On October 20, 2014, some of the Barrie And District Raging Grannies came together for a group interview with Dr. May Chazan of Trent University. The title of May’s research project is Transnational Mobilizations and Older Women’s Struggles for Social Justice.
As her introductory material explains, May Chazan is interested in “why and how older women are mobilizing for social change and building transitional networks.” As well as analyzing written material produced by various grandmother movements, she is interviewing politically engaged older women across North America, both in focus groups and via telephone interviews.
The BAD Grans were delighted to host a focus group. We are always happy to explain why we became Raging Grannies, and why we continue to do our small and songful part to help bring about social justice and equality, tackle the enormous challenge of climate change, and make sure older women’s voices continue to be heard. Just for starters!
The discussion also explored how the BAD Grans network with other groups active in Barrie, such as Amnesty International, AWARE Simcoe, the Busby Centre and CARP, and inspired us to forge new alliances, including aboriginal movements such as Idle No More.
May Chazan is shown here, leading the discussion. She was assisted by Miriam Sherwin, a graduate student who is working towards an MA in Canadian and indigenous studies. She’s the woman with the lovely smile, on the right in the threesome on the sofa below.
Also on the sofa are Granny Denise on the left, and Granny Karen in the centre. Below them are Granny Molly in white and Granny Hendrika in red. Granny Anita was busy with the camera.
Thanks so much to May Chazan for offering the BAD Grans this opportunity to contribute to her research, and to both her and Miriam for making the long journey. We very much enjoyed the session, and look forward to reading the book in due course.
Thanks also to Granny Molly for providing her home as the venue, and feeding us a delicious lunch.