Something in My Mind Besides the Everyday: Women and Literacy

Helen Holmes is Director of Communications Studies at the University of
Calgary.

Horsman examines both the social construction of literacy and the social
construction of the problem of illiteracy in her study of rural Nova
Scotia women in the 1980s. By the end of Chapter 1, in which the
subjects recount a plethora of pathetic tales of their own lives, it is
clear to the reader that the “problem” is not their inability to
read well but the poverty of their lives, which results from the
region’s depressed economy and the limitations of their roles as
isolated and dependent women. Indeed, in the subsequent analytical
chapters, in which many of these stories are reintroduced, the author
concludes that viewing these women as illiterate is blaming the victim.
The entire educational and social system discourages such women from
completing high school. Their isolation and family responsibilities make
it difficult for them to participate in literacy programs. Moreover,
women who do seek upgrading in hopes of finding a job, of helping their
children with homework, or of otherwise improving their lot are failed
by the literacy programs themselves. Failure arises from class-based
definitions of functional literacy, which suggest erroneously that the
women aren’t functioning, thus further undermining their self-worth.
“Practical” materials introduced by well-intentioned workers
reinforce this view: instruction on cheque-writing for women without
chequing accounts, and pamphlets on infant care for pregnant women who
have raised siblings from birth. Seldom considered is the women’s
desire to read for its own sake or to achieve high-school equivalency as
a way of erasing past mistakes. The sad conclusion is that given the
depressed economy, the isolation and lesser status of women, and the
inappropriateness of literacy materials, the most valuable result of
literacy programs is in giving these women a socially sanctioned
opportunity to get together and share their dreams.