IGLYO Grants Stories 2024: Transfeminiinit Counters the Anti-Gender Movement with Comics in Finland

Countering Hate with Comics

In 2024, IGLYO provided €10,000 IGLYO Grants for 3 new projects implemented by our Member Organisations in the EU, in addition to supporting the grantees with expertise. This year’s thematic areas were: contributing to more inclusive education systems; counteracting the anti-gender movement; and strengthening accessibility. You can learn more about the IGLYO Grants Programme on this page.

Our Member Transfeminiinit based in Finland used their IGLYO Grants to create comics with the aim of countering the anti-gender movement through art.

The main aim of the project was to bring factual and relevant information about the anti-gender movement to young people by using comics as an artistic medium. They commissioned the comics from two local trans comic artists, Ellu Hiltunen (@ellumir_) and Uolevi Äikäs (@surkeart) to share knowledge about the anti-gender movement from trans and intersex perspectives, debunk myths spread by anti-gender rhetoric, and give visibility to trans artists.

The comics were printed as posters, and distributed to relevant youth centres and other organisations’ offices throughout Finland. Posters are also available at Transfeminiinit’s office for anyone interested to collect.

The anti-gender movement is complex and their rhetoric is difficult to distinguish from the truth, especially for young people in Finland. Transfeminiinit set out to change that and bring knowledge on this topic in an easily accessible way.

The project was designed with young LGBTQI people in mind. The anti-gender movement thrives in a cloud of misinformation. It is well-funded and has mobilised supporters around the world through emotive yet false narratives.

It is important for our community to be united on this issue and for us to understand each other and the bigotry different parts of our community face. These comics educate young people about the false narratives and how to respond to them, in the hopes of ensuring that young people are informed on the topic and understand the complexities.

Here are the two final comic posters:

Poster 1 by Ellu Hiltunen

Poster 2 by Uolevi Äikäs

Young people are the future of our movement, and at IGLYO we commend Transfeminiinit for their work in ensuring a united, informed and bright future for our movement.

With the support of

The IGLYO Grants Programme is funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) 2021-2027 programme of the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.