Keeping womyn's safe spaces safe

I’m overjoyed being here at this festival. First of all, it is not so totally white: there are lots of Black womyn here, some brown womyn, and many radical feminist lesbians including several white ones. For the first time in forever, I feel like this is so closed to the good ole days: womyn working together, living together, struggling together, being together, loving together.

The other great thing is that no one has flipped out or called me ‘transphobic’ or ‘terf’, which I’m sure would have happened in 2019. In fact, every single response I’ve had to my truck, from both older womyn and even the young ones, has been firmly positive. Many expressed relief along with support, some silently smiled broadly and raised hands in salute.

A couple womyn asked me to explain what ‘sans’ meant and when I did, they nodded in solemn agreement.

The one conversation that did arise with one of the organizers and another womon (I had a crush on), was hard and respectful but most of all, not silences or avoided. The organizer spoke of being in NYC in the day, seeing gay boys being beaten and thrown into paddy wagons by brutal police, and wanting to provide a safe space for those boys.

We all agreed they needed a safe space, but why do womyn have to be the ones to provide that safe space for them? As usual, it falls on our shoulders to not just do the work but to take care of men.

Furthermore, these were not “transgender” men: these were gay men at gay bars wanting to pick up other gay men; not men who identified as transgender who wanted to invade womyn’s sacred spaces.

My crush grew as I listened to the other womon speak and realized we were on the same womon-centered/gender-critical page - a too rare find in this severely misogynistic era, even amongst womyn.