Transgenderism, Neoliberalism, and Rape Culture - Renee Gerlich

<p><em>This is a speech given by Renee Gerlich in Brisbane on October 12, 2019. The event was hosted by the International Women’s Day Brisbane Committee.<br> Full text of the speech can be found </em><a href="https://reneejg.net/2019/10/transgenderism-neoliberalism-and-rape-culture-brisbane-talk/"><em>here</em></a><em>.<br> <br> </em>"The mindless mantra 'transwomen are women' encapsulates both the ideology and attitudes of transgenderism, and the neoliberal zeitgeist, in three words. It implies the destruction of nature, of biology, of our own bodies – including through the radical mastectomies increasingly conducted on adolescent girls, mainly lesbians. It is based on the commodification of women, and it leads to the removal of legal protections and social supports designated for women and based on sex, and using this mantra like a threat – because if you don’t accept it, you are a bigot – men are colonising women’s hard-won spaces, organisations, movements and safehouses as well as lesbian culture."</p>