Two French bloggers are being accused of criminal acts against transgender people. The crime? Insisting that the biological differences between men and women be recognised, and arguing that allowing biological men into women’s spaces puts women at risk.
Dora Moutot and Marguerite Stern, both of who proudly wear the label ‘radical feminist,’ have become the targets of four LGBT NGOs. On Tuesday, March 21st, the groups filed complaints that the arguments put forward by the feminist pair amounted to “insults and public provocations to hatred or violence.” If the women are found guilty, they could face a year in prison or a €45,000 fine.
The two recently co-authored a manifesto together on their website Femelliste, where they aim to “oppose legislation that erases sex in favour of the notion of gender identity.” Part of the inflammatory statement is posted on STOP Homophobie’s website. Quoting Moutot and Stern:
Currently we find ourselves in a situation where ‘trans women’ men demand access to our spaces: they win sports competitions in the women’s category, are incarcerated in women’s prisons and sometimes go so far as to violate their co-inmates, are allowed to enter our single-sex areas (changing rooms, toilets, centers for women victims of violence).
In the name of what should trans women’s fear of being teased in the men’s bathroom take precedence over women’s fear of being raped?
Of course, not all trans people are predators, but we are forced to be wary because transgenderism can be instrumentalized by any man to gain access to women’s spaces.
The LGBT organisations say the manifesto contains “statements that fuel transphobic hatred at levels never seen before in France.” Lawyer Etienne Deshoulières, representing the organisations behind the complaint, drew a comparison to racism:
[J]ust because a white person was once assaulted by a black man in the United States does not mean that all whites should now be wary of all blacks in France.
Moutot and Stern are to be reprimanded for holding “essentialist positions,” i.e. believing that women are defined by their physical biology.
The controversy is one of several occuring in Europe, evident in hostility seen between feminists and LBGT groups. From the streets of Spain, to the ministerial office in Scotland, to the World Athletics Council, evidence is mounting that transgender protections and women’s rights are incompatible.
Some have questioned if the ‘trans wars’ would take hold in France, but with these issues now being taken to court, there is no doubt that the fight is well underway.
