After running what appeared to be an amusing looking poll on the ADYKE site
(a list for self identified Lesbians over 40)it seems the owner Michelle
Brevard has appointed herself to be the Lesbian Police. Basically, she
unequivocally decided that the few women who polled in as bi-sexual could
NOT be Lesbians so they were promptly removed from the list with no warning
or explanation. Even when one protested that she was most definately a
Lesbian, there was no turning back. "You said it therefore you are."

Posted by: "adyke@yahoogroups.com" adyke@yahoogroups.com
Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:13 pm (PST)
Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the adyke group:

What is your sexual orientation?

o Lesbian
o Bisexual
o Not sure
o Ambidextrous
o Ask me next week
===========================
Here is some commentary that followed on the BASAPPHO list.

Ellen@aol. wrote:
I was subjected to several phone calls and an inquisition about my
fsexuality from a-dyke due to some stupid rumor that I had a husband. I
self identified as a lesbian to sign up. Not only have I been a dyke
since the age of 19, I have dedicated alot of my life to activism and
advocacy to improve safety in the schools for glbt students, parents,
children of lgbt parents and staff. It felt insulting, intrusive and
invasive to me to be questioned about this. It's going too far.

Commentary by Lyn:
the poll asks "sexual orientation"
what if you said lesbian is your sexual *preference*,
although technically your sexual orientation is
bisexual. we have all been hearing for years that
virtually everyone is a bisexual somewhere on the bell
curve of preference. if you dont act on it, then what
does that make you? if you have an experience with a
man once a decade, but only fall in love with women,
what does that make you?

Hey Adyke: Dont Ask, Dont tell !
=================================
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 7:39 PM
To: Karen;
Subject: Re: Why I've been banned from ADYKE

karen,
after looking at the sexual orientationpoll of adyke
website, it says you may change your answer until the
poll closes, and it has no closing date. if this is a
trick of hers to screen out non-lesbians from
membership, it is certainly odd. it's odd any way
youlook at it, since the group info states it is for
lesbians, so why even have such a poll?? a member's
lesbianism is assumed (and self-assigned.)
if someone were really hiding out on our list, they
would carefully avoid the poll, i'm sure. only the
innocent questioners among us would fall into the
trap, if tha'ts what it is. in fact, i looked at that
poll before, but i didnt even think of its weird
inconsisitency myself.
i just thought, i dont answer really personal stuff
online, and moved on. i mean, i guess i thought it
meant, "being that you are a lesbian, in which
directions do you lean the most?" It appeared to be
allowing fluidity--or as you called it, diversity. it
didnt occur to me to be defensive or suspicious of it.
==================================
2 additional technicalities that came to mind:
i am pretty shocked that they can link the poll
responses to the pollee. i would have assumed it was
anonymous within adkye.

it is not fair that those of us who did not take the
poll are "safe."
no one has contacted me to require that i answer those
questions.
otherwise, i might be banned too, who knows?????
there should be a fair warning that your answers can
be used against you. There may well be a serious
legal issue here, like constitutionsl right to free
speech, or discrimination.
do we have any idea yet how many other women have met
your same fate?

----- Original Message -----
From: Kiriyo Spooner <mailto:kiriyo@sbcglobal.net
To: ; ba-sappho@groups.queernet.org <mailto:ba-sappho@groups.queernet.org
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 11:52 AM
Subject: Re: (no subject)

Having been a long-time supporter of lesbian-only space, I am horrified and
appalled by adyke using a member's poll answer in order to expell them from
the group. This smacks of Big Brother at its worst.

If you want to say this is lesbian-only space and from now on we don't want
anyone who identifies as bi-sexual to be a part of the group, then SAY IT,
be honest about it, and ask people to abide by it. Don't add it as a P.S.
somewhere. Don't use someone's answer in a poll to ban them without a word
of explanation to them as to why. That is TOTALLY different from our
herstoric efforts to fight for wimmin-only and lesbian-only space.
- Kiriyo