The Velvet Fist was a cross-country feminist paper launched in 1970 by the Toronto Women’s Caucus (TWC) as an organizing and educational tool. As an activist feminist group open to…
…Defence Fund until mid-’85, until we sort of closed the group. Rachel: Thank you, Velvet. Velvet: Yeah, my name is Velvet Lacasse and I was one of the kids that…
…Thompson. WONDER WHAT”S HAPPENING? VELVE! FIST. carries regular news and articles from the growing women’s liberation movement. Write to: SUBSCRIPTIONS, VELVET FIST 188 Adelaide Street West, Toronto, Ontario. Enclosed is…
Topics include: Abortion Rights Campaign Ontario Equal Employment Act Book and Magazine Reviews Upcoming Events…
…mass struggle against women’s oppression. In the summer of 1970, the TWC also launched Velvet Fist as a cross-Canada feminist newspaper aimed at mobilizing mass action by women on different…
Topics include: Editorial No Substitute Abortion Laws November 20: International Abortion Action Day Bertolt Brecht Poem Being a Feminist Mother Rita MacNeil on Finding Sisterhood Miss Canada Contest Bell Canada…
…Velvet felt joy, love and pride in being at LMDF events and remarks on how courageous her mother and other women were in the face of everyday discrimination. With Velvet…
This submission to the 1973 convention of the League for Socialist Action/Ligue Socialiste Ouvrière (LSA/LSO) challenges the Political Committee’s document on women’s liberation. It argues that the PC document is…
Canada’s longest surviving feminist magazine, Herizons, grew out of The Manitoba Women’s Newspaper. The first issue of Herizons magazine was published in February 1983, after funds from the federal department…
Description excerpted from “Afterword” – Volume 2 Spring 1979 “FIREWEED is a feminist journal dedicated to publishing work from a wide range of viewpoints and cultures. We welcome submissions from…
Union Woman was the newspaper of Organized Working Women (OWW). The only union woman’s newspaper in Canada, it was published regularly from 1977 until 1988. The pages of Union Woman…
The journal Diva was borne out of the desires of a small group of South Asian feminist women based in Toronto. We wanted to create an alternative platform of feminist…
…exhibition is velvet, in almost all cases, black velvet. It is associated with the souvenir pillow, an object of the tourist trade and a decorative element often found in middle-class…
The clenched, raised fist combined with a Venus symbol represents Feminism. It is an iconic symbol of the women’s liberation movement….
This fabric patch uses the clenched, raised fist combined with a Venus symbol to represent Feminism. This remains an iconic symbol of the women’s liberation movement.
…the home. Jeanne, an activist within LMDF, talks about her experience. Her daughter, Velvet speaks about what it was like to be a kid who went to the meetings, the…
…Blaak, Ryan Allen. “The Voice of Women: Gendering the New Canadian Nationalism.” M.A. thesis. University of British Columbia, 2003. Kerans, Marion Scott. Muriel Duckworth: A Very Active Pacifist: a Biography….
Published in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Northern Woman Journal (originally called Northern Woman) started in 1973 following the first annual Northern Women’s Conference in order to keep the conference attendees connected….
On April 27 in 1970, seventeen women left from the Vancouver Art Gallery in a cavalcade of cars going to Ottawa. They were inspired by the On-to-Ottawa trek of unemployed…
Women stand with fists raised at a demonstration outside the Parliament Buildings on May 11, 1970, as protesters in the House of Commons galleries disrupt the sitting.
Women wearing headscarves and with raised fists gather on Parliament Hill during a May 11, 1970 protest for abortion rights. Inside the House of Commons, another group of women speaking…
…we can recall. In the Toronto Telegram there was apparently an article that there were fist fights that occurred at the Toronto conference, and none of us have any memory. …
Topics include: Pornography Sexism in Media Women’s Action Coalition Single Mothers Reproductive Technologies Smoking Racialized ‘Nanny’ Poverty Disability Women in prison Medicine, Healers, Witchcraft Sexual Assault South Africa Breast exams…
…Admitting that the posters for the band were violent (a red heart with a fist breaking through; a bloody lipstick smear imprinted on the fist), Gibb dismissed this with “we’re…
…out and supported lesbian mothers. Potlucks, meetings, media coverage, a newsletter, the LMDF engaged in a range of activities to support members and always seeking more. Her daughter, Velvet speaks…
Topics include: Women in Federal Public Service Women in Fiction Art Piece “Crucified Woman” Rape and Authorities’ Victim Blaming Attitudes Divorced and Widowed Homemakers Denied Pensions Pornography and Controversy in…
(Adapted from a pamphlet published by The Women’s Place and other sources) The Women’s Place began as a women’s centre and library at 31 Dupont Street in Toronto in 1972….
The newsletter published by The Women’s Place (Toronto) includes articles on activities in the centre, news about other women’s groups, information on issues of concern to women, updates about what…
Topics include Life in Public Housing Women and Alcoholism History of Mothers’ Allowance Jane Rule Marion Tuu’luq’s Tapestries Robin Tyler Minimum Wage and Women Abortion and Poverty Poetry, Fiction, Visual…
…streets, giving us V’s, fists, and waves, and shouting encouragement for our ventures.” On the Saturday, hundreds joined the Caravan on a march through Ottawa to Parliament Hill. Angry with…
Interval House was the first women’s shelter established in Toronto. It has been in operation since 1973. The newsletter explored questions about violence against women in our society and offered…
Topics include Women’s Art as a Genre Art Feminism Marian Engel Women in Animation Aritha Van Herk Diaries as Feminine Art Criminalization of Immigrants Matrimonial Property and the Law Poetry,…
Topics include: Fishing Rights for Inuit Women Women in the Textile Industry Decline in Home Sewing Second-hand Clothing Portrayal of Women in Eaton’s Catalogue Poetry, Short Stories Visual Arts, Reviews…
…tiny Japanese clay figures in the bowl with cactus landscapes, dust on the venetian blinds. Dark and light. Tommy in velvet, rust coloured, or was it her hair that was…
…of lack of skills and materials. For our third’ issue, we did a combined paper with the Bellyful and Velvet Fist with the possibility in mind of a future amalgamation….
…By CAROLE COPLEA · The Toronto Star called it an “iron fist”. In a show of raw po~er, the government intro-· duced strikebreaking legislation after only seven days of rotating…
Topics include: African Agriculture Abortion Sports Jamaica Childcare Housing / Shelter Birth Control Childbirth Art / Photography Spirituality Gay / Lesbian Youth Women in Science Alcoholism Anti-war Protest…
Topics include: Lesbians / Homophobia Abortion Disability Housing / Shelter Academia Street Workers in Ecuador Sex Work Anti-war Protest Bisexuality Black Women Censorship…
Topics include: Gender Roles Children Childcare Feminist Representation in Media Book/Movie Reviews…
This declaration of solidarity to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land was created by Women Against the Occupation and shows a woman symbol and fist superimposed on the Palestinian…
Topics are: Couples and Finances Sexism in Academia Anne Wheeler: Film-making and Spiritual Conversion Feminist Theatre in Quebec Poetry, Short Stories, Photography, and Reviews Radical Cinema in West Germany Matrimonial…
…myself out. I can’t be violent, I’ve tried. Jenny: I can see Sarah putting her fist through a wall. I don’t think you show any of your feelings, just keep…
During a stop en route to Ottawa, members of Abortion Caravan raise fists for photo alongside Betsy Wood’s convertible with the slogan “Smash Capitalism” painted on the side panel…
This button marks the publication of Kay Macpherson’s memoir When in Doubt, Do Both. Macpherson is a respected feminist, pacifist, and political activist with a long history of working for…
Kay Macpherson, the well-known feminist, pacifist, and political activist, ran as a New Democratic Party candidate in several federal elections….
This button for women in trades features the woman symbol with an upraised fist holding a wrench.
…publication: Entretiens avec Madeleine Parent et Lea Roback by Nicolle Lacelle during the 3rd International Feminist Book Fair in Montreal in 1988. Léa’s activism as a feminist, communist, pacifist, and…
…card designs produced by the Toronto Women’s Caucus in 1971 with the message “PEACE – SISTERHOOD”. The graphic is the woman symbol with a fist. PEACE SISTERHOOD Toronto Womens Caucus….
An undated button featuring a clenched raised fist along with two intertwined symbols of women and two intertwined symbols of men in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Lesbian Perspective served as the newsletter of the Lesbian Organization of Toronto (LOOT) and was filled with news about the monthly 342-Jarvis-Street house meetings and announcements of the cultural, social,…
Indigenous or Aboriginal women have a long tradition of resisting colonial domination and racism, fighting for the survival of their people and their communities, challenging the failures of governments to…
Table of Contents: From The Publisher’s Desk Editoral Essay: Multiculturalism and Women of Colour, by Susan Korah Essay: Reflections of a Black Antigone: Cross-Cultural Encounters are Freighting to Some People,…
Topics include: Abortion Rights Labour Movements Motherhood Women’s Press Club Health Department Hospital Costs Radical Politics NDP Women Organize…
Topics include: Women’s Movement Poetry, Short Stories, Book Reviews Photography Controversial Art Mavis Gallant Rape and the Criminal Law System Beverly Glenn-Copeland Henry Morgentaler…
Topics include: Family Planning Sexism / Media Women and the Law Prisons Women in History Sex Work Abortion / Law Work Promotions Domestic Violence Sports / Fitness Self Defence While…
Topics include: Racism Domestic Abuse Violence Against Women Lesbians Childcare Anti-war Protest Artists Spirituality Work African women Single Mothers…
Topics include: Women’s Testimonies on Racism, Sexism, and Abuse Interview on Sexual Assault Issues Rape Laws in Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan International Women’s Day Issues Resources on Sexual Assault…
From 1979 to 1986, IWDC produced four issues a year of the International Women’s Day Committee Newsletter. Accompanying the organization’s name change to Toronto Socialist Feminist Action, in 1987 the…
Topics include: The Art of Artis Lane Female Chinese Immigrants in Ontario Female Artists’ Activism in Chile Poetry, Short Stories, Book Reviews Women and Spanish Anarchism…
Topics include: Sterilization and Public Policy Karate Hospitals and Childbirth Alternatives, Midwifery, Homebirth Margaret Dwight-Spore Dealing With Sexual Harassment Attitude of Medical Professionals to Women’s Health Poetry, Fiction, Reviews, Photography…
The Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library strike lasted almost two months, from October 1 – November 26, 1984. The 400 workers at the library were represented by three CUPE locals: Local…
The booklet is a joint project of the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Canadian Council on Social Development. It includes a descriptive overview of what it is like…
…FIST salute is. given’ by: Marcy Cohen, keft, and Dawn Carrell, Vancouver members of women’s liberation group. ‘They are members of an abortion caravan travelling to Ottawa where they’ll asks…
…could be redefining sexuality from a feminist perspective; we could be evolving a new language and defining our own terms. Instead, we are settling for “fist-fucking,” “fetishes” and “familiar lines.”…
Adapted from Women’s Press materials and other sources The Canadian Women’s Educational Press, commonly known as The Women’s Press began operating in Toronto in 1972 as a small feminist publishing…
Adapted from Feminist News Service – Vol. 1, No. 1 The Feminist News Service (FNS) started in December 1974 and a became national organization with offices across Canada, except for…
…banks. The decision could also have positive consequences in helping to shut down union-busting seminars which focus on the velvet glove approach to frustrate union or- ganization. It is possible…
Topics include: Violence Against Women Women in Black Spirituality Film Queers Sexuality Workplace Abuse Lesbian March Mental Health…
Topics include: Political Lesbians of Toronto Bernadette Devlin Oppression of Women in the Arts Report On General Meeting Conference on Women and the Environment Helen Caldicott Lecture on Implications of…
Topics include: Introduction to this Humour Issue Satire on Saheban, the Relentless Warrior Women Going Topless Satiric Review of Government-produced Guide for Immigrants Short Stories, Poetry, Cartoons, Short Humourous Pieces…
…all The slight heartbreak all those tears that never show just sip the wine hold the court a yellow mercedes padded velvet that’s the only life I know graham “letting…
Topics include: Women in Government Aboriginal Women Immigrant / Visible Minority Women Equal Pay Discrimination Equality Constituion CAFTA / Mexico Farming Violence against Women Racism Pornography Mental / Health Plastic…
Topics include: Native Storytelling Poetry, Short Stories, Book Review Inuit Autobiographical Story Misrepresentation of Third World Peoples in Western Cinema Fran Endicott: TDSB Trustee Task Force on Mental Health Issues/Needs…
Topics include: Women’s Credit Union Women’s Press Abortion Rights Women in the Palestinian Revolution Sex Work Class Oppression Native Rights Environmental Protection Subsistance Living…
Topics include: Women in Politics A Feminist Campaign Abortion and the Law The Women’s Independent Separatist Party (WISP) Poetry, Fiction, Radio Play, Art, Reviews…
…three Toronto womens papers–The Bellyful, The Other Woman and the Velvet Fist–will be layed out at The Place, probably in the basement, if we can make it habitable. Considering its…
…a look at the operation. Everyone is welcome. Meeting time 8:00 p.m. at 31 Dupont Street. It looks as if the three Toronto womens’ newspapers, Bellyfull, The Velvet Fist, and…
Topics include: Feminist Struggles of Women in India Control over Reproductive Techniques Testing of Birth and Fertility Feminist Canoeists Physical Activity and Women (French) CSIS and Surveillance Women in the…
…baby fat. X-ray. Tiny hairless figure in wheelchair. Let them look. People stared. Time to go back, the nurse sang cheerfully. Cassie loved her. Gliding in the hall over velvet…
…and more to make abortion the only issue of organizing. They tried turn the Velvet Fist (a reformist, but comprehensive women’s liberation paper, coming out of the TWC) into a…
Topics include: Childcare International Women’s Day Nicaragua Affirmative Action Equal Pay Women need • unions, PUBLISHED BY ORGANIZED WORKING WOMEN Unions need· VOLUME SEVEN, NUMBER ONE ~8 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1984 women…
Topics include: Municipal Elections Abortion / Law Marriage / Career Drug Abuse Family Law Critiquing Medicine Women in Government Feminist Art Theatre Film Women in History Sports / Fitness Education…
Topics include: Animal Rights Environment Lesbians Violence Against Women Survivors of Sexual Assault Militarization Reproductive Technologies Housing / Shelter Daycare Montreal Massacre Artists…
Topics include: Abortion Disability Sexuality Media Artists Lesbians South Africa Work Home-Schooling Poverty…
Topics include: Abortion Anti-war Protest Health Sexual Assault Poverty Housing/Shelter Divorce Law Labour Unions Domestic Work Girls in Sport Pornography Prison Abolition…
Topics include: Feminist Critique of “The Six Wives of Henry VII Poetry Politics of Fear in the Women’s Movement Male Chauvinist vs Feminist Dialogue Book Reviews Report on Independent Feminist…
Topics include: Assessing the N.D.P. Women in Trades Health Prison Activism Alternate Bookstores…
Topics include: Radical Politics International Women’s Year Women’s Centres Funding Grants Abortion Farm and City Women…
Topics include: South African Women’s Day Angela Davis Lesbians and Gays of Colour Coming Out (Lesbians) Racism, Sexism, and the Patriarchy Global Solidarity…
Topics include: Aboriginal Women Women in Prison Violence Against Women Kuwait Native Land Claims Black Women Abortion Reproductive Technologies VIA rail Quebec p Poverty and welfare child abuse / Catholic…
Topics include: Judy Chicago’s “Dinner Party” Feminist Battle to Control Pornography Human Rights Commission’s Discriminatory Attitudes Genital Mutilation Assistance for Women With Mid-life Problems Feminist Politician Irene Parlby A Woman…
…one sample of 100 assaulted women: -all had been bruised and hit with a a fist -59 had been kicked regularly -44 were cut with a bottle, knife, or razor…
…because they need to control her in any way they can… and fists usually do the job. An amazing amount of research has been done, and we know that men…
…of the official culture. The way we solve problems, using tongues instead of fists, or technological fists, isn’t considered among the be- havioral options at the negotiating tables. We don’t…
Topics include: Lesbian events and activities Lesbianism Feminism Book Review Violence against women Stories…
Topics Include: National Conference of the Women’s Liberation Movement Strategies in the Women’s Movement Regina Women’s Brief on Birth Control and Abortion Post Office’s Discriminatory Hiring and Wages Independent Women’s…
Topics include: Women Artists Vaginal Infections Short Story Sexist Terminology’s Role in Oppression BC Affirmative Action Plan Housewives and Feminism A Sexist Conversation Poetry New Childcare Legislation International Women’s Day…
…the deft brown fingers, she with the soft, slow smile, She with the voice of velvet and the thoughts that dream the while ,— “Whence come the vague tomorrows? Where…
…her fingers. The sun edges around buildings, spilling crates of shadow. Daylight’s better than the night. The far stars are deceptive, like the diamond rings in their black velvet cases,…
Topics include: Editorial Self-Profile: Robin Belitsky Endres Self-Profile: Margaret Dragu Profile on Lisa Steele Nightwood Theatre and The True Story of Ida Johnson Poems Photograms Profile on Mama Quilla Collective…
The VD Handbook is the second major publication of the Handbook Collective The authors see the booklet as their contribution to a mass education project against the ignorance and confusion…
Topics include: Political Parties / Women’s Rights Prisons Childcare Labour Movements Unemployment Women and the Law Women’s Studies Immigrant Women Women in History Religion Film Theatre Alternative Medicine / Herbs…
Topics include: Year in Review Abortion Pornography Nicaragua Native Women’s Struggle Women and the Law Motherhood Childcare Incest Labour Movements Remembrance Day Equal Pay Persons Case Pharmacists Women in History…
Topics include: Poverty Domestic Workers Violence Against Women Globalization Third World Labour Exploitation Abortion Lobbying Women and the Law Government The Second Sex (30 Years Later) Reproductive Technologies Sports /…
Topics include: Pandora Trial Human Rights Lesbians Media Violence Against Women…
Topics include: Violence Against Women Sexism in Law School Spirituality Tattoos Single Mothers Adoption Montreal Massacre Sexual Assault and the Law…
Topics include: Single Mothers Violence Against Women Food and Fat Abortion Artists…
Topics include: Immigrant Women Anti-war Protest Lesbians International Women’s Day Disability Women Artist’s Native Women Sports Divorce Law Marriage Women in Prison Spirituality…
Topics include: History of the Party of Labour of Albania Women and Revolution Radical Politics Working Class Politics of Parenthood Love and Sexuality Education Pornography Advertising Self-Defence Women’s Work Union…
Topics include: Feminist Organizing Book Reviews Femininity Male Liberals School Dress Codes Media…
Topics include: Education Christmas / “Mrs. Clause” Labour Movements Religion Women and the Law Menopause Music Theatre Women in History Sports / Fitness < 0 – z 0 ~ ~…
Topics include: Race and Class Within the Reproductive Rights Movement Sexual and Reproductive Health and South Asian Women Women of Colour and the Human Genome Project Profit and Contraception Production…
Topics include: Reflections on the Women’s Movement Violence Against Women Sexism / Politics Abortion / Law Lesbian Organizing Film / Representation Government Funding…
Topics include: Stereotypes of Indian Women Play Script Poetry Book Review Documentary Review Shereen Denetto M J Kang Testimony of Childhood Abuse Poems, Short Story Cahoots: Theatre Project Film Reviews…
Topics include: peace / military / war Gulf war refugees violence against women reproductive technologies abortion federal budget Native women Black women Audre Lorde government International Women’s Day immigrant /…
Topics include: Quebec violence against women rape and the law media representations lesbians child abuse farming environment economics women in government Montreal massacre…
Topics include: Black Women Racism Reproductive Technology Philippines/Filipino Women Nicaragua Women and the Federal Election Free Trade Poverty Housing Families Federal Election National Action Committee on the Status of Women…
Topics include: ASWAC Organizing Racism in the Movement International Women’s Day Need for a Federal Lobby Abortion Rural Feminists…
This paper reports results of a questionnaire distributed to 1200 women with disabilities that details the findings of women with disabilities and children. It also explores the problem of forced…