Amidst the recent Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a ‘biological woman’ in the 2010 Equality Act, I felt it necessary to pen my feelings and thoughts on those it harmed, those who mean so much to me.

Read till the end to see how you can help.

Dearest brothers, sisters and loved ones,

It was a normal Tuesday when your hope slipped away,

It did not break, bend, nor fall,

It slipped,

Into the abyss of hatred, of villainy.

Green-eyed women sipped bubbles over their legal superiority,

Echoing ghastly smiles of unremorseful criminals,

Smiling at their victims,

While the audience watches on in horror.

Our existence has always been fragile,

Our respect, our dignity,

Often questioned

By others who are not part of us.

I cannot imagine the terror,

The fear and dread,

You must be feeling,

In these moments.

Whilst I look on amidst policy changes,

Online hatred,

And cultural repression,

I feel a sense of loss.

Looking back at my history,

It is odd that I call it history,

For we are not related,

Nor in love.

And yet you are my history,

My present,

And my future,

Paving the way for my happiness.

My long-lost sister, Miss Martha,

Living on through her family,

And the thousands of unnamed others,

Lost to history.

I remember them,

What they fought for,

Who they fought for,

And how my livelihood came to be protected.

It may not be written in history books,

In journal articles,

Newspapers,

Or documented in film.

But we know our history,

Our brave mothers, fathers, uncles, aunties and siblings,

Not related,

But connected.

Through storytelling and living history,

We know how our rights came to be,

Through protest and existence,

Of our trans family.

Miss Martha may have made her name,

But others died without one,

Without mention or recognition of how they helped,

The women who now disgrace them.

My heart hurts for you,

My tears run for you.

As I look on helplessly,

Of what to do.

You may feel lost,

And terrified

But know I hope to fight for you,

As you fought for me.

Love,

Your gay allies xxx

If you feel how I feel regarding this, I encourage you to speak up, write to your MP and reach out to your transgender friends; to feel supported is to be loved in this situation.

Most importantly of all, do not remain silent, even if it is to discuss this over the dinner table or beside the water cooler at work; remaining silent is “as political an act” as speaking out (Arundhati Roy, writer-activist, 2012).