During a rally against transphobia in Paris this Sunday, several thousand people gathered at Place de la République to fight against the “transphobic offensive”. Among the names that raise eyebrows in the LGBT+ community, those of Marguerite Stern and Dora Moutot. Since mid-April, the two authors and activists close to the ideas of the extreme right have continued their tour of the major plateaus to promote their book Transmaniapublished by Magnus.
In France, they are considered Terf, “Trans-exclusionary radical feminists”. Understand here “Radical feminist excluding trans people”. The two activists describe themselves more as “femellists”, a conservative movement which defends women as “human females”. Since its release, Transmania stirs up anger. Dora Moutot explained on her social networks that she had been threatened with death on several occasions. Signs “Dora Moutot at the bottom of the Rhine” were brandished in Strasbourg and a tag “A Terf, a ball” appeared in Paris. On her Twitter, author JK Rowling – also accused of transphobia – expressed her “affection” and “support” for him.
“A hateful book”, according to a forum
To summarize the book, we will quote from its back cover: “Transgender ideology is infiltrating all spheres of society. It presents itself as a simple movement for the rights of an oppressed minority, yet, behind the glitter, there is a harmful political project which is about to disrupt our relationship with reality.”
The book was described as “hateful” by a forum signed by 800 public figures and collectives in the weekly Politis. “The reactionaries seek to install in the public debate the idea that trans people are a danger: for children, for society and for themselves,” accuse the signatories.
Among them, the SOS Homophobia association even decided to file a complaint on April 20 against Dora Moutot and Marguerite Stern. “Transphobia kills. Freedom of expression cannot justify hatred against trans people,” the association declared on its social networks.
Transphobic speech “is not an opinion”
In Paris, the JCDecaux group also announced that it was withdrawing book promotion advertisements at the request of Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy at Paris City Hall. “Transphobia is a crime. Hatred of others has no place in our city,” denounced the elected official on his social networks. The operator explained that the visual was contrary to their “ethical charter”, apologizing for the posters which may have “offended”. Ditto in Lyon at the request of Mayor Grégory Doucet.
Senator Ian Brossat, for his part, requested the cancellation of a conference in the presence of the authors at the Panthéon Assas University. “Public higher education institutions must not serve as platforms for hate speech that distorts reality and stigmatizes trans people. Far from encouraging a constructive and informative dialogue, this event risks perpetuating a climate of intolerance and violence,” defended the elected official.
“Transphobia is not a political opinion, like homophobia. These comments are reprehensible and have no place in universities,” defended Léon Deffontaines – head of the Communist Party list for the European elections – on the TF1 morning show, Friday.
The authors cry for censorship
On the sets, the authors evoke “censorship”, according to Dora Moutot based “on assumptions rather than an analysis of the content” and an “obscurantism which seeks to muzzle all critical thinking”. From the Actualitte website, the Magnus publishing house also defended the work which, according to them, did not contain “any objectionable remarks”. And added: “When we cannot attack the message, we attack the messenger.”
The messenger, too, shoots. Both women are used to media punches to defend their radical ideology. In October 2022, on the set of What an era!, Dora Moutot had made transphobic remarks against the first transgender mayor of France, Marie Cau, believing that trans women were dangerous for their fellow prisoners, because they could rape them. Facts extrapolated and taken out of context, which 20 Minutes had verified at the time. However, these speeches are well received in the media, which continue to receive them without ever contradicting them.
According to a study published in February 2023 by the Association of LGBTI Journalists, the treatment of trans identities is often in the minority in the media and when it is treated, it often remains misunderstood. “The people concerned remain largely invisible, to the benefit of people holding, on the other hand, transphobic discourses. Some media have also made it a specialty, highlighting the platforms and positions of personalities such as Dora Moutot, Marguerite Stern, or members of the Little Mermaid Observatory. On this subject, the AJL would like to recall the responsibility of the media in the dissemination of transphobic positions, via publications that are often not contextualized and not sourced.”