In May 2024, Mediapart published article series on the Making of a Moral Panic after The Republicans and National Rally proposed two transphobic bills. A video was realized about the US inspiration.
To understand how the actual transphobic attacks work, we must talk about history. History doesn't repeat itself, but the anti-scientific and manipulative patterns can.
In 2023, on the Mediapart blogs, several association leaders, trans people, advocates, doctors republished a document. They presented a parallel between 2020s attacks and those from 1980s. The current article will try to complete this text in a historical way.
Historians speech
Historian Laurie Marhoefer studies gay and queer history during Weimar Republic and Nazi Regime and explains : "Attacks on trans people are nothing new - Many of them are straight out of the Nazi playbook".
For more precision, the searcher and writer on German and US LGBTQ+ history Jake D. Newsome says : "A lot of the arguments the right-wing in the US today are using are almost play-by-play the same that the Nazi party used in Germany in the 1930s: for example, this idea that trans people are a threat to youth"
An ultraconservative ideology winning discourse of several parts of political spectrum
During one century, right-wing and far-right never scientifically justified their anti-trans measures. Neither in 1930s, 1970s nor today. So, they used a pseudoscientifical weapon.
The essentialization of "biological determinism" against trans people is a pseudobiological version of Darwin's Evolution Theory. This is ideological base of "biologism", an ultraconservative ideology appeared in 19th century.
But, this "social darwinism" was not really known as a pseudoscience during 1920s-1930s. It biased many political discurses, as socialist and feminist ones at this time
How this pattern works ?
We can describe the process. At every era it repeats, there is a particular context. After significant period of progress in trans healthcare, a new period of regression appears.
• Step 1 : the conservative movement searches a pro-"biologism" pseudoscience, based on essentialization of anti-trans "biological determinism". In the 1930s, Nazis used "social darwinism" as pseudoscience to justify Jew, Romani and Disabled people genocides, but also to persecute other victims of the "Holocaust" / nazi "racial purification" project. Homos, bi, lesbian, queer and trans people were targeted for example. Some historians are questioning the possibility of a LGBTQIA+ genocide at this period. During the 1970s, "sociobiology" was used as legacy of "social darwinism" against trans people. Now, we can find "evolutionary psychology", as legacy of both previous pseudosciences.
• Step 2 : developing conspiracy theories : operations are a conspiracy against biology to pervert humanity. Based upon it, the speech can include so-called "children protection". In mid-1930s a German trans woman was areested by the Gestapo. On tbe Officer's report, she was presented as a "danger to youth". In 1970s, some French medias presented trans youth healthcare as dangerous too. Today, same absurd theories are developed by right-wing to far-right movements (Parents Vigilants in France for example).
• Step 3 : deny scientifical researches (biology, sociology, history...). During the 1930s, pioneer researches from Weimar Republic were stolen, the Institute for Sexology was closed and many documents burned during the 10th of May 1933 book buring. During the 1970s, pseudodoctors published a heteronormative report, lying about trans people. Today, the pseudoscientific and transphobic Cass report (UK), Rapport sur la Transidentification des Mineurs (France) and non-signed Trump administration report (USA) try to incitate doctors and parents to reject children and teenagers voices.
• Step 4 : propose measures to ban trans healthcare and replace it by conversion therapies. Different punishments against trans people and doctors were used. In 1930s, trans people lost their socialization places, were send to prison, asylums and concentration camp (wearing Pink Triangle sometimes) for "transvestitism" or other "crimes". Today, some governing parties are censoring LGBTQIA+ books (USA).
The goals of this awful process are discrimination, psychiatrization and even kill trans people (children, teenagers and adults). We are facing a risk of genocide today.
To conclude.
A century after the creation of trans healthcare and more than 90 years after creation of conservative streategies to ban it, the transphobic obscurantist pattern follows the same kind of ideologies, similar pseudosciences and very close conspiracy theories.
This pattern is not really known because there is a lack of sensibilization on LGBTQIA+ history. And there are misinformations about memory. A memory that risked to be burned in 1930s and finish into garbage in 1990s. Literraly.
If Magnus Hirschfeld was a trans studies pioneer, he had some racist, sexist and eugenistic views. So, part of his theories were questioned and modificated after WWII.
References
"Why We Need the Pink Triangle in the Era of “Don’t Say Gay”', Jake D. Newsome. Nursing Clio. August 22, 2022.
"Trans+ History Week: The persecution of trans people by the Nazis still echoes down the ages". Pink News. Maggie Baska. May 5, 2025.
"The Eradication of “Talmudic Abstractions”: Anti-Semitism, Transmisogyny and the National Socialist Project". Joni Alizah Cohen Blog Verso Edirions for Historical Materialism Symposium. December 2018.
"Historians are learning more about how the Nazis targeted trans people", Laurie Marhoefer. Conversation. June 6, 2023.
"Eldorado: Everything the Nazis hate", documentary by Benjamin Cantu. Film Base Berlin (2023)
"LGBTQIA+ L'histoire de l'Institut de sexologie détruit par les nazis". Radio France. Pauline Petit (June 12, 2023).