Open Letter and Petition: Please Don't Allow Bias, Homophobia and Transphobia to Influence the Off Our Backs Collective

Dear friends at Off Our Backs and friends around the world,

Hello. First I want to say that I love your magazine and have loved it ever since I found out about it many years ago. I encourage people to read it every where I go and have copies in my house displayed at all times.

Second, I want to ask that you and all people sign the Petition titled:

Save Off Our Backs Magazine - Please Don't Allow Homophobia, Transphobia and all Bias to Influence the Off Our Backs Magazine Collective

The link to the petition is here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/saveoob/petition.html

I write for several blogs one of which is called: Black Man F.L.U.F.F a feminist blog found here: http://www.blackmanfluff.org

I have been a feminist for most of my life, traveling the country giving workshops about Patriarchy at conferences such as Z Media Institute, the Annual International A world Beyond Capitalism Conference and many more and have had my writing appear in numerous activist publications, feminist blogs and radical activist publications such as Slingshot, as found at the following link in the current article of Slingshot: http://slingshot.tao.ca/displaybi.php?0099015

I recently published an article by Heart (also known as Cheryl Lindsey Seelhoff) on my blog and promoted it on my podcast and online radio show, which eventually led into discovering her website, and then starting a conversation in which I asked her several questions about her transphobic activities and although she left many comments on my blog, I received no answers at all in regards to the questions about her involvement with transphobic activities as you will see on the below link:

http://bit.ly/post_swiper

I also asked her several questions about her habit of cultural misappropriation and using women or color photos for her blogs without giving credit to the photographers or attribution. Once again although she left many comments on my blog, yet I received no answers at all in regards to the questions about her involvement in cultural misappropriation and using women or color photos for her blogs without giving credit to the photographers or attribution(and she continues the habit) as you will see on the above link.

I recently learned on Heart's Blog at womenspace.org that she is now a volunteer for Off Our Backs. If Heart was not involved in transphobic activities, and not involved in using women or color photos for her blogs without giving attribution even when requested by the photo owners, I would think that is a good thing.

However, I personally think Heart being part of the OOB collective and influencing OOB articles is a grave error for many reasons, one of which is because she is very actively involved in transphobic activities and many people of color, including prominent feminist bloggers and feminists of all sexual orientations and of many races (even people within the Radical Feminist movement) have spoken out against her activities. This includes her transphobic RadFem carnival as you will see on the below 350+ comment link that was published to the website of Renee, a woman of color womanist (Renee chooses not to use the title feminist due to reasons of race and lack of solidarity within the feminist movement):

http://www.womanist-musings.com/2009/02/radical-feminism.html

Heart states on her blog on April 3rd, 2009:

"While I will continue to blog, publishing paper issues of oob will be my focus in the coming months and will occupy a lot of my time."

I also went to the new Oob blog at http://oobtalk.wordpress.com

and it states:

the off our backs team

• Celie’s Revenge

• Elliott BatTzedek

• Feh-Muh-Nist

• Genderberg

• Lierre Keith

• Mary, Christine, Laurel, Lisa, Lynda and our D.C. Interns and Volunteers

• Rage Against the Manchine

• Rychous Mama

• the off our backs collective

• Women’s Space

At the bottom of the list of the Women's Space blog. I have noticed the 'Radical Feminist Carnival' tab at the top of her 'Women's Space' website...so I am very interested in knowing the OOB thoughts about the sexist, “transphobic screed” (as Renee of Womanist Musings calls it) that many people in the Radical Feminist Carnival support as made very evident on the 352+ comment blog posts at womanist musings found at the above link titled 'radical feminists'

Here is a better article that Renee of Womanist musings wrote:

http://www.womanist-musings.com/2009/02/radfem-carnival.html

Here is how here the article starts off:

“It was brought to my attention that a post of mine has appeared in the latest Radfem carnival. I was alerted yesterday morning via twitter. Much to my horror, when I went to check for myself, it was buried in the middle of their usual transphobic screed. In all honesty I cannot remember submitting to the carnival. Even if I did submit a post, the kind of disgusting trans hatred that these women adhere to is something that I could never support.”

And when you click on 'Radfem carnival' (as I just did) this is what it states at the top:

“Many thanks to all the contributers with a special thank you to Carnival organiser, Heart, at Womensspace.”

That is, Heart, Cheryl Lindsey Seelhoff, of womensspace who is now listed as a member of OOB.

It is clear that such Transgendered Bias is dividing the women's equality movement when reading the below post by Transgendered woman of color feminist who was involved in the 350+ confrontation of prejudice with Radical feminists:

The article is titled: "Journey To Womanist-hood published in March 2009"

http://www.womanist-musings.com/2009/03/journey-to-womanist-hood.html

This is how that article, posted March 31st, 2009 starts out:

"As a transwoman of African descent I've developed during my 15 plus year transition a distaste for feminism. Much of that dislike of it is multifaceted, but has its roots in the virulent disco-era hatred still expressed by some rad fem drones. It's also fueled by witnessing the lack of support, disrespect, back stabbing and drama given to Black women to the point that they left the movement."

So I would like to respectfully ask two questions:

#1. Is the OOB collective aware of the Transphobic position and Transphobic organizing activities that Heart, Cheryl Lindsey Seelhoff participates in and actively promotes?

#2. Is the OOB collective aware that Heart, Cheryl Lindsey Seelhoff participates in taking women or color photos for her blogs without giving attribution even when requested by the photo owners?

#3. I searched the OOB website hoping to find a solidarity statement in regards to Transgendered people. Can you please tell me the OOB position on Transgendered people solidarity?

I am publishing this as an Open Letter, rather than sending it to your contact email for the following reason:

When I went to your website at OffOubacks.org at the bottom it states "Questions, queries, comments? Please email." and when you click on the email address this is the email address that comes up: cheryllindseyseelhoff@gmail.com

So, as you can imagine I am concerned that my email may not be delivered to you if I sent it to cheryllindseyseelhoff@gmail.com

Thank you for your time,

Thank you very much for your thoughts, Keep up the great work,

Love for the people,

-T. Love