Just out., December 17, 1999, Page 43, Image 43

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the right (or, as some would argue, privilege) to
“woman-only space” remains an issue that is
nowhere near resolution.
In addition, the phrase “women-born
women” is not acceptable terminology at LCP.
The preferred language, said Andosca, is “non-
trans women.”
This opens up another can of worms.
Smokey Satterlee is a former LCP member
who quit the organization after the Women in
the Woods conflict.
“It’s a real change in concept for me as a
member of the lesbian community to see the
bottom line as ‘trans,’ ” she said.
“I don’t see myself as a nontrans person. I see
myself as a person. I see myself as a lesbian, a
woman—I’m not a ‘non’ any­
thing,” Satterlee asserted.
'The organization started
out as a lesbian organiza­
tion. It’s not a lesbian
organization anymore;
it’s a trans organiza­
tion; that’s how I
feel.”
Wendy Morgan, a
self-described “lapsed
LCP member,” re­
sponded to claims heard
throughout the evening
that LCP is no longer a les­
bian organization.
“That completely denies my experi­
ence as a lesbian who has been involved for the
past seven years,” Morgan said. “We [LCP] still
are not serving everyone’s needs, but now
they’re serving my needs.”
Consultant Deb Furry, who is working with
the LCP board during this transition period,
asked Monette: “What would you like to see in
the LCP vision [statement] that would make
you feel a part of LCP?”
Monette replied, “The word woman.”
Furry moved the discussion forward, and
Knightly addressed programming that people
might be interested in.
She said she is “upset that word has got
around that lesbian health care isn’t important
at LCP,” and said she wants to dispel that mis­
conception.
The lesbian health care issue energized some
in the room. Attendee Ellen Greenlaw said if
LCP revisits the issue, she’d like to get involved.
(Andosca said in a later interview that when
a Lesbian Health Conference was mentioned
during the meeting, he thought, “That would be
awesome!”)
Knightly said that last year, before she joined
the board, she was informed “the board had
made a decision that lesbian health care wasn’t
important.”
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She added that she is still concerned about
the lack of accessibility to the previous staff
organizer. A lot of damage has resulted from the
miscommunication and lack of communication,
she said.
“My understanding is that we’re here to find
out how to start the organization again. LCP
might have to start by apologizing to the people
who feel harmed,” Monette said.
“I think the board needs to clear that up
before they hire a staff organizer,” she added.
“We could take out an ad, but what are we
apologizing for?” Knightly asked.
“I think an apology could come from both
sides,” she suggested.
“We’re talking about an organization, and
the organization is responsible for the
actions of its executive director,”
Monette responded.
“I personally have no problem
with an apology,” said board
member Sally Cohn, who,
though retired, is running the
LCP office until an interim
staff organizer is hired. “I
think it needs to be carefully
framed. I can visualize a head­
line in the newsletter: Mea
Culpa."
Meeting participant Lisa Brad­
shaw, meanwhile, said an apology
should be something along the lines of
we want your support back,” but not the sort of
apology that says “we were wrong.”
Said Andosca: “I’m having some difficulty
being a member of this community because of
the strife. I think it should include anyone. I
hear that a lot of people have been hurt. I’ve
been hurt because here’s a community I’d like to
be a part of—we all want to feel comfortable.
How do we do it?”
LCP is overdue for an annual membership
meeting and the board chair, Catherine Sameh,
said: “We’d like to have one as soon as possible,
possibly in January, but again that is one of the
many things we’re discussing.”
Added Knightly: “I look at this transition
period as an opportunity to make some changes,
create change, get work done. LCP will evolve
and continue to do so. This is the beginning of
the overall process which is going to take a long
time. I would say that it was a good start of the
conversations that will need to occur.”
■ The L esbian C ommunity P roject is m the
process of developing a hiring committee to select a
new staff organizer. If you would like to be involved
in the process, contact LCP at (503) 233-3913.
Those interested in submitting a resume for the
position should address it to LCP, P.O. Box 5931,
Portland, OR 97228.
12675 N.W. Cornell Rd.
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