It also touched the world of journalism, where Freddy McConnell, solo dad to his two children, has forged a career as an advocate for his community (see his ‘ Transnational’ documentary on VICE), and India Willoughby became the first openly trans newsreader (an achievement notably replicated by Marvia Malik in Pakistan in 2018). The decade also featured political success, such as the election of the first ever non-binary mayor of a city in 2021, Owen Hurcum in Bangor, Wales, and the appointment of Rachel Levine to be America’s first openly trans Assistant Secretary for Health. In the same year, model Andreja Pejić came out as a trans, and has since continued on her trajectory to become one of the most successful faces in fashion.
Eye-catching examples include Chelsea Manning who, already attracting 24-hour news coverage over her trial for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks, came out as trans in 2013 and has since forged a career in activism.
The decade is festooned with trans and non-binary people carving out space to ensure their voices and stories are heard. This reflected the fact that the 2010s gave trans people much greater prominence in culture and the public consciousness. In 2014, TIME Magazine described what it called the ‘Transgender Tipping Point’ as the next frontier for civil rights, featuring Laverne Cox of Orange is the New Black fame on the cover (in honour of whom a new Barbie has just been announced). Trans people – after years of being underrepresented – began to secure a platform to inspire and encourage their trans siblings to live openly. But the decade also saw another major shift, which was reflected around the world the trans+ community’s journey towards visibility and acceptance – a story that continues to unfold, with its successes and struggles, as Pride enters its sixth decade.Īlthough the first years of the new millennium saw the building blocks of legislation safeguarding trans rights passed in the UK – the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010 – the 2010s heralded a new tide of greater visibility for the trans+ community in the UK and worldwide. The idea that people should have equal rights to marry was previously the subject of debate and controversy – so the real achievement was the fact that marriage equality has now become (for the most part) accepted as the uncontroversial human right that it is. The decade 2012-2022 witnessed one of the most seismic victories of the LGBTQ+ community – the Marriage Equality Act was passed in 2013, legalising marriage for gay and lesbian couples in England and Wales, and it was adopted across Britain, its crown dependencies and overseas territories over the following years. We are marking each decade from 1972 to 2022 with a blog every week throughout June. Pride 2022 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first official UK Gay Pride Rally held in London.