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Mermaids Press

THE GOVERNMENT CONDONES TRANS CONVERSION ABUSE

Mermaids condemns the government’s decision to back-track on its promises to the LGBT+ communities to ban all forms of conversion abuse. By actively excluding trans and non-binary people from the ban, the government has decided to condone conversion abuse for our community. The government’s own data illustrates that trans people are at an unparalleled risk of being victim to this abhorrent practice. This decision allows conversion abusers to keep harming trans people without punishment. Such a decision secures decades of future abuse, pain and suffering. It is a dark moment in the history of LGBT+ rights in this country.  Notes…

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Mermaids Press

TDOV: Visibility is the beginning, liberation is the goal – and we can only achieve it together

Today (31 March) is Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) a day where around the world we celebrate the accomplishments of trans, gender non-conforming and non-binary people while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans liberation. Over recent years, we’ve seen a rise in anti-trans rhetoric from legislation to the media. At Mermaids, we wanted to look towards the future and ask the trans community and our allies what their hopes are and what they commit to doing to make the world a better place for trans people. Our Helpline Service Officers play a…

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Mermaids Press

The Cass Review Interim Report: Mermaids’ Statement

The Cass Review’s Interim Report, published 10 March 2022, clearly recognises that NHS England’s current healthcare model is not fit for purpose and that trans children and young people deserve, but are not currently receiving, the same standard of care as everybody else.  Any healthcare pathway has to be informed by those it is there to help, here being trans, non-binary, gender diverse and/or gender exploring children and young people. We read the report from this perspective and in doing so we see these interim recommendations as a positive step toward much-needed change. The interim report from @TheCassReview has been…

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Mermaids Press

Mermaids welcomes Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill

The reforms are a significant step forward for trans rights as fundamentally, they acknowledge that trans people are who they say they are. The current system is unnecessarily bureaucratic, stigmatising and invasive, and consultations in both Scotland and the UK have shown overwhelming public support for change.

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How To Be A Girl

An exclusive extract from Marlo Mack’s touching new memoir When the world split wide open, it was a November evening. We had just walked in the front door and were shedding the day’s damp coats and bags. Outside, the Seattle sky was preparing for an early bedtime, transforming the cloud ceiling from old-pillow gray to the color of wet ash. I reached out to flip on the lights and felt my child slip his hand into mine. “Mama,” he said, “something went wrong in your tummy.” I heard my purse hit the floor. “It did?” “Yes,” he said. “And it…

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Mermaids Press

How to celebrate trans history beyond LGBT History Month

Download our new toolkit for ideas on shining a light on the T in LGBT this month and beyond Happy LGBT History Month! Celebrated every February in the UK since 2005, it’s an opportunity for the community to claim our past, celebrate our present and create our future.  This year, the theme is Politics In Art, so we’ve teamed up with an incredible non-binary illustrator and comic artist, Rowan Frewin, for a very special trans history lesson.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rowan Frewin (@rowanfrewin) We’ve also got some great ideas in our toolkit for shining…

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Mermaids Press

Gender Recognition Act reform: What happens now?

MPs show overwhelming support for GRA reform at Westminster. Kai O’Doherty (they/them), Head of Policy and Research at Mermaids, asks when will the Government act? On Monday 21 February 2022, Westminster held a debate on reform to the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA), triggered by a petition signed by over 130,000 trans rights supporters. In addition to impassioned, supportive cross-party speeches from MPs, the Minister for Equalities, Mike Freer MP, committed the Government to some further specific reforms on language and spousal veto – but with the wider population’s overwhelming support for reform, both in and outside of the House,…

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The Spectacular Suit: “I hope it makes young queer readers feel empowered and hopeful”

Meet the author and illustrator of a joyful, heart-warming book celebrating the power of individuality Interview by Bex Shorunke LGBT History Month might be drawing to a close but we know we should be learning about and celebrating queer identities year-round, so if you have a little person in your life why not gift them The Spectacular Suit?  This joyful and heartwarming book follows Frankie, who, as her birthday party approaches, is desperately trying to find the perfect outfit to wear. The Spectacular Suit explores gender identity and the power of individuality, as author Kat Patrick (they/them) and illustrator Hayley…

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Mermaids Press

In conversation with Zoë Playdon: “We can’t make sense of our present if we don’t understand our past”

To mark LGBT History Month, author and academic Zoë Playdon talks to Mermaids about her book, The Hidden Case Of Ewan Forbes, and Ewan’s impact on the lives of trans people today Interview by Carrie Lyell Described by The Bookseller as “as significant to the trans experience as Oscar Wilde is to gay men”, the case of Ewan Forbes is one we should all know about. And yet many of you reading this may never have heard of him. This LGBT History Month, Zoë Playdon, author of an “enthralling and explosive” book about Ewan, tells us why. For those who…

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In conversation with Elegance Bratton: “I needed to tell these stories to heal myself”

Filmmaker, photographer, author and producer Elegance talks to Mermaids about LGBT History Month, his documentary Pier Kids, and how art can transform us Interview by Bex Shorunke This LGBT History Month, we’re focussing on the way in which art can be political and revolutionary. With that in mind, we spoke to the magnificently talented filmmaker Elegance Bratton, whose debut documentary Pier Kids chronicles the lives of trans and gay youths of colour living in Manhattan’s Chelsea Pier.  Made between 2011 and 2016, Pier Kids authentically represents a community experiencing homelessness and social exclusion, who in the face of adversity are…

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