Newsgroups: soc.feminism From: shallit@graceland.uwaterloo.ca (Jeffrey Shallit) Subject: Feminists for Free Expression Canada Message-ID: Sender: tittle@netcom.com (Cindy Tittle Moore) Organization: University of Waterloo Date: Thu, 18 Aug 1994 20:13:22 GMT Approved: tittle@netcom.com Lines: 105 I pass this for those who are interested in feminism and free expression. I have no current affiliation with FFE or FFE Canada, although I do admit to have spoken with its Chair, and I am thinking of joining. -- Jeff Shallit -------- Dear Friend of Free Expression in Canada: Right now Little Sisters Bookstore in Vancouver is in court challenging the Canadian government's customs policy of seizing feminist, gay and lesbian works at the border. And Little Sisters is not alone -- a legal standard intended to ban sexually explicit material that is "degrading" to women is being used primarily against lesbian and gay bookstores, including Glad Day Bookstore in Toronto. Material freely available in the United States is stopped at the Canadian border. If you think Canada needs a feminist voice to proclaim the belief that freedom of expression is crucially important for women's rights, we invite you to become a founding member of Feminists for Free Expression / Canada (FFE/Canada). Feminists for Free Expression (FFE/USA) was founded in 1992 in response to the many efforts to solved society's problems by book, movie or music banning. FFE believes such efforts divert attention from the substantive causes of social ills and offer a cosmetic, dangerous "quick fix". FFE is a group of diverse feminists working to preserve the individual's right to read, hear, view, and produce materials of her choice without the intervention of the state "for her own good". We have had a significant impact working in the United States in the state and federal courts, in the legislatures and with the general public. But threats to free expression occur on both sides of the border. Under the new Canadian standard for obscenity, known as the Butler standard, Canadian customs has seized books by such distinguished authors as David Leavitt, Marguerite Duras and anti-pornography feminist Andrea Dworkin, and has targeted shipments to lesbian and gay bookstores. Toronto artist Eli Langer was threatened with ten years' imprisonment under Canada's new child pornography law when he exhibited oil paintings (which used no models) attempting to draw attention to the troubling issues of child abuse and child sexuality. FFE protested his threatened arrest, pointing out that "the function of modern art is to expose what citizens are afraid or unwilling to confront, and to provoke their response. The actions taken against Mr. Langer confuse art that reveals society to itself and blueprints for criminal action." But while FFE has exercised its mandate throughout North America, and while we have members and supporters in Canada, our effectiveness is limited. The Canadian government and Canadian courts are less willing to listen to what we have to say because we are a U.S.-based organization. That's why FFE/Canada is being formed. FFE/Canada will be an autonomous sister organization, working closely with FFE/USA, but entirely Canadian run and operated. If you are interested in being a part of FFE/Canada, please return the attached form to: Wendy McElroy Chair, FFE/Canada 221 King Street E. #32 Hamilton, Ontario L8N 1B5 phone: 416-554-4244 We look forward to working together for freedom of expression and a feminist future. Add your voice to ours today so we can all speak freely tomorrow. Very truly yours, Wendy McElroy Catherine Siemann Chair, FFE/Canada Acting Executive Director, FFE/USA ----------------------------------------------------------------- __ Yes, I'm interested in joining FFE/Canada in the fight against censorship in North America. Please add me to your mailing list and let me know how I can get involved. __ I'd like to make a contribution to FFE/Canada's work: __ $250 __ $100 __ $50 __ $25 __ Other Name: _________________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Phone: _______________________ Fax: __________________________ Please mail to Wendy McElroy, Chair FFE/Canada, 221 King Street E. #32, Hamilton, Ontario, L8N 1B5. Please make checks payable to: Media Network/FFE/Canada. -- Post articles to soc.feminism, or send email to feminism@ncar.ucar.edu. Questions and comments should be sent to feminism-request@ncar.ucar.edu. This news group is moderated by several people, so please use the mail aliases. Your article should be posted within several days. Rejections notified by email.