This article was originally published by Lucy from Naarm. You can find the original article here.
An anti-transgender rally was held in Meanjin, Brisbane City, yesterday, where almost two dozen anti-trans activists under the banner “Woman Up Queensland” gathered to hold their monthly “Speakers Corner” event.
The small group of 18 voiced their complaints about a disparate list of random anxieties about the existence of transgender people, mainly focusing on the presence of transgender women in sports and prisons.1
The tiny rally was countered by about members of the public and 40 counter-protesters from Magandjin People’s Pride, who drowned out the small gathering.
Many passersby expressed shock and confusion about both the presence of the anti-trans activists and the support they seemed to receive from Queensland Police.
Comments from onlookers ranged from disbelief to outright disapproval of the rally’s message. “It’s 2024, I’m sorry, but like, what is wrong with them?” one woman said. ”I support [trans people]; people should be able to live their lives”, another passerby said.
A disturbing incident also occurred before the rally began, Queensland Police Service officers physically removed me, a transgender journalist, from the rally area. The police claimed I was “breaching the peace” simply by being present as a transgender person, a form of discrimination often referred to as “walking while trans.”
I objected to the idea that I was breaching the peace by virtue of being transgender. He responded by detaining me, physically grabbing and removing me from the vicinity of the rally, A full report about this event will be released shortly.
One witness to the incident commented: “I saw you get grabbed by the police. I can’t believe the police are supporting this.”
Queensland Police Service has been contacted for comment.
- It’s important to note that trans women competing in sports is supported by scientific evidence showing that after one year of testosterone suppression, their athletic performance aligns with that of cis women (Harper, 2015, 2021). Lean Body Mass (LBM), muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), and strength decrease significantly within the first 12 months of hormone therapy (Miller, 2022). While trans women may retain slightly higher LBM than sedentary cis women, this falls within the normal range for cis women athletes (Jansen et al., 2000). Thus, no unfair advantage remains after testosterone suppression. ↩︎
