Hatred against trans people and a “radical precedent” in anti-discrimination law would flow from a lesbian group being allowed to invite only biological females to its events, Victoria’s peak union body has warned.
An application by the recently formed Lesbian Action Group to lawfully exclude trans women from a “Lesbians Born Female” event has caused a heated rift, with equality and inclusion advocates squaring off against women’s rights groups.
The Lesbian Action Group, an organisation formed by veterans of the lesbian rights movement of the 1980s and 1990s, wants to stage its event at the government-funded Victorian Pride Centre in Melbourne next month to celebrate International Lesbian Day, and has applied for a five-year exemption from the Sex Discrimination Act.
The application triggered a flurry of submissions, published by the Australian Human Rights Commission, which echo arguments raging more broadly within political and feminist circles and women’s sporting and cultural institutions over how to balance gender inclusion and sex-based rights.
In a joint submission, 15 community and legal groups – including Equality Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre, Transgender Victoria and Dykes on Bikes, which leads the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade – said while it was important for lesbians to gather to celebrate their culture, it was unnecessary to exclude trans women and other queer groups.
“Although the application purports to seek an exemption excluding heterosexual, bisexual and queer men and women, as well as gay men, it singles out transgender women who are attracted to women for particular exclusion from among other lesbians,” the joint submission reads.
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R&I – TP
