Women's Liberation Front

The Women's Liberation Front (WoLF) is an American non-profit radical feminist organization founded by Lierre Keith in 2016. In media outlets, it has often been noted for its opposition to gender identity legislation.[1][2] WoLF has engaged in litigation on transgender topics, working against the Obama administration's Title IX directives, and the Gavin Grimm case. WoLF is chaired by Natasha Chart.[3]

History

In August 2016, WoLF filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration for its directive on Title IX permitting students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity.[4] WoLF stated the directive was against the intent of Title IX and would allow men into women's spaces.[4] In 2017, WoLF partnered with the Family Policy Alliance (FPA), an affiliate of the conservative Christian organization Focus on the Family,[2][1] filing a joint amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court in opposition to a lower court ruling in favor of Gavin Grimm, a transgender male high school student who desired to use the boys' restroom in his school.[2] In 2019, three members of WoLF appeared on a panel with conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation in 2019, focusing on legislation pending in Congress that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.[1]

In 2019, progressives criticized WoLF when The Heritage Foundation hosted a panel against the Equality Act featuring three members of WoLF, with WoLF's Jennifer Chavez reading "from a letter that described increased transgender visibility and acceptance as 'a social contagion all over the internet'".[1][2] On August 20, 2019, WoLF filed an amicus curiae opposing the inclusion of gender identity protections for transgender people in the U.S. Supreme Court case R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.[5]

Style guide

On December 29, 2020, WoLF published a media style guide, in part as a response to the Trans Journalists Association's guide having been adopted by the Society of Professional Journalists.[6] The WoLF style guide describes "that there is an 'epidemic of violence against trans women,' specifically 'trans women of color' and 'black trans women'" as being "a myth".[7] decries the avoidance of subjects' legal names[7] (considered deadnaming by the TJA guide)[8] "in contradiction to the ethical obligation to provide truth, accuracy, and context" and describes itself as "a more accurate way to report on the issues of sex and gender, sexual orientation, and women’s rights"[7] and encourages a distinction between "sex" and "gender".

The WoLF style guide also encourages avoiding the term "sex worker" in favor of distinguishing between people forced into prostitution and "online purveyors of sexual content",[7] encourages avoiding "LGBT" unless discussing topics relevant to "trans-identified individuals" as well as "lesbians, gays [and] bisexuals",[7] and describes the term "queer" (considered "reclaimed" by some people) as "inappropriate" and "a slur which has historically been associated with violence against gays and lesbians".[7] The style guide suggests avoiding the term "intersex" (in favour of disorders of sex development, a term considered controversial since its introduction),.[9][10] In a section on reporting trans identities — which describes "preferred gender pronouns" as "inaccurate pronouns",[7] describes "gender identity" as being a "poorly-defined and unscientific notion"[7] — it also provides recommended example phrases such as using "Susie, a man who identifies as a woman, said..." instead of "Susie, a transgender woman, said...";[7] "Baltimore man murdered [...] in alleged homophobic attack" instead of "Trans woman in Baltimore murdered in third transphobic attack in three years";[7] and "It is still illegal to cross-dress in 13 UN countries" instead of "It is still illegal to be transgender in 13 UN countries".[7]

See also

References
  1. Ring, Trudy (January 30, 2019). "Anti-Trans Feminists Appear at Panel of Right-Wing Heritage Foundation". The Advocate. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  2. Fitzsimons, Tim (January 29, 2019). "Conservative group hosts anti-transgender panel of feminists 'from the left'". NBC News. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  3. Amelia, Langas (November 14, 2017). "'Radical' feminist organization criticizes ETHS transgender locker room policy". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  4. Haywood, Phaedra (August 12, 2016). "Radical feminists sue Obama administration in New Mexico court over bathroom directive". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  5. "Brief Amicus Curiae Women's Liberation Front in Support of Petitioner" (PDF). August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  6. "WoLF Media Style Guide". Women's Liberation Front. December 29, 2020. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  7. "2021 Media Style Guide" (PDF). Women's Liberation Front. December 29, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  8. "Style Guide". Trans Journalists Association. December 11, 2020. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  9. Davis, Georgiann (11 September 2015). Contesting Intersex: The Dubious Diagnosis. New York University Press. pp. 87–89. ISBN 978-1479887040.
  10. Holmes, Morgan (September 2011). "The Intersex Enchiridion: Naming and Knowledge". Somatechnics. 1 (2): 388–411. doi:10.3366/soma.2011.0026. ISSN 2044-0138.
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