Glastonbury festival's "The Sisterhood"

As genuine women-only space is stripped away--even places as seemingly innocuous as bathrooms and locker rooms--we seem to be seeing mainstream, male-dominated culture introducing a faux or "lite" version of womyn's space, as if to confuse women further.

An example of this is the Glastonbury festival, where they have oh so thoughtfully set aside a little corner for the ladies. Ladies, of course, meaning anybody who at that particular moment can say they "identify" as a lady. And at a festival where the leadership does not appear to be identifiably female at all.

Meaning it's all bullsh**--completely meaningless, anemic, and non-threatening to men.

Of course, some men won't be in on the joke and will object anyway. Which is roughly 90% of the comments following the article. Men just freaking out over one damn tent that's "women-only" for just a few days. The rest are getting the wink and the nudge. Just throw on a wig and you're in.

Glastonbury 2016 to introduce women-only venue

The Sisterhood, in the festival’s Shangri-La zone, will offer live music, workshops and DIY classes to female festivalgoers

The Sisterhood, Glastonbury festival will open in 2016.
Photograph: Tabatha Fireman/Redferns via Getty Images

The 2016 Glastonbury festival will feature its first ever women-only venue. Called The Sisterhood, it has been described by the organisers as a “revolutionary clubhouse” open to “all people who identify as women.” The Sisterhood will be an “intersectional, queer, trans and disability-inclusive space” and will be staffed entirely by people who identify as female, from performers to security staff. In a statement, the venue’s organisers said: “The producers of The Sisterhood believe that women-only spaces are necessary in a world that is still run by and designed to benefit mainly men. Oppression against women continues in various manifestations around the world today, in different cultural contexts." They continued: “In the UK, the gender pay gap in the workplace, cuts to domestic violence services and sex worker rights are current talking points that highlight this issue. Sisterhood seeks to provide a secret space for women to connect, network, share their stories, have fun and learn the best way to support each other in our global struggle to end oppression against women and all marginalised people, while showcasing the best and boldest female talent in the UK and beyond.” You’ll be able to find The Sisterhood in the festival’s Shangri-La zone, where there will be live music, DJs and workshops on intersectionality, diversity and inclusion. There will also be daily dance classes and, surely best of all, DIY power tools workshops with carpenter Rhi Jean.

Women's Music Festivals

West Coast Women's Music Festival (1981)

Women's Music Festivals

Locations: Varied

Opened/Closed: Varied

With this being the last year for the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, I was curious as to what other women's music festivals have been lost over the years. As it turns out, Curve came up with a list back in October 2010--though the information they provide is sadly lacking in detail. 

Given that this list is almost five years old, I'm sure a lot of the festivals they listed as "still going strong" are now lost as well, but it's not always easy to determine. If lack of any recent Internet activity is any evidence, it looks like Chicago's Estrojam (later Decibelle) may be history as well.

Over time, I'll try to pull up more information on some of these.

Gone but not forgotten fests

Camp fest (Maryland and Pennsylvania):

Billed as the “comfortable” festival, it had cabins and a pool—filled with half-naked women. Campfest quit a few years ago and we miss it—the festival, not just the naked ladies.

East Coast Lesbian Festival (New York):

Proudly sporting “lesbian” in its title, this small but mighty festival existed for a few years back in the ’90s.

Gulf Coast Womyn’s Festival (Mississippi):

Tired of renting space, organizers Wanda and Brenda Henson bought 120 acres near Ovett, Miss. After Henson’s death, her children took over the fest, and the event morphed into the Camp Sister Spirit Folk School. Unfortunately, the last event was in 2009. We missed them this year, and will for years to come.

Lady Fest - Olympia, Washington (2000)

Lady fest (various cities):

It started in 2000 in Olympia, Wash., but is actually several festivals that happen all over the world; they share the same name and the same DIY attitude, but not much more.The original fest is gone but the one in London is still alive.

Northeast Women’s Music Retreat (New England):

Long-running and much-loved, this annual festival was a freakin’ good time. We wish it were still running.

Rhythm fest (Georgia and North Carolina):

Started by workers from other festivals, this was one of the first in the Deep South.Too bad they aren’t around anymore.

Southern Women’s Music and Comedy Festival (Georgia):

Organizer Robin Tyler felt so strongly about including comedy that she put it in the title. Tyler brought in political activists and authors too. Sadly, it ended in 1995.

West Coast Women’s Music Festival (California):

Fifteen years of 2,000 or more women in the woods near Yosemite. Did it get any better than that?

Wimmin fest (New Mexico

Shows were at the beautiful Kimo Theatre in downtown Albuquerque. They stopped just a few years ago. Damn.

Michigan Womyn's Music Festival

Michigan Womyn's Music Festival

Location: Hart, Michigan, USA

Opened: 1975

Closed: 2015

I always feared that someday I would be posting about Michfest as a Lost Womyn's Space...

Thank you to Lisa Vogel and all the amazing womyn who kept this going for 40 years.

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to got back in the 80s. I loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, life interfered after that and I never got to go again. The one performance singed into my memory is Ronnie Gilbert singing "Good Night, Irene"--with thousands of women joining in on the chorus. It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.

Did a little research, and it was apparently in '85. Here's another great Ronnie Gilbert memory.

From the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival:

Dear Sisters, Amazon, Festival family,
It has been my honor and privilege to produce the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival for 40 years. It has been my life’s work, my deepest commitment, my constant challenge and my most profound joy. Every single thing of value I have learned in the world I have learned in the process of being part of building this beloved community. Almost every friend and family member who I cherish I have met on that hallowed ground, and every single way I have learned to put my mind/heart/shoulder into the purpose of creating something beautiful that honors womyn has come from the sweat I earned on that Land.
I am writing to tell you that the 40th Festival will be the last Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. The spirit of this community will live on forever, the friends and family we have found on the Land are eternal. Everything we have created together will feed the inspiration for what comes next. It’s possible that I will come back with something else, or that other sisters will take the inspiration of the Michigan community and create the next expression of our Amazon culture. What is true for me is that now is the time to bring this 40-year cycle to a close, stepping out on joy at our most incredible anniversary celebration.
We have known in our hearts for some years that the life cycle of the Festival was coming to a time of closure. Too often in our culture, change is met only with fear, the true cycle of life is denied to avoid the grief of loss. But change is the ultimate truth of life. Sisters – I ask you to remember that our 40 year Festival has outlived nearly all of her kin. She has served us well. I want us all to have the opportunity to experience the incredible full life cycle of our beloved Festival, consciously, with time to celebrate and yes, time to grieve.
There have been struggles; there is no doubt about that. This is part of our truth, but it is not--and never has been--our defining story. The Festival has been the crucible for nearly every critical cultural and political issue the lesbian feminist community has grappled with for four decades. Those struggles have been a beautiful part of our collective strength; they have never been a weakness.
For many of us this one week in the woods is the all too rare place and time where we experience validation for our female bodies, and where the female experience presides at the center of our community focus. A place to lay our burden down from the misogyny that pervades our lives from cradle to grave…a place to live in intergenerational community, and to live in harmony with Mother Earth. I know this is true for me. And I have a deep trust that each and every one of us can take what we have experienced on that Land and continue to create space that feeds our spirit, creates diverse community, honors our experience and supports our struggle as womyn making our way through the patriarchal world. Please take what you love about Michigan and use it to create something new and beautiful.
It is important that each and every one of us knows she is empowered to build on what we have experienced together on the Land. Everything you feel on the Land, everything you see – is something of spirit, and love, and passion for female empowerment….for womyn’s community. The Festival’s 40 years of culture and community are a powerful seed and our communal experiences have created fertile ground to plant in. I know that we will find inspiration and vision to create our next time and space.
For those of us who will be gathering for our 40th anniversary this August – let’s joyously hold up our incredible community and allow ourselves to be strong enough to consciously let go of this incarnation of her, with all the love we each hold in our beautiful hearts. Let us gather this August knowing that what we truly cherish about the Festival lives on in each of us, and more will come from this fertile ground. Let’s do this up together – Amazon proud!
I will meet you there in August – my eyes meeting yours, heart wide open.
With all of my love and respect,
Lisa