There’s no going back for LGBTQ+ people – Girly Juice

This post is part of Julia Serano’s recommendations for action today on behalf of LGBTQ+ people and their allies.

It’s a scary time to be queer or trans — but especially transsexual.

In the months leading up to the latest US election, the unhinged right-wing called queers trolls and pedophiles, brutally politicized the horrific deaths of trans people, and spent $215 million About anti-trans attack ads. (God, can you imagine if that money was used for something truly useful, like housing or famine relief?)

Republicans are upset with us, and not just because so few of us voted for them (I mean, why the fuck meeting us? ! ) But because of what we stand for: sexual orientation and gender are neither fixed nor binary, which means sex-based and gender-based power hierarchies have always been artificial and meaningless.

I also suspect there’s a tinge of subconscious jealousy in these bigots’ behavior – not because I think they’re necessarily queer or trans per se, but because I think many of them feel trapped in conservative cis in the humdrum of heterosexual life, and they are angry that we dare to build our own lives, to be ourselves, rather than just grabbing something off the shelf.

But while Republicans spewing virulent hate is to be expected, what’s even more surprising is when members of the LGBTQ+ community throw each other Under the bus. People have always done it, but we’ve seen more and more people do it since the election: Many Democrats, some of whom are queer, see trans rights as a sticking point that could cause us to lose the election, or they Essentially arguing that we need to “choose our battles” and that basic civil rights for trans people is not a battle worth picking.

Obviously, this is despicable. It’s despicable, not just because it’s cruel to abandon an already disadvantaged community, not just because everyone deserves human rights, but because queer struggles and trans struggles go hand in hand. Right-wing fanatics hate queer people for many of the same reasons they hate trans people, and vice versa.

I mean, damn, a lot of people don’t even know Differences Between Queer and Transgender! They have a deep-seated hatred of sexual predators and gender deviants (…except, obviously, cis male rapists, who give them jobs), and they portray that hatred all Our horizons are very broad. We don’t all get treated the same, and certainly some of us are more privileged than others (myself included, as a white gay cis woman who can “pass” as straight in some situations) – but against all I believe that we all originate from more or less the same place.

This is why our social and political goals have long been aligned, this is why we often lump ourselves under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, and this is why cisgender queer people not caring about trans issues is ridiculous to me. As the Reverend Martin Niemöller reminded us in his famous 1946 poem “First They Came…” your obedience and silence will not save you from the wrath of the fascists . They will also come to you. The Leopard Face Eating Party will eat a weird face as easily and happily as it would a transsexual.

So when I say LGBTQ+ people are Not going backI mean, we refuse to give up our hard-won rights and freedoms – and I mean, we should never go back to a divided group with different goals and different strategies. We need to come together now more than ever. We need to support each other. We need to fight this madness and Taking care of each other and ourselves at the same time. It’s the only damn way forward.

If you agree with this goal, here are some specific things you can do:

• If you are in the United States, contact your senators, state legislators, or even local politicians to make it clear that you refuse to tolerate the rollback of rights and protections for LGBTQ+ people, and that you will vote elsewhere if they cannot commit to doing so next Action, there will be an election. If you’re not sure what to say, borrow a script from Julia Serano.

• If you have some extra money, consider donating to organizations fighting for queer and transgender rights, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or Advocates for Transgender Equality (A4TE).

• You may also consider donating to organizations that directly help transgender people, such as GLITS, Trans Lifeline, or a mutual aid fund in your community.

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