Has the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival changed its policy allowing transgender women to attend? For years the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival has had a policy of being a space for womyn-born womyn only. This policy has excluded men and transsexual women from attending.
Many people have protested this policy and since 1993, a group calling themselves Camp Trans have set up across the road from the festival entrance. I received a press release yesterday from Camp Trans stating that Michigan had changed its policy and had allowed a transsexual woman to buy a festival ticket.
I decided to check in with the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival to get their side of the story. The woman I spoke with said no one was available to talk, but they would be issuing a statement later in the day. The statement said, “Since 1976, the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival has been created by and for womyn-born womyn, that is, womyn who were born as and have lived their entire life experience as womyn. Despite claims to the contrary by Camp Trans organizers, the Festival remains a rare and precious space intended for womyn-born womyn.”
Camp Trans says this is what happened: “Organizers of Camp Trans, the annual protest across the road from the festival, say that every year at least one trans woman at Camp Trans walks to the festival gate with a group of supporters, explains that she is trans, and tries to buy a ticket. In past years, the festival box office has produced a printed copy of the policy and refused. 'This time, the response was, cash or credit?' said Jessica Snodgrass, a Camp Trans organizer and festival attendee who spent the week reaching out to supporters inside the fest.” Camp trans went on to say that Michigan has changed its policy and is now allowing trans women to attend the festival. Is this true? Find out what the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival has to say.
- The issue of where trans women and men fit into the lesbian community has been getting a lot of publicity lately. This article was in the Sunday The New York Times.
- For the women who attend the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival every year, it has special meaning. Find out what it was like for one former worker to return to Michigan after 11 years away. Retts returns to Michigan.
© Photo by Tia Watts
Truly a pity. Even more of a pity to hear Lisa Vogel regurgitate the same old exccuses for transphobic discrmination, the same antiquated anti-feminist agenda.
Just more evidence of how very far we, as a community, have yet to evolve beyond our own bigotries to be able to effectively model the kind of inclusion we desire from the straight community.
Just very, very, sad…
Having a history of being discriminated against, it’s pathetic to find a Women’s festival that turns it around on someone else. Will we never learn?
Wow…after reading this, I went on to do more research into this policy. Check out http://eminism.org/michigan/documents.html It is a real eye opener. It really bothers me that the organizers of this festival are so blatantly bigoted and oppressive of our trans sisters. Lisa Vogel just outright states several times that trans women aren’t “real” women and continues to use male pronouns to refer to some of the trans women who have organized against the festival. As someone who fits her narrow definition of a “womyn-born womyn”, I want my trans sisters to know that I find her actions and the elitist attitude of the festival organizers deplorable. It’s absolute bunk that “womyn-born womyn” need space of our own, away from trans womyn. She’s obviously just uncomfortable around trans folk. It’s no different than white folks not wanting black folks to drink from the same water fountain. I think it is also interesting to note that a survey taken at the festival several years ago indicated that 80% of festival goers favored changing the policy to allow trans women in.
This also has much broader implications. Trans women are kept from accessing necessary services such as rape crisis hotlines and domestic violence shelters because of similar “womyn-born womyn” policies. I know this from first-hand experience as a former domestic violence victim advocate. I worked in a shelter that denied safe space to trans women who were in life threatening situations.
I find it interesting that our Lesbian Life Guide advocated attending the festival in her August 8th column. I challenge her to stand in solidarity with our trans sisters and boycott the festival…and write a column about it! How about next year, having a report back from Camp Trans?