Word Blur

Us Women

I read Michelle Tea’s “Notes From Camp Trans” in The Best American Non-Required Reading 2004 last night, her first-hand account of the now annual encampment down the road from the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival protesting their counterpart's controversial decision to only allow “womyn-born-womyn” to attend. I’ve heard several people argue in favor of this policy, but never very convincingly. Tea on the other hand gets straight to the heart of the ridiculousness of the matter and the tragedy of the exclusion all at the same time. First of all, what the bejeezus is a “womyn-born-womyn”? And second of all, who gets to decide who meets this nebulous criterion? Apparently, it more or less comes down to penises, past or present, which as Tea points out, only serves to further the dominance of the appendage.  It kind of reminds me of the era in Vermont when our state legislature had just approved civil unions and suddenly you had to prove you were a sixth generation Vermonter to weigh in with any kind of opinion (thanks to the anti's 'Take Back Vermont' slogan, which many tourists thought was imploring them not to leave without a pint of maple syrup).  I used to be really proud of my "real Vermonter" status, because I could in fact produce the proper pedigree, but at some point I realized that if you live in Vermont, you're a Vermonter.  Tea also has a great interview with Jamison Green, author of Becoming a Visible Man, in the spring masculinity-themed issue of Bitch Magazine, which I read over the long bygone weekend.

Shame Legally Mandated in Florida!

Courtesy of the Library Link of the Day comes a story about homophobia in Florida:
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/06/21/Tampabay/Ban_brings_new_energy.shtml

It seems a library book display for Gay and Lesbian Pride Month at a regional library led the Hillsborough County Commission to pass a measure requiring local government to:

abstain from acknowledging, promoting or participating in gay pride recognition and events.

Actually, the aforementioned article talks about how the ban has reinvigorated the gay community's activism, so it doesn't only make you want to bang your head against the wall, but you still may consider revoking your citizenship (remember: Canada -- good smoked meats, ask for extra fat).  And why does this type of nonsense so often start in a library?  Why are books so threatening to people?  I can't even figure out how to make this funny.