On the march for trans+ rights (Photo: Guy Smallman)
There was joy and rage on the streets of London on Saturday as tens of thousands of people marched for trans+ liberation.
Megan from Leeds said she had come to London Trans+ Pride because it is about defiance. “We have to defy the Supreme Court” she told Socialist Worker.
Trianna told Socialist Worker, “I’m here to represent myself and show our colours. It’s Trans+ Pride but sometimes the ‘plus’ gets ignored a bit. I want to represent here as a gender fluid person.”
Earlier this year the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on “biological sex”. The ruling led to mass protests across Britain. It is part of a wave of transphobic attacks from the courts and the Labour government.
In the wake of last year’s Cass Review, Health secretary Wes Streeting has made a ban on puberty blockers for trans+ under 18 year olds permanent. Waiting lists for trans+ healthcare are skyrocketing.
David was at Trans+ Pride to express his solidarity with trans+ people. He told Socialist Worker his expectations of the Labour government were low to begin with. “But it has been a sense of disappointment to see how much transphobes have become emboldened in the current administration.”
Trianna said, “Wes Streeting has made it his sacred mission to endanger as many people as possible. Keir Starmer has been bullied into being anti-trans by a minority.
“I think they are just cowards who are capitulating and trying to outflank the right.”
They said they were “cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of a left wing political alternative to Labour.
Megan agreed. She said that the hundreds of thousands of people who have signed up to Jeremy Corbyn’s and Zarah Sultana’s project shows its “revolutionary potential, so long as it gets out on the streets and mobilises people.”
There were chants of “No pride in genocide” in solidarity with Palestinians throughout the march. Teagan told Socialist Worker, “Palestine is suffering from colonialism just like we did.
“Many cultures recognise trans+ identities. If it wasn’t for colonialism trans+ people would be respected. No-one is free until we are all free.”
Trans+ people in Iran’s Evin Prison have been killed by Israeli bombs. Teagan said this shows Israel doesn’t care about trans+ people. Teagan said that bombs don’t bring liberation, “Even if some people in Palestine don’t accept me for who I am, it doesn’t mean they deserve to die”.
Laura had come from Manchester with a delegation and a banner from the trades council to join the trade union bloc on the march. She told Socialist Worker, “It’s important to be here. It’s effectively a march against the Supreme Court ruling.
“When we show up in numbers we show we can fight back. They feel they can’t get away with things.”
She added that activists need to fight for trans+ rights in the workplace using the power of the labour movement. “Workplaces are at the forefront of fighting the ruling”, she said. “They will have to make a choice about whether to comply or not”.
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