To be or not to be feminist : a herstory of the women in view festival
Date
1996
Authors
Burton, Rebecca Lyn
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to present a theatre herstory of Vancouver's Women In View festival, an annual arts event of female-initiated work. This multidisciplinary festival is the chief project of View The Performing Arts Society, an organization dedicated to the promotion of wimin in the arts. As such, the main line of inquiry of this thesis is to question the role and extent of feminist ideology (through an examination of festival format, mandate, marketing, accessibility and programming) in the overall presentation of the Women In View festival. The analysis reveals the emergence of three particular varieties of feminism which I have associated with liberal, cultural and materialist feminisms.
Background and context are provided for VIEW's activities, as well as an historical survey of each year's festival. The thesis then concludes that, yes, Women In View is a feminist festival (although not exclusively) and that VIEW's political positioning on the feminist spectrum is wonderfully inclusive since it embraces a variety of feminist philosophies. This conclusion is then placed in the larger context of the Third Wave wimin's movement, for VIEW has accomplished what many present day feminist organizations are struggling to do - it has united varied and divergent feminist perspectives under a single umbrella organization. Further conclusions are then drawn about the importance of such a festival and the positive influence it has had on the larger arts community.