Thread by @el_nagashi

Lesbians are no longer welcome at a lesbian conference. @EuroLesbianCon #ELCBudapest2022 unregistered me less than 24hrs before start of the lesbian conf in Budapest b/c my „recent public statements“ would „go against EL*C core values“. Here is a thread about my values. 🧵 1/13

As a lesbian politician, a woman of color with a migrant and muslim background, I spoke at the opening of the first EL*C lesbian conference in Vienna in 2017, evoking Monique Wittig and her statement about lesbians not being women. 2/13

I called for us to come together and discuss this and other questions. You must have liked what you heard and saw cause I was invited to join the EL*C board meeting in January 2018. I organised vegan catering, we got booze, mixed cocktails and discussed the next conference. 3/13

I joined the board, managed the finances, rewrote the statutes to keep the charity status of the organisation, helped selecting workshops for the 2nd conference in Kyiv/Ukraine in April 2019 - and co-moderated the three day event. 4/13

I sat on panels discussing our intersectional and inclusive lesbian movement - and the solidarity we need to fight the anti-gender backlash. One panel took place while nationalists threw tear gas into the lobby of the hotel. 5/13

The last day, during our debrief meeting, there was a bomb threat and the hotel was evacuated. We spent the evening at a pizzeria nearby and later scattered at the lobby of the hotel; scared but together, providing comfort to each other.

dw.com/en/far-right-p… 6/13

A couple of months later, I organised the EL*C presence during Europride in Vienna. We had our event at the Vienna city hall and called it: One million lesbians! We went to Europride together and danced under our new logo and banner: Lesbian Genius. 7/13

We worked together, we laughed together, we fought together. And we marched together. At the Dyke March in Vienna and in Tirana in Albania. Side by side and in solidarity with the broader LGBTIQ community. 8/13

We agreed and we disagreed. We envisioned a movement that comes together across differences and that would be inspired by our example. We wanted to rebuild the lesbian movement across Europe and Central Asia. 9/13

I was thrilled to reconnect with you at the 3rd conference, even more in the city in which I was born and where I had joined pride marches shielded by police from right wing extremists (collaborating with the police). Less than 24hrs before the conference, you uninvited me. 10/13

With your decision to exclude me from the conference, you have gone down a divisive path. You know me, my track record, my work, my commitment. I have not changed. With your decision, you say to lesbians everywhere: There is no space for you here. 11/13

I am more convinced than ever to speak up. For the young lesbians who are new to this and the old ones who built so much. For those who want to fight for the visibility and rights of lesbians. For our differences and for what we share. I am in Budapest. My DMs are open. 12/13

I am happy to meet, discuss and connect - and to rebuild an actual lesbian movement. #LesbianResistance #ELCBudapest2022 13/13