Rebick: "I wrote it for young women and men who don't know what a hard fight it was"

One would hope those dog days of the feminist backlash are over, but the way in which the current political regime in the U.S. is working at rolling back some of the hard-won victories of the women's movement might warn otherwise.

To combat complacency and the tendency even in women's studies classes to focus exclusively on the American women's movement, Judy Rebick, a veteran activist, Ryerson academic and past president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, has compiled and written Ten Thousand Roses: The Making of a Feminist Revolution (Penguin, 280 pp). The book aims at giving younger Canadian women a more complete sense of what our precursors have accomplished.

"I think the Canadian women's movement has been incredibly interesting and successful, and nobody knows that," says Rebick. "The greatest characteristic of the Canadian women's movement is its diversity. It was never exclusively white and middle class."

Indeed, Ten Thousand Roses is, among other things, a primer for political action. Organized first by decade and then in subsections based on particular struggles, it's an oral history that documents women's fights for rights as they occurred. In the 1970s section, an entry on the women's movement in Quebec relays eyewitness accounts of Fédération des femmes du Québec events by Ghislaine Patry-Buisson and past FFQ présidente Françoise David. In the '80s section, Rebick herself talks about her experiences in the media scrums outside the Toronto Morgentaler clinic. The '90s section concludes with an account of the Women's March Against Poverty in 1995 (also organized by David and the FFQ).

"I wanted to make a [record] of what we learned about advocacy, how to fight on an issue, how to affect the state, how to organize - all of that has gotten lost. I didn't want to go over the intellectual issues, but about how we organized from the forefront. And I wrote it for young women and men who don't know what a hard fight it was," Rebick says.

As much as Ten Thousand Roses is a who's who of the women's movement in Canada, it also contains lessons for the future.

Does Rebick, who will be the keynote speaker when the National Abortion Federation convenes in Montreal this month, think that the current political climate should put us on edge about our own rights and freedoms?

"I don't think abortion rights are threatened in Canada right now at all, but that could change," she answers. "When I was in B.C. recently, I noticed that women's centres have been de-funded... and right-to-life groups are setting up women's centres that are really anti-choice centres, and they are doing it with private funding from what we assume is American money. They're working it as a sort of underground thing right now, because they don't have any political support, which is a huge difference from the States; here, even the Cons see it as such a losing issue for them that they put the kibosh on it... Now, with the Gomery inquiry, if there's an election and the Conservatives win, then I think we have to worry."

In fact, Ten Thousand Roses reminds feminists that worry shouldn't be reserved for the past. "These days if you're a young middle-class woman, you can almost think to walk away from the women's movement thinking, 'Gender issues are not such a big deal in my life.' That's the genius of hegemony: It makes space for the women who have the most influence and the most privilege to be able to succeed, and then there's less of a voice for the women who can't - which is still the majority of women, not just in the Third World, but here."

National Abortion Federation
Convenes this month in Montreal
For more info: www.prochoice.org (please contact directly)
Ten Thousand Roses: The Making of a Feminist Revolution
Can be ordered online at www.rabble.ca/books
Judy Rebick blog
www.penguinblogs.ca/rebick

 
 

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Choices     I can't even begin to describe how much respect I have for women that have made all these choices possible for women. Having said that, I believe that we still should have the right to choose the type of women we want to be without ridicule from anyone. I have no problem with woman that believe that men are the cause of all our problems, but I also believe that they should respect others who believe that men are not the problem. For centuries woman have been fighting for equality so hard that I think they have forgotten that some women actually enjoy staying home and raising a family the old fashioned way. Staying home and raising your children on your own is nothing to look down upon. Todays world is so complex that the right for us to stay home and raise our children has been taken away. In todays world most parents are both forced to go outside the home and work. It is impossible for most to raise a family on one income. The days of free choice are long gone and women are forced to work outside the home in order to survive. The right to work outside the home is great, but the right to stay home with your children has been taken away. Sure, one can stay home and live with one income. But for most that would mean living below the poverty line. Todays women/men need to focus on changing policies with our government. If by chance you ever become a single parent by no fault of your own, wait until you see the political bull you have to go through to get help. Social Assistance is non existant for men/women that choose to continue to work but need assistance for day care. Talk about head in the sand! The government would rather you quit your job and collect welfare rather then help you with day care expenses. This is not a gender problem but everyone's problem. Men and women need to stop fighting eachother and start working together to change the policies that will help our future. We need to focus on Choice.
Debbie Peters	{1 vote}	June 7th, 2005
Still a long way to go     I love how men are responding to this article, saying it is a "women's world". First, you are a man. You don't know what it is like to be a woman. You aren't scared walking at night. You don't have people look at you as an object instead of an employee. Second, we are living in North America. This is a very small part of the world. There are many more places where women are treated terrible, and have little if no rights. Should we leave them to fend for themselves? Feminism is not dead, nor should it be. The world needs more people like Judy Rebick. One of the most dangerous things, for any cause, is to assume that the battle has been won.
Eric Wilson	{13 votes}	April 18th, 2005
"Move Aside, Proud Feminist Coming Through".........     Reading Judy Rebick's comments puts into focus the skinny on the entire Feminist Movement defining it's purpose, the rationale for why it needs to exist and the importance of clarifying what young women who are looking for some empowerment need to understand. At the turn of the century, most decision making for world events was made by a mostly male dominated society. Women did almost all of the work in the home (behind the scenes). Expectations for how families were run were explained in common terms in many educational films and in media ads and children were taught strict gender role definition in schools. As with most social movements, it took the courage of a few people wanting to introduce change and willing to face certain risks to get the whole ball rolling. There have been some improvements in wage disparity and workplace benefits that have become law but it would be foolish to think that we have achieved maximum return. The danger of any social movement is that it attracts extremist views to the table. This is where feminism starts to move away from the principles that Rebick is talking to. Men are not all evil, Men are not the weaker sex and certainly treating men with distain and anger is not the type of attitude that moves us towards equality in our gender differences. Workplaces need to be tolerant and supportive for the needs of both genders and we should be looking in a forward direction to how we can all ensure gender equity and non-discrimatory practices exist. I work in a mostly feminine driven work environment (I got the job because I like helping people) and I can say with great certainty that I feel more like a piece of furniture than belonging to my immediate surroundings on most days. I am a minority in the large purse of my workplace. (Looking for a way out)
Steve Landry	{30 votes}	April 15th, 2005
Everybody's Activists     It's amazing that an activist would take time to genuinely educate the younger generation. Activism is never finished. Anyone who thinks the women's movement is no longer needed has forgotten the other movements - for human rights, for ethics worldwide, for dignity preserved in every day and act. As a nation, and maybe, if it's possible to say, as the human race, we've yet to prove that we always treasure dignity; that we place it above other qualities, like wealth, or painlessness. Once that is achieved, we can stop spending our time on activism. Until that time, especially in Canada, we owe much of our justified faith in humanity to activists. Rebick's contention that Canada's women's movement is particularly vivid because of its diversity should be remembered, when one wonders who it is who makes change. It is everyone who wants change. Not just someone who imagines it, but someone who believes in it. Unfortunately, movements can splinter. The space between diversity and unequal difference pardons some and refuses others. If Canada's women have grown closer as they have grown more powerful, then their revolution can be more freely shared and passed to the generation Rebick will reach. We know that some of the feminists of Canada's early twentieth century were racist. We know that the longest-serving Prime Minister refused refugee Jews during the Holocaust. Leaders in Quebec's 1930s legally censured Communists. At the moment, the Canadian population debates same-sex marriage - for themselves, and for their society. If Canada is to build on the diversified activist body of which Rebick speaks, that debate should take place understanding that no matter what decision is reached, everyone is entitled to safety, to love, to peace, and to another chance. Without remembering activists, we forget that we can't live in a general pause in our imaginations. We are members of this nation to create possibilities for our nation.
Maggie Panko	{57 votes}	April 14th, 2005
Let's not get complacent.     I'm all for equality and see no reason why anyone in the world should be treated differently. The reason why I believe Canada has to do more for women's rights is because whatever victories they will win, it is also a victory for visible minorities. I'll agree Canada is far ahead in the US in terms of woman's/visible minority rights. For instance let's take a look at some of the issues affecting women in the US. 1) Women are paid lower. 2) Women don't get promoted as much 3) Abortion is getting less support from the President and might be elminated. 4) Birth control is not covered by any health plan, yet Viagra is (sex for old men = necessary medicine). Now Canada's record: 1) Woman are paid lower (see Bell Canada). 2) Women don't get promoted as much (see the bank clerks, all women). 3) Because we think we are more liberal we don't support women's shelters as much as we should. The problem for visible minorities are the same: they get paid lower, don't get promoted as much, sometimes don't even get hired. Lots of Canadians say that because we're in Canada that none of this discrimination exists. But it does, one just has to look at the Conservative party platform to see it. The problem is because of the large negative down south we ignore the little negatives here. Perhaps a couple of years of Conservative government might help the movement if it shows just how bad the situation really is. So let's not kid ourselves Canada and get complacent. Yes we are better than a lot of countries in the world but that's no reason for not aiming for self improvement. Until everyone is treated the same then women, visible minorities and others have to fight. In the end the result will be better for all of us.
Alexander Yu	{28 votes}	April 14th, 2005
Third world pathos at work.     judy rebick underscores an important point, as she announces and forewarns about the genius of the artifically created hegemony. the highly prized class position of upper middle class, attempting to maintain hold upon status and looking to danse with the bigger dogs of wealth, has become a distracting tonic designed to distract. in north america, canada on the strength of the gomery commission, will enter into a conservative power vice grip that will run alongside the current conservative power flows consuming the united states currently. the basic freedom of self-rule through personal choice and choices will become eroded. the promise of status and class priviledges has devoured and weaken the momentum of many rights organizations, using the illusion that no concerns of personal rights should exist because we have the freedom to work, and spend and buy, and remain blissfully ignorant and unbothered by the reality that the waters are becoming very stormy and dangerous. feminism has suffered from many aspects, both within and without. while obvious smear campaigns have placed focus on the more 'radical' branches of feminism and distorted the very vocal and intelligent branches of feminism, i believe that feminism must return to the basics and foundational points of feminism. as time has progressed and history has yielded the struggles of the feminist movement, the various levels of the 21st century has brought forth a need for many movements to retool and reload to meet the new cause at hand. a rather sublime third world pathos moves across north america, perhaps as a political contagion from the many decades that the united states has supported and trained various dictators to hold absolute power (see the history of the shah of iran, and the abuse to the citizens of iran during his reign..). the contagion has grown to target any group not willing to keep the status of ignorance alive. feminists, and all other rights groups, need to learn and then unite.
Gary Womac	{12 votes}	April 14th, 2005
Can't we all just get along?     I liked how Eric Wilson smartly pointed out to the men who responded "you don't know what it's like to be a woman" well duh. That's taken a fact of life. The same arguement could be made that women don't know what it's like to be a man. In this society BOTH genders have a lot to face. Why not face them together? Everyone has issues. We should all be able to just get along. This is why I support the equality movement...I would not call myself a feminist or a supported of women's rights since that in itself is also by nature exclusionary. I believe in the rights of all! There is work to be done here and abroad to ensure that people of both sexes are happy and free, this means supporting everyone, not just one group.
Greg Mills	{4 votes}	April 20th, 2005
Ten Thousand Roses     This sounds like a very well compiled book. I really don't know anything about the feminist movement in Canada, like so many others I take for granted that someone had to work their ass off for me to enjoy what I consider everyday freedoms. Books like this will hopefully highlight the women who have and are working so hard. We are all activists it's true, but it's easy in this society to forget that. Now if only a southern neighbors would leave us the hell alone and stop trying to set us backwards.
Josee Lacroix	{2 votes}	April 20th, 2005
Feminism Gone Too Far     In the past women could not vote or hold title to property because they were not considered to be persons. Women lacked training and good education because universities were closed to them. In such a situation women could not get elected to help change the outdated laws and thus relied on protests and demonstrations to make their voices heard. Most of the major battles have been won. Over time women will finally earn as much as men for work of equal value. Dry cleaning a blouse will cost the same as for a shirt. However feminism has gone too far when women now smoke more than men and take over dangerous blue collar jobs without insisting on safety procedures. By becoming more independent many women stay single raising children on their own without the benefit of a father figure. Liberal abortion laws are wiping out future generations leading to population decline. Marriage has become an endangered species! As a man I feel that my voice no longer counts. Men must speak up before it is too late!
Stephen Talko	{2 votes}	April 18th, 2005
Feminism is a great thing for everybody     I am young, young enough to say i was not even born when the first feminism battle was on (you know the burning bra phase!). But i am also young enough to be able to learn about every battle and every goal at school. The results are fantatics. I live "my simple feminism" everyday: by going to college (isn't didgusting to know we did not have the right to do so not so long ago) by studying in political science (isn't just disgusting to know that women did not always have the right to vote) by taking my contraception pill EVERYDAY (you know what i mean!) and by revendicate my right to abortion if a bad luck happens (the biggest bad luck would be to bring to this world another unwanted child dont you think!). I have to admit that i take ALL of this freedom for granted, but if someone would like to take a risk and take this away from me: watch out! I'll be in the streets with all the other free women and be happy to burn all my g-strings!
Isabelle Gélinas	{8 votes}	April 15th, 2005
Support for the future...     I am a woman. I am proud of the progress woman have made in several decades. We should never assume that any Government in power will commit to us, but at least the Liberal Government stood on issues that benefited women in business and social issues such as, same sex marriages and abortion; if a Government is chosen to run our country that does not have these issue on their platform, then we will need a strong supporter to ensure we do not lose all we have gained over the course of women's empowerment. We also have another problem to contend with.... the new Pope, how will this effect women's place in his world. I believe that we have a strong foundation and this will not be lost, but we need to pick the right officials that can provide the vehicle, so we can continue forward. I am a strong-minded person. I will not bow to any man or woman who feel they have a moral, religious superiority or government ruling to dictate to me what I can or can not do with my life, my mind, my spirit or my body! That privilege belongs to only me.
Pamela Wright	{4 votes}	April 14th, 2005
News flash!     Hey, maybe it's just me but I'm of the opinion that this *is* a woman's world that we're living in. I guess there's always room for improvement in other parts of the world but as far as the industrialized nations we're about as feminin as it gets. Yes, we men still objectify women (that ain't gonna change anytime soon, by the way) and yes, men still gravitate towards the positions of power but compare our national psyche compared to 40 years ago and tell me that we're not more than we were as a people. Feminism worked...just not always in obvious ways <<>> I've already got a doorstop so it's not as if I really need this book but I do respect why Judy Rebick felt passionate enough to craft it. It serves as a reminder of where we were and where we're going.
Pedro Eggers	{5 votes}	April 14th, 2005
Feminism Matters - Minding Feminism     Justice is something that is prized by all human beings. So it can only be laudable that through advocacy and activism traditional injustices suffered by women, both institutional and incidental, have been and continue to be redressed. The situation is arguably better now than it was before in terms of suffrage, self determination (career wise and education wise) and status in society, although there is certainly still some way to go before even Canadian society can be called truly egalitarian with respect to the sexes. I find it disingenous, however, to conflate the women's rights movement with the pro-choice movement. Not only are the two not synonymous, it is possible that they may even be opposed. For Judy Rebick to speak, with the implicit authority of the feminist label, of "abortion rights" seems to imply that no other position exists within the feminist movement with regard to abortion except explicit support for it. This is patently wrong - from antiquity to the present, there have been prominent feminists in opposition to abortion. Find out the views, for instance, of such activists for womens rights in antiquity as Elizabeth Caddy Stanton or Matilda Joslyn Gage. Or more recently Feminists For Life. The current state of abortion laws in Canada (there are none - there is currently a vacuum in abortion legislation) and the continued complaisance of the public to the current state of affairs ensures that the jury will continue to be out on the question perhaps for some time to come. Given the gravity of the matter, I do not believe that this is a tolerable state of affairs. The easy fix of demonizing the Conservative Party for taking a specific position does not reflect well on the willingness of Canadians to resolve important issues. My personal opposition to the institutionalization of abortion is further frustrated by the fact that not only is there no resolution in law concerning the matter, no one even wants to discuss it! Hardly progressive.
Robert Bichage	{8 votes}	April 14th, 2005

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