Text of Socialist Party for today’s Pride demonstration in Dublin
Rise of the far right & its daily impact
The recent elections in the South, five consciously anti-immigrant councillors were elected to local councils, with many more receiving substantial votes, including those who spearheaded a nationwide abuse of library workers for the presence of LGBTQIA+ inclusive material in libraries.
The dangerous rhetoric of such far right actors about trans people ‘grooming children’ with ‘gender ideology’ has created a dangerous and damaging environment for all LGBTQIA+ people – including children they claim to be protecting. Only this month, gay men in Phoenix Park were pursued by teenagers with knives in a homophobic assault; according to a 2024 BelongTo study, 77% of LGBT young people between the ages of 14 and 18 had suicidal ideations. Establishment politicians are also to blame – Keir Starmer of the UK Labour Party has agreed to meet with notorious transphobe JK Rowling to discuss trans issues.
Women’s rights, trans rights, migrant rights : same struggle!
The far right often claims to be “protecting women and children” as they spread their anti-migrant and anti-LGBTQIA+ vitriol. Systemic misogyny is the source of women’s experience of violence and trauma – exposed most starkly from the recent experience of Natasha O’Brien, who was beaten to the point of unconsciousness by an Irish soldier after she cut across him spouting homophobic abuse. Out of consideration for his career, he was given a suspended sentence, was commended for pleading guilty, and a superior in the Irish Defence Forces described him as an “exemplary” soldier in court. Natasha has exposed the continued systemic misogyny in this state — let’s heed her call for more protests and organising, and linking up all our struggles against oppression and exploitation.
Stop the pinkwashing : No pride in genocide!
Some pockets of Zionism are attempting to justify the ongoing genocide in Gaza in which over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by conflating the Israeli state/ Western capitalism with queer liberation and Palestinians / muslims with queerphobia – an idea fundamentally rooted in racism and Islamophobia, and also laden with hypocrisy. The Netanyahu regime is a far right government whose attacks on queer rights have sparked protests internally in Israel ; the assault on Gaza has nothing to do with “bringing liberation” to queer Palestinians and everything to do with imperialist conquest and attempting to forge national unity against a supposed “enemy.” Young people around the world exposing this hypocrisy, and demanding divestment from companies profiting from the genocidal Israeli regime in their universities, and in their pride parades, has been as heartening as it is crucial. We echo their call – “No pride in genocide!”
Trans healthcare – socialist change urgently needed!
Access to gender affirming care is a crucial demand for gender nonconforming people the world over. Ireland is ranked the worst out of 27 EU countries due to not only their decade long waiting lists but also the psychiatric evaluation we’re forced into through the National Gender Service (NGS). Trans people are asked violating, sexualised questions about our relationships, our intimate lives and abuse/trauma. The NGS is a fundamentally broken system with countless obstacles designed to gate-keep trans people from medically transitioning.
The reality of trans healthcare can’t be separated from the deeply flawed UK Cass Report, which is now being used to restrict trans youth’s access to puberty blockers and their right to socially transition. Paul Moran, a psychiatrist with the NGS, was on the review team and has personal connections with Hilary Cass, exposing the transphobia endemic to the Irish system.
Many trans people are forced to pay for private clinics like GenderGP (GGP). Since January, GGP has put profit first – firing their mostly trans/queer workforce in favour of ChatGPT and removing reduced rates and raising prices for their services. This exposes the need for real public healthcare for all, including gender affirming care and abortion rights. Socialist change, which puts social need above profits and allows communities, workers, and the oppressed control over the institutions which will most impact our lives is crucial if access to gender affirming care and queer liberation is to be won.
“No pride for some, without liberation for all!”- Marsha P. Johnson – Join the socialist struggle
In order to fight for the liberation of queer people, women, people of colour, Palestinians, workers – for all the exploited and oppressed, we must bring our movements to the streets; we must deepen our struggle in colleges and schools as well as work places – we must bring society to a halt until our collective liberation is centred, and build a system based on the taking wealth and resources and power out of the capitalist class and establishment, taking the key levers of the economy into democratic public ownership and control — and building a society not only common ownership of wealth, but also of deep solidarity and care, where there is no systemic need for hateful ideologies to divide and exploit.
