Transgender acceptance in Wales

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Trans flag with pink Welsh dragon overlaid

As well as legislation that applies to transgender rights in the United Kingdom, the devolved Welsh Government and local Welsh governance has an impact on the rights of transgender people in Wales. The country has a number of organisations which oppose transphobia. The Welsh language has a number of terms relating to transgender people, some of which have negative connotations.

Timeline of Welsh Transgender History

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Depiction of the Rebecca Riots from Illustrated London News in 1843

Transgender history is often obscured by factors relating to the relative invisibility of trans people; however, examples of transgender history in Wales go back at least to the turn of the 20th century. Daryl Leeworthy notes in A Little Gay History of Wales that of the records about LGBTQ+ individuals in Wales pre-millennium there were "rather less about the experience of bisexuals and transgender men and women- in the case of the latter until very late in the twentieth century". However, Leeworthy does note a few examples of transgender and gender nonconforming people in history and struggle in Wales from 1900 onwards.. Leslie Feinburg also notes earlier examples of transvestism and transgender history in Wales in Transgender Warriors, such as Rebecca and Her Daughters, a group formed on the 13th of May 1839 to protest the tollgates in Cardigan, Carmarthen and Pembrokeshire. They consisted of working-class, poor and rural people assigned male at birth donning the dress of women and riding on horses to destroy the tollgates. The first 'Rebecca' was Thomas Rees, who adopted a female persona of an old woman named Rebecca. In this persona, she would stop at a toll gate and say "my children, something is in my way", which signalled the daughters to come out of hiding and tear the tollgate down. Other mentions of and attitudes towards transgender individuals from this period in Wales come from Welsh-language publication Seren Gomer. The 429th issue in June 1851 contains a derogatory piece describing non-cisgender members of the Shoshone tribe, likely two-spirit or otherwise bigendered, dancing in a "briodas ysbrydol" - or a 'spiritual marriage' witnessed by Mormon settlers. While the article describes the Shoshone tribe, this piece reflects attitudes towards non-cisgender individuals common in Welsh media at the time.

Cardiff and Swansea in the early 1900s were apparently havens for crews of ships which had alleged homosexuals and transvestites amongst them, causing local authorities to arrest such people for buggery, amongst other crimes and offences. Sailors which were accused of transvestism consisted of cisgender women seeking to improve their lot in life, but also transgender men who found the sailor's life to be an easy way to escape disapproving hometowns to start life afresh as a man; such transgender individuals are usually identified by their continuation in living as male, even after leaving the sailing life - whereas cisgender women tend to return to living as women again. Norena Shopland, writing on sailors who were assigned female at birth in the late 19th century to the early 20th century, writes that "it is not possible to tell how many women were actually transmen, 'butch' lesbians or cisgender heterosexual women... all of them must be on the gender identity spectrum to be able to first consider, then execute and pass often for many years as men. It meant they had to learn to be men and be comfortable doing so". Transgender people in this period in Wales were not accepted in society and oftentimes their assigned gender being revealed caused scandals. Headlines appeared about 'female sailors' in newspapers across Wales, which caused many transgender people to remain closeted out of fear

In the 1960s, transgender people were still uncommon, but people were beginning to seek transition. Carol Steele, a Welsh trans woman, wrote about her experiences of seeking transition in the 1960s in Trans Britain. She mentions that in her youth around 1950, she was sent away by her parents to Dr Garrett’s Home for Sick Children, in Conwy, North Wales for 6 months after expressing her wish to not live as a boy and developing an eating disorder. Writing on her first attempt to socially transition in 1962, Steele wrote "I did leave home in 1962 and set myself up in a bedsit... with the intention of starting to go out as a woman. This was doomed to failure though, as I did not have the courage to buy clothing, wigs, makeup, etc. and there were no support groups around back then".

By the late 1970s, transgender people were more well known, but as a result, were more exposed to open hate and prejudice in Wales. In 1979, a bar in Cardiff is described by the novelist Siôn Eirian in Bob yn y Dinas with one transgender individual, a trans woman, coming into the bar to buy drinks for everyone. Eirian writes "I remember one night when a middle aged woman came in, sat at the bar and started buying drinks for all and sundry... and then I noticed, it was a man, in a skirt, heels and light brown wig". The transphobia as explained by Leeworthy in the passage involves dehumanising the trans woman as an 'it' and misgendering the woman by explaining away their gender as just a 'man in a skirt' in a derogatory fashion. Leeworthy lists this example as relating to the transgender community's struggles in the late 1970s. At the time, there was a lot of transphobia directed at transgender people from MPs and others involved in the making of legislation from the late 1970s and into the early 1980s. Leo Abse, former MP of Pontypool in 1958-1983, is noted by Leeworthy as being "vocal in his opposition to support for transgender men and women". He also authored a 1974 review of transgender woman Jan Morris' memoir Conundrum in the Spectator, which reads:

"It is one matter to insist that, with contemporary psychiatry helpless in the face of adult transsexualism, the law must afford... protection...it is another matter to label a pathological condition... as magical or miraculous".

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Mark Ashton at 1985 Pride

The 1980s heralded a shift in LGBTQ+ political activity and rights, with 1985 being the year in which Cardiff held its first pride parade . This came about following 1984 gatherings of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners and marches through London. Transgender people in Wales were involved in the parades and campaigned for trans and gay rights together with cisgender gays and lesbians. Mark Ashton, a co-founder of Lesbians and Gays support the Miners, appeared at Gay Pride 1985 holding a banner with a pink triangle that reads "Pinko Commie Queers" and has the words 'Communist Party' stitched onto the bottom left hand corner, of which had contemporary members who supported transgender people or were transgender themselves.

Legislation

The Welsh Government in 2021 proposed a set of LGBTQ+ initiatives, which apply to transgender people:

• Mainstream LGBTQ+ rights across the public sector
• Devolve powers for gender recognition
• Use all powers possible to ban conversion therapy
• Improve reporting and follow up of LGBTQ+ people's hate crime reports to the police
• Design a curriculum that is fully inclusive of LGBTQ+ people

The plan was launched by Hannah Blythyn (Welsh Labour), deputy minister for social partnership, who describes herself as a gay woman. A government consultation is underway. However, the House of Commons cast doubt on the government's plans to ban conversion therapy, issuing a tweet suggesting that the topic was still open for debate, which was later deleted.

Legislation from the wider United Kingdom

• Right to change legal name: yes, by deed poll or statutory declaration
• Right to change legal gender: yes, by the Gender Recognition Act 2004
• Right to access medical treatment: yes, since 1999 via court case of North West Lancashire Health Authority v A, D and G.
• Right to marry: yes, since 2004 (requires divorce in some circumstances) by the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013
• Anti-discrimination laws: Equality Act 2010, with some exemptions
• Hate speech/hate crime laws: s146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003

Gender Recognition Act 2004

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 (the GRA) was passed in Wales in 2004, allowing binary trans* people in the United Kingdom to legally change their gender with a gender recognition certificate. Under the orders and regulations as set out by the GRA, the Welsh powers specifically include:

• Any power of the Registrar General for England and Wales to make regulations under the act. These powers and similar are likely to be drawn upon by the Welsh Government in its 2021 plan to devolve additional powers for gender recognition.
• In section 12 (grounds on which a marriage celebrated after 31st July 1971 is voidable) it is decreed that an interim gender recognition certificate under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 issued after the aforementioned date can void a marriage in which transgender people are involved. This power of the act has been greatly criticised since its enforcement and has since been annulled by the introduction of the Same Sex Couples Act.
• A clerk in Holy Orders of the Church in Wales is not obliged to permit the marriage of a person to be solemnised in the church or chapel of which the clerk is the minister if the clerk reasonably believes that the person’s gender has become the acquired gender under the act. This allows the Church in Wales to refuse service to transgender people who wish to get married in one of its institutions

Plaid Cymru support reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to "de-medicalise" the process of changing legal gender, and inclusion of transgender topics in Relationships and Sex Education lessons.

Marriage (Same Sex Couples Act) 2013

The Same Sex Couples Act 2013 outlines same sex/gender marriages in the United Kingdom. Parts of the act override the GRA 2004 and prevents marriages from being annulled as a result of one or more of the married individuals being transgender.

Equality Act 2010

The United Kingdom's Equality Act 2010 lists gender reassignment as a protected quality:

"A person has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex"

Criminal Justice Act 2003

In the United Kingdom, Section 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 outlines an "increase in sentences for aggravation related to disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity".

Devolved powers of Wales and trans rights

Wales has attempted to better the lives of its trans citizens with its devolved powers a handful of times, with mixed success. Like their Scottish counterparts, Welsh trans activists campaigned against the clause in the Gender Recognition Act 2004, but only the Scottish activists were successful, as noted in Trans Britain that the Equality Network "achieved some Scotland-specific improvements to the legislation" thanks to Scottish devolution; Wales did not manage to achieve this .

Trans healthcare in Wales

Trans healthcare in Wales has historically not been at an equal level with the healthcare available in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as noted by Ruth Pearce in Trans Health . Since 2013, trans patients in England and Northern Ireland have had the right to be referred to a gender clinic by their GP. Patients in Scotland can self refer. Whereas in Wales, a second referral from local mental health serviced is also required and prior to the creation of the Cardiff Gender Identity Clinic, Welsh patients were referred to Charring Cross in London.

Governance

Owen Hurcum

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Owen Hurcum, agender/genderqueer mayor of Bangor

Owen Hurcum is Wales' first nonbinary/genderqueer mayor and became mayor of Bangor in 2021. Hurcum tweeted their joy at becoming "one of the first nonbinary mayors anywhere" shortly after their confirmation as mayor. They have actively spoken out against transphobia and are in favour of amending the Equality Act 2010 to explicitly include non-binary people, as well as supporting the introduction of third gender or gender neutral options for passports, driving licenses and other identity documents.

Hurcum, speaking on trans rights after their appointment said:

"We see how, without trans voices in government, just what ridiculous – excuse my language – bullshit the government will pull... It seems to be open season right now against trans people in the UK. And that’s no fun at all. I’m hoping that we can get representation at the highest echelons and that they’ll be able to direct any government away from this harmful bigotry."

Discrimination

Welsh organisations against misogyny, like Scottish organisations, exist and are inclusive of trans people. Welsh Women's Aid is explicit in its support for transgender people, stating that "Women-only spaces should be open to all women, including trans women" as well as "non-binary people and trans men can have experiences of misogyny and can face continuing oppressions that are based on misogyny. We believe that ending violence and discrimination against women is integral to achieving equality for all trans people".

Many transgender people still face harassment and abuse for their gender identities, especially in rural parts of Wales. Transgender people face varying kinds of discrimination, such as transmisogyny, discrimination against transgender men and discrimination against nonbinary people. S4C, which is Wales' national news channel, issued guidance for its channel in 2018, including guidance on offensive language often directed at trans* people in Wales, such as tranny. Other offensive language found in Welsh towards trans people includes the term trawsrywiol, meaning transsexual, but deriving from a derogatory term for 'improper' or 'half-breed'.

Term in English	Term in Welsh	Usage and acceptability
Transsexual	Trawsrywiol	Term associated with older transgender people, not explicitly a slur but may carry medicalised weight. In Welsh, the term has connotations of impropriety and connections to the term for a half-breed animal, such as a zonkey or a mule
Tranny	Trani	Term which is most often used as a slur, historically and present day
Transvestite	Trawswisgwr	Term that is a self descriptor, but can be used to invalidate a transgender person's gender identity

Renamed and restructured: Transgender acceptance in Wales

This article "Transgender acceptance in Wales" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Transgender acceptance in Wales. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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