by A Marxist Contribution to Discussions on the Struggle for Trans Liberation
By Sarah Milner and Spencer Mann
Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in attacks by the far right on the trans community. Our caucus’ organizing, especially in YDSA but also across DSA, has helped demonstrate the significant opportunities for the socialist movement in orienting to the struggle for trans liberation. Much of our caucus’ growth has come from trans recruits and a significant national success, the passage of R-14 at the 2022 YDSA Convention, specifically oriented towards this issue. R&R is working on developing a longer document outlining our understanding of a Marxist approach to the struggle for trans rights. We publish here excerpts of a draft Sarah and Spencer wrote for our debate. We are looking forward to hearing the perspectives of comrades in DSA and the revolutionary Marxist left on the ideas we put forward for the discussion.
Our aim, as Marxists, is to win workers to a revolutionary program of class struggle and build a party able to lead the working class to an international, socialist transformation of society. To pursue this, we aim to develop broad socialist consciousness through our genuine engagement with the struggles of workers and the oppressed. We aim to be the best fighters and proactively develop revolutionary socialist leadership in the struggles. The most promising opening to discuss with a new generation of activists about such an effort in the US is DSA. We want to develop DSA into a new, mass working-class party, able to fight against exploitation and oppression in general and for trans liberation in particular.
Trans people, particularly trans people of color, are among the most exploited sections of the working class. As Marxists, we understand the struggle for trans liberation as a critical element of the broader movement for socialism.
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The ruling class has historically relied on brutal divide-and-conquer methods, including homophobia, to keep working-class and oppressed people divided and to undermine working-class solidarity – from the homophobic appeals of Nazism and the Lavender Scare of McCarthyism to the simple day-to-day division of queer workers to chauvinistic appeals to the patriarchy and nuclear family as a justification for conservative policies.
Historically, unions and socialist organizations have too often had a mixed or hesitating approach to queer liberation. DSA must be fully and clearly committed to fighting for trans rights.
Fighting for trans liberation requires a mass movement that is rooted in the whole working class and building political independence from the Democratic party. Ultimately, freedom for trans people can only be achieved by overturning capitalism, and reforms won in the absence of overturning capitalism will necessarily be unstable under the capitalist system.
The Role of Class Struggle in Trans Liberation
Some socialists believe that all forms of oppression can be reduced to class and that class struggle is the only means to overcome this. We believe this kind of class reductionism ignores the role ofother layers of oppression in maintaining the capitalist system and preserving exploitation. To cultivate the level of consciousness, organization, and leadership necessary to carry out a rupture with capitalism, socialists and Marxists must have a profound engagement with the struggles around these other layers of oppression in whichbroad sections of the working class are invested. To connect withmovements of the oppressed, we must present socialism in terms that clearly relate class warfare to identity-based struggles.
However, many people in DSA and on the broader left lean too far in the other direction, putting forward liberal understandings of identity, which promote representation, symbolic reform, and the non-profit complex as a solution to structural, materially rooted oppression. This approach generates ineffective and disorganized strategies without clear material demands, leaving movements vulnerable to co-optation by the Democratic Party.
While the demands for cross-class liberation speak to critical issues of social justice and inequality, there is a tangible, substantial difference between the socialist movement for bodily autonomy and the liberal movement. Liberal identity politics obscures that difference, drawing socialists into unprincipled alliances with liberal groups without clearly articulating our political differences and dissolving the class differences in cross-class alliances.
We are opposed to liberal identity politics, not because we care less about the issues certain marginalized groups face, but because we understand class politics as the only way to achieve lasting and fundamental liberation for any marginalized group. Our freedom is interdependent on one another, and class is the foundation of the system of exploitation and oppression that defines class society.
We analyze the intersectionality between those struggles along the lines Lenin used regarding the national question. A Leninist approach defends the democratic rights of oppressed people and analyzes how their struggles intersect with the class struggle. This approach does not mean ignoring questions of class divisions within liberation movements, nor does it simply reduce the struggle for liberation to the question of socialism. It centers on the crucial task of winning the working class and taking power to abolish exploitation and the material interest of oppression fundamentally. The task for Marxists today is to apply this Leninist approach of intersectionality on questions of identity, including trans rights.
A Socialist Understanding of Gender and Sexuality
Gender does not fit squarely into a binary. Our ideas, actions, and the societal norms around us continually reshape gender. Our program stands for individuals’ right to autonomy and freedom over how their gender is expressed.
The early waves of the movement against gendered oppression focused on legal and social liberation for women. The strong proletarian women’s movement – first backed by the Second International, then, after the Russian Revolution, backed by the Communist parties – centered the economic and political struggle of women toward universal liberation.
The second feminist movement in the 1960s and ’70s built on these battles and added a broader critique of gender roles. Its most positive theoretical approaches were closely aligned with the growing gay rights movement. The current feminist and LGBTQ movement built on that further but focuses its critique more directly on the alleged biological basis for social distinctions. The theoretical basis that there are different sexes but no justification for polarized gender roles is overcome by a much more fundamental question of the alleged two sexes.
A Marxist approach to this question is urgently needed. The strength of challenging not just gender, but the alleged existing two biological sexes, is to unveil how much of those “sexes” is, in reality, not biological or “material” in the sense of biological appearance but based on a societal framing.
The questioning of not just two genders but also the existence of two sexes among humans can be done in the great Marxist tradition of critically examining the world’s assumptions and finding their political roots in class society.
It has never been correct to say that there are only two genders. Biologically and culturally, this binary has never existed. The socially enforced distinctions in gender were heavily influenced by colonization and continued to be augmented by the development of industrial capitalism. There is no clean division between men and women as two distinct and all-encompassing categories.
Attempts to enforce heterosexuality and cisgenderism undermine personal freedom and bodily autonomy. These attempts are violations of basic liberty that re-assert the divisions in this society that, in the end, allow the capitalist class control over our bodies and lives.
The oppression of LGBTQ people is materially grounded in a capitalist society, but not in a simplistic way. The main “benefit” for the ruling class are divisions, repressions, and internalized harm that allow the rule of the billionaire class to continue. This does not mean there are no immediate material benefits of extra profits for capitalists that they eagerly exploit. As Spencer and Rosemary write (May 6, 2022, tinyurl.com/rnr-call-to-action):
Compared to their cisgender counterparts, trans people are twice as likely to be unemployed. An astounding 90% of trans workers report mistreatment or harassment on the job, and 47% of trans workers report adverse job outcomes such as being denied a promotion, passed over, or fired due to being trans.
In a capitalist society with a limited social safety net where people must work in order to survive, workplace discrimination can lead to homelessness and death. 22% of LGBTQ people and 30% of trans people report earning less than the federal poverty level of $12,490 per year, as compared to 16% of cisgender straight people. The numbers are even worse for trans people of color, with 38% of Black trans people living in poverty.
Although the Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that the Civil Rights Act applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, proving discrimination can be an onerous burden for workers. Organized workplaces and strong union contracts can provide an extra layer of protection for queer and trans workers.
Heteronormativity, homophobia, and transphobia should be understood as one of many ways the ruling class oppresses the working class, robbing people of the possibility of full and free expression of their personal identities. One vehicle the state uses to achieve this is through reinforcement of the traditional nuclear family, which functions to reproduce the cis-gender binary and heterosexual normativity. This oppression creates a repressed, violent, and sexist society which perpetuates exploitation and social malaise.
The Struggle Against Fascism and Right-Wing Movements
The current attempts to attack trans rights come alongside a wave of right-wing culture war attacks against the feminist and LGBTQ achievements won over the last decades.
The right-wing effort does not seem to be to win majorities but to impose those minority views on a majority by any means necessary. They aim to achieve this by building a far-right movement, not just an electoral wave or the support for representatives with those views. All of these efforts have billionaire backers and get significant attention in billionaire-owned media.
The movement character of these efforts makes them especially dangerous. Fascism has historically been characterized by a movement of enraged, socially undermined petty bourgeoisie with the aim to destroy workers’ democracy as expressed in independent labor unions and workers’ parties. To do that, they rely on a narrative of “social degeneration,” which is founded on homophobic, racist, and anti-Semitic conspiracies. These conspiracies are not necessarily the beliefs of the whole of the ruling class; however, the ruling class accepts and unleashes this rage to reign in the threat they perceive from the socialist workers’ movement and other movements of oppressed people.
Today’s far-right movement, as a conscious minority movement with ultra-conservative views, can develop into a neo-fascist force. Gender is a central issue used by far-right movements. The far right blames trans people and queer people for the crisis of neoliberalism and promises that greater oppression will bring greater stability.
The far-right aims to restore “traditional” social forms while preserving capitalism. The desire to use a strong state to subjugate and eradicate groups deemed“destructive,” such as transgender people, qualifies this not only as a reaction but as part of a proto-fascist movement.
The Weakness of Political Transphobia
Some socialists view trans rights as a political albatross weighing down the wider movement. They believe that reactionary transphobia is popular and politically effective. As a result, these socialists seek to tail right-wing populism, thinking those appeals are genuinely connecting to working-class people. This analysis is mistaken.
While it is true that many workers hold retrograde beliefs, particularly on the issues of trans participation in sports and gender-affirming healthcare for young people, transphobia is a losing strategy. Republican attacks on trans people are weak, awkward, and unconvincing. Despite them not winning a broad majority, these right-wing attacks are hardening a militant and potentially fascistic opposition that must be reckoned with by socialists and the working class. One wing of the Republican far-right is aiming to build a radicalized minority movement based on transphobia, white supremacy, misogyny, and anti-worker actions. This can be a basis for future fascist movements.
Although the weakness of the Democratic Party’s liberal reformist message undermines their support from workers, social conservatism is not appealing to a majority of workers. Trump’s movement is not rooted in the working class. In fact, after running a campaign aimed at appealing to transphobia and racism, in 2020, Trump lost ground with even the white working class.
The weakness of these attacks is partially responsible for the massive difference in support between the major parties amongst young voters. Republican appeals to transphobia failed in the 2022 midterms, leading to humiliating defeats in every swing state. In fact, transphobia has consistently been a losing issue in key swing states since 2015. Republicans have lost almost every major swing race in which they ran on transphobia.
Americans rarely rank issues related to trans rights as their primary political priority. Even on wedge issues where they hold majority support on paper, the obsessive Republican focus comes across as hysterical, moralizing, and a distraction from issues of greater popular salience. In contrast, abortion rights are an overwhelming and politically determinative issue.
Socialists should not back down or adopt moderated language on trans rights. On the contrary, it is only by muddying the waters that Republicans can hope to win support for their ideas. By clearly articulating full, uncompromising support for trans rights, socialists have very little to lose and a great deal to gain.
Talking about Trans Rights
Gender and sexuality are complicated topics. Simplistic categories often stand in for difficult concepts, which poses rhetorical and communicative challenges for socialists. Conservatism appeals to a crass simplicity, a base revulsion to the unusual or unknown, and personal insecurity to prevent nuanced debate.
One priority of transphobes has been to attack the right of trans people to use gendered spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms. In responding to this, we must explain that this is a fundamental misunderstanding of how violence works in society. The vast majority of incidents of abuse and assault occur from family members or close friends. Violence is not prevented by traditional nuclear family roles; it is preserved by them. There is no negotiating around this point–people who feel they are threatened by trans inclusivity are wrong, not morally, but practically. Trans people are not the leading perpetrators of gendered violence; on the contrary, they are the disproportionate victims.
The right-wing deliberately tries to frame the discussion in terms of non-universal questions, especially through fear-mongering about the proliferation of irreversible surgeries being performed on minors and the “existential threat” that trans women pose to women’s professional sports.
These arguments are attempts to bait the left into rhetorical environments that are favorable for the right wing and force the left to make concessions to the right. Socialists should not fall for the “gotcha” of trying to identify the exact point to draw a line of exclusion so fine it would impact scarcely dozens of people.
Instead, socialists should aim to win workers and unions over to public and aggressive support of trans rights, pointing out that the same politicians and movements trying to ban trans rights are also trying to destroy unions.
The capitalist system undermines bodily autonomy. Exploitation turns the worker into a machine for profit–they lose control of their own body as they perform tasks for wages. This oppression extends elsewhere in society. Capitalism tells people where and how to live, how to dress, and how to act. It polices our behaviors through force and the market. The rights trans people are fighting for–personal autonomy, healthcare access, and an end to the patriarchy–are rights that would benefit every person in society.
As with reproductive rights, gender-affirming healthcare must be decided by patients with the help of their doctors, not the state. We reject any demonization of healthcare for minors.
The Role of DSA in the Struggle for Trans Rights
DSA, organized labor, and the working class have pivotal roles to play in achieving trans liberation. Here are three key steps:
1) We must aim to win the wider trans rights movement to a class-struggle strategy based around mass mobilizations and public pressure rather than lobbying and an orientation to the Democratic Party.
2) At the same time, we must aim to bring the labor movement actively into the struggle for trans rights. We can do this by building the socially progressive reform wing of labor and agitating within unions where we have rank-and-file presences. A “labor for trans rights” campaign could be an extremely powerful force in the movement, able to show in practice the power of the organized working class to win material gains in contrast to incapable liberal strategies.
3) Finally, DSA must advance our own clear vision for trans rights, one which articulates independence from the Democratic Party, expresses a socialist vision for society, and links that vision to existing struggles.
DSA should actively be working to assemble coalitions for mass protest, which we should approach with a United Front orientation that clearly expresses the socialist position.
DSA should adopt bold, nationwide approaches such as days of action, nationwide campaigns, and federal pressure. These national campaigns are not only necessary to meet the political moment but are also the best way of winning local campaigns and battles rather than being counterposed to each other.
DSA elected officials should fight to overturn anti-trans laws and introduce bills enshrining trans rights. In liberal states, DSA elected officials should advocate ambitious trans sanctuary bills, expanding workplace rights for trans people and job guarantees for all with full union rights, fighting to solve the housing crisis in general and the housing crisis for trans people in particular, fighting to expand healthcare for all, including full gender-affirming care and reproductive rights free at the point of delivery, expand immigrant rights, especially trans refugees, etc.
As the struggle for trans rights takes on an increasing national prominence, the working class, young people, and queer people will increasingly move towards anti-capitalist ideas and will identify the trans rights movement as a critical expression of their radical and radicalizing ideas. Many people will immediately move into reform movements. While reforms can profoundly advance trans rights, DSA must connect trans liberation to anti-capitalism and revolutionary ideas.
As socialists, we recognize the necessity of fighting for equality in law, but it is not enough to stop there. Attaining genuine equality in all aspects of life requires an end to capitalism and a socialist revolution. Trans liberation can only be won through class struggle and political independence.
Sarah Milner
Sarah Milner, she/her, is a rank and file union organizer and member of Portland DSA and Portland State University YDSA. She co-chairs the Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy Campaign. She has previously been the co-chair of PSU YDSA and of Portland DSA’s Electoral Working Group. She spent two terms on the chapter Steering Committee. She is a member of the Steering Committee of Reform & Revolution caucus.
Spencer Mann
Spencer Mann, she/they, is a queer and non-binary socialist organizer, a member of Portland DSA, and a Steering Committee Member of DSA’s Reform & Revolution caucus.
