Alex is an undergraduate Management and Modern Languages student and a summer intern with the Student Content Management team. On Saturday 8 July they joined the 35,000 protesters who marched at the fifth London Trans Pride. Here’s how they found it.
I started at the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre to meet up with other protesters and walk together. I chatted with others there while making a sign and we then walked to Trafalgar Square where the march started. It was raining but spirits remained high and I quickly befriended someone with an umbrella, so I stayed relatively dry. From Trafalgar Square we joined the crowd of people waiting to start. The energy was incredible, with dancing, drummers, and chants.
We marched for about two hours through the city. I loved seeing all the whacky signs people had made. Some favourites were:
- ‘What they/them said’
- a picture of a fan with the words ‘of trans rights’
- a cardboard flower, in the colour of the Trans Pride flag, that said ‘let trans people bloom’.
The protest ended at Wellington Arch where there was a stage for speakers. They were all empowering and I found the spoken word performance from Kae Tempest especially touching.
I ended the day at a post pride party that my friend organised at London Friend, an LGBTQ+ mental health charity. It was fun to meet new people and relax after the protest.
London Trans Pride was wonderful. Despite the difficult year the trans+ community has had, the march was full of trans joy. So many people showed up in solidarity, as well as quite a few dogs (it’s good to know we have so many allies in the canine community). I came out as non-binary last year and was the first time I have been open about my gender identity in a group of other trans people. It was liberating to feel comfortable around strangers. I could join random conversations which, as a Londoner, I don’t normally recommend. I’m grateful for the experience and I can’t wait to go next year.