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LGBT Trans

What I said at the Liberal Democrat Conference, Pt. 2: On Trans Equality

As well as moving the sex work motion on Saturday, I had also written a speech regarding the federal policy paper on equality, which had been written and drafted by several people including the lovely Cantabridgians Zoe O’ConnellĀ and Belinda Brooks-GordonĀ (who had helped with, and summated, on the sex work motion). It’s a really good, and […]

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LGBT Politics Trans

Appropriating equality

There’s been a flurry of news stories in the past week, most likely to coincide with the country’s first same-sex marriages starting next Saturday, regarding how the bill came to pass. Firstly, we had television personality Paul O’Grady describe David Cameron as a “twat” and state the Lib Dems were “as much use as men’s […]

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Feminism Trans

Deconstructing “male violence”

I know the statistics. I know that when a woman is attacked, it’s often at the hands of a man. The same applies for when she is raped, or killed. And that goes doubly so for trans people. Our murderers tend to be, more often than not, men. And it has an effect on some […]

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LGBT Politics Trans

Equal marriage is a transgender issue

Something I note with some despair is the assertion that marriage equality is not a transgender issue. The argument goes that it’s primarily an LGB issue and trans people only get consequential benefits from it. Well, that’s not really accurate, as our history, and the history of others, shows.

Categories
LGBT Politics Trans

The spousal veto is still a veto, even if you pretend it isn’t

So, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act got given Royal Assent yesterday and, while I’m happy at the general idea of people in same-gender marriages being able to marry, I’m not singing Dancing Queen and waving my pride flag just yet. Because the legislation contains a rather insidious prejudiced open secret: the spousal veto. The […]