Tristan Gjertsen
I have recently discovered that I identify as non-binary. As one of my preferred pronouns is ‘he’, I am always called by what I would like to be called by strangers and professionals. And when I ask questions at a business, I am often given a quick and satisfying answer.
My husband is a trans man. He is the same age as me, comes from a similar socio-economic background as me. And yet he lives in an entirely different world to me. We are reminded day after day of the hardships faced by trans members of the LGBTQ+ community. Doctors are hesitant to offer any advice, or outright refuse treatment. Both HMRC and DWP refuse to acknowledge his name and gender, forcing him to answer to a name that does not belong to him. And if he asks for his actual name to be used? We are threatened with our money being stopped.
The waiting list just to have an appointment to start the process of beginning Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) was two years. And Wales is considered the fastest of all the waiting lists!
One of the reasons I joined the Socialist Party was the commitment, in not just words but visible action, to fight oppression in all its forms. The long history of pro-LGBTQ+ action this party has taken has been a bulwark for my husband and I. We know that there are people out there fighting for us to have the right to exist. And we are so proud to be with them, as comrades.
A socialist world, run by the working class for the interest of all, not just the wealthy and powerful few, is the only way to ensure freedom and safety for all. Let us continue the march forward for a fair, just and socialist world.
In my day-to-day life I am recognised as a woman. I have had Gender Reassignment Surgery, and I have a Gender Recognition Certificate. Most people who meet me for the first time don’t know that I’m trans unless I tell them. With this ruling, will I now be expected to use men’s facilities in public, or else risk prosecution? If arrested will I be sent to a male prison? (And what do you think will happen to me in a men’s prison?) No politicians are coming to save us. No billionaires are backing us.
Alice Mulvay
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