This Year's Michigan Womyn's Music Festival Will Be the Last

http://www.advocate.com/michfest/2015/04/21/years-michigan-womyns-music-festival-will-be-last

BY  Trudy Ring
April 21 2015 9:17 PM ET

The 40th Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, to be held this August, will be the last, its founder announced today.

The storied women-only event, first held in 1976, has been the subject of controversy in recent years because of its exclusion of transgender women, with many artists and organizations deciding to boycott.

I just found out - incredibly upset, hurt, grieving, and... angry.

I am watching carefully how various "communities" respond to this sad announcement.

This may change how i not only participate in my communities, but identify myself. I am still kind of in shock, although to be honest, i saw it coming...

Apparently, its more to do with Lisa Vogel just wanting to retire more than anything. I don't know if all the crap thrown at it was a consideration or not. I do hope that perhaps someone will be able to continue it in some fashion or have something similar as it was a major thing for many lesbians.

So their response to the withdrawing support due to trans exclusion is to stop doing the festival instead of simply including transwomen in order to get artists and supporters to come back? How petty. I have much stronger words, but in an attempt to remain civil about it, I will simply call it petty.

Skin, no one has said that. The only excuse we've been given is that Lisa Vogel(?) is feeling tired and doesn't want to pass it on. She'd rather someone create something new. True or excuse it doesn't matter. We should graciously accept her reasons especially as we suspect otherwise. Ultimately it's unimportant. We have much more critical issues to deal with than a woman's music festival most of us wouldn't have attended even if we had been welcome.

I worry more because the TERFs are on the wrong side of history and know it, just like the tea party. It makes them desperate and dangerous.

Why would anyone want to go?

I say good riddance.  That stupid event and the underlying prejudice that sullies it has cost me at least one valued couple friendship over the years.  Not because I've had any burning desire to crash their lame party, nor have I ever begrudged my friends attending the event every year.  What finally spoiled the friendship was that every effing summer the inclusion/exclusion debate was sparked anew within our circle of friends; a debate I refused to participate in, but one which I could not help being exposed to against my will.  I finally had to exclude this couple from my life in order to avoid exposure to the rhetoric and the battle lines inspired by the event's prejudicial policies. 

So I say good riddance.  May the event's demise turn out to be a little bit of progress on the road towards increasing human rights for gender variant people everywhere.

Quote from: skin on April 23, 2015, 09:16:33 AM
So their response to the withdrawing support due to trans exclusion is to stop doing the festival instead of simply including transwomen in order to get artists and supporters to come back? How petty. I have much stronger words, but in an attempt to remain civil about it, I will simply call it petty.

it's better that it's closing tbh. We would never have been truly accepted since they have been battling us for so long now we just need a new more inclusive festival to support female musicians and safe spaces for all women.

Quote from: Miharu BarbieThat stupid event and the underlying prejudice that sullies it has cost me at least one valued couple friendship over the years.  Not because I've had any burning desire to crash their lame party, nor have I ever begrudged my friends attending the event every year.  What finally spoiled the friendship was that every effing summer the inclusion/exclusion debate was sparked anew within our circle of friends; a debate I refused to participate in, but one which I could not help being exposed to against my will.  I finally had to exclude this couple from my life in order to avoid exposure to the rhetoric and the battle lines inspired by the event's prejudicial policies.

This!

I have a lesbian history, and most of my friends are lesbians. The only one of them who has a hard time accepting my transition is a faithful attendee at MWMF.  She thinks their exclusionary policy is just fine, and it reinforces her own lack of acceptance of the fact that many transgender people need medical transition: that it's not a matter of "gender roles."

I'm sure she's just heartbroken about this, but my sympathy is very limited -- non-existent, in fact. Whatever the ostensible reason for their decision to close up shop rather than change their policy, as far as I'm concerned it's a victory. (It's also a victory for those of us who care about language, but that's a separate issue. )

I find it highly ironic that a group of already-marginalized people feels the need to further marginalize another group of people that has already found themselves at the bottom of society's pecking order.  Wouldn't you think they would want to find common ground and gain more strength with more allies?

I looked at the list of performers for this year and recognized exactly one name.  Nowhere to be found were Melissa Etheridge nor The Indigo Girls.  I suspect that this year's festival is probably going to end up pretty far in the red because of the boycott by the artists and trans allies, and that is truly why it will never happen again.   

I salute all of the perfomers and fans who have ever bowed out of this festival because they recognized injustice and hypocrisy when they saw it.

As a musician and performer, I truly believe that music is something that should unite people instead of dividing us.

Well said, Jill. 

I hadn't thought about it from that perspective, but it makes a lot of sense that a lack of willing talent would contribute to this. And yes, the performers who have taken a stand against MWMF's discriminatory policy deserve a big "Thank you!"

(Trying really hard not to say something snarky about people who identify as "wimmin," and almost succeeding.)