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The three-day conference in San Francisco, which was held on Sept. 15-17, was billed as WDI\u2019s national convention, with a following stop at City Hall on Sept. 18, which was part of WDI\u2019s so-called \u201cGender Abolition Tour 2023.\u201d To promote the tour, WDI used anti-trans and TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) rhetoric, such as \u201cWoman isn\u2019t a feeling\u201d and \u201cNo one is born in the wrong body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe understand that even though we\u2019re the big liberal city, we have to come out because there are people that are transphobic, racist, and sexist,\u201d Kato said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those protesting for trans rights faced some opposition from those attending the WDI conference, but demonstrators remained unphased: \u201cYou can have your conference, go back inside, we\u2019re not storming the building or anything,\u201d Kato said. \u201cThis is just to show that San Francisco and the Bay Area opposes transphobia.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking to the importance of holding protests like these, Kato added: \u201cThere\u2019s a silent majority for so many of these important issues, however, we can’t be silent anymore. We have to stand up for ourselves and our siblings who are oppressed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Norma Gallegos, a member of the Freedom Socialist Party and Reproductive Justice SF, also attended the protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs you can see, we have people on our side,\u201d Gallegos said as a Muni driver honked in support of the protest. \u201cWe know the beliefs of this city, on Ramaytush Ohlone land, that this place is for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As to why the WDI and TERFs chose San Francisco as a location for the conference, Kato said: \u201cIt\u2019s to make a statement. \u2018We will come to your town and show our faces.\u2019 That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important that we are out here because we want to send the message that, yeah, you can come here, you have free speech too, but you will be met with opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n SF Democratic Party Chair Honey Mahogany \u2014 who in 2018 became the first trans person to serve on the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee and who was instrumental in the creation of the City\u2019s Transgender District \u2014 was in attendance and gave a passionate speech at the protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m really glad that people are standing up for trans people here in San Francisco,\u201d Mahogany said. \u201cIt\u2019s really heartwarming to see a lot of trans people here but also a lot of allies.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Protesters rallied outside of the Hilton for two hours with attendees being encouraged to speak and organizers leading chants for the event\u2019s duration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When protest attendee Erin T. found out about the conference they were, \u201creally upset, this is obviously a provocation, coming to San Francisco because they want to start a conflict. The City that so many queer people move to, to get away from places they weren\u2019t welcome.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Originally from San Francisco, Erin moved to Iowa as a child but found their way back home to the Bay Area. \u201cSan Francisco is a place where queer people and their allies come together and stand up to say this is a provocation that we aren\u2019t willing to stand for,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking to the importance of protesting radical hate-based movements, Gallegos said: \u201cThis is a time for solidarity, a time to be uniting on all fronts. This protest is so important to the most marginalized and oppressed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n El Tecolote staff were treated with hostility by Hilton security when asked to speak with Women\u2019s Declaration International organizers at the conference. El Tecolote received an email from WDI stating that our reporters were refused entry to the conference because it was a \u201cprivate event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to stand up so that people realize that they do know us,\u201d Mahogany said. \u201cWe are their family members, their friends, we\u2019re people that go to school with their children. Trans people are everywhere in every part of American life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Women\u2019s Declaration International (WDI) \u2014 a self-described group of \u201cradical\u201d feminists who exclude trans women from the fight for women\u2019s rights \u2014 announced that they were holding a three-day conference at the Hilton hotel in San Francisco\u2019s Financial District, trans rights activists were quick to react. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see people come out on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":57756,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"behind","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[24569,19206],"coauthors":[23967],"class_list":["post-57752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-terf-conference","tag-trans-rights","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230916_TECO_SF_WomensConfProtest_4_web.jpeg?resize=1200%2C720&quality=89&ssl=1\")
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