesbians and Gays.
TOGETHER PROUD AND STRONG
Shock-T Music has announced the release of Together Proud
and Strong, the official anthem for the 1993 March on Washington
for Lesbian, Gay & Bi Equal Rights and Liberation which will take
place in Washington, D.C. on April 25, 1993.
Early in 1992, the Executive Committee for the 1993 March on
Washington invited Lynn Thomas to write an official anthem. After
writing the music, Lynn traveled around the country with a 24-track
master, enlisting the help of other lesbian and gay performers. The
anthem slowly built in scope and the final product has sixty-two
artists singing on it. This is the first time that a march of this
magnitude has had an official anthem.
Together Proud and Strong is available exclusively from ShockTMusic, P.O.Box54, Perkasie,PA 18944, (215)705-0615.
CJ
HERLAND LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has not yet announced whether
it will decide the child custody case which Herland is supporting.
The mother's attorney has requested that they hear oral arguements
in order to allow the more information to be put before the court.
Action is anticipated by April, 1993.
The Herland Legal Defense Fund Committee is continuing to
raise funds to help with the legal expenses of this important case. If
you would like to be a part join us at Her land on Feb . 8 at 6: 30 P.M .
Notes of support and encouragement for the moms can be sent in
care of Herland, 2312 NW39, OKC 73112.
CJ
4 Her/and Voice February, 1993
UPDATE
Books By and About AfricanAmerican Women
Available At Herland
Betsy Brown, Ntozake Shange
Jazz, Tonil\1orrison
Killing Color, Charlotte Watson Sherman
Possessing the Secret of Joy, Alice Walker
Feminist Theory: From .Margin to Center, Bell
Hooks
Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking
Black, Bell Hooks
This Bridge Called My Back
Observe Black History Month
Educate Yourself!
Ink 'Well Vvinting, Inc.
is pleased to announce
ouv expansion and velocation to
JBvookline Office pavk
605 / Vl. JBrnokline, Suite 128
Oklahoma f9ity, Oklahoma 73112
40S-842-2021
OKLAHOMA LEGISLATION OF
FIGHTING -TO CONSENSUS
IN TEREST
by MOC
Oklahoma legislators have prefiled several bills of interest to
women and gays and lesbians, including, as usual, attacks on
reproductive freedom.
HB1207 authored by Representative Billy Mitchell, HB1413
by Representative Joan Greenwood and HB1212 authored by
Represntative Roach all would require notification of parents before
a woman under age 18 could have an abortion. HB1168 by Rep. Ray
Vaughn details the informed consent which would be required of all
women twenty-four hours before an abortion could be performed.
These requirements include an explanation of the physical characteristics of the fetus and an offer to show the woman a photograph or
model of a fetus at the same stage of development. The consent must
also include information about specific physical, psychological and
social risks of abortion.
Bills to regulate the disposal of fetal tissue include HB1192 by
Representative Webb and HB1193 by Representative Ray Vaughn ..
Both bills would require that "remains of an unborn human being be
disposed of by cremation, burial, or release to the family. HB1192
would also require reporting of all abortions to a central state agency.
Poor Oklahomans who consent to sterilization would receive a
cash payment of $2,000 if Representative Bill Smith's bill HB1503
becomes law . Funds for the grants would be raised through a tax on
soft drinks.
Representative Tim Pope has introduced House Bill 1026,
which would add language to a section of the statutes dealing with
education. Following the current instruction .that " [Students] also
must learn about cultures and environments - their own and those of
others with whom they share the earth" is Pope's proposed new
language: ''Provided however, students shall not be taught that
homosexuality is a natural lifestyle.''
HB 1507, introduced by Bill Graves, would be a new section of
law and would read as follows: ''In any publk ·school in this state
in which sex education is a part of the school curriculum,. students
shall be taught that having sexual relations outside of a heterosexual
marriage is wrong and immoral and that in the absence of a marriage
relationship, a person should abstain from engaging in any sexual
activity with any other person of the same or opposite gend.er.
Students also shall be taught that sexual relations outside of a
heterosexual marriage may place such student in danger of contracting sexually transmitted diseases which may be harmful to the
student's health and may in some cases cause death" .
HB 1435, introduced by Webb, would add the following language to a section of the State Education and Employees Group
Insurance Plan: ''Beginning July 1,1993, the specifications for the
Health Insurance Plan shall not provide coverage for persons who
have tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
unless the Board is specifically directed by the Oklahoma Legislature to provide such coverage.' '
Not all of the pending legislation attacks women. Representative Bill Settle has introduced HB1020 which would make raping
one's spouse a crime. HB1102 would require the arrest of an abuser
when police are called to a domestic violence case.
The Oklahoma legislature will officially convene February 2.
To obtain copies of these bills call the State Senate at (405)524-0126
To contact state representives call (405)521-2711. State Senators
may be contacted at (405)524-0126.
[J
When I first became a Herland Board member nearly a decade
ago, I was impressed and pleased to see that decisions made at one
meeting were implemented or at least begun by the next. It was
almost mysterious -- this was not something I often saw in other
organizations .
I was also much impressed by the spirited emotional and
intellectual ·give-and-take. Having grown up in a family which
frequently equated conflict with lack or withholding of love, I was
amazed, even frightened, and finally delighted, at the strenuous,
ardent disagreements - all right, the fighting - among people who
managed to remain friends throughout it all.
Recently I invited a friend to come to a Herland Board meeting,
so that she could see what great meetings we have. Oh ·my. We put
on a humdinger for her; whereas we actually do have some meetings
w'ith little controversy, the one T'wanda came to involved three
major issues controversial in feminist/lesbian organizations -- separatism; inclusive, non-classist pricing of events; and s/m. I thought
it was wonderful, exhausting .but .e xhilarating . T'wanda agreed, it
was exhausting.
Conversely, I recently represented Herland on a committee
planning an annual city-wide event. The weekly meetings were
short, pleasant, a.n d we planned a very nice program. The program
we planned went nearly without a hitch . The program we did not
plan, however, which was imposed upon us by some power from
above, a power invisible and unknown to me and others, was
dreadful. Some woman somehow managed to appear three times in
the events of the day . She spoke, she read poems, she sang, and there
was nothing harmonious about any of it; she insulted half of the
participating organizations, and bored or distressed everyone within
earshot.
Well, other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, it was a nice program; and
I'm sure I' 11 serve on the committee again next year, but I'll be wary
and try to extract certain commitments. · And as for Herland meetings? If they don't kick me off the Board, T ll probably be enjoying
- and trusting - their meetings for another ten years. Consider
yourselves warned.
(All woineh are invited io attend and participate in Herland meetings. The Herland Board meets the third Sunday of each month at
4: 30 p.m. at Herland. The next meeting will be Sunday, February 21.
[J
Come see for yourself what they are all about.)
l.JeDI 31 To
[/;>/
b31 . . .3575
For Valentines Day and that special woman.:._
lavender rose bud vases with special sparkle
$8.50, roses, blooming plants, tropicals.
Metro Delivery
Her/and Voice February, 1993
5
NOTE-BURNING CELEBRATION!
6 Her/and Voice February, 1993
February
1 9 9 3
A great month for birthdays: Elizabeth Blackwell, February 3, 1821 - 1910; first American
f emale MD ; Abraham Lincoln and fiery abolitionist and newspaperman Frederick Douglass,
February 12; W.E .B. DuBois , educator and author , February 23 , 1868 - 1963 ; and three
wonder f ul women authors, Edna St . Vincent Millay, Gertrude Stein and Alice Walker .
~o n d ay
Su nd ay
1
Friday L Saturday
\\lednesday Thursday
6
5 MARY
3 Birthdays: 4 Mary
REYNOLDS
Elizabeth
PEGGY
j;
Reynolds c.k
Tuesd a y
2
•
Blackwell &
Gert . Stein
CC NOW. 7t:1 rn.
Norman Public
Library
&
To rn Paxton
In a Benefi t
fDr REST~
8 pm
·
SlaeeCenler
10
11
et
7
~erland
Leeal
Defense Fund
MeetinE'
6:30 pm
'
..
G&L Political
Caucus, at
Oasis , 7pm
14
1
~rederick
Doui;llass
1817 - t895
.
CoDA . 7 pm
Birth-d·a y
to
ALICE WALKER
born in 1944
16
Board
Meetine
4:30• p.rn .
..
et
.f
Jimmy
La Fave
Sprn
HotelBohemia
·"·~~~~·
..
St. \lincent
Millay
1892 - 1950
'
13
Sweetheart
Dance
in Wichita
\l lDEOS at
Herland, 8 pm
17
18
19
CoDA . 7 pm
Brownell
Anthony
1820 - 1906
J
JOH NSON ·•
at
LaBaeuelle's
CThe Old Cafe
Espresso)
CoDA , 7 pm
·"~,a - ~py~
15.
•
22. 23.
Birtffd·a y
to
ROSA PARKS
born in 1913
21
g.
al the
Hotel
Bohemia}
B t:1rn
24
25
26
WRC Forum
~ : 30 pm
2
~oRK
DAY
al Herland
fO am - ???
Paint, saw .
hammer. pour
co ncrete,
fix lhe old
place up.
27
CoDA, 7 pm
W.E.B.
DuBois
1868 - 1963
28
Do~ H~rland wants to know : Didn ' t Maya Angelou just about knock your socks off· with her reading of her powerful ,
stirring new poem at the Inaugural ? Nice to have a president with the vision to include her so prominently in the
day. The Doc also likes what BC had to say about Hillary's new role : "It ' s my job, it 's my duty to the American
people, t o take advantage of the most talented people I can find .. . and I would be derelict in my duty if I didn 't
use her in some major way ... "
Silent Vigil for peace in Central America . On the steps of the
Federal Building, NW 4th & Robinson, OKC ; each Wednesday at Noon .
HERLAND SISTER RESOURCES
2312 N\\I 39th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
405/ 521-9696
Hours: Saturdays lO - 6. Sundays I - 6
NonProfit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oklahoma City, Okla.
2312 N.W. 39th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED
Permit No. 861
I
THANKS TO ALL THESE
WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO
MADE IT POSSIBLE!
Alice & Charlotte
Kevan Kiser
Abigail Keegan
Kris Lund
ACT-UP OKC
Kris Marek
Anonymous
Laura Choate
Barbara Cleveland
Margaret Cox
Barbara Hillyer
In Memory of
Chris Delaney
Barbara Neas &
David Miller
Margy Dillon
Billie Hensley
Marquetta Morris
Buster the Retreat Dog
The McMow Sisters
Carol Schnepper
In Memory of
Katherine Moore
Cecily Welter-Mullen
Charlotte Berryman
In Memory of Kim Alexander
In Honor of
SunShine Schillings
In Honor of
Stephen Hardway
Dottie Painter
Marilyn Sebek
HERLAND SISTER RESOURC E S MISSION
Herland Sister Resources envisions and strives toward a world
in which all women live free from oppression.
Herland supports and includes all women who experience
oppression. Lesbians as a group have a deep experience of the
general oppressive climate of this world. Although Herland is not
restricted to lesbians, we have a strong lesbian focus. We are a
womanist organization, supporting women in their journey toward
self-definition and self-determination, and recognizing that each
woman has her own pace of growth and enlightenment.
Herland is a non-profit volunteer organization. We publish a
newsletter, operate a bookstore and lending library, and provide
musical and cultural events for education and entertainment. We
offer a safe place for women to meet and exchange ideas, feelings,
hopes and fears and to learn about themselves and each other.
The only requirement for involvement in Herland is a desire for
women to be free of the restraints of oppression.
HSR
REPORT--1992
A NNUAL
In.cmne
Ad. Sales
$
Building Rent
$
Consignment Sales$
$
Donations
Events
$
Foundations
$
Interest Income
$
$
Retreat
Sales
$
Other Income
$
TOTAL INCOME $
525
750
227
2, 159
1,5 83
6,000
338
5,368
6,050
406
23,846
Diana Faulkner
Marian Hulsey
Edwina Johnson
P.K. Floyd
Friends of the Porthole
Gail Garloch &
Edie Schneeberger
Pat Colognesi &
Beverly McGugin
Designated Income
Building Fund
$14,421
Legal Defense Fund $ 5,037
Pat Reaves
Ginger McGovern
In Honor of
Mary Reynolds &
Peggy Johnson
In Honor of
Mammy & Aunt Sara
Porthole Checks &
Denim Cloggers
280
25
378
3,116
103
614
776
17
1,033
20
149
3,317
271
1,297
1,300
230
3,075
161
746
605
772
$ 20,962
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
Raphel/a Sohier
Sally Nostrant
Sarah Oakes
Jean Kelsey
Shatzy Watson
Jill Burroughs &
Peggy Johnson
Expenses
Advertising
Bank Charge
Building Maint.
Books
Booth/Regs. Fees
Consignment
Cookbook
Fund-raising
Insurance
Library
Magazines
Newsletter
Other Expenses
Postage
Programs/Events
Property Tax
Retreat
Misc. Stock
Tapes/CDs
Telephone
Utilities
TOTAL
Sherry Boggs
Published by: Herland Sister Resources, Inc. 23 12 N.W.
39th, Oklahoma City, OK 73112
Newsletter Committee : Margaret Cox, Deborah Fox, Pat
Reaves
..
In Memory of
David Chrispell
Susan Bumgarner
Circulatio n: 1000
Jo Soske
In Memory of
Grandma Scharlach
Advertis ing Rates : Business card $15; 1/4 page $35; 1/2
page $60; full page $100
Dr. Joan Webb &
Susan Blake
Tommy Thomas
The Voice is offered as an open forum for community discourse.
Articles reflect the opinions of the author and not necessarily
those of Herland Sisler Resources. Unsolicited articles and
letters to the editor are welcomed and must be signed by the
writer with full name and address: Upon request, letters or
articles may be printed under a pseudonym or anonymously.
. ..:
T. K. Williams
Joni Darnell
Wanda Chapman
Jon Soske
Rhonda Smith
Kathy Conroy
Marilyn Best & Theila Elliott
··::-;.
Subscriptions to The Voice are free upon request.
Her/and Voice February, 1993
7
L
Battering
the walls
down between us
leaves us standing
naked in the rubble
shards of shattered history
pierce soft souls, then
~ery step we take toward
embrace ... empowering
leaves ti mark in bloQ~.
Judith Rycroft
DONNA BECHTEL SPEAKS AT
HERLAND RECEIVES GRANT
TheASTRAEA National Lesbian Action Foundation has awarded
Herland a $1000 grant to be applied to the retirement of the Herland
mortgage. The ASTRAEA Foundation is the first nationwide lesbian
foundation. They fund projects that actively work to eliminate all
forms of oppression based on sexual orientation, race, age, sex,
economic exploitation, physical and mental ability, antisemitism
D
and all other factors that affect lesbians in the United States.
LESBIAN FESTIVALS,
YWCA
Donna Bechtel, speaking at the YWCA in January on the topic
of incarcerated battered women, recounted her experiences as a
battered woman and as a woman in prison. She told the group the
overwhelming majority of women in prison have been battered. She
said in a survey done at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center,
Oklahoma's maximum security facility for women, over seventy
percent of the women reported they had been battered.
She criticized law enforcement for their lack of response to
domestic violence and called for the passage of laws requiring police
to arrest abusers in spouse abuse situations. Ms. Bechtel said
inadequate police protection for battered women often leads to the
death of one of the couple. She cited national statistics that 30% of
women who are murdered are killed by their spouse or other
domestic partner.
Ms Bechtel was released from Mabel Bassett Correctional
Center, Oklahoma's maximum security prison for women, in October, 1992 after serving eight years. She had been convicted of first
degree murder in the slaying of her abusive husband and sentenced
to life in prison. In her first trial, the judge would not permit
consideration of the abuse she suffered from Ken Bechtel to be
entered into evidence. She appealed her conviction and won a new
trial after two years in prison.
Oklahoma County District Attorney, Bob Macy, again charged
her with first degree murder:. Even though at that time most states
(31) allowed expert testimony on the "Battered Women's Syndrome", Judge Richard Free.m an did not allow such testimony in the
second trial and she was convicted a second time and again given a
life sentence.
In the second appeal the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
agreed that the judge had denied her a fair trial by refusing to allow
expert testimony on the "Battered Women's Syndrome" and over, turned her conviction. District Attorney Macy chose to charge her
again but this time did agree to a plea bargain. Donna pied guilty to
manslaughter in exchange for a fourteen year prison sentence. She
was credited with the eight years she had already served and released
from prison in October, 1992.
..
In 1992, the Oklahoma State Legislature passed a bill authored
by Representative Jeff Hamilton of Midwest City which specifically
allows the Battered Women's Syndrome to be admitted as evidence
in a trial of a battered woman . The public attention focused on Donna
Bechtel's case had a significant role in the passage of this legislation.D
1993
"Silent Pre-Fest," American Sign Language Intensives for
Lesbians, will begin three days prior to each of the Lesbians'
Festivals this year. This groundbreaking program has gained international attention in the feminist press, and is being hailed as an
important cultural bridge. It is' an immersion into the language and
culture, and is taught by professional Deaf Lesbian instructors.
The Second Annual West Coast Lesbians' Festival will take
place on Memorial Day Weekend, 1993, in a private camp in the hills
of Santa Barbara. Performers and presenters include Carolyn Gage
and two full length Lesbian theatre performances, Maxine Feldman,
Sue Fink, Melanie DeMore, Rashida Oji, Gwen Avery, Pam Hall,
Arisika Razak with readings and workshops by Barbara Macdonald,
Cynthia Rich, A votcja and Mothertongue Readers Theatre, and
others. Camping, cabins, pool, entertainment and workshops throughout the long weekend.
The first-ever Lesbian Festival in Hawaii, Hawaii Fest, will
happen on the Island of Oahu on Thanksgiving Weekend . Maxine
Feldman, Sue Fink and a host of Hawaiian based Lesbian performers.
writers and presenters.
For more information about the ASL Intensives, WCLF and
Hawaii Fest contact Particular Productions, 279 Lester Avenue,
Oakland CA 94606; 904/826-0410.
The Fifth Annual East Coast Lesbians' Festival will take place
on Labor Day Weekend, 2 112 hours north of NYC in the mountains.
Lake, cabins & camping in a 200 acre camp ... indoor theatre, outdoor
stages .... with Edwina Lee Tyler, Alix Dobkin, Maxine Feldman, Sue
Fink, Pam Hall, Carolyn Gage, The Lesbian Lounge Lizards, The
Five Lesbian Brothers & more ... music, comedy, and readings all
day, Theatre, Films and dancing all night! Particular Productions,
2854 Coastal Hwy.,# 7, St. Augustine FL 32095; 904/826-0410.0
Now Open with New Owners!
2124 N.W 39, OKC
Special Valentine's Day Candlelight Dinner
Open
Tuesday - Saturday 5 P.M. -- 3 A.M
Sunday 10A.M. -- 3 A.M.
Sunday Brunch 10 A.M.
8 Her/and Voice February, 1993
Reflections on the Civil Rights Movement
(continued from page 1)
I joined the NAACP Youth Council right away . It consisted of children ranging in age from elementary school to
college. There were also a number of adult advisors. We met
every Monday night during the school year, and daily during
the summer. Actually, during the summer months while many
white children were enjoying swimming, skating, picnicking and
going to Springlake Amusement Park, members of the youth council
spent our time praying, planning, singing Freedom Songs, and
mostly sitting-in. The' 'sit-ins'' as they were called, represented our
non-violent efforts to obtain recognition as human beings . We
simply wanted to eat a hamburger or have a coke after we finished
shopping at various stores in downtown Oklahoma City. There were
lunch counters at Katz Drug Store, H. L. Greens $.05 & $.10,Bishops
Restaurant, Cravens Cafeteria, Veasey' s Drug and John A. Browns .
These were all places where Negroes spent money. Many of us even
had charge cards at John A. Browns, but our money was not good at
the cafeteria. (Brown's also had rest rooms marked "white only "
and "colored" . The imprint of letters on the door marked "colored'' remained even after the paint had been removed .)
My participation in the sit-in movement was a major experience
in my life. As a result, I learned a lot about people, including me. The
movement included people from various ethnic, religious, social and
economical backgrounds. Many of those who participated had great
strength, patience, vision and wisdom. They were business people,
doctors, teachers, politicians, attorneys, janitors, theologians, domestic workers and movie stars. I have many memories about those
years, some painful and some precious.
I remember...
**Standing in line with a group of other Negro children, waiting
for entrance into Bishop's Restaurant. The restaurant's management
locked the entrance door so that we could not enter. The door wou ld
be unlocked as white patrons came up and then quickly locked behind
them as they entered so that we could not get in. And the door wou ld
have to be unlocked again to let them out. On this particular day, a
man escorting a chimp dressed in a western outfit moved through our
line and went to the restaurant's door. The door was unlocked for
Marilyn Best
M. Coleen Woody
BEST&WOODY
Attorneys At Law
1443 N.W. 48th
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73 11 8
(405) 843-1745
General Practice
Wills Probate Personal Injury
Adoptions Contracts Divorce
him and the chimp. The chimp even growled & swung at a couple of
us children as it entered the restaurant with the man. Draw your own
conclusion.
** Sitting at the counter of a small luncheonette waiting to order
a soft drink. There were about eight or ten of us. When the few white
customers left, an employee of the establishment locked us in. Some
of us were frightened. The employees began to call us names and one
to.ok a large pot of hot grease from the grill area and threatened to
pour it on some of us. We just sang Freedom songs and waited.
Finally, one of the sit-in attorneys and a couple of other adults came
to our rescue. Somehow the employees were •'encouraged'' to
unlock the door and let us out. This seemed like a very long
afternoon!
**Sitting-in outside the entrance to Cravens Cafeteria as white
customers walked over us to get into the establishment. Some of
them had to balance themselves on our bodies to pass by. We were
arrested that day . Some of us were carried off in paddy wagons;
others rode in the back seat of police cars. That's where I rode. It
was scary watching policemen armed with rifles atop buildings
along main street. They protected the police officers who drove us
to jail. I must say that the police department treated us OK,
especially compared to what was done to our counterparts in other
parts of the country. We did not suffer dogs, water hoses and
beatings. Thank God! Basically, when we were taken down to the
police station, the officers got our names , told us we should not be
disturbing the peace and called our parents. Some of our parents
were already at the station because they were sitting-in too.
**Clara Luper. She was very strict. We were all conscious of
"acceptable" behavior. And, we had to speak correctly . We could
not say words such as "ah" and "ain't" and we could not split verbs;
and we had to be able to speak well in public-- in front of adults, the
press, at church, on the radio, wherever. She.also would drill us about
Negro history. We were enlightened about the contributions made
by Negroes throughout the history of America. It was amazing to see
the younger children--agesA, 5, and 6--answer so many questions
about history and speak so eloquently. We still need that!
** Riding the bus to Atlanta in 1962 and all of the fun we
had ... being away from home, seeing the country, finding nonsegregated places to eat and learning about our responsibility for
making the world a better place. I remember how in awe I was of
Atlanta. There were so many Negroes; and they had big houses with
huge, landscaped back yards. And many, many businesses . We went
to a famous restaurant one evening for dinner. That's where I met Dr.
Ki ng. I went over to his booth and asked him to sign my high school
year book. He was so friendly. He told me that I should have the
gentleman sitting next to him in the booth sign my book, too. So, of
course, I did. It wasn' t until the bus ride home that I realized the
person Dr. King had sign my book was James H. Meredith, the Negro
who integrated 'Ole Miss- -the University of Mississippi. That year
book is one of my most precious possessions . And the memory of my
personal meeting with Dr. King always warms my heart.
More than thirty years have gone by since that trip to Atlanta in
1962. It doesn't seem so long ago, though, because colored people/
Negroes/blacks are still fighting/striving/working to be treated as
human beings in many parts of the world/America/Oklahoma City .
We still sing "We Shall Overcome". We still march . We still
dream!
(J
Herland Voice February, 1993
9
Mv
AWAKENING TO THE
GODDESS
by Deborah Fox
I was raised Catholic. First, second, third, fifth, sixth and
seventh grade I spent in Catholic Schools. I was a philosophically
minded child and deeply spiritual.
Sometime during my teens I read about religion being the
''opiate of the people'' and about people using religion as a ··crutch
to limp through life upon''. This disturbed me deeply; I didn't want
my spirituality to be a crutch. I began speculating atheism but soon
realized that Nature, the earth and all of the cosmos was proof enough
of God for me.
All my life I had questioned the dogma of Christianity. At thirty
when I gave birth to my
son I questioned the idea
that this little angel was a
sinner that needed to be
purified by baptism. I
looked upon that little
face and knew it was blasphemy to call him a sinner (I have never had him
baptized). I felt a disappointing emptiness in the
Catholic religion.
Then I found the
Goddess.
Finding the Goddess
was both liberating and
devastating. Devastating
because my spiritual
foundation shattered. I
have always felt an innate spirituality, but it had
been entrenched in Christian tradition and symbols. Now, with evidence
of the Goddess before me
it became clear to me that both God and Goddess were human
concepts. Perhaps nothing more. Authority was placed in the pope,
in priests and nuns. Now I was faced with reclaiming that authority
as my own, creating my own definitions of spirituality, and rebuilding my spiritual foundation. I was overwhelmed. I had never owned
such power before. And I was enraged that the Goddess's imagery
had been withheld from me and that all that had been done "in God' s
name'' was simply a ploy used to justify and sanctify what men do.
My perceptions of the world and the nature oflife were stripped
down to the barest thread - stripped of all color except black and
white. The world was in the hands of men, greed, the neurotically
excessive rich and my life was insignificant. This was the world I
was born into and it did not belong to me. I felt I was suspended,
floating in an abyss. I had no anchor, no ground upon which to stand.
Two visions came back to me from my past; one, from childhood, of a light within me that waxed and waned with my life's
experiences, the second vision : outer space, a· 'boomerang'' shaped
galaxy (or several galaxies) white light stars -- with dancing colored
lights at one far end and the message that the colored lights at the far
tip was' 'reality as I knew it'' - the rest of this boomerang of galaxies
I intuitively understood to be a greater mystery.
IO Her/and Voice February, 1993
I began to study about the Goddess and Her religion. I read
books on history and pre-history of ancient cultures that worshipped
a female deity and the laws and customs of those societies (the story
of human life and religious practice from the real beginning, which
is not taught in our educational system) , archaeology, anthropology.
feminism and feminist politi cs. I felt that, as Charlene Spretnak so
aptly put it: "patriarchal religion has failed, and failed with disas trous effects on humans and on the Earth, at perceiving and communing with "the higher powers" in a constructive and life-affirming
way." (The Politics of Women's Spirituality, ed. C. Spretnak) And
I joined my sisters in a commitment to social change and the
evolution of postpatriarchal spirituality.
I followed my deep craving for Nature and moved out into the
country. I listened to the flowing creek and was quieted, I embraced
the trees and felt protected, I was humbled by Spring storms and
empowered by the night sky. I melted into Nature and realized that
I am not separate from HER -- that I never tru ly was nor ever could
be. Nature taught me about life, death and renewal. In the darkness
came the light, it grew each night that I knelt before Her and prayed.
Simple things, really. And so I've come to begin to build a new
spiritual foundation, piece by piece, little by little. The Goddess is
central to me (maybe women should pray to the Goddess and men
pray to the God), Her symbols speak to my inner knowingness. She
enriches me and I enrich Her. She is becoming in me and I in Her.
I am Goddess, thou art Goddess. She is all women, all creation, earth,
moon , and stars. SHE is all that has been , all that is, all that will ever
l:l
be and we are all ONE.
GLAAD NOTES
ti
Garth Brooks new album, The Chase, includes a rousing song
titled· 'We Shall Be Free'' which makes it clear we' II be unshackled
only· ' when we 're free to love anyone we choose'' -- a lineGarth says
is meant to include same-sex couples. (The same song also addresses
racism and other inhumanities.)
In a Newsweek interview Brooks said, "I don't know where
someone gets off telling human beings they can have some rights and
not others .. .To penalize someone for being homosexual, I don ' t think
that's our place.
If you'd like to give him a pat on the back [he's gotten plenty of
criticism in the OKC media] write: Garth Brooks, c/o Liberty
Records, 3322 West End Ave., Nashville, Tenn 37203 .
ti
Whoopi Goldberg deserves praise not only for campaigning
against Colorado's anti-gay initiative, but for using her new syndicated talkshow to dispel stereotypes and promote inclusion.
Guests on The Whoopi Goldberg Show are asked questions that
would send Arsenio or Jay into fits! In a poignant interview, Elton
John told Whoopi about being gay, his sham marriage and ho w he
finally found true love with a nice man.
Elizabeth Taylor, asked about Hollywood homophobia, said
"Without homosexuals there wouldn ' t be this town ... You take
homosexual input out and there is no Hollywood.
Whoopi got k.d . lang to talk extensively about why she decided
to come out in The Advocate.
Tell Whoopi how important it is to keep lesbian and gay issues
upfront: The Whoopi Goldberg Show, c/o The Lippin Group, 230
Park Ave., Suite 550 New York, NY 10169.
Reprinted from The Glaad Bulletin with permission.
l:l
RIOT GRRRLS
No MORE GAG RuLE!
Are you a Riot Grrrl? Are there any Riot Grrrls in Oklahoma.
or have they not filtered in from the Coast yet? No alb um s by Riot
Grrrl bands - Fugazi, Bikini Kill, Hole, Mecca Normal or Some
Velvet Sidewalk appear to be avai lable at local music stores.
Not that Riot Grrrls are all about music; but no movements
flourish without music, nor, according to Gandhi, without newsletters - and the Riot Grrrls have the '90's equivalent of newsletter5
aplenty, in the form of 'Zines - xeroxed magazines linking grrrls
across the country . The Grrrls write them, produce and share them.
According to Lauren Spencer, writing in the Washington Post.
Riot Grrrls are a "new, rocking breed of feminist..., drug free.
sartorially flexible and vegetarian-inclined, ... with an aggressive,
do-it-yourself punk ethic". Their zines contain "missives on
divorce, lovelessness, boy trouble, abuse and other variations of
suburban angst, as well as where to buy cool guitars, how to make
vegan burritos and holistic toothpaste, and the location of the next
pro-choice rally."
President Clinton waited just two days, until the 20th anniversary of Roe V . Wade, to issue four directives which will save
thousands of women's Ii ves worldwide. as well as bring hope for a
cure for persons with Parkinson's disease, diabetes, breast cancer,
.ind many other illnesses. The directives overturn the gag rule
forbidding health workers at agencies receiving federal funds from
discussing abortion with clients, both here and abroad (the Mexico
City accord); overturn the ban on abortions performed in military
hospitals : overt urn the ban on the use of fetal tissue for research; and
directs the FDA to investigate the safety of RU486, as it would any
other drug , and the possibility of testing and manufacturing it in this
country. A kinder gentler nation at last.
BECAUSE every time we pick up a pen, or an
instrument, or get anything done, we are creating
the revolution. We are the revolution .
NOMINATIONS
A manifesto written by 20 year old Washington D.C. Riot Grrrl
Erika Reinstein proclaims:
''Because we girls want to create mediums that speak to US. We
are tired _o fboy band after boy band, boy zine after boy zine, boy p11 nk
after boy punk after boy. BECAUSE I can't smile when my girlfriends are dying inside. We are dying i11side, a11d we never e\·en
touch each other, we are supposed to hate each other.... BECAUSE
we are being divided by our labels and philosophies, and we need to
accept and support each other as girls, acknowledging our different
approaches to life and accepting all of them as valid. BECAUSE we
need to acknowledge that our blood is being spilt, that right now a
girl is being raped or battered and itmight be me or you or your mom
or the girl you sat next to on the bus last Tuesday and she might be
dead by the time you finish reading this .... BECAUSE a safe place
needs to be created for girls where we can open our eyes a11d reach
out to each other without being threatened by this sexist society and
our day -today shit. BECAUSE every time we pick up a pen, or an
instrument, or get anything done, we are creating the revolution. We
are the revolution.''
Herland hopes to be on a few zines' mailing list soon. Stop by
for an update on the revolution .
(J
LAMBDA LITERARY
Lambda Book Report has opened nominations for the Fifth
Annual Lambda Literary Awards . The "Lammys," recognizing
excellence in gay and lesbian writing and publishing, will be
presented during a gala banquet in Miami, Florida, on Friday, May
28. 1993, during the American Booksellers Association Convention.
The public is invited to nominate their favorite gay and lesbian
books of 1992 in several categories. including Lesbian or Gay
Men ' s: Fiction. Non-fiction, Anthologies, Mystery. Humor, Science
Fiction/Fantasy. Poetry and Childre~/Young Ad.ult, for the increasing number of gay and lesbian related books aimed at young readers.
Books must have a 1992 copyright date in order to be eligible
and must have been published in the United States . . Nominating
ballots must be returned to Lambda Book Report office by February
10. Send the completed ballot to: Lambda Literary Awards, 1625
c;:on'nes:ticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009-1013; or Fax your
vote to 202/462-7257.
Cl
r-~-----------------,
I
' 'Women Can Change the World' ' is the title of the forum to be
held by the Women's Resource Center of Norman on February 24.
1993, in the ballroom of the Oklahoma Memorial Union at 6:30 p.m.
The featured speakers for the forum include Anita Hill. OU law
professor, and nurse/attorney Sharon Parker. These women will
provide the forum with new insights and direction into how women
can change the world through the legal, educational and he alth care
arenas.
The celebration will begin with a reception honoring WRC
volunteers at 6: 30, followed by the annual membership meeting. The
cost is $10 for members and $20 for non-members .
(J
Ballot for the 1992 Lammys
I Gay Men's
I Fi::tiai
Lesbian
I Fidial
Auh:r
---------
Autu- .
I Gay Men's
--------Auticr_ _ _ _ _ _ __
Anth:tlges
Lesbian
NonFicticn
Lesbian &
WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTER FORUM
A WARDS
Aum
---------
G~y
Humor
Lesbian
Author
Mysfely
Author
Gay Men's
Mysfely
Lesbian SF/
Fantasy
Gay Men's SF/
Fantasy
Lesbian
Poetry
Gay Men's
Poetry
Children'sNA
Books
GIL Small Press
Book
Author
Author
Author
Author
Author
Author
Author
.J
L----
Her/and Voice February, 1993
11
II tJ1.. 1.. 1r1, 1N II ct 11111t
Mary Reynolds and Tom Paxton in Concert Thursday, February 4, at 7: 30 p.m.; Stage
Center, 400 W. Sheridan. Tickets are $12.50
at all Rainbow.Records or send check/money
order to First Unitarian Church, 600 NW 13th,
OKC 73103. Proceeds benefit Healing Hands,
Jesus House, REST; and Travellers.' Aid.
Peggy Johnson will be singing at La Baguette
323 W. Boyd, February 6, 8 -- 11 :30 p.m. The
Espresso Cafe in Norman has been sold and
renamed La Baguette.
National Businesswomen' sLeadership Association presents a series of one-day workshops on Powerful Communication Skills
for Women; in Oklaho~a and Texas on various dates between february 4 and March 10.
In Oklahoma City the workshop will be held
March 9, 1993, at MetroTech Business Center, 1900 Springlake Drive. Cost of the workshop is $69. To register or for more information call 1-800-258-7246. ·
12th Annual Amnesty International USA
Southern Regional Conference, February
19 -21 in Tulsa, at the Doubletree Hotel
Downtown; 'Rights of Indigenous Peoples in
the Americas'; Workshops and Displays on
Native American Art, " Disappearances",
Guatemala, Hopeful Signs, Women's Rights,
Children's Rights, Gay and Lesbian Activism, and more; for information call 405/8425356.
.
Lesbian only counseling group, Wednesday
eve_nings. Contact Jo Soske, M.ED, MHR,
NCADC, NCC at 364-5708.
Women Wit h Women With Children -- If
you are a parent or a partner to a parent and
w?uld like to join us for a Sunday afternoon
Get It Together session call us at 942-4331. .
We have set a date for Sunday, February 21 at
2P .M.-- 4P.M. (or??) . Bring the kids and lets
have fun!
Music-Music-Music for the not quite an ama'teur - budding musician - or just like to sing.
Play or listen -- or just visit. Sunday 2/28 9424331 PJ & Larue's Place.
The Women's Project Annual Retreat will
be held April 2, 3, & 4th at Lake Ft. Smith
State Park near Fort Smith. Arkansas. For
information contact The Women's Project.
2224 S. Main, Little Rock, AR 72206 .
WdshingtonDC·
APRIL 25, I993
Don't forget the Lesbian Celebration's Valentine Dance Saturday February 13 from
7p.m. to midnight, at the Century II Expo Hall
in Wichita. OKC' sown Miss Brown To You
will furnish music. Tickets are $8 in advance
or $10 at the door. For information call 316/
264-7034. If you are interested in carpooling
from the OKC area call Laura at 943-4870.
Dear Survivor, We are compiling an anthology of writings composed by survivors of
rape and sexual abuse. We need your help in
speaking the truth. "This is a personal,
political and necessary movement toward a
freedom we owe to ourselves and t~ future
generations. Sexual assault thrives in silence
it violates at a level most people can't fathom'.
Only survivors can communicate it. We intend this book to be a compilation of our
voices protesting the brutality of sexual violence in our society.· 'We will accept personal
stories, letters, poetry, artwork and computer
graphics. Telephone 4021783-2288 or 402/
474-3148. Please send su_bmissions to: Anthology; c/o bite of the apple, P. 0 Box 81724,
Lincoln, NE 68501~1724.
$:1mmm
co:~c:§:
DON'T MISS
THISONE!
Interested in going to THE MARCH
with a Herland group? Leave a message ~or rat at Herland (521 -9696). If
there is enough interest we might charter a bus or rent vans as a group.
Workday at Berland, Saturday. Feb. '.!O
lOA.M. If you are good with a hammer. saw,
or broom or just want to be a part of making
Herland a more plesant space come join us as
we finish making the building accessible and
remodel the front room. It's sure to be lots of
fun!
The 15th National Lesbian and Gay Health
Conference & 11th Annual AIDS/HIV Forum is scheduled for July 21-25 , 1993 in
Houston, Texas. The conference ·theme is
"From Grassroots to the National Health Care
Agenda: Taking Care of Each Other" . To
receive the preliminary program including
conference registration information write:
NLGHF Registration, c/o The George Washington University Medical Center, Office of
Continuing Medical Education, 2300 K Street,
NW, Washington, DC 20037.
Old Lesbians Organizing for Social Change,
the nationwide group headed by the Old Lesbian Organizing Committee, has put together
a remarkable consciousness raising handbook
to .help old lesbians (60 and over) come to
grips with the issues ofageism in our society.
This book is a Facilitator's Handbook to be
used in community. It outlines nine sessions
to help women, old women, old lesbians look
at the ways in which they are oppressed by
family, professionals and strangers,.as well as
the ways in which they often oppress themselves by "internalized ageism." For anyone
interested in addressing these neglected issues, this Handbook is an important resource.
For those of us who are old lesbians. this
Handbook is a primary organizing tool. To
order the Facilitator 's Handbook on Confronting Ageism, Consciousness Raising for
Lesbians 60 and Over send $10 (includes
postage to: OLOC, P.O. Box 980422, Houston, TX 77098 .
Hurricane Alice, a feminist quarterly, seeks
essays, reviews. poems, short stories. personal experience Uournal or memoir) and art
work on the theµie "Women in Politics. ' '
They are hoping for stories aboµt the way
women work together and how they work with
male colleagues; eager to hear ab~ut the extent to which they still experience discrimination; and would like to know.the ways women
solve or feel swamped by the supposed conflict between work and personal life. Deadline for submissions , Feb 28, 1993; reports
within six weeks. Length. 3,000 words maximum. Payment in issues. Send to Hurricane
Alke. 207 Lind Hall, 207 Church Street, S.E.
Minneapolis , MN 55455
: ::: s : ::: ::
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