OWS Must Resist Cis-Supremacy and Trans-Misogyny
http://infrontandcenter.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/ows-must-resist-cis-supremacy-and-trans-misogyny/Editor's Note: We received this statement from a trans friend in the Occupy Wall Street movement and are publishing it here to highlight the importance of inclusiveness in our movement. We denounce transphobia in all its forms and stand in solidarity with our transgender comrades.
As feminists, we enthusiastically support women's groups and women designated safer spaces, but as trans women and allies, we oppose (and will categorically block) any group or space that excludes trans women[1], as well as any standard that functionally asserts authority over our self-determined gender identities[2]. Most immediately, all of us—transgender and cisgender alike—must stand together to block the trans-excluding affinity groups "Women Occupying Nations" and "Strong Women" from Spokes Council participation.
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For decades—from the Stonewall Rebellion to Occupy Wall Street—trans women have stood at the forefront of social justice movements, often at great personal risk. But even within these movements, trans women have been excluded, silenced, shamed, and abandoned as political liabilities. Since mid-July, trans women have played a critical role in OWS, including the creation and operation of
OccupyWallSt.org, the de facto voice of the global Occupy movement. Nonetheless, we are prepared to leave the New York General Assembly and its empowered Spokes Council en masse if trans-excluding groups, spaces, and individuals continue to be tolerated by this body.
