Thanks to years of dedicated activism and pressure from Europe, in the UK transgender people can now choose to be fully legally recognised.
We’ve made great strides in achieving such equality following a long history of being invisible, marginalised, and stigmatised.
Twenty years ago strong alliances between trans, lesbian, bisexual and gay communities began emerging locally and nationally. At that time, the results of the University of Brighton’s Count Me In survey of 2000 suggested that trans visibility was rising significantly with at least 1100 local residents self identifying on the transgender spectrum. A more thorough and conclusive study had to wait for the acclaimed and award-winning 2006 Count Me In Too survey.
To build upon these evolving local relationships and new data, and to demonstrate this progress in a clear and visible way, we proposed a specific trans space be designated at Brighton & Hove Pride.
We wanted a safe and informative space for people interested in learning and exploring ideas around gender identity. It was to mirror the traditional spaces at Pride like the women’s and young people’s areas, and be organised by and for trans people, our friends, and family.
So in 2001 for the first time a self identified group of trans people entered the Pride parade in an open top bus – decorated with two huge transgender banners – a sound system and a tiny tent in the park. We aimed to welcome diverse expressions of gender identity and serve as a physical beacon for anyone with an interest. We made a short documentary film, gave out lots of information, talked to hundreds of people, and took cash donation collection buckets round the park all day and evening.
However, in 2001 Pride in Brighton & Hove was still only explicitly celebrating the diversity of the LGB communities. We wanted to change that by specifically and visibly having Pride and all the other agencies across the city put the T with LGB.
So in 2002, for our second year at Pride (it rained, but we partied anyway!) the recently formed Clare Project, a transgender support group, sought and enlisted local support from a variety of sources, including the council and other statutory agencies, service providers, community and voluntary sector organisations, businesses, political bodies, and individuals.
We persuaded the Brighton & Hove Pride Committee that putting the T with LGB to specifically recognise trans people was a simple, powerful, high impact, cost-effective message within one of the highlights, and favourites, of the local calendar. They agreed that year and ever since to provide a clearly defined presence and space to explicitly include and reference the transgender community in all Pride in Brighton & Hove publications, press releases and web sites as an LGBT+ event.
The Pride Community Chest fund also awarded us £500 in addition to the Clare Project pledging £1000 from its Brighton & Hove City Council grant, aiming at specific council funding criteria such as: Improve the social well-being of the city; Raise awareness of individuals, communities and organisations; Tackle social exclusion, discrimination and inequalities; Improve community safety; and Encourage community development.
These were new and significant steps in Brighton & Hove’s reputation as a diverse city and the place to be that were further enhanced at the time by other new and exciting developments, like trans inclusion in Sussex Police’s £1million Home Office Targeted Anti Victimisation Initiative, which for the first time in the UK explicitly employed LGBT staff, Count Me In surveys, and others like Spectrum LGBT Community Safety Forum.
Anecdotal evidence of the wide diversity of the trans communities back then suggested the city was – and continues to be – considered by many at the time to be the UK’s lesbian, bisexual, gay and trans capital.
Putting the T in LGB was our contribution to our communities long-term sustainability and development, paving the way for the first Trans Pride weekend festival in Brighton in 2013, Europe’s first transgender pride march in 2014 and now in 2016 the third Trans Pride in Brighton & Hove.
For more information, click here:
You must be logged in to post a comment.