"Not Giving Up the Fight" I posted about our WBW Dyke Space at Lesbian Caucus group on Facebook

I will not stop this fight, but neither will I use my 'real name' online. NO. My real name has been out there, in now TWO communities REALTIME where I took this stance, two communities I highly value. The first community, when I took this stance and said: 'this woman to woman organization should NOT be changed to accomodate FTM's, those who want to transition to male, and make that choice, because the FOCUS of it is by and FOR women' I was set up, entirely villified, almost lost my precious relationship, the nastiest backstabbing stuff, lies, distortions and ugliness drummed up from my past, or about me, or complete untruths, that essentially I left that community, that same hurt you have H., is the same hurt within me, this is completely REALTIME. The second community is my women's spirituality community, and it's this year they've been trying to recruit trans to come, and publicizing the change in policy. I had to fight hard to at least keep MY workshops for WBW only, when most of the board opposed my point of view, and barely conceded it to me. I will NOT teach my Amazon Mysteries to the born male. And I still was villifed and ugly things said about me, and other Radical Lesbians and Lesbian Separatists who opposed giving up the focus of our Sacred WBW space, and much of it I'm sure was informed by the Pantheacon debate, Z Budapest, Rabbit, Ruth Barrett and others who taught strictly Dianic Wicca for WBW. And they were HORRIBLY villified through the Pagan press as a result by the trans block and trans supporters, for the WBW policy of Dianic Wicca(in the exact same way Michfest is). Not only that, one workshop that was done at the last Pantheacon, the trans and their supporters formed a gauntlet that any woman would have had to have gone through to attend Z's self blessing ritual.......we keep trying to reach out to likeminded others, but why should we do it in back alleys, back doors, in secret apartments, and basically back in the closet? NO. If everyone else can be out of the closet so can we...and while I agree with you and Ch. who have been longtime voices FOR WBW space,that we need to attract women to our cause rather than scare them away, I DO agree with that....we also need to defend our territory as well, and our spaces from cooptation.....

Preserving our WBW Dianic Space, and Controversies around it from the Pagan and Gender Conference last week

I am going to give you the link to this current controversy and assault upon our Dianic oriented Paths, the right to wbw space in the greater Pagan community, of which Dianic Wicca in particular has been demonized around, that and worshipping Goddess only, no male dieties. Other than the ongoing controversies around maintaining our born female space in Michigan, the latest pop-up of this controversy occurred when Rabbit and the Amazon aspect of Caya Coven had a Dianic Amazon wbw ritual at Pantheacon last year, without listing the wbw requirements for the workshop. Several trans showed up, some were turned away, or made aware of the statement that it was for born female only, and a ton of controversy, much like what happens at Michfest and on the Michfest list, occurred, villifying the Dianic Path, and the right to claim wbw space and focus on women's blood mysteries, bodies and spirits from the moment of birth onwards. For years, however, Ruth Barrett, Z Budapest and other Dianic leaders have been holding Dianic wbw rituals at Pantheacon without too much incident. Ruth and Wendy Griffin came forward to state the importance of holding down this space at a workshop a couple days at Pantheacon after the controversy.

I myself had to argue in my own women's spirituality community for keeping my Amazon workshops born female only. It was very trying for me, as the group decided to open up our festival to mtf's,whether fully transitioned(penis removed) or not. I stated this would really change the Festival, and it's energy and focus. We haven't had the influx of trans yet, but if and when that occurs, it will irrevocably change from the wonderful sacred energies of born female connection and space.

So here is the link about the Conference, the controversy, the attempt to satisfy all communities, and the ritual which I hope will bring some mutual respect, including respect of boundaries and mental, emotional and spiritual healing around these matters. However, I am not holding my breath around this one. It is a wait and see to see what will unfold.

http://way-of-the-rabbit.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html

-In DykeAmazon Sisterhood,
-M.A.
http://way-of-the-rabbit.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html
If that link doesn't work,just try her main link:
http://way-of-the-rabbit.blogspot.com
then go to September 2011 and look for the outline ritual of radical forgiveness, and announcement about the Conference.

From the Michfest List: WBW Building Space for WBW

Re: WBW building safe space for WBW

Sister A., thank you for this: "And in defense of lesbian separatism, we have no other venue available to us any more. We can't even keep bio men out of our dyke marches, and I mean men, not MTF's. Why? Because some lesbians dont see a need to exclude men from a dyke march and we dont have lesbian solidarity anymore. Some lesbians dont choose womyn first."

That is so true A. The SF Dyke March is always crashed by every version of queer and men, including bisexual women including their boyfriends, to gay guys from the Castro feeling they HAVE A RIGHT to be in the March(after all Dolores Park is their cruising zone, and right down from the Castro). I wonder what would happen if we enforced those boundaries? And FTM's feel they too have 'a right' to be in the March. So it really dilutes the energy, and especially when the march organizers make statements that "past, present and future women" can march.....and takes away from the focus on us Dykes and Dyke rights! But then many Lesbians/Dykes don't put Dykes and women first and foremost! I ALWAYS have! Some surround them by a sea of gay men and become almost unapproachable, others by other versions of queer, and now there are so many microidentities as to be downright confusing..but then when you look at the pics, one thinks: "That's a bunch of dykes, under another name!" So many Butches/boi dykes/genderqueer don't even want the term 'female' or 'woman' applied to them, like it is some great shame(and I'm NOT talking FTM's here), that events and spaces are now being referred to as 'Queer', not even 'Queer Women' anymore, like the word 'woman' only refers to high femme, and that they are outside of even Female, which is barely tolerated, and yet insistent on saying 'female bodied'. It has all become so strange, divisive. And almost NONE have a concept of just how empowering it is to be in a week or close to a week in women only Dyke centered space, and see the amazing diversity of womonhood/femaleness Michfest represents!

Thank you also Grace for your statement above! The same goes with my Amazon and Dianic rituals. I WANT to ritual with those who are born, live and love as Female, and the connection we have beyond words because of it, whether it be the menstrual blood mysteries or the gynenergy we raise, goes beyond words, or the glue between Dykes and our Amazon herstories going back to ancient times carving out our space for OUR TRUTH, our born Female bodies, minds and spirits...and for those of us who are Butch and have been on that 'gender line' for ages, we are STILL PROUD TO BE FEMALE, and ARE FULLY FEMALE. We NEED our wbw space for our healing, for our Lesbian connections, for our blood connections, and for the mutual sacred energies we can raise together, hearing each other's voices.

To my dying day, I will protect our spaces and places, because ONLY in WBW space amongst likeminded womyn and Dykes, can I really and truly FEEL MY POWER, not just personally, but energetically and psychically in a way I can't in any other space because of the heaviness of the patriarchal imperative and heavy male energies. Whether they be from the formerly, present or future male. I don't care if this is 'politically correct' or not, but denying born females access to OUR OWN spaces is the height of misogyny, in a very real way. It does not need to be just 'one week out of the year', that would NOT be enough for me, but when and where we need it, without others' needs crowding out our voices or destroying what overall women's spaces(much less Lesbian spaces, which there are almost none)we have left!
-MasterAmazon

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I am committed to the Michigan community, as well as committed to maintaining this space with its original intention. - LV 8/2011