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The Pride Boycott Thing - Update
May. 29th, 2009 08:54 pmSo we put out a press release, both on the TransLondon site, and as email to various media organisations. Pink News was first off the mark within what seemed like minutes with what I thought was a great piece of journalism, which came over in a very positive way for us.
They got a quick response from Paul Birrell, the chair of Pride London, who span the line that "Trans@Pride is still running. It has not been shut down and is operating fine" and said that the idea for the float "came from the trans community".
As I understand it, "The Trans Community" here refers to his tame trans woman friend, Diana Taylor, who was appointed as "Trans rep" this year, and "Trans@Pride is still operating" refers to her calling a meeting (I got the email about it - I was so disgusted that I didn't go, but I know people who did) to tell everyone how it's going to go down, and that she's going to use "her money" (some mistake, surely?) to have "Priscilla at the front, Priscilla at the back".
They followed the quotes from Paul immediately with a section about how Pride and the Metropolitan Police were forced to retract some inaccurate claims they made about trans women being violent during the Toiletgate thing. A cynic might infer from such a juxtaposition that they don't believe him, but I'm sure that's entirely coincidental.
It's been picked up in a few other places as well - lots of people have blogged about it, and Lesbilicious, who were sympathetic with the S'onewall thing also picked it up. I wonder if we'll see it in any of the print media next month?
The Pink News article had a comments section (no direct link - you have to go to the article and click to see the comments), in which I got into a bit of a confrontation with Paul Birrell himself (he seems to have gone quiet now). The thread went quite well, I think, until the nasty transphobic streak from the LGB community showed up. Some choice quotes:
Why anyone would want to set themselves to be slatted by a load of never-be-happy crying bast*rds like we have on this thread is beyond me. - Sister Mary Clarence
For years the gay community has been fighting for equality, the trans community, or its twisted bitter representatives here at least don't want equality they want special treatment. Set up your own frigging march. I certainly wouldn't want to be marching shoulder to shoulder through the streets of London with the screwed up whingers posting on here. - pp
They are just straight men who have fetish for woman's clothing and ride on the coat tales of the gay community.. Got a march of your own and leave us GAYS alone! - Bobby O
it was a male toilet at a gay festival, not the fu*king trenches at the Battle of the Somme. It probably wasn’t nice for the poor girl but got to any gay club or bar and the toilets are usually being shared by everyone anyway. - Sister Mary Clarence again, on the incident where a woman was sexually assaulted after being told to use the male toilets.
"Toiletgate"? It sounds like "Toomuchtimeonmyhandsgate" to me. Sad. - YiYeeWhoo, also writing with the sensitivity and tact we've come to expect when trans women are sexually assaulted.
...and so on. It's always heartening to see minority groups engaging in a spectacular failure to learn from their own experiences, and be unable to resist the opportunity to tread on someone else's fingers once they get off the bottom rung of the ladder themselves.
Meanwhile, despite Paul Birrell's protestations that we're being really, really horrid and misrepresenting what is actually a really open consultation that's come from the grass roots of the trans community, earlier todaythe trans community Diana Taylor sent out an email this afternoon. The tone is rather different to her previous missives; I think she seems somewhat chastened. See what you think:
She even used a small font and everything. Minor quibbles such as her apparently confusing "ask you all yet again" with "finally ask you", this would appear to be quite a spectacular climbdown, and I welcome it. It's just a shame it took the use of the nuclear button to actually bring them to the negotiating table.
Still, credit where it's due - apparently they're less obstinate than Ben Summerskill (of Stonewall fame). I'm not going to their meeting - I have plans for the 6th and I couldn't go to Pride this year even if I wanted to (which I absolutely don't - I'm still furious with them over the toilets thing and I still feel that they have made, at best, entirely inadequate attempts to redeem themselves afterwards) - I'll be dangling from a rope on a slot canyon in Utah instead.
If the meeting continues in the same spirit, I expect the mood at TransLondon in June might be rather more conciliatory. We shall see.
They got a quick response from Paul Birrell, the chair of Pride London, who span the line that "Trans@Pride is still running. It has not been shut down and is operating fine" and said that the idea for the float "came from the trans community".
As I understand it, "The Trans Community" here refers to his tame trans woman friend, Diana Taylor, who was appointed as "Trans rep" this year, and "Trans@Pride is still operating" refers to her calling a meeting (I got the email about it - I was so disgusted that I didn't go, but I know people who did) to tell everyone how it's going to go down, and that she's going to use "her money" (some mistake, surely?) to have "Priscilla at the front, Priscilla at the back".
They followed the quotes from Paul immediately with a section about how Pride and the Metropolitan Police were forced to retract some inaccurate claims they made about trans women being violent during the Toiletgate thing. A cynic might infer from such a juxtaposition that they don't believe him, but I'm sure that's entirely coincidental.
It's been picked up in a few other places as well - lots of people have blogged about it, and Lesbilicious, who were sympathetic with the S'onewall thing also picked it up. I wonder if we'll see it in any of the print media next month?
The Pink News article had a comments section (no direct link - you have to go to the article and click to see the comments), in which I got into a bit of a confrontation with Paul Birrell himself (he seems to have gone quiet now). The thread went quite well, I think, until the nasty transphobic streak from the LGB community showed up. Some choice quotes:
Why anyone would want to set themselves to be slatted by a load of never-be-happy crying bast*rds like we have on this thread is beyond me. - Sister Mary Clarence
For years the gay community has been fighting for equality, the trans community, or its twisted bitter representatives here at least don't want equality they want special treatment. Set up your own frigging march. I certainly wouldn't want to be marching shoulder to shoulder through the streets of London with the screwed up whingers posting on here. - pp
They are just straight men who have fetish for woman's clothing and ride on the coat tales of the gay community.. Got a march of your own and leave us GAYS alone! - Bobby O
it was a male toilet at a gay festival, not the fu*king trenches at the Battle of the Somme. It probably wasn’t nice for the poor girl but got to any gay club or bar and the toilets are usually being shared by everyone anyway. - Sister Mary Clarence again, on the incident where a woman was sexually assaulted after being told to use the male toilets.
"Toiletgate"? It sounds like "Toomuchtimeonmyhandsgate" to me. Sad. - YiYeeWhoo, also writing with the sensitivity and tact we've come to expect when trans women are sexually assaulted.
...and so on. It's always heartening to see minority groups engaging in a spectacular failure to learn from their own experiences, and be unable to resist the opportunity to tread on someone else's fingers once they get off the bottom rung of the ladder themselves.
Meanwhile, despite Paul Birrell's protestations that we're being really, really horrid and misrepresenting what is actually a really open consultation that's come from the grass roots of the trans community, earlier today
| Following considerable comment from the wider TQQI Community. Trans@Pride have decided to revisit their plans for a float based entertainment presentation. This was always driven by feedback from Trans members and was not meant to be in any way divisive. We have decide that given the comments surrounding our plans that it would be of great benefit to ask you all yet again, what you yourselves see as a more representative presentation? I have been asked in the past for an open topped bus as a focal point for the Trans Marching groups who plan to take part in the Parade: if this is so, we can arrange this with Pride London. The original initiative was to put something that was more than a decorated bus into the Parade, and Pride London has a general policy of prefering to block busses from entering the Parade, save for specific circumstances, but I am confident that I can get Pride London's agreement to this. We at Pride London will leave the music and who will actually be riding on the bus up to yourselves. We have never intended to make any stipulations that you provide anything in the way of a show, just that you come and enjoy the day in whichever we you as individuals and groups choose to do so. We already have sponsorship arranged for decorating materials, you may take advantage of this offer should you wish to do so. I will be hosting an open meeting on Saturday the 6th of June at MLS 130 Shaftsbury Ave W1 at 5pm all are welcome. |
She even used a small font and everything. Minor quibbles such as her apparently confusing "ask you all yet again" with "finally ask you", this would appear to be quite a spectacular climbdown, and I welcome it. It's just a shame it took the use of the nuclear button to actually bring them to the negotiating table.
Still, credit where it's due - apparently they're less obstinate than Ben Summerskill (of Stonewall fame). I'm not going to their meeting - I have plans for the 6th and I couldn't go to Pride this year even if I wanted to (which I absolutely don't - I'm still furious with them over the toilets thing and I still feel that they have made, at best, entirely inadequate attempts to redeem themselves afterwards) - I'll be dangling from a rope on a slot canyon in Utah instead.
If the meeting continues in the same spirit, I expect the mood at TransLondon in June might be rather more conciliatory. We shall see.
