It is the end of an era.
Some say that’s a good thing.
Others see it as one more erasure of lesbian cultural autonomy.
The era ending is that of the decades-long women-only festival known as MichFest, which turns 40 this August. While MichFest has never been promoted as a lesbian event, it has always been promoted as a women-only event and there’s no question that it has been a majority lesbian event since its inception.
This is why MichFest has been so vital to lesbian community. And also why for a good half of its existence MichFest has been mired in controversy. …
It was controversial because of the festival’s stated policy of being open exclusively to “womyn-born-womyn”, i.e. no transgender people of any stripe welcome. This became increasingly a point of conflict in an increasingly trans-inclusive feminist/lesbian community, and led to calls to boycott MWMF.
Be sure to read the rest of Brownworth’s article at the link.
Freedom and Power 