The politics of talking:
Doing "woman-positive"
in a learner-centred literacy program

Marion Wells
Saint John Learning Exchange, Saint John, NB

When I first became involved in CCLOW's action research project involving woman-positive activities, I was interested in discovering what women in other programs might be doing that we weren't. I read the term - woman-positive - and I was intrigued. As executive director of the Saint John Learning Exchange and a self-identified feminist, I felt rather pleased with the track record in our literacy program. I felt we were responsive to women's concerns and maybe I was looking for affirmation of that.

I don't think I have ever been unduly smug about what we were doing in the program, though. In fact I had several times questioned whether we were doing enough for women learners. My staff usually fielded my questions with well-put responses. They argued for a humanistic, equality-based learning and social environment, and we always tried to provide that.

My doubts about whether we had a good focus for meeting women's needs centred on whether we helped women solve their problems. Primarily, I saw women as victims - particularly undereducated and poor women. It is also true that I saw them as extraordinarily brave and very determined as they packed their kids off to baby-sitters or to school to put in three to six hours a day at the Centre. And I knew most of them were enormously social creatures in class and in the hallways, just as I am. I observed them both helping each other and giving moral support to the men in the groups. The social environment we nurture involves giving moral support generously. Women and men offer friendships which frequently cross gender boundaries. Men in the groups also give encouragement to women, as well as to their male comrades.

A lot of problem-solving takes place in our learning groups. Back then, when we were beginning to get to know CCLOW, I was satisfied that we were for the most part giving women learners what they needed from a literacy /basic education program. But I did always wonder whether we should have some women-only activities. Even though I thought we were already woman-positive, I wondered about our responsibility to help women deal with violence, sexual abuse, and lack of power.

Our counsellor does one-to-one counselling and refers women to agencies for help with specific problems. Perhaps, I thought, we should also be giving women opportunities to talk about their problems using a group therapy approach. From these groups they would gain strength. Women-only groups would help women to find out more about the reasons for their disempowerment and determine ways they could gain control over the things that held them down and back.