Sunday Workshop

Hey friends,
I just wanted to announce to the blog that Micah will be teaching a Workshop about good consent at Outer Space (623 Meeting Street) on Sunday at 5pm. This workshop will be free and very informative. The more people who participate the more ideas will be presented. So come!

<3 Kim

You should hear this

P.S. don't miss the post below this one about Nick's WICKED AWESOME GIFT OPPORTUNITIES!!!!!

I'd like to recommend this podcast I listened to today.
Its called, "Framing feminism: mass media, social movements, and women's liberation" 20th Anniv. podcast series. Texas A&M University.
You can find it FREE in the ITunes store by searching any of that above language.
Its about an hour long.
The lady giving the talk is a rhetorician, which would normally mean that she studies discursive objects like speeches. A rhetorician would explain the importance of and analyze something like MLK's "I have a dream" speech. The speaker is a little different in that she is interested in the way that radical 2nd wave feminism (as opposed to the liberal 2nd wave, i.e. Betty Friedan) in particular does not engage in things like a singular leader giving a milestone speech. These women are more interested in consciousness building than media exposure (you should wonder if that distinction is necessary).
She describes a particular group of about 150 women storming the 1970 Lady's Home Journal magazine office and holding the [male-as-usual] editor hostage with a list of demands. There's some cool newsreel clips included and analyzed. This podcast would apply to the ongoing CWC discussion of anti-hierarchical organizational strategies, as well as offer a refresher on the history of feminism, particularly the 2nd wave.

ITUNES U RULEZ!!!!!

Holidaze

If you are looking for good presents made by a real person and want to put your money where it will do good, not just support a big nasty corporation, you should check out my friend Nick's website. He has really quirky yummy drawings for sale, and a CD that will make your butt move involuntarily. Yay!

http://www.paperjenkins.com/

Queer Flash Mob!

Okay, so there has been some discussion on the event page for the Flash Mob about the effectiveness of this planned action, and I wanted to open up the discussion here. A few people have questioned the effectiveness of using PDA as a means of legitimizing queer sexualities and relationships. Below are my thoughts on the matter, and I'd love to hear what anyone else has to say about it! I'm glad this is provoking discussion and critical thought and I really appreciate the feedback! I'll first include some details about what exactly this mysterious queer flash mob thing is.

First things first: the definition of the word "queer". For the intents and purposes of this event, queer is not your sexual orientation but your approach to sexuality. Heterosexual people can be queer. It just means that you prioritize open communication, consent, respect for yourself and your partner, and that you resist gender norms and patriarchal/heteronormative approaches to sex.

A FLASH MOB is when a group of people suddenly perform a synchronized action (like a dance routine or a flash-freeze) in a public setting for a short period of time. Here is an example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iYmRyuhn9k

At class change on Cougar Mall we are going to get a large number of people who are paired off into couples (hetero/homo/whatevs) to make out, hold hands, sit in each others laps, suck each others toes, pet each other, WHATEVER (yay!) for 2 or so minutes. Then we all walk away like at the end of the video. This event is meant to increase queer visibility on campus, normalize all types of relationships, and to have fun!

Here is one of the challenges to this idea: "because PDA itself has such a stigma, i feel like using it to try to normalize queer relations won't be really effective. i mean, fun for sure, but not effective. and hand-holding, while it definitely says, "hey, these two people totally have more than just a casual friendship!" to most people, is also kind of ambiguous, and a flash-mob of hand-holding seems like it doesn't entirely get the point across, or might not even be noticeable. the tricky part is finding an activity that isn't offensive in and of itself to most people, but would still get noticed. i'm not sure, but maybe cuddling would work? cuddling is pretty innocent, but it still conveys intimacy."

and another: "If the two main arguments AGAINST 'queer' relationships being a-ok are as follows
1. It is a sin, as denoted by faith in a particularly stringent religion
2. It is 'icky', as denoted by people who carry a latent dislike of homosexual encounters for other reasons
having a mass demonstration of either 1. a 'sin' or 2. a 'gross behavior' will do nothing for those that dislike the lifestyle other than demonstrate who they know that partakes in it
I am just concerned about the efficacy of this action. I mean, if you just wanna make out with a bunch of people, you don't need to hide it under a 'protest'!"

Relevant and lovely feedback! Here is what I have to say about this:

PDA could certianly be an immediate turnoff. Who hasn’t wanted to shout “get a room” to some gross couple before? However, there are a few key things I am thinking of when I think about the effectiveness of our planned approach. I have felt, and I can only speak for myself, that it is less okay for a same-sex couple to be affectionate in public. I’ve been in the situation with guys and girls, and I always feel a little bit on edge when it’s with a girl. There’s part of me that’s waiting for some kind of negative reactionary response, or just feels like I am being watched. And every once in a while I have gotten inappropriate responses, especially at night or in a casual social situation like a bar. It feels uncomfortable, and can feel shitty and intimidating, especially when there's no one to back you up. I think it will be affirming for me to be able to express my affection for another woman in public with a lot of supportive people around who are also out there asserting the legitimacy of their relationships and sexualities. So, maybe some of the effectiveness of this action is for the people in the mob, not just the people watching. But I think that by reaffirming the legitimacy of all romantic relationships and normalizing all configurations of relationships, we’ll also be sending the message that whatever you dig is okay and deserves a place to be recognized publicly. Hetero couples are constantly reaffirmed in this way. We are always presented “romantic” or “cute” images of hetero couples in the media and out in public, and while I think it’s great for that particular type of relationship to be affirmed, it’s not great that we are presented only with that model. A certain level of PDA is acceptable generally in our society, especially among younger people, and while our point is not “hey, we should have the right to mack in public just like the rest of the world”, I think that to say it’s not okay to have public representations of queer sexualities (being expressed in a respectful way, as with any sexuality) is unfair.
As far as nuts and bolts go, our top priority is the mobbers’ comfort. We want everyone to feel safe and supported, so any type of interaction people feel comfortable having in public is what we want them to do—and yeah, the holding hands thing might be subtle, that’s okay. Some people will be hugging/cuddling and that’s great too. And some people will be heartily sucking face, and yeah, maybe that’s a little gross, but if we are focused on it being gross because it’s PDA and not because it’s two girls or two guys or two what-the-hell-are-you-anyways, then we’re still getting the point, aren’t we? If some people are so reactive to two people kissing that they can’t think critically about the situation, then in my opinion that’s a casualty of the type of theatrical, in-your-face activism we are doing here. If no one at all who sees it gets it, but the people in the mob feel affirmed and supported, that’s good enough for me. You may not agree, and that’s good—if you have an idea that you think would get the point across better I’d love to hear it and support it. The more activism the better, there is certainly no one right way!

Thoughts?

Emailz

Summary: Leadership Committee Meetings every Thursday at 8:30, Queer Flash Mob in the works reply if interested, Co-ed meeting was awesome, emails will now be a once-a-week thing going out on Fridays. Yay!

Hello lovelies!

Our co-ed meeting this Sunday was frik-frakkin awesome! Lot’s of new faces and good conversation. Thanks to everyone who came and shared!

At the last Leadership Committee meeting we decided 1.) Leadership Committee Meetings will now happen every Thursday at 8:30 (locations TBA) and 2.) The title “Leadership Committee” isn’t accurate so we want to change it. Sorry with all the confusion and multitude of meetings lately, we’re workin on it!

This week’s leadership meeting will take place in the CofC Library in study room 236. We will all meet behind the library at 8:30 (please try to be on time!) and go up together. If you need directions don’t hesitate to ask!

So far, this is what’s on the agenda for this week’s meeting:
1.) Really Really Free Market
2.) Changing name of these organizational meetings.
3.) How we are going to decide what happens with our money
4.) Queer Flash Mob
5.) Chantelle and Jenna have a project proposal to present
6.) Queerfest, setting a date
7.) Setting dates/locations for next discussion meetings
8.) Jacksonville Art Show, possible field trip woo!
9.) Manifesta, our very own

Feel free to add things to the agenda if you want, and I hope anyone who wants to help organize will come on Thursday and share ideas! Though there is quite a bit on the agenda we're going to keep things expedient. And the meeting WILL start on time!

See you then!
Jenna

On Labels (from the last co-ed meeting)

This is something I got to thinking about when we were talking at the last meeting about the significance of labels, e.g. 'the heterosexual queer' and 'are you a lesbian or a dyke.' It has to do with a point Foucault makes in his History of Sexuality. The stuff in brackets and the bold text is mine, not necessarily Foucault’s.

“This new persecution of the peripheral sexualities [queer or ‘deviant’] entailed an incorporation of perversions and a new specification of individuals...The nineteenth-century homosexual became a personage [an identity], [which includes] a past [“she were just done wrong by a man”], a case history [“she used say she was a lesbian, but...”], and a childhood [“he’s gay because his mother didn’t hug him enough”]...in addition to being a type of life...with an indiscreet anatomy and possibly a mysterious physiology [the “gay gene”]...it was a secret that always gave itself away...less as a habitual sin than as a singular nature.”

Later Foucault says, “It [queer sexuality] was implanted in bodies, slipped in beneath modes of conduct, made into a principle of classification and intelligibility, established as a raison d’etre and a natural order of disorder. Not the exclusion of these thousand aberrant sexualities, but the specification, the regional solidification of each one of them. The strategy behind this dissemination was to strew reality with them and incorporate them into the individual.”

So, the western capitalist power structure wants you to think about sexuality as something inside you, a secret/inner self that you confess to or do not confess to. This is kind of like how some people say modern Christianity brings God down into you, where you have a personal relationship in your heart, and you’re just either “saved” or “not saved” in your heart. A different way to think about sexuality might be when you hear someone say, “When I’m with a guy, I’m straight, when I’m with a girl, I’m a lesbian.” Obviously there are lots of different cultures throughout history with lots of different ways of thinking about sexuality.

Foucault emphasizes that this secret sexual self is the sort of thing you confess to. Think about when you talk to someone about their sexuality. They usually have some story to relate about telling a family member or friend. There are all these important, powerful moments of confession.

So, Foucault says, “The power which thus took charge of sexuality set about contacting bodies, caressing them with its eyes, intensifying areas, electrifying surfaces, dramatizing troubled moments. It wrapped the sexual body in its embrace. There was undoubtedly an increase in effectiveness and an extension of the domain controlled [what two women do in the privacy of their own home]; but also a sensualization of power and a gain of pleasure...the intensity of the confession renewed the questioner’s curiosity; the pleasure discovered fed back to the power that encircled it. But so many pressing questions singularized the pleasures felt by the one who had to reply. They were fixed by a gaze, isolated and animated by the attention they received. Power operated as a mechanism of attraction; it drew out those peculiarities over which it kept watch. Pleasure spread to the power that harried it; power anchored the pleasure it uncovered.”

My point is that labels are not just labels. It makes sense that some people bristle at bisexuality. In a way, it is a betrayal of this deeply inner yes/no self, that is so important in pleasure, that is a turn-on. But we should worry, because this inner yes/no idea reinforces the power structure by constantly forcing us to examine ourselves for inconsistencies between this secret self and the self we are in public, which leads to isolation and alienation. Foucault wants to remind us that the patriarchy is not just something “out there.” It is inextricable from our pleasures, and can apparently even find its way into the discourse of hardcore activists.

WoCo Meetings!

[Message summery: Leadership meeting Thursday 9:00 at 322B Sumter to discuss QueerFest
and Really Really Free Market.]



Womyn and Myn!!

We had a mini-meeting tonight to discuss where we are going to put our money and decided to go with First Reliance. At the co-ed meeting on Sunday we will be discussing the appointment of a treasurer. We’ll be taking names for the position and putting it to a vote.

Alright, the next leadership meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 9:00 at 322B Sumter. The agenda has been set so that we can keep things efficient: we have a lot to go over!

First off, we mustmustmust set a date for QueerFest. For those who don’t know, QueerFest is going to be the third installment after the Boob Show and the Gender Show. The basic idea is to challenge the heteronormative conception of sexuality. This time we’re gonna spread the event out over a weekend to include the art show and the music show. We’re looking into bringing in Team Gina, Scream Club, Athens Boys Choir, and, in our wildest dreams, Invincible. Either way it's gonna be fabulous. So, we need to set a date so we can start contacting the bands. We’re thinking April. Think about what would be the best time, and bring yr ideas! Further QueerFest planning will insue after Thanksgiving.

Okay, next up: Really Really Free Market. This is coming up super soon. We will be discussing our involvement in the event, from financial to physical support.

Further, we need to discuss our financial matters in general, and where we’re gonna be putting our money. (Yay we have money to put places! Go us! Go Blume!)

FINALLY, I want to start discussing the conception Jenna and I have been putting together and decide whether we want it to be a Women’s Collective event. Here’s the deal: Queer Makeout Flash Mob. Details to come.

Stay Radical, Caitlin

Novemburrrr

Here is the new calendar for this seriously busy month, in more..homemade short-notice form. It's a lil' sloppy, if you have any questions, please e-mail!

What is feminist leadership?

Hello blogosphere!

The WoCo Leadership Committee had a really heated meeting last Thursday, during which we discussed our burgeoning leadership structure - what it is, where it's headed, and our vision(s) for what it should become. It got me thinkin' about what (radical) feminist leadership/organizing means, and I want to know how other people feel as well.

I want to share my thoughts to start things off, but I understand that they're equitable to one tiny amoeba in a whole ocean of ideas. I'm excited to get feedback and hear your challenges - whether it's in person or in the comments section. That said -

For me, truly collective, visionary, feminist leadership is necessarily non-hierarchical and transparent. When we organize ourselves hierarchically (even without meaning to), with unequal distributions of power and little discussion about what that means, we're simply mimicking the very patriarchal, capitalistic systems of organization that we purport to resist. I think that it is truly disingenuous and conflictual to claim radical feminist ethics and a grassroots approach and yet organize ourselves in the same bullshit bureaucratic way as the rest of the world. In fact, I think forming that way would ultimately make our larger goals impossible.

That doesn't mean that I think some people shouldn't have definitive positions, or that I'm delusional enough to believe that the power will be distributed evenly at all times. Instead, I think that we should make a conscious, consistent effort to spread the power as equitably as possible, which ultimately means realizing when we're doing (or simply receiving) too much, and when we're doing (or receiving) too little. We need to brave enough to both step up and step back (the latter is particularly difficult for me). This sort of horizontal organization is crucial because it's the only way each individual's talents and contributions can be realized, and it's the only way we can prevent a stagnant, traditionally bureaucratic organization from forming.

I don't think this is an easy task. It takes a group of truly committed, passionate, largely selfless people to achieve something like this. It also requires that each person is open to fair criticism - including personal criticism. We need to think critically about ourselves and our roles and constantly reevaluate our motivations. We also need to think carefully - and compassionately! - about our fellow organizers, and be brave enough to approach each other with legitimate concerns.

Here's a link to an excellent essay on anti-authoritarian organizing. I read it my freshman year of college and it really informed how I think and feel about leadership structure. Near the beginning of the essay, the author posits two questions I hope we're all working to answer:

How can leadership development help us build mass-based, multiracial, anti-racist, feminist, anti-capitalist movements with visible leadership from women, queers, transgendered people and working class people of all colors? How can we talk about leadership without creating the image of two or three people leading us, but the millions of people, in their communities, who are right now leading progressive social change around the world?

Thanks for reading! Lemme know what you think!
Love, Micah

Some Dates to Keep in Mind

Nov. 1 Planning Meeting about the Really Really Free Market 3:00 @ Chantelle's house, 4 Elmwood Ave.
Nov. 7 Women Only Meeting at Olivia's house 157 Wentworth St. upstairs 5:30
Nov. 9 Leadership Committee Meeting about opening a bank account at Caitlin's house 60 Radcliffe 5:00
Nov. 11 Leadership Committee meeting about Queerfest at Micah's house 322B Sumter St.
Nov. 15 Co-ed WoCo meeting @ 4 Elmwood Ave. 5:00, topic: "consent"

Nov. 2, 5, and 10 from 1:45-4:45 Self-Defense Teacher Training course. e-mail charlestonwomen@gmail.com if you're interested! Sponsorship possible.

Self Defense-Related Article

http://kateharding.net/2009/10/08/guest-blogger-starling-schrodinger%E2%80%99s-rapist-or-a-guy%E2%80%99s-guide-to-approaching-strange-women-without-being-maced/


This is quite nice, methinks. A good follow-up for anyone who took the self-defense workshop this weekend (which, by the way was amazing thanks everyone for turning out!)...enjoy!

Blume Tonight

Blume is finally here...I've been thinking towards this since that one night on my porch this summer when Liz and I had a co-revelation and decided to make it happen again, this time for the Women's Collective. There have been roadblocks, mainly one large unconscious white male one, but here we are and it's happening and I am so excited. Caroline and her dancing ladies have been woodshedding so hard...this house has been vibrating with music and choreography and talk of dance for what seems like months now, and so many people have put all heart and soul into the dance--it is so beautiful, so powerful, those ladies are gonna stomp and freak you to your very core. When we were hanging art on Tuesday (thanks to my dyke crew Tess and Becca!) the dance troop had practice, and I was trying not to watch but my curiosity finally got the best of me...needless to say I was blown away. Those girls brought such anazing energy into the Pantheon--Liz and Rachel and I had been in there all day and suddenly it seemed like the air was buzzing, everything was in higher focus, there was a palpable energy in the air--dare I pull a Mary Daly and call it gynergy?
I am also super excited about all the work Caitlin and Brittany have put into the team of bodypainters/paintees. Caitlin is a Blume veteran and this time she has really pulled all the stops out and formed a truly awesome team from Women's Collective members and close friends alike...we've even got one of our newest and youngest Collective members Ashley putting herself out there tonight and I'm so proud! She is so brave and I'm excited to see what she and Kayla, her painter, are going to create together. This group has been doing some real concept-work and is creating a method that goes far beyond getting painted and waltzing around on a bar--they've done a lot thinking and planning, and I can't WAIT to see what they have up their sleeves!
And, of course, as usual Liz and Rachel have put so much organizing and time into this and because of them Blume shall again be the best party you've been to all year...see ya'll there!

Pepsi Releases iPhone App To Help Men "Score" With Women And Brag About It On Twitter

iiiii haaaaaaaaaaaatteeeee this shit

Na New New Month, and a new calendar!

Stuff your planners for the end of the month, there's a lot going on!

and make sure you sign up for the self defense course on the 25th!

Pssst. : weblove shout-out goes out to Jodie, who mailed me the image of the farmin' folk that make up the day blocks.

keep october 21st open for charleston cycle chic ride!

http://charlestoncyclechic.com/2009/10/02/next-ride-october-21st-stay-tuned/

WoCo Dinner Fundraiser

Mmmmmhm! The Women's Collective hosted its first-ever vegan dinner 'n acoustic show fundraiser over at 4 Elmwood on September 19th and it was freaking awesome! We made a little bit of money to fund upcoming workshops but what really made the event successful was the incredible energy and laughter that coursed through the evening. Click "Read More" below to check it out!

Feminist Economics - A Discussion

Where was the voice of reason? Why are our ecosystems, families, neighbors, health, and future dying at the request of profit margins and unsustainable economic policies? Where was the economic model to account for the true cost of infinite growth? The female voice and market presence were hushed up and ignored. And look at the mess we're in.

Economists, historically privileged white men, have been guiding our politicians and legislators to disastrous ends. These mad scientists of policy and price have determined that the entire global economic system hunt almighty profit by cheap and dirty exploitation of the Earth, the poor, the disenfranchised, and women. In the name of FREE trade, more people than ever are slaves to money and governments. Our biosphere is sick and dying. Our generation will face historic debt and unemployment. War, violence, famine, disease, and a barren landscape- things look bleak.

But!!! Our community has a chance to be heard and to educate one another in being our own policymakers. We have tools in our hands and we have voices from our hearts. We must be the change in our own backyards, in our own daily routines, in our own consciousness.

I'd like to open a discussion about the role of Feminist Economics in our lives.

How can we change our cultural valuation systems to better accommodate all that the traditional systems leave behind? True cost is a very female estimate, it is a search for deep connections and the importance of relationships in the economic market. What do you see during your day that has a cost? Is the price stuck on its head really the value of that item? Tally it up- the gas in you car, the latte in your hand, the rice on the stove. Have these items come to you cheaply by exploiting others? If we included all the costs and energy that go into our daily consumption, would we be able to 'afford' it?

Most importantly: what is the true cost of not speaking out?

Updated Version of Calendar

Look at this bomb-ass calendar Chantelle made!

Jennas update!

Our meeting this Saturday was lovely--and we got quite a lot done, here’s the run-down:

Because we are organizing events and workshops this year, we are going to start having leadership committee meetings—these meetings will be open to any woman who wants to have a say in organizing (and claim both credit and accountability). This will be a great way for people who want to be more involved to do that, and having separate organizational meetings will mean that we don’t have to lengthen our discussion meetings. The first leadership committee meeting will be this Wednesday (tomorrow) at 8:00 pm at 322 Sumter Street. We will be planning our first fundraiser, which brings me to…

Our first fundraiser! will be a vegetarian/vegan dinner and acoustic house show held on Friday September 18th at 4 Elmwood Ave. Details will be nailed down Wednesday, just let it suffice to say that it’s going to be awesome!!!

More dates to mark: On Saturday Sept. 12^th, we will be holding our next meeting (women only) at Cannon Park (near campus) by the columns. Our first workshop will be held at 5:00 on Saturday Sept. 26, and will be an informative workshop on the fundamentals of academic feminism. We’ll be introducing key terminologies and theories that come up at our meetings so that everyone has access to them. This workshop is free and co-ed. (Location TBA).

Look forward to more kick-ass workshops and fundraisers coming soon!

Thanks!

Jenna

Here's Something from Sloane

The 24 Hour Mandatory Delay Bill is Moving! Help needed!!!

1) Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee Hearing, Wednesday, March 18th @ 2:30pm, Columbia, SC

I am putting together a car pool group of Charlestonians to road trip up to Columbia so we can pack the room to put pressure on the legislators to STOP THIS BILL!!! We are meeting at the Health Center at 200 Rutledge Avenue, (big pink house across from Hominy Grill) at 10:30am to carpool up to the hearing (plenty of parking available). Dress is Business Casual (no jeans and sweatshirts please!). Lapel Stickers and Coffee and Donuts will be provided as well as a quick briefing before we get on the road! We will be back by 6pm at the latest. Please REPLY to this email if you want to come, I'm going to need to know a rough headcount! If you have a car and are willing to drive, please include that in your rsvp!

2) Additional Phone Bank, Monday 3/16 6-8pm (5:30 for new phone bankers)

With the subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, we are adding an additional phone bank calling into Peelers District (Chairman of the Committee) to tell supporters to call his office to tell him to STOP THIS BILL!! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!! Please let me know if you can come!

3) Pub Crawl, Tuesday 3/24, evening

Young Advocates, a Planned Parenthood club-similar to VOX-is organizing a Pub Crawl the night before Back Up Your Birth Control Day. They will be going to a bunch of bars downtown and handing out condoms, information on emergency contraception, and all other sorts of goodies. Historically, this has been a very fun event and tons of help is needed! Please contact keirawilliams@gmail.com if you want more information or want to help out!

HOPE EVERYONE IS WELL AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

TOGETHER, WE WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Sloane Whelan

SC Field Coordinator

Planned Parenthood Health Systems

843.628.4380 ext.6446