The “Divorce the TQ+” Movement and Why It’s Dangerous

Some of you may have become aware of a movement, largely on social media, that is arguing for the division of the LBGTQ+ community. They claim that those included in the “TQ+” portion of the community should be considered to be enemies and therefore removed. That would consist of those who identify as Trans, Queer, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and anyone else in the community that does not identify as Lesbian, Gay, or Bi. This “movement” is not only extremely dangerous for the community as a whole, but it’s a Republican trick. 

Why is it dangerous, you ask? The obvious answer is that it is divisive to the community. The greatest strength of our community, aside from our vast diversity, is our unity. This was never more evident than during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 80s. It was our unity as a community that made us strong enough to challenge the inaction of the Reagan administration, which lead ultimately to effective treatment, testing, and public education. Our unity enabled us to fight for the right to marry, to not lose jobs or housing because of our sexual orientation, to see ourselves more accurately represented in media, and even to hold hands with our partners in public. Unity allowed us to survive, thrive and create better lives for our community as a whole, and it is key to maintaining and expanding our rights, freedoms, and quality of life. (That battle is not yet won... there are still parts of this country where jobs and housing are at risk for us, and violence against members of our community is still a problem. But it is much better now that it was when I was in my 20's, and we have more legal rights and protections in place. But that's for a future blog...)

But this “movement” is also dangerous because it seeks to turn our community against itself. It seeks to alienate a large portion of the community by painting them as “enemies”. Much of the language the “movement” uses is directly from the right-wing playbook. It involves accusations that the Trans community is engaged in the “grooming” of children. Another tactic they use is attempting to blame the Trans community for the spate of anti-gay legislation currently happening across the country, along with calling them “predators”. There are more talking points at play along with a lot of hate, but you get the idea. None of this is based on fact. In truth, it is all based on fear, misinformation, and outright lies, all of which are dangerous in and of themselves.

It should not escape notice that as this “movement” seemingly gains steam on social media, news broke from CPAC that Daily Wire host Michael Knowles in his speech to the conference, called for the “complete eradication of transgenderism”. Do not be fooled… “transgenderism” is a made-up term being used to hide (poorly) the real message here… a call for the complete eradication of Transgender people (which Knowles vehemently denies, of course). In other words, a call for genocide. This can not be taken lightly! Such language harkens back to Nazism and their attempt to eradicate Jewish people (and yes, the gay community as well). In our current climate, such words can easily lead to attempts by some hate-filled, misguided people to actually attempt genocide. Is there a connection between this statement at CPAC and this “movement”? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Either way, the effect is the same… the Trans community is under outright attack, and by extension, so is the entire LGBTQ+ community.

So then, why is this “movement” a Republican trick? Because it is, by all appearances, not a genuine movement within the LGBTQ+ community, but rather a movement by far-right actors posing as members of our community, in an effort to “divide and conquer”. The entire LGBTQ+ community is firmly in the political crosshairs now, more than ever before. Yes, I know that some genuine members of our community are falling for this and jumping on the bandwagon (I'll address this in a moment), but it is still primarily created and fueled by far-right Republicans (and I’m including white supremacists, Neo-nazis and the other fascist groups in this, too).

Right-wing factions (including Trump-supporting Republicans, Neo-nazis, white supremacists, and insurrectionists) are not at all happy that LGBTQ+ people are gaining equality under the law and acceptance in the public eye. We are seen as a threat to everything they hold dear, even though we are not. They see us as the enemy, and they recognize that as long as we stand united, we can not be silenced. Rest assured that they believe turning us against a portion of our community, specifically the Trans community, will cause in-fighting and weaken us. If they can successfully oppress the Trans community because of that in-fighting, then the rest of the community becomes a more viable target. The end game, in their minds, is to not only take away all the rights, freedoms, and progress our community has made over the last 3 or 4 decades but to silence and remove us from society in any way possible. That could include such things as imprisoning us, relegating us to concentration camps, mass deportation, or worse, genocide. 

What’s even more frightening is seeing some members of our community actually buying into this “movement” and their lies. Based on what I’ve personally seen, these tend to be younger members of our community who are likely not aware of these tactics, and possibly not aware of the importance of the Trans community to the LGBTQ+ community as a whole, because gay history is not taught in schools. Were it not for some brave, pissed-off drag queens and Trans-women, Stonewall would not have happened. Stonewall was key in the progress we have made thus far as a community. In this sense, we owe our rights to Trans-women, and now is not the time to turn our backs on them. Especially now, when they are victims of the eighth stage of genocide. (For more on the 8 stages of genocide, visit The Borgen Project).

In all honesty, genocide attempts would never truly be successful because there will always be more Trans people being born. However, the attempt would be horrific and would result in even more brutal murders of our Trans sisters and brothers than we are already enduring.

What can we do? Don’t buy into this “movement” or their propaganda. Speak out in defense of the Trans community whenever possible, and support them as much as possible. Organize with other members of the community, as well as our allies, to fight this attempt to divide us. Most of all, we must remain united and fight against division at every turn. We did not achieve the rights, freedoms, and public acceptance we enjoy today by being self-centered or apathetic. We united as a community and fought our asses off. It’s going to take more of that to maintain and advance our fight for equality, and to protect every member of our community in the process.

And yes, you might think it cliché because you’ve heard it before, but one of our best weapons is our VOTE. Making sure you vote in EVERY election, local, state, and federal, is vital. Making sure you understand the objectives of the candidates concerning protecting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and voting for the best person for the job is critical. Don’t buy into the trope that your vote doesn’t count or doesn’t matter, or that all politicians promise one thing and do another once elected. There are some very good, very progressive candidates in every election. The key is to vet them out, figure out who is sincere and who isn’t, and support them accordingly. The biggest reason that votes don't seem to count is that too many people sit back, not voting themselves, and allow everyone else to choose who gets in office. Better yet, if you’re a member of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally, consider running for office yourself, even for local offices. It makes more of a difference than you may realize.

~Peace~