Never Mind the Cistem ...

Quadratischer Aufkleber mit dem Text Never mind the cistem - here's the trans liberation auf weißem Hintergrund. Die Worte trans liberation sind im kräftigen Blau auf einem pinken Streifen geschrieben und erinnern an die ausgeschnittenen Buchstaben-Collagen aus Zines. Beschreibung des Künstlers:

10 NEVER MIND THE CISTEM - HERE‘S THE TRANS LIBERATION sticker.

To learn more about what trans liberation means, and what not - here are some quotes from Nim Ralph and Kai Cheng Thom:

„Trans rights identifies the cause of trans people’s subjugation as a lack of civil and legal rights which prevents us from gaining power and representation in the existing system.
Trans liberation identifies the cause of trans people’s subjugation as inherent to the very system itself: we are not experiencing transphobia because the system is broken, we are experiencing transphobia because the system is working as it was designed.

If we understand that capitalism enforces gender, race, sexuality and disability onto our bodies then representation in that system cannot free us. The idea that we can challenge transphobia by gaining more power and representation within the system is a fallacy because the system is the very thing that maintains oppression.“
(Nim Ralph)

„Don’t get me wrong, broader social acceptance is a good thing, but it is not the same thing as liberation. Inclusion can feel comforting to people who are historically, culturally, socially excluded from society — I always say ‘if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu’. But we should also be concerned with dismantling the table.
Instrumental wins that look like trans rights but help us towards liberation are ones that take power away from the system, not add more power to it. So GRA reform would have been an example of a way trans people gained power to self-ID, and removed some power from the state to determine whether or not we are trans.“
(Nim Ralph)

„Trans liberation politics, forged in the fires of oppression and the struggle to survive, were and are the revolutionary spark of queer resistance.

Four years after the so-called transgender tipping point, however, not much seems to have changed for the majority of trans people today. There is a strange disjunct between the social transformation that appears to have taken place in the media and the ongoing reality of violence, deprivation, and discrimination that trans people continue to experience:

There are more trans people on television than ever before, but trans youth remain disproportionately homeless and suicidal. Trans people’s visibility has skyrocketed, but anti-trans legislation and discrimination remain rampant. Trans rights are debated more and more frequently in major news outlets, but trans women who are Black, brown, and sex workers continue to be assaulted and murdered on a regular basis.
How can this be happening? How can we be living in a world where trans identities are discussed seemingly endlessly, but trans people are no safer for it? Where the existence of trans celebrities – and even trans millionaires – is possible, but trans people as a class remain seriously oppressed on every legal and social level?

Our revolutionary fire burns bright as always, but I am afraid that it is being misdirected, co-opted. Neoliberalism, the deadly, advanced stage of the capitalist system in which we live, is stealing trans liberation.
Instead of being able to gain access to resources, we are given representation in mainstream media — a perk that helps us enjoy television and movies while continuing to suffer homelessness and joblessness. Instead of being granted freedom, we are being sold a product: an illusion of “equality” that is ultimately empty.
To achieve trans liberation, we must turn our gaze to ending neoliberalism.“
(Kai Cheng Thom)

„Transition is a fundamental right that all trans people, of all ages, should have access to. But I believe that transition, ideally, should be offered as one option of many for bodily autonomy and self-expression. It should not be something that we have to do in order to make us more acceptable to others, or to hide our transness from the world.
And transition should most certainly not be a privilege where the best options for hormone replacement therapy, surgery, and fertility treatments are reserved only for those who can afford them.“
(Kai Cheng Thom)

„Is it more important to you for your [trans] child to have an easy, normal life or a fulfilling, liberated one?“
(Kai Cheng Thom)

„I see more and more wealthy, usually white, middle-class youth and children coming out as trans. It’s beautiful. They are brave and resilient; and sometimes, their families actually support them in transitioning and advocating for their access to school, healthcare, university.
Yet I see just as many trans youth, mostly of color, who are estranged from their families, living in shelters, blocked from accessing the resources they need for day-to-day living, let alone medical transition and higher education.

Trans visibility is brighter than ever, trans rights awareness is at an all-time high. Yet the class divide between trans people grows and grows.“
(Kai Cheng Thom)

You can read the full interview and the article here:

https://neweconomics.org/2021/08/why-trans-liberation-is-a-class-issue

https://www.them.us/story/trans-visibility-does-not-equal-trans-liberation

Bücher von Kai Cheng Thom gibt es hier.

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And now some details about those sticker:

The stickers are square with 5cm sides.
They are printed on 95µm white permanently adhesive foil, and have a glossy partial UV-finish on the letters.

They have a nice soft feel and stick very well on especially flat surfaces.

They are meant to be spread not to be kept, but I do encourage to do so with love and only with permission from the owners of the destined surface.