Lisa Nandy criticised for wearing ‘Protect the Dolls’ shirt after backing puberty blockers ban
Lisa Nandy has been criticised for wearing the shirt. (Getty)
Lisa Nandy has been criticised for wearing the shirt. (Getty)
Labour minister Lisa Nandy has been slammed for wearing a “protect the Dolls” t-shirt amid criticism of the government’s record on trans issues in office.
The culture, media and sport secretary wore the shirt at Wigan Pride on Saturday (16 August). The slogan ‘Protect the dolls’ is an informal term used to promote the demand to protect trans rights. Its origins date back to the ballroom culture of Black and Latino LGBTQ+ communities of the 80s, where the word “doll” was used to refer to trans women.
Nandy, who has been Wigan’s MP since 2010, shared pictures of herself marching, writing on Facebook that she had a “fantastic time” and was “proud to live in such a welcoming, inclusive town”.
Despite the display, Nandy supported Labour’s decision to indefinitely extend a ban on puberty blockers ban for trans people under the age of 18, describing it as the right approach, despite some research showing that it had caused extensive “emotional distress” to trans youngsters.
She has also said that a boxing match involving Imane Khelif during last year’s Paris Olympics left her feeling “incredibly uncomfortable” and pledged to implement guidance for sporting bodies on how to understand “biological facts” in sports events.
However, Nandy has previously shown support for LGBTQ+ rights, particularly trans rights. In 2020, talking about trans jail inmates, she said: “I think trans women are women and trans men are men, so I they should be in the prison of their choosing.”
She is also a signatory to a pledge from Labour Campaign for Trans Rights, urging the party to expel “transphobic” members. However, she later admitted to having to “pause for thought” before putting her name to it.
“I decided to sign it in the end because I think the sentiment about protecting trans rights and about accepting that trans men are men and trans women are women is really important, especially at the moment with the level of discrimination that people face,” she said at the time.
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