What Trans*Pride means to me

Sarah Savage explains the importance of Trans*Pride to her.

“I’m pretty new to the concept of Pride: I come from an island where LGBT people still have few rights and there has never been a Pride Parade and these days there isn’t even a gay club. I had been attracted to men, women and everyone in between since my early teens but hid it from most of the people in my life; only a handful of my closest friends knew that I was gender variant.

“Looking back, it wasn’t a healthy way to live my life and if there had been positive LGBT role models I may have been able to deal with my gender issues a lot sooner and saved myself a lot of heartache.

“Being part of the team helping to make Europe’s first Trans* Pride happen is the one achievement I am most proud of, giving gender variant people an opportunity to feel supported, empowered and proud of who they are is the most rewarding experience I have had.

“The atmosphere at last year’s inaugural Trans* Pride was mind blowing; real community spirit coupled with some great acts and stalls combined with the excitement of being a part of making history made it the highlight of my summer.

“Reading the feedback from people who attended gave me a lovely warm feeling inside and despite the rain everybody seemed to have a good time, feeling invigorated from the supportive atmosphere.

“Trans* Pride Brighton exists because the gender variant community contains some of the most vulnerable people of any minority. We aim to give everybody a voice, support and the knowledge that they are not alone.

“We aim to include everybody who is gender variant in any way and to welcome friends, families and allies.

“I’m so excited for this year’s Trans* Pride Brighton; it will be bigger, bolder and better than last year, all of our fingers and toes are crossed for good weather and we have all been working away to make sure it is a success.”