After vigorous discussion and a vote of our members, Feminists in Struggle has endorsed California’s Protect Kids Initiative https://protectkidsca.com/, a voter initiative that is now being circulated for signatures. The Initiative would protect children and teens under the age of 18 who are lesbian or gay, gender non-conforming, autistic or otherwise “different” from their peers, from sterilization and permanent bodily harms as a result of so-called “gender affirming care.” It would require that parents be notified should a child publicly adopt a “gender identity” that denies the physical reality of their sex, leading to a path of life-long medicalization, worsened health and shortened lives. And it would preserve girls’ changing rooms and girls’ sports programs for junior high and high school students as female-only in the interest of girls’ privacy and equal opportunity.
As radical feminists and Leftists, we reject the idea that children who fail to conform to rigid sex roles and stereotypes are born in the “wrong” body. We disagree that such children’s heathy bodies need “fixing” by drastic quasi-medical interventions such as puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, double mastectomies and genital surgeries. “Masculine” girls (traditionally referred to as “tomboys”) and “feminine” boys are fine just as they are. They should be free to dress and express themselves as they like and pursue whatever interests they desire regardless of their sex. Lesbian, gay and bisexual teens should be free to explore their sexual and romantic attractions with their peers just as their heterosexual counterparts do, without discrimination or stigma.
We in FIST name the medicalization of these children as the sexist and homophobic practice that it is, harming overwhelming girls, many of whom would grow up to be lesbians. This practice is also the biggest medical scandal of the past three quarters of a century, leading to not only sterilization, but early onset osteoporosis, undeveloped brains and respiratory systems, an inability to ever experience sexual pleasure as an adult, and an increased risk of stroke and cancer.
As one of our members, Javiera, explained it, “As a mother to 2 young children, it feels very important to me that we protect children from these harmful practices. These are children’s lives and futures at stake here. It is important to me that we redirect and correct course. Yes, a lot of work needs to be done…adults need support in supporting their gender non-conforming and/or gay/lesbian children. But I really believe we must come together and stop these institutions and corporations from implanting the ideas of “born in the wrong body,” protect our children from being “at war” with themselves, and come back to being embodied people working towards loving and accepting ourselves.”