S02.E09: Man On The Land

[formerlyfreedom]

Maura makes a new friend and has a rude awakening at the music festival; Sarah experiences liberation from an unlikely source; Ali makes an unexpected journey to the past.

 

 

[heatherchandler]

That wimmin fest looked creepy to me, although I would enjoy seeing the Indigo Girls.

I understand the freedom and exhilaration when you can finally be yourself, but why is everyone so SEX obsessed. Is it (or was it) just a sex festival?

I feel like there is way too much sex and specifically provocative sex in the show - this is not true to life. Or is it??

On a shallow note, I am on a new mission- to find that dress that Sarah was wearing to the festival. I love it so much.

Edited December 12, 2015 by heatherchandler

[JenPink]

I love this show! Jill Soloway wrote some of the best episodes of SIX FEET UNDER and this show is similarly full of compassion and black humor. Just to say that this ep was no parody, it is exactly what goes on at the Michigan's Womyn's Music Festival in Hart, MI, from the inedible nutloaf to the women-born-women/trans controversy. Lots of full and partial nudity. The only men are allowed in the area to clean the "porta-Janes" and they are taunted with verbal abuse and yells of "Man on the Land!" There are breast-casting workshops for women of color only. There is a contest to see who can stuff the most cheese doodles under their breasts. There are croning rituals for 50 y/o Wiccans. There is a fashion parade called the Butch Strut. Various parts of the Land are dedicated to drinkers and druggies, BDSM enthusiasts, mothers with daughters (sons are exiled to "Brother Sun"). There was once a near riot over cilantro, of all things. I believe last summer was the last one although they might still be looking for a new spot. You can look them up at michfest.com 

[diebartdie]

I wish Maura would stop being so selfish for one second and really listen to what other people are trying to tell her. Divina's boyfriend might not be the most sensitive about personal space but his advice was heartfelt. Now this episode instead of listening to what the seperatist lesbians were trying to explain, Maura went on a rampage (which I feel quite certain triggered any number of women there). Ive never understood why pre-op male-to-female transgender people insisted on forcing themselves onto The Land like that. How hard is it to understand there are women (wymyn) who DO NOT WANT TO SEE A PENIS, surely one would think a person desperate to get rid of their penis would understand why other people would not want that around? Im sad that MWF had to end due to this "controversy" but that controversy was forced by unexamined, unacknowledged male privilege. You really do have to look at it like that because it all boiled down to people who in all outward appearances were still men not respecting women's lived experiences (and no, a woman who had a hysterectomy would not be tossed off The Land). I'm all for equal rights for all of us, I really mean that even though as much as Im able to be in this modern world I am seperatist lesbian but I wish there was a lot more honesty in this transgender discussion. (cue the transwomen bearing pitchforks in 5....4....3...)

[DrivingSideways]

I wish Maura would stop being so selfish for one second and really listen to what other people are trying to tell her. Divina's boyfriend might not be the most sensitive about personal space but his advice was heartfelt. Now this episode instead of listening to what the seperatist lesbians were trying to explain, Maura went on a rampage (which I feel quite certain triggered any number of women there). Ive never understood why pre-op male-to-female transgender people insisted on forcing themselves onto The Land like that. How hard is it to understand there are women (wymyn) who DO NOT WANT TO SEE A PENIS, surely one would think a person desperate to get rid of their penis would understand why other people would not want that around? Im sad that MWF had to end due to this "controversy" but that controversy was forced by unexamined, unacknowledged male privilege. You really do have to look at it like that because it all boiled down to people who in all outward appearances were still men not respecting women's lived experiences (and no, a woman who had a hysterectomy would not be tossed off The Land). I'm all for equal rights for all of us, I really mean that even though as much as Im able to be in this modern world I am seperatist lesbian but I wish there was a lot more honesty in this transgender discussion. (cue the transwomen bearing pitchforks in 5....4....3...)

Not sure what you mean in terms of separatist lesbian (meaning that you try to do business, shop, work with etc exclusively with lesbians as much as you can help it)?  Sorry I'm new to a lot of this.  I'm a gay male but I really enjoy diversity in my life.  Having said that, Maura acted like an asshole.  Whether or not she thinks the policy is sound or not, it is a very meaningful one for the women at the festival and her acting out turned me off.  But she is a Pfefferman, and they are the most bratty, selfish clan on the planet, so it was totally in character.

[beartrash]

 

But she is a Pfefferman, and they are the most bratty, selfish clan on the planet, so it was totally in character.

 

Amen!  

I binged this last season and this season this weekend and that was the major takeaway.  Every member of this family is incredibly self-centered with no redeeming qualities  

 

It seemed the only time they ever talked about someone other than themselves was to gossip and any time they said they'd keep a secret they gave it away, often in the very next scene.

Edited December 15, 2015 by beartrash

[Hecate7]

Not sure what you mean in terms of separatist lesbian (meaning that you try to do business, shop, work with etc exclusively with lesbians as much as you can help it)?  Sorry I'm new to a lot of this.  I'm a gay male but I really enjoy diversity in my life.  Having said that, Maura acted like an asshole.  Whether or not she thinks the policy is sound or not, it is a very meaningful one for the women at the festival and her acting out turned me off.  But she is a Pfefferman, and they are the most bratty, selfish clan on the planet, so it was totally in character.

 

Separatism is about being with only women, and for awhile in the seventies it really did look like the ONLY way to get away from oppression and male privilege. When people are being mean to you, severing contact is the best way to deal with them, and many women still feel that the smartest way to cope with men is simply to organize into a small alternative society that does not have any men in it at all. This is not an entirely wrong idea--monks and nuns of all cultures, and exclusively male and female schools have seen the benefits of living this way. There are men's separatist groups, too, only open to gay men.

 

Womyn's festivals like Michfest were designed for women to just be themselves without having to deal with men. It's just not a feasible system for an entire culture. Diversity is a sign of health, and a healthy culture needs all of its parts.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Hecate7

[Primetimer]

It's not quite a walk in the woods at this femme-centric outdoor festival, but everyone's better because of it.

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