I've been trying to think about this issue from the festival organizers' point of view for the past few weeks and I have simply been unable to figure out what difference it makes, to the point of wanting to exclude others, to be a "womyn" born female. Maybe because I'm not one - perhaps the GG's on this site can enlighten me. Either that or the only other conclusion I can make is that it's a fancy excuse for good old bigotry.
The point is that MtF's and GG's are all women subject to the same, or worse, second class treatment by our patriarchal culture. So for the purposes of promoting political and cultural change, being born female doesn't seem to me to give any benefit over an MtF transsexual. Yes, a genetic woman may have suffered longer under the influence of our culture but that's all in the past - excluding transsexuals does not change or mend that in any way that I can see! Besides, show me a transsexual that hasn't suffered either, and many in worse ways! And to believe that an MtF transsexual might actually have been part of the patriarchy, well, that shows a complete and utter ignorance of what being trans is all about. So how does the exclusion of transsexuals actually benefit the people that attend the festival? I notice that the "mission" of the festival is often mentioned but I haven't seen any definition of it yet, especially one that clarifies my confusion.
While the better part of me still wants to understand what this is all about the worst part of me keeps remembering Janice Raymond and her vitriol
against transsexuals. Is this what it's really about?
helen
