“Transformative Fire”: Transfeminism as a struggle against all forms of oppression

Insight by Camilla Donzelli

One of the most insidious characteristics of capitalism is its ability to co-opt the most radical demands, stripping them of their political content and turning them into consumer goods tailored to the market needs. We have seen this happen over the years with Pride: originally born out of the 1969 Stonewall riots in response to the violent oppression queer people faced, it has now become a heavily branded event where corporations and institutions rush to showcase a sanitized, queer-friendly image to boost their popularity - only to forget about ‘equity’ and ‘inclusivity’ for the rest of the year. March 8 is no exception to this dynamic.

The fact that in Italy March 8 has been renamed Festa della donna (“Women’s Celebration”) is symptomatic. Even the official UN designation, International Women’s Day, adopted in 1975, conceals an attempt at pacification aimed at depoliticizing the origins of this date.

It was Luise Zietz, a delegate of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, who first proposed in 1910 the organization of a Women’s Day that would not only promote universal suffrage, but also address “the whole woman’s question, according to the socialist conception.” The first Women’s Day was held on March 19, 1911, and was essentially an event organized by and for working-class women. The goal was to distance itself from the mainstream feminist movement of the time, which was largely composed of white, middle- to upper-class women, and to shift the focus of the political debate to the complex condition of those at the intersection of being women, workers, exploited, and often racialized.

The commodification of March 8 that we are witnessing today can be understood, in part, by analyzing the opposing currents that continue to shape the feminist movement. The primary distinction to be made is between liberal feminism and radical, anti-capitalist feminism. The former seeks mere gender equality within the existing social order, without questioning the structure designed and maintained by dominant groups. The latter, on the other hand, seeks collective liberation to be achieved through a complete overthrow of the socio-economic system. Liberal feminism - often closely associated with white feminism - is one of the clearest manifestations of what feminist scholar Nancy Fraser defines as “progressive neoliberalism”: a system centered on individualism that celebrates diversity, empowerment, and meritocracy through a capitalist prism, while dismantling social protections and outsourcing them according to market logic.

In recent years, thanks largely to liberal feminism, the dominant narrative around March 8 has gradually shifted from struggle to celebration. From a collective struggle to a pacified event where women’s achievements are celebrated, or where the most that is demanded is the concession of a few additional rights - granted, of course, only to the right women: white, conforming to gender norms, successful, high-performing, flawless. The message is clear: we don’t need to dismantle the system, we just need to learn how to play by its rules.

But within this framework, what happens to all the other non-conforming identities (in terms of sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, class, etc.) that suffer as much as women - if not more - under the crushing weight of patriarchy? Is there a more inclusive and radical discourse that can steer March 8 back onto a path of collective liberation?

Transfeminism as a point of convergence

Unlike past feminist movements, which almost uncritically embraced the biological division of gender, the currents that have emerged since the 1990s have begun to challenge binary thinking (man/woman, heterosexual/homosexual, etc.), and have been influenced by queer theory. Today, within the so-called fourth wave of feminism, transfeminism has found its place - a movement that completely rejects the exclusionary approach of traditional feminisms. By embracing a wide range of non-conforming identities, transfeminism analyzes structures of domination that oppress marginalized groups, recognizing that inequalities are the result of complex positionalities shaped by the intersection of multiple factors: gender identity, sexual orientation, race, class, disability, and more.

In the Italian transfeminist landscape, Bruciamo Tutto is a newly formed nonviolent civil disobedience movement. “Bruciamo Tutto was born on March 8, 2024,” explains Noemi Diaferia, one of the co-founders. “The four of us who co-founded Bruciamo Tutto were part of Ultima Generazione, and within it we had created what we called the ‘Solid Circle’ - a space for people socialized as women, both cisgender and transgender, to share reflections on issues that directly affected us. Right after the femicide of Giulia Cecchettin, there was finally a public debate that addressed patriarchy as a systemic problem, so we thought it was the right time to do something tangible.”

“In the original core, two out of four are non-white and two out of four are queer,” Noemi continues. “So we feel very strongly about the need for an intersectional approach: we experience multiple overlapping forms of oppression in our own lives, and we understand their broader implications.”

“For us, the concept of ‘transformative fire’ that accompanies our name is very important,” adds Chloé Bertini, another co-founder of the movement. “It means burning away what is no longer needed to prepare fertile ground for something new to grow. This is what we believe transfeminism can do: break down the lines of oppression and imagine a new society, with a constant commitment to transformation - not believing we have arrived, but knowing we are on a continuous path of liberation.”

Ivan Farace, who joined Bruciamo Tutto as an activist less than a year ago, emphasizes how transfeminism can serve as an antidote to increasingly divisive political fragmentation: “In my opinion, the intersectional analysis that transfeminism offers is incredibly powerful, because it intervenes on multiple levels that are all interconnected. When we talk about Palestine, for example, we are not discussing something distant and unrelated: we are talking about human rights, the right to life and self-determination, and therefore also about women’s rights and queer identities crushed under colonial occupation. Similarly, when we talk about environmentalism and anti-speciesism, we are redefining our relationship with non-human species, which leads us to question the capitalist model. Transfeminism never loses sight of the big picture and all its possible connections.”

“What I think is missing is a comprehensive framework to organize our ideas so that every form of oppression is taken into account: patriarchy, capitalism, imperialism, racism, ableism, and everything else,” Chloé concludes. “In this way, we could develop a common strategy and horizon, knowing that even if we take different paths, we are still moving in the same direction. This is the long-term work we want to do, in collaboration with other movements.”

Transfeminism as a Daily Transformative Practice

One compelling aspect that emerges from the activists’ words is transfeminism’s ability to forge a strong connection between the collective sphere and the personal one. “In my daily life, transfeminism has taught me sisterhood,” Chloé explains. “Unlearning competition - especially between women and feminized beings - and discovering these deep, open, mutually caring and supportive relationships has been a tremendous source of strength for me, especially growing up in a society centered on romantic relationships. For me, as a heterosexual woman, that meant prioritizing a relationship with a man. Instead, finding that depth in sisterhood has been a huge change in my life.”

“In an even deeper sense,” Chloé continues, “recognizing that suffering and inequality stem from structural power dynamics means looking for ways to be together and act in ways that do not reproduce those same dynamics. Once you internalize this way of thinking, everything changes - both politically and individually. You begin to think about how you relate to yourself, to others, and to the world around you. You begin to deconstruct yourself.”

“I belong to the most privileged category that dominates the planet: I am a white, cisgender, heterosexual man,” adds Ivan. “Transfeminist analysis, which explains the interconnectedness of systems on a global and systemic level, makes me very aware of the responsibility this entails. I am conscious of my position within the hierarchy, so I often ask myself: what am I doing here? How am I interacting with others? How can I use my privilege to change things?”

Repoliticizing March 8 and Beyond

The main demand that Bruciamo Tutto is currently focusing on is the reform of the Reddito di Libertà, an existing measure to help people leave situations of domestic violence. According to the activists, this tool has several shortcomings, including completely insufficient funding and an eligibility process that categorically excludes transgender identities. With the support of other movements and professionals working on gender-based violence, Bruciamo Tutto is developing an improved version of the measure. At the same time, they are using non-violent direct action to draw public attention to issues of gender-based violence and oppression, to engage and mobilize citizens. Over the course of a year, they have organized 22 actions in different Italian cities; some of the most striking actions, involving the use of red paint on cultural landmarks, have attracted national and international media attention.

“For us, it's crucial to take that extra step to bring the voices that should theoretically be heard in the streets on March 8 into everyday life,” explains Noemi. “The actions we organize are not tied to specific dates or anniversaries, precisely because this needs to be a continuous effort - for the people who do it, as a form of participation in something that goes beyond a single day; for those who pass by and watch, it serves as a reminder that the problem of gender-based violence is daily and has deep, systemic roots, and cannot be eradicated by one day of mobilization alone.”

Chloé echoes the idea of transfeminist strikes initiated by Non Una di Meno: “I think the practice of striking is incredibly powerful, because it makes visible all the labor that feminized identities do. It’s not just a strike of productive labor, but also of care work, of reproductive labor, of everything that the patriarchal capitalist system unconditionally expects feminized identities to do. The strike serves to regain power by highlighting the actual contribution of a particular group to society and the consequences when that contribution ceases.”

“March 8 has to be a day of rage,” says Ivan. “Not a celebration, but a peak moment of visibility that draws the attention of those who don’t normally engage with these issues. It must be the starting point from which to raise the bar, day by day. Grassroots work must never stop: we must talk to people, talk a lot, even when we think it’s stating the obvious. That’s the only way to plant seeds of doubt and critical thinking.”

“Beyond collective action, we must learn to be more ‘unpleasant’ in our daily lives,” Noemi concludes. “We must speak up when we see something wrong, try to engage in dialogue to dismantle certain mechanisms of violence - even simple jokes or misogynistic and discriminatory attitudes of friends. We must point these things out, call them out, even at the risk of seeming annoying. That’s the only way we can begin to reverse the process of normalization.”