Thousands of people gathered in London for Pride on Saturday, but prominent LGBTQIA+ figures at the event voiced concern that transgender people are being “villainised more than ever”.
Singer and actor Olly Alexander and writer Shon Faye were among those to criticise a UK supreme court ruling on the definition of a woman at London’s annual celebration of LGBTQI+ communities.
Alexander, the Eurovision 2024 contestant, told the PA news agency: “Trans people right now, they need our support and love more than ever, they’re being villainised, demonised in the press, by a lot of the media, and trans people they’re just like us … they’re you, they’re me.
“They deserve the same respect, the same rights, the same privileges, same opportunities, and that’s why Pride is so important this year.”
In April the supreme court ruled the words “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
Before the march, Faye, author of Love in Exile and The Transgender Issue, said “we’ve just seen an unprecedented attack on queer rights and trans rights across the world”.
She told PA: “For the trans community in particular here in the UK, we’ve seen an onslaught of misinformation, attacks in the media, and unfortunately the roll back of human rights in the courts.
“I think (Pride) is more important than ever – I think a lot of trans people have been made to feel afraid in public space and pride this year is about taking back public space, and showing what we’re not going to be silenced, and we’re not going to be intimidated.”
US pop singer Chaka Khan is headlining a concert in Trafalgar Square after the march, at which about 500 organisations filed from Hyde Park Corner, through Piccadilly Circus and on to Whitehall Place.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It was an honour and a privilege to again walk at the front of London’s world-famous Pride parade as huge crowds of Londoners and visitors joined together for an incredible show of love, unity and solidarity with our LGBTQI+ communities.
“The fantastic parade and celebrations across central London have shown once again that our capital is a beacon of inclusivity and diversity.
“This year’s event was also a defiant reminder that we must keep fighting for equality and take a stand against those seeking to roll back hard-won rights.”
A YouGov poll released before the event found 67% of people in the UK believe the country is inclusive to LGBTQ+ people, and 60% would not welcome a shift towards more negative attitudes.
Simon Blake, chief executive of charity Stonewall, which commissioned the survey, said, despite the findings, “we know many LGBTQ+ people do not feel this in their neighbourhoods and workplaces”.
