For over 30 years, the San Francisco Gay Pride Parades motorcycle-riding lesbian needs have been met by a non-profit organization officially called the San Francisco Women's Motorcycle Contingent, or as theyre much more commonly known, Dykes On Bikes.
In addition to their mission to support philanthropic endeavors in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and women's communities and beyond, and reach out to empower a community of diverse women through rides, charity events, Pride events and education, the SFWMC has been struggling to get Dykes On Bikes trademarked.
The SFWMC first filed their trademark application back in 2003, after discovering that a woman in Wisconsin was planning to trademark Dykes On Bikes in order to launch a clothing line. Since this would have allowed her to charge all Dykes On Bikes chapters for the right to use the name, the SFWMC wanted to make sure they retained control over the Dykes On Bikes name theyd been riding under since 1976.
What Dykes On Bikes and their lawyers assumed would be a quick approval process turned into a four-year legal battle, starting when attorneys for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the SFWMCs application twice on the grounds that the word dyke was disparaging to lesbians.
The Wisconsin woman who wanted to trademark Dykes On Bikes dropped her claim after the first refusal, but now it was a matter of principle for the SFWMC and their supporters. Over the next two years, lawyers for the SFWMC produced a smallmountain of examples of the word dyke being reclaimed in a positive way by the lesbian community to counteract the claims by the US Patent and Trademark Office, which primarily hinged on citing online dictionaries that defined dyke as disparaging or offensive. Finally in December of 2005, the US Patent and Trademark Office changed their minds and approved the application. This started a 30-day period during which members of the public could file legal opposition to the Dykes On Bikes trademark if they felt that registration of that trademark would cause them harm.
Thats exactly what happened.
Michael J. McDermott, a man living in San Francisco, filed a formal opposition to Dykes On Bikes being granted a trademark, claiming that the word dyke was offensive to men:
The attempt to have the USPTO act as Political Agent of the Misandry Lobby, by granting approval to their uses of the term "Dyke", so as to provide them with Government Backing for Thought & Speech Policing throughout America....The Endorsement by the Government of a Politically Correct definition and usage of the term "Dyke", and a corresponding disfavor for all other accurate if unflattering usage, is a clear political goal of this Trademark application.... The term "Dyke" has long acknowledged the Misandry of those who choose to wear that title, and the deep obsessive hatred of Men and Male Gender traits that go with it. The attempt to use this Trademark to further the goals of Separatist/Neo Exterminationist Misandrists ... as well as Sadists and Sado-Masochistic Bondage and Flogging Fanatics is a shameful abuse of the trademark process.
He also claimed that granting the trademark would be scandalous and immoral because it would involve the government endorsing what he claimed were the illegal activities of Dykes On Bikes:
I am a Male Citizen of the United States and a fourth generation native son of the City of San Francisco. As such, during the annual illegal government supported San Francisco Dyke Hate Riot; I and ALL other Male Citizens are subject to Criminal Attack and Civil Rights Violations committed by "Dykes" taking part in this Anti Male Hate Riot, including attacks often led or inspired by members of "Dykes on Bikes"....
For those of you who are thinking Wow, San Francisco actually sponsors an Anti-Male Dyke Hate Riot?, hes referring to the San Francisco Dyke March. The criminal attack and civil rights violation he mentions involved one time when he was made to move out of a crosswalk during said Dyke March, or as he defined it:
large numbers of Dykes on Bikes [using] THEIR MOTORCYCLES AS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS AGAINST MEN.
As hilariously out of touch with reality as these objections were, Dykes On Bikes were compelled to once again legally defend their name and trademark, this time in front of the USPTO's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. It took until September of 2006 for the Board to toss out McDermotts opposition, but they did get bonus humor points for citing a previous trademark case involving Black Tail magazine.
McDermott, acting as his own legal counsel (or appearing pro se, which is Latin for I cant believe I couldnt convince a lawyer to take my money), appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit who finally on July 11th ruled 3-0 in favor of Dykes On Bikes.
So now, nearly four years after they first applied, a fully trademarked and legally declared non-disparaging to any gender Dykes On Bikes can now rev their engines with pride (and at Pride) without fear of anyone stealing their name for a quick buck.
Oh, and if anyone has a San Francisco Anti-Male Dyke Hate Riot 07 shirt I can borrow, let me know.
I've been a witness to Dykes on Bikes many a times. It's very colorful.
But, I never knew there was all this behind the scenes stuff going on, because
everyone has always called it Dykes on Bikes for as long as I can remember.
So silly a thing to have to fight over. Let consenting adults call themselves whatever they wish. You've got the ACLU fighting to ensure that Nazis can hold rallies...but a group of bikers has to struggle to call their club "dykes".
Dykes on Bikes battling it out with San Francisco leather boys in an anti-male hate riot! This sounds like something R. Crumb would have conjured for Zap Comix back in the 70's.
Ugh. That McDermott guy is skating dangerously close to being an arbitrary capitalizer. I fucking hate those people. He's definitely an inappropriate capitalizer, if nothing else.
Necia said:
Ugh. That McDermott guy is skating dangerously close to being an arbitrary capitalizer. I fucking hate those people. He's definitely an inappropriate capitalizer, if nothing else.
Necia said:
Ugh. That McDermott guy is skating dangerously close to being an arbitrary capitalizer. I fucking hate those people. He's definitely an inappropriate capitalizer, if nothing else.
Necia said:
Ugh. That McDermott guy is skating dangerously close to being an arbitrary capitalizer. I fucking hate those people. He's definitely an inappropriate capitalizer, if nothing else.
Necia said:
Ugh. That McDermott guy is skating dangerously close to being an arbitrary capitalizer. I fucking hate those people. He's definitely an inappropriate capitalizer, if nothing else.
+1
Don't you mean you "Fucking Hate That?"
tb
oh Don't Even Start.
You're not doing it Right. If you want to be like the Crazies, you've got to save the Capitalization for words or Concepts you feel are Especially Important.
Uncognitive
Brooklyn, NY
May 2003
JUL 17, 2007 11:27 AM