Lesbian, Bi, And Trans Women At The Intersection: The Case Of ‘The Good Mother’
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The fundamental philosophy behind intersectional feminism is that, while all women are negatively affected by sexism, not all experience sexism in the same ways or to the same degree. Other aspects of identity – such as race, sexual orientation, gender presentation, age, class, religion, and marital status – impact sexism’s influence on individual women. For example, while all mothers – even famous ones – are subject to judgments of being “good†or “bad†mothers, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LBT) women are generally judged more harshly (and have more at stake when such judgments are made) than other women. In order for LBT women to overcome the impact of sexism, homophobia, and transphobia, there is a need for solidarity and community among all women.
The value of such solidarity becomes clear in the context of Chilean Judge Karen Atala’s legal battle in the national and regional courts. Atala lost custody of her three daughters in 2004 because she identified as a lesbian and lived with her partner.
In the years since the initial Chilean Supreme Court ruling, Atala has sought justice from the legal system. After a nine year battle, she achieved a landmark victory in March 2012. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that Chile must apologize and pay damages to Atala, a particularly momentous ruling that  marked the first time that the Inter-American court issued a ruling to protect individuals from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. In July, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), which had contributed an amicus brief to the court, honored Atala at “A Celebration of Courage 2012,†where she accepted the organization’s Felipa deSouza Award and discussed the journey that led to her victory.
In some ways, Atala’s struggle is one specific to Chile’s cultural context. Traditionally, the position of the mother in Chile is glorified. Under former president Michelle Bachelet’s leadership, the amount of day care centers tripled in part to allow teenage mothers the opportunity to continue attending high school, allowing them to have more opportunities and be better equipped to provide for children upon graduation. At the same time, some HIV-positive women have been forcibly sterilized after giving birth, preventing them from having additional children. Traditional culture values motherhood above all other roles and, in doing so, is quick to demonize women who fall outside of the traditional expectations of motherhood. It’s no wonder, then, that Atala struggled as long as she did. In a society where mothers are de-sexualized, a mother who chooses to openly discuss her sexual orientation is significantly suspect. One who is honest, and will not lie about having a female partner, is quite simply a “Bad Mother.†She will not deny herself on behalf of “good” motherhood.
In response to this judgment, Atala’s legal team – led by Macarena Sáez, a straight woman – structured their argument around a challenge of the “good mother†ideal. Rather than positioning Atala as a lesbian who happens to be a mother, Sáez and the legal team positioned Atala as a mother who happens to be a lesbian. In keeping with the idea that being a mother is more important than any other aspect of a woman’s identity, Atala’s team argued that her identity as a lesbian has no effect on her ability to raise a family and should not overshadow her commitments to her children and role as a parent. And in response to concern that allowing Atala’s daughters to live with her would not be in their best interests, the legal team countered that it is never in a child’s best interest to be separated from its mother. If motherhood is to be placed on a pedestal, this means that all mothers need to be treated equally, regardless of sexual orientation.
This argument played a significant role in Atala’s ultimate victory at the Inter-American Court. Both feminists and LGBT activists joined together to create the strongest possible case. Although the discrimination Atala experienced was specifically homophobic, her case has implications for all women, especially those who are mothers. Her case reaffirms the notion that a mother’s ability to parent is not necessarily connected to her sexual identity, ideology, or lifestyle. Her victory, therefore, is as much a feminist one as it is a queer one.
Mainstream feminist organizations and activists often ignore the specific struggles unique to LBT women. Likewise, LGBT organizations (frequently male-dominated) and activists often marginalize the women within the community. As a result, women at the intersection – women like Karen Atala – are often isolated. It is critical for all women – feminists, queer women, queer feminists, and all in between – to champion the struggles of those most at-risk of marginalization. Without the joint advocacy of feminists and LGBT activists, Atala’s struggle might never have been won.  As feminist and LGBT communities world-wide, strengthen their connections, women at the intersection may finally become  equal members of both worlds.
Image, top: Las Otras Familias (Other Families) organized protests in Santiago in support of Karen Atala’s case. These women are wearing masks and holding signs that read: “We’ll take the masks off when you stop taking our kids away” and “I’m a woman and a mother” among others. Photo: Las Otras Familas
Image of Karen Atala by Kena Lorenzini
Carrie Nelson is a freelance writer and filmmaker based in New York and  the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission’s former Foundation Relations Officer.
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Amid more damning revelations from her soon-to-be released book, embattled South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem will head to Mar-a-Lago this weekend as ex-president Donald Trump auditions potential vice presidential picks in front of high-dollar donors. Noem was also slated to attend a Republican fundraiser in Colorado this weekend but it was canceled over alleged safety concerns after news broke she had bragged about shooting her 14-month old dog.
While Noem’s shooting to death of her wirehaired pointer, Cricket, which she detailed in the book, is still making headlines overnight a new revelation made news: Noem falsely claims in her book she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
A spokesperson for Noem “seemed to concede that the Kim story was false Thursday night,” and notified her publisher, Politico’s Ryan Lizza reported in his exclusive.
But less noticed appears to be the actual text of Noem’s false story, in which she brands children she ministered in church “little tyrants,” and compared them to the murderous North Korean dictator.
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“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee,” Noem wrote, according to Politico, “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”
CNBC reported this week Trump “will mingle with potential vice presidential running mates and wealthy Republican donors at the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat. The meetings are likely to act as informal tryouts for a short list of politicos in the running to join the Trump ticket.”
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Also expected to attend are House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and other elected Republicans along with RNC co-chair Lara Trump.
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Meanwhile, the Jefferson County, Colorado Republican Party chair announced a fundraising dinner Noem was slated to attend was canceled after threats were made, The Denver Post reports.
“We understood there was a planned organized protest outside of the hotel, led by Progress Now,” Nancy Pallozzi said. “I felt that our event would be negatively impacted, and we could not take the risk that those who made threats would cause physical harm.”
Over the weekend independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke at a fundraiser for a far-right anti-government group in Erie County, New York – a slice of the country that had a large proportion of residents arrested and charged for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection. Kennedy, a conspiracy theorist and vaccine denialist, increasingly is embracing the far-right.
“That group, Constitutional Coalition of New York State, has founders who not only have ties to Donald Trump but are also connected to the stop-the-steal movement through their activist network, which includes groups that had a presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6,” The Daily Beast reported Friday. “It’s yet another instance of Kennedy—who is mounting one of the most well-funded third-party presidential threats in decades—serving as a peculiar bridge between his own anti-establishment movement and Trump’s.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center includes the Constitutional Coalition of New York State (CCNYS) on its page of anti-government groups. Political Research Associates, which detailed the high proportion of January 6 residents arrested and charged, included the Constitutional Coalition of New York State in its February report on “The Rise of the Far Right in Western New York.”
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Kennedy “said this week that he has qualified to be on the ballot in California and will accept the nomination of the American Independent Party, which has a history of associating itself with far-right figures and individuals who have expressed racist views.”
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“That MAGA dalliance with Kennedy could be coming back to bite the Trump campaign, some Republicans close to the former president worry,” The Daily Beast also reported.
“’They can only blame themselves,’ a Trump-aligned strategist told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations about the risk Kennedy poses, ‘because they cozied up to him and thought it was funny.’”
Watch WIVBTV’s report on Kennedy’s trip to New York below or at this link.
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A portion of NBC’s report from Thursday also appears in this January 2024 NBC News video.
Watch the video below or at this link.
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