WheelieQueer

Image description - A crowd of people protesting for transgender rights in London. One person holds a cardboard sign which says “protect trans youth”.

Happy October Comrades!

In this edition of the WheelieQueer Newsletter, we have a look at the Conservative government’s comments on trans people, Boris Johnson’s failure to protect disabled people during the pandemic and the latest on the ‘Ask, Don’t assume’ campaign.

LGBTQ+ News

Coming Out Day

October 11th marks USA’s National Coming Out day, a tradition which has now been adopted worldwide. It is a day of recognition, support and unity within the LGBTQ+ community.

Why do we celebrate Coming Out Day?

Living as an LGBTQ+ person, coming out is the first step of many in finding community and acceptance in being your authentic self. This is not to say that coming out is a fix-all cure. It can be daunting but without it, we rob ourselves of our right to be visible.

In the UK, over 1.3 million people identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual with a further 165,000 identifying as non-heterosexual (including the labels of asexual, pansexual and queer). Additionally, around 262,000 identify as Transgender (including non-binary identities).

Although LGBTQ+ rights have evolved over the past 50 years, the fight for equality is far from over. The current conservative government has been criticised for becoming hostile towards LGBTQ+ people, with the UK now being ranked 17th friendliest country to be LGBTQ+, down from its previous position of 14th in 2022.

Given this, it is important to remember that coming out isn’t always an option. Both in the UK and globally, there are many reasons why a person might not be able to come out.

In 64 countries, homosexuality is currently illegal. Even in countries where queerness has been decriminalised, many may not feel safe to come out. Many simply may not feel comfortable or ready to come out. All of these are completely valid.

It is a privilege to be out and therefore important that we not only stand up for our rights, but stand up for our pride. Coming out day is a great opportunity to find joy in queerness and community.

WheelieQueer have our helpful resource on coming out which you can find by clicking the link below:

Here’s stonewall’s official guide to coming out below:

UK Trans rights

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been criticised this week after his speech at the conservative party conference.

Sunak raised concerns surrounding sex education in the UK, saying, “It shouldn’t be controversial for parents to know what their children are being taught in school about relationships, patients should know when hospitals are talking about men or women.”

He then went on to add “a man is a man and a woman is a woman. That’s just common sense”, a claim which he has doubled down on.

These comments from the prime minister have now been followed up by several members of the conservative party. This includes health secretary Steve Barclay, who has proposed that trans women should be banned from female hospital wards.

These comments at the conference were not only inaccurate, irresponsible and damaging, but also served as a distraction tactic. Trans people are often used as pawns to distract from wider issues. Here, it was the conservative party’s struggle to tackle issues such as the climate crisis and the rising cost of living.

Home secretary Suella Braverman has also joined her colleagues, attacking “gender ideology”.

For more updates about Sunak’s cabinet, click the link below.

Iran

LGBTQ+ activists are fighting back against the country’s crack-down on LGBTQ+ issues.

Following the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, protests have taken place across the year. This is after Amini was arrested by Iran's “morality police” and beaten to death while in police custody. She was arrested for alleged “inappropriate attire”, in a country where veiling is mandatory.

Over 22,000 people have been arrested and hundreds killed throughout the course of these protests, led by women, LGBTQ+ people and other marginalised groups.

The Iranian government has also focused their efforts online, restricting internet connection to stop the spreading of information about the political climate.

One year on from her death, the Iranian Diaspora Collective (IDC) has launched the ‘Keep Iran Online’ initiative with the slogan “Connectivity is a Human Right”.

They help protesters to gain internet access via Virtual Private Networks (or VPNs) and share protesters' stories via social media.

Although violence has de-escalated across the year, IDC co-founder, Nicolette Mason says the “movement has not gone away”, but instead “the strategy has changed”.

Read more about the IDC’s strategies here-

Disability

Covid 19 enquiry

The Covid-19 public inquiry has revealed new information about the treatment of disabled people during the pandemic.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had plans to protect disabled people during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, however put other essential work as a priority.

He ordered that these plans should take place at a “slower time”. In non-politician speak, these plans were put on the back burner and neglected.

Submissions from Disabled People’s Organisation were made to the Covid-19 enquiry and put it plainly: “Disabled people died more of Covid-19 than anyone else. They died more than anyone else in each successive wave of the pandemic. Six out of ten of the Covid dead are Disabled people. A learning Disabled person between 18 and 34 was thirty times more likely to die of Covid.”

Government documents show the plan was never fully put into place. Even the direction given by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove wasn’t made until November 2020 - five months into the pandemic.

Read the full statement from DPO here:

Ask, Don’t assume

The Government’s latest disability campaign, Ask, Don’t Assume, has faced backlash following the release of its newest ad campaign.

The Campaign features a variety of disabled people wearing sloganed t-shirts, such as a wheelchair user with a t- shirt that reads “Don’t push it, unless asked” and a blind person, holding a white mobility cane with a t- shirt saying “Can’t touch this, please ask before guiding me”.

Disabled journalist Lucy Webster says that the campaign “risks opening the ableism floodgates”.

Dan Right from Disabled Rights UK has also called the campaign “misjudged” with “inappropriate language”being used.

The campaign itself encourages allies to disabled people to ask, rather than assume if someone needs assistance. Disability advocates have however argued that this could just lead to intrusive questioning.

The campaign claims to be designed in partnership with disabled people, however this has been debated.

However, a very similar campaign already exists. #JustAskDontGrab was launched by Dr Amy Kavanagh in 2018 and is now recognised across the globe. She’s a blind disability activist who launched the campaign describing her experiences with harassment and non-consensual touching from non-disabled people.

The posters will be posted in public for the next 10 weeks until they are bought in for review.

Other than the adverts, the campaign website doesn’t give any insight as to further action being taken by the campaign.

Check out our instagram below for more information:

Check out the clip below of Dr Amy Kavanagh talking about #JustAskDon’tGrab on Steph’s Packed Lunch:

Click the link below for the #AskDon’tAssume website : https://askdontassume.campaign.gov.uk/

Upcoming events/workshops

Funky llama club night

Theatre Royal Plymouth, Pryzm

19th October, 6-11pm, 18+ £7 entry - free entry for PA’s

A night of live music, Djs, cabaret, and dancing at PRYZM nightclub in Plymouth.

An inclusive night in an accessible venue with BSL interpreted performances.

Book tickets here: https://holibreakplus.org.uk/bradford-event/disabled-peoples-action-group-meeting/

The Social Model … & More Festival

Theatre Deli, Sheffield and Online

8th-11th November, £0-£10 with lots of free talks and workshops

All workshops and performances in the Social Model…& More Festival will include:

• In person BSL interpretation

• In person level access and accessible toilets

• In person dedicated calm room

• The option to attend online

• Online performances will include BSL interpretation and captioning.

For the full programme, click the link below:

Cataloguing Disability Zines

Glasgow Zine Library

Sunday, 19 November 2023 14:00 15:30 £0-£12, Pay what you can

This event will be held in person and is for disabled people only. This event will feature comfort breaks and you may be asked to wear a face mask.

Book tickets here: https://www.glasgowzinelibrary.com/events/2023/11/19/cataloguing-disability-zines

Follow this links for any access requests : https://www.glasgowzinelibrary.com/access-at-events

Southbank Centre presents: Creative Future Writers’ Award Showcase

Southbank Centre, London

20th October, £5

This event is Text-to-Speech transcribed (TTS)

Book tickets here: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/literature-poetry/creative-future-writers-award-showcase

Follow this link to join Southbank Centre’s access list : https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/visit/facilities-access/access-scheme

For more resources on disability and LGBT+ issues, check out the WheelieQueer resources here: