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Trans+ History Week special: Guest editor Dee Whitnell
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Trans+ History Week special: Guest editor Dee Whitnell

QueerAF
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Welcome - to what is for many, your first QueerAF. A huge surge of new readers have joined us this week thanks to Trans+ History Week, I can't wait to be part of Saturday morning routine - with a newsletter that helps you navigate news and content about out community.

Itā€™s been a huge week for us, the UKā€™s only not-for-profit and regulated LGBTQIA+ publisher. Weā€™ve been on billboards all over the UK, run our first live event with over 200 guests, relaunched our award-winning podcast, picked up support from celebrities, and as the week closes - politicians, who in cross-party action tabled a motion to recognise the first ever Trans+ History Week as a matter of parliamentary record

Everything we do at QueerAF is about ensuring there is a better way for our LGBTQIA+ community to be seen, heard and celebrated in the media - this launchpad project is just the latest of our many initiatives.

Trans+ History Week is our first launchpad project, but it builds on past endeavours like our ARIAS-nominated What The Pox? podcast. 

When we support creatives, we don't just want them to leave with skills, mentoring and support - but solid foundations to succeed as they go forward.

This week alone, weā€™ve paid, published, and supported over 30 Trans+ creatives to deliver this weekā€™s official content, mentoring and facilitating a team of over 20 LGBTQIA+ volunteers to deliver this humongous achievement. 

For now though, Iā€™ll hand you over to this weekā€™s Trans+ History Week takeover edition, with guest editor Dee Whitnell.

Next week, we'll be back to our usual format - helping you to skip the doomscrolling but understand the LGBTQIA+ news anyway. Be sure to check it out.

Jamie Wareham, QueerAF founder.


Hey, Iā€™m Dee (they/them), founder of UK solidarity campaign Trans Kids Deserve To Grow Up, qualified sex educator, freelance journalist, and an award winning Trans activist. I was also involved with the first ever Trans+ History Week created by Marty Davies and QueerAF - many of you may have seen me on the raffle ticket stand at our first event! This weekā€™s QueerAF is a little different to usual. For my guest edit, instead of lots of news - Iā€™ve brought you a selection of Trans+ History Weekā€™s top content, stories and scoops. I am so proud of the team for pulling Trans+ History Week together. Jamie was at the heart of that - please support QueerAF by upgrading today to help with the great work Jamie does. Iā€™m QueerAF, Youā€™re QueerAF, weā€™re all QueerAF!

Understand the LGBTQIA+ headlines and keep track of the latest queer content and perspectives.

šŸ’¬ This week:

  • History of Trans+ sex ed. Sex education in the UK is under review, and with the publication of the Cass Review and the Gender-Questioning Guidance, the landscape is changing once again. For my long-read article for Trans+ History Week I help you understand the long history of Trans+ sex education in this weekā€™s Queer Gaze slot. 
  • Early day motion. Labour MP Kate Osborne marked the first Trans+ History Week with a UK Parlimentary motion to recognize the millennia-old history of transgender, nonbinary, gender diverse and intersex individuals - X/Twitter
  • Trans+ History Week event. The inaugural Trans+ History Week main event went off brilliantly, with over 200 individuals joining for a a live podcast recording of the brand new season of the QueerAF podcast.

Skip the doom scrolling and support queer creatives instead. We are QueerAF ā€“ and so are you.

  Queer, Transmasc, Nonbinary, Neurodivergent  They/He Dee Whitnell Qualified LGBTQ+ Sex Educator, journalist, author

Explainer: Government announces plans to require public buildings to have separate male and female toilets

The UK Government has said that all new restaurants, public toilets, shopping centres and offices in England will be required to have separate male and female toilets under proposed legislation.

The move follows a set of announcements of firm action to ā€˜protect spaces for women and girlsā€™, including the governmentā€™s introduction of a new NHS constitution which includes reinforcing providing single-sex and trans-only wards.

Patients will also have the right to request a person of the same biological sex delivers any intimate care.

Minister Kemi Badenoch said: ā€œThese regulations will guide organisations to design unisex [sic] and single-sex toilets, ending the rise of so-called ā€œgender-neutralā€ mixed sex toilet spaces, which deny privacy and dignity to both men and womenā€ - GOV UK

The Department for Education reinforced that schools are required to comply with minimum standards, including separate toilets for boys and girls aged 8 years and over, and that colleges should take the same approach.

So-called 'bathroom bills' make public spaces more dangerous for women

In 2022, Vice World News exposed leaks that found plans to exclude most transgender people from using public bathrooms unless they have a gender recognition certificate - QueerAF

They ultimately weren't put into place after the legality of the move was put into question. But it quickly led to what many experts say about moves like this.

All it did was inspire anti-Trans individuals to take it upon themselves to clock Trans people entering public bathrooms, though as I said, many of those who were ā€˜clockedā€™ were actually cisgender - Metro 

Plans like this to ā€˜reformā€™ the Gender Recognition Act in 2020 also didnā€™t work.

The trouble with these ā€˜plansā€™ is they donā€™t do what they want to do. The most infamous ā€˜Bathroom Billā€™, from North Carolina, was repealed after it made women more likely to be the victim of harassment.

Despite this, these types of bills are still being brought in across the US too. Trans activists recently flooded a tip line set up by the state of Utah with hoax bathroom reports - or Bee Movie memes - to block enforcement of new bathroom laws. Yes, you read that right: ā€˜bathroom law enforcementā€™ is a thing now.

Analysis: I donā€™t care where you pee

Gender-neutral toilets have been in use since at least the Victorian era. Trans folks have been peeing next to you for that entire period! 

These plans by the UK government further highlight the fact that they arenā€™t allies to Trans people, but also that this isnā€™t actually about safety. Itā€™s about a desire to segregate a whole community. And whilst we are in a wave of Trans panic, it is becoming more of a reality daily. 

But as I said before - the community is still fighting, and will continue to fight. For our right to pee in peace.


Quick news for queers

Usually three TL;DRs, the headlines and what's trended on X. But this week I've stolen the TL;DR spots for the best of Trans+ History Week's official content.

āœ–ļø Why did it trend? 

Skip the doomscrolling. Stay in the know. Stop rewarding hate clicks.
  • JK Rowling: Elon Musk commented on a recent tweet of the authorā€™s asking for more ā€˜positiveā€™ content on X/Twitter. Many pointed out that Muskā€™s tweet essentially called JK Rowling ā€˜boringā€™ and ā€˜annoyingā€™. JK Rowling responded by tweeting that she has ā€˜six booksā€™ in her head - Metro

šŸ’• The Jewish transgender couple who fell in love and escaped the Nazis

Toni and Charlotte met in 1928, in Weimar Germany (1918-1933), a time we often imagine as a haven for trans and queer people compared to the horrors that followed.

Imagine never learning about the Trans Berlin-born Germans, Toni and Charlotte, who fell in love and escaped the Nazis! After reading their story, I couldnā€™t stop thinking about them and the pain and love they endured.

The pair met through Toniā€™s transition. Charlotte worked at Hirschfeldā€™s Institut as a receptionist while undergoing gender reassignment surgery. One of her roles was to advise other trans femmes on clothing. 

By 1932, Toni and Charlotte were living together and in love - later, Toni converted to Judaism. However, following the German invasion of Czechia, on 19th March 1942, Charlotte was arrested while the couple were living in Prague. As a Jew, Charlotte was marked for deportation. 

Toniā€™s quick thinking, convincing the authorities Charlotte was American and that the US Embassy had her documents, spared her from the camps. But that meant that Charlotte was deported to the US. Tragically, while Charlotte intended for Toni to join her, she was denied permission to leave Prague.

Learning about interfaith, trans, queer relationships in a time of such horror is beautiful. Their love endured war, escape and transition, and their story of love and survival lives on. The pair sacrificed their love for one anotherā€™s safety, something that many T4T relationships have to endure.

Learn more about Toni and Charlotte in the full Trans+ History Week article by Jaime S.K. Starr.

šŸ›• Hijras

The Hijra of India, one of the oldest recorded trans communities in the world, teach us a real lesson: that trans people are nothing new and have always been here. 

The Hijra, also known as aravani, aruvani, jogappa or khawaja sira, are a transgender community that have a recorded history going back over 4,000 years - AnnaLofi

Not all Hijras are necessarily Hindu, but this so-called ā€œthird genderā€ has been referenced in ancient hindu texts like the Kama Sutra - Washington University Global Studies Law Review 

Reading Alexā€™s piece for Trans+ History Week was eye opening, even as a fellow Trans and Nonbinary individual. I have known about the Hijra for a long time, but reading how Alex stumbled across the identity, I was struck by the parallels to how I stumbled across Nonbinary identities. 

I loved how discovering the Hijra taught Alex that being Trans and Indian is enduring, and that we should look to them for knowledge and insight into the trans experience. 

Learn more about the Hijra in the full Trans+ History Week article by Alex Parmer-Yee.

šŸ‘Øā€āš•ļø Every time you wash your hands, you honour this Transgender doctorā€™s legacy

Dr. James Barry was one of a handful of doctors who pioneered the act of handwashing in medicine in the 19th century. He was also transgender. 

In 1813, diseases were believed to be spread by poisoned air called ā€˜miasmaā€™, but Barry became one of the first to insist on clean hands in hospitals ā€“ Queenā€™s University Belfast 

We owe no small part of the longer, healthier lives we live today to the life he led as a man, from his medical schooling until his death in 1865 ā€“ The Irish News

Despite his contributions to medicine, Barry has since been largely ignored, misgendered, and forgotten. He was misrepresented as ā€˜a woman disguised as a manā€™ in education and work spaces, because women were prohibited from these spaces in the Victorian era ā€“ Irish Star

He worked to bring clean water to Cape Town when he was stationed there and improved sanitation and diet in many army hospitals - EE Ottoman

Barryā€™s life, death, and erasure continue to intersect with how Trans+ people and our ancestors should be honoured for our accomplishments, but are instead objectified and denied our successes on their own merit. Why didnā€™t we hear about Dr. James Barry during the height of covid? Well, now you know!

Learn more about Dr Barry in the full Trans+ History Week article by William Elisabeth Cuthbert.

šŸ“° In brief

The headlines, without the clicks
  • Early day motion. Labour MP Kate Osborne marked the first Trans+ History Week with a UK Parlimentary motion to recognize the millennia-old history of transgender, nonbinary, gender diverse and intersex individuals - X/Twitter
  • Switchboard: The national LGBTQIA+ support line celebrated 50 years of providing support and information to LGBTQIA+ people around the country which was celebrated by Intermedia for a special Trans+ History Week event this week - GCN
  • Dr Hillary Cass: The author of The Cass Review has said Scotlandā€™s proposed conversion therapy ban could make clinicians ā€˜even more anxiousā€™ and frighten them away from working with young Trans people - The Scotsman
  • Rallies in France: Thousands of demonstrators protested in French cities on Sunday in response to a Senate report which would allow for a return to ā€˜conversion therapyā€™ - France24
  • Ireland hate crimes: Over 650 hate crimes have been reported in Ireland in the last year, a 12% increase on the 2022 figures. Of those, around 16% were on the basis of sexual orientation - GCN
  • Zoey Alexandria: The voice actress behind the Unknown killer in video game Dead by Daylight passed away last week after being diagnosed with two autoimmune disorders - GinxTV
  • Darts: British darts player Deta Hedman has forfeited a match after refusing to play trans opponent Noa-Lynn van Leuven - Pinknews
  • Pope Francis: The head of the Catholic church met with sex workers, including trans sex workers, as part of broader outreach to the LGBTQIA+ community - Washington Post

Spotlight: Early Day Motion

News and content that sparks hope or joy. The change we want is out there.

The first ever Trans+ History Week is coming to a close - but what an amazing historical moment it has been. I am honoured to be part of the team that seeks to highlight our forgotten and erased history, to hear historical figures of our past and present, and to share this week with my Trans+ siblings.

It even picked up cross party political support and was recognised in the UK Parliament in hansard in with an Early Day Motion. Early day motions (EDMs) are motions submitted infor debate in the House of Commons for which no day has been fixed. Kate Osborne MP was the primary sponsor and has picked up support from 11 MPs already. The Early Day Motion reads:

"That this House welcomes the first ever Trans+ History Week; notes that the groundbreaking initiative is aimed at educating and celebrating the millenia old history of transgender non-binary gender-diverse and intersex individuals; acknowledges that the achievements of trans+ people deserve recognition." - GOV.UK

Long Read 

ā€œCaroline Cossey ā€“ also known as Tula ā€“ was a Bond girl, dancer and top model who took the British government to the European Court of Human Rights in the ā€™90s in a bid to change discriminatory UK laws.ā€

In 1978, Caroline Cossey dropped out of the TV game show 3-2-1 after a tabloid journalist threatened to ā€˜outā€™ her as trans. Later, in 1981, she secured a spot as an extra in For Your Eyes Only, and shortly after that the News of the World publicly outed her, splashing the headline ā€œJames Bondā€™s Girl Was A Boyā€. 

Cossey responded to the backlash in her first autobiography, I Am a Woman: ā€œThere, I thought, went all my hopes of leading a normal life. I was hounded by journalists everywhere I went, and their lack of understanding ā€“ the kinds of ignorant questions they asked ā€“ made me determined to tell my side of the story.ā€

A couple of years later, the tabloids reported on her subsequent marriage to millionaire businessman Elias Fattal with the headline ā€œSex Change Page Three Girl Wedsā€, leading him to break up with her immediately after they returned from their honeymoon, as his parents had been unaware she was trans. 

She now is happily married and has a GNC that reflects her true self. In a recent interview, she told Cosmopolitan: ā€œTimes have changed so much that itā€™s amazing. I knew over the years when Iā€™d see shows with gay characters that one day there would be more visibility for trans people.ā€

Hilary Mitchell wrote a piece on the trans Bond girl for PinkNews this week, and I am obsessed. I have nothing but love for this trans Bond girl and the difficulties she faced whilst being in the public eye. Her struggle reflects what Trans+ folks experience in the media to this day - but Cossey reclaimed her outing and ensured her own voice told her story.

Trans+ History Week: How Section 28 and Sex Ed denied us knowledge crucial to our lives

This spot is usually for the Queer Gaze, our landmark scheme for underrepresented or emerging creatives to share their perspective and get a journalism and communication skills session. This week I've put in my long-read article, about the history of Trans+ sex-ed in England and the UK:

Sex education should prepare young people to navigate the world of relationships and intimacy with resources and information that reflects their experiences. But the reality is that many of us either received extremely poor relationship and sex ed, or none at all. 

However, looking back at the history of sex ed in the UK, there are some interesting lessons for us all.

As LGBTQIA+ people, we rarely get to see ourselves in the sex and relationships education we receive - in most cases, it actively ignores us. 

In the 2000 RSHE (relationships sex and health education) guidance, LGBTQIA+ identities were described as ā€˜sensitive mattersā€™ that were ā€˜inappropriateā€™ for some ages. 

Fast forward to 2020, when the term ā€˜Transā€™ was included in the RSHE guidance for the first time, alongside a requirement for all schools to teach LGBT inclusive RSHE. But by 2023, Trans young people were being described ā€œas an epidemicā€ by Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, who is now spearheading new guidance for schools which could see some trans pupils outed and banned from some toilets.

This flip-flop between exclusion and inclusion has made the role of the sex educator and teacher extremely difficult.

The true context of this is, of course, the longstanding moral panic that surrounds queer identities. Even today, reactionary attitudes make incorporating LGBTQIA+ education into our curriculum a catalyst for pushback. 

The AIDS epidemic and the implementation of Section 28, which banned schools and local services from talking about LGBTQIA+ identities, are core parts of this history. The impact of both these episodes in LGBTQIA+ history are as raw today in the discussion around Trans+ youth accessing health care as they have ever been - Paul Baker 

This article's illustration is by Trans+ creative Georgey Lee

šŸŽØ Artwork description, by Georgey Lee

"This piece conveys the future of sex education in response to Dee Whitnellā€™s vision: 'Sex edcuation should provide all young people with resources and information that reflects their experiences'"

Lessons from Section 28

Section 28 prohibited the ā€˜promotion of homosexualityā€™ by teaching or by publishing material. Brought in during the AIDS pandemic, it had one caveat that this ā€˜promotionā€™ was permissible if the teaching was for the purpose of ā€˜treating or preventing the spread of diseaseā€™.

But this term ā€˜promotingā€™ is one that caused much debate, both at the time Section 28 was brought in and when it was eventually scrapped. The term ā€˜promoteā€™ was mentioned dozens of times during the first debate on the bill in February 1988 -  Hansard 

Itā€™s a term that has continued to plague any debate on LGBTQIA+ representation in education. It is part of a wider narrative, which has seen LGBTQIA+ people be accused of perversion and grooming for centuries - Vox

And it fed the fears that Section 28 was derived from. It was a period when being gay was discussed but not welcomed, or accepted. The panic was heightened by the conservative climate of Thatcherā€™s Britain, the rise of AIDS and outrage around left-wing policies towards being LGBTQIA+ - Paul Baker 

How ā€˜the childrenā€™ would be educated was one of the most topical debates of the ā€˜80s. On March 25th 1981, a document titled The Practical Curriculum was published. It was the first document to use the term ā€˜sensitiveā€™ in relation to the teaching of sex education. 

Under Section 28, sex education focused on the importance of safer sex, biology, and combating the rise of AIDS. The Education Act of 1993 placed responsibility for the biological aspects of sex education policy in the hands of school governors. The later Teaching and Higher Education Act of 1998 saw government centralising control over what could be imparted in the classroom, though many aspects of sex education, including teaching about HIV and AIDS, came under the science curriculum. 

The new curriculum informed teachers that if students asked them for information on contraception or other RSHE topics, that they should be directed to their parents, local GP, or school nurse. If teachers had concerns about childrenā€™s ā€˜moralsā€™ - meaning their sexual activity and/or sexual and gender identity - they were to report it to their headteacher . 

The very people who, in some cases, are young peopleā€™s only port of call for seeking help on topics such as sexuality and gender identity, were turned against them. Sound familiar? Thatā€™s exactly what the 2023 Gender Questioning Guidance does.

At present, with sex education under review, it is clear that we have to prepare for a return to Section 28 by the back door. With Education Secretary Gillian Keegan claiming that schools are hiding sex ed materials from parents - which just isn't the case - and Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch attending Sex Matters events and publishing guidelines which endanger Trans young people, itā€™s a scary time. 

These political decisions are obviously based on misinformation, but even when proved completely inaccurate their claims feed into the moral panic around Trans+ identities. MPs are using this atmosphere to secure their seats in parliament, because standing against the Trans+ community is trending.

But there is hope. 

As LGB+ inclusion has certainly improved, Trans inclusion will follow suit. Though it may be hard to believe, schools are not the enemy. As a former teacher, I can tell you that many teachers and schools want inclusive RSHE. They just donā€™t have the training required to deliver it yet, or the resources they so badly need from the government.

Teachers reach out to me daily for support. Parents of young Trans people are speaking out, several members of parliament are being vocal in support of Trans youth, and organisations, charities, and campaigns such as my own - Trans Kids Deserve To Grow Up -  are fighting to ensure our Trans youth have access to an education that represents them. Other organisations such as Brook and Split Banana are giving young people access to inclusive resources and education in the classroom.

Inclusive sex education isnā€™t only for Trans+ youth. Parents want inclusive sex ed for all young people and want to work with schools to understand what their children are learning about - TES Magazine

Trans youth are not ā€˜sensitive mattersā€™. They are not ā€˜inappropriateā€™. They deserve access to sex education, and they deserve to see themselves in the materials used in that education. 

What do we learn from this history?

Access to inclusive sex education is everything.

Sex education is a human right. And when we learn through a lens that represents and reflects our own experiences, we are better prepared for navigating sex, relationships, sexual health and identity.

Many LGBTQIA+ people never received any sex education which reflected our own experience. As a result, I have seen in my own work within the Sex ed field that LGBTQIA+ folks are more prone to engaging in dangerous sexual activities and relationships, whilst also having no support or sexual health access.

This isolation and erasure of LGBTQIA+ folks in sex education is a death sentence for many LGBTQIA+ people. At the same time it solidifies to those outside of the community that LGBTQIA+ sex ed isnā€™t appropriate or necessary.

It is vital that LGBTQIA+ people have access to sex education, resources and news that reflects and represents their experiences and community. The more we discuss LGBTQIA+ sex ed through a lens of acceptance and celebration, the more empowered we leave our community.

We deserve sex education that we see ourselves in. 


Five queer senses

šŸŽµ Chappell Roan: I have not been able to get ANY of Chappell Roanā€™s songs out of my head since her Coachella performance. She has taken over all of my brain cells and my Tiktok For You page. My current favourite is ā€˜Pink Pony Clubā€™; it makes me feel so cunt - Youtube

šŸŽžļø Feel Good: Mae Martenā€™s Feel Good series on Netflix is a go-to rewatch for me every few months as it was the first series I ever saw that had true Nonbinary representation. If youā€™re Nonbinary or even questioning your gender identity PLEASE go give it a watch. It truly changed my life and how I viewed my identity - Netflix

šŸŽŽ Puppet maker: Sophie Truax is a singer songwriter on TikTok who uses puppets in her music videos. Not only that, she makes her own puppets and lip syncs with them. She started her puppet journey by making one of her ex situationship which she then used in the music video about said situationship. How iconic - @sophietruax

šŸ“± Anthony Padilla: I have been obsessed with this clip from Anthony Padillaā€™s interview with Courtney No from Smosh where she shares that her gender identity is something close to a ā€˜orb of energyā€™. As a Nonbinary person, I am using that explanation from here on out! - Anthony Padilla

šŸŽ¤ Podcast: Never have I laughed so intensely at a Trans panel before but, the T4T couple of Sex Education Felix Mufti and Anthony Lexa, alongside host Kenny Ethan Jones, brought me to tears. Want to know more about the joys of filming a T4T sex scene? Subscribe now for access to the podcast episode this Monday!

šŸ“·
Slide into our DMs on Instagram or tag us on Threads to tell us what queer content we should recommend here.

šŸŒˆ Final thoughts

Trans+ people deserve to see their history celebrated. We deserve to learn about their history.

Much of our education has failed you on Trans+ history, neglecting and erasing parts of our story that have shaped society. Learning about our own history reminds us that we have always been here, and we will continue to be here.

Initiatives such as Trans+ History Week are just the beginning.

We should be celebrating Trans+ history all year round, highlighting the history of our past, present, and future.

šŸ‘šŸ¾
Queer Creative Credits: QueerAF was written by guest editor Dee Whitnell; Sub-editing from Rowan Gavin.