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Weather looks good for Trans*Pride today

Trans*Pride 2014 opened last night with the Trans*Pride Film Night at the Duke of York’s Cinema presented by Eyes Wide Open and My Genderation.

 

Trans Pride 2014

The main celebrations start today (Saturday 26) with a parade up St James Street to the festival site at New Steine Gardens. The parade starts from outside the Marlborough, 4 Princes Street at 11.30am. Take along banners, flags and slogans with you and make lots of noise.

Trans*Pride 2013
Trans*Pride 2013

New Steine Gardens will be transformed into a safe and proud community space where you can listen to the  speechers, entertainers and performers from noon to 6pm. Check out the community fayre where a wide range of community organisations will have stands.

Hot and cold refreshments from the Street Diner, Brighton will be available for purchase, including:

• Sultans Delights – delicious vegetarian/vegan Turkish-Middle Eastern food

•Likkle Bickle – twisted Caribbean street food and BBQ with an English/South American edge

• To wet your whistle, the Marlborough Pub & Theatre will host a pop-up bar on site

Entry to the park is free of charge with accessible toilets on site.

A spokesperson for Broken Rainbow who are sponsoring this years event again, said: “Broken Rainbow UK is delighted to be sponsoring Trans* Pride Brighton again this year, as a charity we have been supporting the trans* communities for over 10 years with our national LGBT Domestic Violence helpline and other support and awareness services. We are very pleased to be able to extend this support to the self-organised celebration of Trans* Pride Brighton. We believe this year’s event will be even better than the first in 2013.

“Finally we would like to remind everyone that as well as being able to call our helpline on 0300 999 5428 or Freephone 0800 999 5428, we also have a trans* specific service on Tuesdays between 1pm and 5pm when calls are answered by members of the trans* community. We have also launched an online chat service available on our website www.brokenrainbow.org.uk”, Jo Harvey Barringer, Managing Director (Interim), Broken Rainbow UK.”

For up to the minute information about Trans* Pride, CLICK HERE:

 

 

 

 

What Trans*Pride means to me

Rory Smith explains why Trans*Pride is important to him.

Rory Smith
Rory Smith

“I’ve been working within the trans* community since 2007. I’m enormously proud of what the local community has achieved, both in the time I’ve been involved and in the decades past.

“Brighton has always been a place that has attracted gender diverse people. It’s a place where there is more freedom to explore gender identity and to find acceptance when we come out.

“So it is fitting that local activists here created Trans* Pride.

“Trans* Pride is a celebration of what the community has achieved despite the struggles many of us face on a daily basis. Simple things most cisgender people take for granted. Not least, Trans* Pride is important as it is the antithesis of the darkest day on our calendar, Transgender Day of Remembrance.

“In my own journey, it took me several years of being out as queer in Brighton before I began to explore my gender identity. For me the various LGBT scenes helped this exploration. This nurturing environment helped me come out for the second time.

“So why have a separate Trans* Pride? I’m proud of being LGBT, so I do not think Trans* Pride is in competition with Brighton Pride but rather complements it. It is about celebrating finding our truth and fighting for it, despite the enormous barriers faced by us in our lives.

“The rest of the community needn’t feel excluded from this. After all, we all have a gender identity and we present this in different ways; many having faced struggles because of it. I would welcome all our cisgender brothers and sisters to join us at Trans* Pride.

“After all, we have fought alongside the rest of the movement, before, since and during the Stonewall riots.”

What Trans*Pride means to me

Nicole Gibson explains what Trans*Pride means to her.

Nicole Gibson: Photo by Sharon Kilgannon, alonglines.com
Nicole Gibson: Photo by Sharon Kilgannon, alonglines.com

“For me, Trans* Pride shows how far the world has come, while at the same time reminding me that being trans* is still classed by many as a taboo subject and we still have a long way to go.

“I’m very much a ‘live and let live’ kind of girl and have often thought that as empowering as Gay Pride is for the gay community, it’s sad that still to this day we have a designated period where we can show the world that not everyone is the same, that it’s ok to be yourself, be out and proud and co-exist quite comfortably. But, that said, look how far we have all come, with legalised gay marriage being just one example.

“I grew up in a small country village where I, along with most of the other residents, didn’t have the foggiest idea what transgender was. For as long as I can remember I went to bed every night praying that I’d wake up a girl, completely oblivious that others the world over felt exactly the same as I did.

“Trapped and embarrassed to tell anyone because I thought this was something that no one else would understand.

“My first introduction to the trans* community was when I typed it into YouTube and lo and behold there were hundreds of videos posted by people going through exactly the same thing as me. What a relief! Seeing this finally gave me the courage to speak to my doctor and my family.

“I began posting my own transition blogs, documenting my journey to share with others, I wanted to give something back as hearing other experiences gave me the nudge I needed to move forward.

“Of course Trans* Pride is a great opportunity to, as a collective voice, show the ‘norm’ that this is our world too and we have every right to go about our business just like everyone else. It’s also an opportunity to unite with our trans* brothers and sisters, creating friendships, sharing stories and reminding others that they’re not alone.

“Transitioning doesn’t matter how far you intend to go and it certainly doesn’t stop once you’ve had your surgery. There are always new things to learn and experiences to share. Raising awareness and coming together as a community simply makes it a smoother ride for us all. Long live Trans* Pride.”

What Trans*Pride means to me

Sarah Savage explains the importance of Trans*Pride to her.

Sarah Savage
Sarah Savage: Photo by Sharon Kilgannon

“I’m pretty new to the concept of Pride: I come from an island where LGBT people still have few rights and there has never been a Pride Parade and these days there isn’t even a gay club. I had been attracted to men, women and everyone in between since my early teens but hid it from most of the people in my life; only a handful of my closest friends knew that I was gender variant.

“Looking back, it wasn’t a healthy way to live my life and if there had been positive LGBT role models I may have been able to deal with my gender issues a lot sooner and saved myself a lot of heartache.

“Being part of the team helping to make Europe’s first Trans* Pride happen is the one achievement I am most proud of, giving gender variant people an opportunity to feel supported, empowered and proud of who they are is the most rewarding experience I have had.

“The atmosphere at last year’s inaugural Trans* Pride was mind blowing; real community spirit coupled with some great acts and stalls combined with the excitement of being a part of making history made it the highlight of my summer.

“Reading the feedback from people who attended gave me a lovely warm feeling inside and despite the rain everybody seemed to have a good time, feeling invigorated from the supportive atmosphere.

“Trans* Pride Brighton exists because the gender variant community contains some of the most vulnerable people of any minority. We aim to give everybody a voice, support and the knowledge that they are not alone.

“We aim to include everybody who is gender variant in any way and to welcome friends, families and allies.

“I’m so excited for this year’s Trans* Pride Brighton; it will be bigger, bolder and better than last year, all of our fingers and toes are crossed for good weather and we have all been working away to make sure it is a success.”

What Trans*Pride means to me

Sabah Choudrey explains the importance of Trans*Pride to him.

Sabah Choudrey
Sabah Choudrey: Photo by Sharon Kilgannon, alonglines.com

“Once upon a time, long before Trans* Pride existed, I didn’t feel proud. I didn’t feel proud to be in the LGBT community. I didn’t feel proud to be trans*, nor did I feel proud to be a person of colour.

“I was disappointed; it felt like we had already reached where we wanted to be, throwing a giant party in the city, and given up the fight, ignoring the ongoing issues the rest of the LGBT community around the world are facing. When a few friends of friends arranged a meeting at a café, I had no idea it would lead to what Trans* Pride

“Brighton is today. We talked about our invisibility and exclusion, how the trans* community is only ever thought of as the last letter in LGBT, how we’re grouped in with sexual orientation and stereotyped with binary gender roles.

“Trans*’ is an umbrella term in itself, but we’re never given the space to pop the umbrella open. The more we spoke, the more passionate we felt, and with each word that came out, there was no going back; we were going to have our Trans*Pride.

“It led to conversation after conversation:

• Why has this never happened before?

• Why are we forced to continue hiding?

• Why has Pride stopped being a protest?

“Because it still is for many, we’re still fighting for our rights to be trans*, proud and happy, and to live visibly and safely.

“Our aim is clear, and we will continue to strive for true inclusivity, in sexual and gender diversity and across all people of colour, of all backgrounds and abilities. We are putting the T first.”

Caroline Lucas MP to speak at Trans*Pride

Green Party congratulates Trans Pride Brighton organisers on eve of second annual festival.

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion
Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion

On the eve of the second ever Brighton Trans* Pride, Greens have congratulated the organisers on a growing community event in the city’s calendar.

2013 saw the first Trans* Pride after representatives formed a committee and organised an event in Kemptown.

This weekend’s event will include a march to the New Steine, followed by performances, local stalls, and a picnic on the beach on Sunday.

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, will speak at the event on Saturday in New Steine Gardens.

She said: “I’m proud to be an MP for a city where Trans PRIDE is part of the annual calendar. This event is about celebrating all that’s been achieved by the LGBT community worldwide. It’s about celebrating diversity, and demanding total equality. Tolerance is not good enough – Trans rights are human rights.”

Caroline has spoken out for Trans rights in Parliament, calling for equal marriage rights, an end to media misrepresentation of Trans people and, most recently, the establishment of a Gender Identity Clinic in Brighton and Hove.

Councillor Phelim Mac Cafferty, called for and chaired the council’s ground-breaking scrutiny panel into issues facing the city’s Trans* community.

He said: “Brighton & Hove’s Trans community is one of the most marginalised groups in the city. Brilliant events like Pride help to highlight the particular issues many Trans* people face. Through raising awareness, they help challenge the discrimination and prejudice Trans* people often experience.”

 

Sussex Police support Trans* Pride in Brighton

Sussex Police and Brighton’s LGBT Police Liaison Team will be supporting Trans Pride in Brighton on Saturday (July 26).

Sussex Police

LGBT liaison officer Rory Smith and PC Rich Bridger of the Brighton LGBT team will be manning an information stall in partnership with the ‘Safe In The City’ community safety team to provide practical information about keeping safe and reporting transphobic hate incidents and anti-social behaviour to either Sussex Police or Brighton and Hove City Council.

Police officers who are working on the day will have received a trans awareness briefing from Rory Smith of the LGBT liaison team. To show their support for the event, the Kemptown neighbourhood police team will be wearing the Trans Pride ribbon and the Trans flag will be flown from John Street police station throughout the weekend.

The policing of Trans Pride is to support the event and make it a safe and enjoyable event for all.

PC Rich Bridger
PC Rich Bridger

PC Rich Bridger, also of the Kemptown team, said: “Not only do we have a duty to serve and protect the public, which very much includes people who identify with one of the many different trans identities, but we support the event for our own personal reasons. The trans community have faced years of oppression and Trans Pride is a fantastic celebration bringing the community together.”

Sussex Police have been working hard in the past few years to improve the way it works with members of the public who are trans identified.

ACI Martin Pattenden
ACI Martin Pattenden

Force trans champion, Acting Chief Inspector Martin Pattenden, explains: “We have created a new trans awareness video for all members of Sussex Police to watch to learn the some of the essentials about working with transgender people, including good communication skills.

“This training package was developed with support and guidance by members of the trans community. We also run a trans reference group whereby we can discuss the concerns of the trans community and receive feedback directly from them. We haven’t always got it right in the past, but we are significantly changing the way we work with the trans community throughout Sussex and those who visit the area.”

Rory SmithRory Smith added: “Please come and speak to us on the day. We’re really keen to hear your feedback about how we go about our daily business of policing Sussex. There’s still much for us to improve on but you also might be surprised about the things that have changed!”

 

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