Five minutes with Biff Ward
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Biff Ward is a longtime feminist and activist, active in social justice movements for decades.
The author of the groundbreaking Father-Daughter Rape, and a memoir, In My Mother’s Hands, her latest book, The Third Chopstick, is an account of her obsession with the Vietnam War, from 70s pacifist to supporter of Vietnam vets.
We sat down with Biff to find out more about this intriguing book, with its intriguing title.
Can you tell us about the meaning of the title of the book?
Several people told me that The Third Chopstick was too quirky — everyone knows you only need two! A veteran named Ray Fulton gave it to me. He used it as a means of picturing how veterans feel separated from the rest of civil society. It’s a simple but unexpected metaphor and I liked that it has an Asian flavour.
How do you explain your shift from pacifist and anti-Vietnam war activist to chronicler of Vietnam vets’ stories?
What I found is that I didn’t ‘shift’ from my anti-war position at all. As I listened to veterans, I became ever more affirmed in my belief that this was a profoundly immoral war. The fury and grief I felt at what had happened to the veterans became seamless with my opposition to the war—the damage done to them was a further reason to prove that this war should never have happened.
There are several moments in the book where you try to connect with people but you don’t fit a ‘known category’ in the Vietnam narrative, for example, with the veterans’ wives and sometimes even people in your own social network. How did you explain your keen interest in Vietnam at these moments?
Good question! Often I couldn’t explain clearly but I never doubted my path. I was driven. My visceral sense of connection to that war, my desire to bring it back to life through the lens of compassion for all parties, was utterly imperative. I had to write it. The feedback I’ve had so far, especially from veterans’ partners, suggests that I have finally succeeded in providing that explanation.
You have a long background in women’s rights, including work at refuges. Did you notice anything in common around ‘trauma’ with previous work and the vets you met?
Yes. Trauma is trauma—and while every experience is unique in it details and tone, all trauma is eased by sharing it in a safe environment. I perceived a startling parallel between women’s refuges and the Vietnam Veterans’ Federation in that both provided a space for peer support plus some professional help. Needless to say, the veterans I said this to were somewhat surprised.
You’ve been a ‘brazen hussy’ for a long time now – how do you see the state of women’s affairs in Australia today?
I see a revolution in action. In the 70s explosion of Women’s Liberation, we brazen hussies were seen as extreme, as ‘other’, as weird and even scary. At the same time we created a framework, including language like ‘sexism’ and ‘sexual harassment’ and ‘gender equity’ for pursuing justice for women. The ideas and structures from that time have simmered for fifty years and now we have the fruit, a shared rage that is sweeping the land and an environment where embracing the identity of feminist is more and more common. I have absolute faith that all the passionate young women who are angry/upset/alarmed about gender issues will remain noisy and focused for the rest of their lives, as we have done.
Any reading recommendations from your research?
The Third Chopstick has a reading list at the end, separated into sections: Vietnamese, Australian and American.
What’s on your TBR (to be read) pile?
Jesustown by Paul Daley, Ghost River by Tony Birch and, belatedly, An Unwinnable War – Australia In Afghanistan by Karen Middleton
Biff will be speaking with Christine Helliwell and Karen Middleton on Sunday 4 Sept at Muse’s Women Writing War event.
