Friday, November 7, 2008

Transphobia or Male Privilege???


This is from a fair use capped from an ftM community regarding a simple question from an ftM woman asking whether other ftM women of the community would ever date an Mtf man. When one such member simply stated she would not, she was immediately attacked for her choice.

Angry responses, slurs and sometime threats of violence are something lesbians have sadly been subjected to since the addition of the T(trans) to the GLB community. It seems this is nothing unusual for the ftM community as well when individuals state and stay their ground on having only attractions towards women, which doesnt include Maletfs. Like lesbians, ftM's are also labeled "transphobic" for their natural primary attractions to women only.

One Mtf man interestingly goes so far to try and convince this particular ftM woman of just how "hot" Mtf men can be and posts several pics of Mtf's he deems attractive. While these men are not unattractive in the patriarchal sense, they still remain obviously males imitating the plastic conditioned male gazed IDEA of woman, which is nothing whatsoever to do with woman herself. Here perhaps more than anywhere else is where Mtfs REALLY proves their maleness, it is in their IDEA of woman.

This idea is something women in general whatever their proclivities find ugly, artificial and unnatural, which it is. And while it is only through being a woman born and raised under patriarchal regimes, it would be novel of the men claiming to be "women" to let go of their male privilege long enough to educate themselves of womens histories/pains and struggles, glean from that what they can as men and then proceed with their disorder(if they so choose) thereby allowing actual women their own privilege to love who they alone desire without judgements, hatred and sexist slurs.

dirt

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Michfest and The New Radical Lesbian Feminist Front


Seems the Dirtster's New Radical Lesbian Feminist Front is causing Johnny Panic to rear his ugly head.

The above is from one round of emails sent out to one of our NRLFF founders/members. As a primary founder of the NRLFF AND as a radical Butch lesbian my first instinct was to protect our members from such threats/harm, but I also realize our group would not be getting targeted by hate mongers, anti lesbian feminist, trans apologist etc were we not perceived as a threat ourselves.

And we ARE a threat! A threat to patriarchy and misogyny in ALL is various forms and disguises! Whether that disguise is in a callous medical establishment needlessly drugging and mutilating the mentally ill or the untreated troubled straight women occupying lesbian spaces and co-opting our lesbian languages! The NRLFF has had ENOUGH!

Unlike past radical lesbian movements, the NRLFF will NOT put our hard earned coin together in a commune pot and purchase a few acres in the middle of nowhere thereby retreating/ignoring the problems plaguing our lesbian feminist communities everywhere, we will stay and FIGHT! Because radical spaces, lesbian spaces and feminist spaces are worth fighting for dammit!

Change will not be pretty nor will it be easy, but I assure you it will come! It will NOT be in the form of seperatism, nor will it be in the form of the PC inclusion which has by far lead to lesbian erasure within the lesbian community itself!!! Change will be in the radical form of lesbians in all our varyings, demanding, reclaiming and taking ourselves back!

It will be in the form of challenging and educating lesbians everywhere to take a step back, think, deconstruct and then ask themselves some of the hard questions such as "Can a bio male be a lesbian"??? "Do bio males belong in lesbian spaces"??? "Do hetero women belong in lesbian spaces"??? "Can a sexual dysfunction function as a valid identity"??? "Who owns femininity and masculinity"??? "What/who is Femme"??? "What/who is Butch"??? And these are just a few of the questions the NRLFF has been asking and even within this tiny scope of questioning, fear and hatred of the NRLFF has/is brewing.

To all NRLFF members, remember all great fronts/movements began with just a handful of members, stay strong, stay alert, stand together!

To all lesbian born women, I ask first and foremost of you NEVER NEVER NEVER stop questioning!!! I ask second, join us! The future may not be ours, but the lesbian community will be!!!!!

dirt
NRLFF founder

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Dyke presence and ignorance in the Femme-Butch Community


When I run across comments or posts made by dykes such as these, the first thing that springs to mind is the myriad of dykes from 30+ years ago complaining about the "restrictive roles" of Femme and Butch.

I suppose its partly just a case of the more things change the more things stay the same. On the other hand it angers me now as it did 20+ years ago when I first began familiarizing myself with lesbian/Butch/Femme history. A case of dyke persuasions complaining about their ill fitting into a sub-lesbian community in which they do not belong in the first place!

I'll be the first to admit there are degrees of Femme and Butch, but "soft" isnt one of them! The first sign that you are not Femme or Butch should be feeling confined or restricted within the perimeters of Femme/Butch. If you must play at, act or pretend Femme/Butch then YOU are NOT Femme/Butch!

For legitimate Femmes and Butches there are no restrictions, no border patrols, no roles to be acted, there is only freedom!

dirt