Los Angeles 4th Annual Clitoral Mass!!!!!!!

SAVE THE DATE: AUGUST 1st 2015! for Los Angeles' 4th Annual CLITORAL MASS!!!! - - - - - - - - - - - - Clitoral Mass is the largest bike ride in Los Angeles to date organized by and for womxn of color, trans-womxn, womxn identified, two-spirited and gender nonconforming folx. With our arsenal of “indigena understanding and urban hood mentality,” we are building movement in the spirit of rebellion passed down by our great grandmothers, reclaiming the autonomy of our spaces and bodies as we continue to resist the settler occupation of both. The theme for the 4th Annual Clitoral Mass ride is “Mobility and Immobility: Base Building & Reclaiming Spaces Beyond Our Streets” to continue much-needed dialogue and analysis around issues of mass incarceration, mass deportation, gentrification and state-sponsored genocide. The ride will begin at 11AM Saturday, August 1, 2015 by the Olvera Street Gazebo with a bike repair station, photo booth and resources to greet participants. Festivities will start with an opening ceremony with blessing of the bikes, bike safety skits and yoga stretches lead by The People’s Yoga. We are excited to be collaborating with Chant Down the Walls and Incarceration Liberation Summer Theater Project to highlight the injustices of detention and deportation of immigrant communities. Along the route, community organizations such as North East LA Alliance, Youth Justice Coalition, Comida No Bombas LA, Drum Beats of Love and others will engage riders in fun, informative sessions. Riders can expect multiple pit stops with live music, freebies, and the unique experience of riding with hundreds of other womxn identified, nonconforming riders through the urban and natural terrains of the city. Maryann “Sunhands” Urdiales, member of the Clitoral Mass Committee, says, “riding Clitoral Mass gives me a sense that we’re not invisible. We are being seen. We are taking up space in the street and owning our bodies. And the fact that there are so many womxn of color especially represents the smashing of roles and scripts we’re just expected to accept.” We Want You at Clitoral Mass 2015! ● The United States locks up more people, per capita, than any other nation. - Prison Policy Initiative, 2014 ● There are almost 15,000 children behind bars whose “most serious offense” wasn’t a crime. - Prison Policy Initiative, 2014 ● Fastest growing population of incarcerated people are womxn of color, largest womxn’s prisons located in California. - American Civil Liberties Union, 2013 ● LGBT people are disproportionately likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system, particularly LGBT youth and transgender people and are especially vulnerable in custodial settings. - National Center for Transgender Equality, 2014 ● Immigration detention locks up hundreds of thousands of immigrants unnecessarily each year, exposing them to brutal and inhumane conditions. -ACLU, 2015 - - - - - - - - - - - - Clitoral Mass L.A. is organized by Ovarian Psycos Cycles and volunteers in the Clitoral Mass Committee. Mission: Clitoral Mass represents solidarity between womxn, queer, femme, trans, gender non-conforming and two-spirited individuals from different walks of life to promote solidarity in bicycling, encourage safety, health in our communities and taking back the night. Vision: We envision a movement in which womxn from all over the world organize their own Clitoral Mass in their respective communities in order to shift consciousness about social justice through bicycling for everyone. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > > P L E A S E - N O T E < < This ride is open to all womxn, womxn identified, gender-non-conforming, queer, trans, two-spirited folx only! > > We do recognize that the name Clitoral Mass does refer to cis-womxn's reproductive system. However, it is not meant to exclude anyone. The name is a play on words intended to be playful and simultaneously create some sort of acknowledgement/acceptance/pride in one's historically oppressed body. While this is a frequent motif of ours, we do not make apologies for using fem-posi symbolism and do so to reaffirm and reclaim our bodies and do not in any way do it with the intention to marginalize the many forms and genders that constitute "woman." We prescribe to a decolonized/WOC feminist interpretation of womxnhood, which includes womxn and womxn-identified folks, or two-spirited/queer/trans folks. Long story short, ALL WOMYN-IDENTIFIED FOLX no matter what reproductive organs you have or do not have are welcome on this ride!< <