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Every August for the past 29 years women have gathered in the Michigan woods to celebrate each other. This year will be the 30th anniversary of Michigan Womyn's Festival. There are workshops, performances, community meals, crafts, and all sorts of other activities. It has been an invaluable safe space for women as well as a rite of passage for many who discover their feminism for the first time within its perimeters. Women come to Michigan to find the energy they need to live and work in a world filled with misogyny. It has evolved with intention over the years and faced many challenges with integrity. With issues ranging from racism to ageism to S and M to transgender politics, the festival has had many dialogues that reflect both the women's movement and the evolution of the queer community.
The festival has historically had a policy that states that Michigan Womyn's Festival, as a separatist space only allows women who are born women to attend. This policy has been the center of controversy for the past ten years and has grown to be a very divisive issue in the past five years. Bands and performers who play Michigan have been boycotted and maligned. The festival itself has undoubtedly suffered from the boycotts by many who wish to show loyalty to the transgender community.
This is an issue that brings up a lot of passion and wounds on both sides. Some claim that it's a generational difference and if the festival is to survive, it will have to become a space that welcomes transgender women. Some claim that it's a case of "smashing your idols" and the festival has every right to establish its own policies. When you sit down and talk openly to women about this issue there are many compelling arguments for both sides that have been obscured by some of the angry and reactionary remarks that have floated around. I think that both sides have made impressive strides toward understanding each other in the past two years.
I am a big supporter of Michigan Womyn's Festival and want to see it survive and continue to grow. Last summer in the spirit of growth, I decided to interview women on both sides of the controversy as well as Michigan Womyn's Festival co-founder, Lisa Vogel. I came away from the interviews with a profound respect for the festival and its history but also a deep empathy for both the women of Michigan and the cause of the transgender community. I also visited Camp Trans, a camp that was set up down the road from Michigan Womyn's Festival in protest of Michigan's policy and in celebration of their cause. No matter my position on this issue, I will continue to support the festival, because I have faith in the process and I think it's existence is invaluable.
The interviews are quite long, even after some editing, but I think they are worth the time. I hope they will spur some discussion and help shed some light on this important process.
© 2006 Indigo Girls. All rights reserved.