#trans pride manchester

[dkettchen]

how to appeal to voters of any party in this country: ask for funding for the NHS, they love that shit here 🌈🩺💊

(no but for real, fund the NHS holy heck, the waiting lists have breached containment of the trans & mental health services by now! as someone who's a patient at like 5 different specialist departments, it's rough out here)

[amberwilso]

What do you love about trans?

[themancorialist]

Aytoun Street, Manchester.

[emmarosela]

NO BAD VIBES 🍒🍓💦💦💦💦

[cod-fishing]

Just got a random spike in activity on my trans!ghost fic on ao3. To those readers and everyone else in the cod fandom - happy pride month!!! Writing that fic to process some of my own feelings re: transition, fathers, and the military was incredibly rewarding and important for me, and I’m so glad it resonated with so many folks. I go back and read the comments often - Not a day goes by when I don’t think about you all.

[ankoku-teion]

Manchester Pride 2024*

( @four-leafed-queer-gal because I want to show off at you in particular)

[tsamberwilson]

Growing through the pain and becoming stronger and unique 🏳️‍🌈⚧️🏳️

[dqrathalos]

I'm putting this out there cause I wanted to acquire some perspective from intersex peeps.

For context, I am part of a transmasc/masc aligned trans group and we're going to be marching in manchester pride this august.

Would it be appropriate if I, a perisex trans man, to carry a sign that highlights our need to include intersex people in trans liberation?

Open for anyone to response (except you terfs, disrespectfully fuck off)

[totallyhussein-blog]

Reasons to have pride in Manchester

Since the late 1980s, fundraising events have been held over the August bank holiday weekend in Manchester, England, in a bid to raise money for LGBTQ+ causes.

Back then, homophobia was rife and in 1988 an anti-Section 28 protest was held in Manchester, against the Governments law that prohibited the “promotion of sexuality”.

Manchester Pride kicked off on Friday 25th, the annual Pride parade was held on Saturday 26th and celebrations concluded on Monday 28th August 2023.

[amberwilso]

[miashyperfixations]

ARTIO (OPENING FOR HONEY REVENGE'S EUROBEEAN TOUR)

22.05.2024 @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester (250 Capacity)

Written June 2024

Artio is a band that has been on my radar for a while now , having seen them for South Arcade back in September. They released their debut album, Babyface, earlier this year, and  it’s definitely one of my favourites this year, so far. I was first introduced to Artio via @artbyamixx around this time last year when they released their ‘Pyrokid’ EP, and although I don’t actively listen to them as much, they’re without a doubt, some of the most talented people I’ve ever met. They’re based in the north of England, which is refreshing nowadays with a lot of successful artists moving down to London for their career. 

For their set, they played a few songs from their album, as well as a few from the ‘Pyrokid’ EP, which I really enjoyed as ‘Hush Money’ is one of my absolute favourites of theirs and seeing it live for the second time was unreal [clip in above video]. Rae’s vocals blow me out of my mind every time I hear them, their vocal capacity is so crazy and I’m in constant awe of them.  I had already heard all of the other songs before when they opened for South Arcade but hearing ‘Head In The Sand, Finger On The Trigger’ live was unbelievable. It’s so fun to see bands on stage actually enjoying themselves and with such high-energy stage presence, it’s clear that this band loves what they do.

After Honey Revenge’s set, Jai & Ieuan were hanging around and selling merch, so we went to talk to them, before meeting Devin & Donny. @artbyamixx had bought her empty box of sertraline medication and asked for the entire band to sign it, which they did happily [3:11 in this youtube tour diary video], as it is also a song title of theirs. During which, I was also able to chat to Ieuan a little about music production as he is the main producer on the Babyface record. The album is one of my favourites music production-wise. I absolutely love how most of the songs flow into one another and keep themes - it’s hard to tell where some songs cut off!! 

The band have plans to open for American artist, Mothica, when she comes across the pond for her headline tour in the autumn. I should probably try and go to see Artio at a headline show sometime soon, I’ve seen them twice now, both times opening for another of my favourite bands. They’re all extremely talented and I’m sure that there’s great success in the future for this band.

[extraliga-related]

With everything that's been going on lately, here's a short non-comprehensive accumulation of things that could be called progress regarding relations between men's hockey and being queer:

The 🇦🇺 AIHL's Melbourne Mustangs, advocating for trans rights in sports since 2017, and the same team in 2023, donning pride jerseys designed by former goalie (and twin sister of Ty) Tia Wishart who is part of the LGBTQ community.

Jase Polglase of the AIHL's Central Coast Rhinos who puts pride tape on his stick every single game.

Robert Dowd and Marc-Olivier Vallerand having a dance after a win with the Sheffield Steelers.

Starting off with individual efforts, the 🇬🇧 EIHL has since extended their pride event to the duration of a full weekend following a conjoint initiative by the teams' fanbases in 2019.

Zach Sullivan, one of the few out queer athletes in the sport, felt supported enough by his team to come out as bisexual ahead of the Manchester Storm's pride game in 2020.

Danish goalie Jon Lee-Olsen came out as gay a year prior and was reportedly supported by his teammates.

The 🇸🇪 SHL lead the way, awarding the cause a full week since 2019 with elaborate campaigns and getting refs as well as coaches involved. It's a colorful sight.

While Pride Games are at present not an official part of the schedule, several 🇩🇪 DEL teams are joining in. Augsburg and Köln do their part, Berlin has one of the dedicated queer fanclubs and visibly stands against homophobia since at least 2016.

As of 2022 the entire league, as well as a growing number of clubs in the tiers below, cooperate with Hockey is Diversity e.V.. So does the Para Ice Hockey National Team, including Jörg Wedde, who also keeps pride tape on his equipment.

🇫🇮 Liiga's TPS added these stunning jerseys to the mix.

While all the aforementioned teams already wear the jerseys for at least one full game, IF Kiruna of the Swedish 3rd league stepped it up several notches. In 2014 they've decided to wear rainbow jerseys for a full season in support of the LGBTQ community. Since then they've made the rainbow a permanent fixture in their logo and club identity.

___

Plenty of clubs out there hosting events where queer people are given a platform and shown support in a multitude of ways that aren't merely empty words.

And even if it's not part of general discussions within a league, you've got voices who are willing to speak up.

[1dfanficbookclub]

Pride Month Fic Recs!

We hope you guys had a wonderful Pride Month this year! Here is a selection of pride fics recommended to us by our lovely members and the lovely people of tumblr and twitter.

Coloured text used to show the reasons that people submitted these fics. We also gave them the option to add their names and usernames if they wanted.

~ Our Post On Twitter ~

✩ Submitted by our lovely members ✩

California Sold by isthatyoularry / @isthatyoularry Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Mature | 123k | Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers

Notoriously closeted boyband member Harry Styles is famous on a global scale, meanwhile Louis, as his best friend, is back home in Manchester, living the typical life of a 24 year old. When Harry needs Louis with him in LA, a publicity stunt gone wrong changes their friendship forever. A fake-relationship AU between two lifelong best friends. Demisexuality Representation Fic Post

love is a word (you gave it a name) by CuckooTrooke / @larrydoinglaundry Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Explicit | 158.8k | Internalized Homophobia, Closeted Louis Tomlinson, Genderfluid Harry Styles, Gender Euphoria, Age Difference

After two decades in brutal show business, Louis Tomlinson is trying to restore his tranquility of mind in the peace of Northern Europe where the sun barely sets, Maria's bar is always open, and young Harry has an irresistible spark in his eyes. I love how it explores both Louis' journey with his sexuality and Harry's journey with his gender identity. It made me comforted to hear the journey that Harry had in terms of gender and it made me feel more comfortable in my own journey with my gender - Ash

✩ Submitted by the lovely people of tumblr and twitter ✩

Wouldn't It Be Nice by pinkskies Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Mature | 36.6k | Trans Harry, Asexual Louis, College AU

Louis goes to pride for the first time and meets a trans girl named Harry, who goes a little too hard and crashes on Louis' sofa for the night. When he wakes up, she's gone, and Louis doesn't expect to ever see her again. Except he does. Alternatively: Louis gets a job at a diner to pay for college, doesn't have a clue how to tell his parents that he's asexual, and is almost positive Harry keeps accidentally running into him on purpose. It's a very cute story, I really like how Harry and Louis are portrayed and I feel it really centers around the idea of pride. Both explicitly taking place at a pride event to start and implicitly just through the characters' relationships with their identities.

The Thinker of Tender Thoughts by SpeakingWithInk Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Not Rated | 13.2k | Asexual characters, cute meeting, strangers to lovers

Louis sits on his hands to stop them from shaking as he adds, 'and I'm ace.' If only he had glitter, he thinks. Coming out deserves a bit of sparkle. There's both Louis and Harry being ace, and it's a cute fic - Nevecath

you came into my life by disgruntledkittenface / @disgruntledkittenface Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Mature | 57.1k | American AU, Queer Eye AU, firefighters, coming out, implied homophobia, coworkers to lovers

When the Queer Eye cast and crew sweep into Louis' small town and fire station to make over his best friend and coworked Liam, Louis' carefully constructed walls start to fall down and he has to face his fears - and the only guy he's ever been able to see a future with. It's a wonderful exploration of becoming comfortable with yourself and being supported as you do. Fantastic characterization and so much joy and comfort. Fic Post

Take the Middle Path by yeah_alright / @uhoh-but-yeah-alright Zayn Malik/Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Explicit | 2.5k | established poly relationship, identity exploration, sexual exploration, Dom/sub, light angst

Harry's desires are plentiful and complicated in a way that's always worried and confused him. Being with Louis and Zayn helps him explore the seemingly disparate aspects of who he is and what he wants, and to realize he doesn't have to choose just one. I just really love Harry's exploration of his desires and his identity and the way his beautifully supportive polyamorous relationship helps him find joy in his complicated self. Fic Post

Fics from the 1D Pride Fest! Submitted by @beyondxmeasure

Paint a Rainbow Inside My Heart by cyantific Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Teen and Up Audiences | 22.4k 5+1, solo artist and actor Harry, my policeman, gender identity, questioning gender with both good and bad sides of it, closested harry, coming out

A story about hiding in plain sight and the journey to revealing your truth, told in six acts. Or, the five times Harry queer coded with actions, behaviours or clothing and the one time he was too proud to hide anymore. A 5+1 fic.

somewhere in between and not at all by me_her_themoon | @greeneyesfriedrice Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Explicit | 24.5k | Gender Identity, Trans Character, Genderfluid Character, Gender Exploration, Supportive Relationship

He's always known that he's some sort of queer. There's no doubt about it. When he was younger, he loved the feeling of his sister's pantyhose on his legs, and loved to play dress up whenever he could. But it never went any further than that, and as he got older, he hid that part from himself. There were more homophobes than not in his school, and he couldn't risk anything getting out. While he was hoping that he would become more involved in the gay scene, he wasn't expecting it to happen so immediately. He's barely been in NYC for two days, and he's now surrounded by all different types of men and...others? God, he isn't even sure what to call them. He really doesn't know much. (or, Harry is new to NYC and discovers something about himself, and Louis is there for him. Always.) Fic Post

you made my heart stop by dragmedown / @itsnothesameasitwas Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | General Audiences | 6.1k | Inspired by Heartstopper, High School Coming Out, Homophobic Language

Don't you ever feel like your life has been perfectly composed until one day it wasn't, that everything seemed more than fine but it was not, because sometimes as simple as it might sound or look, it could change your life? OR a Heartstopper AU, but in HarryandLouis Universe. Fic Post

Inner Crisis by Neondiamond / @neondiamond Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | General Audiences | 5.5k | Asexuality, Asexual Harry Styles, Asexual Louis Tomlinson, Hotline Operator Harry Styles

Louis calls an LGBTQ+ crisis hotline after coming out as asexual to his friends and family doesn't quite go as well as he'd hoped. Harry answers his call. Fic Post

Ask Him by LinksLipsSinkShips Lewis Capaldi/Niall Horan | Teen and Up Audiences | 2.2k | Secret Relationship, Coming Out

When Lewis Capaldi gets pressed for information on who he's dating, he admits it... he's been seeing Niall Horan. The only problem? He jokes so much that no one believes him.

The Magnificent Ms. Malik: A Brand New Era Starts Here by PigSlay Niall Horan & Zayn Malik | General Audiences | 2.1k | Trans Female Character, Transitioning, Self-Discovery, Friendship

In 2013, 1D records the Best Song Ever music video and Zayn feels different after he puts on his Veronica outfit. He doesn't know what to do with these feelings or what they mean; luckily Niall is there to help and gives Zayn a new word that opens up a world of previously unimagined possibilities. Ten years later, in 2023, she calls Niall up again to tell him her knew name.

Hold Me Tight (Or Don't) by @hellolovers13 Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Explicit | 13.6k | Trans Harry Styles, Famous Louis Tomlinson, Misunderstandings

Falling in love with Louis is easy enough. Separating Louis from the singer persona Harry has been a fan of for years, however, is not. But she's not the only one making assumptions. Fic Post

Thanks to everyone who submitted fics for our masterpost! Happy reading!

[thedrarrylibrarian]

Several people have been kind enough to let me publish their thoughts on fandom, community, and queerness to celebrate Pride in the Library. Today's piece comes from @writcraft.

The Local Government Act 1988 was enacted in Britain nearly a decade before the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the book that would eventually lead me to fandom. This odd piece of legislation covered a variety of things from pet licences to housing arrangements. It also contained the infamous Section 28, which had an enormous impact on LGBT Britain during the late 1980s and 1990s. 

Driven by a moral panic over the inclusion of a book called Jenny Lives With Eric and Martin in school libraries and the stigmatised nature of desire between men at the peak of the HIV/AIDS crisis, Section 28 was the product of a Tory government determined to eradicate any kind of perceived radicalism from education. One of the more famous clips from Thatcher’s 1987 speech on the matter is here if you have the stomach for it, primarily shared due to its eerie similarities with the agendas espoused by conservative politicians around the globe today.

My teen years were shaped by Section 28 and the HIV/AIDS crisis, a time of tabloid press sensationalism on the one hand and silence on the other. Media visibility was complicated by a single shared television in the family home and in those fleeting moments I encountered queer narratives, they often leaned into coded stereotypes, death tropes, loneliness and isolation. Intimacy between women was susceptible to the male gaze, whilst trans folks and bisexuals were largely invisible or negatively portrayed. Nobody in my school year or university class came out during their time in education. We were there, but many of us explored our desires only in the shadows. This climate complicated my same-sex experiences and gender ambivalence, making it all too easy to dismiss them as something other than queer.

My introduction to fandom was through academic research and archives like The Hex Files and The Silver Snitch. When I first met the people behind the stories it was, unusually, not in an online forum, but face to face at a fan convention, where I delivered a paper on the queer pleasures of slash. At the time I was ricocheting in and out of the closet in my day-to-day life and I had no connections with any queer community, just a disparate handful of people I was inexplicably drawn to who tentatively shared their secrets with me and I, in turn, shared mine with them. 

During the fan convention I set up my LiveJournal, made early connections that would blossom into decade long friendships and found myself immersed in a space filled with creative, queer, kink-positive people. The friendships I made, and the ones that came after, gave me the confidence to live a more public queer life, to show up in my local community as an activist, writer and researcher. I have travelled around the world and raised a glass with fandom friends in numerous queer spaces from The Stonewall Inn to Manchester’s Canal Street.

Creatively, fandom gave me the space to revisit, reflect and reclaim. Because canon is so devoid of explicit queerness, it leaves open the question of political and social attitudes towards gender and sexuality. Stories like Little Compton Street, The Beauty of Thestrals and Other Unseen Things, Pride, Harry Potter and the Bisexual Awakening, Born Sick and Secret Love Song allowed me to imagine how Harry and Draco might navigate a world that reinforces binaries and closets, exacerbates internalised homophobia, renders bisexuality invisible and complicates queer awakenings. It has been cathartic to pour queer hope and defiance into those socio-political climates and equally cathartic to explore queer pain, grief and longing.

I do not have a rose-tinted notion of fandom as a queer utopian space. I am well aware of the pervasive issues that marginalise fans of colour (see Squee From the Margins: Fandom and Race by Rukmini Pande). In this particular fandom with an author whose views I find abhorrent, I no longer hold any nostalgia for a franchise I have not invested in for years. What keeps me here is friendship, creative possibility, the understanding that my stories are not for everyone but the hope that some readers might find comfort in the exploration of themes I continually return to. If you made it this far, thank you for reading. Huge thanks to @thedrarrylibrarian for giving me the opportunity to share a little about my topsy-turvy queer journey during Pride month. If you have any questions about anything I have shared, my asks and DMs are always open.

Thank you, Writ, for joining me in the Library and sharing so much insight about earlier days in fandom. I appreciate that you took the time to discuss complicated topics and provided the opportunity for everyone to broaden their horizons and better informed participants in fandom. Most of all, thank you for taking the time to celebrate Pride in the Library with me.

If you want more @writcraft, be sure to check out their work on AO3! Writ has an unbelievable talent for combining history and the impact of real legislation into fic. She recommended some of her fics earlier, but I want to spotlight their fic, The Beauty of Thestrals and Other Unseen Things. I loved the way that they were inspired by Queer history in the UK, and I loved the gentle way that she explored that real heartache and bravery through Harry and Draco. This fic, like so many of Writ's fics, reminds me that there have been countless Queer people throughout history and I'm not alone.

🏳️‍🌈 Lots of Love and Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈

[cobragardens]

The Missed(?) Connection

Here's a story about how fucking stupid life is.

When I worked in Manchester city centre I would commute in every day on the train from one of the market towns. This would have been c. 2014-2015, before I started having panic attacks about going to work but after I'd been written up for being 5-10 minutes late most mornings.*

Every morning I would walk up Deansgate from Deansgate Station to the office, stopping at a Sainsburys Local to buy breakfast. This particular morning I was late as usual, so the great migration had already browsed the foliage of yogurt bars and uninspiring sandwiches and thundered onwards; besides the store clerk there was only one other person in the shop with me.

Do you believe people can fall in love at first sight?

I did not believe any such thing, so it was QUITE THE SURPRISE to me when I did it.

Here is what I remember about her:

*She was wearing one of those Nepalese yak-wool jackets with the bright rainbow-dyed yarn they sell at the Christmas market every year. Most such garments end up smelling strongly of b.o. and weed stank, grimy and unravelling, but hers was bright and well kept, and she wore it over a short black skirt and tights and managed to achieve a kind of insouciant charm with it so marked that it didn't occur to me for years after that she might have been wearing the jacket for pride reasons.

*She was trans and white and straight-sized.

*Her hair was a well-chosen blonde that would look plausible on her when freshly colored, which at that moment it was not; her hairstyle was a layered cut no longer than her shoulders and in need of a trim.

*The fashion of the time called for contouring and false lashes, but instead she was wearing simple-looking makeup that suited her: black mascara and a lip color somewhere between red and berry. I remember the red of the lip color did not match the cheerful Sno-Cone red of the rainbow jacket but was perfect for her complexion.

*Her black ankle boots had mid heels--the thick sturdy kind of heel good for walking a mile or two in the city if your back doesn't hate you yet. She would have been a bit taller than I am even in stocking feet; the heeled boots took the length of her legs past enviable into devastating.

*She wore a few sterling silver rings, but not so many it looked like dress-up, which is the mistake I always make with them. I coveted at least one of the rings, but I no longer recall their motifs. Her hands were fine-boned, the nails unpainted, knuckles a bit raw and chapped pink, in need of hand cream; I found them enchantingly beautiful.

*I stood behind her while she paid for her breakfast. I recall thinking the style of her pocketbook was cool. I don't remember now what it looked like.

*Her face wore that mildly unhappy cast people's faces have when they're going to work in the mornings and haven't quite finished the process of stuffing away enough of their real life's problems to appear together and professional. Just ever so slightly fragile.

I had no contact with anyone queer in the country. To my knowledge I'd met three trans people in my whole life. I'd dated a grand total of one woman. All my other previous relationships had been with men.

And none of that mattered, because I was in love. Just like that.

I don't know how I knew, but I knew, and the certainty was simple and clear and easy: I knew I wanted to ask her to dinner, and I knew I wanted to know her on whatever terms she was comfortable being known. I knew I wanted to give her footrubs and brush her hair and ask her about her day and memorize which of her coworkers were giving her grief.

And I didn't ask her out. Because I was late for work. Late enough that it didn't matter if I stopped to get breakfast at the Sainsburys Local, but also late enough that if I stopped to talk to someone I'd be written up again.

I am sure you will agree that this sucks on multiple levels. For one thing it sucks that I was not a person worthy of her, a person not in danger of being fired, a person capable of getting to work on time more than 1 day in 4, a person who could afford to be late long enough to chat her up.

For another thing it's a bit Pink Floyd's The Wall that I was so beaten down by life I was financially and psychologically compelled to crush part of my soul, and who knows, maybe a shot at real love and a beautiful future, in order to remain employed.

It haunts me that there are things that I don't even know I don't know about myself, and that I experienced something that can't be explained, and of course most of all that I will never know whether that feeling of serendipity was accurate.

But the thing that really gets up my nose about this event, the thing that makes me think that any god that exists must be an evil motherfucker, is this:

The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try for something precious and true and my inability to meet that opportunity were the same moment, brought about by the same set of circumstances. If I hadn't been so late to work I couldn't stop to talk to her, I wouldn't have been in the shop at the same time she was. I would never have seen her.

*Improbably, I was unaware at the time that I had anxiety.

[antmarco]

Adding Louis Cyfer

(And the pup is dancer Finley Odin)

I think one of the reasons drag kings aren’t as popular as drag queens, aside from the fact that straight women don’t like us, is that people are uncomfortable acknowledging masculinity as a performance. Like we as a society know that femininity is a performance, with its own costumes and rules. Masculinity is also a performance, and nothing makes that more clear than someone making an exaggeration of it