'Pride in unity, pride in struggle'
Transgender lesbian activist
Leslie Feinberg tours Italy
By Minnie Bruce Pratt
The lesbian, gay, bi and trans movement of
Italy showed the spectacular breadth and depth of the colors of
its rainbow flag as it hosted transgender lesbian activist and
author Leslie Feinberg from June 2-6 in a week of special
events. Workers World Managing Editor Feinberg spoke at local
meetings in the northern cities of Milan, Bologna and Turin,
and traveled south to address gatherings in Florence and
Rome.
Leaders in diverse sectors of the Italian LGBT movement
invited Feinberg because this is a historic moment in which
they are trying to develop greater unity in their struggle. As
the trip unfolded, that solidarity began to emerge, visible to
all.
The tour coincided with the publication of the Italian
edition of Feinberg's "Stone Butch Blues," a novel set in
pre-Stonewall gay drag bars of working-class Buffalo in upstate
New York. The gender journey of the protagonist, Jess Goldberg,
explores the relationship of the struggle against oppression
based on sex, gender and sexuality with other battles against
racism and war, and with the working-class struggle for
liberation.
The novel's Italian translators were Margharita Giacobino, a
feminist writer and author of "Pride and Privilege: the Heroic
Journal of Lesbian Literature," and Davide Tolu, a leading FTM
[female-to-male] transsexual activist and author of "The
Journey of Arnold: Story of a Man Born as Woman."
Francesca Polo, of Il Dito e La Luna, publisher of the
Italian edition of "Stone Butch Blues," told Workers World, "I
think that Feinberg's tour was important in particular because
it brought together lesbians and transgender people. I believe
that Leslie/Jess can be the missing link in this relationship
and be instrumental in arriving at a better understanding."
The Coordinamento Nazionale Trans FTM, a group established
for the purpose of organizing Feinberg's tour, and Il Dito e La
Luna coordinated the events, together with local LGBT groups in
Milan, Turin, Bologna and Rome, and a national lesbian caucus
arranged a conference in Florence for 2004 National Pride in
Italy.
Marco Geremia, of sponsoring group Antagonismo Gay Bologna,
evaluated the current state of the Italian LGBT movement.
"Since the early 1990s, the mainstream Italian homosexual
movement downsized the scope of its criticism by expressing
mere 'integrationist' political demands. That resulted in the
marginalization of entire groups, such as the trans sisters,
the lesbian feminists, radical gays and others." He stressed,
however, that the anti-globalization movement, beginning with
struggles in 2000, had re-invigorated connections between
groups.
"In this context Leslie's words 'catalyzed' our efforts by
confronting them with the insights of a transgender warrior, a
workers' representative, an American communist."
For Monica Romano, an MTF leader of Crisalide Azione Trans
Milano, the meetings were opportunities for building unity: "In
my opinion, the Italian LGBT movement can do great things. It
has a great potential for changing society. Its weak point is
its internal divisions. Leslie's message drew attention to the
necessity of fighting together for our common goals."
Milan: 'At home with red flag!'
The historic Milan meeting on June 2 marked the first
occasion of this national cooperation between lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender Italian groups. It was held in the
local headquarters of the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) in
a working-class section of town. Parti ci pants entered through
a courtyard draped with red banners and rainbow peace
flags.
The LGBT caucus of the Milan PRC hosted the meeting, along
with Arci Lesbica Zami, Centro di Iniziativa Gay (CIG),
Crisalide Azione Trans Milano, CoDS Diritti E Liberta'
Autonomia Tema tica DS and Linea Lesbica Amica.
A panel, assembled to give an Italian context for the ideas
in "Stone Butch Blues," included Francesca Polo, Monica Romano
and Marco Romelli, also from Crisalide Azione Trans Milano.
"When I see these red flags I feel at home," Feinberg told
the standing-room-only audience. She gave a Marxist over view
of human history, pointing out the long period of matrilineal
cooperative societies around the world in which sex/
gender/sexuality variance was more accepted and respected.
Feinberg pointed to evidence that patriarchal partitioning
of the sexes and state enforcement of heterosexuality and
gender expression became components of the development of the
nuclear family as a transmission belt of wealth, property and
title as societies cleaved into exploiting and exploited
classes.
She stressed that ultimately the liberation of sexuality and
gender and sex is a revolutionary task that cannot be
accomplished without the overthrow of capitalist private
ownership and its replacement with world communism--a society
in which production is planned to meet the needs and wants of
all. That goal of a classless society, she argued, cannot be
won without building class unity today by bringing together the
LGBT and women's struggle, the battle against racism and
imperialist war, and the defense of immigrant rights as key
elements in a united front.
She celebrated the building of bridges between the people in
that meeting hall--an audience that represented the broadest
political, sexual and gender spectrum--as well as working-class
people from the neighborhood who came because they saw the
posters. Some participants had just come from an anti-war
demonstration of thousands in Milan where the U.S. flag was
burned.
Turin and 'Red' Bologna
Two meetings were held in Turin on June 3--an afternoon
panel presentation on transgender, and an evening discussion of
"Stone Butch Blues." Both were sponsored by the Coordinamento
Gay Lesbiche Transessuali di Torino, hosted by the Turin Public
Library, and supported by the city administration. The panel
emphasized social and historical aspects of transgender.
Panelists in the afternoon roundtable included Feinberg;
Porpora Marcasciano of MIT Nazionale (Movimento Identità
Transessuale) Bologna; Diana Nardac chione of Arcitrans; Mery
Nicotra of Associazione Donne in Viaggio; Merella Izzo of
Crisalide Azione Trans Genova; and Cigi Malaroda, Marco
Pustianaz, Roberta Padovano, all of Coordinamento GLT
Torino.
The evening presentation featured Feinberg, with translator
Margherita Giacobino and Christian Ballarin of Gruppo
Transessuali Luna. The audience packed the meeting room,
staying past midnight for the question-and-answer format
program with Feinberg.
When asked if U.S. police are still as brutal towards
oppressed people as they are depicted in her novel, Feinberg
pointed to the torture of Iraqi and Afghan prisoners in Abu
Ghraib and Guanta namo. "This racist dehumanization also
demonstrates the violently anti-trans, anti-gay and anti-woman
character of the state machinery of repression," she empha
sized. "And some of these Penta gon torturers are cops and
prison guards in the U.S., too."
In Bologna, openly trans candidate Marcella de
Folco--running from the party Communisti Italiani for European
Parliament--held a reception for Fein berg at the city's trans
community center.
That evening, the June 4 meeting was held at the Cassero
Gay/Lesbian Center inside the massive Porta San Stefano.
Activists have for four years been illegally occupying the
ancient structure that has survived from the walled feudal
city. The building could not hold all who came, the majority of
whom identified themselves as communists.
Bologna is called a "red" city for its tradition of being in
the most pro-communist region of Italy.
The meeting went long into the night. Feinberg stressed the
importance of establishing strong bonds of unity on shared
principles between communists around the world in the battle
against capitalism and imperialism.
Porpora Marcasciano, who is from Bologna, told Workers
World, "In the past years we've been trying to move a step
across the tight borders of identities and we've started to
meet up and work together on issues like sexuality, gender,
globalization, war."
Marcasciano observed about the June 4 meeting: "In Bologna
four groups cooperated: MIT Movimento di Identità
Transgender, Antagonismo Gay, Arci Lesbica, and LUO Libera
Università Omosessuale.
"We can say that for the first time a synergic work was
established between local and national association/groups which
share political, social and cultural strategies which belong to
the radical left tradition. I believe this tour has represented
a point of arrival with respect to the LGBT debate, fights and
strategies in Italy, but especially a starting point for a new
political and cultural elaboration."
Marcasciano led everyone in song at the close of the
evening, with fists raised in a pledge to continue the
struggle. All sang together the famous "Bella Ciao," anthem of
the Italian partisans who fought against the Nazis and
liberated many parts of Italy, including the north, before the
Allied troops landed at the close of World War II. This was
especially meaningful, since U.S. President George W. Bush had
just arrived as part of D-Day commemorations, boasting that the
U.S. had liberated Italy, in order to boost his current claim
that he is "liberating" Iraq.
Florence and Rome
National coalitions organized events in Florence on June
5--LesPride and Coordinamento Nazioniale FTM--as part of a
three-day conference of LGBT culture.
Participants crowded the Polispazio Queer, a former convent,
for a panel on FTM transsexual experience. Speakers included
Christian Ballarin, Simone Cangelosi, Adriana Godano, Matteo
Manetti, Stefano Alberto Maselli, Saveria Ricci, Monica Romano,
and Liana Borghi, one of the organizers of the conference.
In an evening lecture, Feinberg drew historic lessons from
the 19th-century North American movement to abolish slav ery
and the early women's rights movement about the necessity to
stand up together against white supremacy, women's and trans
oppression.
Her remarks were followed by what Marco Geremia of
Antagonismo Gay characterized as "a vital, strong and even
tense confrontation between FTM trans/transgender people and
lesbian feminists on a long-unexpressed question," the issue of
feminist analysis of patriarchy and the fact of FTM transition
to male gender.
When asked to conclude the debate Feinberg asked all those
"who feel the weight of oppression on your backs, who feel
compassion for others who are oppressed, even if you do not
understand that experience and that pain, all who are willing
to work to build a movement based on solidarity--knowing full
well that the task of building unity is difficult--to stand
with me now."
Virtually the entire audience of hundreds rose to their feet
in an ovation.
Geremia said that as a gay man, "what was enriching for me
was the contribution that Leslie, as a transgender warrior, and
other FTM trans gave to the work of deconstruction of male
identity. A contribution that had much of re-construction in
it. In fact, we've welcomed with enthusiasm the urge to analyze
what having masculine resemblance means."
Rome was the final stop in this marathon of political
meetings, with a panel sponsored by all five of the city's
major LGBT groups: ArciLesbica Roma, Arcitrans Libellula,
Di'GayProject Onlus, Gruppo GayRoma.it, and Circolo di Cultura
Omosessuale Mario Mieli.
The meeting was held in the Women's Building. Exhilaration
was the mood of the evening as the meeting, which featured
speakers from each of the organizations, including Helena
Velena, the MTF host of the television show "Gay Rome," whose
earlier interview with Feinberg had gone out to 200,000
viewers.
Feinberg talked about the historical threads of evidence of
ancient trans expression apparently rooted in early matrilineal
communal societies that she had discovered on her trip through
Italy. She saluted the organizers of the evening's gathering
that represented many political currents. "That's the kind of
unity necessary to build a strong revolutionary movement," she
said.
The audience burst into applause when Feinberg recalled the
Chinese proverb: "Those who say it cannot be done should get
out of the way of those who are doing it."
Of the lively discussion that followed, Monica Romano of
Crisalide Azione Trans Milano said she was struck by "the
strong interest expressed by people there, especially by the
youngest ones. They were enthusiastic, determined to open their
minds and listen. Nobody was left indifferent to what had been
said during the meeting. In my experience, this doesn't happen
very often during political debates or cultural events."
Throughout the tour, Romano noticed there was "a great
excitement and a real interest for going deep into the subjects
that emerged during the meetings. There's a wish for talking,
exchanging experiences and knowing each other better beyond our
differences. This is great." She believes that the people who
read "Stone Butch Blues" and attended the meetings now "feel
more free to express themselves and their identity. And this is
saying something!"
Building bridges
Davide Tolu believes the series of political meetings had a
positive impact on building unity among the various segments of
the LGBT movement in Italy. He feels that there are now "new,
stronger bonds amongst individuals and also amongst different
associations," as well as new "bridges amongst groups
discriminated [against] for their gender, sexual orientation,
gender expression, race, religion, political convictions," with
Fein berg's speeches serving as an inspiration on "how to cross
those bridges and overcome our differences to build a stronger
unique group."
Publisher Francesca Polo also affirmed the success of
cooperation among LGBT groups: "This was an excellent occasion
to try out if working together is possible. I think that the
results were positive: if the aim is shared, the co-operation
among different groups is not only possible, but even quite
effective."
Porpora Marcasciano added, "All of this happened in the days
of Pride and at the same time as the visit of G.W. Bush in
Italy, and therefore the actions, initiatives and experiences
it gave had a strong political meaning."
Speaking for Antagonismo Gay, Marco Geremia observed that
the meetings had been in "the spirit of the early LGBT
liberation movement." He concluded, "Meeting Leslie Feinberg
has been a great honor and an exciting experience, which we'll
bring as a gift within the European LGBT Forum."
Minnie Bruce Pratt gave talks in Florence and Rome on the
connections between women's liberation and sex and gender
diversity. She was interviewed on "Gay Roma," and spoke as a
representative of the International Action Center-New
York/ANSWER at the massive June 4 demonstration that drew
200,000 to Rome to protest against Bush and the U.S. war on
Iraq.
Reprinted from the July 1, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
under a Creative
Commons License.
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