Presentation by Heather Bishop at the Banquet

National Council of Women Conference Speech

Together We’re Stronger

 

Jaime Black – Red Dress Project – thank you for your fabulous work.

Such a fine example of how artists are always at the forefront of the revolution.

The Aboriginal community has been one of my biggest teachers in life.   

In particular – it gave me my first grasp of racism and what that really looks like. 

But equally and most delightfully, I learned so much about spirituality and humour.

What a privilege. 

What a privilege to learn from other cultures – for diversity must be the air that we breathe in order to move this country forward.

Recently a friend of mine and I were discussing how we have fought for diversity and immigration for decades – and what the fallout of that can be. 

The fallout being an influx of repressive cultural values that are decades behind the progress we have fought so hard to win.  I am speaking here of misogyny and let’s not mistake cultural values for what is simply misogyny. 

It got me to thinking about what it must have been like when the first wave of immigrants came to this country.

Here were Aboriginal people living in harmony with Mother Earth and along comes boatloads of strangers who are in many ways culturally and spiritually less advanced.

The Aboriginal culture at that time valued women as equals.  Women held positions of power.  

This was long before white women were given the vote in the early 1900s – never mind Aboriginal women who didn’t get the vote until 60 years later to our shame.

The Aboriginal culture at that time valued the gay or, as Aborignal people call it -  two spirited people in their communities.  

Two spirited because they believed that a gay person walks in balance with their male and female side and thus are better equipped, in some instances, to do certain jobs in the community – such as having a berdache place the medicine bundle for ceremony because that person better represents the balance of the male and female. 

The Aboriginal culture revered Mother Earth and understood absolutely that all bounty and life comes from her and when we abuse her we abuse ourselves and steal from our children and grandchildren.   We are still not getting that one right here in Canada – and most industrialized nations for that matter.

So when we bemoan less advanced cultural practices coming to our shores, imagine how Aboriginal people must have felt.

But yes - Artists are often at the forefront of the revolution

There is a great quote that is often attributed to Emma Goldman that says - If I can’t dance I don’t want to be part of the revolution.  Works for me.

Jaime is a testament to the power of art.

Music has been the tool I have used to both heal myself and change the world.

Perhaps the best way to describe this is for me to tell you my coming out story.

In the early days of the second wave of feminism we had consciousness raising educationals.    Tell story.

Once I realized that this was who I was, I knew that I had to fight for my rights as well as everyone else’s, so I knew that meant I had to come out publicly as well as personally.

So I took to the radio waves. 

Tell story.  Leviticus.  Police.  Psychology students.

And I learned.   I learned a lot. 

I learned that the biggest gift in my life has been that my journey here has been to live the life of a woman who takes another woman as her life partner.

In spite of all odds, it remains my biggest teacher.

In 1970 we lost our jobs, we lost our children, we were disowned by our families and subjected to shock treatments, beatings, and rape.

One of the reasons why this experience has been such a character builder as it were, is that we were the only oppressed minority whose parents and families most often wouldn’t support us.

It gave me a unique opportunity to gain personal strength – to love myself no matter how much the world might tell me I was the lowest of the low.

That’s quite a place to crawl out of I can tell you – but wow – what a gift.

I simply refuse to accept that loving someone of my own gender is anything less than beautiful.

 

 

HOW COULD ANYONE

 

I learned that politics never ring so true as when coming from those whose story informs the politics.

It is a simple but enormously political act to stand up and speak your truth.   Whether you’re trying to change the world or just change your personal relationships.  Always speak your truth.

And remember that tall trees catch the wildest and strongest winds.  When you are being buffeted about – it’s because you are standing tall.

I remember a speech that T. Grace Atkinson gave in the days when we were obliged to stay in the closet in the women’s movement lest we give feminism a bad name.

Believing in the power of artists to lead the charge, I took the message from the streets to the stage 35 years ago.

Being an out Lesbian feminist musician didn’t exactly skyrocket my career. 

But as Connie Kaldor pointed out to me years ago – those who open the doors for others have the task of holding open the door.  The gift is in being the one holding open the doors.

But what a surprise – in spite of all the bigotry out there I have enjoyed a successful career singing to both adults and children while being out from the first time I stepped solo onto a stage.

This conference is about ‘Together We Are Stronger’.  

The women’s movement taught me that for sure.

Tell story about the Abortion Caravan.

Tell story about The Sun

So I reiterate that speaking your truth is the most effective tool for change. 

And if when you speak your truth you draw the wrath of ignorance and bigotry, it is because you’ve hit a nerve and they fear the power of you speaking the truth. 

Your action creates a reaction that affords others, who may not feel able to step up alone, the opportunity to add their voices to the outrage that comes from the reactionary attack.

Gloria Steinam points out that without a hugely successful front lash, there would not be such a backlash.

I would like to read you a quotation from a letter from Gloria Steinam to a friend of mine who started and ran the first Battered Women and Children’s Shelter in her city for the past 33 years:

I join in the celebration of healing violence at its heart – the gender roles that model subject and object, leader and led, dominant and passive – and so normalize every other imbalance and injustice.

Whether it’s violence in the home or sexualized violence or child abuse it is neither inevitable nor acceptable.

She has brought us closer to a world in which we are linked, not ranked, and each person is visible and valued as unique. 

To celebrate yourself is to celebrate life.

So when the press suggests that we are in a post feminist era – I say - in your dreams!

I know that many of young women are often afraid to call themselves feminists because they do not want to be seen to be all the nasty things that are attributed to feminists – like we don’t shave our legs…..

I love that quotation from an early suffragette who said something like - I don’t really know what a feminist is but I do know that every time I act like anything other than a doormat, I get called one.

And I say to those afraid to call themselves feminists – why would you let someone else control your life that way?  

Had I been afraid of what I might be called or seen as, I would still be in the closet today and I dare say, we may not have gotten as far as we have with gay rights in this country.

Truly, knowing that feminism means equality for everyone – that feminism means social justice – I don’t know why every person does not eagerly identify as feminist.

So I would encourage you to Inquire Within. Center Your Power

We are powerful people with a vision of beauty for the planet.

If we have the courage to truly look inside and grow outside of the human foibles we are gifted with as our curriculum, then we have done what we came to do.

When we change ourselves, we change the world.

And when we pass over, the only thing we can take with us is our growth as a soul. 

Fighting the good fight to make this world a better place is nothing short of a hugely growing experience.

We must be the change we wish to see in this world.

I think it’s all about leadership.  And I wish I saw more of it from our politicians.

The true leader is simply the person who sees what needs to be done, rolls up their sleeves and gets at it.  Jane Fonda

I think we tend to always be looking for somebody else to lead.

There is a wonderful Chinese proverb that says:

Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.

And I venture to say that should you inquire within – check in with your self – you might find exactly the person you’ve been looking for.   A true leader.

That said – I declare you all to be warriors.

WARRIOR

Everything’s gonna be alright – no woman no cry……..