line

CM Archive
CM Archive Book Review line
STILL AINT SATISFIED: CANADIAN FEMINISM TODAY



Toronto, Women's Press, c1982.
318pp, paper, $9.95.
ISBN 0-88961-074-6.


Post-Secondary.
Reviewed by donalee Moulton-Barrett.

Volume 11 Number 3.
1983 May.


The editor's introduction to Still Ain't Satisfied states that it "is not meant to be a history or survey of the women's movement in Canada but rather an evaluation of feminist activities over the last ten years," which it is—in the most general way.

The twenty-seven articles in the collection discuss everything from abortion, women's unions, equal pay for work of equal value, and the problems of being a feminist in love with a man. The quality of the articles range from superb and thought provoking ("Whose Body? Whose Self? Beyond Pornography" by Myrna Kostash) to the embarrassingly bad ("The Last Ten Years: A Personal/Political View" by Naomi Wall). The latter is directly the fault of the editors who appear to have taken no firm hand in either tightening, improving, and revising the material or questioning the accuracy of content. Those articles that shine, that make you sit up and say "Wow!," shine because the people who wrote them are, for the most part, professional writers and not because the editors were in control of the work.

The perceptions of Toronto feminists dominate; more than half the contributors live here, the others are from the West, primarily B.C. There is only one article from Atlantic Canada, and in no way can the editors say this is equal representation. If they believe the problems are the same all across Canada, they're wrong. But then how could they know this, suffocated by the Toronto perspective as they are?

There is much about Still Ain't Satisfied that infuriates, but much, much more that excites, that makes sense, that encourages and makes me very glad I read it.


donalee Moulton-Barrett, Halifax, NS.
line indexes

HOME | TITLES | AUTHORS | MEDIA | AGE/GRADE | FEATURES

1971-1979 | 1980-1985 | 1986-1990 | 1991-1995

line

The materials in this archive are copyright © The Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission Copyright information for reviewers

Young Canada Works

cm@umanitoba.ca