In organising our current live event, “Brown Womxn Who Cycle” which happens in 7 days time, questions, assumptions and opinions have popped up. Why is it called “Brown Womxn? What does womxn mean? Can only brown womxn come? If I identify as a man, will I be chased out of the space?
An ally is often defined as someone who is not a member of a marginalised group but wants to support and take action to help others in that group. At the end of this post is an opportunity for you to show your support as an ally.
Our director and one of our speakers for the event, Louise Tu’u (LT) will answer these questions and situations here:
Q: Why is it called “Brown Womxn? LT:It’s called Brown Womxn, as a shortcut for womxn of colour, including trans and non-binary people. I noticed a lot of cyclists in my rides, did not look like me and thought why that was. Safety, cultural and gender-based reasons were first reasons to pop up. Having learned how to ride at 8 years old and under the thumb of Samoan parents meant that I knew what freedom on a bike looked like, I just couldn’t exercise it unless it was with my siblings. As an adult, I notice when I talk to other Samoan women, particularly those born in Samoa, that not much has changed. So I set up this event as a safe space.
Q: What does womxn mean? LT: Taking the definition from Wikipedia, womxn is an alternative spelling from the 1970s for people who did not want to be associated with men, hence womxn. More recently and for us, it is also a term that includes trans and non-binary womxn. It shows that this is a safe space for them too.
Q: Can only brown womxn come? LT: We ask participants to self-identify as womxn of colour. Why that is is because so very few events are specific for womxn of colour. This event is not alone in wanting to create a space where womxn of colour can talk about barriers and solutions that are unique to us, specifically when cycling.
Q: If I identify as a man, will I be chased out of the space? LT: No, but we will ask you politely to head to the bar next door at our event as some womxn are attending, safe in the knowledge that their cultural and religious safety as a womxn-only event will be respected here. Also, we will invite you to show your allyship by donating to our organisation, supporting this and future events here: https://ko-fi.com/weshouldpractice
Another way of support as an ally is donating a koha to this event here: https://events.humanitix.com/brown-womxn-cycle/tickets
We Should Practice 