Demonstrations Outside The Irish Independent To Protest Anti-Trans Media Coverage
On August 27, around 100 people gathered outside the offices of the Irish Independent to protest against recent anti-Trans media coverage in the newspaper. Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin called for the demonstration after claiming that numerous harmful pieces have been published, several of which are behind a paywall, therefore allowing the news outlet to profit off the community’s suffering.
According to GCN, the protest at Independent House started at midday, and lasted about an hour. A series of speeches and chants were heard and those gathered held signs sporting slogans such as “Trans right are human rights,” and “Feminism includes all genders.”
Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin co-founder Ollie Bell was one of six speakers to take the megaphone, accusing the Independent of being on an “anti-Trans crusade with article after article spewing and spreading hateful, hurtful, transphobic rhetoric.”
“Why aren’t the real issues being talked about? The rise in anti-LGBTQ+ violence, the dire state of healthcare in Ireland, and the barbaric practice of intersex genital mutilation happening in our hospitals, these are issues that should be given a platform,” they said.
Bell added that through radical action, they “are fighting for a better world, a world not run for profit, but that’s capable of providing for everyone. “Trans people aren’t going anywhere, and we will continue to fight for liberation for all,” they concluded.
A speech was read out on behalf of Vic from Trans Waterford, who called on journalists to conduct more thorough research when writing “hate-fueled articles.”
“We need a readership that demands objective accuracy. That asks: ‘Why are the writers lying or using scare tactics?’ We need editors to be held to the standards of the best scientific journals. We need publishers to be held to account for the hate that they platform.
“None of these articles talk about the core facts of transition that are easily accessible in multiple scientific articles. None of them state that more than 97% of Trans people who medically transition are satisfied with their transition, that over 96% of Trans people have better mental health after starting a social or medical transition,” they continued.
Simon Murphy of the Emerald Warriors also addressed the crowd, as did spokespeople from ROSA, the Communist Party, and People Before Profit.
Responding to the demonstration, Mediahuis Ireland stated: “Mediahuis Ireland believes in the fundamental right to equality for all members of the LGBTQ+ community. We believe in the right to freedom of expression, including the right to peaceful protest.”
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