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Trans joy: Our highlights of 2021

It’s been an ugly year in many ways, not least for the trans community. But even in the darkest of times, there is light. Whether it was the Court of Appeal overturning Bell v Tavistock, a huge moment of relief for trans kids and their families, non-binary representation on TV in shows like Sex Education and Feel Good, small gestures of allyship from the likes of Billy Bragg and Lorraine Kelly, or Joshua Cavallo shutting down the LGBA in the most perfect way, there was plenty that put a smile on our faces in 2021.  To mark Trans Awareness Week…

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X Passport case dismissed by the UK’s Supreme Court

Today (15 December 2021) the UK’s Supreme Court has dismissed Christie Elan-Cane’s application to have a gender neutral option on passports.  The Court said that there is no consistent approach from the European Court of Human Rights on whether there is an obligation on European Convention on Human Rights member states, which the UK is one of, to provide a gender neutral passport. The member states have a wide margin to decide whether this is something they want to do.  The UK government has said they do not want to open up recognition of gender beyond male or female categories…

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Happy Pansexual Pride Day!

To mark Pansexual Pride Day, Lu Hobden (they/them) pens a message of support to their TransPan family First off, Happy Pansexual Pride Day to all my wonderful pan family!    I am pansexual and agender, which means my experience is a little bit different to those who are cis, or somewhere else on the trans spectrum. The absence of gender can and has made some people who aren’t pan change their mind about even wanting to know me – let alone be in a relationship or any other way involved with me. I think it’s because I don’t easily fit into…

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A note for allies this Trans Day of Remembrance

Multi-Disciplinary Artist AJ has a message for allies this TDoR This period is hard. Life is continually made hard for trans people,but,this period is especially difficult and trying. Over the past year or so, I have made a conscious effort to try and not write from a place of pain.When you’re hurting,and you’re suffering,and you’ve been hurtingand suffering for,well,your whole life, it can be hard to see anything else. On top of that, when you’ve had to remain silent about your pain,and your hurt,and your suffering,when you finally have the chance to speak out, it can feel so very relievingand…

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IOC guidelines: Mermaids statement on the new framework for trans athletes

Mermaids broadly welcomes the new framework on inclusion for transgender athletes from the International Olympic Committee, published on Tuesday 16 November 2021. This framework stresses that no athlete should be excluded from competition on the assumption of an advantage due to their gender. The new guidance follows a two-year consultation process with more than 250 athletes and concerned stakeholders. The new framework focuses on 10 principles: inclusion, prevention of harm, non-discrimination, fairness, no presumption of advantage, evidence-based approach, primacy of health and bodily autonomy, stakeholder-centred approach, right to privacy and periodic reviews. This framework stresses that no athlete should be excluded from competition on…

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Let’s celebrate ourselves this Trans Awareness Week

This Trans Awareness Week, let’s celebrate gender euphoria, says Lucy Rose Shaftain-Fenner Happy Transgender Awareness Week! And when I say “happy”, I mean it. Recently, I have been editing my documentary film, Pronouns In Bio, about my gender journey. It has been a cathartic process, allowing me to reflect on the past few years. In 2018 I moved away from my family into university accommodation and started to experiment with my gender presentation. I began painting my nails black, wearing eyeliner and sometimes skirts as well. After a couple years, this went from just something I did in my room…

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“We are worthy of celebration and respect”

Lui Asquith (they/them), Director of Legal and Policy at Mermaids, with an important and timely reminder this Trans Awareness Week Trans Awareness Week was introduced as an opportunity to platform our lives and raise awareness; it’s an opportunity for anyone to understand what it means to be trans from people that are trans and non-binary. This year’s TAW is particularly crucial. It must be a moment to remind everyone – and in some instances, ourselves – who we are as people (not as headlines) and that we are worthy of celebration and respect. I know first-hand that sadly many of…

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Neopronouns 101

What are neopronouns, how long have they been around for and how do you use them? Rome explains… Personal pronouns are a way of referring to oneself or another person. Many people wonder why the trans community advocate for the correct pronoun usage, and the answer is simple: pronouns matter.  They are a form of self expression and act as a bridge between the three basic concepts of expression: how one feels, how others view us and how we view ourselves.  One thing to always note is that pronouns do not equal gender identity, and any person of any identity…

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Residential reflections: A life-saving weekend

Looking back on our first residential weekend in more than two years Last Saturday, I threw a rucksack on my back and ventured out into the murky morning. Destination: my first residential weekend as a member of the Mermaids team.  Watching the rain drip, drip, drip down the train window as we pulled out of the train station, I was nervous. Painfully so. Not only would it be the first time at a Mermaids event, but the first time meeting my new(ish) colleagues and the people we support since starting as Digital Engagement Manager at the end of August. The…

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Gender Pending: A Coming Home Story

For me, it was a long process of leaning into uncertainty. Not knowing, not having any set answers and eventually identifying myself with the fun rhyming label: ‘gender pending’. And as someone prone to anxiety and obsessive intrusive thoughts, this was both an incredibly challenging and ultimately powerful journey.” In this essay, Jennifer explores honestly and openly the long, scary and ultimately releasing journey of realising and owning their truth as a non-binary person. Beginning with an initial seed of awakening in 2019 and then tracking back through the memories of unease and dysphoria through their childhood and adolescent days…

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