Category: Lesbian Rights

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.

SPECIAL FORUM JUNE 28th ON THE UK SUPREME COURT VICTORY UPHOLDING SEX-BASED RIGHTS

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TICKETS ARE  ON SALE NOW for the Saturday June 28th FIST forum entitled WHEN SEX MEANS SEX: THE UK SUPREME COURT DECISION ON SINGLE SEX SPACES. The forum features SALLY WAINWRIGHT, the architect of the lesbian intervention in the For Women Scotland case that resulted in a Supreme Court ruling that women-only spaces and programs are protected under the UK’s Equality Act.  Forum begins at 12:30 p.m. Pacific time/3:30 Eastern. 

GET TICKETS:

Many feminists around the globe have celebrated the victory in the UK Supreme Court in the For Women Scotland case that ruled that sex means sex, and that single sex spaces for lesbians and women as a whole are protected under the UK’s Equality Act.

We are excited about presenting a first hand account of how this struggle unfolded, and an analysis of the UK decision, and beginning a discussion of how this decision impacts women in the UK, and internationally. How can we create similar victories here in the United States?

SPEAKERS:

SALLY WAINWRIGHT was the architect of the lesbian intervention in the For Women Scotland case in the UK Supreme Court, which determined that sex is biological – at least for the purposes of the Equality Act. She is a lesbian activist, co-founder of Lesbian Persistence, and a serial creator of women’s spaces. Sally co-edited Women’s Rights, Gender Wrongs: the global impact of gender-identity ideology, and contributed a chapter to The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht, discussing the attempt by transactivists to shut down the Audacious Women Festival which she founded.

ANN MENASCHE is a co-founder and co-coordinator of Feminists in Struggle, and a lesbian feminist and socialist who has worked for decades to create and defend women only and lesbian only spaces, programs and organizations in the U.S.

THIS IS A WOMEN-ONLY EVENT.

AS ALL FIST EVENTS IT IS INTERACTIVE WITH PLENTY OF TIME FOR QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION.ZOOM LINK WILL BE PROVIDED TO ALL REGISTRANTS BY EMAIL.

 

FEMINISTS IN STRUGGLE MEMBERS VOTE TO ENDORSE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATION ADVANCING WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

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By a 78% vote of its membership, Feminists in Struggle voted to endorse three important pieces of proposed California legislation that would curb the extremist policies of sex denying gender identity ideologues that have dominated California’s state government.  The bills, if approved, would go a long way to securing the rights of women and girls and those of children of both sexes that have been compromised as a result of this reactionary, misogynistic and homophobic ideology.

The proposed legislation is the following:

Yaeli’s Bill: This bill  would end the despicable practice under current law of removing custody from non-abusive parents, even forcing a child into foster care, merely because a parent refuses to agree to “transition” their child.  “Transition” of minors, often involving removal of healthy body parts, and high risk of sterilization, and other permanent harms to a child’s developing body, is an unproven practice that is increasingly being rejected by the UK and Scandinavian countries that have conducted comprehensive reviews.  See the Cass Review, available for download here. [ARCHIVED CONTENT] Final Report – Cass Review  If this bill is approved, it would no longer be deemed  child abuse to refuse to socially or medically transition your child, and the refusal to transition your child will no longer be considered in custody disputes.

RN 25 03490 This bill allows parents to Opt-Out of all instructions related to transgender.  This ideology is heavily promoted in schools, teaching children tthe unscientific view that sex doesn’t exist or is a spectrum, and that some children are born in the “wrong” body and need medicalization to be themselves. The group most vulnerable to this message are children who don’t conform to sex stereotypes, most of whom are likely, if left alone, to grow up to be lesbian or gay.  Also vulnerable are autistic children who have problems fitting in and children, especially girls, who have experienced sexual abuse or other forms of male violence.

Repeal of Education Code 221.5: The proposed legislation would repeal the California law that permits students to decide changing facilities/sports teams based upon Gender Identity (all grades and college) rather than sex.  Female only sports teams are needed for fair competition and to provide equal opportunity for women and girls to develop themselves and receive equal recognition and scholarships for their athletic achievements.   Separate changing rooms for women and girls based on sex are necessary to respect their privacy and safety needs in a world where male voyeurism, exhibitionism, sexual harassment and rape are pervasive problems.  There is no evidence that males who transition are less prone to anti-woman violence than any other male.

FIST fights for a world free of male violence where women’s rights to equality, dignity, reproductive choice, and equal opportunity are respected; children’s health is protected from experimental treatments; there is no longer a stigma against same sex love; and everyone is free to dress and express themselves as they like without the sexist strait-jacket of “masculine” and “feminine” sex roles and stereotypes imposed on people based on their sex.  In other words, women’s liberation.

As we work toward such a world, we urge all our supporters to get behind these bills.

 

LESBIAN DEVIL: A BOOK REVIEW

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By Ann Menasche

“Lesbian Devil to Straight Man Saint: a trip through trans hell and back” by Scott Newgent (2024)

Lesbian Devil is a gripping, no-holds-barred, finely crafted page turner that exposes the significant role of homophobia in “transing away the lesbian.” It chronicles Scott Nugent/Kellie King’s life including the myriad influences that conspired to convince a 42-year-old lesbian, successful career woman, and mother that she was born in the “wrong” body and needed to pursue medical transition.  After ingesting cross sex hormones and obtaining multiple drastic surgeries, Kellie emerged with a male appearance – though still a woman – and with her health severely compromised by constant pain and frequent life-threatening infections.  Tellingly, the acceptance and self-acceptance that she sought in a sexist and homophobic world through medical transition continued to elude her.

Kellie also emerged soon afterwards with a profound commitment to save gender non-conforming and lesbian/gay children and teens from a similar fate.

Kellie was a spirited and athletic child who grew into a woman who excelled in business, obtaining an executive position in sales.  Like many other women, including many lesbians, Kellie’s outspoken and competitive personality did not conform to the narrow sexist stereotypes of “femininity”, and she often felt it would have been easier being a man.  Yet, she dressed the part of a professional woman, wore make-up and heels, and did not appear “butch.”  This did not stop the first gender counselor she met with, a trans-identified male, from asking her, “how long have you been dressing as a man, Kellie?”

Though Kellie was not unloved as a child, she experienced significant trauma.  Her father was physically abusive, and her mother struggled with addiction.  As a teen, she was raped. A few years later, Kellie attempted suicide. But to the gender industry, this was irrelevant. All the counselors and doctors Kellie spoke to about transitioning “affirmed” her, led her down the conveyor belt of medical transition without ever asking any questions about her mental health history or even why she wanted to transition.

“Each medical professional I came across guaranteed a utopian paradise on the other side of the transition. I wanted finally to be accepted, loved and seen as straight in this fantasy land.”

The most compelling promise for Kellie was that once transitioned she would escape the stigma of being a lesbian. When Kellie first came out as a lesbian, her grandfather, the greatest source of emotional support in her life, her “guiding light” as she called him, disowned her for being a lesbian.   This was a major blow.

Then some years later, Kelli fell passionately in love with a co-worker, Jacqueline. Jacqueline came from a close knit religious Catholic family and was in a loveless marriage to a man.  What followed was a tumultuous on again, off again relationship where Jacqueline went back and forth with her abusive husband as she struggled to accept herself, and by extension, Kellie, as a lesbian.  Needless to say, Jacqueline’s parents did not accept Kellie and encouraged their daughter to return to her husband.

As Kellie explained, “The vitriol that Jacqueline’s family directed at her was unbearable to my ears.  Their pleas for her to be purified and cast out the so-called demons were incessant.  The yearning for acceptance and sense of belonging and an unconditional love devoid of violence was all I ever sought.  Yet (Jacqueline’s) family painted me as a pariah, undeserving of love from even God himself.”

Jacqueline was quick to embrace the idea that Kellie was really a man and encouraged her transition.

Later, in her transman “disguise,” Kellie got to know and became very close to Jacqueline’s family.  Except for their rabid homophobia, they turned out to be very fine, caring people. As a “man”, Kellie was totally accepted and welcomed into the family circle.  But this acceptance was based on a lie, and she found herself deeply troubled by this deception.  Kellie was still female, still a lesbian.

Much of the book describes Kellie’s struggles with severe medical complications from her surgery, complications that brought her close to death.  She worried about not living long enough to meet her grandchildren.

Finally, breaking it off with Jacqueline, she began to regret the path she had taken.

Yet, there was no going back for Kellie.  The physical changes carved onto her body are permanent.  Kellie graciously forgave Jacqueline and others who had hurt her.  She could forgive everyone but herself.  She writes, “…a more profound forgiveness still eludes me – self-forgiveness.  The mirror reflects a face I do not recognize, physically or spiritually and fills me with hate for myself that I fight daily; it’s my face.  Yet there might be a day when I look into my eyes and find redemption…Still after all these years, I miss Kellie horribly.”

I wish Scott/Kellie healing as she continues her essential work of saving future generations of gender non-conforming children, future generations of lesbians from the false promises and permanent harms of medicalization.

As she frequently proclaims in urging opposition to gender medicalization of children, “Scream louder.”

“Lesbian Devil to Straight Man Saint” can be purchased through Amazon or Barnes and Nobel.  Please purchase  a copy and support Kellie/Scott’s important work. https://www.scottnewgent.com/

ON PRIDE & SHAME

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This is an opinion piece submitted by two lesbian members of FIST and does not necessarily reflect the position of FIST as an organization.

We used to look forward to participating in Pride parades. In the days when they were called Lesbian/Gay Pride, they were political events with a feminist message. In 1977, 5,000 women marched at the head of the Pride March in San Francisco, right behind Dykes on Bikes. Lesbian-feminists spoke and sang from the podium. We needed Pride because our same sex love had been shrouded in shame – the silence and invisibility of the closet, something never demanded of heterosexuals. We were losing jobs, housing, and custody of our kids because we were openly gay or lesbian or because the sex of our partners had been discovered.

But Pride has changed. And we don’t mean the drag. Gender non-conformity including cross-dressing was always extremely common among lesbians and gay men, and was, from the beginning, pervasive at our Pride events. There were always drag queens on elaborate floats in attendance, and women in full butch regalia. But, until quite recently, the idea that cross-dressing and other behaviors that do not conform to sex stereotypes meant your sexed body was “wrong” and in need of medicalization, was exceedingly rare among gay men and almost non-existent among lesbians.

In addition, overt sexual displays such as BDSM did not exist at Pride events to any significant extent until the 1990’s. Lesbian, gays, bisexuals, and our straight supporters always brought their kids to Pride without hesitation. These were not X- rated events. Now they are.

To be blunt, Pride is no longer the event we remember. It has become thoroughly corporatized, pornified, and coopted, a shadow of its former self that was forged in the struggle for lesbian and gay rights.  The extent of the merger that has occurred between Pride and corporate America is a bit shocking.  For example, the list of sponsors of San Diego Pride is a virtual Who’s Who of corporate America. Sponsors include Bank of America, Starbucks, Northrup Gruman, Charles Schwab, Jack-in- the-Box, Coca-Cola, Greystar, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Chevrolet.  There are also sponsors from the medical industrial complex, including Blue California, Kaiser Permanente, Genentech, and notably, Rady’s Children’s Hospital which works in the highly lucrative field of gender medicine, operating the Center for Gender Affirming Care for “children, adolescence and young adults.” 

The community, too, has changed. The growing amalgam of lettered identities introduced heterosexuals into our community and has increasingly marginalized lesbians and gay men. Lesbians especially have been almost completely squeezed out of the community now dominated by the “TQ”. Women’s spaces and cultural events that nurtured and supported lesbians such as the Michigan Women’s Music Festival were labelled “trans-exclusionary” and are now gone; female-only lesbian groups and a lesbian same-sex sexual orientation itself have been redefined as “transphobic bigotry.” A misogynistic and homophobic sex-denying ideology has become dominant and is encouraging the medical transition and sterilization of mostly female teens – tomboys and future lesbians – into facsimiles of the other sex, at great cost to their long-term health.

Pride has also been torn from its roots. Our lesbian and gay history is being rewritten so that we have forgotten that in 1969 drag queens were gay men, rather than “trans”; that it was not transgender identified males but an African-American butch lesbian, Storme DeLarvarie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm%C3%A9_DeLarverie who kicked off Stonewall; and that gays and lesbians, not trans identified individuals, organized the first Pride March. Please listen to the words of Fred Sargeant, who was there. https://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_C9A3B5DB7A6848F7B5F9858C106C6854

So, has Pride outlived its usefulness? Despite the progress we have made since Stonewall, anti-lesbian/gay prejudice continues to run deep within the population. Witness that homophobia – both external and internalized – is one of the main forces propelling medical transition in both children and adults.

In the U.S., lesbians and gay men are still at risk. It was only in 2003 that the Supreme Court in a 6 to 3 decision invalidated sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/539/558/while such laws criminalizing homosexuality between consenting adults remain on the books in Texas and 11 other states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodomy_laws_in_the_United_States#:~:text=As%20of%20May%202023%2C%2012,result%20of%20Lawrence%20v.%20Texas.

We are still not protected by federal laws explicitly prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination. Instead, we have one Supreme Court decision, Bostock v. Clayton County, https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/17-1618_hfci.pdf that protects against employment discrimination based on sexual orientation under sex discrimination; and another, Obergefell v. Hodges, https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/14-556 that recognizes the right to marry a same sex partner. But we have seen how Supreme Court decisions can be quickly reversed as happened regarding the issue of abortion. Justice Thomas has recently called for revisiting both Lawrence and Obergefell. It would be foolish to let our guard down now.  

Large sections of the world present an even more dangerous picture. Places like Iran and Uganda continue to criminalize same sex love, subjecting lesbians, and gay men to the death penalty.

Yes, we still need Pride, as a movement for lesbian/gay rights, not as a market share.  Our liberation from anti-gay prejudice and compulsory heterosexuality has not yet been achieved.

One of the most persistent myths used against us is that we lesbians and gay men are “perverts” who “groom” and molest children to “recruit” to our “lifestyle”. Yes, as in all sectors of society, there are gay people, especially gay men, who think “love” between grown adults and minors is just fine. Pornography has permeated our community just as it has straight society. But the vast majority of our community, both men and women, have long ago and wholeheartedly rejected pedophilia and continues to do so, in part due to having been influenced by a feminist understanding of power and abuse. Moreover, the Catholic Church was far more of a hotbed of sexual abuse of children then the lesbian and gay community is or has ever been.

This reality did not prevent anti-gay right wing Christian fundamentalist forces from campaigning against lesbian/gay rights in the early years based on the risk lesbians and gay men supposedly pose to children. Witness in the late 1970’s the “Save Our Children” campaign of Anita Bryant to overturn local gay rights protections in Florida; and the California Briggs Initiative, one year later, ultimately defeated, that proposed to exclude gay teachers and anyone else in the schools that openly supported lesbian/gay rights.

These arguments seem to be resurfacing once again, from right wing anti-gay politicians like DeSantis who write overly broad bills and policies; and even from members of the our own community who, in fighting against child medical transition and indoctrination of children into gender identity ideology in schools, appear to agree that (open) gays and lesbians are a threat to children and should be kept away from them until they are 18 to avoid the adults being “groomers.” For example, Rainbow Rebellion and Gays Against Groomers are organizing a Pride counter-protest in St. Louis which proclaims, “LGBTQ+ Stay away from the kids.” https://www.trevoices.org/

But lesbian/gay parents and teachers do not threaten children’s safety nor do they “recruit.” Moreover, it should be o.k. to “say gay” in schools, to discuss and read books about same sex families and relationships or learn about lesbian/gay history. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens dating and exploring their same sex sexuality with their peers also deserve our support. The teaching of age-appropriate sex education in schools, including that related to homosexuality, is fine. Even being exposed to cross-dressing or drag is not in itself a risk to kids. Rather, pornified displays by adults whether by drag queens or by Beyonce, Lady Gaga or other similarly hyper-sexualized “straight” performers, are inappropriate for young children.

It is not gays and lesbians, nor, for that matter, individual adults that identify as transgender, that pose a risk to kids. We do not need to stay away from children. Rather, it is the teaching of gender identity ideology to children, whoever does the teaching – that a child may have been born in the “wrong” body which the doctor can “fix” for you, that “feminine” men and boys, and “masculine” women and girls are not really members of their sex, and that biological sex either doesn’t exist, or can be changed. chosen, or overridden by an amorphous feeling called “gender identity” that everyone is supposed to have- which causes children profound confusion and can unleash untold physical harm.

Lesbians and gays are not responsible for how our community has been hijacked. Let’s reject the shame and take-back Pride from our corporate masters. We can fight against child transition while remaining vigilant in defense of lesbian and gay rights and not giving an inch to homophobia. WE WILL NOT GO BACK.

FIST FORUM: SAVING THE TOMBOYS FROM THE MEDICAL ATROCITIES OF CHILD “TRANSITION”

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The medical “transition” of gender non-conforming, mostly lesbian, girls has increased exponentially.  How do we fight it?

JOIN US on AUGUST 13TH at 11:00 a.m.Pacific time, 1:00 p.m. Central, and 2:00 p.m. Eastern for this timely discussion of the harmful practice of medicalization of a growing number of gender non-conforming girls, a majority of whom are lesbian, through use of puberty blockers, wrong sex hormones, double mastectomies, and genital mutilating surgeries. Reserve your tickets now.

Girls are being taught that their non-conformity and same sex attraction mean they have been born in the “wrong” body, with the result that they pursue dangerous treatments before they even reach adulthood, causing permanent harm to their healthy developing bodies and turning them into life-long medical patients. Many of these girls will in a few years join the growing ranks of detransitioners and regretters. Is this the face of the new homophobia? How can we fight back and save new generations of tomboys, lesbians, and future feminists?

TICKETS ONLY $5 – SAVING THE TOMBOYS FROM THE MEDICAL ATROCITIES OF CHILD “TRANSITION” Tickets, Sat, Aug 13, 2022 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite

SPEAKERS:

CAROL is an advisor for de-transitioned people, having gone through transition and de-transition herself. She is a co-founder of Detrans Voices: Detransition Stories, Resources, and Community and a member of LGB Alliance USA | Leading the Fight for Same-Sex Rights She currently co-facilitates a gender dysphoria support group for lesbian and bisexual women through LGB Alliance USA and continues to work on outreach and awareness around de-transition.

ERIN FRIDAY is a licensed attorney in California and the mom of a desister. She is co-leader of Our Duty, U.S. branch, a parent support group for parents of Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoric kids.

T is the founder and national organizer of Lesbians United, a grassroots lesbian-only organization in the U.S. Lesbians United is creating public information campaigns both online and on the street to fight back against the anti-lesbian transgenderist movement.

ANN MENASCHE is a radical feminist, lesbian, socialist, political activist, and co-founder of Feminists in Struggle and Green Alliance for Sex-Based Rights. Growing up in the 1950’s and 60’s, she seriously thought about “transitioning” when she read about Christine Jorgensen, because she yearned for the career opportunities and authority only available to men. The advent of feminism helped her to accept herself for the first time as she dedicated herself to women’s liberation and radical social change.

FIST’s Feminist Forums series are interactive and organizing events. At our forums, women have an opportunity not only to hear interesting speakers on a variety of feminist topics but to meet each other, make comments, ask questions of the presenters and discuss feminist politics together. We also usually tape the events so they may be viewed later. Women in attendance are free to shut off their cameras and mute themselves, should they prefer to do so. If you prefer to remain anonymous within the group, or plan to sign in under a different name from the name you have used for registration and purchase of your ticket, please contact the organizer prior to the event. Thanks.

While some of our events are open to both men and women, THIS IS A FEMALE ONLY EVENT. We ask that our male allies respect our right to meet together as women.

#Save the Tomboys! Defeat SB 107!

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STOP PROMOTING THE TRAVESTY OF SO-CALLED “GENDER AFFIRMING CARE” on CHILDREN!  We Urge a NO Vote on California’s SB 107!

 

California Senator Weiner is at it again. After sponsoring SB 923 that would indoctrinate the medical profession in gender identity ideology, he is now proposing another bill, SB 107 that would turn California into a haven for the medical experimentation on gender non-conforming children, shielding those seeking these interventions from prosecution based on the laws of their state.  There is nothing progressive about this bill; rather it is misogynist, homophobic, and reactionary to its core.

Gender non-conforming minor children and youth, mostly female, and many same-sex-attracted future lesbians and gay men, are being subjected to a ghastly medical experiment that will likely shock the consciences of future generations.   Though covered up by euphemisms like “gender affirming care”, these children are being taught that their gender non-conformity, same sex attractions, and/or unhappiness with their sexed bodies (how many girls hate their bodies growing up under patriarchy?) mean that they were born in the “wrong” body, and they are “transgender”.

Unlike being gay, lesbian, or bisexual, transgender is usually a medicalized identity with the end goal of turning children into a facsimile of the other sex.   Children must “treat” their condition not just by changing names, pronouns, and clothing choices and by denying their sex, but by taking puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones that prevent brain and bones from developing properly, and which result in sterilization, early onset osteoporosis, undeveloped lungs and hearts, and the inability to experience sexual pleasure.

Medicalized young people are also channeled into multiple surgeries, removing or modifying healthy body parts, such as double mastectomy at ages as young as 13, often followed by genitally mutilating surgeries with frequent and severe side effects.  In other words, we are destroying children in order to “save” them.

While other countries, including highly liberal, tolerant societies such as Sweden and Finland, move back from embracing this model of treating societal and emotional problems with major body modifications, California is moving full speed ahead.

As lesbians from the U.S. group, Lesbians United, stated in their recent campaign, #Save the Tomboys, “tomboys need shoes they can run in, not artificial hormones.”  Since 84% of girls diagnosed with “gender dysphoria” are same-sex attracted, the fear that this is indeed an insidious form of reparative conversion therapy targeting and disappearing the next generation of lesbians is a valid one.

Feminists in Struggle, as an organization composed of radical feminists and progressives, holds that children should be free to dress as they like, play with the toys and pursue the interests that they like, and express their personalities freely without sex stereotyping, rather than be medicalized for their gender non-conformity.  No one is born in the “wrong” body.  Children unhappy with their bodies due to sexism, homophobia, and related traumas need psychological support, and to be allowed to grow up whole, not be put under the knife.

We therefore urge the defeat of SB 107. #Save the Tomboys.

See also: LGB Alliance’s post: SB 107: Trans Refuge Legislation and Green Alliance for Sex-Based Rights’ post: California Aspires to Become a Sanctuary State for Those Who Mutilate Children for Profit

SISTERHOOD IS GLOBAL: The Feminist Strikes in Poland

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Feminists in Struggle proudly hosts a panel of grassroots radical feminist activists from Poland to speak about their struggle.

About this event

Hear first hand reports about the challenges facing Polish radical feminists as they fight their anti-abortion right wing government on the one hand and gender ideologues on the other.

Saturday, June 5th, 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 1:00 p.m. Central time; 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.

SPEAKERS and TOPICS:

Hanka Kulikowska: “Broken dream of reproductive freedom. The rise and fall of Women’s Strike.”

Natalia: “Why Poland – a Catholic conservative country is embracing trans ideology? A paradox that’s not really a paradox.”

V.L.: “Lesbians in Poland, the law vs. real life.”

Michalina Bychenko: “Fandon, anime and cosplay culture influence on trans-identified and nonbinary identified popularity in Poland.”

Aleksandra: Radfem and left wing political parties in Poland.

Register for event