Organizing a Fighting DSA Campaign for Bodily Autonomy

By Judith Chavarria

To Build an Exciting and Flourishing Campaign, a Clarity of Vision is Needed.

[This article was written for our quarterly magazine. To read updates on the current developments of DSA’s campaign for trans rights and bodily autonomy, please read the TRBACC reports here.]

At this year’s DSA Convention, delegates voted to adopt a national campaign for trans and abortion rights (“A Fighting Campaign for Reproductive Rights and Trans Liberation”) after organizers fought to change the agenda. They democratically chose to be a part of this critical battleground, and now it’s an opportunity for DSA to get behind an energizing national campaign at a time of stagnation and loss in membership. 

As chapters across the country prepare to organize around bodily autonomy and our national leadership is cohereing a body to coordinate the campaign – the Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy Campaign Commission (TRBACC) – an organizational commitment to bold strategies, nationwide support, and independent socialist politics will be necessary to build the fighting power of DSA and make this campaign a success.

The Struggle for Liberation

The Supreme Court’s vicious attack on reproductive rights has made its precarity clear to millions of working-class people. The recent wave of transphobic attacks, led by reactionary media and politicians, have also emboldened a far-right movement which seeks to legislate trans people out of existence through violent policies and bans. Sarah Milner and Spencer Mann explain in R&R’s position paper on trans liberation how these attacks are rooted in the capitalist system:

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.

Understanding the complex ways the ruling class maintains its power over working-class people, and over all parts of their lives, is a first step in figuring out how to fight it. Queer and trans people’s lives have always occupied an uncertain political position under capitalism. What’s next? As the far-right continues its assault on abortion and gender-affirming care, people are increasingly willing to fight back – but our movement needs organization and leadership.

People are increasingly willing to fight back – but our movement needs organization and leadership.

The battle for trans liberation and reproductive rights has been fought for decades. What we decide to do now will be the key to making our mark in a very long history. We can’t create lasting change by subsuming our politics to ineffective liberal forces who have utterly failed to stop the far-right and Republican Party from stripping away our rights; rather, we need to make the most of our political independence by differentiating a socialist approach from ones which continuously cede ground to the far-right. Not only does this mean speaking for ourselves within a broader movement, it also means winning leadership of these movements with decisive action wherever possible. 

Sketching a National Campaign

DSA’s trans and reproductive rights campaign should coordinate a kickoff and national day of action, each of which can be flash points of organizing and coalition-building on the local and national levels. Public-facing events such as these help cohere our efforts, allowing us to make a nationwide political impact even as most concrete campaigns are by necessity fought on the state level.

Every part of DSA has a role to play.

Every part of DSA has a role to play. The National Electoral Committee should encourage DSA elected officials to actively promote the campaign and make the struggle for bodily autonomy a legislative priority; creating socialist consciousness by synthesizing these battles with the labor movement gives a paramount role to the National Labor Committee; building an international movement around the rights of trans refugees will require close coordination with the International Committee; and the Queer Socialists Working Group can become a permanent home for the movements we build for queer rights.

Furthermore, chapters should be encouraged to organize pressure campaigns, mutual aid efforts, and electoral projects that fight for queer and reproductive rights based around a class-struggle strategy which puts independent socialist politics at the forefront. Wherever there are ballot initiatives around trans and reproductive rights, chapters can orient to them on a strategic basis while stressing that our rights will remain fragile for as long as capitalism remains intact. It’s also imperative that the struggles in red and blue states be connected through a single, unified political message. By having members speak across chapters, share tactics and strategies, and coordinate as much as they can, we can put this message into practice to show that the nationwide socialist movement is waging an interconnected, coordinated struggle like no other.

We also need bold, unifying demands that can bring new people into the organization and link the struggle for bodily autonomy to a socialist horizon. Nationally, the campaign can fight for the repeal of all bans and restrictions on the fundamental right to healthcare and for a universal healthcare system that covers gender-affirming care and abortion. DSA chapters can also begin offering a positive alternative to capitalism by demanding union protections, housing justice and sanctuary laws as part of a broader program. As people begin fleeing their home states for legal abortions and gender-affirming care, demands such as these can become a guiding light for battles big and small.

YDSA has an important role to play as well. Young, radicalizing queer students are looking for a way to fight back against far-right attacks. This campaign could serve as a chance to develop the political confidence of YDSA members while connecting them to struggles off campus through shared actions with their respective DSA chapters. Between them, queer and radical youth in and out of college can find a strong political home in the organization.

The Weeks and Months Ahead

What happens at TRBACC’s initial meetings will be critical for getting all of this started. There is a significant danger in not moving fast enough to create an exciting and flourishing campaign. R&R member Sarah Milner, who is on the committee, says, “leadership needs to work closely and consistently with chapters to set up local campaigns. It can’t just be an email or a tweet – we need to meet, week after week, with chapter liaisons to help them strategize and plan.”

Alongside contacting every chapter and offering guidance, TRBACC should also provide meaningful resources and materials. A campaign toolkit similar to the one developed for our labor solidarity work, for example, could immediately provide shared messaging and political clarity as chapters begin to participate in the campaign. The committee’s role should be to get DSA fully involved, and that means making the most of our potential as a mass organization.

We need to prove ourselves in action, showing that we’re the best fighters for issues people care about – and we can begin doing that now. DSA’s participation in struggles for bodily autonomy today, as well as against austerity, imperialism, and war, will be the basis for a revolutionary party tomorrow. TRBACC can help facilitate this process by coordinating the fighting campaign convention delegates voted for.

For a Fighting DSA

DSA is capable of forging a movement that is greater than the sum of its parts. At the chapter level, on-the-ground organizers must recognize their efforts as fostering the consciousness and organization necessary to fight for the rights of oppressed and working people everywhere; internally, this campaign can be part of the difficult work of turning DSA into a truly nationwide, member-led organization. That’s going to require a concerted effort linking every battle, every local campaign to a common socialist banner.

Every chapter should consider joining the campaign by passing a local resolution. We’re fighting not just for ourselves, but also the future generations of queer and working-class people who deserve to live freely and without fear. That’s an immense responsibility – and a challenge we must learn to overcome in the present.

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The ABCs of Strong Local Campaigns

A. Arrive at a vision for the campaign

Local campaigns will vary in size and scale from chapter to chapter. It’s important that DSA members hold discussions with one another about goals, demands and messaging to make sure that a robust plan of action can be put forward to their chapters. A formal leadership structure should also be established – democracy is the foundation of an effective class struggle approach!

B. Begin developing a campaign strategy

Every campaign needs events capable of putting our politics into action! A rousing local kickoff, public facing rallies and politicized mutual aid are just some of the ways we can build momentum for a national day of action. We should be attracting new people to organizing while connecting them to a broader socialist program.

C. Commit to growing DSA

With good strategies and a bold vision for local campaigns, socialists can make significant inroads in the struggle for trans and reproductive rights. But we need to keep the pressure up! Chapters should be using these campaigns to grow DSA and build the leadership and organization necessary to facilitate a rupture with capitalism.