On the 28th July, Dublin had its first annual Trans Pride. It was organised from the beginning as a grassroots protest by and for trans people, trying to bring Pride back to its radical roots as a protest movement and rejecting the corporate taint that suffocates most establishment Prides, with companies that carry out queerphobic policies allowed to march or take part in what for them is nothing but an exercise in corporate pinkwashing.
It has been three years since the momentous victory of the marriage equality referendum in the South of Ireland, and four years since The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 was passed in England and Wales. Yet Northern Ireland is still waiting
The first Trans Pride in Belfast was held on Saturday 2nd June, reflecting the need for transgender, non-binary and intersex (“trans+”) rights. While the spectrum of sexuality is for the most part something that is becoming more accepted and understood, gender is a whole other story. Awareness and advancement of the struggles of trans+ people is something that is growing, but ultimately this progress can only go so far, as the system in which it is taking place is not truly compatible with what is really needed.
In November, Australians voted to endorse same-sex marriage by 61.6%, putting the reluctant government under huge pressure to make it legal. As we go to press, the first same-sex marriages are now taking place. Northern Ireland is becoming increasingly isolated in denying this right, lagging behind Britain and the South.
