Following the Open Letter published by Arcilesbica, the House of Serenissima would like to respond as follows:
We discovered with deep unease (to say the least) the open letter to demonstrators on 8 March by Monica Lanfranco with ArciLesbica.
As a House of queer, gay, lesbian, trans, non-binary artistə, these exclusionary discourses within our community are unbearable.
The presentation can be read on the ArciLesbica website: "ArciLesbica pursues the aim of combating all forms of prejudice and discrimination against lesbians and women in general, of demanding the recognition and full enjoyment of their civil rights, of giving visibility to lesbians on a political, cultural and rights level, promoting their affirmation and dissemination of culture".
So far, we agree on everything. But explain to us for a moment: if your struggle is against discrimination against lesbians, why exclude trans or non-binary people in your discourses? What threat does this pose to the struggle and visibility of lesbians? By doing so, you are targeting the wrong 'threat' or 'perpetrator'. Today more than ever we must be unə in the struggles for our rights: those of lesbians and all LGBTQIA+ people. You have visibility, use it for the good of allə, not to divide.
Feeling threatened by trans women is a displacement of a real fear (that of patriarchy) to an innocent subject, a phobia, as is the case with all phobias.
Your discourse is transphobic. How do you want your fight against discrimination to be taken seriously if you yourself discriminate against others? In the name of what?
Have you ever heard of the 'Lavender Menace'? The so-called 'lavender menace', theorised by Betty Friedan in 1969, a feminist activist of the time, who 'theorised' the threat that lesbians posed to the feminist movement.
ArciLesbica is doing the same thing now with trans and non-binary people.
The first thing that assails us on opening your site is the promotion of the book " We, the lesbians "Lesbians today face the challenge of transfeminism, according to which a male person can be a lesbian if he declares himself to be one, as saying it would be tantamount to being one. "
We, the lesbians of the House of Serenissima, do not share your exclusionary view of lesbian identity. The French writer and activist Alice Coffin writes 'being a lesbian is a celebration'. We are proud to be one, to reappropriate this word, which for a long time has been used by the patriarchy to make us objects of their gaze and their system. We are happy to be surrounded by trans lesbians.
This should no longer be explained, but you don't seem to have understood: a trans woman is a woman. Full stop. There is no debate.
It is so easy to find a scapegoat, Trump is doing it, Meloni is doing it, you are doing it.
By fighting against trans people, you are fighting against yourself. Always remember that.