Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
Lesbian separatists are getting new attention thanks to a New York Times article about communes that are still running today. Most of these womyn’s lands, as they are called, are inhabited by older lesbians who felt the need to pull away from society in the 1970s. You can read more about the history of such spaces here, and read a 1994 article about them here.
My own feeling is that we’ve moved past the need for such drastic measures. Gay culture is developed enough that if someone wants to live primarily with and around gay people, they can do so. It would be difficult to find an all-lesbian area in modern society, but most women would probably say they can get the fulfillment of time spent around other lesbians at spaces that already exist. I feel a little hypocritical saying that when I live in DC, a city whose lesbian spaces have been cut down to practically nothing, but I do feel that it’s no longer necessary to get completely away from everyone else in order to celebrate your lesbianism.
If the label “man-hating” applies to any lesbians, the women who live on womyn’s lands would definitely fit the bill. They specifically shun the presence of men on their property, to the point of sending out an alert e-mail when a six-month-old baby boy was there. Although the New York Times author would have us believe the e-mail was sent “perhaps only partly” in jest, it sounds to me like a very real concern for these women. I don’t think hating men is healthy, to be honest. I don’t think hating anyone is healthy. The retort for this is probably “we don’t hate men, we just prefer not to have them around.” Which is all well and good, but I don’t think it’s necessary to be so militant about the issue.
Older lesbians might suggest that I don’t know what it was like in the 1970s, that I don’t understand why these communes were created. I accept that they were necessary at the time, but I don’t think we still need them today. Society is a very different place. If these women enjoy living off the land – that is, they are ruralists – that’s their prerogative. It’s the shunning of all-things-non-lesbian that bothers me. Time marches on, life goes on, etc.
February 4th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
From what I’ve read, these sort of spaces aren’t very open to transgendered women, either.
February 4th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Hope to read many more good blogs and interesting topics from you soon.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
I was always a bit skeptical about womyn’s communes, but I’m giving it a second thought. I haven’t spent a lot of time in lesbian-only spaces, mostly because there aren’t many left here in San Francisco. I did, however, go to a women’s college and belong to women’s spirituality groups. The other weekend when I was at the Lesbian Health Conference I was reminded how wonderful it is to spend a whole weekend in the company of lesbians. I didn’t have to defend myself from being hit on by men. I didn’t have to worry about being judged or rude comments. I didn’t have to deal with the “you’re not gay enough” drama I find at so many nightclubs. We were all just ourselves. It’s so much better than women’s night at the local nightclub. I would really like to spend more time in lesbian-only spaces.