Transgender Rights Now! Protesting TERF Convention in SF

Photos by Leon Kunstenaar, ProBonoPhoto. Please credit the photographer.

“We don’t let transphobia come into our town without being countered!” said Kristina Lee, an organizer with the National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice and MC of a loud protest on September 16th. Other co-sponsors, the Freedom Socialist Party, Radical Women, and Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, helped bring the numbers and strength needed to show the TERFs convening inside the Hilton that San Francisco is a town that demands inclusivity of all gender choices.

TERF stands for trans exclusionary radical feminist. The Hilton Hotel has come under criticism for allowing a group that excludes trans folks, a discriminatory organization, to convene in their establishment.

Standing at a mic at the "speakout and rally" directly in front of the Hilton, about a dozen people explained their objection to the TERFs meeting, giving many reasons.

"By insisting on a feminism that excludes transwomen, those gathered at the Women’s Declaration International-USA convention are aiding right wing extremists whose very aim is to destroy feminism altogether", explained a representative of Radical Women. "These TERFs are radical but a different kind of radical," she said. "They are actually radically right wing and using disinformation to lead people down the pipeline to fascism."

Protesters acknowledged that for decades being gay or lesbian was considered a mental illness, "yet these TERFs think it's ok to apply that pathology to transgender people." Another speaker described those gathered inside the hotel as "fringe activists who argue that advancements in transgender rights will come at the expense of women’s rights."

In between powerful and excited speeches chants punctuated the air including "What do we want? Trans Justice Now!"