Censorship, misogyny, mutilation of minors... homosexuals worldwide condemn the rift of the queer community

The LGBTQIA+ community is in the midst of a split. Homosexuals and bisexuals around the world are proclaiming their independence from the queer movement, denouncing its woke influence and the excesses initiated by the trans lobby among children. Switzerland has just joined the movement, which also includes France. This is the story of a not-so-amicable divorce.

Canva/DR

On 22 October 2019, in a room in central London, a secret meeting of seventy people took place. That evening, Bev Jackson and Kate Harris launched the LGB Alliance, which would become an officially recognised international charity a few years later. The movement was sparked by the ideological shift of Stonewall, Europe's largest gay rights organisation, and the inability of its members to challenge what is now described as trans extremism.

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"The idea of damaging what had been a wonderful organisation was unbearable to us, but we were incandescent with rage to see what was happening to the gay rights movement," Kate Harris recalls in an interview with L'Impertinent. "Along with other members who shared the same conclusions, we spent three years writing letters to get a discussion going about the direction the organisation was taking. It finally became clear to us that change was not up for debate." That shift was in relation to gender identity.

"After looking into the issue, I realised that this ideology was based on nonsense, that it was totally indefensible, without any factual basis, that it was anti-scientific, anti-freedom of expression, anti-Enlightenment, which guides our societies, and that it was a threat not only to gays and lesbians, but also to liberal democracy itself," explains the activist. What followed was a smear campaign on social media, which even reached the British political arena. Kate Harris, now 71, has painful memories of this period: "We saw photos of ourselves wearing Nazi armbands, photos of armed people coming to get us. There were threats of rape, we were called pedophiles, etc. It was unbearable. To be honest, I think I would have died under the pressure if Bev hadn't supported me. It was hell on earth. And you start to doubt your sanity, because people keep telling you that you're a fanatical Nazi."

In mid-September 2025, a few days ago, LGB Alliance International was launched. The Swiss branch is created, alongside seventeen other countries, including Taiwan, Australia, the United States and France. The split is official. In a video posted on the organisation's website, homosexuals and bisexuals from around the world explain the importance of returning to the original struggles of the gay community:

In a press release sent on 20 September to announce the creation of the Swiss branch, which has so far remained a dead letter, its founders (one from Vaud and one from Zurich) explain: "LGB Alliance Switzerland aims to represent the interests of LGB people who feel neglected by the former gay organisations, which are now entirely dedicated to 'transgender' issues. All organisations that once represented homosexual people are now entirely devoted to the ideology of 'gender identity'. In French-speaking Switzerland, as in German-speaking Switzerland, homosexual organisations (such as Vogay, Lilith, Pinkapple Filmfestival, Queersicht) have renamed themselves 'queer'. They promote a climate where no dissenting opinion is tolerated. Under the influence of “gender identity” ideology, heterosexual men who identify as lesbians have been invited as speakers at lesbian conferences and on Swiss television podcasts. These men demand access to lesbian spaces and women's bodies. Many young LGB people are encouraged to believe that they must be 'trans' – and need medication and surgery – instead of simply accepting their attraction to people of the same sex."

On its website, the organisation goes further. ‘Today, a new type of homophobia is developing in Switzerland, which established LGBTQ+ groups are struggling to combat – and often contribute to reinforcing," it says.

"They promote the idea that “gender”, the way you feel or dress, is more important than biological sex. As lesbians, gays and bisexuals whose orientation is based on sex, we believe that replacing biological sex with “gender” means that we can no longer name or describe the discrimination we face and, as a result, that our hard-won rights can be dismantled," explains Catherine Jelk, the French-speaking co-founder of the Swiss branch.

"As a homosexual, my sexuality is not respected, she adds. When I go to a lesbian space and the first person who opens the door for me is a man, I am first surprised, then sad, then angry. Not respecting that is a form of homophobia, isn't it?"

The origins of the ‘T’ fracture

"In the beginning, it was always about the liberation of lesbians and gays. The B (for bisexual, ed.) came later,’ recalls Kate Harris. ‘But since the T has nothing to do with sexual attraction, there's no reason to link it." Historically, however, the acronym LGBT became established in the 1990s, and trans rights were explicitly included in the platform of the 1993 Washington march. National organisations began incorporating it in the late 1990s, and certain laws have protected gender identity since 1993. The Yogyakarta Principles (2006–2007) then consolidated the association between sexual orientation and gender identity at the international level.

‘There are LGBTQ+ communities in several cities in Switzerland and trans organisations – such as Agnodis and TGNS – that are lobbying,’ says Catherine Jelk. "Transactivist ideology has penetrated schools. In several cantons, policies have been put in place to “affirm” pupils who identify as trans or non-binary. These policies positively validate these identities. However, these children are often – or will become – lesbian, bi or gay. Pressure is exerted on them to change their bodies, pronouns and personalities in order to conform to gender stereotypes. A tomboyish girl or a rather feminine boy often becomes LGB as an adult; they do not need hormones or surgery: they are perfect just as they are. We are calling for a public debate on these issues. In Switzerland, a democratic country and champion of discussion, it is not normal that we cannot debate these policies, because they affect the entire population: everyone has children or knows young people.

For LGB Alliance Switzerland, the mission is therefore to re-establish public debate, but also to recreate a community without the other letters: organising activities (hikes, reading groups, cafés) and taking back control of LGB culture and literature, which it considers to have been ‘hijacked by queers and trans people’.

Divide and conquer?

Arnaud Abel is president of Fiertés Citoyennes, a French LGBT+ association that makes no distinction between sexual orientation and gender identity. In his view, these two aspects are part of the same logic: that of sexual minorities. He therefore sees the creation of the LGB Alliance as "a gift to reactionaries".

"There is a lot of exaggeration in the diagnosis that LGBT+ movements have 'forgotten' the homosexual cause,’ he explains. "I recognise that there are abuses, that questions have been treated with contempt, sometimes even in an insulting manner, when they are legitimate questions. I completely agree that we should question the supervision of minors' gender transition processes and the place of trans people in sport or in prison: we must be able to debate these issues dispassionately. No problem there. But it is sometimes difficult to draw the line between legitimate questions (which need to be answered) and a visceral rejection of trans identity and trans people. That exists too."

We all belong to the same story, we have the same enemies, the same detractors. The same hatred targets us. Those who hate homosexuals and trans people generally do not distinguish between a trans person and a gay or lesbian person. The main dangers for homosexuals are certainly not trans activists. When people are beaten up, trapped, or insulted in the street, it is not because of them. When a teacher or student is harassed because of their sexual orientation, to the point of taking their own life, it is certainly not because of 'gender activists'. Let's put our priorities in order and look at things dispassionately."

We asked this Parisian, an activist for reason, if he saw the creation of the LGB Alliance as one of the consequences of unbridled progressivism, which sometimes tips over into censorship: "Yes. There have been overly radical reactions that left little room for doubt among some activists, who are quick to resort to invective and anathema, he admits. Systematically labeling someone as transphobic without taking the time to read or listen to what they have to say is counterproductive. Yes, there are people who are truly opposed to trans identity, but there are also legitimate questions and fears that need to be addressed. We have lacked education within LGBT organisations in recent years. We have moved too quickly, sometimes reacting emotionally, making trans identity the ultimate, almost sacred cause. Of course, we must protect trans people, but there are also many other issues that we must address together, because if we are not united and show solidarity, these social issues will not progress."

Arnaud Abel sees this fragmentation of struggles as weakening the battles that unite the community as a whole. "I am concerned: we are losing strength and vigor at a time when we should be sticking together. What we are calling for is to heal the rifts and start talking again. Trans people have become the scapegoats of reactionary movements. And, mirroring this, some very radicalised activists are taking advantage of this polarisation to advance other agendas. We advocate taking a step back, revisiting the issues point by point, sorting out legitimate questions, and responding to them dispassionately, without getting caught up in conflicts that will not help us."

Did you say progressivism?

Among the abuses denounced by LGB Alliance is the tendency to relegate women to the background. "I think there is a lot of misogyny in this whole queer theory, says Kate Harris. The hypocrisy is off the charts. In fact, they've been given carte blanche to be as misogynistic as they want under the guise of being progressive and cool." According to her, the sexual fetishism of some is now being touted as the norm. She cites as evidence the studies of psychologist Ray Blanchard, author of the term autogynephilia, which describes a man who is sexually attracted to himself as a woman. This concept is rarely documented in current scientific literature and health statistics, as it is considered a specific category of gender incongruence.

We have seen so many boys who have been castrated and whose bodies are ruined, whose lives are ruined. So many girls who have had their breasts removed, when they are simply lesbians, adds the founder. They are just children who have been told a story, who have been told a bunch of lies, and who have had their lives destroyed after being brutalized. I hold the proponents of gender identity ideology responsible for this.

All we're trying to say is that we need clear boundaries in the future. Because the next thing to be removed could well be age. Many queer activists are also involved with people who are attracted to minors and are trying to change the laws to allow men to have sex with children. So that's another thing we need to be wary of. We have had many cases in the UK where people involved in the queer community have subsequently turned out to be pedophiles. Just recently, a man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old boy. He was the head of a Pride organisation.

Reversal of values

Given these different points of view, one question remains: why has the issue of gender supplanted the original concerns of the gay community? How far does the real power of the trans lobby extend? Since fewer people are affected by gender reassignment than LGB people (see box), how can their predominance within community movements be explained? The inclusive answer seems a little short.

While admitting to asking herself the same question every day, Kate Harris offers an explanation: "I think LGB organisations like Stonewall had achieved all their goals. They had achieved equality in areas such as adoption, service in the armed forces, marriage for all... What more could they do? Transgender people saw this as an opportunity: if they clung to the LGB movement, which was working so well in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, etc., it would give them power they didn't have. I think many people confused the addition of the T with a new stage in human progress."

Since 2022, the WHO no longer classifies ‘gender incongruence’ as a mental disorder in its comprehensive medical list. This has served as a basis for several countries to change their laws or regulations (civil status, access to healthcare, reimbursements). Furthermore, rankings such as ILGA-Europe's Rainbow Map compare countries and put pressure on them to ‘do better’. Finally, controversies about women's sport, education and health attract a lot of attention: algorithms and the media amplify these highly divisive topics, giving them much greater visibility than the actual number of people affected.

Finally, the influence of advocacy networks is real but debated: some institutions have adjusted their partnerships (ex. the BBC leaving the Stonewall programme), a sign that the debate on methods and scope is open. As a result, the ‘trans issue’ now occupies a considerable amount of space, not because the community is in the majority, but because the issues at stake are recent, internationally standardized, and highly contentious – and therefore prominent in the media.

For Kate Harris, the issue of pharmaceutical companies' profits also comes into play: "If you start taking puberty blockers as a child, then move on to cross-sex hormones, then have surgery, you have to take medication for the rest of your life."

Growing rapidly

To get an idea of the scope of the LGB Alliance, consider the half a million pounds in donations it raised this year. The organisation claims to be apolitical. "The only thing we have in common is that we are attracted to people of the same sex. We have nothing in common with people who want to do all sorts of strange things to their bodies, who believe that you can change your sex and that a child can be born in the wrong body,’ concludes Kate Harris. I don't think we've ever said horrible things about transgender people. What we oppose is the ideology promoted by transgender and heterosexual people that gender is more important than biology."

As part of this investigation, we attempted to obtain responses from Voqueer (formerly Vogay), Lestime, the Federation of LGBTIQ+ Associations and the Organisation of Lesbians in Switzerland (LOS). No one found the time to respond to us. I am therefore, despite myself, condemned to remain in ignorance (see box).