Tate Smith: “I’m Incredibly Proud to Be Transgender and Brighton Trans Pride Helps to Remind Me Each Year”

Brighton was due to be hit with extreme weather this past weekend, including high winds and heavy rain, all of which would have been sufficient to postpone a large protest such as Brighton Trans Pride, but nothing could stand in the way of this amazing team of volunteers. With less than 14 hours to go, the group sprang into action and reorganised the park event in Brunswick Square to take place across various nearby venues to protect the safety and well-being of their performers. Within hours the team had formed a new route and provided live updates on their Instagram account well into the night. A terrific feat and a sign of resilience, overcoming adversity in the face of unplanned extremities – a metaphor for what the trans community has faced this year.

“I finally felt at home and couldn’t have been happier than to be surrounded by people just like me. Brighton Trans Pride has provided me with joy and a growing support network ever since.”

I first attended Brighton Trans Pride in July 2019, shortly after starting hormone therapy. I had attended London Trans Pride a few weeks prior, having moved into the capital from a rural village in Essex and was pleasantly surprised to see the trans community come out in force and even more excited to hear that there was a replica event by the sea. I had no idea just how much larger Brighton’s event would be, and thankfully, it has remained this way ever since, serving as Europe’s largest trans pride event. Back in 2019, the attendance was significantly smaller, and I vividly remember sitting on the grass in Jubilee Square with my meal deal and making new friends. I finally felt at home and couldn’t have been happier than to be surrounded by people just like me. Brighton Trans Pride has provided me with joy and a growing support network ever since.

This year has been incredibly difficult for the community. As a transgender man, I have had to witness a steep rise in anti-trans rhetoric in both the press and real life, together with growing online abuse and hate crime across the UK. All of this has accumulated into an unusually quiet pride month, no doubt also caused by the unfair controversy surrounding trans people in advertising campaigns. It no longer feels safe for me to come out or attend public LGBTQ+ events, even in my role as a public speaker. As an act of defiance, I chose to travel to Brighton because I have always admired how they have kept to their grassroots and discouraged corporate sponsorship, opting instead to keep it as a protest. A vital need for the community at this time.

“Those who marched with trans flags on their backs suddenly looked like superheroes as the warm breeze blew through their capes of pink, white and blue.”

I have no animosity towards corporate sponsors, but I do believe that there needs to be a separate space for trans people to make their voices heard, as we are under attack and need to prioritise our rights ahead of the community. If the very people who started the movement are under attack, then the rest of the community will follow. Luckily, 30,000 people marched in Brighton this past Saturday. An amazing turnout considering the extreme weather warnings. Luckily, there was to be no rain, only sunshine, which felt like a gift from the universe.

“There was no need for me to hide or downplay my transness. I could parade my top surgery scars without fear and talk with parents of trans children, a rarity for me at home.”

The wind was still high, but it gave a special ambience to the protest. Those who marched with trans flags on their backs suddenly looked like superheroes as the warm breeze blew through their capes of pink, white and blue. Another metaphor. I had expected a wave of abuse or confusion from onlookers, but those that I saw on the beachfront were cheering and supportive, a stark reminder of the solidarity that still remains in the UK. There was no need for me to hide or downplay my transness. I could parade my top surgery scars without fear and talk with parents of trans children, a rarity for me at home.

This is why Brighton Trans Pride is so important. It gives trans people the space to protest, inspire radical change and show the world that we will not be silenced. Seeing so many people show up for trans rights only demonstrates the resistance that our community and our allies have. I can only imagine how much power the protest will gain in future years and I’m certain that it will help to inspire greater change and a movement. Marching with my friends and community helped me to realise that I have the support of so many people and I am not alone, compared to how I felt when I originally attended in 2019.

So, as I travelled back up to London that evening and let the trans joy sink in, I looked through my camera roll and found a photo of a sign that was just ahead of me in the march that read: 'I'M SO PROUD OF YOU'.

I put my phone down, smiled to myself and looked out the window at Brighton as it grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Yes, I’m incredibly proud to be transgender and Brighton Trans Pride helps to remind me each year.