Trans resistance in an oppressive world

Pride is a protest. It is rooted in the long history of grassroots activism from our elders who refused to stay hidden and resisted merely by being their authentic selves. Trans people have always been at the frontlines in the fight for LGBTQI+ rights – from Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera who organised early trans community activism in the US through the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) to Lou Sullivan who formed one of the first FTM (female-to-male) advocacy organisations in FTM International.

Around the world trans and gender non-conforming community are under attack from “gender critical” narratives and policies that seek to erase their existence – and this is all directly linked to the rise of the far-right. So this month at MobLab we wanted to highlight the ways that trans activists around the world are resisting the anti-trans policies and narratives that are attacking their communities, and what we can all learn as campaigners from them.

Anti-trans movement’s links to far-right

Over the last few years we have seen far right anti-rights forces take hold across the world. If we are to successfully fight back we need to understand how anti-trans activists and movements are funded by the far right and work together to further their agendas. The Social Change Library have created a vital guide to understanding the anti-trans movement, from the ideologies that drive it to the methods that they organise. Here are some key takeaways from the Anti-Trans Movement Framework:

• The anti-trans movement is made up of three main wings that are highly coordinated and collaborative. They share each other’s research and platform each other’s work and ideas.
• The movement is a coalition of people campaigning to establish the supremacy of cisgender women, far-right actors that strategically campaign against trans rights to win political power, and disinformation organisations producing information aimed at undermining public support of gender affirming care.
• These wings work to a shared agenda of eliminating the rights of trans people, banning gender affirming care, institutionalising anti-trans conversion practices, barring trans people’s participation in public life, and increasing public hostility against trans people.
• These different groups and actors are often funded by far-right think tanks, the fossil fuel industry, and billionaires. Therefore, the anti-trans movement is linked to broader anti-rights and climate denialist agendas. 

Grassroots trans activists resisting hate

Amidst increasing hate and attacks on their existence, trans and gender non-conforming people are building community and mobilising against anti-trans hate by being their full and unapologetic selves. So let’s celebrate trans community activism this month by sharing key lessons from the movement:

• Decolonising ideas about gender identity – people have always existed outside of the gender binary and modern gender norms. These communities work to assert and celebrate their identities, outside of colonial norms and rejecting erasure. From the Muxecommunity of Mexico, the Bissu community of Indonesia, Two-Spiritpeople of North America, and Ugandan mothers challenging the notion that queer rights are un-African.
• Building solidarity by telling our own stories – trans activists are using TikTok’s engagement based algorithm to tackle anti-queer narratives in Zimbabwe. In London the Museum of Transologycurated an exhibition of trans history in the UK using donated items from the community in a beautiful celebration of trans life in the UK.
• Community led action – there is so much power in trans people organising their own campaign actions and building their own narratives. From the #FuriaTransvesti movement in Argentina that fought for gender identity laws, to the Justice For Sisters campaign against anti-LGBT signs in Malaysia.
• Solidarity across communities – A key part of movement building is outreach and community building. Queer and trans run soup kitchens and refuges that welcome everyone, such as Casa Trans in Bolivia and Manos Amigues in Mexico City.
• Intersectionality builds bridges and movements – These groups are creating queer and trans approaches to tackling deeper systemic issues in our society; the TransLatin@ Coalition in the USA resisting attacks from the Trump administration, Queer and Trans campaigners in Zimbabwe mobilising against climate change, and an LGBTQ refugee community in East Africa take to TikTok to raise money for their HIV medication following the closure of USAID. Also, read this piece where Nim Ralph (member of the MobLab team) discusses why trans liberation is a class issue.
• Celebrating and affirming our identities – Trans and queer activists teach us the importance of celebration in our activism. Sometimes existing as your true self is an act of joyous resistance, and affirming our identities and values is an important part of activism. From trans led protests against anti-trans Supreme Court ruling in the UK, queer and trans people holding pride marches amidst the backdrop of anti-LGBT politics in Turkey and Hungary, to Trans women in Thailand turning annual military conscription events into celebrations of their trans identity.

Standing with trans and queer communities

This month, and always, we must stand with the Trans and gender non-conforming community in their fight against anti-trans narratives. Here are ways that you can take action:

1. If you’re a funder, then proactively fund grassroots trans and queer led organisations.
2. If you’re a campaigner, build relationships with grassroots trans and queer activists and organisations as their expertise adds so much value.
3. Amplify the voices and campaign actions of trans and queer activists. These are just some of the activists working to tackle transphobia and queerphobia, there are many more with limited resources and little online presence so amplifying their voices and actions matters.

So happy pride month to all our readers. May it be filled with joy and give you the energy to resist anti-trans and anti-queer narratives so we can all live as our full authentic selves.

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