Trans-Exclusionary Feminisms and the Global New Right

An unprecedented cultural alliance is underway between the anti-trans strand of the radical feminist movement and a new brand of militant right-wing politics that takes issue with the idea that gender is a social and cultural construction. This so-called “anti-gender” movement—which also travels under names such as “gender-critical feminism”—has found immense international power and is especially active in Latin America, continental Europe, and Russia, with different but no less pernicious strains revitalizing longtime trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) communities in England, Canada, the United States, and Australia. Contributors to this special issue consider what the global rise of trans-exclusionary politics and the envelopment of these politics into global right-wing movements might mean for changing understandings of transgender experience, science and medicine, and legal protections. Topics include the emergence of TERF rhetoric in evangelical Christianity, the anti-gender misappropriation of postcolonial thought in Europe, rhetorical and ideological similarities between TERFism and Zionism, and media treatment of J. K. Rowling’s hostility toward trans rights.

Contributors: Serena Bassi, Mikey Elster, Jenny Madsen Evang, Gina Gwenffrewi, Greta LaFleur, Sophie Lewis, C. Libby, Kathryn Lofton, Ezra Berkeley Nepon, Blase Provitola, Heike Schotten, Asa Seresin, and Mat Thompson