TRAging - Bordeaux Pride, 12/09/21
What kind of image do the words “pride parade” evoke? Black-and-white 1980s photographs of lesbian women and gay men marching for basic rights? Fox News segments of a scantily clad man twerking in front of children, or a colorful celebration where gay and transgender people alike are free to express themselves?
Whichever you thought of first, it’s hard to deny that in recent years, pride parades have become increasingly corporatized and at times risqué, taken over by the all-encompassing label of “queer”. Simultaneously, hostility towards gay women and men who recognize the nature of their same-sex attraction has skyrocketed. Lesbian and bisexual women in particular are becoming disillusioned with pride celebrations, the inevitable outcome of internet abuse from transgender advocates. This abuse has infected the offline world, resulting in dangerous situations perpetrated by trans advocates - one of which is the following sequence of events.
Bordeaux Pride in southwestern France has been held for a number of years, and its event on 12th September 2021 was supposed to be no different. Beginning at 2:30 PM that day, its parade started at Parc des Angéliques at the beginning of the red line on the map, and progressed to the Pont de Pierre, marked by the orange line.
Résistance Lesbienne, a lesbian and radical feminist group, took to marching at the front of the parade while passing out leaflets. Their group carried two banners - one displaying their name and social media handles, and another stating “Girl, you born in the wrong society not in the wrong body”. Some of the Résistance members also carried individual signs; from left to right, they read: “Lesbians don't like penises”, “The concept of ‘non-binarity’ reinforces the idea that a woman must be ‘feminine’”, “Let's destroy the patriarchy, not our bodies”, and “Lesbian, not queer”.
As the march progressed south down the Quai des Queyries road, transactivists associated with anti-fascist organizations took note of the Résistance. A video filmed from behind the women shows a separate group with a banner encroaching on them, as their leader pulls a flare out from his backpack, lights it, and begins waving it around wildly. Other activists run around to the front of the march, trying to block off the Résistance’s escape route, and in the ensuing struggle, the man with the flare surges forward, holding it around the women and near their banners.
A different video filmed from the front of the march shows more details. Smoke from the flare can be seen at 14 seconds in, while a woman with a rainbow bag runs around the front and seemingly tries to stop the Résistance members from moving any further. The other transactivists then run forward and the camera is jostled around for a moment, before fixating on the man holding the flare while walking away. Around this time, a police officer on a motorcycle pulls up, but appears to do nothing about the offenders as the Résistance continues marching.
Shortly after the event, a transactivist would post a statement from an anonymous source, who shared that he “was panicked, hurt, [and] angry” after hearing women shout “lesbian, not queer”. He doesn’t seem to take into account how panicked, hurt, and angry the Résistance marchers would have been after having a lit flare swung within inches of them - in fact, he later thanks his “anti-fascist comrades” for scaring them off with it.
Some transgender advocates were much more blatant with their disdain for the women. In screenshots posted to Résistance Lesbienne’s Facebook page, we can see these advocates upset that they weren’t burnt, supporting violence against them, and saying “Fuck your mothers”.
The group which had intercepted the Résistance posted a statement on the events of Bordeaux Pride, prompting the women to release their own on their website. Shock and outrage over the attack spread like wildfire, being discussed on British parenting board Mumsnet and shared by journalist Andy Ngô. The attack was condemned by multiple organizations and people: LGBAlliance, Women’s Declaration International, FiLiA, Women’s Liberation Front, and notable feminist Marguerite Stern.
Several online publications, including Savage Minds, AfterEllen, and 4w.pub posted stories on the attack. Members of Résistance Lesbienne were guests on The Mess We’re In, a podcast run partially by Graham Linehan and Morty Arty, and they made an appearance on a short Facebook Live video posted by Get The L Out.
The experience of Résistance Lesbienne at a pride parade, where they should have felt welcome as lesbian women, speaks volumes of the homophobic side of transgenderism. Transwomen have coined the term “cotton ceiling” and shamed lesbians for “sexual exclusion” of them and their penises, all while gaslighting these women by saying that it never happens.
At the same time, it speaks volumes about the bravery of the Résistance that they continually stand up to this ideological bully, even in the face of dangerous or life-threatening situations. They have, time and time again, faced violence from transgender activists, but throughout it they remain strong. We should all aspire to be as courageous as they are.