Eyes Wide Open: Women Who Give Me Strength

(originally posted 04/09 at wordpress)


by Talia Jae Potter

You all amaze me. Even if you're not on the tree you are part of my strength.

I wrote this for a class final. The photo is the tree I had to create, then write a short summary about what it meant to me. This is as short as I could get.

When I learned that we would be making a kinship tree about important women to us I was ecstatic. I love art, powerful women, and self expression. Once I started making mine though, I was having a hard time narrowing down who would actually be on my tree. There are so many women in history, in my past, and in the present that inspire, motivate and move me. After a bit of research and deep thought I narrowed it down.

Feminism isn't a Four-Letter Word, Part 1

(originally posted 06/08 at wordpress)


by Blythe Pavlik

I consider myself a feminist. I haven’t always. In fact, it was only recently that I began to use the term “feminist” as part of my own self-identification. Prior to my involvement with the Women’s Resource Center, I had little information on what, exactly, feminism is. Just like with anything, a small amount of information can often times be more dangerous and misleading than no information at all. I think this is certainly the case with feminism. What I once knew of feminism was blunt, reactionary sound-bites from people and media who had too little information to make a reasonable statement about the matter. And unfortunately, as a culture we like to share information without critical analysis or further investigation. So, it is no surprise that the term feminism has become synonymous with terms like man-hater, butch, bitch, abortion-lover and anti-god... to name a few that I have heard in my lifetime.

Herstory: Barbara Lee

(originally posted 05/08 at wordpress)



by Katherine Johncock

Barbara Lee is a fearless leader protecting the American people’s rights. She is a member (democrat) of the House of Representatives for California’s 9^th district. Born July 16, 1946 in El Paso, Texas Lee moved to California in 1960 with her military family parents. As a young single mother of two, Lee received her Bachelor’s degree from Mill’s College in Oakland, California and went on for a Master of Social Work at the University of California, Berkeley. Barbara Lee is probably most well known for being the only elected representative (including both the house and the senate) who voted “no” on granting the executive branch unchecked military power after the September 11, 2001 attacks. This heroic act is often overlooked although it demonstrated unwavering dedication to the people’s freedom. After serving on the International Relations and Financial Services Committees in 2007 she joined the House Appropriations committee. Check out the video of her speech to the house after September 11^th! She sounds so prophetic. Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf1N-y9Mbo4For more information about Barbara Lee check out: http://lee.house.gov/

Herstory: bell hooks

(originally posted 05/08 at wordpress)



by mae stephenson

bell hooks Born Gloria Jean Watkins on September 25, 1952 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. bell hooks uses lowercase letters for her name to shift focus from the author to the ideas within her writing.

bell hooks is arguably one of the most important authors of our time. A self-described "Black woman intellectual, revolutionary activist," "cultural critic," and "advocate of feminism," hooks has authored over thirty books and dozens of articles focusing on the interconnectedness of race, class, and gender oppression and domination. She coined the phrase "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy" to describe these intersections. She also writes with an important and somewhat unique emphasis on self-love. In her dedication to ending class oppression she uses a writing style accessible for people outside of Academia and makes appearances on television and radio programs. Some of her titles include Ain’t I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism, Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics, Where We Stand: Class Matters, Teaching to Transgress: Education As the Practice of Freedom, and The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. In addition, she's written a handful of children's books including Be Boy Buzz and Happy to be Nappy after having a difficult time finding children's books that didn't enforce patriarchal notions of boyhood and books that taught young black girls to be self-loving, respectively.

On Women's Right to Vote

(originally posted 04/08 at wordpress)


by Susan B Anthony, 1873

"Friends and fellow citizens: I stand before you tonight under indictment for the alleged crime of having voted at the last presidential election, without having a lawful right to vote. It shall be my work this evening to prove to you that in thus voting, I not only committed no crime, but, instead, simply exercised my citizen's rights, guaranteed to me and all United States citizens by the National Constitution, beyond the power of any state to deny.

Herstory: Marjane Satrapi

(originally posted 04/08 at wordpress)



by Katie Johncock

Marjane Satrapi

 

A comic about life in 20th century Iran? No really! Marjane Satrapi retells the story of her life growing up in Iran first under British puppet Shah and then later Ayahtolla Komeini in her illustrated novel, Persepolis. The strength of Satrapi’s work is in her ability convey the politics and massive social change in 20th century Iran with humanity and, importantly, from a woman's perspective. Her graphic novel has recently been made into a film, Persepolis.

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjane_Satrapi for more information.

Herstory: Gladys Bentley

(originally posted 03/08 at wordpress)



by mae stephenson

Gladys Bentley (1907 - 1960)

Audio Clip from www.queerculturalcenter.org

Gladys Bentley was an out lesbian blues singer during the Harlem Renaissance. She moved to Harlem from Pennsylvania at age 16 and began performing at rent parties (thrown by artists for a cover charge to raise rent), soon graduating to speakeasies and nightclubs. She gained immense notoriety for her raunchy renditions of popular songs, always performed in her signature tux and top hat. She began recording her music in the 1930's, and while politics of the era forced her to forego including her songs with lesbian lyrics, she still performed them at clubs and attracted a predominately gay audience. Once the "lavender scare" and McCarthyism hit in the 1950's, Bentley became a prime target an as out lesbian bulldagger in the entertainment industry. Despite her previous marriage to a white woman in New Jersey, she quickly married a man and began wearing dresses, touting salvation via the consumption of female hormones. Her efforts to survive in a dangerous era are seen as a piece of her important herstory.

For more information, visit http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Bentley/BentleyBio.html or http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/lesbiansinhistory/p/GladysBentley.htm

Herstory: Wangari Maathai

(originally posted 02/08 at wordpress)



by mae stephenson

Wangari Maathai “Protecting the global environment is directly related to securing peace…”Wangari Maathai is an ecofeminist who has received numerous awards for her activism, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. This professor from Kenya earned a PhD from the University of Nairobi and is most well-known for establishing the Green Belt Movement in 1977. Since then, over 30 million trees have been planted by the non-profit. The organization, based in Kenya, organizes groups of women to plant trees on their farms and in their communities. The Green Belt Movement works against deforestation and aims to empower Africans, especially women and girls.

for more information on Wangari Maathai or the Green Belt Movement, see http://greenbeltmovement.org/

Growing With My Child

(originally posted 02/08 at wordpress)



by Jennifer Collier

As a parent with a child in elementary school, I sometimes become overwhelmed and disheartened by what little influence I have over the content of what my son is taught in the classroom. It probably comes as little surprise that schools often teach lessons in history from a standpoint which celebrates white male dominancy and which underplays and distorts the contributions that women and people of color have made. So when my eight-year-old son came home and announced that his second grade class had been assigned the task of researching a famous American and that he had chosen to study Rosa Parks, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Finally…an opportunity to study an amazing female activist and the contributions that she made to the Civil Rights Movement from a feminist perspective rather than the traditional class room perspective which undermines and misrepresents Rosa Parks and the nature of the Montgomery bus boycott.

The Vagina Monologues Inspire Portland

(originally posted 02/08 at wordpress)





by Blythe Pavlik

Friday night I gathered some friends and headed down to PSU for the second night’s performance of the Vagina Monologues. When we arrived on the third floor of Smith Memorial we were greeted with positive, welcoming vibes. Smiling people lined the way to the entrance creating a funnel into the ballroom where we connected with all the other vagina celebrators. Volunteers and tablers were helpful, directive and very knowledgeable. My friends and I felt well received.

Emergence

(originally posted 02/08 at wordpress)



by Blythe Pavlik

Many years ago, in the early stages of my personal self exploration, I serendipitously came across a transformative quote by Anais Nïn. She wrote, “It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits, to break through barriers. The day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” This quote has since remained a sacred mantra in my life. It defines the critical, painful and rarely mastered moment of labor.

The labor of self actualization... the labor of humility... the labor of change.

Dear Bird and Bitsy: Late Night Harrassment

(originally posted 7/07 at wordpress)

We will be bringing you a regular column from our expert advice columnists Bird & Bitsy. If you have a question, please email (birdonawire@shesheet.com or bitsy@shesheet.com) or mail us and we will respond right here on the site! Of course, we cannot be responsible for your actions and anything that you might do as a result of reading our columns is at your own risk, so please do what is right for you and don't sue us! Be sensible! On with the show:

Bird & Bitsy,
I was out at a bar the other night celebrating a friend's birthday. There was a small group of people at the table behind us, they were all obviously very drunk. One guy in particular kept referring to how much he liked my friend and I. My entire table continued to ignore him and his other inappropriate comments. He then proceeded to

Thoughts of a Voluntary Object

(orginally posted 7/07 at wordpress)



by ideath

Lots of women in Portland get paid to take off their clothes. I've been doing it, myself, for about twelve years, on and off. When new acquaintances hear that I'm a nude model, it often elicits surprise, then