A Tale of Two Festivals: The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival and Ladyfest Midwest Chicago Shared Performers and Goals but Split on the Issue of Transgender Participation

Vanasco, Jennifer, Earls, Jen, The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine)

Scene one, Michigan Womyn's Music Festival: The punk band Le Tigre, after rocking the night stage, dives out onto the welcome, willing hands of the young women below. The band is joined by women's music legend Cris Williamson, R&B singer Nedra Johnson, and spoken-word poet Alix Olson--and I Olson's 78-year-old grandmother.

Scene two, a week later, Ladyfest Midwest Chicago: The city's crumbling Congress Theater opens its doors, and hipsters in carpenter pants and multiple piercings pour out, energized after seeing Le Tigre. In the street, the Radical Cheerleaders line up in formation, yelling, "Sound off, 1-2-3-4! Shout it out: revolution!"

So similar and yet so different, these …

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Publication information: Article title: A Tale of Two Festivals: The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival and Ladyfest Midwest Chicago Shared Performers and Goals but Split on the Issue of Transgender Participation. Contributors: Vanasco, Jennifer - Author, Earls, Jen - Author. Magazine title: The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine). Publication date: October 9, 2001. Page number: 68+. © 2008 Regent Media. COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group.

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