This is about trans people in China, from 6 years ago.

Thank you Xi!!!

I was talking about how capitalism and the ruling classes used reactionary tendencies to their benefit, and in comes this:

"I know you're doing a tiny little marxist analysis here, but even without attacking your materialist framework, I don't believe that capitalism is inherently patriarchal, racist etc.

Don't get me wrong, capitalism is inherently hierarchic and can utilize other hierarchies underneath it. However, all these other systems of oppression — racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia... — are entirely accidental to capitalism.

Racism, sexism and homophobia are quite literally mere consequences of the history before capitalism: colonialism demanded racism in order to self-justify, homophobia came from the religious institutions during the feudal period, and sexism emerged way long ago when humans first settled down into sedentary agricultural societies.

None of these are essential or necessary to capitalism: capitalism is in no way defined by their presence, nor are they implied by the essential traits of capitalism. In fact, I dare say that there are sectors within the bourgeoisie that genuinely oppose them and believe that it's simply better for work organization (which, duh, is necessary for exploitation) for all genders, races, sexualities etc to be treated the same so that they can all be maximally productive and maximally exploited. Even if you speak of these prejudices as "a tool to divide and conquer", they are but one tool in the capitalist's box: one which can be replaced if something better is found."

Apparently, historical context and dialectal relationships don't exist to this person. I'm curious as to the response and also why this brain breakage occurs. I hate how to these people oppression and everything else that happens are just isolated, separate, and incidental events, missing the forest for the trees. Kill me.

yeesh

Cry me a river, Elon

In 1966, “Compton’s Cafeteria Riot” erupted in the streets of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district when a group described as transgender women and gay street hustlers fought back against police harassment. Rebellion broke out after a trans customer in the all-night cafe reportedly threw a cup of hot coffee in the face of a cop who was roughing her up. Transgenders and transsexuals threw sugar shakers through windows, overturned tables and torched a police cruiser. (San Francisco Bay Times, March 23, 2006)

On the 40th anniversary of the rebellion this year [2006], community-organized events in San Francisco will commemorate this important milestone uprising. The 1966 events are brought to new generations in the recent film documentary “Screaming Queens” — written, directed and produced by Victor Silverman, an associate professor of history at Pomona College, and Susan Stryker, former executive director of the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco.

In another response to a police raid on two Los Angeles’ bars in 1967, political organizers took their struggle to the streets. That year, as the stroke of midnight ushered in the New Year at The Black Cat bar in Los Angeles’s Silverlake neighborhood, the “The Rhythm Queens” were singing Auld Lang Syne.

Plainclothes cops who had infiltrated the festivities began viciously beating and arresting patrons. Several people tried to escape to the New Faces bar across the street, where a drag contest was taking place. Cops followed and raided that club also, assaulting one of the workers so violently that his spleen ruptured. (The Gay & Lesbian Review, March-April 2006)

In response, more than 200 gay activists and human rights supporters from all walks of life rallied on Feb. 11 at Sanborn and Sunset to protest police brutality and arbitrary arrests and to demand homosexual rights. The rally swelled the membership ranks of a newly and quickly formed, more militant gay group called “PRIDE.” (Stephen O. Murray, lgbtq.com)

And within two short years, the collective anger that was bubbling up would break into a furious boil: Stonewall!

The British Mandate brought anti-sodomy laws to Palestine, a legacy that the […] occupation kept. The French Mandate brought anti-sodomy laws to Lebanon; that’s what Helem is fighting.

Now, today, here, with its first publication, this important anthology, Aswat is opening up a dialogue [in Arabic] with your own people in your own language about your own culture within your own history—​a part of the struggle of the Palestinian people towards the liberation they so richly deserve. You are developing a language of persuasion.

The discussion may not be an easy one—​profound and lasting transformation rarely is—​but those of us who defend your right to self-determination, your sovereignty, will defend the right of the Palestinian people to carry out their internal dialogue without [neocolonial] or U.S. interference or political manipulation.

Today there are some who will try to separate Aswat from the Palestinian struggle and only relate to you on the basis of a universal sexual identity. But those who support your self-determination will not forget that you are linguistically translating your culture, your lives and your self-identities and your struggle to make it easier for those of us who are not fluent in Arabic to understand. But that does not mean that identities like lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, transsexual, intersexual have one universal meaning in all places, for all peoples, for all cultures or in all historical periods.

Colonialism and imperialism have always tried to foment conflicts in order to divide and conquer. In the case of Palestinians, as [the Lebanese LGBTQIA+ group] Helem concluded, “[T]he rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders should not be placed in competition with the long struggle of the Palestinian people, including Palestinian LGBT people, for self-determination, for the right to return to their homes, and the struggle against apartheid and the occupation of their lands.”

Today we see how the [neo]imperialists—​the U.S. to [its neocolony]—​use the experiences of women, of gays, of transgenders as pretexts for [neo]imperialist war. The white supremacist ideology replaces the colonial claim of “bringing civilization” into [neo]imperialist claims that they are “bringing democracy.” But Washington and Tel Aviv have brought ruthless reactionary occupations to the Middle East.

Shows you how transphobic my country really is. Don't get me wrong, the Iranian system seems to be impractical as well, but I'll still say it's better there than here.

Hirschfeld pioneered and promoted new theories of sexuality. He was especially interested in the study of same-sex love and desire. Hirschfeld challenged the common idea at the time that same-sex attraction was a pathological perversion and a vice. Instead, he argued that it was innate or inborn (angeboren). Hirschfeld insisted that a person’s sexuality did not determine their character or personality any more than being born left-handed or right-handed did.

Based on his understanding of same-sex attraction as inborn, Hirschfeld argued that consenting adults should not be discriminated against or punished for their sexuality. His work was guided by the motto, “through science to justice.” He believed that his ideas could reduce prejudice and create the public support needed to reform the German criminal code on issues relating to sex. Hirschfeld advocated for the revision of Paragraph 175. This was the statute of the German criminal code that criminalized sexual relations between men.

In 1897, Hirschfeld co-founded the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee (Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee). For more than 30 years, the committee advocated for the decriminalization of sexual relations between men. The committee repeatedly submitted petitions to revise Paragraph 175. It gathered support from influential citizens and politicians. Ultimately, the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee did not manage to get Paragraph 175 revised. Nonetheless, the committee did spread awareness of its cause. In 1909, it fought against a proposal to criminalize sexual relations between women.

Hirschfeld left the committee in 1929.

Theories of Gender

Hirschfeld was one of the first theorists to promote the concept that a wide variety of gender identities exists. He described a continuous range of unique gender identities, “between which...there are no empty points present but rather unbroken connecting lines.”

As part of his study of gender, Hirschfeld coined the word “Transvestit” (“transvestite”) as a medical and scientific term in 1910. The word came into use in German society at the time as a judgment-free label. However, the term is widely considered offensive today. The German term was an early effort to define non-conforming gender identities. In the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, LGBTQ+ communities have built on and challenged this language.

Hirschfeld defined “transvestites” broadly as people who wore clothing of a different gender than that assigned to them at birth. This category encompassed a wide range of gender non-conforming people. It included those who occasionally dressed or performed in drag as well as people whose gender identities differed from those assigned to them at birth. In contrast to widely accepted ideas of the time, Hirschfeld asserted that people who identified as “transvestites” were not necessarily attracted to members of the same sex. Rather, he argued that their gender identity was distinct from their sexuality.

In the early twentieth century, communities of people who self-identified as “transvestites” grew in Germany, especially in Berlin. Hirschfeld provided many patients with counseling and support as they explored the complexities of their non-conforming gender identities. He also worked with the Berlin police to issue special passes called “Transvestitenschein” (“transvestite certificates”) to several people. These passes helped protect people from being harassed by the police and arrested for disorderly conduct or other such charges.

Hirschfeld believed that both human sexuality and gender identities were simply examples of natural variation. As such, they should have no stereotypes or judgments attached to them. Hirschfeld sought to promote acceptance of those who did not conform to existing sexual or gender norms. He conducted research, collected data, and spread awareness of his ideas and findings.

Oops!

I feel kind of silly. I spent 12-13 years knowing internally that I am a woman. I regularly "pretended" to be a woman online as a kid and teenager. I have always preferred my "feminine" features and appreciated the "feminine" side of my personality far more than the "masculine". I used the nonbinary label as a shield, protecting myself from the truth for years.

I got out of a really rough, codependent relationship in 2023. I was told a lot of really horrible things about myself that I know now aren't true, but believed at the time. A lot of things that had me examining my supposed manhood and the more toxic parts thereof. I "came out" as cis. I created the Men's Liberation community here (and proceeded to not take an active role there due to depression and... well, this.)

I read a lot about masculinity and manhood, and began using my 'maleness' as a means to get better, as a means to do better, to be better. It would allow me to more critically examine the ways I was socialized and more adequately deconstruct them. It did, for a time.

In the midst of my stint with manhood, I met a couple of people who knew the truth. Before we had even spoken to each other beyond base pleasantries, they would talk about me using she/her pronouns. After we got to talking, I felt like I could be queer again, be me again. I have found my people and my home, and in doing so I have managed to find myself again.

I am a woman. I start HRT within the week. I am so, so excited. I am a woman.

I am sick of LGBTQ media being dominated bs soulless corporate Marvelian horseshit so I need some recommendations outside of shitty hentai comics. My favorite media types are anime and video games.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/4150621

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In fact, Rivera’s life would be plenty exciting even if Stonewall hadn’t happened. She fought for queer and trans people; she raised the issue of queerness and transness with the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords Party. She got radicals who were not queer to support the LGBTQIA2S+ community and even convinced queerphobes and transphobes to change their thinking and support the fight for liberation.

There was an emergency happening that would not wait for things to be done the nice way. Gay men, bisexual men and transgender women, such as Angie Xtravaganza and Consuela Cosmetica. were dying.

Members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and allies came together at New York’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center (then called the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center). Kramer asked the crowd if they wanted to start a group dedicated to political activism surrounding HIV and AIDS, and he got a resounding “Yes!” This group was the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power.

There was already an organization that would eventually join ACT UP, the SILENCE=DEATH Collective, responsible for the famous “Silence = Death” poster with the pink triangle. Gay men and trans women were made to wear the pink triangle in [the Third Reich’s] concentration camps.

ACT UP was remarkable in the massive impact it had under the circumstances. Most people in the LGBTQIA2S+ community still wanted to remain in the closet around their sexual or gender identity or HIV+ status, or they wanted to focus on work such as one-on-one peer support for people with AIDS.

[…]

HIV and AIDS were the worst modern tragedies that queer people faced. We must study the radical revolutionaries in order to avoid repeating that devastating epidemic again. ACT UP and its subsidiary Queer Nation serve as examples to LGBTQIA2S+ people of how to respond to unbearable loss and oppression — Fight back!

Hey hey,

I'm in film school and a part of making my thesis film involves writing a theory paper that goes along with it. My film is about two Queer autistic women falling in love. For my paper I want to use Queer Marxist theory, preferably ML, that talks about the revolutionary and liberatory potential of Queer love. How Queer love, and love in general, is oppressed through the capitalist Queerphobic patriarchy as a means of control. To discourage us from forming communities and to not feel responsible for the well-beings of other. My cishet professor told me that Marxism is only class reductionism, he specially said, "class can't explain misogyny", which we Queer communists of course know is ridiculous.

I'll admit I don't know much about Queer Marxist theory or theorists, and just Googling it doesn't really yield any results except one random trot on tumblr. Do any of y'all have any good recommendations?

Yes it is only held up by a fishing pole balanced on a beam.

An article published on Oct. 27, 2023, “The Contradictions of ‘Queers for Palestine’” by Billy Binion in Reason Magazine is a good example of the talking points of [Zionism’s neocolony] and its demagogues. The overarching idea of the article can be summed up in its writer’s own words: “‘Queers for Palestine’ is about as convincing as ‘minks for fur coats.’” This offensive statement implies that the struggle for queer rights is at odds with the liberation of Palestinians. At the heart of this argument is the idea that queer rights are entirely absent within Palestine.

Although “less than perfect,” the author claims that [the neocolony] is one of the most tolerant societies for LGBTQIA+ people. Binion’s reasoning negates the processes of [neo]colonization, of the specific history of [the] occupation, and of queer history. How can it be that one of the most “tolerant societies for queer people” is currently slaughtering Palestinians, including queer Palestinians, at an unprecedented rate?

Is it true that [neocolonial] munitions are somehow capable of differentiating queer Palestinians from the others? Is it true that [neocolonial] bomber pilots are somehow tasked with taking tallies of queer people before deploying firebombs on schools and hospitals? And as for the shutdown of electricity, medical and food aid — does [neocolonialism] maintain a separate border crossing for special aid trucks that deliver supplies specifically to queer people? A society that is said to be “tolerant” of queer people cannot have slaughtered masses of them.

Each successive US generation has seen larger numbers of self-identified non-heterosexuals

FILE PHOTO © Getty Images / David Levingstone

More than one in four (28%) Americans between the ages of 18 and 25, known as Generation Z, identified as LGBTQ in a survey published earlier this week by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).

The figure was the largest percentage recorded for any generation by the pollster, which conducted its research during August and September on a sample of over 6,600 people.

Nearly half of the non-heterosexual Gen Zers said they were bisexual, amounting to 15% of all Gen Z adults. Gays and lesbians (5% of total) were outnumbered by “other” (8%).

Generation Z was far more likely to identify as something other than straight than previous generations. Among millennials, 16% said they were some form of LGBTQ, with gays and lesbians nearly as common as bisexuals (5% vs 7%).

Among Generation X, gays and lesbians actually outnumbered bisexuals (3% vs 2%) among the 7% of the total age group who said they weren’t heterosexual. Even fewer Baby Boomers (4%) and members of the Silent Generation (3%) said they were LGBTQ.

Generation Z was also more racially diverse than any other age group surveyed. Just 52% of adults – and only 50% of teens – described themselves as white, compared to 62% of the total US population. Additionally, they were less likely to politically identify as Republican and more likely to identify as liberal. The survey even suggested there are more LGBTQ Gen Zers than there are Gen Z Republicans, who comprise just 21% of the age group compared to 27% of the total population.

The PRRI did not speculate on possible reasons for the trend, which has accompanied a rapid liberalization of attitudes about homosexuality in American society. Despite this shift, 20% of Gen Z adults said they had experienced hostility or discrimination because of their sexual orientation.

Homosexual acts only stopped being a federal crime in the US following the 2003 Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas, though many states had already scrapped their sodomy laws by this time. The 2014 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalized same-sex marriage, which had been illegal across the US since 1996.

Individual states have since been required to license and perform such marriages, while same-sex couples have been able to adopt children. Just 35 UN member states allow same-sex marriage.

While the PRRI’s numbers echoed previous surveys showing Generation Z is the most LGBT and liberal group to come of age in the US yet, the percentage who identified as something other than heterosexual was significantly higher in this week’s findings than in a similar poll by Gallup last year, which found 19.7% of Gen Z adults aged 18 to 26 self-identified as LGBTQ, compared to 7.2% of the general population.

Abstract

Research on youth can miss important aspects of their lives if this work focuses only on the parent-child relationship. This focus can also overlook Black feminist interventions to understanding the roles of othermothers and can miss how nonparental relatives such as aunts may provide support, housing stability, and safety for youth. On the basis of a mixed-methods longitudinal study with 83 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth in South Texas and the Inland Empire of California, the authors intervene through examining how aunts’ supportive practices shape LGBTQ youth’s experiences of housing stability and safety. The findings empirically demonstrate how LGBTQ-supportive aunting practices, such as educating other family members about LGBTQ people and housing an LGBTQ nibling, actively challenge cisheteronormativity. This study moves forward research on family processes by not focusing on parent-child relationships or LGBTQ “families of choice” to instead examining how aunts can support LGBTQ youth, disrupt cisheteronormativity, and prevent LGBTQ youth from becoming unhoused.