Gallery Show: Original screen prints of the Chicago Women’s Graphics Collective posters

August 10 reception from 6pm - 10pm

Uri-Eichen Gallery, 2101 S. Halsted, Chicago 60608
Show ends August 31.
After the reception please request to view the posters by appointment
Gallery website: www.uri-eichen.com
Gallery email: info@uri-eichen.com

 Everyone is invited to the reception.
It’s a great opportunity to connect, so please tell your friends.

 About the posters: From 1969 to 1983 the Chicago Women’s Graphics Collective produced feminist posters to decorate the walls of the women’s liberation movement. The posters were distributed world-wide by the thousands.

 See the original silkscreen prints of these posters and meet Estelle Carol, one the founders of the Chicago Women’s Graphics Collective. Estelle also coordinates the CWLU Herstory Project.

Buy poster reproductions at our online store

The CWLU Herstory Project Online Store has been redesigned. You may order poster reproductions in several sizes, fridge magnet versions of the posters, as well as “Sisterhood is Blooming” T-shirts. We accept payment by check, money order or credit card.

Please visit the store.

“Sisterhood is Blooming” t-shirts:

• Scoop neck t-shirts ($20) are in sizes small and medium
• Regular style t-shirts ($20) are in medium, large and extra large

Poster reproductions are archival quality art prints:

• Large poster (13” x 19”) $25
• Small poster (9.5” x 13”) $15
• Desktop poster with plastic frames (4” x 6”) $15

Refrigerator magnets of our posters:

• Cloth magnets (3” x 4”) on cloth are on sale for $1 each with free shipping.
• Metal magnets (2” x 3”) are still available in a few designs. $4 each with free shipping.

Feminism...What's Next?

 We'd like your feedback on an article in the August 2012 issue of In These Times magazine called "Feminism...What's Next?"

"My generation needs to remind younger women that while challenging patriarchy is hard and often dispiriting work, speaking truth to power is, in fact, fun." As the right-wing anti-feminist backlash escalates, and the battle over women’s votes in the upcoming election intensifies, it’s time to explore the state of feminism: where it is, where it’s going and what it means. And because intergenerational stereotypes (and differences) have led to misunderstandings between second- and third-wave feminists, In These Times organized a dialogue—too rare these days—between two feminists three decades apart in age...

Read the full article.

Dr. Gabor Maté on the Stress-Disease Connection, Addiction, Attention Deficit Disorder and the Destruction of American Childhood

Dr. Maté' s work focuses on the centrality of early childhood experiences to the development of the brain, and how those experiences can impact everything from behavioral patterns to physical and mental illness.

While the relationship between emotional stress and disease, and mental and physical health more broadly, is often considered controversial within medical orthodoxy, Dr. Maté argues that too many doctors seem to have forgotten what was once a commonplace assumption, that emotions are deeply implicated in both the development of illness, addictions and disorders, and in their healing. Read more or view the video interview at Democracy Now

More info about The Chicago Maternity Center Story

Now that The Chicago Maternity Center has been released as a DVD, more people will get to see this important historical documentary. The DVD is available from Kartemquin Films . You may view the newly edited trailer HERE.

If you have seen this classic documentary about home birthing,  you are aware that this 1975 Kartemquin film borrowed some footage from "The Fight for Life," a 1930's film about the Maternity Center. "The Fight for Life" film is now available for free viewing on the Internet  HERE. According to Catherine Reef's biography of John Steinbeck, the renowned Nobel Prize winning author had an uncredited role in the development of "The Fight for Life."

You can also read the book that it was based on, The Fight for Life, by science writer Paul DeKruif. It is available used from various Internet book sellers and possibly in your local library.

Former Jane member Judith Arcana has a new poem

Judith Arcana has published a lovely poem about light on the water. Take a few minutes and enter her world of images and imagination. You may read her poem HERE.

Born and raised in the Great Lakes region, living now in the Pacific Northwest, Judith Arcana is a writer of poems, stories, essays and books, and a longtime scholar, teacher and activist. She was one of 7 activists who were arrested in 1972 for performing abortions as part of the Abortion Counseling Service for Women's Liberation aka Jane.

The inspiration for Rosie the Riveter dies at 86

Geraldine Hoff Doyle, the inspiration for "Rosie the Riveter," died on Sunday at the age of 86 due to complications from arthritis.

Rosie's story began in the 1940s, when the 17-year-old Doyle was working at a metal factory in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A visiting United Press International photographer snapped a pic of her on the job. Read more at the Huffington Post.

Holly Kent is researching feminist bloggers: she needs your help

I'm currently working on a project on feminist pop culture blogging in the United States, and am very interested in both recommendations for scholarship on the subject, and in interviewing bloggers themselves about their work.  (In my project, my definition of "feminist pop culture blogger" is quite open and expansive, with "pop culture" encompassing film, TV, celebrity culture, music, etc., and "feminist" encompassing bloggers who offer critiques of representations of gender in United
States, whether or not they directly claim the label.) 

For this project, I've developed a questionnaire, asking bloggers about what motivated them to create their blogs, how gender has shaped their experiences as bloggers, and what role they feel that their creative work and cultural criticism plays within mainstream American culture.

Any suggestions or thoughts are very much welcome—and if you’re a blogger who might be interested in learning more from me, or in filling out the questionnaire, please feel free to contact me directly at kent@tcnj.edu.

Thank you!

--
Holly M. Kent, Ph.D.
Adjunct Instructor, Women's and Gender Studies Department, The College of
New Jersey
Chief co-editor, /thirdspace: a journal of feminist theory and culture/
kent@tcnj.edu
www.thirdspace.ca

Re-release of Film:The Chicago Maternity Center Story

This poster was made by the Chicago Women's Graphics Collective and is available at the Herstory Store!

Later this month, Kartemquin Films will be presenting a special screening of The Chicago Maternity Center Story.  The screening will take place on January 29th at 1.30pm at the Siskel Film Center, Chicago, IL.

The Chicago Maternity Center provided safe home deliveries to Chicago mothers for over 75 years.  But, in 1974 the center was forced to close after a decrease in funding from Northwestern University.  The film tells the story of the center and their fight to stay open in the face of the corporate take-over in medicine.  CWLU was an important partner in the coalition fighting to keep the center open.  Former CWLU members are in the film and were on the crew that made the film.

Filmmakers Gordon Quinn, Jenny Rohrer, Sue Davenport, Jerry Blumenthal and Sharon Karp will be present for an audience discussion following the screening, and the event will mark the start of Kartemquin's 45th anniversary celebrations!

The Chicago Maternity Center Story will be shown in a pristine new print taken from a never-before-screened original fine grain master from the Kartemquin archives. Both films will screen in 16mm.

The screening is part of the Film Center's 'Stranger Than Fiction' documentary series. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $7 students, $5 for Film Center members. Get tickets and more information.

The DVD will be available from www.kartemquin.com at the end of this month.

Rights not Righteousness

Former CWLU member Meredith Tax asks some important questions over at her blog Taxonomy. How often do people today discuss fundamental political questions? Why are leftwing intellectuals so focused on partisan politics instead of what the 21st Century should stand for? Why do we no longer speak in a voice of prophesy but instead offer mere policy prescriptions? Read more at Meredith's blog.

CAF Celebrates 25 years, Jane Celebrates 40

The anniversary celebration will take place Thursday, September 23 downtown Chicago. It will not only celebrate the work CAF has done over the past 25 years, but also the work of “Jane”. Activists, friends and family members of those involved with the “Jane Collective” came together 25 years ago to start the Chicago Abortion Fund. They will be honoring Heather Booth and the Abortion Seven at this event.

Judith Arcana, a former "Jane" member, will be flying in from Portland to do a presentation about "Jane" at the anniversary celebration. Throughout the years Judith has continued to speak out for social change. She has published numerous stories, poems and books with the same feminist themes she was passionate about as a member of Jane in the early 70s.

So come out to support Judith and the Chicago Abortion Fund on September 23rd! Tickets can be purchased on CAF's Website.

New Magnets Released in Time for CAF Celebration

Herstory has been preparing for the anniversary celebration as well. We are releasing a new line of poster magnets just in time for CAF's celebration. The magnets have a larger and updated design making them mini-posters for your fridge or filing cabinet, and they're less expensive!

Three new magnets are being released as a part of this series. The Jane and Herstory magnets are new designs made specially for the CAF celebration. The wave poster has also been made into a magnet for the first time, upon request by many of our visitors.

We're currently updating the Herstory Store, so the new magnets will be available at the CAF Anniversary Celebration and through our site later this month. But if you need one now, email news[at]cwluherstory.org

First Time Release of Isis Poster

We're releasing the Isis poster for the first time on our Herstory Store. BUT WE NEED YOUR FEEDBACK- the original silkscreen was 40" wide. Should we release the reprint at the convenient size of 19" or the larger size of 32"? Please email news[at]cwluherstory.org

Second Annual Grace Paley Celebration in Portland Oregon

Celebrate the life and work of one of the great American writers and activists of the 20th century. Grace Paley’s decades of streetlevel action are inextricable from her writing – and equally valuable as a model. The event will be held at Looking Glass Bookstore Friday, December 5th, 7pm. The store is located at 7983 SE 13th Ave in Portland OR. For more event info, contact Looking Glass Books: 503/227.4760 +lookingglassbook@qwestoffice.net

 Grace's good friend Ursula LeGuin will read a bit. Judith Arcana, author of Grace Paley's Life Stories, A Literary Biography, will talk a bit. Nancy LaPaglia will be our MC, introducing Portland writers Rodger Larson* and Sharon Wood Wortman*, who will read from Grace's work and their own. 

The audience will read from Grace's work too - and everybody will probably laugh and think a lot. Then they'll eat and drink and buy books for their own pleasure, for gifts, and to sustain one of Portland's much-loved independent bookstores (all of which are things Grace would do if she were here).

*Rodger Larson’s What I Know Now received the Andres Berger Award from Pacific Northwest Writers and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. His second novel, Raindog, is currently with an agent, looking for placement with a publisher. Rodger has been Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing at Linfield College, currently teaches Creative Writing at PCC’s Southeast Center, and offers an ongoing writing workshop in his home.

*Sharon Wood Wortman has been a writer and often-enrolled student since 1984, giving up full-time seniority at Union Pacific Railroad to support her kids with words. The gamble, despite her Depression-born grandmother’s protests, worked: she’s got ten grandchildren who do not miss many meals. She’s best known for The Portland Bridge Book; visit www.bridgestories.com for a virtual tour of the Morrison Bridge.

For more Grace info: Judith Arcana's website

Protect the Future of Pro-Choice America

NARAL Pro-Choice America has launched a new website to build on the enthusiasm and energy among younger voters. It’s about your access to affordable birth control and your right to medically accurate sex education. It’s about your ability to make private personal decisions with your doctor and your family. And it’s about protecting these rights for yourself and your community. Make reproductive rights a critical matter in your life, in your home, and in your community.  Visit  Free.Will.Power 

Marian Wright Edelman at Chicago's Hull House

December 10th marks the anniversary of the day Chicago's extraordinary feminist reformer and social worker, Jane Addams, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Stop by and pick up a copy of Addam's memoir, 50 Years at Hull House, to celebrate. Marian Wright Edelman will be at Hull House that day to read from her new book. Details after the jump.

For a very special way to celebrate the day, have tea with Marian Wright Edelman at Hull House at 4:00 pm. She'll be talking about and signing copies of her new book,: The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small: Charting a Course for the Next Generation.

Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
The University of Illinois at Chicago
800 S. Halsted (M/C 051)
Chicago, IL 60607-7017
Residents' Dining Hall

Reservations not required, but suggested: 312.413.5353
www.hullhousemuseum.org

Choices in Childbirth Statement Encourages Options and Evidence in Maternity Care

Our Bodies Ourselves has posted “Choices in Childbirth: A Statement by Physicians, Midwives and Women’s Health Advocates who Support Safe Choices in Childbirth,” which articulates concerns about preserving safe choices in childbirth and respect for the diversity of women’s needs. If you would like to sign this statement and insure that women have choices in how theygive birth, there is more information after the jump.

Currently signed by more than 35 midwives, physicians, educators, and other women’s health advocates, the statement urges the following actions:

1. That communities preserve the option of vaginal births after cesarean (so-called “VBACs”).

2. That options for hospital-based midwifery care (utilizing Certified Nurse Midwives and Certified Midwives) be made available in all communities across the country.

3. That Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) be licensed and regulated in order to make the option of homebirth as safe as possible.

The statement also calls for evidence-based practices in maternity care, and for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association “to strike those resolutions that deny childbearing women the autonomy and rights that medical professionals, educators, and women’s health advocates have historically endorsed.”

Read the complete statement and add your signature HERE .

Doin’ It: Sex, Disability and Videotape

Sex and disability are two subjects many people are uncomfortable talking about honestly. The Empowered Fe Fes from Chicago's Access Living , a young women's action group, is out to change that. Together with the Chicago Foundation for Women and Beyondmedia , they produced an award-winning documentary called “Doin’ It: Sex, Disability and Videotape.” The founder of the Empowered Fe Fes, Susan Nussbaum (shown in photo foreground), is a former member of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union.

In the video, the Fe Fes educate themselves about sex from many angles by talking with activists and scholars. The viewer tags along on a date between a woman with a disability and her able-bodied boyfriend, exploring relationship issues of dating with a disability over a candle-lit dinner.

You can see a trailer of "Doin' It"  here or purchase a copy here .

Alice Walker on the Election of Barack Obama

Alice Walker is one of our nation's finest writers. The day after the historic election she wrote a public letter to Barack Obama published in The Root . We have reproduced the first sentences below:

Nov. 5, 2008
Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. Read more at The Root.

More on the Proposition 8 Disaster

As most of you probably know, Proposition 8 passed in California. This referendum vote outlaws same-sex marriages and endangers the thousands of California same-sex marriages that had been made legal by a 2008 court decision. There have already been protests against the results and 3 lawsuits have been filed to overturn the decision.

Keith Olbermann had a powerful Countdown Commentary about Proposition 8on November 10.  See it on YouTube here . 

Because voters of color did not overwhelmingly reject Proposition 8, some commentators have placed the heaviest blame on them for its passage. This is despite the fact that it was the largely white Mormon church and its Christian Right allies who provided most of the political muscle and money in the campaign.

The Angry Black Woman has a powerful analysis of this whole controversy. You owe it to yourself to read what she has to say here.