On 5 August, a trans rights demonstration took place at Grey’s monument, co-organised by Newcastle FRFI and a number of individual trans rights activists. The protest was called to oppose the violent attack on trans people and their rights by the despicable Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance that came into effect on said day. The event was a resounding success, with strong turnout and politics. It is vital right now for people to stand up and fight for trans rights as they come under attack. An FRFI comrade gave a speech on the material basis of these attacks, identifying the culprit: capitalism.
“These violent transphobic attacks only reinforce the economic inequalities faced by those who live in defiance of the enforced capitalist gender binary. Trans liberation is a class issue and must be treated as such; the only way to ensure trans liberation is a socialist system.
So, we look to Socialist Cuba, who are leading the way in LGBTQ+ rights by dismantling the gender binary embedded within the capitalist system. As we saw with the Stonewall riots, fighting the system is the only way to ensure rights and liberation.”
Organised openly and democratically in widely advertised public meetings, forces in Newcastle came together in powerful solidarity for trans rights. An open mic was used by many different speakers to great effect by FRFI, the RCP, and many unaffiliated individuals. This is a cornerstone of democratic organising that raises the political level of all present. These traditions are vital to uphold in protest spaces. A few pre-selected speakers on closed platforms, which has become the norm, allows weak or backwards political positions to go unchallenged. Open mics shift the power back to grassroots, authentic organising. Political positions should not be censored, but debated openly. That is precisely how the political level of the event is raised: by dismantling weak positions and putting forward stronger ones shaped by open debate.
Socialist Cuba is a shining example of what can be achieved for trans rights when the working class have political power, and people can fight for social justice. It leads the way in trans rights, with the highly progressive 2022 Family Code, which was debated and shaped by 6 million Cubans in thousands of workplace and community meetings. A voter turnout of 74%, with a yes vote of 67% ratified the code. But Socialist Cuba didn’t stop with that victory, they continued to send people into the more rural no-voting communities to continue education. As well as providing free gender-affirming surgeries, as well as allowing people to change their legal gender on documents without any conditions or need for surgery. Cuba conducts training workshops and national education programs to combat transphobia.
Newcastle FRFI faced some attacks in the lead up to this demonstration about our right to speak about Cuba at trans rights demonstrations. These attacks were not brought up for discussion in public meetings, but made behind closed doors or in group chats. A small vocal minority in the leadership of Trans Liberation Newcastle who claim to, but certainly do not, represent the voices of all trans people in Newcastle, have deemed Cuba an irrelevant distraction worthy of censorship, boycott, and threats to heckle. In fact our speech at the event had a great reception, many people spoke to us at our stall for further information on trans rights and the illegal blockade placed upon Cuba. People are not turned off by bringing more politics to protests, but are instead empowered!
In contrast, here in Britain, trans rights are being rolled back by the EHRC guidance and scapegoated in the media at every turn. The ruling class rejoices every time a link between two struggles is severed. It is our unflinching duty to bring struggles together, to unite against our common enemy, not to isolate and sanitise movements. The struggle for trans liberation is inseparable from class struggle.
Come to our next organising meeting on Thursday 13 August, 6:30pm, DiverCity Hub, NE4 5QR. Get involved with FRFI in our fight for trans liberation!
