About Ohio Lesbian Festival

Toward Building
A Global Community

Lesbians Benefitting the Arts and the Ohio Lesbian Festival (LBA /OLF) are 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 space 1. We call on the OLF 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 / OLF: A Safer Space for ALL Womyn.  Guiding Principles

• A safer festival environment is essential for ALL womyn
• Womyn are entitled to enjoy the festival free from racism, harassment, intimidation, and bullying
• LBA / OLF is a place where every womyn is free to be exactly who she is

LBA / OLF:  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 / OLF:  Acknowledgement.  Our Truths

• Actions have consequences
• Oppression can be expressed in writing, verbally or by physical action
• Incidents will happen within the LBA / OLF community
• We have plans in place to respond

LBA / OLF: 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 misgendering another womyn is unacceptable
• When referring to others, respect their choice to use of gender neutral pronouns
• It is likely that the default pronouns you will hear used are female pronouns
• If you witness something troubling, reach out to the womyn affected, offer assistance, notify OLF crew

LBA / OLF: Consequences

• LBA / OLF reserves the right to delete comments online that are not consistent with this spirit
• LBA / OLF leadership will interrupt bad behavior
• LBA / OLF will determine and implement the appropriate response to any incident 2

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

2 In the unlikely event that a woman is asked to leave the festival grounds, there will be no refund of ticket price