Feminists veto 'Calendar Girls' cash

A GROUP of women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for victims of abuse have had their donation refused by Scottish Women's Aid.
The charity said it could not support the fundraising efforts of the 11 women from Alloa, Clackmannanshire, because they had posed semi-naked.

The women, who raised £600 for the charity, said they had been inspired by the Women's Institute "Calen
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dar Girls". The WI members raised more than £2 million for Leukaemia Research by posing nude.

Since their 2000 calendar, numerous copycat versions have been produced to raise funds, prompted by the hugely successful film Calendar Girls, starring Julie Walters and Dame Helen Mirren.

Morag Hill, who suffered domestic abuse for eight years, said she came up with the idea of a calendar with business partner Katherine Cram as a way of raising money for Scottish Women's Aid.

She said: "When I phoned Scottish Women's Aid to tell them we had a calendar and I needed to know how we could get the cash to them, the woman on the end of the phone said they would not be associated with it.

"She said that they did not support women taking their clothes off to raise money and that they were a feminist movement. It made me feel really angry."

Out of the 11 women who took part in the calendar, five have suffered domestic abuse and wanted to do something to help other victims. "We are not members of the sex industry; we are just trying to help," Ms Hill said.

But Scottish Women's Aid is adamant that the calendar is inappropriate. Jacqui Kelly said: "We are a feminist organisation and, of course, we are happy that these woman feel empowered by what they are doing. But we are opposed to the sex industry, and we have an issue with women removing clothes."

The Alloa women are aiming to generate 2,000 orders for their calendar. Reacting to the controversy last night, Sandra Brown, of the Moira Anderson Foundation, a charity that helps victims of violence and sexual abuse, said the reaction defied common sense.

She said it was incredible that, in the current financial climate, a charity could refuse a donation from "well-intentioned" women. "If some of these women are survivors (of abuse] they know exactly what it's all about," said Ms Anderson.

"It's a strange overreaction, because these women (in the calendar] are making their own decisions. It's about being assertive, and if these women have the self-esteem, then I would say 'go for it'. Unless something is abusive or deeply offensive, people will see it in the spirit it is intended."

However, a spokeswoman for the charity Zero Tolerance said there was no place for such nude calendars, and it was not the right way to highlight feminist issues.

She said: "We would not take money from a calendar like that. We should be showcasing women for their talents and aspirations.

"Anything that focuses on women's bodies is not helpful.

"We live in a culture where female nudity is everywhere and there is too much female nudity … and not enough celebration of women's brains.

"It undermines our work to achieve gender equality."

A PHENOMENON LAID BARE

THE calendar girls phenomenon began in 1998 when the ladies of the Rylstone Women's Institute decided to strip for a calendar, making a fortune for charity in the process.

John Baker died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and his wife and her friends, members of the WI in the Yorkshire Dales, agreed to raise funds for research into the disease that had caused his death.

The idea was to do an "alternative" WI calendar dedicated to him, featuring the traditional WI crafts – but the ladies would be bare.

A Hollywood film, Calendar Girls, followed, starring Julie Walters and Dame Helen Mirren, and inspired a raft of copycat charity calendars.