Ireland's Trans Community Takes A Stand

Fairview Park has a significant place within Irish queer history. The murder of openly gay man Declan Flynn there in 1982 caused outrage across the country, not just among LGBT people. It ignited the queer community to come together and fight for their rights: Dublin's very first Pride parade took place there 35 years ago.

This month will see a similar beginning. On Saturday, July 28, dozens of organisations will gather together at the steps of Liberty Hall and march to the the middle of Fairview Park for a rally. This will be Dublin's first Trans Pride parade. Co-organiser Thomas White speaks eloquently about the parade's theme of 'Bodily Autonomy'.

"There needs to be better access to healthcare", Thomas says, "a better consultation model and access to appropriate hormones. We also want to send the message of separation between Church and State, particularly in light of the comments by Pope Francis in which he likened trans people to nuclear weapons".

The city enjoyed an explosion of colour and festivities at the traditional Pride event at the end of June. But Thomas believes that there is a real need for a separate event that pushes trans issues to the forefront.

"We want to bring Pride back to its political roots. One of the key reasons we are calling this march is because Pride has become so corporatised, where companies like Facebook are joining in the celebrations, despite having what we feel is a transphobic name-policy. Pride should be representative of the company's needs, and the trans community still has a lot of pressing issues that need to be dealt with".

Putting on an event on this scale takes a lot of organising, and so White is appealing for as many people as possible to get involved. "We're contacting different organisations about marching with us. We're talking to the likes of TENI, ShoutOut, BeLonGTo and various LGBT trade union groups. We don't want this to be a small thing. We want it to be a broad, communal event at which everyone can feel they are making an impact. We want as many people as possible to come along and show support for trans rights and trans pride".

Relationships within the LGBTQ+ community can become strained. In 2015, drag queens were barred from performing at Glasgow Pride. Whilst people in drag were "allowed" to attend the parade, there was a strict policy of excluding drag performers from official Pride events. In response, Free Pride issued a statement saying: "We understand that drag is multifaceted and complex, and drag acts come from all angles and in a lot of different styles and we certainly do not want to attack individual drag queens or imply that all drag is inherently transphobic or problematic. However our focus for the day will be on creating an alternative that puts minorities within our community at the heart of event".

Thomas explains that the upcoming parade would not take any such divisive action. "Drag queens have historically been solid allies of the LGBT community, and many trans people would have started off exploring their gender identity through drag", he reflects. "Drag performers should definitely come to the march. Society as a whole can get confused when it comes to wearing women's clothing and what it means to be trans. However, this issue is not caused by the drag community. It's all down to a lack of education and awareness".

Trans Pride parades have been staged in recent years across Europe, but this will be the first in Dublin. The traditional Pride parade generally takes place at the end of June and this year a trans woman, Sara Philips, was Grand Marshal. As a result, some people may wonder why there is a need for a separate parade highlighting trans issues in particular.

"We're not trying to seperate the T", Thomas stresses. "The LGBT community needs to take strength through solidarity. We're strongest when we stand together. The beauty of the acronym shows a coming together of people who have different life experiences, attractions and orientations. However, that doesn't mean we can't also highlight the issues that certain parts of the community face and bring those issues to the forefront".

The parade commences at 2pm on July 28 at Liberty Hall.