Rory Smith explains why Trans*Pride is important to him.
“I’ve been working within the trans* community since 2007. I’m enormously proud of what the local community has achieved, both in the time I’ve been involved and in the decades past.
“Brighton has always been a place that has attracted gender diverse people. It’s a place where there is more freedom to explore gender identity and to find acceptance when we come out.
“So it is fitting that local activists here created Trans* Pride.
“Trans* Pride is a celebration of what the community has achieved despite the struggles many of us face on a daily basis. Simple things most cisgender people take for granted. Not least, Trans* Pride is important as it is the antithesis of the darkest day on our calendar, Transgender Day of Remembrance.
“In my own journey, it took me several years of being out as queer in Brighton before I began to explore my gender identity. For me the various LGBT scenes helped this exploration. This nurturing environment helped me come out for the second time.
“So why have a separate Trans* Pride? I’m proud of being LGBT, so I do not think Trans* Pride is in competition with Brighton Pride but rather complements it. It is about celebrating finding our truth and fighting for it, despite the enormous barriers faced by us in our lives.
“The rest of the community needn’t feel excluded from this. After all, we all have a gender identity and we present this in different ways; many having faced struggles because of it. I would welcome all our cisgender brothers and sisters to join us at Trans* Pride.
“After all, we have fought alongside the rest of the movement, before, since and during the Stonewall riots.”
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