Anti-Oppression, Anti-Racism and Anti-Bullying

Lesbians Benefitting the Arts is committed to the inclusion and honoring of ALL womyn. We seek to establish a culture that fosters respect for each other as a global community. Our desire is to create a lesbian centered world where we celebrate all womyn.  We strive to create a culture of radical global community-building and safer space¹. We acknowledge and embrace that there are womyn with varying points of view on many topics and believe that this diversity of both womyn and opinion is a part of our strength. We will never all be in agreement, but even that discord is important to the dialogue.  We ask only that womyn agree to disagree civilly and with respect.  We know that treating each other with disrespect only reinforces the damage and hurt that womyn have experienced in their lives, and we do not want to compound that pain.  We call on the community to join us in this work and to draw strength from our differences and our shared commitment to each other.

All Womyn Welcome, Always means we must stand together as womyn, as lesbians, as womyn of color, as native and indigenous womyn, as womyn with disabilities, as deaf womyn, as womyn born womyn, as transgender womyn, as de-transitioned womyn, as straight womyn, as bisexual womyn, as immigrant womyn, as undocumented womyn, as young and old womyn, as spiritual womyn and womyn of faith, we must recognize our common ground and celebrate our differences together.

LBA: A Safer Space for ALL Womyn.  Guiding Principles

• A safer community environment is essential for ALL womyn
• Womyn are entitled to enjoy community free from racism, harassment, intimidation, and bullying
• LBA offers events where every womyn is free to be exactly who she is

LBA:  A Commitment to Radical Community Building.  An Invitation

• Stake a claim – we all have space here.
• It is OK to be uncomfortable – trust the friction.
• Actively work to unlearn; internalized patriarchy, dismantle racism, & strive for accessibility
• Practice Radical Listening – we can all be better listeners.
• Womyn sometimes disagree – but always treat ALL sisters with respect
• Acknowledge that our words or actions may harm another woman, even if unintentionally
• Do not hesitate to offer your hand to a sister – Be good Allies.

LBA:  Acknowledgement.  Our Truths

• Actions have consequences
• Oppression can be expressed in writing, verbally or by physical action
• Incidents will happen within the LBA community
• LBA will work to respond and ease tensions

LBA: Actions and Expectations

• We don’t tolerate words that traditionally silence, hurt, undercut, or erase
• We ask you to refrain from using any slur or derogatory term
• Intentionally mis-gendering another womyn is unacceptable
• When referring to others, respect their choice to use gender neutral pronouns
• It is likely that the default pronouns you will hear used at LBA events will be female pronouns
• If you witness something troubling, reach out to the womyn affected, offer assistance, notify LBA members.

LBA: Consequences

• LBA reserves the right to delete comments online that are not consistent with this spirit
• LBA leadership will interrupt bad behavior
• LBA will determine and implement the appropriate response to any incident at our events

¹ LBA defines community space to include not only the events we produce, but also our online forums, social media, web site and all other activities or events produced by LBA.