The recent UK debates around the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) create the illusion that one strand of feminism is inherently anti-trans: radical and lesbian feminism. So, let’s set the record straight: lesbians have always rebelled against the gender binary and sexual repression. We have always been traitors to gender essentialism.
Not all of us, of course, and that’s the point: feminism has never been homogeneous. When trans-exclusionary feminists claim to speak in the name of radical feminism, they erase its diversity.
In truth, intimacy and solidarity with transgender folks and trans struggles for rights, justice and respect are central to our history and our roots, as feminists and lesbians. Let me offer some examples from the trajectory that has informed my own identity, experience and politics.
