Noah Berlatsky Blatarsky carried out an in-depth interview with the trans activist Julia Serano, where she speaks at length about the issues of how to make left-wing activism more inclusive while maintaining rigorous condemnation of insensitivity. I highly recommend it. Serano:

Sometimes, the unwritten codes of conduct in certain activist or progressive spaces may be especially rigorous, and when someone unknowingly transgresses these unwritten codes, they may be fiercely condemned (often with multiple people “piling on” the condemnation). While I understand the rationale behind such condemnations (as they are intended to make the space safe for certain marginalized populations), they can have the effect of driving away people who are new to activism, many of whom are minorities and marginalized themselves.

Another under-acknowledged problem is that inflexible or rigorously-enforced codes of conduct often end up pitting marginalized individuals against one another. For example, in many activist spaces these days, you will likely be reprimanded if you use the word “tranny,” as many younger trans people view this word as a slur that demeans them. But then, what happens to trans people of the previous generation who have long used that term as an identity label? Similarly, some trans activists have claimed that the word “bisexual” reinforces the gender binary (and is therefore oppressive to trans people). But then, what happens to people who identify as bisexual and use that word as a focal point for their activism?

Read the whole thing.