The Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival has been, for many lesbian and feminist women a ritual experience, where women could be surrounded only by other women, insulated from the sexism pervading their normal daily lives.
Every year, thousands flock to the iconic festival in Michigan. Unfortunately, also iconic to the festival is their notorious mistreatment of trans women and the blatant transphobia evidenced in their (informal) policies of exclusion of trans women.
This year, Secular Woman joins with many other organizations and individuals, including The National Black Justice Coalition and GLAAD CEO Sarah Ellis, to call on MWMF to end their transphobic policy and allow ALL women to attend the festival and celebrate their womanhood.
Our president, Kim Rippere, asks that the festival demonstrate an inclusive nature and “welcome all women”. She says that “changing the policy to allow every woman to participate in the festival will boldly announce a commitment to ending the discrimination of women; your inclusive perspective; and your willingness to grow, learn, and take corrective action.”
Kim speaks on behalf of Secular Woman when she reminds MWMF that we are “committed to the inclusion of all women” – our past includes working with trans advocates to petition the Southern Poverty Law Center to recognize Gender Identity Watch as a hate group.
Our commitment to trans inclusion and full equality carries through in our request that the festival overturn a long and ugly tradition of inequality and embrace an understanding of women that includes every woman, not just cisgender women.
Join with us and sign the petition by Equality Michigan to end the exclusion of trans women from MWMF.
