Women and Social Location: Our Lives, Our Research

Lin Good, formerly an associate librarian at Queen’s University, is
currently a consultant.

Judging from the papers presented in this volume, the 15th Annual
Conference of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of
Women was a lively, landmark event. The theme of the conference was
“Global Vision/Local Action.” These essays were chosen from among
the conference papers because, in the words of the editors, they
“highlight the rich ties women are making between vision and action,
the personal and the political, the local and the global.”

Some of the essays underline the fact that there are human needs and
aspirations that transcend location and culture. “Setting the Record
Straight,” Sharda Vaidyanath’s account of three Hindu marriages,
highlights the conflicts between Hindu traditions of marriage and
Western sociocultural norms. Vaidyanath maintains that legislated
multiculturalism, by protecting the cultural rights of various ethnic
minorities, institutionalizes differences and weakens Canadian unity. By
contrast, Renate Krause’s “Furnishing a Room on One’s Own”
demonstrates how difficult it is to free yourself from a culture that
has formed an integral part of one’s being since infancy.

That there is no generally accepted definition of feminism is a point
forcefully argued in Danielle Forth’s “Diving Deep.” Forth
sensibly proposes that we spend less time trying to overcome
differences, and more time cultivating tolerance and respect for each
other so that we can work together toward our goals.

This book moves beyond blaming the past for the ills of the present, by
presenting a multifaceted view of feminism, and by showing how women can
join forces in bringing about a global vision of feminism.