Italy was witness to one of the strongest mobilisations for IDAHOT 2014, in Europe and worldwide. Actions took place in at least 15 cities, and countless topics and communities were the focus of activities around May 17 this year. Progressive voices of faith and individuals joined in prayer, reflection and remembrance in 14 towns and cities, as part of a Global Interfaith Prayer Initiative for IDAHOT 2014. The project ‘ddl405′ launched a video and public call for anti-transphobia and anti-intersexphobia messages to support their campaign. In the north of Italy a local youth organisation brought more than 500 people together to hug a UNESCO monument, amongst many other events.

Global Interfaith Prayer Initiative

For many years now, the Global Interfaith Prayer Initiative, organised from Italy by Gionata, an Italian Project addressing Faith and Homosexuality, and with the support of the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups, has taken place throughout the period around May 17 in various cities in Italy, and other countries. The focus of the vigil is to commemorate the victims of homophobic violence and discrimination. At the same time, organisers and participants also stand up and speak out against prejudice within the Church. The events were organised by local churches and groups, and took place in the following cities in Italy this year:

May 12: Bologna
May 15: Florence and Palermo
May 16: Padova, Parma, Pistoia and Rome
May 17: Borgo Priolo, Catania, Forano Sabino, Licata, Mantova, Pecara, Pinerolo, Rome, Torino and Trieste
May 18: Rome, Florence, Grosseto, Licata, Milan, Naples, Padova, Rimini and Trapani
May 20: Genova
May 22: Milan

The vigils and commemorations are set to continue in Italy until June 13 and will include Palermo, Livorno and Cremona.

Campaign ddl405

On the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, the project ddl405 has launched their campaign video for the draft bill DDL405 to put forward to the Parliament. The bill would protect the rights of Italian transgender and intersex people, making a series of changes to the current legal framework.

The claims are to
– stop forced surgery for transgender people to enable them to legally change their name and gender;
– ease off the bureaucracy and relieve the expenses of transition;
– prevent the unconstitutional annulment of marriage in case one of the spouses changes their legal gender;
– end mutilating surgeries on intersex infants.

You can watch the ddl405 campaign video here (launched May 15):

The initiative also invited people to send in their message against Transphobia and Intersexphobia with a picture which was then published on their Facebook page.

Here is a message from Francesca Cellini, a candidate for city council in Bagno a Ripoli:

Francesca Cellini, local Italian politician, leaves her IDAHOT 2014 message.

You can find out more about the campaign on their blog and you can sign the petition here.

Free Expression Zone Bologna!

On May 17, the Cassero LGBT Center in Bologna together with ArciLesbica Bologna and other groups declared a Free Expression Zone on the Piazza dei Celestini in Bologna and later on they also took action in via d’Azeglio and Piazza del Nettuno. The public space was created into a space free from violence and racism, where all identities can be expressed. The space was created together with other civic associations active in the field of LGBT or other social justice questions. The space was occupied with workshops, small events, information tables, and activities from morning to evening.

You can find out more about the Center on their website and on Facebook page.

Casa Delle Donne di Milano

On May 18, the Casa delle Donne di Milano organised a conference with presentations and a discussion on the struggles and violence LBT women face, and on good practice to combat homophobia. They also talked about social constructions and the self-image of teenagers. Eva Schwarzwald addressed gender stereotypes and specifically body images; Helen Ibry, an anthropologist, gave a tour of Europe in twenty minutes with numeric data, legislative proposals and political situations of countries; and Milena Cannavacciuolo spoke about popular culture.

Presentation at Casa Delle Donne di Milano

Hug-In in Vicenza

Organised by the local Youth organisation Arcigay, Vicenza (Northern Italy) hosted a big ‘hug’ against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. More than 500 people gathered to hug the Palladian Basilica, a UNESCO monument.

Source: Arcigay Vicenza

Flashmob Venice

The Collettivo Stonewall Venezia LGBTIQueer organised a flashmob against Homophobia on Campo Santa Margherita, Venice. The flashmob was aimed at sparking discussion and increasing public awareness, by participants wearing a mask of Putin in the streets while homophobic insults were shouted and stories told about the impact of homophobic violence. To provide more details they also distributed flyers.

Source: Collettivo Stonewall Venezia LGBTIQ

LGBT Training in Torino

On occasion of the IDAHOT 2014, the LGBT Office of the city of Torino carried out training sessions about gender identity and sexual orientation, as part of a national strategy to sensibilize state officials and police forces.

This year is particularly important for our LGBT Office as the City of Torino, as national Secretariat of RE.A.D.Y, the Italian Rainbow Cities, Provinces and Regions, has been assigned by the national Government the meaningful task of translating in concrete actions the objectives and measures of the national LGBT Strategy.

Top level trainings on LGBT topics have already been carried out for the national Police and Arma dei Carabinieri high rank officials in April 2014 while other top level trainings are going to be hold for CEO belonging to the Minister of Labour and Regions.

Locally, the LGBT Office held its first LGBT training in the jail of Ivrea, a city nearby Torino, on gender identity and sexual orientation in detention. The session addressed police officers, psychologists and social assistants of the Penitentiary Police working in the LGBT section of the prison of Ivrea. LGBT transsexual/transgender persons are likely to experience a double suffering in detention: restrictions of freedom, and restrictions in specific areas of prisons. “Our training focused on sexual identity, applicable law, good practice for the management of transsexual/transgender and homosexual persons in jail aiming at their social and professional reintegration in society,” the organisers explained.

Further details about the national strategy are available here.

Photo: Christmas Lights in Rome 2013 in rainbow colours in solidarity with LGBT people. Source

Free Expression Zone in Bologna

On May 17, there will be a Free Expression Zone in Piazza dei Celestini, Bologna, starting at 10:00am.
The event is organised by the LGBT Centre Cassero and its volunteers group named PeopAll

The FEZ is supported by following associations: Arcilesbica Bologna, Agedo, MIT, Famiglie Arcobaleno, BUGS SPORT, KOMOS, Hamelin, SISM, SDU, UniLgbtq, MigraBo LGBT, Amnesty International, Igor and Terra di Nettuno that represent the LGBT community of Bologna and the students associations and the partners in the field of human rights.

All day long, the participants will interact with people passing by to raise awareness about homophobia and transphobia. But there will also be some fun moments like animation for kids, a gay chorus singing, a sport demonstration and a live painting.

You can find out more about the event and the organisers on the Cassero LGBT Centre website or on Facebook.

Case della Donne di Milano

On the weekend of the IDAHOT, Casa delle Donne di Milano will host a meeting with women to reflect and share thoughts, experiences and good practices. There will be an intersectional approach, trying to address different levels andforms of discrimination lesbian, bisexual and trans women face.
Speakers will be:
– Milena Cannavacciuolo: responsible for sito www.lezpop.it
– Helen Ibry: Antropologist and President of Arcilesbica Zami
– Eva Schwarzwald: Progetto Rainbow – Rights Against Intolerance: Building an Open-minded World
For more information, please visit their Facebook page or website.

Vigils against Homophobia and Transphobia
These prayer vigils against homophobia are promoted in Italy by Gionata, the Italian Commission on Faith and homosexuality and in Europe with the support of the European Forum of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Christian Groups.
For further information on this ecumenical initiative, go to inveglia.wordpress.com or gionata.org or write to gionatanews@gmail.com

THURSDAY MAY 15
FLORENCE (Italy). Ecumenical prayer vigil in remembrance of victims of homophobia and transphobia. Madonna della Tosse Parish Church, Largo Adone Zoli 1 at 9pm. Prayers to stop homophobic violence and build spaces in our society and in our churches that unconditionally welcoming Others. This vigil has been organized by the Kairos Group Christians GLBT of Florence along with other Christian communities and associations of good will.
PALERMO (Italy). Vigil to overcome homophobia and transphobia at 8:30pm. Starting at Waldensian Church in via Spezio no. 45, followed by candlelight walk to Catholic parish of SS. Pietro e Paolo in via Bentivegna 62.
Organized by: Ali d’aquila – LGBT Christians of Palermo; Community of San Francesco Saverio; Catholic parish of S. Gabriele Arcangelo; Laici Missionari Comboniani ; Waldensian Church of Via Spezio, Palermo ; Waldensian Church of Trapani & Marsala; Lutheran Church ; Kairòs Community ; Parish of SS. Pietro e Paolo.

FRIDAY MAY 16
PADUA (Italy). Prayer vigil in remembrance of victims of homophobia at 8.45pm in Santa Caterina d’Alessandri Church, Via Cesare Battisti 245. Organized by ‘Emmanuele’ gay Christian group of Padua.
PARMA (Italy). Prayer vigil in remembrance of victims of homophobia, Methodist Church of Parma, in Borgo Giacomo Tommasini corner of Borgo Riccio at7:00pm. Organized by Methodist Community of Parma with the help of a group of gay Christians.
ROME (Italy). Prayer vigil in memory of victims of homophobia and transphobia at 7:30pm in piazza SS. Apostoli (in front of the Basilica dei SS. Apostoli). Organized by groups of Christians LGBT: Nuova Proposta, La Sorgente and REFO.

SATURDAY MAY 17
BORGO PRIOLO (Pavia – Italy). Prayer vigil in remembrance of victims of homophobia organized by La Fonte Group of Milan at the OASI ROSA MISTICA Center in Località Torrazzetta, Borgo Priolo (Province of Pavia).
CATANIA (Italy). Ecumenical prayer vigil for victims of homophobia at 9:00 pm in the SS. Crocifisso della Buona Morte Catholic parish chruch in Piazza Falcone.
Organized by gay Christian group Fratelli dell’Elpis and parish community of SS. Crocifisso.
PINEROLO (Turin – Italy). Prayer vigil or victims of homophobia and transphobia at 5:00pm at ARCI in Stradale Baudenasca 17. Organized by La Scala di Giacobbe group of Pinerolo.
ROME (Italy). To mark the International Day against Homophobia, Prayer Service at 5:00pm & Concert at 8:00pm at the Waldensian Church in Piazza Cavour 32.
TURIN (Italy).Sunday worship service to commemorate the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. At 6.30pm in the Waldensian Temple located in corso Principe Oddone 7. The Waldensian church and the via Passalacqua Baptist church will be meeting together at the corso Principe Oddone 7 church to celebrate the service together.
TRIESTE (Italy). Prayer Vigil for victims of homophobia, Methodist Church in Scala dei Giganti, 1 (near piazza Goldoni) in Trieste. At 7:30pm doors open for welcoming and at 8:30pm beginning of prayer vigil. Organized by Progetto Ruah of Trieste.

SUNDAY MAY 18
FLORENCE (Italy): Interdenominational Sunday worship service for victims of homophobia and transphobia hosted by Waldensians and Old Catholics at the Waldensian Church of Florence at 10.30am in via Micheli corner of via Lamarmora.
Organized by ecumenical group “Fiumi d’Acqua Viva – pace, giustizia e salvaguardia del Creato” and with the participation of Kairos Catholic group.
GROSSETO (Italy). Sunday morning worship service in remembrance of victims of homophobia and transphobia at 11.00am in Grosseto Baptist Church di in via Piave 17. Organized by Claudia Angeletti
MILAN (Italy). Sunday morning worship service in observance of the International Day against Homophobia at 10.45am in the Waldensian Church of Milan on Via Francesco Sforza 12/a. Pastor Dorothee Mack. Organized by the Varco-Refo Group Milan.
NAPLES (Italy). Vigil in memory of victims of homophobia at 6:00pm in Waldensian Temple on via Duomo 275 at the corner of via dei Cimbri. Organized by gay Christian group Ponti Sospesi along with other communities, associations and Christian groups in the city.
PADUA (Italy). Sunday workshop service “There is no fear in love” (1 John 4:18) to mark the International Day against Homophobia at 11:00 in the Methodist Church of Padua in Corso Milano 6.

TUESDAY MAY 20
GENOA (Italy). Prayer vigil for victims of HomoTransphobia at 6:30pm at the catholic parish of San Benedetto al Porto in via San Benedetto. Organized by Bethel group of LGBT believers in Liguria.

THURSDAY MAY 22
MILAN (Italy). Prayer vigil for victims of HomoTransphobia at 9:00pm at the San Gabriele Church in Via Termopili (MM1 Pasteur). Organized by Il Guado group.

FRIDAY JUNE 6
CREMONA (Italy). Vigil for victims of discrimination at S. Gerolamo Catholic Church in Piazza Duomo at 9pm. Organized by Querce di Mamre group, which is a Diocese ministry group for gay people

A Sunday worship service will also be held in LIVORNO (Italy). Day and time to be announced.

Jovana Ananievska, LGBTI Support Center, Macedonia

Personal is political, understand that phrase made me see the power relations between people, genders, institutions, religions, schools, also between women; and learn to distinguish different ways to understand and use it. With the feminist movement I’ve been learning about the importance of collective reflection, collective work in order to transform the different realities we face day by day and make our voices count.

That’s why, part of my efforts at Clóset de Sor Juana had been the voice, voice to sing and, at the same time, voice to fight, to look between us, not different, but diverse; to link our experiences as lesbians, bisexual and transgender women to transform discrimination contexts with choral music to get that message as many people as possible.”

Josefina Valencia Toledano, El Clóset de Sor Juana, Mexico

Photo: Found on www.ivanklindic.info

Events on LGBT Refugees, Asylum and Migration

Organisers will address the topic of LGBT Refugees, Asylum & Migration, with an evening of events planned around the topic of LGBT Asylum and the current situation of (LGBT) asylum in Croatia. This will be organised in collaboration with other civil society organisations that also work with asylum seekers and refugees.

As an introduction to IDAHO, on Tuesday the 13th there will be a panel called “Immigration. Equality. Views from the LGBTIQ community”, where they will address the topic of LGBT migration and asylum seekers.

On saturday, the 17th there will be a public event with the main goal of raising (positive) awareness of the upcoming Life partnership act (civil unions for homosexual couples), while in the evening there will be a free showing of Stephen Fry’s documentary “Out there”, and later on there will be a stand up act called “Laugh out proud” with performances by LGBT comedians from UK and Croatia. This event is presented by the Lesbian Organisation Rijeka LORI. LORI has started the tradition of marking IDAHOT in Rijeka last year, with various activities. The aim of event is to fight homophobia and transphobia with the strongest possible weapon – humor, and the goal of the project is to educate people about the LGBT community through laughter and in good atmosphere.
Performers are well-known LGBT comedians: Scott Capurro (UK), Lara King (UK) and Marina Orsag (CRO).

The entire project ‘LAUGH OUT PROUD’ is funded by Horyou, the Action Oriented Social Network for the Social Good, organized by Studio Smijeha association, Centre for Civil Initiatives Porec, Croatia and Standup.rs association. Shows will take place in Belgrade (Serbia), Porec, Rijeka and Zagreb (Croatia).

The main goal is to raise awareness amongst the LGBT community that ‘LGBT asylum is something that happens in Croatia too, not just in the other EU countries.’

Conference on neoconservative movements in Europe

The other activity is a conference about the neoconservative movement throughout Europe – activists from some other EU countries that have similar “civil” activities that are pushing the conservative agenda through LGBT topics, will be invited to discuss the issue, and establish a network/coalition that will collaborate in the future.

A joint celebration of the historical victory against fascism in WW2 and the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia

On 17 May, Le Zbor is traditionally celebrating the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) and as always, on this day they are not only singing for the rights of LGBTIQ people, but also sending a message of solidarity to all groups fighting for human rights and equality of us all.

This year we are giving a performance at the 70th anniversary of a major anti-fascist event in Croatia: the breakthrough of the fascist army lines that took place on the site called Petrova gora and during which 730 partisans and 12 000 civilians, mostly women and children, were finally liberated from atrocities committed by fascist forces in this area during WW2.

The organizers of the event (well-known institutions in Croatia such as the Serbian National Council, the Alliance of Anti-Fascist Fighters in Croatia as well as local municipalities), have this year decided to jointly commemorate this great anti-fascist victory and the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. With this act they stand for a clear message that the struggle against homophobia is also the struggle against fascism and that anti-fascism does not only belong to the culture of remembrance, but is also a vital part of current struggles for better future, not only in Croatia, but also all over Europe.

In times of current economic and social crisis that sows poverty and at the same time generates attacks not only on LGBTQ people, but also immigrants, national minorites, workers etc., we find it more important than ever to remember our antifascist legacy and use it to unite our seemingly separate struggles in one common goal: defending human rights and demanding equality for all. As an activist choir, we call upon mutual cooperation and solidarity of all groups fighting for the equality of us all.

Le Zbor is a Lesbian Feminist Choir from Zagreb. You can find out more about them and their work on Facebook or on and their website.

Update: When the statement (and this article) was first published on September 16, it counted just under 100 co-signatories. In less than 24 hours that number jumped to 161, as individuals and organisations from all over the world rapidly joined the call. In just under a week (September 23), that number is now 664 signatories as well as 46 organisations.

A new blog Feminists Fighting Transphobia has also been co-produced and launched along with the statement, in the wake of what organisers describe as ‘a distressing increase in organized transphobic activities by certain groups of feminists this past summer (2013)’. Amongst other examples, they cite the publication of the controversial (August 12) statement Forbidden Discourse: The Silencing of Feminist Critique of “Gender” signed by a number of prominent feminist voices, including Ti-Grace Atkinson, Marge Piercy and Christine Delphy.

Organisers of the blog advise that they hope it – and the statement – will help provide ‘places where trans* people can come and find welcome and support from feminists… We particularly welcome comments regarding ways in which feminists and womanists, both cis and trans*, can organize to demonstrate solidarity with and support and acceptance of trans people.’

Responses, including wishes to sign-on to the statement, can be sent via email to:feministsfightingtransphobia1@gmail.com.

The statement now follows in full:

A Statement of Trans-Inclusive Feminism and Womanism

We, the undersigned trans* and cis scholars, writers, artists, and educators, want to publicly and openly affirm our commitment to a trans*-inclusive feminism and womanism.

There has been a noticeable increase in transphobic feminist activity this summer: the forthcoming book by Sheila Jeffreys from Routledge; the hostile and threatening anonymous letter sent to Dallas Denny after she and Dr. Jamison Green wrote to Routledge regarding their concerns about that book; and the recent widely circulated statement entitled “Forbidden Discourse: The Silencing of Feminist Critique of ‘Gender,’” signed by a number of prominent, and we regret to say, misguided, feminists have been particularly noticeable.  And all this is taking place in the climate of virulent mainstream transphobia that has emerged following the coverage of Chelsea Manning’s trial and subsequent statement regarding her gender identity, and the recent murders of young trans women of color, including Islan Nettles and Domonique Newburn, the latest targets in a long history of violence against trans women of color.  Given these events, it is important that we speak out in support of feminism and womanism that support trans* people.

We are committed to recognizing and respecting the complex construction of sexual/gender identity; to recognizing trans* women as women and including them in all women’s spaces; to recognizing trans* men as men and rejecting accounts of manhood that exclude them; to recognizing the existence of genderqueer, non-binary identifying people and accepting their humanity; to rigorous, thoughtful, nuanced research and analysis of gender, sex, and sexuality that accept trans* people as authorities on their own experiences and understands that the legitimacy of their lives is not up for debate; and to fighting the twin ideologies of transphobia and patriarchy in all their guises.

Transphobic feminism ignores the identification of many trans* and genderqueer people as feminists or womanists and many cis feminists/womanists with their trans* sisters, brothers, friends, and lovers; it is feminism that has too often rejected them, and not the reverse. It ignores the historical pressures placed by the medical profession on trans* people to conform to rigid gender stereotypes in order to be “gifted” the medical aid to which they as human beings are entitled.  By positing “woman” as a coherent, stable identity whose boundaries they are authorized to police, transphobic feminists reject the insights of intersectional analysis, subordinating all other identities to womanhood and all other oppressions to patriarchy.  They are refusing to acknowledge their own power and privilege.

We recognize that transphobic feminists have used violence and threats of violence against trans* people and their partners and we condemn such behavior.  We recognize that transphobic rhetoric has deeply harmful effects on trans* people’s real lives; witness CeCe MacDonald’s imprisonment in a facility for men.  We further recognize the particular harm transphobia causes to trans* people of color when it combines with racism, and the violence it encourages.

When feminists exclude trans* women from women’s shelters, trans* women are left vulnerable to the worst kinds of violent, abusive misogyny, whether in men’s shelters, on the streets, or in abusive homes.  When feminists demand that trans* women be excluded from women’s bathrooms and that genderqueer people choose a binary-marked bathroom, they make participation in the public sphere near-impossible, collaborate with a rigidity of gender identities that feminism has historically fought against, and erect yet another barrier to employment.  When feminists teach transphobia, they drive trans* students away from education and the opportunities it provides.

We also reject the notion that trans* activists’ critiques of transphobic bigotry “silence” anybody.  Criticism is not the same as silencing. We recognize that the recent emphasis on the so-called violent rhetoric and threats that transphobic feminists claim are coming from trans* women online ignores the 40+ – year history of violent and eliminationist rhetoric directed by prominent feminists against trans* women, trans* men, and genderqueer people.  It ignores the deliberate strategy of certain well-known anti-trans* feminists of engaging in gleeful and persistent harassment, baiting, and provocation of trans* people, particularly trans* women, in the hope of inciting angry responses, which are then utilized to paint a false portrayal of trans* women as oppressors and cis feminist women as victims. It ignores the public outing of trans* women that certain transphobic feminists have engaged in regardless of the damage it does to women’s lives and the danger in which it puts them.  And it relies upon the pernicious rhetoric of collective guilt, using any example of such violent rhetoric, no matter the source — and, just as much, the justified anger of any one trans* woman — to condemn all trans* women, and to justify their continued exclusion and the continued denial of their civil rights.

Whether we are cis, trans*, binary-identified, or genderqueer, we will not let feminist or womanist discourse regress or stagnate; we will push forward in our understandings of gender, sex, and sexuality across disciplines.  While we respect the great achievements and hard battles fought by activists in the 1960s and 1970s, we know that those activists are not infallible and that progress cannot stop with them if we hope to remain intellectually honest, moral, and politically effective.  Most importantly, we recognize that theories are not more important than real people’s real lives; we reject any theory of gender, sex, or sexuality that calls on us to sacrifice the needs of any subjugated or marginalized group.  People are more important than theory.

We are committed to making our classrooms, our writing, and our research inclusive of trans* people’s lives.

Signed by:

Individuals

Hailey K. Alves (blogger and transfeminist activist, Brazil)
Luma Andrade  (Federal University of Ceará, Brazil)
Leiliane Assunção (Federal University of the Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil)
Talia Bettcher (California State University, Los Angeles)
Lauren Beukes (novelist)
Lindsay Beyerstein (journalist)
Jamie “Skye” Bianco (New York University)
Hanne Blank (writer and historian)
Kate Bornstein (writer and activist)
danah boyd (Microsoft research and New York University)
Helen Boyd (author and activist)
Sarah Brown (LGBT+ Liberal Democrats)
Christine Burns (equalities consultant, blogger and campaigner)
Liliane Anderson Reis Caldeira (Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil)
Gloria Careaga (UNAM/National Autonomous University of Mexico)
Avedon Carol (activist and writer; Feminists Against Censorship)
Wendy Chapkis (University of Southern Maine) – “I don’t love the punch line ‘people are more important than theory.’  More to the point, it seems to me, is that feminist theories that fail to recognize the lived experiences and revolutionary potential of gender diversity are willfully inadequate.”
Jan Clausen (writer, MFAW faculty, Goddard College)
Darrah Cloud (playwright and screenwriter; Goddard College)
Alyson Cole (Queens College – CUNY)
Arrianna Marie Coleman (writer and activist)
Suzan Cooke (writer and photographer)
Sonia Onufer Correa  (feminist research associate at ABIA, co-chair of Sexuality Policy Watch)
Molly Crabapple (artist and writer)
Elizabeth Dearnley (University College London)
Jaqueline Gomes de Jesus (University of Brasilia, Brazil)
Sady Doyle (writer and blogger)
L. Timmel Duchamp (publisher, Aqueduct Press)
Flavia Dzodan (writer and media maker)
Reni Eddo-Lodge (writer and activist)
Finn Enke (University of Wisconsin, Madison)
Hugh English (Queens College – CUNY)
Jane Fae (writer and activist)
Roderick Ferguson (University of Minnesota)
Jill Filipovic (writer and blogger)
Rose Fox (editor and activist)
Jaclyn Friedman (author, activist, and executive director of Women, Action, & the Media)
Sasha Garwood (University College, London)
Jen Jack Gieseking (Bowdoin College)
Dominique Grisard (CUNY Graduate Center/Columbia University/University of Basel)
Deborah Gussman (Richard Stockton College of New Jersey)
Dr Sally Hines (University of Leeds)
Claire House (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Brazil)
Astrid Idlewild (editor, urban historian)
Sarah Hoem Iversen (Bergen University College, Norway)
Sarah Jaffe (columnist)
Roz Kaveney (author and critic)
Zahira Kelly (artist and writer)
Mikki Kendall (writer and occasional feminist)
Natacha Kennedy (Goldsmiths College, University of London)
Alison Kilkenny (journalist and activist)
Matthew Knip (Hunter College – CUNY)
Letícia Lanz (writer and psychoanalyst, Brazil)
April Lidinsky (Indiana University South Bend)
Erika Lin (George Mason University)
Marilee Lindemann (University of Maryland)
Heather Love (University of Pennsylvania)
Jessica W. Luther (writer and activist)
Jen Manion (Connecticut College)
Ruth McClelland-Nugent (Georgia Regents University Augusta)
Melissa McEwan (Editor-in-Chief, Shakesville)
Farah Mendlesohn (Anglia Ruskin University)
Mireille Miller-Young (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Lyndsey Moon (University of Roehampton and University of Warwick)
Surya Monro (University of Huddersfield)
Kenne Mwikya (writer and activist, Nairobi)
Zenita Nicholson (Secretary on the Board of Trustees, Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, Guyana)
Anne Ogborn (frightening sex change)
Sally Outen (performer and activist)
Ruth Pearce (University of Warwick)
Laurie Penny (journalist and activist)
Rosalind Petchesky (Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, and Sexuality Policy Watch)
Rachel Pollack (writer, Goddard College)
Claire Bond Potter (The New School for Public Engagement)
Nina Power (University of Roehampton)
Marina Riedel (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
Mark Rifkin (University of North Carolina – Greensboro)
Monica Roberts (Transgriot)
Dr. Judy Rohrer (Western Kentucky University)
Diana Salles (independent scholar)
Veronica Schanoes (Queens College – CUNY)
Sarah Schulman, in principle (College of Staten Island – CUNY)
Donald M. Scott (Queens College – CUNY)
Lynne Segal (Birkbeck, University of London)
Julia Serano (author and activist)
Carrie D. Shanafelt (Grinnell College)
Rebekah Sheldon (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis)
Barbara Simerka (Queens College – CUNY)
Gwendolyn Ann Smith (columnist and Transgender Day of Remembrance founder)
Kari Sperring (K L Maund) (writer and historian)
Zoe Stavri (writer and activist)
Tristan Taormino (Sex Out Loud Radio, New York, NY)
Jemma Tosh (University of Chester)
Viviane V. (Federal University of Bahia, Brazil)
Catherynne M. Valente (author)
Jessica Valenti (author and columnist)
Genevieve Valentine (writer)
Barbra Wangare (S.H.E and Transitioning Africa, Kenya)
Thijs Witty (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Groups:

Bishkek Feminist Collective SQ (Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia)
House of Najafgarh (Najafgarh, India)
House of Kola Bhagan (Kolkatta, India)
Transgender Nation San Francisco

For more information:

• Feminists Fighting Transphobia: Trans-INCLUSIVE Feminism