What can LGBTQ+ History Month teach us in the fight for Trans rights?

Please note that this article is a transcript of a speech I made at Oxford University's LGBTQ+ History Month lecture, and may be formatted as such.

Content warning: Transphobia, violence against Trans people.

When people ask me what I do for a living, I pause.?

If I don’t trust them, or if I don’t want to prolong the conversation, I will tell them I am “in marketing”.?

If I trust them, in that I believe they are a safe person to out myself to as a Transgender person,?I’ll say something along the lines of “Transgender inclusion consultant”, or more often “Trans man on the internet”.?

This is usually followed by some sort of poorly disguised look of scrutiny as the hearer tries to work out “what” I am.?In the same way that the person on the 1.59 train from Hastings to Charing Cross spent an hour flicking their eyes between the Trans Pride sticker on my laptop, and my face.?

As an out Trans person, much-needed visibility is often balanced with the feeling of being on display at a zoo.?

Regardless, another question regularly follows “how did you get into that?”?

Trying to avoid giving the answer “I’m Trans”, I will usually provide a brief overview of my work history, hoping to slip the phrase “career Queer” in wherever I can.?

What I don’t often mention is that my educational background is in History.?I studied History at university, and although I was a fairly mediocre student (likely because I was distracted by living as the wrong gender), a love of History has persevered throughout my life.?

So today I stand here, during LGBTQ+ History month, at a pivotal moment in the Trans rights movement in the UK, and I cannot help but be struck firstly by the same cyclical historical observations we often see, and secondly by the importance of recognising this month in what is now a decade's long fight for equal rights.?

You are likely familiar with the quote “history is written by the victors”, but when it comes to LGBTQ+ history, a more accurate quote would be;

“History is written by the heterosexuals”.?

LGBTQ+ voices are routinely spoken over, erased or simply not included at all.?

How often have you read about a historical figure's “close personal friendship” with a person of the same gender??

Historians must take some of the blame for this, however, the sources we have are frequently that of the press or media, in which again we see a distinct lack of LGBTQ+ voices.

Additionally, with the media we usually see a subjective interpretation of events, furthering whichever agenda the publishing magnate owner wanted to push that week,?or in modern times the increased reach of inflammatory headlines aimed at pay-per-click advertising revenue.?

Here are a few front-page headlines for you:?

“I’d shoot my son if he had aids, says Vicar” - The Sun, 1985?

"Gay sex lessons for Scotts schools" - Daily Record 1999

“Being Straight is no longer normal, students taught” - The Telegraph 2012?

“Please don't pretend two dads is the new normal” - Daily Mail, 2018?

“Transgender surgery is ‘mutilation’ Dr Robert Winston says” - The Independent, 2022?

“Most children who think they’re transgender are just going through a ‘phase’, says NHS” - Telegraph 2022?

“Vile woke fascists bullying us over ‘trans’ rapists and gender-neutral awards pose a severe and unexpected threat” - The Sun, January 2023?

“Campaigners reveal pupils are being targeted by picture books promoting transgender issues” - Daily Mail, February 2023?

These horrific headlines show us why LGBTQ+ History month is so important.?

It takes little more than a google search to find the same language, the same hatred, the same moral panic which was (and still is) aimed at gay men and lesbians,?now being focussed full throttle on Trans people.?

From 2012 to 2019, there was 614% increase in Trans related stories in the UK press.?Research by a professor at Lancaster University determined that 90% of those stories were in some way negative, whether they were related to crime, the oppression of others' rights, or using inappropriate language.?

Between 2021 and 2022, CPS data shows that the largest increase in hate crimes was against Transgender people, with a 56% increase in reported crimes.?

Trans people now experience the highest number of reported hate crimes of any protected group.?Just two weeks ago, a 16-year-old Transgender girl, Brianna Ghey, was murdered in broad daylight by her peers.?

You may wonder why I am quoting present-day statistics at an LGBTQ+ History month talk.

The answer to that question is simple; The horrors of LGBTQ+ history from the last century are still very much present.?

We watched a generation of LGBTQ+ people die in the 1980s and 1990s,?and now we are watching the same bigotry, moral panic and press fuelled discrimination damage another generation of LGBTQ+ people.?

It is our responsibility to stop the cycle. It is our responsibility to learn from the past.?

The first line of resistance is that of raising voices which are usually spoken over or ignored entirely.?

So, with that in mind, I want to thank you all for being here today.?

Before we kick off, I’d like to ask you all to join me in a moment of silence for Brianna Ghey.?

Thank you.

If you would like me to come and speak at your organisation or event, please email my team [email protected]