A photo of Arthur Webber, captain of the first all trans masc football team in Europe with the ball. Photo by Lucy Copsey (@lucycopsey_98 on Twitter)

All trans masc football team; “we made history here”

"As I led the first ever all trans masc football team in Europe onto that pitch to thunderous applause, all my worries melted away. It didn’t matter what the score was; it didn’t matter if I left the field covered in mud and smelling like the Year 9 boys PE changing room. We made history here."
A Bissu from the Bugis people of South Sulawesi performing a wedding ritual; an example of a culture specific identity

On visibility; culture specific identities

On #TransDayOfVisibility we wanted to do our extra best to give the spotlight to the least visible members of the transgender and gender diverse communities around the world. Thank you to Michael for reaching out and writing this piece on culture specific identities they titled "What an Indigenous person would like the queer community to know":
What is a vigil? An image taken from a vigil in Bristol to mark the death of Brianna Ghey. It shows a tree with a ribbon for every victim of anti-trans hate crime. Representing Brianna is a sparkly pink ribbon. Around the base of the tree are lit candles and messages of love and support.

What is a vigil? A letter from Trans Safety Network

Like many trans people recently, researchers at Trans Safety Network have joined with our communities to attend, speak at, and help organise vigils so that we can mark the death of Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old trans girl from Warrington. The question we hope to answer in this letter is a difficult one - what is a vigil?
A sign reading "ladies room" above the door to a women's bathroom. This is from The St James Hotel but I imagine its not far off what the signage in the Marquis of Granby looks like which is why I am okay using it for our penis woman story.

“I think I might be the penis woman”; a response to absurd Tory councillor’s...

Following a piece by a tory councillor in the Daily Mail who alleges that a trans woman attempted to intimidate her in a bathroom we may have tracked down the so-called "penis woman"! Sophie writes;
Twenty Eight; stories from the section 28 generation book cover and promotional art which features a quote from Dr Suzan Meryem Rosita that reads "A new kind of history."

Twenty Eight: Stories From the Section 28 Generation review

"When offered the chance to read Twenty Eight: Stories From the Section 28 Generation, I had some preconceptions about what the book was likely to be." Laura Kate Dale writes;
Miss Major Speaks: Miss Major Griffin-Gracy rides in the back of a convertible car adorned in rainbow patterns at San Francisco Pride in 2014

Miss Major Speaks: Conversations with a Black Trans Revolutionary review

As a Black trans person and long-time resident of San Francisco, I was excited for the opportunity to review Miss Major Speaks. While I haven’t had the honor of meeting Miss Major Griffin-Gracy in person, I have met and worked with many trans folks whose lives she has touched, several of whom are named in the book’s Acknowledgements.
Tavistock clinic; where healthcare for young trans people is supposed to take place

The lies surrounding healthcare for young trans people have gone on for too long;...

On healthcare for young trans people; There is no magical moment at which a child becomes an adult. No single instant at which we may safely declare that a young person has exited adolescence, and is fully equipped to enter the world of mortgage stress, Saturday morning food shopping and running arguments about the thermostat says Max Morgan
A photo of Sam Smith wearing a bejewelled sailor hat and matching shiny long gloves taken from their video for "I'm Not Here To Make Friends"

Sam Smith and the arseholes

Billy Connolly used to talk about arsehole detectors. Flamboyant trousers. Beards dyed in primary colours. These things upset the arseholes so much, just by existing, that arseholes reveal themselves by complaining loudly. Sam Smith is a perfect arsehole detector. Their body, their music, their gender, their pronouns, their videos: arseholes can’t help but comment loudly and persistently.
A photo of the crowd gathered in Glasgow in support of Scottish democracy and trans rights. Photo by Max @SpillerOfTea on Twitter

Scottish democracy and the fight for trans rights

On the 20th of December, I sat down in the Scottish Parliament viewing gallery watching Scottish democracy at work. Almost every MSP sat in the chamber preparing to debate one of the most disputed issues of the last five years - reforms to the Gender Recognition Act.
Healthcare spelled out in scrabble tiles. To represent trans healthcare on the NHS.

Trans healthcare on the NHS; a story of repeated failure

Between striking nurses and ambulance workers, twelve or more hour waits in A&E, and patients getting passed from service to service with no actual care provided, a lot of people are seeing what a non-functioning National Health Service can look like. A sight we are all to familiar with when trying to access trans healthcare on the NHS.