Lesbians in Brighton and Hove launch grassroots action in response to the unchallenged presence of a transphobic hate group leading the parade at London Pride.
THE call to action involves cisgender, female lesbians sharing a 5-second video saying “I am a cis female lesbian, I support trans rights – trans women do not erase me. Keep the L with the T”, with the hashtags #LwiththeT and #notadebate.
The group aims to counter hatred with visible solidarity across all women, and cis female lesbians showing love for trans people. “
They say: Trans women are women, and trans lives are not up for debate. The transphobic group does not speak for the lesbian community.”
The group is not satisfied with London Pride’s response to the protest, saying a verbal apology is not enough; and urges London Pride to donate to trans charities, which are providing life-saving services to those affected.
Many watched on as transphobic activists led the London Pride parade, carrying banners displaying slogans such as Lesbian not Queer and Trans activism erases Lesbians and called to take the L out of LGBT+, alongside distributing flyers containing trans hate speech – further pushing ideas that are dangerous to the safety and wellbeing of the trans communities.
Although this protest group was not a registered part of the parade they were allowed to continue fronting the parade through the streets of London. There were reports of trans people who aired frustration at this abhorrent show of transphobia being threatened with arrest by police.
A call to action
Lesbians in Brighton and Hove decided to take immediate action, and channel their rage into acts of visible solidarity and love.
They asked those who identify as cis, female and lesbian to share a 5 second video of themselves stating: “I am a cis female lesbian, I support trans rights – trans women do not erase me. Keep the L with the T”.
They did not want this small section of the lesbian communities to claim to speak on behalf of all cisgender lesbians, or allow their hatred and call for separatism to lead the London Pride parade.
A spokesperson for the group, said: “This is a way to show love to our trans sisters in this difficult time. We are firm in our knowledge that trans women are women and trans lives are not up for debate. Our action counters the onslaught of sensationalist headlines with a clear message of love and solidarity between all women.”
These videos were posted alongside the hashtags #LwiththeT and #notadebate. Within 24 hours, #LwiththeT was trending on twitter and the initial video, consisting of members of Brighton’s LGBT+ communities, was watched over 9K times on Facebook.
Alongside these videos, countless cis female lesbians from all over the world have posted or tweeted in solidarity with the trans communities.
Pride was originally started by sex working trans women of colour, who protested against the police and the structures they represent. #LwiththeT organisers urge London Pride to recognise and live up to its history.
Stonewall released some alarming statistics in 2017:
· 64% of trans pupils are bullied for being transgender in Britain’s schools
· 48% of trans people under the age of 26 have attempted suicide
· Two in five trans people have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity in the last 12 months.
#LwiththeT is a community-led, grassroots initiative that does not belong to anyone. Organisers intend for the social media campaign to continue, and they encourage everyone to post their statements of solidarity in various shapes and forms to :put pressure on London Pride to offer reparations as a matter of urgency.
This statement has been collectively drawn by members of Brighton’s LGBT+ communities, who want to remain anonymous.
To read London Pride’s response to Saturdays protest, click here:
