Sabah Choudrey explains what Trans*Pride means to him.
“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.”