How do you spell.......

In case you haven't heard.

Google.com.

Type in the word "failure".

Look at the first thing that comes up.

I haven't laughed this hard in so long.........

Still bigots after all these years....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 22, 2006

MICHIGAN WOMYN'S MUSIC FESTIVAL SETS THE RECORD "STRAIGHT"

Hart, Michigan

Seeking to correct misinformation widely distributed by "Camp Trans" organizers, Michigan Womyn's Music Festival founder and producer Lisa Vogel released the following clarification:

"Since 1976, the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival has been created byand 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."

"The facts surrounding the interactions between WWTMC and Camp Trans organizers are as follows: In the months preceding this year's Festival, held August 8 - 13, there was communication between a Camp Trans organizer named Lorraine and Lisa Vogel. Letters from Lorraine continued during the Festival, when they were hand-delivered to the Festival's front gate from Camp Trans, which takes place on Forest Service Land across from Festival property.

On Tuesday, August 8th, Camp Trans organizers inquired at the Box Office about Festival admission.

They were told that the Festival is intended for womyn-born womyn, and that those who seek to purchase tickets are asked to respect that intention. Camp Trans organizers left without purchasing tickets. They returned the next day and were given the same information. Lorraine at that point chose to purchase a ticket.

On Wednesday, August 9th, Vogel sent a reply letter to Lorraine which stated in part:"I deeply desire healing in our communities, and I can see and feel that you want that too. I would love for you and the other organizers of Camp Trans to find the place in your hearts and politics to support and honor space for womyn who have had the experience of being born and living their life as womyn. I ask that you respect that womon born womon is a valid and honorable gender identity. I also ask that you respect that womyn born womyn deeply need our space -- as do all communities who create space to gather, whether that be womyn of color, trans womyn or trans men... I wish you well, I want healing,and I believe this is possible between our communities, but not at the expense of deeply needed space for womyn born womyn."

Vogel's written request that Camp Trans organizers respect the Festival as womyn-born-womyn space was consistent with information provided to Camp Trans organizers who approached the Festival Box Office. "Does this represent a change in the Festival's commitment to womyn-born womyn space? No." says Vogel. "If a transwoman purchased a ticket, it represents nothing more than that womon choosing to disrespect the stated intention of this Festival."

At this point I stopped reading.

It's times like these that I despise semantics.

Yes, I agree that from all appearances, it looks like Camp Trans jumped the gun. I agree with that.

But that's all I agree with.

What's with this "womon" crap?

Why aren't they "womyn" like you? Are they not good enough?

Or do they not fit your narrow definition of "womyn"?

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I've always despised labels. Labels impose limits. Labels impose stereotypes in the guise of expectations and fools people into having certain perceptions about certain groups or types of people.

Yeah, I hate labels.

Labels are used to divide, to separate, to make someone look and feel different. Even if they aren't.

But what pertains to this most is that they are used to point someone out who may not be that much different from you or I in the first place.

I'm not going to beat around the bush here; with most trans people I've come across, I really couldn't tell. Sometimes the adam's apple would give them away, but, some of them are beautiful women.

I'll explain why this issue is so important to me.

Despite religious bigots' best attempts, I still believe and love God. I also believe that God does not make mistakes.

He simply doesn't.

The gender of a child that is created is nothing short of a crap-shoot. It's a fifty-fifty chance that the baby is going to be a boy or a girl. Unless you're one of those assholes who wants a "designer" baby. Blond hair, blue eyes, male. You play God, I sincerely hope you end up with a 4'5" boy who is infertile, hideous, covered with warts and bad acne and half-bald.

Seriously.

Back to my point. Gender is a crap-shoot. So, it can be wrong. The brain and the soul in that particular body could very well belong to a woman, but end up in a man's body.

Who are we to say that someone really is or is not a woman?

If someone believes that they are a woman, and, goes through the tedious and painful process of getting a sex change, should we not respect that decision, that voyage? Why should we not welcome them into the very folds for which they fought to get into?

This all goes back to my earlier point about validation through degradation. Why must we feel compelled to step on someone as a point of entrance to the rest of the world? Must the oppressed become the oppressor, if even for a moment?

It's about fucking time....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 21, 2006

Michigan Women's Music Festival

Ends Policy of Discrimination

Against Trans Women

HART, MICHIGAN - The Michigan Women's Music Festival began admitting openly trans (transgender/transsexual) women last week, bringing success to a longstanding struggle by trans activists both inside and outside the festival.

"Seeing trans women inside the festival for the first time brought me to tears," said Sue Ashman, who attends the festival every year. "It's restored my faith in women's communities."

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. "They said the festival has no policy barring any woman from attending."

Camp Trans will partner with a group of supporters inside the fest next year to establish an anti-transphobia area within the festival. Representatives from Camp Trans and A group of festival workers and attendees, organizing under the name "The Yellow Armbands," plan to educate people on trans issues and provide support to trans and differently gendered women.

Festival attendees have worn yellow armbands for the past three years as a symbol of pro-trans inclusion solidarity.

It's about damn time.

When I read this email, it brought tears to my eyes. For 15 years, the organizers of the Women's Fest refused to acknowledge trans-women. I remember reading stories about how these women would stand outside the front gate, initially getting booed, being jeered at, having stuff thrown at them, even dealing with counter-protests.

I've been following this since I was 20. Every time a friend of mine told me that she was going, no, let me re-word that, every time a woman-born-woman friend of mine would tell me she was going, I would ask her if she was aware of this discriminatory policy.

They either didn't care or agreed with it.

**************************************************************

When I was younger, this bothered me simply because it seemed like discrimination, point blank. I made this a black-and-white issue because that's how I saw things then.

Now that I'm a little older, wiser and more involved in LGBT rights, I see all the gray of this issue. Yes, it is still discrimination, but, it's not just the act itself I see, but, also the community that was doing it. What I see now is that the lesbian/womyn communities, two groups that have been and still are discriminated against became the ones who oppressed.

Looking back on things, it almost seems that one minority segment of a society feels compelled to discriminate against another on the path to its validation. It's a cycle I don't understand. You would think that one would want allies in the fight for their cause, not create enemies in the process.

Well, either way, this news is joyful and has put a big smile on my face and tears in my eyes.

I'll be getting to my whole "vacation" post soon, I promise.

Hello there, sexy!

Yes, I do love my new PC, thank you very much.

It's sexy-sexual. Sexy-sexy-sexual.

Yeah, I like it.

Combined with my other new toy, my digital camera, I should be soon amazing you with my mediocre photography and banal musings.

There will be no porn. Get over it.

I so need to girlfriend. Seriously.

Why yes, I am still alive!

I'll be posting later on today, after work.

I was on vacation last week. You would think that I would have updated this thing.

Nope.

My f&#king computer was on the fritz. I couldn't even get the damn thing past the windows screen.

So, now, I am typing this quick note on my brand new HP Pavilion Slimline PC, while viewing these words on my brand new monitor, while still in pain and anger that this new $1000 system was the reason why I had no f%*king money to spend at the Bristol RenFair this past weekend.

FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I do have pics. And a little souvenir that cost me $180 total. I was able to buy that much.