Leaders & Allies Arrested Protesting Nancy Mace’s Anti-Trans Bathroom Bills

Social Justice Leaders & Allies Arrested On Capitol Hill Protesting Nancy Mace’s Anti-Trans Bathroom Bills

Battleground Bathroom Protest Staged by Gender Liberation Movement: LGBTQ Activists & Allies Occupy Congressional Bathroom 

Washington, DC, December 5, 2024 ––– Gender Liberation Movement (GLM) led dozens of social justice activists and allies in a “Bathroom Sit-In” at a congressional bathroom. This location was targeted for its proximity to Rep. Nancy Mace's office in response to her proposed building policy banning transgender people from using restrooms in government buildings. Notable protesters include whistleblower Chelsea Manning, GLM co-founder Raquel Willis, abortion liberation activist Renee Bracey Sherman, and other social justice leaders. Many risked arrest to demand elected officials block the proposed expanded bill H. RES. 1579 that would ban bathroom access for trans people in all federal buildings and could extend to educational institutions, museums, and other public landmarks. 

While Rep. Sarah McBride, the first openly trans state senator, has been an initial target of this bigoted policy, the impact has been far-reaching. This bill will hurt trans people at every level of government and in every sector of society and the attacks won’t stop there. Cisgender people who are perceived as gender non-conforming will continue to be policed in public restrooms and denied access as well.

This bathroom sit-in sets an example of the righteous defiance and solidarity needed under a second Trump administration. Cis, trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming folks will have to defend, protect, and fight alongside each other. For this action, cis and trans women demanded an end to bathroom bigotry and preservation of our shared spaces while cis and trans men blocked and protected the entrance to the bathroom. Survivors of sexual violence also demanded that anti-trans bigots stop spreading disinformation about trans people who are disproportionately the victims of violence not perpetrators of it.

“Everyone deserves to use the restroom without fear of discrimination or violence. Trans folks are no different. We deserve dignity and respect and we will fight until we get it,” said GLM co-founder Raquel Willis, “In the 2024 election, trans folks were left to fend for ourselves after nearly $200 million of attack ads were disseminated across the United States. Now, as Republican politicians, try to remove us from public life, Democratic leaders are silent as hell. But we can’t transform bigotry and hate with inaction. We must confront it head on. Democrats must rise up, filibuster, and block this bill.”

In 2015, Republicans made their first push for bathroom bigotry with North Carolina’s HB2 law. That legislation targeted trans people’s access to bathrooms in the state. However, LGBTQ+ movement leaders, conscientious elected officials, and corporations opposed these attacks with boycotts and it cost North Carolina millions of dollars. Year after year, the GOP has relentlessly increased its efforts, as seen with a recent bill banning access for trans students in Ohio. Unfortunately, resistance to these legislative fights has dwindled. There simply hasn’t been the same kind of cultural, economic, or political pushbacks. Democrats have broadly capitulated to these threats, ignored them altogether, or, even worse, voiced tact support for the bathroom bans. This cannot stand. We must all demand better of our leaders.

GLM’s bathroom sit-in was inspired by the long history of civil disobedience in the United States. Following the leadership of past movement actions like the 1960 Woolworth’s Lunch Counter Sit-in’s pivotal role combating racial discrimination during the Civil Rights Movement or the 1966 Julius’ Bar Sip-in, which protested the closure of LGBTQ+ bars and the criminalization of their patrons. GLM and its allies are bringing that radical fire back and see this effort as a part of society’s longer march toward collective liberation.

“Today, I joined people across the gender spectrum to say we will not stand idly by while bigots push bathroom bans against trans people,” Eliel Cruz, co-founder and Director of Communications of GLM said. “As a cisgender man, I stand in solidarity with trans women and commit to organize in response to the attacks they’re facing. It’s especially important for cis gay and bisexual men to stand up for trans people during these historic levels of attacks against them and not only mobilize for our own self interest like when marriage equality is under attack.”

Social justice movements must do everything in its power to defend trans people. As we enter another era of a Trump administration and right wing policies, we cannot preemptively comply when our community’s most vulnerable are under attack. We must defy hatred, powerfully organize, and build a better society.

ADDITIONAL QUOTES: 

"When I found out I was pregnant, and then decided I needed an abortion, I was in a bathroom. It was a place I felt safe to figure out what to do with my life and what I needed. It was a safe space where I alone could make the best decision for my body and my future,” said Executive Director of WeTestify, Renee Bracey Sherman. “The idea that we would legalize excluding people in bathrooms because of what their bodies look like or who they are is horrific. Everyone deserves a safe place to pee and tend to their bodies, no matter who they are or where they live. The ability to use a bathroom is a basic human right. Access to bathrooms are part of basic bodily autonomy and the idea that anyone would be surveilled or criminalized for using one is unconscionable and inhumane. Solidarity in action is the only way we will liberate abortion and trans justice for all."

"I'm here today because every person deserves dignity and respect, both in daily life and in more symbolic places like the U.S. Capitol," said Chelsea Manning, an activist and former U.S. military intelligence analyst who was imprisoned for seven years for disclosing classified information to the public, before former-President Obama commuted her sentence in 2017. "As someone who has fought against similar rules, I know what it's like to feel pushed aside and erased. But I also know the incredible power and resilience our community has. I'm not here as a leader or a spokesperson but simply as another member of my community who shows up unconditionally to support my siblings in this fight. I will stand beside them no matter what. We didn’t start this fight, but we are together now."

"The new administration hasn't even taken office yet and they are already promising to implement hateful laws that continue to send the message that Transgender people are less than," said Amanda Babine, Executive Director of Equality New York. "I didn't think twice about coming to DC to stand in solidarity with our Transgender siblings and let them know whether it is in a bathroom in congress or your local school, you are not alone and deserve to use the bathroom without being policed."

“The extremely violent treatment of trans people in this country is not unlike previous eras of anti-scientific, ahistorical, and anti-democratic American politics,” said Jawanza Williams, an organizer with VOCAL-US. “It is critical that non-trans people understand that an assault on the personhood, freedom, and dignity of trans people is an indirect assault on all of us, and promises an escalation that we cannot depend on increasingly weakened community bonds, democratic institutions, and an overwhelmingly corporate-controlled media to protect us from. Politicians have to stop playing petty politics with people’s lives not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because the freedoms that some enjoy in this country are more precarious than ever, and should be extended to all, including transgender people.”

ABOUT: GENDER LIBERATION MOVEMENT (GLM) is an emergent and innovative grassroots and volunteer-run national collective that builds direct action, media, and policy interventions centering bodily autonomy, self-determination, the pursuit of fulfillment, and collectivism in the face of gender-based sociopolitical threats. Support our movement and donate at genderlib.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Ariel Friedlander, Media Liaison artsyahf@gmail.com

Eliel Cruz, Co-founder/Director of Communications eliel@elielcruz.com

Adam Eli, Media Support adamewerner@gmail.com

GLM on U.S. v Skrmetti

Gender Liberation Movement on U.S. v Skrmetti case: SCOTUS is Illegitimate, Bought By Bigots

In response to the Supreme Court hearing U.S. v. Skrmetti, a critical case that will decide the future of gender-affirming care for young people, Gender Liberation Movement released the following statement: 

On December 4th, The Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in U.S. vs. Skrmetti, a case concerning a block on gender-affirming care for transgender youth in Tennessee. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal are suing the state on behalf of Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville, their 15-year-old daughter, two anonymous plaintiff families, and Dr. Susan Lacy of Memphis, TN. This case is historic for many reasons. It is considered the most significant trans rights case brought to the court. Additionally, ACLU attorney Chase Strangio, on behalf of the plaintiffs, was the first openly trans person to argue in front of SCOTUS.

The forthcoming ruling in Skrmetti is poised to have far-reaching consequences for healthcare access for trans people of all ages, particularly impacting an estimated 140,000 youth living in states with bans on gender-affirming care. The conditions surrounding this case are already concerning. Currently, 26 states have enacted legislation that partially or fully ban gender-affirming care for trans youth, forcing thousands of families to become refugees in their own country as they seek safety and essential medical care elsewhere. This crisis is the culmination of a decades-long conservative crusade to restrict people’s control over their bodies, choices, genders, and futures. This Far-Right agenda ignores the reality that most people do not fit into their binary understanding of gender and sex. It seeks to coerce and monitor everyone’s reproductive healthcare decisions, erasing those who do not conform, particularly trans, nonbinary, gender expansive, and intersex people. 

These malevolent forces gained significant ground with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which not only dismantled reproductive rights but also emboldened efforts to control the bodies of trans people In fact, Skrmetti, named for Tenn. Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, leveraged the Dobbs decision as legal precedent to argue for a ban on gender-affirming care. He used an abortion ban as justification for denying trans youth access to critical healthcare based solely on having a gender that doesn’t correspond with their sex assigned at birth. This discriminatory law curtails access to puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy while permitting these treatments for cisgender youth, highlighting a blatant violation of the 14th Amendment and the U.S. Constitution.

Ultimately, we must defend and empower families to make their own decisions regarding gender-affirming care in tandem with their healthcare professionals. We must also understand that the attacks against access to abortion and gender-affirming care are intertwined, so the defense of them must be as well. Right-wing politicians and corrupt judges should not be allowed to strip bodily autonomy and self-determination from any of us. 

The Supreme Court, as it is currently constructed, does not represent the will of the Majority on the margins. It is illegitimate and bought by bigots. Publications like Intercept and ProPublica, have exposed the corrupt influence of conservative billionaires and think tanks on Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. Meanwhile, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, court appointees from the first Trump presidency, were pushed through despite intense criticism of Far-Right activism, cronyism, and sexual assault allegations. Now, these destructive justices will continue to decide the fates of generations to come. 

GLM believes the Court must be reformed with term limits, an expansion of seats, and binding ethics guidelines prohibiting corruption in all forms. Until this happens, SCOTUS decisions against our healthcare and civil rights should be seen as illegitimate and not complied. 

GLM is committed to building a collective that responds to gender-based cultural and political attacks. Every person has the inherent power to make decisions about their own bodies, determine their own futures, and build a world liberated from the gendered restrictions that harm and limit us all. Lives are at stake and we must act now. 

Media Interviews are available with Raquel Willis, Co-founder of Gender Liberation Movement, as well as with impacted families with trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive kids. 

ABOUT: GENDER LIBERATION MOVEMENT (GLM) is an emergent and innovative grassroots and volunteer-run national collective that builds direct action, media, and policy interventions centering bodily autonomy, self-determination, the pursuit of fulfillment, and collectivism in the face of gender-based sociopolitical threats.

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Eliel Cruz, Co-founder/Director of Communications

eliel@genderlib.org

Thousands March & Dance In Front of Heritage Foundation Headquarters To Protest Project 2025

“Thousands March & Dance In Front of Heritage Foundation Headquarters To Protest Project 2025”

September 16, 2024, Washington, D.C. — A group of at least two thousand protestors, predominantly LGBTQ+ people, rallied at Columbus Circle before kicking off a march that went by the Supreme Court and stopped in front of the headquarters of the Heritage Foundation, authors of Project 2025. In front of the Heritage Foundation, advocates took up  space with a joyous dance break  accompanied by a live DJ set by Griffin Maxwell Brooks. The organizers of the first-ever Gender Liberation March, championing medical access to abortion and gender affirming care, believed in bringing the opposite of Project 2025 and all who this fascist, rightwing political road map would harm, right to their doorsteps. 

“It was important for us to have that moment in front of the Heritage Foundation as a way to bring our queer joy right to their offices and show that no matter what they have planned, they will not win, they will not break us or our spirit,” said Eliel Cruz, a co-organizer of the march. “Our communities are resilient and we will always come together and fight back against these attacks to control our bodies and decisions about our healthcare. The right wing apparatus wants to speak about us without knowing or seeing us, and so Gender Liberation March was all about showing up and showing out in our full selves.”

The march was followed by a speaker program that included celebrities like Elliot Page, Julio Torres, and Geena Rocero, as well as a host of activist and community organizers including Gender Liberation Movement leader Raquel Willis, Monica Simpson of SisterSong, Renee Bracey Sherman of WeTestify, Bamby Salcedo of the Trans Latina Coalition, Oluchi Omeoga of the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project,  and others working for gender justice and liberation. The rally’s line up was diverse and  intergenerational, elevating youth leaders and  families of trans youth, Palestinian and anti-Zionist Jewish voices, and elders like Miss Major, a Stonewall veteran and movement icon. The program included performances by Peppermint, Junior Mintt, and the House Miyake-Mugler.

The festival portion of the Gender Liberation March included tents that gave out diverse titles of books that could presumably be banned in various states across the country, a youth area with art building and a drag queen story hour, a memorial area honoring those lost to anti-trans and gender based violence, a get out the vote effort spearheaded by Advocates for Trans Equality, and also the Body Freedom for Every(Body) art exhibit.  

“Yesterday, the Gender Liberation Movement led thousands of people in the streets of Washington, D.C. to defend access to abortion, gender-affirming care, and the lives that we deserve,” said Raquel Willis, a co-organizer and leader of the Gender Liberation Movement + March. “The people are fed up with the far-right shift of the Supreme Court and the Heritage Foundation’s evil Project 2025 agenda  that conservatives are propping up ahead of the 2024 election. Speakers and performers from across various social justice movements made the connection that everyone’s bodily autonomy and self-determination is under attack. 

While this movement centers trans and nonbinary people, women of all experiences, and those who may need abortion or IVF access at some point in their lives, we are fighting for everyone’s right to make decisions about their own bodies and create the lives they deserve.We will not back down. We will claim our power. We will demand that our bodies, our genders, and our choices be respected. And we will continue to fight for a more expansive, empathetic collective future.” 

The Gender Liberation Movement intends to come back to Washington DC for the Supreme Court case hearing on LW. v. Skrmetti, a challenge to Tennessee's ban on medical treatment for trans youth,  which could have serious ramifications for the life-saving healthcare across the country, and implications to protections for trans adults. 

Photos are available for press placement. Organizers are available for interviews.

ABOUT: Gender Liberation Movement: is an emergent and innovative grassroots and volunteer-run national collective that builds direct action, media, and policy interventions centering bodily autonomy, self-determination, the pursuit of fulfillment, and collectivism in the face of gender-based sociopolitical threats.

Elliot Page, Miss Major, Julio Torres, Geena Rocero, Peppermint, and More To Speak At Gender Liberation March

“Elliot Page, Miss Major, Julio Torres, Geena Rocero, Peppermint, and More To Speak At Gender Liberation March  To Advocate For Abortion and Gender-Affirming Care”

This Saturday, September 14th, LGBTQ celebrities, authors, activists and organizers will rally for abortion access and gender affirming care just blocks away from the Heritage Foundation Headquarters and Supreme Court. Among the featured speakers at the inaugural Gender Liberation March are actor, writer, and producer Elliot Page, Stonewall veteran Miss Major, director and actor Julio Torres, model and author Geena Rocero, actress Peppermint, and activist and author Raquel Willis, representing a powerful lineup of queer and trans voices. 

The Gender Liberation March seeks to unite the fights for abortion access and gender-affirming care under the shared principles of bodily autonomy and self-determination. The march and rally will highlight the dire state of legislative attacks against healthcare and  public education  including over 600 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced, with 45 already passed across 16 states. These attacks are coupled with a wave of restrictions on reproductive rights, leading to abortion bans in 41 states, 14 of which impose near-total bans with only narrow exceptions.

Crucially, this march and rally will also bring attention to a Supreme Court case, U.S v Skrmetti, on medical treatment for transgender youth, which is scheduled to be heard this winter. This case could have severe ramifications not just for trans youth, but for trans adults’ access to to life-saving care and protections in housing, employment, education, and more.

The rally will feature voices from diverse communities, including abortion storytellers, trans youth and their parents, immigrants, climate change activists, abolitionists, social justice organizers,  people of faith, and everyday people who receive or are in need of access to abortion and gender-affirming care. The current line-up includes the following organizers, activists, and storytellers: 

SPEAKERS: 

ELLIOT PAGE –  actor, writer & producer 

GEENA ROCERO – model & author

JULIO TORRES – director & actor

MISS MAJOR – stonewall veteran & activist

RAQUEL WILLIS – author and activist

RENEE BRACEY SHERMAN  – founder and co-executive director of We Testify 

NENE - HARRIET’S WILDEST DREAMS 

REV. JACQUII LEWIS – Middle Church

PIDGEON PAGONIS – intersex activist

NICK THIXTON SCOTT – We Testify Abortion Storyteller

HANZ DISMER – We Testify Abortion Storyteller

KAYDEN COLEMAN – We Testify Abortion Storyteller

ASH ORR – We Testify Abortion Storyteller

MONICA SIMPSON – Executive Director of SisterSong

LIZETTE + DANIEL – Parent + trans youth

STEPHEN CHUKUMBA – Parent of trans youth  

SOL JIMENEZ – Familia TQLM 

BAMBY SALCEDO – Executive Director or Trans Latina Coalition

HENNESSY GARCIA  – Climate Change Activist @ Seeding Sovereignty 

MADDY CLIFFORD – Media Strategist at Debt Collective 

MATT BERNSTEIN – Content  Creator

TONI-MICHELLE WILLIAMS – Executive Director of SnapCo

PERFORMANCES BY: 

PEPPERMINT 

JUNIOR MINTT 

HOUSE OF MIYAKE-MUGLER 

GRIFFIN MAXWELL BROOKS

GLM ORGANIZERS: 

ELIEL CRUZ

RAQUEL WILLIS

FRAN TIRADO

SARAH SOPHIE FLICKER

DEVIN-NORELLE 

ABOUT: Gender Liberation Movement: is an emergent and innovative grassroots and volunteer-run national collective that builds direct action, media, and policy interventions centering bodily autonomy, self-determination, the pursuit of fulfillment, and collectivism in the face of gender-based sociopolitical threats.

Gender Liberation March Confronting Heritage Foundation, Supreme Court

GENDER LIBERATION MARCH To Confront Heritage Foundation, Supreme Court

By Demanding  Access To Abortion, Gender Affirming Care

National leaders from reproductive justice and LGBTQIA+ movements to host the Gender Liberation March on September 14, 2024, at Columbus Circle in Washington, D.C.  The march will include protests outside of the Heritage Foundation headquarters and the Supreme Court. Gender Liberation March targets Heritage’s anti-freedom agenda, Project 2025, and brings attention to the upcoming SCOTUS case, U.S v Skrmetti, on medical treatment for transgender youth, which is scheduled to be heard this winter. Gender Liberation March will be led by a collective of gender justice based organizations and their organizers, such as activists part of the Brooklyn Liberation March and Women’s March, in a historic demonstration of feminist and trans solidarity.

This year has witnessed a record surge in anti-trans bills—over 600 introduced, with 45 passed in 16 states, accompanied by widespread attacks on reproductive justice. 41 states have enforced abortion bans, 14 of which are total bans with only limited exceptions. The Gender Liberation Movement will be marching to remind the far-right Supreme Court Justices of what’s at stake for our community and trans people nationwide. The extremist rhetoric promoted by conservative legislators is harming lives across the country, and regardless of the outcome of this November's Presidential election, these attacks on our community will persist.

The march and rally will platform abortion storytellers, trans youth and their parents, immigrants, climate change activists, abolitionists, social justice organizers,  people of faith, and everyday people who receive or are in need of access to abortion and gender-affirming care. The mobilization will illuminate how Project 2025 will attack everyone's bodily autonomy and self-determination.

The Heritage Foundation promotes extremist anti-LGBTQ, anti-bodily autonomy and anti-gender policies and rhetoric heavily funded by dark money donations. Its 900-page policy manifesto Project 2025 is a federal policy agenda that serves as a blueprint for former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance if they were to win the 2024  presidential election and take the White House. In its multifarious initiative, Project 2025 seeks to interject extremist ideology to prevent people’s right to determine their own livelihood. It aims to limit access to our collective freedom, with explicit calls gutting abortion access, mass deportations of immigrants, barring trans rights, and reshaping the structure of our government. 

Additionally, the SCOTUS case this winter has the potential to ban access to life-saving medical care for hundreds of thousands of trans youth. In March of last year, Tennessee’s  Republican Governor, Bill Lee, signed Senate Bill 1 into law, which went into effect in July. SB 1 bans hormone therapy for trans youth, with government officials who support the ban claiming that trans healthcare is not only harmful and unnecessary but that trans people at large are not protected under the Constitution. The Supreme Court has agreed to a hearing on behalf of Tennessee plaintiffs represented by the ACLU, ACLU of TN, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump. This case could have severe ramifications for trans adults' access to life-saving care as well as protections to housing, employment, education, and more.

We are marching to the Heritage Foundation and SCOTUS to make OUR message clear. In a nation that brands itself as the “land of the free,” our defense of our freedoms is non-negotiable. These are our bodies, our genders, our choices, and our futures. We demand Gender Liberation for all.  

• The link can be found here to sign up to march 

• Sign up here to get on a bus. 

• To donate and support the mobilization and movement. 

• General inquiries can be sent to genderlib4all@gmail.com

Organizers are available for interviews. 

ABOUT: Gender Liberation Movement: is an emergent and innovative grassroots and volunteer-run national collective that builds direct action, media, and policy interventions centering bodily autonomy, self-determination, the pursuit of fulfillment, and collectivism in the face of gender-based sociopolitical threats.

On the DNC & Palestine

“Statement from Gender Liberation Movement on the 2024 Democratic National Convention and Palestinian Liberation”

This week as thousands gather for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to nominate Kamala Harris as an official presidential nominee, Gender Liberation Movement expresses solidarity with the Uncommitted Movement and organizers’ efforts to demand dignity for Palestinian lives.

There is no gender liberation without Palestinian liberation. Period. The ongoing genocide in Gaza – being carried out by Israel and aided by the United States – has taken nearly 40,000 lives, including those of over 15,000 children. In a recent Lancet article, public health experts have suggested a death toll over 180,000, which accounts to victims  left under rubble and failed by degraded healthcare infrastructures.

As we mourn the Palestinian lives lost and demand safety and security for those still in the eye of this storm, let’s consider the role of gender in this genocide. Since October 7, there has been a 300 percent increase in miscarriages while nearly 50,000 pregnant people lack essential prenatal and post-natal care like access to anesthesia during childbirth. Additionally, there have been devastating shortages of food, clean water, and medical supplies. And Israel’s relentless bombing has completely destroyed two out of three homes.

At the same time, governments and organizations have continued to use pinkwashing, a strategy to weaponize the LGBTQIA+ struggle to deflect and justify human rights abuses and war crimes. They have made it a part of their mission to erase queer and trans Palestinians.  In this regard, we urge LGBTQIA+ leaders and organizations to demand an end to this and all other genocides plaguing the queer diaspora. 

Gender Liberation Movement demands that no one gets left behind, including our Palestinian siblings. We all deserve bodily autonomy and self-determination. Our collective joins the demands for a permanent ceasefire, an immediate embargo of U.S. arms to Israel, and an end to the decades-long occupation and apartheid. 

Let us say clearly: NOBODY IS FREE UNTIL EVERYONE IS FREE. 

We urge you to sign the Uncommitted National Movement’s petition demanding that Vce President Kamala Harris and Democratic leadership agree to #NotAnotherBomb at bit.ly/nabpetition.

If you are a warrior for gender liberation, join the Gender Liberation Movement. We believe in a world where everyone has the power to defy and transcend the gendered expectations that harm and limit us all. We will host the first-ever Gender Liberation March in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, September 14, 2024. Sign-up today.

• ENDORSE the Gender Liberation March.

• PROMOTE the march by sharing on social media.

• ENCOURAGE friends and colleagues to register for the march.

• DONATE to support the GLM mission.

• ORGANIZE a bus for activists traveling to DC on September 14th.

• INQUIRE at genderlib4all@gmail.com. Organizers are available for interviews. 

BACKGROUND:

Founded in the spring of 2023, GLM was birthed by organizers from the successful Brooklyn Liberation Marches of 2020 and 2021 and the Women’s Marches that began in the wake of the 2016 elections. Our core organizers found an ineffective divide between feminist and reproductive justice organizing (primarily centering abortion access) in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, and queer and trans organizing (primarily defending the community against the years-long ramp-up restrictions for trans students playing sports, access to gender-affirming care, and LGBTQ+ curricula and book bans).

On Imane Khelif

“Statement from Gender Liberation Movement on Imane Khelif and the Olympics”

Yesterday, Imane Khelif, a boxer from Algeria, won her first fight at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She defeated Angela Carini of Italy after Carini quit the match, refused to shake her opponent’s hand, and fell to the floor in tears. The striking images of this scene have since gone viral, stoking a toxic discourse on Khelif’s athletic prowess and gender identity.

Khelif has always competed as a woman, including at the Tokyo Olympics, and has never identified as intersex or transgender. She and another boxer, Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, previously faced scrutiny after failing to meet gender eligibility tests at last year's Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi. The test results were said to be due to Khelif and Yu-ting carrying male chromosomes, which has been used to question their identities. 

Throughout the modern history of sports, there have been brutal attacks on women on the margins who don’t fit the complex and expansive boxes of gender and sex. Women and intersex, queer,  transgender, and nonbinary folks, especially of color and  African descent, have been especially targeted by smear campaigns like the one right-wing leaders are currently stoking.

Unsurprisingly, global right-wing figures, including  Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, United States presidential candidate Donald Trump, X owner Elon Musk, and author J.K.Rowling, have weighed in to pile on 25-year-old Khelif. As usual, they are using her experience as fodder for their disingenuous crusade to police women’s bodies.

The discourse on Khelif’s experience invokes the discrimination that other women athletes of color, like South African sprinter Caster Semenya and tennis icon Serena Williams, have endured throughout their careers. But it also shows us that the conservative attacks on trans athletes in the U.S. are not isolated. 

We have also seen high-profile Black women across industries misgendered and dehumanized. From former First Lady Michelle Obama to singer Ciara to basketballer Britney Griner, the global public has been ravenous in its attempts to diminish their identities and influence.

The attacks on Algerian boxer Imane Khelif remind us of the global agenda to limit bodily autonomy, self-determination, and gender liberation. It shows us that there must be an intentional and strong alliance between cis and trans women, intersex and nonbinary folks, athletes of color, and all those who believe in equal access and opportunity.  All athletes deserve to pursue their passion without the risk of discrimination. 

If you are a warrior for gender liberation, join the Gender Liberation Movement. We believe in a world where everyone has the power to defy and transcend the gendered expectations that harm and limit us all. We will host the first-ever Gender Liberation March in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, September 14, 2024. Sign-up today.

• The link can be found here to sign up to march or organize a bus. 

• To donate and support the mobilization and movement. 

• General inquiries can be sent to genderlib4all@gmail.com

GLM IS HERE

“Gender Liberation March” Announced for September 14th In Washington DC, 

Championing Abortion & Gender Affirming Care

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 22, 2024 – Organizers of the Brooklyn Liberation March, Women’s March, and Trans Prom announced a Gender Liberation March scheduled for September 14th in Washington D.C., championing access to abortion, gender-affirming care, and for a representative democracy that fights for our collective future.

With the upcoming SCOTUS case on gender-affirming care, the continued total bans on abortion, and the looming threat of Project 2025, we are building toward a mass mobilization before the 2024 elections that centers bodily autonomy, self-determination, collectivism, and the pursuit of fulfillment. Early organizational partners for the march and rally include We Testify, Familia: TQLM, Trans Latina Coalition, Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative, Gen Z for Change, and media partners include @ Feminist & @ LGBT accounts. 

“With continued threats on civil rights, bodily autonomy, and self-determination, it is beyond time for all warriors for abortion access, gender-affirming care, reproductive justice, and LGBTQ+ rights to join forces. As a collective, and through this mass mobilization, we say no more. We believe in a version of this country and world where we can all make decisions for our bodies, our health, and our futures,” Activist and author Raquel Willis says. “The dawn of a new political era is on the horizon, and we are marching toward it. Let it be one we can be proud of and that gets us closer to a collective vision of liberation.”

The Gender Liberation Movement (GLM)  is an emergent and innovative grassroots and volunteer-run national collective that builds direct action, media, and policy interventions centering bodily autonomy, self-determination, the pursuit of fulfillment, and collectivism in the face of gender-based sociopolitical threats. At the Gender Liberation March, we’re building a coalition of organizers and artists as a response to fascist, anti-freedom Project 2025 which presents a future for all free from gender expectations that harm and with a vision that includes housing, healthcare, education, an equitable economy, climate action, and all things needed for every person to live a long and fulfilling life. 

• Link can be found here to sign up to march or organize a bus. 

• To donate and support the mobilization and movement. 

• General inquiries can be sent to genderlib4all@gmail.com

Organizers are available for interviews. 

BACKGROUND:

Founded in the spring of 2023, GLM was birthed by organizers from the successful Brooklyn Liberation Marches of 2020 and 2021 and the Women’s Marches that began in the wake of the 2016 elections. Our core organizers found an ineffective divide between feminist and reproductive justice organizing (primarily centering abortion access) in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, and queer and trans organizing (primarily defending the community against the years-long ramp-up restrictions for trans students playing sports, access to gender-affirming care, and LGBTQ+ curricula and book bans).

CORE ORGANIZERS

RAQUEL WILLIS (she/her) is an award-winning author, activist, and media strategist dedicated to Black transgender liberation. She has held groundbreaking posts, including director of communications for Ms. Foundation for Women, executive editor of Out Magazine, and national organizer for Transgender Law Center. She co-founded Transgender Week of Visibility and Action and is currently an executive producer for iHeartMedia's Outspoken, and the president of the Solutions Not Punishments Collaborative's executive board. She has been named to the Root 100 twice, is a Stonewall Community Foundation Visionary honoree, an ADCOLOR honoree, and served as a 2024 NYC Pride Grand Marshall. She is also the author of The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation.

SARAH-SOPHIE FLICKER (she/her) is a culture organizer, creative director & artist. She has over 25 years of experience working at the intersections of culture and politics with an emphasis on abortion rights and gender justice. She is also an aerialist and mom to three. She is a founder of the Women's March On Washington, The Resistance Revival Chorus, The Citizens Band, The Meteor, Joy To The Polls, and Firebrand. She is a co-author of the Women's March official book, Together We Rise, which was released in January 2018 and was a New York Times bestseller. She is a Pop Culture Collaborative Becoming America Fellow and a Gender Justice Fellow. She was named Glamour's Woman of the Year in 2017.

ELIEL CRUZ (he/they) is an award-winning, history-making organizer and advocacy communications expert. He is a co-organizer for the Brooklyn Liberation March: An Action for Black Trans Lives, which drew an estimated 20,000 people in June 2020 and again in 2021, an action for trans youth that brought out thousands. He was recognized in Out Magazine's #Out100 list for both his work as the former Director of Communication at the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP), and for his pivotal activism in pursuing justice for Layleen Polanco, a 27-year-old Afro-Latinx trans woman who died in solitary confinement on Rikers Island in June 2019. He's spoken at universities and conferences nationwide and has written for numerous publications. He is represented by Ayesha Pande Literary.

FRAN TIRADO (she/they) is a writer, podcaster, and filmmaker in Brooklyn. After leading editorial strategy for magazines like Out and HelloMr., and ad agencies like Chandelier Creative, most recently, Fran was at Netflix managing LGBTO+ audience engagement strategy and creating shows like "I Like to Watch." She's also created and hosted four queer podcasts, currently Like a Virgin with Rose Dommu. Fran has been working in queer media for almost thirteen years. As an organizer, Fran's work has won her the Stonewall Vision Award, Brooklyn's 30 Under 30, and MTV's inaugural Logo Legends honor. She's spoken at institutions like Yale, Juilliard, Harvard, Northwestern, and NYU and has worked with brands like Google, HBO, Instagram, and Nike. The New York Times called Fran a "Queer Champion."

DEVIN-NORELLE (ze/zim/zis) is a professional model, award-winning trans advocate, media figure, and opinion writer, with published work in GQ, Teen Vogue, Allure, Them., and Out Magazine, among others. From gracing the NYFW runway for shows like Chromat and the Bella + Canvas Summer campaign to hosting PBS's show Brave Spaces, there's no limit to what ze can achieve. As a former member of NYC Pride's Community Council, ze has helped guide Heritage of Pride towards reducing police presence for future Pride marches and events and currently sits on the board of the Stonewall Community Foundation. Devin-Norelle currently facilitates D&I Gender Expansive training across multiple platforms, educating others about the history of trans individuals in various pre-colonial countries.