The 2026 Mid-Terms: Republicrats, Fetishists, and Asshats

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This piece is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Feminists in Struggle as an organization.

Well, it’s time for the gearing up of the duopoly for the midterms, and it is notable that both major parties once again think that targeting the rights of women and girls is a great idea. On the Republican side we have the zygote zealots attempting to block Mifepristone, criminalize abortion, and even wishing they could strip women of the right to vote. They should make Monty Python’s “Every Sperm is Sacred” their anthem because their fealty is more to Christian dominionist male supremacy than to the Constitution.

On the Democratic side, candidates are still pushing gender ideology, apparently ok with gender ideologues screaming “Trans women ARE women!” to anyone who is reality based enough to recognize biological sex, attacking defenders of girls’ sports, grown men calling young teenage girls “trash”. It’s ok, apparently for 12-year-old girls who don’t think they should have to undress in front of entitled, (and in the case of the recent plaintiff in the sports case, “BPJ”, who sexually harassed one of the girls in the locker room) revolting, little boys who claim they are “trans” in order to gain access to their sports and locker rooms.  It also appears to be completely acceptable to Democrats for trans-identified males to make rape and death threats to anyone who reminds them of the biological reality that men cannot be women.

Republicans continue to run woman haters and Democrats continue to run woman impersonators. The special treat this election season, after candidate for the Maine Senate, Nazi tattooed misogynist candidate Graham Platner, who finally was asked to step down after rape allegations (why should the Republicans get to be the only ones to run sex offenders?), is a trans “woman” who claims to have “ovaries” and menstruate from his rectum. This development prompted one person on social media to post “Susan Collins is the luckiest woman alive!” Either that or Democrats are doing a hell of a vetting job.

I’ve got news for you deluded Democrats and gender ideologues, “Ashley” Webb with his colonic periods and Bryon Noem of “bimbofication” and “looning” fame are what the majority of trans “women” are like—they are fetishistic, deranged men. Transgenderism is not a “human rights issue” or “just another healthy choice”, however hip, “innate”, or “kink positive” (a spurious and oxymoronic term if there ever was one) you think it is.

Republicans need to be reminded that there are women not only in their voter base but make up large percentages of elected representatives in state houses throughout the country, so maybe trying to deprive them of their right to vote, whether by passing the SAVE Act or attempting to roll back the 19th amendment, may be self-defeating, and that putting women’s health and lives in danger by criminalizing abortion and treating women like incubators is not only cruel and inhumane but not a winning strategy. Letting mothers die who need emergency abortions is not exactly “pro-family”, and elevating fetal life over the life of the mother is not exactly “pro-life”, since the woman’s life is primary. Republicans also should be reminded that the majority of voters do not support the views espoused by social “influencers” in the Manosphere or the brazen misogyny of Hegseth, Fuentes, or the Tate brothers, and that sexual harassment and assault are criminal and moral offenses.

Democrats, who hypocritically claim the mantle of “science” and “free speech” meanwhile engaging in the denial of biological, material reality in favor of metaphysical nonsense based on circular definitions and undefinable vagueries, attempt to silence anyone who even questions gender ideology, calling them “bigots” and “transphobes”, callously disregarding the proven harm of “gender-affirming care,” and dismissing the opportunities, privacy, dignity, and safety of women and girls in sports. “Blue” states like Connecticut, Washington, California, New Jersey, and Illinois have even opened up domestic violence shelters to men masquerading as women, and are putting trans-identifying sex offenders in the same cells with women prisoners. This is nothing short of “cruel and unusual punishment”, prohibited by the 8th Amendment, if anyone cares anymore about the Constitution.

Both Democrats and Republicans need to be reminded of the basic fact that women are human.

Democrats and those to their left, like the Greens, the Democratic Socialists, Peace and Freedom, etc., who have remained obeisant to gender ideology and callously heedless to its assault on the rights of real women and girls will be the focus in this post. But in the future, there are serious reforms we need to make to the system by breaking up the duopoly—some would call a uniparty. Here are some ideas:

  • get Independents and third party candidates on the ballot and on the debate stage
  • ensure candidates are vetted thoroughly for honesty and ethical, pro-social (or at least not anti-social or sociopathic) conduct; eliminate malignant narcissists (it is too much to hope for that we could sift out the shameless self-promoters or opportunistic soul sellers?)
  • institute rank choice voting across the country as well as proportional representation
  • validate and enforce the fully-ratified Equal Rights Amendment
  • pass the We the People Amendment to end the two illegitimate legal doctrines of corporate so-called “personhood” and money as protected “speech”
  • pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting criminals from holding federal office
  • end impunity for oligarchs and corporations
  • pass Single Payer healthcare
  • stop funding endless wars
  • publicly fund political campaigns
  • end legal bribery and corporate lobbying of candidates
  • tax the billionaires into penury
  • institute citizen oversight of all three branches of government

But for now, we need to rein in the insanity of the current administration and hopefully curtail some of its egregious excesses, so we are dependent on the Democrats getting in office and hopefully holding it accountable. But first Democrats need to realize that Trump was elected in 2024 due to the following top 3 concerns according to polling:

  • The economy/inflation
  • The border/immigration
  • Opposition to gender identity

Democrats need to read The Reckoning: How the Democrats and the Left Betrayed Women and Girls and course correct.

We therefore invite members of the public who care about the rights of actual biological women and girls to direct the following questions to primarily Democratic candidates who are running for the first time or for re-election but others as well who subscribe to sex denialism.

QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES CAPTURED BY GENDER IDEOLOGY RUNNING FOR OFFICE

  • Democrats/Greens/Socialists claim to care about the rights of women, but the only right you defend is abortion. Why don’t you care about the obstruction of the fully-ratified Equal Rights Amendment, the degradation of women in prostitution, and the incursions of males into our sports and private spaces? Why are you not speaking out about those rights?
  • Why are you pursuing policies that prioritize trans rights over women’s rights, when women remain the only demographic left out of the federal Constitution and comprise half the population?
  • Why do you not seem to be concerned about the impact of these policies on biological women and girls whom you purport to represent?
  • Why are trans people who represent a fraction of the population being given more consideration than 51% of the population?
  • Why are trans rights always at the expense of biological women and girls? What legitimate civil or human rights movements have demanded that their rights supersede the rights of others?
  • What legitimate activists attempt to compel the speech of others and demand that they adhere to their terms and beliefs, in defiance of reality?
  • What legitimate movement attempts to silence, de-platform, smear, or threaten anyone who questions their beliefs and demands? Why is there no debate of these issues allowed?
  • Who are your donors, and how much are you getting from trans rights groups or groups promoting pornography and protecting pornographers, pimps, johns, and traffickers?
  • Why are you supporting the whitewashing of prostitution by calling it “sex work” as if it’s a legitimate job? Prostitution is the oldest oppression (NOT profession) and the commodification of women in this way is sexual slavery. Why are you not condemning this?
  • Are you aware that pharmaceuticals are prescribing Lupron, a chemical castration drug, off label to children to arrest puberty, and that it prevents bone and brain development?
  • Are you aware that gender clinics are prescribing cross-sex hormones and sex-rejecting surgeries on children and minors, including increasingly on young girls, referrals for which have skyrocketed in recent years, and who are now getting mastectomies and hysterectomies, and experiencing osteoporosis and menopause in adolescence? What are you doing about this?
  • Are you aware of the Cass Review of the GIDS Tavistock Clinic in the UK that exposed the faulty research and junk science on which so-called “gender-affirming care” is based and that countries in Europe are backing away from the affirmation model with its iatrogenic, irreversible medical procedures that render these children sterile, sexually dysfunctional, and dependent on hormones for the rest of their lives? What action are you taking to combat this?
  • Are you aware that children and youth are being fast-tracked without thorough psychological evaluation for sexual abuse history, and that many of these children are autistic or same-sex attracted and have internalized homophobia? Is this something you wish to support?
  • Did you know that WPATH has been exposed as promoting medical experimentation on children and vulnerable adults, knowing of the deleterious effects including sexual dysfunction, sterility, and retarding bone and brain development? Why are you treating this organization like it is the authority on gender confused youth when it is perpetrating harm?
  • Did you know that WPATH is encouraging practitioners to submit fraudulent insurance claims so they can receive payment for sex-rejecting interventions whitewashed as “gender medicine”? Are you aware WPATH is being sued for fraud and deceptive practices by several states and the FTC?
  • Did you know that the claims of suicidality of youth denied sex-rejecting medicalization is spurious? The plaintiffs admitted in oral arguments before the Supreme Court in the Skrmetti case that the suicide claims were not true, yet this falsehood continues to be repeated by Democratic candidates like Tom Steyer in the California Governor’s race. Why?
  • Are you aware that states like California are trying to pass legislation smearing actual exploratory psychotherapy, practiced for over a century, as “conversion therapy” if it doesn’t abandon its ethics, training, and clinical judgment to fast-track clients into “gender affirming care” without thorough evaluations? Why aren’t you speaking up about this?
  • Are you aware that gender ideology indoctrinates young children with regressive sexual stereotypes and the negation of sexual orientation that the women’s liberation movement worked for decades to overcome? Why are you promoting sexual stereotypes over allowing gender non-conforming children to express themselves freely?
  • Why is it tolerated to refer to another human being by only her body parts, such as “uterine-havers, birthing bodies, or front-hole havers”? Why is this not correctly identified as misogynist dehumanization and denounced? Why would you support motherhood being reduced to and redefined as “pregnant people”, as if anyone but a woman gives birth?
  • Did you know that trans-identifying men are now demanding that they be given lactation-inducing drugs like domperidone so that they can “chest feed” infants for their own gratification, putting babies at risk of harm from these chemicals? What are you going to do about this disgusting practice?
  • Are you aware that the invasion of trans-identifying males into women’s safe spaces like locker rooms, changing rooms, and bathrooms are enabling predation and nullifying laws against indecent exposure and voyeurism? What are you going to do to ensure the safety, privacy, and dignity of women and girls?
  • Are you aware that women and girls are not only being denied opportunities, awards, and endorsements in sports, but even scholarships and are being subjected to physical injuries by trans-identifying males being allowed to play on the female teams? This is a clear violation of Title IX and its intent. What are you going to do to stop this?
  • Why do Democrats perpetuate the reprehensible falsehood that those trying to save women’s sports are trying to enable “genital checks” when all that is required to identify whether an athlete is male or female is a simple cheek swab?
  • Are you aware that trans-identified males are making rape and death threats online towards any woman who does not recognize them as females? Are you aware that trans-identified males have physically assaulted women, including elderly women, at Let Women Speak rallies? What are you going to do to protect women from trans violence?
  • Are you aware that men, some of whom are actual pedophiles, have been exposing themselves to young children at Drag Queen Story Hour performances, welcomed into young children’s classrooms without even having had background checks?
  • Did you know that children are being sexualized by pornographic material in grade schools under the guise of sex education? How do you explain the shift from exposure to pornography as a reportable sex crime to an educational tool for kids who identify as LGBTQ?! When are you going to address this?!
  • Did you know that there are men calling themselves “Beyond the Plus” who are pedophiles lobbying to be seen as a legitimate “sexual orientation”? This is a direct result of gender ideology. Do you intend to allow this to happen?
  • Are you aware that sex offenders, some of whom are also murderers, are being put in women’s prisons in the same cells with biological women, just because they self-id as “trans”, and that women are being raped and impregnated? Did you know that it is the WOMEN who are disciplined when they complain? What are you going to do about this horrific injustice?
  • Are you aware that rape victims are being required to refer to their trans-identified rapists as “she” in rape trials? What are you doing about this?
  • What are you going to do about crime statistics being skewed and rendered meaningless by attributing violent crimes like rape to women when they are being committed by trans-identified men?
  • Are you aware that there are 4 women murdered every day in this country by men (however they “identify”)? What are you going to do to put a stop to this public health crisis and ensure that it is prosecuted as the hate crime that it is?
  • How much money do you receive from Big Pharma and medical or political organizations who are practicing and greatly benefiting financially from gender medicine or pornography?
  • Why are you selling women out to a men’s rights movement and the corporate lobby that supports it?

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THESE QUESTIONS TO ASK DEMOCRATS, AND ALSO A PDF FOR QUESTIONS TO ASK MEDIA CAPTURED BY GENDER IDEOLOGY BELOW

References:

Male Anatomy vs. Female Anatomy

https://genspect.substack.com/p/the-sex-binary-what-it-is-and-why

https://www.realityslaststand.com/p/biology-is-not-binary-but-sex-is

https://www.citationneededpodcast.com/p/male-or-female-separating-fact-from

Women Count USA

Affirming Trans Identities is Harmful

School Boards – Grooming Kids for an Orwellian World

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/4/19/cass-review-feminists-accused-of-being-unkind-have-been-vindicated

https://segm.org/Suicide-Gender-Dysphoric-Adolescent-Young-Adult-Finland-2024?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

https://environmentalprogress.org/big-news/wpath-files

How the Debate Over Men in Women’s Sports Both Obscured and Advanced Sport Science

The Female Category – WHAM (Women’s Hockey Assoc. of Minnesota)

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/the-rainbow-reich-transgender-ideology-and-totalitarianism-part-i/

California transgender convict pulled from female prison for alleged rape

DOC employee reports men are claiming to be women to transfer prisons

USA: Almost 50% of Trans Inmates in Federal Custody for Sex Offences

Jeffrey Epstein Was Into ‘Trans Kids’

NAMBLA’s Secret Weapon-Who’s Behind the “Sex Offender Rights” Movement

https://nypost.com/2026/02/21/us-news/trans-minnesota-dem-leigh-finke-argues-queer-kids-need-access-to-porn-sites-for-educational-reasons/

https://washingtonstand.com/news/pornhubs-year-in-review-sextrafficking-abuse-and-age-verification

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/07/us/politics/porn-actors-project-2025-ad.html

https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/10/10/porn-industry-runs-ads-for-harris-in-wake-of-vps-appearance-on-sex-podcast/

https://voz.us/en/politics/241009/17063/adult-film-industry-jumps-into-campaign-in-support-of-kamala-harris.html

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/why-womens-rights-are-not-really-unpleasant-and-harmful-a-response-to-jon-ronson-dr-em/

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/understanding-your-nigella-the-harms-of-transvestic-paraphilia/

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/martine-rothblatt-a-founding-father-of-the-transgender-empire/

Canadian Mounties Blame Mass Shooting On Random Gunperson, Pronouns Bang/Bang

https://www.civitas.org.uk/content/files/2454-A-The-Corrosive-Impact-of-TI-ppi-110-WEB.pdf

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/the-rainbow-reich-transgender-ideology-and-totalitarianism-part-i/

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/the-rainbow-reich-part-ii-academia-no-platforming-silencing-of-women/

https://gaysagainstgroomers.substack.com/p/pornhub-queers-the-algorithm

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/evolution-transgender-care-doctor

https://genspect.substack.com/p/dysphoria-inc-how-language-sells Dysphoria Inc: How Language Sells a Diagnosis

https://www.thedistancemag.com/p/forget-gender-dysphoria-almost-all Forget ‘Gender Dysphoria’: Almost All The Hormonal ‘Gender Medicine’ Is Billing Fraud

Unsealed Court Documents Show That Admiral Rachel Levine Pressured WPATH To Remove Age Guidelines From The Latest Standards Of Care

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/the-trojan-unicorn-queer-theory-and-paedophilia-part-i-dr-em/ The Trojan Unicorn: Queer Theory and Paedophilia, Part I. | Dr Em

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/the-trojan-unicorn-qt-and-paedophilia-part-ii-dr-em/ The Trojan Unicorn: QT and Paedophilia, Part II. | Dr Em

https://adflegal.org/article/leaked-files-reveal-ethical-concerns-pseudoscience-wpath-standards-care/ Leaked Files Reveal Ethical Concerns, Pseudoscience in WPATH Standards of Care

https://collider.com/linda-lovelace-deep-throat-complicated-relationship/ Linda Susan Boreman (Linda Lovelace) was coerced into filming Deep Throat, was sexually assaulted during it, and a gun was held to her head during filming.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/opinion/project-2026-2028-democratic-platform.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xlA.a2Fz.wb–Ojfre8Y5&smid=url-share If the Democrats Actually Want to Win, This Is What They Have to Do

https://www.thefemalecategory.com/p/embarrassing-the-scotus-decision/comments Sarah Barker on the ludicrous arguments of the dissenters in the SCOTUS sports ruling

https://www.racket.news/p/meet-the-censored-kara-dansky – Interview of Kara Dansky by Matt Taibbi June 8, 2022

The Reckoning: How the Democrats and the Left Betrayed Women and Girls

https://apnews.com/article/gender-affirming-care-transgender-health-wpath-ftc-91825f64800a6aadfa4f2da989742124 Federal Trade Commission sues leading transgender health group

FTC v. WPATH https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/wpath-ftc-v

https://womensliberationfront.org/poll-data

https://www.facebook.com/WDI.USA/posts/womens-liberation-front-shares-new-polling-shows-that-support-for-gender-identit/670878805209240/

https://hecheated.org/ A record of MALES who have robbed FEMALE athletes of success and opportunities in sport and the organizations who have helped them do so.

https://x.com/babybeginner/status/1885231518521712937?s=20 “Kill all terfs”

The Three Questions I’d Ask Someone Who Says, “Trans Women Are Women”

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Download a pdf of the Questions to Ask Democrats

Download a pdf of the Questions to Ask Media

THE POWER OF WORDS

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by Ann E. Menasche

This piece is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Feminists in Struggle as an organization.

Never underestimate the power of words.   Words are the weapons of both capitalist patriarchy and radical feminism.  Words can challenge the status quo and lead to radical transformation, i.e., be a force for good, or instead change the meaning of our reality – turning it on its head – blinding us to injustices and atrocities of all kinds, and, as George Orwell recognized, bolstering authoritarian regimes and practice

I can think of many examples of the Orwellian use of language.   War is often prettified by righteous and lofty sounding names that hide its bloody reality measured in the destroyed lives of civilian populations and the greed and thirst for domination that usually underlies it.  The U.S. named its Iran war of choice, “Operation Epic Fury”; Israel named its collective punishment and genocidal destruction of the people of Gaza, “Operation Roaring Lion.”

In the same vein, the City of San Diego, where I live, has set up camps for hundreds of unhoused people, packing them into tents two feet apart.  The camps are full of rats and other vermin, offer only two meals a day, with food poisoning commonplace, and residents who stay there months or years at a time – frying  in the summer and freezing in the winter – often have no choice but to agree to be placed there or risk jail for violating anti-homeless ordinances.  So far, 19 people have died at the camps.  The name for these camps?   “The Safe-Sleeping Program.”  You don’t get any more Orwellian than that.

Then there is the war on women, a war we women of the world live every day even outside an official war zone.  The anti-abortion or forced pregnancy movement found a good Orwellian name for itself – “pro-life.” or the “right to life” movement.  As feminists would chant at abortion rights marches – “Right to life, your name’s a lie, you don’t care if women die.”  And they don’t.

Not to be outdone, another front in the same war on our sex, is the sex denialist/”gender reassignment” industry and its followers.  They have been working overtime to change the meaning of everyday language to its opposite.   Men/women, female/male no longer refer to sex, which is deemed either not to exist or has become a dirty word, not to be mentioned in polite company.  The substitute for actual sex is some amorphous subjective feeling called “gender identity”, basically, where you believe you fit within the spectrum of 1950’s style “masculine” and “feminine” stereotypes – between GI Joe and Barbie.

When women as a distinct category of persons based on our sex are erased, it becomes impossible to name, measure or remedy sexism or male supremacy.

The principal catechism, or article of faith promoted by these fundamentalist ideologues that is beyond questioning or reasoned discourse is “trans women are women.”   In other words, some men are women (and vice-a-versa) though we mostly care about the men, of course, since they are, well, men. And it follows that some men are lesbians, which defines out of existence that pesky group of women, a thorn in the side of patriarchy, that have said “no” to males and just want to be with each other.

Though this ideology has parasitically attached itself to the “left” and the LGB movement, there is nothing progressive or pro-gay about it.

Even to refer to someone’s sex, is now treated as a confession of “bigotry” and “hate.”    Ask a group like Amnesty International that used to do- and still sometimes does – good work.

But words can trick you. Would anyone not in the know understand that the gentle sounding supposedly “lifesaving” “gender affirming care” for “trans kids” consists of drastic quasi-medical interventions that sterilize them, and remove healthy body parts?

Or understand that “Safe Sleeping” is actually unsafe?

Or that “sex work” refers to the buying and selling of the bodies of women and girls, whose lives are characterized by childhood trauma, poverty, and lack of options, not to some freely chosen though perhaps unfairly maligned profession? Mis-leading language works.

Supporters of “gender identity” are serious about promoting this particular form of insanity and punishing dissidents all over the world. And we should pay attention.

In New South Wales, Australia last year, Kirralie Smith was ordered to pay $95,000 to two trans-identified males for opposing the inclusion of men identifying as “women” in women’s sports and referring to men by their sex.  By doing so, the Court found that Kirralie had “incited hatred towards, serious contempt for or severe ridicule of a soccer player for being transgender” and that she had violated Australia’s Anti-discrimination Act.  She was ordered to admit her guilt and post her confession on social media. And told of course to shut up and never say such a thing again.

The grand inquisitor of 15th century Spain, Tomas de Torqueda, would have been proud.

Use your words wisely, sisters, but use them.

Tell the truth as you understand it. Don’t let yourselves ever be silenced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A REPLAY OF THE LAVENDER MENACE: NATIONAL NOW CONFERENCE SILENCES AND DISAPPEARS LESBIANS

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By Ann E, Menasche

This piece is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the opinion of Feminists in Struggle as an organization

Lesbian existence is fundamentally about women’s autonomy and independence from men- the freedom to say “no” to men and to say “yes” to other women.  Both are acts of resistance that are deeply stigmatized and often severely punished.   Without the freedom to be an open lesbian, there can be no women’s liberation.

From the early days of the Second Wave, some feminists did the work of the patriarchy – silencing, excluding and disappearing lesbians.

It happened once again at the national conference of the National Organization for Women (NOW) held in Alexandria, Virginia, June 25th to 27th 2026.   About 200 people, mostly women, attended the conference in person, and a couple of dozen attended remotely.

At the Conference, lesbians who met in caucus to demand the basic right to meet together and self-organize as lesbians in women- only spaces (apart from males, whatever their “gender identity”) were treated abysmally.  They were disrespected, yelled at, called “TERFS” – an anti-lesbian, anti-feminist slur –  accused of “discrimination” and verbally abused.

The lesbian caucus proposed a resolution calling on NOW to support Lesbian-only spaces.   The resolution read in part, “WHEREAS, lesbians have a right to define their sexual orientation on the basis of same sex attraction…WHEREAS the sex-based rights of lesbians includes the freedom to assemble and to organize on the basis of their common same sex sexual orientation…THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Organization for Women (NOW) reaffirms its solidarity in standing with lesbians when lesbians seek to create sex-segregated spaces to gather to discuss their lives in safety and mutual support.”

The leadership of NOW pulled all stops to make sure this resolution did not reach the floor for a vote.  Gender ideologues have captured most of NOW’s leadership and part of its membership.   There are, of course, dissenters, but at least until recently, they have been terrified of speaking out and facing the fury of witch-hunters who not only ostracize apostates but destroy jobs and livelihoods, and threaten or even carry out physical assaults.   The true believers at the Conference, in an apparently coordinated fashion, spent substantial time challenging every resolution and bylaw that came before the body, nitpicking every word and phrase in an attempt to take up as much time as possible.

Exactly twelve minutes before the time the conference was set to close, the delegates finally began to address the lesbian resolution.  After a couple of lesbians including myself spoke in favor, one woman asked “what about transwomen, are they to be included in these spaces since they are lesbians too?”    Then a motion was made to table the resolution “indefinitely”, which is not even possible under Roberts Rules. That motion was defeated.  The resolution itself was now ready to be voted on. It was  exactly 4:00 p.m., the time the Convention was scheduled to end.  Voting would have taken two to three minutes, done quickly by raising hands and credentials, as it had throughout the day.  However, the chair, NOW President Kim Villanueva, closed the meeting and called my motion to allow the vote to proceed “out of order.”  The message was that lesbians, at least those who stand up for their community, are not truly welcome in NOW.

Lesbians have always fought back.   In May of 1970, lesbians attending the Second Congress to Unite Women were sick of being forced into the closet, and the exclusion of  lesbian issues from the movement. They took over the stage, unveiled “lavender menace” tee-shirts, and demanded  recognition of lesbian issues as part and parcel of the struggle for women’s liberation.

For a time, the women’s movement embraced  its lesbian sisters.  No longer.  The misogyny and homophobia of gender identity ideology has assigned lesbians to irrelevance and conspired to our complete erasure.  For if men can be lesbians, there ARE no lesbians!

But our little group of lesbians and radical feminist allies, many defiantly sporting their own Lavender Menace tee-shirts at the Conference,  have just begun to fight to take our movement back. THE LAVENDER MENACE SHALL RISE AGAIN!

 

 

 

 

CAN ANY WOMAN BE A LESBIAN? FASCINATING FORUM SET FOR JULY 11th – TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

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FEMINISTS IN STRUGGLE IS SPONSORING THIS SPECIAL WOMEN-ONLY FORUM ON ZOOM.

What if heterosexuality wasn’t innate, but enforced and expected?

Can any woman be a lesbian?

Saturday, July 11th, 12:00 noon Pacific Time, 3:00 pm. Eastern

TICKETS ON SALE NOW: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1992292981940?aff=oddtdtcreator

Participate in this fascinating discussion on feminism, political lesbianism and compulsory heterosexuality led by contributors to the recently published anthology, “I Wiah I Was a Lesbian: Women’s Lives Beyond Heterosexuality” (Spinifex Press, 2026).

FIST FORUMS are interactive events with plenty of time for questions and discussion. Zoom link will be provided after registration close to the event.

SPEAKERS:

  1. ANGELA C. WILD is a political artist, lesbian feminist activist, and writer. An unapologetic radical feminist her work is dedicated to promoting uncompromising lesbian visibility, building a lesbian culture, defending women-only spaces, and dismantling patriarchal institutions such as compulsory heterosexuality, compulsory motherhood, sexual violence, and pornography. She is the editor of “I Wish I Was a Lesbian.”
  2. TABATA SPINSTER is a radical lesbian feminist, writer, and multi-disciplinary artists from Mexico, deeply committed to creation from political consciousness and lesbian rebellion. Her photography and graphic art has been published and exhibited in cities like Mexico City, Prague and Argentina. She has collaborated with various feminist organizations focused on arts and independent cultural management.
  3. ANN E. MENASCHE is a radical lesbian feminist and revolutionary with roots in both the feminist movement and the socialist left. She is a founding member and co-coordinator of Feminists In Struggle and works as a civil rights attorney representing low income tenants and unhoused people. She is the author of Leaving the Life, and many poems and essays.
  4. CHARLIE MAY is a lesbian, feminist, seafarer, writer, and scientist with a long history of campaigning for human rights. She first stepped into radical feminism sharing her experiences living with a trans identity and extreme discomfort around her sex. Despite ongoing threats and harassment, Charlie helped open dialogue around the unmet needs of women who were previously trans identified.

CAN THE DRAFT SAVE THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT? Forum planned for Saturday June 13th with Wendy Murphy!

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 FEMINIST FORUM: CAN THE DRAFT SAVE THE  EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT?

Saturday, June 13  •  11 AM – 1 PM

Get your tickets HERE:

On Saturday, June 13th at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time/2:00 p.m. Eastern, join us for a dive into the latest ERA court case and arguments for legal equality for our sex!

This Zoom forum features renowned feminist attorney WENDY MURPHY and should be a stimulating presentation and discussion!

 

WENDY MURPHY is adjunct professor of Sexual Violence and Law Reform at New England Law in Boston where she also co-directs the Women’s and Children’s Advocacy Project (WCAP) under the Center for Law and Social Responsibility. WCAP runs the Judicial Language Project, and the Hate Crimes Against Women project, WCAP also files amicus briefs and engages in public interest litigation to advance the rights of women and children. On January 7, 2020, WCAP filed a first-in-the-nation federal lawsuit to validate the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Massachusetts federal court.

Wendy is an impact litigator who practices in state and federal courts and specializes in advancing the constitutional and civil rights of women and children. She has authored numerous scholarly articles including a landmark piece explaining the legal relationship between sexual assault on campus and Title IX. Her most recent law review article is a feminist critical re-examination of the history of women’s struggle for equality and is entitled, “Unequal Protection of the Laws for Women is Constitutional Terrorism, So How Come Nobody Knows about It?”

She has also appeared on television as a legal analyst for many years and has worked for NBC, CBS, CNN, and Fox News and has provided legal analysis for print and television media. She is the author of two books, “And Justice For Some,” published by Penguin/Sentinel in 2007 and “Oh No He Didn’t: Brilliant Women and the Men Who Took Credit for Their Work,” published by Cynren Press in 2024.

Wendy’s recent article in the Boston Herald, “Unequal draft, unequal rights: Automatic registration for men means women will lose standing in fight for rights” addresses the issues of the Equal Means Equal v. Donald J. Trump case that she will cover in this seminar.

 

FIST forums are held remotely on Zoom, and are women only, interactive events, allowing for time for questions and discussion. Registrants will be provided with a zoom link closer to the event date. Please arrive ten minutes before the scheduled start time. Our forums are also recorded and uploaded to our You Tube channel,  for later viewing by women and men.

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FIST ISSUES STATEMENT ON THE WAR ON IRAN

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At the time of this posting, the world remains on edge as we wait to hear whether a final settlement of this war is reached, or whether the war will sooner or later flare up again with more violence, death and destruction.  Meanwhile, the killing of civilians in Lebanon and Gaza has continued unabated.  The time for feminists to speak out for peace and in solidarity with our sisters everywhere is now.

Members of Feminists In Struggle have approved by consensus a statement against the U.S./Israel War on Iran and in support of Iranian feminists. 

Here it is below:

FIST stands against the unjustified and reckless war being waged against Iran by the Trump Administration.  The Epstein Axis, led by Trump and Netanyahu is in part about distracting their populations from issues of systemic rape and pedophilia by the elites.  But is also about acquiring and protecting wealth, power, and empire, while being indifferent to the deaths of innocent civilians.

We  must oppose this war as it violates all of the Geneva Convention rules, including starting a war of choice not justified by self-defense, committing war crimes by targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure (hospitals, schools, energy facilities) and openly admitting genocidal intent (Trump’s recent threat to send Iran “back to the stone age” ).

Women suffer from war, often disproportionately, from the increased violence, displacement, poverty and fanaticism it engenders. Clearly, this war is not in our interests.

However, our opposition, as feminists, to this war does not mean we support the authoritarian theocratic government in Iran.

SUPPORT FOR FEMINISTS IN IRAN

While many on the left believe that the only two possible positions in this conflict are to side with the theocratic regime or the U.S. attack, FIST takes the position that we must support neither, but instead support Iranian ​Feminists and other progressives, now being murdered and jailed by their government by the thousands (current figures are 7,000 killed, 40,000 arrested) as a result of recent uprisings. The attack by the U.S. will only strengthen the hand of this cruel regime and worsen its crackdown against its citizens.

Women in Iran face systemic legal discrimination and operate under male guardianship that restricts their rights in marriage, divorce, travel, and employment; legally, a woman’s testimony has half the value of a man’s; inheritance by women is a pittance of what men receive; a woman needs her father’s or grandfather’s permission to marry and husbands have an almost absolute right to divorce, while initiating divorce for women is difficult; Iranian law mandates strict, state-enforced hijab with penalties that include flogging, fines and imprisonment (and in the case of the death of Jina Mahsa Amini murder–which is what sparked the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement of 2022-2023). Women in Iran have been resisting this sex apartheid system since 1979!

.EFFECTS OF THE WAR ON THE U.S.

The unprovoked attack by the U.S. on Iran is having and will continue to  have devastating effects on U.S. society.  The over one trillion dollars spent on weapons each year benefitting war profiteers, leaves little for education, childcare, healthcare, affordable housing, DV shelters, and public benefits that so many women need to survive.

The war will give the Trump administration an excuse to increase the military budget even further and defund human needs programs (many of which particularly impact women).  Working people will have an even harder time to survive, as prices across the board increase, possibly leading to a worldwide depression. There is also the possibility of a further spread of the conflict (many Gulf states have now been forced to become involved) and a World War III scenario cannot be discounted

While serving as distraction to the scandal over the Epstein files, this war is being waged mainly for reasons of imperialism: the controlling of resources—in this case, oil—of another country, and it reinforces a worldwide economy based on fossil fuels, which can only hasten the ongoing ecological planetary crisis. None of this is in the interest of women in the U.S., Iran, or elsewhere.

For the above reasons, we say NO to Islamic (or any) Theocracy. We say NO to U.S. imperialism. We say NO to government funds going into the pockets of war profiteers and advancing the aims of the warmongers while regular people in all nations suffer. We demand a U.S. government that honors international law, that prioritizes spending for peoples’ needs and centers the needs of women, and that promotes peace throughout the Middle East and the world.

Celebrate Women’s Rights on July 4, 2026

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On July 4, 2026, the nation’s semiquincentennial, we are enlisting women and men across the country to acknowledge the fully-ratified Equal Rights Amendment by reading a Women’s Declaration of Independence 2.0 (an updated version of the Declaration of Sentiments) and singing The ERA Song (sung to the tune of America the Beautiful) and the Battle Hymn of Equality (sung to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic) and recording both and posting them online. Anyone wishing to do so can gather together 2 or 3 friends, a group of women, a choir, or any configuration they choose to read and perform the songs and may download them here.

Women’s Declaration of Independence 2.0 reads as follows:

When, in the course of human events,
it becomes necessary for one-half of the people
to call a nation back to its own truths,
we declare the causes which compel us to speak.

We hold these truths to be self-evident:
that all persons are created equal;
that women are persons;
and that government exists to secure these truths—
not to delay or deny them.

The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in stone.
Yet they have never applied fully to women,
because women have never had full legal equality
under the United States Constitution.

Although the Fourteenth Amendment promised equal protection,
it has never been applied equally to women.

And although the Equal Rights Amendment—
ratified in 2020—establishes equality,
it has not been implemented.

“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

Women bring forth life,
sustain families,
serve their communities,
and defend this nation.
To deny them constitutional equality
is to deny their dignity, humanity, and rights.

Yet courts apply a lesser standard—
intermediate scrutiny—
to laws that discriminate on the basis of sex,
allowing inequality to continue.
The highest standard, strict scrutiny,
remains unavailable to women.

As a result, women are denied equal protection,
economic equality,
and full protection from violence and exploitation.

These injustices are not accidental—
they are legally authorized.

We declare:
women are equal citizens of this Republic.
Equality must be clear in law
and in its enforcement.

We call upon the people to demand:
the full implementation and enforcement
of the Equal Rights Amendment—
by all courts,
and all government officials.

A nation that treats women unequally
cannot be a democracy.

Therefore, we declare:
the Equal Rights Amendment is part of the Constitution.
It is the law.

Women will no longer accept inequality.
We demand equality now—
nothing more, nothing less.

In the spirit of 1776, the Declaration of Sentiments of 1848, and the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in 2020.

Drafted in 2026 by a Committee of the National ERA Publication Task Force. org.

#untilwomenareequal

#wewillnotbesilent

For more information on this campaign, go to: https://untilwomenareequal.org/

AN UPDATE ON ERA LITIGATION – SPECIAL GUEST POST BY WENDY MURPHY

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By Wendy Murphy, J. D., Impact Litigator

Last week we received a ruling in our lawsuit (Equal Means Equal v. Donald Trump) to establish women’s full legal equality by challenging the constitutionality of the Selective Service Act, which forbids women to register for the military draft. It is a very rare example of a law that explicitly treats women and men differently. Most instances where women suffer unequal treatment are in the enforcement of laws, and in the actions and inactions of government officials.

As expected, the judge ruled that we do have standing because the primary plaintiff is a woman who tried to register for the draft, but was rejected solely because of her sex.

Because women have standing, the court had to address the merits. This is vitally important because courts routinely deny women standing as a way of avoiding having to address the issue of women’s inequality. This keeps the problem of women’s inequality invisible, which obviously contributes to the problem of activism. Simply put, most women aren’t even aware that the Constitution has established them as unequal second-class citizens. This helps to maintain women’s subjugation because women will not fight for equality if they don’t know they don’t have it. They will, instead, suffer horrendous injustices, and feel hopeless and upset, but never come to understand that the primary cause of their suffering is the Constitution.

Because standing is so important, we are happy to have prevailed on the standing issue, especially considering that the government spent most of its brief arguing that we lacked standing.

As for the merits, the court ruled that it cannot address the question of whether the Selective Service Act is unconstitutional because the Supreme Court has already ruled – in 1981 – that it is, and only the Supreme Court can reverse itself. This ruling is inconsistent with what a different judge ruled on the exact same issue a few years ago in New Jersey where the court said that the Supreme Court’s decision is not binding precedent because the conditions under which that ruling was decided have changed.

The court also ruled that the ERA is not valid because the deadline expired long before the last state ratified. Again, we were not surprised by this, and to some extent we wanted this to be the ruling because it enables us to appeal.

An appeal is appealing (pardon the pun) because it is an opportunity yet again to show the federal courts that many people support our view that the ERA is valid, and while courts have yet to agree, we will not stop fighting until the Supreme Court decides the issue.

We do intend to appeal, which  means the First Circuit Court of Appeals will soon decide the issue.

We will have an amicus brief and welcome all the help we can get.

Meanwhile, we will also be filing similar cases in other jurisdictions. It is important that we file more cases soon because in December 2026, women will no longer be able to achieve standing on the Selective Service Act challenges. This is because Congress quietly inserted into the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act in December 2025, changing the registration process so that men will be registered automatically for the draft when they turn 18. For now, they must fill out a form, but in December the government will do that for them. This will deprive women of standing because they can no longer suffer the “legal injury” of being rejected by the government, and it is not enough of an “injury” to say the law itself harms women by excluding them.

This law change was done solely because of our case, so it’s a good sign that they are paying attention and so worried about women filing lawsuits that they bothered to burden Congress with the task of making the draft registration process automatic even though we haven’t had a draft since 1973 and won’t likely have another one anytime soon.

We take such small victories very seriously –

Sometimes victories don’t look like victories, but in high stakes litigation, anything that teaches us something or helps educate the public is important.

See also Wendy’s article in the Boston Globe: Unequal Draft, Unequal Rights

EXCITING FORUM PLANNED FOR APRIL 18th ON FEMINISM IN IRAN

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TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

FORUM: Woman, Life, Freedom & the Struggle against Theocracy & War in Iran Tickets, Saturday, Apr 18 from 11 am to 1 pm | Eventbrite

 

Woman, Life, Freedom & the Struggle against Theocracy & War in Iran

Saturday, April 18 at 11 am Pacific Time/2:00 p.m. Eastern

 

Hear Iranian feminist Maryam Namazie speak about feminist struggle in Iran & the need to oppose BOTH imperialist war & Iranian theocracy

SPEAKERS:

MARYAM NAMAZIE is a multiple award-winning Iranian-born UK-based activist and writer who has long opposed the Islamic regime and political Islam from a Left perspective. She has organized internationally for women’s rights, asylum seekers, and freedom of expression, including through the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law for All. In her work on Iran, she consistently argues that the central struggle is a popular uprising against theocratic rule, not a proxy conflict between states, and has been equally critical of war, insisting that both militarism and the regime undermine the fight for woman, life, freedom.

ANN MENASCHE is a founding member and co-coordinator of Feminists in Struggle, a civil rights lawyer, lesbian, and lifelong radical feminist and socialist. She has spent much of her life organizing against imperialist war and for women’s liberation. She has found inspiration from the woman, life, freedom movement in Iran, and those who speak out for peace, whether in Israel, Europe or the United States.

FORUM WILL TAKE PLACE ON ZOOM AND IS WOMEN-ONLY.

 

FEMINISTS SHOULD SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE US/ISRAEL WAR AGAINST IRAN

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By Ann Menasche

This piece is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Feminists in Struggle as an organization.

Trump and Netanyahu are two peas in a pod.  Both are crooked politicians, narcissists, misogynists and psychopaths who are all about acquiring and protecting wealth, power, and empire, indifferent to the toll measured in innocent civilian lives in other countries and even among their own people.  Together as heads of two nuclear armed nations, they have launched a war of choice against Iran, which, though the excuses keep changing, are fundamentally all about maintaining U.S. hegemony in the Middle East and the world, while Israel , after its killing spree in Gaza, is given the green light to carry out ethnic cleansing in Lebanon and the West Bank,  in pursuit of its  dream of a “greater Israel.”

This war is already causing the whole Middle East to go up in flames, threatens an even wider war, and has begun precipitating worldwide economic crisis, that we will all feel with higher prices for food, fuel, and other necessities.  It means more billions for bombs while more Americans face homelessness, hunger and lack of medical care.   The threat of U.S. ground troops being sent into Iran, if carried out, could lead to large numbers ofAmerican soldiers coming back in body bags just like during the Vietnam War.

The war is not making the Israeli population any safer either, as they hide in bomb shelters night after night. normal lives, work, education, disrupted.  The violence could spread here inside the U.S. as well.

No question, women suffer from war, often disproportionately, from the increased violence, displacement, poverty, and fanaticism it engenders. It is what patriarchy, at its most naked, looks like. Opposing this war should be a no brainer for feminists.

But what of the authoritarian theocratic government in Iran which oppresses women in draconian fashion, and kills its own people?   Opposition to the War does not mean support for the Iranian regime. But liberation does not come through the bombing and murder of schoolchildren, the destruction of homes, hospitals, universities, and civilian infrastructure, or from the heavy boots of imperial armies.  The power-over legacy of colonialism is one main source of the problem, not the solution.

The Women, Life, Freedom movement will rise again in Iran, but not under these conditions.  And the genuine feminist revolutionary transformation it will engender won’t be to the liking of the patriarchs and warmongers in Washington and Tel Aviv.  That we can be sure of.

Besides, regime change begins at home.  The thousands of peace protesters in the United States and Israel are a beginning.  Feminists should be in the leadership of this movement.

PEACE NOW!