Glad to see some pushback.

[Ms. Toad]

27. Consider yourself lucky -

Last edited Tue Feb 14, 2012, 11:27 PM - Edit history (1)

the women I ran into were dedicated feminists who were serious but, IMHO, misguided. On the other hand, they were some of real workhorses of the movement in that era.

If you're interested, start here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separatist_feminism (particularly the lesbian separatist section). It isn't a bad summary, and it provides references to some of the literature of the time.

ETA: One more reference - Lavender Culture, edited by Karla Jay and Allen Young (1978), the essay "Learning from Lesbian Separatism." by Charlotte Bunche. In it, she describes the period of separatism as mostly over - in my experience, it wasn't yet for another 5-10 years.

See also (for a historical perspective on FAAB, and similar concepts): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Womyn%27s_Music_Festival - ""Womyn Born Womyn" policy and debate over trans inclusion.

I am not endorsing either the historical, or the current (at MWMF) policy regarding separatism or exclusion of trans women - BUT I do think it is important to know our history - and some of it will seem very familiar to those reading through the posts here the last few days.