mod note // d_r not an inclusive space?

[unearthingbone]

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

Comments

[landlordswife]

I feel that in my time here it has become more exclusive to queers who are feminists. I've talked about it in length with another member here, and brought it up in reply to another post. I would never, never call myself a feminist. I look at what this community has become and if I were looking to apply here I would be turned off and away by it. I was and am against putting feminist questions in the application. I feel that this community has headed in the direction of becoming 'feminists who are also queer' instead of a community for queers, period. In that, I feel dyke_riot is NOT inclusive enough.

[violentcrumble]

x2. I consider myself a feminist but I came here for a queer community, not a feminist community.

[its_something]

agreed.

[miss_watson]

I agree with this. We didn't start out as a feminist community and I don't like the fact that in order to become a member having strong feminist values are almost a *must*.

I think being educated on feminist issues are very important- but I feel as though we're shutting out people that don't "know" already and are coming here to learn. Personally- I felt this the most when I was going to be on A Shot At Love III... I had a few (completely justified mind you) comments that said "Being the creator of a feminist community it's bad you'd even consider being on a show like that". I was a bit taken back.

The bottom line is that i'm all for feminist ideals, but i'm severely under-educated on the subject(s) and I miss when this community was for people who identify as women and have an appreciation or love for other women- and that was that. That being said- I agree with quite a few feminist ideals- but I do not identify as a feminist.

[endrant].

Re: FINALLY

[landlordswife]

All of those are PERFECT points.

Re: FINALLY

[miss_watson]

*this, and quite a few of them I never even really realized! Thank you!

Re: FINALLY

[unearthingbone]

I'm definitely with you on ALL these points. Particularly the lack of separation between sexuality and gender and "girls do it better and we know it!" I also don't dig the violence of "grab your gun and cock it."

Thank you for your feedback. I'm glad you felt like you could voice your opinions finally : )

[xxrupturexx]

Oh I don't know. I never had an issue with the community being to exclusive, but that's probably because everything dyke_riot automatically identifies with is something I identify with. After reading the previous two posts, I can see that we are, in fact, sort of accidentally becoming too exclusive

[miss_watson]

Agreed on the activism point. The "riot" in the title of the community was originally geared towards being read as being passionate about what you're, well, passionate about. Heh. ;P

[burnthatwitch]

The questions asked here are really all about vaginas. Bear with me

[thegirlpolice]

i kind of disagree with everybody. this is dyke riot, a community for women who love women. i don't think it's really necessary to make it inclusive to people who don't identify as women. my most recent partner is a transguy, and i love him more than anybody else i've ever been with, so i'm definitely not being ignorant or transphobic. but there are already so many communities (uhhh, like birls?!) out there for people who identify all over the gender spectrum.

[burnthatwitch]

If you looked at the community and picked out all of the people who don't identify as women, and then picked out all of the people who don't identify as dykes, then pick out all the people who some other members don't identify as dykes... there kind of wouldn't be much of a community left. I don't identify as a woman very often, but that didn't seem to be a problem when I applied. I'd be pretty enraged if now, almost 2.5 years later, it was specified that the definition of the community excludes me.

[unearthingbone]

i don't identify as a woman and i think that if anything, one thing we already have that needs to stay or become intensified is our flexibility around the word "woman," though i agree with thebirdmachine on many of hir points around refining the language we use to describe ourselves on the info page.

also, being partnered to or being friends with someone who is trans does not negate one from being ignorant or transphobic (not saying that you are,

[thegirlpolice]

ah, i realized after i posted that part about me having a trans partner that it doesn't necessarily mean i wasn't transphobic. but i am not. i'm very educated on trans issues, and i spend a lot of time defending trans issues. i work with an lgbt group, doing presentations and educating many different kinds of people. i would definitely say i am very far from transphobic.

i joined this community over two years ago, and to me, it's always been a place for women who love women, like i've said before. i think that just because a lot of our members and the queer community in general is evolving gender wise, that it doesn't mean we have to be more inclusive. we don't discriminate, but i was always under the impression this wasn't a community for everybody.

maybe i'm just stuck in the past, and maybe i need to welcome change, but i've always liked being able to talk to and hear from other women who are very similar to me.