There are a number of lesbians who are very big on separatism -- or what they call the enjoyment of womyn-space. They work to create womyn's space and exclude all males from the age of seven and older. The general census is that males are aggressive and encroach upon their personal space throughout a patriarchal-society, and so their private space should be male-free. There are times when these women can send a very strong message of hostility towards the male population.

I do not know if there is a cause of anger and/or hate, but there is some subtext coming out of it that affects those of us who do not agree with a separatist mentality.

The Michigan Womyn's Festival has been declared Womyn's Space every year -- that means no males over the age of six. This will cause problems for those women who have boy-children over the age of six. The mothers will either have to find a sitter for the child(ren), or not go to the event. Trying to get the child into the festival is futile and would be cruel to the child(ren) to even try.

These women are very serious about this festival being women only, and they are prepared to be ugly about it. There have been a number of years where the controversy has created more than a small stir. And some years where the women who have organized the event have gone so far as to exclude women who were not born women -- m-to-f transgender women are not welcome.

It seems it needs to be more than just womyn space -- women-born only are welcome. You could be post-operative transgender female, and you are not welcome. I have yet to hear a valid argument for these criteria -- it seems to me to be more hurtful than empowering at this point.

How could it make any difference if someone is born a woman or was forced to correct mother nature through surgery? Have these women not gone through enough in order to identify themselves as women? How cruel can we become before we disgust even ourselves? And when did we become worse than the groups we despise?

I think it is time for all of us to step back and get past this evil side of our movement. It not only destroys our credibility -- it is destroying us.

Until next time...