Trans campaigner talks in Croydon

[Ross]

Denise Anderson, trans campaigner, was the speaker at the CAGS meeting in April, part of "The Brief Encounter" series. She told us about her own transition, and her reassignment surgery which she had privately in Thailand. She considers herself bisexual and lives with a male partner – they hope to get married as the Gender Reassignment Act (GRA) now allows. Many trans people, once they’ve transitioned, disappear into the general population, but Denise decided to put her head above the parapet and has remained a prominent activist for trans causes. In fact she’s been accused of being a professional transsexual, but she doesn’t make any money out of it! Denise has a particular interest in domestic violence, something which affects a lot of trans people, trans men more than trans women.

Altogether, she thinks things are better for trans people in the UK than in many other countries. The GRA has helped a lot, but only protects people who’ve got a Gender Reassignment Certificate. Denise hopes that the new Equality Bill will protect people at all stages of transition, as well as their partners.

The next "Brief Encounter" speaker, on Tuesday the 2nd of June, will be Peter Tatchell. Peter was a leading member of GLF in the 1970s and suffered homophobic abuse as a candidate in the 1983 Bermondsey by-election. Since then he’s rarely been out of the public eye, as a courageous and outspoken campaigner for LGBT rights, and for human rights in general. He’s been one of the leading members of Outrage! since its foundation, and has suffered death threats and physical violence, notably when trying to perform a citizen’s arrest on Robert Mugabe. Some of us remember him zapping a meeting in Croydon, addressed by the late Cardinal Winning.