Lesbians Reclaimed The Name
Dykes, that is. Dykes With Bikes, specifically, for the San Francisco lesbian motorcyle group -- "internationally known for riding in the lead position at San Francisco's pride parade every year for nearly three decades" -- writes Joe Garofoli, in the SF Chronicle. The trouble started when they tried to trademark it, and the trademark office govern-nannies threw it right back at them:
"The examining attorney found it to be offensive to a significant portion of the lesbian community," said Jessie Roberts, a trademark administrator with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. "And we're also looking out for the sensitivities of the general public more than that of a specific applicant."The applicants, in this case, prefer to call themselves dykes.
"We self-identify as dykes on bikes," said Germany, a 48-year-old San Francisco environmental consultant. "To us, (the government's objection) is completely absurd."
The push to codify "Dykes on Bikes" started two years ago when members of the San Francisco organization heard that a Wisconsin woman wanted to start a for-profit venture that would include a clothing line -- leathers and such - - using "Dykes on Bikes" as its label.
"That's not what we're about," said Soni Wolf, 56, longtime secretary for the Dykes on Bikes and a pride parade participant since the late 1970s. "That word has been used for years to tear us down. And we said, 'OK, we're going to take it back.' "
The women call themselves "dykes" for the same reason many gays have laid claim to "queer" -- to defang a word that has long been a slur.
"I cannot imagine a more ironic twist of thinking than to judge this reclaimed badge of honor as insulting to the very community who has created its power," Joan Nestle, co-founder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, wrote in a declaration supporting the Dykes on Bikes' trademark request. "Lesbians do not need to be protected from their own cultural creations, their own transformations of stigmas."
Cartoonist Alison Bechdel told the patent office that her 22-year-old strip, Dykes to Watch Out For -- which has sold 300,000 copies in collections worldwide -- "has uprooted the word 'dyke' from its negative connotations and planted it in a new context where it has flourished as a signifier for lesbians who are confident and open about their identity."
The Dykes argue that they are succeeding in weaving the term into the cultural fabric. Roaring up Market Street on their motorcycles before thousands of onlookers at pride parades, San Francisco's Dykes on Bikes have paved the way for a dozen-plus similar groups elsewhere. There are Dykes Planning Tykes parents groups, a "Dyke TV" cable access show, and a site for "the Web-savvy dyke" called Technodyke.com.
The federal paper-shuffling might seem superfluous to any Bay Area resident who has heard the street chant, "We're here. We're queer. Get used to it." But "queer," a longtime slur for male homosexuals, is different -- at least in the eyes of the federal trademarkers.
Boy, am I lucky I never tried to get Amy Alkon, Opinionated Bitch, my pal Terry Rossio's suggestion of a name for my column. The Advice Goddess, luckily, got through without appearing to cause offense to any ancient Greeks or current Greek lit students -- or any bitches out there who'd rather be called "insolent young ladies" or something.
Does Alison Bechdel really think it's her tiresome comic strip that re-cast the word "dyke" in an unoffensive light? What a delusional dyke.
Dykes on bikes have always been my favorite part of any gay pride parade I've ever been to. They are sooooooo hot.
Lena-doodle-doo at July 16, 2005 5:27 PM
While I wonder at the adjective, "hot" - there being the standard distribution of body shapes among such D&B members as I have seen at Daytona, Laconia and Myrtle Beach - it still amazes me that some people think that if we can be "politically correct" enough, then continuing social problems such as people being different will just go away.
Note well that an affinity for motorcycling does not validate anyone's opinions on any subject. In life, machinery is accessory, not a vital part of the person.
Radwaste at July 17, 2005 5:06 PM
Some of the dykes are "hot" in the true sense of the word, Radwaste. I just went to "At the Beach" in Malibu a few weeks ago -- which is the annual Black gay/lesbian pride thing. There were lots of gorgeous chocolate dykes gettin' down in the sand.
Lena Cuisina at July 17, 2005 9:36 PM
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