| Workshops
Women
in Underground Culture
Presenters/Facilitators: Karen Taggart (Mothertongue), Marti Blose
(Rutgers University), Amy Pettit (Helping Individual Prostitutes
Survive)
Keeping with the focus on artists, activists and academics learning
from each other, this workshop will feature a Rutgers University
professor, a spoken word artist from Mothertongue and a representative
from H.I.P.S. (Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive). We will
address the unique challenges feminists face working within subcultures
and work to develop tools that will insure that radical underground
cultures rise above the values we oppose in the dominant society.
Feminist
Interruptions into Privilege
Presenters/Facilitators: Marisa Ragonese (NYC Riot Grrrl)
This whirlwind tour thru some operations of power and privilege
includes facilitated discussions of sexism, homophobia/heterosexism,
racism/white supremacy, the ways in which these -isms work together,
and the dangers of "progressive" backlash to feminist
movements invested in the destruction of legal, cultural and institutionalized
power disparities in America. These discussions benefit the novice
to longtime feminist activist/scholars using a variety of workshop
techniques, including discussion, collaborative chart excercies,
information distribution, etc. We will begin much-needed dialogues
around the state of local feminisms in order to effect grassroots
change in feminist communities, to inject an analysis of power into
everyday discussion, and to tap into our own experiences with power
and oppression in order to equip ourselves with tools for feminist
progress.
Feminist
Organization in an Academic Setting
Presenters/Facilitators: Kathy Bryan, Claire Moses
A workshop discussing the role of feminism in academics, including
but not limited to Women's Studies departments. We will be looking
at feminist tactics of class organization and structure as well
as class content.
Feminism
and Spirituality
Presenters/Facilitators: Michelle Duplissis (Sisters Of The Silver
Branch), Serra Sippel (Young Feminist Network of the Women's Ordination
Conference), more to be announced
THE DIVERSE PATHS OF FEMINIST SPIRITUALITY: Thirty years after the
Second Wave of feminism sparked a radical re-evaluation of traditional
Western spirituality, where has the Spirit led feminism... and vice
versa? Discussion of the divergent paths as well as the common ground
of contemporary feminist spirituality.
Topics may include: How have the Judeo-Christian traditions been
challenged/transformed by the encounter with feminism? Are they
obsolete? Is the term "Goddess" an essential reclamation
of the divine feminine or an equally flawed diminuative? Is there
common ground shared by feminist spirtuality in all of its manifestations?
What implications does this have for feminism in the millenium?
Depoliticization
of the Battered Women's Movement
Presenters/Facilitators: Suzanne Marcus (My Sister’s Place),
Nancy Meyer (DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
This workshop will discuss the depoliticizing of the radical feminist
battered women's movement. We will examine how and why feminist
activism in this movement, which provided a context for women to
speak out and ask for help, and a framework for creating shelters
that served as sites for social change, has eroded.
Women
and the Prison Industrial Complex
This workshop will first give a general overniew of the Prison Industrial
Complex as pertaining to women - the astronomical numbers, some
of the reasons why more and more women are ending up behind bars,
the kind of treatment women receive when they are in prison, the
few alternatives that are sought. In general, "prison culture"
for women is much different than it is for men; these differences
will be briefly explored. We will then break out into a discussion
of why prison isn't working (for men or for women) and analyze the
various ways in which the patriarachal structure of our larger society
both impacts and mirrors itself within prison.
Feminist
Takes on Abortion
Presenters/Facilitators: Jennifer Baumgardner (coauthor of *Manifesta:
Young Women, Feminism and the Future*), Mark Andersen (Positive
Force DC)
Feminist Takes on Abortion is an interactive workshop exploring
abortion politics and how the issue presents striking challenges
for feminist identity. Workshop participants are invited to join
panelists in investigating how views on abortion interact with definitions
of feminism. Questions that will be addressed include: Is a "pro-choice"
abortion stance essential to being a feminist? Can there be a "pro-life"
feminist? If so, in what sense? Do feminists of differing abortion
ideologies define feminism differently? Can feminists of differing
stands on abortion find common ground?
Radical
Feminism: Dispelling the myths and uncovering the reality!
Presenters/Facilitators: Angie Manzano, Karla Mantilla (Off Our
Backs), Jennie Ruby, Jennifer Smith (Off Our Backs)
Very few people know what radical feminism is and what radical feminists
believe. This workshop will explore the basic beliefs held by many
radical feminists and confront the myths that are perpetuated by
mainstream culture and other members of the progressive and feminist
movements about radical feminism. Are radical feminists all really
essentialists? How does radical feminism differ from liberal feminism?
How and why has the mainstream media created an image of radical
feminists that is so different from who we really are? Come find
out why we think radical feminism is still the best analysis for
understanding the lives of women all over the world living under
patriarchy and why we don't think we live in post-patriarchy yet!
Art as a Community Development and Organizing Tool
Presenters/Facilitators: Karen Taggart (Mothertongue)
As activists and community organizers, we all too often get bogged
down trying to solve the world's problems and forget to have fun...
and sometimes we are surprised that out of this fun comes incredible
discoveries! Three years ago the women of Mothertongue stumbled
upon the power of poetry/performance as a community organizing tool
and have been inspiring and empowering women in the metro area every
since. In this workshop, mothertongue founders and organizers will
share their story and tips as well as lead a brainstorming session
about other ways to use art as an activist/community organizing
tool.
Lesbians
in the Women's Movement
Presenters/Facilitators: Larisa Kofman (DC Coalition Against Domestic
Violence)
Construction of "Lesbian" Identities: How are they linked
to the women's movements?
From romantic friendships to lesbian-feminists,it is clear that
names, labels, language, the formation of identities, has been political
and directly linked to the women's movements. In this workshop we
will discuss the construction of lesbian identities from the turn
of the century to present and specifically trace the links to the
women's movements in the United States.
Men
Combating Sexism
Presenters/Facilitators: Antione Jeter, Men Can Stop Rape
An interactive panel which shall present positions of men combatting
sexism in the present day. The panel shall focus on not only establishing
a common idea for what men can do in feminism, but shall provide
spectators and presenters with the chance to work together to come
to conclusions about various aspects of men and thier roles to help
and move forth the feminist movement.
Perspectives
on Pornography
Presenters/Facilitators: Missy Mazzaferro, T.M. Parker, and Sara
Klemm
Modern feminists have either rallied in favor or against pornography,
and the issue of porn has become polarized to the point that arguments
are little more than theory discussed in the abstract. The truth
of the matter is, there is no one way that feminists should view
the pornography debate, since feminist women and men are all autonomous
beings with their own sets of morals and levels of comfort with
sex and sexually explicit materials. Missy plans to discuss three
major waves of feminism, and how they have chosen to deal with or
overlook the porn debate.
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Other
Activities
Animal Liberation Through an Ecofeminist Lens
A Slideshow Presentation by D'Arcy Kemnitz, Esq., a board member
of Feminists for Animal Rights (FAR)
The slide show provides a history of the portrayal of women's relationship
to other-than-human animals before and after the advent of patriarchy
in art, religion, and mythology. It goes on to explore the connections
between the objectification, exploitation, and abuse of women and
animals in contemporary society, from pornography to the vivisection
lab to the slaughterhouse.
Where
the Lines Get Blurred: Exploring the Link Between Partner Abuse
and Animal Cruelty
A Presentation and Discussion by Cory Smith, Humane Educator for
the Washington Humane Society
Animal protection groups and battered women's advocates are working
together more than ever to prevent and intervene the violence that
affects women, children and animals. By recognizing that "no
violence occurs in a vacuum", but that animal cruelty, child
abuse, and partner abuse are all parts of a cycle of violence, much
can be done to break it. Artists'
Coffee House
Featuring:
Tim (guitar/vocals)
Kathy Cashel (guitar/vocals)
Jackie Joice: (Spoken Word) Jackie Joice is from Southern California
and has been writing and performing poetry for 12 years. Some of
her signature poems are Mother Earth Needs A Papsmear, Hair, Mi
Hermana, and Death Likes His Coffee Black. She also writes fiction
and has just recently completed two screen plays for film shorts.
Jackie has been involved with benefits for the Women of Afghanistan
and the Women of Juarez. She will recite poetry anywhere as long
as there's some light and a podium. Writing for Jackie is not only
entertainment but therapy for it has helped her confront and acknowledge
her anger. Besides writing Jackie is an avid lover of the art of
film making. Her most recent work is the feminist punk documentary
Punk Pretty which profiles women from the Southern California punk
scene and dispels the overwhelming stereotypes of women in punk.
Karen Taggart: Karen co-founded Mothertongue, DC's only womens spoken
word organization as part of her lifelong struggle to prove that
the East Coast really is cooler than the West Coast. By day she
disguises herself as a non-profit organizer and fundraising consultant.
By night she moonlights as an activist, soap box orator, performance
poet, drag king, loving wife and puppy mommy, hip-hop wannabe and
girl-about-town. She looks forward to a future filled with graduate
school term papers and economic justice for all.
Charlotte Young (Spoken Word) Racism
in the Feminist Movement Panel
Presenters/Facilitators: Asantewaa M. Nkrumah-Ture, Sheetal Patel
(President of University of Maryland's women's circle), Charlotte
Young (strong organizer in the black LGBT community in DC), Nicole
Mason, Rev. Ruby Sales, Rebecca Helen
This workshop will be a panel discussion on race relations and racism
within feminist communities. How has racism shaped the leadership
and issues of feminism? What are some of the ways in which women
of color have redefined feminism? How does "womanism"
differ from feminism? How can substantive collaborations between
women of different races seeking social change be realized? We will
discuss strategies for a more inclusive movement, and for recognizing
the ways in which racism has affected feminist work. Participants
will come away with tools for addressing racism in their own feminist
experiences.
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