The standards of care are an outdated relic and reflect a bigoted view of trans people. It is time to get rid of them. During much of my transition I have had the luck of being able to attain care that followed a more or less informed consent model. In…

The relationship between gender and capital is complex, but a materialist approach to both requires us to recognize the centrality of proletarian revolution for the liberation of women. — Historically, the relationship between feminism and Marxism has frequently been characterized by tension. While Marxism has sketched out a profound vision of human liberation, feminists have often been skeptical of this vision’s inattentiveness to gendered oppression. Likewise, Marxists have often feared that an overemphasis on gender would distract from the…

The theory of gender that emerges from Contrapoints’ videos offers us an eclectic mix of contradictory theories, and fails to give us a systemic theory of gender that can inform feminist strategy. — If you are at all invested in the baffling world of online trans discourse, you have almost certainly by now encountered controversy about one of the online left’s most prominent public trans intellectuals: Contrapoints. For those who are not familiar, Contrapoints is a popular trans Youtuber (285k followers at the…

Originally from a facebook post, but copied to medium to allow easier archiving and access. — Non-voters are the largest voting demographic in the United States. Liberal arrogance assumes that this is because they have no been properly motivated, that no one has adequately enlightened them to the importance of exercising their voting rights. What if, on the other hand, we assumed not that we know…

For communists in the United States, it is time that we analyze the ways the University has attempted to control the narrative around Marxist theory, and its time we push back. — Communists have always had a complicated relationship with theory. On the one hand, communists have historically struggled around developing a correct theoretical line. We have not condemned theory as simply irrelevant, but have instead argued that theory has to inform our actions. Marx devoted his life to the theoretical development…

Civic pride for a nation founded and maintained through white supremacy is white pride. Political violence in the name of civic nationalism is white supremacist violence. We have to stop mincing words. — On August 4th, 2018, thousands of protesters amassed on the streets of Portland, Oregon to defend their city from a group of outside agitators. A month before, Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys had showed up and severely injured several anti-racist and antifascist protesters. When they returned in August, the…

The only path forward for trans liberation is the abolition of capitalism and the development of socialism. Its time for trans people to acknowledge this, and its time for Marxists to make it safe for us to organize with them. — This week I had to get my hormones for the first time on a new insurance plan. Because the US has a privatized healthcare industry where insurance is largely predicated on employment, this is an experience many other trans women have had as well. After navigating the bureaucratic nightmare of…

Perhaps it is in bad taste to respond to a book review as if it is a treatise, but sometimes someone writes a book review that correctly diagnoses a problem not just with the text reviewed, but with culture writ large. And in those instances, you will have to forgive…

Trans feminism and lesbian feminism are often understood to exist in opposition to one another, but there are important lessons they can teach each other if they are willing to engage in dialogue. — The story goes something like this: Lesbian Feminism has been losing relevance for over a decade now. Ideas like compulsory heterosexuality, political lesbianism, and lesbianism as a revolutionary approach to feminism are now all met with substantial hostility. Younger feminists are concerned wary of stringently defined identity and prefer more…