anti-transgender folks called-out by Transgender at Law and Disorder conference

[Ele'ill]

http://anarchistnews.org/content/feminists-assaulted-transgender-attack-portland-conference-social-change


Apparently the article being circulated by the 'feminists' is bs. They're known anti-trans feminists with a blog with anti-transgendered stuff on it or something.

As one of the comments states


Context (http://anarchistnews.org/comment/18727#comment-18727)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 05/13/2013 - 02:33 It would have been really helpful if whoever posted this article had started it off by explaining that the article comes from an anti-trans blogger and DGR fan who wanted to spin the story as some kind of grievous misogynistic physical assault. This is not an anarchist article/reportback.








dear whoever wrote this: (http://anarchistnews.org/comment/18728#comment-18728)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 05/13/2013 - 02:35 you are not a feminist. the women "attacked" were not feminists. the transwomen confronting you were feminists. the people supporting the elimination of transphobia and transmisogyny from radical spaces are feminists. you do not belong in radical spaces with your harmful, oppressive bullcrap.






they were allegedly handing out anti-trans literature too

[Ele'ill]

If anyone has more info/links to more articles that would be great.

[evermilion]

I don't mean to divert this thread, but language like "transgendered" suggests that something has deviated transgender people from their "correct" or "natural" gender. I don't mean to pick fights; I just thought to point out that the trans individuals I know have talked to me about this kind of language.

[Ele'ill]

I don't mean to divert this thread, but language like "transgendered" suggests that something has deviated transgender people from their "correct" or "natural" gender. I don't mean to pick fights; I just thought to point out that the trans individuals I know have talked to me about this kind of language.

that's not picking a fight thanks for bringing that up, I am a trans individual but wouldn't it just be 'gendered trans' as in the literal word usages implying a spectrum of gender identification or something?. I can request a thread title change.

[evermilion]

I guess I see how the past tense makes sense in that case, but I understand transgender people find it to suggest that they're deviants.

[Ele'ill]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanne-herman/transgender-or-transgende_b_492922.html

thehuffingtonpost's take on it

[melvin]

what kind of person actually goes out and distributes literature encouraging people to be unaccepting towards what is already the most overall discriminated against section of society (trans people)? jesus christ.

[Ele'ill]

Yeah, I don't know exactly what happened though I haven't seen any real run down of it yet

[Halert]

Those Transphobs make my blood boil.
wanted to post a link to a good article about Transphobs but can't because of low post count :(

[Craig_J]

I don't mean to divert this thread, but language like "transgendered" suggests that something has deviated transgender people from their "correct" or "natural" gender. I don't mean to pick fights; I just thought to point out that the trans individuals I know have talked to me about this kind of language.

I understand where you're coming from, but what other term is there?

[Crixus]

what kind of person actually goes out and distributes literature encouraging people to be unaccepting towards what is already the most overall discriminated against section of society (trans people)? jesus christ.
Radical Feminists who have a raging hard-on for the second wave disdain shown to anything resembling, in their opinion, maleness. It's not some fringe individual these views are widely propagated within the RadFem tradition by professors, theorists and activists who write books, papers and blogs on the subject. Meet Shela Jeffereys:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4rovzt8eS1r6xr9ao1_1280.jpg



Join the argument here:

http://blog.iblamethepatriarchy.com/2006/12/15/any-excuse-to-denigrate-lipstick/#comment-31013

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

what kind of person actually goes out and distributes literature encouraging people to be unaccepting towards what is already the most overall discriminated against section of society (trans people)? jesus christ.

What I want to know is why such people appear to have associated themselves with certain elements of the Deep Green movement.

Do Deep Greens have a known history of transphobic attitudes?

[Asmo]

I understand where you're coming from, but what other term is there?
"Transgender" is the correct terminology. I'm not entirely sure why "transgendered" is wrong, but it is offensive, so you would say "Sam is transgender.", not "Sam is transgendered." or "Sam is a transgender."


What I want to know is why such people appear to have associated themselves with certain elements of the Deep Green movement.

Do Deep Greens have a known history of transphobic attitudes?
Unfortunately, yes they do. I was involved in the Deep Green movement when I was a Primitivist, and a lot of them have really conservative opinions, transphobia included. Apparently it isn't "natural". That's part of the reason why I'm not aligned with them anymore.

[bcbm]

What I want to know is why such people appear to have associated themselves with certain elements of the Deep Green movement.

Do Deep Greens have a known history of transphobic attitudes?

'deep green resistance' is some eco-crypto-maoist shit led by derrick jensen and others and i guess recently (?) they have adopted a pretty second-wave radical feminist thing. not being part of the 'green/primitivist' or whatever movement i cant see how widespread this stuff is, but i know a great many anarchists who hated them before this stuff started coming out and i can't imagine this helping.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Haha, I was actually just going to post "what the fuck is it with DGR and the transphobic shit?" Like why are they obsessed with it...to me it just seems really weird...

Although really Jensen's project to create an eco-IRA or whatever the hell he is on about is pretty weird to begin with.

[Halert]

What transphobes fail to understand is that transgenders genuinely feel that they are born in the wrong body. Most of them feel from a youth that they are actualy a boy or a girl. It's not that think hey today i want to be a woman and tomorrow a man again.

These radical feminist should understand that the struggle of transgender woman is the same as thier struggle namely the struggle against opression of those who are not deemed masculine.

transgender woman are even more kicked down thou.

[Ele'ill]

What transphobes fail to understand is that transgenders genuinely feel that they are born in the wrong body. Most of them feel from a youth that they are actualy a boy or a girl. It's not that think hey today i want to be a woman and tomorrow a man again.

These radical feminist should understand that the struggle of transgender woman is the same as thier struggle namely the struggle against opression of those who are not deemed masculine.

transgender woman are even more kicked down thou.


just want to point out though that some would say gender or transgender isn't just man-woman woman-man it's a spectrum that those fall under

[blake 3:17]

Couple of links: http://gendertrender.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/feminists-assaulted-in-transgender-attack-at-portland-conference-for-social-change-womens-books-destroyed-and-bodies-defaced-with-permanent-magic-markers/

http://revenge-of-the-witches.tumblr.com/post/50308488619/derrick-jensen-cathy-brennan-chummin-it-up-here

Yuck.

[Ele'ill]

some pretty interesting stuff here apparently this issue is now front and center

http://www.decolonizingyoga.com/how-derrick-jensens-deep-green-resistance-supports-transphobia/

[blake 3:17]

It doesn't really surprise me. I've thought Jensen an idiot for ever, but you know, you got to give some space, and rethink things, and on and on.

A friend helped put a talk of his on a few years ago. He was opposed to it, but the small collective he was in was for it, so respected the decision. The main thing he noted about the talk was that macho straight dudes were really into into it and women and queers weren't.

I think an ecological politics does require an idea of essence, and by necessity, must be essentialist. But I think socialist politics do too. Anyways, these shitheads are, in essence, hateful shitheads.

After the revolution, they will be very free to gather nuts and express their primal beings and leave people alone. Let's hope it's before the revolution.

[Ele'ill]

I've found some of Jensen's stuff interesting, I enjoyed parts of his books, I've seen a lot of the criticisms of industry in fliers and photos passed around on facebook and they are alright, but I had no idea that this is what DGR was. I see from the site I linked to above that in 2012 there were a series of splits (I think) but I know a lot of people who were passively following DGR's line of thought are now furious after making the connection based off these recent events.

[blake 3:17]

The gender/sexuality stuff was over the top terrible for a long time, stupid Robert Bly crap, finding your inner caveman. Which is a perfect fit for a rad fem gender essentialist politic and praxis.

I'm into Heidegger these days, which doesn't endear me to many of my Marxist friends. An intellectual/art buddy is into Zerzan as an intellectual provocateur. I was pretty astounded by Mike Davis' Late Victorian Holocausts which puts forward some very very interesting history and ideas around colonialism, capitalism, genocide, and climate change.

On concrete political questions, I mostly take leadership on these issues from the Indigenous Earth Network: http://www.ienearth.org/ Folks mean what they say, and link up environmental struggles with other social justice campaigns and perspectives. And they get stuff done.

[Althusser]

Don't take my ignorance for discrimination, but I never understood what it meant to be transgender. Straight/gay I understand, but what does someone who is transgender feel? What does it mean to feel you're a woman trapped in a man's body or visa versa? I feel it kind of gives the idea that people "think like men" and "think like women." I guess societal projections of "what makes a man" and "what makes a woman" have some say in this, no? Would the complete smashing of patriarchy and the equalization of men and women (destroying all gender roles and preconceptions posed on people by society) would less people be transgender because there's no line between what patriarchal society says men and women think and feel? (and since people are a product of their material conditions, men and women conform to this.) I've gone off on a tangent... and obviously I'm against discrimination, which this thought shouldn't be mistaken for.

[blake 3:17]

@ ☭ -- That's for Learning. This thread is on a specific issue, which is maybe getting blurry, because of the discussion. There are oodles of resources out there. Thank you.

[Ele'ill]

Don't take my ignorance for discrimination, but I never understood what it meant to be transgender. Straight/gay I understand, but what does someone who is transgender feel? What does it mean to feel you're a woman trapped in a man's body or visa versa? I feel it kind of gives the idea that people "think like men" and "think like women." I guess societal projections of "what makes a man" and "what makes a woman" have some say in this, no? Would the complete smashing of patriarchy and the equalization of men and women (destroying all gender roles and preconceptions posed on people by society) would less people be transgender because there's no line between what patriarchal society says men and women think and feel? (and since people are a product of their material conditions, men and women conform to this.) I've gone off on a tangent... and obviously I'm against discrimination, which this thought shouldn't be mistaken for.

huge photo and I can't find the better version of it but it explains it a little although some may disagree with some parts of it- my roommate has said they don't really like


http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/108909209.png

[Ele'ill]

Earth First Journal shit canning, rejecting and refusing to post DGR articles- for what it's worth

https://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/deep-green-transphobia/


The Earth First! Journal collective is dedicated to providing our readers with views from diverse groups, from Earth First!ers on the frontlines to conservative farmers’ struggling against the Keystone XL Pipeline or fracking; from the Move 9 and all political prisoners to Zapatistas, liberal climate change media stars, pacifist Quakers against mountaintop removal and bomb throwing anarchists in Mexico and Greece. It is our goal to print stories and analysis that spark relevant discussion, new alliances, necessary schisms and resistance.
However, in light of DGR’s continued assault on trans people, with language and analysis that denies the struggles of trans-people and even goes so far as to deny the value, worth and power of their existence in radical movements, labeling trans people as somehow “not real,” or as Post-Modern manifestations of individualism, the Earth First! Journal collective will no longer print or in any way promote DGR material. While we don’t need to agree with an individual or organization to find their words or actions relevant for discussion we will not continue to include those whose core expression of values continues to promote exclusion and oppression.
We may continue, from time to time, to publish articles that cover DGR actions and philosophy in order to continue the dialogue around the very serious concerns that have been raised over DGR’s organizational values and practices.
We formally request that Lierre Keith look deeper into the issues effecting trans communities in order to understand the damage her attacks on trans agency and motivations have caused and will continue to cause. Likewise, we request the same thing of all DGR organizers and furthermore request that DGR create gender inclusive workshops at future DGR gatherings.
We’d like to echo the words of Aric McBay, the predominant writer of Deep Green Resistance who, because of DGR’s transphobic stance, has severed himself from DGR:
“I left the organization at the beginning of 2012 after a trans inclusive policy was cancelled by Derrick Jensen and Lierre Keith. Many good people and good activists left the organization for that reason.
I find these transphobic attitudes to be disgusting and deeply troubling, and it bothers me a lot to have any past association with people promoting transphobia.
For me, trans rights and trans inclusion are fundamental to building effective movements and to building a world worth living in. Speaking as the main author of the book that inspired the organization in the first place: they are most definitely my core values.
And transphobia–like racism and sexism and classism and homophobia–is a poison that those in power use to destroy movements and ruin lives. When faced with such poisons, who needs COINTELPRO?
Solidarity between movements is the only hope we have.”

[Palmares]

I am surprised Lierre Kieth, who is the crux of this discussion in my understanding, was only mentioned in the post before this one.

It is her, who is the main element of the transphobia here. It's her version of radical feminism, where trans women are not accepted as women. I remember hearing similar arguments at a university where they tried to introduce non-gendered toilets.

And just for the record, this transphobia has nothing to do with anti-civilisation politics in of itself. Many green anarchists, primitivists, etc have expressed criticisms of what came to be DGR. And when it came into being, from the similarly named book (and don't forget the pie throwing incident at the Bay area bookfair), it became out-and-out war. DGR are not anarchists, they are transphobic, and have shit politics.

I am very pleased to hear Aric McBay has left them.

P.S. The below link is an example of Lierre Kieth's transphobia.

http://veganideal.mayfirst.org/content/lierre-keith-case-study-anti-trans-hatred

[cynicles]

Since most of these so called "radical feminists" think so highly of Andrea Dworkin I think it's helpful to bring up some of the things Dworkin had to say on trans issues. (Inspite of my vast disagreements with her on issues outside of he area of study, feminism, and even some things in feminism she is worth reading and very important)


Transsexuality is currently considered a gender disorder, that is, a person learns a gender role which contradicts his/her visible sex. It is a "disease" with a cure: a sex-change operation will change the person's visible sex and make it consonant with the person's felt identity.
Since we know very little about sex identity, and since psychiatrists are committed to the propagation of the cultural structure as it is, it would be premature and not very intelligent to accept the psychiatric judgement that transsexuality is caused by a faulty socialization. More probably, transsexuality is caused by a faulty society. Transsexuality can be defined as one particular formation of our general multisexuality which is unable to achieve its natural development because of extremely adverse social conditions.
There is no doubt that in the culture of male-female discreteness, transsexuality is a disaster for the individual transsexual. Every transsexual, white, black, man, woman, rich, poor, is in a state of primary emergency as a transsexual. There are 3 crucial points here.
One, every transsexual has the right to survival on his/her own terms. That means every transsexual is entitled to a sex-change operation, and it should be provided by the community as one of its functions. This is an emergency measure for an emergency condition.
Two, by changing our premises about men and women, role-playing and polarity, the social situation of transsexuals will be transformed, and transsexuals will be integrated into community, no longer persecuted and despised.
Three, community built on androgynous identity will mean the end of transsexuality as we know it. Either the transsexual will be able to expand his/her sexuality into a fluid androgyny, or, as roles disppear, the phenomenon of transsexuality will disappear and that energy will be transformed into new modes of sexual identity and behavior.

Full article here:http://www.womanist-musings.com/2009/08/andrea-dworkin-on-transgender.html

Dworkin takes the correct, radical and nuanced understanding of what gender is and approaches the issue the way, atleast I think so, any real radical or revolutionary should. Grounding herself in reality, unlike the so many RadFems who claim to follow her but in reality abuse her work to justify their own bigotry and bile.

[Il Medico]

huge photo and I can't find the better version of it but it explains it a little although some may disagree with some parts of it- my roommate has said they don't really like


http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/108909209.png
I was surprised to see androgyne under the trans umbrella. I consider myself androgynous, but I don't really see myself as transgender. I'm pretty comfortable with my birth sex, even if I'm not always happy with it. Dunno, I've always seen it as being androgynous but male androgynous. Like, I don't really consider myself fully masculine male or feminine female gender wise, but rather something in between. At the same time though I still am a 'guy', if that makes any sense.

[Ele'ill]

https://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/deep-green-reclamation/


Deep Green Resignation and Reclamation (https://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/deep-green-reclamation/)

16 May (https://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/deep-green-reclamation/) by former members of DGR Portland
We, former members of the Deep Green Resistance Portland chapter, are hereby severing our ties with Deep Green Resistance and especially with Derrick Jensen and Lierre Keith.
We want to make it very clear that it is in spite of, not because of, the bullying and harassment we have personally received since last weekend that we are standing by our principles and refusing to devolve into hatefulness. Individuals involved have received personal attacks including rape and death threats and we find that abhorrent and, when disproportionately targeted towards women, misogynistic as well. We renounce trans*phobic statements made by Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith, and other members of DGR. We are in solidarity with the many biocentric and anti-civilization people of any gender who are against all forms of oppression and will not accept bigotry in any form.

We joined DGR because we agree and continue to agree with DGR’s analysis of civilization, its stated anti-oppressive politics, and its commitment to strategic action when the earth is being destroyed. We have grown increasingly concerned with DGR’s decision-making structure which lies exclusively in the hands of the three-person advisory board: Jensen, Keith, and Saba Malik, and a half-dozen hand-picked staff members. The staff members are all young, all lacking in much non-DGR organizing experience, and often reside in Crescent City with Lierre Keith. The process for the selection of staff and board members is unclear, and requests for clarification of the decision-making process have been aggressively shut down.
During the DGR Spring Conference a few months ago that produced this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot8cBm0YmXo&feature=youtu.be), it was made very clear to the participants during this presentation and other presentations on gender that dissent or even questions from within the organization were unwelcome.
In the last few days, we have become dismayed with Derrick Jensen and Lierre Keith’s insistence on exaggerating and manipulating the facts about what occurred at the Law and Disorder conference in order to gain public sympathy and to aggressively push their trans*phobic agenda. This includes deliberately misgendering people against their wishes in order to spin the event as an act of male violence against women. They have acted at the expense of DGR Portland members’ well-being and reputation and at the expense of the DGR organization’s ability to do work in the radical community. On Tuesday we, along with other members of DGR Portland, issued a statement (see the May 14th post on the DGR Portland Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/dgrportland)). Derrick Jensen immediately called that response “horrible” and “victim blaming” and told us to take it down, and proposed this statement (http://www.deepgreenresistance.org/incidents-this-weekend/) instead. On Wednesday, the advisory board made it clear that they maintain centralized authority over DGR chapters, especially in crisis situations.
We’re not against the delegation of authority or against leadership, but we are against unclear centralized decision-making structures and against a climate where questioning authority is discouraged. Unquestioning embrace of a small, centralized authority; member isolation; a climate that discourages member dissent; and an us-versus-them mentality are all characteristics of a cult. We are increasingly concerned about these and other unhealthy power dynamics within DGR.
We think the disintegration of organizations and hostility in communities is in fact a tragedy. We know for a fact there are many wonderful individuals who are involved with DGR and we don’t believe that the rank-and-file of DGR stand behind the hostile and hurtful views of the DGR leadership.
We know that many have joined DGR because the radical environmental movement largely remains ineffective in the face of global catastrophe, and much of the analysis in the Deep Green Resistance book accurately assesses the dire state of affairs. We still support the majority of the writing and analysis of Jensen and Keith and hope their books, as well as the book Deep Green Resistance, will be judged on their own merits. Too few organizations exist that actively denounce industrial civilization and are willing to act with urgency against the biocrisis, and fewer still are willing to do so with an anti-oppressive and especially with a feminist analysis.
To the members of Deep Green Resistance: We invite you to join us, and to reconsider your allegiance to an ineffective and toxic leadership. Your best opportunities to take a stand against civilization are away from the isolating and divisive stances perpetuated by DGR leadership.
To the other former members of Deep Green Resistance who have left the organization and who are speaking out against DGR’s toxic leadership: We invite you to join us. We want to talk and share stories and to heal together. We believe we can build communities of resistance away from DGR.
To the members of the radical community who have acted against DGR: We invite you to join us as well. It’s easy to tear down and harder to build. We invite you to now target those who are killing the planet and to build uncompromising organizations in the face of oppression and civilization with us.
The last few days have been personally hurtful and traumatic and our mental and emotional health and lives have suffered, but it’s clear who our friends and allies are.
We will continue organizing together as Resistance Portland, and invite others to join us.