More than 1,000 people descended on Dublin’s streets yesterday for the city’s first-ever Trans Pride March. Uncowed by the pouring rain, the marchers’ key messages – pride and protest – were loudly and boisterously transmitted in a day of both celebration and dissent.
Deliberately set up at odds with what marchers called the “commercialisation” of Pride, the unabashedly political nature of yesterday’s pride was refreshing, offering in the process a timely reminder that liberal forces in Ireland cannot afford to bathe in the afterglow of the repeal referendum. There is, as Trans Pride organiser Ollie Bell told The University Times yesterday, “so much more” to fight for.
Like almost all great social changes, marriage equality and repeal both had their origins in radical and organised mass movements. For many, the black-clad marchers who demanded so vociferously a chance to vote on the eighth amendment were visible symbols of a campaign bent on upending the established social order in Ireland, and few will forget when Dublin’s streets were bathed in rainbow colours before the marriage equality referendum. The blue-and-pink flags toted by Trans Pride marchers – many of whom played crucial roles in battering through previous social progress – will, one hopes, join the tapestry of great political symbols.
Indeed, that the central theme of yesterday’s march was bodily autonomy demonstrated that the organisers of the protest had consciously and cannily attempted to tap into the momentum of the repeal campaign, establishing a narrative lineage between the two. If the campaign for trans rights is to grow further, campaigners must continue to display the same ferocity and astuteness.
In all, the march was a reminder, if it were needed, that there remain significant social barriers in this country, but that those penned in by them have no intention of staying quietly put. The staggering success of the repeal campaign, beyond the wildest dreams of its most dedicated supporters, showed that old Ireland may be for turning, and will doubtless have given heart to those pushing for trans rights. But yesterday’s marchers will unquestionably be aware that there is a long road ahead. They must be prepared to walk every step.
