Presenting Monique Louicellier (in English)

(18th of June update, added on all the posts of this blog, which at the moment in not active anymore, thanks to go visit Monique Louicellier's main blog on www.lesboseparatiste.canalblog.com instead! Now I know which name I can use for describing me, I am a lesbian separatiste and if you want to know more, I can only tell you how much I enjoyed to read Scum Manifesto of Valerie Solanas. But I am a separatist who does not believe that once the heteropatriarchy overthrown, all women would naturally be lesbians and with a good personality. It would be exactly like what would happen with men, they would always be our ennemies because of their physical strength, lesser empathy and their high level of testosterone, their penis as well that they can use as a weapon. Also what are we going to do with some women who would not be like who we would wish them to be but stay heerosexual or have a nasty personality, how are we going to manage a governance on this planet the best way possible, especially with them. We could wish what is happening every year at the Michigan Women Music Festival and this in spite of the social pressures. That's why I am wishing to see lesbian feminist separatist communities be back and stronger at least, and soon the birth of a separatist State, this as quickly as possible.)

Here a message I posted on a lesbian social network forum and on the Michigan Women Music Festival's forum, my message regarded politics and was answering to a lesbian who called herself butch as well, so something about that topic there too, I paste all below (my English is terrible...).

Well in fact, I won't recommend MacKinnon book anymore, since I have read it to the end, because after the first 40 pages the book isn't so clear to read and I disagree as well..
Sorry..

My first call here was largely influenced by a French radical writer who abandoned me inbetween as soon as I asked too many but important questions..

Well in fact, I won't define myself as separatist or radical lesbian anymore.

I precise that I never called myself butch or fem and will never do it, I am just a lesbian, not giving into stereotypes, I mostly wear "masculine" clothes, never wear any make-up, because I don't want to stick to the straight stereotype of a desirable image of a woman, to a stereotype of a woman-made-for-men, and because I find these clothes more comfortable but I would like to be more attractive to other lesbians, I wish to wear some kind of tunic if I was between lesbians only. Time I am not but still living in this society, other lesbians will recognize that I am one of them with the help of that outfit, so better not change now !

But I don't even want to know what butch or fem means, I don't want to be entrapped in that, I know that I am a lesbian and a visible lesbian, isn't that enough ? Do I have to look like a real cliché ? And find partners that will fit into that cliché, and maybe use toys or have predefined sexual behavior once I will be in a bed with another lesbian ??

Maybe it is an american thing, I don't know, but to me it is only a binary classification coming straight from the cupboard years of the 1920's in France, and it is like astrology, I won't believe in astrology to define someone and astrology does not harm at least. If I am in a bed I don't need any sex toys, worse I think I won't like them, I never used any..
I have no preference in the way I make love either, it has never been a problem: first of all, I fall in love and then I try to adapt to my lesbian partner, it is coming easily, naturally, but just I think that I won't accept SM, toys, porn, a priori, because I don't find them OK in a relationship, it is always ok to possibly try to make ones mind, but for myself I don't really need to try, I know I won't like that very much and I am happy already!

I noticed I was mostly attracted to other lesbians (it is far more practical than being attracted to straight !), whatever they look like, even if I would be more attracted to classical lesbian look (more androgyne or masculine clothes / haircut), but more masculine or feminine or androgyne, or whatever, I don't mind if they assume their lesbianism in public, and apparence is sometimes misleading (what is called stone butch, becoming not so stone in my arms and hiding behind some feminine clothes), true that I don't like high heels, make-up, and I hate the Barbie doll look, but still it depends of the will of the woman behind, if she is a strong lesbian political figure and decides to wear a slight make-up to seduce her lovers or herself and as a resistance to the lesbian "norm", even if she assumes it is a weakness towards the oppresion system, I find this mistery and coquetterie quite exciting indeed...

Well back to the core of my problem:

Now I have met enough French radical lesbians at an event called Cineffable in Paris held from the 29th of October (to 2nd of Nov.) to make my mind.

I have been in connection with an historical figure of the American lesbian separatist movement as well, thanks to this forum (Michigan Women's Music Festival's forum).

And now I have a slightly different mind.

I can't stick to all these theories to the end of them and still need help, advices, etc..

This is what I have understood so far, tell me if I am wrong, and this is as well what I am beginning to launch in France:

Regarding radical feminist or radical lesbian theories, they are called materialism, materialist feminism, lesbianism, some of the historical lesbian theorist being Adrienne Rich, Monique Wittig..

Materialism in lesbianism is just a blunt end for me, it is based on old marxist theories (there are better theories now based on marxism but they don't mind them as they wrote their funding theories before these new developments existed), it is analysing all in term of class oppression, it is very seducing because analysing far deeper the structure of the society, more seducing than classical feminism that just wants equality which is a false problem and just integrates us to the same domination system, but:

1) Radical lesbianism has generated what is now disturbing the lesbians who claim to be such: the queer politics that claims to be radical as well, and that may be possible indeed, although not so anti-capitalist and certainly no more lesbianist.

2) Their defenders, also radical lesbians, are most of them doing in their private life the opposite of what they advocate in their theories, it means that they are partly essentialist and not materialist only, it means they know very well they are women and that they love other women (the essence of being a woman and homosexuality are natural events of life to them, when you speak to them in private, you know that to them, like to you, thanks, sex difference isn't a social construction only and sexuality is not just a social construction or a political resistance to oppression if you are homosexual -like they say in their materialist theories-) and believe me if their lovers were not women born-women (ok, lesbians, but still women born women, ha, ha), they would not like to sleep with them, and if the society was free of oppression, it would not push them to love men either or transsexuals, worse transgenders, I bid you what you want on it.. Like me, they aren't extra-terrestrian lesbians, they aren't lesbians by political choice only.

It is their sexual and romantic instincts that lead them to women in the truth of their lives, but they are hypocritical or lazy, sticking to fake theories still, because of history maybe (as essentialist movements harmed a lot in a very far past), because of the strong political message behind their theories as well: Lesbians are not women, and so on, and so on.., because fighting heterosexuality even amongst who could be heterosexual is so exciting, etc..

I am not a separatist either, lesbian separatism is an american type of politics and it is different from radical lesbianism in the fact that separatists first believe in essentialism of sex (sex difference being a natural fact) and secondly just want to kill men and male animals (I am doing a very big shortcut there but.. and I have to say that most French radical lesbians are real men-haters too, which should not be sticking once again to their own dear theories).
While radical lesbians should even love men once genders oppression would have disappeared if they were believing in their own theories, separatist would never.

Why I am not separatist ? It is because some defenders are going too far, and I don't want to take this label because I can't go along with them.

It is true that ideally I would like to live only between lesbians and I think it is possible, look at Michigan's Festival, that's 8000 lesbians living very well between themselves.. I don't like men either, but that's it.

But to the opposite of American separatists, I really believe that some women on this earth are naturally heterosexual, we can't compare them all to female animals raped by males (as separatists are so happy to do) and I believe that even if the society had changed, if it was no more pressure towards heterosexuality, these women would not become lesbians and would still jump on men if they could find any...

Separatist believe just in the opposite: All women are born lesbian for them, and men or males are just rapist and a chromosomal abnormality !
So they are spending a lot of their energy to make any women understand that truth (their truth, their theory), and this waste of energy in a wrong battle is just unaffordable for me, ok maybe males are a chromosomal abnormality but most women are as well then to me, I don't want to spend all my energy to "save" straight women (already I know that I won't go along with a majority of lesbians.. And I don't mind, they are free to do what they want! ... I just want to live with lesbians who think like me, that's it!), they forbide you to have male pets, and so on, and so on, they even encourage you to kill male animals sometimes (poor animals, they can't kill men so they need to revenge on something, isn't it ?).

Now my own movement, that I want to launch, is dedicated to French lesbians, yes, the closer the better for now because we are very few, it is dedicated more to the ones who aren't stuck into these radical movements (that now have very few members and almost no more activists), it is dedicated to the lesbians who can't see any visible movement in France, who are isolated, and I think there is a big potential in term of number of lesbians that may like to participate, but how to reach them ?

It will be slow, I need to move to Paris to build the discussion groups there, step by step, and especially all the books we will need will be found in Paris.

I have already a dozen of lesbians interested that I recruited at Cineffable, but I am not in Paris anymore and they are not taking any initiative without me being physically present, unfortunately the energy of the 80's is lost, people are used to wait all and all ready, from something or someone else, these lesbians are more individualistic and isolated, much poorer and with less freedom to commit just for a simple appointment at the occasion of a meeting than by the 80's, less understanding the importance of this commitment as well, less believing in themselves, less revolutionnary, etc..

I am censored in France too, the few mailing lists that exists and that target lesbians having some political awareness, mostly held by an intellectual elite, mostly radical lesbians (not said openly in all lists), are not passing my messages anymore, they even did not advertise our first meeting held on the 5th of November (while they advertised my call, initially, because they believed I was a radical), it is disgusting and they did not tell me any reason for that or just that they would not pass my messages anymore, they just ignored me and stayed silent since (once they knew I was not fully radical and not willing to show automatical allegiance to historical figures, whatever political label they have..).

But who knows, if the discussion groups start there in France (and there is no visible political discussion groups since the 80's !!!), and I am not ready to give up, it could lead to theories, political written theories that may impact worldwide..

Ok tell me if you think I am totally wrong or alone of my "species"..

Thanks and I have not my tongue in my pocket (I know..), I am not for always compromising, even with women or lesbians in front of me, it is just tiring..

I am against queer theories (most of them, at least the French ones) and queer (and now radical), LGBTQI or pro-sex monopole of political lesbian visibility, against queer or lesbian SM and porn, against the legalisation of prostitution, but for secularism and for the law forbidding to wear a scarf at school or by functionnaries.. against capitalism, against racism, against classism..

So I can't compromise, because some agree with me but will disagree for one or two things, for example they are for the scarf or to legalise prostitution, or for porn, or most of them don't want to fight anymore, and I really can't stick to these lesbians, but I need to stick to my own views instead in order to find or to create a theory, a name and a new movement and win lesbians over it instead...