Look over there everyone! Forget partygate, the Tories corrupt handling of the Covid pandemic, the stealth privatisation of the NHS or the cost of living crisis, we have a new national focus. A new moral panic. The gender wars. Fought on the front line in bathrooms and on sports fields near you. A shameless vote grabbing bigot-fuelled headline creator that only harms the trans community. A failing and unpopular Tory government revelling in reigniting Thatcher’s demonisation of the fabulously queer in the 80s and 90s to distract us from their immoral profiteering and illegal gatherings in 2022.
I’ve done this already. Growing up queer in the 80s I saw Thatcher’s Section 28, The Sun’s vile homophobic headlines and The Daily Mail’s condemnation of those living with HIV and AIDS. Watching queer lives destroyed for the Tories want of a bigoted vote. Well not again. Just as gay men, lesbians, trans people, bisexuals, non-binary folks and our allies worked together before to create the Pride movement and to fight for gay rights and equality we will work together again to tackle the twisted TERF ideology fuelling Johnson’s Daily Mail controlled declarations, LGB Alliance’s barely hidden age-old prejudices and Rowling and Co’s transphobic tweets. This time we won’t let a LGBTQI+ generation be defined by Thatcher’s hatred. This time we will declare our inalienable right to be trans, non-binary or queer.
It’s real simple. It just is. Trans women are women, trans men are men, non-binary people exist. This is no threat. No one is made invisible by this. This is what we are. This is who we are. This is us standing together.
The LGBTQI+ community and our allies will beat this dark chapter in our supposed equality years. We have to. Challenge every comment, question every policy, protest every bigoted change this horrific band of transphobic souls propose. This will not go unanswered. We will be not stand by. Everybody with the T. Starting with me.
The glorious Melissa and some soul called Wildblood in an interesting hat. Stop The Clause march, London, February 1991.
Fight the bigotry – Ban Conversion Therapy for all
Wildblood and Queenie 