My Feminist 2010 Resolutions

So I've come up some new year goals for myself in relation to the FBC.
Here's what I've decided upon!

1. Read something by Bell Hooks.
2. Post more on this blog and facebook group.
3. Consistently photograph our FBC events/gatherings.
4. Seek out other local Feminist groups/causes.
5. Bake goodies all the time.

Wish me luck!

Hey PETA, what about Women's Rights?

I picked up an issue of Metro yesterday as I was taking the c-train downtown. Folded, torn at the edges, the Wednesday edition featured an image of PETA bunnies posing for a photograph, covering their breasts with the slogan, “Only Animals Should Wear Fur.” As the front-page central image, the Metro newspaper grabbed attention, as did PETA, an international animal rights group who’s been around since 1980.

Although I agree with and understand the ethics behind animal rights, I do not agree with PETA’s promotional strategy at all. To get across their ethical message of animal abuse, PETA disregards all ethics behind women rights. Sure, sex sells, but it’s selling the wrong message here. Dressing down young women in bunny ears and lingerie speaks more about the sexualization of female bodies than it does animal rights. Women should not have to degrade themselves in promotion of animal rights.



This isn’t the first time I’ve come across PETA sexualizing women for their cause. Search “PETA” on the BITCH website and you’ll find numerous posts about the skewed ethics of this internationally acclaimed animal rights group. Here's another example similar to what went on in Calgary. One of the most shocking animal rights advertisement ploys by animal rights group, Wakker Dier, was the 2009 summer video campaign that featured an infamous Dutch stripper, Ancilla Tilia getting clubbed and gutted on stage. Watch it here.

It’s really disappointing to find that an internationally embraced animal rights organization such as PETA can completely ignore the rights of women and get away with it. As I see it, those PETA bunnies have accomplished nothing for animal rights, and nothing for the rights of women.

I <3 Yoko Ono

Found this very intresting article about Yoko Ono on the bitch website. Its fantastic, read it now.

FBC Button Design!

To coincide with the upcoming Zine deadline, the FBC also asks for your participation in button designing! In promotion of the club we’re going to sell buttons along with our zines. We ask that your design fit the template available through the Uppercase website, (although I’ve recently discovered that the link for the template has been broken and will contact them shortly about it.)

Your design should reflect the FBC, feminist thought, or may depict your own feminist artwork. In the meantime, start thinking about your button design and I’ll let you know when access to the link is working again. Ultimately, designs will be due on January 10th along with the zine!

Love Kelly

XX issue 2: Girlhood, Call for Submissions!

That's right, we are already starting to think about our second issue of the Feminist Book Clubs official zine, XX. 'Girlhood' is the theme, and the wonderful and amazing Kelly Smith has agreed to make the artwork for the cover!! The drill is the same as last time, anything goes! we want features in any form you want to make them, as long as they relate to the theme of girlhood through a feminist perspective. Minimum half a page, maximum 1 to 1 1/2 to 2 pages. We want to keep the giant best of list going as a feature so pretty please send us your girlhood list of best of's. The deadline for submissions is January 10, 2010. Send your submissions and inquires to xx.zine@gmail.com. Contributors get a free copy of the zine.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

It's today, and although I don't have the time tonight to write a post of an real substance, I felt it was important to mention this on the day it is happening. So check out this link to see out the blog entry that Miriam posted to Feministing.com . And if I can find some time, I promise a real blog post written by me, about International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

XX issue 1

The first issue of the feminist book clubs zine XX, is complete. In the call for submission for the first issue, we asked for pieces that could tie into the theme of a ‘feminist starter kit’, which we saw a pretty excellent response to. The zine has 18 pages of informative articles and is a great resource about contemporary notions of what feminism can mean and do. Issue 1 of XX Will be available at the Alberta College of Art and Designs Winter Show and Sale for $3.00. XX will also be available for purchase at all the FBC’s fundraising events. Please help support the feminist book club, and our commitment to working towards social change through education buy picking up a copy.

Call for Submissions

I am on the development committee for The New Gallery. We are having a ornament sale to raise money. I thought I would post the call for submissions here.

Call for Submissions - Holiday Tree Show

Deadline: Wednesday, December 2nd 2009

TNG invites artists to create and donate an ornament for our

second annual Holiday Tree Show. Ornaments can be any

size, shape, medium, message etc. Each ornament will be

shown anonymously on TNG's own evergreen and sold for

$25 to help support the gallery into the new year. Upon

purchasing an ornament, the artist will be revealed! All

submissions are welcome, and charitable tax receipts will be

issued.

Submissions can be dropped off at the gallery in the main

level of Eau Claire Market, or mailed to:

P.O. Box 22451, Bankers Hall RPO Calgary, AB T2P 5G7

We look forward to your entries. Thanks for supporting TNG!

Warm Regards,

The Staff and Board at The New Gallery

XX Update

The first draft of the zine it formatted and editing has begun!! HECK YES! We are a bit behind (Most of the submissions I got where a little on the late side) but it be in print by Monday morning. That means that the complementary issues will be sent out Monday as well (all the Alumni member and contributors get a complementary copy) If you are one of these people and I already have your address (or you are still in Calgary and I know where to find you, you will be seeing them very soon, if you aren't in Calgary anymore and you contributed or are just an Alumni, email me your mailing address stat dana.buzzee@acad.ca.

In the meantime I thought I might share a very cool site I fount. IT is a zine library that offers free PDF's of many different zine (I already downloaded so vegan cooking zines). So check it out.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Last night I had the rare opportunity of catching CJSW feminist radio show, Yeah What she Said on the actual radio (I usually can't listen live and rely on the podcast). The show this week was about Transgender Day of Remembrance, basically a day to remember all the transgender people who have been killed because of transphobia. Queers on Campus, i a club at the University of Calgary are holding some Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremonies. On the show they said that they would be hosting a tea party, as a comment of on the 'silent T' at the end of GBLTQ (Gay, bisexual, Lesbian Transgendered and Queer). There is also going to be a candle light vigil and a march around campus. I checked out their blog for more info, however it hasn't been updated in a while. The show notes from their appearance on Yeah What She Said are here if you want to check them out.

Just thought I would pass that along.

Love,

D

Feminist Field Trip

This Saturday come join the Feminist Book Club on a unique field trip to the Art Gallery of Calgary and the Glenbow Museum to view and discuss the exhibitions If Women Ruled the World, and War Brides: One-Way Passage. Through this opportunity we hope to provide an educational basis for the understanding of feminism and feminist art. We encourage you to take part in our tour through our open group critical discussions or on your own leisure. Please feel free to bring your friends/family!

We’ll meet at 11:00 a.m. in the front of the Art Gallery of Calgary, where we will spend approximately an hour of time looking and discussing the works of Judy Chicago. Admission for the Art Gallery of Calgary is $2.50 for students, and the Glenbow Museum is free for ACAD students. We’ll meet again at 12:15 at the Glenbow Museum entrance for the War Brides exhibit.

We hope to see you there!

Kelly Jack

Change of Plans

So we've decided to push the Female Chauvinist Pigs reading discussion 'til next week. We're going to meet next Thursday the 19th at 5:30 p.m. in the Arthole of ACAD. This way, everyone has more time to read the three chapters, and we can meet and have a drink!

We'll be the ones on the comfy seats with the Feminist Book Club sign.
Don't be shy!

Love,

Kelly Jack

Tonight's Discussion

Important Reminder!

Get your Feminist fill tonight with the FBC’s discussion of the first three chapters of Ariel Levy’s book “Female Chauvinist Pigs.” Didn’t have time to read the book? Don’t worry, we want you there anyways!

So be there! 6:00 pm in Annex C of ACAD.

Be There of Be Square

Tomorrow at noon Betty Fucking Crocker will be in the main mall serving up some>sweet treats to raise funds for the FBC. Go forth and consume all the>delectable confections this domestic icon has prepared.

-D

The FBC Makes a Zine Call for Submissions

Hello Everyone,

As most of you already know the FBC is creating a Zine to be sold at the Show and Sale this semester. The topic for this issue is loosely based around the idea for a feminist starter kit, with an anything goes as long as it pertains to feminism type attitude.

There are two ways you can submit to be involved:

· I am looking for articles half a page to a page in lengths; they can be about anything and written in any style. Images are encouraged.

· Also, if you have any ‘best of’s’ for feminist music, movies, literature, art or whatever I would love to take that list off your hands to include in a feature for the zine.

If you are able to submit for either an article or some best of’s send me an email to dana.buzzee@acad.ca with the submission by Sunday November 15!

Female Chauvinist Pigs

Hello everyone!

The Feminist Book Club wants you to take part in our two-part reading discussion
of Ariel Levy’s book, "Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch
Culture"

The book explores common contemporary perceptions of an “empowered woman”
embracing raunch culture. If male chauvinist pigs of years past thought of
women as pieces of meat, female chauvinist pigs of today are doing them one
better, making sex objects of other women – and themselves. "Female Chauvinist
Pigs" makes the case that the rise of raunch does not represent how far women
have come; it only proves how far they have left to go.

The first reading discussion will take place on Thursday, November 12th at
6:00 pm in Annex C of ACAD (near the library). The book is available through the
Calgary Public Library and at various Chapters locations for $16.00. Please try
and have the first three chapters read for the meeting!

Part two of the reading discussion will be held on Wednesday, December 9th at
12:30, again in Annex C of ACAD.

Everyone is welcome to attend! (Even if you're behind in your readings)
So I hope you’ll come join us!

Kelly Jack

Some More Feminist Podcasts

What can I say; I am a bit of a nerd. And I really like to listen to podcasts when I make art. So I thought I might share a few more of the gems I have recently found:

The first one is on CFUV (U of Victoria’s radio station). It’s called Women on Air, the website is http://cfuv.uvic.ca/women/index.html and if you search women on air in iTunes you will find the feed.

The second one is Fully Engaged Feminist and can also be found by a quick iTunes search.

The Third one is Bitch radio. I know I wrote a post about bitch before, but I didn’t mention the podcasts, which are also really good. You can find the feed by searching “Bitch Media” in iTunes.

Enjoy!

Tonight Only...

The Art Gallery of Calgary presents "Proto-Feminist and Feminist Art in Calgary 1970-Present," a lecture presented by Mary-Beth Laviolette. A veteran arts journalist, writer and curator, Mary-Beth Laviolette is the author/co-author of two books about contemporary Alberta art and has a special interest in the creative energies of art made by women.

Tickets are $10.00 each!

October

Hi Everyone,

Here is the calender for this month...

October 14: Steering committee meeting, 12:15 in Annex C

October 28: general programming (which will probably be about language, but I will update and send out reading in the next few days when I know for sure).

Love,

Dana

The Yellow Wallpaper

Hello everyone!

The Feminist Book Club is having our first general meeting this Wednesday,
September 30th at 12:15 p.m. in Annex C of ACAD. We will be discussing the
short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Everyone is
welcome to attend!

"The Yellow Wallpaper" first published in 1892, describes a woman's gradual
descent into insanity as she is prescribed to rest after the birth of her child
and depression. Isolated in an abandoned nursery with barred windows, the
protagonist becomes curiously attached to the fleeting patterns in the yellow
wallpaper. Convinced that the movement of the wallpaper is caused by a woman
trapped within, the protagonist realizes herself within the pattern.

Bitch

I am sure that a lot of the people who would be reading this blog know about Bitch magazine, but before I joined the FBC last year I had never herd of it. So I thought it might be a good idea to make a blog post about it to help spread the word.

Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture is a non-profit, independent feminist publication. The articles in Bitch are very reader friendly and the topics are easy to relate to. Bitch provides a good framework for understanding third wave feminism and I would highly recommend it to any new FBCers.

The fall issue (consumed) is out now, you can find it at most bookstores and thanks to Bree being awesome you can also buy it at Sunnyside Market in Kensington. Check out their website to learn more.

excellent feminist blog link

hey y'all (I'm in the South, I'm allowed - and besides, it's gender neutral)

I found this great blog today via feministe (in itself a great blog). "Equal Writes is a writing project designed to maintain a dialogue about feminism and gender issues on and off campus...We believe that men can be excellent feminists too. And we believe that "feminism" is not a dirty word." Hear, hear.

Their campus is Princeton University, so they aren't hacks. 

melinda

If Women Ruled The World - Judy Chicago

Internationally-acclaimed feminist artist Judy Chicago will be exhibiting at The Art Gallery of Calgary starting September 25th 2009 - January 23 2010. She will also be giving an Artist Talk at the Conoco Phillips Theatre in the Glenbow Museum. The event is scheduled for September 29th at 7:00 p.m. with limited seating available. Reserve your place now!

Ticket Price:

$25/person or $15/student or AGC/Glenbow Staff or Member

Please contact JB Sine at j-bsine@artgallerycalgary.org to purchase tickets, or see The Art Gallery of Calgary for more information on the exhibition.

Take Back The Night 2009

Take Back the Night is an internationally held march and rally intended as a protest and direct action against rape and other forms of violence against women. In Calgary, women have been marching to Take Back The Night since 1982.Take Back the Night is a place free from sexual assault and abuse. We invite you to become part of the solution, part of the end to sexual violence. Here is a place to take a stand, a place to break the silence.

This year, we are unable to afford police assistance for a march, so will be meeting in Tomkins Park on 17th Avenue for a peaceful candle-light Vigil. The event will be held between 8:00-11:00 p.m. on Tuesday September 22nd.

For more information check out the Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=29709016687

Yeah, What She Said

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to plug Yeah, What She Said for any new FBCer’s who might not be in the know. It’s a ‘”weekly women’s/feminist radio Program” on CJSW (90.9 fm). It’s on Mondays at 8:30 and it’s a pretty awesome resource. They also have a blog you should check out, and if you miss an episode, or want to hear some back episodes they keep some links to them posted on the blog.

Love,

Dana

Our Manifesto

The Feminist Book Club is a democratic artist collective dedicated to education, respect, and community. As a cooperative society we raise awareness on feminist issues by facilitating events that foster discussion within the Alberta College of Art and Design, and the Calgary cultural sphere. The FBC is seeking to redefine and expand the understanding of Feminism through cultural surveys and grassroots initiatives. We welcome everyone regardless of ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The FBC recognizes that there are multiple interpretations of feminism and we are interested in raising awareness by investigating feminism through critical media and visual culture. 

The FBC denounces the dismissal of the feminist movement as redundant. Showing solidarity within the FBC and the community at large we stand together in the margins to fight against social oppression.