mod note // d_r not an inclusive space?
Hi ladies, gentlemen, and genderless beings.
After stargrrlgeiger's note regarding why she's leaving and another longterm member leaving recently because he wasn't sure how he felt about being trans-identified in a place identified as a "woman's space," I'm here to ask: What do you guys think about the inclusiveness of dyke_riot?
* Do we work hard enough to be inclusive?
* It is possible to be named "dyke riot" and still celebrate the identities of those among us?
* Do we marginalize people with non-"queer-mainstream" or "gender normative" identities?
* Do you feel like dyke_riot has marginalized your identity? (If you'd prefer to discuss feeling marginalized by dyke_riot or any of these other topics without identifying yourself, that is sososososo okay, and I've set anonymous comments to be screened. If you post anonymously, only I will see the comment unless you specifically ask for it to be unscreened. : ))
Personally, I think that dyke_riot, as a mirror of the the queer community at large, has individuals within it who create a vibe of unfriendliness, hostility or downright ostracization toward non-lesbian-and-female-identified people. And I think this makes us, as a community, not inclusive enough, and we have to own that and affect change. We are already a community othered by the mainstream, so why the hell is it okay for us to other those within our own communities? I understand the human compulsion to create hierarchies of power, and those hierarchies are something I'm vastly uncomfortable with, especially within communities impacted by the mainstream's hierarchies of social power and control. And while there are hierarchies of social power and control, there are NO hierarchies of identity -- so why do we get to decide who fits and who doesn't, identity-wise?
And while, yes, I find those individuals to be responsible for their actions and for creating those feelings initially, as a community, we set the standard for how we treat people within and outside our borders. (And I question if borders are necessary, but in some spaces, I suppose they are -- but are they here?) It is up to us to define sets of behaviors we find acceptable and unacceptable, and to increase inclusiveness if we are hearing voices and echoes of "I don't feel safe/comfortable/accepted here." And I think one voice saying this is enough to re-evaluate, let alone two, four, seven . . . or however many people may be having these feelings and may be afraid or unable to speak up.
Please keep this civil and focused on the topic at hand. This is not about pointing fingers at specific people. This is also not about telling people their opinions are wrong. I feel like this topic has the potential to get inflammatory, and personal attacks are just not appropriate and are in fact entirely contradictory to this post being a safe space for discussion.
After stargrrlgeiger's note regarding why she's leaving and another longterm member leaving recently because he wasn't sure how he felt about being trans-identified in a place identified as a "woman's space," I'm here to ask: What do you guys think about the inclusiveness of dyke_riot?
* Do we work hard enough to be inclusive?
* It is possible to be named "dyke riot" and still celebrate the identities of those among us?
* Do we marginalize people with non-"queer-mainstream" or "gender normative" identities?
* Do you feel like dyke_riot has marginalized your identity? (If you'd prefer to discuss feeling marginalized by dyke_riot or any of these other topics without identifying yourself, that is sososososo okay, and I've set anonymous comments to be screened. If you post anonymously, only I will see the comment unless you specifically ask for it to be unscreened. : ))
Personally, I think that dyke_riot, as a mirror of the the queer community at large, has individuals within it who create a vibe of unfriendliness, hostility or downright ostracization toward non-lesbian-and-female-identified people. And I think this makes us, as a community, not inclusive enough, and we have to own that and affect change. We are already a community othered by the mainstream, so why the hell is it okay for us to other those within our own communities? I understand the human compulsion to create hierarchies of power, and those hierarchies are something I'm vastly uncomfortable with, especially within communities impacted by the mainstream's hierarchies of social power and control. And while there are hierarchies of social power and control, there are NO hierarchies of identity -- so why do we get to decide who fits and who doesn't, identity-wise?
And while, yes, I find those individuals to be responsible for their actions and for creating those feelings initially, as a community, we set the standard for how we treat people within and outside our borders. (And I question if borders are necessary, but in some spaces, I suppose they are -- but are they here?) It is up to us to define sets of behaviors we find acceptable and unacceptable, and to increase inclusiveness if we are hearing voices and echoes of "I don't feel safe/comfortable/accepted here." And I think one voice saying this is enough to re-evaluate, let alone two, four, seven . . . or however many people may be having these feelings and may be afraid or unable to speak up.
Please keep this civil and focused on the topic at hand. This is not about pointing fingers at specific people. This is also not about telling people their opinions are wrong. I feel like this topic has the potential to get inflammatory, and personal attacks are just not appropriate and are in fact entirely contradictory to this post being a safe space for discussion.