Womyn-born womyn (WBW) is a term developed during second-wave feminism to designate women who were assigned female at birth, were raised as girls, and identify as women (or womyn, a deliberately alternative spelling meant to challenge the centering of male as norm).
[3] Raymond's The Transsexual Empire (1979) is often seen as the characterizing work of this movement; Julia Serano criticizes it as an "anti-trans screed".
[3] It is known for its view of trans women as privileged men who did not previously live in the oppression of the patriarchy, stating, "We know who we are.
Judith Butler (regarded as the "most significant theorist" of third-wave feminism)[4] is opposed to womyn-born-womyn policies, yet is often used as an argument for them by modern second-wave feminists.
[10][11] This exclusionary practice reflects a contested understanding of womanhood and has been criticized for perpetuating transphobia and failing to recognize the diversity of women’s lived experiences.
[12] Throughout the final quarter of the twentieth century, women's music festivals often enacted womyn-born womyn policies.
[13] In 1977, MichFest's primary owner, Lisa Vogel, signed a letter (together with 21 other signatories) to the feminist music collective Olivia Records, objecting to the inclusion of production employees at the festival that were not born female, notably Sandy Stone:[14] We are writing concerning your decision to employ Sandy Stone...as your recording engineer and sound technician.
It was his white male privilege that gave him access to the recording studio and the opportunity to gain engineering practice in the first place.
[17] The statement for the 2015 conference was rephrased in explanatory form to read "RadFems Resist is a women only, feminist event.