Think Pink

Lorinda Earl, Pink House Director, Code Pink Organizer

Activist, pinkhouse.ca, dalaimamas.com

by Jennifer Croll

photo by Jaime Kowal

Pink is a power colour for Lorinda Earl. “It just has this really strong connection to everything female.” She is one of Vancouver’s busiest advocates for women’s issues and her projects include Code Pink, an organization devoted to empowering women and creating social change through community involvement; the Pink House, a retreat and resource centre in the Downtown Eastside; and a myriad of other activities.

Code Pink brought Earl to fully embrace activism. “It was a bit of a coming out for me,” she says. “Before that, I never denied that I was a female, but I wasn’t putting it out there as a strength. But then I realized it’s one of the most powerful things I have going on.”

Earl is mother to four-month-old Sahra. Asked if this influences how she works, she laughs. “Babies don’t operate on anybody else’s time. Yeah, I’ve seen a pretty profound shift in what matters.” Always aware of women’s marginalization, Earl has recently become attuned to the particular struggles faced by pregnant women. “I’m now a breast-feeding advocate!” she proclaims.

But, perhaps, what has most affected her is the number of mothers she sees walking in Vancouver neighbourhoods, alone. Thus was born her newest project, Flashmoms. “It’s hard to connect as a mother, what with erratic schedules,” she says. She will use social networking technology to organize impromptu Flashmom meetings, whereby a quick jaunt to the park with the kids can turn into a community-building exercise. Flashmoms (dalaimamas.com) hits Vancouver by mid-May.

And, to keep things the right shade, the Pink House will soon be getting a paint job. “Before,” Earl deadpans, “it was kind of fuchsia.”