Have we finally reached the limit of inclusivity where the only natural next step is division and fragmentation? And does that declining anti-progress leave society culturally worse off than when woke movements started?
Today on X (formerly Twitter) I was typing in variations after the hashtag to be as sexualities and gender inclusive as possible to share my blog post, including #LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer), #LGBTQI (I for Intersex) and #LGBTQIA (A for Asexual), which I hadn’t heard of until today, and seemed the widest and most inclusive group possible, and then a funny thing started to happen in the suggestion box below.
Instead of sub-groups with additions to the #LGBTQ acronym, there were sub-groups with subtractions from the #LGBTQ acronym: #LGBwithouttheT and #LGBWithoutTheTQ, as if instead of widening participation, the wider group was imploding on itself, which seemed like a counter-trend.
When I searched under these hashtags I discovered accounts named @LGBwithouttheT (Account Suspended), “LGB” @LGBWithouttheTQ (584 followers) and @LGBWithoutTQIA ( 16 Followers), and the latter proclaimed, “transgender is a unstable cult- it should be banned/eliminated”. The former shared a link to the LGB Alliance of Reno, whose website opened, “LGB fighting against the radical Queers and TransGender Ideology — We must protect the children.”
A search for LGB Alliance on Twitter revealed an account called “LGB Alliance” @AllianceLGB. I had assumed this account would have a similar small and inconsequential followership like the other accounts quoted above, but it had 75, 200 followers.
This account links to the LGB Alliance website which under a tab named ‘Myths’ appears to support trans rights on the surface, stating:
Fact: LGB Alliance supports trans rights
We fully support trans people in their struggle, for dignity, respect and a life lived free from bigotry and fear. We believe that the issues and priorities for people who are attracted to the same sex (homosexual/bisexual) are different from those of transgender people, and so, with a number of organisations focused on trans people and trans issues, our focus is simply on lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people instead.
https://lgballiance.org.uk/facts/
However, the “Myths” immediately continue with three espoused “FACTS” which seem somewhat contrary to this expressed opinion: 1) “Fact: Sex is binary. Sex in human beings is binary”; 2) “Fact: Sex is observed at birth. Our biological sex (female or male) is determined at conception,”; and 3) “Fact: Gender transition can be the result of homophobia. Very many children, and quite possibly adults, enter the process of gender transition as a result of the homophobia of their parents, peer group, or their own internalised dislike of their sexual orientation. Young gay men or lesbians are being sold a myth that they can be straight, that lesbians are really straight men and that gay men are really straight women. This is homophobic conversion therapy.” And they quote a supporting source in The Times, “Source: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/it-feels-like-conversion-therapy-for-gay-children-say-clinicians-pvsckdvq2” which I couldn’t read because it is behind a paywall.
However, from the LGB Alliance’s description it is hard to reconcile this view with their earlier claim that they “fully support trans people in their struggle, for dignity, respect and a life lived free from bigotry.” It almost seems, dare I say, transphobic, and similar to a Terf ideology.
Terf (Trans-exclusionary radical feminism) ideology, according to Wikipedia is:
“An ideology or movement that opposes what it refers to as “gender ideology”: the concept of gender identity and transgender rights, especially gender self-identification. Gender critical feminists believe that sex is biological and immutable, while believing gender, including both gender identity and gender roles, to be inherently oppressive. They reject the concept of transgender identities. These views have been described as transphobic by feminist and scholarly critics … and in some countries, gender-critical groups have formed alliances with right-wing, far-right, and anti-feminist organisations.” [My Bold]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-critical_feminism
I wish to make it absolutely clear, that I am not in any way inferring that the LGB Alliance has any links with right-wing, far-right or anti-feminist organisations, but `their descriptions of the three “Facts”, above does seem to support gender critical feminists in emphasising that sex is biological and immutable and rejecting the concept of transgender identities.
Where once there was increasingly wider participation of minority sexualities and gender with LGBT growing to include Q, I, A, now, it seems there is a minor movement with the LGB Alliance, and its 72K followers, to narrow participation because partly, they argue, there are “a number of organisations focused on trans people and trans issues”.
This division and fragmentation may be symptomatic of a wider trend in politics, as new left-wing parties are being formed by members dissatisfied with the Labour Party, which they feel no longer represents them, such as Left Unity, Breakthrough Party, Northern Independence Party, and the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). But is this woke?
Woke, according to Merriam-Webster online means, “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)” Therefore, traditionally, at least, the rise of the LGBT movement and its widening participation to include other sexualities and genders is woke. However, this means that its fragmentation into separate sub-groups must be the opposite, and ironically, but possibly, when woke isn’t wide awake.
Maxwell Winshire
Maxwell Winshire is a journalist and author of “The Knock: A True Story of an Innocent Man, a Twisted Accusation and the Fight for Truth.“
