Michigan Womyn's Music Festival Press Release August 15, 2000 MICHIGAN WOMYN'S MUSIC FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF COMMITMENT TO WOMYN-BORN WOMYN SPACE ------------------------------------------------------------------- For the second consecutive year, the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival was targeted by a small group of activists calling themselves "Camp Trans Y2K" (CTY2K). Operating from a makeshift camp across the road from the Festival's front gate, CTY2K caused small disruptions of the Festival through a series of planned actions. These actions and the Festival's response are described below. On Friday, August 11th, a group of about 25 activists from CTY2K approached the Festival's front gate, after being joined by a small group of festie-goer supporters. The response team of Festival staff represented a mix of butch, femme and other womyn across a gender- identity continuum, most of whom are active in trans-ally work. The development of this team and its position followed several weeks of dialogue in the worker community on the issue, along with advance preparations with key crews. The team met the group at the gate and distributed copies of the Festival's policy statement, which included a request that the transsexual community respect and support womyn-born womyn space and provided explicit notice that individuals who self-declared as male- to-female transsexuals or female-to-male transsexuals might be denied entrance or asked to leave. Riki Anne Wilchins, a Camp Trans organizer who self-declared as a male-to-female transsexual during the 1999 Camp Trans action and caused significant disruption to last year's Festival, was denied entrance at the gate at that point. At the request of Festival staff, only those activists seeking to purchase Festival tickets (approximately 8 individuals) then proceeded to the Box Office. At the Box Office they individually declared themselves as having various gender/sex identities and challenged the Box Office to sell them tickets. Presentations included: "I'm a dyke but I don't consider myself a woman. Will you sell me a ticket?" " I was born a woman but I'm a boy. Will you sell me a ticket?" "I'm a transgendered woman. Will you sell me a ticket?" "I'm a drag queen trapped in a woman's body. Will you sell me a ticket?" Each declaration was met by the same response from Festival staff: " This event is intended for womyn-born womyn: womyn who were born as and lived their entire life experience as womyn. We're asking you to respect that intention." When invited to enquire further about each individual's gender or sex identity, Festival staff reiterated the festival's policy against questioning anyone's gender. Despite all of the other self-descriptions, no one clearly or unambiguously self- declared as a male-to-female or female-to-male transsexual at the Box Office and all who requested tickets were sold them. The group proceeded into the Festival but did not attract significant attention or support. Activities were limited to passing out zines and other literature and briefly positioning a banner in front of the Night Stage area during the evening show. On Saturday, August 12th, CTY2K members and supporters gathered at 5:00 pm outside the Main Kitchen. Stating their intention to demonstrate in a peaceful, non-confrontational manner, the CTY2K members stood in a cluster with signs declaring various gender identities and called out for trans-allies to join them. Others talked with passers-by, handing out stickers and literature and encouraging festie-goers to come out to Camp Trans for a concert and dinner later that night. Although there were a large number of festival-goers in the area (for dinner or en route to the Acoustic Stage), the demonstration attracted relatively little interest or support. After about an hour, the CTY2K group changed their approach. Moving towards and surrounding five Festival staffers in a tight cluster, a group of 30 - 40 activists repeated the same kind of statements that several members had made at the Box Office the previous day. One by one many in the group declared some form of gender identity and demanded to know if the Festival was going to make them leave. Festival staff repeated the same information as they had provided the previous day and refused to question anyone's gender despite provocation to "look down my pants." At this point, several of the activists switched from their original gender declaration (e.g. "I'm a transgendered boy") and began declaring themselves as female-to-male transsexuals. In one case, an individual declared as "a male-to-female transsexual and a womon-born womon." During this process, when an individual declared that s/he was transsexual, Festival staff sought clarification of what had been said, and then asked that individual to leave. The CTY2K activists demanded to be forced to leave. When Festival staff stated that they would not be physically removed, the activists demanded to be "told" to leave, rather than asked to leave. Festival staff, speaking only to the specific individuals who had self-declared as transsexuals, then told those individuals to leave. Then, at the request of the protesters, and to prevent disruption to the flow of 3,000 womyn who would soon be leaving the Acoustic Stage, Festival staff provided an escort to the Front Gate. The small group that remained at the Main Kitchen continued to argue and attempt to provoke further confrontation, but soon lost energy and disbursed. The individuals being escorted out, and their supporters, continued to cause a disruption as they traveled through the Festival, shouting misrepresentations of their and the Festival's actions. In addition to becoming more verbally provocative, the group's action disrupted pedestrian and Festival vehicle traffic, and generated feelings of ill will towards the Festival among some festie-goers. Along the route to the Front Gate, CTY2K activists claimed they were all being "evicted" - despite the detailed process of determining who was and wasn't being asked to leave at the Main Kitchen - and the process of self-declaration and confrontation began for the third time. Festival staff made it clear along the route and at the Front Gate that the Festival was only asking those individuals to leave who had self-declared that they were not womyn-born womyn and they were either male-to-female transsexuals or female-to-male transsexuals currently living as men. Ultimately the wrist tickets of 4 individuals were removed. Their money was not refunded, consistent with the Festival's policy that no refunds are provided after July 6th which appears in all promotional materials and was reiterated during the Main Kitchen process. In response to a request from CTY2K activists for an opportunity to make their viewpoint known directly to Festival representatives, Festival staff agreed to post a meeting time and place by noon on Sunday in two locations on the land. On Sunday, August 13th, Festival staff posted a flier agreeing to meet with and listen to the viewpoints of CTY2K at 7:00 pm at Camp Trans. At 7:00 pm, Festival staff arrived at Camp Trans to find only one activist remaining who said they did not want to represent the group. What's next...? The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival remains clear and firm in our commitment to maintain the Festival as womyn-born womyn space. Just as white allies are asked to respect womyn of color only space, we ask the transsexual community to respect womyn-born womyn space. Supporting womyn-born womyn space is no more inherently transphobic than supporting womyn of color space is "racist." We refuse to be forced into false dichotomies that equate being pro-womyn-born womyn space with being anti-trans. Michigan has always been home to womyn-born womyn who represent every point along the continuum of gender identity: from butch to femme and beyond butch and femme, including many who consider themselves transgendered. We remain committed to providing space for womyn-born womyn to gather in celebration of our diverse identities as womyn-born womyn.