EqualityQuilt

Feminist Film Fest Sneak Peak #4

On Tuesday, August 26 the Minnesota Women's Consortium will show Persepolis (PG13 - 95 min.) as part of our annual Feminist Film Fest.

Persepolis is the story of a young girl coming-of-age in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It is through the eyes of outspoken nine-year-old Marjane that we see hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands. Clever and fearless she outsmarts the "social guardians" and discovers punk, ABBA, and Iron Maiden. As she gets older Marjane's boldness causes her parents to worry over her continued safety. At age fourteen, they make the difficult decision to send her to school in Austria. Vulnerable and alone in a strange land she endures the typical ordeals of a teenager. In addition, Marjane has to combat being equated with the religious fundamentalism and extremism she fled her country to escape. Over time she gains acceptance and experiences love but after high school she finds herself alone and horribly homesick. Though it means putting on the veil and living in what she sees as a tyrannical society, Marjane decides to return to Iran to be close to her family. After a difficult period of adjustment, she enters art school and marries while continuing to speak out against the hypocrisy she witnesses. At age 24, she realizes that while she is deeply Iranian she cannot live in Iran. She then makes the heartbreaking decision to leave her homeland for France optimistic about her future shaped by her past.

Join us at 11:30 AM at the Minnesota Women's Building, 550 Rice Street, Saint Paul for popcorn, movies and fun! A brief discussion will follow all movies. Free and open to the public. RSVP to Erin.

View the full line-up of the Feminist Film Fest and visit the blog every Friday for a sneak preview of each movie.

 

Film Fest Sneak Peak

On Thursday, August 28 the Minnesota Women's Consortium will show the movie Whalerider (PG13 - 101 min.) as part of our annual Feminist Film Fest. Whalerider is the story of Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, who believes she is destined to be the new chief. However, her grandfather is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves her grandfather, but she must fight him and years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.

Join us at 11:30 AM at the Minnesota Women's Building, 550 Rice Street, Saint Paul for popcorn, movies and fun! A brief discussion will follow all movies. Free and open to the public. RSVP to Erin.

View the full line-up of the Feminist Film Fest and visit the blog every Friday for a sneak preview of each movie.

Feminist Film Fest Movie Line Up

The Minnesota Women's Consortium is proud to announce the movie line up for our 2008 Feminist Film Fest in honor of Women's Equality Day. The line up is as follows:

Monday, August 25- Like Water for Chocolate (R - 105 min.)
Tuesday, August 26- Persepolis (PG - 95 min.)
Wednesday, August 27- House of the Flying Daggers (PG13 - 101 min.)
Thursday, August 28- Whalerider (PG13 - 101 min.)
Friday, August 29- But I'm a Cheerleader (R - 85 min.)

Join us at 11:30 AM at the Minnesota Women's Building, 550 Rice Street, Saint Paul for popcorn, movies and fun! A brief discussion will follow all movies. Free and open to the public. RSVP to Erin.

Visit the blog every Friday for a sneak preview of each movie, beginning with But I'm a Cheerleader.

A New WARM Exhibit

                                                       It's time for another new exhibit by the Women's Art Registry of Minnesota!  The exhibit, open from July 28th to September 20th, 2008, is hosted in the Minnesota Women's Building at 550 Rice Street in St. Paul from 9am-4pm, Monday through Friday. Saturday, September 6th from 3-6pm, there will be an opening reception which is free and open to the public. This month's artists, Faye Hoch and Pat Dunn-Walker, both feature compositions that expand upon the painting tradition. As with all our exhibits, the art is for sale; please consider becoming a patron of these amazing women!

Faye Hoch, a fiber artist from Minneapolis, has created black and white series of stitched paintings that present her with the "opportunity to draw and paint in an unconventional way". This piece is "Black & White #3."  To learn more about Hoch's work, please call 612-521-3280 or email Faye.

Pat Dunn-Walker, an artist from Rochester, uses a collage technique that incorporates found materials in her Female Hero paintings. Her goal in using this technique is to make "each picture an organic whole."  The piece shown here is entitled "Mead." Dunn-Walker can be reached at 507-282-4431 or email Pat.

To view more images from this exhibit or previous exhibits hosted in the Minnesota Women's Building, click here or surf to the Women's Art Registry of Minnesota photo album on the right side of the blog. We welcome you to explore the exhibit, or to attend the reception in September and meet the artists as well as others involved in the Minnesota art community.

Progress for Women of Color?

Next in the wonderful series from the Women's Center at St. Cloud State University, which reports on each of the 26 planks from the Houston Plan created at the National Women's Meeting in 1977. The speakers are Debra Leigh, a professor in the theater and film department at SCSU; Sharon Fineday, interim student services coordinator at the SCSU American Indian Center and an enrolled member of the Assiniboine & Sioux Tribe of Fort Peck, Montana; and Dr. Margaret Villaneuva, a professor in the department of community studies.  Can you answer Leigh's question, "Who was the African-American woman seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidency in 1988?"  The first person submitting the correct answer by pressing "comment" section below will win a free one-year subscription to our socko Capitol Bulletin newsletter.

Title IX and Women in Sports

From the Women's Center at St. Cloud State University:  "Two thousand and seven marked the 35th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation passed in 1972 prohibiting sex discrimination in all areas of education. Title IX has, perhaps, been most visible in the area of sports, consequently a large body of research has documented the physical, social and psychological dimensions of sport in the lives of girls and women. This presentation will address the impact, the numbers, the reactions, and the benefits of Title IX, specifically as it relates to women in sports at the collegiate level."

'Social change is slow; it requires persistence over time, one person, one action at a time. We are still working to realize the promise of Title IX.'  - Donna Lopiano, former CEO of the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Click on the bar below to hear this presentation from the "Women on Wednesday" series from the Women's Center at St. Cloud State University - originally presented on February 20.   The presenters are Dr. Susan Becker, associate director of athletics and senior women's administrator at St. Cloud State, and Dr. Lori Ulferts, head women's basketball coach at St. Cloud State. 

Women Internationally

Here's the February 6 presentation from the series, "Still Fighting for Our Rights, 30 Years Later," hosted by the Women's Center at St. Cloud State University.  The 48-minute discussion below is entitled "International Affairs:  Perspectives on the Role of Women."  It features Dr. Mumbi Mwangi, assistant professor of women's studies with expertise in education, originally from Kenya;  and Dr. Swithina Mboko, visiting professor of women's studies from the University of Zimbabwe, with expertise in international business management. 

For background on the Beijing Platform and its expectations for the role of women in international affairs, go to the Minnesota Women's Action Plan page on this subject.   As International Women's Day approaches, you may also want to connect with the many Consortium groups working internationally:  Girls International Forum, Give Us Wings (Kenya & Uganda), Hadassah, Mila Vocal Ensemble, Zonta International, Organization for Burmese Refugees Abroad, and Women's Human Rights Program at Advocates for Human Rights.   Many additional groups work on international issues such as ending war, or provide assistance to immigrant and refugee women. 

For info on the International Women's Day conference on March 15 in Minneapolis, hosted by the Advocates for Human Rights, click here.

Women Presidents 2008

Presidents on Presidents' Day 2008 was so impressive!   20 presidents introduced their organizations to 6 freshman legislators and wowed us all.  They supported "universal, affordable, portable, high-quality health care recognizing the concerns of women & their families and communities of color."  Click here for their statement.

At press conference, L-R:  Susan K., Minneapolis Zonta; Cyndi Cook, MN Coalition for Battered Women; Pat Sandin, Midwest Health Center for Women; Diane Hendrickson, Nucleus Clinic; Kathy Magnuson, MN Women's Press; Peg Lonnquist, U of MN Office for University Women; Jae Asancheyev, Older Women's League; (obscured) Sarah Stoesz, Planned Parenthood; Jen Peterson, Consortium Chair and ACES president;  Dr. Mai Moua, Professional Hmong Women's Association and Leadership Paradigms, Inc.; Ellie Skelton, Wayside House; Ann Hoxie, School Nurse Organization of MN; Carol Sheggeby, American Association of University Women-St. Paul; Karen Kirkwood, AAUW-MN; Mary Gates, United Methodist Women/Emma Norton Residence.  Not pictured:  Sarit Sharma, Laura Jeffrey Academy; Donna Dunn, MN Coalition Against Sexual Assault;  Raj Chaudhary, SEWA/Asian Indian Family Wellness;  Dr. Nancy Raymond,  Deborah Powell Center for Women's Health;  Jill Hanson Roe, MN Assn. of Family & Consumer Sciences.    The short video below features group introductions by Wayside House, School Nurse Organization, Emma Norton residence, and AAUW.  For links to additional comments, click on the continuation page link.

Women's Ways of Leadership

Dr. Mai Moua made this presentation as part of the series, "Still Fighting for Our Rights 30 Years Later," at St Cloud State University Women's Center recently.  I know Mai draws from her doctoral thesis, in which she asked women who define themselves as bicultural what leadership means to them.  She is super smart and connected with at least three of our member organizations - her consulting firm Leadership Paradigms,whose mission is to challenge and transform one's ways of knowing and being;   Hnub Tshiab ("A New Day") which seeks lasting cultural, institutional, and social change for Hmong women; and Professional Hmong Women Association  (nurturing the personal and professional growth of Hmong women).  Ultra-connected women, that's us!   

Lesbian Rights - from St. Cloud

Next in this wonderful series from our friends at the St. Cloud State University Women's Center.  The speakers are Beth Berila, Polly Kellogg, and Angie Witte.  To view the whole list and hear other podcasts from the series, click here.   And please consider connecting with OutFront Minnesota, PFLAG (Parents, Families, Friends of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgendered persons), NOW (National Organization for Women-Minnesota), or Calliope Women's Chorus (all Consortium member groups working on lesbian rights).  - Bonnie