- Written byStudent Communications
- Published date 26 June 2023
Pride Month is a time of year known for the centring and celebration of LGBTQ+ people and identities. But Pride is also a brilliant opportunity to highlight the experiences of LGBTQ+ people and share knowledge that helps us better challenge the harassment, prejudices and social norms that are causing harm to our trans and non-binary peers, colleagues and friends.
A 2018 report by LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall reported that a third of trans people have been discriminated against because of their trans identity when visiting public spaces such as cafés, restaurants, bars or nightclubs in 2017 alone. In higher education, 36% of trans students also said they experienced negative comments or behaviour from staff. Home Office statistics revealed that overall, hate crimes against trans people in England and Wales increased by 56% in 2022.
Allyship is about supporting, uplifting and working in solidarity with people facing oppression. Here are some facts about trans and non-binary people that can help you better understand and support trans and non-binary students and staff at UAL and beyond:
1. A person does not have to medically transition to be trans
Trans people, like cis people, express their gender identity in diverse ways. Just as with cis women and cis men, not all trans women present in a stereotypically feminine way; not all trans men present in a stereotypically masculine way; and not all non-binary people present ‘androgynously’. In a similar way, not all trans people seek medical care to affirm their gender.
There are many reasons why some trans people seek gender-affirming medical care, such as hormone therapy or surgery, while others don’t. For example, as gender expression can involve anything from using the right pronouns, name or presentation to align with someone’s identity, transitions often involve non-medical changes. Transitions can also include social or legal changes, such as coming out amongst family, friends and colleagues, or legally changing one's name on any personal identification documents.
Some trans people do not experience gender dysphoria — a state in which someone experiences acute emotional distress caused by their gender identity conflicting with the gender they were assigned at birth. In this case, they might express their gender identity outside of medical transition. Equally, some trans people experience dysphoria but don’t seek medical intervention, and some who don’t experience dysphoria do proceed with medical intervention. There is no singular trans experience and trans people deserve to be seen and accepted regardless.
Often, trans people simply do not have safe or adequate access to gender-affirming care: the aforementioned 2018 report by Stonewall revealed that nearly half of respondents who need to access some form of medical care are unable to do so because of long NHS waiting times or because they can’t afford it privately. Additionally, even though experiencing gender dysphoria is not the sole reason a person may choose to seek medical care, trans and non-binary people are currently only able to access gender-affirming care on the NHS if they experience gender dysphoria.
A 2019 national survey by the Government Equalities Office also found that 73% of respondents sought out medical care abroad because gender identity service waiting lists were too long in the UK. 24% of respondents in Stonewall’s report shared that they don’t know how to access the form of medical care they need.
Regardless of whether a trans person does not seek or cannot access forms of gender-affirming medical care, this does not diminish a trans person’s identity.
2. Trans and non-binary people have existed for a long time and across many cultures
Binary gender concepts have never been universal across cultures and time:
- The Navajo culture recognises what some Indigenous North Americans call ‘two-spirit’, revered as nádleehí, which serves as an umbrella term for gender non-conformity. The term was coined in 1990 to describe their long history of bridging masculinity and femininity.
- The Zapotec of the Oaxacan peninsula refer to “a third gender” as “muxes” when describing people who don’t identify as women or men.
- Hindu society uses the word ‘hijra’ to describe the most common nonbinary identity recognised in India today.
- About 3 million people in Indonesia belong to the Bugis ethnic group of South Sulawesi, who view gender as something that exists on a spectrum and recognises 3 genders beyond the binary.
- In the 2021 Census, 262,000 respondents (0.5%) reported that their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth, of which 0.1% identified as a trans man, 0.1% as a trans woman, and 0.06% as nonbinary. 18,000 (0.04%) listed a different gender identity, while 2.9 million (6.0%) did not answer the question on gender identity.
One of the earliest records of a gender non-conforming person in the UK dates back to the 4th century in Roman Britain. Archaeologists uncovered the grave of a “gallus”, who was assigned male at birth and became a priestess of goddess Cybele.
These examples show us that our conceptions of binary gender are, like many of our norms, social constructs. While we should all be free to interact with these norms in the ways we want and need to, it’s important to acknowledge that these amorphous norms can cause concrete harm to trans and non-binary people.
3. People can be aware at a young age that they are trans or non-binary
Discovering and understanding one’s gender identity is a personal process, which can occur at any stage of a person’s life. Even though it can be common for trans people to transition later in life, often because of social stigma and barriers to accessing gender-affirming care, an increased understanding of gender identity is making it possible to support a young person’s identity much earlier than before.
A young trans or non-binary person might express their gender identity verbally, either by explicitly communicating their wish to be referred to as a gender that differs from the one they were assigned at birth, or by describing experiences of gender dysphoria.
To learn more about this and the support available for young trans and non-binary people and their families, check out Mermaids UK, a charity that has been supporting trans, non-binary and gender diverse children and their caregivers since 1995.
4. It’s rare for trans people to regret their transition
Numerous studies have shown that it’s extremely rare for trans people to regret their transition. A 2022 Lancet study, that took place in the Netherlands, discovered that 98% of trans people who undertook gender-affirming care in their youth continued their treatment into adulthood.
A 2023 study in the US revealed that, of the study participants who underwent gender-affirming surgery, only 0.3% requested reversal surgery. It's worth pointing out that "de-transitioning" is often influenced by external factors: A 2021 study published in the National Library of Medicine revealed that pressure from family and societal stigma were among the most common influences for de-transition. Only 15.9% of those who had de-transitioned reported at least one internal driving factor, including fluctuations in or uncertainty regarding gender identity.
To compare this to other medical procedures, the dissatisfaction rate for
As there is no medical treatment with a 0% regret rate, the possibility of regret is not a sufficient justification for limiting access to medical care.
Gender identity and expression are not necessarily fixed states. It is common for these to change over time depending on a variety of factors. Many trans and non-binary people, as well as cis people, change their gender expression throughout their lives.
To make UAL a safe and supportive environment for all, we are continually working with our LGBTQ+ community and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team to develop guidance and policy to better support our students and staff.
Find out more about how UAL is supporting trans and non-binary students.
