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As a response to misogyny and homophobia, MWMF was created in 1975 by 19-year-old Lisa Vogel, a working-class woman from Michigan who had seen female musicians and stage hands demeaned and repeatedly harassed at festivals and venues run by men. MWMF created a feminist alternative and response for lesbians in the music scene.

Since its inception, MWMF has defined the festival as a separate space for " womyn-born-womyn," i.e. those women who were born and raised as girls and who currently identify as women. It is often criticised for this policy, as it bans transsexual women from attending. Opponents believe that this contradicts on the MWMF policy of those who "currently identify as women", which transsexual women do, and is thus transphobic.