Stop the Harassment and Threats
Against Radical Feminists
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[Note from the editors: Below
find the text of an ad that appears in the December issue of The Progressive. In our view the issue raised warrants a conversation on the revolutionary left. We are therefore reproducing the ad here
as our way of helping to facilitate that discussion.]
As socialists and progressives we are committed to building a united
movement of the left rich in our diversity capable of creating a just,
democratic, and egalitarian society freed from all forms of oppression and
discrimination. To build such a movement for fundamental change will require an
atmosphere of mutual respect, and an ability to tolerate political differences
among our movement sisters and brothers. It will also require a willingness to
engage in open debate and discussion in order to find common ground and build
solidarity among various oppressed groups with at times divergent interests.
Radical feminists have been an essential part of the broader progressive
movement for social justice from the Second Wave of feminism in the 1960s
through the present. Radical feminism puts front and center the question of
female liberation, i.e., how to end female oppression and subordination by a
patriarchal society, therefore raising important issues for the left.
We are therefore disturbed by recent demonization, intimidation, and
threats of violence against radical and lesbian feminists by certain segments
of the transgender community and their supporters who have attempted to silence
feminist voices and have had a chilling effect on the ability to engage in open
discussion and debate on complex issues of sex, gender, and sexuality, a debate
that is sorely needed in order to build an effective and united movement.
These disturbing incidents include the following:
(1) Ann Menasche, a long time social justice activist, socialist, Green,
and civil rights lawyer was cyberbullied on Facebook in March of 2017 by a group
of trans-activists and their supporters. She was labeled a “TERF” (“Trans
Exclusionary Radical Feminist”), “Nazi,” “rapist,” “racist,” and a supporter of
“genocide” who, like other “TERFs” are hateful bigots that deserve to die.
Several people contacted her employer in an unsuccessful attempt to get her
fired from her job. Her “crime” was to respond to a post by writing that persons
born female are oppressed on the basis of sex (a position taken by many leftists
since the time of Karl Marx), and that it was unfortunate that many males fail
to recognize this fact.
(2) Feminists involved in the Vancouver Women’s Library faced similar
threats and epithets by a group calling itself “Trans Communist Cadre” during
its opening night event in February of 2017. Though the library welcomed
transwomen to participate in the event and to join the library, more than two
dozen protesters showed up, blocking and assaulting female patrons, tearing a
poster from the wall, pouring red wine on the bookshelves and books, and
tripping the fire alarm. They labelled library supporters “TERFS” and
“fascists,” demanded that the library take “TERF” books off the shelves (authors
such as Adrienne Rich and Mary Daly) and made groundless accusations of violence
against library founders.
(3) In March of 2017, Tasha-Rose Hodges, a mother of six with children in
the St Paul, Minnesota, school district, announced her candidacy for Board of
Education. The focus of her campaign was to improve the quality of education in
St. Paul and address problems like lead in the drinking water. She had also
taken a strong stand against bullying of any kind in the schools, including on
the basis of gender identity. However, because she had expressed gender-critical
views, within 24 hours of announcing her candidacy, an on-line campaign began
to bully her into dropping out of the race. They described Hodges as a
“loathsome snake,” accusing her of spreading “venom” and “hate,” with one
writer telling her crudely to essentially go home and masturbate. Another
reminded readers “to punch your local TERF.” The harassment escalated to include
death threats. Hodges ended up dropping out of the race because it was no longer
possible for her to focus on the issues that had motivated her campaign to begin
with.
(4) In January, 2017, the Working Class Movement Library in Salford
England, a small volunteer-run library which archives stories of working class
people's lives and activism, announced that it would be hosting feminist
journalist Julie Bindel as a speaker. Julie is a founder of Justice for Women, a
movement for women who live with domestic violence. She was to speak on her
experiences growing up as a working class lesbian. In response, hundreds of
people began a petition campaign demanding that the library rescind the
invitation, claiming that her work and her views on gender constituted bigotry.
Julie was accused of “violence,” and was called a “fascist” and “Nazi.” The
protesters even went so far as to go after the library’s funding. However, many
women around the world voiced their support for her right to speak. Ultimately,
the library did not cave into the pressure to no-platform her, and on February
4, 2017, Julie gave her talk.
(5) In January, 2017, Carey Callahan, a person who has detransitioned from
a transman back to female (not herself a radical feminist), posted on her blog a
link to screen shots of responses a friend of hers, also a de-transitioner, had
received to a post the friend made on twitter. Her friend had tweeted that she
believed there was a need for female-only space. Two transwomen responded by
providing a detailed description of how they would rape her, sending her
pictures of their genitals. Casey, who describes herself as “invested in the
well-being of anyone with gender dysphoria, whether trans-identified or not,”
declared that she was done with taking seriously people who use the word “TERF”
because of the harassment and threats that go along with the word.
Tragically, both radical feminists
and transgender persons experience oppression and violence (overwhelmingly at
the hands of heterosexual males) as a result of the strict gender norms, sexism,
and homophobia of our society. Women as a group are subjected to systemic
physical and sexual violence. Moreover, many radical feminists are lesbians who
remain a marginalized and stigmatized group because of their sexuality. Most
lesbians are also gender nonconforming in other ways and many have themselves
experienced “gender dysphoria.” To the extent that conflicting ideologies and
interests have developed between activists from two oppressed groups—transwomen
and radical feminists—we are challenged to find ways to enhance communication
and debate and to ensure that all voices are heard.
We, the undersigned, as supporters of feminism and progressive politics believe that regardless of one’s views on gender, the tactics of name-calling, no-platforming, and threats to individual feminists’ jobs, livelihoods, and personal safety must be wholeheartedly rejected by progressives. Such tactics have no place on the left. Signers:
Mick Allan—Author, British Labor Party & union
mem-ber: UK • T. Grace Atkinson—Radical Feminist, author: New
York • Jessica Barr—Lesbian Feminist: North Carolina •
Tina Beacock—Lesbian, socialist, Chicago Teacher’s Union member:
Illinois • Julia Beck Jean-Baptiste—Case manager, Dept. of
Health; feminist activist: Maryland • Steve Bloom—New York City
activist, poet, composer: New York • Michael Brackney—Green
Party activist: California • Sandi Brockway—Founder, “Microcosm
USA,” peace & justice activist: California • Ras-Iras
Charles—Non-western progressive, writer on politics/economics: Dominica
• Beth Chopp—Engineer, former union president: California •
Paul Cocksholt—Socialist author, Scottish Republican activist,
Member, Solidarity (Scotland): UK • Kim Cortez—Marxist feminist
writer: Arizona • Max Dashu—Historian, educator & writer: California •
Peter Dolack—Activist, author, writer of “Systemic Disorder”
Blog: New York • Martin DuFresne—Translator, pro-feminist
activist: Canada • Theresa El Amin—Founder & Regional Director, Southern
Anti-Racism Network: Georgia • Marisa Figueiredo—Redstockings:
Massa-chusetts • Mariana Firestone—20 something radical lesbian
feminist & activist: New York • Laurie Fuchs— Founder &
director, Ladyslipper Music: North Carolina • Rochelle
Glickman—Feminist & Green Party member: California • Rick
Greenblatt—Independent Socialist, Green Party activist: California •
Shani Handel—Long-time activist: New Mexico • Carol
Hanisch—Women’s Liberation; co-editor of Meeting Ground On-line: New
York • Kim Harmon—Educator, feminist: Ohio • Chris
Hedges—Author & social critic, “On Contact”: New Jersey •
Pete Healey—Long-time activist: New York • Andrea
Houtman—Long-time socialist & Green Party activist: California •
Rya NT Jones—Trans YouTuber: Wisconsin • Morgan
Laird—Writer, student, radical feminist activist: Texas •
Traven Leyshon—Dual mem-ber Solidarity/Democratic Socialists of
America, socialist labor activist: Vermont • Rachel (“Charlie Rae”)
Lima—Writer, “The Fifth Column”: North Carolina • Merritt
Linden—Lesbian Feminist activist: California • Karla
Lindquist—Domestic violence counselor, reproductive rights and union
activist: Oregon • Fran Luck—Host/Producer, “Joy of
Resistance,” Multi-cultural feminist radio, WBAI: New York • Sherry
Lypsky—Red-stockings: Pennsylvania • Matt Meyer—Int’l
Peace Research Association: New York • Selene Michaels—Visual
artist & feminist activist: New York • Blaine Mogel—College
instructor, Sierra Club & Green Party: California • Nichole
Montoya—Web developer, Housing & Green Party activist: California •
David Morrison—Green Party Activist: California •
Meghan Murphy—Founder & Editor, Feminist Current: Canada •
Lisa Neuman—Translator, Radical Feminist: UK • Damien
Oheix—Factory worker: France • Sarah Palmer—Marxist
freelance writer: Massachusetts • Marge Piercy—Poet, novelist,
memoirist: Massachusetts • Lynne Sandoval—Lesbian-feminist
& Green Party activist: California • Kathie
Sarachild—Redstockings: New York • Kathy
Scarbrough—Women’s Liberation; co-editor of Meeting Ground On-line: New
Jersey • Meg Starr—Resistance in Brooklyn: New York •
Jean-Baptiste Studer—Polemicist; former local secretary,
Movement des Jeunes Communistes de France: France • Linda
Thompson—Past co-chair, Green Party of Connecticut: Connecticut •
Emily Weir—Trade unionist, communist: UK • Parker
Wolf—Radical feminist, Butch Lesbian blogger: Illinois •
Miranda Yardley—Transexual blogger; editor, “Terrorizer” music
magazine: UK
All organizational affiliations for identification purposes
only.
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