Comments for Sister Medusa's Radical Lesbian Underground http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com Just another WordPress.com weblog Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:04:32 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on On Recent Events: How “Transphobia” is Used As A Tool (of the (internalized) Patriarchy) To Silence (Radical) Lesbians (and Feminists) by Mary Sunshine http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/on-recent-events-how-transphobia-is-used-as-a-tool-of-the-internalized-patriarchy-to-silence-radical-lesbians-and-feminists/#comment-81 Mary Sunshine Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:04:32 +0000 http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/on-recent-events-how-transphobia-is-used-as-a-tool-of-the-internalized-patriarchy-to-silence-radical-lesbians-and-feminists/#comment-81 Sister Medusa, We want to hear more from you! Please come back. Sister Medusa,

We want to hear more from you! Please come back.

]]> Comment on Radical Lesbian Feminists Need Not Apply: One More Reason To Go Underground? by Patriarkill http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/24/radical-lesbian-feminists-need-not-apply-one-more-reason-to-go-underground/#comment-80 Patriarkill Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:51:27 +0000 http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/24/radical-lesbian-feminists-need-not-apply-one-more-reason-to-go-underground/#comment-80 very great blog. I hate the post modern chaos. very great blog. I hate the post modern chaos.

]]> Comment on On Recent Events: How “Transphobia” is Used As A Tool (of the (internalized) Patriarchy) To Silence (Radical) Lesbians (and Feminists) by SecondWaver http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/on-recent-events-how-transphobia-is-used-as-a-tool-of-the-internalized-patriarchy-to-silence-radical-lesbians-and-feminists/#comment-45 SecondWaver Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:46:35 +0000 http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/on-recent-events-how-transphobia-is-used-as-a-tool-of-the-internalized-patriarchy-to-silence-radical-lesbians-and-feminists/#comment-45 just a howdy, hope you haven't permanently abandoned your blog, i only started to love it and now miss it! just a howdy, hope you haven’t permanently abandoned your blog, i only started to love it and now miss it!

]]> Comment on Welcome to the Lesbian Underground by Mary Sunshine http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/07/30/welcome-to-the-lesbian-underground/#comment-22 Mary Sunshine Sun, 18 Nov 2007 23:10:15 +0000 http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/07/30/welcome-to-the-lesbian-underground/#comment-22 It's great to be here. :-) Thanks! It’s great to be here.

:-)

Thanks!

]]> Comment on More re: the backlash against female born Lesbians, anti-Michigan false and one-sided “debates” and the rights of Female Born Females to exist, identify, and create space by darkdaughta http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/01/more-re-the-backlash-against-female-born-lesbians-anti-michigan-false-and-one-sided-debates-and-the-rights-of-female-born-females-to-exist-identify-and-create-space/#comment-12 darkdaughta Sat, 13 Oct 2007 03:29:12 +0000 http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/01/more-re-the-backlash-against-female-born-lesbians-anti-michigan-false-and-one-sided-debates-and-the-rights-of-female-born-females-to-exist-identify-and-create-space/#comment-12 As a younger black lesbian feminist I was extremely critical of the stance taken by the organizers of Michigan. I think my critique was myopic as I couldn't have predicted...but no, I think that in some ways Michigan's stance may have offered fuel, more longevity and a broader base of support to the Trans movement. Protesting their treatment at Michigan united them. It was their stonewall in a lot of ways. I think that I advocate for more layered approaches to challenges faced in any communities of resistance. Sometimes when we react with fear at being offered something different and potentially uncomfortable, the resulting outcry gives space for movements to be born. We know all about this as feminists and as people facing oppression who have marked the birth of various movements for change. Usually there is a spark. I think that the Michigan goers who were trans would have just come to party and to make some friends. Yes, the space would have had to transform...no pun intended, this is serious shite...but the space would have remained a hugely popular institution. As it stands, the already ahistorical third wavers are staying away in droves...and there are so many of them that this is probably being experienced as crippling for the festival. I've travelled away a bit form where I started. But what I'm trying to say is that they grew and flexed in relation to percieved acts of exclusion and domination. Now, the chasm is here...and as a bit of an enfant terrible, myself...I understand that they will allow their rage at being denied entry fuel and infuse their interactions with lesbians everywhere who will be the proxy stand ins for the organizers of Michigan...unless they are allowed "in"...as wimmin who have experienced so much oppression, I don't think it's a coincidence that so many are allying with them...the charge of having been exclusive keys into memories of oppression for so many of us...triggers a rage...results in guilt for having potentially offered a similar experience to others who seem to be crying out in pain and anguish...okay, I'm rambling. You've got me thinking. I like the stuff you wrote about the symbiotic relationship to the doctor butchers, the brain shrinkers and the hospital corp. I think about the many wimmin who understood themselves as boys or who now understand themselves as men I know who have been horribly sexually abused and about how many of these people are coming out as trans and divesting themselves of any physical vestiges of the bodies that experienced so much trauma. It's so complicated, so messy. I usually specialize in mess on my blog. Now that I see what you've done, I'm gonna have to give some serious thought to what this all means coming from where I enter. As a younger black lesbian feminist I was extremely critical of the stance taken by the organizers of Michigan. I think my critique was myopic as I couldn’t have predicted…but no, I think that in some ways Michigan’s stance may have offered fuel, more longevity and a broader base of support to the Trans movement. Protesting their treatment at Michigan united them. It was their stonewall in a lot of ways. I think that I advocate for more layered approaches to challenges faced in any communities of resistance. Sometimes when we react with fear at being offered something different and potentially uncomfortable, the resulting outcry gives space for movements to be born. We know all about this as feminists and as people facing oppression who have marked the birth of various movements for change. Usually there is a spark. I think that the Michigan goers who were trans would have just come to party and to make some friends. Yes, the space would have had to transform…no pun intended, this is serious shite…but the space would have remained a hugely popular institution. As it stands, the already ahistorical third wavers are staying away in droves…and there are so many of them that this is probably being experienced as crippling for the festival. I’ve travelled away a bit form where I started. But what I’m trying to say is that they grew and flexed in relation to percieved acts of exclusion and domination. Now, the chasm is here…and as a bit of an enfant terrible, myself…I understand that they will allow their rage at being denied entry fuel and infuse their interactions with lesbians everywhere who will be the proxy stand ins for the organizers of Michigan…unless they are allowed “in”…as wimmin who have experienced so much oppression, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that so many are allying with them…the charge of having been exclusive keys into memories of oppression for so many of us…triggers a rage…results in guilt for having potentially offered a similar experience to others who seem to be crying out in pain and anguish…okay, I’m rambling. You’ve got me thinking. I like the stuff you wrote about the symbiotic relationship to the doctor butchers, the brain shrinkers and the hospital corp. I think about the many wimmin who understood themselves as boys or who now understand themselves as men I know who have been horribly sexually abused and about how many of these people are coming out as trans and divesting themselves of any physical vestiges of the bodies that experienced so much trauma. It’s so complicated, so messy. I usually specialize in mess on my blog. Now that I see what you’ve done, I’m gonna have to give some serious thought to what this all means coming from where I enter.

]]> Comment on Radical Lesbian Feminists Need Not Apply: One More Reason To Go Underground? by darkdaughta http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/24/radical-lesbian-feminists-need-not-apply-one-more-reason-to-go-underground/#comment-11 darkdaughta Sat, 13 Oct 2007 03:15:21 +0000 http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/24/radical-lesbian-feminists-need-not-apply-one-more-reason-to-go-underground/#comment-11 OopS! That was supposed to read: "So, from this in place I write that you are communicating a solid critique of the contradictions of THIRD wave popular feminism." Hope the change makes my meaning clearer. :) OopS! That was supposed to read:

“So, from this in place I write that you are communicating a solid critique of the contradictions of THIRD wave popular feminism.”

Hope the change makes my meaning clearer. :)

]]> Comment on Radical Lesbian Feminists Need Not Apply: One More Reason To Go Underground? by darkdaughta http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/24/radical-lesbian-feminists-need-not-apply-one-more-reason-to-go-underground/#comment-10 darkdaughta Sat, 13 Oct 2007 03:14:05 +0000 http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/24/radical-lesbian-feminists-need-not-apply-one-more-reason-to-go-underground/#comment-10 I'm no longer a black lesbian separatist. I couldn't ask questions inside and expect to be supported by those wimmin I understood as my sistren. I approach and say I get what you're saying. I'm looking at things from somewhere between the second and third wave. I was already out when Audre Lorde was alive. But I've also explored who I am in ways that some second wavers might think of as alien. I am partnered with a man presently. I define as queer but am not interested in opening spaces for wimmin to men. I write with great skepticism about this whole notion of men being feminists. I believe they need to support each other and start their own movement for change that challenges the patriarchy. So, from this in place I write that you are communicating a solid critique of the contradictions of second wave popular feminism. Things are not alright. The third wave has severely lost it's way but doesn't realize it as it has been touted by the powers that be as a superstar movement filled with up and comers who are going places. I watch the carrots get dangled. I watch wimmin who understand themselves as radical refuse to speak and construct their silence as intelligent and political. You may not necessarily approve of the location from which I speak. But still from where I'm standing, way too much of what you've written here makes sense and speaks to my gut. I’m no longer a black lesbian separatist. I couldn’t ask questions inside and expect to be supported by those wimmin I understood as my sistren. I approach and say I get what you’re saying. I’m looking at things from somewhere between the second and third wave. I was already out when Audre Lorde was alive. But I’ve also explored who I am in ways that some second wavers might think of as alien. I am partnered with a man presently. I define as queer but am not interested in opening spaces for wimmin to men. I write with great skepticism about this whole notion of men being feminists. I believe they need to support each other and start their own movement for change that challenges the patriarchy. So, from this in place I write that you are communicating a solid critique of the contradictions of second wave popular feminism. Things are not alright. The third wave has severely lost it’s way but doesn’t realize it as it has been touted by the powers that be as a superstar movement filled with up and comers who are going places. I watch the carrots get dangled. I watch wimmin who understand themselves as radical refuse to speak and construct their silence as intelligent and political. You may not necessarily approve of the location from which I speak. But still from where I’m standing, way too much of what you’ve written here makes sense and speaks to my gut.

]]> Comment on On Recent Events: How “Transphobia” is Used As A Tool (of the (internalized) Patriarchy) To Silence (Radical) Lesbians (and Feminists) by anna http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/on-recent-events-how-transphobia-is-used-as-a-tool-of-the-internalized-patriarchy-to-silence-radical-lesbians-and-feminists/#comment-9 anna Sat, 13 Oct 2007 03:02:24 +0000 http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/on-recent-events-how-transphobia-is-used-as-a-tool-of-the-internalized-patriarchy-to-silence-radical-lesbians-and-feminists/#comment-9 Thank you for writing this. It articulates so many thoughts I've had on this subject, that so many times I've felt silenced. It is assumed in many circles that feminist= going along with every single letter in everything that group does, without question. Not unlike living in a patriarchal structure, but yet it's taboo even within our own community to make these connections. Thank you for writing this. It articulates so many thoughts I’ve had on this subject, that so many times I’ve felt silenced. It is assumed in many circles that feminist= going along with every single letter in everything that group does, without question. Not unlike living in a patriarchal structure, but yet it’s taboo even within our own community to make these connections.

]]> Comment on On Recent Events: How “Transphobia” is Used As A Tool (of the (internalized) Patriarchy) To Silence (Radical) Lesbians (and Feminists) by SecondWaver http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/on-recent-events-how-transphobia-is-used-as-a-tool-of-the-internalized-patriarchy-to-silence-radical-lesbians-and-feminists/#comment-7 SecondWaver Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:55:28 +0000 http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/on-recent-events-how-transphobia-is-used-as-a-tool-of-the-internalized-patriarchy-to-silence-radical-lesbians-and-feminists/#comment-7 I'm glad to find your blog. I just dropped out of a lesbian group here that I've been in since 2003, because the most out-spoken women are the same way--maligning the MWMF, as well as the magazine Lesbian Connection, etc. I'm sad to leave the group--but it looks like they're *not* my people. I just purchased a copy of the Gendercator from Catherine Crouch and hope to watch it this weekend. -- sw I’m glad to find your blog. I just dropped out of a lesbian group here that I’ve been in since 2003, because the most out-spoken women are the same way–maligning the MWMF, as well as the magazine Lesbian Connection, etc. I’m sad to leave the group–but it looks like they’re *not* my people.

I just purchased a copy of the Gendercator from Catherine Crouch and hope to watch it this weekend.

— sw

]]> Comment on On Recent Events: How “Transphobia” is Used As A Tool (of the (internalized) Patriarchy) To Silence (Radical) Lesbians (and Feminists) by allecto http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/on-recent-events-how-transphobia-is-used-as-a-tool-of-the-internalized-patriarchy-to-silence-radical-lesbians-and-feminists/#comment-6 allecto Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:46:57 +0000 http://sistermedusa.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/on-recent-events-how-transphobia-is-used-as-a-tool-of-the-internalized-patriarchy-to-silence-radical-lesbians-and-feminists/#comment-6 Hey sister, I'm totally with you on the trans issue and seemingly many other issues judging by the rest of this blog. What you say about the silencing of feminist and especially lesbian feminist voices is so true and so refreshing to read. Please keep writing. Hey sister,

I’m totally with you on the trans issue and seemingly many other issues judging by the rest of this blog.

What you say about the silencing of feminist and especially lesbian feminist voices is so true and so refreshing to read. Please keep writing.

]]>