Clarke, Jan

English

Canadian Woman Studies / les cahiers de la femme (E-Journal, York University)

understand that they have the power to make their own life choices and that they must learn to exercise that power." Mann has done an excellent job of shedding some light on why girls begin to measure their self-esteem by popularity and their ability to please others. It is well-researched and docu- mented. And it can be read over the course of a few hours. Mann includes many personal anecdotes and trans- forms what are otherwise dry aca- demic studies and statistics into a journey into the lives of several ado- lescent young girls who talk about everything from "going to third [a blow job] with a guyn to be popular, to their dreams and aspirations. OUR VISION AND VALUES: WOMEN SHAPING THE 21ST CENTURY Frances C. Hutner, Ed. Westport: Praeger, 1994. by Jan Ckzrke Our Vision and Valurs is a selection of articles on a range of feminist topics by members of the Princeton Re- search Forum, a multidisciplinary organization ofindependent research- ers. By drawing on an analysis of the present and recent past, this publica- tion aims to provide a vision of the 21st century that includes women's contributions and accounts for wom- en'svalues. While theideaofvisioning a more optimistic 21st century for women is welcome, the predictions in this book may be far more mean- ingful to white middle class women in the U.S. than to most women in Canada and elsewhere. Articles in this volume are quite uneven and topics switch in an odd order from one chapter to the next - issues ofwork, management and poli- tics are followed by spirituality and therapy, then switch to literary criti- cism, followed by risks and finally to sexuality. The main connecting thread for the articles is the argument that women live in a world defined by men, but this is certainly not an in- sight which is original enough to link such diverse topics. Most of the arti- cles are general ovewiews of an issue with limited feminist analysis of the present, and often individualistic so- lutions suggested for shaping wom- en's lives in the 21st century. The two articles on women's spir- ituality stand out because they draw on vivid and insightful accounts of women's experiences to link personal lives with political action. Rosemary O'Brien traces the ways in which women have challenged the patriar- chal hierarchy of Christian and Jew- ish traditions in the U.S. from the 1960s to the 1990s. Women speak of their commitment to organized reli- gion, the ways religion helps them make their lives meaningful, reasons for an interest in goddess theology, and strategies to individually and collectively transform organized reli- gion from within. Francesca Benson draws on women's personal reflec- tions to demonstrate the links be- tween politics and spirituality for women initiating alternatives to or- ganized religion. By creating their own rituals within a network of spir- itual communities, women are devel- oping effective feminist alternatives to traditional practices. Gail Walker's article on women's sexuality encourages women to em- power themselves byarticulatingsexu- ality from inside their own experi- ences. While Walker does challenge the objectification of women and encourage an embodied notion of sexuality, unfortunately discussion of gender identity and sexual orienta- tion are sidestepped. Violet Franks and Hanna Fox also challenge the way women are routinely viewed as commodities and suggest a non-sex- ist understanding offeminist therapy. Details of women's stories demon- strate the many ways women in psy- chotherapy have attempted to over- come oppression to gain personal strength. Since the introduction of Our Vi- sion and Values cites the Montreal Massacre as the kind of murder we must take action to avoid in future, I anticipated subsequent discussion of violence against women and refer- ence to Canadian issues. Instead, all the articles are based on US politics with seldom areferencc to otherwun- tries and cultures. Further mention of the Montreal Massacre and de- tailed analysis of violence against women are absent. Our Viion and Valaus is useful as a general introduction to a variety of feminist topics in the US during the Second Wave ofthe Women's Move- ment. The analysis of current and future women's issues is formative, even though the limited analysis of class, ethnicity and heterosexism are serious oversights. While the vision for shaping the future for women in North America is incomplete, Our Vision an Values does offer strategies to confront inequalities most women still routinely experience. ENTRE L'OUTIL ET LA MATIERE Ulia Young. Toronto: editions du GREF, 1993 par Christine Klein-Lataud O n  pourrait prendre comme definition de son art poetique quelques vers du recueil recent de Ulia Young : U Les mots prennent forme les sons deviennent visuels et le dialogue s'ouvre sur les solitudes m (U Sous l'immobilite m, p. 122) Au chaos d u  rnonde, 2t l'insatisfaction de lavie, 2t la fragmen- tation sociale de la modernid, elle CANADIAN WOMAN 1 STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME 

Our Vision and Values: Women Shaping the 21st Century

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Our Vision and Values: Women Shaping the 21st Century

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Canadian Woman Studies / les cahiers de la femme (E-Journal, York University)