More than 20,000 transgender+ people and allies protested through the streets of central London, but only one mainstream media outlet covered the event.
A sea of banners, pink and blue flags, and crowds holding flowers filled the streets of central London. Over 20,000 protestors walked in solidarity, dancing to hyper-pop anthems and chanting in unison demanding healthcare and a ban on conversion therapy for the transgender+ community.
On Saturday, protesters commenced at the Wellington Arch monument, proceeded throughout central London and ended in Soho square. The march was organised by Katheryn, Mars and Lulu-Belle from London Trans+ Pride.
Despite the impressive turnout, the Guardian, ITV, and other media outlets failed to see the event as ‘newsworthy’. In fact, the Independent was the only mainstream media outlet to cover the march. If you read the news regularly, chances are you will have come across countless articles on public figures like JK Rowling spewing transphobic comments and ‘outrage’ over transgender athletes.
The rights of trans people are often reduced to a debate or part of a so-called “culture war”. The press has the power to influence the public narrative around transgender+ people, yet they choose to silence only one side of the conversation.
The march was closer to the first conception of Pride than the corporate pinkwashing of Pride in London. Trans Pride celebrates queer joy while simultaneously protesting against the injustices faced by transgender+ people; neither of which is sensationalist or ‘click-bait’ material.
Charlie Craggs, author and award-winning activist was one of the speakers at Trans Pride, speaking to the crowd she states “being happy is the biggest finger up to these people, they don’t want you to be happy, they don’t even want you to be alive”.
Munroe Bergdorf, model and activist took to Instagram to share she would “categorically never work” with the Guardian again.
Whilst the Guardian ignored Trans Pride, they chose to cover the recent tribunal outcome of Maya Forstater, a researcher deemed to be ‘discriminated against’ for losing her job over transphobic tweets.
Last year, Angela Zottola investigated how trans people were represented in the British press. Newspapers adopted more negative language to refer to the trans+ community when the article included the word ‘lobby’. This means the mainstream media demonises, or in this case, erases the efforts of the trans+ community collectively campaigning against the injustices they face
Being a transgender, non-binary, intersex and gender non-conforming person in Britain is becoming increasingly precarious. Unsurprisingly, the UK has gone down in the annual European rankings for LGBTQ+ rights for the third year running.
From scrapping plans to ban trans conversion therapy to delaying promised reforms of the Gender Recognition Act; Boris Johnson’s government is responsible for undoing the progress in LGBTQ+ policy.
Whilst this all paints a bleak picture, this year’s 20,000 attendees at Trans Pride feels like a hopeful sign of unity compared to the 1,500 attending in 2019.
A Gay Times survey revealed that 93% of LGBTQ+ people want ‘conversion therapy’ banned for the entire LGBTQ+ community. Clearly, the Government’s decision to ban conversion therapy solely for LGB people and drive a wedge in the community appears not to have had its intended effect.
Vanessa - She/Her
Guest Blogger
I am a bisexual, 23-year-old Scorpio and recent social sciences graduate training to be a journalist.
I love writing about current affairs, pop culture and all things related to social justice.
