16. All-Female Communes Are Now A Dying Breed
After the fiasco at Michfest, a lot of women stopped attending these feminist groups if they support the LGBT community. It’s obviously hypocritical to talk about equality among genders and sexuality, but then completely rejected trans people, because it falls outside of what they consider to be “normal”. Having a closed mind is what caused men and women to begin fighting in the first place. However, there are some radical feminists who will stand their group and refuse to accept others.
The original purpose of women’s communes have changed so dramatically over the years, that it is scarcely the same thing anymore. In modern times, most women know that they have options to escape an abusive partner. Police are willing to protect women, and a judge will accept a restraining order without a woman having to suffer abuse for years. There are women’s shelters in nearly every city, churches who will accept runaways, telephone hotlines, websites, and community programs. Even if it is difficult for women to be brave enough to leave, there is more help than there was back in the 1800’s.
It is also normal for women to have full-time jobs and support themselves, now. They don’t really need to get together in a commune to accomplish that anymore. Today, women might have other female roommates, but that is the extent of it.
Sadly, all-female communes have almost reverted into the opposite of what they were originally intended to be. They only accept admittance if you fit inside of the box of what they see as fitting their rigid belief system. This is why many are saying “no thank you”, and all-female communes may one day be a distant memory.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
Belton Women’s Commonwealth. Mary Ann Lamanna and Jayme A. Sokolow. Texas State Historical Association.
Love from the Land – A love letter from the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. YouTube. 2014.
A Homeless Anarchist Community Run By Women. YouTube. 2016.
Rural Revolution: Documenting the Lesbian Land Communities of Southern Oregon. Heather Jo Burmeister. Portland State University. 2013.
Look Inside Some Of The Last Remaining All-Female Communes. Huffington Post. 2015.
My Four Mums. Sally Williams. The Guardian. 2009.
Michfest Might Be Making A Comeback With Hopes For A More Trans Inclusive Space. Corrine Werder. Go Magazine. 2018.
Who’s Killing The Women’s Land Movement? Vice. 2016.
Sixty, Female, And Living All Under One Roof. Just Don’t Call it a Commune. Sally Williams. Telegraph. 2016.