Michigan: transgender controversy...

October 2000
Off Our Backs

Eight transgender activists, members of a Chicago group called "Camp
Trans Planning Committee" and the Boston and Chicago chapters of
Lesbian Avengers, were asked to leave the Michigan Womyn's Music
Festival this year. The eight were escorted to the Main Gate of the
festival, their attendance wristbands were cut off, and they were
expelled from the grounds. In keeping with Festival policy, their
entrance fees were not refunded.

The expulsion followed a demonstration by transgender activists at the
kitchen area during dinner on Saturday evening. Activists held signs
proclaiming themselves as "boy," "FTM," "intersex," "drag queen," and
"transwoman." They called for festival attendees to join them in their
protest and passed out stickers in support of transgender inclusion.
Their action was a challenge to the MWMF's express policy which
declares the Festival to be "womon-born-womon" space" and requests the
"transsexual community to respect and support this intention. The
Festival further declared that they will not question anyone's gender
at the Festival, but that individuals who self-declare as
"male-to-female transsexuals or female-to-male transsexuals now living
as men" will be denied admission or asked to leave if on the land.

There was disagreement as to the Festival's decision regarding the
eviction of the eight activists. In a press release from
www.camptrans.com, the expulsion was viewed as "turning a new page in
the escalating conflict over the policy's application" and as "the
first time the `womyn-born womyn only' policy has been used against
trannie boys, boydykes, FTM's, Lesbian Avengers and young
gender-variant women."

off our backs reporters on the scene observed festival staff saying to
the activists, "If you do not identify as womon-born womon, the policy
is clear." When challenged repeatedly by the activists to clarify their
policy, the staff stated, "We have been clear about what this festival
is about. It is for womyn-born womyn. Those of you who are not
womyn-born womyn, who identify as transsexual, not as transgender, we
are asking you to leave." Activists replied that if the staff were
telling them to leave, they would leave, but that if they were merely
asking them to leave, they would stay. Festival staff replied, "Those
who identify as transsexual, we are telling you to leave. Anyone else
can stay if you want." Then Festival staff declared they would not
debate the policy anymore and proceeded to escort those who chose to go
with them to the gate. As the activists followed Festival staff to the
main gate, they chanted, "We have been asked to leave, we are not going
voluntarily."

In addition to the protest at the Saturday evening dinner, transgender
activists staged a protest outside the night stage Friday night after
the concert was over. Activists held a banner proclaiming "Trans
Inclusion Now." Festival goers leaving the concert mostly fell quiet as
they passed the banner. One group started chanting "No boys at
Michigan" with several women joining in. One of the transgender
activists blocked the way of those chanting, and for several minutes
there was a tense standoff until the transgender activist, who was
blocking the way and yelling at one of the chanters, was finally pulled
aside by the other transgender activists. (off our backs collective
members were among those involved. See sidebar.)

--info from www.michfest.com and www.camptrans.com

by karla mantilla

excerpts from Michigan Womyn's Music Festival's statements on the
transgender issue

The Festival is womon-born womon space. That means it is an event
intended for womyn who were born and who have lived their entire life
experience as female--and who currently identify as a womon.

We ask the transsexual community to respect and support this
intention....

Just as we call upon the transsexual community to support womyn-born
womyn space, we encourage support and respect for the transsexual
community. As a community, we in Michigan are committed to fighting
prejudice and ignorance of all kinds; we do not want to see transphobia
fostered here or anywhere. Claiming one week a year as womyn-born womyn
space is not in contradiction to being trans-positive and trans-allies.
In the year 2000, the queer community enjoys such rich diversity. We
believe there is room for all affinity groups to enjoy separate and
supportive space, and also to come together in broader alliances to
fight prejudice that affects all of us. We are strong enough to hold
our incredible diversity in mutual respect and support.

From a statement by Lisa Vogel, Festival producer:

"Michigan has always been home to womyn-born womyn who represent every
point along the continuum of gender identity: from butch to femme and
beyond butch and femme, including many who consider themselves
transgendered. We remain committed to providing space for womyn-born
womyn to gather in celebration of our diverse identities as womyn-born
womyn.

It saddens me that the young womyn we used to call `baby-dykes' are now
growing up questioning the validity of the very concept of being
female. Many of us growing up, myself included, struggled fiercely with
the limited societal definition of what being a "woman" meant. That's
why we created this Festival--as an exploration and celebration of the
full range of who we are and all we can be as womyn. We refuse to see
"woman" turned into a dirty word or defined as an out-dated construct.

The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival remains clear and firm in our
commitment to maintain the Festival as womyn-born womyn space. At the
same time, we stand as allies with the trans community and refuse to be
forced into false dichotomies that equate being pro-womyn-born womyn
space with being anti-trans.

We believe the greater queer community is strong enough to support
separate space for all affinity groups. There are times all oppressed
communities need separate spaces, even away from their allies. The
Festival community learned this in the creation of a separate and
honored Womyn of Color space. We call upon the transsexual community to
respect and support the community of Michigan, which by its very
definition is separate space for womyn-born womyn."

excerpts from Camp Trans press release

Eight young attendees variously identifying as trannie boys, boydyke,
FTM, and lesbian were evicted from the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival
this Saturday evening after they refused to meet the Festival's
"womyn-born womyn only" policy....

More than 60 gender activists from these groups [Camp Trans Planning
Committee, Boston and Chicago chapters of Lesbian Avengers] plus
members of Transsexual Menace, supportive attendees and renowned
activist Dana Rivers gathered across the road from the Festival this
year to do outreach and education on what they viewed as a
discriminatory policy being unfairly applied....

As thousands of attendees looked on during dinner in the Festival's
huge dining area, the young activists held aloft signs declaring
themselves a variety of identities, including "boy," "FTM," "intersex,"
"drag queen," and "transwoman." ...

[t]he eight's expulsion marks the first time the "womyn-born womyn
only" policy has been used against trannie boys, boydykes, FTM's,
Lesbian Avengers and younger gender-variant women.

...Said one activist, "Vogel's policy towards transsexuals is now the
same as the US military's toward homosexuals. But `Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" only works when the target group collaborates by remaining
silent. Well we aren't silent. We don't identify as `womyn-born
womyn'--we don't know what it even means or why it should be used
against us or our trannie friends."

--from www.camptrans.com