What It Feels Like For a Girl stars condemn political attacks on trans people

What it Feels Like For a Girl stars have urged politicians to acknowledge the trans community as “real f**king people”, and to condemn the legislative attacks on them.

Cast members from the critically acclaimed BBC drama called on MPs to “educate” themselves on transgender lives.

Speaking to PinkNews ahead of London Trans+ Pride, during which more than 100,000 people marched for trans rights, Hannah Jones, who played Sasha, said: “They should be listening to us because we are real f**king people and we’re important people. We’ve got important stories.”

Saturday’s (27 July) march was Jones’s first, and she was “really excited” by the protest.

Asked if events like London Trans Pride were particularly needed right now, she said: “100 per cent. I’ve said this a million times, and I’ll say it again: we are a political pawn piece right now.

“There’s something about being here and not being that pawn piece and putting faces to those names that you see online and putting faces to the energies you feel… having all these gorgeous people in one place feels so great.”

But she predicted that politicians were likely to turn a blind eye to the march. “If they don’t like something, they sweep it under the rug and think about something else,” she said. “I hope they don’t and I don’t think they should. However, I fear they’re going to ignore us. Surprise me, Keir Starmer. Surprise me.”

Co-star Alex Thomas-Smith, who played Sticky Nikki, said London Trans Pride was a time to celebrate one another and put love out into the world.

“If there’s one thing to take away from how this year has treated us as a community, it’s that we’re not going anywhere and we won’t go down without a fight,” they said. “I think, ultimately, resistance is our strongest tool and the more we utilise that, the better.

“A lot of [the] fear [about] our community comes from ignorance and lack of education and lack of knowledge and lack of knowing a trans person. So, I would just say: educate, educate, educate.”

‘Our existence is natural and enduring’

Heartstopper and Doctor Who star Yasmin Finney, trans rights campaigner Caroline Litman, and members of the direct-action group Trans Kids Deserve Better were also on the march.

London Trans Pride co-founder Lewis G Burton said the “emotional and powerful” march was increasingly important at a time when the UK government continued to attack the community.

“The message was clear: we will not be erased,” Burton said. “Our existence is natural, historic and enduring. You can try to take away our rights but you will never remove us from society. We are a part of humanity and the public will not stand by while harm is done to our community.”

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