Drumming Amazon

Drumming Amazon
Drumming DykeAmazon

Big Dyke from SF Dyke March

Big Dyke from SF Dyke March
MasterAmazon

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

From the Michfest List: WBW Building Space for WBW

Re: WBW building safe space for WBW

Sister A., thank you for this: "And in defense of lesbian separatism, we have no other venue available to us any more. We can't even keep bio men out of our dyke marches, and I mean men, not MTF's. Why? Because some lesbians dont see a need to exclude men from a dyke march and we dont have lesbian solidarity anymore. Some lesbians dont choose womyn first."

That is so true A. The SF Dyke March is always crashed by every version of queer and men, including bisexual women including their boyfriends, to gay guys from the Castro feeling they HAVE A RIGHT to be in the March(after all Dolores Park is their cruising zone, and right down from the Castro). I wonder what would happen if we enforced those boundaries? And FTM's feel they too have 'a right' to be in the March. So it really dilutes the energy, and especially when the march organizers make statements that "past, present and future women" can march.....and takes away from the focus on us Dykes and Dyke rights! But then many Lesbians/Dykes don't put Dykes and women first and foremost! I ALWAYS have! Some surround them by a sea of gay men and become almost unapproachable, others by other versions of queer, and now there are so many microidentities as to be downright confusing..but then when you look at the pics, one thinks: "That's a bunch of dykes, under another name!" So many Butches/boi dykes/genderqueer don't even want the term 'female' or 'woman' applied to them, like it is some great shame(and I'm NOT talking FTM's here), that events and spaces are now being referred to as 'Queer', not even 'Queer Women' anymore, like the word 'woman' only refers to high femme, and that they are outside of even Female, which is barely tolerated, and yet insistent on saying 'female bodied'. It has all become so strange, divisive. And almost NONE have a concept of just how empowering it is to be in a week or close to a week in women only Dyke centered space, and see the amazing diversity of womonhood/femaleness Michfest represents!

Thank you also Grace for your statement above! The same goes with my Amazon and Dianic rituals. I WANT to ritual with those who are born, live and love as Female, and the connection we have beyond words because of it, whether it be the menstrual blood mysteries or the gynenergy we raise, goes beyond words, or the glue between Dykes and our Amazon herstories going back to ancient times carving out our space for OUR TRUTH, our born Female bodies, minds and spirits...and for those of us who are Butch and have been on that 'gender line' for ages, we are STILL PROUD TO BE FEMALE, and ARE FULLY FEMALE. We NEED our wbw space for our healing, for our Lesbian connections, for our blood connections, and for the mutual sacred energies we can raise together, hearing each other's voices.

To my dying day, I will protect our spaces and places, because ONLY in WBW space amongst likeminded womyn and Dykes, can I really and truly FEEL MY POWER, not just personally, but energetically and psychically in a way I can't in any other space because of the heaviness of the patriarchal imperative and heavy male energies. Whether they be from the formerly, present or future male. I don't care if this is 'politically correct' or not, but denying born females access to OUR OWN spaces is the height of misogyny, in a very real way. It does not need to be just 'one week out of the year', that would NOT be enough for me, but when and where we need it, without others' needs crowding out our voices or destroying what overall women's spaces(much less Lesbian spaces, which there are almost none)we have left!
-MasterAmazon

_________________
I am committed to the Michigan community, as well as committed to maintaining this space with its original intention. - LV 8/2011

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Why I feel so strongly about Womon Born Womyn Spaces, Places, Rituals and Events

Here is a great article and blog about WHY womyn only space is so damned important and WHY we must maintain it no matter what! Only by hearing OUR OWN voices and experiences, wisdom, sacred utterings and ritual, mental, emotional, sexual, psychic and spiritual connections that happen in such spaces goes beyond words and radicalizes ALL womyn to work for our best interests and NOT to censor ourselves even before the most so called 'humble' 'feminist' man or effeminate gay dude.

We must guard our Spaces, Places and Sacred events for Ourselves as the Amazons we are, and hearkening back to Ancient Amazon times.....set our Gorgon sentinels that will turn men to stone should they attempt to enter....that clear eyed Medusan gaze that stops them in their tracks. And heed that wisdom not compromising our Sisters for the sake of ANY male's ego who feels 'left out' for not being 'included' when they have the rest of the world to own. Please, please read this article below:
http://lostwomynsspace.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-womens-spaces-are-critical-to.html

Friday, September 16, 2011

Love Letter to Michfest and Lisa Vogel for Maintaining our WBW space

Re: How to get Kicked out of Camp Harmony

THANK YOU LV for having the integrity to continue your vision! I am in full support, and it ripples ever outwards to ALL women only and Lesbian centered groups and spaces which have been so totally decimated by this debate! Even the wbw Dianic communities have undergone this debate and been horribly villified this past year, even with threats against them, and yet some have bowed to the pressure:
http://way-of-the-rabbit.blogspot.com/2 ... h-pnc.html

Please read the above link. I will also post it in a separate thread.
Even though I have not been able to go to Michfest but twice, I go to a smaller women's spirituality event the same week and have been fighting these same issues, and trying to at least keep MY workshops for wbw only...before this festival also gets overrun(fortunately it hasn't but all the dissension is going on already).

There is NOTHING like Lesbian centered born Female space. ONLY in that space, in the sacred Woods can I be FULLY FREE, and the Full Butch DykeAmazon Warrior/Witch, Amazon High Priestess and Free Wild Female Being and Wildwomon that I am. I put on an Amazon oriented ritual along with many powerful compadres this year, and what a ritual it was! The power we raised was amazing! And because we HONOR that female to female energy connected with Goddess and our Primal Female beings and Mysteries....this is something beyond explanation, and something that just must be experienced. It cannot be explained. THIS is why Michfest is so essential, and it changes minds, hearts and souls. ONLY on Women's Land with Goddess connected and free womyn, of ALL STRIPES, leather, nonleather, Lesbian, bi, straight, healer, Maiden, Amazon, Mother, Crone, Wildwomon, Craftswomon, Ritualist, Firekeeper, herbalist, martial artist, Seer, Visionary, Sagewomon and so much more....can we EVEN begin to access our Sacred Female Powers that we lost so long ago....my heart opens up in a way it only can in Female only born Female space....where I can lay down my weapons and armour and energy put into protection and survival, and instead open up my heart in magic, in community, in power, in ecstasy, in the deepest intuition sparking off of likeminded empowered and magical Female Souls connected with Her mysteries and the wisdom of the Land, the Trees, the Water, the Moon...it all came together for me this past summer, and it is WHAT I LIVE FOR! I just wish I could have it 24/7 and throughout the year, that kind of psychic and spiritual openness and connection with other womyn and DykeAmazon Sisters...imagine how powerful we could grow in our intuitions and psychic powers! Keep on Keeping on Lisa Vogel and my likeminded DykeAmazon Sisters! That includes you too Preciocilla!
-In Deepest Sisterhood and Gratitude for Michfest and all She represents,
-MasterAmazon who will always defend you with my heart, soul and Labryis!

Building Butch Community

I'm here to find out who ACTUALLY wants to work on real community building.
It does NOT have to be in a big way like a conference, convention or a huge group. In fact, I'd love to find ways we connect REALTIME, not just over the internet, with each other, even in our own towns and spaces, like smaller events, barbecues, going out to ball games, spending time in the park or each other's places, affordable things, hanging at the local coffeeshop(no I'm NOT interested in the bar scene at all). Healthy environments where we could both socialize and talk, connect and share common interests as Female Proud Butches.

I want ALL Female Proud Butches to feel they can connect without judgement, whether you are in a Butch on Butch relationship like me, or Butch/Femme, or enjoy both flavors, single, polyamorous or whatever, as long as you LOVE/Lust for womyn, and love YOURSELF as a Female.

I'd like the balance between talking about our issues and playing with each other, having fun times socializing, connecting, REALLY building community beyond just a group. Keeping each other working and employing each other, something so hard for Butches, and being visible at Dyke and women's events(and me personally, Dianic Women's spirituality events, I REALLY want to connect with more Butches who are interested in Goddess ritual and Amazon mysteries, which I do teach and share).

What are OUR unique contributions, voices, connection with our Amazon Natures, that we have to teach other womyn, younger and older, and mentor them as well, so they can be PROUD in their female bodies, minds and spirits and not shamed by them.

Living in the solution, instead of the problem. What is your part, and would you like to connect? I see a bridge we could have all over the country, much like my favorite mag, Lesbian Connection and the Contact Dykes list...we could have Contact Butch Dykes, and share our issues, our joys and our sadness and pain with each other!

Let's Build Female Proud Butch Community together! For ALL bio Female Proud Butches!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Responding to Jeanne Cordova on her blog around her identifying as 'TransButch', and all the ways we are told that Butches are some version of trans

MasterAmazon said...
Sexism is sexism, and now that Chaz identifies as 'male'(not all of us don't have to buy that surgeries and hormones do anything more than induce secondary sexual characteristics, but the hormones DO change personality), he has completely identified with the WORST of male sexist behavior, and YES sexism comes from men and is foisted on ALL women. Don't smoke screen the issue 'owning'. It all is a matter of degree, even the most so called 'feminist oriented' man or soft gay man, has sexism within him to one extent or another, and certainly more privilege. It is Chaz's attempt to use his new found privilege as well as his well off background against his girlfriend that is exceedingly sexist.

And you haven't addressed, like so many others, unto the next generation of the trans cult insanity foisted upon children who don't yet know who they are and herded into categories with hormones, surgeries and psychiatrists because they dont' fit into heterosexist gender roles appropiate for males or females. NOT the liberation from those roles as Feminism has promised for ALL Females originally, and even for effeminate boys/men.

Jeanne, I challenge you personally as a Butch Dyke Feminist, and still have great respect for you, that I don't buy Judith Halberstam's queer theories, and almost ALL Butches I know, myself included have been women in men's or boys' clothing, and absolutely censured for it, and put outside womonhood as a result, or shamed horribly if we don't consent to feminization, especially forced upon us to either get a job or in childhood. I can't tell you how many arguements I had with my family when they tried to put me in dresses and skirts, this is VERY MUCH part of the Butch Dyke, and Female Proud Butch Dyke experience as well as others, to resist just that type of feminization. But, we're still All womon, and all Female despite others trying to take away our womonhood and/or Femaleness and state 'you just want to be a man'. I hope you reconsider this stance, because you would have so many Female Proud/Female Identified Butches behind you. And as you know, Butchness goes far beyond clothes...it's all about who we are inside and the way we walk in the world, and our OWN unique brand of Femaleness, which is often denied by others.
-In Female PRoud Butch Dyke Sisterhood,
-FeistyAmazon

September 14, 2011 1:56 AM

MasterAmazon said...
I just get so tired of those who constantly state that if you're butch, you're automatically 'trans' of some variety. I DON'T BUY IT, and neither do MANY Female Proud/Female Identified Butches, rather we are another aspect of Femaleness/womonhood. And there is less and less space for us to just be ourselves without that pressure to identify as more male, transbutch, transmasculine, genderqueer, male, FTM ect. in other words MALE, rather than FEMALE, and outside of womonhood rather than within it. AND that, is in many of our opinions decidely anti-feminist. There are those too who are detransitioning as well, and wanting to once again claim their dyke and/or female identities again, and terribly shamed by the trans movement for doing so.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Butch Nation and Jeanne Cordova?

This is a controversial post. It shows how easily the trans terminology falls into use. I now am even more conflicted on whether to give Butch Nation support or not, being Jeanne Cordova was one of the founders and now is identifying as 'transbutch'. In her own words and blog: "Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Chaz, Larry, and Me

"This has been a bad week for trans-butches like me and my friends."

This at the same time she fought for Female Identified Butches, to use the term 'Butch Woman' rather than "Masculine of Center" exclusively for Butch Voices, and the words "Lesbian and Feminist" which Butch Voices censored her for, wanting to outreach to the Lesbian Feminist, womon identified, Female Proud Butch Lesbian communities....NOW she's identifying as 'transbutch'. So easily we get swayed by what's popular and 'in', and because as she states later in the article that she considers herself 'transbutch' because she likes to crossdress in men's clothes. Here's my response to her post:
September 7, 2011 7:25 AM

MasterAmazon said...
I thought that you were a Female Identified Butch, not trans....my biggest problem with Chaz(who in my opinion before transitioning was never Butch to begin with), is advocating for children to have their hormones blocked at a young age, and then have hormones to transition to the other sex at age 16, infecting a whole new generation with the whole trans agenda, RATHER than fully accepting themselves as the young boys/girls they are: hardcore tomboys like myself, like the one in the pool with Chaz, would be told instead 'that you really are male and can be a dude too', rather than to struggle as I did, with the budding of the Feminist movement in 1969, that 'you can be anything you want to be as a woman/female', which means ALSO wearing the clothes that make you or myself most comfortable. Any clothes on a woman are by rights, 'women's clothes', and I ONLY shop in the men's section/stores anymore these days, so completely crossdressing, and yet, as a Butch Dyke, I'm still ALL FEMALE and REFUSE to be pushed to the fringes of womonhood, as has been done to us for eons!

Now I see that you're putting out an entirely different message, sadly. No, NOBODY should be killed around any of this, but when I look at Chaz I see basically a Butch without breasts, the way Chaz dresses...but it's in the way Chaz acts that is so male and reprehensible to me, yes I saw that documentary, and I couldn't stand how Chaz treats his girlfriend just like any prick in the kitchen, and screams and yells at her on and on...how embarassing to have millions watch that whole dramarama. There is nothing 'brave' about Chaz, only a desire to conform and gain male privilege, because Chaz could not be Butch as a Dyke and as a Female, but now Chaz can be...and be just as pricky and assholish as any bio male, and just as sexist!
-M.A.

I know this keeps the fuel going, but on the other hand, it seems like us Female Proud Butches have to be trans/masculine/something other than fully PROUD TO BE FEMALE. MANY Butches crossdress, we can't stand being feminised or to wear feminine or girly or womonly clothes, with the exception of the most androgynous ones, when I was only permitted in womens' clothing stores as a teenager. Still I bought men's vintage clothing at vintage clothing stores too, tux pants, shirts, vests, ect. Nowadays, only men's clothes have my size, and those are the clothes that I feel most comfortable in and look the best on me. And YET I'm still Fully Female, Dyke, Butch,Amazonian and PROUD. I'm not 'trans' anything. Nor do I want to be. I feel even less inclined to align with EITHER Butch Nation or Butch Voices. If I show up to one of their conferences it will ONLY BE if I feel I am fully represented.
-In Butch DykeAmazon Sisterhood,
-MasterAmazon
Link to her blog: http://thislesbianworld.blogspot.com/