Going out more and more to LGBTQ-centric venues and events since 2021 has really solidified for me the current place our community is in at the moment.
So much of the messaging now, from the guiding philosophies of the events to the scrawls of graffiti in the bathroom stalls is about radical trans positivity, about inclusion and solidarity, about how the societal structure we live in is inherently rigged against us, about shining a light on removing the barriers we erect around what defines transexuality and queerness, about how to get black market HRT and where you can go to take it safely.
All of this combined with our unenviable spotlight in politics at the moment has made me consider how I feel I'm really inhabiting what will become a major chapter of future UK queer history. However the future of this country unfolds over the next 20 years, we will likely continue to bolster and support ourselves in even tighter and safer community spaces while the fight for liberation continues to grow angrier and become more direct.