Denver, CO — On April 3, about 60 protesters gathered outside the Colorado State Capitol to oppose the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy in an 8-1 vote. The action was organized by the Denver Coalition Against Trump and Bread and Roses Legal Center.

Conversion therapy, widely regarded as a pseudoscience, is the practice of attempting to change a person’s gender or sexuality to cisgender or heterosexual norms. This often happens against the subject’s will and it has been shown to be highly ineffective, often causing psychological harm and effects such as significantly higher mental health disorder rates and higher suicide rates. Conversion therapy practices range from the seemingly innocuous, like talk therapy, to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, including treatment many experts would consider to be torture.

More than 20 U.S. states have banned conversion therapy for minors, and Colorado banned the practice as a whole in 2019.

Kacey Hicks of Denver Students for a Democratic Society, who emceed the action at the capitol, told the crowd, “This attack is just one of many carried out by the Trump administration and its allies on queer and trans people. It is one of many attacks used to try to make trans and queer people afraid while our rights keep getting stripped away.”

The crowd outside the capitol chanted “Donald Trump, let’s be clear, trans folks are welcome here!” and “Donald Trump, go away, trans folks are here to stay!”

After hearing speeches, the crowd took the streets of Denver. The protest leaders got on the back of a truck to continue chants throughout Capitol Hill, a neighborhood considered Denver’s main LGBTQ hub. Throughout the march, the crowd was cheered on by passersby in the local queer-owned businesses as they halted Friday night traffic.

After the protesters marched back to the capitol, Katherine Draken, a member of Teamsters for a Democratic Union gave a speech. Draken said, “It deserves to be repeated that conversion therapy has been thoroughly discredited! Doing conversion therapy on transgender children is child abuse!”

The protest closed out with more speeches, closing remarks, and chants calling for trans liberation.

#DenverCO #CO #LGBTQ #SupremeCourt #SCOTUS

Colorado Springs, CO – On April 1, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) was joined by Colorado Springs faith leaders and community organizations outside of anti-LGBTQ counselor Kaley Chiles’ office to condemn her litigation against Colorado’s “conversion therapy” ban and the 8-1 Supreme Court ruling.

Faith leaders included Reverend Josh Rumple of First Congregational and Pastor Amanda Udis-Kessler of Vista Grande United Church of Christ, both progressive churches in Colorado Springs respectively.

The Supreme Court ruling overturning Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” came on Trans Day of Visibility and is a continued escalation from the Trump administration against LGBTQ rights and protections. The case's primary litigant, Kaley Chiles, is a known bigot who works at Deeper Stories Counseling in Colorado Springs and worked with conservative law firm Alliance Defending Freedom”

Several community members shared speeches to a crowd of about 50 that condemned the Supreme Court's decision. “Claiming that conversion therapy is free speech is like calling a noose neckwear,” said Genevieve Richard of the FRSO. Lenny Lorenz, a college student and organizer with New Era Colorado College said, “The Supreme Court’s decision sets an alarming precedent that leaves queer youth open to dangerous and discredited practices.”

The crowd stayed strong despite rain and light hail. Chants rang loud through Cascade Avenue, “We won’t go back! These queers bash back!” and “We’re here! We’re queer! We won’t disappear.” Anger and a determination to fight back filled the air and everyone’s faces.

#ColoradoSpringsCO #CO #LGBTQ #SupremeCourt

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, March 31, more than 100 community members rallied outside of the Walker Library on Trans Day of Visibility to protest national policies targeting the rights of trans people.

The rally was called by the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee in response to anti-trans measures, including the Trump administration’s executive orders E14168 and E14187, which have been used as templates to remove access to healthcare for adults and minors, remove protections against rape for trans prisoners in jails and immigration detention centers, and expose trans prisoners and detainees to conversion therapy, which is considered by the United Nations to be a form of torture. Earlier in the day the U.S. Supreme Court announced a decision that would overturn the right of states to ban conversion therapy.

Yann Chen, an organizer for the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, spoke about how the U.S. government is not only forcing trans prisoners to endure conversion therapy, but also withholding medications from over 2000 trans people. In addition to these attacks on transgender people by the federal administration, legislators across the U.S. have been proposing and passing state laws targeting trans peoples’ ability to change or maintain their legal documents, or even to use the bathroom safely. In February, the state of Kansas revoked the drivers licenses of around 1700 trans people. 27 states across the U.S. have now imposed some kind of ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.

These repressive laws and policies have led to a mass migration of trans people to trans refuge states like Minnesota, where the Minnesota Human Rights Act enshrines trans rights as human rights. Lizzie Palmer, an organizer with Communities Against Transphobia, pointed out that trans people now make up 1% of Minnesota’s population, and received an audible positive response when she asked the crowd to applaud if they had moved to Minnesota from another state. However, organizers at Tuesday night’s rally argued that, in order to become a genuine refuge for trans rights, Minnesota must also ensure the ability to live with dignity.

Natalie Berger, an organizer with the Minnesota Abortion Access Committee, listed three demands as part of the group’s campaign for trans rights. The first was to make Minnesota a real trans refuge, with local agencies creating and advertising structures of support for trans refugees like housing and job placement, as well as assistance with navigating the healthcare system. The second demand was to make the name change process cheaper, non-invasive, and private, with Berger pointing out that name changes cost $322 on average in Minnesota and are matters of public record, meaning that trans people’s deadnames, or names given at birth, are accessible by public records requests. The third demand was to fund gender-affirming care at the state level. “It's one thing to say trans people are welcome here. It's another thing to mean it and practice that solidarity,” she said.

Michelle Hanlon, an organizer with Minnesota 50501, spoke about the experience of working as a healthcare provider for trans people, reminding the crowd of the importance of real support for trans people in an era when trans people are under attack more than ever.

“Visibility without support makes you a target,” Hanlon said, pointing out that Children’s Minnesota, a vital children’s hospital within the Twin Cities area, had been forced to end their gender-affirming care program due to politically motivated attacks against their organization.

Jae Yates, a member of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, the Taking Back Pride Coalition, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization stated, “I see the same choice before us now. Will we submit, or will we resist? Will we hide, or fight? Will we accept a life where we are second-class citizens, afraid to take a damn piss in public, or will we demand the same respect, dignity and privacy that many cis people take for granted?”

The mood then turned solemn in remembrance of Sam Nordquist, a Black trans man from Minnesota who was tortured and murdered by a group of people in upstate New York in 2025 after he moved away from his support network in Minnesota.

Khrys Wetzel, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, read a speech written by Kayla Nordquist, Sam’s sister, who asked that protesters remember her brother as more than what happened to him. “Being seen should never come at the cost of someone’s life,” Nordquist wrote. “No one should have to choose between being themselves and being safe. Sam deserved to be seen. He deserved to be respected. He deserved to live a full, long life, without fear.”

Rae Rowe, the cofounder of the Paper Lantern Project, spoke about the organization’s work providing mutual aid and name-change clinics for Asian American and Pacific Islander trans people

Rowe stated, “They’re afraid of a love that shows ways to exist beyond capitalism, beyond tyranny, beyond the powers that be. And the last few months, we have seen what happens when we are powered by love instead of hate.”

As the rally came to a close, the protesters lined the streets with signs calling for the protection of trans youth and for justice for Sam Nordquist. Drivers honked in support as organizers led the crowd in chants of “No hate! No fear! Trans people are welcome here!” and “We’re not here to compromise! Hands off trans lives!”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #LGBTQ #Trans #TransDayOfVisibility #MNAAC

Milwaukee, WI – On Tuesday, March 31, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee held a rally for Trans Day of Visibility. The event took place at the UWM library and was co-sponsored by Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

This rally started on a somber note, with local trans musicians playing songs of solidarity and hope.

Sasha Gurin from SDS spoke to his experience as a trans youth and the importance of the student movement’s fight for equality of gender in schools. He too spoke of the need for the queer and trans community to fight back against Trump’s agenda, telling attendees that the struggle for trans liberation is principally one against the Trump agenda, and it is on us to unite with the struggles for Palestinian liberation, immigrant rights, and countless others.

A member of Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee stated, “Our work for reproductive justice does not exist without the fight for trans rights.” They then spoke to today’s present fight, and the work to be done. “While trans folks are visible, they're not all protected, and visibility without protection just leaves people vulnerable. It leaves people vulnerable to attacks, and harm, to hate and violence, vulnerable to supreme court rulings like the one that just came in this morning.”

This event came the same day as a dangerous Supreme Court ruling which overturned Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy for minors. This dangerous ruling sets precedent for similar rulings in 26 other states with similar laws. While the attacks from the Trump administration continue, so do the defenses of the people.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #TransDayofVisibility #LGBTQ #Trans #SDS #StudentMovement #WomensMovement

Tacoma, WA – On March 31, over 30 people took to the streets to rally for transgender rights. Community members spoke on the importance of Transgender Day of Visibility, and how it intersects with the working class, climate justice, and indigenous sovereignty. After speeches, a short march, and an indigenous cultural offering from a two-spirit person, people filled the municipal building to speak during the city council meeting.

On the city’s agenda was a Transgender day of Visibility proclamation fought for by community organizers and signed by the mayor and city council.

This rally and march were called by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and also came in response to a Supreme Court decision to re-legalize conversion therapy. Many community members feared how this could impact them at home and at work.

Haze Bender, a union warehouse worker with Teamsters Local 174, said, “Everything we do is informed and impacted by our relationship to production. As workers under capitalism, we have a lot more commonality than differences with the people we work alongside. Remember, most of our oppression is coming from the people above, rather than the people alongside us.” Bender stressed the importance of trans and working class solidarity.

“The United States government sent us [to boarding schools], along with all Indians, where they criminalized our languages, changed our names, and attempted to erase our way of being,” said River Bandi, a two-spirit speaker from the Ojibwa and Odawa First Nations. “They did not succeed. My existence is a testament to the resilience of my ancestors.”

“My mom told me growing up, if you marry another woman, or if you marry somebody that is not Latin, I will disown you,” said Amelia Isabel Escobedo, a two-spirit person with the Brown Berets. She rejected that narrow view, saying instead “You are a part of me and I am a part of you. And we are family.”

Tacomans made it clear that they would not sit down while the Trump administration continued to attack trans rights. After chants of “Trans rights now,” over ten people took the energy of the rally into city council chambers to demand material protections for trans people in Tacoma.

“So on this Transgender Day of Visibility, I ask you to do more than see us,” Dez Chalfant said to the city council in chambers. “Stand with us. Fight with us. Protect us. Because we are not going anywhere.” Chalfant is a rank-and-file member of UFCW 367 and a representative on the Pierce County Central Labor Council.

During the council meeting chants of “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!” echoed through the building, reminding the council that the residents of Tacoma is ready and willing to fight for trans people. The city of Tacoma passed the proclamation for Trans Day of Visibility.

#TacomaWA #WA #TransDayOfVisibility #LGBTQ #Trans #WomensMovement

Declaración del Día de la Visibilidad Trans por el Equipo de Trabajo del Movimiento LGBTQ y de las Mujeres de la Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad

En el Día de la Visibilidad Transgénero, la Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad se une a las masas de personas transgénero que se niegan a ser borradas de la vida pública. Este último año hubo una escalada de órdenes ejecutivas anti-trans del gobierno de Trump y legislación reaccionaria en estados de todo el país. La lucha por la visibilidad ha sido ardua y debe ser defendida. Ahora es el momento de salir a las calles para exigir la liberación trans.

Los ataques contra la atención médica para personas trans han tomado un lugar central en la agenda anti-LGBTQ de Trump. Mientras 27 estados ya han aprobado leyes para limitar la atención de afirmación de género para jóvenes trans, Trump busca prohibir esta atención médica en todo el país bloqueando los fondos de Medicaid y Medicare para todos los servicios en hospitales que también brinden atención pediátrica de afirmación de género. Trump ha dado a los hospitales un ultimátum: terminen sus programas de atención de afirmación de género para jóvenes o enfrenten la bancarrota. Esto ya ha resultado en una pausa de la atención en muchos centros, incluso en aquellos estados donde la atención de afirmación de género para jóvenes aún está protegida por la ley local.

El Tribunal del Cuarto Circuito, cuyos jueces fueron designados por Trump, lleva estos ataques un paso más allá al dictaminar que el programa de Medicaid de Virginia Occidental puede excluir la cobertura de todos los procedimientos de atención de afirmación de género, incluso para adultos que dan su consentimiento. La decisión abre la puerta a prohibiciones similares en otros estados. Esto nunca se trató de proteger a los niños. Los ataques contra los jóvenes trans erosionan la autonomía corporal de todas las personas trans, y estamos viendo cómo los verdaderos planes de las fuerzas reaccionarias toman forma en tiempo real. Nuestros enemigos buscan eliminar por completo la atención de afirmación de género y borrar a las personas trans de la existencia, y debemos luchar contra ellos en todos los frentes.

Los derechos civiles de las personas trans en Estados Unidos son extremadamente desiguales y precarios. Las leyes varían de un estado a otro. En Kansas, las licencias de conducir de las personas trans están siendo revocadas de manera masiva. Por el contrario, en Minnesota, se aprobó una ley de refugio trans para proteger a pacientes y proveedores de atención de afirmación de género. Dependiendo de dónde vivan, las personas trans enfrentan leyes sobre baños y prohibiciones en deportes, son desgenerizadas a la fuerza en las escuelas, quedan desprotegidas contra la discriminación laboral, y más. Pero esta polarización también ofrece un terreno fértil para las semillas de la lucha. La resistencia organizada es la única manera de derrotar estos ataques, defender nuestros logros y mejorar verdaderamente las condiciones de vida de las personas trans.

En todo el país, miembros de la Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad han liderado la lucha por la liberación trans mediante protestas contra los recortes a la atención de afirmación de género, oponiéndose a leyes anti-LGBTQ, movilizando a sus comunidades contra los crímenes de odio y exigiendo justicia por las vidas trans arrebatadas. OSCL participa en eventos anuales por el Día de la Visibilidad Trans, el Día de la Memoria Trans, así como en protestas durante el Mes del Orgullo que reviven el espíritu revolucionario de Stonewall. Las campañas para reducir el costo de los cambios de nombre y fortalecer los recursos de santuario para refugiados trans mantienen viva la lucha por la liberación trans durante todo el año. Donde la gente se organiza y lucha, hay victorias por ganar.

En su acelerado declive, el imperio estadounidense seguirá lanzando ataques represivos contra los pueblos trabajadores y oprimidos como un medio para evitar el cambio revolucionario. Debemos ayudar a quienes luchan por cualquier tipo de liberación a ver la liberación trans como entrelazada con la suya propia. La visibilidad es solo el comienzo. Un día, las personas trans serán más que visibles—tendrán el poder político para tomar sus destinos en sus propias manos.

#TransDayofVisibility #LGBTQ #WomensMovement

Trans Day of Visibility Statement by the Women’s & LBGTQ Work Team of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization

On Transgender Day of Visibility, Freedom Road Socialist Organization unites with the masses of transgender people who refuse to be erased from public life. This past year saw an escalation in anti-trans Executive Orders from the Trump administration and reactionary legislation in states across the country. The struggle for visibility has been hard-fought and must be defended. Now is the time to hit the streets to demand trans liberation.

Attacks on trans healthcare have taken center stage in Trump’s anti-LGBTQ agenda. While 27 states have already enacted laws to limit gender affirming care for trans youth, Trump intends to ban this healthcare nationwide by blocking Medicaid and Medicare funding for all services at hospitals that also provide pediatric gender-affirming care. Trump has given hospitals an ultimatum: end their youth gender-affirming care programs or face bankruptcy. Already, this has resulted in a pause in care at many facilities, including those in states where gender-affirming care for youth is still protected under local law.

The Trump-appointed 4th Circuit Court takes these attacks a step further, ruling that West Virginia’s Medicaid program can exclude coverage of all gender-affirming care procedures, even for consenting adults. The decision opens the door for similar bans in other states. This was never about protecting children. Attacks on trans youth chip away at the bodily autonomy of all trans people, and we are seeing the true plans of reactionary forces take shape in real time. Our enemies seek to eliminate gender-affirming care in its entirety and to stamp trans people out of existence, and we must fight them on every front.

The civil rights of trans people in the United States are extremely uneven and precarious. Laws vary from state to state. In Kansas, the drivers licenses of trans people are being revoked en masse. Conversely, in Minnesota, a trans refuge bill was passed to protect patients and providers of gender-affirming care. Depending on where they live, trans people face bathroom bills and sports bans, are forcibly misgendered in schools, left unprotected from workplace discrimination, and more. But this polarization also offers fertile soil for the seeds of struggle. Organized resistance is the only way to beat back these attacks, defend our gains, and truly improve the conditions in the lives of transgender people.

Across the country, members of Freedom Road Socialist Organization have led the fight for trans liberation by protesting cuts to gender-affirming care, opposing anti-LGBTQ bills, rallying their communities against hate crimes, and demanding justice for stolen trans lives. FRSO is involved in yearly events for Trans Day of Visibility, Trans Day of Remembrance, as well as protests during Pride Month that revive the revolutionary spirit of Stonewall. Campaigns to lower the cost of name changes and bolster sanctuary resources for trans refugees ignite the struggle for trans liberation year-round. Where people stand and fight, there are victories to be won.

In its accelerating decline, the U.S. Empire will continue to launch repressive attacks against working and oppressed people as a means to prevent revolutionary change. We must help those fighting for liberation of any kind to see trans liberation as intertwined with their own. Visibility is only the beginning. One day, trans people will be more than visible—they will have the political power to take their destinies into their own hands.

#TransDayOfVisibility #Trans #LGBTQ #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #Statement #FRSO

Chicago, IL – On Monday, March 16, UIC students gathered in the Women’s Leadership and Resource Center to learn about and discuss women’s and LGBTQ liberation and socialism.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization held the presentation and discussions to commemorate Women’s History Month by showing how both women and the LGBTQ community are oppressed by capitalism, and that both have an interest in fighting for socialism.

Speakers engaged the audience in discussion about how the rich benefit from gender-based exploitation in and out of the workplace. Audience members shared personal experiences of seeing how women in their life face gendered oppression in both their jobs and in their homes.

“LGBTQ equality presents a direct challenge to this oppressive system, and so LGBTQ people are also subject to severe repression, including discrimination in employment, housing, education, and healthcare, and denial of the right to marriage equality,” explained River Argyilan from FRSO.

Students also shared the stories of women fighters for liberation including Claudia Jones, a Black Trinidadian communist woman who was a dedicated leader within the Communist Party USA in the 1940s and 50s, as well as Marisol Marquez, an active Chicana revolutionary in California who is a member of FRSO.

Presenters recommended that students read Marisol Marquez’s pamphlet “My Journey to Aztlán,” which discusses her path to becoming a revolutionary Chicana activist, and to honor Women’s History Month by continuing to study and fight for women’s and LGBTQ liberation as an integral part of the struggle for socialism.

#ChicagoIL #IL #WomensMovement #LGBTQ #InternationalWomensDay #FRSO

New Orleans, LA – On Sunday March 8 around 1 p.m., a crowd of around 40 community members rallied outside the Hale Boggs Federal Building and marched to City Hall for International Women’s Day. The action was called by the Queer and Trans Community Action Project (QTCAP).

“Donald Trump and Jeff Landry are openly organizing and openly having legislative aggression towards women. They are coming after reproductive rights. They are also coming after birth control pills,” Contessa Chenevert of QTCAP exclaimed. “They are also coming after queer people, trans people under the guise of family values. It is important to stand up for one another and to stand up for our communities internationally as our government continues to bomb women and children with our tax dollars.”

Sanaa Monterosso, a member of New Orleans Stop Helping Israel's Ports (NOSHIP) stated, “When we see women having their rights and voices reduced, we also see a girl’s school in Iran being bombed and martyred mothers of Palestine having their voices reduced and silenced. All women are under attack under capitalism.”

The crowd chanted, “How do you spell misogyny?! T-H-E G-O-P,” “International Women’s Day, immigrants built the USA!” as they marched to City Hall.

Juleea Berthelot, a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said, “The inequality that women and gender oppressed people face is systemic. It violates every inch of our lives. In the workplace, we face unequal gender division of labor which means super-exploitation that enriches the capitalists that run this country. The same capitalists that create or support laws that strip us of our rights and autonomy of our bodies. We need real change; we need a revolution because they are trying to strip us of our basic democratic rights!”

“The Trump administration has been using the rhetoric of ‘defending women’ to justify many of its repressive policies,” said Molly Frayle, a member of QTCAP. She promoted QTCAP’s campaign to make New Orleans a sanctuary city for women and LGBTQ people.

Frayle stated, “We know that the city council likes to make promises and do nothing. I don’t care if they feel bad enforcing Trump’s policies. Because at the end of the day, if they choose to be the hammers that Trump uses to smash our communities, they have picked a side and it’s the wrong side. QTCAP demands that our city council make New Orleans a safe haven for all LGBTQ people, women and families.”

#NewOrleansLA #LA #InternationalWomensDay #LGBTQ #WomensMovement

Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, March 8, the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC), Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee and other partners hosted a protest and march on International Women’s Day at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. The protest drew over 500 people across generations and movements.

International Women's Day was born as a result of mass action by immigrant working women. These women walked out and began marching to demand better lives. The rights we have today came from people who refused to stay silent, refused to stay home, and refused to accept the conditions imposed on them. This International Women's Day, organizers in the Twin Cities demanded protection for our immigrant neighbors, opposition to U.S. militarism, community control of the police, freedom for the wrongfully incarcerated, resistance to U.S. imperialism across the globe, and trans liberation now.

An immigrant woman representing MIRAC stated, “All we want is peace – stop treating us like criminals and delinquents and start treating us like the workers that we are.” Other speakers detailed the horrors immigrant women face in detention centers, including, sexual assault, forced sterilization, and forced birth.

Nekima Levy Armstrong is a pastor, lawyer, and leader who was arrested earlier this year, celebrated the people’s unified response to Operation Metro Surge.

Isavela Lopez is an organizer in the Twin Cities who was abused by ICE in June. That abuse resulted in four federal charges which she is still fighting. During her speech, she linked immigration to U.S. imperialism. She spoke about how when the federal government destabilizes other countries, the families in those countries are forced to migrate.

An organizer with Women Against Military Madness stated, “War and regime change has never liberated women of other countries. Any attempt by the U.S. government to tell you that their bombing and killing campaigns abroad are for the safety of women is an outright lie.”

A representative of 50501 told the crowd, “Many people are just beginning to realize how discriminatory and racist these so-called public safety agencies are. But immigrant communities and communities of color have been dealing with the practices for a long time.”

Mona Samuels spoke about the brutal death of her sister. Minutes after the police left her sister with her abuser, she was shot 22 times and killed. Their cases show how racist and sexist the Minneapolis Police Department is, and why we need community control of the police.

Nicole Anschutz and Nicole Farias-Lezama spoke on behalf of the Planned Parenthood Union. Nicole Farias-Lezama said, “Eliminating trans rights reinforces traditional gender stereotypes and patriarchal systems that have historically oppressed women.”

This International Women's Day, many speakers highlighted the attacks on the transgender community, namely, in Kansas where trans people have had their drivers licenses revoked. On behalf of MNAAC, Natalie Berger introduced a new campaign that focuses on increasing support for trans refugees.

MNAAC’s next action is planned for Trans Day of Visibility. It will be held at Walker Library on March 31 at 6 p.m.

Beth Miller is a member of Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC).

#MinneapolisMN #MN #InternationalWomensDay #WomensMovement #LGBTQ #ImmigrantRights

Santa Ana, CA- On Saturday, March 7, about 50 community members rallied in El Salvador Park for International Women’s Day. Despite the intense gusts of Santa Ana winds, participants remained in high spirits. They condemned the many attacks on women and LGBTQ people by the Trump administration.

Rain Mendoza from CSO OC’s immigration committee kicked off the speeches and talked about the impact ICE terror, stating, “An example of this are the many women who have miscarried at detention centers, women who were sexually assaulted by ICE impersonators, and the rape of a Nicaraguan detainee at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center.”

Rachel Pozos, co-founder of AlianzaTransLatinx talked about her experience living in Orange County as a trans, immigrant woman for the last 21 years. “I haven’t always been seen by society with the dignity I deserve. Even then, I get up every day with the force that my identity gives me.” Pozos added, “Being an immigrant has taught me to value my roots, to hold on to my culture, and remember that there are a lot of us who have crossed borders for a better future where we can be ourselves, without fear or shame.”

Local writer Anatalia Valdez presented spoken word poetry focused on ancestral connections and social justice. Posters honoring several women, including Emma Tenayuca, Renee Good and Dolores Huerta, were on the trees surrounding the crowd in the park.

Guadalupe Barragan, a resident and organizer of the Coach Royal mobile home park, energized the crowd with a fiery speech. “I live in a mobile home park and we are having a terrible time. The managers and the owners of the park harass the residents, they take their homes. There was even a death. This person ended up taking their own life. We need to stand up for our rights!” Barragan called out the owners of the park, stating, “The Kingsley corporation are murderers, thieves, and we are not going to allow it!”

While speeches went on, park users started to gather at the event to listen in. In the background, children made art at CSO OC’s childcare station.

The women fighting for justice for their loved ones killed by police were highlighted during the program. A statement by Erika Armenta was read. She is the wife of Noe Rodriguez, who was killed by Santa Ana Police in December 2024. She and her daughters have been driving the fight for justice and to hold the officers responsible accountable.

Pearl Arzola, sister of Albert Arzola who was killed by Anaheim Police in December of 2025 spoke on being a single mother of three while fighting for justice. “There are days where the weight feels heavy, where sleep is short, and when you question if you’re doing enough. But women keep going. Mothers keep going. We push forward. Not for ourselves but for our children and for the generations that come after us.”

A DJ set by Tan Tan Club played in the background of a program intermission as participants visited the organizational tables set up around the park. Francis Co. and the Lusitanos also performed music delivering stories of life in Santa Ana.

Hala Nakhoul of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) spoke about coming to the U.S. as a teenager, a choice made out of desperation by her mother, stating, “We thought that America was the land of the free and the home of the brave, but after over 40 years living in this country, it has been my experience that this is the land of proxy wars for our occupier Israel.”

Diana Terreros of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) stated, “Right now we see a feminism that celebrates the bombing of Iran in the name of liberating women while ignoring that one of the first bombings in this war killed more than 100 girls at an elementary school.” Terreros concluded, “Over time, I realized, like many women before me have realized, that women cannot be free until we establish socialism through a revolution. I joined FRSO because I'm serious about making this happen.”

The crowd ended the event strong by marching towards Civic Center Drive to hold a sign-waving. Signs read “Stand with immigrant women” and “Stop the deportations – keep families together.” They chanted “Trump escucha, estamos en la lucha!” as cars driving by honked in support.

The event was organized by CSO Orange County and endorsed by USPCN, United Domestic Workers, FRSO, Pride at the Pier, AlianzaTransLatinx, South Asian Network, and more.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #InternationalWomensDay #WomensMovement #LGBTQ #OppressedNationalities

Washington, D.C. – On March 8, over 30 people took to the streets of Washington, D.C. for an International Women’s Day march.

The crowd gathered at Malcolm X Park to stand up for immigrant women, women affected by police violence and war, and for working women struggling for their rights around the world.

The rally was organized by DC Against the Trump Agenda, a coalition of organizations from across the DMV, and co-sponsored by Families Not Feds Coalition, and the newly launched Anti-War Committee DMV, and other groups in the DC area.

One of the emcees from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization DC, Kristen Bonner, kicked the rally off, stating to the crowd, “Whether it’s in Venezuela, Cuba, Palestine, the Philippines, or Iran, women are under attack in these countries because the United States is there bombing them, destabilizing them, and trying to hold these countries back. To that we say shame,” to which the crowd echoed “Shame!” in unity.

Bonner continued, “Without the labor of women, this country, or any country for that matter, would not function. We demand an end to violence in all forms against women, and full reproductive rights so we can determine our futures for ourselves!”

Several other speakers put forward the demands for working-class women, Black women, immigrant women, queer women and the LGBTQ community, and women affected by war and U.S. imperialism.

One of these speakers included the mother of Phillip Brown, a Black man who barely escaped being shot to death in his car when Homeland Security agents occupying DC shot into his vehicle. The shooting was covered up by Metropolitan Police Department officers, the chief of police, and the mayor. The U.S. Attorney’s office declined to charge the HSI agents because “no one was hit by the bullets.” His mother spoke on the ways that police violence particularly impacts women and families and reiterated the need for Black and brown women to stand together in the fight for justice.

Terra Martin, a member of the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, also spoke at the rally, saying “Across the country women, especially Black and brown mothers, are fighting battles many never see. We are fighting systems that judge us by our culture instead of our love. We fight systems that separate families instead of supporting them. Too often, mothers are punished for being poor.”

Rally participants then marched through the park and onto the streets of DC, making their way down the crowded U Street Corridor in spite of police officers making the planned march route difficult to proceed. The route was specifically chosen to disrupt the city’s plans to impose a youth curfew zone on the U Street Corridor, targeting Black youth.

Onlookers from nearby establishments and apartments cheered the group.

Several onlookers even joined the march, which concluded at the history Florida Avenue and 7th Street NW corner, where DC’s anti-gentrification “Don’t Mute DC” movement was born. There, as DC’s “Go-Go” music played in the background, other community members joined in with their support during the closing speeches

A speaker for Anti-War Committee DMV concluded the event stating, “They oppress women here, they oppress women all over the world. But what they don’t realize is that that is our greatest weapon – that commonality that we are all being oppressed by the same enemy, the U.S. war machine – and now we can all come together to fight that shared enemy.”

#WashingtonDC #DC #InternationalWomensDay #WomensMovement #LGBTQ

Milwaukee, WI – Over the weekend of March 7, Milwaukee’s International Women’s Day Coalition held two large community events honoring the ongoing women’s struggle. The decision to make the holiday a two day event came from the success of last year's march, taking place shortly after Trump’s second inauguration.

On Saturday, March 7, workshops and talks were held at PEAK initiative, a youth learning center located in Milwaukee’s midtown neighborhood. The four-hour event opened with poetry by Jonah Denae, a Milwaukee-based rapper and poet, and included keynote speaker Francesca Hong, a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly who is currently running for Wisconsin governor.

The workshops included “Women, Labor and Socialism” from FRSO and “Indigenous Matriarchy” from the Urban Indigenous League. The “Reproductive Justice for All” panel was led by Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee (RJAM) and Care for All – two local organizations dedicated to safe abortion access and healthcare. The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR) and the Milwaukee Area Labor Council led a “Know Your Rights” training, focusing on preparedness for ICE activity in the state.

Artists sold original works and prints, and all proceeds went back into the IWD coalition. Guests were served Thai, Laotian and Vietnamese food made by Mekong Cafe.

A plaque honoring Nada Mabourak, a fierce leader and dedicated activist who suddenly passed away just over a month ago, was given to Mabourak’s mother.

Most of Saturday’s participants, as well as some new faces, reassembled Sunday afternoon, March 8, in King Park for a rally and march through the King Park neighborhood as well as parts of downtown Milwaukee.

The opening rally placed heavy emphasis on the connection between women’s rights and immigrant rights. A member of ICE out of MKE Coalition spoke on the devastating effects deportations can have on families, and how class and immigration status can have ruinous effects on the education and safety of girls and women.

A member of MAARPR shared her own experience as a first generation Mexican-American woman and of the terror ICE is bringing to the Florida community she comes from. “There are no women’s rights without immigrant rights. When a mother is scared to take her children to school because of ICE, that is a violation of her rights. You can't say a woman is free when she is constantly looking over her shoulder.”

Finally, the US Palestinian Community Network spoke on the steadfastness and strength of the Palestinian women under the decades of violent Israeli occupation and honored those who have been martyred in the ongoing genocide.

Marchers were led by the IWD Coalition banner which read, “Families Fight Back! Stop Killer ICE. Bodily Autonomy For All.” As they started their route they chanted “The women, united, will never be defeated!” “Keep abortion safe and legal!” Hundreds of voices echoed off of the buildings around the marchers and were easily heard for blocks.

Many people were carrying signs supplied by the large FRSO contingent, which read “Stand with immigrant women. Solidaridad con les mujeres immigrantes.” Some made and brought their own, with slogans like “Destroy the patriarchy not the planet” and “Women’s liberation – not capitalist feminism.”

At the second stop the crowd heard from Students for a Democratic Society, BLOC or Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, as well as Dr. Anna G Mirer, a primary care provider who is currently the last healthcare professional in Milwaukee providing gender-affirming care for minors.

The energy stayed high the entire way back to King Park. “What’s disgusting? Union busting! What’s outrageous? Kids in cages!” bounced off of the Fiserv Forum and carried through to parts of the city the marchers hadn’t reached by foot.

Back at King Park RJAM, the National Union of Healthcare Workers and the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC) gave the final remarks. A member if MAC concluded with “To liberate women here at home and around the world we must be anti-imperialist and fight against the military industrial complex. As we conclude our march, let’s remember that we were marching today in solidarity with immigrant women, for justice for Renee Good, for justice for the Iranian girls murdered in the U.S. strike and for all oppressed women everywhere.”

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #InternationalWomensDay #WomensMovement #LGBTQ #ImmigrantRights

Tacoma, WA – Over 300 people took to the streets on March 8, International Women’s Day, to fight back against women’s oppression. As the crowd marched to the city’s municipal building, they chanted “One struggle, one fight! Immigrant justice, women’s rights!”

Opening and closing the event, speeches and other performances highlighted the struggles of working women, emphasizing oppressed nationality and immigrant women. The event was organized by a coalition of more than 20 organizations.

“I feel like this is one little way that I can help, there’s many other ways that I do throughout my day that I try to help. It’s just really frustrating because there’s just so much that happens every day that you have to keep up on. Especially with ICE, people killing people, putting them in concentration camps,” said Chanel Squally Jensen, an attendee who is an enrolled member of the Puyallup Tribe.

“I am a transgender woman. I stand in solidarity with women everywhere. I stand with queer folk everywhere. With those who are oppressed, everywhere. It’s a fight that never ended, a battle that we are facing today together,” said Adora Day, member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, during speeches at Tollefson Plaza.

After speeches at Tollefson Plaza, the crowd began marching towards Ben Gilbert Park.

“As an LGBTQ member, it affects me, but everybody is affected by this. Whether you are female or not. It’s a systemic issue that affects all of us. I can’t just sit at home and do nothing. I’m here to try and help build the new world now. Build what we want it to look like now,” said Morgana Nighthawk.

“I’m marching to fight for women’s rights, all women; immigrant women, trans women, everyone,” said Erica Garrett, marching from Tollefson Plaza to Ben Gilbert Park. Marchers chanted: “Not the church, not the state! Women will decide our fate!”

After the march reached Ben Gilbert Park and gathered on the street, the community and organizers had more speeches and cultural offerings. Jullia Bobodilla and members of Climate Alliance of the South Sound shared a song honoring missing and murdered indigenous women. Speakers addressed the fight for women’s rights against anti-immigrant terror and against the national oppression of indigenous people. Before the march dispersed, organizers and attendees declared that they would continue to fight for workers, immigrants and women's rights.

#TacomaWA #WA #InternationalWomensDay #WomensMovement #LGBTQ #ImmigrantRights

Grand Rapids, Michigan – 30 community members gathered at the East Church on Saturday for a panel discussion of International Women’s Day. The three panelists who spoke were Jessica Plichta of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Jess Westra of IATSE Local 26, and Kawiye Jumale of A Glimpse of Africa.

Kawiye Jumale spoke of her experience as a child refugee of the Somali civil war, and the long struggle to immigrate to the United States stating, “It was a lengthy process. They [her parent’s] had already stayed in the camp for eleven years, before the process began. In those eleven years, is when I was born.”

Jessica Plichta stated, “Here in the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, we’re in the streets and the meeting halls, and we’ll let it be known that we stand with undocumented women, children and families. ICE terror needs to be stopped now.”

Plichta continued. “During my time in Venezuela, I met revolutionaries who fought and defended the Bolivarian Revolution against U.S. intervention and won. There have been significant advancements for women in society, the workplace and education. Most of the government officials I met and heard speak were women, such as Delcy Rodríguez, the vice president and current acting president of Venezuela.”

Trade unionist Jess Westra taught the crowd about the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, when 146 women and children died due to the ownership’s disregard for safety.

“Let’s talk about the manager that was on site, who was in the room and saw the smoke. Do you know what his response was? He leaves, and locks the door behind him,” Westra said. “Children and women were throwing things at the fire, trying to put it out, and they reached for the firehose which had disintegrated. The water won’t come out of the pipes because they haven’t been checked.”

Afterward, the crowd asked several questions of the panelists and made comments from their own experiences as women or as allies to women. To finish off the event, the group gathered for a picture and chanted, “Long live International Women’s Day!”

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #InternationalWomensDay #WomensMovement #LGBTQ

Tallahassee, FL – On Sunday, March 8, over 60 community members joined the Tallahassee Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) march to commemorate International Women’s Day.

The march was not just a commemoration of the international socialist holiday but also a march demanding an end to the system of injustice and attacks by the United States against women.

Tallahassee protesters demanded to “End ICE terror” against women like Marimar Martinez and Renee Nicole Good, to “Release political prisoners” like Cilia Flores and Leqaa Kordia, and to “Protect immigrant women!”

After an initial rally, people took to the streets, starting at Cascades Park then marching to the Florida Capitol Building. Participants marched in both lanes of Monroe Street, a major downtown road, blocking traffic and making their demands heard. FRSO marched at the front, their banner on display to the busy Tallahassee traffic.

Katy Kurzweil of FRSO told the crowd, “Capitalism is the machine that lets us believe we can take a step forward, but then actually takes us three steps back. We need to tear down this entire system! We in the FRSO believe that the path forward for women is socialism!”

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization was joined by groups like the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance, and student groups like FAMU Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Tallahassee SDS, and FSU YDSA.

A member of YDSA made the demands of this historic holiday clear when she said, “We cannot have the liberation of women without the liberation of the working class, and we cannot have the liberation of the working class without the liberation of women!”

Tallahassee FRSO and organizers across the city commemorate the brave history of working women and all oppressed women abroad who have fought for their liberation! Those involved in this event will also be playing a leading role in No Kings at the Florida Capitol Building on March 28 at 3 p.m. For more information, follow @frso_tally on Instagram.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #InternationalWomensDay #WomensMovement #LGBTQ

Colorado Springs, CO – On March 2, members of the Colorado Springs Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (COSAARPR) gathered in front of City Hall to release a press statement on the investigation of Richard Arford and call out the CSPD for inaction in the six months since his death.

Banners calling for independent oversight of Richard Arford’s investigation billowed in the wind as members chanted “CSPD, we want transparency” and “Detective Crofoot we see you, racist, homophobic, sexist too” while raising signs demanding the CSPD detective Edward Crofoot met with the family now.

On September 2, Richard Arford, a gay Chicano man, was found naked, bruised and unconscious inside a burning abandoned building off a major roadway. His mother, Olivia Diez, was initially told by Detective Crofoot it was being investigated as a suicide. Diez disagreed and tried repeatedly to call Detective Crofoot but was met with complete silence for two months until COSAARPR released a statement on October 31 calling attention to the suspicious circumstances of Richard’s death.

“Richard’s mother, Olivia, has been treated by Detective Crofoot in a way that can only be described as gaslighting” said Jessie Proffitt, secretary for COSAARPR.

Proffitt stated that Diez “knew that she saw injuries all over Richard’s body when he was in the hospital, but Detective Crofoot claimed that he didn’t have any notable injuries like that, and any he had were likely from firefighters dragging him out of the building.” The autopsy showed abrasions and lacerations all over Richard’s body, “injuries that absolutely would not be possible from being dragged out of the building.”

Proffitt continued, “In the face of devastating loss, CSPD should not be creating more trauma, pain and confusion, but they have; with lies, minimization, and gross negligence of this investigation.” Proffitt concluded by raising demands of COSAARPR and the family, stating, “We join them in demanding answers, transparency, and honesty; a thorough investigation of this case as a potential homicide; support from a victim’s advocate; and a face-to-face meeting with Detective Edward Crofoot.”

COSAARPR has since called on community members to call Detective Crofoot’s office number at 719-444-7786 and demand that Detective Crofoot meet with the family face to face.

#ColoradoSpringsCO #CO #InjusticeSystem #LGBTQ #OppressedNationalities

International Women’s Day is a day of struggle, and it is a day to resist Trump’s cruel campaign of abductions and deportations. In Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago, and so many other cities and towns, history is being made. This year’s International Women’s Day will be one to part of the heroic, historic and powerful resistance that is unfolding to Trump’s agenda. In the streets and in meeting halls, we will let it be known that we stand with undocumented women. children and families. ICE terror needs to be stopped. Now.

The origins of International Women’s Day can be found in the struggle of immigrant working women in New York City. On March 8, 1908, there was a powerful protest of women garment workers. They went on strike for 13 long winter weeks and in the end they were victorious. Drawing inspiration from this struggle, the German socialist leader Clara Zetkin proposed at a 1910 gathering of socialist women that March 8 be celebrated as International Women’s Day.

The inequality visited upon women is systematic and permeates every sphere of life. In the workplaces, an unequal, gendered division of labor means super exploitation – enriching the capitalists who run this country. In social life, it means women doing most of the work in the home. Basic democratic rights are trampled on, including the right to control our own bodies, and to have an abortion or not as we chose. Physical violence, rape, sexual harassment served to reinforce this inequality, as does the reactionary, right-wing attacks on LGBTQ people.

U.S. monopoly capitalism is in a downward spiral. As a result, every contradiction inside this society is sharpening, including those of gender – making for more oppression and more resistance to that oppression. In response to the attacks on reproductive rights, many have been taken to the streets. There has been consistent and determined opposition to the attacks on trans people. And millions are standing up to Trump’s deportation machine. Our enemies cannot be given a moment of peace.

Declining U.S. imperialism is waging war on Iran, and some apologists talk about Iranian women in their attempts to make the criminal bombings seem reasonable. It speaks volumes that one of the first massacres of this war was the bombing at Minab – killing more than 100 girls at an elementary school. It is in the interest of the vast majority of women across the globe, and others as well, that the crusaders for empire are defeated in Iran.

On International Women’s Day, 2026, we find ourselves at a crossroads. One of those paths is bleak, offering discrimination, systematic inequality, denying people gender-affirming health care, and promoting the misogyny of bigots. On this path you meet monsters like Donald Trump or Jonathan Ross, the killer of Renee Good.

The other road is the road of liberation, where resistance is celebrated and we undertake the effort of ending oppression and exploitation. In a world where women hold up half the sky, we can fight for a bright and socialist future, where inequality and discrimination are systematically uprooted.

Long Live International Women’s Day!

#WomensMovement #LGBTQ #ImmigrantRights #InternationalWomensDay

New York, NY – On February 18, NYU Langone announced that it would cut gender-affirming care for trans youth. In a statement, the hospital said, “given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program.”

The Students for a Democratic Society chapter at NYU, Young Democratic Socialists of America at NYU, and TParty at NYU organized a contingent to attend a citywide protest organized by the Democratic Socialists of America. The contingent met at Garibaldi Plaza, Washington Square Park before travelling to the rally, which took place at the Stonewall National Monument.

Around 60 protesters gathered at the rally to express their outrage at Langone’s decision to reverse gender affirming care. The Democratic Socialists of America announced their campaign to demand public clinics that provide free gender affirming care in New York City using state funds. Several candidates, activists and others spoke to how this decision by Langone affects the very survival of trans youth and how it was necessary to fight to make sure that they continued to get this lifesaving gender-affirming care.

#NewYorkNY #NY #StudentMovement #LGBTQ

In Sexual Relations and the Class Struggle, the Soviet revolutionary Alexandra Kollontai wrote: “Throughout the long journey of human history, you probably won’t find a time when the problems of sex have occupied such a central place in the life of society.”

These were opening lines, written 105 years ago, to a message of undying love for the working class. In this pamphlet, Kollontai sketched out how capitalism perverts our relationships. It restricts the deep personal connections that we long for. To truly change our hearts, she said, we need to change the system. And we change it in the passion and solidarity of class struggle.

Many of the contradictions of Kollontai’s time continue today in new forms. The right wing demands that we follow patriarchal gender norms. At the same time, capitalist exploitation tears apart the financial stability and emotional bonds of family life. Kollontai teaches us how to avoid errors about this situation, and how this tension helps prepare the terrain for revolution.

Kollontai’s context

When she wrote, the people of the former Russian empire were waging a civil war against supporters of the tsar, backed by Britain, the U.S., and other imperialists. The people were defending the first socialist republic. They were in a mainly agricultural country, with some industrial cities. For decades before, factory workers toiled under brutal conditions. Peasants suffered the terror of landlords. During World War I, as men went off, women took their place in the factories and the fields. In 1917, some of these same women workers in Petrograd went on strike against the war and kicked off a year of revolution. They marched under the banners of “A people’s peace” and “Down with the tsar!” During the Russian Civil War, over 50,000 women joined the Red Army.

From the smoldering battlefield, the women’s movement bloomed. This movement brought with it a new view of family relations. Kollontai organized the first congress of working and peasant women in 1918. That same year, the new Soviet government decriminalized homosexuality, liberalized divorce, and allowed cohabitation outside marriage. In 1919, the Communist Party established its Women’s Section, with Kollontai in charge. In 1920, what was once a semi-feudal monarchy became the first country to legalize abortion.

“Sexual crisis” permeates the masses

The new socialist society was putting patriarchy and gender norms on trial. This is because it had gone through a sexual crisis stoked by decades of capitalism. By “sexual crisis,” Kollontai meant a widespread breakdown in the traditional family structure.

The capitalist sexual crisis permeates all of the masses. “It spreads from the palaces and mansions to the crowded quarters of the working class, looks in on the peaceful dwelling places of the petty-bourgeoisie, and makes its way into the heart of the countryside,” wrote Kollontai. “To imagine that only the members of the well-off sections of society are floundering and in the throes of these problems would be to make a grave mistake.”

Kollontai gives the lie to those who say that being gay or trans is a middle class thing, or a white thing. Neither can feminism be the property of rich women. The decline of the patriarchal family spares no class or nationality.

Material basis of the sexual crisis

The causes of the crisis, she says, are three-quarters economic, one-quarter psychological.

On the economic level, capitalism puts two contradictory forces into motion. On the one hand, it clings to the patriarchal and monogamous family. This is how it passes down property from one generation to the next. It is also how it maintains or grows the size of the workforce. On the other hand, the thirst for profit bleeds working families dry. Having one breadwinner is unsustainable for the working class.

On the psychological level, capitalism promotes unhealthy ideas about relationships, rooted in patriarchal gender norms. These include individualism, or thinking as if we are completely self-made and self-sufficient. This leads to loneliness, which the worker wants to fix with a “soulmate” to solve all their problems. Closely related is possessiveness. As Kollontai puts it: “The claims we make on our ‘contracted partner’ are absolute and undivided. We are unable to follow the simplest rule of love – that another person should be treated with great consideration.” The last factor that Kollontai identifies is women’s material inequality. This leads to chauvinist attitudes and double standards for the emotional and sexual rights women and men have on each other.

To get a taste of these economic and psychological aspects, think about how often we hear “I’m going through her/his/their phone.” Bourgeois possessiveness makes partners feel entitled to every one of the other’s conversations. Women’s inequality puts them in a position of dependence that often gives them no choice but to be on guard about cheating. This doesn’t stop at couples. How heartbreaking is it for an intolerant parent to spy on a closeted LGBTQ child?

From the bank account to the bedroom, capitalism wants us to base our lives around the traditional family. Yet it exploits our livelihoods and warps our minds. If we want to explain domestic violence, sexual assault, divorce rates, children’s estrangement, and LGBTQ homelessness, we need look no further than capitalism’s sexual crisis.

Scattered and unsystematic adaptations

Kollontai then explains: “The destructive influence of capitalism destroys the basis of the worker’s family and forces him unconsciously to ‘adapt’ to the existing conditions.”

To cope, workers adjust their lifestyles. They marry later to afford families. When they can’t afford them, they need abortion and birth control. They turn to prostitution, on one side to put food on the plate, on the other to escape loneliness or experience possession.

Workers’ adaptations are not immediately progressive; they’re a sign of strain. The thorns of the traditional family structure don’t mean that capitalism breaks it down in a good way. We should defend families left out in the cold, for example by fighting deportations.

The rise of LGBTQ and nontraditional relationships is another feature of the sexual crisis, and many make an effort to overcome the capitalist mindset. But Kollontai rejects the thought that new forms of relationships cleanse our hands by themselves. Today, we often see the misconception that some people are revolutionary just because they are queer, open, etc. “The sexual crisis will in no way be reduced whatever kind of marriage or personal relationships people care to try,” she warns.

But the working class’s adaptations are signs that sexist gender norms have rotted to their core.

The working class task: a labor of love

Kollontai sees that the sexual crisis marks at once the death throes of an old society and the birth pangs of a new. “It destroys the monogamous-property-oriented family. On the other hand, a greater fluidity in relationships between the sexes coincides with, and is even the indirect result of one of the basic tasks of the working class.”

The crisis unsettles capitalism and burns with desire for a different order. The working class’s search for love based on true friendship dovetails its struggle for emancipation.

Kollontai makes a comparison to illustrate. Picture, she says, a struggling business owner who takes from his company to bail out his family. “The family comes first,” he will say, and his fellow business owners will agree. In doing so, he undermines his class status.

Now, think of workers on strike. If one crosses the picket line and says it’s to support a family, the picketers will make clear: “The class comes first.” The others on the line also have families, but they know that they can only care for them through solidarity with their coworkers. Their families know it too. The whole class rises together.

Many who’ve lost a relative to police crimes understand. They seek justice for their family, but they know that to get it they have to raise their struggle to a higher level. They fight for all families who suffer from police terror.

Relations of solidarity rise above those of individualism, possession and chauvinism. Think of a woman who shouts back when a passing car harasses her girlfriend. Who wouldn’t envy her love? Think of a boy who stands up to a bully on the playground. What playmate wouldn’t want his friendship? Think of a mother who speaks up to a greedy school board. Who wouldn’t say her kids were lucky for her care?

Kollontai is showing that new relationships are not only possible, they are powerful. The working class learns to form true connections in the struggle. It will need love to change the system, and it’ll need to change the system to properly love. Cupid stands for nothing unarmed. He works only by using his arrows.

Sexual Relations and the Class Struggle can be found at this link.

Serena Sojic-Borne is a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization LGBTQ and Women’s Movement Work Team.

#RevolutionaryTheory #Kollontai #WomensMovement #LGBTQ #ValentinesDay