Standing up against the UK Supreme Court’s decision - London 19th April
The Supreme Court in the UK decided earlier this week that the protections against sex-based discrimination provided by the Equality Act 2010 should only be extended to those who were assigned female at birth (they used the term “biological women”). I am in the process of reading through the ruling so that I can properly understand it but, even without having finished this, it’s clear to me that this is a truly dangerous precedent to set. The exact repercussions of this ruling are not clear yet and, from what I have gathered so far, it won’t be clear for a while still.
When I heard that a protest was being organised for today, I knew I had to be there. This is a matter that is vitally important for me, my colleagues/peers and the people I work with. While the ramifications of the ruling have yet to be clarified, the message that it sends to the citizens of the UK is loud and clear: this government and this Supreme Court do not value science or the trans, non-binary and intersex communities.
So, this morning I donned my most appropriate badges and pins and I travelled into London.
It was a hugely emotional morning and I made sure to have a clear, established self care plan for the day. I practice what I preach when it comes to having plans for emotionally difficult situations.
I had been intending to meet up with some people I know but this didn’t happen in the end. I wasn’t especially worried about it though. I followed some people who were also in London for the protest towards the main meeting point with the naive hope that I would be able to unite with the others once there. It was heaving with people though and it was initially a squeeze getting onto the pavement (there was still traffic on the roads). Being on my own, I was perfectly able to take advantage of the small spaces that opened up and I started to move further into Parliament Square. There was a wonderful buzz in the air and I could tell there was more going on further in the Square because I could hear cheers and shouts, though the exact words being said weren’t distinguishable to me.
I was enjoying the atmosphere of being here, united in purpose with so many other people. There was such a wonderful air of inclusion, love and community.
At this point I was focused on taking photos of some of the signs people had with them, soaking up the emotional experience and gently, slowly moving forward. Then I got the location of some of the others in the group and I started to move with more driven, deliberate speed. As I moved through, I started to be able to better hear and understand the chants. This meant I was able to join in - loudly and with passion!
Trans rights are human rights!
What do we want?
Trans rights!
When do we want them?
Now!
No justice, no peace!
Rather quickly, I came across a barrier. This was in the way of me reaching the others and people reported that it went all the way around the grassy part of the square. The atmosphere was still great and actually it had more of a community feel to it there, towards the centre but behind the barrier, than it had when I first got to the square. We were in the middle of the chants! We were starting them off even. And we were having light-hearted exchanges about the experiences of being between different chants or the same chant at slightly different beats. It felt amazing!
I’ve not been to a protest or demonstration of this size without company before and I had been a little apprehensive about it before I got there. But there, by the barrier, having a laugh with others, shouting my passion for the importance of trans rights, I did wonder why I had felt even a scrap of apprehension about it.
It felt safe. It felt supportive.
Some of us got talking about our lack of flags or signs (the short notice didn’t help with this one) and a very kind person offered the use of their face paints. We were then able to sport trans pride colours on our faces as well.
This is a taste of the community feel that I experienced! In the middle of the protest, people were sharing resources like face paints, holding mirrors up and applying face paint to each other’s faces!
I had nearly taken my 5ft x 3ft agender pride flag on a telescopic flag pole today. I had decided not to out of a desire to not potentially confuse or dilute the message we were there to send. But I totally could have and my wearing the agender pride badge (along with the non-binary pin) were appreciated by others. In fact, I have come away from today’s protest feeling more empowered in being an agender voice in trans activist spaces like this. The presence of other gender expansive people there asserting their existence outside of the definition of “man” and “woman” that this Supreme Court ruling has built into our laws was really powerful and I am grateful for their showing me I can step into my personal power here too.
I saw a small stream of people filing through a makeshift gap in the barrier and I thought I could use this to find the others. Little did I appreciate then that this would be a thwarted effort and after being stuck on the outer edges again, unable to get any closer to those I knew, I came back towards the centre of the protest again. I found more lovely people to talk with, take photos of their signs and share in conversations of how people subvert gender stereotypes through clothing.
Then, something I wasn’t sure was going to happen happened, there was more organised movement - we were starting to march! A wonderful chant took hold.
The people united cannot be defeated!
We passed significant points on the march and continued with the chants. There were a group of drummers who set the beat for a chant before putting on a wonderful, moving performance! Then there were a group dancing to the music on their PA system really showcasing queer joy and queer expression!
St James’ Park marked the end of the march and it was incredibly busy. I loved the fact that the energy was still high and the atmosphere had retained the safe, supportive and positive tone. Anger is an arguably necessary emotion for organising and attending events like this. It provides us with the energy to engage in action demanding rights be respected, injustice be challenged and oppression be opposed. It provides us with the energy to make the placards, to prioritise showing up and to do write-ups like this one. We need to be angry to challenge the oppressive and injust systems. At the same time, I see it as a huge positive that we were able to organise, show up and protest while retaining the supportive, safe and inclusive community I have known LGBTQIA+, ENM/poly/RA and kink spaces to value.
When the transphobes, anti-LGBTQIA+ and right/far-right people try to paint us as being antagonistic, aggressive and selfishly/inconsiderately forcing ourselves into their spaces, it can be powerful to show that we can congregate in the thousands while being angry and still conduct ourselves in more community-minded ways than they manage to.
I didn’t stick around in St James’s Park for too long because my fibromyalgia was making its presence felt despite painkillers. I was glad to have seen a friend in the park though. On my way to the tube station, I passed a fence where people had been leaving their placards and this felt like a wonderful testament to the goodwill and community spirit I’d experienced from the very beginning. A visual reminder that others were there before us who share our commitment and passion for trans rights. I met another familiar face on the platform while I waited for my tube which was lovely too. By the time I managed to get a seat on my journey home, I was knackered and so very grateful for the experiences of the day.
Activism needs to extend beyond protests. These other actions may not be as striking when photographed and they may not even lend themselves to being documented/shared like this. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t happening.
If you were at a protest today, what were your experiences?
If you couldn’t attend but wanted to, how did you honour this desire to be there?
