Since two court cases in 1995 (in SA) and 2000 (Victoria) when trans activists working for trans organisations took lesbian organisers to court over a flyer/poster, inviting lesbians born and raised female to a festival, it has become increasingly distressing for me and many of my lesbian sisters, to attend any kind of lesbian activities for fear of being accused of 'discrimination' against trans-identified males demanding to have access to our same sex attracted lesbian spaces. After a lifetime of fighting to be out and accepted as a lesbian, I feel I have been pushed back into the closet! For me it is unacceptable to share the lesbian spaces I have felt safe in with male-bodied "lesbians". As a result, our same sex lesbian events have gone underground and were forced to be private by invitation only events. This is very stressful since new lesbian members now have to be vetted and vouched for by two existing members and secrecy of locations have to be kept at all times. This has caused a sense of paranoia for fear of being taken to court again. I know many other lesbians who've been traumatized by these legal threats in the past, and for being accused of discrimination. The same anti-discrimination laws we fought for for decades, against women, against lesbians, have been used against us by trans activists to force us to open up our same sex spaces to them. We have continued to operate underground but we can't promote our festivals, workshops, and meeting places to younger lesbians in the community. We have been forced to become invisible again, back to the dark ages of the last century.

#australia #lesbian #organizing #legalthreats #backinthecloset