This was my second time attending Michigan and it would be an understatement to say that it was easy for me to make it there. It was difficult politically and emotionally, and because of the events that happened with Camp Trans it ended up being quite a draining year.
I choose to attend Michigan because I feel that it is a invaluable part of queer history. Hearing the stories of how older women came out and talking to them about the oppositions they face is important to me.
Since Michigan started 35 years ago, the culture around lesbianism, queerness, femaleness, feminism, and gender has changed dramatically. While I think the need for women-only space is still extremely necessary, I do see the need for change. I attend because I want to be an active part of the ways in which the festival’s culture evolves and moves forward. I am pro trans inclusion and am verbal about my beliefs at the festival.
My personal experience with this discussion has been overwhelmingly positive. In general, people are really open to trans inclusion. I attend the festival as a worker, and most of my interactions are spent with other workers. In the circle I hung out with, people are really respectful and understanding of the tensions surrounding transness, and are open to trans identified people having a presence.
In my opinion, the only way create change is for trans-women and their allies to attend the festival. I know it isn’t fair that we have to educate people who aren’t on the same page as us ,but I believe it is the only way for queer history to evolve peacefully. It is important to me to spend time with older lesbians and queer women, to hear their stories, learn from them, have a positive influence on their beliefs, widen their scope of understanding, and move forward with them. Even when their beliefs differ from mine, I still value their insights and experiences, and thank them for inviting me to be a part of it.
This year I wore a tank top that said “trans women belong here” and had many women come up to me and thank me. One woman told me that my shirt sparked a controversial conversation amongst her peers and left all of them feeling a lot more educated. I sincerely hope that next year more trans-women and allies will come so that the conversation can continue.
I was part of the security crew, which basically means I welcome festival go-ers and check wrist bands to make sure people have paid for a ticket. We don’t question anyone’s gender and if you buy a ticket you are welcomed in (unless it is obviously a bio-dude, and again, that process is complicated and respectful). The point is: security is welcoming and positive, and not aggressive or hostile.
When members of Camp Trans formed Camp Tranarchy and vandalized the festival and threatened festival goers I felt really angry. I am fully aware of the level of hostility that is felt towards the festival, and I genuinely felt scared to be a part of it. Trans-positivity is incredibly important in the world and at Michigan, however, I think it is inexcusable that I was made to feel unsafe at the only place I have ever felt completely at ease. Before going to Michigan this year I was called a bigot, I was made to feel that I would be ostracized from my community, and I was mocked. I do not apologize for attending a festival that celebrates and nurtures my femaleness. Being female in a sexist, homophobic world is still difficult and I demand the right to feel safe at the festival. Please, do not create a oppressive space for me, while I am trying to create a loving space for you.
I hope that activism can continue to happen within the festival. Camp Trans is important, but I know it would have more of an effect on the festival-goers if the incredibly smart, talented, and radical queers who attend Camp Trans put their energy into helping Michigan become the place we want it to by actually attending the festival. At its heart Michigan is a beautiful space. If queers came to see experience it with their own eyes and ears and contributed to it with their unique gender identities and politics, Michigan would evolve into a place we all feel comfortable being part of.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I want to point out that a lot of people, trans women especially, feel explicitly unsafe in that space. I think the actions of Camp Tranarchy were utterly inexcusable and wholly detrimental to the cause of healing this very large wound on the face of the women's/womyn's community. But I hope that reacting to that bad behavior doesn't eclipse the root of why trans women feel abandoned when their friends tell them that they should just come to fest and change it themselves: Fest is a place where many trans women feel unsafe about their femaleness. To get trans women inside the gates, it's up to people who can feel safe inside to do really visible, clear, active work to change the culture of Michfest. There is a damn fine reason why trans women don't just come on in and make it their own: it's called trans-misogyny.
What this post doesn't acknowledge is that camp tranarchy was formed as a response when campers were threatened with lethal violence (by a bio dude) at peaceful protest for trans-inclusion, and when members of the security crew working the welcome gate excused the perpetrators actions and sided with him. Gender policing is not beyond all of the members of michfests security crew. If a cis-woman was threatened with assault by a bio-dude outside the gates do you really think any staff would instantly jump to the perpetrators defense?
Any space that allows trans people to be victim blamed for threats on their lives is not even close to being safe or inclusive, and anyone who erases (or downplays) this incident of violence from their documentation of events is not an ally. Your stance an tactics aside, when you don't give people a frame of reference you are trivializing gendered violence and our struggle. You are depicting the tranarchists as some uppity trannies who, unprovoked, just started vandalizing things for no reason.
and also "think it is inexcusable that I was made to feel unsafe at the only place I have ever felt completely at ease." when my friends were almost brained with a Tow-truck hook and it became clear that our security and safety had less value than outwardly violent man.