By Guest Blogger | 19 May 2008, 15:23

Ladyfest may be over, but the ringing in our ears continues here at The F-Word. In a guest post, Col Cruise reports back on the ‘Ladies and the Trans’ workshop

The idea for a ‘Ladies and the Trans’ forum at Ladyfest was intitiated by myself and my co-organiser Scratch. We were invited to take part in Ladyfest as transmen who also still identify strongly with our feminine and masculine feminist selves. I wanted to do this because, since my transitioning took over, it had become harder for me to re-enter women’s spaces where I had spent 38 years of my life. Some people have argued that I am a man now, so I have no right to go into women’s spaces. I totally disagree. The Western medical system and patriarchy say I am a man, or I was a woman before - but it’s not true. I’ve always navigated somewhere in between. It’s never been either one or the other for me. Its always been something else… everything… oneness..

So, five transmen rocked up. We were joined by around 25 people. (The forum was open to all trans-identified people, and gender varied.) We were all given the time and safe space to tell our stories. It ended up been a really interesting discussion all around - afterwards I was approached and thanked by one person, who felt that things had been made clearer in their head. It was great for us all to have the opportunity to speak out and I think everybody got something out of it. Thanks Ladyfest. May we continue to have those spaces…