UW Milwaukee SDS leads action on campus against anti-trans bigot
Milwaukee, WI – On December 6, members and supporters of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee chapter of the New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led a disruption of a speaking event featuring local anti-trans personality Laura Becker.
Becker is a “detransitioner” and is trying to join the small number of right-wing grifters making a buck from speaking engagements like these which attack all aspects of trans rights and expression. Becker herself is specifically focused on attacking access to gender-affirming healthcare, something which all the research and data supports as life-saving for trans youth in particular but all trans people in general.
The SDS action saw members and supporters sit in on the start of the event. Their group made up half or more of the people in attendance. While sitting in the front row, some members unfurled a large banner that read “Stop trans genocide” well in Becker's view and also ruining any pictures of the event as it was reflected in the glass behind her.
Signs all throughout the venue space and on every seat detailed proper attendance etiquette, and campus police were present to make sure everyone in the room stayed in line.
After a brief talk that railed against trans healthcare and talked of the “growing number of detransitioners” who are unhappy with having undergone treatment, a question-and-answer portion was offered. One SDS member asked about the much larger number of trans people who receive gender-affirming healthcare procedures and are happier because of it. Baker danced around the question.
Once she was finished answering, the SDS contingent stood up and started chanting “Gender-affirming health care saves trans lives!” Before the cops in the room could really get aggressive, though they did put hands on and push one of the women, the group slowly marched out as they chanted. They took the protest outside to the front of the building where they chanted a little longer.
“SDS is committed to showing up at all events like this and making both the speaker and the attendees actually there to listen to them as uncomfortable as possible,” said Patricia Fish of SDS. “Anti-trans bigotry and other hateful ideas have no place being given a platform on campuses.”