GBT+ Pride parades were originally conceived as occasions of protest, solidarity, and courage: they were statements of open defiance in the midst of prejudice. Anyone familiar with the history of Pride will know that this vitally important aspect of queer culture would not exist without transgender women of colour. Long before Pride became a heavily promoted and commercialised event in the Western world, transgender activists such as Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson risked their safety and even their lives to ensure that future generations would enjoy basic rights and freedoms.
This was why shockwaves reverberated through Britain’s LGBT+ community back in July when London Pride was hijacked by a group of trans-exclusionary radical feminists (colloquially known as TERFs) who pushed their way to the front of the parade and demanded that they be permitted to lead it. Carrying literature that was aimed at spreading hatred and misinformation against trans people, this group – Get The L Out – professed their desire to separate lesbians from the wider LGBT+ community.