PLEASE help!

about Private parties and our need as lesbians raised as girls to meet.

Dear wimmin, please have your say and help us win an Equal Opportunity decision, affirming our need our need and right to have lesbian only space.Please read the thoughts we have gathered below and add anything else that you believe, and to mix and match the points below so submissions are as individual as possible. Include stories of your personal experience. We don't ask you to address every point. Just any that sing to you as needing to be spoken of from your heart.

The things we would like to have discussed, if they are true for you are:

1. The necessity you feel for us to meet with each other in lesbian raised female gatherings, for cultural, spiritual, ritual and personal reasonsand to identify as lesbian/dyke is important.
2. That for our lesbian - only special meetings, being bi-sexual, experimenting, curious, etc is not enough. There are lots of events and gatherings where all these individuals are welcomed.  This specific lesbian only culture is important and we want to meet only with women who have these shared experiences and philosophies.
3. Please write about your experiences of meeting in mixed groupings i.e.  where lesbians raised female are present as well as transgendered who are attracted to women ...describing the impact of different socialization and how this shows in different styles in groups, relating 1:1 etc.    also self esteem, expectations
4. The importance of a range of different types of events, how lesbian raised girl events are different in important ways (give details, eg degree of intimacy and trust, discussions of the menstrual cycles and menopause, experiences and abuse as girls) to larger public lesbian and queer events
5. the importance of our feminist philosophy - re accepting our bodies as they are, with facial hair, without make-up or perfume, without cosmetic surgery that is a form of self mutilation,
6.  Necessity you feel/supportfor us to gather with each other at lesbian raised female events* We have a cultural tradition of lesbian feminism that has evolved over 25 - 30 years of political action, social events within our different regions, and national gatherings.
   This is a very specific tradition and culture that is not shared by other groups in the wider queer community.....write about this. How important this is to you etc.
7. The socialization of boys and girls is different.......write about this. Experiences in events where lesbians and M to F trannies were in groups together. eg local women's health centres, dances, lesbian support groups etc. Web sites eg Pink sofa etc....
8. Impact on you of being in a mixed group.return to home page