A New Way to Be Mad - The Atlantic
Important article, for much of what we are discussing about the trans movement, and is it made by the psychiatrists by too much attention or what? Parallels between 'transdisabled' and 'transgender/transsexual'.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Femaleness: It is of Mind, Body and Spirit and cannot be bought or sold
THANK YOU BADDYKE...you are BADDDDD! LOVE IT! What a discussion....and embodying being Female, or in my case, a Butch DykeAmazon Female, hearkening back to the original 'jenda' defying Ancient Amazons, since they DARED to do things other Females weren't allowed to do, like use weapons, defend themselves, be the aggressive ones in a relationship, rather than passive, lead as Queens over cities, or lead in a military campaign, worship Female dieties, all the rest of the autonomous things they did and set examples to the rest of us that Female goes so much further, and can be so much greater than what male dominated societies allows or disallows Females from doing...because embodying Femaleness in all stripes and forms, is of the Mind, the Body and the Spirit..and it is THAT that I crave. Whether you consider me an 'essentialist' or not, I do not give a hoot....because there IS a Sacred Energy I continually feel in the presence of strong, powerful Females, and especially Dykes, but not exclusively, in born FEMALE space, that I NEVER feel in mixed space, and that includes when even one born male crashes that space, which includes MTF's.....
Call it a biomorphegenic Female Field of Power, call it an Amazon City, Town, Circle or Nation, call it a Circle of Witches honoring Goddess, call it Lesbians honoring one another, call it Female mysteries and secrets...any and ALL of these things when women claim their true physical, mental and spiritual power, NO MTF will EVER understand or be able to embody it. It has nothing to do with 'femininity', it has to do with the embodied Female IN her body AS a Female, from birth. Both nature and nurture....and sadly, FTM's want to walk away from that, or have NEVER found this empowered secret in Female only space, where one's heart opens, as mine did when I first came out...when I first went to my first Women's and Lesbian ritual circles, when I first went to Michfest and other womyn's lands....
So MANY have NEVER BEEN in truly Female only groups/events because nowadays everything has been queerified..and I'm not talking femmy coffee clatches like straight women do, but the deep deep diversity of womonhood I found especially at Michfest, from high femme in boots and corsets, body paint or naked and feather boas, to very hardcore hirsute Butches that almost passed as male, but with true powerful Female DykeAmazon souls...the protectors of womyn, the truly invisible Dykes, invisible womyn, but the ones who can watch out for us as well..who only could FULLY express themselves in the company of women. It is these Butches that are now under attack by transapologists who tell them shit like "You'd be a good candidate for transition", threatening to take away their Female Souls...cuz if it's not 'biological determinism', who wages war continually for testosterone fueled aggression and profit, and who leads the Peace Marches? It goes right down sex lines...
This does NOT mean Females should be denied ANY trade, any opportunity, from working in construction, to going out into space, but that we bring a humanity, a caring to an environment, a socialization that men do not....and we look down the road to how that will affect others, that compassion, that cooperation..instead of the typical competitive male dominanted violent world we live in..so toxified we cannot even acknowledge the differences and what women could bring to this world if we TRULY loved ourselves in all our glory, however we present, and if we were truly, truly unified...that NO young woman who doesn't feel she 'fits in' would feel ANY pressure to take hormones, have surgeries or the rest, or 'pass' as male for safety, for opportunities, for empowerment, or to be seen as acceptable. That ALL opportunities would be available to her, should she want them. We ARE different, and yet we ARE also fully capable at the same time. Because we are beings that embody our sex, our hormones, our brains all in one, in mind, body and spirit...and it is NOT something that can be bought and sold at the pharmacy or the medical table.
And to 'get' that sex is actually completely a different thing from sex role conditioning and expectation, THAT is the true 'binary'...which is what limits us in all our powers.
-MasterAmazon
Call it a biomorphegenic Female Field of Power, call it an Amazon City, Town, Circle or Nation, call it a Circle of Witches honoring Goddess, call it Lesbians honoring one another, call it Female mysteries and secrets...any and ALL of these things when women claim their true physical, mental and spiritual power, NO MTF will EVER understand or be able to embody it. It has nothing to do with 'femininity', it has to do with the embodied Female IN her body AS a Female, from birth. Both nature and nurture....and sadly, FTM's want to walk away from that, or have NEVER found this empowered secret in Female only space, where one's heart opens, as mine did when I first came out...when I first went to my first Women's and Lesbian ritual circles, when I first went to Michfest and other womyn's lands....
So MANY have NEVER BEEN in truly Female only groups/events because nowadays everything has been queerified..and I'm not talking femmy coffee clatches like straight women do, but the deep deep diversity of womonhood I found especially at Michfest, from high femme in boots and corsets, body paint or naked and feather boas, to very hardcore hirsute Butches that almost passed as male, but with true powerful Female DykeAmazon souls...the protectors of womyn, the truly invisible Dykes, invisible womyn, but the ones who can watch out for us as well..who only could FULLY express themselves in the company of women. It is these Butches that are now under attack by transapologists who tell them shit like "You'd be a good candidate for transition", threatening to take away their Female Souls...cuz if it's not 'biological determinism', who wages war continually for testosterone fueled aggression and profit, and who leads the Peace Marches? It goes right down sex lines...
This does NOT mean Females should be denied ANY trade, any opportunity, from working in construction, to going out into space, but that we bring a humanity, a caring to an environment, a socialization that men do not....and we look down the road to how that will affect others, that compassion, that cooperation..instead of the typical competitive male dominanted violent world we live in..so toxified we cannot even acknowledge the differences and what women could bring to this world if we TRULY loved ourselves in all our glory, however we present, and if we were truly, truly unified...that NO young woman who doesn't feel she 'fits in' would feel ANY pressure to take hormones, have surgeries or the rest, or 'pass' as male for safety, for opportunities, for empowerment, or to be seen as acceptable. That ALL opportunities would be available to her, should she want them. We ARE different, and yet we ARE also fully capable at the same time. Because we are beings that embody our sex, our hormones, our brains all in one, in mind, body and spirit...and it is NOT something that can be bought and sold at the pharmacy or the medical table.
And to 'get' that sex is actually completely a different thing from sex role conditioning and expectation, THAT is the true 'binary'...which is what limits us in all our powers.
-MasterAmazon
Born Female Lesbian rights for WBW Lesbians
I feel very strongly about this article below, and it explains my position in regards to the issues in a very succint and direct way how all Lesbians including Butch Dykes have been invisibilized by the alphabet soup movement, and how we differ from all the other letters, both being born female, and being Lesbian. Both sexism and Lesbophobia with the trans in both directions invisibilizing us and our needs even further.
http://www.erinyes.org.au/
http://www.erinyes.org.au/
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Female Centered Butches as a people under siege, the Misogyny of the Trans movement, early sex role stereotyping and forced transitions of young kids
This post is from a Female identified Butch group I belong to on Facebook. All but the quote below are my own observations/opinions.
K.B. "One point that I want to be clear about. When I say that this is "sick," I mean that the phenomenon of trans-sexuality as a whole is a symptom of a societal illness; it is part and parcel of a world that loathes women. In the transgender POV, there is NO SUCH THING as sex. If a man tells me that he identifies as a woman, there is no argument. HE IS ONE. That is the sickness I speak of.
This has gone so far as to extend to children. Non gender-conforming children--that is, a boy who wants to be a princess, a girl who likes trucks--should be given hormones and surgery, forced sterilization, and "properly gendered" so as to fit in. THAT IS SICK. I am not exaggerating, this is happening right now."-K.B.
I entirely agree with K.B. assessment above in this paragraph. When I watched Chaz on Chaz's documentary, the part that sickened me the most was Chaz sitting in a hottub with a boyish girl, hardcore tomboy who wanted to be a boy, and 'boy bonding', I felt that if they got hold of me now back then, I would have been put on those hormones and such and encouraged to transition to male, and forced into those surgeries at a young age. I was not 'gender confused', I wanted to be a boy because of the powerlessness of girls and women, and I didn't want to be forced into dresses or housework, which girls are expected to do, or the sideline role in t.v. and movies, where she's helpless...much more prevalent in the '60's than it is today, where there are other views and some kickass women characters.....as it was I was put into therapy instead, cuz I never fit in, kissed girls on the head, and preferred boys activities, boys roles and wanted to be wearing boys clothing, not femmy stuff or forced into housework, or imitation housework and playing with dolls and such. These kids need a chance to grow up, not have pink or blue forced on them(and you can see IMMEDIATE SEX ROLE STEREOTYPING THROUGH CHILDREN'S CLOTHES AND TOYS, in a very quick way....all the girls clothes are pepto bismol pink, and some very revealing, and all the boys' clothes primary colors of blue, red, yellow or green. I do remember back in the late '60's/early 70's there came in the unisex movement, and unisex clothes which overlapped, cuz guys were wearing their hair long, and women were wearing pants and jeans...dress codes changed in our schools too where girls were no longer forced into dresses and we could wear pants too, and I was so relieved! So all this 'gender' stuff is merely a smokescreen for the true oppression you get on day one to conform one way or another...instead of just letting kids be kids, and gravitate to what they prefer/like, and putting out there more genderneutral clothes and toy choices....but you'll have to overcome the parents' religious programming as well, which they are likely to force onto kids, especially the more fundamentalist/religiously strict they are, the more gender conformity will be expected, and the more a particular girl or boy will rebel that and think they MUST BE the opposite sex, because the real truth, is if the kid doesn't gender conform, they MUST BE homosexual, and who wants their kid to be homosexual? Which comes to why Butches and effeminate men are hated, and why so many now opt for the surgeries to get out of that.
Baiting is not necessary, and this space(a group for Female Identified/Centered Butches) is incredibly important for female Centered Butches who are a people at the moment terribly under siege, not just from without, from the hetero patriarchal world and religions that shame us, or try to eliminate us, but from within from the LGBTLMNOP communities.....which is even worse. There is no safe space right now for Female Centered Butches...even Michfest is under siege, and almost everywhere we care to land, whether realtime or online.
My committment to Dykes, to womyn, to Butches, to DykeAmazons, to young Butch/boyish/genderqueer, ect. women DECIDING to remain in their female bodies, or even older Butches who get tired of the struggle and want to give up and transition to male, I will continue to speak out, and encourage them, and tell them to 'look into the background', and that being Female, Dyke, Butch, and looking to our Amazonian Selves, owning our deepest sexuality, our spiritual power AS FEMALES, and connecting with one another, and working towards OUR FULL AND TOTAL LIBERATION AS FEMALES WITHOUT COMPROMISE, is another way to be in the world without copping out and 'becoming a dude', and putting those hormones in their bodies, taking the patriarchy literally within themselves, because they feel so unaccepted without...cuz for a lifetime us Butches have been told 'you just wanna be a dude', or worse 'you just need to be fucked by a dude', or 'you're no woman!' Both men and even straight women treat us like pariahs, gay males often dish us, while surrounded by their faghag feminine woman friends, because we are autonomous and do not cater to their or any other male egos. I have seen it over and over, and I've been in the community a good 31 years...even the most male identified Butches I knew in the past, still had an inkling of female pride and power and DEFENDED women and their sister Dykes.....but now, there's the easy out of hormones and surgeries to overcome that oppression, to circumvent it. And so many right and left are flocking right to it. We've lost much of the liberalism and heady times of the '70's, even the early '80's, and really in many ways things have gotten more and more conservative, and the religious right has ascended in power, with the 'Ex-Gay' movement attacking ANYONE who had a smack of Butchness or effeminacy, and humilating both Lesbians and Gays who didn't 'fit in', while attempting to strip them of their homosexuality.
Megachurches and all the rest of the patriarchal religionists have done so much damage to Dykes, to Butches, and to women. If one looks at the trans movement, as many of us have, as another kind of cult, bringing the youth into it, and convincing them they must have hormones and surgeries to achieve liberation, indeed it's a faux type of liberation that only benefits the psychiatrists, the surgeons and the nonprofits that support them. IT DOES NOTHING TO FURTHER THE LIBERATION OF BUTCH DYKES OR ALL LESBIANS OR EVEN BIO FEMALE WOMEN!!!! IN fact it continues to silence and invisibilize us. So after having our necks stepped on and watching our communities, our bookstores, our dyke and womyn only spaces disappear AND our Butch Sisters, and potential Butch Sisters of the future, no matter WHAT sector of the Dyke community we have been in, it hurts us on a very, very deep level. When I quoted from K.B. the term 'sick', it was in reference to putting on the pressure to transition to young kids, kids who don't know yet who and what they are, but differ from the malestream version of what a good little girl or boy could or should be...and as I mentioned, the toys, the clothes, the activities that girls and boys have to choose from is already sex segregated from practically when they are born...and if you don't 'fit in', then you are deemed 'sick' by the parents, the religionists and the medical/psychiatric/psychological establishment and must be 'cured', i.e. have your hormones blocked, until the age you can get opposite sex hormones to conform to the 'proper sex'. This is not consensual, nor is it liberationist, or feminist of any kind. It continues THE SAME OLD STEREOTYPES, but damages now young bodies, at younger and younger ages.....
IT DOES NOT LIBERATE. If there are folks who want to take hormones and/or have surgeries at age 21, then at least they are at a legal age to make their choice, though I would deem that is still too young to think through all the ramifications, and the damages those hormones and surgeries can do, without giving one the results ultimately they want. IN any case, it continues the erasure of us as Butches and as Dykes..and especially of future Butch Dykes/Lesbians as well....
-In Sisterhood,
-MasterAmazon
K.B. "One point that I want to be clear about. When I say that this is "sick," I mean that the phenomenon of trans-sexuality as a whole is a symptom of a societal illness; it is part and parcel of a world that loathes women. In the transgender POV, there is NO SUCH THING as sex. If a man tells me that he identifies as a woman, there is no argument. HE IS ONE. That is the sickness I speak of.
This has gone so far as to extend to children. Non gender-conforming children--that is, a boy who wants to be a princess, a girl who likes trucks--should be given hormones and surgery, forced sterilization, and "properly gendered" so as to fit in. THAT IS SICK. I am not exaggerating, this is happening right now."-K.B.
I entirely agree with K.B. assessment above in this paragraph. When I watched Chaz on Chaz's documentary, the part that sickened me the most was Chaz sitting in a hottub with a boyish girl, hardcore tomboy who wanted to be a boy, and 'boy bonding', I felt that if they got hold of me now back then, I would have been put on those hormones and such and encouraged to transition to male, and forced into those surgeries at a young age. I was not 'gender confused', I wanted to be a boy because of the powerlessness of girls and women, and I didn't want to be forced into dresses or housework, which girls are expected to do, or the sideline role in t.v. and movies, where she's helpless...much more prevalent in the '60's than it is today, where there are other views and some kickass women characters.....as it was I was put into therapy instead, cuz I never fit in, kissed girls on the head, and preferred boys activities, boys roles and wanted to be wearing boys clothing, not femmy stuff or forced into housework, or imitation housework and playing with dolls and such. These kids need a chance to grow up, not have pink or blue forced on them(and you can see IMMEDIATE SEX ROLE STEREOTYPING THROUGH CHILDREN'S CLOTHES AND TOYS, in a very quick way....all the girls clothes are pepto bismol pink, and some very revealing, and all the boys' clothes primary colors of blue, red, yellow or green. I do remember back in the late '60's/early 70's there came in the unisex movement, and unisex clothes which overlapped, cuz guys were wearing their hair long, and women were wearing pants and jeans...dress codes changed in our schools too where girls were no longer forced into dresses and we could wear pants too, and I was so relieved! So all this 'gender' stuff is merely a smokescreen for the true oppression you get on day one to conform one way or another...instead of just letting kids be kids, and gravitate to what they prefer/like, and putting out there more genderneutral clothes and toy choices....but you'll have to overcome the parents' religious programming as well, which they are likely to force onto kids, especially the more fundamentalist/religiously strict they are, the more gender conformity will be expected, and the more a particular girl or boy will rebel that and think they MUST BE the opposite sex, because the real truth, is if the kid doesn't gender conform, they MUST BE homosexual, and who wants their kid to be homosexual? Which comes to why Butches and effeminate men are hated, and why so many now opt for the surgeries to get out of that.
Baiting is not necessary, and this space(a group for Female Identified/Centered Butches) is incredibly important for female Centered Butches who are a people at the moment terribly under siege, not just from without, from the hetero patriarchal world and religions that shame us, or try to eliminate us, but from within from the LGBTLMNOP communities.....which is even worse. There is no safe space right now for Female Centered Butches...even Michfest is under siege, and almost everywhere we care to land, whether realtime or online.
My committment to Dykes, to womyn, to Butches, to DykeAmazons, to young Butch/boyish/genderqueer, ect. women DECIDING to remain in their female bodies, or even older Butches who get tired of the struggle and want to give up and transition to male, I will continue to speak out, and encourage them, and tell them to 'look into the background', and that being Female, Dyke, Butch, and looking to our Amazonian Selves, owning our deepest sexuality, our spiritual power AS FEMALES, and connecting with one another, and working towards OUR FULL AND TOTAL LIBERATION AS FEMALES WITHOUT COMPROMISE, is another way to be in the world without copping out and 'becoming a dude', and putting those hormones in their bodies, taking the patriarchy literally within themselves, because they feel so unaccepted without...cuz for a lifetime us Butches have been told 'you just wanna be a dude', or worse 'you just need to be fucked by a dude', or 'you're no woman!' Both men and even straight women treat us like pariahs, gay males often dish us, while surrounded by their faghag feminine woman friends, because we are autonomous and do not cater to their or any other male egos. I have seen it over and over, and I've been in the community a good 31 years...even the most male identified Butches I knew in the past, still had an inkling of female pride and power and DEFENDED women and their sister Dykes.....but now, there's the easy out of hormones and surgeries to overcome that oppression, to circumvent it. And so many right and left are flocking right to it. We've lost much of the liberalism and heady times of the '70's, even the early '80's, and really in many ways things have gotten more and more conservative, and the religious right has ascended in power, with the 'Ex-Gay' movement attacking ANYONE who had a smack of Butchness or effeminacy, and humilating both Lesbians and Gays who didn't 'fit in', while attempting to strip them of their homosexuality.
Megachurches and all the rest of the patriarchal religionists have done so much damage to Dykes, to Butches, and to women. If one looks at the trans movement, as many of us have, as another kind of cult, bringing the youth into it, and convincing them they must have hormones and surgeries to achieve liberation, indeed it's a faux type of liberation that only benefits the psychiatrists, the surgeons and the nonprofits that support them. IT DOES NOTHING TO FURTHER THE LIBERATION OF BUTCH DYKES OR ALL LESBIANS OR EVEN BIO FEMALE WOMEN!!!! IN fact it continues to silence and invisibilize us. So after having our necks stepped on and watching our communities, our bookstores, our dyke and womyn only spaces disappear AND our Butch Sisters, and potential Butch Sisters of the future, no matter WHAT sector of the Dyke community we have been in, it hurts us on a very, very deep level. When I quoted from K.B. the term 'sick', it was in reference to putting on the pressure to transition to young kids, kids who don't know yet who and what they are, but differ from the malestream version of what a good little girl or boy could or should be...and as I mentioned, the toys, the clothes, the activities that girls and boys have to choose from is already sex segregated from practically when they are born...and if you don't 'fit in', then you are deemed 'sick' by the parents, the religionists and the medical/psychiatric/psychological establishment and must be 'cured', i.e. have your hormones blocked, until the age you can get opposite sex hormones to conform to the 'proper sex'. This is not consensual, nor is it liberationist, or feminist of any kind. It continues THE SAME OLD STEREOTYPES, but damages now young bodies, at younger and younger ages.....
IT DOES NOT LIBERATE. If there are folks who want to take hormones and/or have surgeries at age 21, then at least they are at a legal age to make their choice, though I would deem that is still too young to think through all the ramifications, and the damages those hormones and surgeries can do, without giving one the results ultimately they want. IN any case, it continues the erasure of us as Butches and as Dykes..and especially of future Butch Dykes/Lesbians as well....
-In Sisterhood,
-MasterAmazon
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Response to Dea Shore's Amazon Gathering Post
Feisty Amazon
WOW! That just BLOWS ME AWAY, AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I sure wish you had been to my Amazon Ritual last summer at EWF, it was primal in a way most women's and Dianic rituals are not....it affirmed so many of the same things, and I agree: 'LET'S HAVE AN AMAZON GATHERING!' and for me, that includes Female Identified Butch Dykes as modern day Amazons. I am really suffering a dearth and lack of Butch Dykes at most Dianic/Women's rituals I attend. The are way too hetero frilly and femmy for my tastes.....the Amazon energy gets down, is grounded, is heady, ecstatic, explicitly or implicitly womon to loving womon sexual, has NOTHING to do with men or male dieties, but our own strong energy, or conventional womanhood. It is primal, feisty, and shakes off all the veils and illusions...and is the way the energy of the Goddess will be rebirthed: because us Amazons are THE ONLY WOMYN ON THE PLANET, THAT GIVE OURSELVES FULLY AND TOTALLY TO THE SACRED FEMALE ON EVERY SINGLE LEVEL, WITHOUT COMPROMISE. Too many other women are way too timid to take that stance, or to give their men and male children and associates less power in their lives, for fear of censure, violence or privileges taken away. And first and foremost, Amazons are not just women warriors, they ARE Warrior Womyn, BUT MOST OF ALL THEY/WE ARE A TRIBAL SISTERHOOD!!!! And THAT is of utmost importance and what differs an Amazon from other women warriors that think they can go it alone in the world...one may have to until one comes upon one's Sisterhood....but is always wanting and desiring and looking for one's Amazon Sisters...and with that, weaving the Sisterhood of Womyn together to overcome the destructiveness of Patriarchy. As we were the last to defend the ancient Matriarchies, we are the first to INSIST on modern day Matriarchies and to protect our womyn, our womyn's space, our rites, and Mother Earth.
WOW! That just BLOWS ME AWAY, AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I sure wish you had been to my Amazon Ritual last summer at EWF, it was primal in a way most women's and Dianic rituals are not....it affirmed so many of the same things, and I agree: 'LET'S HAVE AN AMAZON GATHERING!' and for me, that includes Female Identified Butch Dykes as modern day Amazons. I am really suffering a dearth and lack of Butch Dykes at most Dianic/Women's rituals I attend. The are way too hetero frilly and femmy for my tastes.....the Amazon energy gets down, is grounded, is heady, ecstatic, explicitly or implicitly womon to loving womon sexual, has NOTHING to do with men or male dieties, but our own strong energy, or conventional womanhood. It is primal, feisty, and shakes off all the veils and illusions...and is the way the energy of the Goddess will be rebirthed: because us Amazons are THE ONLY WOMYN ON THE PLANET, THAT GIVE OURSELVES FULLY AND TOTALLY TO THE SACRED FEMALE ON EVERY SINGLE LEVEL, WITHOUT COMPROMISE. Too many other women are way too timid to take that stance, or to give their men and male children and associates less power in their lives, for fear of censure, violence or privileges taken away. And first and foremost, Amazons are not just women warriors, they ARE Warrior Womyn, BUT MOST OF ALL THEY/WE ARE A TRIBAL SISTERHOOD!!!! And THAT is of utmost importance and what differs an Amazon from other women warriors that think they can go it alone in the world...one may have to until one comes upon one's Sisterhood....but is always wanting and desiring and looking for one's Amazon Sisters...and with that, weaving the Sisterhood of Womyn together to overcome the destructiveness of Patriarchy. As we were the last to defend the ancient Matriarchies, we are the first to INSIST on modern day Matriarchies and to protect our womyn, our womyn's space, our rites, and Mother Earth.
Amazons....Amazons....Where are my Sisters? By Dea Shore Crone Amazon Extraordinaire
GUEST POST BY WONDERFUL CRONE DYKEAMAZON Dea Shore
Amazons ... Amazons ... Where are my sisters?.
by Dea Shore on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 12:06pm
.
There was a time when I opened my space to Amazon Gatherings. Many sisters came to these gatherings who were not declared Amazons, but who were curious friends of Amazons ... some just came to gather ... to eat, drink and be merry. Good women ... free women ... Goddess-Loving women ... You know who you are! Mama, Auntie Joan, Auntie Wanda, Carolyn, Kini, Marione, Charlotte and too many others are no longer physically with us ...! Only a few sisters remain ...but, many daughters and daughters of daughters are out there needing the invitation and validation of an Amazon Gathering. And, I genuinely suspect they know who they are ... at least on some level.
Have you ever lived completely alone? Have you ever been complletely responsible for your own food, clothing and shelter ... for your own safety? Have you ever identified your fears ... fears revealed only to you ... viewable only to your own eyes in the dark mirror? Have you ever walked the dark? Have you ever experienced physical combat ... fought in self-defense? Are you faithful to yourself? Are you an Amazon? Have you ever been aided by an Amazon?
What is an Amazon? Who is an Amazon? Lets take a quick look at Nature and identify some creatures we can agree are examples of the Amazon path. See if you agree. I suggest that Bees, Sea Gulls, SeaHorse, Anemonies, Elephants, Hyenas, Spiders ... most trees and plants ... a vast amount of nature in general. Most of Nature is faithful to HERself.
I'd like to go on record to say ... here and now ... I do not deny the Gods, nor any other navel-less deity. I very simply do not relate well to them except through the Goddess. I have a Navel and I honor that connectedness first, last and always. It is engraved upon my spirit that I was once wholly dependent upon a Mother ... the navel is my enduring physical proof. ( And, so is Gravity!) So, as long as I am of this Earth, the Goddess is my Queen and I am Her worker-Bee, Her stinging warrior or whatever She needs me to be. Very few jobs require a penis or pollen!
Everytime I see the face ... or hear the name ... of one of our so-called leaders ... regardless of where I am ... I send a stinging dart of truth to them ... hoping ... they'll become transparent enough for me to find a seed of trust in them for me to nurture with love and respect. If I only knew how, I'd encase them in an eggshell until they matured into truthful, loving, friendly-to-this planet .. human beings. I'd render them to so friendly to women and all life on this planet that no woman would ever have to lock a window or door again, nor any critter need to flee to the safety of shadows in fear. If I were really ... really ... powerful, I'd disappear Patriarchy from this planet! There is probably a good reason I am not that powerful ... yet. I do not have all the answers ... nor do I understand all the answers that are offered ... and, neither do you!
As Amazon Crone ... I believe we need to brainstorm ... to go beyond personal rituals ... and find agreements among us. What do we want? for our sisters? our species? our planet including all the life forms upon Her??? How can we in simple everyday practice, habit or ritual begin to accomplish the feat of becoming that which we wish to see? Clean air, water, energy, agriculture ... CLEAN everything! Contaminates gone! No more pollution whether in the form of lies, violence, fear-producing words or activities ... or merely the removal of inappropriately applied poisons to our environment. Mama always said that if you want something done you must get up and do it yourself. Since I do not know how to do this all by myself ... yet ... I am willing to blend my energy with others to the extent that I can ... so long as we share a common vision. How many New World Eggs does it take? What concepts or ingriedients ... wants or wishes ... hopes or dreams ... must be included in our New World Eggs? Visions? Is Revolution a requirement for the hatching of our Egg(s)??? I've so many questions and so few tangible solutions ... magically or otherwise.
I don't know about you, but I suspect you are as sick and tired as I am of cleaning up messes ... messes I didn't even knowingly contribute to ... messes I've spent the better part of 70 plus years of personal energy attempting to clean up one way or another ... whether it be child abuse, domestic violence, rape, a woman's choice, our water, our air ... and so on and on and on ...! I want heedless behaviors that are contradictory to healthy LIFE as we know it stopped! NOW! Well ... that is what I want. I think it may well be what we NEED as well to sustain our species. I do NOT, however, KNOW! Could we have a virtual gathering? Is that even possible? Could we plug our individual energy and knowledge into such a gathering or not? Or, would it even be worthwhile? Oh well, just my thoughts for the day!
Amazons ... Amazons ... Where are my sisters?.
by Dea Shore on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 12:06pm
.
There was a time when I opened my space to Amazon Gatherings. Many sisters came to these gatherings who were not declared Amazons, but who were curious friends of Amazons ... some just came to gather ... to eat, drink and be merry. Good women ... free women ... Goddess-Loving women ... You know who you are! Mama, Auntie Joan, Auntie Wanda, Carolyn, Kini, Marione, Charlotte and too many others are no longer physically with us ...! Only a few sisters remain ...but, many daughters and daughters of daughters are out there needing the invitation and validation of an Amazon Gathering. And, I genuinely suspect they know who they are ... at least on some level.
Have you ever lived completely alone? Have you ever been complletely responsible for your own food, clothing and shelter ... for your own safety? Have you ever identified your fears ... fears revealed only to you ... viewable only to your own eyes in the dark mirror? Have you ever walked the dark? Have you ever experienced physical combat ... fought in self-defense? Are you faithful to yourself? Are you an Amazon? Have you ever been aided by an Amazon?
What is an Amazon? Who is an Amazon? Lets take a quick look at Nature and identify some creatures we can agree are examples of the Amazon path. See if you agree. I suggest that Bees, Sea Gulls, SeaHorse, Anemonies, Elephants, Hyenas, Spiders ... most trees and plants ... a vast amount of nature in general. Most of Nature is faithful to HERself.
I'd like to go on record to say ... here and now ... I do not deny the Gods, nor any other navel-less deity. I very simply do not relate well to them except through the Goddess. I have a Navel and I honor that connectedness first, last and always. It is engraved upon my spirit that I was once wholly dependent upon a Mother ... the navel is my enduring physical proof. ( And, so is Gravity!) So, as long as I am of this Earth, the Goddess is my Queen and I am Her worker-Bee, Her stinging warrior or whatever She needs me to be. Very few jobs require a penis or pollen!
Everytime I see the face ... or hear the name ... of one of our so-called leaders ... regardless of where I am ... I send a stinging dart of truth to them ... hoping ... they'll become transparent enough for me to find a seed of trust in them for me to nurture with love and respect. If I only knew how, I'd encase them in an eggshell until they matured into truthful, loving, friendly-to-this planet .. human beings. I'd render them to so friendly to women and all life on this planet that no woman would ever have to lock a window or door again, nor any critter need to flee to the safety of shadows in fear. If I were really ... really ... powerful, I'd disappear Patriarchy from this planet! There is probably a good reason I am not that powerful ... yet. I do not have all the answers ... nor do I understand all the answers that are offered ... and, neither do you!
As Amazon Crone ... I believe we need to brainstorm ... to go beyond personal rituals ... and find agreements among us. What do we want? for our sisters? our species? our planet including all the life forms upon Her??? How can we in simple everyday practice, habit or ritual begin to accomplish the feat of becoming that which we wish to see? Clean air, water, energy, agriculture ... CLEAN everything! Contaminates gone! No more pollution whether in the form of lies, violence, fear-producing words or activities ... or merely the removal of inappropriately applied poisons to our environment. Mama always said that if you want something done you must get up and do it yourself. Since I do not know how to do this all by myself ... yet ... I am willing to blend my energy with others to the extent that I can ... so long as we share a common vision. How many New World Eggs does it take? What concepts or ingriedients ... wants or wishes ... hopes or dreams ... must be included in our New World Eggs? Visions? Is Revolution a requirement for the hatching of our Egg(s)??? I've so many questions and so few tangible solutions ... magically or otherwise.
I don't know about you, but I suspect you are as sick and tired as I am of cleaning up messes ... messes I didn't even knowingly contribute to ... messes I've spent the better part of 70 plus years of personal energy attempting to clean up one way or another ... whether it be child abuse, domestic violence, rape, a woman's choice, our water, our air ... and so on and on and on ...! I want heedless behaviors that are contradictory to healthy LIFE as we know it stopped! NOW! Well ... that is what I want. I think it may well be what we NEED as well to sustain our species. I do NOT, however, KNOW! Could we have a virtual gathering? Is that even possible? Could we plug our individual energy and knowledge into such a gathering or not? Or, would it even be worthwhile? Oh well, just my thoughts for the day!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Telling the Truth
I've got nowhere to go with this, no forum I feel safe saying this: but I'm almost done with my Trade. I'm tired of the men, the discrimination, and my own fear showing up to the Union Hall to take a dispatch, and then going to a job and being rejected: over and over again, till I get to the point I reject myself because I have convinced myself I'm not worthy, capable, or have the self esteem I'll make it past three days. That happened on Monday, a foreman who would have hired me, and he wanted someone to do a particular aspect of the job(cadwelding) which many dont' like to do, and it can be outright dangerous dealing with potentially explosive and burning substances....I was in fear that I couldn't 'measure up' since I hadn't done that procedure more than 3-5 times in 20 years, and always under supervision or with another....I didn't believe in myself, shot myself in the foot, and suggested he maybe get someone very familiar with the procedure. In other words, I didn't believe in myself.....but this guy woulda given me a chance! That's how demoralized my self-esteem is: this situation was on me! Being a big Butch Dyke and feeling worthless around these men. When I'm around other Dykes and women, they APPRECIATE me for my skills and abilities and knowledge, but when I'm around these men in my trade, I feel less than worthless..and any other women, including Dykes I know, many are not in solidarity and certainly not around the menz...because to them it would be 'guilt by association', so most I cannot count on. A few, yes, but most, no.
So, the second day I went out on Tuesday, and I came to a job where they were going to put in a huge solar array. I actually was quite excited, because I've gone to 3 solar classes, including one I paid for myself, about $500, a women only solar class put on by Solar Energy International. I suggest you look them up if you're interested in the field, because these women who taught the class were incredibly knowledgeable and did a far better job of teaching and hands on than the union program. So here was my chance! But it's with a contractor that all they care about is the bottomline, and workers are nothing but cogs in a wheel. Instead of filling out the paperwork and getting ready to do the work, he put me through a long, extensive and what I felt was an outright invasive interview process I entirely did NOT expect and was not ready for....this is a hard contractor to work for, and they have been problematic in the past....but I was trying to keep an entirely open mind: till he gets to productivity. Now mind you, I've NEVER done this particular work in the field, only in class, and he mentions he wants 140 solar panels put in in one day..and if I'm not up for it, I'll be laid off in 3 days! And I'm desparate for work, haven't worked since last summer, and right in the front of the books, where I could have my pick of the crop! I got in such a state of fear...and said "If I can't meet your expectation can you turn it into at least a short call, so I can get back on the book?" The answer was an unequivacal "NO, I don't do that!" He might have said 1000....sure I coulda lied, I coulda taken my chances, but instead I broke down....I named it: 'Everything is cutthroat, I have no clue if I could meet that, ect." I cried, I mentioned being desperate for work, ect. ect. and people could say and do say "Never reveal your weaknesses" but some times, we do. We break down, I am human and FEMALE after all. I am in touch with my feelings, I am clean and sober, I don't bury them behind drugs and alcohol. I am open to my spirituality, which I could use more of at this time, if I can open myself enough, and get still enough....
I left extremely depressed, feeling that TWO opportunities were now snatched from my hands...but especially around the solar, because THAT IS THE FIELD I WANT TO GET INTO! And I called a friend and she said he coulda said ANY number...whether it was realistic or not....to get a rise...to test me, or to bullshit me and put me in a place of fear, or perhaps I shoulda just bullshitted and said 'yes'....but that the ethics both of us deal with, is CONSTANTLY being lied to by these foreman, these contractors, told one thing, and then another that are completely untrue to cover their tracks, and in fact the guy started hemming and hawing about the numbers....
Why I'm mentioning all this is cuz I'm in a state of paralysis and fear.
I've felt this many times in relation to this Trade, to dealing with these men, to this system....but it has gotten much, much worse since the economic downturn. These guys LITERALLY want blood. I'm getting older, I'm 51, I'm not 25 or even 35...I'm not young anymore. I don't have the same energy level or conditioning, and being out of work so long, even less so...they've ended Affirmative Action in California, so they're not beholden to hire a certain number of women per job like they used to be in the '90's before the 'California Civil Rights Initiative" or rather Civil Wrongs Initiative, Prop 209 passed in the State of California, eliminating Affirmative Action for women and minorities....and the numbers of Tradeswomen and Women and Minority owned contractors has gone down ever since..the big boys have gotten even more of the pie than they already had!
I'm laying it out for you here, for myself, my truth...is I'm almost done with this, with Ed Hill, and all the rest...cuz they've literally starved us out, and kept the good ole boys working...they've cherrypicked and denied us, and I'm almost D O N E...but not before a last Robinhood moment where I gain all the skills I can before going............
So, I am finally at a Hecate like Crossroads in my Career. I WANT to use the skills I have,but I KNOW I must take them in another direction, a direction my heart wants to go in, that takes into account my spirituality, my love for Mother Earth, and being in the Solution, and no longer in the problem..meaning, if SOMEHOW, I CAN get permanently into the alternative energy/energy management field, use my brains more than my body, be more than a cog in a wheel and MOST OF ALL BE APPRECIATED FOR MY EFFORTS, rather than being treated like a whipped dog most of the time, and always fearful I could get laid off at any time, or not able to get another job, and do what I believe in, in alignment with my values, then perhaps I can finally be successful in the work world after all....and thrive, not just survive.
So many Dykes, so many Butches, so many women are so used to just surviving, because of the multitude of ways we're discriminated against workwise, and as a result not believing in ourselves, or being given the opportunities others with more privilege get and TAKE FOR GRANTED, like most of these hetero white dudes in the trade, or in life, we just get so beat down because of it. AND I'M SICK AND TIRED OF BEING BEAT DOWN AND STARVED OUT! MOST OF ALL I WANT TO BE HONORED AND APPRECIATED FOR MY EFFORTS AND WELL COMPENSED AS WELL..I DON'T WANT A STARVATION SALARY LIKE MOST WOMYN END UP SETTLING FOR!
So, you've heard it first...not that I haven't been saying it to friends and my partner...but never in print have I actually put it out there, in it's entirety and this is just a small portion of the story...but I'm almost DONE. I've been saying this 20 years, but this is the end of the road...I cannot go on like this anymore...and She has shown me I must make other choices, that feed my self esteem, my self worth, and my pocketbook, in alignment with my values.
-In Sisterhood,
-MasterAmazon
So, the second day I went out on Tuesday, and I came to a job where they were going to put in a huge solar array. I actually was quite excited, because I've gone to 3 solar classes, including one I paid for myself, about $500, a women only solar class put on by Solar Energy International. I suggest you look them up if you're interested in the field, because these women who taught the class were incredibly knowledgeable and did a far better job of teaching and hands on than the union program. So here was my chance! But it's with a contractor that all they care about is the bottomline, and workers are nothing but cogs in a wheel. Instead of filling out the paperwork and getting ready to do the work, he put me through a long, extensive and what I felt was an outright invasive interview process I entirely did NOT expect and was not ready for....this is a hard contractor to work for, and they have been problematic in the past....but I was trying to keep an entirely open mind: till he gets to productivity. Now mind you, I've NEVER done this particular work in the field, only in class, and he mentions he wants 140 solar panels put in in one day..and if I'm not up for it, I'll be laid off in 3 days! And I'm desparate for work, haven't worked since last summer, and right in the front of the books, where I could have my pick of the crop! I got in such a state of fear...and said "If I can't meet your expectation can you turn it into at least a short call, so I can get back on the book?" The answer was an unequivacal "NO, I don't do that!" He might have said 1000....sure I coulda lied, I coulda taken my chances, but instead I broke down....I named it: 'Everything is cutthroat, I have no clue if I could meet that, ect." I cried, I mentioned being desperate for work, ect. ect. and people could say and do say "Never reveal your weaknesses" but some times, we do. We break down, I am human and FEMALE after all. I am in touch with my feelings, I am clean and sober, I don't bury them behind drugs and alcohol. I am open to my spirituality, which I could use more of at this time, if I can open myself enough, and get still enough....
I left extremely depressed, feeling that TWO opportunities were now snatched from my hands...but especially around the solar, because THAT IS THE FIELD I WANT TO GET INTO! And I called a friend and she said he coulda said ANY number...whether it was realistic or not....to get a rise...to test me, or to bullshit me and put me in a place of fear, or perhaps I shoulda just bullshitted and said 'yes'....but that the ethics both of us deal with, is CONSTANTLY being lied to by these foreman, these contractors, told one thing, and then another that are completely untrue to cover their tracks, and in fact the guy started hemming and hawing about the numbers....
Why I'm mentioning all this is cuz I'm in a state of paralysis and fear.
I've felt this many times in relation to this Trade, to dealing with these men, to this system....but it has gotten much, much worse since the economic downturn. These guys LITERALLY want blood. I'm getting older, I'm 51, I'm not 25 or even 35...I'm not young anymore. I don't have the same energy level or conditioning, and being out of work so long, even less so...they've ended Affirmative Action in California, so they're not beholden to hire a certain number of women per job like they used to be in the '90's before the 'California Civil Rights Initiative" or rather Civil Wrongs Initiative, Prop 209 passed in the State of California, eliminating Affirmative Action for women and minorities....and the numbers of Tradeswomen and Women and Minority owned contractors has gone down ever since..the big boys have gotten even more of the pie than they already had!
I'm laying it out for you here, for myself, my truth...is I'm almost done with this, with Ed Hill, and all the rest...cuz they've literally starved us out, and kept the good ole boys working...they've cherrypicked and denied us, and I'm almost D O N E...but not before a last Robinhood moment where I gain all the skills I can before going............
So, I am finally at a Hecate like Crossroads in my Career. I WANT to use the skills I have,but I KNOW I must take them in another direction, a direction my heart wants to go in, that takes into account my spirituality, my love for Mother Earth, and being in the Solution, and no longer in the problem..meaning, if SOMEHOW, I CAN get permanently into the alternative energy/energy management field, use my brains more than my body, be more than a cog in a wheel and MOST OF ALL BE APPRECIATED FOR MY EFFORTS, rather than being treated like a whipped dog most of the time, and always fearful I could get laid off at any time, or not able to get another job, and do what I believe in, in alignment with my values, then perhaps I can finally be successful in the work world after all....and thrive, not just survive.
So many Dykes, so many Butches, so many women are so used to just surviving, because of the multitude of ways we're discriminated against workwise, and as a result not believing in ourselves, or being given the opportunities others with more privilege get and TAKE FOR GRANTED, like most of these hetero white dudes in the trade, or in life, we just get so beat down because of it. AND I'M SICK AND TIRED OF BEING BEAT DOWN AND STARVED OUT! MOST OF ALL I WANT TO BE HONORED AND APPRECIATED FOR MY EFFORTS AND WELL COMPENSED AS WELL..I DON'T WANT A STARVATION SALARY LIKE MOST WOMYN END UP SETTLING FOR!
So, you've heard it first...not that I haven't been saying it to friends and my partner...but never in print have I actually put it out there, in it's entirety and this is just a small portion of the story...but I'm almost DONE. I've been saying this 20 years, but this is the end of the road...I cannot go on like this anymore...and She has shown me I must make other choices, that feed my self esteem, my self worth, and my pocketbook, in alignment with my values.
-In Sisterhood,
-MasterAmazon
Response to 'Empowered Transman' on GenderTrender
,
I grew up with all that pressure: forced to wear dresses to family dinners, and there always were crying and shouting matches when I refused to do so, and threats I couldn’t come along if I didn’t comply. Holidays and birthdays were a strain too, because I rejected dolls at age 7(dresses at age 10, and marriage to a man at age 12). How I knew all this stuff, well, I grew up in NYC during the budding of the Feminist movement in the late ’60′s/early ’70′s, and was a tough tomboy on the streets who wouldn’t take second class status merely cuz I was a girl. I too wanted to be ‘one of the boys’, all the things this individual mentions. I HATED being a girl, not because I wanted a dick, but because I didn’t want to dress in humilating feminine clothing, be made to play with dolls or femmey girls, or do housework, I wanted to do all the fun boy things like my younger brother was able to do, and play with the more interesting toys, sports, adventure and exploration, and most of all, DID NOT wanted to be treated second class and left out! I was also very protective of my younger brother and fought his fights for him.
This individual is far more Femme than I EVER was…I rejected feminininity, makeup, dresses or any of that BEFORE I came out as much as I could get away with, and even more so AFTER I came out, and thank Goddess I came into a strong Lesbian/Feminist movement where there were very visible Butch Dykes I could emulate, and questioning of every female role and assertion and we were carving out OUR OWN culture and way of being, not that dicktated to us by the heterosexual culture…but ACTIVELY RESISTING IT. And as a martial artist teaching self defense to women, I took up my space in a way many women do not…martial arts helped me inhabit my body and my movements and where I would go and what I would do, in many ways women as a whole are fearful to do because of feminine training and threats of violence, and threats of being ‘unfeminine’. Well, I was NEVER feminine in the first place, and so MANY of these trans’men’ had active feminine experiences where at some point they embraced femininity as this FTM did.
Even looking at this individual, I see the woman inside her. Shave off the beard and you have a young Butch.
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH JUST BEING BUTCH/AMAZON????????????? And questioning all these imposed upon female roles. When I see pictures of her as a girl, I just get very sad and mourn, cuz she looked like a cute tomboy girl, attempting to resist femininity, but still all girl, that is, all FEMALE, nothing wrong with her at all, except the shame the family instills in her for NOT CONFORMING.
I am convinced now, with watching yet ANOTHER FTM confession(youtube is loaded with them overwhelmingly, and Chaz’s documentary is no different in tone than any of the other FTM confession) that it’s all about being shamed for not being feminine, and not ‘fitting into’ feminininity and ‘proper’ female roles..so it’s all about roles, and NOTHING TO DO with the sex she is born into…that is…if INSTEAD she came out into a community where her kind of Female was honored, like I was as a hardcore Tomboy who finally had a place as a Butch, seeing other Butches FIERCELY PROUD OF THEIR FEMALENESS AND AMAZON STRENGTH, HERSTORY AND POWER, and their capableness, then perhaps she would not have decided to take those horrible male hormones and to transition.
Over and over it comes down to SOCIAL CONDITIONING and rejecting feminine roles..and seeing the only opportunity is to become a ‘dude’ to deal with sexism, instead of a place where one can just be a powerful Female EXACTLY as you are without being forced into pink, stereotypical female(or for that matter male) behaviors, dresses or expectations.
Because she admits that once she’s percieved as a ‘dude’ she can’t even shake hands the same way, and is looked at completely differently, something she didn’t expect. Men are always testing other men to see their weaknesses, always testing for weakness….always going on about dick size or equivalents thereof, oneupmanship, ect. and now she won’t be able to show vulnerabilities, softness or emotions freely, because then she’ll be suspect she’s ‘not really a man’, instead of a greater human being, just BEING. So transition is NOT an answer to ANYONE’S problems…it does NOT stop the social inequities, it’s just another way to conform……
-In Sisterhood,
I grew up with all that pressure: forced to wear dresses to family dinners, and there always were crying and shouting matches when I refused to do so, and threats I couldn’t come along if I didn’t comply. Holidays and birthdays were a strain too, because I rejected dolls at age 7(dresses at age 10, and marriage to a man at age 12). How I knew all this stuff, well, I grew up in NYC during the budding of the Feminist movement in the late ’60′s/early ’70′s, and was a tough tomboy on the streets who wouldn’t take second class status merely cuz I was a girl. I too wanted to be ‘one of the boys’, all the things this individual mentions. I HATED being a girl, not because I wanted a dick, but because I didn’t want to dress in humilating feminine clothing, be made to play with dolls or femmey girls, or do housework, I wanted to do all the fun boy things like my younger brother was able to do, and play with the more interesting toys, sports, adventure and exploration, and most of all, DID NOT wanted to be treated second class and left out! I was also very protective of my younger brother and fought his fights for him.
This individual is far more Femme than I EVER was…I rejected feminininity, makeup, dresses or any of that BEFORE I came out as much as I could get away with, and even more so AFTER I came out, and thank Goddess I came into a strong Lesbian/Feminist movement where there were very visible Butch Dykes I could emulate, and questioning of every female role and assertion and we were carving out OUR OWN culture and way of being, not that dicktated to us by the heterosexual culture…but ACTIVELY RESISTING IT. And as a martial artist teaching self defense to women, I took up my space in a way many women do not…martial arts helped me inhabit my body and my movements and where I would go and what I would do, in many ways women as a whole are fearful to do because of feminine training and threats of violence, and threats of being ‘unfeminine’. Well, I was NEVER feminine in the first place, and so MANY of these trans’men’ had active feminine experiences where at some point they embraced femininity as this FTM did.
Even looking at this individual, I see the woman inside her. Shave off the beard and you have a young Butch.
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH JUST BEING BUTCH/AMAZON????????????? And questioning all these imposed upon female roles. When I see pictures of her as a girl, I just get very sad and mourn, cuz she looked like a cute tomboy girl, attempting to resist femininity, but still all girl, that is, all FEMALE, nothing wrong with her at all, except the shame the family instills in her for NOT CONFORMING.
I am convinced now, with watching yet ANOTHER FTM confession(youtube is loaded with them overwhelmingly, and Chaz’s documentary is no different in tone than any of the other FTM confession) that it’s all about being shamed for not being feminine, and not ‘fitting into’ feminininity and ‘proper’ female roles..so it’s all about roles, and NOTHING TO DO with the sex she is born into…that is…if INSTEAD she came out into a community where her kind of Female was honored, like I was as a hardcore Tomboy who finally had a place as a Butch, seeing other Butches FIERCELY PROUD OF THEIR FEMALENESS AND AMAZON STRENGTH, HERSTORY AND POWER, and their capableness, then perhaps she would not have decided to take those horrible male hormones and to transition.
Over and over it comes down to SOCIAL CONDITIONING and rejecting feminine roles..and seeing the only opportunity is to become a ‘dude’ to deal with sexism, instead of a place where one can just be a powerful Female EXACTLY as you are without being forced into pink, stereotypical female(or for that matter male) behaviors, dresses or expectations.
Because she admits that once she’s percieved as a ‘dude’ she can’t even shake hands the same way, and is looked at completely differently, something she didn’t expect. Men are always testing other men to see their weaknesses, always testing for weakness….always going on about dick size or equivalents thereof, oneupmanship, ect. and now she won’t be able to show vulnerabilities, softness or emotions freely, because then she’ll be suspect she’s ‘not really a man’, instead of a greater human being, just BEING. So transition is NOT an answer to ANYONE’S problems…it does NOT stop the social inequities, it’s just another way to conform……
-In Sisterhood,
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Link
http://www.africanactivist.org/2010/02/democratic-institutions-in-uganda-not.html?showComment=1321777444968#c6935381160286085886
Posting this link, if it works, to stand up for those in our community across the world, for their brave stances and literally putting their lives on the line in Uganda...a Lesbian speaks the truth about the male theocracy crushing any dissent or lives for Lesbians and Gays in Uganda...sounds oh so familiar in the U.S of A from the rightwing!
-M.A.
http://www.africanactivist.org/
You may have to put in the link by hand...doesn't seem to click on.
Posting this link, if it works, to stand up for those in our community across the world, for their brave stances and literally putting their lives on the line in Uganda...a Lesbian speaks the truth about the male theocracy crushing any dissent or lives for Lesbians and Gays in Uganda...sounds oh so familiar in the U.S of A from the rightwing!
-M.A.
http://www.africanactivist.org/
You may have to put in the link by hand...doesn't seem to click on.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Preserving our WBW Dianic Space, and Controversies around it from the Pagan and Gender Conference last week
I am going to give you the link to this current controversy and assault upon our Dianic oriented Paths, the right to wbw space in the greater Pagan community, of which Dianic Wicca in particular has been demonized around, that and worshipping Goddess only, no male dieties. Other than the ongoing controversies around maintaining our born female space in Michigan, the latest pop-up of this controversy occurred when Rabbit and the Amazon aspect of Caya Coven had a Dianic Amazon wbw ritual at Pantheacon last year, without listing the wbw requirements for the workshop. Several trans showed up, some were turned away, or made aware of the statement that it was for born female only, and a ton of controversy, much like what happens at Michfest and on the Michfest list, occurred, villifying the Dianic Path, and the right to claim wbw space and focus on women's blood mysteries, bodies and spirits from the moment of birth onwards. For years, however, Ruth Barrett, Z Budapest and other Dianic leaders have been holding Dianic wbw rituals at Pantheacon without too much incident. Ruth and Wendy Griffin came forward to state the importance of holding down this space at a workshop a couple days at Pantheacon after the controversy.
I myself had to argue in my own women's spirituality community for keeping my Amazon workshops born female only. It was very trying for me, as the group decided to open up our festival to mtf's,whether fully transitioned(penis removed) or not. I stated this would really change the Festival, and it's energy and focus. We haven't had the influx of trans yet, but if and when that occurs, it will irrevocably change from the wonderful sacred energies of born female connection and space.
So here is the link about the Conference, the controversy, the attempt to satisfy all communities, and the ritual which I hope will bring some mutual respect, including respect of boundaries and mental, emotional and spiritual healing around these matters. However, I am not holding my breath around this one. It is a wait and see to see what will unfold.
http://way-of-the-rabbit.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html
-In DykeAmazon Sisterhood,
-M.A.
http://way-of-the-rabbit.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html
If that link doesn't work,just try her main link:
http://way-of-the-rabbit.blogspot.com
then go to September 2011 and look for the outline ritual of radical forgiveness, and announcement about the Conference.
I myself had to argue in my own women's spirituality community for keeping my Amazon workshops born female only. It was very trying for me, as the group decided to open up our festival to mtf's,whether fully transitioned(penis removed) or not. I stated this would really change the Festival, and it's energy and focus. We haven't had the influx of trans yet, but if and when that occurs, it will irrevocably change from the wonderful sacred energies of born female connection and space.
So here is the link about the Conference, the controversy, the attempt to satisfy all communities, and the ritual which I hope will bring some mutual respect, including respect of boundaries and mental, emotional and spiritual healing around these matters. However, I am not holding my breath around this one. It is a wait and see to see what will unfold.
http://way-of-the-rabbit.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html
-In DykeAmazon Sisterhood,
-M.A.
http://way-of-the-rabbit.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html
If that link doesn't work,just try her main link:
http://way-of-the-rabbit.blogspot.com
then go to September 2011 and look for the outline ritual of radical forgiveness, and announcement about the Conference.
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