Ways to be a trans ally and ideas for providing practical support

The media and political response to The Supreme Court Hearing on the Equality Act 2010 has made it more vital than ever that cis people show up to challenge transphobia and support trans folks.   As a cis therapist who works with LGBTQ+ people, I thought it might be helpful to pull together some ideas for ways to be an ally.

Practical ways to be a trans ally:

Financial support

If you’re in the financial position to do so, donating to charities and organisations working with trans people (eg Mermaids, TransActual, Not A Phase) will help them to continue their work. If you want to help a smaller scale project close to home, your local LBGTQ+/trans organisation will have details of local grass roots charities you can donate to. You can also search GoFundMe to donate directly to individuals raising money for gender affirming care and support.

Write to your MP

Writing to your MP will help demonstrate their constituents’ feelings on moves to erode trans rights. It’s important that politicians hear from people who actually know and love trans folks and can share the real life impact of recent developments. GoodLawProject, and TransLegal Project have some useful resources and templates for this.

Support Trans inclusive organisations, events and artists.

Buying music, tickets and books by trans artists can help them to make a living through their work and ensure we have access to great art and music made by trans creatives. It’s vital that trans people have a platform to tell their own stories in their own words in a culture which often seeks to scapegoat and other. S. Bear Bergman has written a great piece which goes into more detail on why this is important

Public and visible displays of support and solidarity

Attending rallies, wearing badges and slogans can be important and visible ways of showing your support. In a time when hostile and abusive commentary in the media has been allowed to dominate, it’s important to let trans people know they are not alone and that not everyone agrees with hateful narratives about them. Some trans people now feel too unsafe to attend public events, but watch from afar, and signs of solidarity and support like this can be meaningful. Trans people shouldn’t have to do all the work of advocating for their rights themselves.

Use your influence within organisations to protect trans rights

If the organisation you are working with or for has a commitment to LGBTQ+ rights in their equality or values statement (particularly if they are attending Pride and have rainbow branding), now might be a good time to remind them of this. You can challenge the organisation if it is pre-empting legal changes and rushing to change policy to exclude trans people without legal basis (see The GoodLawProject, and TransLegal Project for more resources on this and up-to-date information on legal elements).

Have conversations with people you know to challenge mis-information.

I’m not talking about arguing with trolls online (although power to you if you have the energy/patience for that!), but talking to people you know who may have received mis-information. Let them know your experience and that you have a different perspective.

This list is not exhaustive and inevitably echoes other suggestions I’ve seen online.  Let me know if you have any ways to show support that I’ve missed! In my next post I’ll be going into some ways to directly support someone who is struggling with their mental health.