Liverpool has joined a major nationwide campaign to show solidarity with the trans+ community.
Today has been designated Trans Day of Visibility 2022, a day dedicated to spotlighting the community and bringing attention to the fact trans people exist and aren't going anywhere. Liverpool is proudly displaying posters in hotspot locations, including Central train station, as part of a project titled LGBT – Incomplete Without The T, alongside Gay Times and Grey London.
The campaign highlights that trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people continue to face increasing social, legal and healthcare challenges in the UK and across the world. It aims to show that in a moment when we should be lifting up and supporting this marginalised community, the trans community have witnessed an agenda of misinformation and fear tactics used to divide and roll back or block legislation that protects trans+ people.
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Ultimately the campaign wants to challenge anti-trans views that exist both outside and within the community, and organisers say these views means it is important for the campaign to be seen on such a huge scale. The campaign shares statements of support for the trans community, but the ‘T’ has been removed showing that when you erase a letter from any word, in any language, you remove both the comprehension and the unity behind it – and the same is true when you remove the T from LGBTQ+.
This message can be seen on billboards across the UK in more than 700 locations – from London’s Westfield Shepherd’s Bush to massive screens in Birmingham and Manchester, via towns and cities including Edinburgh, Blackpool, Swansea, Glasgow and Liverpool.
Organisers are hoping people see the notices while waiting at a bus stop, walking through a shopping mall or driving in their car, and say the message is loud and clear: there is no LGBTQ+ community without the T.
Gay Times editorial director Lewis Corner told the ECHO : "Trans people have suffered a relentless campaign of transphobic disinformation in the British mainstream press in recent years, which only seems to be getting worse. 2021 was the deadliest year for trans people on record, showing that right-wing rhetoric is having very dangerous real-world consequences.
“This campaign is about raising awareness of our commitment to our trans+ siblings. Now more than ever the LGBTQ+ community and our allies need to stand strong with the trans+ community, push harder for increased legal, social and healthcare protections; and challenge the transphobia that continues to infiltrate our society. By displaying this statement of solidarity on more than 700 billboards across the UK, we hope to reach people with a message of unity and make clear that there is overwhelming public support for trans people and their rights.”
“The reaction to this campaign has been incredibly positive. Tens of thousands of people have liked and engaged with the campaign imagery across Gay Times’ socials, and we’ve had people tweet us photos of the billboards in their hometowns. Most reassuring of all, people are unified in their response that they stand proudly."
