A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #346 - Analysis: Trans struggles and anti-fascism, an inseparable duo (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Across the world, the far right is known for its regular attacks on 
LGBTI rights and explicitly targets trans people at all levels. In 
France, the anti-trans backlash is vigorous, promoted by the State, and 
follows the fascisation of the West. It is imperative to think of a 
united and inclusive anti-fascism and to work towards an anti-fascist 
perspective in LGBTI struggles. ---- In France, state transphobia has 
come a long way and the government is promoting this deadly ideology. 
During the last reshuffle, Aurore Bergé (who had already invited to the 
Élysée, during the summer of 2022, Dora Moutot and Marguerite Stern, 
public figures known for their anti-trans positions) was appointed to 
the ministry responsible for Equality between women and men in the fight 
against discrimination.

If the State and the reformist left highlight the homosexuality of 
Gabriel Attal, now Prime Minister, as a guarantee of progress, the 
message is indeed that of equality which will not be achieved with trans 
people. However, this discourse permeates the whole of society and we 
find transphobic relays in the environmentalist community or among 
so-called feminist movements.

Today, transphobia is directly enshrined in the laws. A decree of 
December 19 establishes for a period of six years the systematic 
recording of people changing their surname or first name. In addition to 
the Immigration law, this text ratifies police surveillance of 
immigrants and trans people, two populations among the most likely to 
change their name, and seals the association of racism and transphobia.
At the state level, transphobia is no longer limited to an aspect of 
communication: this marks a first step joining the impulse of 
transphobic legislation already established in other countries where 
fascists are in power, such as Italy or Hungary .
A reactionary and global image of society
Trans people are a prime target of fascists. The construction of an 
internal enemy, which we find throughout the history of fascist 
movements, is a strategic tool for uniting and building a union of the 
rights.
It is also a lever for recruiting activists and imposing their 
reactionary vision of society. For the far right, the existence of trans 
people undermines the model of the patriarchal family and the gendered 
and sexual division of society. This current model of the patriarchal 
family is part of a white and Western vision, which was imposed by 
colonialism through invisibility and sometimes accompanied by genocides 
of other cultures and societies.
Transphobic attacks are illustrated by the offensive against abortion 
and extend to all reproductive rights, particularly those of trans 
people. The stated aim is to provoke a moral panic which imposes itself 
in the public debate. The right capitalizes on identity and develops its 
rhetoric around this idea, particularly trans identity, while lobbying 
on several issues simultaneously. The core of anti-trans hatred is 
fascist, rooted in white supremacy.
Fascist movements benefit greatly from media and institutional relay; 
they also exploit social networks of which they have an almost 
professional mastery as evidenced by Gamergate (an online sexist 
harassment campaign targeting journalists and developers).
The femonationalist current joins them, built on a biologizing 
essentialism which takes up the confusionist discourse carried by the 
extreme right. This confusionism combines these new tropes with classic 
rhetoric of anti-Semitism, for example by spreading the idea that George 
Soros finances the trans movement and is himself at the origin of 
conspiracies on a global scale. Faced with this state of affairs, we 
need intersectional anti-fascism.
Combining trans and antifa struggles
If anti-fascism must take an active part in trans struggles, there is 
also a need to bring an anti-fascist vision of the LGBTI struggle. This 
involves dialogue and construction with LGBTI struggle associations and 
collectives as well as highlighting the rights of trans people whenever 
possible. This work is still to be completed.
Anti-fascist collectives like La Horde regret a lack of coordination 
between those involved in the struggles for LGBTI rights and antifa. 
Historically, anti-fascism has been dominated by virilism and a lack of 
inclusion. Antifa collectives became involved late in the fights for the 
rights of trans people and more broadly for the rights of LGBTI people 
and feminist struggles. In 1984, the Scalp (Section squarely anti Le 
Pen) already reported an ambient machismo in its ranks.

In recent years, the conquest of new rights for LGBTI people and the 
rise of fascism have highlighted the need to think about these struggles 
in complementarity. Faced with the experience of invisibility in 
activist circles, collectives claiming belonging to anti-fascism and 
LGBTI communities such as Paris Queer Antifa were created.

The image conveyed by the media of antifa corresponds to that of the 
black block, i.e. a hooded man going into physical confrontation. This 
shows a very virilist vision, where violence predominates and ultimately 
a binary and spectacular vision of the confrontation between fascists 
and anti-fascists. Anti-fascism suffers from this romanticized image of 
the urban guerrilla and a distorted vision of the concept of 
self-defense, understood here only from the angle of physical confrontation.

This has led to an isolation of the anti-fascist movement which does not 
benefit any social struggle. The reality of anti-fascism is the 
diversity of means of action and registers ranging from popular 
education to street mobilization and links with other emancipation 
movements. In this sense, it is imperative to think about trans 
struggles and antifa struggles to enable the organization of the social 
movement and provide a common political perspective.

Trans struggles have built militant knowledge, a trans culture shared 
between its different actors in order to survive and combat the hatred 
they encounter. Bringing to life a common culture and the collective 
memory of struggles is an integral part of anti-fascism.

Solid theoretical foundations are also necessary. In this sense, the 
motion "For a trans counter-offensive"[1]is a major step in the 
reflections carried out by UCL for a non-dogmatic trans materialism. It 
is also a major step for the development of a unitary strategy in our 
social camp and the construction of concrete solidarity. As an 
organization, it will be imperative to bring this text to life on the 
ground.

Sarah (UCL Montpellier)

To validate
[1]Text voted at the 2nd UCL Congress in November 2023, to be found in 
full on our website or in summary in the Antipatriarchy pages of this issue.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Analyse-Luttes-trans-et-antifascisme-un-duo-indissociable
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