[This article was originally published in UEA’s official student newspaper, Concrete: https://concreteuea.co.uk/2024/04/17/uea-celebrates-trans-pride-day/]
On Friday 22nd March, the Student Union hosted Trans Pride Day in the Hive, where students had the opportunity to visit a range of LGBTQ+ friendly stalls, as well as talks from Norfolk LGBT+ Project on intersectionality, and self defence classes from the MMA Society. This was organised by Ethical Issues Officer Alice Bethell, and built upon an idea originally brought to Union Council last year by Erin Whitby, former SU LGBTQ+ Trans and Non-Binary Officer, and former PrideSoc Vice-President. The idea was to establish an annual event at UEA to celebrate transgender students and to offer support and community in the midst of a continuously difficult socio-political climate.
Speaking to Alice Bethell, she described how last year, Erin Whitby had suggested organising an event related to Trans Pride. ‘I reached out to her and asked, “are you okay with me putting this forward as a motion at Union Council and trying to pull something together?”’, to which Erin was more than supportive. Alice reiterated that though the event was suggested around a year ago, ‘regrettably, [the government’s treatment of trans people] has not gotten any better. Doing stuff like this is more pertinent than ever, but I’m grateful that UEA has helped me[…] especially the people involved in the SU’, who she described as helping create a ‘safe space’ for trans students.
Fen Llewelyn, the SU’s Part-time LGBTQ+ Officer, also described to me how the event came about in an effort ‘to cover up some transphobic stickers in the [Hive] bathrooms’. As someone who makes stickers, he was more than happy to help Alice’s cause by creating stickers for the event which would celebrate transgender people, as well as the rest of the LGBTQ+ community. I picked up a sticker myself from their stall which featured a mug full of hot chocolate with the phrase, ‘Trans Rights’, but this was amongst a whole host of handmade stickers with different flags to represent a number of sexualities and identities. It reminded me how important these shows of representation can be to students coming to terms with their identity or seeking community.
The transphobic stickers which Fen described to me as having been ‘plastered all around the [Hive] stalls’ were ‘anti-trans, anti non-binary stickers’, which Alice was able to get funding for through the SU to cover over. I questioned who would want to distribute any discriminatory stickers amongst campus, and if the SU had any idea who had been responsible for them, but the consensus was that it was unknown who had spread them around campus.
‘There’s been some incidents at the Sportspark as well with leaflets,’ Fen told me. ‘[…] But because the Sportspark is public, we can’t do anything about it[…] because it’s counted as free speech’. He told me about an anti-trans protest that happened near the Sportspark in February, and another one planned in May. ‘PrideSoc are trying to share as much about [the protest] as possible so people are aware. I know some people are planning to do an anti-protest.’
This issue of ‘free speech’ was something that came up repeatedly in conversations on Trans Pride Day. It made me consider how trans students must feel when their safety and identity is always made into something political, instead of being seen as a human rights issue. Erin Whitby, a trans student and activist, described to me how there ‘seems to be a view from the Vice-Chancellor sometimes that free speech takes precedence over people’s safety [trans people specifically].’ She reiterated that ‘Whereas free speech is obviously very important, it doesn’t necessarily mean that [people] should be allowed to go and dehumanise [others].’
Concrete reached out to the university for comment, to which Vice-Chancellor Prof David Maguire responded he is “proud of the principled stance the UEA’s Student Union has taken on this important matter and for the leadership they have shown in supporting trans members of our University.”
The Vice-Chancellor reiterated: “We want UEA to be a welcoming and supportive place for all trans people, and as a university we will do our very best to support trans staff and students. Our priority is to keep all our students and staff safe and to ensure the wellbeing of everyone on our campus. We do not tolerate any bullying or harassment based on gender identity.”
“We also stand strongly for freedom of speech within the law and will do all we can to uphold the core principles and practices of academic freedom and freedom of speech. However, freedom of speech does not take precedence over the rights of trans people; we need to support both simultaneously.”
Fen described to me how differing views on free speech also affected day-to-day teaching, with the level of support trans students felt depending on ‘what school they are in.’ ‘I know [from a survey Fen conducted for the SU] multiple trans […] students[…] have transferred courses because of how transphobic [they felt] staff are.’ He claimed most schools are supportive, but that trans students are still being affected by negative attitudes.
Where trans students do seem to feel supported is within the SU. Erin holds a great deal of trust in the SU, describing them as ‘here for trans people’. ‘No matter what goes on with the university or on campus with transphobia, the Student’s Union is a safe place, and for years to come, I’m sure it will remain that way’. Alice, an SU officer herself, confirmed this, reiterating that ‘Trans people have definitely got friends in the SU. I like to think we’re very much on their side[…]’.
With Pride at the centre of this day, I was also keen to ask those involved about their personal experiences and how they’ve been able to find community within Norwich. Fen told me about how ‘inclusive’ they found Norwich in comparison to their hometown in the Welsh Valleys. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt safer,’ they told me. Erin also backed Norwich as a ‘really accepting city’, despite experiences she’s faced with transphobia on and off campus.
Those involved with the event stressed the importance of joining UEA societies, with Fen promoting GeekSoc for being ‘very queer and neurodivergent’ and ‘helpful in making friends’, and Alice advising new students to ‘Make a beeline for UEA Pride and any hobbies you have’. She also recommended GeekSoc, as well as BurlesqueSoc specifically for Sapphic students.
I also spoke to Amie Marland, Head of Retail at Norwich Pride, whose stall offered students colourful rainbow flags, badges and leaflets on LGBTQ+ mental health. Though not trans, she spoke to me about her gravitation ‘towards the bi flag’, and her experience with coming to terms with her sexuality after an unhealthy relationship ended for her. ‘I started looking at myself more,’ she told me, and she described how liberating this period of self reflection was. ‘All of our volunteers give up their time and are committed to supporting Pride[…] being inclusive and inviting everyone in, no matter who they are. We aren’t just here to sell stuff, we’re here for a chat as well. […] We’ve all had our own experiences and we’re happy to share them[…] to make sure no one goes unheard.’
Holly Everson, BakeSoc’s President, also boasted a stall full of amazing cakes in support of Trans Pride Day. Again, while not trans herself, she spoke as an ally keen to support her ‘friends who are trans’ and to spread awareness for the cause. There were cupcakes decorated with the colours of the Trans Pride flag – a subtle but endearing nod to the community.
In terms of what made Trans Pride Day at UEA so special, Fen argued it was meeting as many people as possible. ‘I’ve seen a couple of mature students come in who are trans, which I think as a trans person, you don’t get used to seeing anyone older than you who’s trans. It’s not common because you often come out in secondary school or university, and most people who are trans are your age. […] It’s so comforting to see someone who has been living as trans for most of their life. It’s like, you can be an adult and trans, and live.’
Alice also celebrated ‘seeing everyone come together’, and Erin praised the intersectionality talk by Norfolk LGBTQ+ Project. ‘There’s so much going on in a positive way,’ Erin said, ‘It doesn’t feel like something that has just been chucked onto the sidelines[…] it’s an actual focused effort.’
Looking towards the rest of the academic year, the SU are keen to carry on efforts to support the trans community at UEA. Fen emphasised his motivation to work on ‘normalising disclosing pronouns’ within different UEA departments ‘so that people feel safe to do so’. ‘I’ve redone first year[…] and the difference between my “first first” year where everyone introduced themselves with their names and pronouns, to second year where not even staff did it, and I don’t know why that’s happened.’ Alice, the event’s organiser, encouraged any students troubled by the news of the upcoming anti-trans protest in May, to ‘contact the SU, and if you’ve got any counter protest ideas, run them through us’.
If you have experienced or witnessed a hate incident, discrimination, bullying, or sexual violence, please use UEA’s Report and Support tool to report it: https://reportandsupport.uea.ac.uk/
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