The BBC has announced that transgender actress and comedian Bethany Black will be appearing in an upcoming episode of the 9th series of Doctor Who, making her the first transgender person to ever appear in the shows massive 52 year history.
After the announcement Black took to Facebook and Twitter t9o celebrate the news with her fans, posting an image of her beside the Tardis, and even wrote 'Now to sit back and wait until the Daily Mail realises the BBC have cast an openly trans lesbian in a family show.' on her Facebook page.
Black has previously appeared in the critically acclaimed queer drama Cucumber and Banana last year, which was created by Russel t Davies, the man responsible for returning Doctor Who to our screens.
It is so far unclear if Blacks character in Doctor Who will be trans or not.
Ask most people who are a part of the LGBT+ community and they will have heard of the phrase Stonewall. Some will conjure images of the Stonewall organisation, but most will be aware of the historical Stonewall Riots after which the organisation is named.
The Stonewall riots were a series of violent protests against the police by the LGBT+ community in New York in 1969. Many site the Stonewall Riots as the single most important event that led to the LGBT+ liberation movement in America, and the foundation upon which all modern LGBT+ rights are founded upon.
The Stonewall Riots have become so recognised as the pivotal LGBT+ equal rights event that in 2013 American President Barack Obama used it in the same sentence as Seneca Falls and Selma, two major points in history for female rights and black rights respectively.
With Stonewall being such a major part of the LGBT+ struggle, and a major piece of modern history it was inevitable that a film about that struggle would be made, especially when LGBT+ rights are such an important battlefield in todays society.
As such today we were given the first full trailer for the film 'Stonewall', from Hollywood director Roland Emmerich.
Now, some of you might be excited by that trailer, some of you might be looking forward to seeing the film, but some of you might be quite angry too. To those that are unaware their is some level of controvecy regarding Emmerich's version of historical events.
The trailer, claiming to be a 'true story', tells the audience that a young, white, cisgender, gay man was the first to throw a brick and start the Stonewall Riots. In truth, real historical truth based on hundreds of eye witness accounts and documented evidence that Roland Emmerich seems to have completely skipped over or simply ignored, the riots were started by black drag queens and transgender women.
Yep, sorry eager film audiences but you're waiting to watch a lie. The film that is being depicted as the historical telling of one of the most important moments in LGBT+ history is completely ficticious. Yes, the riot actually happened, that's not made up, but everything else in this film appears to be.
The two people most credited with sparking the riots and paving the way for modern LGBT+ rights were Marsha P.Johnson, a black drag queen, and Silvia Rivera, a transgender woman. It was not a cisgender, white, gay man named Danny. The two people who are universally recognised as starting the riots aren't even in the film!
For those of you who might not think that it's such a big deal, that it's just Hollywood tweaking a story to make it work on film a little better, shut the hell up! It is important. If you went to see the film Selma and they'd cut out Martin Luther King Jr. and instead had the march being led by Jackie Chan you'd probably think that there's something wrong there.
Changing history like that is wrong. Hollywood and Roland Emmerich are trying to take away the accomplishments of these two women, and others like them, and give it to white men, yet again. Not only is it historically innacurate but its totally god damn disrespectful.
This film is a slap in the face to the people who took part in the riots, who fought in the streets for your right to be treated like a human being. It's an insult to the LGBT+ community, to trans people, to drag queens, to women and people of colour. Hollywood have taken our moment of major historical significance and told us that the only way people will care is with a white man as the hero, that the only way change really happens is if a white man fights for it. Hollywood's hero complex at its absolute worst.
Do not support this film, do not promote it, advise it or even go and see it. It's a whitewashing, tranphobic piece of cinema that wants to crap on an important historical moment.
A new hashtag as been making the rounds in the trans Twitter community today, #TransHealthFail. The hashtag, which was started by MyTransHealth, has been encouraging transgender people from all over the world to share some of their medical experiences.
The results have been amazing, with hundreds of people sending in their stories, unfortunately the things they're saying seem to be almost identical, health care systems all over the world don't know how to treat trans people and continually insult, demean and endanger patients.
Reports range from front of house staff who misgender and dead name patients without care for their well being or dignity, doctors who refuse to treat trans people and even therapist who specialise in gender issues who refuse to accept patients gender identities.
Medical professionals are vitally important to the transgender community, without them trans people are trapped in bodies that aren't their true selves. we're forced to go through life pretending to be someone that we're not, treated as different from who we really are on the inside because people can't get past what we look like.
Medical treatment to assist with physical transition is massively important, without it the damage that could occur to the trans community is unthinkable. However, based on some of the tweets that I've seen today it looks like a hell of a lot of trans people are having to face those kinds of struggles already. If people are being humiliated, treated like they're crazy, refused medical treatment, medication and psychological help is it any wonder that so many transgender people report suffering from depression, or that the suicide rate is so disproportionately high.
Society as a who has a long way to come in order to treat trans people the way we deserve to be treated, but its also apparent that even the medical community is lacking in the sympathy or the awareness that they need in order to treat trans people. Things need to start changing.
Last week was the first time I had ever attended a Pride event in my life. To be honest, I knind of feel a little ashamed saying that. Despite not figuring out I'm trans until I was into my twenties I've known I'm Pansexual since my early teens, yet in all that time I'd never been to a large scale LGBT+ event in order to celebrate that fact. Despite being a little nervous about what to expect I grabbed my trans flag, slung it over my shoulders like a cape and set off for a day of festivities.
Norwich didn't disappoint. Not only was the pride event itself full of happy and helpful organisations, people willing to chat and make friends, and more rainbows then the senses could handle, but it seemed like the whole of Norwich itself was in the mood to celebrate LGBT+ spirit. From local coffee shops such as Mustards Coffee Bar (which had an amazing rainbow cake by the way), National Banks like Halifax, International chains like Starbucks and even the City Council Chambers were decked out in rainbow flags and messages of support.
That's what struck me most about the whole thing, the big community spirit that the event encouraged. So many people were their to make friends and celebrate the diversity of the LGBT+ community, event staff and stall holders, attendees, even passersby in the street. Other than one lone man with a crucifix who tried to protest the parade before being surrounded by supporters and drowned out their was no one around who tried to make any kind of trouble at all.
For someone who came from a fairly small town where I couldn't walk through the streets without having abuse or threats shouted at me this positivity was somewhat alien to me. But it was a good thing. I'm not isolated, I know that theirs a larger LGBT+ community out there, just the fact that I'm writing this article for people to read shows that I'm a part of that community even in a small way, but actually seeing that community in person, being their and feeling it, that was something amazing.
Pride is important for this reason, it helps you to know that you're not alone. Even if you're active on line, or at a local group being part of the LGBT+ community can be incredibly lonely. Even when you're surrounded by people you can feel completely isolated. Even on my best days I sometimes feel that way. Pride helped me with that.
It didn't matter if you were gay, lesbian, trans, pansexual, gender fluid, bisexual or straight, if you were a part of the community or a supporter than you were accepted, you were amongst friends and you were safe. That feeling of being part of a larger whole has never been stronger for me than since my first Pride. Obviously I knew that there were other LGBT+ people out their, but I never felt it before.
If you've never been to a Pride event before then please, try to go along to one. It doesn't matter if you LGBT+ or not, if you believe in the cause or you need encouragement that you're not alone in the world, that their are other people who understand and accept you then go along. Pride events are important not just to celebrate our diversity and show the world how amazing we are, they're also their to help the community too.
I know one thing, I'm definitely going to more Pride events in the future, and I can't wait until my next one.
Muhammadu Buhari, the new president of Nigeria, visited US Congress yesterday (Wednesday 9th July), where he shut down any questions on marriage equality in his home country.
Speaking at a joint session of the senate and house committees on foreign affairs during his four day visit Buhari said emphatically that gay sex would remain illegal in Nigeria and is found to be 'abhorent' to African culture.
Femi Adeisna, the president's special adviser on media and publicity, later tweeted to clarify Buhari's stance. 'The issue of gay marriage came up here yesterday. PMB was point blank. Sodomy is against the law in Nigeria, and abhorrent to our culture. Talks shifted to another matter once PMB emphatically stated Nigeria's stand on same sex marriage. The issue was not pushed.'
Nigeria has one of the harshest anti-gay laws in the entire world, which bans gay marriage and can punish any same sex couples with up to 14 years in prison, with 10 year sentences being applied to anyone else who was involved in the ceremony, including guests in attendance.
Last week US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said that the US would be mounting substantial pressure on the Nigerian government to rethink its harsh laws, though these pressures would appear to not yet be in place is they could not even press the issue during Buhari's visit.
