By Sally Churchward. Photos by Lily Scott and Sally Churchward.
“Like the sun, we will rise above this darkness” – a message of hope rang out across the crowd gathered in the early afternoon sunshine, at Watts Park, Southampton.
And many did feel a renewed sense of hope, as hundreds of people marched together in solidarity for transgender rights through the centre of Southampton on Saturday (26/4/2025).
Estimates vary from 300-600 plus trans people and allies, who came together to stand against the recent Supreme Court ruling, that transgender women are not women, as defined under the Equality Act 2010, regarding sex discrimination, and against the consequences that have already followed, and are yet to come.
But there was no denying, times are dark. One protester shared how a colleague had come up to them at work and said ‘ha, ha, you’ve lost your rights’ following the court ruling. Another noted a distinct change in the way family, friends and colleagues relate to them over the last week and a half.
“The environment everywhere – work, friends, family – has changed since the ruling,” said Finch, from Southampton. “People are more combative, more willing to contest and push the envelope on what’s acceptable.
“I want transphobes to get back in the closet. It’s not OK to harass others and question their existence and right to dignity.”
As the marchers gathered to listen to speeches, Tara, from Southampton, explained why she was at the event: “I’m fed up of being demonised and being treated like a threat. Every trans person I’ve ever met has been lovely. It’s really hard to get on with living your day to day life when so much of the press is saying that you’re a threat.”
Devin Valentine performed his former band, Hunting Hearts’ song, From Underdog Kids, to Every Rad Fem, for the crowd, to huge applause. Later shared his mixed feelings.
“It was amazing,” he said of the march and rally.
“It’s the biggest protest I’ve seen in Southampton and I’ve been here for more than 10 years, protesting different things for that time.
“I think it’s especially important to do this in your local cities as this is where the people around you are living and if you’re trans, you want to see that you’re not alone and there are allies around you and as allies it’s the best way to show that trans people aren’t fighting this on their own. Also, it shows businesses just how many people are in support of trans people, and how it’s a minority who are against, so hopefully that encourages local businesses to be trans inclusionary.”
But he added that he and the wider trans community are hurting.
“I came out in 2011 and it’s the worst it’s been for me now. My heart’s broken. I know how bad it is in America and I thought that this was coming, but I didn’t realise, it shocked me how soon something like this has happened.
“Today makes me feel proud of Southampton, but I’m feeling pretty negative at the moment. We’ve been protesting for years and things have gotten significantly worse, and not just after last week’s ruling, but on many fronts over many years for trans people. I want to say something more positive but it would be disingenuous of me to.
“I’m so proud of our community right now, the allies and the trans people, and I’ve got only good things to say about what happened today, but nationally, more people need to realise they’re being played. Trans people aren’t a threat and they never have been, and the people who are a threat are the people who are in power. We don’t like them either!”
The sense that society is being manipulated to scapegoat trans people and distract attention from elsewhere was picked up by many of those attending and speaking at the event.
Amongst the signs, chants, and speeches, alongside those celebrating the trans community, were criticisms of Keir Starmer and his government. Many expressed a sense of betrayal by the Labour Prime Minister.
Addressing the crowd, Maggie Fricker, of Southampton and South West Hampshire TUC said: “Alone we are unlikely to win – we must stand together. This is a trade union issue.
“Right-wing women should be ashamed of themselves. They should be putting their energy into defending services that all women need. We are under attack – we are all under attack from this government… we must stand together to end all discrimination.”
She added: “My safe space is standing shoulder to shoulder with my trans comrades.”
Solidarity, coming together as a community and fighting back were central themes of the day.
Shaira Choudhury from Fareham told the crowd: “Trans people have always existed. We are all exhausted but we must continue to stand up for ourselves.”
Abby from Southampton, who was at the event with friends, explained why she felt it was important to be present: “I’m a cis woman. My friends are trans. We can’t expect the trans community to stand on their own. There is enough going against them, the terf ilk and all that lot. They do not speak for me. I think it’s important cis women and people outside of the trans community come and support this kind of thing and are here to show that trans people are not on their own. There are so many of us who do not agree with this and I think it’s time we all come out and actively support community events like this.”
Jordan, from Southampton, was attending with his partner and their friends. He said: “We are allies. The majority of people are decent and we’re here to stand with the decent people and together stand with trans people.”
The event certainly received a large amount of support from onlookers. Passers by waved and clapped, workers at a charity stepped out to hold up a large pride flag, drivers beeped in salute, protesters outside Barclays Bank cheered, and were cheered back, and people taking part in a sign language festival in Guildhall Square engaged in an exchange of ‘jazz hands’ with the marchers, ‘cheering’ each other on. Meanwhile the protesters, including people of all ages, were singing, chanting, dispersing bubbles and chatting with each other as they made their way the length of the city centre.
As the event came peacefully to a close, organiser Mabel Wellman, director of Trans Pride Southampton, reflected on how it had gone and what comes next.
“Today was important because of the court ruling two weeks ago. People are very angry about this. I’ve got people messaging who say they’re having panic attacks almost every day because of the ruling, so I think having community events, including protests but also petition sharing and things like that, are extremely important at this time.
“Today has had a really big turn out. Normally events we’ve done, as Trans Pride Southampton, tend to be quite small, so it’s really blown me away, just how long of a march we did have today.
“What comes next really depends on society, and how organisations in Southampton choose to respond and decide what their policies are going to be. If we’re not going to have the trans acceptance that we deserve in Southampton, then we’re going to have to keep on fighting, have more demonstrations, more protests and make sure that we have the safe spaces we need.”
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