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A renowned organizer for the upcoming Gender Liberation March tells The Advocate how you can attend — and why you should.
It isn’t just transgender people’s rights at stake.
That’s the message organizers are emphasizing as September 14 approaches, when the streets of Washington, D.C. will be flooded with protestors turning out for the Gender Liberation March.
Founded by the organizers of the highly successful Women’s Marches in 2016 and 2017, and Brooklyn Liberation Marches of 2020 and 2021, the Gender Liberation March seeks to unite LGBTQ+ people and women with their fellow Americans in the fight for bodily autonomy, especially with the threat of Project 2025 on the horizon.
“Our vision for the day is touching down in Washington D.C., and drawing out thousands of folks,” award-winning author and activist Raquel Willis, who is a core organizer of the march, tells The Advocate. “We are rallying against Project 2025 and all these kinds of efforts to infringe on our rights around bodily autonomy and self-determination.”
Conceived out of the previous Brooklyn marches, the Gender Liberation March particularly aims to highlight the connection between bans on abortion and other reproductive health care, and laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community and gender-affirming care. Willis notes that “the dominant discourse on reproductive justice and abortion access often ignores that there are all types of folks who need that access, including transgender and nonbinary folks, and of course intersex folks.”
“There needs to be a larger conversation around town because gender-affirming care isn't something that just trans folks need to access,” she explains. “We all deserve access to holistic healthcare, and it's by design from our conservative counterparts to marginalize the experiences of folks who need to seek out abortions or seek out gender transition-related care.”
More than 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in 2023, and 80 were passed into law, according to theAmerican Civil Liberties Union. Over halfway through 2024, 527 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced, with 44 passed into law. The majority target transgender people and their access to gender-affirming care.
Of the 26 states that have banned gender-affirming care for youth, all have an abortion ban of some form, the majority being total or six-week bans.
Though conservatives aren’t planning on stopping there – they’ve also laid out plans to restrict other forms of reproductive health care, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and birth control. Project 2025, a blueprint for former president Donald Trump’s potential second term, explicitly calls to limit access to contraception. Willis believes “that is a fight that everyone needs to be invested in.”
“Conservatives have been targeting women, LGBTQ+ folks, immigrants, people of color, disabled folks, and more. We need to be having a discussion around the universal right to bodily autonomy, to make decisions about our own bodies on our own terms,” she continues. “People often think that only transgender or nonbinary folks are dealing with the muck of gender norms, but honestly, cis people are dealing with them, too."
"People better believe that if they're coming after our right to access our healthcare, they're going to come after yours as well," Willis adds.
The Gender Liberation March is being held on Saturday, September 14 at Columbus Circle. Those wishing to attend can sign up here, or donate to the cause here. Buses are also being provided as transportation for those in other major East Coast cities, which can be found here.
Though the march is just a couple of months out from the November elections, Willis says that the protest is not meant to be about candidates, but rather the conservative movement’s efforts to take away people’s fundamental rights, as “there's no place for that in a society that claims to be about freedom.”
“We're not endorsing candidates, but we are endorsing values,” she says. “Our top line value is gender liberation for all, but that includes bodily autonomy and self-determination in the pursuit of fulfillment for everyone.”
“While everyone is focused on the 2024 elections and voting, I also want them to understand that they have a whole menu of options for social engagement,” Willis continues. “That can mean donating to candidates who speak to your values, particularly on down-ballot races, but also donating to organizations that are often the ones who feed and clothe and support your community.”
