Stitch ‘n Bitch alive and kicking in cities and universities

Alison Reiheld is the Director of Women’s Studies at SIUE and Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy until summer 2019 when Carolina Rocha will take over as Director. Here, she follows up on Christy Ferguson’s Women’s History Month post on the history of Stitch ‘n’ Bitch. Is Stitch ‘n’ Bitch still a thing? You betcher bottom dollar, it is.

The cover image of Stoller’s 2004 Stitch ‘N Bitch book. The subtitle reads: “stitch-by-stitch instructions * 40 fresh patterns * how to start your own knitting group * and everything you need to know to get your knit on.”

In 2004, Debbie Stoller published what has become a wildly successful book on knitting entitled Stitch ‘n Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook. Stoller explicitly drew on the historical movement of the same name which brought women together in community. These communal knitting sessions often became de facto consciousness-raising sessions in the classic feminist tradition: realizing gendered patterns in their relationships and positions, women came to see as structural and social–and thus changeable–what they might once have thought was a simple matter of individual choice or misfortune. Acknowledging this history, the cover of Stoller’s book extols not only the book’s value for knitting itself but also as a guide to starting a knitting group. Stoller subsequently published several spinoff books including one for men who want to learn to knit.

Before Stoller’s book was released, she wrote in the year 2000 about her knitting group which was explicitly feminist. The publication in which she wrote? The feminist magazine BUST. Women who subsequently started Stitch n Bitch groups in Chicago, LA, and Austin all connect their communities to Stoller’s revival of the movement and the BUST article. A 2004 article in the Irish Times brought attention in Ireland to the US movement. Irish Times reporter Anna Mundow wrote:

On a quiet night this summer in a hip New York coffee house a group of young women pushed a sofa and some easy chairs into a circle near the window, settled in for the evening and took out their needles. Some drank beer, some herbal tea. Most were pierced or tattooed. All were knitting. The conversation, ranging that night from Iraq to female circumcision, paused whenever somebody needed help with a dropped or difficult stitch. Invariably, a knitting-disaster story followed; everybody groaned and laughed, then it was back to serious discussion.

This was a weekly meeting of the local Stitch ‘n’ Bitch group, a nationwide sorority whose members have rediscovered a staid craft and transformed it into a feminist fashion statement. That’s right, knitting is back. And this time it’s political.

“It made me rethink my original feminist position,” writes Debbie Stoller, author of Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook, describing the epiphany she had while finishing a sweater on a long train trip. “It had been 30 years since the feminist revolution . . . so why, dammit, wasn’t knitting receiving as much respect as any other hobby?” Stoller should know the answer. Having earned a PhD in the psychology of women from Yale University, she co-founded the “third-wave feminist magazine” BUST. A few years ago, in New York City, Stoller founded the first Stitch ‘n’ Bitch group, which at the time felt more like a coven than a movement. Even in jaded Manhattan knitting drew stares. “I might as well have been churning butter on the crosstown bus,” Stoller writes.

Fabric arts have typically been gendered feminine (at least until it comes to high status jobs in fashion which are often occupied by men, from Ralph Lauren to Gianni Versace).  And so knitting remains primarily a craft practiced by women, and passed down intergenerationally from women to women. Recently, there has been increased attention to men knitting, including this 2017 entry over at The Good Men Project. It is a kind of “making” that appeals to some men who also are interested in metal fabrication and wood-working, as well as to women who want to do creative work with their hands, the product of which is almost always intended for use rather than merely for display.

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Guilt Free Mom Travels

SIUE faculty member Saba Fatima is Associate Professor of Philosophy and and indispensable member of the Women’s Studies program. Here, she reflects on the wisdom of learning that one’s own time and joy is valuable in and of itself, not only for what it might bring to others.

I left my kids for 18 days. This may not be a big deal to many, and to others it is unconscionable.

It was not the first time I left them. I am in academia, so I have been going to conferences since they were young, though initially the kids traveled with me. One time (and this was when our family was really broke because both my husband and I were students), we went to a colloquium that was kind of really low stakes, but I thought that I needed all the lines on my resume I could get before hitting the job market. I had taken a massive break for the birth of my two children and was eager to get back in the game. The talk was a disaster. The faculty tore my paper up into a million pieces (metaphorically of course) and some of them were apparently so upset at my critique of Rawls that they were shouting at me for half of the time. I drove back in tears in a snowstorm with the family, feeling utterly dejected. Not only did I feel deflated about my academic acumen, but also felt terrible for dragging my entire family through it all. I felt that it was not worth the financial expense, the time, and the hassle of dragging two babies along for a chance to present my paper to folks who think I don’t belong in academia because I am not smart enough. I almost gave up after that.

Stitch ‘n Bitch: A Nod to Herstory

Christy Ferguson, Instructor of English and women’s studies faculty, discusses the history of the Stitch ‘n Bitch and reflects upon her own journey as a fiber artist.

 

To knit, to crochet, to weave, to embroider, to sew, to craft, to mend… 

Handicrafts (handmade items) have always been an essential aspect of a modern society.   They fulfill our need for things like textiles and art and have often provided space for communities to come together. As well, as our society becomes increasingly concerned about the health and vitality of our precious planet, it is not surprising that these skills have trended. People are finding new and more interesting ways to incorporate both the mending and reuse of materials and the creation of handmade items before purchasing things from corporate retail chains.

Growing up, I remember equating the idea of knitting and crochet to the concern of being/becoming an “old woman”. However, today people of all ages have picked up the hook (or needles). And as handicrafts have continued to trend in modern society, we have seen massive shifts in the image of what it means to be a “Happy Hooker” (a person who crochets) or a member of a regular “Stitch ‘n Bitch” group.

Although socially, the phrase’s popularity is often accredited to author Debbie Stoller’s fun, instructional series of Stitch and Bitch books released the early 2000s, the history of the phrase actually originated in the early twentieth century. During WWII, “women who moved in with parents or in-laws when husbands went overseas, gave their elders a free night once a week (so to speak since they parked their children there!) to attend “stitch and bitch” meetings. Loaded with sewing and knitting…voicing opinions on everything from parenting to politics and exchanging news from each war zone represented” (Macdonald 314).

Three women engaged in a knitting circle or “stitch and bitch” during WWII.

Historically, these types of activities were often categorized as “women’s work” along-side that of child-rearing, household chores, and cooking. However, as we continue to progress as a society and blur the lines of expected gender roles, these crafts have successfully found their way into the hands of all. Today, handicrafts are not merely seen as necessity for frugal living or a frivolous feminine hobby. Often, these skills are applied to artistry in magnificent ways.

As a fiber artist, I personally love taking something as simple as yarn and turning it into a thing of beauty. Just as a painter with her brush, my crochet hook inspires me analyze the world around me. It helps me make sense of the world’s beauty and pain. It reminds me to remain focused on issues that are important to me and my community. It allows me to reveal those complexities to my audience, providing representations of fear and sadness and passion with nothing but a hook and a pile of string.

Yarnbomb installation named “Brigid’s Fire” by fiber artist and SIUE instructor, Christy Ferguson.

Something interesting to note, is that the modern Stitch ‘n Bitch looks very similar to those of the past. People (mostly women) gathering with friends to discuss life, love, and the world, all while keeping their hands productive with their latest projects.

Multitasking at its finest. 

Some may be knitting, some crochet, others might embroider or mend their favorite scarf, all while telling stories of the time that has passed since their last meeting. They speak of their joys, their sorrows, their concerns. They debate politics and recommend the latest books they’ve read. It is truly a gathering of minds.

A Stitch ‘n Bitch today continues the humble yet integral tradition of women gathering to create and socialize. It nods to women of the past, recognizing the struggle they endured for women today to have the freedom to create whenever, however, and WHATEVER we want! I speak from experience when I say, it can be incredibly fulfilling creating feminist-fueled artistic expressions embracing a medium that was once supposedly employed to keep women meek. Instead, it provided them the perfect opportunity to come together outside the watchful eye of the patriarchy.

 

 

Macdonald, Anne L. “No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting.” Random House, New York. 1988.

Layers of Consent

Destiny Green

SIUE Sociology and Women’s Studies Alum Destiny Green is Prevention Educator and Girls Group Facilitator at Safe Connections in St. Louis, MO. The title of this piece comes from one of her colleagues who mentioned that students often will say “I didn’t know that consent has that many layers.”  Here, Green boils down the core elements that go into healthy sexual relationships and consent negotiations.

I LOVE my job. Because it’s necessary.

I talk to pre-teens and teens about healthy sexual encounters, consent, and coercion and I’ve gotten good at laying out the basics that are important for healthy fun sex that is a good time for everybody.

Consent is an 100% enthusiastic “Hell yes” as it pertains to inviting someone else to your space/body. NOT a “uhh idk” “if you want to” “maybe”…it has to be BEYOND THE SHADOW OF A DOUBT that I want whatever you are offering. Period.

A person that is sleep, intoxicated, or underage canNOT give consent—even if they say/have said “yes.”

 

An image from Charles Darwin University’s online consent training, with a “no” symbol added by SIUE WMST

Consent is fluid. It can be reneged. It can be revoked. You have to KEEP asking for it.
Just because someone consented to something last Saturday, does NOT mean its cool this Tuesday.

STILL gotta ask for consent if you’re in a relationship. STILL gotta ask for consent if you’re married—Simply because YOUR BODY DOES NOT STOP BEING YOUR BODY when your relationship status changes.

If a person is not allowed to say “no,” it is NOT a consensual interaction. Which brings me to coercion…

Coercion is a very important concept to understand. It is a type of “yes” that comes from manipulation, pressuring someone, guilt tripping someone, etc.—which are all things that usually comes after someone says “no, I’m good/I don’t want to/I changed my mind.”

Unfortunately, THIS is how most sex is had.

This is also how people (particularly women) get in situations that they didn’t want to be in, i.e. “I just gave him my number/fake number/your number, because he wouldn’t quit asking me EVEN after I said that ‘I’m not interested’.” Because coercion is the “game” your uncles and older cousins taught y’all. Coercion is doing/saying whatever it is that you have to do and say to get them to say “yes.”

Marinate on these concepts.

If you’ve been a survivor of any of these scenarios, know that it is NOT YOUR FAULT.

If you’ve done any of these things, ACCEPT IT, OWN IT, and DO BETTER from this day forth.

And it doesn’t matter if you agree or not. These are things that you MUST be aware of so that sexual encounters can be happy and healthy, and so that no one feels taken advantage of!

Either do this, or catch a case.

I know that it sounds like a lot. But it only seems like a hassle because no one sat us (millennials and older) down and educated us on this. We are not informed.

And it shows.

And I’m sad.

—————————————————–

For additional resources, see:

• Rebecca Kukla. 2019. “Sex talks: the language of sexual negotiation must go far beyond ‘consent’ and ‘refusal’ if we are to foster ethical, autonomous sex.” Aeon.
• Zhana Vrangalova. 2016. “Everything You Need to Know About Consent That You Never Learned in Sex Ed: What it looks like, what it sounds like, how to give it, and how to get it.” Teen Vogue.
• Lisa Rose. 2018. “Sexual consent is a worldwide conversation.” CNN.com.

 

 

Proposed definition of Harassment is “Objectively Bad”

Written by: Dr. Trish Oberweis, Professor Criminal Justice

In 2011, the Office of Civil Rights sent a policy change to all schools receiving federal funds instructing them that they are required to provide a safe environment for all learners. This was in reaction to a particular (although not unique) study documenting that a quarter of college women are sexually assaulted during their college years (this does not mean raped, necessarily). They created an avenue for sexual assaults and sexual harassment to be handled through the compliance offices already on campus; whether this system would be in lieu of or in addition to the police was to be at the preference of the reporter. This was, in part, done to rectify the utter failure of the CJS to provide appropriate support to women reporters, and to ensure that survivors would not give up their education in frustration or fear.

In the years between then and now, Universities have been mandated to create an internal, parallel, non-police structure for addressing rape, assault and harassment on campus, through their Equal Opportunity offices, often called the “Title IX process.” These structures are new—and therefore not perfect—but always under both improvement and heavy fire from those who believe that men are unfairly being hassled for what too often amounts to a disgruntled or potentially dishonest woman who should simply use the police to report the alleged crime.

Betsy DeVos has been outspoken on her perception of injustice perpetrated on men in these Title IX investigations. Her commitment from Day 1 was greater justice in these processes, by which she meant that the benefit of the doubt must be accorded to the man and the process should mimic the failed CJS process (with counsel, cross examination, beyond a reasonable doubt (BARD) standards instead of a preponderance of evidence standard—although BARD is for those facing imprisonment, and is never the standard in civil processes; Title IX is a civil process, not a criminal one). Title IX can be used for reporting sexual assaults AND for reporting sexual harassment.

What is Title IX? Image Credit: http://www.atlm.edu/administration/TitleIX.aspx

 

December 1 or so, Ms. DeVos posted her proposed rule change. She did this on the Federal Register, which is a public comment forum that is required to remain open for public comment for 60 days before she can change policy. Better still, she must summarize and respond to the comments before her proposal can go forward. Evidently to thwart public comments, she opened it at a time designed to overlap with winter breaks and final exams for the nation’s University students—the very people most likely to have comments about the proposed changes. In this way, she is sending a strong message.

United States Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos

She is beginning her efforts to undermine the Title IX mandate by focusing on sexual harassment, rather than assault. Her specific rule changes read nicely: give every credible report a thorough vetting, allow due process to both sides, allow appeals for both sides, or for neither, etc. The key is in her definition of harassment, which will essentially eliminate the need for an investigation at all. She moved to change the definition of harassment to from the well-established “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature” to behavior that is “severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive.” I ask: Objective to whom? No reporter will be able to pursue justice or even safety under this definition. A woman in a classroom in which the instructor refers routinely to “cute girls” in the class and is made to feel uncomfortable with the instructor’s constant discussion of these cute bodies, or leering at them, for examples, will have no claim, as such comments or hungry eyes would not necessarily be “objectively offensive.” A woman who is the subject of a veiled threat could be in the same situation—because it isn’t pervasive. A faculty member who brings colleagues or students in a class to strip clubs to socialize would go unchallenged, as strip clubs are not offensive to everyone. Meanwhile, women who feel unsafe or must endure a hostile learning or work environment will be driven off campus and their economic future will be jeopardized.

We must raise the hue and cry and generate a loud set of objections, using the Federal Register. Not only do we need to activate our networks here, but also to send this out to feminists at other Universities and ask them to activate their networks, too. It is crucial to keeping this fledgling system alive. For the record, punishment through this system remains shockingly rare, but nor has it had time to build the trust and awareness that will be necessary for it to provide the necessary measure of safety.

Women lived for generations with the understanding that others would not come to their aid if they were forced to endure harassment or assault, under the rationale that others just don’t get it. The past year or two have left no place for denial: the thousands of women who told their stories have sparked a change in the plausible deniability of bystanders. We, the bystanders, must take this opportunity to demonstrate that we understand the pervasive and damaging behavior of harassers and assaulters and we must stand up for the safety of all future victims. The Federal Register comment period (through January 28) is a meaningful opportunity for everyone to exactly that. Please voice your concern for the well-being of women students and object to Ms. DeVos’ policy change.

Speak out! Click here to comment on the Federal Register!

*Click the green button and enter your comment.

Drinking From The Same Well: White Supremacy, Misogyny, and the Fight for Justice in Solidarity

Director of Women’s Studies Alison Reiheld, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at SIUE, is on sabbatical leave this semester. Recent events, however, have driven her to think. And write. And keep acting.

CONTENT WARNING: gun violence, racist violence, anti-Semitic violence, gender-based violence. Where possible, images will honor the victims and will only show the faces of the perpetrators if they are obscured.

CONTENT REWARD: this is difficult, hard to read material. At the end, you will find some pictures of cute animals for relief.

“Understand that modern white supremacy, like many historical white supremacies, is anti-black, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-woman, and more. Elliot Rodger, Dylann Roof, and the shooter in Pittsburgh drank from the same ideological well — a well we have to drain.” 

–Nicole Hemmer, tweetstorm on antisemitism and Charlottesville, Oct 27, 2018

Nine years ago on the 20th anniversary of the event, I learned about the massacre at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. In 1989, twenty-five year old Mark Lepine, armed with a rifle and a hunting knife, walked into a classroom at the university, separated the men from the women, claimed he was “fighting feminism” because it ruined his life, called all the women in the room feminists, and proceeded to shoot all nine women in the room, killing six before moving through the rest of the university where he killed more women and many men. In total, he killed 14 women, injured 10 other women and 4 men, and then turned the gun on himself. He chose Ecole Polytechnique because he had been denied admission and blamed feminists and women for taking a spot that he believed belonged to him by right. While searching his body, police found a suicide note and a list in his pocket of 19 prominent Canadian women including a journalist and a government minister. The note said that Lepine believed there was no place for women in engineering, that women were trying to take over men’s jobs, and that feminists were responsible for higher insurance costs. The Montreal Massacre remains the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history and led to Canada’s current gun control laws. I had never heard of it.

The 14 women engineering students murdered by Marc Lepine in Montreal, Canada at Ecole Polytechnique

Because it IS an Emergency-The Mensi Project

SIUE Women’s Studies Interim Director Christy Ferguson discusses her motivation for starting The Mensi Project, a menstrual product sharing program for all women’s, family, and non-gender specific restrooms on campus at SIUE. 

Earlier this year, the women of SIUE noticed a change. Suddenly, the menstrual product dispensers that had lived in nearly every restroom, had mostly disappeared. The machines had been replaced by signs directing them to find their emergency coin-operated, backup plan on another floor of the building.

POOF! Gone. No more emergency pads or tampons.

What to do? What to do? Waddle uncomfortably to another bathroom hoping no one notices? Or resort to that final, uncomfortable and ineffective option *GULP* toilet paper? Ugh! No, thank you!

Well, worry NO MORE! In conjunction with the SIUE Women’s Studies program, I have set a plan in motion that not only has the potential to solve our emergency period predicament, but also show the world that in a time when women are under attack for speaking out against oppression, SIUE women are ready and willing to support one another, even in the smallest of ways: The Mensi Project.

I started with what I had in my office: plastic ziplock bags, tape, and a printer. I made bags for the basement, 2nd, and 3rd-floor women’s restrooms in Peck Hall. I filled each with a few pads and tampons and a sign. It wasn’t long beofre I noticed that others had added to the bags and some had been taken. It was wonderful.

So, how does it work? It is simple. Look for the brightly colored fabric bag hanging in the campus bathroom. If you need a tampon/pad/liner, take what you need, free of charge. Have extra or two in your purse? Consider sharing and leave them in the bag for the next possible period emergency. It is that simple. No money. No waddling to another floor. No worries.

The overall goal is to encourage women to be more mindful of each other in everyday situations. Although SIUE women’s studies will be continually collecting donations and using those donations to fill the bags as much as we can, the goal is for women to share amongst themselves. YOU can fill that bag! You can help whenever you can and wherever you are! You can donate one pad or 100! It is all up to you.

Men, Power, and Everyday Feminism

An SIUE alum now in grad school elsewhere reflects on the assumption that men are entitled to women’s attention whether they are reading, mourning, taking a train ride, talking with friends, or just not interested. Because of the charged nature of the comments, and the possibility of local retaliation in the current environment, the author wishes to remain anonymous.

TW: Discussion of rape culture, violence against women, Kavanaugh hearings, Bill Cosby sentencing, etc

Hi, everyone! Brevity is not my strong suit, but I will try to be brief. That said, I have multiple stories that I would like to share with you. I am currently pursuing my second a Master’s degree and, like other places and campuses across the country, my place has been buzzing about the recent Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh and the allegations of sexual assault brought against him by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University and, as of this writing, at least three other women. Among other news traveling through the campus grapevine are the trial and subsequent conviction of Bill Cosby for drugging and then sexually assaulting many women.

It was in this context that, just two days ago, I was standing in line at a local cafe when I overheard a young, early-20-something undergraduate discussing the Kavanaugh debacle in a very disturbing way. He was conversing with a fellow undergraduate, a young woman who looked to be about the same age. He claimed to not understand “what the big deal was” and that “stuff like that” (the activities that Kavanaugh participated in as a high school student in the 80s) happens “all the time.” There were also claims that Brett Kavanaugh and co. were “young kids.” A week prior to this encounter, I’d overheard another, very similar account–this time in regards to fraternities on our campus which endorsed sexual assault not unlike the famous Yale fraternity that chanted “No means yes, yes means anal,” a chant that was later echoed by fraternities across the country including at Texas Tech.  The overarching sentiment it seemed to me was “What’s the big deal? This is so commonplace that it isn’t noteworthy. Get over it. Let them be kids.”

Around the same time that I’d heard the comments about Theta Tau, I witnessed another incident on campus. I’d been walking from my house to the CVS that’s a couple blocks from my campus. As I was walking down the promenade of campus, I passed two girls about my size (quite short). They were clearly friends, and one of them was talking to another friend on her phone. As they walked past me, two guys about their age—they were all white and looked to be late teens, early 20s—approached them.

“The Irritating Gentleman”, by Berthold Woltze, painted in the late 1870’s. Dudes demanding women’s attention? Not new. The young woman, dressed all in black, could be in mourning. She is certainly simply traveling along on her own agenda. She is looking somberly directly at the viewer.

Favorite Feminist Heroes Part 4: Linda Nochlin

Our final installment in our Women’s History Month mini-series on Favorite Feminist Heroes comes to us from SIUE Art & Design Professor Katie Poole-Jones.  

Prof. Katie Poole-Jones at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in front of Adelaide Labille-Guiard’s “Self-Portrait with Two Pupils” ca. 1785 (the painting, not the selfie)

It is not a stretch to say that I am art historian, not to mention a feminist art historian, in large part thanks to Linda Nochlin. Although I never had the privilege of meeting her in person, her groundbreaking 1971 essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?,” left an indelible mark on a then impressionable college sophomore and forever changed the way that I would engage with (and later teach) art history. Stressing the institutional over the individual, Nochlin called attention to the implicit bias of the question posed in the title of her essay, imploring us to curb our knee-jerk reaction to offer up the names of the “greats” – Georgia O’Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, Artemisia Gentileschi – in response, as doing so would validate its misguided premise. Her challenging of the patriarchal value system of Western art and her insistence on exposing the educational and cultural barriers that kept women from greatness was an eye-opening and thrilling way to engage with the discipline that would become my life’s work.

Linda Nochlin

I always look forward to assigning Nochlin’s essay to my Women in Art students as it routinely produces some of the most engaged and passionate discussion that I see in my classroom. When I taught it once again this past January, a few months after her death, it was with a bittersweet tinge, but also with an increased desire to carry on the legacy of this amazing and inspiring feminist.

To learn more about Nochlin, check out these links:

• Linda Nochlin, trailblazing feminist art historian, dies at 86. 
• Why have there been no great women artists

Favorite Feminist Heroes, Part 3: Rachel Held Evans

Part 3 of our Women’s History Month series on Favorite Feminist Heroes comes to us from Instructor Darci Schmidgall of Sociology, also a SIUE graduate.

Darci Schmidgall doing her favorite activity, crossfit.

I am a self-identified Jesus freak sociologist, and Rachel Held Evans is one of my favorite feminists because she is taking on the white evangelical patriarchy. Her writings debunk the popular use of colorblindness by contemporary Christian leaders, acknowledging the institutionalization of racism both inside and outside of western Christianity, and calling for a concerted effort by those who identify as Christians to engage in racial justice activism.

Rachel Held Evans

She has been very vocal in the Trump era that the need to stay true to Christ’s teachings supersedes the desire of the Religious Right to seize political power by following a particular candidate whose words she points out are not only overtly racist and sexist, but clearly anti-Christian. Rachel has also been willing to openly deconstruct the engrained sexism behind the predominant Christian ideology of gender complementarianism, and constructive of gender egalitarianism as an accurate rendering of Christ’s prescriptions for gender relationships. This is her homepage: https://rachelheldevans.com